Testing times for Taoists (3)
Testing times for Taoists (3)
11:20, March 17, 2010 
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New breed
On the ninth day of the Chinese New Year, 30 Taoist priests gather at a Taoist temple in downtown Beijing to celebrate the birthday of the Jade Emperor.
Standing or kneeling on the ground of Lüzugong Temple in gaudy red and yellow vestments, they chant and strike gongs from morning to night.
Youthful yet poised, Chang Gaolu is among them, a 26-year-old successor to a 1,800-year-old religion.
He entered Taoism at 19, after an illness was cured by a Taoist priest's prescription in his hometown in Shandong Province.
It just hit him, Chang explains. He was coming down a Taoist mountain from a holy place one day when he burst into tears asking himself, "Why didn't I become a Taoist earlier?"
At 22, the Taoist became manager of a Taoist temple in northeast Pinggu district of suburban Beijing.
"Taoist teaching is rich and occult, transcending the material world,"he says. "It embodies traditional Chinese thinking, the Book of Changes, martial arts, alchemy and feng shui.
"Each field requires years of study."
Usually he meditates, chants or studies the classics at temple. Although secluded, the Taoists study modern knowledge, he says.
"I log onto the Internet to check the news, such as the Winter Olympics. It's important we keep up with the times."
Alleged decline
Since 2003, the Chinese Taoist College has been open to priests and nuns to earn an associate or master's degree in temple management.
There are more than 5,000 Taoist temples and 50,000 Taoist priests and nuns on the Chinese mainland by 2007, according to the Chinese Taoist Association.
Religious policy and management is good in China, Liu says. The problem to her mind is a lack of proper practitioners.
"Taoist temples abound, but Taoist priests or nuns aren't so easy to find, unlike the Buddhist nunnery on Wutai Mountain that attracted more than 300 nuns to live at temple and follow monastic rules.
In comparison with its imported rival, Taoism's image is tarnished, she says. She sees these failings, for example, demonstrated by a lack of dress code.
"They don't even wear robes or grow their hair, but the Buddhists are good at building up their im-age,"she says.
"They wear the garb and shave their hair whenever they are in public."
Taoism is declining, believes the well-traveled Yuan.
"No one has been able to arrest its decline since its peak in the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644),"he says.
Perhaps it is their individuality that makes Taoists so slow to unite. Sects refuse to obey each other, he says.
A revival would depend on an overhaul of the education system, Yuan believes.
"Since the modern Taoist college teaches prevailing political theory rather than Taoism, it can hardly be compared with a Buddhist college or seminary.
"If only Taoism could attract a better class of believers – true intellectuals – that might conjure some hope."
Fast facts: Mystical rituals of Taoism
Talisman (符箓 fulu)
Paper strips with scribbled mystic words or symbols are empowered to bring luck or drive demons away. It's a kind of spell achieved through qi transmission to protect the body, guard the home, ward off bad luck, summon a deity or cure a disease.
Exorcism (驱邪 quxie)
Some go mad from a yin-yang disorder, harassed by pathogenic factors. A practitioner burns paper or incense, uses a talisman, instruments or incantations to drive away evil.
Fortune telling (占卜 zhanbu)
The original Taoists claimed supernatural oracle powers. For a priest, it's also a handy way to make a living.
Meditation (内丹 neidan)
Internal alchemy uses mental movements and meditation to promote circulation of qi within the human body. A body can support itself if trained to a certain level. If the inner universe is properly linked to the outer world, then food becomes more or less unnecessary. Practitioners in fact eat little, only herbs and fruit in some cases. They also claim to absorb the essence of the sun and the moon.
Elixir (外丹 waidan)
As an approach to immortal life, an elixir is often made from lead and mercury in Taoist alchemy. It won't work for everyone, but is more like a catalyst for advanced practitioners.
Taoist medicine (道医 daoyi)
As Taoist meditation is based on the five elements – metal, wood, water, fire and earth –and theory of meridians and collaterals, many Taoists are proficient in Chinese medicine. Some Taoists have secret recipes handed down for generations.
Source: Global Times， by Zhang Lei
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On the ninth day of the Chinese New Year, 30 Taoist priests gather at a Taoist temple in downtown Beijing to celebrate the birthday of the Jade Emperor.
Standing or kneeling on the ground of Lüzugong Temple in gaudy red and yellow vestments, they chant and strike gongs from morning to night.
Youthful yet poised, Chang Gaolu is among them, a 26-year-old successor to a 1,800-year-old religion.
He entered Taoism at 19, after an illness was cured by a Taoist priest's prescription in his hometown in Shandong Province.
It just hit him, Chang explains. He was coming down a Taoist mountain from a holy place one day when he burst into tears asking himself, "Why didn't I become a Taoist earlier?"
At 22, the Taoist became manager of a Taoist temple in northeast Pinggu district of suburban Beijing.
"Taoist teaching is rich and occult, transcending the material world,"he says. "It embodies traditional Chinese thinking, the Book of Changes, martial arts, alchemy and feng shui.
"Each field requires years of study."
Usually he meditates, chants or studies the classics at temple. Although secluded, the Taoists study modern knowledge, he says.
"I log onto the Internet to check the news, such as the Winter Olympics. It's important we keep up with the times."
Alleged decline
Since 2003, the Chinese Taoist College has been open to priests and nuns to earn an associate or master's degree in temple management.
There are more than 5,000 Taoist temples and 50,000 Taoist priests and nuns on the Chinese mainland by 2007, according to the Chinese Taoist Association.
Religious policy and management is good in China, Liu says. The problem to her mind is a lack of proper practitioners.
"Taoist temples abound, but Taoist priests or nuns aren't so easy to find, unlike the Buddhist nunnery on Wutai Mountain that attracted more than 300 nuns to live at temple and follow monastic rules.
In comparison with its imported rival, Taoism's image is tarnished, she says. She sees these failings, for example, demonstrated by a lack of dress code.
"They don't even wear robes or grow their hair, but the Buddhists are good at building up their im-age,"she says.
"They wear the garb and shave their hair whenever they are in public."
Taoism is declining, believes the well-traveled Yuan.
"No one has been able to arrest its decline since its peak in the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644),"he says.
Perhaps it is their individuality that makes Taoists so slow to unite. Sects refuse to obey each other, he says.
A revival would depend on an overhaul of the education system, Yuan believes.
"Since the modern Taoist college teaches prevailing political theory rather than Taoism, it can hardly be compared with a Buddhist college or seminary.
"If only Taoism could attract a better class of believers – true intellectuals – that might conjure some hope."
Fast facts: Mystical rituals of Taoism
Talisman (符箓 fulu)
Paper strips with scribbled mystic words or symbols are empowered to bring luck or drive demons away. It's a kind of spell achieved through qi transmission to protect the body, guard the home, ward off bad luck, summon a deity or cure a disease.
Exorcism (驱邪 quxie)
Some go mad from a yin-yang disorder, harassed by pathogenic factors. A practitioner burns paper or incense, uses a talisman, instruments or incantations to drive away evil.
Fortune telling (占卜 zhanbu)
The original Taoists claimed supernatural oracle powers. For a priest, it's also a handy way to make a living.
Meditation (内丹 neidan)
Internal alchemy uses mental movements and meditation to promote circulation of qi within the human body. A body can support itself if trained to a certain level. If the inner universe is properly linked to the outer world, then food becomes more or less unnecessary. Practitioners in fact eat little, only herbs and fruit in some cases. They also claim to absorb the essence of the sun and the moon.
Elixir (外丹 waidan)
As an approach to immortal life, an elixir is often made from lead and mercury in Taoist alchemy. It won't work for everyone, but is more like a catalyst for advanced practitioners.
Taoist medicine (道医 daoyi)
As Taoist meditation is based on the five elements – metal, wood, water, fire and earth –and theory of meridians and collaterals, many Taoists are proficient in Chinese medicine. Some Taoists have secret recipes handed down for generations.
Source: Global Times， by Zhang Lei
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