唐 高宗‧武則天 時期 國家儀禮와 道敎* － 投龍 儀禮의 재검토 ―

Abstract

Even though the Tang imperial house is known to have claimed descent of Laozi and officially sponsored Daoism, Daoism has rarely been taken into account in academic discourses on the Tang state ritual system. Dragon-casting rite (toulong 投龍) might be one exception. A number of stone inscriptions from the period tell us that particularly Wu Zetian and Xuanzong frequently performed this rite. But By misunderstanding this Daoist rite of rather small scale to be an independent rite, previous scholarship failed to provide the liturgical context and accordingly misrepresented the ritual practice of the time. A close examination of Daoist ritual sources informs us that Daoist zhai (齋) normally began with the rite of announcement on the eve of the main performance (suqi 宿啓), repeated the rite of audience with deities (xingdao 行道) including repentance (chanhui 懺悔) and scripture reading (zhuanjing 轉經) for a few days, proceeded to the rite of submitting a memorial (baibiao 拜表), and ended with a jiao 醮 offering to reward related deities. The final procedure to conclude the entire ritual programme was casting dragon figurine and slip (toulong jian 投龍簡), in order to report to the divine realm on the performance. Thus dragon-casting rite was not a ritual to be performed independently, and it should be seen to be a part of zhaijiao of lager scale. The findings from a detailed analysis of Daoist ritual structure make it clear that all the relevant sources relate the fact that Daoist zhaijiao, not merely dragon-casting rite, was frequently performed under the orders of Wu Zetian and Xuanzong. But there is an epigraphical source suggesting that use of Daoist zhaijiao performed in the context of state ritual can be traced back to the reign of Gaozong. When the first Feng and Shan sacrifices at Mount Tai in 666, performed by Gaozong, a dragon figurine was thrown from a precipice by Gaozong's order about one month later. The officials in charge of this rite were holding titles showing that their duty was to supervise the preparation and implement of the Feng and Shan sacrifices. Given that Gaozong was on imperial visit and the preparation must have been necessary, this particular rite is very likely to have been previously planned. This epigraphy therefore indicates that a Daoist zhai or jiao, followed by the dragon-casting rite, was performed as supplement to, or in connection to the Feng and Shan sacrifices. Furthermore, Gaozong attempted to carry out the Feng and Shan sacrifices at all of the five sacred mounts, which implies that all the sacrifices would have been followed by Daoist zhaijiao. Gaozong’s strong interest in and support of Daoism was apparent. He announced a new title for himself in 674, the Heavenly Emperor (tianhuang 天皇), which had strong Daoist overtones and long history as the supreme and primordial ruler of the cosmos. Also when he was planning the second Feng and Shan sacrifices at the Mount Song, he visited the mount and met with Pan Shizheng 潘師正, a Daoist who was then residing there. Pan Shizheng seems to have been deeply involved in the Gaozong’s new attempt. It does not seem a coincidence that deified Laozi appeared in front of Gaozong and Daoist priests at Luoyang, which could be taken as an auspicious sign to encourage the new Feng and Shan sacrifices. All these evidences indicates that Gaozong himself was using Daoism, particularly its ritual to reinforce and manifest his authority. Thus the frequent observances of Daoist ritual during the reign of Empress Wu was in a sense a to be understood to be originated from the reign of Gaozong, and similar approach can be later found in Xuanzong's reign.