Guiyidao

Guiyidao (皈依道, "Way of the Return to the One"), better known as Precosmic Salvationism (先天救教 Xiāntiān jiùjiào; or "Former Heaven Salvationism") in contemporary Taiwan, and historically also known by the name of its institutions as Daodeshe (道德社), Guiyi Daoyuan (皈依道院) or later Daoyuan (道院)—respectively "Community of the Way and its Virtue", "School of the Way of the Return to the One" or simply "School of the Way"—is a Chinese folk religious movement of salvation belonging to the Xiantiandao ("Way of Former Heaven") tradition. Similarly to other Xiantiandao sects, Guiyidao is focused on the worship of the universal God (Tian), which it defines as the Holiest Venerable Patriarch of the Primordial Heaven (Zhisheng Xiantian Laozu), as the source of salvation. Guiyidao is related to the Japanese Shinto sect of Oomoto (大本 "Great Source") and is a proscribed religion in the People's Republic of China, thereafter being active as an underground church. The charitable branch of Daoyuan is known as the Red Swastika Society (世界红卍字会 Hóngwànzìhuì). Guiyidao was founded in 1916 in the Pin County of Shandong as a fuji group. It was led by Liu Shoji (劉紹基). The following year the association moved to the provincial capital Jinan where it interacted with the Tongshanshe, another Xiantiandao sect. Adopting the organisation structure and meditation techniques of the Tongshanshe, the Guiyi Daoyuan was created in 1921. The association formally established itself in Beijing with the support of premier Xiong Xiling (1870-1937, premier in 1913-14) and the American Christian missionary Gilbert Reid, and between 1922 and 1928 it expanded throughout China. The Daoyuan also set up a nationwide charity organisation, the Red Swastika Society (世界红卍字会 Hóngwànzìhuì), which was China's largest relief organisation during the Sino-Japanese War. The Daoyuan had a separate organisational structure managed by and for women, which oversaw their religious activity, education and child care, both affirming traditional virtues and valorising women's public service.