Daoism and Song Rulers
• Daoism consolidated its status, making
itself an object of imperial patronage
• Two
Song emperors
supported Daoism most
lavishly—
• Emperor Zhenzong
• Prime minister Wang
Qinruo encouraged the
emperor to support Daoism
• Claimed that a “Heavenly
Text” had been bestowed on
him, proving the divine origin
of the imperial household
Emperor Zhenzong (r.998-1022)
Wang Qinruo led
Daoists at court to
egg on Emperor
Zhenzong to
perform the feng &
shan sacrifices
– Zhenzong, went up
to Mt. Tai to
perform the
sacrificial
ceremonies.
After the sacrifice,
Zhenzong began his
investiture of the [Daoist]
gods, including the
emperor of heaven, Jade
Emperor. [Yuhuang dadi,
or Yudi]
Zhenzong devoted
himself to the Perfected
Lord “Protector of
Sageliness” (Yisheng
zhenjun)
Emperor Huizong
(r. 1101-1125)
– Highly honored
Daoism and
followed Daoist
advice to suppress
Buddhism
– Taoist advisor Lin
Linsu urged him to
develop Divine
Empyrean
cosmology and
ritual based on
Divine Empyrean
School of Daoism
Huizong, following Lin Lingsu’s advice,
began to build a temple network across the
country, called Divine Empyrean Palaces
(Shenxiao gong)
 All prefectures had a Divine Empyrean
Palace built
 Many Buddhist temples were converted to
Divine Empyrean Palaces
 Officials were appointed to supervise these
palaces to assure total control of them

Women, Education, and Family
Young girls received Confucian education and
studied Confucian classics, even though they
were not allowed to take the civil service
exams
 They were taught to read the Canon of
Women’s Filial Piety , the Biographies of
Women, and the Admonitions of Women
 After they became mothers, they became
teachers of their children, who, when growing
older, were sent to family or clan schools


A woman could change her social status
and family identity after she married into a
scholar’s family
A
daughter-in-law had to follow all the rules of
filial piety described in the Canon of Women’s
Filial Piety , putting others first, herself last
 The need to fulfill their duties and do the daily
chores around the house made them servants
of their parents-in-law

Women in upper-class households could
fund ways to modify or elude strict rules but
would be forced to divorce by monthers-inlaw
Painting Illustrating the Canon of Women’s Filial Piety
Chapter 9: daughters-in-law in commoners’ families
spun thread, tailored garments…

They were also taught to read a collection
of twenty-four exemplary stories about the
morals of male and female protagonists.
 These
stories emphasize the filial duties that
sons and daughters have to fulfill to the best of
their abilities, including cutting flesh from one’s
thigh to feed a hungry or sick mother.
Women became liable to social injustice if
they could not fulfill their filial duties as
expected by the society
 Literacy rate continued to climb and highly
educated women proliferated


Lu You (S. Song) was forced to divorce his
wife, and wrote a poem almost thirty years
later to describe in her voice the desperate
situation that led to the divorce:







I was stupid to be sure, yet I knew
That Madam, my mother-in-law, must be obeyed.
Out of bed with the first cock’s crowing,
I combed and bound my hair, put on blouse and skirt.
I did my work, tidied the hall, sprinkling and sweeping,
In the kitchen prepared their plates of food.
Green green the mallows and goosefoot I gathered--
Too bad I could not make them taste like bear’s paws.
 When the least displeasure showed in Madam’s face,
 The sleeves of my robe were soon damp with tear stains.
 My wish was that I might bear a son,
 To see Madam dandle a grandson in her arms.
 But those hopes in the end failed and came to nothing;
 Ill-fated, they made me the butt of slander.
 Driven from the house, I did not dare grumble,
 Only grieved that I’d betrayed Madam’s kindness.

Neo-Confucian moralists urged women not to
remarry after their husbands died, which
defines the meaning of “female chastity”
 Song laws entitled women to own property.
Their dowries stayed with them even after
they became divorced, widowed, or after
they remarried
 Women enjoyed considerable independent
control of their asset


Traditional division of work—men responsible for wai
(external affairs), women responsible for nei (internal
affairs)—no longer holds true for Song women and it
didn’t change until Yuan.

Although women were discouraged from
singing, composing poetry, or playing
music, eminent female poets and scholars
emerged, most famous of them was Li
Qingzhao
 Also
a book collector and connoisseur of
antiquities

Many of them also became pious Buddhists.
Those from upper-class families donated
land, silver, textiles to monasteries, helping
Buddhist institutions to grow.
Women and Marriage

Women’s status indicates that Song did
not necessarily adhere to the patrilineal
ideal
 Wives
took over the financial affairs of the
family estate
 They occasionally went into business
themselves to enhance the wealth of the
lineage

The wife ranked at the top of the female
hierarchy, especially when she had
daughters-in-law and became widowed.
Hypergamy remained a norm in Song
society, although more and more affluent
households, particularly that of wealthy
merchants, married their daughters into
upper-class, scholar-officials’ families
 A matchmaker was hired to start the
marriage process

 She
would present a “draft card” containing a
list of information about the two families,
including the dates of birth….
“Portrait of Laozi,” by Muxi, Southern
Song. Okayama Prefectural Museum
of Art
“Discussing the Dao under the Shade of the
Pine Tree” or “Three Teachings on the Dao”
anonymous, Southern Song
Daoism and
Daoist Heaven
• Daoists
engineered the
search and
discovery of
celestial omens
– Discovery of
“heavenly
texts” (tianshu)
that confirmed
the Zhao
family’s
possession of
the mandate
of heaven.
Daoist officials of Earth
Daoist officials of Water
The Eastern
Floriate Celestial
Emperor
(Donghua Tiandi
jun) flanked by
attending gods
and goddesses,
called Golden
Youths (Jintong)
and Jade
Maidens (Yunü)
“Procession of Immortals
Paying Homage to the
Primodial” by Wu
Zongyuan (active 11th C),
Northern Song. Wu was
known for having made
handscroll copies of two
Wu Daozi murals in
Kaifeng
“Procession of
Immortals
Paying Homage
to the
Primordial,” Wu
Daozi’s original
paintings
The Expansion of Daoism
Daoism enjoyed greater support during
Huizong’s reign; support extended to
– Temples, lineages, and leaders
The Maoshan school of Daoism (25th patriarch)
The Celestial Master School, or the Orthodox Unity
School (30th patriarch)
– Daoist magicians and recluses
Lin Lingsu, founder of the Divine Empyrean Order of
Daoism, was most influential
Under his influence, Emperor Huizong proclaimed himself
the Sovereign of the Grand Empyrean
– Publication of a new Daoist canon
Popular Daoist Gods
Black Killer (Heisha), Perfected Warrior (Zhenwu),
and Tianpeng
– Three principal agents of the Emperor of the North (beidi)
– Connected with ritual masters as exorcists
Black Killer has been identified as Perfected Lord
“Protector of Sageliness”
– Revelations of Black Killer was at the center of imperial
legitimatization, succession, the Mandate of Heaven in
the early Song.
– Ritual masters invoked Black Killer to perform
therapeutic ritual
Popular Daoist
Immortals
Lü Dongbin is a
patriarch of the
Quanzhen sect and is
one of the famed Eight
Immortals (Baxian). He
is believed to have
lived in the late Tang
dynasty and his
following became
widespread during the
Song.
The Daoist Immortal
Lü Dongbin, Yuan
Dynasty, Hanging
Scroll, The NelsonArtkins Museum of Art,
Kansas City
Worshiped as the
patron saint of
merchants,
pharmacists, inkmakers, and
scholars. Accounts of
his life are full of
wonders and are
inspiring. Bestknown of the stories
is “The Yellow-Millet
Dream” (Huang
Liangmeng)
“Lü Dongbin Appearing at the
Yueyang Pavilion,” Southern
Song, Fan Painting, The
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York.
“Lü Dongbin Crossing the
Lake Dongting,” Southern
Song, Fan Painting.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
New Daoist Sects
New Daoist sects appeared during the 12th
to 13th centuries:
– The Perfect Truth Sect (Quanzhen jiao) was
the most popular
– Founder Wang Zhe (1112-1170?) and his early
followers rejected the alchemical and magical
practices and absorbed Confucian and
Buddhist ideas into its doctrines
– Popular beliefs and magic were eventually
incorporated into its system
– Advocated the balance and harmony of body
and mind, no overexertion, cloud-like
wandering, intuitive learning, cultivation of inner
self, the art of herbal medicine, simplicity, love
without attachment, pure meditation, purified
mind
“Portrait of Bodhisdharma” by Muxi,
Southern Song
Left:
“Bodhidharma,”
Anonymous,
Song dynasty,
National Palace
Museum,
Taipei,Taiwan
Middle: “Bodhidharma Crossing the
Yangzi River on a Reed” by Li
Yaofu, Yuan dynasty
Beginning of Syncretic Religion
Evidenced by the emergence of “Morality
Books,” (shan shu) such as Book of
Rewards and Punishments
– The books were highly eclectic,
Mixed Buddhist concepts of karma, retribution, and
salvation, Daoist concepts of immortality, nature and
cosmology, and Confucian ethics of loyalty, filiality,
humanity, and righteousness
Views on illness
– Spirits in heaven and earth judged people’s
transgressions, inflicted pains on them, and
diminished their life expectancy
Song Views of Good and Evil
Morality books
reflect Song
moralists’ views on
good and evil:
Good people:
– Those who perform
good deeds
– can hope to become
immortal
Evil people:
– Those who perform bad deeds,
including:
– Killing animals
shoot creatures that fly and hurt
those that run
Block up animals’ dens and
overturn birds’ nests, injuring
hens and breaking their eggs
– Destroying lives
Commit infanticide and perform
abortions
– Disrupting family and social
order
Break up marriage, engage in
quarrels and lawsuit
Seek women’s advice rather than
parents’
Do not live harmony with wives, or
do not respect husbands
Life span will be
shortened,
retribution will be
extended to sons
and grandsons
If death is not
imminent,
disease or
calamities will
befall them