Taoist Training clothes, shoes and more

Taoism advocates that "the Tao cannot be explained in words, and clothing carries the Tao". The core purpose of Taoists wearing robes is to express their ambition through clothing, showing their original intention of cultivation to the world and themselves. Different from the gorgeous clothing with complicated patterns pursued in the secular world, Taoist robes generally advocate simplicity and quietness. Most of them are sewn with plain cotton and linen, mainly in cyan, black and white, and do not fancy gorgeous decorations. This choice itself is a statement: Taoists give up the material enjoyment and vanity pursuit of the secular world, remind themselves to abide by the cultivation principle of "less selfishness and fewer desires" with simple clothes, and not be entangled by external material desires, which is the most simple and direct embodiment of "expressing ambition through clothing".

From the perspective of specific shapes, every design of Taoist robes contains profound cultural meaning: the most representative daopao (Taoist robe, its design of wide sleeves and large robe symbolizes the open-minded mind of "being open-minded and inclusive of all things" in Taoism. The loose and not tight cutting conforms to the pursuit of "freedom and unrestraint in Taoism, reminding practitioners not to be constrained by form and things; the common hunyuan jin (Hunyuan Taoist hat), the round crown body corresponds to the Taoist concept of "unity of man and nature" and "complete hunyuan", and the opening in the middle implies "connecting with the spirit through the top, symbolizing that practitioners have the blue sky above their heads and connected with the Tao. The shoes are mostly round-mouth cloth shoes, and the square sole corresponds to the traditional cosmology of "round sky and square earth", it also implies the cultivation requirement of Taoists to "walk in a square and upright way". Even the colors of Taoist robes have their own meanings: cyan corresponds to the wood virtue of the east, symbolizing the growth and vitality of all things, which is in line with the Taoist pursuit of "continuous life"; black corresponds to the water virtue of the north, symbolizing the profound and restrained original image of the great Tao, which conforms to the hidden cultivation of Taoism; white symbolizes purity and authenticity, corresponding to the pursuit of "returning to nature".

From expressing ambition through clothing to hiding the Tao in details, Taoist robes have long been integrated into the blood of Taoist cultivation. Every stitch and thread contains the pursuit of the great Tao. They are a unique cultural treasure in Chinese traditional clothing culture, carrying the unchanged original intention of cultivation for thousands of years.