Taoist cultural Events heading to Europe

BEIJING - A spate of events promoting Taoist culture will be held in Belgium, Britain and France from Sept 26 to Oct 6, as part of efforts to expand this religion's international influence.

Taoist culture-related exhibitions, lectures and martial arts performances will be staged during the period, Meng Zhiling, a spokesman with the Chinese Taoist Association, told reporters at a press briefing on Monday.

The program, the first of its kind held by the association, are dedicated to promoting Chinese culture to the world, Meng said.

"The events will work as a new platform to showcase Chinese homegrown Taoism and mark new progress in Taoism's internationalization effort," the spokesman said, adding that the staging of the events involves a total of 81 people, including 57 performers.

Under a scheme initiated by the association in 2012, the association planned to donate Taoist classics to national libraries, prestigious universities and research institutions in more than 70 countries.

Taoism is an ancient religion originating from the writings and philosophy of Lao Tze (BC 571-471). According to his "Tao De Ching," everything in the universe was born from a vacuum, and a balance must be achieved between human beings and nature.