The old gentleman in Taishang "taught Buddhism for three days and made his life a heavenly teacher", while the later Buddha called him "the bodhi old zu heavenly teacher", "the real person" and "the three-day teaching assistant exorcist", and he was Zhang Tianshi, a wise god. The book "The Old Xiangzi Jules" has more than 3,000 disciples and 24 schools, which laid the foundation of the Stone Heaven. Zhang Daoling, Ge Xuan, Xu Xun, and Handcudgel are called the Four Kings.
The background of Zhang Daoling's founding of Shi Tian Daoism: At that time, in Bashu area, primitive Ba people believed in primitive witchcraft and sacrificed their lives to the people on a large scale. And these Dharma masters who worship ghosts and gods (scientific name: evil spirits) gather people to collect money and do evil.
Zhang Tianshi took two apprentices, Wang Chang and Zhao Sheng, and the Huangdi Jiuding Dan Jing to practice in Beimang Mountain, and put down the witch religion that harmed the people. This is the prototype of Zhang Tianshi's story of breaking the ghost soldiers with the sword of the old gentleman, which spread in Sichuan and Chongqing.
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The predecessor of Zhengyi School is Shi Tian Taoism, which originated in the late Han Dynasty. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the heroes came together. In February of the first year of Zhong Ping (184), after the opening angle led Taiping Road, the story of Zhang Tianshi catching ghosts was widely circulated among the people. In Luo Maodeng's novel The Biography of the Three Treasures Eunuchs, one of the two wizards who accompanied Zheng He to the Western Seas was Zhang Tianshi.
Many stories about Zhang Tianshi catching ghosts are recorded in his notes. There is a Taoist temple named Xiangyun Temple in my hometown, which was built by Pu Jian in the early Yuan Dynasty. Originally named Xuan Ming Temple, it is one of the three Taoist temples in the south of the Yangtze River. In the early Qing Dynasty, it was renamed "Xiangyun" to avoid Kangxi and Michelle Ye.
During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Taoism flourished, and the orthodox religion, namely Shi Tian Taoism, gradually merged with other schools. Song Zhenzong once summoned Zhang Zhengsui, the 24th generation teacher of Zhengtian, and named him "Sir". Since then, until the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhang Keda, the 35th generation teacher of Zhengtian, had titles in almost all dynasties.
In Song Huizong, Zhang Jixian, the 30th generation Shi Tian, is highly respected. The imperial court built a "Taoist worship view" for him near the capital, and the concept of Shangqing in Longhushan camp was also upgraded to "Shangqing Zhengyi Palace". Since Zhang Keda was granted the power to take charge of various factions in Fu You by Song Lizong, orthodoxy has gained the dominant position of Taoism in Fu You.
Baidu Encyclopedia-Zhang Daoling