Taoism is a local religion in our country. Since the emergence of Taoism, it has absorbed a large number of gods and immortals in folk mythology and made a simple classification.
The earliest Taoist book " Taiping Jing " (written in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. It is said that it was written by Yu Ji, who was killed by Sun Ce) divided gods and immortals into six categories:
One is a god, two is a real person, three is an immortal, four is a Taoist, five is a saint, and six is a wise man. This is all to help the rule of heaven. Gods and man rule the heaven, real people rule the earth, immortals rule the wind and rain, Taoists rule the sects transform good and bad luck, sages rule the people, sages assist sages, and sages rule the people, and they rule the people, which is the shortcomings of helping the six worlds.
Among these six major categories of gods, including saints and sages who govern the people, the bright color of "confucianism and Taoism" also shows the broad and inclusive concept of Taoist gods, which kicks off the large number of gods and immortals in later generations.
When Taoism has undergone large-scale development, Taoism has many gods and immortals, but lacks a complete system, it will inevitably give people a sense of at a loss, which affects the development of Taoism.
So, should you sit in a row and eat fruits? Just like when the heroes of Liangshan gather together with one hundred and eight generals in " Water Margin ", they have to arrange their seats from top to bottom?
Therefore, after three hundred years of development, a Taoist master appeared. His contribution to Taoism was not only reflected in his alchemy, medicine, classics, geography, astronomy and calendar calculations, and Taoist rituals. His greatest contribution to Taoism was to creatively integrate the complex and disorderly situations of gods and immortals since the Qin and Han Dynasties, and wrote a "True Spirit Position and Karma Map", which created a complete "True Spirit Position and Karma" system according to the principles of different ranks and lows. He was Tao Hongjing, the "prime minister in the mountains" of the Liang Dynasty in the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Tao Hongjing (456-536) called "fast karma", also known as "fast karma", in Volume 1 of "Tao Taoist Shu" says: "The position karma, one who ascends to immortals to learn Taoism, has different levels of karma; attains the fruit and achieves truth, and has different levels of high and low. Three vehicles and seven numbers can be understood from then on; ten turns to nine palaces, so that we can use this to argue. This is the result. Explanation: position is the name of the order, and karma is the purpose of virtue."
"fast" refers to the level and position in the fairy world, and "karma" is the achievement and virtue of cultivation. If you sow the cause of karma, you will definitely get the corresponding position and result. If you increase your skill, you will continue to rise in the fairy world, and vice versa.
Therefore, in the "True Spirit Position and Karma Map", Tao Hongjing divided the gods into seven levels, each level was led by a main god, in the middle position, and the gods were assisted by the left and right:
The first level is Yuqing Realm , and the main god is "Tianhe Xuhuang Daojun, Yuanshi Tianzun ", which is the familiar Yuanshi Tianzun. There are twenty-nine emperors and Taoist lords in the Yuqing realm, and there are no need to come out to the specific affairs of the lower realm in person. The Yuqing Realm is very noble, and only gods below the Shangqing Palace and above the Nine Palaces can come to the banquet.
The second level is Shangqing Realm, and the main god is the "Lord of All Daoes" - Shangqing Gaoshang Yuchen Xuanhuang Daojun, that is, Lingbao Tianzun. There are 104 auxiliary gods in the Shangqing Realm.
There are also Jurchen thrones in Shangqing Realm, including Queen Mother of the West, Lady Wei of Nanyue and other female immortals. Many immortals are created for acquired cultivation, and the Shangqing realm is also the highest level that ordinary people can achieve in their practice.
The third level is Tai Chi realm. The main god is Tai Chi Jinque Emperor, and the Tai Chi Jinque Gods are divided into the left and right, with a total of 84 gods, mainly ancient immortals, emperors and Confucian sages, including Xuanyuan Huangdi, Zhuanxu , Yao Emperor, Shun Emperor, Yu, Zhou Mu King, Yin Xi , Confucius , Yan Hui , Xu You, Zhuangzi , etc.
In Taiqing Realm , some of the gods are legendary historical figures, but they are different from the mythical and illusory gods. At least some of their deeds have been recorded in ancient history books, and the ancients also basically believe that these legendary historical figures have indeed existed. This system of gods composed of humans, ghosts and gods also reflects the Taoist philosophical thinking model of the unity of heaven, earth, man and man.
The fourth level is Taiqing Realm, and the main god is "Taiqing Taishang Laojun ", and there are 174 gods in the Taiqing Realm.In this map, the status of Laozi in dropped to the bottom, and the status of the ancestor in Taoism fell to the "Taiqing Taoist Master" who "returned to all peoples".
is the leader of the left position, "Zhengyi Zhenren Three-day Master Zhang", that is, Zhang Daoling, the founder of Taoism. There are some other alchemists, Taoists and legendary immortals. For example: Mr. Guigu, Zhang Zifang, Dongfang Shuo, Ge Hong, Luanba, Xu Fu, Zuoci , etc.
The fifth rank is Zhang Feng, the "Nine Palaces Shangshu" as the main god, and the left and right prime ministers are divided into "Left Prime Ministers" and "Right Prime Ministers". The Cao Xian Palace headed by the heavens, with a total of thirty-six.
The sixth-level main god is "The Right Bidden Lang Dinglu Zhenjun Mao Jun", and the left and right immortals are the heads of "Three Officials to Save Life Xiao Mao Jun" and "The Right Literature and Central Supervisor Liu Yi", with a total of 173 earthly immortals.
The seventh-level main god is the "Sect of Ghosts and Gods in the World" - "The Emperor of Beiyin of Fengdu", which is the legendary hell. There are 88 ghost officials in the underworld on the left and right of the main god.
There are many famous emperors and generals in history arranged on both sides of this solemn and terrifying Lord of Hell, such as Qin Shihuang, King Wen of Zhou , Cao Cao , Emperor Gaozu of Han , King Wu of Zhou, Duke Huan of Qi , Duke Wen of Jin , Li Guang, Liu Bei , etc. These people listed on the left and right not only command the immortal officials, but also control thousands of ghost soldiers.
The "True Spirit Position and Karma Map" written by Tao Hongjing has ranked the levels and rankings for the gods and immortals. This is a milestone significance in the history of Taoism's development. The various gods and immortals in later generations have basically not deviated from this model.
, a well-known way of arrangement of gods and immortals, is actually a reflection of the strict hierarchy in ancient society, and it was also done to cater to the needs of the rulers of feudal dynasties.
This article is referenced from: "History of Taoism in China", "Stories of Chinese Palaces"
