Those who want to be immortal tend to decay quickly. At that time, Qin Shi Huang unified the world, painstakingly sought "the inheritance of the descendants of the emperor and the emperor", but asked for the tragedy of the death of the second. Others, on the other hand, were resourceful and unintentional, but later they were admired by the world and admired by future generations. Such a wise man first recommended Confucius, and can be compared with Confucius, Zhang Tianshi can be regarded as a figure, his hereditary family has lasted for more than two thousand years, although low-key, but also a leading figure.
1. The legendary Zhang Tianshi
The term "Heavenly Master" was first seen in "Zhuangzi Xu Wu Ghost": "The Yellow Emperor then worshiped the head of the auditor and called the Heavenly Master retreated.". Although Zhuangzi did not state in the fable what kind of a powerful figure the "Heavenly Master" was, through the reflection of the Yellow Emperor, everything was also clearly displayed. The first real person in history to call himself "Heavenly Master" was a "different" celebrity at the end of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Daoling.
Zhang Daoling, formerly known as Zhang Ling, was a character for assisting Han, after Zhang Liang, the founding hero of the Western Han Dynasty. Because of his talent and intelligence, Zhang Daoling followed the trend of the time and successfully entered Taixue to learn Confucianism. But as he deepened his research, he found that the truth he had learned was not the mystery of dealing with life and death. So Zhang Daoling turned to the Taoists and founded Zhengyi (also known as Tianshi Dao, Wudou Rice Dao, etc., which are slightly different in various periods) in order to enlighten the heavens and the earth.
Zhang Daoling soon became famous in the field of Taoism. Han He, who also pursued immortality, and others frequently recruited him. Zhang Daoling was overwhelmed, but he was not good at resisting and disobeying, so he simply packed up his bags and traveled around. He went to Taiping Mountain, to Dragon tiger mountain, and at the age of sixty he set off for Heming Mountain in Shudi.
In the first month of the first year of Han'an (142), Zhang Daoling was practicing in Heming Mountain, and legend has it that Taishang Laojun suddenly arrived. Lao Jun not only taught him secret methods such as the Taiping Cave Extreme Classic, the Zhengyi Mengwei Twenty-Four Pins of The Fa Gong, and other secret methods, but also appointed Zhang Daoling as a Heavenly Master and instructed him to slay demons for the people. The first generation of "Zhang Tianshi" was thus established.
Second, the thousand-year inheritance of "Zhang Tianshi"
The first generation of Zhang Tianshi Zhang Daoling soared at the age of 123. His heirs inherited his lifelong aspirations, carried forward the Tianshi Dao founded by Zhang Daoling, and inherited the name of "Zhang Tianshi".
At first, Zhang Lu, the grandson of Zhang Daoling, established the wudou midao regime in Hanzhong, which integrated politics and religion, and divided Hanzhong and Ba County for more than 30 years. In the 20th year of Jian'an (215), the Wudou Midao regime was destroyed by Cao Cao, and as a result, Zhang Lu instead relied on the influence of Wudou Midao in the people to marry Cao Cao, and moved a large number of followers of tianshi north. This allowed the Heavenly Master Dao to spread over a wider area.
After the three generations from Zhang Daoling to Zhang Lu basically established the social status of Tianshi Dao, Successive Generations of Zhang Tianshi and his heirs have been active in many parts of the country. Tang and Song Chengshu's "Tianshi Zhiyi" and "Taiping Guangji" record some of the activities of Tianshi's ninth, tenth, twelfth, and thirteenth grandsons in the Jiangnan area.
Before the Tang Dynasty, "Heavenly Master" was only an honorific title for Zhang Daoling in Taoism. By the time of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Zhang Tianshi's identity was officially recognized by the state. Zhang Daoling himself was posthumously awarded the title of Taishi. Some of the female relatives of the Tianshi family, such as Zhang Zitai and Zhang Jifei, granddaughters of the Tenth Dynasty, were also revered as female officials of the master of the museum because of their achievements in Daofa.
For various reasons, the "Zhang Heng Family Biography", which records Zhang Tianshi's early genealogy, was later lost. However, the Southern Song Dynasty Daoist Bai Yu Toad once wrote seven poems, praising the thirty-two generations of heavenly masters from Zhang Daoling. Therefore, although the records of the early deeds of Zhang Tianshi's school are somewhat mutilated, the genealogy is complete and considerable.
And with the increasing influence of tianshi dao in the folk, people also pay more and more attention to the inheritance of tianshi. During the Ming Dynasty, the forty-second generation of Tianshi Zhang Normal personally composed the "Han Tianshi Family", recording and combing the various things of the Tianshi family over the past thousand years. In the Yuan Dynasty, Zhang Tianshi not only had to be elected from within Tianshi Dao, but also needed to be appointed by the emperor. Today, Zhang Tianshi has reached the sixty-third generation. The Commentary on Zhang Tianshi in Chinese Dynasties also summarizes their lives.
Third, the influence of Zhang Tianshi on traditional culture
As a family that has lasted for nearly two thousand years, although the reputation of Zhang Tianshi is far less than that of Confucius, their influence on traditional culture should not be underestimated.
In the field of Taoism on which Zhang Tianshi was based, Tianshi Dao was a major current of Taoism, and Zhang Tianshi was the spiritual leader and direct leader of Tianshi Dao. Therefore, although the weight of "Zhang Tianshi" is not as good as Confucius's position in Confucianism, he is also an important figure who influences the direction of Taoism.
And in the whole folk, the legends and literary works around Zhang Tianshi are also a valuable asset. The stories related to the first generation of Zhang Tianshi Zhang Daoling are naturally the most. "Tianshi Sword", "Fang's Daughter", "Zhang Zhenjun", "Shangqing Palace Demon Removal", etc., are all based on Zhang Daoling's deeds. In Hanzhong, there is also an ancestral hall commemorating the daughter of the third generation of heavenly master Zhang Lu. Locals even regard it as the goddess of fertility.
It can be said that with the development of history, Zhang Tianshi is no longer a simple religious image, but a combination of religion and secular life. Religious literature and secular literature have been integrated in the image of "Zhang Tianshi". Religious thought and human sophistication have been achieved through "Zhang Tianshi".