Daoism

Daoism is the religion native to China. It took shape in the later years of the Eastern Han Dynasty (2nd century). It spread to Yunnan soon after it was established but had little influence at the beginning. In the Tang Dynasty, Yunnan Daosim combined itself with the primitive religion of the Yi nationality and developed rapidly, making the Weishan Mountain in Dali its centre. For example, the Bai’s worship of their native God and Dongjinhui of the Naxi people have a close relation with Daosim. The Ming and the Qing dynasties saw the heyday of Daosim in Yunnan. He was a priest of both the Zhengyi Sect (the True Unity Sect) and the Quanzhen Sect (the Complete Unity Sect). he changed the Zhenwu monastic house into the Zhenqing Monastery and built the Longquan  Monastery (Dragon Spring Monastery) at the Black Dragon Pool in Kunming and greatly influenced the development of Daosim in Yunnan.

Daosim is Yunnan is popular mainly in Kunming, Baoshan, Lincang, Dali, Zhaotong orefectures and municipalities. Most of the 50,000 Daosim are from the Han nationality. There are 71 Daoist temples and monasteries open to the public and 190 Daoist service members in Yunnan.

Historically, Yunnan had many Daoist temples and more than 40 of them are still in good condition. Among them, the Golden Palace, the Black Dragon Pool, the Sanqing Temple in the Western Hill, the Zhenqing Monastery in Baita Road in Kunming, the Yufeng Mountain in tengchong County, the Dalong Cave in Zhaotong County, the Sanqing Temple in Lincang County are the best—known, with many Daoist temples like the Zhunti Temple, the Laojun Hall (Hall of Lao Master), the Doulao Hall (The Goddess Hall), and the Changchun Cave. The Weibaoshan Mountain in Weishan County has earned the name of “Famous Daoist Mountain in Yunnan.”

The worship ceremony of Daoism is called ceremonial prayer. It consists of sutras chanting and sacrificial ceremonies. The grandest of the ceremonial prayers is the temple fair held on 9th January in each lunar year, commemorating the birth of the Jade Emperor. The Golden Palace at that time is a magnificent sight good enough to be called the grandest gathering in central Yunnan.

The Dongjing Society is a Daoist organization which holds many activities in various places in Yunnan, including the sacrifices to the Daoist gods and the chanting of scriptures to music. Daoist music, simple and natural with a name for each song, is quite popular with the Han, the Bai, and the Naxi people.