Religious Daoism emerged as a recognizable tradition in its own right during the latter decades of the Han dynasty (202 B.C.E.-221 C.E.). Confucianism enjoyed imperial favor as the official creed of the state. But when the Han dynasty disintegrated, both Daoism and Buddhism found room to grow. The early Celestial Masters school dominated the Daoist scene for the most part. Various schools teaching forms of alchemical Daoism developed early on and have continued throughout the past two thousand years. In addition, new revelations claimed by various teachers gave rise to several new schools between the third and sixth centuries, times of political fragmentation (see below for discussion of individual schools and denominations).

With political reunification during the Sui (581—618) dynasty, Daoism’s various schools managed to survive in spite of meager imperial support. Many monasteries flourished but remained apart from the general populace. Things improved under the Tang dynasty (618—906), when Daoists once again had friends in high places. Under the Song dynasty (960—1279), Neo-Confucianism proved a powerful rival for Daoists at court. But Daoists fared well anyway, since many Neo-Confucians gladly exchanged ideas with Daoism’s leading lights. During the Southern Song dynasty (1127—1279), in spite of an almost complete lack of public imperial patronage, several new Daoist schools sprang up. Things took a turn for the worse under the Yuan dynasty (1260—1368). Daoists invited to participate in court debates suffered serious setbacks and paid dearly with the loss of monasteries and precious libraries. During the late medieval Ming dynasty (1368—1644), Daoist fortunes improved again dramatically and many Daoist masters enjoyed prominent official positions. But under the last of the imperial regimes, the Ching (or Manchu) dynasty (1644—1911), the pendulum swung the other way and religious Daoism struggled to survive the early modern period.

Through the periods of the first Chinese Republic (1912—1949) and the People’s Republic (1949—present), Daoism has held on largely thanks to the establishment of several organizations designed to provide a public presence for the various orders and schools. After disastrous losses as a result of the Cultural Revolution (1966—1976), Daoist religious groups are again struggling to pull themselves back together.