A Study Of Zheng Yi Taoism In The Ming Dynasty

As the indigenous religion of China, Taoism has been worshiped by the rulers of the Ming Dynasty. The system of conferring, succeeding and promotion, which are set by the then rulers all contribute to the development and thriving of Zhengyi Taoism, no matter in terms of political demand, or from the perspective of personal beliefs.The blooming of Zhengyi Taoism reflects in about four aspects. Firstly, the monks are widely revered. Up to the leader, down to ordinary monks, a number of people are considered important by the rulers. The chief is appointed as “immortal”, each of the successive “immortals” are appreciated by the rulers, and the Taoist priest is in charge of most of the Taoist temples. Secondly, the construction of taoist flourishes. The temples in mount Longhu and mount Wudang are all energetically constructed by the rulers. Furthermore, the ZhaiJiao activity is thriving, which even becomes an important part of the everyday life of the royal family. The chief of Zhengyi Taoism, Zheng Yuchu, puts forward a strategy of “penetration of three surname unifies in a way”to develop Taoism, advocating sitting in tranquil as the basis of practice and Taoism, using I Ching to illustrate taosim to clarify the teaching principles. He establishes the line of code, perfects the management system of the taoist monasteries, promotes the integration of the Taoist philosophical connotations. On the other hand, the Taoist priest also presides over the compile of Taoist scriptures, between, completing the compile of "orthodox Taoist scriptures" and "renew wanli Taoist scriptures" in the year of orthodoxy and wanli respectively.The thriving of Zhengyi Taoism in the Ming dynasty makes the Taoist religion permeates every aspect of the social life, which not only accelerates the development of Taoism folklore, the trend of secular, also has a great effect on the social politics, economy, culture and so on.