Fu Yuantian傅圆天

Style & Daoist names

Daoist name Yuantian

Period

Modern

Dates

1925 — 1997

School

Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism, Longmen (Dragon Gate) Lineage of Quanzhen

Role

President of the China Taoist AssociationAbbot of Mount Qingcheng

Birthplace

Jianyang (present-day Jianyang, Sichuan)

Places of activity

Mount Qingcheng

Life

Fu Yuantian, a native of Jianyang, Sichuan, was a Daoist of the Quanzhen Longmen lineage and abbot of the Changdao Temple (Tianshi Cave) on Mount Qingcheng. He entered the priesthood as a youth, went to Mount Qingcheng in 1955, and studied under Yi Xinying; after the Cultural Revolution he presided over the revival of Daoism on Mount Qingcheng, becoming chairman of the Qingcheng Mountain Daoist Association in 1980 and restoring the Tianshi Cave, the Shangqing Palace, and other temples; he was elevated to abbot of the Changdao Temple in 1985, and served as ordination master at the ordination ceremony held on Mount Qingcheng in 1995. In 1992 he was elected president of the fifth session of the Chinese Taoist Association, and died on Mount Qingcheng in 1997. He was the leader of Daoism in the period of its revival after reform and opening-up, succeeding Li Yuhang, and was also the central figure in the revival of Daoism in Sichuan.

Contributions & Influence

• Presided over the revival of Daoism and the restoration of temples on Mount Qingcheng
• Served as president of the Chinese Taoist Association, taking part in the resumption of ordinations
• Presided over the 1995 ordination on Mount Qingcheng as ordination master