The Relationship Of Taoism And Reclusion Mentality

The Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasty is an era full of specialties. Politically, a separatist regime was set up by feudal warlords and alternated frequently. Culturally, self-consciousness was awakening while the influence of Confucius was declining. The particular cultural and political background promotes the development of recluse and recluse culture, which improves the shape-taking of recluse fashion in Southern Dynasty. Taoism is a sort of local religion in late Eastern Dynasty that derived from the Sect of Peace and Sect of Five-peck Rice and made significant progress in Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasty. In the developing process, Taoism had gradually turned into a religion organization combining Confucius and Buddhism from a pure military one.The study of relation between Taoism and mentality of recluse can be basically separated into three periods:Wei time in late Han Dynasty, Jin Dynasties and Southern and Northern Dynasty. In the first period, the relationship hovering in the relatively superficial society was influenced by political elements to a great extent. It is in this period that the combination of Taoism and recluse culture began for the aim of preserving health and cherishing life. Thus this is the initial period of the relationship study.The social morality changed a lot up to the Jin Dynasties when there was more space for the development of Taoism. In this period, the recluse culture and Taoism received deeper interaction, which includes the absorption of metaphysics, the popularization of preserving health and alchemy, the rise of fleshiness and art of bed chamber, and the emergence of reclusion family believing in Taoism. All the material and spiritual aspects of society are filled with the influence on Taoism of reclusion mentality, and that is the significant reason why those people in that day, being represented by Ji Kang and Ruan Ji, are uninhibited and inobservant to laws and moralities. What’s more, the Taoism revolution performed by Ge Hong in Eastern Jin Dynasty accelerated the acceptation of Confucius on the first step and then tightened the relation of Taoism and recluses.The recluse culture became more prosperous in the Northern and Southern Dynasty, during which recluse was regarded to be fashionable. The recluse mentality was then more expressed by literary works, which increased the prosperity of recluse culture. In the literary works themed by recluse, landscape and herb-picking, the images of Taoism appeared frequently and the life style advocated in Taoism was popularized. New characteristic of philosophy in this period was reflected by the interflow of Confucius, Buddhism and Taoism, which accorded with the social norms. Up to this time did the relation between Taoism and recluse mentality move into a higher level, and "Taoist" became the unified name of recluses and Taoists since the differences between recluses and Taoists were hard to define in the Northern Zhou Dynasty...