Late in the Han dynasty （beginning of the 3rd century A.D.） a branches of Taoism， such as Yellow Turban Movement and the Celestial Masters Sec， ， became a popular revolutionary cults. The former， led by the three Chang brothers， promised immortality to ordinary people. Hundreds of thousands of destitute people flocked to their banner， holding great public gatherings， confessions of sins and even uninhibited orgies. Although the movement fell apart， it was one of the key factors that de-stabilized the Han dynasty and lead to its downfall.
However， even in the time of the Six Kingdoms （220 to 618 A.D.） Taoism continued to attract many refugee intellectuals， fleeing from the barbarians in the North.
Particularly important to the development of Taoism in China was the rein of the Emperor Li Lung-chi （a.k.a. Hsuan Tsung） who ruled for 44 years and was a fervent adherent of Taoism. Deeply absorbed in its study he tried to create a Taoist state in which capital punishment would be abolished and animals would be treated humanely. He established hospitals for the sick and poor and was an accomplished musician， equestrian， calligrapher and astronomer.
A true mystic Li Lung-chi once had a vision of Lao Tsu who told him where to find a true likeness of him. The image was， in fact， discovered and replicas of it were made and installed in temples across the realm. He also told his ministers that once while burning incense in a shrine he had been wafted up to Heaven.
道教是以“道”為最高信仰的中國本民族固有的傳統(tǒng)宗教，它是在中國古代宗教信仰的基礎(chǔ)上，沿襲方仙道、黃老道某些宗教觀念和修持方法而于東漢時逐漸形成。它相信人經(jīng)過一定修煉可長生不死，成為神仙。將老子及其《道德經(jīng)》加以宗教化，尊老子為教主，奉為神明以《道德經(jīng)》為主要經(jīng)典，并對之作宗教性的解釋。創(chuàng)始時主要流行于民間，并成為某些農(nóng)民起義的組織者和旗幟。魏晉以后，部分社會影響較大的道教徒因受封建統(tǒng)治者的扶植和利用，導(dǎo)致道教逐漸上層化并與儒家綱常名教觀念相結(jié)合；在有些朝代還卷入了宮廷政治活動。而在民間則繼續(xù)傳播通俗形式的道教，從中還衍化出一些秘密宗教組織，在有些農(nóng)民和平民的反壓迫、反剝削斗爭中，繼續(xù)發(fā)揮其組織和紐帶的作用。
道教在其長期發(fā)展過程中，隨著派別的不斷繁衍增多，同時也積累了大量的經(jīng)籍書文，后多匯編入《道藏》，其中許多有歷史價值的文獻，對于中國社會的政治、經(jīng)濟、哲學(xué)、文學(xué)、藝術(shù)、音樂，以及醫(yī)學(xué)、藥物學(xué)、養(yǎng)生學(xué)、氣功學(xué)、化學(xué)、天文、地理和社會心理、社會習(xí)俗等各個方面曾產(chǎn)生過不同程度的積極影響，在中國傳統(tǒng)文化中占有重要的地位。
