Taoist art

"[1] The artists were "Daoist masters, adepts, scholars-amateurs, and even emperors..." thus an eclectic group of art works were created over time that are as varied as their makers .

Currently Taoism is considered a "living religion, practiced in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and many overseas Chinese communities, and one that is undergoing a major revival in mainland China today.”[3][4] An exhibition called Taoism and the Arts of China, presented at Art Institute of Chicago (2000) emphasized the art of the late Han to Qing dynasties and followed "the transformations of Taoism into an organized religion, the Taoist pantheon of gods who inhabit the stars and the heavens, modes of ritual and visualization, the cult of the immortals, and the role of landscape as a symbol of cosmic structure and process.”[3] Taoist landscape paintings often depict the virtues of the natural world as examples for man.

A tree that can fill the span of a man's arm Grows from a downy tip; A terrace nine storeys high Rises from hodfuls of earth; A journey of a thousand miles Starts from beneath one's feet.

Lü Dongbin often appears in connection with Yueyang Pavilion, overlooking Lake Dongting in Hunan province.

Stephen Little suggests that he had enormous appeal among both literati and common people, cutting across social and economic boundaries.