An Overview of the Development of Taoist Fasts and Offerings Liturgy and Its Terminology

Chiyang Daoren, Eastern Taoism

1. The Development of Fasts and Offerings Liturgy

Long before the Eastern Han dynasty, there were already such notions as “fasting and abstinence,” “offering rites” (jiao), and “altars,” which are recorded in books such as the Book of Rites (Liji) and the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji). This shows that Taoist liturgy of fasts and offerings (zhaijiao) originated in the prayer rituals of ancient China.

In the Eastern Han, the Way of Great Peace already had rites of praying to heaven and giving thanks, and the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice had fast rituals such as the “Mud and Ashes Fast,” in which those praying “smeared their faces with yellow earth, bound their hands behind them, and hung their heads”—a simple ritual. For the sick, the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice wrote handwritten petitions to the Three Officials: “Write the sick person's name and state their intention to confess their sins. Make three copies: one is sent up to the mountains and placed on a mountaintop, one is buried in the earth, and one is sunk in the water.” (Records of the Three Kingdoms, “Biography of Zhang Lu”) Although this ritual was very simple, it already contained the embryonic form of the memorials and petitions used in fasts and offerings liturgy. When Zhang Daoling founded the religion, the Petition Book of the Heavenly Palace that he transmitted should count as the earliest liturgy.

During the Eastern Jin and the Northern and Southern dynasties, fasts and offerings liturgy was elaborated by Taoists of the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) school and the Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) school and gradually took shape as a complete set of liturgical norms. In the second year of the Xingning era under Emperor Ai of the Eastern Jin (364), Yang Xi and Xu Mi, disciples of the Primordial Sovereign Wei Huacun, founded the “Shangqing Ritual Altar” on Mount Mao (Maoshan), using the seal of the “Lord of the Immortal Capital of the Nine Elders.” During the Long'an era under Emperor An of the Eastern Jin (397–401), Ge Chaofu composed more than 30 scrolls of the Lingbao Scriptures, which were later edited and expanded by Lu Xiujing of the Southern dynasties and became widely popular. On Mount Gezao the “Lingbao Mysterious Altar” was also established, using the seal of the “Ancestral Altar of the Primordial” and the bronze seal of the “Myriad Spirits of the Primordial.”

In the Northern Wei, the famous Taoist Kou Qianzhi took the lead in reforming the northern Way of the Celestial Masters. He promoted ritual propriety and changed scripture recitation from “plain recitation” to “chanted recitation,” so that from then on scripture recitation in fasts and offerings had musical content. His works, the Precepts of the New Code Chanted in the Clouds and the True Scripture of Register Diagrams, further developed and perfected the liturgy.

In the tenth year of the Kaiyuan era (722), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang decreed that the two capitals and every prefecture should each establish two temples to the Emperor of Mysterious Origin (the deified Laozi) and hold fasts and offerings according to Taoist rites every year. During this period he also “personally taught Taoist priests the melodies of pacing the void within the ritual arena,” and ordered Sima Chengzhen, Li Hanguang, and other patriarchs of the Maoshan Shangqing school to compose the Songs of Mysterious Perfection, the Songs of the Great Canopy Heaven, and other pieces.

When Emperor Wuzong of the Tang took the throne, he summoned the Taoist Zhao Guizhen and others, 81 in all, into the palace to hold a Golden Register ritual in the Hall of the Three Pure Ones. The emperor went to the three halls and personally received a ritual register at the Altar of the Nine Heavens. Du Guangting, a Taoist of the late Tang and Five Dynasties, was the great synthesizer of Taoist fasts and offerings liturgy. He collected, arranged, compiled, and edited the various liturgies handed down since the Northern and Southern dynasties. On this basis he also newly composed many liturgical books, such as the Rite of the Most High for Inspecting the Zhengyi Registers, the Fasting and Repentance Rite of the Seventy-Two Lords of the Three Sovereigns of Dongshen, and the Great Complete Collection of Taoist Liturgical Norms, whose influence was very far-reaching.

In the second year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era (1009), Emperor Zhenzong of the Song ordered the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to set out in detail the offering rite for the Tianqing ritual and issue it to every prefecture. In the second year of the Daguan era (1108), Emperor Huizong of the Song promulgated the ritual norms of the Golden Register Lingbao ritual throughout the realm and ordered Taoist priests to observe them according to the rules. During the Jin and Yuan periods, famous mountains such as Mount Mao, Mount Longhu (Dragon and Tiger Mountain), and Mount Gezao all held offering rites for the state. Qiu Chuji and Wang Chuyi of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school, and Xiao Zhichong and Xiao Jushou of the Taiyi school, each in turn presided over fasts and offerings by order of the Jin and Yuan emperors, and so fasts and offerings came to be practiced by every school.

After the Ming and Qing, Taoism declined, yet fasts and offerings liturgy remained widespread among the common people. In the Qing dynasty, Lou Jinyuan, superintendent of the Shangqing Palace on Mount Longhu, arranged and edited 12 scrolls of fasts and offerings liturgy, compiled as the Yellow Register Liturgy.

2. The Terminology of Fasts and Offerings Liturgy

Taoist fasts and offerings liturgy is usually accomplished through a combination of building the offering altar, arranging the ritual articles, reciting scriptures and performing repentance rites, pacing the stars of the Dipper, and forming hand seals and chanting incantations.

1. The Offering Altar

An “altar” (tan) is a raised platform built of earth on level ground, used for sacrificing to the gods of heaven and to ancestors. The Taoist Book of the Contract for Conferring on the Spirits says: “In ancient times all sacrifices had altars; in later ages the prefectures and commanderies had altars to the gods of soil and grain. The records say: an altar has no roof; the ancient offering altar stood in the open. Today it is placed under a roof, for simplicity's sake.” From this we understand that the offering altars of antiquity were originally in the open air and were later moved inside halls. Fasts and offerings have altars of different scales. Large fasts and offerings usually build several altars; the main altar is called the “capital altar,” and the others are called “branch altars.”

The offering altar of the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) school is called the “Ancestral Altar of the Ten Thousand Methods,” and uses the seal of the Celestial Master, the seal of the “Chief Merit Officer of the Yangping Parish,” which is still in use today. The Maoshan Shangqing school uses the “Seal of the Lord of the Immortal Capital of the Nine Elders” in its liturgy. The offering altar of the Quanzhen school is called the “Ancestral Altar of Primordial Unity” and uses the seal of the “Treasures of the Tao, the Scriptures, and the Masters.” Among these, the altar at which the abbot conducts ordination with precepts is called the “Precept Altar of the Mysterious Capital.”

2. The High Priest

In fasts and offerings rites, the Taoist priests who hold particular titles and duties are collectively called officiants, that is, officiants of the offering altar. Of these, the high priest (gaogong) ranks first. The one who holds this office must be “filled within by the Tao and its virtue and complete without in dignified bearing, one toward whom heaven and humanity turn and upon whom ghosts and spirits all gaze”; in the ritual he must “tread the light and fly with the dawn, receive the countenance of the divine and proclaim its virtue, extend his grace throughout the Three Realms, and surpass all the officials in ritual propriety.”

3. The Fast Supervisor

The fast supervisor (jianzhai) ranks second only to the high priest. His duties are, first, “to hold the statutes in overall charge, direct the rules and prohibitions, correct the altar officers, and bring order and solemnity to the court proceedings”; and second, “to watch closely for faults, calmly hand over the tablets, be strict yet supportive, neither excessive nor lax.” That is, he is in charge of the liturgical rules and serves as the high priest's assistant.

4. The Chief Cantor

The chief cantor (dujiang), together with the high priest and the fast supervisor, is known as the “Three Ritual Masters.” The one who holds this office must be “thoroughly versed in the supporting scriptures, clear and practiced in the ritual rules, the model for chanting and ritual form, and the leader of the ranks.” That is, he leads the chanting of hymns and guides the procession, and he too is the high priest's assistant.

The Zhengyi school calls these three offices the “Three Ritual Masters,” while the Quanzhen school uses only the title “high priest” and does not use the title “ritual master.” But each of the three has a clear function in fasts and offerings liturgy. According to scroll 4 of the Jade Register of Grand Clarity, other officiants of the offering altar include the refining master, the rite controller, the rectifier of ceremony, and the altar supervisor.

5. Ritual Implements and Articles

On a Taoist offering altar, certain rules must be observed, which are called dignified bearing. The necessary ritual implements and articles must be set out on the altar, chiefly:

(1) Offering vessels: incense burners, candlesticks, vases, incense holders, and so on.

(2) Offerings: the five kinds of offerings—incense, lamps, water, fresh flowers, and fruit.

(3) Ritual implements: there are two general kinds. One kind consists of objects used to address the immortals, pay court to the patriarchs, and drive out evil and suppress malign forces, such as the court tablet (gui tablet), the ruyi scepter, the jade register, the jade seal, the precious sword (ritual sword), the command flag, the command arrow, the command tablet (a tablet for summoning and dispatching divine generals), the Tianpeng ruler (ritual ruler, a long ruler of peach wood), and the altar-quelling block. The other kind consists of various percussion instruments, such as the nao cymbals, the dang gong, the cha cymbals, bells, drums, the bronze bell, the conch, and the qing chime.

6. The Main Forms of Fasts and Offerings Liturgy

(1) Obeisance: the most common rite at the offering altar, commonly called “kowtowing” or “bowing with clasped hands.” Taoist priests and believers alike, inside and outside Taoist temples and monasteries, bow before the images of the gods; this is the first and most fundamental rite of entering the Tao and believing in the religion.

(2) Scripture recitation: anyone first learning the rites must begin by learning to recite scriptures. Recitation may be done by one person alone or by many in unison; the main forms are recitation with the heart, recitation with the body, silent invocation in the heart, secret invocation, and subtle invocation.

(3) Pacing the void (buxu): the melodies and vocal style used for chanting texts at the offering altar. Tradition says its melodies sound like a host of immortals drifting and walking through the void, and so it is also called the “sound of pacing the void.” The words written to fit the music of pacing the void are called “lyrics of pacing the void.”

(4) Visualization: that is, cunsi. With the eyes closed or half closed, one visualizes and inwardly contemplates some object, or the form and bearing of a deity. If one holds an offering rite without visualization, one cannot communicate with the world of humans and gods, and the fast and offering loses its meaning. The objects of visualization are very wide-ranging, and most are secretly transmitted from master to disciple.

(5) Clicking the teeth: that is, striking the upper and lower teeth together, with the aim of gathering the spirit.

(6) Presenting the memorial: the rite in which the ritual master submits a memorial to the heavenly court, also called “sending up the memorial.” How it is done depends on the rank of the deity: what is presented to the highest deities of Taoism is called “sending up the great memorial,” while for ordinary deities it is called “sending up the petition.” Finally the memorial is burned, which is called “transforming the memorial,” in the hope that it will reach the heavenly court, so that blessings and longer life will be granted and the spirits of ancestors will receive deliverance.

(7) Offering altar liturgy also includes rites such as incantations and hand seals, stellar paces, incense hymns, and memorial rites, as well as inner practices such as inner visualization, clicking the teeth, and gathering the spirit.

(8) An incantation (zhou) is language that communicates with the gods. In ancient times zhou (incantation) was interchangeable with zhu (invocation). Holding an incantation can serve to invite the gods, drive out evil, protect one's life, and guard one's body.

(9) Forming hand seals (qiajue) means that the shapes made by coiling, knotting, pinching, and pressing the fingers according to set methods are called seals (jue), and the process is called forming hand seals. Hand seals communicate with the Perfected and subdue evil, command divine generals, and manage affairs. Different deities have different seal methods.