In the early 1990s, I bought a book called "China's Top Ten
Famous Taoists" published by Yanbian University Press. This article will
briefly supplement its content.
The book selected the top ten famous Taoist priests in history
and arranged them in chronological order. They are Zhang Ling, the founder of
the Heavenly Master, Ge Hong, the Baopuzi, Kou Qianzhi, the Northern Heavenly
Master, Tao Hongjing, the Prime Minister in the Mountains, Sun Simiao, the King
of Medicine, Lv Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals, Chen Tuan, the White Cloud
Master, Lin Lingsu, the Divine Feathered Guest, Qiu Chuji, the Changchun
Zhenren, and Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of Wudang.
For the general public, among these ten high Taoist priests, Lv Dongbin and Zhang Sanfeng are particularly famous because they are widely spread through down-to-earth folk legends, mythological stories, novels, operas, and film and television dramas.
The book may have omitted famous Taoist priests such as Sima
Chengzhen due to limited "quotas", but the "top ten"
evaluation is generally reasonable.
Generally speaking, these ten people are either famous for their
Taoist careers, or Taoist priests as their profession, or their Taoist identity
is more distinct, so they are more well-known to the world.
It should be added that there are actually a large number of historical celebrities who are not famous for their Taoist identity and are not full-time Taoist priests. People today tend to forget that they are actually Taoist priests. Some of their names are very familiar to us.
Here, we are not referring to people who are classified as
Taoists in the broad sense in terms of the ideological and cultural spectrum,
such as Huangdi, Yi Yin, Jiang Shang, Fan Li, Guiguzi, Zhang Liang, Cao Shen,
Chen Ping, Emperor Wen of Han and Liu Bowen;
We are not referring to Laozi, Guan Yinzi, Wenzi, Zhuangzi,
Liezi, Huanyuan, Heshanggong and Liu An of the Taoist school;
We are not referring to the shamans and alchemists such as Xu Fu
before the official birth of Taoism in the 2nd century AD;
We are not referring to those who are Taoist believers but are
not or do not seem to be Taoists, such as Wang Xizhi, Zu Chongzhi, Yuan
Tiangang and Li Shizhen.
We are only referring to the Zhengyi Taoists who have been clearly ordained and granted the talisman, and the Quanzhen Taoists who have been ordained and crowned, because these are Taoists with confirmed identities.
Then, we found that there are also famous Taoist priests such as Li Chunfeng, Wei Zheng, He Zhizhang, Li Mi, Huang Gongwang, Zhu Da, Hua Yanjun (A Bing), etc. They are famous in fields other than religion, but it cannot be said that they are not Taoist priests.
There are also a group of famous emperors who received the
talisman, such as Tang Xuanzong, Song Huizong, Ming Taizu, Ming Chengzu, Ming
Shizu, etc. Are they Taoist priests?
According to Taoist standards, some Taoist priests have no
chance to receive the talisman in their lives, but those who have been ordained
are Taoist priests, and those who have received the talisman are definitely
Taoist priests.
This is bound to be controversial among modern people, but in ancient times, they should be Taoist priests who were famous for being emperors.
Because modern people tend to fall into a misunderstanding,
which is to confuse Buddhism and Taoism, thinking that Taoists must become
monks and take this as a special profession.
In fact, it was only in the 12th century AD that the Quanzhen
Sect was born, and it was necessary to become a monk and take this as a special
profession. Before that, in the entire Taoism, and later in the Zhengyi Sect,
only a few Taoists lived in temples and took this as a profession.
At that time, most Taoists lived in scattered places, each with their own profession, and developed in different fields. They were different from Taoists who only believed in Taoism in terms of whether they were ordained or granted the ordination. They were Taoists, but it can be understood that being a Taoist was their "part-time job".
So, who is the most famous Taoist throughout the ages, who is
well-known but always forgotten?
I think it is: Li Bai!
It is clearly recorded in history that the Immortal Poet
received the talisman in the Ziji Palace in Qizhou and became a Taoist.
Although the movie "30,000 Miles of Chang'an" has a
lot of artistic processing in its depiction of Li Bai's receiving the talisman,
it is a historical fact that Li Bai received the talisman and officially became
a Taoist from his original belief in Taoism.
Li Bai personally gave the manuscript to his fan Wei Hao and
authorized the compilation. The "Collection of Li Hanlin" compiled by
Wei Hao is the ancestor of all existing versions of Li Bai's poetry and prose.
In the preface to the book, Wei Hao recorded that Li Bai "had received Taoist scriptures in Qi and had a pair of blue silk crowns and robes."
From his youth to his old age, Li Bai's poems and prose were
often filled with Taoist thoughts and Taoist culture.
Li Bai became a representative of the poet, Chinese literature
and culture, and Taoism undoubtedly had great significance for him.
This is somewhat similar to the particularly famous people in
"The Ten Great Taoists in China". They practiced Taoism and ascended
to the clouds because of the majestic power of literature and art.
1990年代初，笔者买了一本延边大学出版社出版的《中国十大名道》。本文将对其内容进行简要补充。
该书评选了古往今来的十大著名道士，按年代顺序排列。他们分别是祖天师张陵、抱朴子葛洪、北天师寇谦之、山中宰相陶弘景、药王孙思邈、八仙之一吕洞宾、白云先生陈抟、神霄羽客林灵素、长春真人丘处机和武当祖师张三丰。
对大众而言，这十位高道之中，尤以吕洞宾和张三丰借助接地气的民间传说、神话故事、小说、戏曲和影视剧广泛传播，名气尤其大。
该书可能由于“名额”有限，遗漏了如司马承祯等名道，但“十大之评”大致合理。
总体来说，这十位都是或以道闻名，或以道士为业，或道士人设更鲜明，所以更为世人所知。
需要补充的是，其实还有一大批不以道著名，或最大的人设不在道，不是以道士为专职的历史名人，今人易遗忘他们实际也是一个道士。有的名字，我们非常熟悉。
在这里，我们不论在思想文化光谱上被归入广义道家的人士，如黄帝、伊尹、姜尚、范蠡、鬼谷子、张良、曹参、陈平、汉文帝和刘伯温等；
也不论道家学派的老子、关尹子、文子、庄子、列子、环渊、河上公和刘安等；
还不论在东汉时期正式诞生道教之前的巫祝、方士如徐福等；
更不论虽属于道教信徒，但不是或似乎不是道士的，如王羲之、祖冲之、袁天罡和李时珍等。
我们只以有明确传度、授箓的正一道士，和授戒、冠巾的全真道士来论，因为这些是经过确切认证的道士身份。
那么，我们发现，著名道士还有李淳风、魏征、贺知章、李泌、黄公望、朱耷、华彦钧（阿炳）等人。他们是在宗教之外的领域而闻名，但不能说他们不是道士。
还有一批著名皇帝受箓，如唐玄宗、宋徽宗、明太祖、明成祖、明世祖等。他们是道士吗？
按道教标准，有的道士一生都没有机会受箓，但有传度就是道士，而受箓了的那肯定是。
这个于今人难免会有争议，但在古代，他们应该属于以做皇帝为职业和闻名的道士。
因为当代人易陷入的一个误区，是混淆佛道，以为道士必须出家、以此为“专职”。
实际上，只有晚至南宋时期的金国才诞生的全真派才必须出家、以此为“专职”，在此之前的整个道教，和之后的正一派，都只有少数道士是常住在庙、以此为业。
那时候，多数道士都是散居的，各有各的职业，在不同领域发展，他们和仅仅信道的道教徒有着是否传度、授箓的区别。他们是道士，但可以理解为道士是他们的“兼职”。
那么，古往今来名气最大的道士，尽人皆知而又总被遗忘的是谁？
我认为，那就是：李白！
诗仙在齐州紫极宫受箓，成为一名道士，史有明文。
虽然电影《长安三万里》对李白受箓过程的描绘有大量艺术加工，但李白受箓、从原来的信道而正式成为道士，是一个历史事实。
李白将手稿亲付粉丝魏颢，授权编纂。魏颢所编的《李翰林集》是李白诗文集现存一切版本的祖本。
魏颢在该书序文中记载李白“曾受道箓于齐，有青绮冠帔一副。”
李白从少年到暮年，诗文中常洋溢着道家思想、道教文化。
李白成为诗仙、中国文学和文化的代表人物，道对他无疑具有重大意义。
而这和《中国十大名道》中特别著名者有一定类似，修道的他们，因文学艺术的磅礴力量而登上了云端。
Comments
Post a Comment