英文摘要 |
In the fifty years since the end of the war Taiwan has faced an unprecedented change from an agricultural to an industrial society, which has fostered fundamental and drastic changes in the political and economic spheres. After taking over Taiwan from the Japanese colonial regime the nationalist government adopted cultural and religious policies that provided a relatively free and natural space for Daoism outside the Chinese mainland. The 'fire-dwelling' school of the Zhengyi (Orthodox One) school preserved a complete tradition of Chinese Daoism, but it also adapted locally to the changes of that time period. 'Fire-dwelling' refers to a non-monastic lifestyle where Daoist priests lead a family life as members of local communities. The present article will utilize C.K. Yang's twin concepts of institutional and diffused religion to show that fire-dwelling Daoism combines both of these structural features (Yang 1961: 259; Yang 1977). It covers both the pre-war and post-war periods and focuses geographically on central Taiwan, because the intermixing of subethnic groups in this area makes it easier to profile the fire-dwelling character of Zhengyi shrines. On the one hand the Daoist shrines internally transmitted the systematic attributes of the Daoist tradition, such as doctrines, myths, and rituals, which formed a stable and unchanging core that has sustained the tradition throughout the process of its relocation from Fujian to Taiwan. On the other hand since the Daoists shared in the social life of the immigrant groups, and Daoist shrines and local temples to Daoist deities were closely integrated into the networks of local communities, Daoist shrines became a sort of permanent appendage to immigrant society and were influenced by it. The established procedures for consecrating shrines and ordaining priests demonstrate the stability and conservatism of the priesthood's professional identity as divinely appointed ritual specialists. The practical demands of their fire-dwelling lifestyle caused the priests to maintain firm control over the structures of internal secret transmission, because only on this basis could they stake out stable catchment areas in which to offer their ritual services. Over time this quite naturally led to the formation affixed professional domains within the territories of the various subethnic factions among the immigrant population. In central Taiwan Quanzhou, Hoklo-Hakka and Zhangzhou areas happen to be equally represented, and with them the Daoist shrines of the respective place of origin affiliation. The relations between Daoist shrines of the same subethnic affiliation are characterized by a subtle combination of competition and cooperation. The intense changes of modernization, the continuing inner needs of the people for meaning and order, and the dislocation caused by the flow of the population from the countryside to the cities guarantee that the religious services of the Daoist priest continue to be in demand for the social and psychological needs of the Taiwanese, even while the Daoists remain firmly rooted in the life of the local community. The need to respond to the new challenges of post-war society caused the Daoist priesthood to map out a path of self-adaptation that clearly distinguished between elements that could be changed and those that must remain untouched. Their success in doing so shows that the ancient Zhengyi Daoism in spite of its essentially conservative character can be a religious tradition within modem society that combines preservation with innovation. |