What is the importance of Taoism in China? Why is Confucianism more famous than Taoism at home and abroad?

Confucius is so famous because the Chinese social order itself was based off his philosophy. There are five relationships (ruler - subject, husband - wife, father - son, friend - friend, elder brother - younger brother) that created a hierarchical understanding of where one would fit into the patriarchy. So while Confucius is better known due to his influence on the Chinese social stratum, it can be argued that Daoism plays a much more subtle role in shaping the very way that the Chinese people think.

A Chinese philosopher active during the 3rd century BC named Laozi was attributed with the writing of Daoism’s most influential text, the Dao De Jing, “The Way and Its Power,” which states that “the Dao is constant in non-action, yet there is nothing it does not do.” Here Laozi is referring to the pervasive nature of the Dao, or way, as the intention of a personified Heaven that sets the world in motion; from here scholars divide Daoism into Religious and Philosophical Daoism. Philosophical Daoism took a scholastic approach to understanding the Dao through Yin-Yang, the Five Elements (Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, and Earth), and the I-Jing, “The Book of Changes.” It was not until around the 2nd century AD that Daoism turned from philosophy to practice. Religious Daoism concerns itself with rituals and deity worship to maintain the favor of heaven and practicing self-cultivation to transform the individual into an immortal who has mastered the Dao. Daoism remains a key component of Chinese thought to the point where one cannot separate Daoism from the Chinese identity – this is most commonly seen in ancestor worship, local festivals, and other folk practices that have become traditions practiced even today.