Yin Zhiping尹志平

Style & Daoist names

courtesy name Dahe, sobriquet Qinghezi, Perfected Qinghe of the Wondrous Dao and Broad Transformation

Period

Jin–Yuan

Dates

1169 — 1251

School

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

Role

Quanzhen Head of the OrderInternal Alchemy Masters

Birthplace

Cangzhou (according to one account, Laizhou)

Places of activity

White Cloud Temple (Baiyun Guan), Beijing, Yongle Palace (Palace of Eternal Joy)

Life

Yin Zhiping, the sixth head of the Quanzhen teaching, renounced the household at fourteen and studied successively under the Perfected Ma Yu, Liu Chuxuan, Qiu Chuji, Hao Datong, and Wang Chuyi, ultimately becoming a senior disciple of Qiu Chuji; in 1220 he accompanied Qiu Chuji on the journey west to meet Genghis Khan. After Qiu Chuji's death in 1227 he succeeded as head of the teaching, presiding over Changchun Palace in Yanjing and administering Quanzhen affairs for more than a decade, during which Quanzhen Daoism's influence reached its height. He vigorously expanded the network of temples, building Chongyang Palace and Chunyang Palace (Yongle Palace), and oversaw the restoration of various temples in Guanzhong; he retired in 1238, passing the leadership to Li Zhichang. Yin Zhiping's teaching style was strict, advocating winning others over through virtue and emphasizing the precepts; he opposed disciples using the school's power to encroach upon Buddhist temples. His sayings are collected in the Qinghe Zhenren Beiyou Yulu. In his later years he retired to Mount Wuhua and died at Changchun Palace in 1251.

Contributions & Influence

• Succeeded Qiu Chuji as head of the teaching, consolidating Quanzhen's position in the early Yuan
• Built major temples such as Chongyang Palace and Yongle Palace
• Emphasized the precepts and humility; his recorded sayings are an important text on Quanzhen cultivation of mind and nature

Works

• Collection of Preserved Light
• Recorded Sayings of the Perfected Qinghe on the Northern Journey (compiled by disciples)