Zhu Quan朱权

Style & Daoist names

Prince Xian of Ning, Styled Quxian, Hanxu Zi, and Master Danqiu, Old Man of the Southern Pole, of Extended Years

Period

Ming

Dates

1378 — 1448

School

Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism, Jingming (Pure and Bright) Daoism

Role

Regional Prince (Fanwang)Daoist ScholarsPlaywrightMusician

Birthplace

Nanjing

Places of activity

Wanshou Palace of Xishan (Yulong Wanshou Palace)

Life

Zhu Quan, the seventeenth son of Emperor Hongwu of the Ming, was enfeoffed Prince of Ning and first garrisoned at Daning; after the Jingnan campaign the Yongle Emperor transferred his fief to Nanchang, from which time he kept himself out of politics and gave himself to Daoism and the arts. Styling himself Quxian (the Emaciated Immortal) and Hanxuzi, he built a hermitage in the Western Hills at Nanchang to cultivate the Dao and maintained relations with Jingming (Pure and Bright) Daoism and Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism. His writings were exceedingly numerous: in Daoism, the Tianhuang zhidao taiqing yuce (Jade Tablet of Great Clarity on the Supreme Way of the Celestial Sovereign) in eight juan, a general account of the origins of Daoism, its ritual protocols and its pantheon, together with the Zhouhou shenshu (Divine Pivot for Keeping at One's Elbow) and the Gengxin yuce (Gengxin Jade Tablet), all included in the Supplementary Daoist Canon of the Wanli Era; besides these he wrote the Chapu (Manual of Tea), the Shenqi mipu (Marvellous and Secret Tablature, the earliest surviving collection of qin scores), the Taihe zhengyin pu (Correct Sounds of Grand Harmony, a treatise on drama), and a number of zaju plays. Zhu Quan is representative of the Ming imperial clan's devotion to Daoism and participation in the compilation of Daoist texts; after his death he was buried in the Western Hills, in a tomb of Daoist style.

Contributions & Influence

• Wrote the Tianhuang zhidao taiqing yuce, systematically ordering Daoist knowledge
• As an imperial prince, promoted Ming-dynasty Daoist texts and the arts
• Compiled the Shenqi mipu, preserving ancient qin scores

Works

• Jade Register of the Celestial Sovereign's Utmost Dao and Great Clarity
• Divine Pivot at Hand
• Jade Register of Gengxin
• Marvellous and Secret Tablature
• Formulary of Correct Sounds of Great Harmony
• Treatise on Tea