The Taoism fasting (chai) and offering (chiao) rites originated from the ancient Taoism practices, where people fasted their body and mind before rites to please the dead and the gods for the rites. The Taoism characteristic fasting and offering rites evolved from the concepts of fasting and offering in the ritual study of Confucian. In Taoism fasts, the Yellow Register fasts generate the most merits from salvaging the dead from purgatory. So, this paper offers a brief discussion on the significance of the Taoism fasts and the declaration of precepts through fasts.
The paper selects a “five-chao” (meaning five-day) Taoism salvation rite performed at a company located in Luzhu District, Kaohsiung City from August 5 through August 9, 2016 as a case. In the field survey, the author collected the manuscripts in the field, as well as related data during the rite, and sorted out and concluded the relation between the view of life and death and the concept of immortality in the salvation rite.
As the Yellow Register fasts can benefit the living and salvage the dead from purgatory, the sponsor of the salvation rite engages Taoist priests to host the rite and set up the altar to pray for the gods to descend and pledge for the dead. The Taoist priests would recite scriptures, repent the sins for the dead and proclaim the dead a Taoism believer. Relying on the might of the gods, the living is expected to receive blessing, the dead become immortal, and the living and the dead both gain peace.
Keywords: “Five-chao”, salvation from purgatory, rite, fast, view of life and death