Chapter 568 - New Religion
He Ying knew that Ming Dynasty block-printed books commanded steep prices, and moreover, for an Elder to spend silver personally required tedious exchange procedures through Delung. Most couldn't be bothered with such hassle. This Zhang Yingchen truly was willing to invest in his passions.
On the snow-white wall hung a painting of Laozi Converting the Barbarians, the work of some Ming local painter—likely also acquired from the Gou family spoils.
Zhang Yingchen wore a curious outfit: a navy blue cross-collared Daoist robe cinched with a cloth sash at the waist, custom-tailored by the Lingao clothing factory to his own design. He had kept his hair in a short ponytail, lending him the air of a modern artist.
The man was humming while writing rapidly. He Ying listened closely and realized he was composing lyrics to accompany scripture melodies.
"Such fine propaganda talent being used for this seems a bit wasteful," He Ying remarked, examining several new Daoist religious hymns Zhang Yingchen had composed. His tone carried a note of regret.
"Shining and generating heat in the most suitable position, contributing to the transmigrator collective—that's the opposite of wasteful." Only then did Zhang Yingchen notice his visitor's arrival. He quickly removed his headphones and, with a smile, brewed fresh tea.
"As someone about to begin growing out my hair, frugal living and measured speech are necessities. I've quit tobacco and alcohol entirely. I fear I have nothing finer to offer you."
"No matter." He Ying thought the man was rather dedicated. He cradled his teacup and got straight to the point: "I came to hear about your system for this New Daoism."
"Please examine this first." Zhang Yingchen opened a box beside him. Inside lay fresh-smelling new books, their binding clearly from the printing works.
He Ying took one. The cover read Taishang Dongyuan Dushi Yujing (Supreme Cavern-Abyss World-Saving Jade Scripture). He knew nothing about Daoist texts. Flipping through several pages left him somewhat bewildered.
"Look at these lines here." Zhang Yingchen pointed.
He Ying read where indicated: "In the age of the Great Ming, when the world nears its end, when people lack sincerity, and disturbances arise. Only the sounds of wailing over corpses are heard, not the echoes of immortal songs. The people are defiled, the Three Caverns are blocked, the disasters of the hundred-six calamity arrive—sword and pestilence. The Demon Kings unleash their poison, slaying the good and virtuous. Door after door knows misfortune; mournful cries echo one after another. The masses devour each other, self-creating their suffering, dragging each other to death, embracing ignorance and suffering, not knowing the way out."
"The Great Ming?" he asked hesitantly. "Is this the Great Ming we're currently in?"
"Exactly this Great Ming." Zhang Yingchen nodded and picked up another book. "Now look here."
"When the great kalpa arrives, in the Central Kingdom there are Immortal Man Wen Si, Immortal Man Wu Mei, and Immortal Man Ma Shu, leading five hundred immortal saints. Together they board iron ships to receive Daoists who possess scriptures. Children, await this."
He Ying understood immediately—this described the transmigrator collective! "Did you write this?" he asked with surprise.
"Yes and no." Zhang Yingchen looked rather pleased with himself. He took another book from the shelf and opened it to a particular page.
The title read Taishang Dongyuan Shenzhou Jing (Supreme Cavern-Abyss Divine Incantation Scripture). He Ying carefully read the indicated passage: "When the great waters come, in the Central Kingdom there are Immortal Man Tang Ping, Immortal Man Yu Guang, and Immortal Man Ma Qi, leading eighty thousand celestial beings. The immortal men board iron ships to receive Daoists who possess scriptures. Children, await this."
"That passage you just read about 'Great Ming'—the original actually says 'Great Jin.'"
"You've been altering Daoist classics!" He Ying suddenly grasped it. This Zhang Yingchen was formidable! To have conceived such an approach—only someone intimately familiar with Daoist texts, having conducted deep research, could manage it. He found himself regarding this doctor with newfound respect.
"Exactly. What I'm promoting is New Daoism, not a continuation of the old system." Zhang Yingchen nodded. "I plan to use the Quandao Zhenji (Comprehensive Explanation of the True Doctrine)—compiled from Laozi with Xiang'er commentary and the Taiping Jing—as the sole designated text for Lingao Daoism clergy."
"Can such drastic revisions actually work?" He Ying remained skeptical. "Though Daoism here in Lingao is weak, across the nation it remains a powerful presence. And this scripture surely isn't unique—if you alter it so blatantly, won't you be exposed?"
"You needn't worry about that. Doctrinal disputes exist everywhere; it depends on who gains the upper hand." Zhang Yingchen was unconcerned, radiating confidence.
"Doctrine aside, the Catholic Church has already established a foothold. How would a newly emerged church coexist? Won't that create tremendous confusion in matters of faith?"
"The method of reconciliation is for the two new religions to run parallel, mutually recognizing each other as sibling faiths while keeping each other in check. My Daoism template uses the messianic and earthly divine kingdom theory from the Taiping Dao branch of Daoism—which is practically identical to Christianity's Thousand-Year Kingdom of Christ concept." Zhang Yingchen leaned forward. "There's tremendous room for development here. If we follow Dean Wu's approach—a single religion wielding extremely inflated divine authority—its future influence on the transmigrator state would eventually exceed even the Yuan Elder Council. That potential consequence must be guarded against."
He Ying nodded. This had been preying on his mind lately as well. The other party's thinking was clear and organized; this proposal had genuine merit.
"Tell me about your specific approach."
"First, Daoism's ultimate faith is the Dao—as it says, 'There was something formless yet complete, born before heaven and earth.' Philosophically and theologically, this is incomparably superior to Christianity's Trinity doctrine."
He Ying thought this opening was predictable—one typically begins by denigrating competitors.
"Second, the Daoist worldview derives from Dao-Qi theory. From ghosts and gods and stars above, to mortals and ants below—all are transformations of primordial qi."
"The qi of qigong?"
"No, it's qi." Zhang Yingchen dipped his finger in tea and traced the character on the tabletop. "Qi is prenatal qi; qi is postnatal qi. The two are completely different."
He elaborated: so-called qi was a metaphysical mysterious energy, fundamentally distinct from ordinary qi.
"In Chinese medicine theory, it refers to the most fundamental energy constituting the human body and maintaining life activities—it also carries meanings of physiological function. In Chinese medicine terminology, qi combined with different words expresses various concepts: the qi of the five viscera, the qi of the six bowels, the qi of the meridians, and so forth. And an important concept in Daoism is 'One Qi Transforms into Three Purities.'"
"I see." He Ying suddenly thought of "psychic energy" for some reason. Did the concept of warp energy and such draw from Chinese Daoist ideas? Then thinking of the Tau's "Dao" and "Theory of Harmony," he increasingly felt this might be the case.
Zhang Yingchen didn't know Director He's mind had wandered into such associations. He continued explaining this most crucial concept in his religious system:
"Note, it's 'One Qi,' not 'one qi.'" Zhang Yingchen emphasized. "Based on these two points, we can carry out our reforms."
His approach was to begin at the root: using traditional Dao-Qi theory as the foundation with natural deism as a reference, he would completely discard the Daoist ghost and god system represented by "Three Purities and Four Emperors." All ghosts and gods would be explained as manifestations of "Dao-Qi" at various levels.
Second, Laozi would be positioned as the sect founder rather than supreme deity—leaving expandable space for the supreme deity's final form.
Third, toward all ghosts and gods—including the Daoist pantheon as well as deities from other religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Shinto—they would adopt the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's attitude, guided by Dao-Qi theory. These deities were merely manifestations of Dao-Qi at different levels.
"The Japanese Shinto system has a concept of 'gongen'—manifestation—that reconciled contradictions between Buddhism and Shinto, creating de facto 'dual-track' religious belief in Japan.
"Our goal is total integration of these beliefs into the Lingao new religious system, making them exist like saints within Christianity.
"Of course, in such integration, depraved local cults must be attacked. Depraved cult beliefs are to be eliminated, then positive local immortal beliefs reformed and converted.
"For example, Mazu and Baosheng Dadi—local deities with deep influence in Fujian—New Daoism must prioritize absorbing them, making them objects of New Daoism devotion. Simultaneously, we must reform the problem of local deity worship being practically detached from Daoist organization."
Zhang Yingchen grew more animated as he spoke.
"Let's set doctrine aside. How does your New Daoism plan to conduct outreach? To what extent can such outreach promote the transmigrator collective's rule?" He Ying interrupted his theological discourse.
"Director He truly goes straight to the heart of the matter." Zhang Yingchen offered a smooth compliment. He explained: when proselytizing to ordinary believers, the emphasis would be on "doing good," "obeying the law," and "supporting the Lingao regime," combined with the "Seed People of the Four Heavens" doctrine. The goal was making people believe they were chosen seed people of the True Sovereign. Simultaneously, drawing on prophecies of "the True Sovereign descending to the world" in Daoist scriptures like the Taiping Jing and Dongyuan Shenzhou Jing, they would promote the legitimacy of the Lingao regime.
"Of course, how to conduct outreach still requires coordination with propaganda department colleagues. That way they can complement each other," he said. "I only have rough ideas at present—not fully mature—so I won't presume to share them yet. My first step is to establish New Daoism's image. Religious personnel must have distinctive markers clarifying their identity and demonstrating the religion's presence."
He Ying nodded and again sized up this tall doctor.
"How long have you been researching these materials?"
"Not long. I audited some Daoist studies courses in college. Consider it a personal hobby. I dabble in all religious forms. I prepared it for killing time during idle moments—never expected to actually use it."
Zhang Yingchen shrugged indifferently, picked up the teapot beside him, and refilled He Ying's cup.
"In any case, New Daoism's vestments are the first propaganda weapon. We must give the public an intuitive recognition, distinguishing New Daoism from old Daoism. Therefore, I selected this Tang-style right-lapel narrow-sleeved turnover-collar garment as the template and had the clothing factory colleagues design this set of general clergy uniforms."
With that, Zhang Yingchen pulled over a wicker suitcase, withdrew two gray-blue turnover-collar robes with military uniform styling, and hung them on a clothes rack.
"To distinguish male and female clergy, the factory colleagues referenced military uniform regulations and sewed red armbands on the right sleeve. The qian trigram armband represents male clergy; the kun trigram armband represents female clergy—simple and clear."
A false believer—a false believer with considerable ability and religious aptitude. Looking at the military-style clerical robes before him, He Ying mentally labeled the man. Fundamentally, he was like Wu Shimang—a dedicated professional religious huckster. The difference was that Zhang Yingchen covered his burning ambition with a rich layer of doctrinal theology, while Dean Wu simply charged in bare-chested.
Zhang Yingchen talked at length, covering theological points, scripture compilation, doctrinal modifications, organizational management models, personnel training, and more. He Ying was secretly amazed. This person had obviously been scheming for a long time. Such material couldn't have been produced without months of repeated consideration and revision; the so-called "killing time when bored" was clearly deliberate understatement.
"Of course, establishing the Daoism Council still requires guidance from leadership and colleagues. Working alone behind closed doors won't do—there's inevitably some wishful thinking involved. These doctrines, precepts, rituals, vestments, and management are simply my personal rough ideas, all requiring everyone's supervision and control." He concluded his exposition in the manner of a standard-issue statement.
As he spoke, Zhang Yingchen maintained his gentle smile, but He Ying felt he needed to reassess this doctor entirely.
"Your approach rather resembles the relationship between Protestantism and old Catholicism."
"Indeed, that meaning is included." Zhang Yingchen nodded. "New wine must go into old bottles. The final product is an entirely new religious system—note, a system, not a single dominant power. A church capable of influencing all of society is dangerous to secular authority." He paused. "I believe we should remind every Elder engaged in religious activities: no matter what religion, religion is merely a propaganda and stability-maintenance tool serving the Lingao regime. Beyond that, it is nothing."
"This is the inevitable contradiction between secular power and religious organizations." He Ying pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised a new concept:
"Since a state religion will inevitably develop the desire to meddle in secular society, and the two are irreconcilable—what about complete integration of church and state? Like England, for example—the monarch is the church leader." He continued, "Your five hundred immortal saints—doesn't that mean every Elder is a 'god' within this system?"
"Integration of church and state has a problem: England has a king as natural leader of the church. Who do we have? All five hundred are archangels—should Director Wen be Great Archangel Commander? Would you agree?" Zhang Yingchen asked and answered himself. "Obviously you wouldn't. No matter who became this Great Archangel Commander, nobody would accept it. The danger inherent in this is something everyone can see."
"Organize your proposal and I'll report it to the Executive Committee," He Ying said. "This matter will probably require a hearing at the Yuan Elder Council Standing Committee. Ideological matters are no small thing."
"A hearing is no problem. I trust the Elders will fully grasp my intent." Zhang Yingchen was quite confident—after all, Daoism was a native Chinese product, holding a very different place in Elders' minds than foreign faiths.
PS: All the exposition on New Daoism's theory, concepts, vestments, and details was provided by LK Forum's Daoquanzi (i.e., Zhang Yingchen in this book). Thanks are expressed here!
(End of Chapter)