''Lijia Dao'' (李家道, Way of the Li Family) was one of the oldest

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

of religious Daoism and was popular throughout

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

during the

Six Dynasties Six Dynasties (; 220–589 or 222–589) is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD. The Six Dynasties period overlapped with the era of the Sixteen Kingdoms, ...

(220-589). Since several Way of the Li Family practices resembled those of the

Way of the Celestial Masters The Way of the Celestial Masters is a Chinese Daoist movement that was founded by Zhang Daoling in 142 AD. Its followers rebelled against the Han Dynasty, and won their independence in 194. At its height, the movement controlled a theocratic stat ...

, such as healing with ( ''fu'') amulets and holding expensive ''chu'' "Kitchen" feasts, the sect is associated with the Southern Celestial Masters. Mainstream Daoist schools denounced the Way of the Li Family as

heterodox In religion, heterodoxy (from Ancient Greek: , "other, another, different" + , "popular belief") means "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". Under this definition, heterodoxy is similar to unorthodoxy, w ...

, particularly for its charlatan healers who claimed extraordinary longevity. For instance, Li Tuo (李脫) or

Li Babai Li Babai (李八百, "Li Eight-Hundred") was the sobriquet of a Daoist elixir-master and '' xian'' ("transcendent; 'immortal'") who supposedly lived more than 800 years. The founder of the Way of the Li Family school of religious Daoism, Li A ( ...

(李八百, "Li Eight-Hundred Years-Old) and his disciple

Li Hong Li Hong () (652 – 25 May 675), formally Emperor Xiaojing (孝敬皇帝, literally, "the filial and respectful emperor") with the temple name of Yizong (義宗), was a crown prince (not emperor, despite his formal title) of the Chinese dynasty ...

(李弘) were executed in 324 for practicing sorcery and plotting rebellion.

Names

The name ''Lijia dao'' (李家道) is a

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struct ...

of three Chinese words: # ''Lǐ'' ( 李), lit. "plum, ''

Prunus salicina ''Prunus salicina'' ( syn. ''Prunus triflora'' or ''Prunus thibetica''), commonly called the Japanese plum or Chinese plum, is a small deciduous tree native to China. It is now also grown in fruit orchards in Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Israel, the U ...

''"), a common Chinese surname; # ''jiā'' ( 家), "residence, home; household, family; school of thought, lineage, tradition"; # ''

dao Dao, Dão or DAO may refer to: * Tao (Chinese: "The Way" 道), a philosophical concept * Dao (Chinese sword) (刀), a type of Chinese sword * Dao (Naga sword), a weapon and a tool of Naga people People and language * Yao people, a minority ethni ...

'' ( 道), "way that leads somewhere, road, route, pathway; the Way, as image suggesting how things actually exist, fundamental reality; way of doing something, method, practice; ideas and teachings esp. associated with the texts ''Daodejing'' and ''Zhuangzi'', 'philosophical Daoism'; practices esp. associated with movements and texts relating to masters of self-cultivation, pursuit of immortality, and various organized religious communities, 'religious Daoism'". (Kroll 2017: 261, 191, 79-80, condensed) Two other names with the

Classical Chinese Classical Chinese, also known as Literary Chinese (古文 ''gǔwén'' "ancient text", or 文言 ''wényán'' "text speak", meaning "literary language/speech"; modern vernacular: 文言文 ''wényánwén'' "text speak text", meaning "literar ...

grammatical possessive marker ''zhī'' ( 之) were ''Lijia zhi dao'' (李家之道, Li Family's Way) and ''Lishi zhi dao'' (李氏之道, Li Clan's Way). The surname Li is associated with Daoism, for instance the ''

fangshi ''Fangshi'' () were Chinese technical specialists who flourished from the third century BCE to the fifth century CE. English translations of ''fangshi'' include alchemist, astrologer, diviner, exorcist, geomancer, doctor, magician, monk, mystic, ...

'' ("master of methods") and alchemist

Li Shaojun Li Shaojun ({{zh, c=李少君, w=Li Shao-chün, fl. 133 BCE) was a ''fangshi'' (master of esoterica), reputed '' xian'' (transcendent; immortal), retainer of Emperor Wu of Han, and the earliest known Chinese alchemist. In the early history of Ch ...

(fl. 133 BCE), the astronomer and historian Li Chunfeng (602-670), and the philosopher Li Rong (fl. 658-663). Laozi's

personal name A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known ...

is traditionally said to have been Li Er (李耳), and the Li family claims to be patrilineally descended from him. The House of Li was the ruling family of the Western Liang (400-421) and

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

(618-907).

Translations

''Lijia dao'' (李家道) is variously translated as: *"doctrine of the Lis" (Ware 1966: 158) *"Tao of the Li Family" (Seidel 1969: 231) *"religion of the adepts of Li" (Stein 1979: 56) *"Way of the Li House" (Nickerson 2000: 259) *"Way of the Li clan" (Campany 2002: 217) *"Sect of the Li Adepts" (Seiwert 2003: 72) *"Way of the Li Family" (Mollier 2008: 656) *"Way of the Li Lineage" (Theobald 2011). Within this sample of English translations, only ''Li'' is consistently rendered. ''Jia'' is translated as "family", "clan", "lineage", and "adepts" (see

Chinese kin A Chinese kin, lineage or sometimes rendered as clan, is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of related Chinese people with a common surname sharing a common ancestor and, in many cases, an ancestral home. Description Chinese kinship tend to ...

and

Chinese lineage association A Chinese kin, lineage or sometimes rendered as clan, is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of related Chinese people with a common surname sharing a common ancestor and, in many cases, an ancestral home. Description Chinese kinship tend to b ...

). ''Dao'' is generally interpreted as "the Dao, the Way", consistent with other Daoist schools of the first centuries CE, such as

Way of the Five Pecks of Rice The Way of the Five Pecks of Rice () or the Way of the Celestial Master, commonly abbreviated to simply The Celestial Masters, was a Chinese Taoist movement founded by the first Celestial Master Zhang Daoling in 142 CE. At its height, the movem ...

, Way of the Orthodox Unity, and Way of the Great Peace.

History

The Way of the Li Family originated in the states of Shu (present-day

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

) and

Eastern Wu Wu ( Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' <

Eastern Han Chinese

: ''*ŋuɑ''), known in h ...

(

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

and part of

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

) during a turbulent historical period when many northern Chinese families that practiced the

Daoism fled to the south. This diaspora began in 260 when Jin dynasty conquered the

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

kingdom (location of

Zhang Daoling Zhang Ling (; traditionally 34–156), courtesy name Fuhan (), was a Chinese religious leader who lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty credited with founding the Way of the Celestial Masters sect of Taoism, which is also known as the Way of the F ...

's original Celestial Masters theocratic state), and in 311 when the

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 20 ...

and other non-

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

ethnic groups sacked the Jin capitol of

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

. Remnants of the Luoyang court and the Jin ruling house established the new

Eastern Jin Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

dynasty, with the capitol city of

Jiankang Jiankang (), or Jianye (), as it was originally called, was capital city of the Eastern Wu (229–265 and 266–280 CE), the Jin dynasty (317–420 CE) and the Southern Dynasties (420–552), including the Chen dynasty (557–589 CE). Its walls ...

(

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

) (Nickerson 2000: 257). The Way of the Li Family developed at the "fringe of the main Daoist movements" in the first centuries CE (Mollier 2008: 656). The Way of the Li Family's reputation was irreparably damaged by charlatans and diviners, and this Daoist school did not last long. Two egregious Daoists named Li led their followers to believe they were Li Babai "Li Eight-Hundred", Li Kuan (李寬) who died after failing to heal himself, and Li Tuo (李脫) who was executed in 324, along with his disciple Li Hong (李弘), for practicing witchcraft and plotting rebellion.

''Baopuzi''

Ge Hong Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, Taoist practitioner, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characte ...

's 317 '' Baopuzi'' ("Master Who Embraces Simplicity") has the oldest extant references to the Way of the Li Family. They occur in a context (chapter 9, ''Daoyi'' 道意The Meaning of "the Way") where Ge argued against many ancient customs of

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...

, including

shamanism Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...

and

sacrifices Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

. He explained his personal "conviction that ghosts and gods have no power" and dismissed all sacrifices to temple gods as useless (Ware 1966: 158). Three consecutive ''Baopuzi'' passages discuss the Way of the Li Family. The first contrasts heterodox ''yaodao'' (妖道, "demonic cults") that sacrificed animals to gods believed to enjoy their blood with the Daoist ''Lijia dao'' (李家道) that prepared profligate ''chu'' "Kitchen" communal banquets (Stein 1979: 56). The second passage traces the Way of the Li Family's origins to a diviner and healer named Li A (李阿, fl. 229-252), originally from Shu (present-day

Sichuan Province Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

), whose extraordinary longevity earned him the epithet Li Babai (李八百, Li Eight-Hundred Years-Old. In the lengthy third passage, Ge Hong describes a contemporary charlatan healer named Li Kuan (李寬). Many people identified him as Li A, and he had over a thousand devoted followers, yet died while praying to heal himself from a plague. The first passage about the ''Lijia dao'' praises the Daoist school for not practicing blood sacrifice but blames it for holding extravagant communal feasts.

There are more than a hundred bogus Ways (''yaodao'' 妖道) that rely on slaughtering living things and feeding their blood o ghosts and spirits Only the Way of the Li clan (''Lijia dao'' 李家道), with its nonparticipation n such cults is slightly different. But, although it does not butcher victims, whenever it holds its blessing feasts (''fushi'' 福食) there are no limits; in the provisions they buy in the markets they strive for the most sumptuous, and they insist on buying the choicest and rarest items. Several dozen people sometimes do the kitchen work. The expenses are high. Such practices, too, are not quite purely disinterested, and they ought to be included among those which are forbidden (tr. Campany 2002: 215).

It was the northern emigration and the establishment of the Eastern Jin that made it socially respectable for the southern aristocracy to take up the Way of the Celestial Master and make it their own. "The relatively low social status of the Celestial Masters in the south prior to 317 is enough to account for Ge Hong's apparent ignorance, or his misportrayal of them as the Way of the Li House ... in fact, Ge may have been less ignorant of the Celestial Masters than is normally imagined." (Nickerson 2000: 259). The second ''Baopuzi'' passage describes the founder of the ''Lijia dao'', the diviner Li A who came from the western state of Shu (

Someone asked when this Way of the Li clan (''Lishi zhi dao'' 李氏之道) began. I replied: During the reign of the Grand Emperor of Wu (
Sun Quan Sun Quan (, Chinese: 孫權) (183 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of the Eastern Wu dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime es ...
, r. 229-252), there was a certain Li A in Shu. He lived in a cave and did not eat. Successive generations saw him, so they styled him the Eight-Hundred-Year-Old Sire abaisui gong People often came to him to consult him on affairs, but Li A would say nothing. But they had only to divine by his facial expression: if he wore a pleased expression, affairs would all be auspicious; if he wore a troubled look, then affairs would all be inauspicious. If he smiled, it meant there would be a great felicity, and if he sighed, it meant deep trouble was near. They watched him for these signs, and the signs never missed. Later, he suddenly departed one day, no one knew where to (tr. Campany 2002: 215-216).

James R. Ware translates ''yaodao'' as "ways for dealing with demons", ''fushi'' as "good-luck food", and ''Babaisui gong'' as "Sir Eight Hundred" (1966: 158). In the third and longest ''Baopuzi'' passage about the Way of the Li Family, Ge Hong describes a popular charlatan faith healer and self-styled Daoist ''xian'' ("transcendent; immortal") named Li Kuan (李寬), who like Li A also came from Shu (Sichuan) and became popular in Wu. "He knew how to treat illnesses with holy water that produced many cures. Then the rumor spread both far and near that he was no other than Li A, so they called him Li The Eight Hundred ��八百 but in reality he was not Li A." People "flocked to his door in droves", and Li Kuan had almost a thousand disciples, whom he instructed in simple practices such as using holy water and magic amulets, ''

daoyin Daoyin is a series of cognitive body and mind unity exercises practiced as a form of Taoist neigong, meditation and mindfulness to cultivate '' jing'' (essence) and direct and refine '' qi'', the internal energy of the body according to Traditio ...

'' calisthenics, and '' xingqi'' (行氣, "breath circulation"), but not the esoteric techniques of ''bigu'' fasting and Daoist alchemical elixirs necessary for achieving longevity and ''xian'' transcendence. Ge Hong said he was "personally acquainted with many" witnesses who attended his healing rituals, and they were "unanimous in saying that he was weak with old age and emaciated", was frail and toothless, had bad eyesight and hearing, and becoming senile. "He was no different from the ordinary run of men. People kept saying, however, that he deliberately acted normally in order to deceive others, but that could hardly be so." In the early fourth century, there was a severe plague in south China with more than fifty percent mortality. Li Kuan contracted the epidemic disease, and announced that he would enter his ''lu'' (廬, "hut, Daoist meditation room") in order to fast and purify himself, whereupon he died. His followers, repeatedly claimed that he had transformed into a ''xian'' transcendent" by means of ''shijie'' "release as a corpse" and had not truly died. Ge Hong says Daoist transcendents differ from ordinary people in the value placed upon not growing old and not dying. However, "Li Kuan was adjudged old, so he did become old; he was seen dead, so he did die. It is thus quite easy to see that he did not have the divine process. How can there be any doubt?" Ge concludes by explaining,

I have taken the trouble to discuss Li Kuan at length because his pupils are maintaining his tradition, their teachings filIing the land south of the Yangtze. Normally, roughly a thousand persons, not realizing that Li Kuan's methods are too shallow to be followed, do accept and observe them in the hope of attaining aoist transcendence Accordingly, I merely wish people to be conscious of this and to be aware how stagnant and beguiling it is. There is really no limit to the number of doctrines in the world similar to that of Li Kuan, though they are not his. I shall now mention them briefly in order to inform future generations who may not see through them. (tr. Ware 1966: 158-160; Wade-Giles changed to
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
romanization).

Retreat to a ''lu'' (廬) chamber "is what we would expect of a Celestial Master adherent confronted with epidemic; the movement is well known to have counseled its members to retreat to "chambers of quietness," confess their sins, and perform acts of penitence when taken ill, because illness was understood as a sign of prior transgression." Celestial Master practitioners also entered these chambers to send petitions to the celestial gods, which Li Kuan may have been doing on behalf of the plague-stricken people (Campany 2002: 217-218). The subsequent ''Baopuzi'' context gives several stories about ''yinsi'' (淫祀, "excessive cults") worshipping popular but illegitimate gods, borrowed word-for-word from the 195 ''

Fengsu Tongyi ''Fengsu Tongyi'' (), also known as ''Fengsu Tong'', is a book written about 195 AD by Ying Shao, who lived during the later Eastern Han period. The manuscript is similar to an almanac An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is ...

'' (Stein 1979: 57). For instance, there was a cult that sacrificed to a plum tree (''li'' 李, as in ''Lijia dao''). Zhang Zhu (張助) was a farmer from

Runan Commandery Runan Commandery ( zh, 汝南郡) was a Chinese commandery from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern Henan and Anhui provinces. The name referred to its location to the south of Ru River (汝水), a historical river that flowed into th ...

(present-day

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

) who found a plum pit while working in his field, decided to plant it at home later, and placed it in the hollow of a mulberry tree, but forgot to take it with him. While Zhang was on a long trip, a fellow villager was surprised to see a plum tree sprouting out of a mulberry tree, and concluded it was a miracle. One day, a man with an eye disease was sitting in the shade under the tree and prayed to Lord Plum (Li Jun, 李君), promising that if his disease was healed, he would sacrifice a suckling pig. Since his eyes happened to get better, the man killed a young pig and offered it in worship. Rumors spread that the tree could even restore sight to the blind, and many sick people came to be healed. The place became crowded with horses and carriages, and many people offered wines and meats to Lord Plum. This had been going on for several years when Zhang Zhu returned from his travels, saw the busy shrine and exclaimed "This is only the plum tree I placed here long ago. There's no god!" Then he chopped it down, and all the activity ceased. (tr. Ware 1966: 161). Ge Hong's ''Baopuzi'' descriptions do not mention the Way of the Celestial Masters, but the common ties of Li A (alias Li Babai) and Li Kuan to Shu, and the large communal meals and avoidance of blood offerings characterizing the Way of the Li clan suggest that what "Ge may have heard about was some form of Celestial Master practice (or at least a body of practice that had adopted some features of the Celestial Master religion and emanated from Shu)" (Campany 2002: 217).

''Shenxian zhuan''

Besides writing the ''Baopuzi'', which conflates Li A and Li Babai, Ge Hong was also accredited as the original editor of the '' Shenxian zhuan'' ("Records of Divine Transcendents"), which has two separate hagiographies for them. Neither of them mentions the Way of the Li Family. The received edition of the text combines an original core written by Ge Hong with many later accretions up to the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

(960-1279). According to the research of the ''Shenxian zhuan'' scholar and translator Robert Ford Campany, the Li A and Li Babai material is reliably attested by the year 650 (2002: 127). The Li A hagiography says he was from Shu and regularly begged in the

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

market in order to distribute all the proceeds to the poor. It expands upon the brief ''Baopuzi'' description of him not using any divination techniques and leaving his questioners to divine the answers from Li's facial expressions, and adds several stories about his lay follower Gu Qiang (古强). The ''Baopuzi'' also mentions Gu Qiang as a Daoist herbology practitioner who appeared to be a healthy eighty-year-old and faults him for pretending to be thousands of years old. Gu became famous and wealthy from telling exaggerated stories about having personally met mythical sages including

Emperor Yao Emperor Yao (; traditionally c. 2356 – 2255 BCE) was a legendary Chinese ruler, according to various sources, one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Ancestry and early life Yao's ancestral name is Yi Qi () or Qi (), clan name i ...

and

Emperor Shun Emperor Shun () was a legendary leader of ancient China, regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors being the last of the Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 2294 and 2184 BC. Tradition a ...

(Ware 1966: 321-324). The ''Shenxian zhuan'' says when Gu Qiang was eighteen, Li A appeared to be around fifty, and when Gu was eighty, Li had not changed at all. Li was summoned to Kunlun mountain and never seen again (Campany 2002: 212-215). Two features of this Li A story resemble the Way of the Celestial Masters traditions. The early Celestial Master community collected donations of rice from its practitioners and fed the needy; Li A begged in the Chengdu marketplace and gave all the proceeds to the poor. The Celestial Master religion prohibited using divination techniques and even possessing prognostication manuals; Li A does not use any method of divination, and refuses to speak of future matters, however his facial expressions reveal to questioners whether a matter will be auspicious or inauspicious (Campany 2002: 213-214). The Li Babai hagiography says Li "Eight Hundred" was also a native of Shu, and usually lived secluded in the mountains but sometimes appeared in the markets. Most of Li Babai's account centers around testing his future disciple Tang Gongfang (唐公房) to determine if he was worthy of teaching. Li disguised himself and took a job as Tang's servant, proving himself a diligent worker. When Li pretended to be sick and near death, Tang hired a doctor and spent "several hundred thousand" pieces of

cash In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In bookkeeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-imm ...

trying to heal his servant, who had "disgusting sores

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

oozed blood and pus, and no one could bear to go near him." Tang told Li he did not regret hiring the expensive doctor and asked if he could do anything else. Li responded, "My ulcers will not be cured unless someone licks them. That should work." Tang sent in three maidservants to lick his sores but that did not help his condition. Li then said, "The maidservants' licking has not cured me. But I can be cured if you will do it yourself", so Tang licked his skin without any effect. Li then said that it would be most beneficial to have Tang's wife lick him, which Tang ordered her to do. Finally, Li declared that his ulcers would heal if he could bathe in thirty ''hu'' (斛) of fine liquor. Tang poured it in a large tub, Li bathed in the liquor, and the sores suddenly healed. "His body resembled congealed fat 'ningzhi'' 凝脂 "smooth, soft, and creamy skin"and he bore no trace of illness". Li revealed to Tang that he was a transcendent, and had been testing him to see if he would make a suitable disciple. Li then instructed Tang, his wife, and the three maidservants to bathe in the remaining liquor, "they all reverted to youth, their countenances perfect and pleasing." Afterward, he transmitted a scripture on Daoist elixirs to Tang who entered the mountains to prepare the drug of immortality. "When it was complete, he ingested it and departed as a transcendent." (tr. Campany 2002: 215-216). Campany notes that the ''Shenxian zhuan'' hagiographies of Li A and Li Babai strongly resemble those of two other transcendents surnamed Li: Li Yiqi (李意期) and Li Changzai (李常在) (2009: 228-230 and 316-318). In summary, #Li A: native of Shu; distributes largesse to the poor; knows the future without resort to a divination procedure and communicates it by facial expression only, using no words; divides time between city market and mountains. #Li Babai: native of Shu; divides time between city market and mountains. #Li Yiqi: native of Shu; distributes largesse (obtained by begging, probably in city market) to the poor; knows the future without resort to a divination procedure and communicates it by facial expression only, using no words; enters mountains. #Li Changzai: native of Shu; divides time between city and mountains; knows the future without apparent resort to a divination procedure. As discussed above, aspects of these hagiographies may reflect Celestial Masters practices (Campany 2009: 217-218).

Later references

The 648 ''

Jin Shu The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang Xu ...

'' history of the

Eastern Jin dynasty Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air ...

(318-419) records a Daoist practitioner named Li Tuo (李脫) or Li Babai:

His sorcery deceived the masses. He pretended to be eight hundred years old and consequently was nicknamed Li Babai (李八百). In the region between Zhongzhou (中州) and Jianye (建鄴), he healed the sick with demonic methods (''guidao'' 鬼道) and invested people with official appointments. In those days many people put their trust in him and served him. His younger brother (or disciple? ''dizi'' 弟子) Li Hong (李弘), who assembled followers on Mount Xin (灊山), proclaimed: "According to a prophecy I shall be King (''yingchan dang wang'' 應讖當王) (tr. Seidell 1969: 231, adapted to pinyin spelling).

After two feuding officials accused Li Tuo and Li Hong of having plotted rebellion, they were tried and executed in 324, "The magician (''shuren'' 術人) Li Tuo seduced the crowd with magic writings (''yaoshu'' 妖書) of his own fabrication. He was beheaded on the market place of

(建康)." (Seidell 1969: 231). There are similarities between the Way of the Li Family and activities of Li Tuo and Li Hong a few decades later. Both movements attracted followers through healing, particularly with talismans, and claiming supernatural longevity. Namely, Li A as "Sir Eight Hundred" and then Li Kuan and Li Tuo as "Li Eight Hundred" (Seidell 1969: 232). A major difference is that while the Way of the Li Family was not associated with any politico-religious aspirations, Li Hong referred to a prophecy that he would become king (Seidell 1969: 232). Nevertheless, there is no historical proof that Li Tuo belonged to the Way of the Li Family, and this tradition is too scarcely documented in primary sources to allow for anything more than conjectures (Espesset 2014: 397). The

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

court's Celestial Master

Kou Qianzhi Kou Qianzhi () (365–448) was a Taoist reformer who reenvisioned many of the ceremonies and rites of the Way of the Celestial Master form of Taoism and reformulated its theology into a new movement known as The Northern Celestial Masters. His in ...

wrote the 415 ''Laojun yinsong jiejing'' (老君音誦誡經, Classic on Precepts of Lord Lao, Recited o the Melody in the Clouds, Kohn 2008) that denounced diviners who called themselves Li and abused the people. Several prophets who called themselves Li or

(李弘, Laozi's appellation as the messiah) arose in south China, especially in the Wu and Shu regions. Some of them led popular, millenarian-type rebellions and were executed for deceiving the masses and causing social disorder (Mollier 2008: 657). Most of them belonged to the ''Lijia dao'', a "long-lasting sect" that spread throughout southern China during the

(220-589), and was condemned as heterodox by the Daoists themselves (Mollier 2008: 640).

References

Works cited

*Campany, Robert Ford (2002), ''To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth: A Translation and Study of Ge Hong's Traditions of Divine Transcendents'', University of California Press. *Espesset, Grégoire (2014), "Local Resistance in Early Medieval Chinese Historiography and the Problem of Religious Overinterpretation", ''The Medieval History Journal'' 17.2: 379-406. *Kohn, Livia (2008). “Laojun yinsong jiejing lassic on Precepts of Lord Lao, Recited to the Melody in the Clouds” In Encyclopedia of Taoism, ed. Fabrizio Pregadio. London: Routledge. *Mollier, Christine (2008), "Li Hong 李弘," in Fabrizio Pregadio, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Taoism'', Routledge, 638-640. *Nickerson, Peter (2000), "The Southern Celestial Masters," in Livia Kohn, ed., ''Daoism Handbook'', Brill, 256-282. *Seidel, Anna (1969), "The Image of the Perfect Ruler in Early Taoist Messianism: Lao-tzu and Li Hung", ''History of Religions" 9: 216-247. *Seiwert, Hubert Michael and Ma Xisha (2003), ''Popular Religious Movements and Heterodox Sects in Chinese History'', Brill. *Stein, Rolf A. (1979), "Religious Taoism and Popular Religion from the Second to Seventh Centuries," in Holmes Welch and Anna K. Seidel, eds. ''Facets of Taoism: Essays in Chinese Religion'', Yale University Press, 53- 81. *Theobald, Ulrich (2000)
''Lijia dao'' 李家道, the Way of the Li Lineage
,

ChinaKnowledge Chinaknowledge, with the subtitle "a universal guide for China studies", is an English-language hobbyist's web site that contains a wide variety of information on China and Chinese topics. The site was founded by and is maintained by Ulrich Theo ...

. *Ware, James R., tr. (1966), ''Alchemy, Medicine and Religion in the China of A.D. 320: The'' Nei Pien'' of Ko Hung'', Dover. {{Taoism footer Ancient China Taoism Taoist schools Way of the Celestial Masters