The Tongbai Palace and Its Daoist Communities: A History

Daoism is one of the foremost religions of imperial China alongside Confucianism and Buddhism and historically represented an influential system for interpreting the cosmos. Throughout the centuries, Daoism continued to evolve by incorporating elements from other religious traditions and maintained...

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Main Author: Scarin, Jacopo
Format: Online
Language:Italian
Published: Edizioni Ca’ Foscari – Venice University Press 2026
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Online Access:2610-9042
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author Scarin, Jacopo
author_browse Scarin, Jacopo
author_facet Scarin, Jacopo
author_sort Scarin, Jacopo
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Daoism is one of the foremost religions of imperial China alongside Confucianism and Buddhism and historically represented an influential system for interpreting the cosmos. Throughout the centuries, Daoism continued to evolve by incorporating elements from other religious traditions and maintained a dialectical relationship with Chinese society as a whole, influencing the worldviews, value systems and practices of all social classes. Daoism’s creative power produced tangible relics: scriptures, stelae, works of art, temples and shrines. This book focuses on Tongbai Palace in Tiantai County, built in 711 by emperor Tang Ruizong (r. 684-690, 710-712) for the eminent court Daoist Sima Chengzhen (647-735). This event only raises more questions: why was that place chosen to build the temple? How did the institution fare in the following centuries and what ties did it entertain with Daoist movements during that period? Why did the emperor patronise its restoration in the 18th century and what were the consequences of this event? In attempting to answer such questions, this book also tackles more fundamental issues related to Daoist history, the history of religions and the role of religion in society. The introduction provides the theoretical framework of the book. The second chapter analyses the significance of the Tiantai area before the 8th century. The third follows the development of Tongbai Palace from its construction in 711 to the Ming dynasty and devotes more space to the earliest and best-documented stages in its history. The fourth chapter discusses the complete demise of the temple during the Ming dynasty, exacerbated by the involvement of the local gentry in a case of land encroachment. Finally, the fifth chapter studies the rebirth of Tongbai Palace in the 18th century and its position in the network of temples of the Daoist Longmen lineages in the southeast part of the Qing empire.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1780912026-06-30T05:33:19Z The Tongbai Palace and Its Daoist Communities: A History Scarin, Jacopo Chinese history Chinese religion Longmen lineages Quanzhen Daoism Southeast China thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1F Asia::1FP East Asia, Far East::1FPC China thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3M c 1500 onwards to present day thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCC Cultural studies thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology::JHMC Social and cultural anthropology thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTB Social and cultural history thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QR Religion and beliefs::QRR Other religions and spiritual beliefs::QRRL East Asian religions::QRRL5 Taoism Daoism is one of the foremost religions of imperial China alongside Confucianism and Buddhism and historically represented an influential system for interpreting the cosmos. Throughout the centuries, Daoism continued to evolve by incorporating elements from other religious traditions and maintained a dialectical relationship with Chinese society as a whole, influencing the worldviews, value systems and practices of all social classes. Daoism’s creative power produced tangible relics: scriptures, stelae, works of art, temples and shrines. This book focuses on Tongbai Palace in Tiantai County, built in 711 by emperor Tang Ruizong (r. 684-690, 710-712) for the eminent court Daoist Sima Chengzhen (647-735). This event only raises more questions: why was that place chosen to build the temple? How did the institution fare in the following centuries and what ties did it entertain with Daoist movements during that period? Why did the emperor patronise its restoration in the 18th century and what were the consequences of this event? In attempting to answer such questions, this book also tackles more fundamental issues related to Daoist history, the history of religions and the role of religion in society. The introduction provides the theoretical framework of the book. The second chapter analyses the significance of the Tiantai area before the 8th century. The third follows the development of Tongbai Palace from its construction in 711 to the Ming dynasty and devotes more space to the earliest and best-documented stages in its history. The fourth chapter discusses the complete demise of the temple during the Ming dynasty, exacerbated by the involvement of the local gentry in a case of land encroachment. Finally, the fifth chapter studies the rebirth of Tongbai Palace in the 18th century and its position in the network of temples of the Daoist Longmen lineages in the southeast part of the Qing empire. 2026-06-30T05:33:13Z 2026-06-30T05:33:13Z 2026-06-29T10:29:31Z 2023 book 2610-9042 https://edizionicafoscari.it/en/edizioni4/libri/978-886-969-660-2/ https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/114464 9788869696596 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/178091 ita Sinica venetiana open access image/jpeg https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/114464/4/9788869696596.pdf Edizioni Ca’ Foscari – Venice University Press 10.30687/978-886-969-659-6 10.30687/978-886-969-659-6 9788869696596 Edizioni Ca’ Foscari – Venice University Press 250 Venice, Italy open access
spellingShingle Chinese history
Chinese religion
Longmen lineages
Quanzhen Daoism
Southeast China
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1F Asia::1FP East Asia, Far East::1FPC China
thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3M c 1500 onwards to present day
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCC Cultural studies
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology::JHMC Social and cultural anthropology
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTB Social and cultural history
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QR Religion and beliefs::QRR Other religions and spiritual beliefs::QRRL East Asian religions::QRRL5 Taoism
Scarin, Jacopo
The Tongbai Palace and Its Daoist Communities: A History
title The Tongbai Palace and Its Daoist Communities: A History
title_full The Tongbai Palace and Its Daoist Communities: A History
title_fullStr The Tongbai Palace and Its Daoist Communities: A History
title_full_unstemmed The Tongbai Palace and Its Daoist Communities: A History
title_short The Tongbai Palace and Its Daoist Communities: A History
title_sort tongbai palace and its daoist communities a history
topic Chinese history
Chinese religion
Longmen lineages
Quanzhen Daoism
Southeast China
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1F Asia::1FP East Asia, Far East::1FPC China
thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3M c 1500 onwards to present day
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCC Cultural studies
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology::JHMC Social and cultural anthropology
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTB Social and cultural history
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QR Religion and beliefs::QRR Other religions and spiritual beliefs::QRRL East Asian religions::QRRL5 Taoism
topic_facet Chinese history
Chinese religion
Longmen lineages
Quanzhen Daoism
Southeast China
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1F Asia::1FP East Asia, Far East::1FPC China
thema EDItEUR::3 Time period qualifiers::3M c 1500 onwards to present day
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBC Cultural and media studies::JBCC Cultural studies
thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology::JHMC Social and cultural anthropology
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NH History::NHT History: specific events and topics::NHTB Social and cultural history
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QR Religion and beliefs::QRR Other religions and spiritual beliefs::QRRL East Asian religions::QRRL5 Taoism
url 2610-9042
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