What is Quanzhen School 全真教?

Quanzhen Sect, also known as Quanzhen Dao or Quanzhen School, was founded in the early Jin Dynasty. It got its name because its founder, Wang Chongyang, inscribed his residence in Ninghai, Shandong (now Muping, Shandong) as "Quanzhen Hall", and all those who entered the Dao were called "Quanzhen Daoists".

The sect absorbed some ideas from Confucianism and Buddhism, claiming that the three teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism) share the same origin and advocating the unity of the three. It takes Tao Te Ching, Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, and Book of Filial Piety as its main classics, teaching people to be "filial, prudent, and pure" as well as to "rectify the mind and sincere the intention, and have few selfish desires". In the early stage, it focused on individual seclusion and cultivation, not advocating talismans or alchemical practices for making gold and silver.

Quanzhen Dao holds that tranquility and inaction are the foundation of cultivating the Dao. Only by eliminating emotions and desires and keeping the mind pure can one return to one's original nature and perceive the true self. The sect emphasizes the cultivation of "nature and destiny", believing that "nature is the spirit, destiny is the qi", and "the combination of qi and spirit is called an immortal". It advocates that those who cultivate the Dao must become monks, endure humiliation, suffer for themselves to benefit others, abstain from killing and lust, moderate diet, and reduce sleep.

For a long time after its establishment, Quanzhen Dao maintained an upward development momentum due to its own vitality and the support of the ruling class. At the same time, it maintained a clear inheritance system and a centralized and unified leadership system. During the Jin and Yuan dynasties, it went through the inheritance of dozens of leaders.

After the unification of the Yuan Dynasty, it provided conditions for Quanzhen Dao, originally in the north, to spread southward, and also for the Southern Sect of Daoism, originally in the south, to spread northward. The southward spread of Quanzhen Dao increased the chances of contact between the Southern and Northern Sects (Southern Sect and Quanzhen Dao), which were originally isolated but originated from the Zhong-Lü Golden Elixir Sect. Through contact, they recognized each other and gradually had the desire to merge into one sect, especially the Southern Sect, which had a loose organization and weak influence, and had a stronger desire to return to Quanzhen Dao.

In addition to merging the Southern Sect, Quanzhen Dao also merged the Zhen Da Dao, Louguan Dao, and part of Jingming Dao in the mid and late Yuan Dynasty, becoming the only major alchemical sect, developing in parallel with the major talisman sect, Zhengyi Dao.

After Emperor Chengzong of the Yuan Dynasty ascended the throne and lifted the ban on Quanzhen Dao, the leaders of Quanzhen Dao gradually became bureaucratized. The upper class became prosperous, but the religious affairs declined. The scene of a large number of talents and vitality in the early stage no longer existed, and it gradually showed a declining trend with a shortage of talents. Since then, there has been no inheritance of leaders. From then on, Quanzhen Dao split into many factions to carry out their own activities, with the Seven Perfect Ones Sect as its orthodox.