The Reasons of the Secularization of the Taoism in Ming Dynasty

The secularization of the Taoism is an important religious transformation in the Ming Dynasty of China.On one hand,it resulted from the evolving tendency of Taoism itself,such as the change of the immortal belief,the popularization of the inner alchemy,and the absorption of the Confucian ethics; on the other hand,the transformation resulted from the advocation of the Ming government to the Taoism(especial the Orthodox Unity Taoism)for its positive influences on both society and moral.Meanwhile,the reformations of the Taoism itself,especially Zhang Yuchu's improvements to the norms and the thoughts of Taoism,promoted the adaption of Taoism to its secularizing trend.