Min Zhiting闵智亭

Style & Daoist names

Daoist name Zhiting, styled Yuxi Daoren

Period

Modern

Dates

1924 — 2004

School

Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism, Huashan Lineage of Quanzhen

Role

President of the China Taoist AssociationDaoist ScholarsCalligrapher and Painter

Birthplace

Nanzhao (present-day Nanzhao, Henan)

Places of activity

Mount Hua (Huashan), White Cloud Temple (Baiyun Guan), Beijing, Eight Immortals Palace, Xi'an

Life

Min Zhiting, a native of Nanzhao, Henan, was a Daoist of the Quanzhen Huashan lineage. In 1941 he entered the priesthood at Mount Hua, studying under Liu Lixian, and later traveled to study at Wudang, Nanyue, Qingcheng, and other mountains, engaging in liturgical chanting and painting and calligraphy. After 1949 he returned to lay life for a time, and returned to the clergy in the 1980s, holding posts with the Shaanxi Provincial Daoist Association and the Eight Immortals Palace in Xi'an, among others; in 1992 he became vice-president of the Chinese Taoist Association, and in 1998 was elected president of its sixth session, concurrently serving as president of the China Taoist College, until his death in 2004. Widely learned, skilled in painting, calligraphy, and ritual protocol, he wrote works such as Daojiao Yifan (Norms of Daoist Ritual), Quanzhen Zhengyun (Correct Tunes of Quanzhen), Daojiao Quanzhenpai Jianjie (Introduction to the Quanzhen School of Daoism), and Yuxi Daoren Shiwenji (Collected Poems and Prose of the Daoist of Yuxi); he was an important figure in the modern organization of Quanzhen ritual protocol and doctrine, and served as a bridge between the Daoist community and the scholarly world.

Contributions & Influence

• Wrote Daojiao Yifan, organizing Quanzhen ritual protocol and institutional regulations
• Served as president of the Chinese Taoist Association and president of the China Taoist College, promoting Daoist education
• Propagated the Dao through painting, calligraphy, and poetry

Works

• Daojiao yifan (道教仪范, Standards of Daoist Ritual)
• Quanzhen zhengyun puji (全真正韵谱辑, Compiled Scores of the Correct Rhymes of Quanzhen)
• Daojiao quanzhenpai jianjie (道教全真派简介, A Brief Introduction to the Quanzhen School of Daoism)
• Yuxi daoren shiwenji (玉溪道人诗文集, Collected Poems and Essays of Yuxi Daoren)