A New Phase of Chinese Religion

1. A New PhaseofChinese Religion

2. Appearance of large-scale, organized religious movements • New faiths provided: • new visions of the place of humankind in the cosmos • New religious institutions transcended ties of kinship, locality and political hierarchy • Social, emotional, and intellectual needs not satisfied by the old cults of ancestors (zuxian祖先), gods of soil and grain (sheji社稷), and sacrifices o Heaven (tian天)

3. Redefined Public Spaces-- The rise of new faiths/cults and its implications

4. New Faiths • The cult of the Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu) • Immortal being dwelled in the Kunlun Mountain • Immortal peaches • “Revealed text” • Belief in afterlife and celestial bureaucracy

5. Founders of institutional religions • Ambitiousleadersofpopular movements claimed to receive “revealed texts” • Launched organized religious movement and preached millenarian visions of collective redemption • Yellow Turbans • Five Pecks of Grain (Rice) • Later Known as the Way of the Heavenly Masters under its leader Zhang Daoling

7. Modern rendition of the Queen Mother of the West

8. Daoism • The cult of the Queen Mother of the West is often regarded as a proto-Daoist movement and immediate ancestor of institutional religions in China • The Queen Mother of the West was incorporated into the Daoist hierarchies of divinities, and constituted an important element of Daoist celestial bureaucracy • The ideas of immortality spread widely since then and became theorized later • Daoist masters and adepts promoted alchemical practices • Providing manuals that teaches alchemy, breathing and meditation exercises, exorcism, sexual hygiene, herbalism, talismanic charms etc

9. Ge Hong: the theorizer • Ge Hong (284-343), the most prominent Daoist whose theory of immortality and recipe for an elixir became popular • Author of The Master Who Embraces Simplicity (Bao Puzi) • Known as the first Daoist theorist of longevity and immortality • Regarded as the foremost expert possessing alchemical skills to compound “immortality drug” or “divine elixir” • Called “immortal cinnabar” (xiān dān) or “golden cinnabar” (jin dān), “cinnabar drug” (dān yào), “spirit-like cinnabar” (shén dān) • Developed recipes to make “nine cinnabars”

10. OldtextshowingGeHongwasconcoctingelixir ModernrenditionofGeHong

11. The Baopu zi • General content • Ultimate goal of life: to become an immortal • Immortal beings exist • But no longer dwell among men • Three grades: • Highest: Celestial transcendents (heavens) • Middle: Earthly transcendents (mountains) • Lowest: those who simulate death by providing a substitute body

12. Techniques for achieving Immortality • Manipulation of the body’s qi 氣(energy) • Through breathing, gymnastic, and sexual exercises • Retain yang qi (positive energy) and expel yin qi (negative energy) • Absorb energy from outside and remove all internal blockage • Purify flesh through restrictive diet • Abstain from meat, strong-smelling vegetable, or cereals. • Live on a natural diet of tree bark, fungi, dew, herbs, and assorted chemical concoctions

13. Immortality and Alchemy • Waidan (外丹): Outer, External, Exoteric Alchemy • Ingest chemical substances to purge the body of noxious influences • Chemical compounds consist of gold dust, arsenic, natural cinnabar (can be replaced by a synthetic variety concocted from sulfur, saltpeter, and mercury • Medicinal herbs and fungi

14. Neidan (內丹): Inner, internal, esoteric alchemy • A meditative practice closely related to breathing exercises • Practitioner creates an inner furnace and crucible through intense visualization of certain trigrams from the Book of Change • This produces new purifying compounds which circulate through the body trigrams

15. Evolution of Daoism Daoist schools emerged: Shangqing上清 the Highest Clarity (Supreme Purity), aka., the Maoshan School 茅山 Lingbao 靈寶 (the Numinous Treasure) The legendary Laozi was apotheosized and new Daoist deities were created Idea of preserving and guarding life force became predominant in Daoist circle Longevity and immortality became major goals

16. Shangqing/Maoshan School • Founder: Yang Xi • Claimed to receive sacred documents/texts, revealed to him by a certain goddess Wei Huacun • Argued that the Heaven of Supreme Purity is the highest realm of the hierarchy of Heavens, higher than the Heaven of Great Purity • Represented intellectual Daoism • stressed inner alchemy • Advocated the importance of cultural sensitivity and literary cultivation, including appreciation of calligraphy and poetry

17. Influence of Inner and Outer Alchemy: Ways to prolong life were sought and researched Meditation theory and skill further developed Interest in medicines, drugs, herbs, rare plants…increased alchemical recipes were developed books and manuals regarding regimen, longevity, and immortality being written and circulated widely

18. Alchemy and Medicine 手太陰肺經經筋圖

19. Dumai: governing vessel Renmai: Conception Vessel Located along the front of the torso Runs along the spine

21. Searched for and studied further longevity techniques leading to immortality • Transformed all qi into primordial qi • Turned this refined qi into pure spirit • Body and Mind Exercises • Intensive meditation • Trance training • special diet: e.g., abstention from meat, alcohol, garlic, grains and ate only limited fruits • Gymnastics, messages, and breathing exercises The “Gymnastics Chart” (Daoyin tu) from the tomb at Mawangdui, Hunan

22. Buddhism and Its Sinicization Began to flourish Scriptures were translated and studied Monasteries were built, teachings were spread Followers increased Adaptation and transformation “Dark Studies” involve topic related to Buddhism Monks were conversant in Confucian texts, joined “Dark Studies” and debates… Chinese intellectuals engaged in the study and interpretation of Buddhist doctrines according to their own understanding The “Matching Meaning” approach was used in translating scriptures Five precepts (prohibitions: not killing, not stealing, not committing sexual misconduct, not drinking, not lying =humaneness (benevolence), righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness

23. Buddhist Monks • Important foreign monks: • Miracle worker: Fotucheng (Futudeng), from Qiuci (Kutsi, Kucina, Kusen), aka., Kucha • Great Translator: Kumarajiva, also from Qiuci • Chinese monks: • Huiyuan (334-416), introduced new practices called “Pure Land” faith • Faxian (ca. 337-422), known for making a pilgrimage to India from 399-414 and brought back scriptures for translation

24. Integration in Chinese culture China’s landscape Art and literature Intellectual life Political life Common people’s lives Wall painting depicting Jataka stories

25. Buddhism: Major tenets Four noble truths Eightfold path Wisdom: right thoughts, right understanding Morality: right speech, right action, right livelihood Mental discipline: right efforts, right mindfulness, right concentration

26. Dependent origination and chains of causation Impermanence Karma and rebirth Wall painting: “Five hundred thieves attain Buddhahood”

27. The Three Poisons Desire (greed): rooster Hatred: snake Ignorance: pig

28. Buddhism and Common People’s Lives Attracted to eminent monks Included theurgists, such as Baozhi, Sengqie Made donations to monasteries Practiced sutra-copying and recitation Sponsored carving, sculpturing, and painting of images of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

29. Praying to the Buddha and Buddhist deities became integrated in the worship of ancestor and heaven Devotees of the Pure Land faith increased Increasing number of women entered monasteries Strange/anomalous tales abounded Wall painting in a tomb: “Filial Son Feeding Parents”

30. Convergence of Interest—the Mixture of Buddhism and Daoism Scholars and the faithful began to fuse Daoism and Buddhism The idea of immortality became widely recognized and accepted Legendary heroes were enshrined as Daoist immortals and deities Expansion of local cults Daoists mixed Buddhist theories of causation, reward, rebirth, hells into their belief system Philosophy of nature greatly impacted Chinese literature and art

31. Elixir and Fairy Tale Hou Yi the Archer Wife Chang E stole elixir that Hou Yi received from Queen Mother of the West After ingesting the elixir, Chang E became immortal. She flied to the moon and lived there forever.