Du Tanyong 杜昕永 — Elixir Master of Yusheng Mountain

He had watched two dynasties rise and fall. He had seen the Qi collapse and the Liang rise in its place. And he had decided that the world of courts and appointments was not where he wanted to spend his life.

Du Tanyong (杜昕永, styled Yuanlao 元老) left Qiantang and went to the mountains. He traveled to Juqu Mountain (句曲山) — the ancient name for Maoshan (茅山), the sacred center of the Shangqing tradition — and to Yusheng Mountain (玉晶山), seeking Daoist teachings and the path of inner refinement. On Yusheng Mountain, he built a temple, took up residence, and devoted himself to one of the most demanding practices in the Daoist tradition: the Nine-Cauldron Reverted Elixir.

The Emperor of Liang heard of him. He sent a title. Du Tanyong, the man who had left the world of courts behind, was now honored by the court he had left.

Du Tanyong (杜昕永, styled Yuanlao 元老) — the Southern Dynasties Daoist elixir master who left Qiantang after witnessing dynastic turmoil, built Qingxu Guan on Yusheng Mountain, mastered the Nine-Cauldron Reverted Elixir, and was honored as Jinque Xiansheng by Emperor Wu of Liang.

A Man Who Left the World Behind

Du Tanyong was born in Jingzhao (京兆) in the Sanfu region — the heartland of the old Han dynasty capital, present-day Xi’an in Shaanxi Province. He had settled as an emigrant in Qiantang County (錢塘县) of Wujun Commandery (吴郡), in the prosperous Jiangnan region near present-day Hangzhou. There, he witnessed the collapse of the Southern Qi dynasty and the rise of the Liang — the violent, disorienting transition that marked the end of one era and the beginning of another. The sources record that he “lamented the vicissitudes of the world” (gan shishi zhi wuchang). This lament was not passive. It became the motivation for a decisive act: he left Qiantang and went to the mountains to seek the Dao.

Juqu Mountain and Yusheng Mountain: The Sacred Geography of Seeking

Du Tanyong traveled to Juqu Mountain (句曲山) — the ancient name for Maoshan (茅山), the sacred center of the Shangqing tradition, where Tao Hongjing (陶弘景) was residing and systematizing the Shangqing canon during the same period — and to Yusheng Mountain (玉晶山), seeking Daoist teachings and the path of cultivation. These were not random destinations. Juqu Mountain / Maoshan was the most important center of Shangqing Daoist practice in southern China; to travel there was to seek the living tradition at its source. Du Tanyong’s sacred mountain journeys reflect the Southern Dynasties Daoist practitioner’s understanding that the Dao is transmitted through place as well as through text and teacher — that the mountains themselves are participants in the transmission.

Qingxu Guan and the Nine-Cauldron Reverted Elixir

On Yusheng Mountain, Du Tanyong built Qingxu Guan (清虚观, Abbey of Pure Emptiness) and took up permanent residence. There he devoted himself to the Nine-Cauldron Reverted Elixir (Jiuding Huandan Dafa 九鼎还丹大法) — the highest-level practice in the Daoist outer elixir (waidan 外丹) tradition. The Nine-Cauldron Reverted Elixir, described in detail in Ge Hong’s (葛洪) Baopuzi (《抱朴子》), involves the repeated refinement of cinnabar and other substances through nine successive transformations — each cycle producing a more refined and potent elixir, culminating in a substance believed to confer transcendence. The practice requires sustained commitment, precise technique, and a sacred mountain setting removed from the contaminating influences of the ordinary world. Du Tanyong’s choice of Yusheng Mountain as the site for this practice reflects the Daoist understanding that the most demanding forms of cultivation require the most sacred environments.

The Emperor’s Title: Jinque Xiansheng

Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty (梁武帝 Xiao Yan 萧衍, r. 502–549 CE) — one of the most culturally significant rulers of the Southern Dynasties period, known for his patronage of Buddhism and his engagement with Daoist masters including Tao Hongjing — heard of Du Tanyong’s reputation and honored him with the title Jinque Xiansheng (金阙先生, Mr. Golden Palace). The title is rich with Daoist significance: Jinque (金阙, Golden Palace or Golden Watchtower) is the name of the highest celestial palace in the Daoist heaven — the residence of the Jade Emperor and the supreme immortals. To confer this title on a living Daoist master was to declare that he had, in the emperor’s estimation, already attained the celestial realm in his cultivation. The man who had left the world of courts behind had been recognized by the court he had left.

“Jinque” — the Golden Palace of the Daoist heaven. A title given by an emperor to a man who had gone to the mountains to escape emperors.

Why This Story Matters for the Zhengyi Tradition

Related Concepts

• Juqu Mountain / Maoshan (句曲山 / 茅山): the sacred mountain that Du Tanyong visited — the ancient center of the Shangqing tradition and the residence of Tao Hongjing
• Nine-Cauldron Reverted Elixir (Jiuding Huandan 九鼎还丹): the highest-level practice of the Daoist outer elixir tradition, described in Ge Hong’s Baopuzi, that Du Tanyong devoted himself to on Yusheng Mountain
• Jinque Xiansheng (金阙先生): the title conferred on Du Tanyong by Emperor Wu of Liang — “Golden Palace” being the highest celestial palace in the Daoist heaven
• Waidan (外丹, outer elixir): the Daoist alchemical tradition of refining physical substances to produce elixirs of transcendence — the tradition within which Du Tanyong’s Nine-Cauldron practice belongs
• Explore Famous Taoist Mountains: the sacred landscapes that shaped the Daoist tradition, including Maoshan and the mountains where Du Tanyong sought the Dao

Source Texts

• Zhao Daoyi (赵道一). Lishi Zhenxian Tidao Tongjian (《历世真仙体道通鉴》), Vol. 31. Yuan dynasty.
• Ge Hong (葛洪). Baopuzi Neipian (《抱朴子内篇》). Eastern Jin dynasty. [Background reference for the Nine-Cauldron Reverted Elixir tradition.]