Page 253 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

214 THE E N CYC LOPEDIA O F TA O ISM A- L

of inner alchemy (*neidan), and the *zhai and *jiao rituals joined with Chan
Buddhist influence to give rise to a very influential model of self-cultivation
that shaped the new forms of popular religiosity seen in the sects of the late
Ming, such as the Huangtian dao ~ 7C j]! (Way of Yellow Heaven) and Hong-
yang jiao f.rr ~ t5I: (Teaching of Red Yang) sects to mention just two among
many.

Styles and their classification. Various classification schemes have been used to
try to understand the history of shifts in the style and content of baojuan. In
general, they are divided into two types associated with two stages: first, early
Buddhist and sectarian baojuan dating from the fifteenth to early eighteenth
century; and later baojuan, dating from the mid-eighteenth century to the
present, which were more secular, moralistic, literary and entertaining. The
more soteriological vision of the early baojuan included relatively orthodox
Buddhist figures like Guanyin, Mulian § Jl, and Xuanzang E"~ , as well as
so-called heterodox sectarian teachings concerning the Unborn Venerable
Mother (Wusheng Laomu 1/lIi1:~-Bt). Later baojuan narratives, however, drew
more heavily on figures from popular culture, such as the Confucian paragon
of incorruptible officialdom, Sir Bao (Baogong §0, i.e., Bao Zheng §:j71,
999- 1062; SB 823- 32), or the heavily Taoicized Stove God (*Zaoshen), or the
renowned Seven Perfected (qizhen -t;Jt see table 17) of *Quanzhen. While
many early baojuan follow rather distinctive formulas for beginning and ending
the narrative and frequently used the term baojuan in their titles, this is less
true of later examples, which took on more features associated with morality
books (*shanshu) and spirit-writing texts (see *fuji).
One important reason for this general shift in the style of baojuan was in-
creased government repression of sectarian activity and confiscation of their
scriptures, especially in the Qing dynasty. The collection of confiscated sectarian
scriptures cited by Huang Yupian ~ If ~ (fl. 1830- 40) in his careful refutations
of their teachings (Poxie xiangbian WSl7.f~ 1if: m; r834, with three further studies
by 1841) makes clear that the millenarian revelations and unorthodox deities
of sectarian baojuan were prime examples of the type of teachings considered
dangerous by the government, though Huang also attacks one baojuan's Taoist
interpretation of the self in alchemical terms. It is not surprising, given both
the popularity of the genre and its official proscription, that eighteenth- and
nineteenth-century publishers in southern China began printing baojuan with
safer themes- although the private production and circulation of religious
baojuan never really ceased. Today it is estimated that more than seven to eight
hundred different editions of baojuan survive, of which two-thirds focus on
general moral exhortation while one-third reflect more particularistic sectar-
ian doctrines.

Catherine BELL