Wang Zixi王仔昔

Style & Daoist names

Retired Scholar Chongyin, Master Tongmiao

Period

Northern Song

Dates

? — c. 1117

Role

Fangshi (Master of Methods)Court Daoists

Birthplace

Hongzhou (present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi)

Life

Wang Zixi, a fangshi during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, was a native of Hongzhou. Originally a Confucian scholar, he claimed to have "encountered Xu Xun and received the Great Cavern's hidden methods of the Seven Primes of Huoluo," enabling him to foresee the future. He was summoned to the capital during the Zhenghe era, granted the title "Recluse Scholar of Chongyin" and then "Master of Penetrating Marvels," and for a time his favor exceeded that of Wang Laozhi, with powerful officials vying to attach themselves to him. Later, because of his arrogance, his connections with palace eunuchs, and his involvement in palace affairs, he was pushed out by Lin Lingsu and others at the end of the Zhenghe era (around 1117), thrown into prison at Kaifeng, and died there. He, together with Wang Laozhi and Lin Lingsu, were successively favored Daoist priests in the early part of Huizong's reign; his story is recorded in the "Biographies of Fangji" in the History of Song, reflecting the state of rivalry for imperial favor among fangshi at Huizong's court. His execution is also recorded in Cai Tao's Miscellaneous Talks from Tiewei Mountain, which corroborates the History of Song.

Contributions & Influence

• One of the favored fangshi at the court of Huizong

Legends

His claim to have attained the Dao by encountering Xu Xun is his own self-report.