NEH Summer Seminar Daily Schedule Day One: Monday, July 18, 2011 Introduction to Daoist Studies What is Daoism? A historical discussion of the ways in which the term Daoism has been used in Western academic research, parallel terms in Chinese, and recent advances in understanding this question. The History of Daoist Studies A historically grounded introduction to major scholars of Daoism in France, Japan, and North America, focusing on the scholastic approaches adopted, texts treated, research results, and their diffusion through the broader Sinological world. Sources for the Study of Daoism An introduction to the Ming dynasty Daoist canon, its predecessors, its structure, and more recent compilations of Daoist scriptures, both historical and modern, as well as epigraphy. Reference works for the Study of Daoism A survey of traditional printed and more recent electronic resources for the study of Daoism, including bibliographies, indices, concordances, dictionaries, encyclopedia, and electronic corpora. Daoist Vocabulary A discussion of some key terms used in the study and translation of Daoist texts, common English equivalents, and strategies for conveying the Daoist worldview in a typologically dissimilar Western language. Day Two Tuesday, July 19, 2011 The Historical Foundation of Daoism Daoism was founded in West China (modern Sichuan province) during the mid-second century CE. Today we look at the earliest surviving sources from the second and early third centuries. The Zhang Pu stele of 173 CE 喜平二年張普碑 This stele, the earliest hard, datable evidence for the religion, already shows an organized religion with a church hierarchy, sacred scriptures, a pantheon, and ordination rituals. The Xiang’er Commentary to the Laozi 老子想爾注 Selected readings in the Xiang’er Commentary, composed by Zhang Lu before 215 CE, with a focus on the way the text of the Laozi was appropriated by the Celestial Masters, and the elements of communal religion evident in the text. The Early Encyclicals A critical reading of two revealed exhortations produced by spirit writing during the early third century, the Yangping Parish 陽平治 (220-231 CE) and the Commands and Precepts of the Great Daoist Family 大道家令戒 (255), focusing on their significance for understanding the development of the early religion following the defeat of the Hanzhong theocratic state and the diffusion of the religion across North China. Day Three: July 20, 2011 Church Organization: Offices and Ordinations The Celestial Masters initially organized their church into twenty-four parishes, each with a complement of church officers. Over time, as the religion expanded geographically this system was expanded and transformed. The Demon Statutes of Lady Blue 女青鬼律 This text from the late third century represents the earliest surviving Daoist scripture and our first insight into why the historians claim that Zhang Ling taught a “Way of Demons.” The text records the names of a large number of quasi-demonic figures who can wreak havoc but also can be bent to serve the needs of the Daoist priest and her community. A set of twenty-two precepts also give us unique insight into early Daoist society and our first clear references to the sexual rite called the Joining of Pneumas. The Statutes of the Mystic Capital 玄都律文 This collection of regulations lays out the offices present in each of the twenty-four original parishes and the parishes that were added when the church expanded beyond the Sichuan region. The Daoist Code Abridged by Master Lu 陸先生道門科略 This fifth century text lays out the tensions that the church organization encountered as it expanded into a national religion and competition arose among settled and roving priests. Day Four: July 21, 2011 The Novitiate and the Outer Registers The early church represented a universal priesthood with a series of ordinations beginning in childhood that trained members for the performance of progressively more complex rituals. Each new rank was marked by the conferral of a new “register” (lu 籙). The Protocol of the Outer Registers 太上外籙儀 This text gives us our first detailed look at the training program for novices within the church. We will read the standard petitions used to recommend students for advanced ordinations at various levels as well as the documents for female novices and novices of non-Chinese origin. We will also look closely at the master-novice relationship and the exercise of authority in the church. Day Five: July 22, 2011 The Nature and Use of Petitions Petitions were the basic Celestial Master ritual document and remain at the center of Daoist ritual today. Modeled on imperial documents, the priest acts as a celestial officer in requesting aid from Daoist administrators of the cosmos. Master Redpine’s Petition Almanac 赤松子章曆 This day will be devoted to reading a number of model petitions used to cure illness, dispel demonic miasmas following funerals, and ward off various kinds of misfortune. We will also look at instructions for the composition of petitions and the drawing of talismans. Days Six and Seven: July 23-24, 2011 Break Days – Optional visit to religious centers in Denver. Day Eight: July 25, 2011 The Origins of the Shangqing Scriptures The Shangqing scriptures derive from the first major reform movement within Daoism and mark significant inroads into elite Southern society by the Daoist religion. These scriptures had a wide-ranging impact on later Chinese prose and poetry. The Declarations of the Perfected 真誥 The talented Daoist medium Yang Xi (330-?386?) is the first Daoist for whom a large collection of writings survives. Collected by the Daoist scholar Tao Hongjing (456-536), the Declarations is a collection of visionary transcripts that Yang shared with his patrons, the Xu family. We also see how Tao reconstructed the course of the revelations based on detailed philological and codicological analysis. The Biography of Lord Mao 茅君傳 The Biography of the Perfected of Ziyang 紫陽真人傳 One of the ways Yang and his contemporaries communicated practices was through the biographical form, an outgrowth of the “exemplary biographies” of the standard Chinese histories. The former of these two selections, revealed to Yang Xi, deals with the tutelary deity of a mountain near present-day Nanjing. The second was likely revealed to Hua Qiao, a medium who preceded Yang in service to the Xu family. Day Nine, July 26, 2011 Shangqing Practices of Personal Apotheosis. The Shangqing scriptures appealed to the elite through their advocacy of individual meditation practices meant to guide the practitioner in visualization meditation meant to merge the gods of the body (microcosm) with those of the astral bodies (macrocosm). The Perfected Scripture of the Grand Cavern 大洞真經 This text is dedicated to the visualization of celestial divinities and was central to the Shangqing scriptures revealed to Yang. The Scripture of the Eight Elementals 八素經 The Central Scripture of the Nine Perfected 九真中經 These two texts have to do with the meditational ingestion of astral essences and the conduct of these to various parts of the body to “feed” the gods resident there. The first text explains the renovation of the eight gods of each of the three registers of the human body, found in the head, the chest, and just below the navel. The second presents a meditation to “remake” the body in precisely the reverse order in which it was held to be formed in the womb, thus bringing the adept back to the moment of conception. Both have clear cognates in early Chinese medical literature. Day Ten, July 27, 2011 Lingbao Ritual The more individualistic concerns of the Shangqing scriptures stimulated the production of a new corpus of scriptures advocating communal ritual. The Lingbao scriptures, composed around 400 CE and also in the vicinity of present-day Nanjing, introduced rituals of universal salvation that are still in use today. The Scripture on the Five Talismans of Lingbao 靈寶五符序 Predating the main corpus of Lingbao texts, this scripture is the first to introduce the zhai or Retreat ritual meant to summon the gods of heaven and feast them in a manner reminiscent of ancestral sacrifice. This text thus demonstrates the ways popular practices were remade in Daoism. The Perfect Script in Five Tablets 五篇真文 The Jade Instructions on the Red Script 赤書玉訣 These two texts feature further elaborations on the ritual found in the Five Talismans and introduce the emphasis on universal salvation that will be a part of these rituals thereafter. In addition, we find here the primary lists of moral codes and commandments enjoined on Lingbao practitioners. Day Eleven, July 28, 2011 Lingbao Cosmology and Tales of the Gods The Lingbao scriptures borrowed much from Buddhism in an ultimately futile attempt to replace the foreign religion. In these scriptures we find, for the first time in Daoism, accounts of rebirth, alternate world-systems, and the translation of heavenly language. Some of the Lingbao adaptations of Buddhist doctrine were later exploited by Buddhists to fit their religion to the Chinese scene. All had influences on later literature. Blame and Blessings of the Wheel of the Law 法輪罪福 This text gives one account of the instruction bestowed by several divinities on Ge Xuan, the putative human recipient of the Lingbao texts. Reaching the Subtle through Unwavering Pursuit of Wisdom 智慧定志通微 Meant to bring Chinese Buddhist adherents to Daoism, this scripture retells one of the most famous tales in all of Asian literature, the story of Viśvantara’s gift of his wife and children to others in pursuit of religious purity. The Daoist retelling of this tale still tells of children given to others, but the children themselves participate in the gift. Upper Chapters on the Original Endeavors 本業上品 This text recounts several of the previous lives of each of the most important Lingbao deities. Day Twelve: July 29, 2011 Lingbao hells and Daoist eschatalogy One of the aspects that the Lingbao authors brought into Daoism from Buddhism was the concept of postmortem suffering for sins committed in life. In this session, we will look at one of the LIngbao accounts of the hells. A belief that the world would soon be destroyed and then built anew figured in Daoism from early times, but was given new emphases in Shangqing and Lingbao literature. The macrocosmic subtleties of its meditation practices were held by Shangqing authors to be necessary in that merging with the sun, moon, and stars was one way of ensuring that one’s life might extend into the new world where these astral bodies would surely reappear. The literary drama of Shangqing apocalyptic writings had a marked influence on similar predictions that appeared simultaneously in both Buddhist and Lingbao texts. The Three Paths and Five Bitternesses 三途五苦 This is a Lingbao account of the torments reserved for those who break the commandments. The Purple Texts Written by Spirits 靈書紫文 (translated) The Scripture of the True Patterns of the Three Heavens 三天正法經 The predictions of the Purple Texts were invoked by those who supported Li Yuan, founder of the Tang dynasty, and again by those who supported Wu Zhao, who sought to supplant it. The True Patterns gives further details on how the world will end. Salvation through Extinction: Fivefold Refinement to Revivify the Corpse 滅度五煉生尸 This text recounts the burial procedures for a Lingbao adherent. The session will conclude with a PowerPoint presentation on mortuary stones found in the graves of those in later ages whose interment followed the procedures outlined here. Days Thirteen and Fourteen: July 30-31, 2011 Break days – Optional tour of nearby mountain communities. Day Fifteen: August 1, 2011 Song Daoism – The Rise of the Wenchang Cult During the Song dynasty (960-1279), the ancient cult centered on a snake/dragon thunder god from Zitong, Sichuan, developed into a cult for the god of literature, Wenchang. This is an example of a wider trend of popular deities claiming Daoist identities that fundamentally reshaped the Chinese religious world. Examination Tales Several anecdotes from the Five Dynasties (907-960) and Song showing the god of Zitong as an oracle for and controller of success in the civil service examinations. We will also look at Song accounts of spirit writing and their connection with the examinations. The Book of Transformations of Wenchang 文昌化書 A first-person hagiography, spirit written by Wenchang, explaining his evolution over two thousand years of Chinese history. This text is also an early example of the genre of morality books. The Tract on the Hidden Administration 陰騭文 One of the most famous of the morality books, revealed by Wenchang in the later Song or early Yuan dynasty. One of the most widely read texts in pre-modern China, still found in most temples. Day Sixteen: August 2, 2011 Song Daoism – the Divine Empyrean and Pure Subtlety Schools The Divine Empyrean movement is famous for recruiting the Song Emperor Huizong as a follower by announcing that he was in fact the Great Thearch of Long Life. With its origins in Song Thunder rites, the Qingwei school is notable for the prominent role of women in its founding myths, including Lady Wei Huacun (3rd c.) and Zu Shu (fl. 907-960). The school was prominent during the Qing dynasty (1644-1910) and still has many practitioners. Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot 玉樞寶經 The Scripture of the Jade Pivot introduces the figure of the Heavenly Worthy of Universal Salvation, a Daoist reflex of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, and promotes the use of Thunder Rites, which became increasingly popular after the Song among popular exorcists called Ritual Masters (fashi). This scripture is still widely used among the exorcists of South China. Scripture of the Foundational Actions of the Jade August 玉皇本行經 This Pure Subtlety work, with its origins in the Wenchang spirit writing cult of the Song, is one of the most popular scriptures in modern liturgical performances. It recounts the divine origins of the Jade August, head of the late imperial pantheon, and the message of salvation he brings to humanity. Genealogy of the Transcendents of the Pure Subtlety Heaven 清微仙普 This text unifies the entire Daoist tradition into a single line of divine beings culminating in the founding of the Pure Subtlety school in the thirteenth century. Day Seventeen: August 3, 2011 The Complete Perfection Order and Modern Daoism in China The Complete Perfection order arose in the Song as an amalgam of the Three Teachings (Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism), adopting Buddhist monasticism, Daoist self-cultivation, and Confucian ethics. Today it is the dominant form of Daoism in China and manages the government organization that oversees Daoist practitioners. Fifteen Discourses on the Teachings of Wang Chongyang 重陽立教十五論 A short text setting out the primary doctrines of the faith, some taken from Chan Buddhism, some from Daoism, and attributed to the founder, Wang Zhe (1113-70). Biographies of the Seven Perfected 七真年譜 Biographies of the seven main disciples of Wang Chongyang. Record of Transcendents from the Sweetwater River 甘河仙源錄 A collection of epigraphy documenting the lives of the founding figures of the Complete Perfection movement. Day Eighteen: August 4, 2011 Daoism on the Periphery Members of the Ba 巴 ethnicity were important members of the earliest Daoist communities. Today we find that many non-Chinese minorities have adopted Daoism, but none so thoroughly as the Yao; in many Yao communities, all members are ordained and social status is determined by rank of ordination. This day will be devoted to exploring why Daoism is so appealing to non-Chinese, how non-Chinese ethnic groups adapt Daoism to their own unique cultural traditions, and the role Daoism plays in Sinicization. This issue is key to understanding the role of Daoism in the broader East Asia cultural sphere. Yao ordination documents Readings in Yao manuscripts collected during fieldwork by the Japanese research team led by Hirota Ritsuko 広田律子 of Kanagawa University. Preceded by a report on recent fieldwork among the Yao by our consultant, Maruyama Hiroshi, a member of the research group. Our focus will be on manuscripts used in ordinations, which show both intriguing parallels and significant variances from those of the Celestial Masters. Yao scriptures in European libraries A report on Yao manuscripts held in the collection of the Bavarian State Library, Munich. Daoism and Sinicization A discussion of the role of non-Chinese ethnic groups in the history of Daoism and their significance for the study of modern Daoism. Day Nineteen: August 5, 2011 Conclusion and Outreach The morning will be devoted to a general discussion of the Seminar, the texts we have read, and the future of the field of Daoist Studies. The co-directors will solicit advice on similar seminars in the future and on ways we can facilitate the expansion of the field and the involvement of a broader group of Sinologists in the future. The afternoon will be spent with a group of K-12 teachers assembled by the Program for Teaching East Asia, the K-12 East Asia outreach program of the Center for Asian Studies. Our goal will be to have the participants communicate to this group what they have learned about Daoism, promote the teaching of Daoism in secondary schools, and discuss with them what elements of Daoism would appeal to students entering university, given the current state of instruction on East Asia in K-12 programs. It is hoped that this session will also help college and university instructors fine-tune their presentations on Daoism to meets the needs and interests of the American high school graduates who populate their classes.

NEH Summer Seminar Daily Schedule

Day One: Monday, July 18, 2011

Introduction to Daoist Studies

What is Daoism?

A historical discussion of the ways in which the term Daoism has been used in Western academic research, parallel terms in Chinese, and recent advances in understanding this question.

The History of Daoist Studies

A historically grounded introduction to major scholars of Daoism in France, Japan, and North America, focusing on the scholastic approaches adopted, texts treated, research results, and their diffusion through the broader Sinological world.

Sources for the Study of Daoism

An introduction to the Ming dynasty Daoist canon, its predecessors, its structure, and more recent compilations of Daoist scriptures, both historical and modern, as well as epigraphy.

Reference works for the Study of Daoism

A survey of traditional printed and more recent electronic resources for the study of Daoism, including bibliographies, indices, concordances, dictionaries, encyclopedia, and electronic corpora.

Daoist Vocabulary

A discussion of some key terms used in the study and translation of Daoist texts, common English equivalents, and strategies for conveying the Daoist worldview in a typologically dissimilar Western language.

Day Two Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Historical Foundation of Daoism

Daoism was founded in West China (modern Sichuan province) during the mid-second century CE. Today we look at the earliest surviving sources from the second and early third centuries.

The Zhang Pu stele of 173 CE 喜平二年張普碑

This stele, the earliest hard, datable evidence for the religion, already shows an organized religion with a church hierarchy, sacred scriptures, a pantheon, and ordination rituals.

The Xiang’er Commentary to the Laozi 老子想爾注

Selected readings in the Xiang’er Commentary, composed by Zhang Lu before 215 CE, with a focus on the way the text of the Laozi was appropriated by the Celestial Masters, and the elements of communal religion evident in the text.

The Early Encyclicals

A critical reading of two revealed exhortations produced by spirit writing during the early third century, the Yangping Parish 陽平治 (220-231 CE) and the Commands and Precepts of the Great Daoist Family 大道家令戒 (255), focusing on their significance for understanding the development of the early religion following the defeat of the Hanzhong theocratic state and the diffusion of the religion across North China.

Day Three: July 20, 2011

Church Organization: Offices and Ordinations

The Celestial Masters initially organized their church into twenty-four parishes, each with a complement of church officers. Over time, as the religion expanded geographically this system was expanded and transformed.

The Demon Statutes of Lady Blue 女青鬼律

This text from the late third century represents the earliest surviving Daoist scripture and our first insight into why the historians claim that Zhang Ling taught a “Way of Demons.” The text records the names of a large number of quasi-demonic figures who can wreak havoc but also can be bent to serve the needs of the Daoist priest and her community. A set of twenty-two precepts also give us unique insight into early Daoist society and our first clear references to the sexual rite called the Joining of Pneumas.

The Statutes of the Mystic Capital 玄都律文

This collection of regulations lays out the offices present in each of the twenty-four original parishes and the parishes that were added when the church expanded beyond the Sichuan region.

The Daoist Code Abridged by Master Lu 陸先生道門科略

This fifth century text lays out the tensions that the church organization encountered as it expanded into a national religion and competition arose among settled and roving priests.

Day Four: July 21, 2011

The Novitiate and the Outer Registers

The early church represented a universal priesthood with a series of ordinations beginning in childhood that trained members for the performance of progressively more complex rituals. Each new rank was marked by the conferral of a new “register” (lu 籙).

The Protocol of the Outer Registers 太上外籙儀

This text gives us our first detailed look at the training program for novices within the church. We will read the standard petitions used to recommend students for advanced ordinations at various levels as well as the documents for female novices and novices of non-Chinese origin. We will also look closely at the master-novice relationship and the exercise of authority in the church.

Day Five: July 22, 2011

The Nature and Use of Petitions

Petitions were the basic Celestial Master ritual document and remain at the center of Daoist ritual today. Modeled on imperial documents, the priest acts as a celestial officer in requesting aid from Daoist administrators of the cosmos.

Master Redpine’s Petition Almanac 赤松子章曆

This day will be devoted to reading a number of model petitions used to cure illness, dispel demonic miasmas following funerals, and ward off various kinds of misfortune. We will also look at instructions for the composition of petitions and the drawing of talismans.

Days Six and Seven: July 23-24, 2011

Break Days – Optional visit to religious centers in Denver.

Day Eight: July 25, 2011

The Origins of the Shangqing Scriptures

The Shangqing scriptures derive from the first major reform movement within Daoism and mark significant inroads into elite Southern society by the Daoist religion. These scriptures had a wide-ranging impact on later Chinese prose and poetry.

The Declarations of the Perfected 真誥

The talented Daoist medium Yang Xi (330-?386?) is the first Daoist for whom a large collection of writings survives. Collected by the Daoist scholar Tao Hongjing (456-536), the Declarations is a collection of visionary transcripts that Yang shared with his patrons, the Xu family. We also see how Tao reconstructed the course of the revelations based on detailed philological and codicological analysis.

The Biography of Lord Mao 茅君傳

The Biography of the Perfected of Ziyang 紫陽真人傳

One of the ways Yang and his contemporaries communicated practices was through the biographical form, an outgrowth of the “exemplary biographies” of the standard Chinese histories. The former of these two selections, revealed to Yang Xi, deals with the tutelary deity of a mountain near present-day Nanjing. The second was likely revealed to Hua Qiao, a medium who preceded Yang in service to the Xu family.

Day Nine, July 26, 2011

Shangqing Practices of Personal Apotheosis.

The Shangqing scriptures appealed to the elite through their advocacy of individual meditation practices meant to guide the practitioner in visualization meditation meant to merge the gods of the body (microcosm) with those of the astral bodies (macrocosm).

The Perfected Scripture of the Grand Cavern 大洞真經

This text is dedicated to the visualization of celestial divinities and was central to the Shangqing scriptures revealed to Yang.

The Scripture of the Eight Elementals 八素經

The Central Scripture of the Nine Perfected 九真中經

These two texts have to do with the meditational ingestion of astral essences and the conduct of these to various parts of the body to “feed” the gods resident there. The first text explains the renovation of the eight gods of each of the three registers of the human body, found in the head, the chest, and just below the navel. The second presents a meditation to “remake” the body in precisely the reverse order in which it was held to be formed in the womb, thus bringing the adept back to the moment of conception. Both have clear cognates in early Chinese medical literature.

Day Ten, July 27, 2011

Lingbao Ritual

The more individualistic concerns of the Shangqing scriptures stimulated the production of a new corpus of scriptures advocating communal ritual. The Lingbao scriptures, composed around 400 CE and also in the vicinity of present-day Nanjing, introduced rituals of universal salvation that are still in use today.

The Scripture on the Five Talismans of Lingbao 靈寶五符序

Predating the main corpus of Lingbao texts, this scripture is the first to introduce the zhai or Retreat ritual meant to summon the gods of heaven and feast them in a manner reminiscent of ancestral sacrifice. This text thus demonstrates the ways popular practices were remade in Daoism.

The Perfect Script in Five Tablets 五篇真文

The Jade Instructions on the Red Script 赤書玉訣

These two texts feature further elaborations on the ritual found in the Five

Talismans and introduce the emphasis on universal salvation that will be a part of these rituals thereafter. In addition, we find here the primary lists of moral codes and commandments enjoined on Lingbao practitioners.

Day Eleven, July 28, 2011

Lingbao Cosmology and Tales of the Gods

The Lingbao scriptures borrowed much from Buddhism in an ultimately futile attempt to replace the foreign religion. In these scriptures we find, for the first time in Daoism, accounts of rebirth, alternate world-systems, and the translation of heavenly language. Some of the Lingbao adaptations of Buddhist doctrine were later exploited by Buddhists to fit their religion to the Chinese scene. All had influences on later literature.

Blame and Blessings of the Wheel of the Law 法輪罪福

This text gives one account of the instruction bestowed by several divinities on Ge Xuan, the putative human recipient of the Lingbao texts.

Reaching the Subtle through Unwavering Pursuit of Wisdom 智慧定志通微

Meant to bring Chinese Buddhist adherents to Daoism, this scripture retells one of the most famous tales in all of Asian literature, the story of Viśvantara’s gift of his wife and children to others in pursuit of religious purity. The Daoist retelling of this tale still tells of children given to others, but the children themselves participate in the gift.

Upper Chapters on the Original Endeavors 本業上品

This text recounts several of the previous lives of each of the most important Lingbao deities.

Day Twelve: July 29, 2011

Lingbao hells and Daoist eschatalogy

One of the aspects that the Lingbao authors brought into Daoism from Buddhism was the concept of postmortem suffering for sins committed in life. In this session, we will look at one of the LIngbao accounts of the hells. A belief that the world would soon be destroyed and then built anew figured in Daoism from early times, but was given new emphases in Shangqing and Lingbao literature. The macrocosmic subtleties of its meditation practices were held by Shangqing authors to be necessary in that merging with the sun, moon, and stars was one way of ensuring that one’s life might extend into the new world where these astral bodies would surely reappear. The literary drama of Shangqing apocalyptic writings had a marked influence on similar predictions that appeared simultaneously in both Buddhist and Lingbao texts.

The Three Paths and Five Bitternesses 三途五苦

This is a Lingbao account of the torments reserved for those who break the commandments.

The Purple Texts Written by Spirits 靈書紫文 (translated)

The Scripture of the True Patterns of the Three Heavens 三天正法經

The predictions of the Purple Texts were invoked by those who supported Li Yuan, founder of the Tang dynasty, and again by those who supported Wu Zhao, who sought to supplant it. The True Patterns gives further details on how the world will end.

Salvation through Extinction: Fivefold Refinement to Revivify the Corpse 滅度五

煉生尸

This text recounts the burial procedures for a Lingbao adherent. The session will conclude with a PowerPoint presentation on mortuary stones found in the graves of those in later ages whose interment followed the procedures outlined here.

Days Thirteen and Fourteen: July 30-31, 2011

Break days – Optional tour of nearby mountain communities.

Day Fifteen: August 1, 2011

Song Daoism – The Rise of the Wenchang Cult

During the Song dynasty (960-1279), the ancient cult centered on a snake/dragon thunder god from Zitong, Sichuan, developed into a cult for the god of literature, Wenchang. This is an example of a wider trend of popular deities claiming Daoist identities that fundamentally reshaped the Chinese religious world.

Examination Tales

Several anecdotes from the Five Dynasties (907-960) and Song showing the god of Zitong as an oracle for and controller of success in the civil service examinations. We will also look at Song accounts of spirit writing and their connection with the examinations.

The Book of Transformations of Wenchang 文昌化書

A first-person hagiography, spirit written by Wenchang, explaining his evolution over two thousand years of Chinese history. This text is also an early example of the genre of morality books.

The Tract on the Hidden Administration 陰騭文

One of the most famous of the morality books, revealed by Wenchang in the later Song or early Yuan dynasty. One of the most widely read texts in pre-modern China, still found in most temples.

Day Sixteen: August 2, 2011

Song Daoism – the Divine Empyrean and Pure Subtlety Schools

The Divine Empyrean movement is famous for recruiting the Song Emperor Huizong as a follower by announcing that he was in fact the Great Thearch of Long Life.

With its origins in Song Thunder rites, the Qingwei school is notable for the prominent role of women in its founding myths, including Lady Wei Huacun (3rd c.) and Zu Shu (fl. 907-960). The school was prominent during the Qing dynasty (1644-1910) and still has many practitioners.

Precious Scripture of the Jade Pivot 玉樞寶經

The Scripture of the Jade Pivot introduces the figure of the Heavenly Worthy of Universal Salvation, a Daoist reflex of the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra, and promotes the use of Thunder Rites, which became increasingly popular after the Song among popular exorcists called Ritual Masters (fashi). This scripture is still widely used among the exorcists of South China.

Scripture of the Foundational Actions of the Jade August 玉皇本行經

This Pure Subtlety work, with its origins in the Wenchang spirit writing cult of the Song, is one of the most popular scriptures in modern liturgical performances. It recounts the divine origins of the Jade August, head of the late imperial pantheon, and the message of salvation he brings to humanity.

Genealogy of the Transcendents of the Pure Subtlety Heaven 清微仙普

This text unifies the entire Daoist tradition into a single line of divine beings culminating in the founding of the Pure Subtlety school in the thirteenth century.

Day Seventeen: August 3, 2011

The Complete Perfection Order and Modern Daoism in China

The Complete Perfection order arose in the Song as an amalgam of the Three Teachings (Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism), adopting Buddhist monasticism, Daoist self-cultivation, and Confucian ethics. Today it is the dominant form of Daoism in China and manages the government organization that oversees Daoist practitioners.

Fifteen Discourses on the Teachings of Wang Chongyang 重陽立教十五論

A short text setting out the primary doctrines of the faith, some taken from Chan Buddhism, some from Daoism, and attributed to the founder, Wang Zhe (1113-70).

Biographies of the Seven Perfected 七真年譜

Biographies of the seven main disciples of Wang Chongyang.

Record of Transcendents from the Sweetwater River 甘河仙源錄

A collection of epigraphy documenting the lives of the founding figures of the Complete Perfection movement.

Day Eighteen: August 4, 2011

Daoism on the Periphery

Members of the Ba 巴 ethnicity were important members of the earliest Daoist communities. Today we find that many non-Chinese minorities have adopted Daoism, but none so thoroughly as the Yao; in many Yao communities, all members are ordained and social status is determined by rank of ordination. This day will be devoted to exploring why Daoism is so appealing to non-Chinese, how non-Chinese ethnic groups adapt Daoism to their own unique cultural traditions, and the role Daoism plays in Sinicization. This issue is key to understanding the role of Daoism in the broader East Asia cultural sphere.

Yao ordination documents

Readings in Yao manuscripts collected during fieldwork by the Japanese research team led by Hirota Ritsuko 広田律子 of Kanagawa University. Preceded by a report on recent fieldwork among the Yao by our consultant, Maruyama Hiroshi, a member of the research group. Our focus will be on manuscripts used in ordinations, which show both intriguing parallels and significant variances from those of the Celestial Masters.

Yao scriptures in European libraries

A report on Yao manuscripts held in the collection of the Bavarian State Library, Munich.

Daoism and Sinicization

A discussion of the role of non-Chinese ethnic groups in the history of Daoism and their significance for the study of modern Daoism.

Day Nineteen: August 5, 2011

Conclusion and Outreach

The morning will be devoted to a general discussion of the Seminar, the texts we have read, and the future of the field of Daoist Studies. The co-directors will solicit advice on similar seminars in the future and on ways we can facilitate the expansion of the field and the involvement of a broader group of Sinologists in the future.

The afternoon will be spent with a group of K-12 teachers assembled by the Program for Teaching East Asia, the K-12 East Asia outreach program of the Center for Asian Studies. Our goal will be to have the participants communicate to this group what they have learned about Daoism, promote the teaching of Daoism in secondary schools, and discuss with them what elements of Daoism would appeal to students entering university, given the current state of instruction on East Asia in K-12 programs. It is hoped that this session will also help college and university instructors fine-tune their presentations on Daoism to meets the needs and interests of the American high school graduates who populate their classes.