Tao Family

The Tao family is a fictional family in the Shaman King univers.

About
The Tao family, an ancient Chinese family known for their shaman capabilities. As history went on, they become ostracized for their abilities and hunted down. As a result, the Tao family became bitter and lost their belief in the kindness of humanity. Ren and his sister Jun were raised with these beliefs in mind. Ren is the current heir to the family.

Doctrine of Tao


For many years has the family members been raised using the doctrine of Tao or Taoism. Tao (or Dao (道, Pinyin: Dào, Cantonese: Dou) is a Chinese character often translated as ‘The way of nature'. In ancient China, dao could be modified by other nouns. The concept of Tao is based upon the understanding that the only constant in the Universe is change (see I Ching, the "Book of Changes") and that we must understand and be in harmony with this change. The change is a constant flow from non-being into being, potential into actual, yin into yang, female into male. The symbol of the Tao, called the Taijitu, is the yin yang confluently flowing into itself in a circle. To put it simple does Tao mean the way and order of the Universe.

To the Tao family does the way of Tao also mean that one has a nature. A way of acting that is natural to them and that it should be followed at any time.

However Yúan only saw one side of the world. Beeing forced to carry the ancestors souls, he did not gain the wisdom, that they were intended to give him. Instead he recieved there sadness. It is because of this that he lost all trust in humans and shamans outside the family and sadly he somehow ended up teaching his children the same thing.

The Tao family do also see the doctrine of Tao in a way where one should not doubt, and should one doubt would one become weak. "Wu Bi Mu" meaning "I do not doubt", was uttered by Ren as he was finally able to go against his father, who claimed that he was doubting himself and had forgotten his Tao.

As the doctrine of Tao reflects upon the familys nature they have also used the symbol as there family symbol even tatooing it onto there back, while Ren had his tattoo made forcefully.

2000 Years of History
In the manga it is explained by Yuan Tao, that they become ostracized for their abilities and hunted down. As a result, the Tao family became bitter and lost their belief in the kindness of humanity. In the anime he tells a little more. According to him the Tao Family worked under the dynasty and the emperor himself, to create peace and properity and sending many lives into darkness. They where thrown into dangerous situations and sustained history, however as the civilization advanced there shaman abillities were despised. In the end they looked on as if they were monsters and were detested. They where kicked out of the capital and forced out into the frontier. The history of there work for the dynasty was thrown into the darkness and they where forgotten. They felt betrayed as it was the people who they had lived and died to protect who had shuned them from society.

Engraving the Tao Family’s name into history once more
Beeing forced to live in the frontiers of China for many years, when Tao Yúan became head of the family he decided it was his responsobility to engrave the Tao Family’s name into historie once more. At the same time Yúan also saw it as his duty to carry the souls of the ancestors with him and therefor took on an amour of memory tablets that would later when be used as a medium for his oversoul Daidouho.

When his two childrens was born he saw them only as tools for the Tao Family to regain there lost honour. Because of this he made his son Tao Ren undergoe a rough training. He also tought Ren about the cruelty of humanity and that they shouldnt trust anyone outside the family. For his believes he also made Tao Jun train to become a Dàoshì(a person that could controll Jiang Shis, se bellow) so that she could support Ren. For this, Tao Ching killed the Kung-Fu Master Lee Bailong so that he could become a guardian for Jun He believed that by making Ren Shaman King he would be able to bring back the former glory of the Tao Family. However, beside giving Ren a strong body and shamanic abillities, Yuan gave Ren a hatred to everyone and everything. Because of this Ren did not care about his family and originally made it his goal to become Shaman King, so that he could kill every person in the world.

During this time Yúan would constantly use his oversoul Daidouho. What he believed was a good upbringing, was cruel and malevolent to Jun and Ren, and during all this time there mother and grandfather would only watch by believing Yúans ways to be the right ones.

Tao Ching

 * See More: Tao Ching

Tao Ching is the oldest now living member of the Tao, or at least, amongst thoese that is known of. He made his first appearane when Tao Yúan had been defeated twice by his son and still tried to fight on. Threatening to kill him if he continued, Yúan finally stopped fighting his son and his friends.

Tao Yuan

 * See More: Tao Yúan.

He was once a ruthless ruller of the Tao Family who believed heavily in the doctrine of Tao. Due to his familys long historie of beeing shuned he has lost all trust to people outside of his family.

Tao Ran

 * See More: Tao Ran

Ran is the wife of Yúan and the mother of Jun and Ren. When she first appeared, alongside Ching, she calmly pleaded her husband to stop the fighting as he would not wish to be killed. Throuhgout the series she appears quite calm, and even laughed when she told about there family specialty beeing poisening people.

Anime/Manga Difference
In the anime, after the defeat of Tao Yuan and there depature, the Tao family excluding Jun and Ren are not seen again, even though they in the manga follow Ren from the Patch Tribe in America to the Shaman Fight in Tokyo and cheers on him during his first fight. This also creates a plothole in why Mikihisa Asakura wanted to train with Ren and it is instead explained by the fact that Yohs and Rens teams has an argument about who is stronger. Also the english anime, instead of believing in the doctrine of Tao Yuan instead teaches Ren to "Destroy or be Destroyed". In the anime after defeating his father, the tattoo on Rens back seems to dissappear