108
JULIAN F. PAS
This "Sounding of the Bell and Chime" provides a stronger parallel with the Christian Easter celebration. In its present form40 its significance is purely Taoist: the bell signifies the powers of yang and the precious stone the powers of yin; their sounding together symbolizes the union of yin and yang in their cosmic interaction and creative productivity. Still, the instruments as such do not necessarily have an intrinsic symbolical value, their striking can also easily be seen as an expression of joy.
Therefore the inner or phenomenological significance of the three Taoist rituals as they are now performed in succession cannot be clearly understood. Each separately has been invested with Taoist meaning but their linking together is problematic. Seen in the light of the Christian Easter celebration, their meaning becomes transparent and naturally raises the question of the possibility of historical influence.
4. Hypothesis and Conclusion
The occurrence of new light symbolism in many different religious traditions, of which only two have been discussed, may lead to a double conclusion: first, the ritual itself, in its primordial significance, i.e., the celebration of the life-giving force of the sun, returning to a victorious course at the spring equinox, must be seen as an archetype, and can thus be fully explained as an independent phenomenon in each major tradition. This first conclusion, however, does not preclude the possibility of real influence as well, and this is a second conclusion: the hypothesis of a historical Christian influence on the Taoist fen-teng ceremony.
It is generally recognized that Chinese religion is eclectic or syncretistic in nature and various examples have been cited to illustrate this view. When it comes to pinpoint concrete cases of influence, it often happens that these examples are rather vague and not specific enough. One reason is that historic influences are usually not directly mentioned in the literature and that the specific points of contact are so well assimilated by the borrowing party, that all visible traces practically disappear. In other cases, however, there is enough visible evidence to point out specific influences. Many Taoist writings could be cited as examples of direct borrowings from the Buddhist literature: not only in terminology but also in particular concepts.41
108
JULIAN F. PAS
This "Sounding of the Bell and Chime" provides a stronger parallel with the Christian Easter celebration. In its present form40 its significance is purely Taoist: the bell signifies the powers of yang and the precious stone the powers of yin; their sounding together symbolizes the union of yin and yang in their cosmic interaction and creative productivity. Still, the instruments as such do not necessarily have an intrinsic symbolical value, their striking can also easily be seen as an expression of joy.
Therefore the inner or phenomenological significance of the three Taoist rituals as they are now performed in succession cannot be clearly understood. Each separately has been invested with Taoist meaning but their linking together is problematic. Seen in the light of the Christian Easter celebration, their meaning becomes tran- sparent and naturally raises the question of the possibility of his- torical influence.
4. Hypothesis and Conclusion
The occurrence of new light symbolism in many different re- ligious traditions, of which only two have here been discussed, may lead to a double conclusion: first, the ritual itself, in its primordial significance, i.e., the celebration of the life-giving force of the sun, returning to a victorious course at the spring equinox, must be seen as an archetype, and can thus be fully explained as an independent phenomenon in each major tradition. This first conclusion, how- ever, does not preclude the possibility of real influence as well, and this is a second conclusion: the hypothesis of a historical Christian influence on the Taoist fen-teng ceremony.
It is generally recognized that Chinese religion is eclectic or syncretistic in nature and various examples have been cited to illus- trate this view. When it comes to pinpoint concrete cases of in- fluence, it often happens that these examples are rather vague and not specific enough. One reason is that historic influences are usually not directly mentioned in the literature and that the specific points of contact are so well assimilated by the borrowing party, that all visible traces practically disappear. In other cases, however, there is enough visible evidence to point out specific influences. Many Taoist writings could be cited as examples of direct borrow- ings from the Buddhist literature: not only in terminology but also in particular concepts.41
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