Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 8 (Chinese and Japanese).djvu/51

Rh them in reverence with its own name, Yüan, in the same way as T'ai Tsung had connected himself with Lao Tzŭ on account of having a common surname. This forced connection in two instances between reigning houses and Lao Tzŭ — the T'ang through identity of surname and the Yuan through similarity between its dynastic name and the canonical name bestowed upon Lao Tzŭ — had profound influence upon the success of Taoism as a religion among the people. During the time of the first Yüan Emperor, Genghis Khan, a noted recluse, Ch'iu Ch'u-chi (Ch'iu Ch'ang Ch'un), was sought out in his retreat on the Snowy Mountain (Hsüeh Shan), and from him the Emperor learned of the doctrines of Taoism. It is in honour of this man that on the nineteenth day of the first moon it is customary for residents of Peking to make pilgrimages to the Po Yün Kuan, a famous Taoist temple outside the Hsi Pien Mên. The popular name for this pilgrimage is Yen Chiu. This temple was the Ch'ang Ch'un palace during the Yüan dynasty and was presented by the Emperor Genghis Khan to Ch'iu Ch'u-chi. Tradition has it that Genghis Khan wished to betroth his daughter to Ch'iu, and that Ch'iu, fearing possible consequences of such a marriage, decided on the nineteenth day of the first moon to avoid any marriage by becoming an ascetic. It is in honour of Ch'iu's decision that this yearly pilgrimage is made. This popular account must, however, be set aside in view of the fact that the day celebrated was in reality the birthday of Ch'iu Ch'u-chi. During the reign of the Yüan Emperor, T'ien Li, 1329-1332, the great statesman and scholar, Chao Mêng-fu, wrote the inscription for an immense stone tablet bestowed by this Emperor upon the Tung Yo temple outside the Ch'ao Yang Mên which had been built under the Imperial patronage of one of his predecessors. This tablet remains in a good state of preservation in this large temple, and its inscription is one of the most interesting as well as authoritative expositions of Taoism available to students. In this inscription Taoism is