Taoism is closely related to the traditional culture of China. First of all, its main source is ancient religious superstition. Witches are the intermediary between God and man. They can perform divination, interpret dreams, predict, pray for rain, cure diseases and astrology. Folk witchcraft cures diseases with water, and divination accounts for good or bad luck. Ancestors thought that diseases were possessed by ghosts and needed to be eliminated by witchcraft, so there were exorcism spells. Yin people are still ghosts, so they also attach importance to witchcraft, such as taking witches and wizards as phase. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Jingchu attached great importance to witchcraft, and many witches appreciated the description of ancient landscape paintings in Songs of the South. This wind of praying, deifying and forbidding spells in Chu culture is a source of Taoism. After the Warring States period, the immortal alchemist publicized that the elixir could live forever, which catered to the desire of the upper nobility to enjoy wealth forever and won their support. Qi Weiwang, Qi Xuanwang, Yan Zhaowang and Qin Shihuang were fascinated by magic and sent people to the sea to seek immortality and seek medical treatment. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty prized Qi Shaoweng, Luan Da, Gong Sunqing and other alchemists, and dreamed of soaring to immortality like the Yellow Emperor all day long. These immortal theories and magical ideas gradually evolved into Taoist practice methods. Secondly, it is reflected in its relationship with Taoist philosophy, mainly Laozi and Zhuangzi. Taoism in the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties was an academic school, not a religious school. Books such as Laozi and Zhuangzi are academic works, not religious classics. There is no accurate explanation about the deification of Laozi and why Laozi is regarded as a Taoist leader. Inferred from the time, it should first appear in the court and the upper class of nobility in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Liu Ying, the son of Emperor Guangwu of Chu, "at the end of the night, like Huang Lao, he learned to fast and sacrificed for the tower". Ming Di's imperial edict also said that "the king of Chu recited the language of Huang Lao, and it is still a Buddhist temple". Emperor Huan is a good god who worships Lao Tzu in the pagoda. The people were worshipped a little, and then became rich and strong. "Lao zi here is regarded as a god by Taoism, and has nothing to do with Lao zi, a philosopher in the pre-Qin period, but appears as a leader.
To form a social force, a religion must establish corresponding organizations and have a large number of believers. The main religious activities of primitive Taoism, which developed from folk witchcraft, are to treat diseases with water, pray for disaster relief and advocate mutual assistance to help the poor, which can solve the urgent needs of the poor, so it has great appeal to the lower classes. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos and people's livelihood was not good, which provided favorable external conditions for the establishment of folk conversion Taoist organizations, so Taiping Dao and Wudoumi Dao rose.
Taiping Road was founded by Zhang Jiao in the Eastern Han Dynasty (167— 189). According to the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, "Julu claimed to be a great master, serving Huang and raising his disciples. Bow down for the first time and fight for water to cure diseases. " In ten years, it has grown to hundreds of thousands, covering eight States: Qing, Xu, You, Ji, Jing, Yang, Yan and Yu. In the Biography of the Three Kingdoms in Zhang Lu, Pei quoted Dian lue as saying: "A peacemaker, with nine sticks as the symbol, teaches patients to kowtow and think, because he drinks it with water. If you get sick, or get over it, you will know that this person is a channel; If you don't treat it, you don't believe it. " Influenced by the idea that Taiping Jing, an early Taoist classic, partly reflected the wishes and demands of working people, Taiping Dao was mainly popular among the lower classes. It is characterized by a large population and a huge scale, and the leading group has a premeditated armed uprising. The purpose of missionary work is to make ideological and organizational preparations for the uprising by means of religious cloak. They played the slogan "Heaven dies, Heaven stands, and the age is in Jiazi, and the world is not allowed", rebelling against the feudal court, and the army revolted with the yellow turban insurrectionary. Zhang Jiao claimed to be heaven, showing the characteristics of worship of Huang Lao. In the first year of Zhong Ping (184), Taiping Road rose up against the imperial court. At one time, "eight counties all rose", "where the government was burned, the city was robbed, the county was lost, and many officials fled. Within ten days, the world responded and the capital shook. " Later, the Eastern Han government mobilized troops to suppress it, and Taiping Dao was unknown from then on.
Wudou Midao is also the primitive Taoism in China, and its founder is Zhang Ling, a native of Pei Guofeng. About Zhang Ling's deeds, historical records are extremely brief. However, the biography of the reflection of Wei Zhi and Zhang Lu said: "Lu ... grandfather's mausoleum, a guest in Shu, learned Taoism and wrote books to confuse the people." Those who get the word yield five buckets of rice, hence the name rice thief. After Ling's death, Jpua went his own way. If you die, Lu Fuxing will do it. " This is the earliest record of the lineage of three missionaries in history. According to Dian lue, "there is Zhang Xiu in Hanzhong" and "it is a road of five fights of rice." After Zhang Xiu's death, "Lu was in Hanzhong, and he was sealed because of his popular trust." The Book of the Later Han Dynasty said that in the first year, the yellow turban insurrectionary began in February and spring, "In autumn and July, a witch in Ba County rebelled against Zhang Xiufan, and Kou County was also involved." Zhu Pei quoted Liu Aiji as saying: "A witch in Ba County treated a disease, and those who recovered hired Mi Wudou, with the title of' Five Teachers'." Zhang Xiu did exist in history. Chen Shou said in the Biography of the Three Kingdoms Ada: "Yizhou took Lu as Sima Yi's overseer, attacked Hanzhong with other Sima, and defended Suzhou Valley. Lu Sui attacked it, repaired it, killed it, and seized the crowd. " "So Lu followed Hanzhong, taught the people by ghosts, and claimed to be a teacher." According to the above records, Zhang Xiu, the Wudou Midao, was founded in Hanzhong, and then Zhang Lu attacked and killed and seized the right to teach. Both of the above theories have their roots and are aimed at this point.
According to Dian lue, Zhang Xiu's Five Mi Dou Knife, besides kowtowing and thinking, uses water to heal the wounds, which is the same as Taiping Knife, and "scarly's room can help the sick. He also had a rape order made to offer a drink. The drinker used the five thousand-word "Laozi" to let Beijing learn, which was called a rape order. Pray for ghosts and patients. Please pray, write down the patient's name and convince the meaning of crime. ..... let the patients' families take it for granted, so after the teaching right of Five Mi Dou's was transferred to Zhang Lu, the activities of Five Mi Dou Road were more complete. " "Dian lue" said; Teach to be a righteous house, put rice and meat in it, and stop pedestrians; He also taught me to hide myself, that people with small mistakes should be treated with a hundred steps, and then the sin should be removed; According to the monthly order, killing is prohibited in spring and summer; I stopped drinking again. Wanderers, send them back to their places, and dare not refuse to obey. "The Biography of the Three Kingdoms Zhang Lu also said:" Lv Zhi followed Hanzhong, taught the people with ghosts, and called himself a teacher. Those who come to learn Taoism are called' ghost soldiers', and they all believe in this Taoism, so they are called' offering wine'. ..... All the wine offerings were used as righteous houses, and now the pavilion has been handed down. I also bought rice meat and hung it in the Renyi Hall. When the traveler measured his stomach and took enough, many people got sick in ghosts. The three principles of violating the law shall be followed. There are no more officials, and all people are treated as wine offerings. "Because of the integration of politics and religion in Zhang Lu, religion is used to promote enlightenment, vulgarity and purity. In the years of war at the end of the Han Dynasty, Bahan was able to form a partially stable social environment, which lasted for more than 30 years. It is known in history that "the people enjoy it" and the court "cannot levy it". In the 20th year of Di Xian Jian 'an (2 15), Zhang Lu surrendered to Cao Cao, worshipped General Zhennan, and was appointed as the Duke of Langzhong. It can be seen that the experience of Wudoumi Road and Taiping Road is different. It did not suffer the tragic fate of Taiping Dao, but spread to the whole country by the opportunity of Taiping Dao being eliminated, and evolved into Shitiandao, becoming the authentic Taoism in Wei and Jin Dynasties.
The Taoist classics of great significance to the formation and development of Taoism in China are Taiping Jing and Zhouyi Shentongqi.
Taiping Jing is the earliest Taoist classic that has been circulated so far. Prior to this, when the Western Han Dynasty proclaimed itself emperor, "Gan Zhongke, a neat man, tricked me into writing twelve volumes of the Heavenly Official Bao Liyuan Taiping Jing, in order to say,' When the Han family met the end of heaven and earth, it was even more ordered by the Heavenly Emperor, who made real people have pure essence and taught me so'". Accordingly, the book should be regarded as a Taoist theory of social improvement. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, folk witchcraft was combined with part of the theory of Huang Lao, and Taoism was gradually formed. When Shun Di was in Shun Di, Langya Palace dedicated "170 volumes of holy books from Quyang Spring, which was taught by Yu Ji", with the title "Taipingqing received books", and "Yin and Yang and five elements are his home, but there are many strange words". The existing remnants of Taiping Jing evolved from Taiping Ching Ling Shu. Taiping Jing promotes the image, mostly explains the way of governing the country with the theory of Yin and Yang, and also uses some Buddhist principles to decorate it. In the Taiping Jing, there are remarks about maintaining feudal rule and reformism, such as advocating the appointment of talents and fair treatment; Reduce punishment and avoid severe punishment and death; Oppose luxury and rebury; Allow everyone to express their pain and make the next situation better. What is particularly commendable is that there are some remarks in the book that reflect the wishes of farmers, such as "every wife has her own food and clothing" and "everyone is fortunate to have her own strength and food and clothing". This is the principle of life of the peasant masses. The opposite of self-reliance is the exploitation of others by four bodies. Taiping Jing believes that the property between heaven and earth should be public and public, and cannot be monopolized by a few people for private use. "This property is all in heaven and earth, and it is supported by * * *. ..... This millet in big warehouse is not only a mouse, but also a small amount of money, which is not just one person's; If it has shortcomings, it should learn from it. " These classics contain profound truth and wisdom, which are easy to understand, penetrating and appealing, and are easily understood and accepted by farmers.
The appreciation of the ancient landscape painting Taiping Jing put forward the social ideal of "peace", which is a beautiful concept and left the deepest impression on future generations. The book interprets "Taiping" as "too big, too peaceful" (Wang Ming Taiping Economic Cooperative School, page 148). A peaceful world is a harmonious, just and stable world. "Everyone is in his place, the emperor swims well, the thieves have nothing, and the people have no complaints, and they are full of praise" (Wang Ming's Taiping Economic Cooperation School, p. 192). This thought of yearning for peace and opposing war aroused the voices of the broad masses at that time and had a certain influence on the formation of folk Taoism in the late Han Dynasty.
Zhouyi Shentongqi is a theoretical work of Dante's Taoism, which is a little later than Taiping Jing. Its central idea is to tell the truth of Huang Lao's nature with the way of Yin and Yang revealed in the Book of Changes, and to tell the story of alchemy with fire is basically an external alchemy. The book mainly talks about the medication, temperature and taking effect of an alchemist. The writing of this book is ancient, and its language is vague. For thousands of years, scholars have repeatedly studied and interpreted it in many aspects, but they still can't get its true meaning. Even a neo-Confucian like Zhu lamented that "there is nowhere to start, and I dare not speak out of turn". However, in any case, supernatural powers promoted many new theories of Dante and laid the foundation of Taoist theory of external alchemy, which was called the ancestor of single crystal.