Chapter 11 Section 5 Tao Hongjing and the Immortal World of Taoism

Tao Hongjing is Lu Xiujing's re-disciple, with Tongming characters, and a native of Moling, Danyang (now Nanjing, Jiangsu).He was born in the third year of Song Xiaojian (AD 456) in the Southern Dynasty and died in the second year of Liang Datong (AD 536).He was born in the Tao family in Danyang, a famous family in Jiangdong. Several generations of this family have been high officials, but Tao Hongjing was only a low-ranking official in his early years, and he was very frustrated.Later, he didn't want to do it anymore, so he took off his official uniform and ran to Juqu Mountain (now Maoshan, Jiangsu Province) to build a house, named "Huayang Pavilion", where he lived in seclusion and practiced Taoism, so he called himself "Huayang Hermit".

Tao Hongjing is a versatile Taoist figure.He wrote many books in his life. In addition to Confucianism works and poems, there are nearly 50 works related to Taoism.He has researched astronomy and calendar, mathematics, geography, medicine and alchemy, and many of his works are of great value in the history of Taoism and science and technology.Both the history of Chinese chemistry and medicine have affirmed Tao Hongjing's scientific contributions. In terms of Taoist sects, Tao Hongjing belongs to the Shangqing School, which mainly teaches the "Shangqing Jing".Before taking off his official uniform, he had worshiped Lu Xiujing's disciple Sun Youyue as his teacher, and got some "Shangqing Jing" handwritten by Yang Xi and others from Sun.Later, he visited famous Taoist priests in the south of the Yangtze River, collected the early "Shangqing Jing", and finally became an important successor of the Shangqing School.The purpose of his writings such as "Zhen Gao (Gao Gao)" and "Deng Zhen Yin Jue" is to promote the Taoism of the Shangqing School.

The book "Zhengao" records the Shangqing classics and practice secrets written by Yang Xi and others in the form of excerpts, and records in detail the birth and dissemination of the "Shangqing Jing" since the Eastern Jin Dynasty, as well as the early Shangqing school figures. His family background and life story are important materials for studying the history of the early Shangqing School. Tao Hongjing's other two important works are "Dengzhen Yinjue" and "Cultivating Nature and Prolonging Life".The previous book is devoted to the secrets of various alchemy techniques for internal cultivation and health preservation of the Shangqing School, as well as some magical content such as talismans and incantations for celestial masters to ask gods to drive away ghosts.The content of the latter book is also to summarize the various alchemy theories in the Daoist scriptures circulated in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, such as persuading qi to cure diseases, guiding massage, etc. to cultivate people's body and spirit, and to promote the ideological teachings of the Shangqing School.

Tao Hongjing and his disciples worked hard in Maoshan for decades, and finally made Maoshan the center of the Taoist Shangqing sect.Therefore, later generations also called the Shangqing sect "Maoshan sect".At that time, the Shangqing sect was widely spread in various places in the south of the Yangtze River. From the end of the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it has been passed down from generation to generation. It is an important branch of Taoist sects. Another important contribution of Tao Hongjing in the history of Taoism is that he built a neat and orderly world of immortals, arranged seats for immortals, and further integrated the belief system of Taoist immortals.

There are no gods in the world, and the so-called gods are only created by people in their own image. There is a system of immortals in the "Taiping Jing", which is divided into levels: "One is a god, the second is a real person, the third is an immortal, and the fourth is a Taoist..." The Taoist here refers to the person who has attained the Tao, and is the last class of immortals.Wu Dou Mi Dao believes in the three officials of heaven, earth and water, as well as the highest god "Taishang Daojun", which is derived from the "Tao" said by Lao Tzu.This supreme god can "dissipate form into air", transform and give birth to all things in the universe and human beings, and can "gather form into the Supreme Lord".Laozi, Li Hong, etc. are its incarnations.

Immortal Taoism, represented by Ge Hong, worships all kinds of gods and real people who have become immortals, as well as gods and gods, but it also creates a supreme god, called the original heavenly king.It created the heaven and the earth, and transformed the Virgin of Taiyuan, the Emperor of Heaven, the Emperor of Earth, and the Emperor of Humanity.The emperor has 13 heads, the emperor has 11, and the emperor has nine.Fuxi and other five emperors in the legends of ancient history were also born of it.Most of the Taoist scriptures fabricated by the Lingbao School and the Shangqing School claim to have been taught by gods.Therefore, the more scriptures were created, the more gods were created. In the "Lingbao Jing", there are often gods such as the original Tianzun, the original heavenly king, the Supreme Daojun, the flying immortals of the ten directions, and the real person of Miaoxing. In the "Shangqing Jing", in addition to the original Tianzun and the original Tianwang, there are Xuhuang Tianzun, Taishang Yuchen Daojun, Taiwei Tiandijun, Jinque Empress Sage Emperor, Wufang Emperor, Taisu Sanyuan Lord, Donghai Qingtong Lord , Wang Jun of Xicheng, Mrs. Wei of Nanyue, etc., have high and low status, male and female genders.

Most of Taoism's creation of gods is based on various myths from ancient times to the present, as well as some ancient historical legends about the Three Emperors and Five Emperors, and some are fabricated based on Taoism's own doctrines.In the beliefs and worship formed in the primitive society of China, all kinds of gods and ghosts were also accepted.In addition, there are various gods who deified historical figures and Taoist monks.Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, various sects of Taoism have compared the creation of scriptures and creation of gods, and at the same time they have also taught Buddhism, extending the world of gods and ghosts to the sky and the earth.There are more than 30 talents, and the original Tianzun lives at the top.As for the underground, Taoism also "borrowed" from Buddhism to create an underground world with several palaces of ghosts and gods and many ghost kings and ghost officials.These gods and ghosts world and names of gods and ghosts have different sayings in different scriptures, so the Taoist pantheon is both crowded and messy.

In order to change this situation, Tao Hongjing sorted out all kinds of gods and ghosts believed by the Shangqing School, and widely absorbed the gods believed by various sects, and wrote the book "True Spirit Position and Industry Map".The book divides the world of gods and ghosts into seven layers in order from heaven to earth.There is a main god on each floor, located in the center, other gods are arranged on the left and right, and there are positions for various scattered immortals.The central deity on the first floor is Yuan Tianzun, who is also the highest god, and there are 29 gods including the emperors and Taoists on the left and right.The main god of the second layer is Yuchen Xuanhuang Daojun, with a total of 104 gods.The main god of the third layer is Emperor Jinque, with a total of 84 gods.The main god of the fourth floor is Taishang Laojun, with a total of 174 gods.The main god of the fifth floor is Jiugong Shangshu, with a total of 36 gods.The sixth floor is on the ground, and the main god is Zhongmao Jun, with 173 gods in total.On the bottom floor are 88 ghost kings and officials of the underworld, and the Beiyin Emperor is in the center.In this pantheon of gods, there are not only Wei Huacun, the founding figure revered by the Shangqing School, but also figures from the Jindan School such as Ge Xuan and Ge Hong, as well as Zhang Daoling, the ancestor of the Wu Dou Mi Dao later revered.There are not only the Three Emperors and Five Emperors and the emperors and generals of Zhou, Qin, Han and Wei, but also Confucian figures headed by Confucius and legendary gods such as Chisongzi and Yin Xi.

Tao Hongjing established Yuan Tianzun as the highest Taoist god.In the Tang Dynasty, due to the respect of the emperor, the status of Laozi, the Supreme Laojun, was elevated to the highest.In the Song Dynasty, the Jade Emperor was revered as the supreme god. Judging from Tao Hongjing's world of Taoist immortals, there are ranks, high and low, and it is actually a tortuous reflection of the feudal society in the world.Tao Hongjing resigned from office and practiced Taoism in the mountains, and has been secretly watching the movement of the court. When Xiao Yan, governor of Yongzhou, raised troops to drive the emperor of Qi Dynasty from the throne and replace him, he saw the right time and sent his disciples to support him halfway.Later, Xiao Yan became the emperor of the Liang Dynasty. He succeeded in speculation and was appreciated.Whenever there was a major event in the imperial court, people were sent to ask for his opinions. At that time, people called him "Prime Minister of the Mountain".It is of course not surprising that the world of immortals created by such a "prime minister in the mountains" has a clear hierarchical structure.In the preface to "True Spirit Status and Industry Map", he said that knowing that the world of gods is also hierarchical, it is easy to understand why there are distinctions between officials and ordinary people in real life.Tao Hongjing tried to demonstrate the rationality of the feudal hierarchy from a religious standpoint. He built such a world of immortals to make Taoism better serve the ruling class.