The sects of practicing Taoists that perform thunder rituals began to appear in considerable numbers during the Song Dynasty and the theory of the thunder ritual also matured during this period. Many marshal deities were born as part of the thunder ritual. This study focuses on the Qinwei sect, one of the thunder ritual sects, and discuss the foundation myth concerning the studies on marshal deities. The study on the foundation myth would be comparative, using literary sources such as the Qingwei Xianpu (“Register of Pure Tenuity Transcendents) and the Lishi zhengxian tidao tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror of Perfected Immortals and Those Who Embodied the Dao through the Ages) for cross-reference. The comparative study found that the foundation myth of the Qingwei sect is a Taoist biographic synthesis of history and myth.
As the Qingwei sect is an amalgamation of many Taoist branches, the marshal deities summoned represent a complicated web of different contextual “sub-sects.” Some more accustomed to summon the Go and Bi Prime Marshals of the Divine Fire First Rank, while others focus on the spirit-generals of Yue Fung, and the great spirit Mulang. The focus of this paper is on the prime-marshals Go and Bi, Marshal Diqiwen, and great spirit Mulang.
Yuanshi yiqi (The first breath of the Original Commencement) is a critical part of the summoning of the marshal deities. In particular, the concept of the qi is theoretically grounded in the Jindan Nanzong (Southern Branch of the Golden Elixir), which incorporated the tiyong lun (Theory of Essence and Function) of the Song Dynasty and emphasized the concept of daoti fayong (the right practice of the body of the Dao), the equivalent of xin jidao, dao jixin (the heart is the Tao, and the Tao is the heart). Also, the sect recognized that only sincerity and righteous intent could bring about the unity of heaven and man, attaining the state of yuanshi jiwo, woji yuanshi (the origin is I, and I am the origin). This paper also touches upon the characteristics of inner refinement of the marshal deities of the Qinwei sect.