Temple, Ritual, and Pilgrimage: Local Daoism in the Ming Dynasty

This study mainly investigates the stele inscriptions found in Henan province. Most of the steles inscriptions were created and erected during the late imperial period. A close look at them will provide us with a perspective on the local development of Daoism in the north. Previous studies provided good models for us to look into religious development in local society. For example, Daniel Overmyer wrote about ritual leaders in north China in the twentieth century, with a focus on the local communities in Heibei, Shanxi, and Shandong (Overmyer 2006). Vincent Goossaert looked into the religious specialists, including Buddhists, Daoists, and spirit mediums, who became permanent residents of local temples during the late imperial period (Goossaert 2006). David Johnson also analyzed the local religious life in villages in Shanxi (Johnson 2009). Scholarly attention goes not only to north China but also to the south. Both John Lagerwey’s and Kenneth Dean’s studies of local religious societies in the southern parts of China suggested the rise of a “temple-centric” society since the Song dynasty (Lagerwey 2019; Dean 2019). Despite these pioneering studies, there’s still plenty of room for discussions of the Daoist adaptation and development in local society during the late imperial period. Richard Wang’s studies of the princely patronage of Daoism in the Ming dynasty brought valuable insight into the topic (Wang 2012), but he adopts a top-down perspective, whereas in this study, I will take a bottom-up perspective, paying special attention to how Daoism was woven into the locality in Henan through a variety of religious activities, such as temple construction, ritual service, and pilgrimage, in the Ming Dynasty.

Through the reading and classifying of a variety of stele inscriptions found in the counties under the jurisdiction of Luoyang, Henan, I divide my investigation into three parts. The first section looks at the radiating effects of the national worship of Zhenwu on local societies through the construction and renovation of local temples for worshiping Zhenwu and making pilgrimages to Wudang shan, the headquarter of the national Zhenwu veneration. The second section looks at the local community building through communal rituals held at the local temples. Ritual performance, similar to temple building, requires collaborative efforts of the local communities. The third section will discuss the overlap of religious service and lineage commitment, and how Confucianism was involved in religious service and the implications behind that. This study aims to reveal, through a bottom-up approach, a picture of a local society that should be reconciled with centralized imperial power but retains local characteristics and vividness.

The focus of this study is on Henan, a region located in north-central China and known as one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. Historically, Henan has been a place of war due to its strategic geographical location. Two of its cities, namely Luoyang 洛陽 and Kaifeng 開封, were capitals for several imperial dynasties. During the Ming Dynasty, Henan was a fief of the King of Yi (伊), with its seat located in Luoyang. Religiously, Henan has been rich in Buddhist and Daoist culture, with the White Horse Temple (Baima si 白馬寺) being the first Buddhist temple built and still preserved in Luoyang. The Longmen Grottoes (Longmen shiku 龍門石窟), housing tens of thousands of Buddha statues, are also located in Luoyang. Laozi, the founder of Daoism, was said to be born in Henan, where he laid the foundation of the Daoist culture. In addition, Henan has many Daoist mountains, with Wangwu shan 王屋山 regarded as the first Daoist “Cave Heaven” (Dongtian 洞天) and housing the Shangqing 上清 patriarch, Sima Chengzhen 司馬承禎 (647-735). However, despite Henan’s rich history and religious culture, there is still a great deal of historical and cultural materials waiting to be explored. The existing studies have only focused on certain famous religious mountains, celebrities, and sites. Away from previous studies, this research aims to explore the local aspect of religious culture in Henan by investigating the stele inscriptions. I argue that the “bottom-up” approach helps us to understand that despite the appearance of a unified imperial faith and a seemingly vast “state of gods” (Shenzhou 神州), there exists a diverse network of local religious communities that are proactive, creative, and voluntary. This network is supported by joint endeavors from individuals of different backgrounds, including Daoist and Buddhist clergy and followers, Confucian scholars, government officials, and laypeople.