Shengdao

Shengdao (圣道 "Holy Way" or "Way of the Hallows"), best known by its corporate name Tongshanshe () is a Confucian salvation sect part of the Xiantiandao ("Way of Former Heaven") lineage. Amongst the Way of Former Heaven sects, the Tongshanshe has been one of the most widespread and influential. Yanshengdao (言圣道 "Way of the Holy Word") is a branch of Shengdao. It was founded at the start of the 20th century by Peng Tairong (1873–1950), styled Ruzun, in Sichuan. The sect attracted the local gentry and in 1910 it was introduced to the Qing court. In 1917 the Tongshanshe was established in Beijing with the sponsorship of Duan Qirui (1865-1936) and general Cao Kun (1862–1938), later to become president of the Republic of China in 1923–24. The Ministry of the Interior supported the establishment of a Tongshanshe branch in every province, municipality and county of China. By the early 1920s, Shengdao had a national membership of over 1 million. In 1920 a second administrative centre, the "Unity Church" (合一会 Héyī Huì) was established in Hankou, which was to relieve the Beijing headquarters of some of its responsibilities. Tongshanshe's close alliance with reactionary political circles caused it to be viewed with some disfavour by the later republican government, and in 1927 it was proscribed. This only fitfully enforced prohibition did not lead to the sect's immediate demise, but it did put a stop to its previous phase of rapid expansion. It was effectively suppressed only after the communist rise to power in 1949. Today, Shengdao "halls of enlightenment" (佛堂 fótáng) remain operational in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Shengdao is still proscribed in the People's Republic of China, but nonetheless it is active as an underground church. After the loss of its mainland headquarters, there currently appears to be no central governing body that would embrace all Shengdao local churches. However, the situation is far from clear, as no extended study has been made of the sect's present state of affairs.