How Did the Precepts of the Taoist Zhengyi School Arise, and What Do They Require?

Chiyang Daoren, Eastern Taoism

The Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) school refers to the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice founded at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty—that is, the Way of the Celestial Masters, also called the Way of the Orthodox Unity Covenant with the Powers. It later divided into the Longhu school, the Maoshan school, the Gezao school, the Shenxiao (Divine Empyrean) school, the Qingwei (Pure Subtlety) school, the Donghua school, the Tianxin school, the Jingming (Pure Brightness) school, the Taiyi school, and others.

In the eighth year of the Dade era of the Yuan dynasty (1304), Emperor Chengzong of Yuan conferred on Zhang Yucai, the thirty-eighth Celestial Master, the title “Master of the Zhengyi Teaching, in Charge of the Talismans and Registers of the Three Mountains.” This marked the unification of the various talisman-and-register schools under the name of the Zhengyi school, in contrast to the newly founded Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school.

The Way of the Five Pecks of Rice had the Xiang'er Precepts of Lord Lao, nine precepts in three practices, which applied “equally to all in the Taoist houses, whether high or low”—that is, all members of the community had to observe them.

During the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, Taoism divided into many schools, and each added to the Taoist precepts. There appeared in succession the “Twenty-Seven Precepts of Lord Lao,” the “Thirty-Six Precepts of Lord Lao,” the “One Hundred and Eighty Precepts of Lord Lao,” the “Thirteen Prohibitive Precepts,” the “Twelve Precepts to Be Followed,” the “Precepts of Nüqing of the Central Palace of the Grand Mysterious Capital,” the “Seven Hundred and Twenty Essential Precepts,” and so on.

The eminent Tang-dynasty Taoist Zhang Wanfu, in his Brief Account of the Transmission of Scriptures, Precepts, Rites, and Registers of the Three Caverns (Chuanshou Sandong Jingjie Falu Lüeshuo), lists sixteen sets of precepts, saying that “when people first enter the gate of the teaching, they first receive the precepts, so as to guard against trouble and stop wrongdoing.” Among them, the Xiang'er Precepts of Lord Lao are still named as the precepts “received by the Dharma Masters of the Most High High Mystery.”

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the thought and texts of the Zhengyi precepts gradually matured. During the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty, Zhang Yuchu, the forty-third Celestial Master, wrote the Ten Rules for the Taoist Community (Daomen Shigui), which systematically set out norms of conduct for Taoists in their religious life and in every aspect of social life.

The Content of the Xiang'er Precepts of Lord Lao

The Xiang'er Precepts of Lord Lao are precepts of early Taoism. According to ancient commentaries, Xiang'er is the name of an immortal. Tradition holds that the Founding Celestial Master Zhang Ling wrote the Xiang'er Commentary on the Laozi; it was long lost, but a fragmentary manuscript from Dunhuang has now come to light again.

The Xiang'er Precepts of Lord Lao consist of nine precepts in three practices: practice non-action, practice softness and weakness, practice holding to the feminine and do not be first to move—these are the three highest practices; practice namelessness, practice clarity and stillness, practice all good deeds—these are the three middle practices; practice desirelessness, practice knowing when to stop and being content, practice yielding to others—these are the three lower practices.

The Seven Slips from the Cloudy Satchel (Yunji Qiqian) says: “Those who fulfill all nine practices become divine immortals; those who fulfill six attain longevity; those who fulfill three add years to their lives.”

The Xiang'er Precepts of Lord Lao are a concentrated expression of early Taoism’s thinking about norms of conduct in social and religious life. But because the precepts were too brief to put into practice easily, many other codes of rules and precepts appeared later.

The Content of the Twenty-Seven Precepts of Lord Lao

The Twenty-Seven Precepts of Lord Lao derive from the Xiang'er Precepts of Lord Lao. The precepts are divided into upper, middle, and lower grades.

The upper grade: Do not indulge in joy, for improper joy is the same as anger; do not squander your essence and qi; do not harm the flourishing qi; do not eat creatures that have blood, relishing their fine flavor; do not covet merit and fame; do not make false images, pointing to forms and naming them the Tao; do not forget the teachings of the Tao; do not act rashly to test things; do not kill or speak of killing.

The middle grade: Do not study heterodox writings; do not covet high glory or pursue it by force; do not seek fame and reputation; do not be misled by your ears, eyes, and mouth; always keep to humility; do not be rash and restless; when undertaking anything, be careful and thoughtful, not muddled; do not indulge yourself in fine clothes and rich food; do not be full to overflowing.

The lower grade: Do not, being poor and humble, seek wealth and rank by force; do not do any evil; do not have many taboos; do not pray and sacrifice to ghosts and spirits; do not be violent and overbearing; do not be self-righteous; do not dispute right and wrong with others—when a quarrel arises, be the first to withdraw; do not call yourself a sage or make much of your name; do not delight in arms.

The Twenty-Seven Precepts of Lord Lao made the Xiang'er Precepts easier to carry out and put into practice. Together with the nine Xiang'er Precepts of Lord Lao, they are called the Thirty-Six Precepts of Lord Lao.

The Content of the Ten Rules for the Taoist Community

The Ten Rules for the Taoist Community by Zhang Yuchu, the forty-third Celestial Master, was written in response to the situation since the Yuan and Ming dynasties, in which “the mysterious principles decline day by day, the transforming influence of the Tao fails to spread, the substance is lost while the name remains, and the collar has worn out and the fur coat fallen apart.”

The Ten Rules for the Taoist Community says: “All who practice must put precepts and conduct first, and then devote themselves to inquiry and study.” The text discusses ten topics in turn: “The Origins of Taoism,” “Scriptures and Registers of the Taoist Community,” “Sitting in the Enclosure and Guarding Stillness,” “The Practice of Fasting Rites,” “The Transmission of Taoist Methods,” “Abbots and Leaders,” “Wandering and Visiting Masters,” “Establishing Temples and Ordaining People,” “Money, Grain, and Farmland,” and “Repairing Taoist Temples and Monasteries.”

Zhang Yuchu advocated “humility and harmony,” “lowliness,” “softness and weakness,” and the like, entirely in keeping with the purport of the Tao Te Ching. Drawing also on the ascetic practice of the Quanzhen school founded by Wang Chongyang, he called for “gathering in and training body and mind, maintaining moral integrity, and thoroughly studying the scriptures.” He criticized “the likes of Zhao Guizhen and Lin Lingsu, who, once they happened to be honored and revered by the rulers of their day, became arrogant with wealth and rank, lost the proper bounds between sovereign and subject, indulged in extravagant and boastful words, and did not keep themselves to compassion and frugality; they drew much censure in their own time and in later ages. Let this be taken as a serious warning.”

Zhang Yuchu was far-sighted and his intentions were earnest, but his great arguments do not seem to have received much attention from Zhengyi Taoist priests in the Ming and Qing dynasties or since the Republican era.