It's just that Master Zhang is not interested in standing in front of the main hall and acting like a fairy and nodding and answering the common people. He is obviously more interested in holding study meetings.
Although he has established a grassroots organization and a base here in Yizhou, these believers are essentially no different from folk sects such as the Nanwuliang Sect or the White Lotus Sect. Liangquanzi knows well that he wants to build the New Taoism into a "new society"
One of the "cornerstones" of the ideological field, relying solely on this almost superstitious belief is unreliable - their superstition must be replaced by new religious beliefs that meet the needs of the new society.
He was very clear about the Senate's attitude toward religion, and he was well aware that some senators had a deep distrust of traditional religions and had the idea of "starting over again."
Rather than introducing foreign religions that are not adapted to the local conditions, it is better to transform them with Taoism that was born and raised in China. Zhang Yingchen has always insisted on this in religious work meetings.
Liang Quanzi's ambitions were great. The reason why he worked tirelessly to develop New Taoism was not simply to fight against foreign religions, but also to find a new way to purify and replace Chinese folk religions.
It is easy to eliminate the Ming Dynasty, but the various folk sects left by the Ming Dynasty and numerous believers are a threat to any regime. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, every regime except the National Government has attacked and suppressed the Huidao sect in an attempt to completely eliminate the Ming Dynasty.
Even if they are banned, folk sects will always exist secretly. Once the pressure is relaxed a little, they will revive. New folk sects will even continue to emerge.
Zhang Yingchen has always believed that before the emergence of industrialized countries, religious precepts and propaganda were to a large extent one of the main forces regulating social behavior. That is to say, in the context of the Ming Dynasty when Confucian students tried to establish Taoism and Buddhism, radicals such as the later famous
Figures like Huang Zongxi and Wang Fuzhi also believed that the social function of religious Shinto teachings, although not helpful in curbing treachery and evil, could make the so-called pious women and elders "obsessed with evil". Therefore, the row of scholar-bureaucrats
Taoism and Buddhism were more a result of Confucian intellectuals seizing the dominant position in ideology after Song Confucianism and excluding the influence of Taoism and Buddhism on the upper class of the landlord class. However, they welcomed the use of these two major religions to fool the lower class people.
It's just that Zhu Chongba's bizarre religious system destroyed the basic foundations of Buddhism and Taoism, and caused the official religion to lose its ability to purify and eliminate itself and assimilate "heretics" during the Tang and Song Dynasties. This gave a large number of Taoist sects room to move.
The Ming Dynasty created a rigorous system for religious management. Zhu Yuanzhang's most important creation was to strengthen the original temple economy of Taoism and Buddhism in China. On the one hand, religious personnel were prohibited from contacting the masses, and Taoist monks were required to guard Taoist temples and Buddhist temples.
"Not to mix with the common people." This resulted in the formal religious groups of Taoism and Buddhism being unable to contact society. And Zhu Yuanzhang established the "Nianji Taoist", a de facto serf class in the temple economy, which consolidated and serfed the temple tenants. In this way
, a small number of religious personnel with ultimatums actually became serf owners, and they were serf owners who were divorced from social activities. This was fatal to the development of religion. The original social functions of the religious groups were completely destroyed, causing Buddhism and Taoism to withdraw from society on a large scale.
Ideology and public opinion gave Huidao Sect the soil for development.
Later, he separated military households, craftsmen households, etc. from civilian households, and explicitly prohibited entry into Taoism and ordination. Therefore, the most powerful Monluo sect in the future was created by Luo Qing, a military householder in Shandong, which can be said to have the greatest impact on this system.
of ridicule.
As for the abandoned temples, each prefecture and county is only allowed to maintain one temple each. Private temples are not allowed. Women are not allowed to become monks. The perverted censorship system for monks prohibits religious personnel from making friends with lay people, prohibits Taoist monks from begging for alms, etc. This became an empty document after the mid-Ming Dynasty.
, can be said to have wiped out all the vitality of Taoism and Buddhism. The proliferation of Taoist sects in the Ming and Qing Dynasties has a lot to do with the fact that the Ming and Qing Dynasties continued to use Zhu Yuanzhang's strange system.
Yizhou, or rather Yinan County, was the first experimental field for his new religion. The religious reform he carried out in Hainan was based on the bayonet and the strong material power of the Senate. It can only be regarded as
Flowers in a greenhouse. Only in the Lunan region, where folk guilds are intricately intertwined, can we truly test the success or failure of our religious reform.
The location of the "Dharma" is located in the second "palace". Unlike ordinary monks and Taoists, Zhang Yingchen does not use a futon to preach, but "stands up to preach". There is a big blackboard behind him. Every time he talks about key points,
Whenever there is a certain place, you always have to pick up the chalk and smear it on the blackboard. Naturally, there is also the "magic" of flicking the chalk tip with perfect accuracy.
Such study meetings are held every day, and the participants are the group leaders of each group and the selected "trainee Zhu Shi". There are men, women, old and young. The common feature is that they all have a certain level of education and can read and write.
Zhang Yingchen wore a traditional Taoist robe - his military-style Taoist robe was a bit shocking and had to be used in Hainan - walked to the blackboard, took a sip of the tea given by his apprentice, moistened his throat and started speaking.
What we are talking about today is "The Transformation of All Things", and I don't know which Taoist scripture it comes from. The last chapter was about "The Opening of Chaos", but it did not deal with the story of the creation of gods like ordinary monks and Taoists. The single Taoist scripture is
At the beginning of the ancient times, the energy of chaos exploded due to the intersection of Yin and Yang. This explosion was the true form of Pangu's creation of the world. After the explosion, a void was born. This void was the Yuanshi Tianzun. In the void, the energy evolved, and the stars, the sun and the moon all moved with it.
Qi is formed, and the ground under a person's feet is also a thing transformed by qi. Therefore, Zhang Zai, a great scholar in the Song Dynasty, had a glimpse of the truth, and said that when qi gathers form, it can transform all things. The top one said it with great interest, but the bottom one didn't seem to understand it.
"Everyone, the height of Mount Tai is only one grain of sand and one stone, and the height of Lingchun is only one flower and one leaf. You must know that among all things in the world, there are small ones first, then there are big ones, there are humble ones first, and then there are noble ones.
, first there were those who were young, and then there were those who were old. After the heaven and earth were formed, all things came into being. First there were algae, and then there were grass and trees. Why? I have a piece of moss and a wisp of sphagnum here. Which of you has good eyesight?
Come up and take a look, and after you’ve finished reading, I’ll explain it clearly to everyone.”
Playing with a ball of spigot soaked in water in a porcelain bowl and a piece of dry moss that had just been sprayed with water, Zhang Yingchen looked around at the study group leaders under him with great interest.
According to the outline, the first day of these days’ classes should be about the new Taoist cosmology, including the big bang, heliocentric theory, the law of universal gravitation, etc. Of course, this is just a general discussion. In the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, it is nothing more than Song Confucianism’s qi theory plus Han Dynasty theory.
A new Taoist version of Confucianism’s Huntian theory.
On the second day, I started to teach about the theory of evolution. I first taught about plant classification, algae, mosses, herbs, woody, gymnozoa, and quilts, and then taught about animals, invertebrate coelenterates, platyhelminthes, annelids, molluscs, arthropods, and vertebrates.
fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. In the end, it boils down to the Taoist saying: Among all things born, human beings are the most valuable. The three talents are in the right place, and they are in two places in life. Why, only humans are good and fake compared to things?
Ye. Among the ancient saints, there were the Chao family and the Suiren family who taught the people to build nests to avoid tigers and wolves, make fire and eat cooked food. The Shennong family taught the people how to cure diseases by tasting herbs, established crops and taught the people the basics of farming, and Xuanyuan Huangdi was the driving force.
He used boats as bows and arrows as pestles and mortars, made clothes, crowns, armors, and numbers, so he was the head of the Five Emperors and the first ancestor of humanities.
Change means change, and there are three signs of change to respond to the three talents. The stars move, the four seasons rotate, the sky changes, the high ones become mountains, the low ones become rivers, rivers change their courses, the sea changes, the land changes, people multiply, craftsmen work and fight,
Moral education, the rise and fall of dynasties, and the changes of people.
While he was talking in a flourishing way, he glanced around and suddenly realized that several young men from the banker were also listening below. The leader was Zhuang Yongling. They did not openly move chairs to sit down, but just stood aside and listened quietly, looking very attentive.
Several youngsters from the banker's generation, headed by Zhuang Yongling, had read the book "Little Knowledge on Things" he had given as a gift. They usually asked him to go to the banker and always pestered him to ask questions. Naturally, Zhang Yingchen would not let him go.
This is a great opportunity to "poison young people". He answers all questions and often gives him some thinking questions.
His knowledge opened a door to a new world for these young people who had only read the Four Books and Five Classics. These young people also went from a temporary "novelty" mentality to truly respecting and believing in this Taoist Zhang.
However, after all, the family rules of the banker are very strict, and in this kind of farming and reading family, learning "making skills" is always the core of learning. Other books are "idle books", and they are not allowed to be read before they have gained a certain degree of fame, let alone
Needless to say, delving into knowledge in this area - it is simply "self-destruction". Therefore, Zhang Yingchen must master the timing every time he meets these young people, so as not to be disgusted by the dealer's people.
It was the New Year, and there was no need to study. A few teenagers slipped out probably in the name of watching a wedding ceremony. This was a great opportunity for me to further deepen my relationship with them and spread new knowledge.
The Taoist priest secretly rejoiced, cheered up, and began to show off even more. His words were eloquent and his tongue was as bright as a lotus flower. After finishing his "explanation", he felt sweat soaked through his clothes, but he could see that the effect was excellent.
After finishing speaking, he returned to his living room, changed his clothes under Luo Chun's service, wiped his face, and was drinking tea, when his apprentice came to report that several young masters from the banker's family were here to pay their respects.
"What are you praying for? It's too foreign." Zhang Yingchen said with a smile, "Please invite some young masters to come in."
Several young people filed in, led by Zhuang Yongling. In addition to the few he knew, there were a few more young people this time. They were probably the nephews of the Zhuang family.
Zhang Yingchen was secretly happy - curiosity is the nature of a young man, and the new knowledge he instilled into Zhuang Yongling and others will surely have a great impact on the young people around him.
He cannot reform the people of Zhuang Qian's generation. He can only make them understand the situation and serve as a guide. But such young talents have a lot to do in education (to be continued...)