Shanghai Taoist College上海道教学院
- Type
- Museums
- Location
- China · Shanghai · Songjiang District, Shanghai · No. 9, Lane 196, Zhongshan Middle Road, within the Dongyue Temple
- School
- Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism
- First built
- March 1986 (as the Shanghai Daoist Studies Class); renamed Shanghai Taoist College in September 2005 · Founded by the Shanghai Taoist Association; renamed the Shanghai Daoist College in July 1993, ceased admitting students in 1998, and was renamed and reopened in September 2005.
Overview
The Shanghai Taoist College is located within the Dongyue Temple in Songjiang, founded by the Shanghai Taoist Association to train Zhengyi Daoist priests, drawing students from the East China region; it is an important institution for the education of contemporary Chinese Zhengyi Daoism. Its history runs as follows: a Shanghai Daoist Studies class was founded in March 1986, renamed the Shanghai Daoist College in July 1993, which ceased admitting students in 1998, before being renamed the Shanghai Taoist College and reopened in September 2005. The college's curriculum covers Daoist scripture, ritual, music, history and culture, and it maintains related exhibits. Zhengyi Daoism in the Shanghai region is noted for its liturgical retreats, offerings and Daoist music, "Shanghai Daoist music" being its representative form; the college's ritual instruction and exhibits serve as a vehicle for the institutionalized transmission of this tradition. See the separate entry for the associated Shanghai City God Temple (rebuilt from the Ancestral Shrine of Huo Guang in the first year of the Yongle reign, 1403; listed as a Shanghai municipal cultural-heritage site in 2002; administered by the Shanghai Taoist Association since 1994). No clear public record has been found of the college's coordinates, official website or the details of its exhibits.
Highlights
- Trains Zhengyi Daoist priests
- From the 1986 Daoist Studies class to the 2005 college
- Located within the Dongyue Temple in Songjiang
- Teaching of Daoist ritual and music