Zhang Zhijing张志敬

Style & Daoist names

courtesy name Yiqing, sobriquet Chengmingzi, Perfected Chengming

Period

Yuan

Dates

1220 — 1270

School

Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism

Role

Quanzhen Head of the Order

Birthplace

Anci (present-day Langfang, Hebei)

Places of activity

White Cloud Temple (Baiyun Guan), Beijing

Life

Zhang Zhijing, a native of Anci in Hebei, was the eighth-generation head of the Quanzhen order. He left home to become a priest in his childhood, studying under Li Zhichang. He succeeded to headship of the order after Li Zhichang's death in 1256, at a time when the conflict between Buddhism and Daoism was at its most intense; in 1258 he led the Daoist clergy in the great Kaiping Debate presided over by Kublai Khan, in which the Quanzhen side was defeated and forced to burn its scriptures and return temples to the Buddhists, dealing Quanzhen Daoism a severe blow. Thereafter he strictly observed the order's rules and worked to restore its strength, dying in 1270. Although Quanzhen Daoism was suppressed during Zhang Zhijing's headship, it retained its basic organization, preserving strength for its later revival. The surviving Stele of the Conduct of the Perfected Chengming records him as being of an "amiable and easygoing" character, skilled in managing relations with the court and the Buddhist clergy; his life spanned the turning point of Quanzhen Daoism from its height to its setbacks, making him an important figure for the study of early Yuan religious policy.

Contributions & Influence

• Preserved the Quanzhen order after the great Buddhist-Daoist debate
• Continued the succession of order heads after Li Zhichang
• Preserved the organizational basis for the Quanzhen revival under Qi Zhicheng that followed