Meng Zhizhou孟智周

Style & Daoist names

Xuanjing Fashi (Dharma Master Xuanjing), Meng Fashi (Dharma Master Meng)

Period

Liang

Dates

? — ?

School

Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) School

Role

Daoist ScholarsScriptural Master of the Lingbao School

Birthplace

Unknown

Life

Meng Zhizhou was a Daoist priest of the Liang in the Southern Dynasties, styled Master Xuanjing; his dates of birth and death are unknown. He wrote the Catalogue of the Scriptures of the Seven Sections of the Jade Weft, dividing Daoist scriptures into the Three Caverns and Four Supplements (Dongzhen, Dongxuan and Dongshen, together with Taixuan, Taiping, Taiqing and Zhengyi) in seven sections — a landmark work in the formation of the 'Three Caverns and Four Supplements' classification, which was adopted by successive editions of the Daoist Canon from the Tang and Song onward. He also wrote a Subcommentary on the Meaning of the Laozi and a Commentary on the Daodejing, among other works, whose views were frequently cited by Cheng Xuanying, Li Rong and others of the Tang, and he is regarded as one of the pioneers of Chongxuan learning. Together with Song Wenming, he was a representative figure of doctrinal learning in Liang-dynasty Daoism, and Tang Daoist texts often refer to the pair as 'Song and Meng.' Although his writings have been lost, the outline of his teachings can still be glimpsed through citations in works such as the Pivot of Meaning of the Daoist Teaching and the Yunji Qiqian, making him a figure impossible to bypass in the study of Southern Dynasties Daoist doctrinal learning.

Contributions & Influence

• Wrote the Catalogue of the Scriptures of the Seven Sections of the Jade Weft, establishing the classificatory system of the Three Caverns and Four Supplements
• Commented on the Laozi, a forerunner of Chongxuan learning

Works

• Catalogue of the Scriptures of the Seven Sections of the Jade Weft (lost)
• Laozi Yishu (Subcommentary on the Meaning of the Laozi, lost)