Study On The Three Teachings Temple In Ming And Qing

Since the beginning of the Three Teachings Temple, its Buddhism tendency was very clear. Sakyamuni center, Lord Lao Zi left and the right hand side placed Confucius, constituted the basic form of the Three Teachings Temple. With the growing impact of the Three Teachings Temple, it began to attract attention to the Confucian scholars. For the last status of Confucius in the Three Teachings Temple, part of the scholars felt dissatisfied. Driven by the sense of respecting Confucian, step by step ,they approached for controversy. The most influential ways in the Ming and Qing Dynasties including three bans on the Three Teachings Temple: Zhengtong the 3rd year (1438), Qianlong the 9th year (1744), Daoguang the 16th year (1836). Since the bans in the actual operation would be subject to various factors, therefore the implementation of the Three Teachings Temple was not completely forbidden. However, these bans would still be regarded as a form of state's intervention to folk belief.As a place of folk belief, different groups of people had vastly different attitudes to the Three Teachings Temple. The literati class still had no lack of support among those Three Teachings Temples. Ordinary people's worship showed that the folk belief had much practical and syncretical tendency.This paper, in chronological order, shows the initial development of the Three Teachings Temple. Tang's relatively relaxing political and academic environment may be the soil of the Three Teachings Temple formed. In Song and Yuan Dynasties, the basic form of the Three Teachings Temple finxed. Confucian scholars and Taoists'transformation to the Three Teachings Temple emerged preliminary in this times. The late Ming's active syncretism added much energy to the Three Teachings Temple, so that the Three Teachings Temple dedicated to more diverse groups. Early Qing Dynasty's confirmation to the status of Confucian orthodoxy, and the literati class's rejection to the syncretism, made the development of the Three Teachings Temple into difficult. Lacking of the thinkers'support, the Three Teachings Temple became relatively alone. However, among the general people, the Three Teachings Temple still had a larger living space.