Key words: political background of Taoist court rule, worship of Taoism and monasticism.
The relationship between Taoism and politics is an important topic in the cultural history of China. Especially in the Ming Dynasty, it was the most closely combined period with politics in the history of Taoist development. This paper holds that Taoism developed to the Ming Dynasty, becoming more and more popular and characterized by directness and reality.
First, the performance of the development of Taoism in Ming Dynasty
Taoism in the Ming Dynasty was vigorously promoted by the rulers. The revision of seal script of Daozang in Ming Dynasty is a large-scale summary of Taoist literature, which is of great significance to the development of Taoism. In a word, Taoism has made outstanding progress in the Ming Dynasty, but it still needs a breakthrough in thought.
1. collation and compilation of Taoist classics.
Every religion has its teachings and classics. Taoism is a big religion with many classics. In order to facilitate study, research and preservation, later believers pieced these books together into a large series. Taoist classics are compiled into Taoist classics, or praise classics. According to the classification of traditional Taoism, there are three caves, four auxiliary caves and twelve categories:
Three holes, one, the real hole played by the Buddha in the early Yuan Dynasty is Mahayana; Second, Dong Yuanbu, played by Taishang Laojun, is for China and France; Third, the cave god department also emerged as the old gentleman, which is the first method of Hinayana. Four assistants, first, Taiyuan Division, cave Shinnosuke also; Second, the Taiping Department, return to the three holes and three auxiliary places. ..... Its seven subheadings are divided into twelve categories: words, charms, jade tricks, spiritual diagrams, music records, precepts, dignity, methods, skills, biographies, praise and expression. 〔 1〕
The compilation of Daozang in Ming Dynasty is a large-scale summary of Taoist literature, which is of great significance to the development of Taoism. In a word, Daozang is of great value in the academic history of China.
2. The development of Taoist school.
Taoist schools in Ming Dynasty mainly include Orthodox School, Quanzhen School, Wu Tang School and Danfa School (East School). The orthodox school, that is, the Zhang Tianshi School, which was sealed in the Ming Dynasty, flourished in the Ming Dynasty because of the intentional support of the imperial court. Zheng He gained great popularity in the Ming Dynasty, and all the teachers in the past dynasties were awarded official titles and titles to lead Taoism throughout the country. Due to the long-term honor, the continuous development of the temple economy, the accumulation of wealth is increasing, the orthodox religion is gradually degenerating, the canon is lax, and the internal management is chaotic. Some uneducated people mingle with cults and take charge of them, and some even become evil and dominate one side. This situation constitutes the internal cause of Zheng He's continuous decline. In sharp contrast, Quanzhen religion, which was neglected in the Ming Dynasty, lacked superior external conditions as a support and could only make a fuss about its internal achievements and teachings, making it more vital.
3. In the development of Taoist theory, Inner alchemy is the most typical.
Taoism in Ming Dynasty is basically based on inheritance in terms of doctrine, teaching theory, teaching system and canon, and it has developed in the field of Inner alchemy. At that time, a group of Taoist scholars made great achievements in inner alchemy and Taoist cultivation. For example, Zhang Yuchu, a Tianshi of Zhengyi School, absorbed Zen psychology and the life science of Quanzhen Road, advocated double cultivation of life, and emphasized that the object of inner cultivation was sex and life based on alchemy, which changed the tradition of Zhengyi School that emphasized fasting and symbolized inner alchemy, and played a considerable role in maintaining the theoretical life of Zhengyi School.
Second, the characteristics of Taoism in Ming Dynasty
The characteristics of Taoism in Ming Dynasty are directness and reality. Most emperors in Ming Dynasty believed in Taoism, which not only affected the political rule and social atmosphere in Ming Dynasty, but also affected the development of Taoism and China people's belief psychology in Taoism.
1. Secularization tendency is strengthened.
A notable feature of Taoism in Ming Dynasty is the strengthening of secularization. In order to expand the social influence of Taoism and win more believers, a large number of Taoist scholars in the Ming Dynasty devoted themselves to the popularization of Taoism and alchemy, and tried their best to lead it to a level that was easily accepted by the secular public. The result of the secularization of Taoism in the Ming Dynasty was the expansion of its influence, which spread widely at all levels of society and penetrated into all aspects of cultural thought. In particular, its inner alchemy, after the popularization of Taoist scholars, has gone beyond the scope of spreading only in Taoism, and as a practice, it has been widely spread in society.
2. The influence of Taoism on the philosophy of Ming Dynasty.
The deep influence of Taoism is the expansion of its influence scope, which is widely spread at all levels of society and permeates all aspects of cultural thought. The deep-seated influence of Taoism is still in philosophical theory. It should be noted that there is not only the religious content of Taoism, but also its theoretical basis-primitive Taoism and Laozi and Zhuangzi.
First of all, the generalization of Taoist influence in the Ming Dynasty was mainly manifested in philosophical thoughts such as Neo-Confucianism and psychology at that time. As far as the latter is concerned, the infiltration of Taoism was manifested in the philosophical thinking at that time: the basic categories of Taoism, such as Tao, emptiness, tranquility, mind, nature and destiny, became the basic categories of philosophy in the Ming Dynasty, and the introverted thinking mode of Taoism was used for reference by many philosophers in the Ming Dynasty.
Secondly, it was the infiltration of Taoism into the philosophy of Ming Dynasty and the absorption of Buddhism and Taoism by Taoism in Ming Dynasty that made the thought of the integration of three religions, which had appeared in the history of China's thought, reach its climax in Ming Dynasty. As far as the philosophical thought at that time was concerned, Wang Shouren, a master of mind, not only absorbed a lot of Buddhism and Taoism in his ideological system, but also directly advocated the theory of the integration of the three religions.
Third, the political background of the development of Taoism in Ming Dynasty
The rulers of the Ming Dynasty restored the policy of worshipping Taoism in the Tang and Song Dynasties to a certain extent, and took Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism as the ruling tools. This is not only related to the social and political functions of religion, but also related to the religious beliefs of the rulers of the Ming Dynasty.
1. Most Ming emperors worshipped Taoism.
Most Ming emperors worshipped Taoism: Zhu Maoyuan Zhang had an indissoluble bond with Taoism all his life, so it was natural to worship Taoism emotionally, and it was natural for him to continue to use Taoism to serve him after he took power; Judy, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, seized the imperial power also because of Taoism, so he both suppressed and worshipped Taoism after he ascended the throne. Later Renzong, Xuanzong, Yingzong, Xianzong, Xiaozong, etc. There is a similar attitude towards Taoism, focusing on respect; Zhu Houzong, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was the most worshipper of Taoism. During his reign, he took serving Taoism as his primary task, highly combined political rights with religious beliefs, and regarded religious beliefs as the center of governing the country. "At the beginning of sejong, zhengde reduced the supply of inner government. After middle age, the construction of fast, wood, incense, pearls, jade and precious stones, officials and people are busy, using yellow and white wax to more than 300 thousand Jin ",[2] it can be seen that Ming Shizong has reached an alarming level.
2. The scholar-bureaucrat said
This is first reflected in the "integration of the three religions" in the Ming Dynasty, and the Wangmen School has made outstanding contributions to this. This discussion has been introduced in detail in the article "The Influence of Taoism on Philosophy". In the Ming Dynasty, not only did Wang Xue, the mainstream ideological trend, widely absorb Taoism, but Wang Xue, a heretic, Li Zhi and others also looked for ideological materials from Taoism. As far as the whole ideological circle in the Ming Dynasty is concerned, Lin Zhaoen advocated the theory of the integration of the three religions most vigorously, because he did not advocate the integration of the three religions in general, but closely combined them in reality and created a new religion-the Trinity.
Secondly, the phenomenon that the upper-class scholar-officials are close to Taoist temple is prominent. Liu Ji, a hero in the early Ming Dynasty, was closely related to Taoism. According to legend, he learned his astronomy and geography from Huang Chu, a Taoist priest in Jiujiang. Yan Song, a great cabinet scholar, won the trust of Sejong with his poems, while Xia Yan, a great cabinet scholar, was alienated because she didn't crown Sejong with fragrant leaves, and eventually suffered greatly. Taoist priests in the Ming Dynasty were deeply respected, and Shao and Tao were the most popular during Jiajing period. In order to reward Shao, Emperor Jiajing "built a real-life mansion in the west of the city, with his Sun Qinan as Tai Changcheng and his great-grandson as Dr. Tai Chang". (3) In the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing (1560), Tao died and Emperor Jiajing mourned for him. "It is a great honor to regard the funeral as a time.". [4] In this case, the scholar-officials also became followers of Taoism.
3. The secularization tendency of Taoism is the most typical embodiment among the lower classes.
The most prosperous folk religions in Ming Dynasty absorbed a lot of nutrition from Taoism, such as Anbailism and many tribes, all of which worshipped childless mothers. "The Virgin Mary is invincible" and has the power of Taoism to respect God. The gods of Taoism are complicated, but there is no strict system, which leads to the polytheism of folk beliefs in Ming Dynasty, especially in the vast rural areas of Han nationality, where there are many temples and various names of sacrifices, most of which come from Taoism.
To sum up, Taoism is a native religion in China, and the development and changes of Taoism in the Ming Dynasty were closely related to the politics at that time. The author analyzes the relationship between the development of Taoism in the Ming Dynasty and the political background, so that readers can understand more clearly the influence of the rulers' religious policies on the basic destiny of Taoism.
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