People and History
PeoplePeople, institutions, and historical events. This directory lists public entries assigned to this category, organized by knowledge entity and page.
- Patriarchs and masters
- Important figures
- Historical events
- Institutional change
- Regional development
People and Historyentries
Bai Yuchan
白玉蟾, Ge Changgeng, HaiqiongziBai Yuchan, also known as Ge Changgeng and Haiqiongzi, was a Southern Song Daoist associated with the southern internal-alchemy lineage. Later tradition counts him as its fifth patriarch, while details of his birthplace, dates, and life vary among accounts.
Chen Jingyuan
陳景元, Chen Jing Yuan, BixuziChen Jingyuan (d. 1094), courtesy name Taichu and religious name Bixuzi, was a Northern Song Daoist scholar and commentator. His surviving work concerns Laozi and Zhuangzi interpretation, Daoist scripture, textual editing, and court religious institutions. Accounts disagree on his birth year and some early dates.
Chen Nan
陳楠, Cuixu, Chen NiwanChen Nan, known as Cuixu, was a Southern Song Daoist later counted among the five patriarchs of the Southern inner-alchemical lineage. Accounts connect him with Bai Yuchan and thunder rites but mix history with hagiography.
Chen Tuan
陳摶, Chen Xiyi, FuyaoziChen Tuan (died 989; his birth year and birthplace are disputed), courtesy name Tunan, was a recluse and Daoist associated with the Wudang and Hua mountains in the Five Dynasties and early Song. Later traditions linked him to diagrams of the Changes, inner alchemy, and stories of extraordinary sleep. These layers should not be treated as equally documented biography.
Chen Zhixu
陳致虛, Shangyangzi, Chen GuanwuChen Zhixu was a Yuan-period Daoist writer and inner-alchemy thinker, known by the courtesy name Guanwu and the sobriquet Shangyangzi. His work sought to connect northern and southern alchemical lineages and interpreted Daoist texts through a theory of the golden elixir.
Cheng Xuanying
成玄英, Xihua FashiCheng Xuanying was an early Tang Daoist scholar and commentator associated with the Twofold Mystery approach. His commentaries on Laozi and Zhuangzi helped articulate Daoist philosophy in dialogue with Buddhist thought.
Deng Siguan
鄧思瓘, Deng Ziyang, Deng TianshiDeng Siguan (703–739), also called Ziyang, was a Tang Daoist associated with Magu Mountain and Beidi traditions. A Tang inscription and later hagiography describe his connections to Emperor Xuanzong's court.
Zhai Fayan
翟法言, Zhai QianyouZhai Fayan was a Tang Daoist from Yun'an in Kuizhou, remembered for regional religious transmission and a reported link with Emperor Daizong's court. Accounts differ in chronology and teachers.
Dong Zhongshu
董仲舒, Dong Zhong-shuDong Zhongshu (c. 179–104 BCE) was a Western Han Confucian scholar and political thinker. His writings combined readings of the classics with theories of Heaven, yin and yang, and the Five Phases.
Du Guangting
杜光庭, Du Guang Ting, Tu Kuang-t'ingDu Guangting (c. 850–933) was a Daoist writer and scholar active in the late Tang and Five Dynasties. He entered Sichuan amid Tang upheaval, served the Former Shu court, and later lived at Mount Qingcheng. His scriptural commentaries, liturgical collections, and biographies remain important for the study of medieval Daoism.
Fangxian Dao
方仙道, Way of the Immortal SpecialistsFangxian Dao is a name used for early currents of specialists in immortals, longevity, and techniques during the Warring States, Qin, and Han periods. The Chinese compilation treats these currents as an important precursor of later Daoism, not as an already established Daoist church.
Ge Hong
葛洪, Ko Hung, ZhichuanGe Hong, courtesy name Zhichuan and self-styled Baopuzi, was a Daoist thinker, alchemical writer, and scholar of medicine active from the late Western Jin into the Eastern Jin. His dates are disputed. Baopuzi Neipian develops arguments about immortality, elixirs, and self-cultivation, while Zhouhou beiji fang belongs to the history of medical writing.
Ge Xuan
葛玄, Ge Xiangong, Ge XiaoxianGe Xuan (traditionally 164–244) is associated with early Daoist transmission of alchemical texts in the Wu region and was later revered as Ge Xiangong. Narrative and historical layers need separation.
Gu Yanwu
顧炎武, Gu TinglinGu Yanwu (1613–1682) was a late-Ming and early-Qing scholar known for historical research, textual study, and political thought. His work belongs to the history of Chinese scholarship rather than to a Daoist lineage.
Guan Yin
關尹, Guan Yinzi, Yin Xi, the Pass KeeperGuan Yin is a figure discussed in early Daoist-related thought and later associated with the gatekeeper Yin Xi and traditions about Laozi's departure. Early accounts, later honorifics, and writings attributed to him must be studied separately.
Guan Yu
關羽, Guan Yunchang, Guan GongGuan Yu was a military commander associated with Liu Bei whose later worship extended across Daoism, Buddhism and popular religion. His historical identity and his veneration as Guan Sheng Dijun are related but distinct aspects of his reception.
Guo Pu
郭璞, Guo JingchunGuo Pu (276–324) was a Jin-period writer, commentator, and divination specialist. His scholarship and poetry became part of later discussions of Daoist cosmology, immortality, and the interpretation of ancient texts.
Han Yu
韓愈, Han Tuizhi, Han ChangliHan Yu (768–824) was a Tang writer, official, and Confucian thinker. His criticism of Buddhism and Daoism and his account of a Confucian transmission of the Way made him important to later debates about the three teachings.
Hao Datong
郝大通, Hao Da Tong, Hao GuangningHao Datong was a Jin-period Daoist and one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen. A disciple of Wang Chongyang, he is associated with the Huashan branch and remembered by the religious name Guangningzi.
Huaxu
華胥, Hua Xu, Huaxu NüshiHuaxu is a culture-mother in Chinese mythic genealogy, best known as the mother of Fuxi in later historical and legendary accounts. Her name also appears in the ideal realm of Huaxu, and those two uses should be distinguished before they are related.
Yellow Emperor
黃帝, Huangdi, XuanyuanThe Yellow Emperor, or Huangdi, is a foundational figure of Chinese legendary history and later religious writing. His roles as ancestral ruler, cosmic deity, and source of attributed books belong to different layers of tradition.
Huangfu Tan
皇甫坦, Huangfu LüdaoHuangfu Tan (d. 1178), courtesy name Lüdao, was a Southern Song Daoist associated with Emperor Gaozong's and Emperor Xiaozong's courts and several mountain sites. His biographies join court activity to healing and alchemical marvels.
Huang Yuanji (Yuan-Period Jingming Teacher)
黃元吉, Huang Yuanji, Zhonghuang XianshengHuang Yuanji is a name shared by at least two Daoist figures: a Yuan-period teacher (1271–1325) associated with Jingming Zhongxiao Dao and a later Qing writer connected with Leyu Tang Yulu. Their biographies and writings must not be merged.
Kou Qianzhi
寇謙之, Kou Qian Zhi, K'ou Ch'ien-chihKou Qianzhi (365–448) was a Northern Wei Daoist reformer. Drawing on Celestial Masters traditions, he promoted new precepts and changes to religious organization and liturgy with court support. Accounts of receiving instructions from deities belong to Daoist biography and should be read separately from records of Northern Wei politics.
Lao Laizi
老萊子, Lao Laizi of ChuLao Laizi is described in ancient records as a Chu figure contemporary with Confucius. His attributed work is lost, while later filial and reclusion tales belong to a distinct reception history.
Li Hanguang
李含光, Li Han Guang, Xuanjing XianshengLi Hanguang (682 or 683–769) was a Tang Daoist, a disciple of Sima Chengzhen and an important figure in the Shangqing tradition, which honors him as its thirteenth patriarch.
Lixue
理學, Neo-Confucian LearningLixue is a major current of Confucian learning from the Song period onward, concerned with principle, qi, human nature, and moral cultivation. Its dialogue with Buddhist and Daoist thought did not make it a Daoist school.
Lin Lingsu
林靈素, Lin Tongsou, Tongzhen Daling XianshengLin Lingsu (1075–1119) was a Daoist priest favored by the Northern Song emperor Huizong. He was involved in Shenxiao religious narratives, court-sponsored Daoist institutions, and policies concerning Buddhism. Official criticism and later hagiography must be read as differently situated sources.
Liu An
劉安, Prince of HuainanLiu An (c. 179–122 BCE) was a Western Han prince of Huainan who gathered scholars at his court. The compilation associated with that circle, Huainanzi, is a major source for early Chinese cosmology and political thought.
Liu Chuxuan
劉處玄, Changshengzi, Liu TongmiaoLiu Chuxuan (1147–1203), known as Changshengzi, was a Jin-period Quanzhen Daoist and a pupil of Wang Chongyang. He is counted among the Northern Seven Perfected and remembered in connection with the Suishan lineage.
Liu Deren
劉德仁, Liu WuyouziLiu Deren (d. 1180) founded the Dadao teaching in Jin-era north China. Called Wuyouzi, he emphasized restraint, ethical precepts, and simple living; accounts differ on his birth year and healing activities.
Liu Hunkang
劉混康, Liu ZhitongLiu Hunkang (d. 1108) was a Northern Song Daoist identified as the twenty-fifth Shangqing master of Maoshan. His court standing and Three Mountains register traditions are historically distinct from healing and heir-seeking wonder stories.
Liu Yiming
劉一明, WuyuanziLiu Yiming (1734–1821), known as Wuyuanzi, was a Qing Quanzhen Longmen Daoist active for many years in Gansu. He wrote extensively on Yijing interpretation, inner alchemy, and earlier classics.
Liu Yuanran
劉淵然, Liu Tiyuan, Liu TixuanLiu Yuanran (1351–1432) was a Daoist active at the early Ming court and in regional religious life. His varied training, links with Jingming Daoism, and official roles resist a single-lineage label; the surviving summaries differ on some names and titles.
Liu Zhigu
劉知古, Liu GuangxuanLiu Zhigu was a Tang Daoist associated in later biographies with Sichuan temples, the imperial court, and alchemical writings. Stories of miraculous teaching and epidemic cures need separate evidential treatment.
Lüqiu Fangyuan
閭丘方遠, Luqiu Fangyuan, Lv Qiu Fang YuanLüqiu Fangyuan (died 902) was a late Tang Daoist teacher from Susong, in present-day Anhui, remembered for his learning, religious transmissions and mountain retreat. His birth year is not given in the source.
Lu Xixing
陸西星, Lu Xixing of the Eastern LineageLu Xixing (1520–1606) was a Ming Daoist author later honored as a founder of an eastern neidan lineage. His reported instruction from Lü Dongbin and his sexual-alchemical theories should be read as religious and intellectual history, not verified instruction or efficacy.
Lu Xiujing
陸修靜, Lu Xiu Jing, Jianji XianshengLu Xiujing (406–477), courtesy name Yuande, was a Daoist scholar and organizer under the Liu Song. He collected and classified scriptures, compiled Sandong jingshu mulu, addressed Celestial Masters institutions, and arranged Lingbao fasting rites. His work shaped later classifications of Daoist texts and forms of communal ritual.
Luo Yin
羅隱, Luo ZhaojianLuo Yin (833–909) was a late Tang and Five Dynasties poet and thinker whose Liangtong Shu joins Ru and Daoist ideas. A different Song-era Daoist shared his name; the two lives must not be merged.
Ma Yu
馬鈺, Ma Danyang, DanyangziMa Yu, also known as Ma Danyang, was an early Quanzhen leader and a disciple of Wang Chongyang. His support for the first Quanzhen community and his leadership after Wang's death place him among the tradition's Seven Perfected.
Min Yide (Qing Longmen Daoist)
閔一得, Min Yide, LanyunziMin Yide (1758–1836) was a Qing Daoist linked to the Longmen tradition and religious life at Mount Jingai in Zhejiang. His transmitted writings illuminate Qing Daoist lineages, while miracle stories in biographies require a different reading.
Nie Shidao
聶師道, Wenzheng Xiansheng, Xiaoyao DashiNie Shidao was a late-Tang and early-Five-Dynasties Daoist associated with Shezhou, Nanyue, and Guangling. Biographies give him a role under the Wu regime but differ on his early teachers and birth year.
Qin Zhian
秦志安, Tongzhenzi, Chuli DaorenQin Zhian (1188–1244) was a Quanzhen Daoist involved in editing the Xuandu Baozang at Pingyang and in compiling biographies of Quanzhen predecessors.
Qiu Chuji
邱處機, Changchun ZhenrenQiu Chuji (1148–1227), also written with a variant Chinese surname character and known as Changchunzi, was an important early Quanzhen master and disciple of Wang Chongyang. His journey to meet Chinggis Khan and his later leadership in Yanjing are documented; his status as a Longmen patriarch developed further after his death.
Qiu Chuji (丘处机)
丘處機, Ch'iu Ch'u-chi, Qiu ChangchunQiu Chuji (1148–1227), also written with a variant Chinese surname character and known as Changchunzi, was an important early Quanzhen master and disciple of Wang Chongyang. His journey to meet Chinggis Khan and his later leadership in Yanjing are documented; his status as a Longmen patriarch developed further after his death.
Sa Shoujian
薩守堅, Sa Shou Jian, Fenyang SakeSa Shoujian is a Daoist figure placed in the Song period and associated with the Shenxiao thunder-ritual tradition. Accounts of his life combine travel, transmission narratives and religious reputation, while differing on details of his origin and teachers.
San Yuan Yan Shou Can Zan Shu
三元延壽參贊書, San Yuan Can Zan Shu, Three Origins Longevity CompendiumSan Yuan Yan Shou Can Zan Shu is a five-fascicle health-cultivation compilation attributed to the Yuan writer Li Pengfei. It organizes discussions of vitality, daily conduct, and diet under the three yuan; its longevity claims are historical ideas, not medical evidence.
Shao Yuanjie
邵元節, Shao Zhongkang, Shao XueyaShao Yuanjie (d. 1539) was a Zhengyi Daoist associated with the Shangqing Gong at Longhu Mountain. Under the Jiajing emperor he received the title Zhiyi Zhenren and responsibilities for Beijing temples.
Shi Jianwu
施肩吾, Shi Xisheng, Huayang ZhenrenShi Jianwu is a name associated with Tang poetry, an examination career, and Daoist traditions at Xishan. Accounts differ on his examination year, bynames, place, and attributed works; later reports may also concern another person of the same name.
Sima Chengzhen
司馬承楨, Baiyunzi, DaoyinSima Chengzhen (647–735), styled Ziwei, was a Tang Shangqing Daoist and thinker associated with Tiantai Mountain and the courts of Emperors Ruizong and Xuanzong. Zuowang Lun is central to his reputation for Daoist quietude.