Zhao Yizhen赵宜真

Style & Daoist names

Style name Yuanyang, Styled Yuanyang Zi, Perfected Yuanyang Who Honours Culture, Broadens the Dao and Embodies Pure Virtue (title granted by the Ming)

Period

Late Yuan–Early Ming

Dates

? — 1382

School

Qingwei (Pure Tenuity) School, Jingming (Pure and Bright) Daoism, Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism

Role

Patriarch of the Qingwei SchoolTransmitter of Jingming DaoismInternal Alchemy Masters

Birthplace

Anfu (present-day Anfu, Jiangxi)

Places of activity

Wanshou Palace of Xishan (Yulong Wanshou Palace)

Life

Zhao Yizhen, courtesy name Yuanyang, was a native of Anfu, Jiangxi, and an eminent Daoist of the late Yuan and early Ming who inherited the transmission of three traditions — Qingwei, Jingming and Quanzhen. He studied Confucianism from childhood before turning to Daoism, studying under Zhang Tianquan, Li Xuanyi and others, receiving the Thunder Rites of Qingwei and the alchemical methods of Quanzhen; he also resided at the Yulong Wanshou Palace at Xishan, serving as the fifth-generation (some sources say fourth) successor of Jingming Daoism, and fusing the Jingming teaching of loyalty and filial piety with the ritual methods of Qingwei; he is honored by the Qingwei school as a patriarch. He wrote the Dharma Words of Master Yuanyang and the Secret Formulas of External Surgery Transmitted by the Immortals, and compiled the Instructions for Returning Lingbao to Emptiness, among other works; his disciple Liu Yuanran went on to become a leader of Daoism in the early Ming, and Zhao's lineage came to be known as the "Qingwei Zhao lineage." He died at Zishan in 1382. He was posthumously granted the title of Perfected during the Jingtai and Chenghua eras of the Ming. He was a pivotal figure in the confluence of the various Daoist lineages of Jiangxi during the Yuan–Ming transition.

Contributions & Influence

• Fused the Qingwei, Jingming and Quanzhen traditions, forming the mainstream of Jiangxi Daoism in the early Ming
• Served as a successor of Jingming Daoism, transmitting the lineage carried on by Liu Yuanran and Shao Yizheng
• Wrote medical prescriptions and dharma words, combining relief of the world with religious instruction

Works

• Dharma Words of Yuanyang Zi
• Secret Surgical Formulas Transmitted by the Immortals
• Instructions on Lingbao Returning to Emptiness