Questions and answers about religious knowledge

The name of Taoism comes from the ancient Shinto. Secondly, the theory of Taoism originated from Laozi, and it was first seen in Laozi's Sier Notes. Taoism takes Laozi as its leader, because the earliest origin of Taoist philosophy can be traced back to Laozi and Zhuangzi. It is worth noting that Taoism and Taoism are completely different things. Taoism is not a religion, nor does it advocate establishing religion. Laozi, the source of Taoist thought, was regarded as a "classic book" by Zhang Daoling and others in later generations, rather than a classic book written by an "old gentleman on the throne" for preaching. According to the general academic circles, the first official classic of Taoism is Taiping Jing, which was completed in the Eastern Han Dynasty, so the Eastern Han Dynasty is regarded as the initial period of Taoism. The formal existence of Taoist entity activities in Taoism is the appearance of Taiping Dao and Wudoumi Dao in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, and the three books of Taiping Jing, Zhouyi Shentongqi and Laozi Xianger Zhu are the symbols of the formation of Taoist beliefs and theories. In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to Taoism's idea of "harmony between man and nature" and its world outlook, which has aroused the interest of the western world and made Taoism get more attention. Although there are Taoist elements in Taoist teachings, they are far from representing Taoist spirit and conveying Laozi and Zhuangzi's thoughts. They must not be confused.

Taoism teaches in the name of "Tao", or talks about the theory of Laozi and Zhuangzi, or talks about internal and external cultivation, or talks about the beauty of symbols. It holds that everything in the world originates from Tao, that is, the so-called "second life, second life, third life and third life", and social life should follow Tao and eventually return to nature. Specifically, the theoretical system is developed from four aspects: heaven, earth, man and ghost. Heaven not only refers to the real universe, but also refers to the place where immortals live. Heaven is called thirty-six days, and there is Tianmen in heaven. There is a jade building in it, which contains immortals, immortals, heavenly emperors, Tianma, Tianhe, heavenly soldiers, heavenly generals and heavenly daughters. Its practitioners are heaven. The land refers to both the real land and everything, and the hell where ghosts suffer. Its operation is affected by the tunnel. People refer to both people and limited individuals. People's words and deeds should have a human touch and a human touch. Ghosts refer to where people belong. If a person can Xiu De, he can get rid of darkness and suffering. His surname is not recorded in the ghost biography, and he is a famous ghost fairy. Immortals are also the idol embodiment of Taoist teachings and thoughts. Taoism is a polytheistic religion, which follows China's ancient belief that the sun, moon, stars, rivers, mountains, ancestors and the dead all worship their ancestors, and forms a complex god system including gods, earth gods and ghosts. Taoism advocates infinity, Yuanji, Taiji and the doctrine of the mean, that is, "Tao".

There are two kinds of Taoist priests: one is clergy, that is, Taoist priests. According to Taixiao Shu Lang Jing, "Pedestrian Avenue, posthumous title Taoist." "Body and mind are logical and follow the Tao, so they praise them." It can be divided into Maoshan Road and Luofu Road. Learning Taoism from teachers can be divided into "just one" Taoism and "all truth" Taoism. According to the palace view, educational administration can be divided into "master", "temple master" and "knowing guests" The other is the common people, called "laity" or "believer". "Palace view" is the most important organizational form of Taoism. The Palace Temple is a place where Taoist priests cultivate, worship and hold ceremonies. There are also some economic organizations in Taoism (such as vegetarian department and tea factory), educational organizations (such as Taoist classes and Taoist classic classes) and charitable organizations (such as nursing homes, clinics and medical departments).

Taoism is an important religious behavior of Taoist priests to cultivate heaven. It is generally considered to include external Dan, internal Dan and food and shelter. External elixir refers to the elixir that can be "immortal" by burning minerals such as lead and mercury in an elixir furnace or tripod after the producer takes it. After the Tang Dynasty, it was gradually replaced by Inner alchemy. Inner elixir, the general term for activating qi, guiding qi, breathing and breathing, refers to the use of the human body as a cauldron to condense essence into elixir in the body and achieve the goal of immortality. Since the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Inner alchemy has gradually prevailed, and its origin can be traced back to the Warring States period, which has had a great influence on China's medicine and health care. Eating refers to taking medicine to live longer.

Brief introduction of Taoism

Taoism is one of the major religions in China. It was formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty and was popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Zhang Daoling, one of the founders of Taoism, is Shi Tian, so it is also called "Stone Heaven". Later it was divided into many factions. Taoism regards Laozi as the ancestor and respectfully calls him "the old gentleman on the throne".

Because "Tao" is the highest belief, it is thought that "Tao" is the source of all things in the metaplasia universe, hence the name. The "Five Mi Dou Daoism" founded by Zhang Daoling in the Eastern Han Dynasty is the beginning of Taoist stereotypes. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, religious forms gradually became complete. Lao Dan is regarded as an ancestor, and he is addressed as "grandfather". Tao Te Ching, Zheng Jing Ching and Taiping Cave Ching are the main classics. Worship Sanqing as the highest god. Important people are divorced from reality, and an alchemist becomes an immortal!

[Edit this paragraph] The historical development of Taoism

Our ancient ancestors believed that everything was animistic, which led to the worship of nature, totem, soul and ancestors, and gradually developed into the unity of ancestors and gods, becoming the embryonic form of the Supreme God. Worship of ghosts and gods existed as early as primitive society. The ancestors regarded the sun, moon, stars, storms, thunder and lightning, mountains and rivers as gods, so they were awed and worshipped. The ancestors at that time not only believed in animism, but also believed that the soul could not die after death, which led to the worship of ghosts and gods. Various funeral ceremonies and rituals of offering sacrifices and exorcising ghosts have gradually taken shape. "Chronicle of Bamboo Books" says: "When the Yellow Emperor collapsed, his minister Zuo Che took a few branches from his clothes and worshipped them in the temple." By the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the prehistoric worship of nature had developed to believe in God and destiny, and initially formed a deity system centered on God. When something happened, Wu Zhu sought answers from God through divination. The primitive worship of ghosts and gods developed into ancestor worship based on blood relationship and patriarchal clan system, and its ancestor worship activities were held regularly. During this period, a religious professional-Wu Zhu, who specializes in communicating with human beings, appeared. Among them, witches dance to the gods and have a set of exorcism spells; I hope to please God with words. I am the emcee in charge of welcoming God and praying in religious sacrificial activities. They treat people, predict good and bad luck, draw symbols and recite spells. At that time, the country and society were dominated by wizards and witches. The worship of ghosts and gods in the Zhou Dynasty developed further, and the ghosts and gods worshipped had formed three systems: gods, ghosts and earthly gods. The worship of ancestors' gods is juxtaposed with the sacrifice of heaven and earth, which is called respecting heaven and ancestors. Everything is based on the sky, and people are based on their ancestors.

Taoism became polytheism in later generations, which originated from the worship of ghosts and gods in ancient times; The fasting ceremony of Taoism in later generations is also closely related to the ritual system and ritual system of ancient gods. When people worship the gods, they should hold sacrificial activities, which is inseparable from the "ritual and music civilization". With the collapse of rites and music in the Spring and Autumn Period, the civilization of rites and music gradually moved from the upper class to the folk, and was inherited by later folk alchemists and wizards. After the establishment of Taoism, it evolved into a sacrificial instrument of Taoism. Therefore, a considerable part of the ritual and music civilization in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties has been preserved by Taoism. Taoism is actually the successor of ritual and music civilization. The belief in immortals can also be traced back to the primitive society in ancient China. One of the evidences is Shan Hai Jing. This book records the myths and religious beliefs of primitive society in China, and its content is quite rich and systematic. It provides a basis for the distant source of Taoist immortals. Shan Hai Jing puts forward the belief in immortals. Put forward the existence of immortals and feather scholars; Described the immortal heaven; Recorded sacrificial ceremonies and strange magic.

In ancient primitive society, some people began to learn immortals. According to historical records, Emperor Xuanyuan "learned immortality by fighting" and "Yellow Emperor asked Guang Chengzi". After that, he successfully became a monk and ascended to heaven in Lapras, Dinghu during the day.

By the Warring States period, the belief in immortals had been quite extensive. This is, there used to be many books about fairy tales, and there were many words about fairy tales, fairyland, fairy medicine and so on. For example, there is such a description in "Zhuangzi Xiaoyao Tour": "The mountain shot by the ancients is inhabited, and if the skin is ice and snow, if it is a virgin, it is graceful, does not eat grains, sucks wind and drinks dew, and travels around the world by cloud Wei Feng Dragon." Others, such as Liezi's Tang Wen, Huangdi and Zhou Muwang, Qu Yuan's Li Sao, Tian Wen and Tian Wen, all describe the fairyland as wonderful and mysterious, and its immortals are also described as living and dead, extremely quiet, tireless, detached and magical people who can fly in the clouds. There are similar descriptions in Huainanzi and Hanshu Shiji.

With the emergence of the theory of immortals, there appeared alchemists who sought fairyland, immortals and immortals. They softened the theory of immortal alchemy with the theory of Yin and Yang and Five Elements of Zou Yan (a famous alchemist in the Warring States Period), and formed Fang Xiandao, which was mainly popular in the upper class of Yan and Qi. Its form was dissolved, relying on ghosts and gods, hoping to become immortal. From the middle and late Warring States Period (275 BC-22 BC1year) to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (65438 BC+040 BC-87 BC), with the encouragement of alchemists (also known as immortals) and emperors, a famous activity of going out to sea for elixir was set off in the history of China. Qi Weiwang, Qi Xuanwang, Yan Zhaowang, Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty all sent alchemists to the Three Gods Mountain at sea to seek the elixir of life, and the scale became larger and larger. The most famous alchemists at that time were Song, Zheng Boqiao, Zou Yan, Xu Fu, Lu Sheng, Li and others. China's unique belief in immortals was inherited by Taoism in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty and became the core of Taoist belief.

After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Fang gradually combined with Huang Lao Xue and evolved into Huang. During the Eastern Han Dynasty (126— 144), Zhang Ling founded Justice League Road in Hemingshan (now Dayi County, Sichuan Province).

The Wei-Jin period at the end of Han Dynasty was an important period for the development of Taoism in China. The political atmosphere at the end of Han Dynasty and the social purchase of metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties directly influenced the behavior and existence of Taoism. Although they are all based on the understanding of Laozi and Zhuangzi's theory, the behavior of the seven sages of bamboo forest and others has an important pioneering role in Taoist behavior rules. The political environment and social atmosphere in Wei and Jin Dynasties are rare development opportunities and development assistance for Taoism. Ge Hong's "Ta" occupies an important position in the Taoist system, and Ge Hong himself is also considered to be an important figure in Taoism. It plays an important role in the development of Taoist school. Bao Puzi also plays an important role in Taoist medicine in China.

According to legend, in the early years of the Tang Dynasty, a man named Ji met an old man with white hair and riding a white horse. The old man said to him: tell the emperor of the Tang Dynasty that the country is now well governed. As long as an Anhua Palace is built in the east of Chang 'an, the country will be safe forever and the world will be at peace. Say and fly away. Soon, the old man appeared again, claiming: I am an immortal, surnamed Li, an old gentleman, and the ancestor of today's emperor. From then on, the royal family of Li Tang claimed to be the descendants of old Gigi Lai, and addressed Lao Zi as the "Holy Father". Obviously, this myth was fabricated by the royal family of the Tang Dynasty, with the purpose of adding a sacred aura to the regime. Later, the emperor of the Song Dynasty imitated the Tang Dynasty and invented an ancestor named Zhao, who was regarded as a Taoist god and a "sacred ancestor". During the Tang and Song Dynasties, due to the respect of the royal family, temples flourished and the number of believers increased, and the development of Taoism reached its peak.

Gods worshipped by Taoism

Taoism is a polytheistic religion. There are many kinds of gods worshipped by Taoism. Here are only some of them with high status and influence.

Taoist Sanqing

1. Sanqing refers to the Buddha of Yuan Dynasty, the Buddha of Lingbao and the Buddha of morality. They are the supreme gods of Taoism, and they are actually the trinity of Taoism. The concept of "Sanqing" began in the Six Dynasties, but at this time, "Sanqing" mostly refers to "Sanqing realm", that is, Taiqing realm, Yuqing realm and Shangqing realm, where three great gods, Shenbaojun, Tianbaojun and Lingbaojun, lived respectively. Later, "Sanqing" gradually became the popular name of Buddha, Lingbao Buddha and Moral Buddha in Yuan Dynasty, and "Sanqing Land" became its residence.

2. The Four Emperors are the four heavenly emperors whose status is second only to that of Sanqing, specifically referring to: Wei Zidi in the Arctic (ruling over the stars forever), the immortal emperor in the Antarctic (ruling over the longevity of the world), Gouchen Shanggong Emperor (ruling over Wan Lei) and Tianhou Palace (ruling over the birth of Yin and Yang, the beauty of all things and the beauty of mountains and rivers).

3. The God of Stars has a very high position in Taoism, which mainly includes five obsidians (five stars)-Suixing (Jupiter), Zhenxing (Saturn), Taibai (Venus), Chen Xing (Mercury) and Huo Xing (Mars). In addition, there are five stars in the east, west, north and south, as well as 28 stars, all stars in Ziweiyuan, all stars in Taiweiyuan and all stars in Tianshiyuan. Among them, the most respected is "Doum". "Doum" is a female figure. According to legend, she gave birth to the Big Dipper, which can cure diseases. In addition, Beidou and Nanxing are also highly respected by the world. According to Du, Beidou is the master of death and Nandou is the master of life. Therefore, many people hold the "Beidou Club" and "Nandou Club". Among the four star gods, there is also the influential Quartet Twenty-eight Star King. Among the 28 lodgings, seven lodgings in the east (horn, horn, fork, room, heart, tail and dustpan) form a dragon, which is called Qinglong; The seven nights in the south (well, ghost, willow, star, Zhang, wing and bird) form a bird shape, which is called Suzaku; Seven huts in the west (Kui, Lou, Stomach, Ang, Bi, Dog and God) make up a tiger, which is called White Tiger. The seven northern lodges (barrels, cows, women, emptiness, danger, houses and walls) form a turtle shape, which is called Xuanwu. Qinglong, Baihu, Suzaku and Xuanwu are collectively called the "Gods of the Four Sides".

The "three officials" of the great emperor are the "three officials" of heaven, earth and water. There are many stories about their origins, either from the natural worship of heaven, earth and water by ancient religions in China, or from the three gases of gold (the main life), earth (the main life) and water (the main life) in the five elements, or that they are Yao, Shun and Yu. "Three Officials" played a very important role in early Taoism. For example, at the end of the Han Dynasty, Taoism in Shi Tian held a ceremony of "Three Officials Calligraphy" when praying for patients, that is, the patient's name and confession were written on paper and presented to the three officials of heaven, earth and water respectively. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the "three officials" and "three yuan" were collocated to become "Heaven Emperor in Shang Yuan", "Earth Emperor in Middle Yuan" and "Water Emperor in Xia Yuan". According to legend, Heaven can bless, Earth can condemn and Water can help Eritrea, born on the 15th of the first month, 15th of July and 15th of October respectively. People all over the world often hold "Shangyuan Fair", "Zhongyuan Fair" and "Xiayuan Fair" in these three days to pray for blessings, eliminate evils and avoid disasters.

Jade Emperor Jade Emperor seems to be the highest god in the sky in the eyes of ordinary people. Some people think that it was developed from the highest god "Emperor" or "God" in the Yin and Shang Dynasties. In the map of the true spiritual position of early Taoism, there were the names of "Jade Emperor Daojun" and "Gao Jade Emperor", but their ranks were not high, only ranked 1 1 and 19 on the right side of the Jade Qing Sanyuan Palace. Emperor Song Zhenzong claimed that Zhao, his distant ancestor, had been ordered by the Jade Emperor to award the gobbledygook to Zhao and Song. Therefore, he specially named the Jade Emperor as "Emperor Tai's father Tian Kai holds a royal calendar with a real body", and later Huizong added it as "Emperor Tai's father Tian Kai holds a royal calendar with a real body", which greatly improved the prestige of the Jade Emperor among the people and made the belief of the Jade Emperor deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Taoism often regards the Jade Emperor as one of the "Four Emperors" under the "Sanqing", and thinks that he is the "king who will always lead the universe" after the "Sanqing", and his function is to "accept the orders of Sanqing, obey the court of Wei Zi" and "take charge of minor matters and present major events". On the ninth day of the first month of each year, on the Christmas day of the Jade Emperor, Taoist temples and people often hold a "Jade Emperor's Meeting".

6. Wenchang Emperor Wenchang is a star name, also known as Wenquxing or Wenxing. In ancient times, it was regarded as the star that dominated moire's reputation. In Han Dynasty, it refers to the fourth star in Wenchang Palace-Four Stars. Emperor Wenchang, who became a Taoist and folk belief, was related to Zhang Yazi (also known as Zhang Xiezi or Zhang Zi), a zitong god in Shu. During the Anshi Rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty avoided the rebellion and entered Shu. He dreamed that Zhang Yazi appeared and made him the left prime minister. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, in order to avoid the chaos in Huang Chao, Tang Xizong personally worshipped Zitong God and made Zhang Yazi King of Jishun. After the worship of Emperor Taizong, Zitong God Zhang Yazi changed from a local god to a god worshipped by the world. In the Song Dynasty, Zitong God was sealed by the emperor many times, and won the trust of scholars for predicting the fame of the imperial examination. In the third year of Yuan Yanyou's reign (13 16), Yuan Renzong named Zhang Yazi as "Fuyuan Wenchang Dilu" and appointed him as the God of Loyalty, Filial Piety and Honesty. At this point, Zitong God and wenchang star God became one, and they were called Wenchang Emperor. After the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Wenchang Palace and Wenchang Temple were built in many places, and people held a "Wenchang Fair" on the third day of February on the birthday of Emperor Wenchang.

These are only a small part of the gods worshipped by Taoism. In fact, there are thousands of gods worshipped by Taoism, and most of them are respectfully invited during fasting ceremonies. For example, a large number of Taoist names are included in Taoist classics such as the Complete Collection of Taoist Models and the Customization of Taoist Schools in the Tang and Song Dynasties. In addition, Taoist classics also record the deeds of various immortals, such as The Legend of the Immortal in the Han Dynasty, The Legend of the Immortal in the Jin Dynasty, The Immortal Style and a Mirror of Taoism in the Yuan Dynasty, etc., all of which record the deeds of immortals in past dynasties.

Note: There are no Hong Jun, Zhen and others in Taoism. These are fictional characters.

[Edit this paragraph] The source of Taoist immortals

1. Worship originated from ancient primitive religion in China.

1, nature worship

Heaven, earth, sun, moon, stars, thunder, electricity, wind, rain, mountains, rivers, etc. They are all regarded as objects of faith, deified and worshipped.

Such as Land, Xing Jun, Leigong, Dian Mu, Fengbo, Rain God, Mountain God and River God.

The influence of traditional theology is the primary factor to understand and study the lineage of Taoist immortals. The natural religion in China's primitive society gradually changed into man-made religion (that is, theological religion). Roughly in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, Yin people advocated ghosts and gods, such as divination, leaving a large number of Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Yin ruins. The worship of ghosts and gods in the Zhou Dynasty is recorded in Uncle Zhou Li: "Uncle's duty is to be in charge of the founding of the country, and man is a ghost?" "Li", whose gods are the gods, the sun, the moon and the stars, the wind master, the rain master, the country, the five mountains, mountains and rivers, in all directions, people and ghosts worship their ancestors first. On this basis, ancient religions in China gradually enriched and formed a worship system of gods, earth, people and ghosts, which is the main source of Taoist worship of gods.

2. Totem worship

Take animals or plants as objects of worship.

For example, dragons, phoenixes, bears, tigers, blackbirds, flowers, Sophora japonica and so on. Become a dragon god and a fairy.

For example, the Oroqen call the male bear "Yaya", which means grandpa, and the female bear is called "Taitie", which means grandma. Ewenki people call the male bear "Heke" (grandpa) and the female bear "hates me" (