State Policy Towards Taoism During Zhu Yuanzhang's Reign In The Ming Dynasty

Zhu Yuanzhang(1328-1398A.D) was the first emperor of the Ming dynasty,which replaced the Yuan dynasty founded by nomadic Mongolians, recovered the traditional Chinese feudalism characterized by culture and ruling from Han Nationality.In this dissertation,the author conducts a deep and wide study about the state policy towards Taoism in the period of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor's reign in the Ming dynasty.In the last years of the Yuan dynasty and the first years of the Ming dynasty,Taoism developed into two main sects, namely the Complete Perfection and Orthodox Oneness. Between the two sects,since Orthodox Oneness was of big social influence, and coincided with the political demands for a centralized state from the ruling class in the specific period,it attracted more attention and political support. Nevertheless, having drawing a bitter lesson from the chaotic expansion of Daoist sects at the last years in Yuan dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang strengthened his management and control over Daoism. The dissertation comprises three chapters as follows:In chapter one,the author outlines the religious policy, especially, state policy about Taoism during the Yuan dynasty, which was characterized by its equal treatment toward various Daoism groups and favorable policy toward the Complete Perfect sect from the north and Dragon and Tiger sect in the south and basic features of the centralized regime designed by Zhu Yuanzhang, a specific political system which paved the way for the emergence of institutionalization and politicization of...