Zhou Side周思得

Style & Daoist names

Style name Yangzhen (one account), Styled Hongdao, Eminent Scholar Who Honours the Teaching and Broadens the Dao

Period

Ming

Dates

1359 — 1451

School

Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism, Wang Lingguan Ritual Lineage

Role

Daoshi (Daoist Priest)Transmitter of the Wang Lingguan ritual methodsMaster of Retreats and Offerings

Birthplace

Qiantang (present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang)

Life

Zhou Side, a native of Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was a celebrated Daoist priest of the early Ming, skilled in the rites of Wang Lingguan. During the Yongle era, the Yongle Emperor, impressed by the efficacy of the "rites of Lingguan," summoned him to the capital and had him accompany the imperial army on its northern campaigns, where his prayers repeatedly proved efficacious, winning him complete trust. During the Xuande and Zhengtong eras he was successively granted the title "Exalted Scholar Who Reveres the Teaching and Broadens the Dao," and directed the Dade Temple and the Xianling Palace in the capital, conducting rites of offering and prayer for the court — making him one of the central figures of court Daoism in the early Ming. He compiled the forty-scroll Shangqing lingbao jidu dacheng jinshu (上清灵宝济度大成金书, Golden Book of the Great Completion of Salvation according to Shangqing Lingbao), gathering together the ritual protocols current in the early Ming, an important compendium of Ming-dynasty ritual literature. He died in the second year of Jingtai (1451), at over ninety years of age. Zhou Side's activities brought about the great flourishing of the cult of Wang Lingguan in the Ming court and among the populace. The organization of his compilation drew on the Lingbao ritual texts of the Song and Yuan while making numerous additions and omissions, reflecting the transition of Ming ritual practice from the great rites of the Song and Yuan toward the standard ritual manuals current in the Ming and Qing.

Contributions & Influence

• Won the trust of the Yongle Emperor through the rites of Wang Lingguan, promoting the flourishing of the cult of Lingguan
• Compiled the Shangqing lingbao jidu dacheng jinshu, a compendium of Ming-dynasty ritual practice
• Directed Daoist temple affairs in the capital during the early Ming

Works

• Golden Book of the Great Completion of Shangqing Lingbao Salvation

Legends

According to legend, when he accompanied the imperial army on its northern campaigns he summoned Lingguan, who manifested in response; this is a legendary account.