Heidelberg Asian Studies Publishing

As the most significant religious event in Heijing, the so-called “town of salt” of Yunnan Province, the plague expulsion festival known as “festival for peace” (Taipinghui) was held by the Dongjing (Grotto Scripture) Assembly. Members of the assembly were not only local ritual experts but also cultural and political elites. They identified the assembly as a Confucian institution, although the origin of its teaching can be traced back to a Daoist cult of Wenchang (God of Literature).Based on fieldwork conducted in 2018, this paper presents the first detailed description of the festival. One of the liturgies indicates that the festival initially emerged in response to a concrete and immediate crisis caused by war and illness, and gradually evolved into a preventative measure to avoid plagues and disasters. The concept of some rites, such as “sending off the dragon boat” (song longchuan), which has a long tradition in China strongly resembles the Daoist exorcistic rituals.The festival contains not only exorcistic rites but also the veneration of Laozi and the recitation of the Scripture of the Jade Sovereign (Yuhuang jing). Focusing in particular on this text, which is a modified version of the Daoist scripture, this paper also shows how the Dongjing Assembly tried to build a new system for religious life in the local society, adapting to the cultural diversity of the region. The ultimate goal was to achieve social solidarity and stability according to its Confucian Ideology.