Northern Celestial Masters

The Northern Wei government embraced his form of Daoism and established it as the state religion, thereby creating a new Daoist theocracy that lasted until 450 CE.

Art produced in areas dominated by the Northern Celestial Masters also began to show Buddhist influence.

The Northern Celestial Masters survived as a distinct school at Louguan until the late 7th century CE, when they became integrated into the wider Daoist movement.

In 423, a messenger of Laozi came and offered Kou a new text called the Lutu Zhenjing (Perfect Scripture of Registers and Charts), which is now lost, and appointed him as the new Celestial Master.

[6] Kou's 'New Code' was promulgated throughout the realm, and a large altar was built near the capital where 120 Taoist practitioners performed rites and prayers daily.

Shortly after Kou's death, Cui had a national history of Wei dynasty containing unflattering portraits of its rulers carved in stone.

[9] By the late 470s, Taoists fleeing from the Northern Wei court had transformed Louguan into an important religious center.

At this time, the center's buildings were greatly expanded, and many Taoist scriptures were collected, including materials from the Lingbao and Shangqing schools.

[10] During the 7th century, the school had a prominent role in a series of debates that examined whether Buddhism or Taoism would be better suited to bring stability to the realm.

The second debate concerned Lu Zhongqing, a friend of Fu Yi, who wrote about Buddhism's inferiority to Taoism.

At the same time, Louguan also served as a refuge for Taoists fleeing the persecution of Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty to the south.

[11] The final Northern Celestial Master, Yin Wencao arrived at Louguan in 636 and later achieved the favor of the Gaozong Emperor.

After Yin's death in 688, Louguan remained an important place of Taoist learning, but ceased to be considered part of a distinct school.

There were also guidelines describing how banquets were to be set up, as well ritual instructions concerning funeral rites, immortality practice and petitions.

The text describes how an adept can make use of the Dao that is inherent in the world, outlines meditation techniques, and discusses the results of living a sagely life and what happens after death.

The iconography and contents of the inscriptions show that a close relationship between Daoism and Buddhism existed in the Northern Wei state.