Daoism encompasses a variety of talismans and seals, commonly seen as protective talismans or celestial master seals. As for their functions, they range from stabilizing relationships between individuals to summoning celestial deities for the protection of families and nations. Due to their uniqueness and mystique, talismans are considered one of the "Four Treasures of Daoist Priests." Talismans are shrouded in mystery, with most people only gaining superficial knowledge of them through movies and television shows. The common understanding involves drawing mysterious red symbols on yellow talisman paper. However, this is merely a superficial perception. So, what exactly are Daoist talismans?
A talisman is composed of two parts, "Fu" and "Lu."
"Fu" refers to the written symbols, which, according to Daoist beliefs, are formed from the "flow of essence in five colors" and have the power to "unify and control all spirits." The strength of talismans lies in their ability to communicate with deities. "Lu" simply records the names of celestial officials and their assistants. With the blessing of divine spirits, talismans become incredibly powerful.
The potency of talismans stems not only from the innate qi of the Daoist priests performing the rituals and their ability to connect with spirits through "qi linking with celestial truths" but also from the essence of the symbols themselves. The symbols on Daoist talismans appear mystical but have traceable origins. Their styles are evidently inherited from the decorative patterns on ancient bronze artifacts from the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. Among these patterns, the most common is the taotie pattern. The "taotie" was one of the four evil creatures during the times of Yao and Shun. Described in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas," it had the body of a sheep, the face of a human, eyes under its armpits, tiger teeth, and human hands. It was a fierce and voracious monster. Some modern food enthusiasts even call themselves "gourmands." However, the exact significance of the taotie pattern on bronze artifacts remains unclear. Some suggest it represents a mask, others a demonic creature, while some experts believe it symbolizes the worship of the North Star. All interpretations seem plausible. Due to its complexity, the taotie pattern cannot be simplified on talismans and is often represented as the character "ghost."
Many other bronze decorative patterns are also inherited in talismans. Cloud patterns, thunder patterns, dragon patterns, phoenix patterns, and others found on bronze artifacts are reflected in talismans as cloud seals, thunder texts, dragon insignias, phoenix texts, and so forth. Cloud seals are the primary script form used in Daoist talisman writing. Some Daoists claim that talismans originally utilized the power of clouds, celestial bodies, and other natural phenomena to communicate with spirits or perform functions such as exorcism and warding off evil.
In the Book of Changes (Yi Jing), it is said that clouds arise from dragons, and wind arises from tigers. Clouds have the characteristic of ascending, and ancient people even believed that dragons originated from clouds. The Huai Nan Zi also mentions that the yellow dragon corresponds to yellow clouds, the blue dragon to blue clouds, the red dragon to red clouds, the white dragon to white clouds, and the black dragon to black clouds. Clouds can ascend, so it is only natural for flying dragons to exist in the sky. In ancient times, when immortals achieved Dao and ascended to heaven, they either rode on clouds or controlled flying dragons. Using cloud seals to write talismanic script in talismans certainly leverages the ascending nature of clouds to facilitate communication between humans and spirits, and to obtain the assistance of celestial beings. The function of thunder texts, dragon insignias, and bird texts is largely similar. They all harness the symbolism of ascent to facilitate interaction between the practitioner and spirits. However, bird texts are somewhat unique. Ancient people also viewed bird symbols as a medium of communication between heaven and earth. Unlike cloud seals and dragon insignias, bird texts were primarily used to guide the soul to ascend to heaven. In ancient southern regions, there was a custom of using bird feathers in funerals. These birds were called "soul-guiding birds" and were typically large birds like phoenixes, phoenix birds, and swans. Scenes depicting soul-guiding birds, such as swans, guiding souls were depicted in silk paintings found in the Han tomb of Ma Wang Dui in the Western Han Dynasty.
Specifically, talismans have six major functions. Recorded in the "Seven Signets of the Cloudy Satchel" (Yunjiqiqian), talismans are said to have the following six major functions: dispelling evil and falsehood, assisting the true and authentic, summoning and gathering spirits, controlling and governing the populace, maintaining and preserving destiny, and securing and stabilizing the five directions. From these six aspects, it can be seen that Taoist talismans encompass a wide range of functions. In practice, Taoist priests use different talismans for different occasions. There are specific talismans tailored for particular situations, as well as general-purpose talismans with broad coverage. As for legends like the "Six Ding Six Jia Talisman," which is said to summon celestial beings to assist in defending the homeland, it is undoubtedly a product of unfounded speculation.
"How did talismans come about?
During the Republic of China era, the renowned sinologist Liu Shipei astutely pointed out in his "Preface to Weekend Academic History" that 'since the Qin and Han Dynasties, the teachings of the art of divination and numerology have intermingled with Confucianism and Daoism. Those who adopted Confucianism became practitioners of divination and astrology, while those who adopted Daoism became users of talismans.' This view is quite reasonable. However, talismans likely also incorporated many elements from primitive witchcraft. This is because Zhang Tianshi established the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice (Wudoumiao Dao) in Sichuan, absorbing many religious rituals from the southwestern witchcraft traditions. Therefore, the use of talismans also involves a complete set of exorcism and ritualistic dance procedures.
Talismans possess numerous functions, both major and minor, are shrouded in mystery, and their use is relatively straightforward. Thus, the benefits of talismanic practice are manifold."