Lou Jinyuan娄近垣

Style & Daoist names

courtesy name Langzhai, sobriquets Sanchen and Shangqing Waishi (Unofficial Historian of Shangqing), Perfected Miaozheng (Wondrous Rectitude)

Period

Qing

Dates

1689 — 1776

School

Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism

Role

Zhengyi Daoist priestcourt Daoist leaderRitual Master

Birthplace

Loujian, Songjiang (present-day Songjiang, Shanghai)

Places of activity

Mount Longhu (Dragon and Tiger Mountain), Dagaoxuan Hall (Hall of Imperial Longevity, Great High Mystery)

Life

Lou Jinyuan, a native of Songjiang in Shanghai, was the most eminent Zhengyi Daoist priest of the Qing dynasty. He entered the order at Longhushan while young, becoming ritual master under the fifty-fifth-generation Celestial Master Zhang Xilin. In the fifth year of the Yongzheng reign (1727) he accompanied the Celestial Master to the capital, and, having effectively performed a jiao rite to “expel a malign influence” on behalf of the Yongzheng Emperor, won his deep trust; he was granted the title “Perfected Miaozheng” and made fourth-rank Superintendent of Longhushan, presiding over Daoist affairs at the Daguangming Hall (also called Qin'an Hall) and concurrently overseeing the Zhengyi priests of the capital. Emperor Yongzheng praised him for having “penetrated Chan and awakened to the Dao,” and had his recorded sayings included in the Yuxuan Yulu (御选语录, Imperially Selected Recorded Sayings). He continued to be favored under the Qianlong reign, managing the Dagaoxuan Hall. He compiled the sixteen-scroll Gazetteer of Mount Longhu (in the fifth year of Qianlong) and the Huanglu Keyi (黄箓科仪, Ritual Protocols of the Yellow Register), and also wrote a Nanhua Jing Zhu (南华经注, Commentary on the Nanhua Scripture, i.e. the Zhuangzi), making him an important compiler of Zhengyi ritual texts and historical materials in the Qing. He died in 1776. Lou Jinyuan was the only Zhengyi Daoist priest of the Qing to win the deep favor of an emperor, and represents the highest standing achieved by Zhengyi Daoism at the Qing court.

Contributions & Influence

• Served as the leading court Daoist under the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors and was granted the title of Perfected Being
• Compiled the Gazetteer of Mount Longhu and the Ritual Protocols of the Yellow Register, organizing Zhengyi historical materials and ritual texts
• Presided over Daoist affairs at the Daguangming Hall and other court Daoist institutions in the capital

Works

• Gazetteer of Mount Longhu
• Yellow Register liturgy
• Commentary on the Zhuangzi (Nanhua jing)
• Recorded Sayings of the Perfected Miaozheng (included in the Imperially Selected Recorded Sayings)