Page 643 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

KOU QIANZHI 601

protocols." Numerous texts have this term in their titles when their content
includes prescriptions for practical daily behavior.

Livia KOHN
m Matsumoto Koichi 1983, 202-5; Schipper 1993, 72

Kou Qianzhi

365?-448; zi: Fuzhen till ~

Kou Qianzhi, the founder of the so-called Taoist theocracy of the Toba's
Northern Wei dynasty, came from a Celestial Masters (*Tianshi dao) family
in the Chang' an area and was the younger brother of the provincial governor
Kou Zanzhi li1: ~tZ. In his early years, he studied mathematics, medicine,
and the basics of Buddhism under the monk Shi Tanying tll ~ '3 (?-405 / 418),
a disciple of the translator Kumarajlva (ca. 344-ca. 409). Guided not only by
the Toba's search for the ideal form of government but also by the dream of
a reborn Taoist community that was widespread in the south, he withdrew
to find solitary inspiration on Mount Song (*Songshan, Henan). There, as
described in j. II4 of the Weishu (History of the Wei; trans. Ware 1933, 228-35),
he was blessed twice with a divine manifestation by Lord Lao (*Laojun), the
deified Laozi. First, in 415, the deity revealed to him the so-called "New Code"
(xinke ;fJTf4; see *Laojun yinsongjiejing). Then, in 423, the god's messenger Li
Puwen :$ ~ Y:. bestowed upon Kou the Lutu zhenjing f~ Ii J~ *Jii (Authentic
Scripture of Registers and Charts; lost) together with a divine appointment
as new Celestial Master (*tianshi).
In 424, Kou took these works to court, where he was welcomed by Emperor
Taiwu (r. 424-52) and found the support of the prime minister Cui Hao ~ ri'f
(381-450), a Confucian fond of mathematics, astrology, and magic who, like
Kou, envisioned a renewed and purified society. Together they convinced the
ruler to put the "New Code" into practice and thus established the Taoist
theocracy of the Northern Wei. Kou himself became the official leader with
the title of Celestial Master, while his disciples were invited to the capital to
perform regular rites. In 431, Taoist institutions and priests were also estab-
lished in the provinces, extending the reach of Taoist and thus state control
farther into the countryside. Cui Hao in the meantime masterminded various
military successes and worked on the compilation of a national history, rising
ever higher in rank and honor. The theocracy reached its pinnacle in 440, when