Tiandi teachings

Group of Chinese salvationist sects

Tiandiism
Heavenly Deity religions
天帝教 Tiāndìjiào

Both churches use, as their symbol, variations of the ancient Tian 天 character to resemble a human figure and a flame.

Type| Chinese salvationist religion
Distinct fellowships| ① Holy Church of the Heavenly Virtue (天德聖教)
② Lord of Universe Church (天帝教)
Founder| Xiao Changming (1900s)
Li Yujie (1978)
Origin| 20th century
Anhui, Taiwan
Members| 2005, combined membership in Taiwan: 500.000 (2.2%)
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Chinese folk religion

Concepts

* Tian—Shangdi

* Qi
* Shen

* Ling
* Xian ling

* Yinyang
* Hundun

* Mingyun
* Yuanfen

* Baoying
* Wu

Theory

* Chinese theology

* Chinese gods and immortals

* Chinese mythology

* Chinese astrology

* Chinese zodiac

* Chinese creation myth

* Chinese spiritual world concepts

Model humanity:

* Xian
* Zhenren

* Wen and wu

Practices

* Fenxiang
* Jingxiang

* Feng shui
* Miaohui

* Wu shamanism

* Jitong mediumship

* Precious scrolls

Institutions and temples

* Associations of good-doing

* Lineage associations or churches

* Chinese temple
* Ancestral shrine

* Chinese Folk Temples' Association

Festivals

* Qingming
* Zhongyuan
* Zhongqiu
* Jiuhuangye
* Qixi
* Duanwu
* Nian

Internal traditions

Major cultural forms

* Chinese ancestral religion

* Chinese communal deity religion

* Chinese food therapy

* Chinese geomancy

* Chinese mother goddess worship

* Northeast China folk religion

* Traditional Chinese medicine

* Qigong

Main philosophical traditions:

* Confucianism (state rites)
* Taoism

* Other schools (Mohism)

Ritual traditions:

* Folk ritual masters' orders

* Jitong mediumship

* Nuo folk religion

* Chinese shamanism

Devotional traditions:

* Mazuism

* Ong Yah worship

Zhenkong, "Void of Truth".

Salvation churches and sects:

* De teaching
* Jiugongdao

* Luo teaching
* Maitreya teachings

* Tiandi teachings
* Tianxian miaodao

* Xia teaching
* Xiantiandao

* Yiguandao
* Zaili teaching

Confucian churches and sects:

* Holy Confucian Church

* Indonesian Confucian Church

* Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue

* Phoenix churches
* Xuanyuanism

* Taigu school

Related religions and movements

* Benzhuism
* Bimoism

* Bon
* Dongbaism

* Han Buddhism

* Miao folk religion

* Vietnamese folk religion

* Qiang folk religion

* Yao folk religion

* Zhuang folk religion

* House church (China)

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Tiandiism[a] is a group of Chinese salvationist sects, namely the Holy Church of the Heavenly Virtue[b] and the Lord of Universe Church,[c] which emerged respectively from the teachings of Xiao Changming and Li Yujie, disseminated in the early 20th century.[1] The Lord of Universe Church is actually a later development of the former, established in the 1980s.[1]

These religions focus on the worship of the "Heavenly Deity" or "Heavenly Emperor" (Tiāndì 天帝),[1] on health through the proper cultivation of qi,[1] and teach a style of qigong named Tianren qigong.[2] According to scholars, the doctrines of Li Yujie are traceable to the Taoist tradition of Huashan,[3] where he studied for eight years.[4] The Lord of Universe Church is active both in Taiwan and mainland China, where it has high-level links.[1]

## Tiandiist bodies

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### Holy Church of the Heavenly Virtue

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The origins of the Holy Church of the Heavenly Virtue (天德聖教 Tiāndé shèngjiào) go back to Sichuan in 1899, with the alleged resurrection of a young boy named Xiao Changming (蕭昌明, 1896-1943) who had apparently died three days earlier. After his revival, he declared that he had received Heaven's mandate (tianming) to save humanity from suffering. He embarked on a successful religious career and attracted a large following.

In 1937 he established his headquarters on Mount Huang in southern Anhui province where he died in 1943. Like other sects, Xiao Changming's movement was suppressed in China after 1949, but survives in Taiwan and Hong Kong. In Taiwan, one of Xiao's disciples, Li Yujie, eventually decided to walk his own path and founded a new group called the Lord of Universe Church in 1978, which diverges doctrinally in several aspects from the mother group, yet also sees itself in the tradition of Xiao Changming's teachings.

Currently, there exist two regional organizations for this religion. Its Hong Kong headquarters is located at Castle Peak in the New Territories. In Taiwan the religion's situation is characterized by disunity, with several separate organizations claiming to continue original Xiao's teachings.

### Lord of Universe Church

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Tiandi church under construction in Miaoli County, Taiwan.

The Lord of Universe Church (天帝教 Tiāndì jiāo) is based in Taiwan and is devoted to the Tiandiist beliefs as proclaimed by Li Yujie. It is an offshoot of the Holy Church of the Heavenly Virtue and it emphasizes chanting, traditional medicine, and a form of meditation which it calls "quiet sitting" in English.

Li Yujie (1901–1994) was born in Suzhou. He worked in the Kuomintang but left in 1958 to ensure political independence for his fledgling newspaper. In 1980 he claimed he was given permission by God to retransmit the message of the Heavenly Deity, which emphasize nuclear disarmament and Chinese unification. His book, The Ultimate Realm, was translated into Japanese and English under his guidance.[5]

## See also

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* Tian
* Xiantiandao
* Chinese folk religion
* Taoism
* Confucianism

## Bibliography

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* "An introduction to the Lord of Universe Church". eRenlai. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
* Palmer, D. A. (2011). "Chinese Redemptive Societies and Salvationist Religion: Historical Phenomenon or Sociological Category?" (PDF). Journal of Chinese Ritual, Theatre and Folklore. 172: 21–72. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
* Vermander, Benoit (1999). "Christianity and the Taiwanese Religious Landscape" (PDF). The Way. 39. London Society of Jesus: 129–139. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
* Micollier, Evelyne (1998). "Realignments in Religion and Health Practices: An Approach to the "New Religions" in Taiwanese Society". China Perspectives. 16: 34–40.
* Ju, Keyi; Lu, Xianlong (2014). "Tiandi jiao: The Daoist Connection". Journal of Daoist Studies. 7.
* Ownby, David (2020). "Text and Context: A Tale of Two Masters". In Clart, Philip; Ownby, David; Wang, Chien-chuan (eds.). Text and Context in the Modern History of Chinese Religions: Redemptive Societies and Their Sacred Texts. Leiden: Brill. pp. 173–216.

## Footnotes

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1. ^ Religion of the "Heavenly Deity" or "Universal Lord" (Tiāndì 天帝)
2. ^ 天德聖教 Tiāndé shèngjiào
3. ^ 天帝教 Tiāndì jiāo

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e Vermander, 1999.
2. ^ Micollier, 1998.
3. ^ Ju Keyi, Lu Xianlong. 2014. p. 195
4. ^ Palmer, 2011. p. 27
5. ^ Ownby, 2020.

## External links

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Tiande Church

* Holy Church of the Heavenly Virtue
* Holy Church of the Heavenly Virtue Report

Tiandi Church

* Li Yujie's Heavenly Deity teachings
* Lord of Universe Church
* Taiwan's Lord of Universe Church
* "Tenteikyo" - Japan's Lord of Universe Church

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