中國古代神仙思想源于先民樸素的自然觀和宇宙觀。戰國時期神仙思想在社會上逐漸形成，并以修煉成仙長生不死為號召贏得了君主帝王們的熱衷。道教是一個多神信仰宗教，道教的神仙信仰是道教文化發展過程中的核心和主線，認為人自身可以通過努力追求而成為長生不死、神通廣大的「神仙」，因此「修道成仙」成為道教徒追求的終極目標。道教注重現世的生命，可以說神仙信仰是道教最基本的貫穿始終的信仰，同時也是道教與其他宗教的根本區別。儘管道教「長生不死，羽化登仙」的終極目標，是一種虛幻理想，但其生死觀所包含的樂生主張、自主精神、養生之道和超越情懷，則烘托和彰顯出一種熱愛生命、充實生命、升華生命和超越生命的獨特涵蘊。

The mythological thoughts of the ancient Chinese derived from how their ancestors looked at the nature and the universe, they attracted attentions from the monarch by appealing to the eternal life made by practice. Daoism is a pantheistic religion; the celestial belief is the core and perch in the process for developing Taoist culture, Daoism considers that human being could chase eternal life and would become celestial being through making efforts; therefore, the eventual goal of Taoist practice is to become celestial being. Daoism thinks a lot of the present world, and the mythological thoughts is the central, it is so that makes Daoism different from other religion. Although chasing eternal life and becoming celestial being are eventual goal of Taoist practice, it is an illusory perfection, however, its views of life and death include life-enjoying, self-determination, health-keeping and transcendentalism, which manifests its unique connotations of enthusiasm, self-fulfilling, heaves and transcendence for life.