The common people said

Author: Cao Yongsen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: The common folk speak of what pertains to their own lives. Especially as time progresses and society undergoes constant transformation, Taoism gradually declines. What the common people value are their daily lives and the realities they face. They cannot detach from reality to pursue a carefree, immortal existence—divine realms are merely illusory self-consolation and fleeting escapes. Relying solely on religion cannot change their destinies in reality. Moreover, for centuries, the farmers and commoners who lived under feudal society lacked literacy. Taoist theories and scriptures were utterly incomprehensible to them, like a language spoken by oxen and horses. Yet, out of their search for spiritual solace and liberation, they observed the lively preaching of Taoist organizations around them, heard familiar tales of immortals and deities—such as the Jade Emperor, the Queen Mother of the West, the Laozi, the Yellow Emperor, the Flower Goddess and Jade Maidens, fox spirits and snake immortals, the Dragon King and the Fire God, the Eight Immortals, Sun Wu and Guan Sheng, the King of Hell and the Kitchen God, the craftsman Lu Ban, the physician Hua Tuo, the statesman Zongzi, and the merchant Fan Li—and witnessed the endless incense smoke and throngs of worshippers in grand and small temples, each with vividly colored statues. Unwittingly, they followed the customs, yet most followers likely never even glimpsed the true teachings of Taoist scriptures. In their eyes, Taoism was the familiar sayings of the common folk, closer to the stories of the common people from all walks of life—scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. The people were simple, and so were their stories. Taoism could transform these stories into a pure tool for teaching, aiming to guide the masses into believing. But the people’s faith remained in the oral tales of immortals and deities. They used these stories to vividly reflect their own lives, express their thoughts and emotions, and fulfill their aesthetic needs. Even if these legends were heavily steeped in superstition—even if this superstition dulled their minds—the people did not mind. The helplessness of their real lives drove them to speak the stories they wanted to tell. Even when it came to the tales of Taoism—a religion—the people recounted them according to their own ways of thinking and artistic imagination, bringing these divine figures back to the realities of their lives. This return of divine tales to everyday life was undoubtedly more vivid, richer, and more vibrant than purely persuasive Taoist stories.