The Li Zhiyuan 李志源

Li Zhiyuan  was a native of Dexing (now Zhuolu County, Hebei Province) during the Jin and Yuan dynasties, and he went by the Taoist title "Zhenchangzi" (Master of True Constancy).

From a young age, he was intelligent and perceptive. He became a Quanzhen Taoist monk and studied under a succession of Taoist masters: Liu Changsheng, Wang Yuyang, Hao Datong, and Qiu Changchun. By integrating the profound and subtle teachings of these four masters, his understanding of the Dao became increasingly clear, and his spiritual attainments advanced day by day.

As recorded in Zhang Bangzhi’s Stele Inscription for Immortal Li, Master Zhenchangzi, Li Zhiyuan had a natural affinity for mountains and forests, yet he never lingered in one place—instead, he traveled to visit masters and verify his understanding of the Dao. He journeyed through the regions of Yanjing-Jizhou, Dengzhou-Laizhou, and Songshan-Qin, and later resided at Danyang Guan (Danyang Taoist Temple) in Daliang. Wherever he went, disciples gathered around him, and he taught them without the slightest trace of weariness.

In the spring of the Guisi year of the Yuan Dynasty (1233), an imperial envoy was sent to summon Li Zhiyuan. Unfortunately, he passed away from illness on the way, at the age of 80.

Li Zhiyuan (2) (1175-1246) was a native of Sanshui County in Binzhou (now part of Shaanxi Province) during the Jin and Yuan dynasties, and he held the Taoist title "Yuanmingzi" (Master of Profound Brightness).

As documented in Li Daoqian’s Stele Inscription on the Life and Daoist Deeds of Li the Alchemist, Immortal Yuanming of Zhongnan Mountain, when Li Zhiyuan was nearly 30 years old, his parents passed away one after another. Grief-stricken, he left his family to become a Taoist monk and studied under Zhou Quanyang, the abbot of Yufeng Guan (Yufeng Taoist Temple) in neighboring Binzhou. During his early years at the temple, he took on the task of cutting firewood as part of his duties, and he performed this work without the least bit of laziness. After three years of such diligent service, Zhou Quanyang, moved by his sincerity and devotion, imparted to him the entire body of Taoist doctrines and practices.

After mastering the teachings, Li Zhiyuan traveled to various places to consult with other Taoist masters and verify his spiritual insights. When he arrived in Liquan County, he built a thatched hut and lived there with a Mr. Pei. For 18 years, he humbly gathered and refined his understanding of the Dao. During this period, Zhou Quanyang summoned him back to Binzhou, designated him as his successor to pass on the Dao, appointed him to manage Yufeng Guan, and bestowed upon him the Taoist title "Yuanmingzi".

In the fifth year of the Zhengda era (1228) of the Jin Dynasty, Zhou Quanyang passed away, and the temple’s disciples elected Li Zhiyuan to succeed him as abbot. In the early years of the Tianxing era (1232), wars broke out in Binzhou. Li Zhiyuan led his disciples to relocate to Jizu Mountain in Shaanxi Province, and later moved again to Changsheng Guan (Changsheng Taoist Temple) in Luoyang. After the fall of Henan, the Yuan Dynasty court sent envoys to gather Taoist practitioners, and Li Zhiyuan led his followers north across the Yellow River. They built Qizhen Guan (Qizhen Taoist Temple) in Dong’e County and settled there.

In the Jiawu year (1234), after the Guanzhong and Fufeng regions were roughly pacified, Li Zhiyuan dispatched his disciples, including Yu Zhirui, to return west to the ancestral court of Zhongnan Mountain to plan the restoration and renovation of the old Taoist temples there. In the Yimu year (1235), he went to Zhaozhou and resided at Wuzhen An (Wuzhen Hermitage).

At the end of the Bingxu year (1236), Li Zhiyuan went to Yanjing (modern-day Beijing) to have an audience with the imperial court and paid his respects at Chushun Hall, the memorial hall of Qiu Changchun. At that time, Yin Qinghe, the leader of the Quanzhen School, received him with extraordinary courtesy, appointed him as the Supervisor of Taoist Affairs for the Zhending Circuit, and bestowed upon the old temple in Zhongnan Mountain the new name "Chongyang Chengguan Temple" (Chongyang Dao-Achieving Taoist Temple).

In the winter of the Wuxu year (1238), Li Zhiyuan led more than a hundred disciples back west to Zhongnan Mountain and launched a large-scale project to rebuild and expand the temple complex. From this point on, his influence in the Taoist community grew even more extensively. Within a few years, the temple halls were constructed in magnificent splendor, on a par with other major Taoist palaces such as Zongsheng Palace, Shangqing Palace, and Yuxian Palace.

Li Zhiyuan possessed a dignified and steadfast character, and he remained consistent in his practice and teachings throughout his life. When instructing younger practitioners, he was able to adapt his guidance to their individual aptitudes and levels of understanding. He took "purity, tranquility, and non-action" and "freedom from attachment and contamination" as his core teachings, enabling each disciple to gain unique insights and progress.

In August of the first year of the Dingzong era (1246) of the Yuan Dynasty, Li Zhiyuan passed away peacefully without suffering from any illness, at the age of 71. In the fifth year (1250), under imperial order, Li Zhenchang, the leader of the Quanzhen School, posthumously awarded him the honorary title "Immortal of Profound Void and Profound Brightness" in accordance with the court’s merit-based regulations.

Detailed accounts of his life and deeds can be found in Volume 4 of A Study on the Origin and Development of Changchun Taoism and Volume 7 of Ganshui Xianyuan Lu (Records of Immortal Origins from Sweet Waters).