Study On The Types Of Taoist Priests Of The Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was the prosperous period on the development of Taoism and the status of Taoist priest was fairly special.However,the research into the type of Taoist priests are few.The thesis aims to fill in some gaps and omissions in the research and make a deep study on the development of the Taoism in the Tang Dynasty.Firstly,the thesis categorizes the types of Taoist priests of the Tang Dynasty.Through the observation of their different behaviours and learning on the religious activities,the Taoist priests of the Tang Dynasty can be divided into five types.prophet scholar magician recluse and literati.Secondly,the thesis studies the social activities of Taoist priests and Taoism temples in the Tang dynasty.By analyzing the management of Taoist priests and Taoist tempels under the monarch,the author explains the subordinative status of Taoism and Taoist priests to the Tang dynasty.At last,a conclusion was drawn.In the Tang dynasty ,as the royal religion,Taoism was employed by the emperor and royalty,so its religious holy property had been weakened.Meeting the need of serving the politics and assisting the royalty ,Taoist priests had changede their entirety features correspondingly No matter what type a Taoist priest was,his behaviour and learning was inclined to secular.lt was the close relationship between Taoist priests and the society that made the Taoism become so prosperous in the Tang dynasty.