Way of the Five Pecks of Rice or the Way of the Celestial Master, commonly abbreviated to simply The Celestial Masters, is a Chinese

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 Taoist movement that was founded by the first Celestial Master Zhang Daoling

Zhang Daoling

Zhang Ling , style name Fuhan , was an Eastern Han Dynasty Taoist hermit who founded the Way of the Celestial Masters sect of Taoism, which is also known as the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice....

 in 142 CE. At its height, the movement controlled a theocratic

Theocracy

Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....

 state in the Hanzhong

Hanzhong

Hanzhong is a municipality in southwest Shaanxi Province, China, occupying a historically significant valley in the mountains between the Xi'an area, home to many Chinese capitals, and the fertile but isolated Sichuan Basin...

 valley, north of Sichuan

Sichuan

' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

. In 215 CE, the state was incorporated into Cao Cao

Cao Cao

Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...

's Kingdom of Wei, and followers of the Celestial Master were dispersed all over China.

The Celestial Masters believed that qi

Qi

In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...

 pervaded everything, and in order to achieve immortality

Immortality

Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...

, the correct balance of qi had to be present within the body. Having a poor quantity of qi in the body, would result in illness, and eventually death. Meditation could be used to restore qi to the body, but sex was to be avoided, as it could result in the loss of qi. If there was the correct balance of qi within the body upon death, an adherent could 'feign death' and be reborn. If not, an adherent would be transported to an earthly prison where he would face eternal torment.

The Hanzhong state was divided into 24 regions which were led by an official. Each district had a civil register which recorded people's names and ranks. Three times a year, the registers were updated at the same time as an important feast. While a child's rank rose automatically, adults had to raise their own rank through religious achievement or marriage. Higher ranked people had more divine generals at their command, which could be used to fight demons that caused bad luck or disease. The state had a system of law that encouraged confession and benevolence rather than strict punishment. Criminals were asked to confess their crimes and meditate, and were given public work to do as a sentence. Few texts written by the Hanzhong Celestial Masters survive, with the most important being the Xiang'er

Xiang'er

The Xiang’er is a commentary to the Dao De Jing that is best known for being one of the earliest surviving texts from the Way of the Celestial Master variant of Daoism...

 commentary to the Dao De Jing. While the Hanzhong state lasted for only twenty-five years, their beliefs influenced all subsequent Daoist movements.

History

In 142 CE Zhang Daoling announced that Laozi

Laozi

Laozi was a mystic philosopher of ancient China, best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching . His association with the Tao Te Ching has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of Taoism...

 had appeared to him and commanded him to rid the world of decadence and establish a new state consisting only of the ‘chosen people.’ Zhang became the first Celestial Master, and began to spread his newly-founded movement throughout the province of Sichuan. The movement was initially called the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice, because each person wishing to join was required to donate five peck

Peck

A peck is an imperial and U.S. customary unit of dry volume, equivalent to 2 gallons or 8 dry quarts or 16 dry pints. Two pecks make a kenning , and four pecks make a bushel....

s of rice. The movement spread rapidly, particularly under his son Zhang Heng and grandson Zhang Lu. The Zhangs were able to convert many groups to their cause, such as the Banshun Man (belonging to the Ba people), which strengthened their movement. In 184, Zhang Xiu

Zhang Xiu

Zhang Xiu was a minor warlord during the late Han Dynasty era of Chinese history. He eventually surrendered to Cao Cao in 200. Having contributed greatly to the decisive Battle of Guandu and subsequent campaigns against the heirs of Yuan Shao, Zhang Xiu died en route Liucheng on a campaign to...

 (not related to Zhang Lu) rebelled against the Han Dynasty. In 191, Zhang Lu and Zhang Xiu were sent to conquer the Hanzhong valley, just north of Sichuan, which was under Zhang Xiu's control. During the subsequent battle, Zhang Xiu was killed, and Zhang Lu founded the theocratic state of Zhanghan, enjoying full independence.

In 215, Cao Cao

Cao Cao

Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...

, the ruler of the Kingdom of Wei attacked the Hanzhong state, and forced Zhang Lu to flee to Eastern Sichuan, where he later surrendered. Zhang was given a title and land, as were several other family members and generals. His followers were forced to resettle in other parts of China, with one group being sent to the Chang'an

Chang'an

Chang'an is an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an. Chang'an literally means "Perpetual Peace" in Classical Chinese. During the short-lived Xin Dynasty, the city was renamed "Constant Peace" ; yet after its fall in AD 23, the old name was restored...

 area, and another being sent to Luoyang

Luoyang

Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...

. Zhang and his family relocated to Cao Cao's administrative headquarters in Ye, located in today's Henan

Henan

Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...

 province. He then used his own popularity as a religious leader to lend legitimacy to the Wei, proclaiming that the Wei court had inherited divine authority from the Daoist church, as well as from Confucian laws. Shortly after the surrender, Zhang Lu died and was succeeded by his son, Fu. After this point there are few historical sources until 255 CE, when a text indicates that the Celestial Master community was fragmenting as a result of the political turmoil within the Wei Kingdom

The collapse of the Kingdom of Wei in 260 CE, along with the fall of Northern China to the Huns

Huns

The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...

 in 317, further scattered adherents to the Celestial Master. The Celestial Masters later reemerged in the 4th and 5th centuries as two distinct offshoots, the Northern and Southern Celestial Masters.

Texts

The only significant Celestial Master text that survives from the Hanzhong period is the Xiang'er

Xiang'er

The Xiang’er is a commentary to the Dao De Jing that is best known for being one of the earliest surviving texts from the Way of the Celestial Master variant of Daoism...

 commentary to the Dao De Jing. This text gives insight into the Celestial Masters’ physiological beliefs, meditation practices and rituals. In addition, the commentary reinterprets the Dao De Jing to have all of humanity as its intended audience, instead of only a sage. The Taiping Jing

Taiping Jing

Taiping Jing is the name of several different Daoist texts. At least two works were known by this title:, Pinyin tiān guān lì bāo yuán tàipíng jīng, 12 Chapters, contents unknown, author: Gan Zhongke 甘忠可, Pinyin tàipíng qīng lǐng shū, 170 Chapters, only 57 of which survive via the Daozang,...

, a text attributed to the Yellow Turbans, was not a Celestial Master text, but reflects at least in part some Celestial Master thought and practice. A later text written in 255 CE, known as the Commands and Admonitions for the Families of the Great Dao was composed to a divided Celestial Master community after the dispersal of the Hanzhong population. While written in the persona of Zhang Lu, it is probable that this text was not written by him, as he had probably died by 255 CE.

Beliefs and practices

The Celestial Masters believed that there was an upcoming apocalypse that would nearly destroy humanity. Only 18,000 adherents of the Celestial Master who had the right balance of qi would survive the disaster. These were the seed people that would repopulate the earth after the destruction.

Qi

The foundation of Celestial Master belief is that there is an energy source known as qi

Qi

In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...

, that is born from the Dao

DAO

DAO may refer to:* D-amino acid oxidase, a peroxisomal enzyme.* Data access object, a design pattern used in object-oriented software engineering* De-asphalted oil, a crude oil refinery process stream...

 and is the source of life all things. The human body contains spirits that need to be nourished by the proper balance of qi. There are three types of qi: yin

Yin and yang

In Asian philosophy, the concept of yin yang , which is often referred to in the West as "yin and yang", is used to describe how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only...

 qi, yang

Yin and yang

In Asian philosophy, the concept of yin yang , which is often referred to in the West as "yin and yang", is used to describe how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only...

 qi and blended qi, which is mixed yin/yang qi. The goal of a Daoist is to achieve transcendence to a higher plane. In order to do this, they must preserve and harmonize their internal spirits. Only through meditation that guides qi correctly throughout the body, can the spirits be harmonized correctly. While it is known that the Celestial Masters meditated in order to obtain qi, there is no surviving evidence that describes their meditation practices.

Immortality

One common goal of early Daoism was to extend life by achieving immortality. The Celestial Masters believed that in order to achieve immortality, one was not supposed to extend life in the current world, but rather 'feign death' in this world, and be reborn on the other side. In order to feign death, an adept had to have perfectly harmonized internal spirits. When someone with refined internal spirits died in this world, their spirit would venture to the Palace of Grand Darkness where their form would be refined and then reborn in a perfected state on the other side. There are no surviving texts that describe what kind of place the 'other side' was. Those that failed to harmonize their internal spirits prior to death would be reborn in the underground earth-prisons, where they would be subject to eternal torment and toil.

Illness

In the Hanzhong community, everyone was regarded as ill in some way. This was because sin caused qi to leave the body, and qi was necessary for life. In order to cure any illness, repentance was a crucial factor in ensuring that the loss of qi could be staunched. Repentance could be accomplished by spending time in a 'Chamber of Silence,' and reflecting on one's sins, or by beating one's breasts and kowtow

Kowtow

Kowtow is the act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. An alternative Chinese term is ketou, however the meaning is somewhat altered: kòu originally meant "knock with reverence", whereas kē has the general meaning of "touch upon ".In Han...

ing to heaven. Illness could be cured in other ways as well, such as using medicinal herbs and by listening to ritual music. Eating very little was also of extreme importance, and an ideal diet would consist of no food at all, but only of noncorporeal things such as air, which the person could absorb through meditation.

Sexual

Practicing correct sexual practices was one method of perfecting the body's internal spirits. The Celestial Masters believed that semen is the embodiment of qi. If someone ejaculated too often, their life would be shortened. In fact, the Xiang'er

Xiang'er

The Xiang’er is a commentary to the Dao De Jing that is best known for being one of the earliest surviving texts from the Way of the Celestial Master variant of Daoism...

 indicates that people should not even have sex for the purposes of reproduction. The Celestial Masters frowned upon the practice of heqi (also known as 'The Union of the Breaths') of not ejaculating during sex in order to 'nourish the brain, and advocated non-ejaculation simply as a way to avoid losing qi. In addition, the Celestial Masters thought that the method of stealing a woman's qi to replenish the man's own qi was completely wrong, and should not be practiced. Despite their opposition to 'heqi' and reproductive sex, there is the possibility that the Celestial Masters supported sex for purposes other than reproduction, and a Celestial Master text from around the 5th century describes an elaborate sexual ritual.

Organization

The region governed by the Celestial Masters was divided into 24 regions for both administrative and religious reasons. Each of these 24 regions were connected with one of the Five Phases, one of the 24 periods of the year and with one of the 28 constellations of the zodiac

Zodiac

In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...

. Depending on their birth signs, each adherent belonged to one of these districts. Each of the 24 regions was administered by 24 officials, who had under their command 240 armies of spirits, composed of 2400 generals, 2400 officers and 240000 soldiers. This system of administration reflected the utopian system of governance described in the Zhouli.

Administration and religion were closely linked in the system of the Celestial Masters. Adherents were grouped by families, and each was attached to a district. Families and districts, and the gods all held copies of civil registers. The registers were detailed records of the people, and recorded each person's rank, identity and location. Any changes to those registered had to be accompanied by a monetary contribution known as a 'wage of faith.' Requests to the gods followed a bureaucratic model, and were drawn up according to specific administrative codes. The effectiveness of these requests depended upon the accuracy of the registers kept by the gods.

New members of the sect were divided into groups led by instructors. Neophytes were instructed by a catechism

Catechism

A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...

 similar to that found in the Xiang'er

Xiang'er

The Xiang’er is a commentary to the Dao De Jing that is best known for being one of the earliest surviving texts from the Way of the Celestial Master variant of Daoism...

 that was likely a type of proto-meditation that later became widespread in movements such as the Shangqing School

Shangqing School

The Shangqing School or Supreme Clarity is a Daoist movement that began during the aristocracy of the Western Jin dynasty. Shangqing can be translated as either 'Supreme Clarity' or 'Highest Clarity.' The first leader of the school was Wei Huacun , but Tao Hongjing, who structured the theory and...

 of Daoism. These instructors handled religious and administrative duties, receiving taxes, and set up road-side inns for travelers.

The rank of each person was determined by how many divine generals they had at their disposal, and by the number of divine scriptures they had obtained. These divine generals were used to fight wandering demons that could bring misfortune or illness on someone. A person received their first general at the age of six years, and in subsequent ceremonies would be given more and generals and achieve a higher ranking until a full complement was achieved at the age of nineteen. Marriage

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 would unite two sets of generals, thus giving a couple use of 150 divine generals. After marriage, further increases in ranking could only be achieved by religious achievement.

On certain dates of the year, such as the equinoxes, group ceremonies took place at which masters disseminated their teachings. During these ceremonies, communal feasts often took place, where food was eaten and offered to the gods. The feasts also took place when a birth or death occurred, or in order to bring happiness and prevent evil. The participants in such a feast were organized based on their religious standing, with merit and seniority being the determining factors. During the three important dates known as Sanyuan, the most important feasts were held. During these thrice-annual feasts, a census would be taken recording births, deaths and peoples' movements. At this time, adherents were also expected to donate the five pecks of rice that gives the movement its name.

Law

In the Hanzhong state, sin

Sin

In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...

 and criminal behavior were not differentiated. In order to eliminate sin, an adherent first had to acknowledge his crime, and then would have to go to a 'quiet room' to meditate. There, he would have to write three confessions which would be offered to the Lord of Heaven, the Lord of Earth and the Lord of Water. For public crimes, an accused would be pardoned three times for his actions and then be sentenced. A sentence depended on the type of crime, but always involved community service. For a minor crime, the sentence was usually to repair a road. A repeat offender might be asked to donate building materials to improve local buildings. Other laws banned alcohol and prohibited the killing of animals during the spring and summer.

Legacy

The belief and practices of the Hanzhong Celestial Masters had a profound legacy upon future Daoist belief. The movement marked a significant change from earlier, philosophical Daoist movements. No longer was Daoism a philosophical pastime for the literate and wealthy; it was now promoted to all classes of society, including the illiterate and the non-Chinese. In addition, the Celestial Masters were the first Daoist group to form an organized priesthood that helped spread their beliefs. Being the first organized religious Daoists, the first Celestial Masters are the ancestors of all subsequent Daoist movements such as the Shangqing

Shangqing

Shangqing may refer to:*Shàngqīng, the Supreme Pure One, one of the Three Pure Ones*Shangqing Bridge, overpass in Beijing*Shangqing School, Daoist movement*Shangqing Town, in Guixi, Jiangxi, China...

 and Lingbao movements, as well as the medieval Zhengyi

Zhengyi

Zhengyi may refer to:* Zhengyi Dao; a Daoist movement founded by Zhang Daoling* Zhengyi, a character from the Forgotten Realms setting of Dungeons & Dragons....

Daoists, who claimed affinity to the first Celestial Masters.