Taoism is classified as one of the world’s major religious and philosophical traditions, alongside Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. It originated in China over two thousand years ago and remains a living tradition with millions of adherents. Its English name is Taoism. The Chinese name is Dàojiào.
Wade-Giles rendered the d- initial as t-. The same mapping that turned gōngfu into kongfu turned Dàojiào into Taoism. To an English speaker, the T- in Taoism suggests a hard t sound, as in tower. The actual Chinese sound is an unaspirated d-, as in door. The difference is not subtle. An English speaker saying Taoism and a Chinese speaker saying Dàojiào are producing two noticeably different initial consonants.
The word Tao—the central concept of the philosophy—suffers from the same problem. The Tao Te Ching, the foundational text, should be the Dao De Jing. The entire intellectual tradition is known in English by a spelling that mutes its connection to the source language.
Some will argue that Taoism has become an English word in its own right, independent of its Chinese origin. This is the same argument made for every broken bridge word. It confuses familiarity with correctness. English speakers have been saying Taoism for a long time. That does not make it right. It makes it an error that has been repeated for a long time.
Daoism costs nothing to adopt. The sound is more accurate. The spelling matches pinyin. The tradition itself is unchanged.
Our Recommendation: Daoism. The Way, spelled correctly.