The Li Dafang 李大方

Li Dafang (1159–1222) was a native of Fenxi (now part of Shanxi Province) during the Jin Dynasty. His courtesy name was Guangdao, and his self-styled title was "Beishan Tuiweng" (Retired Elder of North Mountain).

As recorded in The Stele Inscription for Master Li, the Tongxuan Great Master (Volume 31 of Collected Works of Yuan Yishan), Li Dafang’s father worked as a physician. Li Dafang became a Taoist monk at a young age, studying under Master Guo Shili at Chongyou Guan (Chongyou Taoist Temple).

Later, he went to Zhaocheng and studied at Tianning Daoyuan (Tianning Taoist Abbey). Diligent and hardworking, he could memorize a thousand words every day. Within a few years, he had recited ten thousand volumes of scriptures, thoroughly mastered esoteric Buddhist and historical texts, and attained profound knowledge of the Six Classics (the core Confucian classics). In the early years of the Dading era (1161), he traveled through the Guanzhong region, and his reputation grew significantly. Later, he succeeded Hao Daoben in the position of preaching Taoist doctrines and led the Taoist community in Guanzhong for as long as twenty years.

In the seventh year of the Taihe era (1207), the imperial court issued an edict appointing Li Dafang as the Supervisor of Taiji Palace in Zhongdu (the capital of the Jin Dynasty, now Beijing) and bestowed upon him the title "Tixuan Great Master" (Great Master of Embodiment of Mystery). During his audience with Emperor Zhangzong, his responses fully met the emperor’s expectations, and Emperor Zhangzong held him in special respect and regard.

In the early years of the Da’an era (1209–1211) under Emperor Weishaowang, Li Dafang was ordered by the imperial court to hold Taoist rituals and sacrifices to worship the famous mountains and rivers. He offered golden dragons and jade tablets (ritual artifacts) to pray for blessings on behalf of the people. The court rewarded him with a cloud-patterned feather robe, granted him a golden tally (a symbol of imperial authority), and added the honorific title "Tongxuan Great Master" (Great Master of Penetrating Mystery).

During the Zhenyou era, when wars raged across the land, Li Dafang returned to his hometown and thus adopted the self-styled title "Beishan Tuiweng" (Retired Elder of North Mountain). In the sixth year of the Xingding era (1222), he took refuge from the war chaos in Qingliang Mountain, where he soon passed away due to illness at the age of 64.