唐宋時期敦煌大眾的道教知識與思想 -- 以敦煌文獻為中心的研究=The Taoist Knowledge and Thought of Dunhuang People in the Tang and Song Dynasties——A Study Based on Dunhuang Documents
A study of the Taoist documents found in the Dunhuang Library Cave suggest that the people of Dunhuang during the Tang and Song dynasties were mainly concerned with four aspects of Taoism, the first being Taoist ceremonies, as Taoist methods and paraphernalia were widely used to pray for blessings and avoid disasters. The second are divination and alchemy, which greatly helped popularize various Taoist worldviews such as belief in Yin-Yang and the five elements, the idea that the natural running of the universe is consistent with the fortune of life, and the idea of order in the world determined by the above mentioned philosophies.These beliefs were very important to the people of Dunhuang: they guided people’s day to day life, became an indispensable part of the knowledge and ideological system of Dunhuang people, and greatly influenced the social life of Dunhuang at the time. The third aspect includes the disciplines and rules established by Taoism to differentiate " good" from " evil," which, due to the consistency of Taoism and traditional moral concepts,became a moral compass for Dunhuang people that naturally influenced social life at Dunhuang. Fourth and finally, Taoist ideas of "merits" and poetic justice, which originated from the Taoist idea that the disasters or blessings people will receive are determined by natural laws, had become a powerful faith that motivated people to accumulate merits and obtain blessings.
