Emperor Gaozu of Tang唐高祖

Style & Daoist names

Li Yuan, Emperor Shenyao of Tang

Period

Tang

Dates

566 — 635

School

Louguan School

Role

Daoism-Venerating Emperors

Birthplace

Chang'an

Places of activity

Louguantai (Louguan Terrace)

Life

Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, established the state policy of Daoism before Buddhism that prevailed throughout the Tang dynasty, marking the starting point of Daoism's attainment of the highest political standing in China. When the house of Li Tang raised its army, Louguan Daoist priests such as Qi Pingding and Qi Hui aided them with grain provisions and proclaimed that the Mandate of Heaven was about to change, building momentum for the cause; in the third year of the Wude era (620), Ji Shanxing of Jinzhou reported seeing a white-robed old man at Yangjiao Mountain (present-day Fushan, Shanxi) who declared, 'I am your ancestor; tell the Son of Heaven of Tang that my descendants shall rule for a thousand years in great peace under Heaven,' whereupon Gaozu declared Laozi, Li Er, to be the ancestor of the house of Li Tang, built Qingtang Temple (also called Xingtang Temple) at the site, and posthumously honored Laozi. In the eighth year of the Wude era (625), Gaozu personally attended the shidian sacrificial rite at the Imperial Academy and formally fixed the order of precedence among the Three Teachings as 'Laozi first, Confucius next, and Buddhism last' — placing Buddhism at the bottom; although this ordering was repeatedly revised over the course of the Tang, the principle of Daoism first was largely upheld by successive emperors. He also expanded Louguan on the Zhongnan Mountains (renaming it Zongsheng Temple), granting it land and an imperial name-plaque, making the Louguan School the most highly honored Daoist lineage of the early Tang. The practice of the house of Li Tang venerating Laozi as its ancestor gave Daoism a legitimacy akin to that of the imperial ancestral temple, directly leading to a series of measures toward state establishment of the religion, including Emperor Gaozong's honoring of Laozi as Supreme Mysterious-Primal Emperor in the first year of the Shangyuan era (674) and Emperor Xuanzong's establishment of the Chongxuan Academy and the Daoist examination system.

Contributions & Influence

• Venerated Laozi, Li Er, as the ancestor of the house of Li Tang, laying the foundation for the state establishment of Daoism in the Tang
• Fixed the order of the Three Teachings in the eighth year of the Wude era as Daoism first, Confucianism second, Buddhism last
• Expanded Louguan on the Zhongnan Mountains and renamed it Zongsheng Temple, patronizing the Louguan School
• Built Qingtang Temple at Yangjiao Mountain, forming the state narrative of Laojun's manifestation

Legends

Laojun's manifestation at Yangjiao Mountain and his declaration that his descendants would rule for a thousand years in great peace under Heaven, as well as the Louguan Daoist priests' prophecy of Tang's rise, belong to the religious narrative constructed in the early Tang to establish dynastic legitimacy.