Daoism in Taiwan台湾道教与道坛体系

Also known as

Daoism in Taiwan, Zhengyi Daoist Altars in Taiwan, Lingbao Daoist Altars, Tainan, Celestial Master's Mansion Network, Taiwan

Type

Daoist Schools

Period

Ming–Qing to the Present

Founded

Introduced with Fujian and Guangdong migrants in the seventeenth century; Zhang Enpu went to Taiwan in 1949; the Taiwan Provincial Taoist Association was founded in 1950, and the Taoism Society of the Republic of China in 1966

Derived from

Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism

Region

The whole of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands

Ancestral seat

Celestial Master's Mansion, Taiwan, Zhinan Temple, Taipei

Status

Extant — Over ten thousand Daoist temples are registered in Taiwan, Zhengyi Daoist altars are found throughout the island, and Lingbao ritual is fully preserved; the succession within the Celestial Master's Mansion system remains disputed; Quanzhen, Lüshan, Pu'an, the Sanyi Teaching, and other traditions are also present; Taiwan is one of the most important field sites for contemporary Daoist studies.

Overview

Daoism in Taiwan is composed mainly of the system of married (huoju) Zhengyi Daoist priests brought by Hokkien and Cantonese emigrants during the Ming and Qing, and Taiwan is one of the regions in the contemporary Chinese-speaking world where Daoist ritual has been most fully preserved. Taiwanese Daoist priests are traditionally divided into "black-head" (wutou) and "red-head" (hongtou) priests: black-head priests (most calling themselves adherents of the Lingbao or Zhengyi tradition, as in the Chen and Zeng family altars of Tainan) mainly perform funerary rites of salvation (badu) and offering rituals (jiao), while red-head priests (fashi) practice Lüshan methods and minor rites for seeking blessing and safety. The Daoist altars of the Tainan and Kaohsiung region are renowned for their Lingbao liturgy, and have been studied in depth by scholars such as Kristofer Schipper, John Lagerwey, Lee Fong-mao, and Ding Huang, who regard them as a living transmission of Song-Yuan Lingbao ritual. In 1949 the sixty-third-generation Celestial Master Zhang Enpu accompanied the Nationalist government to Taiwan and established the Celestial Master's Mansion (Sihan Tianshi Fu) there; the Taiwan Provincial Taoist Association was founded in 1950 and the Taoism Society of the Republic of China in 1966, promoting the conferral of registers, Daoist education, and cross-strait exchange; after Zhang Enpu's death in 1969, disputes arose over the succession to the office of Celestial Master (involving Zhang Yuanxian, Zhang Daozhen, and others). Taiwan also has Quanzhen Daoism (temples such as the Zhinan Temple also worship Quanzhen deities), new religious movements such as Yiguandao, and a great many popular temples (dedicated to Mazu, Wangye, Guandi, Baosheng Dadi, and others); temples frequently engage Daoist priests to perform offering rituals, forming a symbiotic structure between temples and Daoist altars. From the 1980s onward, the Taiwanese Daoist community has maintained frequent exchange with Mount Longhu and the Baiyun Guan on the mainland, and many Taiwanese Daoist priests have traveled to Mount Longhu to receive registers. Taiwanese research institutions on Daoism (such as the Research Center for Chinese Religions at National Chengchi University and the Department of Religious Studies at Fu Jen Catholic University) and the Taiwan Journal of Religious Studies are also important centers of Daoist scholarship. The Taiwanese system of Daoist altars combines family transmission and master-to-disciple transmission, with a rich preservation of ritual texts, Daoist music, paper crafts, and talismanic methods, making it a core field site for the study of Daoist ritual.

Core Doctrine

Zhengyi (including Lingbao) is the mainstream, venerating the Celestial Master Zhang, the Three Pure Ones, the Jade Emperor, and local deities; black-head priests take Lingbao retreats and offerings for the benefit of the living and salvation of the dead as their central purpose, while red-head masters practice Lüshan methods for seeking blessing and expelling evil; Quanzhen temples venerate Patriarch Lü and Wang Chongyang. Overall the tradition is inclusive of popular religion, emphasizing offering rituals for protecting the community, salvation of the dead, and protecting the state and blessing the people. Daoism in Taiwan also places great emphasis on cooperation between temples and Daoist altars and on local community identity.

Practice & Ritual

Practices include offering rituals (jiao) — three-day or five-day Purity Offerings, and Wangye Jiao with the sending off of the royal barge; merit rites (gongde, or badu, rites of salvation); universal salvation (pudu); the submission of memorials; the distribution of lamps; the vigil and opening rite (su qi); morning, midday, and evening audiences; and ritual services at the sacred site; minor Lüshan rites (soul-calling, fortune-mending, and exorcistic rectification); the conferral of registers (traveling to Mount Longhu or to the Celestial Master's Mansion in Taiwan); temple pilgrimage and processions around the community boundary (raojing); and education at Daoist colleges. Taiwan's Daoist ritual is fully preserved and highly valued by scholars.

Transmission

Ming-Qing emigrant Zhengyi and Lüshan Daoist priests from Fujian and Guangdong (Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Chaozhou, and Hakka) → hereditary Daoist altars in various localities (such as the Chen family of Tainan and the Zhuang family of Kaohsiung) → the Celestial Master's Mansion system entering Taiwan in 1949 → the Taiwan Provincial Taoist Association and the Taoism Society of the Republic of China → cross-strait exchange and the conferral of registers at Mount Longhu from the 1980s onward → contemporary coexistence of Daoist organizations and Daoist altars.

Key Scriptures

Key Figures

Principal Temples