THE MING PRINCELY PATRONAGE OF DAOIST TEMPLES

Abstract

This article is an in-depth study of Ming princely temple patronage. The Ming princes were most interested in traditional Daoist core temples. At the same time they engaged in the activities of the temples of official standing of different degrees. The Ming princes were also attracted to some popular cults believed to be efficacious (ling). In terms of the patterns of temple patronage, the princes were involved in such activities as temple founding, temple renovation, donations of land and other wealth, princely writing of temple inscriptions and the name plaques in calligraphy, enclosing temples in the princely estates, the temples as family shrines, the Daozang brought to the temples, and the shelter temples known as Tea Temples founded at Mount Wudang. Their patronage of temples was on average within a short range of distance. The majority of temples they patronized were concentrated in major cities of political, military and economic importance in the Ming empire, thus becoming a highly visible component of the urban public landscape.