The Xiantiandao (, or "Way of the Primordial";

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

: ',

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: '), also simply Tiandao (; Vietnamese: ', Japanese: ') is one of the most productive currents of

Chinese folk religious sects 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 ...

such as the

White Lotus Sect 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 ...

, characterised by representing the principle of divinity as feminine and by a concern for

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 ...

(moral completion) of mankind. Xiantiandao was founded in

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 ...

in the 17th century

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

as an offshoot of the Venerable Officials' teaching of fasting (), a branch of the Dacheng ( "Great Vehicle") or Yuandun ( "Sudden Stillness") eastern proliferation of

Luoism 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 ...

. It has also been traced to the earlier ''Wugongdao'' ( "Way of the Five Lords"), a

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

offshoot of the

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 solac ...

tradition. The Xiantiandao religions were considered

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 ...

and suppressed throughout the

history of China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

; they are still mostly forbidden in

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

, yet they thrive in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

where at least 7% of the population adheres to some sect derived from the Xiantiandao. The Xiantiandao movement is not limited only to Chinese-speaking countries, with at least one sect, the , active in Japan. In

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, "Tiên Thiên Đạo" doctrines ultimately influenced the rise of the '' Minh Đạo'' sects since the 17th century and subsequently of

Caodaism Caodaism ( vi, Đạo Cao Đài, Chữ Hán: ) is a Monotheism, monotheistic Religious syncretism, syncretic new religious movement officially established in the city of Tây Ninh in southern Vietnam in 1926. The full name of the religion is ...

in the 20th century. Sects that are or have been considered as part of the Xiantiandao stream are: * Guigendao ( "Way of the Return to the Root") * Guiyidao (, "Way of the Return to the One"), best known by its corporate name of School of the Way of the Return to the One or simply School of the Way ( ''Dàoyuàn'') *

Shengdao Shengdao (圣道 "Holy Way" or "Way of the Hallows"), best known by its corporate name Tongshanshe () is a Confucianism, ConfucianD. Palmer. Redemptive Societies as Confucian NRMs?'. ''Journal of Chinese Theatre, Ritual and Folklore'' / ''Minsu Qu ...

( "Holy Way"), best known by its incorporate name of Tongshanshe ( "Community of the Goodness") * Jiugongdao * Tiandi teachings ( "Heavenly Deity") * Yaochidao ( "Way of the Jasper Lake") *

Yiguandao Yiguandao / I-Kuan Tao (),; ko, 일관도, Ilgwando; th, อนุตตรธรรม, . meaning the Consistent Way or Persistent Way, is a Chinese salvationist religious sect that emerged in the late 19th century, in Shandong, to become C ...

( "Complete Way") ** Haizidao ( "Way of the Children") **

Miledadao Wang Hao-te (1921–1999) was the founder of the Great Way of Maitreya (), which is based in Hsinchu, Taiwan. According to a survey done in 2004, this religion has 1,000,000 members and 2,000 temples all over the world. Wang was born in 1921, th ...

( "Great Way of Maitreya") * Yixin Tiandao Longhua Hui ( "Dragon Flower Church of the Heart-bound Heavenly Way") * Yuanmingdao ( "Way of the Bright Circle")

History

The sect can be traced back to the

(1271–1368). It has been associated to the

tradition, a rebellious sect of that time, especially by anti-sect political centers and religious antagonists. The differentiation of the Xiantiandao subtradition out of the general field of Chinese popular sects is commonly attributed to the so-called ninth patriarch Huang Dehui (1684–1750). The

and the Tongshanshe sects legitimize themselves by tracing their patriarchal lines through Huang Dehui to the mythical patriarchs of early Chinese history. The patriarchal lines of these two sects are largely identical down to the thirteenth patriarch Yang Shouyi (1796–1828), after whom the lines split and ultimately lead to the development of the Yiguandao and the Tongshanshe as separate sects. The other groups maintain a different model of linear patriarchal succession.Tiandi official website –
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Common themes

Xiantiandao doctrine holds that the origin of the universe is

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 ...

(), creatrix of all living beings. These children went astray and ended up in the earthly world where they forgot their divine origin. The wheel of reincarnation started and the return to

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

was no longer possible. For this reason, the Mother sent a range of enlightened beings to bring Her children back to Heaven. The

Dīpankara Buddha 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 tr ...

() was the first salvage.

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a 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 born in Lu ...

afterwards was the second enlightened. The remaining beings will be saved by the Buddha of the future,

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 individual Xiantiandao sects all see themselves as carrying out the Mother's intentions by converting people and guiding them on a path of cultivation and reform that will ultimately lead them back to Heaven. The cultivation urged on members is divided into "inner" and "outer" work (''nèigōng'', ''wàigōng''), that is,

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 ...

and good deeds, so as to accumulate merits and purify the mind. As the focus is on a primordial deity superior to all other gods, Xiantiandao sects claim to represent a Way ( Dào) that transcends, comes before, and thus overcomes all existing religions. Consequently, a syncretism of features is noticeable in some groups. Most Xiantiandao groups rely heavily on

automatic writing Automatic writing, also called psychography, is a claimed psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing. Practitioners engage in automatic writing by holding a writing instrument and allowing alleged spir ...

as a means of communicating with the Mother and lower-ranking deities.

Theological and practical differences

Along with the written works of the founding patriarchs, spirit-writing provides a distinct corpus of scriptures for each individual sect, that develops the shared themes in different directions and serves to differentiate the individual group from related sects. The variations on the central theme are many: for example, different sects use different names for the supreme deity, the

and the Tongshanshe calling her "Venerable Mother of Limitless Pole" (''Wuji Laomu'') and the Yaochidao the "Mother of the Jasper Lake" (''Yaochimu''). The Daoyuan diverges from the common maternal pattern by describing the supreme deity as male, naming him "Holiest Venerable Patriarch of the Primordial Heaven" (''Zhisheng Xiantian Laozu''). Despite these and many other differences in liturgy, organization, and doctrine, ultimately each Xiantiandao sect represents a variation on a central theme. Other movements have significantly departed: the Tiandi teachings movements have shifted to a focus on the

Tian ''Tiān'' () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for heaven and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy, and religion. During the Shang dynasty (17th―11th century BCE), the Chinese referred to their supreme god as '' Shàngdì'' (, "Lor ...

, while

gives centrality to the Cao Đài ("Highest Power").

References

Sources

* * * B. J. ter Harr. ''The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History''. University of Hawaii Press, 1999. * David A. Palmer. ''Les mutations du discours sur les sectes en Chine moderne'', in ''Archives de sciences sociales des religions'', 2008
Online
* Marjorie Topley. ''Cantonese Society in Hong Kong and Singapore: Gender, Religion, Medicine and Money''. Hong Kong University Press, 2011. * Vincent Goossaert, David A. Palmer. ''The Religious Question in Modern China''. University of Chicago Press, 2011.

External links