Daoism provided the creative, irreverent foil for Confucianism's upright and moralistic philosophy. Daoism was also one of the dominant religions for most of Chinese history after the Han Dynasty, and many of the rites and rituals that were practiced in the court were derived from Daoist practice. There were also several attempts to use Daoist principles to govern the empire (during the Han, Tang, Sung, and Ming dynasties) but these didn't amount to very much.
Your question is far too complicated to answer here. I suggest you go to the library and read something like "Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China" for a good discussion of the interplay between Daoism and the two other widespread political philosophies of the time.
Taoism is the English name for a cluster of Chinese religious and philosophical traditions. While there is a great deal of debate over how (and whether) Taoism should be subdivided, some scholars have divided it into the following three categories.[1]
a philosophical school based on the texts the Tao Te Ching (ascribed to Laozi and alternately spelled D?o D? J?ng) and the Zhuangzi;
a family of organized Chinese religious movements such as the Zhengyi ("Orthodoxy") or Quanzhen ("complete reality") sects, which collectively trace back to Zhang Daoling in the late Han Dynasty;
the Chinese folk religion.[2]
The Chinese character ? (pinyin D?o, Wade-Giles Tao4) "Way".The English word Taoism is used to translate the Chinese terms Daojiao (?? "teachings/religion of the Dao") and Daojia (?? "school of the Dao"). The character Tao ? (or Dao, depending on the romanisation scheme) means "path" or "way", but in Chinese religion and philosophy it has taken on more abstract meanings. The compound Daojiao refers to Daoism as a religion; Daojia refers to the activity of scholars in their studies. It must be noted that this distinction is itself controversial and fraught with hermeneutic difficulty. Many scholars believe that there is no distinction between Daojia and Daojiao, and that the distinction is propagated by people who are not familiar with Taoism.[3]
Much uncertainty exists over the meaning of Taoism. In some countries and contexts (for example, the Taoism organizations of China and Taiwan), the label is applied to Chinese folk religion, which would otherwise not have a readily recognizable English name. However many, if not most, of its practitioners would not recognize Taoism (in any language) as the name of their religion. Moreover, the several forms of what we might call organized Taoism often distinguish their ritual activities from those of the folk religion, which some professional Taoists (Daoshi) tend to view as debased.
Chinese alchemy, astrology, cuisine, several Chinese martial arts, Chinese traditional medicine, fengshui, and many styles of qigong breath training disciplines have some relationship with Taoism.
Infact most Chinese ,even if not a Taoist,has a respect for LaoZi,creator of Taoism.There's as lo a great influence in the daily Chinese life, for inst ace,FengShui,FireCracker, etc.
Taoism is created by Laozi, a supposedly enlightened person who has his view of the world. The first book he wrote should be "Dao De Jin", or the book of morality.
To say Confucius contradict Taoism is note exactly true as some part of it stems from Taoism.
Oh, by the way, those that say what "Mao Taoist" are not actual Taoist, just a practicing "Ghost" catcher :-}
The effect was great on China, it teaches filial, ethics, breaking away from superstitious thinking.
What effect has Daoism (Taoism) had on China?
