 Many scholars believe Taoism arose as a countermovement to Confucianism . The philosophical terms Tao and De are indeed shared by both Taoism and Confucianism , and Laozi is traditionally held to have been a teacher of Confucius . Zhuangzi explicitly criticized Confucianist and Mohist tenets in his work . In general , Taoism rejects the Confucianist emphasis on rituals , hierarchical social order , and conventional morality , and favors naturalness , spontaneity , and individualism instead . 
