Eunuchs In Ming Dynasty And Taoism In Wudang Mountains

Taoism in Wudang Mountains had an important political and social influence in the Ming Dynasty.The eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty were regarded as important political forces,and Wudang Mountains was regarded as the imperial dojo.Against this background,the emperor sent the devout eunuchs who were good at supervising construction projects to Wudang Mountains to participate in the construction and management of the Wudang Mountains Dojo.According to the available literature,the governor’s vassal system in Wudang Mountains began on March 16,10 th of Xuande.In the Ming Dynasty,there were at least 31 admiral ministers and at least 33 envoys.Based on the records of Wudang Mountains in the Ming dynasty,the extant inscriptions and other documents,and from the perspective of eunuchs,this paper uses the interdisciplinary research methods of history,political science,religion,sociology,etc.,this paper reviews the Taoist activities of Ming dynasty eunuchs in Wudang Mountains,examines the operation of Taoist institutions in Wudang Mountains,analyzes the relationship between eunuchs politics and Wudang Mountains,and reveals the influence of eunuchs’ participation in Wudang Mountains administration.From the perspective of the main body of Taoist belief,eunuchs’ activities in Wudang Mountains are different from others because of their dual status as officials and followers.Influenced by their official status,the eunuchs served as messengers between the royal family and the Wudang Mountains,maintaining the palaces,roads,bridges and other projects of the Wudang Mountains,managing the people,maintaining local order,presenting statues of gods,building religious shrines and so on.Influenced by their private status,eunuchs built Taoist temples with their own funds,donated money and organized religious ceremonies to embody their religious faith.At the same time,the eunuch Taoism belief has the Buddhism and Taoism compatible as well as the secularity and the utility characteristic.The formation of these characteristics and their royal background and Matake closely related to the faith.In terms of political relations,Wudang Mountains eunuchs had close relations with the central government and the local Wudang Mountains.First,from Wanli to the apocalypse,there was a partisan relationship between the Wudang Mountains eunuchs and the central eunuchs,and their official positions were to some extent influenced by the power of the central eunuchs.Second,the power of the eunuchs in Wudang Mountains is constantly changing in the Taoist administration of Wudang Mountains.In the administration of Taoist affairs,the eunuch constantly occupied the leading power,which made the governor-vassal subservient,and the struggle between the governor-vassal and the governor-vassal often showed the struggle between the governor-vassal and the courtier.At the same time,the eunuch and the Taoist maintained the relationship of leading and being led,sheltering and being sheltering,and they cooperated with each other and became the surface of each other.In the local administration of military and civil affairs,the eunuch’s power fluctuated and there was constant struggle between them and Yunyang,to affect the solution of the problems of vagrants and bandits.From the behavior and political activities of the eunuchs,we can see that when the social groups in the same Taoist culture environment,eunuchs in the royal family,Ason,monks,ordinary people,etc..Eunuchs were the means of communication between the Ruling class and the common people,the bridge between the royal family and the Taoist priest,and the medium through which Taoism spread to the people.Thus,the eunuchs’participation in the administration of Wudang Mountains had many effects.From a religious point of view,eunuchs promoted the inclusive development of Taoism in Wudang Mountains,which gave birth to new sects and made the Matake faith more unified within the religion.Eunuchs strengthened the imperial administration of Taoist temples in Wudang Mountains.They also promoted the development of sending incense to the mountains in Wudang Mountains,and further expanded the influence of Wudang Mountains’s Zhenwu faith.However,there is no denying that the management of eunuchs has also brought some negative effects.Some eunuchs do evil things,destroy the reputation of Taoism in Wudang Mountains,venerate incense tax,influence pilgrims to the mountains into incense.From a political point of view,the eunuch administration in Wudang Mountains was conducive to the management of northwestern Hubei and the stability of social security.However,the conflicts between the eunuch and officials such as the governor’s vassals and the governor of Yunyang revealed the abuses such as the unclear powers and responsibilities of the Wudang Mountains administration,wudang Mountains eunuchs formed parties with the central forces,thus influencing Wudang Mountains’s long-term development.From the cultural point of view,the eunuch’s participation in Wudang Mountains administration has certain positive significance to the enrichment of Wudang Mountains culture and the development of Junzhou local culture.These influences show that we should not only pay attention to the positive influence of the eunuchs,but also not deny its harm to the relationship between the Ming dynasty eunuchs and Wudang Taoism.The special character of Wudang Mountains Taoism in Ming dynasty can be seen from the dual roles of the eunuch group.