Mount Ararat focus of the searches for Noah's Ark. Augustin Calmet wrote in his 1722 biblical dictionary, "It is affirmed, but without proof, that there are still remains of Noah's ark on the top of this mountain; but M. de Tournefort, who visited this spot, has assured us there was nothing like it; that the top of mount Ararat is inaccessible, both by reason of its great height, and of the snow which perpetually covers it." Archaeological expeditions, sometimes supported by evangelical and millenarian churches, have been conducted since the 19th century in search of the ark. According to a 1974 book
Way of the Gods according to the Confucian Tradition same years, under the influence of the medium Yang Mingji, phoenix halls in northern Taiwan began to unify under the name "Way of the Gods according to the Confucian Tradition" (儒宗神教 "Rúzōng Shénjiào") and the liturgical manual "Rúmén kēfàn" (儒门科范 "Liturgical Regulations of the Confucian Way") published in 1937. Effective unification came after the retrocession of Taiwan in 1945; the "Republic of China Assembly of the Way of the Gods according to the Confucian Tradition" (中华民国儒宗神教会 "Zhōnghuá Mínguó Rúzōng Shénjiào Huì") was created in 1978 incorporating over five hundred phoenix halls. A new ritual book, the "Sacred Code of the