Taoism was born after the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, as a native religion in China, and there was no shortage of rulers who worshiped Taoism, such as the emperor of the Tang Dynasty because he was surnamed Li and claimed to be a descendant of Laozi, so he vigorously worshiped Taoism, and Tang Xuanzong was the most obsessed;
Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty strongly admired Taoism, and even appointed himself as the leader of Taoism in the world; The emperor of the Yuan Dynasty did not worship the Tao but worshiped the Buddha.
In the Ming Dynasty, Ming Chengzu claimed to have received the blessing of Emperor Zhenwu in the Battle of Jingjing, so he called the emperor and the queen to worship the Tao.
Compared with Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism, as a local religion, can be said to be the first choice for Ming Chengzu's ritual activities, and before summoning the Karmapa Deyin Xiepa to hold Tibetan Buddhist rituals for Ming Taizu and Empress Gao, Ming Chengzu had already asked Gao Dao to hold a Taoist blessing ceremony for Ming Taizu and Empress Gao.
However, the Taoist puja ordered by Ming Chengzu is inferior to the Tibetan Buddhist puja in terms of scale, rewards, and social influence.
According to Taoism, the patron deity of the east is the green dragon, the west is the white tiger, the south is the vermilion bird, and the patron deity of the north is the emperor Zhenwu.
Ming Chengzu sat in the north, and Emperor Zhenwu was its patron saint.
Gao Dai's "Hongyoulu" records that when Chengzu was preparing to raise troops in Beiping, he repeatedly asked Yao Guangxiao the date of sending troops. In time, everyone saw the air armor, and the image of Emperor Xuan, the ancestor of Cheng was wearing a sword. ”
Fu Weilin's "Book of Ming" and other books also have similar accounts of this matter.
From these records, it can be seen that this live drama of the real martial arts manifestation to help Chengzu raise troops is likely to be directed by Yao Guangxiao, the ancient people were superstitious and believed that it was true, so they decided that Ming Chengzu was the "true dragon son of heaven", which is similar to the Tibetan Buddhist monks who called Ming Chengzu "the incarnation of Manjushri Bodhisattva".
During the three years of the Battle of Jingyan, Ming Chengzu often used Emperor Zhenwu's secret help to boost morale, and even Emperor Jianwen's soldiers mistakenly thought that he was wrong
Emperor Zhenwu is helping Chengzu to become an ancestor, which is a psychological effect that cannot be ignored for Chengzu to win the battle of Jingyan and finally win the throne, and it also paints the sacred color of "divine authority of the monarch" for his succession.
After ascending the throne, Ming Chengzu mainly admired Taoism to meet his religious and political needs.
Or it is precisely because of the "true martial arts" in the battle of Jingyan to seize the throne, Ming Chengzu's performance in respecting Taoism is the most prominent
In order to consolidate the throne, Zhu Di, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, and his advisers praised it as the Emperor Zhenwu, and vigorously promoted Taoism, and concentrated a large number of manpower, material and financial resources to cultivate Taoism in Wudang Mountain.
The legend of the golden statue of Emperor Zhenwu is shaped by Zhu Di as the prototype, located in the tight top hall of Wudang Mountain, Shiyankou City, Hubei Province, with a height of 186 cm and copper gilt. Emperor Zhenwu wore a robe and hung armor, was stamped on his feet, heroic and majestic, and sat solemnly on the divine chair.
Ming Chengzu "has the power of God, and rebuilt the temple in the good corner of the capital and Wudang Mountain." "Wantonly build the Wudang Mountain Zhenwu Pavilion.
In the eleventh year of Yongle, Ming Chengzu ordered to mobilize more than 300,000 military and civilian craftsmen, which lasted 14 years to build 8 palaces and 2 temples of Wudang Taoism, 36 nunnery halls and 72 rock temples.
In addition, 39 bridges, 12 pavilions and more than 70 kilometers of mountaineering Shinto from the foot of the mountain to the golden summit were built, and Wudang Mountain became a veritable "royal palace view" and "imperial dojo" of the Ming Dynasty.
In December of the sixteenth year of Yongle, Ming Chengzu ordered to rebuild the palace view of Wudang Mountain, and sealed Wudang Mountain as "Dayue Taihe Mountain", and its status was above the five mountains.
The construction of such a large-scale Taoist temple group has gone beyond the role of Taoism's "Yin Yi Wang Dao" and is an "open Taoist worship activity".
In addition, in the fourth year of Yongle, Ming Chengzu began to order the 43rd generation of heavenly master Zhang Yuchu and his younger brother Zhang Yuqing to edit the "Daozang", which is the earliest "Daozang" seen so far, and the Zixiao Palace of Wudang Mountain is located in Wudang Mountain, Shiyan City, Hubei Province.
Zixiao Palace was built in Yongle 11 years, is the main body of the eight palace view buildings of Wudang Mountain, there are palaces, pavilions, corridors 806 rooms at the most prosperous time, the scale is grand, the momentum is extraordinary, the existing main buildings have the palace gate, the stele pavilion, the Chongtai, the main hall, the parent hall, etc., for Wudang
One of the best-preserved palaces on the mountain.
During the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty and the Kangxi period, the "Yongming County Chronicles" recorded the "Zhenwu Pavilion Record" and "Rebuild the Zhenwu Pavilion Record", both of which were written by Jiang Chaolu of the Ming Dynasty, which said: "The Ming King holds the power of power and blessing, and wants the people to know and fear, and Yongji is peaceful, and he must use Shinto, set up a teaching department, and repay good and evil. This is the mystery of its origin, and it tastes the story of Emperor Ming Chengzu and Emperor Wu Yuan. ”
Both begin with the story of Ming Chengzu and Zhenwu, which shows the Qing people's affirmative attitude towards Ming Chengzu's worship of Zhenwu.
Ming Chengzu even personally wrote the preface to the imperial system of the Zhenwu Temple, "The Imperial Zhenwu Temple Tablet", saying that the god of Zhenwu (that is, the Emperor Zhenwu) of the Arctic Xuantian God had great merit in the Ming Dynasty.
He not only thinks that Ming Taizu pacified the world, in addition to the assistance of civil and military ministers, in fact, there is also the help of the true martial god, and pointed out that he calmed down the internal difficulties, and also had the help of the Zhenwu Emperor.
Ming Chengzu believed in Tibetan Buddhism, wrote many prefaces to Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, and did not hesitate to give texts for Taoism with the same belief, which shows the piety of his faith.
In addition, Ming Chengzu also sponsored Wudang Mountain for a long time, giving Wudang Mountain Taoist Temple many rewards, and later emperors Jingtai, Zhengzheng, Zhengde, Jiajing, Chenghua, and Wanli followed the practice of Ming Chengzu, all sponsored Wudang Mountain.
Many edicts and edicts were issued on Wudang Mountain, and the content and number of these edicts reflect their donation pattern, indicating that the Ming emperors, including Ming Chengzu, worshipped Taoism and built Zhenwu Gongguan Temples on a large scale, which was a prominent manifestation of Ming Chengzu's worship of Zhenwu God.
In addition, Ming Chengzu's worship of Taoism is also reflected in his selection of high Taoism, which is dedicated to praying for the royal family's blessings and birthdays.
In August of the 11th year of Yongle, Zhu Di ordered Zhang Yuqing, a real person, to teach the real person Zhang Yuqing as the Xuantian Yuxu Palace of Wudang Mountain, the Taixuan Zixiao Palace, the Xingsheng Wulong Palace, and the Great Sage Nanyan Palace...... Intensive cultivation and prosperity of Taoism".
In November of the same year, the Daolu Division was ordered to "go to Zhejiang, Huguang, Shanxi, Henan, and Shaanxi to take those who have the Tao and sincerity to use", and then selected a group of people in Jiangxi, Yingtianfu and other places, and a total of more than 40 people were selected before and after.
In addition, Ming Chengzu also built the Jade Emperor Hall in the inner palace for himself and the people in the inner palace to worship, and specially sent people many times
Go to the folk to visit the famous Taoist priest Zhang Sanfeng and so on. There are many signs that Ming Chengzu's respect for Taoism is not exaggerated.
However, Ming Chengzu did not blindly respect Taoism, and would restrict Taoism when necessary, such as in the second year of Yongle, there were Taoist priests who offered Taoist scriptures, and Ming Chengzu reprimanded: "What is the use of the five scriptures of the people who govern the world, what is the use of the Taoist scriptures?" Reject it. ”