Emperor Hongwu (Zhu Yuanzhang)明太祖

Style & Daoist names

Zhu Yuanzhang, Hongwu Emperor

Period

Ming

Dates

1328 — 1398

Role

Daoism-Venerating EmperorsReligious Policy Maker

Birthplace

Zhongli, Haozhou (present-day Fengyang, Anhui)

Places of activity

Chaotian Palace, Nanjing, Mount Longhu (Dragon and Tiger Mountain)

Life

Emperor Hongwu (Zhu Yuanzhang), founder of the Ming dynasty, established the basic institutions for the administration of Daoism, his guiding principle being "to make use of its teaching while controlling its clergy." In the first year of the Hongwu reign (1368) he summoned the Forty-second Celestial Master, Zhang Zhengchang, and on the grounds that "how can Heaven have a teacher?" stripped him of the title "Celestial Master," conferring instead the title "Perfected Person Who Continues the Zhengyi Teaching," ranked at the second grade, with authority over Daoist affairs throughout the realm — an arrangement that remained in force until the end of the Ming. At the same time he divided Daoism into two categories to be administered separately: "Zhengyi" (practicing talismans and registers, permitted to marry and reside in hereditary temples) and "Quanzhen" (practicing ascetic cultivation and residing in public monasteries). In the fifteenth year of Hongwu (1382) he established the Central Daoist Registry (道录司, Daolu Si) in the capital, with a Daoist Registry Office (道纪司, Daoji Si) at the prefectural level, a Daoist Rectification Office (道正司, Daozheng Si) at the subprefectural level, and a Daoist Council Office (道会司, Daohui Si) at the county level, forming a hierarchy of Daoist officials running from the top down; he also fixed quotas for the number of temples, priests, and the issuing of ordination certificates (dudie) in each prefecture, subprefecture and county, and strictly prohibited the private construction of temples and private ordination. He further ordered Song Lian, Zhang Yuchu and others to establish standard forms for retreats and offerings, and promulgated the Da Ming Xuanjiao Licheng Zhaojiao Yi (大明玄教立成斋醮仪, Established Liturgy of Retreats and Offerings for the Mysterious Teaching of the Great Ming) in 1374, pruning away excess and simplifying the rites so as to standardize liturgical practice throughout the realm; he also personally composed the Yuzhu Daodejing (御注道德经, Imperial Commentary on the Daodejing), interpreting Laozi in terms of statecraft and self-cultivation. Zhu Yuanzhang's pragmatic attitude toward Daoism — valuing its usefulness in relieving the people and transforming customs, while restraining the expansion of its organization — laid the framework for religious administration under both the Ming and Qing, and brought about the arrangement whereby the Zhengyi and Quanzhen orders stood side by side without absorbing one another.

Contributions & Influence

• Stripped away the title of Celestial Master and conferred instead the title Perfected Person Who Continues the Zhengyi Teaching, redefining the relationship between religious authority and imperial power
• Established the Central Daoist Registry in the fifteenth year of Hongwu, together with a hierarchy of local Daoist officials, founding the administrative system for Daoism
• Promulgated the Da Ming Xuanjiao Licheng Zhaojiao Yi, unifying and simplifying the liturgical rites of retreats and offerings throughout the realm
• Clearly distinguished the separate administration of the two major categories, Zhengyi and Quanzhen, shaping the sectarian landscape of the Ming and Qing
• Personally composed the Yuzhu Daodejing, interpreting the Daoist classic in terms of political ethics

Works

• Imperial Commentary on the Daodejing
• (Compiled by imperial decree) the Great Ming Standard Liturgy for Zhai and Jiao Rites of the Mysterious Teaching

Legends

Popular legend holds that before raising his army he received enlightenment from Zhang Sanfeng or the Immortal Zhou Dian, an episode recorded in the account of Zhou Dian in the "Biographies of Fangji" chapter of the Mingshi (明史, History of the Ming) and elaborated by later tradition; it belongs to the realm of legend.