Due to the complexity of the origin of the Taoist thoughts, and the different utilizations by the rulers, insurrectionists, and common people of different dynasties, and as can be witnessed by people wanting to learn Chinese in China, there are quite a number of Taoist sects, reaching into every corners of the society.
There are mainly two Taoist sects during the Later Han Dynasty to be introduced to those who need to study Chinese in China, namely, the Magic Incantation School and the Golden Elixir School.
It is interesting for friends who’d like to study Mandarin in China to find that the magic incantation school is a significant sect in the early Taoist school, which includes the influential Taoist sect of Great Peace, the Taoism of Five Pecks of Rice in the late period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, both of which were the successors of Huang Lao School and Taoism in the early Han Dynasty.
It must be made clear for foreign students expecting to study Mandarin in China that The Magic Incantation School, just as its name implies, means using the magic incantations as its main forms of preaching and sermons, the incantation refers to “xiang he”, which was used to be the proof of the ancient emperors when giving commands, commission generals and dispatch troops.
And with the “fu” in hand, it is symbol of possessing power and authority, it is commonly believed by the Taoists that the divinities all possess their own “fu”, and the Taoists had obtained the authorization of the jinnee, thus are endowed with the supernatural abilities of driven away evil spirits. And after starting to learn Chinese in China, you can be provided with a large variety of topics of that kind.
There magic incantation, as have had been expected by people who’d like to study Chinese in China , are usually written with cinnabar stick or Chinese ink brushes, which contains the mysterious motifs of pictures, characters, dots and lines.
The functions of “fulu” are worthy to be explored by scholars who are eager to study Mandarin in China：The magic incantations can be used to disperse evil spirits and call in the auspicious ones, as well as in curing diseases and evading disasters; the “lu” refers to a type of theosophical symbols.
It can be noticed by friends who’d been to learn Chinese in China that the writings and principle functions of “fu” and “lu” are mainly concordant; therefore, the later disciples of Taoism had started to unite the two ones, which are collectively referred to as “fulu”(magic incantations).
Foreign friends who needs to study Chinese in China would discover that there are two important representatives of the Magic Incantation School, namely, the Taoist sect of Great Peace and the Taoism of Five Pecks of Rice. The Taoism of Great Peace got the name due to their adherence to the Cannons of Great Peace. The political turmoil of the later Han Dynasty had lead to the social instabilities, and the common people were unsatisfied with the unequal reality of the society. Zhang Jue is a figure to be noticed by readers wanting to study Mandarin in China, who had mobilized the common people with the utilizations of the preaching of equality of the book the Cannons of Great Peace, and had successfully mobilized and organized the Yellow Turbans Uprisings on a grand and spectacular scale through the proclamations of the diseases-curing function of the magic incantation.
Readers who’d like to learn Chinese in China would interestingly discover that the magic incantations had becomes a trust-worthy and effective means of mobilizing the masses, the Taoist sect of Five Pecks of Rive was established by Zhang Daoling, the approaches taken by this school was also for the curing of diseases for people through the means of magic incantations, the difference lies in that the patients pays with five pecks of rice.
The Taoist sect of Five Pecks of Rice ruled according to the unification of the state and the church, had established its own parishes, the leader can carry out administration of residential registrations as well as the levying of the taxes and properties, just resembles the functions of the government.
Foreign students expecting to study Chinese in China would be wondering about the another important Taoist sect during this period of time, well, it is the Golden Elixir School, which had adopted the means of golden elixirs as the principle method of preaching the religion, Ge Hong is not only a famous Taoist theoretician in Eastern-Jin Dynasty, but also a founder of Golden Elixir School of Chinese Taoism, actually, the theoretical basis of this school was from the historical Chinese ancient tradition of witch doctors.