Taoism is adhered to by 8.5% of the entire population of Singapore. In general, nearly all adherents of 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...

 in 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...

 are associated with the mainstream Zhen Yi

Zhengyi Dao

Zhenyi Dao or the Way of Complete Orthodoxy is a Chinese Daoist movement that emerged during the Tang Dynasty as a transformation of the earlier Tianshi Dao movement...

 school. Owing to the decline in religious knowledge amongst the younger generations, Taoists, like followers of other religion, focus on rituals with little or no knowledge of Taoist scriptures and cultivation.

History

Taoism first arrived in Singapore with the first Chinese settlers in Singapore. The majority of these settlers worshipped 妈祖 (Ma Zu or Matsu) to guide them safely in on their arrival in a new foreign country. Taoist practice later flourished as an increasing number of Chinese merchants and coolies settled in Singapore.

Many Taoist followers worship Buddha as well as these two religions have traditionally enjoyed a peaceful coexistence, thereby leading to obscured delineation between the two religions. Subsequently with the rise of Buddhist activists in the 1980s, the pool of worshippers who worship both Taoist deities and Buddha realigned to declare themselves as Buddhists even if they were primarily worshipping Taoist deities (defined as families which worship Taoist deities at home). This led to a statistical decline in the Taoist population in Singapore. However, any attempt to deny Taoism its right as a religion on its own is dubious owing to the substantially growing and unreported numbers of youngsters embracing the faith.

Role of Taoism in the Chinese community

Taoism itself forms the nucleus of Chinese customs amongst Chinese Singaporeans, and such beliefs are also adopted by Buddhists. Deities, such as Guan Yu

Guan Yu

Guan Yu was a general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He played a significant role in the civil war that led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty and the establishment of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, of which Liu Bei was the...

, Xuan Tian Shang Di, and the patron deity are some of the most popular deities among Taoist adherents and the local Chinese community. The Yin Yang concept, being an orthodox Taoist principle, is, however, only ancedotally practiced by the common Taoist believers.

Taoist martial arts, notably T'ai chi, is practiced in community centres.

Today, most of the 300-odd Chinese temples in 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...

, a figure derived from the 2000 census, enshrined and worshipped Taoist Gods alongside with the Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

. One of these Taoist temples is the Thian Hock Keng

Thian Hock Keng

Thian Hock Keng Temple is the oldest and most important Fukien, or Hoklo temple in Singapore. The main temple is dedicated to Mazu, the Taoist goddess of the sea and protector of all seamen, while a second temple at the back is a Buddhist one dedicated to Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of...

, built by the late wealthy philanthropist Dr Tan Tock Seng

Tan Tock Seng

Tan Tock Seng was a Singaporean merchant and philanthropist. Born in Malacca in 1798 to an immigrant Fukien father and Hokkien Peranakan mother, Tan rose from humble origins. In 1819, Tan moved to Singapore to sell fruit, vegetable and fowl...

, which also serves as the root of the Singapore Hokkien Association. There are other notables temples such as the Soon Tian Gong in Geylang and the Guan Yin Temple in Waterloo Street.

Ancestor worship

Chinese Ancestor worship is a Taoist practice by nature, practiced by a large number of ethnic Chinese in Singapore. Taoist, Buddhist and even Roman Catholic Chinese practice ancestor worship. The only exception are Chinese people who adhere to various Protestant denominations, and possibly Muslims, in which case Chinese ancestor worship is viewed apparently as pagan rituals but are nevertheless accepted owing to the overwhelming majority of practitioners.

In the past, Chinese families owned ancestral tablets with the ancestors' names inscribed on them. Such tablets are placed on ancestral altars and urns meant for placing joss sticks, and food offerings are usually placed in front of it. Ancestral tablets found in Chinese homes only state the names of patrilineal ancestors and their wives. With the advent of modernism, and perchance owing to the decline of traditional Chinese values reinforced through Taoism, filial piety and thus such practices have almost vanished. At most only Taoist or Buddhist altars are found in Chinese homes.

Families may choose to have their ancestors cremated or buried in columbariums and cemeteries respectively. Families would visit their ancestor's resting place, especially during the Qingming Festival

Qingming Festival

The Qingming Festival , Pure Brightness Festival or Clear Bright Festival, Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese festival on the 104th day after the winter solstice , usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar...

. They would bring joss sticks, incense paper and food offerings to the ancestors.

According to Chinese custom and tradition, people worshipping ancestors at Chinese cemeteries or columbariums must first lay out their offerings and prayer items before burning the joss stick. The worshippers may then recite prayers before proceeding to place their joss sticks on designated areas.

The worshippers then burn the incense paper and collect the food after worship.

Incense Paper

Incense paper used for ancestor worship comes in several forms; each represents a present for the ancestor's spirit. Paper coloured yellow with a gold foil printed on it represents a gold tael; that with a silver foil represents a silver tael.

Another variant is single-coloured paper which is manufactured with a rougher surface on one side and a smoother surface on the other side. Such paper come in varying colours. Incense paper of this type is to be rolled up and snugged tightly at both ends. The smoother face should form the exterior surface. Incense paper of this variant is used to represent clothes for the ancestor. Paper with a soft and rough surface printed in brown recycled paper serves as cloth.

Hell bank notes

Hell Bank Notes

Hell bank notes are a form of joss paper printed to resemble legal tender bank notes. This faux money has been in use since at least the late 19th century and possibly much earlier. Early 20th century examples took the resemblance of minor commercial currency of the type issued by businesses across...

 of various sizes as well as Kai chin are used to represent money. All of this incense paper is arranged and collected into a bundle known as Yi bou in accordance to significance. The brown incense paper serves as the base. Usually, the base must have an even number of "cloth" papers, and one sheet will serve as the nucleus of the base. They are followed on by the bank notes, Kai chin, clothes and taels, and the Yim bou is gathered up, and burnt with a candle before throwing it into the urn. Joss paper

Joss paper

Joss paper , also known as ghost money, are sheets of paper and/or paper-crafts made into burnt offerings which are common in traditional Chinese religious practices including the veneration of the deceased on holidays and special occasions...

s manufactured into the shape of shirts and trousers are sometimes burnt together with the Yi bou.