T’ien-shih Chin., lit. “celestial master” ; title borne by all Taoist masters who were genealogical descendants of Chang Tao-ling. The t’ien shih were the leaders of Five-Pecks-of-Rice Taoism (wu-tou-mi tao) and its successor, the School of Right Unity (cheng-i tao).
The title celestial master has been passed on within the Chang family to this day. Up to the time of the Communist takeover the t’ien-shih lived on Lung-hu-shan in Kiangsi Province; the present holder of the title lives in Taiwan.
Western scholars often wrongly translate t’ien-shih as “Taoist pope.” From its very beginnings, religious Taoism (tao-chiao) did not recognize a central authority in charge of all schools and factions. Instead, each monastery or congregation had its own hierarchical structure. In some cases, several monasteries (kuan) were ruled by the leader of the school to which they belonged, but in most cases the abbot, i.e., the tao-shih, held the highest position in the hierarchy. The authority of a t’ien-shih was formal rather than factual. He issued two types of diplomas, which he awarded to tao-shih in recognition of their office. Thereafter, these tao-shih were able to settle with their families in a place of their choice and there performed their spiritual functions, which mainly consisted of casting out demons and warding off evil spirits.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
T’ien-shih documents
Books on T’ien-shih
External links