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Luodao (罗道 "Way of Luo") or Luoism (罗教), originally Wuweiism (无为教), refers to a Chinese folk religious tradition, a wide range of sect organisations flourishing over the last five hundred years, which trace their origins back to the mystic and preacher Luo Menghong (1443–1527), the Patriarch Luo (罗祖 ''Luōzǔ'') and the revelation contained in his major scripture, the ''Wǔbùliùcè'' (五部六册 "Five Instructions in Six Books"), which official title is ''The Scroll of Apprehending the Way through Hard Work'' and that marked the beginning of the
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' tradition. Luo and the movement he started is considered the most important influence within the Chinese salvationist tradition. A wide range of religious groups can be traced to Luo's teachings, their names are numerous and have changed over the centuries. Some of them have remained close to original Wuweiism as transmitted in Luo's scriptures, while other ones have developed other beliefs only preserving the name of the founding master. Types of Luodao, together with other folk religions, have revived rapidly in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
since the 1980s, and if conceptualised as a single group today they are said to have more followers than the five state-sanctioned religions counted together.大陆民间宗教管理变局 ''Management change in the situation of mainland folk religion''. ''Phoenix Weekly'', July 2014, n. 500. Pu Shi Institute for Social Science
full text of the article
.


History

Luo Menghong was born in 1442 in the area of
Jimo Jimo District (), formerly Jimo City (), is a District of Qingdao, Shandong. Location Jimo is located in the southwest of the Shandong Peninsula, bordered by the Yellow Sea on the east and Mount Lao on the south. Climate Jimo has a moderate ...
, in
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
province. His religious titles were Luo Qing (Luo the Clear), Luo Jing (Luo the Quiet) and the Inactive Hermit (无为隐士 '' Wúwéi Yǐnshì''). He died at the age of eighty-five in 1527. The religious group he founded was called "Wuweiism", a name that has been continued by the purest branches of the movement in later history.


Early direct transmissions

As long as Patriarch Luo was alive, his personality guaranteed the unity of the movement. While some of his disciples may have established separate communities, they didn't contest Luo's position as teacher and leader of Wuweiism. Then, when Luo died, apparently without having chosen a successor to the leadership, the Wuwei teaching started to split into different branches all claiming to continue Luo's tradition. Little more than half a century after the death of Luo, the activities of Luoist sects began to raise the suspicion of state officials. Just after 1584 several warnings were presented to the throne, against the influence of Luoism linking it to the earlier
White Lotus The White Lotus () is a syncretic religious and political movement which forecasts the imminent advent of the "King of Light" (), i.e., the future Buddha Maitreya. As White Lotus sects developed, they appealed to many Han Chinese who found sola ...
movement, a label which by that time had become a derogatory designation used by official historians to demonise religious groups considered
heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
by the established orthodoxy. At the end of the 16th century there were religious groups which influenced and in turn were influenced by the Luoists, Hongyangism (弘阳教 "Red r GreatSun") and the Huangtiandao ("Way of the Yellow Sky"), both identifying as
Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
branches. Documents produced by the
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
establishment condemning Luoists testify the activity in the late 16th century of the branches known as Great Vehicles (大乘 Dacheng) and Timeless (无年 Wunian) Luoism. The sources show that at the end of the 16th century, Luoist sects had spread widely in northern China, and they were known by different names.


Luo family transmission

Also the Luo family contributed to the transmission of Luo's teaching. Within the original movement, Luo's wife and two children, Fozheng and Foguang, occupied relevant positions. Successively, Luo's wife continued the teaching according to the original tradition. She founded a branch named Sudden Stillness (圆頓 Yuandun) which by the late
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
no longer claimed connection to Luo's wife. Fozheng continued the male line of the Luo family. His grandson Wenju is mentioned in the imprint of the 1615 edition of the ''Wubuliuce'', printed in
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 ...
. Luo Congshan, the fourth generation patriarch, lived at the beginning of the 17th century. A century later, official records testify that there were still male descendants of Luo active as sect leaders. The centre of the family was in
Miyun Miyun District () is situated in northeast Beijing. It has an area of and a population of 460,800 (2010 Census). Miyun District government seat is located in Gulou Subdistrict. History Miyun was one of the places where Warlord Feng Yuxiang s ...
, where the tomb of Luo Menghong still existed. It was destroyed on official order in 1768.


Grand Canal transmission

In the early 18th century Luoist sects spread along the Grand Canal from
Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
to
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 ...
and
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
; boatmen belonging to Luoist sects recognised the eighth generation descendant Luo Mingzhong as the head of the religion. Records of the late 18th century testify the contribution of three persons surnamed Qiang, Wen and Pan, to the diffusion of the religion in southeast China. They founded three different lines, which congregation halls (''an'') also functioned as social relief institutions. After the ninth patriarch the line of hereditary leadership came to an end. An investigation of 1816 testifies that the male descendants of Luo no longer practiced the religion of the forefather.


Yin Ji'nan and Yaoism

Meanwhile, in the 16th century Yin Ji'nan (1527-1582) from Zhejiang originated an independent line that successfully spread throughout their native province, Fujian,
Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
and surrounding southern provinces. He became the leader of a Luoist group and reformed it into the Venerable Officials' teaching of fasting (老官斋教 ''Lǎoguān zhāijiào''), which in later centuries gave rise to the
Xiantiandao The Xiantiandao (, or "Way of the Primordial"; Vietnamese: ', Japanese: '), also simply Tiandao (; Vietnamese: ', Japanese: ') is one of the most productive currents of Chinese folk religious sects such as the White Lotus Sect, characterised by ...
. Yin Ji'nan organised his movement into a hierarchy and integrated the theology about
Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...
, the ''
Wusheng Laomu The Queen Mother of the West, known by various local names, is a mother goddess in Chinese religion and mythology, also worshipped in neighbouring Asian countries, and attested from ancient times. From her name alone some of her most importan ...
'' and the Three Suns eschatology within the original Luoist doctrines through the influence of a Hunyuan sect. Years after Yin's death, Yao Wenyu (1578-1646) rose as the leader of the religion with strong opposition from other influential members, although he greatly expanded the sect's empire. By the time of Yao's successors in the late 17th century the sect was known as the Numinous Mountain (灵山 Lingshan). Yaoism later gave rise to the Dragon Flower (龙花 Longhua) sect and other branches. Wu Zixiang's branch, the Great Vehicle (Dacheng) or Third Vehicle (三乘 Sancheng) introduced his scripture entitled the "Book of the Great Precepts of the Great Vehicle" (''Dacheng dajie jing'').


Zhenkongdao and other branches

Another important indirect branching is that started by Sun Zhenkong, claiming to be the fourth patriarch after Qin Dongshan and Master Zhao, a disciple of Luo who founded and independent group called Wujidao (无极道 "Way of the Unlimited"). Patriarch Sun incorporated the theology of Maitreya and Wusheng Laomu just half a century after the death of Luo and called his group the Namodao (南無道). The Namodao later developed into different currents. A disciple of Yi Ji'nan's school, Pushen, formulated a Chan interpretation of Luo's writings that excluded the Maitreya
eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negati ...
. Zhenkongdao (真空道 "Way of the True Void") founded in Anhui in the 1860s, is another Luoist branch promoting sitting meditation, healing, and scriptures recitation. The group expanded to Fujian in the late 19th century, and from there throughout southern China and
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
n
Chinese ethnic groups China's population consists of 56 ethnic groups, not including some ethnic groups from Taiwan. The Han people are the largest ethnic group in mainland China. In 2010, 91.51% of the population were classified as Han (~1.2 billion). Besides the ...
. It is possibly a continuation of Patriarch Sun's branch.


Luo Menghong's life and mysticism

An orphan since youth, Luo Qing was raised by relatives and became a soldier. At the age of twenty-eight, for his distressful sentiment of forlornness, he went on a spiritual quest and studied with several teachers, although he was unable to establish permanent relationships. Only at the age of forty, apparently without a direct guidance of a teacher, he reached enlightenment: awareness to be united with the absolute principle of reality. He began gathering disciples and wrote the ''Wubuliuce'' ("Five Instructions in Six Books"), first printed in 1527. Written in a lucid vernacular language, Luo's texts are characterised by an egalitarian tone, erasing differences between lay and clergy, upper and lower classes, and men and women. Drawing on his own experience as an orphan, Luo describes the human condition of being lost and in search of one's true home and refuge. He speaks of the final destination that is the absolute principle of being, variously representing it through abstract symbols. An experience similar to that of Luo can be found in the biography of Lin Zhao'en, the founder of the
Sanyi teaching The Harmonious Church of the Three-in-One (), or Sanyiism () and Xiaism (), is a Chinese folk religious sect of Confucian character founded in the 16th century by Lin Zhao'en, in Putian.Seiwert, 2003. p. 343 In 2011, it was officially recognised ...
. By the 17th century the teachings of Luo combined with other folk beliefs, namely Maitreyan
millenarianism Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenariani ...
and the folk mother goddess. In the new mythological representation of Luo's enlightenment, humans are children of the primordial goddess. Confused by the desires of the material world, they have forgotten their celestial origin, and so the Mother sends emissaries to remind her children the possibility of return to the original condition in the Three Suns, or stages of the world. The three enlightened beings are
Dipankara Dipankara (Pali: ''Dīpaṅkara''; Sanskrit: ', "Lamp bearer") or Dipankara Buddha is one of the Buddhas of the past. He is said to have lived on Earth four asankheyyas and one hundred thousand kappas ago. According to some Buddhist or folk t ...
,
Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
and
Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...
the future one.


Doctrine


God and the Goddess

In the theology of Luoist sects the absolute principle of the universe is the central focus of meaning and worship. In the original writings of Luo it is represented as "True Void" (真空 ''Zhēnkōng''). Since the 17th century the prevalent representation became a goddess, the Unborn Venerable Mother (無生老母 ''Wúshēng Lǎomǔ''). Other symbols of the source of being, also common to other traditions, are '' Wújí'' (the "Unlimited"), ''Zhēn'' (真 "Truth", "True Reality"), ''Gǔfú'' (古佛 "Ancient Awakened"). These symbols are commonly combined in sect's
precious scrolls Precious may refer to: Music * Precious (group), a British female pop group Albums * ''Precious'' (Chanté Moore album), 1992 * ''Precious'' (Cubic U album), 1998 * ''Precious'' (Ours album), 2002 * ''Precious'' (Precious album), 2000 * ...
to express the impersonal absolute origin according to the tastes of different social groups. The absolute principle is also associated to the
Big Dipper The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude. Four define a "bowl" ...
asterism. Luo Menghong's original revelation emphasises the impersonal representation of the absolute. However, he also talks of Holy Patriarch of the Unlimited (无极圣祖 ''Wújí Shèngzǔ'') and of the mother as a duality, the Eternal Parents (無生父母 ''Wúshēng Fùmǔ''). Patriarch Luo is considered an incarnation of the universal God by his followers.


Eschatology

The Three Suns (三阳 ''sānyáng'')
eschatological Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...
doctrine places itself in a tradition flourishing at least since the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
. It can be traced back to a Hunyuan
Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
school named after the concept of ''hunyuan'' ("original undetermined") that existed before '' hundun'' ("coalesced undetermined") and is the beginning of primordial '' qi'' (''yuanqi'') according to some Taoist cosmologies. Although originally Taoist, these concepts became part of the folk tradition and were incorporated into the sects. In the earliest sects of the Ming period, the Lord of the Original Chaos (混元主 ''Hùnyuánzhǔ'') represents the origin of the universe developing through three stages, ''yang'', or cosmic periods. In most sect scriptures, these three periods are known as Green Sun (''qingyang''), Red Sun (''hongyang'') and White Sun (''baiyang''). They are known by other names due to oral transmission of the teaching. The earliest written evidence of this doctrine can be found in the ''Huangji jieguo baojuan'', published in 1430. In this text the three stages are already associated to the three buddhas
Dipankara Dipankara (Pali: ''Dīpaṅkara''; Sanskrit: ', "Lamp bearer") or Dipankara Buddha is one of the Buddhas of the past. He is said to have lived on Earth four asankheyyas and one hundred thousand kappas ago. According to some Buddhist or folk t ...
,
Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
and
Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...
.


Practice and salvation

In Luoist writings the symbol of ''wúshēng'' (無生 "unborn") means the state of "no birth and no death" that gives enlightenment. The Unborn Venerable Mother or the Holy Patriarch of the Unlimited are personifications of this state. In Luoist traditions, as written for example in the "Book of the Dragon Flower" (''Longhuajing''),
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...
has a crucial role in the path to
salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
, that corresponds to the "return to the mother" or the ''wusheng'' state. Salvation is the realisation of one's true nature.Seiwert, 2003. p. 390


See also

*
Chinese religions of fasting The Chinese religions of fasting () are a subgroup of the Chinese salvationist religions. Their name refers to the strict vegetarian fasting diet that believers follow. This subgroup originated as the ''Lǎoguān zhāijiào'' (老官齋教 "Venera ...
*
Chinese salvationist religions Chinese salvationist religions or Chinese folk religious sects are a Chinese religious tradition characterised by a concern for salvation (moral fulfillment) of the person and the society.; ''passim'' They are distinguished by egalitarianism, a f ...
*
Dacheng teaching of Mount Jizu Dacheng teaching of Mount Jizu (鸡足山大乘教 ''Jīzú shān dàchéng jiào'', "Great Vehicle teaching of Mount Jizu"), is a Chinese folk religious sect, a branch of Luoism in western China established by Zhang Baotai (張保太) in the late ...
*
Maitreya teachings The Maitreya teachings or Maitreyanism (), also called ''Mile'' teachings, refers to the beliefs related to Maitreya (彌勒 ''Mílè'' in Chinese) practiced in China together with Buddhism and Manichaeism, and were developed in different ways both ...
*
Xiantiandao The Xiantiandao (, or "Way of the Primordial"; Vietnamese: ', Japanese: '), also simply Tiandao (; Vietnamese: ', Japanese: ') is one of the most productive currents of Chinese folk religious sects such as the White Lotus Sect, characterised by ...
*
Sanyi teaching The Harmonious Church of the Three-in-One (), or Sanyiism () and Xiaism (), is a Chinese folk religious sect of Confucian character founded in the 16th century by Lin Zhao'en, in Putian.Seiwert, 2003. p. 343 In 2011, it was officially recognised ...


Footnotes


References


Sources

* Hubert Michael Seiwert. ''Popular Religious Movements and Heterodox Sects in Chinese History''. Brill, 2003. * Xisha Ma, Huiying Meng. ''Popular Religion and Shamanism''. BRILL, 2011. * Randall L. Nadeau. ''The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Chinese Religions''. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. * Vincent Goossaert, David Palmer. ''The Religious Question in Modern China''. University of Chicago Press, 2011. * Xisha Ma, Huiying Meng. ''Popular Religion and Shamanism''. Brill, 2011.


External links


Five Instructions in Six Books

Zhenkong way

Zhenkong religion
{{religion topics Chinese salvationist religions Heresy in Buddhism