In defense of the city and the polity: The Xuanmiao monastery and the qing anti-taiping campaigns in mid-nineteenth century nanyang

This paper examines the role played by the Quanzhen Daoist Xuanmiao monastery in the defense of Nanyang (Henan) during the Taiping rebellion. It shows that Daoist loyalty to the Qing state and to the local community did not just stem from the abbot's personal hatred of the Taiping; it also mirrored the monastery's established pattern of collaboration with the imperial state since the early Qing and its long history of ritual service to and economic involvement in the local community. Because of its wealth and cultural and political influence the Xuanmiao monastery functioned as a vital and dynamic actor in shaping the history and society of late nineteenth-century Nanyang.