Xuanjiao (Mysterious Teaching)玄教
- Also known as
- Xuanjiao (Mysterious Teaching) of the Yuan, Zhang Liusun Branch, Xuanjiao of Chongzhen Palace
- Type
- Sect
- Period
- Yuan
- Founded
- After Zhang Liusun accompanied Zhang Zongyan to court in the thirteenth year of Zhiyuan under Kublai Khan (Emperor Shizu) of Yuan (1276) and remained in the capital, he was given the title Patriarch of the Xuanjiao in the fifteenth year of Zhiyuan (1278)
- Founder
- Zhang Liusun
- Derived from
- Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism
- Region
- Dadu (Beijing), the Yuan capital, and the various circuits of Jiangnan
- Status
- Vanished — After the fall of the Yuan in 1368, Xuanjiao dissolved, the office of patriarch was abolished, and its priests reverted to Zhengyi Daoism.
Overview
Xuanjiao (the Mysterious Teaching) is a lineage that split off from Zhengyi Daoism in the Yuan dynasty, founded by Zhang Liusun. Zhang Liusun (1248–1321), a native of Guixi, Jiangxi, and a Daoist priest of Longhushan, accompanied the thirty-sixth-generation Celestial Master Zhang Zongyan to an audience with Kublai Khan in the thirteenth year of Zhiyuan (1276) and was retained in attendance at the capital; because his prayers proved efficacious, he was granted the title 'Patriarch of the Mysterious Teaching' in the fifteenth year of Zhiyuan (1278), given a silver seal, and ordered to take charge of Daoism in the Jiangnan region; he thereafter served through the reigns of five emperors — Shizu, Chengzong, Wuzong, Renzong and Yingzong — rising to the rank of Kaifu Yitong Sansi (an honorary title equal in rank to the Three Ducal Ministers) and Senior Minister, administering Daoist affairs at the Academy of Assembled Worthies, his standing exceeding even that of the Celestial Master; the Yuan court built the Chongzhen Wanshou Palace for him at Dadu. Zhang Liusun designated his disciple Wu Quanjie as his successor, who inherited the title 'Great Patriarch of the Mysterious Teaching,' after which the office passed to Xia Wenyong, Zhang Delong, Yu Youxing and others; the Patriarch of Xuanjiao was appointed by the court and administered Daoism throughout the Jianghuai and Jingxiang circuits, dividing responsibilities with the Celestial Master of Longhushan: the Celestial Master oversaw talismanic registers, while the Patriarch of Xuanjiao oversaw administration. Xuanjiao had no doctrine of its own; it was in effect an institutional system that Zhengyi Daoism formed in the Yuan dynasty, bound together by court office, and its patriarchs were mostly also versed in Confucian learning, associating closely with scholar-officials such as Yu Ji and Zhao Mengfu, exerting notable influence on Yuan political and cultural life. After the fall of the Yuan, Xuanjiao dissolved along with it, the office of patriarch was abolished, and its priests and temples reverted to Zhengyi Daoism. Xuanjiao is a typical case in Daoist history of a lineage formed around an official post, reflecting the characteristics of Yuan-dynasty religious administration.
Core Doctrine
Xuanjiao's doctrine was identical to that of Zhengyi, honouring the lineage of the Celestial Masters and using talismans, registers, and rites of retreat and offering to pray for blessings on behalf of the state; its patriarchs generally advocated loyalty to the sovereign and equal weight to Confucianism and Daoism, emphasizing civil governance and ritual propriety. The patriarchs of Xuanjiao advocated 'purifying the mind and reducing desire, saving the world and benefiting all beings'; Wu Quanjie was known for 'advancing Confucianism and Daoism together,' and Xuanjiao is thus regarded as a scholar-official version of Zhengyi Daoism in the Yuan. Its religious practice served mainly the court.
Practice & Ritual
Performing rites of retreat and prayer for the court (praying for rain, averting calamity, and birthday blessings); administering Daoist offices, the appointment and dismissal of Daoist officials, and temple affairs; Zhengyi talismans, registers, and ritual protocols; the patriarch was appointed by the emperor and wore a golden seal. The Patriarch of Xuanjiao also administered Daoist affairs at the Academy of Assembled Worthies, recommending priests for appointment as local Daoist officials, forming a bureaucratized network of Daoist administration; its mode of operation reflects the deep intertwining of religion and politics in the Yuan.
Transmission
Zhang Liusun (in office 1278–1321) → Wu Quanjie (1322–1346) → Xia Wenyong → Zhang Delong → Yu Youxing (late Yuan); abolished after the fall of the Yuan. The Daoist priests under Xuanjiao mostly came from Longhushan and the Zhengyi temples of the various circuits of Jiangnan, and the office of patriarch, appointed by the emperor and marked by a golden seal, was in effect a bureaucratic branch of Zhengyi Daoism within the court.