Before Buddhism, China had two dominant worldviews: Confucianism promoted by urban centres, and Taoism that was popular in the rural countryside. Confucianism valued the king, the court, and civilised conduct, based on obedience to authority, and veneration of traditional rites, and customs. It valued culture over nature. Taoism was the very opposite, valuing nature over culture, and focussed on the survival and contentment of the peasant in an ecosystem full of oppressive warlords. If Confucianism had a wider span of vision and said that everything has a place, and there is a place for everything, Taoism valued the particular and said avoid being predator to the prey and prey to the predator. For those currently tormented by a world that seems absurd, chaotic and oppressive, the nine principles of 
Taoism offer a great reprieve. Here is a summary:

1. The goal of life is not success, wealth or fame, it is simply to live and be content at all times. This means realising the foolishness of greed (seeking more than what you need) and jealousy (wanting what others have).