The first is Taoist thought. Taoism and Taoism are originally different. Taoism in the pre-Qin period was a philosophical school represented by Laozi and Zhuangzi, and Taoism was the religion formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty. But the two are not unrelated. When Taoism was founded, Laozi was regarded as the founder, and Laozi's Tao Te Ching was regarded as its main classic, which was stipulated as a lesson that believers must learn. The basic idea of Tao Te Ching is' Tao', which is regarded as the foundation of all things in the world beyond time and space. It has both ontological meaning and regular meaning, and its boundary is vague and mysterious, so different people can make different interpretations. "Zhuangzi" even interprets Tao as: "Love and believe, do nothing but see; Transmissible but unacceptable, accessible but invisible; Since its roots, there is no heaven and earth, and it has existed since ancient times; Ghosts were born; Before Taiji, it was not high, below six poles, not deep, born, not long, longer than ancient times and not old. And said,' Yellow Emperor, ascend to heaven; Zhuan Xu got it and took it to Gong Xuan; If you are strong, you will stand at the North Pole. The queen mother of the west got it, sitting in a small place, not knowing the beginning and the end; Peng Zu got it, was in danger, and fell by five; Fu Shuo, to Wu Ding, chose the world, rode the Eastern Wei Dynasty and rode the white tail, compared with the stars. [13] This thought that the Tao will last forever, and after it is attained, it can live forever and become immortal, which was absorbed by later Taoism. The basic belief of Taoism is also Taoism. From the religious point of view, Taoism is described as a magical thing, with spirit and belief,' the ancestor of all things, the mother of all things', and [14] combined with the mysterious theory of vitality, it is considered that Taoism is' the system of nothingness, the root of nature, the source of heaven and earth' and' nothing outside, nothing inside', which is intangible and nameless.
Taoism also regards Laozi as the incarnation of Tao, which existed before Taoism came into being. On the occasion of Emperor Hanming and Zhang Di in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, King Axe, the magistrate of Yizhou, wrote the Monument to the Virgin of Laozi, saying,' Laozi is a Taoist. Born before the invisible, began before the beginning, walked in the yuan, floated in the six emptiness, entered and exited the secluded, observed the difference between turbidity, and integrated Laozi and Taoism. Taoism continues to develop this idea.
"Taiping Jing" says:' Lao Tzu is the great sage of Tao, and you are also the teacher of wandering immortals. If you feel it, change with the party. If you succeed, you will live in seclusion. Homeless life is always everywhere. It's not there, it's infinite. Extremely infinite and mysterious. What is too mysterious is also the capital of Taizong. I'm all here, and I need to turn it into ten squares. It's nothing strange to apply it, it should be infinite ... Liu Zhouliu teaches the three realms, teaches secular law, teaches secular law, and does nothing. The Notes on Laozi's Thinking for Yours, which is circulated in (or Zhang Lu), also regards Laozi as the embodiment of Tao, saying that "one is the Tao" and "one is the qi, and one is the gentleman". Later, the "Mixed Yuan Di Shengji" also said:' Laozi is also an old gentleman, the embodiment of Tao, the ancestor of vitality and the root of heaven and earth. So Lao Zi and Tao were deified as gods believed by all beings. Tao is the source of all things in the world, so the' Tai Shang Lao Jun', as the incarnation of Tao, has become the' father of chaos, the parents of heaven and earth, the Lord of Yin and Yang, and the emperor of all gods'. This shows that the philosopher Laozi and the philosophical category' Tao' have been deified into gods in heaven in Taoism. Therefore, faith has also become a belief in God and worship of Laozi, that is, worship of God. The idea of cultivating immortals is the core of Taoism, and Taoism's teachings and practice are all around this core. The naming of Taoism is also closely related to its basic beliefs. It can be seen that Taoism is one of the most important ideological sources of Taoism; Taoist philosophy is one of its theoretical foundations. When talking about the origin and purpose of Taoism, Shu Wei's Lao Zi said: "The origin of Taoism comes from Lao Zi, and it is up to itself. It is born in nature, so all kinds of people can learn from it. In Yujing, he is the Sect of the God King; I am the Lord of the flying fairy. Ever-changing, there is virtue without virtue, and with induction, the traces are impermanent. ..... is also for teaching, salty to get rid of evil labor, to take a bath, to accumulate merits, to accumulate virtues and improve goodness, and even to ascend to heaven during the day, to live forever. Taoism mentioned here refers to Taoism. It is precisely because of the formation and development of Taoism that it has an indissoluble bond with Taoist Laozi that people often call Taoism Taoism.
Taoism in the pre-Qin period later evolved into the study of Huang Lao. This kind of knowledge of Huang Lao is mainly based on Taoism's quiet health preservation and inaction, but it also absorbs some contents of Yin and Yang, Confucianism, Mohism, fame and dharma. It is not entirely Taoism in the pre-Qin period, but a new Taoism called Huang Lao Shu. Later, Huang Lao's regimen evolved into a Taoist practice, and the Huang Lao family, which served Huang Lao's regimen, was the predecessor of Taoism. Sima Tan once commented on Taoism in "On the Essentials of Six Classics": "Taoism makes people single-minded, dynamic and intangible, and support is everything. It is also a skill. Because of the harmony between Yin and Yang, we should adopt the goodness of Confucianism and Mohism, sum up the essence of the law, keep pace with the times, conform to the changes of things, establish customs, and do everything unsuitable. It is easy to operate with reference to the agreement and get twice the result with half the effort. By Taoism, he means the new Taoism of Huang Laodao. This view of Sima Tan was adopted by Ge Hong, a Taoist priest in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Based on Sima Tan's viewpoint and the basic position of immortal Taoism, Ge Hong expounded his thought that Taoism should be based on Confucianism, and Taoism should be superior to Confucianism. He believed that Taoism should be based on the simplicity of the whole people, maintain its true origin, advocate "protecting the goodness of Confucianism and Mohism and always attaching importance to the name of the law", absorb the strengths of various schools, and construct the theoretical system of immortal Taoism. [14] In terms of cultivation methods, he also advocated "the way of health preservation, health preservation from the inside, harmony with the world from the outside, self-cultivation and self-cultivation, and governing the country." Teach customs with six classics, teach confidants with secret recipes, stop helping if you want to stay less, and be light if you want to rise. This is the essential expression of the dual personality of "Confucianism outside and Taoism inside" and the dual cultivation of Confucianism and Taoism, and it is also the remarkable feature of the immortal Taoism of the upper class.
Secondly, Taoism also draws lessons from Confucian ethics. The core of this ethical code is the' three cardinal guides and five permanents', which is the most important moral norm in feudal society.
This kind of ethical thought is inherited and developed by Confucianism and Taoism. Although Taoist books rarely mention the names of the three cardinal guides and the five permanent members, it is quite powerful to publicize this ethical thought; When promoting these ethics, it is often combined with the concept of immortality, and people are driven to pursue by the power of' God', which makes it easier to play its special role in maintaining the ethics and order of feudal society. Xunzi's Book of Rites puts forward the theory of "Three Books of Rites", which holds that "heaven and earth are the foundation of life"; Ancestors are the foundation of class; Jun and Shi are the foundation of governing the country.
No heaven and earth, bad life? No ancestors, evil comes out? No monarch, no evil? The three are partial to death, and there is no peace. Therefore, the ceremony, the matter of heaven, the matter of land, respect for ancestors and the feldspar army is also the third ceremony. Dong Zhongshu believes that "the three cardinal principles of kingcraft can be sought from heaven", and ⒅ thinks that the three cardinal principles and the five permanent members are taken for granted. "Taiping Jing" draws lessons from these thoughts and puts forward that "man is also a son of heaven and earth, and he has no intention to raise the son of heaven and earth, which is called unfilial son." And said:
The son is unfilial, the disciple is not smooth, the minister is unfaithful, and the crime is unforgivable. Make the sky very sick, the earth very evil, think it is a big deal, think it is a big disaster. Ghosts and gods are not, so they are the worst. Some people also said:' A son is unfilial and cannot support his relatives; Disciples are not smooth and can't try their best to practice the teacher's way; If I am unfaithful, I can't try my best to help my husband, so I'm not good at it, and I can't get rid of the accusation. Heaven and earth hate it, ghosts and gods harm it, and people hate it. When they die underground, they have an extra responsibility, called the son of three lines of disobedience. Taiping Jing not only inherited the purport of Confucianism, but also preached the importance of the belief in heaven, earth, monarch, father and teacher, and integrated heaven, earth, monarch, father and teacher for the first time, which was not found in the Confucian classics at that time. This was also the origin of the belief in heaven, earth, monarch, father and teacher in society, and its influence was particularly far-reaching. The Commandments and Commandments of Shi Tian in the Method of Righteousness also says: People who want to practice Buddhism must be' loyal to their ministers, dutiful sons, loyal to their husbands, chaste their wives, respect their brothers and obey their brothers', and have no second thoughts in their hearts. It particularly emphasizes that' teachers must be disrespectful, relatives must be unfilial, gentlemen must be unfaithful, and ... benevolence and righteousness are indispensable. Tai Shang Dong Xuan Ling Bao Zhi Sin Top Grade Commandment even contains a lot of feudal ethics and Confucian moral norms. It reads: "Talking with people is good for the country; If you talk to your father, you will be kind to your son; When you talk to others, you will love others; If you talk to your brother, you will stick to it; Talking with people and ministers is loyalty to the king; If you talk to the son of man, you are filial to your loved ones; If you make friends with others, you will believe in making friends; If you talk to a woman, you will be loyal to your husband; When you talk to others, you will be in harmony with the room; ..... with handmaiden, is cautious. In this way, we talked about the moral norms to deal with all kinds of relationships between people, and adjusted all kinds of relationships between people with moral norms such as loyalty, filial piety, kindness, love, kindness, harmony, chastity, faith and prudence.
Confucianism in the pre-Qin period became Dong Zhongshu in the Western Han Dynasty. Dong Zhongshu's divination theology with "the feeling between heaven and man" as the core and the subsequent divination theology were directly absorbed by Taoism and became an important source of Taoism. For example, "He Tu Ji Ming Fu" says:
There is a god of division in heaven and earth, who takes man's sin seriously to seize his discipline. ..... People have three bodies. Three corpses are things, belonging to ghosts and gods. In order to make people die early, this corpse should be regarded as a ghost. It will indulge in demonstrations and eat people. Every poor day in Liu Jia is a sin for those who walk on the road to heaven. Grasp discipline when you are older, and even if you are younger. Therefore, those who seek immortality go to the three corpses first, so they are calm and have no desire, calm and clear, and accumulate virtue to do good. It is good to take medicine to become immortal. This mysterious thing, almost intact, was absorbed by later Taoism and played out. Others, such as' Shaoshi Mountain has jade ointment to make you live forever'; Kunlun Mountain is a gathering place for immortals. The queen mother of the west is the god who gives immortal scriptures and guides monasticism; The yellow emperor was originally the yellow god of Beidou. After he acceded to the throne, he was "a Xiu De who is benevolent." Finally, Lapras went to heaven; All corners of the country and people's ears, eyes, nose, teeth and hair have their own gods; As well as the theory of astrology foretelling good and bad luck and the technology of attracting gods to disintegrate ghosts, etc., are all materials that are convenient for Taoism to use.
In addition, the Book of Changes and the thought of Yin-Yang and Five Elements have a very obvious influence on Taoism. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Taiping Jing took Yin and Yang and the Five Elements as its home, while Wei Boyang's Zhouyi Shentongqi was a method of cultivating immortals under the guise of the metaphysical thought of Zhouyi, which had a great influence on Taoism in later generations and was called the "king of single crystals through the ages". Since then, many Taoist scholars have expounded the internal and external alchemy of Taoism with the idea of Yi Xue Yin Yang and Five Elements.
Taoism also absorbed Mohism. Mr. Zhang Taiyan has long pointed out that Taoism is based on Mohism and has a long history. ⒇ Mozi advocates respecting ghosts, which is obviously absorbed by Taoism. This aspect needs no further explanation. In addition, Mozi advocated self-reliance and mutual benefit from the standpoint of small producers. Mozi put forward in Le Fei that "those who rely on strength are born, and those who don't lose strength are not born". Under the "bounden duty", I also oppose "getting something for nothing". Taiping Jing also emphasizes that "everyone has his own food and clothing" and opposes "taking people by force". In Love for All, Mozi advocates that people should practice the principle of "loving each other and bringing out the best in each other". Under Shang Xian, the "supreme virtue" means that "powerful people are sick and help others, rich people are willing to share with others, and those who have the means advise others". Only in this way can "the hungry have food, the cold have clothes, and the chaotic have treatment"; On the contrary, he said in Shang Tong, if you have spare capacity, you don't have to work hard; The decadent surplus wealth cannot be divided; Hiding good deeds without teaching each other will make' chaos in the world, if animals are natural'. The Taiping Jing also emphasizes this idea of mutual assistance and mutual benefit between people, and advocates that people with property should be' ready to help others' and' help the poor'. It believes that all the property between heaven and earth is born of "the sum of heaven and earth" and should belong to the public and should not be monopolized by private individuals. Think that' this thing belongs to heaven and earth, and it supports people with * * *. However, when this family meets its gathering place, it is often more full than the mice in the barn. The millet in this barn is not unique to mice. Little (small) money (referring to the emperor's private treasury) is not only for one person; If there are shortcomings, we should learn from them. Fools are ignorant and think they should have all this at the end of their lives. I don't know if the bodies (households) were lost in September 11, but they all got food and clothing, so it's also'. He also said:' If you accumulate billions, you will refuse to save the poor and make people starve to death. Moral people should also use morality to teach others, otherwise they will also commit heinous crimes. It is believed that' there is no limit to the number of people, and it is not punished to refuse to teach people to be enlightened and survive. ……
People accumulate virtue without promise, refuse to teach people to keep virtue and cultivate their nature, and they will not be punished. We also oppose the wise bullying fools, the strong bullying the weak, and the young bullying the elderly. Say,' More wisdom, and oppose bullying; Or the strong, against bullying the weak;
Or the afterlife, against bullying the elderly, are all against, so God will bless you soon. What is this? However, the wise should raise fools, deceive fools and be enemies with fools; The strong should support the weak, the weak should be bullied and resisted. When the younger generation is old, they will be bullied and will resist. Unlike Tianxin, there will be something unexpected afterwards. These thoughts in Taiping Jing are obviously the inheritance and development of Mozi's related thoughts. Some Taoist immortals and transformations also depend on Mozi. Ge Hong's "Bao Puzi" chapter "Immortal Medicine" records Mozi's elixir method, and Yu Anlan records Mozi's five elements with the technique of change, saying that "its method and medication can make people fly up and down without hiding." The Legend of Immortals also records that both Sun Bo and Feng Heng lived in Mozi, and Sun Bo's "skill of treating Mozi" can make grass, wood, gold and stone all flames, and can also make the body turn into fire and spit fire. Feng Heng studied Taoism since he was a child, and there was an article called Mozi's Invisibility Method. Ge Hong also listed Mozi in The Legend of Immortals, saying that he was a classic of external governance, practicing Buddhism from within, observing Taoism, fantasizing about immortals, and then being given books by the man of God, and he was a' fairy'. It can be seen that Mozi's attraction in Taoist belief is not small.
In the process of Taoism's emergence, it not only absorbed these ancient cultural thoughts mentioned above, but also absorbed the traditional concept of ghosts and gods, ancient religious thoughts and witchcraft.
In ancient China society, people worshipped the sun, moon, stars, rivers, mountains and ancestors, regarded them as gods, and offered sacrifices and prayers to them, thus gradually forming a system of god, earth, man and ghost. Taoism inherited this concept of ghosts and gods, and regarded many gods in this system as part of Taoist gods. Ancient Yin people believed that divination could determine doubts and break good or bad luck; Wizards can communicate with ghosts and gods and rely on witchcraft to pray for people. This witchcraft has also been absorbed and inherited by Taoism.
Taoism also inherited and developed the immortal thought and witchcraft in the Warring States period. As early as Zhuangzi and Songs of the South, there were many comments on immortal thoughts. Later, in Yanqi and Jingchu, there appeared the magic of advocating immortality. This magical theory of immortality was originally unsystematic. Later, these alchemists were explained by the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements put forward by Zou Yan, a Qi man in the Warring States Period, thus forming the so-called immortal home, namely Fang Xiandao. Neither Qin Huang nor Hanwu is willing to do this, and they are all afraid of doing so, so many people say that they are banned and can live forever, and they are countless. Legend has it that people who advocate Fang Xiandao, such as Song Wuji and Zheng Boqiao, all yearn for immortals, and "sell them in form, depending on ghosts and gods." After that, the immortal belief and alchemy were inherited by Taoism, the immortal alchemy evolved into Taoist practice, and the immortal alchemist gradually evolved into a Taoist.
It can be seen that Taoism is closely related to many fields of China traditional culture, which is the direct result of China traditional culture. However, from conception to final formation, it has gone through a long and gradual evolution process. As early as the end of the Warring States period, the so-called Fang Xiandao, which advocated immortality, gradually emerged. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, due to the prevalence of divination theology, Huang Lao Xue developed in the direction of religion, so the so-called Huang Lao Dao, which combined Huang Lao Xue with Fang Xian Dao, appeared. These can be regarded as Taoist embryos. However, it still belongs to similar religious beliefs and has not yet formally formed a religious organization. Its practitioners are generally called alchemists, not Taoists. In the early Han Dynasty, alchemists were also called Taoist priests. The biography of Wang Mang in Hanshu said:' First, there was a general Wei She, an accomplished Taoist Simon Junhui, who loved astronomical records, swept the palace for the loss of stars, and Liu Ying was revived, which was also named as a national teacher. Believe what you say. This Simon Junhui, who advocated Wang's participation in creating the follwed rebellion, is still called the alchemist in Huan Tan's New Theory of Confusion. According to "Biography of Ji Zun in the Later Han Dynasty", it was also a Taoist who instigated a rebellion against Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty in Zhuo Jun:' At the beginning, there was a Taoist who said that Feng was the son of heaven, and a colorful bag wrapped in stones was full of elbow clouds:' There was a decree in the stone. Serve the new, then. The biography of Xu Man in the Later Han Dynasty reads: "Xu Man ... Grandpa Jun, ... met Taoist Zhang Jujun and wrote" Lin Yi ",which has been passed down from now on." "The Story of Wu Lun in the Later Han Dynasty" said: Wu Lun changed his surname to Wang because he thought that his career would not last long, and took salt to and from Taiyuan and Shangdang, but he left because of dung and became a Taoist. This Fifth Lun doesn't look like a Christian alchemist, but because he is anonymous among the people, he is enthusiastic about serving the public's public health, and often cleans up the garbage for them, which is respected by people. People think that he is a Taoist, so he is called a Taoist. It shows that the name Taoist was well known to the people at that time and was regarded as a kind of honorific title. At that time, there were not only individual Taoist activities among the people, but also almost organized activities. For example, "The Biography of Ma Yuan in the Later Han Dynasty" said: "The early people involved in Wei Yi were slandered as gods. Hundreds of disciples sat down and punished them. Later, his disciple Li Guang and others preached "immortality" to confuse the people. In the seventeenth year (referring to the seventeenth year of Jianwu of Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty, AD 4 1), he * * * assembled as a disciple, attacked Anhui City, killed Anhui people, and called himself' Master Nanyue'. The same book "Biography of Cang Gong" said:' In the 19th year (43), the disciples Chen Shan and Fu Zhen reunited, entered the former Wucheng, robbed officials and claimed to be generals. The same book Huangdi Ji is also called: In the second year of Jian Peijun (148), in October of winter, Chen Jing of Changping was named Huangdi Zi, and was subordinate to the official department. Guan Bo of the Southern Tang Dynasty was also called' real person', so he planned to dispatch troops and learn to punish him. From the fact that the organizers of these uprisings believed in "deification and immortality", calling themselves "the King of South Vietnam", "the son of the Yellow Emperor" and "real people", and feudal historians called them "monsters", it shows that there were already organizations similar to Taoism among the people at that time.
Because of the above conditions, after a long period of brewing from Fangxian Road to Huanglao Road, Wudoumi Road and Taiping Road of early Taoism appeared in the middle and late Eastern Han Dynasty.