Daoyuan is one of the Way of Former Heaven

Way of Former Heaven

The Way of Former Heaven encompasses five religious groups of Chinese origin. They claim to strive for the unification of Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and other religions. They were violently suppressed at one point in history...

 (Hsien-t'ien Tao) sects. The Way of Former Heaven sects are syncretic

Syncretism

Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...

 religious groups that aspire to unify Taoism

Taoism

Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...

, Confucianism

Confucianism

Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...

, Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 and other religions.

History

The Tao-yuan has its origins in a small spirit-writing

Automatic writing

Automatic writing or psychography is writing which the writer states to be produced from a subconscious and/or spiritual source without conscious awareness of the content.-History:...

 cult in Pin County of Shandong

Shandong

' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...

 province that began to hold seances in 1916. It was headed by Liu Shao-ji (劉紹基). When the gods began systematically to develop a system of religious doctrine through their planchette writings, the cult group attracted more and more members and gave itself the name Morals Society (Tao-te She)(道德社). Its membership was dominated by local gentry and high-ranking officials. In 1918 the Society moved to the provincial capital Jinan

Jinan

Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...

, and in 1921 changed its name to "Sanctuary of the Tao" (Tao-yuan). Being extremely well-connected in high government circles, the Tao-yuan quickly spread from Shandong province to Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 and to the major cities along the Yangtze river

Yangtze River

The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

; branches were also established in Japan.

Organization

The sect developed a complex internal structure divided into six "Courts": Executive, Meditation, Fuji (planchette writing)

Fuji (planchette writing)

Fuji is a method of "planchette writing; spirit writing; automatic writing" using a suspended sieve or tray to guide a stick which writes Chinese characters in sand or incense ashes....

, Scriptures, Philanthropic Works, and Preaching. Of these areas of activity, the Court of Philanthropic Works is the one that has done the most to shape the public perception of the sect.

The Tao-yuan is publicly best known by the name of its philanthropic organization, the "World Red Swastika Society" (Shih-chieh Hung-wan-tzu Hui), which was officially registered in 1922. Suppressed by the communist regime after 1949, the Tao-yuan continues to maintain sections in Hong-Kong, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Malaysia, Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, and the United States of America. Since 1950, the Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

Tao-yuan has served as the world headquarters and administrative centre of the sect.