Canon Made and Canon Revealed: An interpretation of Luo Qing’s 羅清Wubu liuce五部六冊

Abstract

Baojuan 寶卷 produced by religious sects in Ming-Qing China stand prominently in the history of Chinese religion, but how to evaluate them still remains a moot point among scholars of Chinese scriptural studies. Deriving insights from recent discussions of scripture and syncretism and taking Luo Qing 羅清, the founder of Luojiao 羅教, and his Wubu liuce 五部六冊 as an example, this paper argues that the sect founder’s creative agency is key and cannot be ignored while dealing with baojuan. His personal encounters, including his painstaking search for the truth and mystical experience, usually constitute an inalienable part of the canon. Further, the cultural context of Ming-Qing China, characterized by the amalgamation of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, provides rich sources from which to make a syncretic canon. The paper points out that baojuan are not merely a hodgepodge of confusing texts. Rather, they represent a meaningful symbolic order and serve the sect followers as spiritual guidelines. In this light, the sect leader’s intention to select different scriptural passages, his interpretation of them, and how he reconciles them into a coherent whole are crucial to our understanding of the sectarian syncretic scriptures.