Chinese ritual mastery traditions

{{Short description|Chinese folk religious order}} [[File:靈安壇大法師.JPG|thumb|200px|A ''fashi''-led ceremony in Taichung, Taiwan]] {{Chinese folk religion}} '''Chinese ritual mastery traditions''', also referred to as '''ritual teachings''' ({{zh|c=法教|p=fǎjiào}}, sometimes rendered as "Faism"),<ref>{{harvnb|Taiwan Folk Religion Society|2011}} {{pages needed |date=November 2023}}</ref><ref name="Yu-chi Tsao, 2012">{{harvnb|Tsao| 2012}} {{pages needed |date=November 2023}}</ref> '''Folk Taoism''' ({{zh|labels=no|c=民間道教|p=Mínjiàn Dàojiào}}), or '''Red Taoism''' (mostly in east China and Taiwan), constitute a large group of Chinese orders of ritual officers who operate within the Chinese folk religion but outside the institutions of official Taoism.<ref name="Pas, 2014. p. 259">{{harvnb|Pas|Leung|2014|p=259}}</ref> The "masters of rites", the ''fashi'' ({{lang|zh|法師}}), are also known in east China as ''hongtou daoshi'' ({{lang|zh|紅頭道士}}), meaning "redhead" or "redhat" ''daoshi'' ("masters of the Tao"), contrasting with the ''wutou daoshi'' ({{lang|zh|烏頭道士}}), "blackhead" or "blackhat" priests, of Zhengyi Taoism who were historically ordained by the Celestial Master.<ref name="Pas, 2014. p. 259"/>

Zhengyi Taoism and Faism are often grouped together under the category of "''daoshi'' and ''fashi'' ritual traditions" ({{lang|zh|道法二門道壇}}). Although the two types of priests have the same roles in Chinese society—in that they can marry and they perform rituals for communities' temples or private homes—Zhengyi ''daoshi'' emphasize their Taoist tradition, distinguished from the vernacular tradition of the ''fashi''.<ref name="Pas, 2014. p. 259"/><ref>{{harvnb|Davis|2005| loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=2rLBvrlKI7QC&q=zhengyi Daoism (Zhengyi tradition)]}}</ref>

Ritual masters can be practitioners of ''tongji'' possession, healing, exorcism and ''jiao'' rituals<ref name="Lagerwey, 2010">{{harvnb|Lagerwey|2010}} {{pages needed |date=November 2023}}</ref> (although historically they were excluded from performing the ''jiao'' liturgy<ref name="Pas, 2014. p. 259"/>). The only ones that are ''shamans (wu)'' are the ''fashi'' of the Lushan school.<ref name="Lagerwey, 2010"/> These Taoist are sometimes classified as “witches”, at times from more “orthodox” branches of religious Taoism.

==The ''fashi''== [[File:Yin yang.svg|thumb|100px|Taijitu symbols are used also in ritual masters' traditions.]] The ritual masters ({{lang|zh|法師}} ''fashi'') are defined, in opposition to formally ordained Taoist priests, as:<ref name="Kohn, 2009. p. 9">{{harvnb|Kohn| 2009|p= 9}}</ref> {{blockquote|Lay practitioners beyond formal organisations whose lineages are vocational rather than hereditary. They live in the communities or among the families they serve or travel through villages and towns of the country, performing exorcisms, establishing protection, and effecting cures among the populace.}}

Michael Saso (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa) distinguishes ''fashi'' as "kataphatic" (of filling character) in opposition to Taoists as "kenotic" (of emptying character), and links them to other Sino-Tibetan indigenous religions:<ref>{{harvnb|Coakley|2000|p=246}}</ref> {{blockquote|resemble or make use of Taoist texts and visualisation, but are not truly Taoist; i.e., they are not kenotic or emptying in character, but rather kataphatic or filling with lesser spirits and local phenomena of nature. Though scholars and official Chinese sources often catalogue these practices as "Taoist", because they use Taoist texts, symbols and icons, in fact they are called by different names [...] Such practice can (but does not always) include what is called "redhead" or "redhat" (''hung-tou'') Taoism, the rituals of Yao, Miao, Na-hsi, Moso and Bon Tibetan practices, and the Ngapa or Ngawa rites of Tibetan conjurers in parts of Amdo [...] Though the mantra incantations and mudra hand symbols used by Taoist and popular religious experts are often similar if not identical, the goal and physical effect on the body are different. The Taoist sense of emptying kenosis and peace distinguish the traditional meditative system from the popular rites that summon violent spirits, exorcise evil demons, and attempt to control the elements such as wind, rain, hail, snow, and other forces of nature. Apophasis or "emptying" distinguishes the truly Taoist practice from the kataphatic or "filling" rites of the medium, shaman, oracle and popular priest.}}

They are known by different names throughout China, other popular ones being "ritual officers" (''faguan'') as they at times call themselves,<ref name="Nadeau, 2012. p. 140">{{harvnb|Nadeau|2012| p= 140}}</ref> or "redhead" Taoist priests ({{lang|zh|紅頭道士}} ''hongtou daoshi''). There are also localised names, such as "orthodox lords" (''duangong''), "altar masters" (''zhangtanshi''), or "earth masters" (''tulaoshi'') in Guizhou.<ref>{{harvnb|Meij|1997|p= 478}}</ref>

They are also in competition with other orders who perform similar services: monks and tantric masters under the auspices of Buddhism, and ''tongji'' medium.<ref name="Kohn, 2009. p. 9"/>

The difference between ritual masters and Deities' mediums is that instead of being subject to territorial gods like the mediums, the ritual masters can marshal the powers of local Deities.<ref name="Nadeau, 2012. p. 140"/>

==Red Taoist orders== [[File:Waterside Dame and attendants at the Temple in Harmony with Heaven in Luodong, Yilan, Taiwan.jpg|thumb|200px|The Waterside Dame and her two attendants Lin Jiuniang and Li Sanniang, at the Temple of Heavenly Harmony of the Lushan school in Luodong, Yilan, Taiwan]]

===Lushan school=== The Lushan (Mount Lu) school ({{zh|labels=no|c=閭山派|p=Lǘshān pài}}, also {{zh|labels=no|c=閭山教|p=Lǘshān jiào}} or {{zh|labels=no|c=閭山法教|p=Lǘshān fǎjiào}}), also known as Sannai school ({{zh|labels=no|c=三奶教|p=Sānnǎi jiào|l=transmission of the Three Ladies}}), is present in Fujian, southern Zhejiang and Taiwan.<ref name="Davis-Lushan">{{harvnb|Davis|2005|loc=Lüshan jiao (Sannai jiao)}}</ref> It is very active nowadays, and is related to the worship of the goddess Chen Jinggu ("Young Quiet Lady") the Waterside Dame ({{lang|zh|临水夫人}} ''Línshuǐ Fūrén''), who is very popular in the same area.<ref name="Davis-Lushan"/> It is also related to the cult of Wang Laomu, and competing with Maoshan Taoism.<ref name="Davis-Lushan"/>

The tradition shows similarities with Yao and Zhuang ritual traditions, and has incorporated elements of Tantra, such as the use of mudra and vajra.<ref name="Davis-Lushan"/> Lushan ''fashi'' perform rituals as the head of celestial troops while invoking the "Three Ladies" (''sannai''): Chen Jinggu and her two disciples, Lin Jiuniang and Li Sanniang. Although Lushan ''fashi'' are men, in performance they wear the ritual red skirt of Chen Jinggu and a crown or headdress with the words "Three Ladies" painted on it.<ref name="Davis-Lushan"/> Lushan ''fashi'' also practice a shamanic voyage rite called "crossing the roads and the passes" (''guo luguan'').<ref name="Davis-Lushan"/>

===Pu'an school=== The Pu'an school ({{zh|labels=no|c=普唵派|p=Pǔǎn pài}}) is present in west-central Fujian, southern Jiangxi and Taiwan.<ref name="Davis-Puan">{{harvnb|Davis|2005| loc=Pu’an jiao}}</ref> The historical figure of the Buddhist monk Pu’an is worshipped by the practitioners as their "founding master" (''zushi'').<ref name="Davis-Puan"/> Their texts, rituals and iconography incorporate Tantric themes adapted in a Taoist style, and have elements of the Zhengyi and Lushan traditions.<ref name="Davis-Puan"/>

===Xujia school=== The Xujia school ({{zh|labels=no|c=徐甲派|p=Xújiǎ pài}}) is another form of ritual masters.<ref name="Yu-chi Tsao, 2012"/>

==Northern orders== * ''Yuehu'' {{lang|zh|樂戶}}<ref>{{harvnb|Overmyer|2009|p=73}}</ref> * ''Zhuli'' {{lang|zh|主禮}}<ref>{{harvnb|Overmyer|2009|p=74}}</ref> * ''Shenjia'' {{lang|zh|神家}}, families of hereditary specialists of gods and rites<ref>{{harvnb|Overmyer|2009|p=77}}</ref> * ''Yinyang'' masters or ''fengshui'' masters, using the Lingbao scriptural tradition<ref>{{harvnb|Overmyer|2009|p= 179}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist|2}}

===Works cited=== * {{cite book |first=Sarah |last=Coakley |title=Religion and the Body |series=Cambridge Studies in Religious Traditions |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |isbn=0521783860}} * {{cite book |first=Edward L. |last=Davis |title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |isbn=0415241294}} * {{cite book |last = Kohn |first =Livia |year = 2009 |title = Introducing Daoism |publisher = Routledge| location = London; New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ftiJ2sTwf54C |isbn = 9780415439978}} * {{cite book |first=John |last=Lagerwey |title=China: A Religious State |location=Hong Kong |publisher=University of Hong Kong Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-9888028047}} *{{cite book |first= Dick van der |last=Meij |title=India and Beyond |publisher=Routledge |year=1997 |isbn=0710306024}} *{{cite book |first= Randall L. |last=Nadeau |title=The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Chinese Religions |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2012}} * {{cite book |last=Overmyer |first=Daniel |title=Local Religion in North China in the Early Twentieth Century: The Structure and Organization of Community Rituals and Beliefs |series=Handbook of Oriental Studies |volume=22, Section 4: China |publisher=Brill |year=2009 |isbn=9789004175921}} * {{cite book |first1=Julian F. |last1=Pas |first2=Man Kam |last2=Leung |title=Historical Dictionary of Taoism |location=Lanham, MD |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0810833692}} * {{cite conference |author=Taiwan Folk Religion Society |chapter=Faism and Folk Religion |trans-title=Proceedings of the Academic Seminar on Legalism and Folk Beliefs 2009 |script-title=zh:法教與民俗信仰學術研討會論文集 |year=2011 |publisher={{lang|zh|文津}}, Tai bei shi |location=Wen jin |isbn=9789576689451}} * {{cite thesis |first=Yu-chi |last=Tsao |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927052156/http://libserver2.nhu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/view_etd?URN=etd-0717113-161140 |archive-date=27 September 2015 |url=http://libserver2.nhu.edu.tw/ETD-db/ETD-search/view_etd?URN=etd-0717113-161140 |title=On Ritual of Pu-An Fa-Jiao (普唵法教): The Case Study of Hexuan Taoist Altar in Tainan |degree=Master's |publisher=Graduate Institute of Religious Studies, Nanhua University |year=2012}}

==Further reading== * {{cite conference |first=John |last=Lagerwey |chapter=Popular Ritual Specialists in West Central Fujian |title=Shehui, minzu yu wenhua zhanyan guoji yantao hui lunwen ji |script-title=zh:社會、民族與文化展演國際研討會論文集 |trans-title=Proceedings of the International Symposium on Society, Ethnicity and Cultural Performance |location=Taipei |publisher=Hanxue yanjiu zhongxin |pages=435–507 |year=2001 |ref=none}} * {{cite encyclopedia |chapter=Lushan Puppet Theatre in Fujian |editor-last=Overmyer |editor-first=Daniel |title=Ethnography in China Today: A Critical Assessment of Methods and Results |location=Taipei |publisher=Yuan-liou |pages=243–56 |year=2002 |ref=none}} * {{cite encyclopedia |chapter=The Lady Linshui: How a Woman Became a Goddess |editor-first1=R. |editor-last1=Weller |editor-first2=M. |editor-last2=Shahar |title=Unruly Gods. Divinity and Society in China |location=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawai’i |year=1996 |ref=none}}

Category:Chinese folk religion Category:Taoist schools Category:East Asian religions