THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE TAOIST UNDERWORLD OF THE HAN AND SIX DYNASTIES PERIODS by JOHN D. JOHNSON B.A., The University of Saskatchewan, 1989 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Asian Studies) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA July 1999 © JohnD. Johnson 1999 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada DE-6 (2/88) 1! Abstract Throughout the history of Taoism the underworld remained central to its beliefs and practices. In its earliest manifestations, even those predating the emergence of the Taoist tradition itself, it was intrinsically linked to practices related to exorcisms and the Chinese ancestral cult. In this context, it functioned as an abode for the dead and a place to segregate the spirits of the dead from the living, traits later adopted by Taoism. The arrival of Buddhism, however, brought about changes in the Chinese and Taoist underworld. Whereas previously the underworld functioned primarily as a place for segregation, it took on broader connotations, becoming a place also concerned with postmortem punishment. Scholars, at least until recently, have maintained that the Chinese underworld bore similarities with the Western notions of the underworld, meaning "Hades," "Sheol," "Hell," and "Purgatory," and consistently interpreted the Chinese underworld according to these paradigms. It is held here that these terms are often misleading, and they thereby distorted the function and nature of the Taoist infernal regions. This thesis, instead of using these Western models, interprets the underworld according to the presence and emphasis of postmortem punishment. This will thereby establish the nature of the Taoist infernal regions as manifest during the periods between the Han and Six Dynasties Periods, a period between the second century BCE and the sixth century CE. This exploration is based on the translation of relevant texts dating from these periods. In addition, the antecedents of the Taoist underworld, meaning those of China's indigenous religious matrix and of Buddhism, are examined and interpreted. Table of Contents Abstract if Chapter One: Introduction 1 I. Introduction and Intent of Thesis 1 II. Methodology: "Neutral Death" and "Moral Death" and the Underworld in the Western Tradition- "Hades," "Tartarus," "Sheol," "Hell," and "Purgatory" 10 Chapter Two: Indigenous Beliefs from the Neolithic to the End of the Han 32 I. Introduction 32 II. The Beliefs of Neolithic China (ca. 4,000-1,800) and the Yin or Shang (15007-1050?) 33 a. ) The Religion of the Neolithic Period 34 b. ) The State-Sponsored "Ancestral Cult" of the Yin or Shang 37 III. The Beliefs of the Zhou (10507-256), the "Spring and Autumn" (721-481) and the "Warring States" Periods (403-221) 42 a. ) "Ancestor Worship" of the Zhou 42 b. ) The "Yellow Springs" 47 c. ) Developments Regarding the Nature of the "Spirits of the Dead" 52 d. ) The Emergence of "Demonology" 57 IV. Beliefs of the Qin and Han-Towards a "Moral Death" 63 a. ) The Cosmos-Its Structure and Its Responsibilities and the Idea of Paradise 65 b. ) The Bureaucracy of the Underworld 71 c. ) The Condition of the Dead in the Underworld and the Concept of Guilt.... 80 Chapter Three: "Moral Death" in Buddhism 92 I. Introduction 92 II. The Early History of Buddhism in India and China 94 a. ) The Inception of Buddhism in India and Early Core Beliefs 95 b. ) The Introduction of Buddhism to China 98 III. Buddhist Cosmology 102 a. ) The Structure of the Buddhist Cosmos 103 b. ) The Buddhist Underworld 106 c. ) The Condition of the "Wicked Dead" in the Buddhist Underworld 113 IV. The Buddhist Underworld in China-The "Solidarity of the Living and the Dead" 125 a. ) The "Ghost Festival," the Guijie or Yulanpen and the Sangha 127 b. ) The Buddhist Bureaucracy of the Afterlife in Han and Six Dynasties China 133 Chapter Four: The Taoist Underworld 141 I. Introduction 141 II. The Emergence of Taoism 143 a. ) From Antiquity to the Han 145 b. ) Developments in the Qin and Former Han 147 c. ) Taoism in the Eastern Han and Six Dynasties Periods 151 III. Taoist Cosmology from the Early Han to the Six Dynasties-The Influence of Huang-Lao Taoism and the General Structure of the Underworld 158 a. ) The Operation of the Early Taoist Cosmos-"Correlative Thinking" and "Resonance" 160 b. ) A Typology of Taoist Infernal Regions from the Han to Six Dynasties .... 164 IV. The Taoist Bureaucracy of the Afterlife-The Taiping Jing, the "Scripture of Great Peace" 170 a. ) The Importance of Communication and the Structure of the Cosmos in the Taiping Jing 173 b. ) Morality and "Inherited Guilt" in the Taiping Jing 176 c. ) Rewards and Punishments-The Responsibilities of the Underworld 182 V. Appeals and Litigation in the Afterlife-The Shangqing Tradition and the Underworld 189 a. ) The Six Palaces of Fengdu-Attaining Immortality and Processing the Dead 192 b. ) The "Water Bureau"-Human Suffering and the Underworld in Shangqing Taoism 202 VI. The Taoist Underworld as a "Purgatory" 208 a. ) "Moral Death" and the Condition of the Dead in the Lingbao Underworld 210 b. ) The "Fast of the Yellow Talisman" 222 Chapter Five: Conclusion 234 Bibliography 242 1 Chapter One: Introduction I. Introduction and Intent of Thesis: Perhaps the most neglected area of Western Taoist studies is research into the Taoist notion of the underworld and the idea of postmortem punishment.1 The Taoist underworld, Diyu itjj Wt, literally "Earth-Prisons," has been the subject of only a few studies in the West. If mentioned at all, it is mentioned in passing and not in any detailed or comprehensive study, and often the only research on the topic of the Chinese underworld focused on Buddhist inspired models, leaving Taoist versions relatively untouched. Obviously more research has to be done on this topic. In general, scholars agree on several traits about the Chinese underworld. For example, many agree that the most influential and commonly accepted vision of the underworld was established during a period between the seventh and ninth centuries of the Common Era, with some even stating that this development occurred as late as the Song Dynasty 5rc (960-1127) (Dore 1911:258ff; Thompson 1989:27; Teiser 1994:1). They also agree that the most prevalent vision of the Chinese underworld is represented by two texts that date to a period after the ninth century. These are the Shiwangjing-{-^^, "The Scripture on the Ten Kings, " and the Yuli chaozhuan 3i jfjf ^iMIl, often translated as the "Jade Records."2 Scholars also agree that these portrayals of the underworld share enough commonalties with the Medieval Western worldview 1 I will maintain the standard Pinyin Romanization system throughout this paper as it is becoming more common in use. There are only a few exceptions. The terms Tao, Taoism, and Taoist, originating from the Wade-Giles system, will be used to denote these three concepts instead of the Pinyin. They have been absorbed into the English vocabulary and are more readily recognized. 2 A translation of "The Scripture on the Ten Kings" is found in Teiser (1994). The Yuli is translated in G.W. Clarke's "The Yu-li or Precious Records," Journal of the Asiatic Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society for the Years 1893-94. (1898; rpt. New Series 28, Shanghai: Kraus Reprint Society Ltd. Nendeln/Liechtenstein, 1967). 2 to warrant the title "Purgatory" and not necessarily "Hell" (Teiser 1994:1). While "Hell" generally implies punishment for eternity, "Purgatory" is a postmortem place or condition where one is purged of their evil-doings through punishment. In the end, this punishment prepares the soul for another state of existence. Not only is this condition similar to the Chinese view, these two texts also concern themselves with the moral betterment of the living, to such an extent that these texts, especially the "Jade Records " are likened to the "hellfire and brimstone" tracts of the West. This means that, in essence, they are concerned with motivating the living to a moral life by inspiring them with the examples of the punishment of the wicked in the afterlife. In sum, scholars believe that these ideas emerged in China based on a combination of Chinese and foreign ideas, specifically Indian Buddhist ones, that slowly entered into China during the first centuries of the Common Era. These ideas, in turn, crystallized sometime during the seventh and ninth centuries and are reflected in the above texts (Teiser 1994:1). This apparent agreement is somewhat misleading. For example, scholars along with "Purgatory" frequently use the terms "Hades," "Hell" and others to describe this same vision of the underworld. They use these terms to describe the Chinese underworld often interchangeably and apparently without considering their real implications: Dore (1911) and Werner (1932) used the terms "Purgatory," "Hell" and "Hades"; Werner also used the term "Tartarus";3 Maspero (1981), used "Purgatory";4 Eberhard (1967) "Hell"; Goodrich (1981) "Purgatory" and "Hell"; Thompson (1987) "Purgatory," but frequently referred to the underworld as "Hell"; and lastly, 3 Dore's (1911) section on the Chinese underworld is found on pages 250-302.