Wang Chongyang

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This is a Chinese name; the family name is Wang (王).

Wang Chongyang

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Wang Chongyang (11 January 1113 – 22 January 1170) [Chinese calendar: 宋徽宗政和二年十二月廿二 – 金世宗大定十年正月初四] (Traditional Chinese: 王重陽; Simplified Chinese: 王重阳; pinyin: Wáng Chóngyáng) was a Song Dynasty Taoist who was one of the founders of Quanzhen Taoism in the twelfth century. He is one of the Five Northern Patriarchs of that school of Taoism. Jinyong's popular wuxia novels include a character based on Wang Chongyang.

[edit] Name

• Family name: Wang (王)
• Given name: originally Zhongfu (中孚), later changed to Dewei (德威), changed to Zhe (喆) when became a Taoist
• zì: originally Yunqing (允卿), later changed to Shixiong (世雄), changed to Zhiming (知明) when became a Taoist
• hào: Chongyangzi (重陽子) when became a Taoist

[edit] Life

Born Wang Zhongfu in 1113, Wang Chongyang grew up in a wealthy family and received a classical education as well as training in the martial arts.

It is thought that Wang Zhe first wanted to start a rebellion against the Jin Dynasty that then ruled North China.^[1] But, according to tradition, in the summer of 1159 when he was 48 years old, he met two Taoist immortals in a pub, Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin, who provided him with training in secret Taoist rituals. He changed his name to Zhe and adopted the Taoist name Chongyang.

In 1160 he met one of the immortals again who provided him with five written instructions, the "Ganshui xianyuan lu." According to tradition those written instructions included the names of two men who would later become his disciples, Ma Yu and Tan Chuduan. In a state of delirium, Wang Chongyang then dug himself a grave near Mount Zhongnan that he called the "Tomb of the Living Dead," and lived in it for three years.

At the end of the three years, Wang Chongyang filled in the grave and built a hut on top of it, called "Complete Perfection Hut." He lived in the hut for another four years, continuing his Taoist studies and teaching others. During that time, he met Tan Chuduan who became Wang's disciple after Wang cured Tan's illness. Qiu Chuji and Tan traveled around the local towns and villages with Wang as he founded five Taoist congregations. Later, Wang Chongyang's teachings were referred to the "Teachings of the Complete Perfection" (after the hut) and his branch of Taoism became known as the Quanzhen ("Complete Perfection") school.

In 1167, Wang Chongyang burned down the hut while dancing and chanting. He then traveled east to Shandong where he met Ma Yu and Ma's wife Sun Bu'er who also became his disciples. He ultimately collected seven disciples who were later known as either The Seven Masters of Quanzhen or The Seven Elders of Quanzhen. They are also sometimes called the Seven Immortals or Seven Perfected Beings.

It is reported that in 1187, Emperor Shizong of Jin summoned Wang Chongyang's disciple Wang Chuyi (and, according to some sources, also Qiu Chuji) to preach at his inner palace, and later requested the presence of Wang Chongyang himself at his deathbed.^[1] Shizong's successor, Emperor Zhangzong, firstprohibited the preaching of Quanzhen and other similar religious groups, considering them as causing delusion and disorder among the people;^[1] however, he was later converted by the Quanzhen, and had Wang Chuyi stay in his capital, Yanjing (now Beijing) for a year.^[1] Shizong's grandson Wanyan Shou, who was perhaps the best known of the Jurchen literati and a friend of Wang Chuyi, wrote a biography of Wang Chongyang.^[1]

[edit] Writings

Wang Chongyang was the author of many poems of Taoist instruction. According to legend, Liu Chuxuan became a follower of Wang Chongyang after seeing one of Wang's poems on a wall.

Wang Chongyang's writings include:

• "An Anthology of Complete Perfection by Chongyang" (Chongyang quanzhen ji)
• "Chongyang's Anthology on Teaching Transformation" (Chongyang jiaohua ji)
• "Chongyang's Anthology of the Ten Transformations by Dividing Pears" (Chongyang fenli shihua ji) (The phrase "to divide a pear" is a pun for "to separate," these were writings intended to convince Ma Yu and Sun Bu'er to separate in order to better cultivate the Dao.)

[edit] Disciples

Wang Chongyang and his seven disciples, depicted in Changchun Temple, Wuhan

Particularly notable among Wang Chongyang's seven disciples were Sun Bu'er, and Qiu Chuji. Sun Bu'er is now one of the most important female Taoist role-models. Her husband, Ma Yu, was another of the seven disciples. He eventually succeeded Wang Chongyang as the leader of the Quanzhen sect.

Qiu Chuji gained the favor of Genghis Khan and founded the famous White Cloud Monastery in Beijing. Genghis Khan granted tax-exempt status to all Quanzhen monasteries and put Qiu Chuji in charge of all religions in China. The strong start this provided helped the Quanzhen school of Taoism to flourish, and it is still strong today.

Each of the seven disciples founded his or her own lineage of Quanzhen Taoism. They are as follows:

1. Ma Yu (馬鈺) founded the Yuxian lineage (Meeting the Immortals)
2. Tan Chuduan (譚處端) founded the Nanwu lineage (Southern Void)
3. Liu Chuxuan (劉處玄) founded the Suishan lineage (Mount Sui)
4. Qiu Chuji (丘處機) founded the Longmen lineage (Dragon Gate)
5. Wang Chuyi (王處一) founded the Yushan lineage (Mount Yu)
6. Hao Datong (郝大通) founded the Huashan lineage (Mount Hua)
7. Sun Bu'er (孙不二) founded the Qingjing lineage (Clarity and Stillness)

[edit] Popular culture

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Cinematic depiction of Wang Chongyang in his elder years
Source: LOCH 94' (dramatic re-creation)

In the first two instalments of Jinyong's Condor Trilogy, Wang Chongyang is depicted as the top martial artist of his time, and is respected with the honorary title Central Divinity (中神通). He and his Quanzhen sect are regarded as the leaders of jianghu. He first appeared in Jinyong's novel, The Legend of the Condor Heroes as a patriotic Taoist loyal to Song Dynasty. His story was later told by one of his prominent disciples, Qiu Chuji in the sequel to the novel entitled The Return of the Condor Heroes.

[edit] References

• Daoism Handbook, Livia Kohn, editor. (Handbook of Oriental Studies Section Four, Volume 14.) Brill Academic Publishers, 2000.
• The Taoist Manual: An Illustrated Guide Applying Taoism to Daily Life, Brock Silvers. Sacred Mountain Press 2005.

[edit] External links

• 王喆生平事迹考述 (Chinese)