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Though beauty is in the eye of the beholder, different eras in art history have had their own principles to define beauty, from the richly ornamented taste of the Baroque to the simple, utilitarian style of the Prairie School.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/45/24345-050-78FAA104.jpg","altText":"Visual Arts","fullUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20201221112055/https://cdn.britannica.com/45/24345-050-78FAA104.jpg"}},{"id":6000,"title":"World History","urlTitle":"World-History","description":"Does history really repeat itself, or can we learn from the mistakes of those who came before us? History provides a chronological, statistical, and cultural record of the events, people, and movements that have made an impact on humankind and the world at large throughout the ages. Investigating the causes and results of past events is critically important in gaining a full understanding and perspective of present-day issues.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/05/84505-050-8BB58BE6/cave-art-Ennedi-Plateau-Chad.jpg","altText":"World History","fullUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20201221112055/https://cdn.britannica.com/05/84505-050-8BB58BE6/cave-art-Ennedi-Plateau-Chad.jpg"}}],"featuredTopic":{"title":"Industrial relations","url":"/topic/industrial-relations","description":"Article / Politics, Law & Government","image":{"id":32299,"url":"/28/39728-004-AECE0EBC/Sidney-Beatrice-Webb.jpg","altText":"Sidney and Beatrice Webb","credit":"Brown Brothers","width":495,"height":450,"fullUrl":"https://web.archive.org/web/20201221112055/https://cdn.britannica.com/28/39728-004-AECE0EBC/Sidney-Beatrice-Webb.jpg"}},"videoChannelsLinks":[{"title":"Britannica Classics","url":"/videos/britannica-classics","description":"Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives."},{"title":"Britannica Explains","url":"/videos/explains","description":"In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions."},{"title":"This Time in History","url":"/videos/this-week-in-history","description":"In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history."},{"title":"#WTFact Videos","url":"/videos/wtfact","description":"In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find."},{"title":"Demystified Videos","url":"/videos/demystified","description":"In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions."}],"newLinks":[{"title":"Student Portal","url":"/study/","description":"Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.","newTab":true},{"title":"COVID-19 Portal","url":"/explore/savingearth/covid-19/","description":"While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.","newTab":true},{"title":"100 Women","url":"/explore/100women/","description":"Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.","newTab":true},{"title":"Britannica Beyond","url":"https://web.archive.org/web/20201221112055/https://beyond.britannica.com","description":"We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning. 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infinite-pagination"> <article class="article-content content"> <script class="topic-json" type="application/json"> { "582972": { "url": "/topic/Daoism", "shareUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism", "title": "Daoism | Definition, Origin, Philosophy, Beliefs, & Facts", "documentGroup": "TOPIC GISTED" } } </script> <div class="family-bar topic-toolbar sticky-toolbar border-bottom d-flex align-items-center font-14 bg-white shadow"> <a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism" class="title d-none d-lg-block label px-20 text-truncate text-black link-blue lh-lg">Daoism</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 tabs"> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container text-nowrap overflow-hidden d-flex "> <span class="tab active">Article</span> <a class="tab" href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/images-videos">Media</a> <a class="tab" href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/additional-info">Additional Info</a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-sm btn-unstyled mx-10 shadow bg-white text-blue"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-sm btn-unstyled mx-10 shadow bg-white text-blue"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col-auto"> <div class="md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right bg-gray-50 open"> <div class="drawer py-25 open"> <div class="label mb-10">Article Contents</div> <ul class="list-unstyled pb-100" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism">Introduction</a></li><li data-target="#ref59045"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/General-characteristics">General characteristics</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref59046"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/General-characteristics#ref59046">The great sages and their associated texts</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref59713"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/General-characteristics#ref59713">Laozi and the Daodejing</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref59714"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/General-characteristics#ref59714">The interpretation of Zhuangzi</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref59047"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Basic-concepts-of-Daoism">Basic concepts of Daoism</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref59715" class="has-children"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Basic-concepts-of-Daoism#ref59715">Concepts of the universe and natural order</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59716"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Basic-concepts-of-Daoism#ref59716">Cosmology</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59717"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Basic-concepts-of-Daoism#ref59717">The microcosm-macrocosm concept</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59718"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Basic-concepts-of-Daoism#ref59718">Return to the Dao</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59719"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Basic-concepts-of-Daoism#ref59719">Change and transformation</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref59720" class="has-children"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Concepts-of-human-being-and-society">Concepts of human being and society</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59721"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Concepts-of-human-being-and-society#ref59721">Wuwei</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59722"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/The-social-ideal-of-primitivism">The social ideal of primitivism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59723"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Ideas-of-knowledge-and-language">Ideas of knowledge and language</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59724"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Ideas-of-knowledge-and-language#ref59724">Identity of life and death</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59725"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Religious-goals-of-the-individual">Religious goals of the individual</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59726"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Symbolism-and-mythology">Symbolism and mythology</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref59727" class="has-children"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Early-eclectic-contributions">Early eclectic contributions</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59728"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Early-eclectic-contributions#ref59728">The idea of yin and yang</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59729"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Early-eclectic-contributions#ref59729">The idea of <em>qi</em></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59730"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Early-eclectic-contributions#ref59730">The idea of wuxing</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59731"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Early-eclectic-contributions#ref59731">Yang Zhu and the <em>Liezi</em></a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref59732"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Early-eclectic-contributions#ref59732"><em>Guanzi</em> and <em>Huainanzi</em></a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></li><li data-target="#ref42128"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/History">History</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42129"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/History#ref42129">Daoism in the Qin and Han periods (221 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>–220 <span class="text-smallcaps">ce</span>) of the Chinese empire</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42130"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/History#ref42130">Esoteric traditions of eastern China</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42131"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/History#ref42131">The Huang-Lao tradition</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42132"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/History#ref42132">Revolutionary messianism</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42133"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Development-of-the-Daoist-religion-from-the-2nd-to-the-6th-century">Development of the Daoist religion from the 2nd to the 6th century</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42134" class="has-children"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Development-of-the-Daoist-religion-from-the-2nd-to-the-6th-century#ref42134">The emergence of a "Daocracy"</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42135"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Development-of-the-Daoist-religion-from-the-2nd-to-the-6th-century#ref42135">The Way of the Celestial Masters</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42136"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Development-of-the-Daoist-religion-from-the-2nd-to-the-6th-century#ref42136">Communal ceremonies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42137"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Development-of-the-Daoist-religion-from-the-2nd-to-the-6th-century#ref42137">Official recognition of the Daoist organization</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42138" class="has-children"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/The-literature-of-Daoist-esoterism">The literature of Daoist esoterism</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42139"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/The-literature-of-Daoist-esoterism#ref42139">The scholiasts</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42140"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/The-literature-of-Daoist-esoterism#ref42140">Lives of the Immortals</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42141"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/The-literature-of-Daoist-esoterism#ref42141">Inscriptions</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42142"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/The-literature-of-Daoist-esoterism#ref42142">Texts on the cult of Laozi</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42143" class="has-children"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/The-Southern-tradition">The Southern tradition</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42144"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/The-Southern-tradition#ref42144">Developments in alchemical and other traditions</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42145"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/The-Maoshan-Revelations">The Maoshan Revelations</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42146"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/The-Lingbao-scriptures-and-liturgies">The Lingbao scriptures and liturgies</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42147"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/The-great-Southern-masters">The great Southern masters</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42148"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/The-great-Southern-masters#ref42148">State Daoism in the North</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42149"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Daoism-under-the-Tang-Song-and-later-dynasties">Daoism under the Tang, Song, and later dynasties</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42150"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Daoism-under-the-Tang-Song-and-later-dynasties#ref42150">Daoism under the Tang dynasty (618–907)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42151" class="has-children"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Daoism-under-the-Tang-Song-and-later-dynasties#ref42151">Daoism under the Song and Yuan dynasties</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42152"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Daoism-under-the-Tang-Song-and-later-dynasties#ref42152">Internal developments</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42153"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Daoism-under-the-Tang-Song-and-later-dynasties#ref42153">Literary developments</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42154"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Daoism-under-the-Tang-Song-and-later-dynasties#ref42154">Alchemical developments</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42155"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Daoism-under-the-Tang-Song-and-later-dynasties#ref42155">Syncretism</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42156" class="has-children"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Developments-outside-the-official-current">Developments outside the official current</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42157"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Developments-outside-the-official-current#ref42157">Communal folk Daoism (shenjiao)</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h4"><li data-target="#ref42158"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Developments-outside-the-official-current#ref42158">Secret societies</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></li><li data-target="#ref42159"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Influence">Influence</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42160"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Influence#ref42160">Daoism and Chinese culture</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42161"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Influence#ref42161">Daoist contributions to Chinese science</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42162"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Influence#ref42162">Daoist imagery</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42163"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Influence#ref42163">Influence on secular literature</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42164"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Influence#ref42164">Influence on the visual arts</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42165"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Daoism-and-other-religions">Daoism and other religions</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42166"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Daoism-and-other-religions#ref42166">Confucianism and Buddhism</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref42167"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Daoism-and-other-religions#ref42167">Other Asian religions</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref42169"><a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/Daoism-and-other-religions#ref42169">Daoism in modern times</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div> <button class="drawerToggle btn position-sticky btn-blue btn-circle " type="button" aria-label="Toggle Drawer"> <em class="material-icons " data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="article-content container p-30"> <div class="grid"> <div class="topic-content col-sm pr-lg-60"> <script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20201221112055/https://schema.org", "@type" : "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement" : [ { "@type" : "ListItem", 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text-truncate d-inline-block" href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism">https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism</a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-byline my-15 py-10"> <div class="written-by mb-5">WRITTEN BY</div> <div class="source"> <a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/contributor/Michel-Strickmann/2877">Michel Strickmann</a> <a class="see-all" rel="nofollow" href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/additional-info#contributors">See All Contributors</a> <div class="font-serif">Associate Professor of Oriental Languages, University of California, Berkeley. Author of <i>Le Taoïsm du Mao Chan.</i></div> </div> <div class="last-updated mt-5 text-gray-600 font-sans-serif"> <a href="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Daoism/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">See Article History</a> </div> </div> <div class="md-alternate-titles"> <strong>Alternative Title:</strong> Taoism</div> </div> <div class="col-da-300"></div> </div> <div class="grid"> <div class="topic-content col-sm"> <div class="gradient-background font-serif topic-paragraph"> <strong>Daoism</strong>, also spelled <strong>Taoism</strong>, indigenous religio-philosophical tradition that has shaped Chinese life for more than 2,000 years. In the broadest sense, a Daoist attitude toward life can be seen in the accepting and yielding, the joyful and carefree sides of the Chinese character, an attitude that offsets and complements the moral and duty-conscious, austere and purposeful character ascribed to Confucianism. Daoism is also characterized by a positive, active attitude toward the occult and the metaphysical (theories on the nature of reality), whereas the agnostic, pragmatic Confucian tradition considers these issues of only marginal importance, although the reality of such issues <span class="marker end-of-content"></span>…(100 of 15578 words)</div> <div class="md-content-footer"> <div class="md-mbox-container"> <div class="marketing-GIST_CTA marketing-content" data-marketing-id="GIST_CTA"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201221112055/https://subscription.britannica.com/subscribe?partnerCode=BP_Gist_USD_A" class="gisted-cta d-block pr-lg-120 p-30 pl-md-120 my-30 mx-auto text-inherit"> <div class="font-20 font-sm-24 text-600 lh-md">Access the full article</div> <div class="font-16 lh-md mb-20 mt-10"> Help support true facts by becoming a member. </div> <button class="btn btn-orange-dark">Sign up for a free 7-day trial</button> </a></div></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-da-300" data-page="1"> <div class="rr-module rr-module-1"> <div class="marketing-RIGHT_RAIL_MODULE marketing-content" data-marketing-id="RIGHT_RAIL_MODULE"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201221112055/https://books.britannica.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20201221112055im_/https://cdn.britannica.com/safeimages/BritannicaBooks_rightrail.jpg" alt="Learn More!" class="mb-30"/> </a></div></div> </aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div></div> </div> </main> <footer id="md-footer" class="footer-wrapper hide-on-edit"> <div class="footer-bck"> <div class="marketing-FOOTER_NEWSLETTER marketing-content" data-marketing-id="FOOTER_NEWSLETTER"><div class="md-footer-newsletter-form pt-10 mb-30 mx-15 mx-sm-120"> <div class="font-18"> <strong>Inspire your inbox –</strong> Sign up for daily fun facts about this day in history, updates, and special offers. </div> <div class="p-30"> <div class="newsletter-form-container"> <form class="newsletter-form" method="post" action="/web/20201221112055/https://www.britannica.com/newsletter-subscription/EB_ON_THIS_DAY"> <div class="form-group grid d-flex justify-content-center"> <div class="col-sm-50 col-100"> <label class="sr-only" for="enter-your-email">Enter your email</label> <input id="enter-your-email" type="email" name="email" class="form-control font-18 p-10" placeholder="Enter your email" pattern="[a-z0-9._%+-]+@[a-z0-9.-]+\.[a-z]{2,4}$" required> </div> <div class="col-sm-auto col-100 mt-5 mt-sm-0"> <button type="submit" class="btn btn-outline-white" style="width: 100%; height:100%;">Subscribe</button> </div> </div> <div class="text-white pt-30 text-opacity"> By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.<br> Click here to view our <a class="link-white text-decoration-underline" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201221112055/https://corporate.britannica.com/privacy-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Privacy Notice</a>. 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