Ancestral Celestial Master Zhang Daoling 张道陵

Zhang Daoling (34-156), the founder of Taoism, the first Celestial Master, and the originator of the Five Pecks of Rice Taoism, is revered in Taoism as "Ancestral Celestial Master", "Taixuan Prime Minister", and "Heavenly Lord Who Subdues Demons and Protects the Tao".

Zhang Daoling, originally named Zhang Ling, was a native of Fengyi in the Pei State during the Eastern Han Dynasty (present-day Feng County, Jiangsu Province) and was said to be a descendant of Zhang Liang. He was born on the night of the 15th day of the first lunar month in the 10th year of the Jianwu era of the Eastern Han Dynasty (34 CE) on Tianmu Mountain.

In his youth, Zhang Daoling was proficient in the Tao Te Ching. He once studied at the Imperial College and had a thorough knowledge of astronomy, geography, the works of various scholars, and the Five Classics. During the reign of Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty, he served as the magistrate of Jiangzhou in Ba Commandery (present-day Chongqing). Later, he lived in seclusion in Beimang Mountain, studying the way of longevity. He was recruited by the imperial court to be a doctor (a scholarly official), but he declined on the pretext of illness. During the reign of Emperor He of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Daoling was recruited again to be a Grand Tutor, but he still did not take up the post even after three imperial edicts.

During the reign of Emperor Shun of the Han Dynasty, he founded the Five Pecks of Rice Taoism in Heming Mountain, claiming that the Supreme Old Lord "bestowed upon him the orthodox law of the Three Heavens, appointed him as the Celestial Master", and named him "the Perfect Real Person and Righteous One, the Master of the Law of the Three Heavens". He also compiled twenty volumes of Taoist scriptures. During the reign of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Daoling attained Taoism in Qingcheng Mountain, and it is said that he lived to the age of 123.