However, Taoism has seen a substantial revival since the mid-20th century and especially the 1980s, both in China and in the West. Some emperors adopted a mix of these doctrines as an official state religion, while others favored Confucianism or Buddhism over Taoism (especially from the 17th through 20th centuries). Over centuries, many Chinese philosophers, religious leaders, and rulers worked to integrate Taoism with Confucian and Buddhist ideas. Taoling declared himself a Celestial Master and founded the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice, which successfully rebelled against the ruling Han dynasty and established an independent religious state. Five hundred years later, one of their followers, Zhang Taoling, began spreading Taoist teachings around China. The ancient Chinese philosophers Lao-tse and Chuang-tse founded Taoism in the fourth century B.C.E. In 2006, he wrote an essay called “Farewell to Authorship” and announced that he would no longer write books, and in 2018, he publicly took back the copyright for The Tao of Pooh from his publisher, preventing new editions from being printed. He largely blamed his publisher and eventually got into a series of bitter, public arguments with them. Hoff never became as popular as his books, which frustrated him throughout much of his life. Hoff’s book about Whiteley, The Singing Creek Where the Willows Grow, helped build new interest in her life and legacy-as well as scrutiny into the authenticity of her writings. He also spent years researching Opal Whiteley, an Oregon writer and naturalist whose childhood diary turned her into a celebrity in the 1920s. Hoff followed it up with a sequel, The Te of Piglet, which also became a bestseller despite receiving unfavorable reviews. Even though it received negative reviews at first, The Tao of Pooh eventually became a New York Times bestseller and helped popularize Taoism in the United States. He wrote The Tao of Pooh and his earlier book about Taoism, The Way to Life, on nights and weekends while working as a tree pruner in the Portland Japanese Garden. In his spare time, he studied T’ai Chi Ch’uan, Japanese tree pruning, and Japanese tea ceremony.

After his graduation in 1973, he worked a series of odd jobs in fields ranging from graphic design and music to antiques restoration and investigative reporting. He inherited his father’s interest in Asian culture and studied Asian Art at the Evergreen State College in Washington. He also spent plenty of time sick in bed, which led to his love for reading (and especially the Winnie-the-Pooh books). As a child, he spent much of his time playing in the woods, which partially inspired his later interest in Taoism. Benjamin Hoff grew up in a farmhouse in rural Sylvan, Oregon, which is now a suburb of Portland.

The tao of pooh book