Way of the Gods according to the Confucian Tradition

[2] The aim of the phoenix halls is to honour the gods through Confucian orthopraxy (rú 儒 style),[5][6][7] spreading morality through public lectures and divinely-inspired books (善书 shànshū).

[10] This is worked on in a long process of "cultivating the Way" (Tao), that is the right mode of living through the basic virtues of benevolence (ren), righteousness (yi), propriety (li), and filial piety (xiao).

[10] Realising the virtues one reaches the state of continuous sincerity (cheng) and peace and purity of mind (jing), proceeding successfully in the cultivation of one's inner numinous nature (lingxing).

[8] Phoenix halls are a variant of two types of religious organisations, patronised by local intellectual elites, that flourished in mainland China since the 19th century, in a period of profound social, political and cultural change: Taoist god-writing (fuji) cults usually focused upon a particular immortal, and salvationist charitable societies.

[14] Effective unification came after the retrocession of Taiwan in 1945; the "Republic of China Assembly of the Way of the Gods according to the Confucian Tradition" (中华民国儒宗神教会 Zhōnghuá Mínguó Rúzōng Shénjiào Huì) was created in 1978 incorporating over five hundred phoenix halls.

[17] The book The Mysterious Meaning of the Way of Heaven (天道奥义 Tiāndào àoyì), published in the 1980s by the Wumiao Mingzheng Tang, incorporates Wusheng Laomu, the central concept of Yiguandao and broader Chinese Maternism.