The Research Of Laoshan Taoism And Local Society In Modern Times

The Laoshan Taoist in Qingdao has flourished in the Ming and Qing dynasties for hundreds of years and occupies an important position in Chinese Taoism.At the end of the Qing Dynasty,because of the subversion of the Qing Dynasty,the traditional Taoist mountain Laoshan lost its political protection,coupled with other social factors and the impact of the decline of their own quality,Laoshan Taoist Taoism began to decline,no longer having the glory in old times.But scrutinizing this decline process,to our surprise,the decline of Laoshan Taoism is not tending to fading away,but embarked on a secular,folk sustainable development path.Having taken off its stately crown Taoism turned to the secular society to seek survival and development machine,and it finally succeeded in obtaining a sense of local identity through integrating with folk beliefs and secular society.This article is divided into three parts to discuss Laoshan Taoism:The first part explores the distribution and location of Laoshan Taoism from the perspective of historical geography,and the development situation in modern times.Considering the particularity of the modern history of Qingdao area,the special stage has discussed the Laoshan Taoism in this period.Because of the loss of political status and the declining quality of Laoshan Taoist monks,the mountain of Laoshan Taoism in modern times generally showed a declining trend.From the end of the Qing dynasty to the period of German occupation to the Republican rule,Mt.Laoshan Taoism underwent a tortuous development process,which is evident that the stable social environment is also an important factor for the smooth development of Taoism.The second part studies the relationship between the modern Laoshan Taoism and the local society from the viewpoint of economy.This relationship is mainly manifested in the relationship between land tenancy and the continuous temple disputes between the people and Laoshan Taoism,the prosperous period of the Ming and Qing dynasties helped Laoshan Taoism accumulate rich resources.As for modern times,this economic superiority still exists.The real estate of the Taoist temple is too much for monks to to manage,so they lease most of the land to the local people,comes to form a tenancy employment relationship with the local people.At the meantime,the constant expansion of the economic forces of Laoshan Taoism causes a massive drop in the real estate which local people have,and coveting the Taoist Temple property to some people,along with the the lasting dispute between local people and Laoshan Taoism,such as the Deforestation Event of Taiqing Palace,the dispute around the real owner of Shimen Temple and the scramble for Changzai Temple.The third part explores the interplay between Laoshan Taoism and local social culture from the viewpoint of culture of belief.Originating in the folk,Laoshan Taoism constantly absorbs the local society of folk beliefs in the process of development,its secular characteristic gradually thickening.More and more village temples which are familiar with Taoist abbey that located in mountains,through that Laoshan Taoism steps into the secular society.Those regular temple fairs also become the communicating approach between Taoist culture and secular culture.The religious function,entertainment function,commercial function and other functions,which Taoist Temple Fair has,play an important role in the local society,that also fully embodies the secularization and folk characteristics of Laoshan Taoism in modern times.