Page 390 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

DAOZHANG 351

on Mount Longhu (*Longhu shan, Jiangxi). In Taiwan, however, because of
the distance from the Celestial Master headquarters, few priests received their
registers directly, and ordination took the form of a ceremony in which autho-
rization was obtained from the Jade Sovereign (*Yuhuang). This changed in
1949, when *Zhang Enpu, the sixty-third Celestial Master, left Mount Longhu
and later settled in Taipei (Taiwan). Since then, those receiving the registers
from the Celestial Master in person have increased. At the same time, there
are others who become daozhang without following the established custom,
which is one reason for the remarkable rise in the number of daozhang in
recent times.
Although the daozhang in Taiwan traditionally followed their calling along
hereditary lines, the majority of daozhang in present-day Taiwan have not
inherited their positions. Their residences serve as ritual spaces in which they
perform minor rites and ceremonies for clients, and daily morning services in
front of the enshrined deities. The necessary scriptures, ritual texts, paintings,
ritual implements, musical instruments, and vestments are also kept in their
homes. When a client requests a major ritual, the daozhang calls upon his col-
leagues and musicians to form a troupe, and takes charge of its performance at
the client's home or at a shrine. He functions then as the high priest (gaogong
if;5::0J), and as such must memorize the invocations that only he can chant,
and the actions and meditations that only he can perform. Books called *mijue
(,secret instructions") contain the knowledge that he must acquire. Addition-
ally, the daozhang must prepare the documents required during rituals, using
the examples found in the handbooks called wenjian )c~ ("writing models")
that they receive from their masters. Collections of Taoist terms with explana-
tions, called zaji ~~c (,miscellaneous notes"), are also circulated among the
daozhang.

ASANO Haruji
m Asano Haruji 1994; Maruyama Hiroshi 1992; 6fuchi Ninji 1983, 161-69,
200- 201; SchipperI977b
* daoshi