"Daoist Cleric" as an Occupation: The Profession Lives of the Daoist clerics of Longhu shan

Abstract

This thesis is an ethnographic study of the clerics in contemporary Longhu shan. Like many other Daoist temple clerics in contemporary China, those in Longhu shan primarily regard being a cleric as an occupation rather than as a vocation. However, systematic studies on contemporary Daoist temple clerics as a professional coterie are scant. What does being a temple cleric look like in terms of working conditions, job duties and income, as well as power relationships within their temples? Why do people become temple clerics rather than make another occupational choice, and what enables them to do so? How do temple clerics make a living through their professional activities, and how do their means of making a living interact with or reflect the macro-level social, cultural and political systems of China? While there are many Daoist temple clerics in different places in China, I have focused on those in Longhu shan, due to the unique position it occupies in Daoism. For hundreds of years prior to 1949, Longhu shan, headed by Celestial Masters (tianshi) from the Zhang family-who claimed to be paternal descendants of Zhang Daoling, believed to be the founder of Daoism as well as the first Celestial Master-had been the sole institution for ordaining clerics of the Zhengyi school of Daoism. In 1949, the 63rd Celestial Master fled to Taiwan and before long, the institution of Longhu shan ceased operation. However, it has embarked on a journey of reconstruction from the early 1980s as the CCP government readjusted its policy toward religion, and reinstated its role as the sole institution for ordaining Zhengyi clerics in the early 1990s. Longhu shan is frequently visited by clerics, especially Zhengyi clerics, as well as ordinary followers of Daoism from all over the country. Focusing on the temple clerics of the Longhu shan allowed me to observe and communicate with these clerics and visitors, enabling the development of a general picture of Daoist clerics in contemporary China. In this thesis, I argue that being an Longhu shan cleric represents a good position for many people who have no access to a white-collar job, with its comfortable working conditions and stable income. These clerics can live a good life in the worldly sense, where employment stability and respect are more important than working to attain immortality or achieve any other transcendent goal. However, becoming a Longhu shan cleric is not, in practice, a choice for everyone; to become a cleric, or more specifically, a permanent cleric, one normally should have guanxi with the head of the Longhu shan organisation or people who could influence his decisions. To live their preferred life, the clerics sell many types of religious goods and services, of which ritual services are the most profitable. In the near future, products for nurturing life and training programs offered by the Longhu shan Daoist College might become two important financial sources. I argue that for the clerics, making money through selling religious goods and services is not only an essential means to sustaining and enlarging Daoism in Longhu shan, but an important end in itself. In addition, the clerics try to build guanxi with as many Daoist clerics from other places as possible, because of the economic benefits they can gain in the form of gifts and fees for services. Thus, they tend to view the outside clerics as clients or potential clients rather than people with the same set of beliefs and spiritual goals. In terms of their relations with the state, instead of challenging the CCP's regime of regulation and control of their religion, the clerics actively engage in promoting traditional culture, developing tourism and expanding the Patriotic United Front, all of which are encouraged by the Party. My observations and experiences in other Daoist temples lead me to conclude that these attitudes are the norm across China. Show more