擴展道教醮儀的概念：以晚帝國湖北與江西的靈官醮科為例 - 政大學術集成

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(1)Broadening Notions of Daoist Offering Rituals: A Case Study of Late Imperial Numinous Officer Jiao Liturgies (Lingguan jiaoke. 立. ) of Hubei and Jiangxi. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i Un. Tyler Feezell Graduate Institute of Religious Studies National Chengchi University Advisor: Hsieh Shu-wei June 5, 2015. v.

(2) TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………..1 Thesis Structure………………………………………………………………..3 Goals and Methods…………………………………………………………….4 Jiao Research………………………………………………………………….8 CHAPTER ONE: THUNDEROUS JIAO: A LOCAL JIAO LITURGY OF JIANGXI………………...23 Liturgical Manual Deities: Three or One?.......................................................23 Numinous Officer Wang (Wang lingguan ): Hagiography and its Ritual Manifestations……………………………..…………………………35. 治政大 (bianshen Numinous Officer Wang and Bodily Transformation 立. ):. ‧ 國. 學. Innovations in Ritual Language ………………………………………….….52 Chapter Conclusion: The Confluence of Thunder Deities and Jiao Liturgy...70. ‧. sit. y. Nat. CHAPTER TWO: A COMPARISON OF NUMINOUS OFFICER JIAO LITURGIES………………..73. io. al. er. Depictions of Numinous Officer Wang ……………………………………..76 Ritual Forms………………………………………………………………….82. n. iv n C h eand Chapter Conclusion: Scriptural i U n gLocal c hConventions………………….….96 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………98 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………..…102.

(3) !. INTRODUCTION The burgeoning study of Daoist ritual continues to capture scholarly attention as research moves from general descriptions and characteristics to evermore complex issues involving local communities and their endemic representations. While much of the Daoist Canon has yet to be studied at great length, local variations of Daoist ritual and practice offer an additional domain for serious study. Such a vast realm of inquiry. 政治大. in its interminable manifestations beckons further research and will undoubtedly. 立. reveal fascinating insights into Daoist practitioners, local pantheons, and the Daoist. ‧ 國. 學. place in local society. The study of Daoist ritual, focusing on materials outside the Daoist Canon and facets of local ritual specialists, promises to be a dynamic area of. ‧. research in the near future.. Nat. sit. y. The present thesis attempts to broach the fascinating, yet also daunting, area of. n. al. er. io. local Daoist ritual studies through an examination of a particular type of ritual in the Daoist repertoire—the offering (jiao. Ch. i Un. v. ). This ritual has long been a pivotal. engchi. component of the Daoist liturgical program, possibly tracing its roots to Confucian ceremonies of the Spring and Autumn period.1 The sustained production of the ritual !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1. Lü Pengzhi differentiates between customary offering ceremonies (shisu jiaoli ) and religious offering rituals (zongjiao jiaoyi ), arguing that the earliest customary offering ceremonies took place in the Spring and Autumn period (770-ca. 445 BCE), while the earliest religious offering rituals took place during the Warring States period (ca. 475-221 BCE). According to Lu, the Daoist jiao originates from the sacrificial offerings of fangshi in the Warring States, Qin, and Han periods. See Lu Pengzhi , "Zaoqi Daojiao jiaoyi ji qi liubian kaosu" ," in Zhongguo Difang Zongjiao Yishi Lunji , ed. Tam Wai Lun (Hong Kong: Chung Chi College Center for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society , 2011), 19-21. Lü’s article responds to other scholars who have argued that the earliest Daoist jiao ritual took place in the Sui Dynasty (581–618). See Li Xianzhang , "Daojiao jiaoyi de zhankai yu ziandai de jiao ," Zhongguo xuezhi 5 (1968).. !. 1!.

(4) ! in present-day Taiwan and throughout China demonstrates the perduring and indispensable nature of the ceremony, in part a function of its ability to renew communal bonds and generate prosperity and security in a process David Faure cites as “the embodiment of territorial community.”2 This foremost ritual traditionally addresses the highest deities in the Daoist pantheon; however, with the recent publication of the Daofa haihan. ,a. bountiful collection of late imperial and Republican era Daoist ritual manuscripts, we see new manifestations of the jiao ritual.3 In these offering liturgies, the focal point shifts to concentrate on numerous local deities, those that are often allocated to the. 政治大 realm of “popular religion,” an amorphous label often applied to Chinese religious 立. ‧ 國. 學. practices, beliefs, and deities that do not fit neatly into the divisions of Daoism, Buddhism, or Confucianism.4. ‧. This thesis explores jiao ritual manuscripts in the Daofa haihan devoted to ) [hereafter Wang], a marshal deity. sit. y. Nat. Numinous Officer Wang (Wang lingguan. n. al. er. io. fit for the protection of temples and altars; it is in this guise that he is often depicted at. i Un. v. the temple entrances or the periphery of main altars. From this expansive collection, I. Ch. engchi. have selected two distinct ritual texts to investigate, both titled “Jiao Liturgy for the Numinous Officer” (Lingguan jiaoke. ), one originating in Jiangxi. in. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2. David Faure, The Structure of Chinese Rural Society: Lineage and Village in the Eastern New Territories (Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1986), 80. 3 Lee Feng-mao , “Zhushen jiaoke shoulu shuoming” , in Daofa haihan , ed. Lee Feng-mao , Zhushen jiaoke zhong (Taipei: Xinwen feng chuban gongsi, 2014), 1. 4 For a discussion of the relationship between Daoism and popular religion, see John Lagerwey, “Questions of Vocabulary, or How Shall We Talk about Chinese Religion?” in Critical Readings on Chinese Religions, vol. 1, ed. Vincent Goosaert (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2013), 77-87. See especially pages 78-79 for his definition of the category “popular religion.” He argues that the term “must be retained as a distinct category if we are to make sense of ‘Chinese religion’” (86). See also Phillip Clart, "The Concept of Popular Religion in the Study of Chinese Religions: Retrospects and Prospects," in ibid, 359-386.. !. 2!.

(5) ! 1861 or 1921 and the other from Mulan, Hubei. in 1855 or 1915.5 Before. moving to a detailed discussion of the liturgical texts’ contents and relationship, I outline the structure, goals, methodology, and limitations of the present thesis, followed by a consideration of the literature focused on Daoist jiao rituals. Thesis Structure This thesis is divided into two chapters, comprised of multiple sections, and bookended by introductory and concluding remarks. The first chapter focuses on the Jiangxi text. In my analysis, I consider the divine subjects of the ritual in an attempt to. 治政 determine the primary beneficiary of the ritual offering. 大Despite confusing portions of 立 the text that cite alternative deity titles indicating alternative beneficiaries of the ritual ‧ 國. 學. offering, I argue that the Jiangxi ritual offering is dedicated solely to Numinous. ‧. Officer Wang. The subsequent section of the first chapter surveys the hagiographical , a Daoist ritualist of the. sit. y. Nat. tradition of Wang and his connection to Sa Shoujian. al. er. io. Song dynasty that, according to sources, is said to have inspired Wang’s allegiance. v. n. through his virtuous conduct. An assessment of hagiographical and liturgical material. Ch. engchi. i Un. concentrated on Wang allows us to speculate on possible source material for the ritual text. The final section addresses the ritual process and the representative language of the text where I attempt to show how the author of the text seized upon traditional Daoist sources to compose a suitable structure, form, and content for the liturgy—the text shows tremendous innovation for its clever use of sources related to Numinous Officer Wang.. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5. Neither manuscript gives the precise date, but indicates the year according to the sexegenary cycle with characters denoting a heavenly stem and earthly branch. The Jiangxi text is from the xinyou year ( ), while internal evidence indicates the Hubei text originated in the yimao year ( ). For the respective dates, see Daofa haihan, Zhushen jiaoke shang, 207 and 194.. !. 3!.

(6) ! The second chapter seeks to devise an analytical approach to situating the Jiangxi text. In an attempt to accomplish this, I juxtapose the Jiangxi liturgy with the Hubei work and compare their language, representation of the deity, and ritual process. My methodology is admittedly exploratory, as well as limited in the sense that I eschew traditional historical sources (temple inscriptions, gazetteers, etc.) to instead focus on matters related to Daoist sources. Nevertheless, I believe this approach—contrasting two selections of a similar ritual—permits some important conclusions to central questions: How do the two liturgies parallel one another and to what extent? How is Wang envisioned in both? By what means might Wang’s. 治政 portrayal be disseminated? What sort of connections might 大 there be, if any, between 立 the ritual traditions reflected in the liturgies? Do the liturgies in fact represent local ‧ 國. 學. ritual traditions? While it is impossible to definitively answer these questions in this. ‧. abbreviated thesis, particularly given the sources at my present disposal, I hope my. sit. y. Nat. methodology might serve as a basic model to be expanded upon in future studies.. io. er. Goals and Methods. al. The primary goal of this thesis is straightforward—analyze the contents of jiao. n. iv n C ritual texts previously unpublished h and i Uthus contribute to the growing eunstudied, n g c h and. body of literature regarding Daoist ritual and jiao. More specifically, I aim to continue discussion on the existence of the jiao in varied local settings, a conversation that will undoubtedly expand our notions of this kind of ritual. My study develops our understanding of jiao ritual in local contexts (Jiangxi and Hubei) during a time period previously unstudied. I hope to accomplish some corollary aims that are also tied to the import of this project. My thesis aims to address specific questions related to the jiao ritual that arise in the literature. How do these ritual texts reflect alternative manifestations of. !. 4!.

(7) ! Daoist jiao ritual, especially in juxtaposition to those in Taiwan and southeastern China that have heretofore been the primary focus of study? I do not mean to explicitly compare the ritual texts of this study, singular small-scale offerings, with well-documented jiao rituals of the magnitude of those in southeastern China and Taiwan—the comparisons would be largely irrelevant given the scope, duration, and ritual beneficiaries. A study of this nature, however, broadens our perceptions of offerings to Daoist and popular religious deities. We become cognizant of the multiplicity of representations that the ritual title ‘jiao’ may have encompassed, and our associations of the ritual do not immediately produce images of Taiwanese Lingbao. 治政大Lagerwey and Michael jiao liturgies like those elucidated by John 立 ‧ 國. 學. Saso.6 Jiao research has been predominated by studies conducted in Taiwan, Fujian, and the New Territories.7 There remains a great deal of variety in jiao programs. ‧. where scholars have only begun to scratch the surface;8 therefore, it behooves. sit. y. Nat. students and scholars to scrutinize other geographical areas where the ritual has. al. n. only jiao ceremonies, but also Daoist ritual in general.. Ch. engchi. er. io. existed. Moving forward, it is necessary to consider local variance in the study of not. i Un. v. This thesis, in focusing on ritual texts of the late Qing or early Republican, also expands our knowledge of Daoism across time. With the exception of the work !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 6. Both Daoist troupes of the authors undertake rituals associated with the Lingbao Daoist tradition; thus, some of their research on the jiao liturgy overlaps, in particular specific elements of the ritual process. See John Lagerwey, Taoist Ritual in Chinese Society and History (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987); Michael Saso, Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal 2nd Ed. (Pullman, Washington: Washington State University Press, 1990). Lu Chui-Kuan , within a meticulous discussion of a Taiwanese Lingbao jiao ritual process, elucidates the musical elements of the Lingbao ceremonies. See his Sanctity and Secularization of Taoist Ritual and Music (Daojiao yishi yu yinyue zhi shenshengxing yu shisuhua ) (Taiwan: Xingzhengyuan wenjianhui wenhua zichan zongguanlichu, 2009), 217-307. 7 See the section titled “Jiao Research” below for a more involved discussion of this issue. 8 Chang Chaoran is the first to address this new collection of texts. See his “Zhuanjiao chouen: jindai Daojiao wei minjian xinyang suo tigong de yishi fuwu” , Xinshi xue (forthcoming). While he focuses solely on two separate collections from Macheng, Hubei , his article also attends to the development of the jiao ritual in alternative collections.. !. 5!.

(8) ! by a handful of scholars—Vincent Goosaert, Liu Xun, Richard Wang, Mark Meulenbeld— the majority of Daoist ritual studies, particularly in Western languages, has focused on time periods up through the Song dynasty or encompassed contemporary ethnography.9 The publication of liturgical materials in the Daofa haihan opens new avenues of research for scholars of Daoist studies; thus this thesis represents a preliminary step in shedding light on Daoist ritual of the late imperial period. An additional aim and point of significance in my study is its attention to the martial attendant Numinous Officer Wang. Lee Feng-mao. , in his book Xu Sun. 政治大 yu Sa Shoujian: Deng Zhimo Daojiao xiaoshuo yanjiu 立. ‧ 國. and arts (fashu. 學. , has addressed this protective deity and surveyed the figure’s related methods ).10 In addition, Judith M. Boltz and Florian Reiter touch on the. ‧. hagiography of Wang and his connection to Sa Shoujian. (fl. 1141-78?) in the. y. Nat. io. sit. deity’s related stories.11 Nonetheless, these authors do not address the divine figure’s. n. al. er. ritual context. This thesis provides an example of Numinous Officer Wang as !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 9. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. See Vincent Goosaert, "The Quanzhen Clergy, 1700-1950," in Religion and Chinese Society, ed. John Lagerwey (Hong Kong: Hong Kong Chinese University Press, 2004); see also his, The Taoists of Peking: A Social History of Urban Clerics, 1800-1949, Harvard East Asian Monographs (Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2007); Xun Liu, Daoist Modern: Innovation, Lay Practice and the Community of Inner Alchemy in Republican Shanghai, Harvard East Asian Monographs (Harvard University Asian Center, 2009); or his "Proliferating Learning: Quanzhen Daoist Activism and Modern Education Reforms in Nanyang (1880s-1940s)," Extrême-Orient Extrême-Occident 33 (2011); Richard Wang, The Ming Prince and Daoism: Institutional Patronage of an Elite (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012); Mark Meulenbeld, "Civilized Demons: Ming Thunder Gods from Ritual to Literature" (Ph.D. diss., Princeton University, 2007). The above works are not meant to be an exhaustive list, but comprise a minute fraction of the authors’ publishing on late imperial and Republican China Daoism. These works, however, are representative of more recent substantial work published by the authors among a larger body of work. 10 See Lee Feng-mao , Xu Sun and Sa Shoujian: Research on Deng Zhimo’s Daoist Novels (Xu Sun Yu Sa Shoujian: Deng Zhimo Daojiao Xiaoshuo Yanjiu (Taipei: Xuesheng Shuju, 1997). 11 See Judith M. Boltz, "Not by the Seal of Office Alone: New Weapons in Battles with the Supernatural," in Religion and Society in T'ang and Sung China, ed. Patricia Buckley Ebrey and Peter N. Gregory (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993); Florian C. Reiter, "Some Notices on the "Magic Agent Wang" (Wang Ling-Kuan) at Mt. Ch'i-Ch'u in Tzu-T'ung District, Szechwan Province," Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft 148, no. 2 (1998).. !. 6!.

(9) ! attended to in a ritual setting. Regarding methodology, Kenneth Dean underscores a number of approaches to the study of Daoist ritual—formal analysis, search for meaning, and social/historical context—all equally applicable to studies of jiao.12 In a similar fashion, Paul Katz outlines the levels of interpretation that scholars may undertake in exploring religious texts. The first—reading, translating, and analyzing the text’s contents—while essential to any study of Chinese religion, for him serves as a precursor to deeper concerns regarding the textuality of a work; that is, exploring “the processes by which they [the texts] were produced, transmitted, and understood.”13. 治政 His admirable encouragements to move beyond simple大 translation and analysis point 立 the way for all scholars of Chinese religion working closely with texts. ‧ 國. 學. This thesis aims to accomplish what Dean labels as “formal analysis” and. ‧. “search for meaning,” objectives also in line with the first level of analysis that Katz. sit. y. Nat. indicates. I specifically attend to the discourse and imagery of the jiao texts and their. io. er. relationship with the deities and ritual process. This thesis is, therefore, limited in a. al. sense, as I do not endeavor to go beyond textual analysis. Nevertheless, in chapter. n. iv n C U a conjecture as to the h e n gtexts, two, based on evidence within the liturgical c h Ii make. possible means by which images and representations of Wang were disseminated, thus hinting at a preliminary study of Katz’s textuality. In limiting the scope of materials to Daoist ritual texts, I am unable to address the social and historical context of the liturgical texts due to the nature of these primary source materials. Some may also object that a study of this nature, devoid of context or fieldwork, or more importantly, in lacking any reference to ritual movements, falls !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 12. Kenneth Dean, "Daoist Ritual Today," in Daoism Handbook, ed. Livia Kohn (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2000), 674-675. 13 Paul Katz, Images of the Immortal: The Cult of Lu Dongbin at the Palace of Eternal Joy (Honolulu: University of Hawa'ii Press, 1999), 10.. !. 7!.

(10) ! outside the boundaries of ritual studies; yet, contemporary ethnography is neither the goal nor the intent of this project—this is a ritual textual study.14 I would argue that we may still come to understand the import of particular rituals through a text’s implied thrust even without fieldwork. Moreover, research on ritual, need not fully encompass kinesthetic issues to contribute to ritual studies as a field—we learn a great deal from studying ritual texts, and in the case of historical studies such as this, careful observation of ritual movements is unavailable. Scholars must rely on discerning textual exegesis to unravel probable interpretations of ritual texts and their context, especially when the works are detached from their original historical setting.. 治政 Cognizant of these limitations, I attempt to glean 大details of the jiao liturgies 立 based on their contents. Through an analysis of the ritual discourse of the liturgical ‧ 國. 學. texts, I point out possible interpretations for the ritual process and movements. A. ‧. comparison of two Numinous Officer jiao rituals from alternative locations also. sit. y. Nat. allows us to speculate at likely sources of Numinous Officer Wang beliefs. Textual. io. er. exegesis here not only provides us with expositions of meaning, but also permits. al. possible interpretations that suggest future research. As for the social and historical. n. iv n C context of these Numinous Officer h jiao work remains to be done—work e rituals, hi U n g cmuch that I intend to pursue in the future. Jiao Research Numerous scholars have attended to the jiao ritual in their research, yet, as I argue, prevalent perceptions of this ceremony have been shaped by a predominant !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 14. Stephen Bokenkamp responds to similar objections that his piece neglects the “actual ritual gestures" in favor of idealized descriptions, thus making his study not one of ritual. See his "Sackcloth and Ashes: Self and Family in the Tutan Zhai," in Scriptures, Schools and Forms of Practice in Daoism: A Berlin Symposium, ed. Poul Andersen and Florian C. Reiter, Asien- Und Afrika Studien Der Humbolt-Universitat Zu Berlin (Wiesbaden: Harassowitz Verlag, 2005), 34. For an extensive list of related questions in the study of ritual, many I am unfortunately unable to address in this study, see Ronald L. Grimes, Beginnings in Ritual Studies, Revised ed. (Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press, 1995), 24-39.. !. 8!.

(11) ! focus on its manifestations in Taiwan, Fujian province, and the Hong Kong New Territories.15 Jiao rituals have been addressed in other areas across Mainland China, but much of this literature eschews formal analysis in favor of straightforward documentation; indeed, this literature beckons further scrutiny to supplement our understanding of jiao ritual.16 Other scholars have begun to probe the existence of this ritual in Singapore, but have yet to address it in such depth as the three locations noted above.17 The growing body of literature on jiao rituals points in the right direction; with continued research we might shed the dominant perceptions that have been molded by the preponderant influence of research on the ritual in Taiwan, Fujian. 治政 province, and the Hong Kong New Territories. An exploration 大 of related literature on 立 jiao rituals will illustrate this prevalent trend. ‧ 國. 學. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 15. ‧. For studies of jiao rituals in Taiwan, see Liu Jih-Wann , Taiwan yanjiu conkan: Taiwan minjian xinyang lunji (Taipei: Lianjing chuban shiye gufen youxan gongsi, 1983); Lagerwey, Taoist Ritual, 1987; and Saso, Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal, 1990. A representative example of jiao research on Fujian is Kenneth Dean’s "Field Notes on Two Taoist Jiao Observed in Zhangzhou in December 1985," Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie 2 (1985). For Hong Kong, see David Faure, The Structure of Chinese Rural Society: Lineage and Village in the Eastern New Territories, Hong Kong (Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1986); He Ranpei , “Xianggang Xinjie Shatian taiping qingjiao de tese ji qi shehui gongneng” , in Zongjiao, shehui yu quyu wenhua , ed. Tam Wai-lun and Li Gang (Hong Kong: Zhongwen daxue chubanshe, 2003); Cai Zhixiang , “Cong namo shi chuandao daotan jingsheng” , in Xinyang, yishi yu shehui , ed. Lin Meirong (Taipei: Zhongyang yanjiuyuan minzuxue yanjiusuo, 2003); Lai Chi Tim , “Xianggang Xinjie jianjiao yishi yanjiu—daotan, daoshi, ji keyiben de lishi” — ," in Xianggang ji Huanan Daojiao yanjiu , ed. Lai Chi Tim (Hong Kong: Zhonghua shuju, 2005). See discussion below for more specific questions related to some of this literature. 16 The “Traditional Hakka Society Series” collects numerous examples of jiao festivals and traditions. For pertinent examples from Fujian, see the related articles in Yang Yanjie , Minxi Kejia zonjiao shehui yanjiu , “Traditional Hakka Society Series,” No. 2, ed. John Lagerwey (Hong Kong: International Hakka Studies Association, Overseas Chinese Archives, and École Française d'Extrême Orient, 1996); Yang Yanjie , ed., Minxi de chengxiang miaohui cunluo wenhua , ibid., No. 4, ed. John Lagerwey (International Hakka Studies Association, Overseas Chinese Archives, and École Française d'Extréme Orient, 1997); ibid., Dingzhoufu de zongzu miaohui yu jingji , ibid., No. 6, ed. John Lagerwey (Hong Kong: International Hakka Studies Association, Overseas Chinese Archives, and École Française d'Extrême Orient, 1998). 17 See Wang Zhongren , "Cong Lingbao huangtan kan Hainan Daojiao zai Xinjiapo de chuancheng ," in Xianggang ji Huanan Daojiao yanjiu , ed. Lai Chi Tim (Hong Kong: Zhonghua shuju, 2005), 515-527.. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. !. Ch. engchi. 9!. i Un. v.

(12) ! Kristofer Schipper was the first Western scholar to closely study the jiao. He advanced our understanding of Daoist ritual with his seminal work of 1975, Le Fenteng: Rituel Taoïste, by describing a particular ritual process carried out in the liturgical program of the jiao. Prior to that, the same author’s chapter “The Written Memorial in Taoist Ceremonies” examined a communal jiao held in 1969 in Southern Taiwan’s A’lian Village in Kaohsiung County and the significance of the written memorial in the ritual performance. His translation and commentary of the memorial shed light on the intricacies and concerns surrounding certain aspects of the jiao. Schipper’s work, focused on specific elements of the jiao, paved the way for John. 治政 Lagerwey and Michael Saso’s encompassing, book-length 大 pictures of the jiao in the 立 1980s. ‧ 國. 學. The influential work by John Lagerwey, Taoist Ritual in Chinese Society,. ‧. constitutes the clearest articulation of Daoist jiao ritual and its fundamental elements.. sit. y. Nat. His analysis gathers together extensive fieldwork, liturgical texts, and personal. io. al. ,. er. experience, all supplemented by detailed notes from Master Chen Rongsheng. v. n. a prominent Daoist priest in southern Taiwan. Based upon a series of jiao rituals held in Taidong. and Tainan. Ch. engchi. i Un. in southern Taiwan in 1980 and 1981 with Master. Chen presiding as the ‘Priest of High Merit’ (gaogong. ), Lagerwey describes in. astounding detail the series of rituals that comprise a complete jiao of Southern Taiwan. Michael Saso explores a separate part of Taiwan—Hsinchu Taoyuan. and. counties—to elicit a slightly different picture of communal jiao.18 As a. part of Master Chuang-ch’en Teng-yun’s (Zhuangchen Dengyun. ) Daoist. troupe, Saso took part in the performance of jiao rituals, allowing for a rigorous. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 18. !. Saso, Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal, 1990.. 10!.

(13) ! exposition of the ritual. Employing a comparable approach with Lagerwey, Saso details each rite encapsulated in the program to articulate its significance. Within his detailed explanations, Lagerwey outlines the principal structure of the jiao program:19 Day 1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.. Firing the Oil to Drive Away Dirt (fenyou zhuhui Starting Up the Drum (qigu ) Announcement (fabiao ) Invocation (qibai ) Flag-raising (yangqi ) Noon Offering (wugong ) Division of the Lamps (fendeng ). Day 2. 政治大. 8. Land of the Way (daochang ) 9. Noon Offering (same as above) 10. Floating the Water Lamps (fang shuideng ) 11. Invocation of the Masters and Saints (qi shisheng 12. Sealing the Altar (jintan ) 13. Nocturnal Invocation (suqi ). 立. y. sit. io. al. ). er. Nat. 14. Renewed Invocation (chongbai ) 15. Scripture Recitation (nianjing ) 16. Presentation of the Memorial (jinbiao 17. Noon Offering (same as above) 18. Orthodox Offering (zhengjiao ). ). ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Day 3. ). n. iv n C h e nagparticular Although his exhaustive research reflects location and a particular chi U interpretation as performed by a particular Daoist troupe and its leader, it has often been presented as the paramount form of the jiao.20 Lagerwey also comments on the standardized structure: The program of a chiao [sic] is fixed by the Taoist priest in accordance with immutable standards, the main variant being one of duration…the same rationale underlies all such ceremonies, and they all follow the sequence of preparation-retreat-sacrifice. The sequence and also the time of execution (morning, evening, night) are all predetermined; the memorials preserved over the last two hundred !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 19. Lagerwey, Taoist Ritual, 51-59. Michael Saso describes a similar jiao ritual structure, albeit with slight differences, that employs much of the same vocabulary to identify the specific rites entailed. See Saso, Taoism and the Rite of Cosmic Renewal, 53-57. 20. !. 11!.

(14) ! years, from both Taiwan and the mainland, as well as those preserved in the Taoist Canon, show that the system is very traditional indeed and virtually unchangeable.21 Statements such as this reflect the presupposition that uniformity exists in the jiao liturgical program. Lagerwey was writing in the context of the source materials he was aware of and had access to, but as we will see below, it is necessary to qualify these assertions in light of new materials. For Lagerwey and Schipper, the Daoist jiao ritual program has been standardized for a long period; while this may be true for some parts of Taiwan and southern China, other notable ritual traditions, of which recent research has begun to address, provide interesting contrasts to the findings above.. 立. 政治大. These two works—Lagerwey and Saso’s—have laid the foundation for our. ‧ 國. 學. considerations of jiao, but I would suggest have also posed a barrier to further. ‧. understanding. Because these two works were so groundbreaking and held in such. sit. y. Nat. high esteem, there has been little scholarly discussion over their contents until. io. er. recently.22 Scholars have demonstrated clear similarities between Daoist jiao in. al. Taiwan and Fujian; however, when the jiao identified in the two locations are taken as. n. iv n C 23 U obfuscates our comprehension h e ntradition, representative of the entire Daoist ritual g c h i this of the innumerable varieties that this particular ritual may encompass, and diminishes the significance of divergent expressions. Indeed, Lagerwey himself notes: “Every temple community has its own traditions, its own program of rituals for an offering.”24 If this is true, and scholars are becoming more and more cognizant of this. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 21. Kristofer M. Schipper, "The Written Memorial in Taoist Ritual," in Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1974), 320. 22 See Stephen Jones, In Search of the Folk Daoists of North China (Surrey: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2010), 15-20. 23 Dean cites Lagerwey’s jiao ritual structure but assures the reader that it represents a “typical jiao as performed in Southern Taiwan.” See his, “Daoist Ritual Today,” 675-676, 24 Lagerwey, Taoist Ritual in Chinese Society and History, 63.. !. 12!.

(15) ! as more local communities are studied, then research findings should be limited to the scope of the specific fieldwork locale. On the one hand, Lagerwey and Saso take similar approaches in uncovering the intricate ritual complexities of the jiao and its philosophical and cosmological background; on the other, Saso departs from Lagerwey’s methodology to describe the perspective of the community, an essential role player in the ritual process that creates a festive atmosphere typically surrounding the central Daoist altar. Saso’s division of perspectives is pertinent to the study of the jiao. His presentation implies that there are two frames of reference for interpretation—Daoist priest vis-à-vis community. 治政 member—and that, while the two reflect similar concerns, 大 their understanding and 立 emphases diverge. The end goal for both is communal rebirth and renewal, but the 25. ‧ 國. 學. community doesn’t have access to the privileged knowledge of ritual movements,. ‧. incantations, or internal visualizations. For Daoist priests, the festival and activity. sit. y. Nat. outside the temple have little to do with their role within as ritual specialists. The. io. al. er. differing viewpoints may also reveal methodological approaches to studying jiao. n. ritual, an idea I will return to below after further discussing the relevant literature and issues.. Ch. engchi. i Un. v. Robert Hymes has also offered a convincing explication of two alternative frameworks, or understandings, of the jiao that may exist simultaneously within a ritual performance.26 He writes: Lay bearers of a model of direct human-divine relations and the clerical bearers of a model of bureaucratic divinity are each “resisting” the other’s power. The ways in which the two models end up coexisting in a single ritual !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 25. Ibid., 57; 100-101. Robert Hymes, "A Jiao Is a Jiao Is A ?: Thoughts on the Meaning of Ritual," in Culture and State in Chinese History: Conventions, Accommodations, and Critiques, ed. R. Bin Wong, Theodore Huters, and Pauline Yu (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1997); and his Way and Byway: Taoism, Local Religion, and Models of Divinity in Sung and Modern China (Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 2002). 26. !. 13!.

(16) ! grow precisely out of the different working out of this mutual resistance in different settings.27 The interaction involves questions of power and subordination—do the Daoist deities and practitioners themselves, embodied in the bureaucratic model, subordinate the local deities and community members? In what ways do community members oppose this framework in interpreting the Daoist relationship to the community? The frameworks may oppose one another, but it’s not necessarily a question of hierarchy: [F]rameworks may instead take the form of different combinations, different proportions, of the two models: a framework here is an overall plan or view of how a particular ritual should proceed, why, and for whom or for what. Such a plan when conceived or when applied will allot opportunity for expression in the ritual to one or the other, or to both, of the models of divinity [author emphasis].28. 立. 政治大. Hymes argues in response to other scholars, notably Schipper and Dean, that have. ‧ 國. 學. pointed out the dominant role Daoist deities assume in subordinating the standing of. ‧. local gods;29 indeed, the relationship is much more complex as Hymes notes. Hymes,. sit. y. Nat. in articulating the existence of alternative models of interpretation in jiao rituals,. io. er. offers a further avenue of study. Understanding the various modes of interaction. al. n. between the two models, variant upon location and circumstance, would be a valuable. i n C U h e nofgthec hjiao. contribution to our overall understanding i. v. Kenneth Dean’s research in the Minan region of southeastern Fujian has demonstrated significant similarities with jiao festivals in Taiwan. In extensive fieldwork in Zhangzhou. , he has uncovered comparable rites and ritual. vocabulary—the daily audiences, the Division of the Lanterns, the Nocturnal. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 27. Hymes, Way and Byway, 246. Ibid., 251. 29 Kristopher M. Schipper, "Taoist Ritual and the Local Cults of the T'ang Dynasty," in Tantric and Taoist Studies in Honor of R.A. Stein, ed. Michel Strickmann (Brussels: Institut belge des hautes études chinoises, 1985); ibid., The Taoist Body, trans. Karen C. Duval (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993); see also, Kenneth Dean, Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults of Southeast China (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993), 3-20. 28. !. 14!.

(17) ! Invocation, etc.30 The overall structure of the jiao ritual there mirrors that of the ritual program in Taiwan. Moreover, Dean’s research concerning jiao has directly contributed to the ongoing discussion of the interaction between Daoism and local cults in rural communities in southeast China and Taiwan. His influential work Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults of Southeast China attempts to show how Daoism serves as an overarching “liturgical framework” in communal rituals.31 In local cultic religious processions and festivals, he argues, Daoism provides the cohesive element for and sustains the cultic system of religious practice. Other scholars have objected to his arguments in pointing out that the relationship is more complex.32 Since the. 治政 publication of his 1986 book, Dean has adjusted his stance 大 on the interactions 立 between local cults and Daoism; nevertheless, his research on local ritual 33. ‧ 國. 學. communities and jiao celebrations has left an indelible impact on other scholarly. ‧. work.. sit. y. Nat. By addressing aspects of the local community and their relationship to Daoist. io. er. priests, Dean attends to the power dynamics in the jiao celebration among these. al. participating parties. In the lead-up to a jiao, community leaders affirm their social. n. iv n C h e n ginvolved standing as a result of their being intimately c h i Uin the financial and. organizational planning. Those members of the community who act as representatives in the actual ritual program affirm their elevated standing.34 Dean also notes that the celebration of jiao entails encounters with local government and a negotiation of communal autonomy.35 Schipper cites this same function of the ritual: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 30. Dean, “Fieldnotes,” 1986. Kenneth Dean, Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults, 17. 32 Paul Katz, Demon Hordes and Burning Boats: The Cult of Marshal Wen in Late Imperial Chekiang, SUNY Series in Chinese Local Studies (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1995), 188-189. 33 Kenneth Dean, "Local Communal Religion in South-east China," China Quarterly 174 (June 2003): 338-351. 34 Dean, Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults, 178-180. 35 Ibid., 9 and 18. 31. !. 15!.

(18) ! The periodic chiao [sic] sacrifice is nothing less than the constitutional assembly of an autonomous state, during which the Chiefs renew their alliance and infeudation, and a collective covenant is made. This assertion of regional autonomy portends direct conflict with the central authority.36 The discourse of hegemony, autonomy, and resistance has been a long discussed issue in Chinese religion framed in conversations of standardization,37 and it is notable that Daoist jiao ritual is drawn into the dialogue as a space and opportunity for opposition to state authority. Research on jiao rituals has entailed discussions of power relationships at a number of levels—communal participants, state and local authority, deities, but also. 政治大. Daoist priests. Lagerwey addresses the last in arguing that the ritual process reveres. 立. the Daoist priest as the eminent participant—“The presentation of the memorial, we. ‧ 國. 學. might say, is the apotheosis—the glorification, the exaltation—of the high priest”38— a notion that leads to the predominant interpretation of the jiao from the perspective. ‧. of the Daoist priest. However, Hymes has convincingly shown that lay members. Nat. sit. y. contest this conceptual framework (bureaucratic model) put forth by Daoist priests in. n. al. er. io. the ritual program. The exchange between ritual participants, Daoist and community. i Un. v. members alike, state entities, and deities creates a sphere of negotiation where. Ch. engchi. relationships and interpretations are resolved; however, the process by which power dynamics, or conflicting standpoints, are worked out may be substantially different across local settings. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 36. Schipper, “The Written Memorial,” 324. See James L. Watson, "Standardizing the Gods: The Promotion of T'ien Hou ("Empress of Heave") Along the South China Coast, 960-1960," in Popular Culture in Late Imperial China, ed. Andrew J. Nathan David Johnson, and Evelyn S. Rawski (Berkeley: University of California Press, 198), 292-324; Michael Szonyi, "The Illusion of Standardizing the Gods: The Cult of the Five Emperors in Late Imperial China," The Journal of Asian Studies 56, no. 1 (Feb. 1997): 113-135; Paul Katz, "Orthopraxy and Heteropraxy Beyond the State: Standardizing Ritual in Chinese Society," Modern China 33, no. 1 (2007): 72-90; James L. Watson, "The Structure of Chinese Funerary Rites: Elementary Forms, Ritual Sequence, and the Primacy of Performance," in Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China, ed. James L. Watson and Evelyn S. Rawski (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), 3-19; Evelyn S. Rawski, "A Historian's Approach to Chinese Death Ritual," ibid., 20-34. 38 Lagerwey, Taoist Ritual, 164. 37. !. 16!.

(19) ! Jiao research has also contributed to discussions of the distinctions between Daoist priests and local ritual specialists. While addressing the significance of written memorials in a jiao ritual program, Schipper argues that the distinguishing factor in Taiwan between a Daoist Master (daoshi. ) and a Master of Rites (fashi. ), a. ritual specialist often associated with exorcist ritual aims, is the presentation of written memorials, the former placing great significance on the act. Lin Zhenyuan also finds the performance of jiao as an aspect that differentiates Daoist priests and shigong. in Zhaoan. located in Fujian province.39 In other locations,. 政治大. Buddhist priests or nuns play a significant role in the presentation of a jiao alongside. 立. Daoist priests, or in other cases, are the sole religious practitioner in the process.40. ‧ 國. 學. More recently, scholars have begun to examine local communities in parts of Northern China and have elucidated religious practices comparable with jiao rituals,. ‧. yet divergent in characteristic ways. David Johnson explores rituals held during lunar. y. Nat. io. sit. new year celebrations in northeastern Shanxi province, as well as sai. , large-scale. n. al. er. communal temple festivals, in southeastern Shanxi.41 Particular elements—“opera,. Ch. i Un. v. processions from village to village, prodigious food offerings, temporary structures !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. engchi. 39. Lin Zhenyuan , "Fujian Zhaoan de Daojioa chuantong yu yishi fenlei” , in Zhongguo difang zongjiao yishi lunji , ed. Tam Wai Lun (Hong Kong: Chung Chi College Center for the Study of Religion and Chinese Society August 2011), 301-323. 40 For an example of a jiao led by Buddhists, see Zhong Jinlan , “Jiangle xian guyong zhen dataocun minzu diaocha” , in Minxibei de minzu zhongjiao yu shehui , ed. Yang Yanjie 彥 , “Traditional Hakka Society Series”, vol. 11 (Hong Kong: International Hakka Studies Association, Overseas Chinese Archives, and Ecole Française d’Extrême-orient 2000), 273–319. For an example of Daoist/Buddhist cooperation, see Zhangjie , “Zijin xian Qinjiang liuyu minzu” , in Meizhou Heyuan diqu de cunluo wenhua , ed. Fang Xuejia , “Traditional Hakka Society Series,” vol. 5 (Hong Kong: International Hakka Studies Association, Overseas Chinese Archives, and Ecole Française d’Extrême-orient, 1997), 442–60. Lagerwey discusses ritual specialists of differing religions and their relation to jiao in his “Questions of Vocabulary,” 82-86. See the section titled “Ritual Categories.” 41. David Johnson, Spectacle and Sacrifice: The Ritual Foundations of Village Life in North China (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Asia Center, 2009).. !. 17!.

(20) ! built just for the jiao, and total community engagement”42—reflect the commonalities between northern sai and southeastern jiao. Despite these apparent similarities, the two celebrations reveal categorical differences in their ritual program, cosmology, and ritual specialists. For example, Daoist priests are noticeably absent from sai celebrations that instead rely on local ritual specialists. Johnson is quick to note that any ostensible overlap may merely be “superficial structural similarities” and that commonalities tend to be “those things, such as processions, theatricals, and feasting, that were in the hands of the people at large.”43 In this case, we may not be seeing jiao rituals in Shanxi, but a shared cultural fabric among Chinese local communities. Lin Ching-chih. 治政大along the Grand Canal has also explored ritual communities 立. ‧ 國. 學. between Shandong and Jiangsu that share a common ritual vocabulary with jiao. offerings.44 While this research may not be directly related to expositions on Daoist. ‧. jiao, its significance, though, lies its capacity to expand our conceptions of local. y. sit. al. er. io. specialists.. Nat. communal rituals that involve offerings, widespread participation, and ritual. v. n. Stephen Jones has proposed a reconsideration of jiao research in light of his. Ch. engchi. i Un. findings in northern China. Noting the underlying structural similarities between northern and southern jiao traditions, he cautions that southern jiao ritual vocabulary—the three audiences (sanchao (jinbiao. ), presentation of the memorial. ), and division of the lamps (fendeng. )—is absent from northern. jiao celebrations.45 Northern Daoist troupes employ an alternative ritual vocabulary !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 42 43. Ibid, 314. Ibid., 314-315.. 44. Lin Ching-chih , “Floating Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors: Boat People’s Mobile Pantheon and Ancestral Hall in North China” (presentation, International Conference on Scriptural Daoism and Local Religion, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan, July 11-12, 2013). 45 Stephen Jones, In Search of the Folk Daoists of North China, 16.. !. 18!.

(21) ! to describe the various rites. He finds that despite the existence of “jiao pockets,” isolated regions where the ritual is enacted, the ritual is less common than in southeastern China and Taiwan.46 The study of jiao might move in an alternative direction to consider other pertinent issues where Jones “suggest[s] we stop using southeast China as a template: rather than asking why jiao and gongde are so rare in north China, perhaps we might ask why they are so common in Fujian and Taiwan.”47 As more local manifestations of jiao ritual, or similar ritual programs and celebrations, are elucidated, we will continue to build upon our understanding of offering rituals in Chinese religion.. 治政 Jones’ questions belie other critical issues in jiao 大reasearch: Why does one 立 hold a jiao? In Taiwan and Fujian, where the jiao is so prevalent, what are the ‧ 國. 學. underlying motivations? Contemporary fieldwork has revealed communal. ‧. motivations—a regularized routine of rebirth and renewal—in a great many. sit. y. Nat. locations;48 however, as Hymes has argued, there may be alternative personal. io. er. motivations at work.49 The prevalence of jiao held for local deities has been well documented in contempary southern China in Hakka regions.50 We see similar local. al. n. iv n C motivations in sources of the Daofahhaihan, e n gancimportant h i U facet of the works that. Chang highlights in his exploration of Macheng, Hubei. He terms this kind of Daoist jiao, dedicated to local deities in honor of their birthdays or attainment of the Dao, as an essential part of the “ritual service” that Daoist priests might offer a community.51 With the new resources of the Daofa haihan, where we see an overabundance of !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 46. Ibid., 207. Ibid., 19. 48 See K. M. Schipper, “The Written Memorial”; Faure, The Structure of Chinese Rual Society; Dean, Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults. 49 Hymes, Way and Byway, 206-260. See also Chang, “Chuanjiao chouen,” (forthcoming). Here he cites the possibility that a text from Macheng, the Laolang jiaoke , may have been composed to hold a jiao ritual for a private family. 50 John Lagerwey, China: A Religious State, (Hong Kong: Hong Kong Univesity Press, 2010), 96-105, 128-137. 51 Chang, “Chuanjiao chouen,” (forthcoming). 47. !. 19!.

(22) ! offerings dedicated to local and popular religious deities, it will be privotal to explore the various motivations behind these works. Why submit an offering to deities of inconsequential standing (that is, compared with the highest deities of the Daoist pantheon)? Is it, as Hymes has suggested, motivated by lay interpretations or are there other factors at work? Nevertheless, in working with ritual manuscripts, the extent to which these motivations for the ritual can be ascertained is limited; because they may not be explicit, one must infer a great deal. Other source material, such as local gazetteers and literati writings ought be reviewed to potentially corroborate any findings in the manuscripts regarding ritual impetus. It will be imperative going. 治政 forward to continue to pose these questions to reveal the 大motivations behind this 立 complex ritual program. ‧ 國. 學. The examination of invocations to deities over the course of the ritual may. ‧. also offer an additional fruitful line of research. Comparing the registers would. sit. y. Nat. undoubtedly highlight local variations and reflect the complex relationship between. io. er. Daoist deities and local gods, thus continuing the ever-present conversation of a “Daoist liturgical framework” first posed by Dean.52 In the texts that I examine within. al. n. iv n C this thesis, we do find traces of thish“liturgical e n g cframework” h i U in the invocations to the various deities and the structural elements of the offering ritual.53. Of course, this kind of approach is not without its shortcomings. If we accept the standpoint of both Saso and Hymes—there are differing interpretations within a jiao ritual, that is Daoist and communal or personal—then, limiting our study to ritual manuscripts would shade our understanding toward the Daoist perspective. The lively activity outside the main altar during jiao rituals —processions, spirit mediums, feasts or banquets, etc.—would be absent from such an analysis. Moreover, because Daoist !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 52 53. !. Dean, Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults, 13-19 I address these issues in depth below, but see also Chang, “Chuanjiao chouen,” 76-84.. 20!.

(23) ! priests or ritual specialists compose these ritual manuscripts, the texts inevitably reflect a specific perspective, possibly one among many in the context of the entire celebration. Examining ritual manuscripts is imperative to understand the ritual process and its essential aspects; however, it is also important to acknowledge the inherent limitations of such an approach. As I have indicated above, Dean’s work highlights a number of approaches to the study of Daoist ritual—formal analysis, search for meaning, or social and historical context. 54 All are equally applicable to future studies of jiao rituals, and have also been pursued in past literature. Lagerwey and Schipper employed the first. 治政 two approaches in their meticulous studies, whereas others, 大 such as Dean and Faure, 立 have tended toward the latter, utilizing ethnographic modes to highlight the ‧ 國. 學. relationship between the ritual and society at large.55 Hymes demonstrates how. ‧. studies of the jiao may transcend these kinds of analytical divisions—he attempts to. sit. y. Nat. describe the meaning of the ritual for its participants, both Daoist and lay alike, within. io. er. the nexus of its social and historical context. Research approaches often coincide with. al. the kinds of source material that scholars address. For example, as I have discussed. n. iv n C U manuals is inherently h e ntheglens above, the study of Daoist ritual through c hofi liturgical restrictive in that it often eschews considerations of social and historical context.. These issues notwithstanding, Dean’s outline for the study of Daoist ritual provides a valuable analytical framework moving forward. Study of communal jiao festivals has spanned methodological boundaries. Historical approaches have illuminated the origins and development of the jiao, tracing its roots throughout textual sources.56 Ethnographies, like those in the !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 54. Dean, “Daoist Ritual Today,” 674-675. See Faure, The Structure of Chinese Rural Society, 80-86; and Dean, Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults. See specifically 14-19, 50-53, 178-176. 56 Lu, “A Consideration.” 55. !. 21!.

(24) ! “Traditional Hakka Society Series,” offer penetrating descriptions of local jiao traditions and reflect the distinct characteristics of localities across southern China in Fujian, Guangxi, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi provinces. Employing an ethnographic mode of study, Taiwanese scholar Liu Jih-Wann. has done. extensive work in northern Taiwan to document jiao festivals.57 Western scholars, such as Schipper, Lagerwey, and Saso, have tended toward philological methodology, translating and referencing extensive works in the Daoist Canon in order to ascertain the contents and meaning of the ritual process. Research from disparate fields will only continue to enhance our understanding of this fascinating ritual.. 政治大 The question remains: How does one begin to grasp the meaning and 立. ‧ 國. 學. significance of such a complex, variegated ritual program formulated throughout Chinese history? As I have outlined above, much work has been done on jiao rituals. ‧. in Taiwan, Fujian, and the Hong Kong New Territories. We must disassociate our. sit. y. Nat. conceptions of jiao rituals with those seen primarily in these regions. If the. al. er. io. vocabulary and structure of jiao remains entrenched in these models and conceived as. v. n. the predominant form, such a situation will continue to misconstrue our perception of. Ch. engchi. i Un. the ritual offering. There remains a great deal of variety in jiao programs where scholars have only begun to scratch the surface. Going forward, it is imperative to consider the variety of local manifestations of the jiao across Mainland China, their historical roots, and their social context. Only then, will we as scholars and students have developed a more defined picture of jiao. This thesis presents a step in that direction.. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 57. !. Liu, Taiwan yanjiu conkan: Taiwan minjian xinyang lunji.. 22!.

(25) !. CHAPTER ONE. THUNDEROUS JIAO: A LOCAL JIAO LITURGY OF JIANGXI. The following analysis concentrates on a manuscript titled “Jiao Liturgy for the Numinous Officer” (Lingguan jiaoke. ) [hereafter Lingguan jiaoke]. 政治 ), either 1861 大 or 1921. Transcribed by Li. dated to the xinyou year (xinyou nian. 立. , the ritual manual originates in Jiangxi province and is the sixth. 學. ‧ 國. Yongsheng. selection of a larger manual of the Pure Tenuity branch (Qingwei pai. ). ‧. comprised of ten distinct ritual texts.58 Through an examination of the deities, ritual. Nat. sit. y. structure, and textual references, we find a unique coalescence of elements that. n. al. er. io. provides a counterpoint to general conceptions of what constitutes a jiao ritual,. i Un. v. prevalent within the literature outlined in the previous section. The particular period. Ch. engchi. in which the ritual manual was produced, the late Qing dynasty or early Republican era, has received scant attention in the field of Daoist ritual studies, a fact that warrants further research contributions in order to deepen our understanding of the contours of Daoist ritual in the period. Liturgical Manual Deities: Three or One? At first glance, the Lingguan jiaoke ostensibly focuses on three offerings to three distinct deities, a situation quite curious given the title of the liturgy. Yet, when !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 58. L.0113-6 Lingguan jiaoke , in Daofa haihan , ed. Lee Feng-mao , Zhushen jiaoke shang (Taipei: Xinwen feng chuban gongsi, 2014), 207-217.. !. 23!.

(26) ! we carefully consider the text’s contents, we discover that the liturgical manual is indeed dedicated to a single deity—Leisheng puhua tianzun. , an. alternative name for Numinous Officer Wang that, I would argue, aligns with local stories and appellations in this particular Jiangxi region. The first benefaction in the text is presented to Leisheng puhua tianzun , which at first seems to indicate the deity responsible for revealing the Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot of the Celestial Worthy of the Resonant Primordials of the Nine Heavens whose Thunderous Sounds Universally Transform. 政治大. (Jiutian yingyuan leisheng puhua tianzun yushu jing. 立. ). Puhua tianzun occupied a firm place within the Divine Empyrean (Shenxiao. ‧ 國. 學. ) tradition throughout the Song dynasty, ruling over the bureaucratic realm of the. ‧. ).59 The role and status of Puhua tianzun continued to. Jade Empyrean (Yuxiao. Nat. (1194–1229?) commentary on the Scripture of the. sit. y. grow with Bai Yuchan’s. n. al. er. io. Jade Pivot (Jiutian yingyuan leisheng puhua tianzun yushu baojing jizhu. Ch. i Un. v. ); thereafter, the deity’s standing within the Divine. engchi. Empyrean pantheon, as one of the Nine Monarchs (jiu chen. ), and the developing. Thunder tradition was solidified.60 However, the evidence provided by materials associated with Wang demonstrates that the title in fact applies to Numinous Officer Wang, albeit one connected with local traditions. Within the jiao text, Numinous Officer Wang is referred to as Taiyi leisheng !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 59. DZ 16, 1a-2b. On Bai Yuchan , see Li, Shenxiao leifa, 74-93; see also Boltz, A Survey of Daoist Literature, 176-179 for a brief explanation of Bai’s impact on the Thunder tradition; and Judith Berling, "Channels of Connection in Sung Religion: The Case of Pai Yu-Ch'an," in Religion and Society in T'ang and Sung China, ed. Patricia Buckley Ebrey and Peter Gregory (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1993), 307-334. For Bai’s commentary on the Jiutian yingyuan leisheng puhua tianzun yushu baojing, see DZ 99. 60. !. 24!.

(27) ! puhua tianzun. , an additional title that the author of the text or. local residents were more familiar with. 61 In contrast, an alternative version of the “Precious Declaration,” contained in the “Scripture for the Evening Altar Merit Session of the Most High Profound Gate” (Taishang xuanmen wantan gongke jing ) [hereafter “Wantan gongke jing”] in the Essentials of the Daoist Canon (Daozang jiyao. ) provides an extended title—Huoluo mengli sanwu .62 We. huoju taiyi leishen yinghua tianzun also see Wang referred to as Taiyi leisheng yinghua tianzun. in. 政治大. the “Scripture for the Morning Altar Merit Session of the Most High Profound Gate””. 立. (Taishang xuanmen zaotan gongke jing. ) [hereafter “Zaotan. ‧ 國. 學. gongke jing”] of the Daozang jiyao.63 Both titles in the Daozang jiyao, indicated by. ‧. similar characters, capture Wang’s characteristic nature as a Thunder deity that freely. y. Nat. manifests himself in response to summons, a prevalent notion within the deity’s. n. er. io. al. sit. hagiography that we will turn to later.. i Un. v. Additional sources represent this association with Wang. Among the vast. Ch. engchi. digitized collection of morality books (shanshu. ) and precious volumes (baojuan. ) compiled under the auspices of Taiwan’s National Digital Archives Program and Nanya Institute of Technology’s Information Management Department, a work entitled the Combined Volumes of Precious Scriptures on Various Sacred Figures (Liesheng baojing hece. ) stands out for its inclusion of the “True. Scripture on the Freely Descending Numinous Officer of Efficacious Response” (Huoluo lingguan lingying zhenjing. ). The compendium, of. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 61. Ibid. DZJY 263.2, 7a-b. 63 See pages 47-48 below. 62. !. 25!.

(28) ! unknown origin and authorship, also includes additional texts dedicated to traditional Daoist deities, most notably two devoted to Lu Dongbin Lord, Savior of the Needy (Fuyou dijun. honored as Imperial. ). The content of the “Huoluo. lingguan lingying zhenjing,” dedicated to Numinous Officer Wang, primarily corresponds with the Taishang yuanyang shangdi wushi tianzun shuo huojun wang lingguan zhenjing. , a text preserved. within the Daoist Canon from which large portions of the morality book are lifted verbatim.64 It is within this text that we also find a similar title afforded Wang as in. 政治大 . Here, the deity is. the jiao liturgical text—Wang tianjun chanjiao zongshi taiyi leisheng yinghua fugui. 立. datianzun. 65. ‧ 國. ), an alternative name for. 學. recognized as Celestial Lord Wang (Wang tianjun. the celestial figure, but the association with “Thunderous Sounds” and “Resonant. ‧. Transformations” remains.. sit. y. Nat. io. al. er. Although analogous, a glaring discrepancy between the title recorded in the. v. n. jiao text and those of the Daozang jiyao and morality book sources still remains—. Ch. Why the addition/alteration to puhua. i Un. e n ?gAlthough c h i unlikely, it is possible that the. transcriber made a simple transcription error when writing the text, particularly because Puhua tianzun, the head of the Jade Empyrean, and Wang’s title are so similar. But something more suggests both deities carry the same title, at least in Hubei. Held in Taipei, a recent museum exhibition centered on the Daoist history of Wudang Mountain (Wudang shan. ) featured ritual paraphernalia, deity statues,. and scroll paintings among a variety of Daoist artifacts. An accompanying manual, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 64. See DZ 1443. This canonical text will be discussed at length below. "Huoluo lingguan lingying zhenjing" , in Liesheng baojing hece , Shanshu baojuan shuwei dianzang jihua (National Digital Archives Program and Nanya Institute of Technology Information Management Department, 2 June 2011), 66. 65. !. 26!.

(29) ! printed to explain various portions of the exhibit, contains a reference to Numinous Officer Wang citing the fact that the deity is often known among the populace as .66 With the. Jiutian yingyuan leisheng puhua tianzun. exception of the first four characters, the title corresponds with that recorded in the offering text. Of the numerous sources I have surveyed pertaining to Wang, this is the singular instance of his equation with Leisheng puhua tianzun. Interestingly, the section of the exhibition manual on Wang was heavily edited in a later edition and the reference to this particular title removed for unspecified reasons. The notion that this appellation is well known among the people, yet still employed within a ritual. 政治大 authored and held by a Daoist priest, hints at the significant impact that popular 立. ‧ 國. 學. beliefs and customs had upon these new forms of jiao. As Chang Chaoran argues, Daoist priests in Macheng, Hubei utilized traditional elements of jiao rituals, but. ‧. integrated local popular beliefs and stories within a Daoist framework. 67 Here, we. sit. y. Nat. find a similar practice where an ostensibly popular form of the deity’s title, not. n. al. er. io. recorded in traditional Daoist sources, appears within a Daoist ritual.. Ch. i Un. v. Additionally, we must also consider the relationship between the title and the. engchi. beneficiary of the offering. In the Daofa haihan, the diversity of deities to which jiao are devoted is astounding—yet, they share a commonality; that is, the titles record the principal recipient of the offering. Thus, it would be unlikely that this text would be titled “Jiao Liturgy for the Numinous Officer” (Lingguan jiaoke. ) , but be. dedicated to a different deity. After the initial offering, the text indicates a second title—Celestial Worthy of !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 66. Lai Suling , Shenyou Wudang: daolan shouce City, Taiwan: Lianhe baoxi and National Museum of History, 2015), 36. 67 Chang, “Chuanjiao chouen,” (forthcoming), 79, 84-85.. !. 27!. , (New Taipei.

(30) ! the Divine Might of Distant Reverberations (Shenwei yuanzhen tianzun ) [hereafter Yuanzhen tianzun], a reference that remains rather obscure as it is transcribed in the liturgical manual. An instance of the deity, as it is recorded in our text, occurs in the fifth fascicle (juan. ) of the “Litany of Merciful Compassion of. the Most High for the Elimination of Transgressions for those in the Ninefold Darkness” (Taishang cibei jiuyou bazui chan. ) [hereafter Bazui. chan] as the tenth celestial worthy amongst a litany of divine beings.68 In this context, an individual, facing his or her final days and in hope of favorable rebirth, must first to “reverently [hold] a ceremony” (fengli 政 )治大. purify oneself, then request a master (shi. 立. ) for the Celestial Worthies of the Western Resonant Appellations (Xifang. ‧ 國. 學. yinghao tianzun. ), a category to which Yuanzhen tianzun belongs. 69. ‧. The inclusive title of the deities alludes to their function; namely, when called upon,. y. Nat. they will respond in some manner. The individual is then directed to “refine one’s. er. io. sit. essence and clarify one’s spirit, to ascend to perfection and awaken to the Dao” ).70 Within the text, we. (lianzhi chengshen dengzhen wudao. al. n. iv n C h easna g find the appellation Yuanzhen tianzun divinehbeing c i Uamong many others to which the practitioner must “With resolute heart, [pay] homage and courtesy” (zhixin chaoli ).71 Here, with the aid of a master and sincere repentance, the individual gains immeasurable merit by entreating the beings—such merit when coupled with diligent practice will facilitate the progression to perfection. Fascicle 220 of the Corpus of Daoist Ritual (Daofa huiyuan !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 68. DZ 544, 5.2a. Ibid., 1a. 70 Ibid. 71 Ibid., 1b-4a. 69. !. 28!. ).

(31) ! [hereafter Daofa huiyuan], the “Divine Empyrean Rite for Banishing Plagues and Sending Off the Boat” (Shenxiao qianwen songchuan yi. ) also. identifies a deity of similar name—the Celestial Worthy [whose] Divine Might ).72 Here, the variation of only. Guards Afar (Shenwei yuanzhen tianzun. one character bespeaks the possibility that these two deities may be related. Similar to the title in the Lingguan jiaoke, this appellation connotes a celestial power able to cast its efficacious might to the utmost distances. According to the text, the ritual practitioner conducts preliminary measures before pronouncing an invocation to the. 政治大 boat in preparation for its expulsion, the text remarks: 立. requisite deities for an offering of tea. As the pestilence demons are assembled on the. ‧ 國. 學. The multitudinous methods of the Dao, through their manifestation, compel people and spirits to admiration. [I] kowtow and recite aloud, “Celestial Worthy whose Divine Might Guards Afar, how inconceivable the merit!” 73. ‧ y. Nat. io. sit. In this passage, the deity appears after the first offering for the assembly of gods.. n. al. er. This sequence suggests that Yuanzhen tianzun is not a recipient of the benefaction, but. Ch. i Un. v. is instead invoked as a means to secure merit. The ritual officiant bows before the. engchi. divine force, understanding that an offering of this type will bring merit, the likes of which are unfathomable. The appearance of Yuanzhen tianzun in this framework sheds a bit more light on the possible nature of the deity as a wellspring of merit. When we turn to the “Litany of the Supreme Clarity Numinous Treasure,” (Shangqing lingbao chan on Litany Rituals (Chanfa daguan. ), the third selection of the Great Observations ) in the Essentials of the Daoist Canon. (Daozang jiyao ), we find another glimpse of the deity with the slightly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 72 73. !. DZ 1220, 220. Ibid., 3a.. 29!.

(32) ! varied title—the Celestial Worthy of the Harmonious Heavens and Numinous Blessings [whose] Divine Might Guards Afar (Xietian lingyou shenwei yuanzhen ). 74 The figure appears, just as in the example of the Bazui. tianzun. chan above, in an enumeration of deities, twenty five in all, that includes various great emperors (dadi. ) and other celestial worthies. The ritual backdrop recalls the. deathbed setting cited above, where the deity functions as a means of penitence and accruing merit. In both cases, we find Yuanzhen tianzun solicited with the expectation that such actions will assist in securing merit.. 政治大. Based on the textual record, the pronunciation of the deity’s title appears to. 立. mark a turning point within the ritual—the segment has concluded and the merit has. ‧ 國. 學. been secured. On the other hand, an alternative reading presents itself when we consider the attributes of Wang recorded in other parts of the text. Prior to the first. ‧. io. sit. ).75 The parallels between the two phrases. er. Nat. [regions]” (shenwei yuan zhen. y. offering, the author remarks that Wang’s “divine power reverberates to distant. here are undeniable. Thus, it is arguable that Shenwei yuanzhen tianzun refers to. al. n. iv n C Numinous Officer Wang. As a stylistic the author may have created a title for h echoice, ngchi U Wang to accord with his perceived powers. Although a tenuous connection. considering the varied characters, we might also juxtapose a line of the True Scripture that aligns closely with the title containing a variation Shenwei yuanzhen tianzun : “This fierce emissary deity of the Nine Heavens mightily guards the courts of the Nine Heavens” (Jiutian mengshi shen, wei zhen jiutian ting ).76 This passage from the True Scripture testifies to the notion of Wang as !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 74. DZJY 255, 1.32b. L.0113-6 Lingguan jiaoke, 211. 76 DZ 1443, 3b. 75. !. 30!.

(33) ! powerful protective deity, a perception embodied within the jiao liturgical text. These varying interpretations need not be separated; in fact, the notion that the recitation of the deity’s title serves several functions—securing merit, marking the close of a ritual segment, and as a creative title for Wang—is also entirely possible. The third celestial title of the jiao text— Celestial Worthy of Mighty Numinosity who Reveals and Transforms (Weiling xianhua tianzun. ). [hereafter Xianhua tianzun]—occurs in the “Secret Ritual Methods of the Profound Altar for Prime Marshal Zhao” (Xuantan Zhao yuanshuai mifa. ) of. 政治大. the Daofa huiyuan.77 The text opens with the impetus for the ritual—“The Divine. 立. Empyrean has commanded to call and summon the myriad deities” (Shenxiao youling. ‧ 國. 學. ).78 The deity’s title occurs in two. haozhao wanshen. ‧. independent places, yet both following an offering rather than as a recipient. One instance falls after the presentation of three separate offerings to the Venerable. y. Nat. Lofty Clarity (Laozu tianshi liuhe wuqiong gaoming dadi. al. er. io. sit. Ancestor of Celestial Masters and Six Harmonies, the Great Emperor of Inexhaustible. n. iv n C ) and his attendant deities. The priest h e nannounces g c h itheUofficial dispatch (diewen. ),. where it is thereby set alight, prompting him to recite with a resolute heart: “Celestial Worthy of Mighty Numinosity who Reveals and Transforms, how inconceivable the merit!” (Weiling xianhua tianzun, bukesiyi gongde 79. ).. After a final incantation, the segment of the ritual comes to a close. In the same. manner, after an extended summons of various deities, and a benefaction of incense, tea, lamps, candles, and fruit, the text remarks: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 77. DZ 1220, 233. Ibid., 1a. 79 Ibid., 10a. 78. !. 31!.

(34) ! “[I] kowtow and take refuge, recite aloud Celestial Worthy of Mighty Numinosity who Reveals and Transforms, Celestial Worthy of Blessed Life and its Inestimable [Nature], Celestial Worthy of Peaceful Harmony and Myriad Pardons, Celestial Worthy of Constant Emergence and Embracing Protection. How inconceivable the merit! .80 Although two of the celestial beings—Anhe wanyou tianzun Weiling xianhua tianzun. and. —occur only in fascicle 233 of the Daofa. huiyuan, allusions to the remaining two assist in clarifying the function of such incantations to celestial worthies. Fusheng wuliang tianzun. 立. 政治[hereafter 大 Wuliang tianzun] occurs in. a litany specifically dedicated to Puhua tianzun titled “Ritual Litany of the. ‧ 國. 學. Thunderclaps and Jade Pivot to Pardon Transgressions,” (Leiting yushu youzui fachan. ‧. ) a source detailing a rite that requires 36 prostrations in accord. sit. y. Nat. with the 36 heavens that Puhua tianzun resides over.81 At the close of the ritual the. al. er. io. text exhorts the performer: “In order for the recording of the karmic [actions] above,. v. n. kowtow and recite aloud,” (Wei shang yinlü, qishou chengnian. Ch. engchi. i Un. ), a statement followed by Wuliang tianzun and three other titles, one of them Puhua tianzun.82 The recitation of such titles clearly accomplishes a specific aim. By documenting the ritual proceedings through the recitation of deity titles, one ensures that the boons of the undertaking are secured. The morality book titled Huoluo lingguan lingying zhenjing also contains a reference to Wulian tianzun at the end of the text. The title is to be pronounced three times after its recitation; however, unlike the litany just discussed, no indication is given on the function or goal behind such a !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 80. Ibid., 8a. DZ 196. The deity’s title appears on DZ 196.9a. 82 Ibid. 81. !. 32!.