Zhengyi Taoism

Zhengyi Dao (Chinese: 正一道; pinyin: Zheng Yi Dào) or the Way of Orthodox Unity is a Chinese Daoist movement that emerged during the Tang dynasty as a transformation of the earlier Tianshi Dao movement. Like Tianshi Dao, the leader of Zhengyi Daoism was known as the Celestial Master.

By the beginning of the Tang dynasty in 618, the term 'Celestial Master' had lost the potency it had in earlier movements such as the Five Pecks of Rice, and any prominent Daoist could be accorded the title.Emperor Xuanzong (712-756) canonized the first Celestial Master Zhang Daoling during his reign. This did not benefit the original territory of his followers in Sichuan, but rather benefited a temple in the Jiangnan area of Jiangxi province. This temple, located at Mount Longhu, claimed to be the spot where Zhang Daoling had obtained the Tao, and where his descendants still lived. Recognized by the emperor as the legitimate descendants of Zhang Daoling, these new Celestial Masters established a new patriarchy at their base of Longhu Shan.

The importance of the Zhengyi school grew during the Song dynasty, with the Celestial masters frequently receiving imperial appointments. In 1239, the Southern Song dynasty's Emperor Lizong commanded the 35th Celestial Master Zhang Keda to the united Lingbao School, the Shangqing School and Zhengyi Dao. The new school was to retain the Zhengyi name and remain based at Mount Longhu. Shortly after the schools were united, the Mongols under Kublai Khan conquered the Southern Song dynasty and established the Yuan dynasty in China. He accepted the claim that the Celestial Master of Mount Longhu was descended from Zhang Daoling and granted the school the right to control affairs relating to Daoism in the Jiangnan area. In 1304, as a result of Zhengyi Dao's increased importance under the Mongols, all of the Daoist schools, with the exception of the Quanzhen School, were united under the banner of the Zhengyi School, with the 38th Celestial Master, Zhang Yucai, as leader.

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