The Huang Shouyuan 黄守圆

Huang Shouyuan (1595-1673) was a native of Wucheng, Zhejiang Province during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. His original name was Jue; he also went by the name Shouyuan and had the literary name Yinzhenzi (Master of Concealed Truth).

According to Jingai Xindeng (The Lamp of the Heart under the Golden Canopy) by Chiyangzi, Huang Shouyuan’s grandfather was a successful candidate in the provincial imperial examination during the Wanli reign period of the Ming Dynasty and was appointed magistrate of Huanggang County, where he governed with virtuous policies.

After his grandfather’s death, Huang returned to live in Wucheng. Before long, both his parents passed away, so he went to live with his maternal uncle.

At the age of thirteen, he encountered a clansman who taught him works such as Xingli Daquan (The Complete Compendium of Nature and Principle), Zhuzi Gangmu (The Outline of Zhu Xi’s Thought), and various literary works from ancient to his time. From then on, he devoted himself to studying these texts day and night with great concentration. Later, he met Dong Xiangguang (Dong Qichang), from whom he learned all aspects of calligraphy. Subsequently, he passed the imperial examination and became a student at the official school in Huzhou Prefecture (known as "xiangsheng" in Chinese, a title for students of government-run schools in imperial China).

At the age of thirty, he traveled to Wulin (an ancient name for present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province) and made a living by selling his calligraphy works. When he was forty, he heard that Chen Zhixu, styled Shangyangzi, resided in Dade Guan (Great Virtue Temple). He then became Chen’s disciple.

Chen Zhixu left behind nineteen works, including Taoist talismans and esoteric texts. Huang Shouyuan retreated to Tianmu Mountain to study these works in seclusion, practicing without interruption regardless of heat or cold. From this point on, his Taoist attainments made remarkable progress, and he gained the ability to predict the future. Thus, he began wearing Taoist robes and traveled to Mount Mao, where he formed a close friendship with Sun Yuyang.

Thirteen years later, he returned to Zhejiang and resided in Biyan Guan (Green Cliff Temple), befriending Tao Jing’an. In the 16th year of the Shunzhi reign (1659), he went to Baiyun Guan (White Cloud Temple) in the capital (Beijing). Wang Changyue, a prominent Taoist master, conferred the "Great Precepts" (a set of fundamental Taoist commandments) upon him, along with a copy of Zongzhi (The Tenets), and ordered him to change his name to Shouyuan. In the 17th year of the Shunzhi reign (1660), Huang resided in Dade Guan and transmitted the Taoist precepts to Zhou Tailang.

In the 12th year of the Kangxi reign (1673), Tao Jing’an sent him Taoist artifacts such as volumes of Vinaya School scriptures, a ruyi (a scepter symbolizing good fortune), and a ganoderma staff, along with the transmission of his Taoist tenets. Huang Shouyuan then summoned Zhou Tailang and passed on all his Taoist teachings and inheritance to him; shortly after, he passed away.

He lived to the age of seventy-nine and was recognized as the Eighth-Generation Precept-Master of the Longmen School (a major branch of Quanzhen Taoism).