Chinese religions of fasting

Sihuatang, a vegetarian temple (zhaitang 齋堂) in Tainan, Taiwan

The Chinese religions of fasting (simplified Chinese: 斋教; traditional Chinese: 齋教; pinyin: zhāijiāo; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chai-kàu) are a subgroup of the Chinese salvationist religions. Their name refers to the strict vegetarian fasting diet that believers follow. This subgroup originated as the Lǎoguān zhāijiào (老官齋教 "Venerable Officials' teaching of fasting") sect that departed from the eastern "Great Vehicle" proliferation of Luoism in the 16th century and adopted features of the White Lotus tradition.^[1]^[2]

The Chinese religions of fasting are the following three:^[3]^[4]

the Longhua sect (龍華教 "Dragon Flower");
the Jintong sect (金幢教 "Golden Flag"); and
the Xiantiandao (先天道 "Way of Former Heaven") tradition.

In the 1890s, a zhaijiao group assumed the functions of government in Gutian County, leading to the Kucheng Massacre.^[5]

^ Ma, Meng. 2011. p. 173-175
^ Seiwert (1992).
^ Clart, 1997. pp. 11-12
^ Ma, Meng. 2011. p. 174
^ Kimihiko Sato. "The Ku-t'ien Anti-missionary Incident (1895) : Vegetarian Sect, the shadow of Sino-Japanese War, and the conversion of the missionary diplomacy of the UK and U.S."

[1] Ma, Meng. 2011. p. 173-175

[FOOTNOTESeiwert1992-2] Seiwert (1992).

[3] Clart, 1997. pp. 11-12

[4] Ma, Meng. 2011. p. 174

[5] Kimihiko Sato. "The Ku-t'ien Anti-missionary Incident (1895) : Vegetarian Sect, the shadow of Sino-Japanese War, and the conversion of the missionary diplomacy of the UK and U.S."

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