Zhongli Quan钟离权

Style & Daoist names

Zhongli of Han (Han Zhongli), Yunfang, Zhengyangzi, Patriarch Zhengyang, Perfected Lord Zhengyang Who Awakened to Enlightenment and Transmitted the Dao

Period

traditionally dated to between the Han and Tang

Dates

? — ?

School

Zhong–Lü Internal Alchemy Tradition

Role

Patriarch of the Internal Alchemy SchoolEight Immortals

Birthplace

traditionally said to be from Xianyang

Places of activity

Zhongnan Mountains

Life

Zhongli Quan, courtesy name Yunfang, styled Zhengyangzi, is the patriarch venerated by the Zhong–Lü Internal Alchemy Tradition of Daoism, and is one of the Eight Immortals, known as "Han Zhongli." His actual biography cannot be established: one tradition places him in the Eastern Han, hence the epithet "Han Zhongli"; another places him in the Five Dynasties. Daoist texts from the Song onward, such as the Xuanhe Catalogue of Calligraphy and the Comprehensive Mirror of Immortals Who Embodied the Dao through the Ages, describe him as a Han general who, defeated in battle, withdrew into the Zhongnan Mountains, met the Sovereign of Eastern Florescence (Donghua Dijun), and attained the Dao, later transmitting it to Lü Dongbin. Works attributed to a dialogue between Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin — the Anthology of Zhongli Quan's Transmission of the Dao to Lü Dongbin, the Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure, and the Poming zhengdao ge (破迷正道歌, Song of Breaking Delusion and the Correct Way) — are key texts in the shift of internal-alchemy learning away from external alchemy, and they established the theoretical framework of internal alchemy centered on essence, breath and spirit (jing, qi, shen), dragon and tiger, lead and mercury, and the greater and lesser celestial circuits. Quanzhen Daoism venerates him as the "Patriarch Zhengyang" and ranks him second among the Five Northern Patriarchs; Kublai Khan (Emperor Shizu of Yuan) conferred on him the title "Perfected Lord Zhengyang Who Opened Enlightenment and Transmitted the Dao," further elevated by Emperor Wuzong of Yuan to "Sovereign Lord Zhengyang Who Opened Enlightenment, Transmitted the Dao, and Bestowed Instruction."

Contributions & Influence

• Venerated as the patriarch of the Zhong–Lü internal alchemy tradition and one of the Five Northern Patriarchs of Quanzhen
• Works attributed to him, the Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure and the Anthology of Zhongli Quan's Transmission of the Dao to Lü Dongbin, established the theoretical framework of internal alchemy
• As "Han Zhongli" of the Eight Immortals, he is the object of widespread popular devotion

Works

• Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure (attributed title)
• Anthology of Zhongli Quan's Transmission of the Dao to Lü Dongbin (attributed title)
• Song of Breaking Delusion and Rectifying the Way (attributed title)

Legends

According to legend, he met Wang Xuanfu, the Sovereign of Eastern Florescence, in the Zhongnan Mountains and received the Dao from him; he converted Lü Dongbin through the "Dream of Yellow Millet"; and his image — bare-bellied, holding a plantain-leaf fan — is one of the emblems of the Eight Immortals. These are all legendary accounts.