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The Ming dynasty advanced a policy that protected Buddhism and Taoism as teachings supplementing the fundamental Confucianism of the dynasty from its early stages. The Department of Rites 禮部 of the Ming government regulated Buddhist and Taoist establishments, imposing examinations of scriptural knowledge on Buddhist and Taoist priests and limiting their number. Moreover, the Ming dynasty had Buddhist and Taoist temples conduct a portion of the Confucian state's ritual system, and during important state ceremonies, such as state religious services, memorial services and political reflection 修省, bureaucrats were dispatched, and religious rites were performed. It can be said that Buddhism and Taoism were substantially incorporated into the framework of state religious services and in turn into the system of state rituals. Furthermore, many local gods associated with folk belief were also incorporated into state religious services. Some of these local gods were originally human beings, some were natural phenomena such as mountains and rivers, and others were supernatural beings such as dragons. In the Ming period, it was thought that local gods were nothing other than the result of the operation of yin (negative) and yang (positive) qi 氣, two modes of creative energy 陰陽二氣. The operation of qi was considered not only to be a natural principle that constituted the real world, but also to be a spiritual one was beyond human perception, which was worshiped as the gods 鬼神. Ultimately, the criteria for determining whether or not local gods were suitable for incorporation into national religious services or rites depended on the question of the existence of their miraculous power. Most local government officials emphasized the miraculous power of local gods that brought benefits to the local administration and people rather than the orthodox Confucian standards. The officials reported evidence confirming the miraculous power of local gods to the Department of Rites and recommended putting them in state religious services. The Ming dynasty was based on Neo-Confucianism thought, particularly the school of Zhuzi 朱子, but, it also made an effort to put Buddhism, Taoism and local gods into the framework of state religious services as much as possible. As such, the Ming dynasty expected the political rule of the emperor in the real world would be aided by spiritual power that would be provided by state religious services. |
