《道藏》所收早期道書的瘟疫觀－以《女青鬼律》及《洞淵神呪經》系為主

The Concept of Plague in the Early Taoist Texts, With Focus on Nu Ch'ing Kuei Lü and Tung Yaün Shen Chou Ching

李豐楙(Fung-Mao Li)

《中國文哲研究集刊》 3期 (1993/03) Pp. 417-454

https://doi.org/10.6351/BICLP.199303.0417

並列摘要

There are various beliefs and rituals in Chinese folklores related to the advent and departure of epidemics (plagues, pestilence). The process through which these beliefs and rituals took shape was recorded and preserved in the early Taoist scriptures in the Tao-tsang, among which the Nu Ch'ing Kuei Lü and the Tung Yüan Shen Chou Ching stand out as especially important. All folk sayings today about plagues and epidemics, such as the belief that plagues are sent by heaven following inspection tours by intendants, developed during and since the Han and Chin dynasties. This belief, based on the Han theory of vapors (ch'i hua), holds that during an era of moral disorder heaven will punish the unrighteous by dispatching the Demon of Pestilence to poison the people. In early times then, the Ruler of Demons was none other than the Demon of Pestilence, whose mission was to lead lesser demons in spreading epidemics among humanity. The two texts under investigation advocate specific methods to get rid of an epidemic: belief in Taoism, the doing of good deeds, a vegetarian diet, and most importantly, a belief in the Taoist god San Mei T'ien Tsun. In the period from the beginning of the Six Dynasties to the T'ang Dynasty, The god San Mei T'ien Tsun wasn regarded as havins the abilitn to drive out the Demon of Pestilence and became an important god to be invoked in the ritual. In addition, we can see in various ceremonies the belief that correctly naming the demon of a particular epidemic may result in its' banishment. Consequently, numerous names for pestilential demons can be found. Following the recitation of the demon's name, the Taoist god San Mei T'ien Tsun will come to the aid of the petitioners and drive the evil demon away. From these points we can see that early Taoist beliefs about epidemics have circulated continuously to present times, and are the chief source for today's folk beliefs.