Portrait of a Divine King

Abstract

From the late Ming onwards, scholars have paid great attention to Zhu Quan’s (1378–1448) relationship with Daoism. They tend to explain the phenomenon with reference to the taohui hypothesis, which was first developed in Zhu Mouwei’s (1550–1624) Fanxianji. According to this hypothesis, Zhu Quan’s relationship with Daoism was a matter of survival and entailed a form of self-serving dissimulation. Apart from refuting this hypothesis, the present article retells the story of Zhu Quan’s apotheosis, so as to demonstrate that his relationship with Daoism involved a strong concern over the political sphere.