The Ao Dun Hongdao 奥敦弘道
Paul PengShare
Ao Dun Hongdao (1198-1275) was a Sushen ethnic from Mizhou (now part of Shandong Province) during the transition between the Jin and Yuan dynasties. Her original given name was Miaoshan, which she later changed to her current name.
As recorded in The Stele of Taoist Nun Ao Dun Hongdao’s Virtuous Deeds, Ao Dun Hongdao’s grandfather was a Senior General for Guarding the State in the early Jin Dynasty and held the position of Governor of Mizhou; her father was a Grand General of Huaiyuan and served as the Chief Patrol Officer of Ninghai.
In the fourth year of the Taihe era (1204), due to wars and chaos, her entire family put on Taoist robes. At that time, Ao Dun Hongdao was seven years old. She lived with her mother, Real Person Jizhao, in the Qingzhen Taoist Temple in Dadu (the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, present-day Beijing). She paid homage to Real Person Changchun (Qiu Chuji) as her initiation master and received the essential principles of cultivating the true self and refining one’s nature.
Later, she returned to Huang County in Mizhou. At that time, General Aodun of Zhongshan, upon hearing of her rigorous ascetic practice, invited her to reside in the Qingzhen Taoist Temple again. Ao Dun Hongdao ate only one meal a day and did not let her ribs touch the bed for several years, devoting herself to in-depth research on the study of life and nature (a core concept in Taoism focusing on the cultivation of physical life and spiritual nature).
In the 16th year of the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Yuan Dynasty, she went to the lecture hall of Patriarch Wang Chongyang (founder of the Quanzhen School of Taoism) in Zhongnan Mountain to pay her respects. Later, she arrived at the Miaozhen Taoist Temple in Daming, where she widely accepted disciples, built statues of Taoist deities, and forged numerous beneficial karmic connections. Both Taoists and laypeople highly revered her.
In the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Yuan Dynasty (1255), she took charge of the management of the Dongxiao Taoist Temple in Bozhou. Emperor Xianzong ordered Tiege Huoluchi to serve as the patron for safeguarding the temple and bestowed upon her the title “Real Person Xuanzhen Tongming” (Real Person of Mysterious Truth and Penetrating Clarity).
In the fourth year of the Zhiyuan era (1267), she successively received imperial edicts from the Empress, who granted her a golden crown of the Holy Mother, a Taoist robe embroidered with cloud patterns, and items such as incense offerings.
In the eighth year of the Zhiyuan era (1271), an imperial edict was issued to protect and oversee the affairs of the temple, along with an official notice of prohibition and regulation from the Zhongshu Sheng (the highest administrative agency in the Yuan Dynasty).
Ao Dun Hongdao was renowned for her sincerity both within and outside the Taoist community. She practiced Taoism for over seventy years with unwavering consistency. She spent all her wealth on building Taoist temples, and once a temple was completed, she would leave and let her disciples live there, widely spreading Taoist teachings to the world.
She passed away in the 12th year of the Zhiyuan era at the age of seventy-seven.
About the Author
Paul Peng
Paul Peng is a Zhengyi Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi — the ancestral home of the Celestial Masters' tradition. Ordained at 25 after a dream from the Celestial Master, he has practiced for 25 years under Master Zeng Guangliang. He is one of the curators of this store, which is officially authorized by Tianshi Fu. All items are consecrated at the temple by the resident priest team.
Read his full story →
