西汉时期的道教——黄老道再考

Taoism in the Western Han Dynasty ——Rethinking Huang-Lao

在中国古代,祭祀神灵是每一个王朝的头等大事。道教与国家祀典关系紧密,表现在一是主神"太一"敬祀相同;二是道教徒参与了国家祀典,而且是主力。西汉时期数以千、万计的道士(方士),分布到国家、社会生活的各个方面,有不少人还有很大的影响。小的掌管各种祠庙,大的为官、封侯,他们各有所长的方术。这些道士属于哪一个道派,是一个可以探讨的问题。初步分析来看,大多属于早期道教的黄老道派。西汉时期,道教还有了自己的经典,内容异常丰富,只是除开《包元太平经》有点影子之外,几乎全部亡佚了,也可以说是淘汰了。或者刘安的某些秘籍还会找到一些蛛丝马迹,其实《淮南子内篇》本身也是道教经典。道教与当时的丧葬制度和习俗是有密切关系的,其神话内容,在汉代及其以后的丧葬壁画或画像石中有同样的表现。这种文化现象,理当是宗教文化。具体内容,联系当时道教发展的状况分析,可以梳理出西汉时期道教发展和影响的一些证据。

In the Western Han Dynasty, Taoism was closely related to the sacrificial ceremony of the state. The state sacrificial ceremony mainly offered sacrifices to the "Tai Yi", which was also the main god of Huang-Lao, the main Taoist sect of the time. Besides, Taoists participated in and were the main members of the state sacrificial ceremony. Due to the need to worship gods and immortals,many temples and shrines were built in the Western Han Dynasty,and more and more Taoists claimed to be able to communicate with the gods. Additionally most of the Taoists belonged to the Huang-Lao sect. The Taoist scriptures of this period were characterized by rich content and sources. The funeral rites then also reflected the characteristics of Taoism. It can be proved that Taoism has already existed in the Western Han Dynasty and Huang-Lao sect was the main sect.