Table Of ContentThe Ming Prince and Daoism
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The Ming Prince
and Daoism
Institutional Patronage of an Elite
RICHARD G. WANG
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wang, Richard G.
The Ming prince and Daoism : institutional patronage of an elite / Richard G. Wang.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-976768-7
1. Taoism and state—China—History. 2. Princes—Religious life—China—History. I. Title.
BL1910.W3635 2012
299. 5 140951—dc23 2012003845
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Prologue xi
1. Ming Princes: An Overview 3
2. Princely Ritual Institutions 31
3. Ming Princes and Daoist Ritual 41
4. Cultivation and Books 61
5. Temple Patronage 83
6. Literary Patronage 115
7 . Contacts with Clerics and Fashion of Daoist Names 139
Ep ilogue : The Multifaceted Princely Patronage
of a Daoist Temple 155
Appendix A : Genealogical Chart of the Ming Emperors
and Their Lines of Descent 185
Appendix B : Numbers of Princes under Each Emperor 189
Notes 191
Bibliography 253
Index 293
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Acknowledgments
As a Ming studies person, I have always wanted to publish a book on Ming
Daoism, a topic that is still rare among book-length studies. My interest in
the Ming princes and their relationship with Daoism started in 2001 when
I was doing a study of Daoism and society on the northwest frontier during
the Ming, focusing on a Daoist temple and epigraphy. That study drew my
attention to a Ming princely household based there. Realizing the impor-
tant role that the princes played, I have explored the Ming princely institu-
tion in religious and historical contexts since then. This book is the
accumulated result of the knowledge I obtained throughout my training at
Fudan University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the Univer-
sity of Chicago. My teaching experience in both the Department of Reli-
gion and Department of History at the Chinese University of Hong Kong,
with the focus on the Ming period, was rewarding. My teaching at Swarth-
more College and the University of Florida has enabled me to realize my
academic goal.
I have been writing this book for ten years and am indebted to nu-
merous people for helping me in various aspects of my work. My initial
interest in Daoist studies was inspired by Anthony C. Yu and Paul W. Kroll
when I was conducting studies on the relationship between Ming fi ction
and Daoism. Throughout the past decade of my pursuit of Daoist studies,
Kristofer Schipper, Stephen Bokenkamp, John Lagerwey, and Li Fengmao
have encouraged me greatly.
S ome friends read through part or all of the manuscript, made com-
ments on it, or helped me in one way or another. Foremost among these
are Vincent Goossaert of EPHE-CNRS; Kenneth Dean of McGill Univer-
sity; Suzanne Cahill of UC San Diego; David Robinson of Colgate Univer-
sity; Robert Hymes of Columbia University; Craig Clunas of the University
of Oxford; Paul Katz of the Institute of Modern History at Academia
viii Acknowledgments
Sinica; Liu Xun of Rutgers University; Kang Xiaofei of George Washing-
ton University; Tan Beifang, Chen Guanghong, and Li Tiangang of Fudan
University; Bai Qianshen of Boston University; and Duan Yuming of
Sichuan University. Vanessa Anderson also deserves my thanks for
reading my manuscript and off ering editorial help. Cynthia Chennault,
my colleague at the University of Florida, has been supportive of my
research and my work ever since I joined UF in 2004. She also spent
time reading parts of my manuscript and made valuable comments.
Mario Poceski, as my colleague in Chinese religious studies at UF, has
shared with me his insights on Chinese religions and supported me
wholeheartedly.
D uring my fi eld research in Jiangxi, Yao Pinwen took the trouble of
accompanying me to various historical sites and helping me get access to
some rare books, all of which were crucial to my project. A number of
other scholars, though they had not previously known me, were particu-
larly generous with their assistance. They are Guo Shusen, Zhao Qian, Li
Xieping, Zhang Zaiming, Zhao Benxin, Han Jibin, Wang Xianfu, Chen
Lili, Gao Yongli, Lin Zhe, and Xiao Dingpei. Li Youjin of the Wanshou
Palace on West Mountain and Chen Hongwei of the Wanshou Palace in
Nanchang also helped me get access to an important Daoist scripture and
to their temples.
Thanks are also due to Tai-loi Ma of the East Asian Library at Princeton
University, Shen Jin and Ma Xiaohe of the Harvard-Yenching Library,
Zhou Yuan of the East Asian Library at the University of Chicago, Liang
Ying of the Shanghai Library, David Hickey and Janice Kahler of the Uni-
versity of Florida Libraries, and the staff of the Center for Instructional
Technology and Training at UF.
G rants from the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly
Exchange and the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere at the
University of Florida provided crucial support for parts of this project in
2007–08 and summer 2010, respectively. I am also appreciative of the fi nan-
cial support I have received from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at
UF. T ’oung Pao , Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie , Ming Studies , and A sia Major have
kindly permitted me to include previously published materials in chapters
1–5 and Epilogue.
I am grateful to three anonymous reviewers of my manuscript who
provided valuable and constructive comments. At Oxford University Press,
editor Cynthia Read was unfailingly supportive and effi cient while off ering
her great vision. All of her help made it possible for this manuscript to be
Acknowledgments ix
transformed into a fi ne book in this fi nancially diffi cult time. Of course, I
am alone responsible for any remaining errors.
Most of all I wish to tell my wife Lily how grateful I am for her love,
sharing, and support. My niece Yueyue is also a great comfort to me with
her warm chats as well as her superb knowledge of digital map making,
Chinese character making, and computer technology.
