This religion of about 20 million followers was founded by Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary of Confucius, and author of Tao-te-Ching. Taoism started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into a state religion in 440 CE At that time Lao-Tse became popularly venerated as a deity. Taoism, along with Buddhism and Confucianism, became the three great religions of China. Much of Taoism was destroyed since the Communist victory in 1949; it survives mainly in Taiwan.