The name of Taoism comes from the ancient Shinto. Secondly, the theory of Taoism originated from Laozi, and it was first seen in Laozi's Sier Notes. Taoism takes Laozi as its leader, because the earliest origin of Taoist philosophy can be traced back to Laozi and Zhuangzi. It is worth noting that Taoism and Taoism are completely different things. Taoism is not a religion, nor does it advocate establishing religion. Laozi, the source of Taoist thought, was regarded as a "classic book" by Zhang Daoling and others in later generations, rather than a classic book written by an "old gentleman on the throne" for preaching. According to the general academic circles, the first official classic of Taoism is Taiping Jing, which was completed in the Eastern Han Dynasty, so the Eastern Han Dynasty is regarded as the initial period of Taoism. The formal existence of Taoist entity activities in Taoism is the appearance of Taiping Dao and Wudoumi Dao in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the three books of Taiping Jing, Zhouyi Shentongqi and Laozi Xianger Zhu are the symbols of the formation of Taoist beliefs and theories. In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to Taoism's idea of "harmony between man and nature" and its world outlook, which has aroused the interest of the western world and made Taoism get more attention. Although there are Taoist elements in Taoist teachings, they are far from representing Taoist spirit and conveying Laozi and Zhuangzi's thoughts. They must not be confused.
Taoism takes "Tao" as the name, or talks about the principles of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi, or both internal and external cultivation, or talks about magic. It holds that everything in the world originates from Tao, that is, the so-called "second life, second life, third life and third life", and social life should follow Tao and eventually return to nature. Specifically, the theoretical system is developed from four aspects: heaven, earth, man and ghost. Heaven not only refers to the real universe, but also refers to the place where immortals live. Heaven is called thirty-six days, and there is Tianmen in heaven. There is a jade building in it, which contains immortals, immortals, heavenly emperors, Tianma, Tianhe, heavenly soldiers, heavenly generals and heavenly daughters. Its practitioners are heaven. The land refers to both the real land and everything, and the hell where ghosts suffer. Its operation is affected by the tunnel. People refer to both people and limited individuals. People's words and deeds should have a human touch and a human touch. Ghosts refer to where people belong. If a person can Xiu De, he can get rid of darkness and suffering. His surname is not recorded in the ghost biography, and he is a famous ghost fairy. Immortals are also the idol embodiment of Taoist teachings and thoughts. Taoism is a polytheistic religion, which follows China's ancient belief that the sun, moon, stars, rivers, mountains, ancestors and the dead all worship their ancestors, and forms a complex god system including gods, earth gods and ghosts. Taoism advocates infinity, Yuanji, Taiji, and the doctrine of the mean is the "Tao", that is, the mean.
There are two kinds of Taoist priests: one is clergy, that is, "Taoist priests". According to Taixiao Shu Lang Jing, "Pedestrian Avenue, posthumous title Taoist." "The body and mind are logical and the road is smooth, so it is praised." It can be divided into Maoshan Road and Luofu Road. Learning Taoism from teachers can be divided into "just one" Taoism and "all truth" Taoism. According to the palace view, educational administration can be divided into "being the master", "being the master of the temple" and "knowing the guests". The other is the common people, called "laity" or "believer". "Palace view" is the most important organizational form of Taoism. The Palace Temple is a place where Taoist priests cultivate, worship and hold ceremonies. There are also some economic organizations in Taoism (such as vegetarian department and tea factory), educational organizations (such as Taoist classes and Taoist classic classes) and charitable organizations (such as nursing homes, clinics and medical departments).
Taoism is an important religious behavior of Taoist priests to cultivate heaven. It is generally considered to include external Dan, internal Dan and food and shelter. External elixir refers to the elixir that can be "immortal" by burning minerals such as lead and mercury in an elixir furnace or tripod after the producer takes it. After the Tang Dynasty, it was gradually replaced by Inner alchemy. Inner elixir, the general term for activating qi, guiding qi, breathing and breathing, refers to the use of the human body as a cauldron to condense essence into elixir in the body and achieve the goal of immortality. Since the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Inner alchemy has gradually prevailed, and its origin can be traced back to the Warring States period, which has had a great influence on China's medicine and health care. Eating refers to taking medicine to live longer.
Brief introduction of Taoism
Taoism is one of the major religions in China. It was formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty and was popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Zhang Daoling, one of the founders of Taoism, is Shi Tian, so it is also called "Stone Heaven". Later it was divided into many factions. Taoism regards Laozi as the ancestor and respectfully calls him "the old gentleman on the throne".
Because "Tao" is the highest belief, it is thought that "Tao" is the source of all things in the metaplasia universe, hence the name. The "Five Mi Dou Daoism" founded by Zhang Daoling in the Eastern Han Dynasty is the beginning of Taoist stereotypes. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, religious forms gradually became complete. Lao Dan is regarded as an ancestor, and he is addressed as "grandfather". Tao Te Ching, Zheng Jing Ching and Taiping Cave Ching are the main classics. Worship Sanqing as the highest god. Important people are divorced from reality and become immortals.
The first national Taoist temple is located in the Shangqing Palace in Luoyang.
Historical development of Taoism
Our ancient ancestors believed that everything was animistic, which led to the worship of nature, soul and ancestors, and gradually developed into the unity of ancestors and gods, becoming the embryonic form of the Supreme God. Worship of ghosts and gods existed as early as primitive society. The ancestors regarded the sun, moon, stars, storms, thunder and lightning, mountains and rivers as gods, so they were awed and worshipped. The ancestors at that time not only believed in animism, but also believed that the soul could not die after death, which led to the worship of ghosts and gods. Various funeral ceremonies and rituals of offering sacrifices and exorcising ghosts have gradually taken shape. "Chronicle of Bamboo Books" says: "When the Yellow Emperor collapsed, his minister Zuo Che took a few branches from his clothes and worshipped them in the temple." By the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the prehistoric worship of nature had developed to believe in the Heaven Emperor and the Destiny, and initially formed a god system centered on the Heaven Emperor. When things happened, Wu Zhu sought answers from the Emperor of Heaven through divination. The primitive worship of ghosts and gods developed into ancestor worship based on blood relationship and patriarchal clan system, and its ancestor worship activities were held regularly. During this period, a religious professional-Wu Zhu, who specializes in communicating with human beings, appeared. Among them, witches dance to the gods and have a set of exorcism spells; I hope to please God with words. I am the emcee in charge of welcoming God and praying in religious sacrificial activities. They treat people, predict good and bad luck, draw symbols and recite spells. At that time, the country and society were dominated by wizards and witches. The worship of ghosts and gods in the Zhou Dynasty developed further, and the ghosts and gods worshipped had formed three systems: gods, ghosts and earthly gods. The worship of ancestors' gods is juxtaposed with the sacrifice of heaven and earth, which is called respecting heaven and ancestors. Everything is based on the sky, and people are based on their ancestors.
Taoism became polytheism in later generations, which originated from the worship of ghosts and gods in ancient times; The fasting ceremony of Taoism in later generations is also closely related to the ritual system and ritual system of ancient gods. When people worship the gods, they should hold sacrificial activities, which is inseparable from the "ritual and music civilization". With the collapse of rites and music in the Spring and Autumn Period, the civilization of rites and music gradually moved from the upper class to the folk, and was inherited by later folk alchemists and wizards. After the establishment of Taoism, it evolved into a sacrificial instrument of Taoism. Therefore, a considerable part of the ritual and music civilization in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties has been preserved by Taoism. Taoism is actually the successor of ritual and music civilization. The belief in immortals can also be traced back to the primitive society in ancient China. One of the evidences is Shan Hai Jing. This book records the myths and religious beliefs of primitive society in China, and its content is quite rich and systematic. It provides a basis for the distant source of Taoist immortals. Shan Hai Jing puts forward the belief in immortals. Put forward the existence of immortals and feather scholars; Described the immortal heaven; Recorded sacrificial ceremonies and strange magic.
In ancient primitive society, some people began to learn immortals. Shi Zaixuan declared that Huangdi "learned from the immortal by fighting" and "Huangdi asked about Guang". Since then, he has successfully become a monk and ascended to heaven in Lapras, Dinghu during the day.
By the Warring States period, the belief in immortals had been quite extensive. This is, there used to be many books about fairy tales, and there were many words about fairy tales, fairyland, fairy medicine and so on. For example, there is such a description in "Zhuangzi Xiaoyao Tour": "The mountain shot by the ancients is inhabited, and if the skin is ice and snow, if it is a virgin, it is graceful, does not eat grains, sucks wind and drinks dew, and travels around the world by cloud Wei Feng Dragon." Others, such as Liezi's Tang Wen, Huangdi and Zhou Muwang, Qu Yuan's Li Sao, Tian Wen and Tian Wen, all describe the fairyland as wonderful and mysterious, and its immortals are also described as living and dead, extremely quiet, uncaring, detached and magical people who can fly in the clouds. There are similar descriptions in Huainanzi and Hanshu Shiji.
With the emergence of the theory of immortals, there appeared alchemists who sought fairyland, immortals and immortals. They softened the theory of immortal alchemy with the theory of Yin and Yang and Five Elements of Zou Yan (a famous alchemist in the Warring States Period), and formed Fang Xiandao, which was mainly popular in the upper class of Yan and Qi. Its form was dissolved, relying on ghosts and gods, hoping to become immortal. From the middle and late Warring States Period (275 BC-22 BC1year) to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (65438 BC+040 BC-87 BC), with the encouragement of alchemists (also known as immortals) and emperors, a famous activity of going out to sea for elixir was set off in the history of China. Qi Weiwang, Qi Xuanwang, Yan Zhaowang, Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty all sent alchemists to the Three Gods Mountain at sea to seek the elixir of life, and the scale became larger and larger. The most famous alchemists at that time were Song, Zheng Boqiao, Zou Yan, Xu Fu, Lu Sheng, Li and others. China's unique belief in immortals was inherited by Taoism in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty and became the core of Taoist belief.
After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Fang gradually combined with Huang Lao Xue and evolved into Huang. During the Eastern Han Dynasty (126— 144), Zhang Ling founded Wudoumi Road in Hemingshan (now Dayi County, Sichuan Province), also known as Zhengyi Weimeng Road.
The Wei-Jin period at the end of Han Dynasty was an important period for the development of Taoism in China. The political atmosphere at the end of Han Dynasty and the social purchase of metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties directly influenced the behavior and existence of Taoism. Although they are all based on the understanding of Laozi and Zhuangzi's theory, the behavior of the seven sages of bamboo forest and others has an important pioneering role in Taoist behavior rules. The political environment and social atmosphere in Wei and Jin Dynasties are rare development opportunities and development assistance for Taoism. Bao Pu Zi by Ge Hong, a famous Taoist scholar in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, occupies an important position in the Taoist system, and Ge Hong himself is also considered as an important figure in Taoism. It plays an important role in the development of Taoist school. Bao Puzi also plays an important role in Taoist medicine in China.
According to legend, in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, a man named Ji met an old man with white hair and riding a white horse. The old man said to him: tell the emperor of the Tang Dynasty that the country is now well governed. As long as an Anhua Palace is built in the east of Chang 'an, the country will be safe forever and the world will be at peace. Say and fly away. Soon, the old man appeared again, claiming: I am an immortal, surnamed Li, an old gentleman, and the ancestor of today's emperor. From then on, the royal family of Li Tang claimed to be the descendants of old Gigi Lai, and addressed Lao Zi as the "Holy Father". Obviously, this myth was fabricated by the royal family of the Tang Dynasty, with the purpose of adding a sacred aura to the regime. Later, the emperor of the Song Dynasty imitated the Tang Dynasty and invented an ancestor named Zhao, who was regarded as a Taoist god and a "sacred ancestor". During the Tang and Song Dynasties, due to the respect of the royal family, temples flourished and the number of believers increased, and the development of Taoism reached its peak.
The origin of Taoist immortals
1. Worship originated from ancient primitive religion in China.
1, nature worship
Heaven, earth, sun, moon, stars, thunder, electricity, wind, rain, mountains, rivers, etc. They are all regarded as objects of faith, deified and worshipped.
Such as Land, Xing Jun, Leigong, Dian Mu, Fengbo, Rain God, Mountain God and River God.
The influence of traditional theology is the primary factor to understand and study the lineage of Taoist immortals. The natural religion in China's primitive society gradually changed into man-made religion (that is, theological religion). Roughly in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, Yin people advocated ghosts and gods, such as divination, leaving a large number of Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Yin ruins. The worship of ghosts and gods in the Zhou Dynasty is recorded in Uncle Zhou Li: "The post of uncle is the god of the founding of the country, and the ceremony of people and ghosts is also." Its gods include heaven, sun, moon, star, wind Lord, rain Lord, country, five mountains, mountains and rivers, and everything in all directions, while people and ghosts worship their ancestors first. On this basis, ancient religions in China gradually enriched and formed a worship system of gods, earth, people and ghosts, which is the main source of Taoist worship of gods.
2. Totem worship
Take animals or plants as objects of worship.
For example, dragons, phoenixes, bears, tigers, blackbirds, flowers, Sophora japonica and so on. Become a dragon god and a fairy.
For example, the Oroqen call the male bear "Yaya", which means grandpa, and the female bear is called "Taitie", which means grandma. Ewenki people call the male bear "Heke" (grandpa) and the female bear "hates me" (grandma). Pan Hu legends of Miao, Yao and She nationalities.
3. Ghost worship
For example, Rebecca, Black and White Impermanence, Ghost King and so on.
It is said that it is the main content of Li national religion and the most important content of primitive religious belief of Tujia people in Enshi. Under the influence of Taoist belief, the ghost worship of Yao people in Yunnan is obviously authentic. Whether it is individual praying for exorcism or collective exorcism, its religious ceremony, ceremony host, praying for gods and people who help them exorcise evil spirits have become important parts of Yao Taoism.
4. Reproduction and ancestor worship
For example, the Yellow Emperor, Three Emperors and Five Emperors.
Yi, Yao, Jinuo, Han and many other ethnic groups.
Second, the inheritance of sage worship.
Confucius, Mencius, Guan Gong and Yue Fei.
The early Taoist classic Taiping Jing had the worship of "saints" and "saints". As well as "Taoist masterpieces" such as The True Story of the Immortal in the Qing Dynasty, The Bitmap of the True Spirit, The Supreme Secret, the three kings of Yao, Shun and Yu, emperors such as Tang Yin, Han Gaozu and Liu Bei, and sages such as Kong Qiu, Yan Hui and Mo Zhai.
Thirdly, sectarian factors also have an important influence on the construction of Taoist immortal pedigree.
There are many schools of Taoism, and from the very beginning, they have different opinions on the Supreme God.
When the early Wudou Midao was founded, Taishang Laojun was the ally to worship the "three officials". Therefore, in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Kou's Daoism in the Northern Wei Dynasty won 20 volumes of "The precept of reciting new subjects in the clouds" because of his "heavenly teacher status" and "clearing the way", all of which were pseudonyms of "too old gentleman". Therefore, he
When Taiping Road began to establish religion, the latter worshipped Huang Lao and offered "Chinese Huang Taiyi". In the middle and late Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Shangqing School and the Lingbao School appeared one after another, and the newly emerging classic of Shangqing School and Lingbao School no longer respected the old gentleman as the supreme god. In the Shangqing school, Chen Yu, the King of Yuan or the Grand Priest, is the most respected, while in the Lingbao school, the King of Yuan and the Grand Priest are the most prominent, and some classics are also listed as the Grand Priest, but their ranking position is slightly lower.
Later, in the negotiation and integration of various factions, it was put forward that "Tao cannot be without teachers and teaching cannot be without ancestors." Therefore, Laojun's teacher is on Chen Yu Avenue, and Daojun is also a disciple of yuanshi county Tianzun. " It is under this mentoring relationship that their understanding of * * * has become the trinity of "respecting gods in Sanqing" and the highest god in the Taoist immortal pedigree.
In addition, each faction has its own founder, priest and god.
On the basis of absorbing various primitive religions, folk religions, myths and legends, Taoism gradually formed its own immortal pedigree, and merged with the original local religions or formed a general branch form.
Taoism is also constantly developing and changing, and it often interacts with other religions and people's inclinations and desires.
For thousands of years, although there have been contradictions among Taoism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity in China, fortunately, no major religious war broke out.