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THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM VOL. I

= *- lE i:t #~ (Scripture of the Orthodox Law of the Three Heavens; CT 1203;
Ozaki Masaharu 1974), describe the *Shangqing elite's vision of the end of the
world. The finest examples of Taoist apocalyptic eschatology, however, were
produced by sectarian movements, notably the Laozi huahu miaojing ~ T it
iiJl ~j>*!JI (Wondrous Scripture of the Conversion of the Barbarians by Laozi; S.
2081; Seidel 1984) associated with a marginal current of *Lingbao (see *Huahu
jing) , and the *Dongyuan shenzhou jing (Scripture of the Divine Spells of the
Cavernous Abyss; CT 335), recorded by a sect of devotees active in the region
of the southern Yangzi River at the beginning of the fifth century.
Despite their different origins, the extant texts present an identical theol-
ogy, cosmology, and messianic ideology. They claim that the end of the world
will happen in ajiashen Ff1 fT! year (the twenty-first of the sexagesimal cycle),
and that it will be preceded by calamities: court proceedings, imprisonments,
wars, fires, floods, and above all, innumerable diseases. These calamities will
be brought about by huge armies of demons, mostly the souls of the dead
worshipped by popular cults and by the state religion. The messianic move-
ments understood illness as the outstanding mark of sin, and recommended
the recitation of sacred scriptures (see *songjing), the use of talismans (*FU), the
practice of confession, and the performance of rituals as healing techniques.
They condemned the heterodox cults (*yinsi) characterized by the slaughter
of animals offered to demonic spirits. Emphasis was also placed on explaining
the advent of the apocalypse as the result of concurrent causes: cosmologi-
cally, the end of time was unavoidable because of the exhaustion of cosmic
energies and the impending end of the kalpa (*jie); morally, the cosmic end
was necessary to purge the whole universe of irreligious, depraved creatures.
The texts express hope for a renewed theocratic society led by the divine *Li
Hong (Laozi's appellation as the messiah), who would appear on earth in a
renchen r Jr< year (the twenty-ninth of the sexagesimal cycle), eight years after
the end of the world. This renewed world would be exclusively populated by
the "seed-people" (*zhongmin), the elected ones predestined for immortality
and salvation.
The divine transmission of sacred scriptures is thus the most obvious con-
firmation of one's elected status. It allows the initiate and his entire family
and lineage to enjoy the bliss of the messianic kingdom. The perfect universe
anticipated by Taoist devotees is seen as a return to the Golden Age of early
antiquity, and as a regeneration of original purity.
Christine MOLLIER

m Bokenkamp 1994; Bokenkamp 1997, 295-99; Kobayashi Masayoshi 1990,
403-81; Mollier 1990; Robinet 1984, I: 138-40; Seidel 1984
I
* housheng; zhongmin; MESSIANISM AND MILLENARIANISM