The Chen Nan 陈楠

The Chen Nan 陈楠

Paul Peng
Chen Nan (?–1213) was a native of Boluo County in Huizhou (now Boluo County, Guangdong Province) during the Southern Song Dynasty.

His courtesy name was Nanmu, and his literary name was Cuixu. He first studied the Taiyi Daogui Jindan Fajue (Elixir Methods and Formulas of the Taiyi Dao-Gui School) under Chan Master Xue Daoguang from Pilin. Later, he obtained the Jingxiao Dalei Langshu (Sublime Book of the Great Thunder from the Jingxiao Heaven) from a divine being on Limu Mountain, after which he formally embraced Taoism.
Chen Nan was known for using thunder magic talismans to expel ghosts and subdue demons, as well as for helping people and benefiting all living beings. He also frequently treated illnesses by using talisman-charged water and 捏土 (kneaded earth, a ritual practice involving sacred soil). For this reason, people of his time called him "Chen Niwan" (Chen the Clay Pill).

During the Zhenghe era of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty (1111–1118), he was promoted to the position of Tiju Daolu Yuan Shi (Director of the Taoist Registration Academy), a key official post overseeing Taoist affairs. Later, he retreated to seclusion on Luofu Mountain.

A few years later, he settled in Changsha and founded the Qingxiu Sect (Pure Cultivation Sect) of the Southern Lineage of Taoism. He passed away on Liangshan Mountain in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province.

Chen Nan authored works including Cuixu Pian (Essays of Cuixu), Cuixu Miaowu Quanji (Complete Collection of Cuixu’s Profound Insights), and Luofu Cuixu Yin (Cuixu’s Ode to Luofu Mountain).

He transmitted his alchemical teachings to Bai Yuchan and was revered as the 4th Patriarch of the "Southern Five Patriarchs" (a key lineage of Taoist inner alchemy). His other prominent Taoist disciples included Ju Jiusi and Sha Zhexu.

(From Jingai Xindeng [The Golden Canopy’s Lamp of the Heart] and Lishi Zhenxian Tidao Tongjian [Comprehensive Mirror of Real Immortals Who Embodied the Dao Through the Ages], Volume 49)
Paul Peng — Zhengyi Taoist Priest, Longhu Mountain

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.

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