of the Shang-yin dynasty, 1760-1100 B.C.E. Inscribed on the back of tortoise shells and the leg bones of oxen, the oracle records show how the ancient kings of the Shang-yin dynasty invoked heaven before embarking on wars, journeys, burials, building projects, and recreational excursions such as hunting or visiting. The oracle writings ask about weather and success in warfare, hunting, or other royal projects by carving a question into the hard bone or tortoise shell and then applying heat to the surface of the bone or shell to call forth an answer.
Prayers to heal the ill in the king's immediate family occur frequently in the oracles. Illness is thought to be caused by the soul of an imperial ancestor or relative languishing in the underworld without prayer or sacrifice for relief. The notion that the merits, prayers, and good deeds of the living free the souls of the deceased from suffering, and thereby heal the illness of the living, remains a common Asian belief.
The oracle bones make a clear distinction between the spirits of the heavens who control weather, the spirits of the earth who govern nature, and the souls or demons in the afterlife-underworld who cause suffering and illness among humans. A triple world consisting of heaven, earth, and an underworld is deeply rooted in Chinese cosmology. Taoism addresses and "empties" the spirits of nature in later ritual.
THE I CHING BOOK OF CHANGES
The Zhou (Chou) dynasty (1100-221 B.C.E.) left behind the earliest written records, first in the form of bronze and bamboo inscriptions, later in the written records of the Confucian tradition. The five classic books (the Books of Poetry, History, Spring-Autumn Annals, Rites, and the I Ching, the Book of Changes) are perhaps the oldest Chinese historical records. The Confucian worldview permeates, these works, a topic about which many fine studies in Western languages have been written. The first two lines of each of the sixty-four chapters of the I Ching are among the oldest recorded Chinese documents.13 The first lines of the I Ching are an important source for Taoist philosophy, meditation, and healing.
LAO-TZU AND CHUANG-TZU (LAOZI AND ZHUANGZI)
The Lao-tzu Tao-te Ching and the Chuang-tzu were most probably composed during the fourth century B.C.E.14 The Laotzu book (summarized in chapter 2) is the first and foremost work given to the aspiring Taoist novice to read. Taoist meditation, ritual, and healing are based on its understanding.
The Chuang-tzu is the basic text of the Taoist meditative tradition. It is a very difficult text to understand or translate.15 The book is divided into three parts: the Inner Chapters (1-7), probably composed by Chuang-tzu himself; the Outer Chapters (8-15), collated by his disciples; and the Miscellaneous Chapters (16-33), of later composition. The essence of the Chuang-tzu is contained in the humorous tales that accompany the rather obscure text. Some basic ideas from the Chuang-tzu are included in chapter 2.
TAOIST SCHOOLS
Religious Taoism, a mighty river fed by the mystic texts of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu. is Joined by many other streams and rivulets from the second half of the Han dynasty, from about the beginning of the Common Era up until the Tang dynasty, which began in 619 C.E. Three greater sets of registers, lists of spirits' names used in ritual meditations, their appearance, talismans, and commands for summoning them and two lesser-known schools developed during this time:
Dragon-Tiger Taoism, also known as Zhengyi Celestial Master Taoism, is one of the earliest Taoist healing movements. Its founder, Zhang Daoling, the "first" celestial master, lived in the second century C.E. Dragon-Tiger or Zhengyi Taoists meditate on the Lao-tzu Tao-te Ching as a sacred book, practice rites of healing and renewal, and receive a special Zhengyi Mengwei (Cheng-i Meng-wei) register in twenty-four segments when they are ordained Taoists. Their sacred mountain is Lunghu Shan (Dragon-Tiger Mountain) in southeast Jiangxi Province. These Taoists marry and pass on their registers to at least one of their children in each generation.
After meditation on the Thunder Spirits, Taoists draw talismans to heal, bring rain, heal illness. Zhengtong Taoist Canon woodblocks, ca. 1445.
Lingbao (Ling-pao) and its registers are mentioned by a Taoist scholar named Ko Hong, in a work called Baopuzi (Paop'u Tzu, The Master Who Embraces Simplicity) in the early fourth century C.E. Lingbao Taoism teaches methods for healing and renewal based on the Five Talismanlc Charms, the Lingbao Wufu. These talismans were used by the mythical emperor Yu, China's Noah, to stop the floods. Its sacred mountain is Gozao Shan, (Ge Tsao Shan) in southeast China.
Highest Pure Shangqing Taoism (Shang-ch'ing), reputedly founded by the woman mystic Lady Wei Huacun, teaches the healing and emptying meditations of the Huang-t'ing Neijing (the Gold Pavilion classic, Inner Chapters). Its sacred mountain is Mao Shan, twenty-five miles southeast of Nanjing in Jiangsu Province.
North Pole Beiji Taoism (Pei-chi) teaches meditations and martial arts for healing. It invokes Ursa Major, the constellation that points to the polestar, to exorcise harmful spirits and thoughts from the conscious and subconscious mind. Its sacred mountain is Wudang Shan (Wu-tang shan) in western Hubel Province near the Shaanxi border.
Qingwel (Ch'ing-wei), Pure Refined Taoism shares with the Tantric Buddhist orders of Tibet the use of thunder and lightning meditations for healing. Many of Its mantras written in Siddham (that Is, late Sanskrit chants) are similar to those used by Tendal and Shingon Tantric Buddhism in Japan, brought from China in the ninth century (Tang dynasty), and by Tibetan Tantric Buddhism.
Many of the healing methods used in these five kinds of classical Taoist "registers" became a part of the popular healing tradition during the religious reformation of the Song dynasty, 960 to 1281 C.E. Inspired perhaps by the spirit of simplicity found in the Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu, the laity (ordinary people) derived ways of healing that simplified the complicated methods of the ordained Taoist priest. The Gold Pavilton classic contains some of these techniques and registers.
Quanzhen (ch'uan-cheni) Taoism, a sixth great tradition, known as All True Taoism, was founded during the Song and popularized during the Yuan and subsequent eras, including the People's Republic today. Quanzhen Taoism's headquarters are at the Baiyun-Guan temple in Beijing. Its monasteries are found all over China. Quanzhen monks and nuns practice celibacy and abstinence (vegetarian diet) in a disciplined way of communal life. Married laypeople too may follow this reformed way of Taoist chant, Zen (Chan) Buddhist-like meditation, and Confucian family virtue.
In today's socialist China only two of these Taoist traditions are officially recognized by the state. The Zhengyi tradition of Dragon-Tiger Mountain in southern China and the Quanzhen school in Beijing (northern China) are classified as the two official Taoist sects. Young Taoists trained in Beijing and elsewhere are taught this simplified distinction and remain for the most part unaware of the rich Taoist tradition while attending the state schools. The Taoist masters who live in the mountains, however, and the "fireside" married Taoists of the towns and countryside villages, preserve and teach the old apophatic "emptying" traditions.
Redhat Taoism, the kataphatic, filling or "imaging" tradition, also flourished and continues to develop from the Song dynasty reformation until the present.16 This tradition, however, does require an expert such as a possessed medium, shaman, Redhat saigong, or Bon priest, to do the exorcistic healing. It can be described but is not easily imitated, nor is it to be tried by the Western or Chinese reader.
The Taoist apophatic tradition, a practice that based healing and meditation on kenosis or emptying, became a movement available to the ordinary person of China's countryside and villages during the Song dynasty reformation, continuing to the present The use of the Tao-te Ching and Chuang-tzu as meditation manuals, qi meditation, color visualization, massage, herbal remedies, healthy exercises, all became a part of a popular Taoist movement, available to anyone who would learn it. There was no esoteric or secret learning preserved
