Taoism in Vietnam


Taoism in Vietnam is believed to have been introduced into the country during the first Chinese domination of Vietnam. Under Lý Dynasty King Lý Nhân Tông, the examination for the recruitment of officials consisted of essays on the "three doctrines - Tam Giáo/三教” .
Taoism in its pure form is rarely practiced in Vietnam, but elements of it have been absorbed into the Vietnamese folk religion and you may still see fragments of it practiced in areas with small Chinese communities. One of these small communities is Khanh Van Nam Vien Pagoda which is a temple owned by Cantonese Quanzhen Taoists in Saigon. Fujianese Taoists also inhabit smaller rural villages in the west such as Châu Đốc where the local spirit medium rituals belong to the Lu Shan Sect. Other than these small Chinese communities, most descendants of Taoists in Vietnam are not as organized as they would be in places with larger Chinese communities and overtime have renounced spiritual practices and have been turnt into nothing more than “witch doctors - thầy pháp” and are only called to remove curses or to curse someone. The only similarities between a “Taoist” and a “witch doctor” would be that both share practices and rites and one of the main deities that is worshipped would be Thái Thượng Lão Quân.
Taoism has also influenced the Caodaist and Dao Mau religions in Vietnam.
According to Professor Liam Kelley during the Tang dynasty native spirits were subsumed into Daoism and the Daoist view of these spirits completely replaced the original native tales. Buddhism and Daoist replaced native narratives surrounding Mount Yên Tử.