Rituals thumb|A Taoist ritual at the Gray Goat Temple (Qingyang Gong, 青羊宫) in Chengdu, Sichuan. thumb|Taoist ritual specialists in a procession, Taiwan. Ancient Chinese religion made much use of sacrifices to gods and ancestors, which could include slaughtered animals (such as pigs and ducks) or fruit. The Taoist Celestial Master Zhang Daoling rejected food and animal sacrifices to the gods. Today, many Taoist temples reject animal sacrifice.David "Race" Bannon, "Chinese Medicine: From Temples to Taoism," T'ai Chi, Vol. 20, No. 3 (1996): 28–33. Sacrifices to the deities remains a key element of Taoist rituals however. There are various kinds of Taoist rituals, which may include presenting offerings, scripture reading, sacrifices, incantations, purification rites, confession, petitions and announcements to the gods, observing the ethical precepts, memorials, chanting, lectures, and communal feasts.
Rituals thumb|A Taoist ritual at the Gray Goat Temple (Qingyang Gong, 青羊宫) in Chengdu, Sichuan. thumb|Taoist ritual specialists in a procession, Taiwan. Ancient Chinese religion made much use of sacrifices to gods and ancestors, which could include slaughtered animals (such as pigs and ducks) or fruit. The Taoist Celestial Master Zhang Daoling rejected food and animal sacrifices to the gods. Today, many Taoist temples reject animal sacrifice.David "Race" Bannon, "Chinese Medicine: From Temples to Taoism," T'ai Chi, Vol. 20, No. 3 (1996): 28–33. Sacrifices to the deities remains a key element of Taoist rituals however. There are various kinds of Taoist rituals, which may include presenting offerings, scripture reading, sacrifices, incantations, purification rites, confession, petitions and announcements to the gods, observing the ethical precepts, memorials, chanting, lectures, and communal feasts.