The appellation of Taoism was different at the early stage of its formation. Many people in hundred schools of thought in the pre-Qin period used to call themselves "Tao" for their theories and methods. Confucianism, Mohism, Taoism, Yin and Yang, and even Buddhism have all claimed to be "Taoism" for various reasons. Confucianism first used the word "Taoism" and called the theories of Wang Zhidao and Confucius "Taoism". When Buddhism was first introduced into China, it translated "Bodhi" into "Tao", so it was also called "Taoism". At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there appeared the Daoism of Five Doors, which called itself "Taoism" and took the meaning of "Taoism with goodness". Since then, in order to show the difference, other schools have stopped calling themselves "Taoism" and become the special names of Wudou Rice Road.
Taoism now refers to a religion that has inherited some religious concepts and practice methods such as Fang Xiandao and Huang Laodao on the basis of China's ancient religious beliefs, and gradually formed with "Tao" as the highest belief, taking Laozi as the leader, taking Laozi's Tao Te Ching as the main classic, and pursuing cultivation as a kind of immortal. The main methods of Taoism becoming immortal or immortal can be roughly summarized into five types.
teachings and doctrines
from the very beginning, Taoism took Laozi's Tao Te Ching as its basic classic, and took "Tao" and "virtue" as its basic beliefs. Taoism believes that "Tao" is the origin and master of all things in the universe, omnipresent and all-encompassing, and everything evolved from "Tao". And "virtue" is the embodiment of "Tao". Respecting deities in the Three Qing Dynasties is the initial personification of Tao, and it also represents three important processes of the creation of the universe (Tao gives birth to one, life to two, life to three, and life to all things-Tao Te Ching). The three Qing Dynasties gave birth to the universe of heaven and earth and the gods of nature, which are called respecting deities in the first heaven. These are the evolution of Tao, which is inherently integrated with Tao body, while Tao is infinitely full of the universe. Therefore,
Taoism takes the old gentleman (that is, the moral Buddha) as its leader, that is, Laozi. In addition, there are other sayings about the supreme god of Taoism in different sects of Taoist scriptures in history. First, the deity of Jade Qing is the highest god; second, the deity of Lingbao in Shangqing is the highest god; third, the deity of Ethic Qing is the highest god; finally, it evolved into the theological theory of trinity.
Taoism is born again and hates death, and pursues immortality. It believes that human life can be decided by itself, without obeying heaven. It is believed that as long as people are good at cultivating health, they can live forever and become immortal. Therefore, there are many cultivation methods: alchemy, taking food, breathing, fetal interest, massage, guidance, room, avoiding the valley, thinking, serving symbols and chanting.
Taoist theology can be said to be a religious theory after the mystification of Taoist thought, which may not be completely consistent, but the similarities and differences between them are worth pondering. However, Taoism, whose ancestors were called Laozi and Zhuangzi, respected many Taoist classics such as Tao Te Ching (Laozi) and Nanhuajing (Zhuangzi), after all, absorbed and inherited a lot of Taoist thoughts. In addition, it was also influenced by the Book of Changes, Yin and Yang, Confucianism, Buddhism and the ancient fairy tales.
History
Origin
Although Taoism regards Laozi as its ancestor, its ideas are not completely consistent with the thoughts of Laozi and Zhuangzi, but more benefited from the Huang Lao Dao, which was popular in the early Han Dynasty and used Laozi's famous words to cultivate and maintain longevity. Another source of Taoism is Fang Xiandao, which began in the Warring States and flourished in Qin and Han Dynasties. In addition, you can also pursue the worship of ghosts and gods in the Shang Dynasty.
in the process of Taoism's gradual formation, the interaction between Taoism and Buddhism that was entering China at that time (the influence of Buddhism on Taoism and the influence of Taoism on the China of Buddhism) is also worth noting.
Development course
The development of Taoism can be generally divided into four periods: the origin of Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties, the prosperity of Tang and Song Dynasties, the emergence of Quanzhen religion in Yuan and Ming Dynasties and the decline after Qing Dynasty.
the formation of Taoism is a slow development process. As two landmark events in the final formation of Taoism, one is the spread of Taiping Jing, and the other is Zhang Daoling's Five Dou Mi Dao. When the Eastern Han Dynasty was in the reign of Emperor Shun (126-144), The Book of Taiping Qing (later called Taiping Jing) was published by Yu Ji and Gong Chong, and it was widely spread. When he arrived at Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Jiao preached in the Book of Taiping Qing Dynasty, nicknamed Taiping Road, claiming to be a great virtuous teacher, and his followers were all over Kyushu, which was already quite influential. Later, the Yellow turban insurrectionary failed, and Taiping Road declined day by day. Also in the Eastern Han Dynasty, when Emperor Shundi was in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Ling learned Daoism in Guiming Mountain, Shu County, and recruited disciples to preach, so the believers gave rice and five buckets, so it was called five buckets of rice. Zhang Lu, his grandson, defended Hanzhong for many years, and later cooperated with the highest ruling authorities, so that the influence of Wudou Mi Dao was spread in the sea from the southwest corner, and it became an authentic Taoism.
During the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, Taoism gained great development with the prevalence of alchemy and the deepening of related theories. At the same time, Taoism also absorbed the popular metaphysics at that time and enriched its own theory. In the first year of Jianwu in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Ge Hong systematically discussed the theory of immortals since the Warring States Period and wrote Bao Puzi, which was the first systematization of Taoist theory and enriched the ideological content of Taoism. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Kou Qianzhi established the "Northern Tianshi Daoism" with the support of the Northern Wei Emperor Taizu, and Lu Xiujing established the "Southern Tianshi Daoism".
In the Tang and Song Dynasties, Tang Gaozu Li Yuan recognized Laozi Li Er as his ancestor, and Song Zhenzong and Song Huizong also believed in Taoism, so Taoism was highly respected and became the state religion. At this time, Maoshan, Gezao and other factions appeared, and Tianshi Road also re-emerged. In theory, the theory of Inner Dan expounded by Chen Tuan and Zhang Boduan is very popular.
At this stage, Taoism not only developed in China, but also spread to other parts of Asia through migration and cultural exchange. For example, at the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, after Wudou Midao failed to launch an uprising in the south of China, Lu Xun led his troops to Jiaozhou. Li Tuo, a Vietnamese, helped Lu Xun attack Jiaozhou Fucheng and committed suicide after failing. This is the earliest record that Taoism was introduced into Vietnam. In addition, for example, the Heavenly Taoism in Korea or the Shintoism in Japan, which combines the sunshine gods, worships the emperor and worships the gods. However, apart from Vietnamese Taoism, Korean Tientalism or Japanese Shintoism is quite different from Taoism in terms of its religious content.
during the Jin dynasty, the quan Zhen Dao initiated by Wang Zhongyang appeared in the north. Later, Qiu Chuji, a disciple of Wang Zhongyang, preached for Genghis Khan in Mongolia, and was trusted by the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty to be in charge of Taoism in the world. At the same time, in order to cope with the rapid rise of Quanzhen Taoism, the original Longhu Mountain Tianshi Taoism, Maoshan Shangqing School and Gezaoshan Lingbao School were merged into one, and Zhang Tianshi was regarded as the founder of Zhengyi, thus formally forming a pattern of Taoism with Quanzhen in the north and Zhengyi or two schools in the south.
In the Ming Dynasty, Yongle Emperor Zhu Di claimed to be the incarnation of Zhenwu Emperor, and gave great support to Zhang Sanfeng and wu-tang clan who sacrificed Zhenwu. At this time, Taoism still occupies a dominant position in various religions in China.
since the Qing dynasty, Manchu rulers believed in Tibetan Buddhism and suppressed Taoism, which was mainly believed by Han people. Taoism has since declined.
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Modern Taoism
After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Taoism basically stopped developing. After entering modern society, Taoism declined even more. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, with the implementation of the new religious policy of the China government, some previous Taoist rules and regulations were invalidated because they violated the current laws. In 1957, the Chinese Taoist Association was established to manage the internal affairs of Taoism in China. By the Cultural Revolution, Taoism, like other religions in China, had suffered a catastrophe. It was not until the end of the Cultural Revolution that Taoism began to resume its normal religious activities. However, Taoist immortals
Taoist figures in the British Museum
Taoism is a polytheist, and the highest deity is the Sanqing deity derived from Taoism, that is, Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun and moral Tianzun, among which the moral Tianzun is the Taishang Laojun. In addition, Taoism developed heaven, Jade Emperor and a series of officials in accordance with the human order, and absorbed the concepts of Buddhism's hell and the world in the sea. As a subsidiary of heaven, it also developed a series of immortal officials in Yamaraja Temple and Crystal Palace, plus local immortal series such as four-valued meritorious deeds, mountain gods, city gods, land and kitchen kings. It also absorbed the Queen Mother of the West and the Eight Immortals from many ancient China myths as "scattered immortals" outside the heavenly order. Therefore, there are many immortals in Taoism, and any immortals created by local people and celebrities worshipped by them, such as Mazu and Guandi, can be absorbed into the Taoist immortal system at any time. However, in general, temples only worship Sanqing gods, and other gods can build their own temples.
In addition, Taoism believes that the human body is also a small world, so all kinds of organs on the human body, such as hair and facial features, are also stationed by gods, and there are corresponding practice methods.
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precepts
Taoist precepts are some principles that restrict Taoist thoughts and words. Taoist precepts have different contents according to different sects. Generally speaking, the precepts of Quanzhen school are stricter than those of Fuzuo school. The main contents of the commandments are not to kill, not to drink and eat meat, not to steal, not to commit adultery and so on. Commandments must be observed by believers, and a Taoist priest must have a bar mitzvah ceremony to be counted as a believer. According to the strictness of the rules, precepts can be divided into top-grade precepts, middle-grade precepts and lower-grade precepts. According to the number of rhythms, there are three precepts, five precepts, eight precepts, ten precepts and twenty-seven precepts of Laojun.
in addition to the precepts, there are Taoist rules, which are the punishment means for Taoist priests who break the precepts. Different factions of specific regulations have different regulations.
Taoist precepts, on the basis of absorbing some contents of Buddhism and the requirements of Confucianism, such as the Three Cardinals and the Five Permanent Principles, have formed a set of their own unique contents. Taoist rules and regulations also change with time, and when they conflict with the laws of the regime, appropriate adjustments will be made.
Daoism
The old gentleman's entering the mountain symbol contained in "Bao Pu Zi" thinks that using it can avoid ghosts and beasts
Taoist religious activities are very complicated, which are mainly divided into two categories: Taoist self-cultivation (called Daoism) and Taoist rituals, including Taoist classics, confessions, fasting, spells, forbidden spells and seclusion.
Taoist self-cultivation has become Taoism, including inner alchemy, outer alchemy, taking food, room and so on. External alchemy refers to burning minerals such as lead and mercury in alchemy sand and drugs to make pills that can make people live forever. Modern science thought that most of these pills were poisonous, and there were many cases of death in ancient times. Therefore, Taoism later realized that it was dangerous to take and prepare external pills, so later generations turned to the safer practice of internal pills. Waidan is also considered as a pioneer of modern chemistry.
Inner alchemy refers to the process of breathing, guiding, breathing and breathing, and refining alchemy in the body to achieve the goal of immortality. The terms of external Dan and internal Dan are the same, but the meanings they refer to are completely different. For example, the human body is likened to a furnace pot burning an alchemy pill, but it is still interlinked in theory. In ancient times, the teaching of alchemy was mostly inherited from master and apprentice, and it was difficult for outsiders to understand.
In addition, there are many Daoism. For example, introspection, keeping quiet, thinking, and breaking through the valley. These modern times are mostly classified as qigong. In addition, many Taoists of Quanzhen Taoism practice martial arts. Chinese medicine theory also comes from Taoism.
Taoist rituals are collectively referred to as "ritual fasting", which means cleanliness, while ritual fasting refers to prayer, also known as Dojo. Taoist sacrifices to immortals, because they think that immortals are quiet and noble, so they need to bathe and change clothes before sacrifice, do not drink or eat meat, and fast. Sacrificial activities are called "Li", and Taoism has absorbed many Buddhist contents in its development, with various names. Taoism believes that through these rituals, we can get rid of disasters and seek happiness. Divination is also a part of Daoism, including divination, drawing lots and measuring characters. In addition, Taoism is characterized by the use of symbols and reeds. Fu is some symbols painted on yellow paper with vermilion. Taoism thinks it can be used to cure diseases, while Ru is thought to drive the gods. In addition, Taoism believes that oral incantations can cure diseases, drive ghosts and gods and drive away wild animals. These are mainly the same spells.
major classics
Taoism regards Laozi's Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi's Nanhuajing as the two most important classics. In addition, Taoism imitated the Buddhist Tripitaka to create a Taoist collection, collecting Taoist works of past dynasties, including not only philosophy and Taoist theory, but also works on alchemy, health preservation, medical treatment and qigong. There are mainly orthodox Taoist scriptures, a collection of Taoist scriptures, and the continuation of Taoist scriptures in Wanli. At present, only the orthodox Taoist scriptures in the Ming Dynasty have been circulated, and other versions have been lost. Most of the existing Taoist classics are included here. The number of Taoist scriptures is very large, and the main classics of various factions are also different.
Zhouyi Shentongqi is the earliest Danjing, which is called the ancestor of Danjing. In addition, Baopuzi is also the basic classic of the Danding School of Taoism. Taiping Jing and Lao Zi Xiang Er Zhu are also the main classics of early Taoism. Huang Tingjing and The True Sutra of the Great Hole in Shangqing are the main classics of the Shangqing Sutra School, and the Maoshan School also attaches great importance to them. Du Ren Jing and San Huang Wen are the main classics of Lingbao School and san huang School. Yin Fu Jing and Chang Qing Jing Jing are also two very important Taoist scriptures, which Taoist priests must recite. In addition, the Jade Emperor Sutra and the Heart Seal Wonderful Sutra are also one of the daily lessons of Taoists.
Although the Southern Sect of Taoism mainly focuses on Fu Yong, Zhai Zhi and Keyi, after the Northern Song Dynasty, it also advocated three religions and one principle, and cultivated Inner alchemy, resulting in the emergence of such classics as Wu Zhen Jing and 4 words of then alchemy. The Quanzhen Sect of the Northern Sect of Taoism advocates the unity of the three religions, refining the spirit and concentrating on the spirit, understanding the nature, and integrating Confucianism, focusing on the three classics of the Tao Te Ching, the Filial Piety Classic and the Prajna Heart Classic, and advocating "filial piety and purity, honesty and simplicity".
sects
Taoism is mainly divided into two sects in terms of practice methods-Fuzuo School and Danding School. The former advocates using magic spells to cure diseases and exorcise ghosts, while the latter advocates refining the elixir to seek immortality, which is different from the outer and inner veins.
Generally speaking, the distribution of Taoism began in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. There are five influential schools in the history of Taoism:
Zhengyi School: there are Lingbao School, Zhengyi School and Jing Ming School Quanzhen Road: there are also southern schools and northern schools. There are also many tribes, such as Dragon Sect, Encounter Fairy Sect, Namo pie Sect, Suishan Sect, Lushan Sect, Huashan Sect and Quiet Sect.
True Taoism: It was founded in the Jin Dynasty and gradually declined after the Yuan Dynasty.
taiyi road: it was founded in the Jin dynasty and gradually declined after the end of the yuan dynasty.
Jingmingdao: It was founded in the Southern Song Dynasty and declined after the Ming Dynasty.
After the Ming Dynasty, Taoism was divided into two major sects: Zhengyi Taoism and Quanzhen Taoism, and all other sects were grouped under these two sects. At present, the Baiyun Temple in Beijing has the General Book of All True Sects, and there are 86 Taoist schools listed, but actually only 8.
zhengyi road: zhengyi road is the Wudou rice road in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and later renamed Tianshi road. Its Taoist priests can practice at home, don't abstain from meat, and marry and have children. Its Taoist temple is generally called "the temple of descendants".
Quanzhen Daoism: Quanzhen Daoism flourished in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, and it was the largest and most important school of neo-Daoism in Song and Yuan Dynasties. Representative figures Wang Zhongyang and Qiu Chuji. Quanzhen Taoism emphasizes cultivation, and its Taoist priests must become monks and vegetarians. Its Taoist temple is generally called the "ten-square jungle".
Taoist activities
Taoist activities are mainly carried out in temples. There are two kinds of temples:
descendants.