Gold Pavilion. Michael Saso
THE CH'ING (MANCHU) DYNASTY, 1644-1912: Taoism out
of favor; foreign colonial interests in China support
Christian missions
• REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 1912-1949: devastating war with
Japan, without reparation
• THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, 1949-PRESENT: Marxist-socialism in China
1949-1967: collectives, communes, suppression of religion
1967-1978: the Great Cultural Revolution, social and economic ruin
1979-present: economic reform, market economy, state capitalism, "socialism with Chinese characteristics," controlled practice of religion
The above outline does not indicate the development of Taoist meditation or the liturgical system that accompanied its growth as a popular movement. The following outline indicates the development of Taoist contemplative prayer.
Taoist Meditation
The history of Taoist meditation in China can be summarized as follows:
• The two great Taoist thinkers Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu lived between the sixth and fourth centuries B.C.E. Their works, based on the principle of emptying and nonjudgmental thinking, are the philosophical roots of all subsequent Taoist practices.
• Religious Taoism combined Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu's thinking with yin-yang philosophy,ritual,healing, and meditation at the end of the Han dynasty between 140 and 220 C.E. During the next four centuries Taoism developed monasteries, an extended canonical scripture, and magnificent festivals for community renewal. The coming of Buddhism to China profoundly influenced Taoism and all of Chinese society.
• Religious Taoism developed various systems for peaceful living, long life, and healing between the second and seventh centuries C.E. The most important of these is the Gold Pavilion classic.
• Taoism was made equal with Confucianism only during the Tang dynasty (619-906). The emperors made Taoist texts a part of the official civil service examination. Princesses of the royal family became ordained practicing Taoists.
• Taoism experienced a religious reformation during the Song dynasty (960-1281), some four centuries before Europe did. As a part of this reformation, laypeople began to meditate and took a greater role in Taoist arts and festivals. China's religious reformation was far more positive and sweeping than Europe's some 400 years later.
• Martial arts and other popular forms of Taoism evolved throughout the provinces of south and central China during the Yuan (Mongol) and Ming dynasties 1281-1368 and 1368-1644, respectively. Wood-block printing, which developed well before the first press in Europe, made Taoist meditation, healing, and martial arts manuals widely available.
• During the Ch'ing (Qing) dynasty (1644-1912) and the modern period, secret societies, business associations, and Tong special Interest groups used Taoist arts, qi meditation, and healing methods for social unity and cohesion. Healing by the use of qi (ch'i breath), qigong meditation, kung fu martial arts, tai chi exercises, and many other popular arts from the Taoist tradition continue to develop in the modern world.
• Today Taoism is one of the five officially sanctioned religious movements in the People's Republic of China. It is controlled by a special section of the State Religious Affairs Bureau, with a Taoist Association watching over its development. With Buddhism, Islam, and Protestant and Catholic Christianity, it is considered to be important enough in modern Chinese socialist society to have its shrines and holy places rebuilt and young Taoists trained at state expense, a part of the new "socialism with a special Chinese flavor."
The special status given to Taoism is due to its immense popularity with ordinary people everywhere in China. The early morning streets and parks of Beijing and other large and small cities are filled with young and old devotees, practicing tai chi and other exercises (including disco and ballroom dancing) before going to work. Taoist shrines and temples, like Buddhist, Islamic, and Christian shrines, are filled with pilgrims and tourists. On special festival days visitors must take turns entering the Taoist shrines because so many are attempting to crowd in and watch the Taoist festivities.
Centers for studying Chinese medicine and various healing methods that are associated with Taoism are also to be found throughout China. Acupuncturists and massage experts who use qi (ch'i, breath-energy), traditional herbal remedies, and visualization methods to heal are given far more scientific status than in the West Controlled experiments are used to measure the effects of these various techniques in healing Illness. Homeopathic, natural healing techniques, are studied as a complement to Western medicine.
Following are some other sources for understanding more about Taoism from its prehistoric beginning until the present:
ORACLE BONES AND ANCIENT WRITING
The written history of China begins with oracle bone Inscriptions of the Shang-yin dynasty, 1760-1100 B.C.E. Inscribed on the back of tortoise shells and the leg bones of oxen, the oracle records show how the ancient kings of the Shang-yin dynasty invoked heaven before embarking on wars, journeys, burials, building projects, and recreational excursions such as hunting or visiting. The oracle writings ask about weather and success in warfare, hunting, or other royal projects by carving a question into the hard bone or tortoise shell and then applying heat to the surface of the bone or shell to call forth an answer.
Prayers to heal the ill in the king's immediate family occur frequently in the oracles. Illness is thought to be caused by the soul of an imperial ancestor or relative languishing in the underworld without prayer or sacrifice for relief. The notion that the merits, prayers, and good deeds of the living free the souls of the deceased from suffering, and thereby heal the illness of the living, remains a common Asian belief.
The oracle bones make a clear distinction between the spirits of the heavens who control weather, the spirits of the earth who govern nature, and the souls or demons in the afterlife-underworld who cause suffering and illness among humans. A triple world consisting of heaven, earth, and an underworld is deeply rooted in Chinese cosmology. Taoism addresses and "empties" the spirits of nature in later ritual.
THE I CHING BOOK OF CHANGES
The Zhou (Chou) dynasty (1100-221 B.C.E.) left behind the earliest written records, first in the form of bronze and bamboo inscriptions, later in the written records of the Confucian tradition. The five classic books (the Books of Poetry, History, Spring-Autumn Annals, Rites, and the I Ching, the Book of Changes) are perhaps the oldest Chinese historical records. The Confucian worldview permeates, these works, a topic about which many fine studies in Western languages have been written. The first two lines of each of the sixty-four chapters of the I Ching are among the oldest recorded Chinese documents.13 The first lines of the I Ching are an important source for Taoist philosophy, meditation, and healing.
LAO-TZU AND CHUANG-TZU (LAOZI AND ZHUANGZI)
The Lao-tzu Tao-te Ching and the Chuang-tzu were most probably composed during the fourth century B.C.E.14 The Laotzu book (summarized in chapter 2) is the first and foremost work given to the aspiring Taoist novice to read. Taoist meditation, ritual, and healing are based on its understanding.
The Chuang-tzu is the basic text of the Taoist meditative tradition. It is a very difficult text to understand or translate.15 The book is divided into three parts: the Inner Chapters (1-7), probably composed by Chuang-tzu himself; the Outer Chapters (8-15), collated by his disciples; and the Miscellaneous Chapters (16-33), of later composition. The essence of the Chuang-tzu is contained in the humorous tales that accompany the rather obscure text. Some basic ideas from the Chuang-tzu are included in chapter 2.
TAOIST SCHOOLS
Religious Taoism, a mighty river fed by the mystic texts of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu. is Joined by many other streams and rivulets from the second half of the Han dynasty, from about the beginning of the Common Era up until the Tang dynasty, which began in 619 C.E. Three greater sets of registers, lists of spirits' names used in ritual meditations, their appearance, talismans, and commands for summoning them and two lesser-known schools developed