Philological and Historical Investigations on the Taoist Ritual “Putian Dajiao” 普天大醮 Held in 1190
In 1190 CE, the first year of the Mingchang 明昌 Reign of the emperor Zhangzong 章宗 of the Jin Dynasty, Zhanzong’s mother, empress Xiaoyi 孝懿 fell ill suddenly. Thus, emperor Zhangzong organized Taoist masters at that time to hold the Putian Dajiao 普天大醮, the Great Ritual Offering to the Universal Heaven, for Empress Xiaoyi to dispel evil and cure diseases. This was a great event for the imperial family at that time, and it is also an event worth studying in the history of Taoism in the Jin Dynasty. However, History of Jin (Jin Shi; 《金史》) does not mention this event at all. Fortunately, a few essays of the Jin Dynasty recorded on the Epitaphs of Taoist Temples (Gongguan Beizhi; 《宮觀碑誌》) in the Daoist Cannon (Daozang; 《道藏》) retain information about this Putian Dajiao, which provides important thinking for later researchers to reinvestigate the causes and consequences of this event. This paper first compiled the related lost essays and combined them with other literature to restore this long-neglected religious event.
Keywords: Emperor Zhangzong of Jin Dynasty 金章宗, Putian Dajiao 普天大醮, History of Taoism, Philological Supplement
