Lineages embedded in temple networks: Daoism and local society in Ming China

book presents a new approach to the history of Daoism in Ming China, a formative period in the institutional development of the religion.While earlier studies of Ming Daoism have focused largely on the thought and teachings of select Daoist masters, the formation and development of Daoist sects, the interactions between the state and Daoist priests, and the political consequences of such engagements, Wang examines the formation of religious lineages through their interactions with the Ming state, the official state-sponsored Daoist institutions and temples, as well as local temples and the mercantile, official, and literary elites supporting them.He argues specifically for the importance of the local in shaping Ming Daoism.

Reviewed by: Lineages Embedded in Temple Networks: Daoism and Local Society in Ming China by Richard G. Wang Jacopo Scarin Richard G. Wang, Lineages Embedded in Temple Networks: Daoism and Local Society in Ming China. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2022. xii, 383 pp. US$54.95 (hb). ISBN 978-0-674-27096-1 This book represents a milestone in the scholarship on Daoism of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Its central thread is the expansion of Liu Yuanran's 劉淵然 (1351–1432) lineages in different areas of the empire from the fourteenth century on, through which the author successfully advances original, comprehensive research on the role of Daoism in local Ming society (p. 17). In addition to discussing specific local institutions related to Liu Yuanran and his disciples, the monograph delves into many broader themes, including the relationships between local Daoist lineages and the central government; Daoist temples and local society; and national Daoist institutions and lineage networks. The lineages embedded in temple networks, mentioned in the title, include all those that recognized Liu Yuanran as their patriarch, regardless of this claim's historical veracity. From the very beginning of the book, the author establishes the double significance of Liu Yuanran, "a Daoist master respected by the courts of five Emperors and a leader of the central state Daoist administration" who "never stopped being involved in grassroots Daoist affairs" (p. 5). Wang demonstrates why Liu Yuanran should be regarded as one of the most influential court Daoists of the first half of the Ming dynasty, an argument that is developed through each successive chapter. Although Liu Yuanran has been mentioned in many previous studies, until now we lacked an English monograph dedicated to his lineage, a void masterfully filled by this volume. The author focuses on three specific Daoist lineages that reportedly had connections with Liu Yuanran: Qingwei 清微, Jingming 淨明, and Quanzhen 全真. Some of them had historical ties with the Daoist master, while in other cases (especially for Quanzhen) the links were established a posteriori, as Wang clearly demonstrates. The book is divided into eight chapters. Chapters 1 to 4 discuss the relationship between Daoism and the state, while the last four focus on activities of specific Daoist lineages in their local contexts. The first chapter is dedicated to the study of the most influential Daoist lineages of the Ming dynasty, which provides the necessary context for the analysis of Liu Yuanran's life and legacy. In addition to expounding on the lineages' general histories, including their genesis and development, this chapter undertakes the commendable task of studying the economic and legal conditions under which Daoist lineages existed. It details the structure of the Daoist lineages of Longhushan 龍虎山 (Wang distinguishes between the Longhushan "superlineage," along with its three lineages Ziwei 紫微, Lingyang 靈陽, and Xujing 虛靖, and their numerous branches), the administrative organization of the Heavenly Masters, and the lineages' estates and buildings on and around Longhushan. The chapter then discusses the "Qingwei lineages," a term that Wang specifically uses to refer to the liturgical school's lines of transmission from master to disciple, with special reference to the Wudangshan 武當山 Qingwei lineage established by Zhang Shouqing 張守清 (1314?–1418?) and to "the most localist" Jingming Zhongxiao Dao 淨明忠孝道 lineage of Jiangxi. In this chapter, Wang advances his hypothesis that religious lineages in late imperial China can be functionally compared to familial lineages and that the two developed in parallel as a means to preserve or accrue elite status. In the second chapter, the author conducts a thorough study of Liu Yuanran's religious background, focusing on his Qingwei and Quanzhen affiliations. He confirms the former by relying on Liu's biography (Changchun Liu Zhenren zhuan 長春劉真人傳) [End Page 165] by Hu Yan 胡儼 (1361–1443), but convincingly dismisses the claims connecting Liu Yuanran to the Quanzhen tradition. The development of Liu Yuanran's lineage and its ties with the imperial bureau-cracy and the Heavenly Masters' institutions on Longhushan are discussed in chapter 3. This chapter also introduces major Daoists belonging to Liu Yuanran's lineage who were active during the Ming dynasty at the highest levels of the imperial religious bureaucracy. As the author demonstrates, they "dominated the Central Daoist Registry, at least up...

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 Lineages Embedded in Temple Networks: Daoism and Local Society in Ming China. By Richard G. Wang . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2022. Pp. xii + 383. $60.
 
 

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes1 For more on such terminological issues, see Ownby, Goossaert, and Ji, eds., “Making Saints in Modern China.”2 Schipper, et al., “Taoism: The Story of the Way.”3 Dean, “Transformations of the She (Altars of the Soil) in Fujian.”4 See also p. 260: “Daoist lineages and their ‘Taoist liturgical framework’ played a significant role in structuring Daoism and society” (italics added).5 Goossaert, “Taoists, 1644–1850,” 444.6 Katz, “The Development of Jiangnan Daoist Networks of Transmission and Affiliation.” See also Kang, “Women and the Religious Question in Modern China”; Valussi, “Men Built Religion, Women Made it Superstitious.”7 For more on this point, see Katz and Goossaert, The Fifty Years that Changed Chinese Religion, 103.

Journal Article Lineages Embedded in Temple Networks: Daoism and Local Society in Ming Culture. By Richard G. Wang Get access Lineages Embedded in Temple Networks: Daoism and Local Society in Ming Culture By Richard G. Wang Harvard University Asia Center, 2022. 400 pages. $65.00 (hardcover). Michael E Naparstek Michael E Naparstek University of Tennessee mnaparst@utk.edu Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of the American Academy of Religion, lfad069, https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfad069 Published: 17 November 2023

Daoist Lineages, Temple Networks, and Daoism in Local Society

In 1579 the people of Xinchang County, Zhejiang, were struggling to get their ancestors’biographies included in Magistrate Tian Guan's forthcoming county gazetteer. The project had become bogged down in bickering and Magistrate Tian turned for help to the retired Minister of War, Xinchang native Lü Guangxun, and a group of eminent locals. Lii and the others quickly resolved the problems and soon thereafter the gazetteer was published. The gazetteer's prefaces are unusually detailed and provide a list of contributors. By examining the contributors’mutual relationships, the compilation process, and the final product, we can open windows not only on the construction of history in Ming China, but also on the meaning of kinship and the roles played by extended families in local society.

In late Ming China, a large concentration of Guards and Battalions were stationed in the city of Nanjing. The registered guard population constituted a significant percent of the urban population. This paper discusses the living status of Nanjing guards within the framework of urban studies, and reveals the special model of urbanization of this political center. The guard population was driven by “policy migration,” and showed a high tendency of localization. Soldiers worked in various lines of business, and their living places were no longer confined to military camps. The Nanjing Constabulary broke the administrative boundaries of military and civilian households, and further pushed the localization and urbanization of the guard population. Soldiers were frequently involved in acts of violence and put pressure on local security. However, guard storehouses also provided extra supplies for the local grain market, and stabilized local society at times of crises. This study of the Nanjing guard population not only illustrates the unique urban environment of this political center, but also reminds us about the complexity of urbanization in the Ming-Qing period.