妖道與妖術 : 小說、歷史與現實中的道敎批判

Abstract

In classic Chinese fiction, stories involving the way of the occult often appear. The illusions upon which such stories are based are disguised as historical facts. The clearly defined separation between "the way of the occult" (yaodao 妖道) and "the way of orthodoxy" (zhengdao 正道) was made on the one hand through authoritarian suppression by the ideological mainstream and on the other, within Taoism itself. In the long process of "purification of Taoism" lasting up until the seventh century, Taoism consciously purified its own organization, rites and techniques, itself firmly drawing the boundaries of "homogeneity" and "heterogeneity." Taoism, so to speak, over a relatively long period of time, actually experienced a "history of submission" to the cultnral mainstream. Organizational structures, ritual forms and worship of demons and gods which were opposed by the precepts of the religious body renewed by purification and banned by the laws of the state came to be designated "occult practices." In the religious texts and works of literature of premodern China, "the way of the occult" and "occult practices" (yaoshu 妖術) cameprincipally to indicate insurrection, debauchery and devil worship. It should be noted that, in traditional China, while a critique of Taoism was gradually formed, the singularity of its thought structure lay in the fact that rather than being concerned with dogma, it was aimed at the vulgar moral aspects of Taoism. Effective in terms of the world of the masses rather than traditional thought, the criticism of Taoism was not the stuff of doctrinal analysis, but was grounded in all manner of pretexts not in the least connected with dogma. Now one noteworthy point is that in China this form of criticism itself took on the form of a tradition. There have been many occasions when Catholicism in recent times, modern day folk religion and the contemporary so-called "heterodox cults" have suffered critical attacks on the grounds of such moral transgressions as illicit storage of weapons, soliciting donations under duress and throwing ordinary life into chaos. Such critical attitudes and methods of demonstrating proof aimed at unofficial and unorthodox religion and culture continue to exist even amidst present-day politics.