The Longmen Sect 龙门派

A branch of Quanzhen Dao, which reveres Qiu Chuji, one of the Seven Northern Perfect Ones, as its founding patriarch. Jingai Xindeng (Records of the Golden Canopy and Heart Lamp) and Baiyun Guan Zhi (Records of Baiyun Temple) contain records of its lineage. It is said that the first generation was Zhao Daojian (styled Xujing), and the second generation was Zhang Dechun (styled Bizhi); both generations lived during the Yuan Dynasty. The third generation was Chen Tongwei (styled Chongyi), the fourth was Zhou Xuanpu (styled Dazhuo), who later passed down the lineage to the fifth generation, Zhang Jingding (styled Wowo) and Shen Jingyuan (styled Dunkong). The lineage then split into the sixth generation, Zhao Zhensong (styled Fuyang) and Wei Zhending (styled Pingyang). The above five generations lived during the Ming Dynasty. From various biographical records, it is difficult to determine who founded the Longmen Sect and when. The first-generation Zhao Daojian was originally one of the eighteen disciples who accompanied Qiu Chuji on his westward journey to meet Genghis Khan, but he died in the city of Sairam in the Western Regions during the journey in 1221.

During a period when Quanzhen Dao was still in its infancy, how could he have founded a separate branch? Later Longmen Taoists, in order to honor him as the first patriarch, modified his history in works such as Jingai Xindeng, significantly delaying the timeline of his life. It is claimed that he received the Initial Perfection Precepts and the Middle Ultimate Precepts from Qiu Chuji in the year of Gengchen of the Zhiyuan era, i.e., 1280.

When he achieved success through proper practice, Qiu "personally transmitted the mind seal, bestowed the robe and alms bowl, conferred the Heavenly Immortal Precepts, and gave a four-line verse as the twenty-character lineage of the Longmen Sect, which begins with: 'Dao, De, Tong, Xuan, Jing...', thus making him the first precept master of the Longmen Sect." It is also stated that "he practiced for thirty years, and when his merits and deeds were fulfilled and he was about to pass away, he first imparted the precepts and formulas to the Henan Taoist Zhang Bizhi (named Dechun) in the year of Renzi of the Huangqing era (1312)..." (Jingai Xindeng, Volume 1, Biography of Precept Master Zhao Xujing). The years recorded for the transmission of the Dharma all occurred decades after the deaths of Qiu and Zhao, and are clearly fictional. The reason for such modifications to the histories of Qiu and Zhao was simply to link the later Longmen Sect to Qiu and Zhao. This precisely proves that the Longmen Sect was founded neither by Qiu Chuji nor by Zhao Daojian.

The reverence of Zhao Daojian as the first precept-transmitting master was actually a need for the Longmen Sect to claim prestigious ancestry. Due to the inaccuracies in Zhao Daojian's history, this directly affected the identification of the second-generation Zhang Dechun. Even if Zhang Dechun was indeed a descendant of Qiu Chuji's disciples, it would have been impossible for him to establish the Longmen Sect during the Yuan Dynasty. Because many records of Quanzhen Dao activities during the Yuan Dynasty have been preserved to this day, none of which show any signs of the formation of branch sects during that period.

Subsequently, the third to sixth generations lived during the Ming Dynasty. According to records, the third-generation Chen Tongwei, the fourth-generation Zhou Xuanpu, and the fifth-generation Zhang Jingding all had no fixed residences but lived in Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan for a relatively long time. Zhou Xuanpu received precepts in the 20th year of the Hongwu era (1387). "At that time, Taoism was in decline, and those with aspirations all kept a low profile to avoid trouble. The master lived in seclusion in Qingcheng, not setting foot in the mortal world for more than fifty years.

He practiced inner contemplation, not letting the affairs of religious propagation trouble his mind. His few disciples were not engaged in spreading the teachings. The precept tradition almost died out! He lived to be 110 years old, and only then did Zhang Zongren, a Taoist from Tiantai, take over the Dharma and precepts.... In the year of Gengwu of the Jingtai era (the first year of Jingtai, 1450) on the 15th day of the tenth lunar month, he left for another place and his whereabouts are unknown." (Jingai Xindeng, Volume 1, Biography of Precept Master Zhou Dazhuo)

It is evident that the Longmen Sect had not yet formed before the first year of the Jingtai era. The fifth and sixth generations of inheritors also wandered without a fixed abode, with very few disciples, showing no signs of a religious community forming around them. Therefore, the exact time when the Longmen Sect was established remains to be further studied. In the 12th year of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1655), Wang Changyue arrived in Beijing. In the third month of the following year, he preached precepts at Baiyun Temple, holding three ordination ceremonies and accepting more than a thousand disciples.

In the 2nd year of the Kangxi era (1663), he traveled south to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to transmit precepts, and a few years later, went to Wudang Mountain in Hubei to do the same, thus enabling the Longmen organization to spread rapidly from these regions to the whole country, forming a "revival" of the Longmen Sect. Wang Changyue was regarded by his disciples as the "reviver" of the Longmen Sect. This revival continued in some regions until the Qianlong and Jiaqing eras. During its spread, the Longmen Sect continuously split into many small branches.

For example, the eighth-generation disciple of Wang Changyue, Elder Jinzhu, established the Tianzhu Guan Sect at Jinzhu Ping in Yuhang, Zhejiang, passing it down to the ninth-generation Pan Taimu (styled Muxin), then to the tenth-generation Wang Qingxu (styled Dongyang), and the eleventh-generation Pan Yiyuan (styled Tianya); the eighth-generation disciple Tao Shouzhen (styled Jing'an) established the Yunchao Branch at Jinge Mountain in Huzhou, passing it down to the ninth-generation Tao Sicha (styled Shi'an), the tenth-generation Xu Qingcheng (styled Ziyuan), and the eleventh-generation Xu Yifan (styled Longyan); the eighth-generation disciple Huang Shouzheng (styled Xutang) established the Taiwei Lvyuan Branch in Suzhou, passing it down to the ninth-generation Sun Taiyue (styled Biyang); the eighth-generation disciple Lü Shoupu (styled Yunyin) established the Guanshan Branch in Suzhou, passing it down to the ninth-generation Lü Taijin (styled Quanyang) and Bao Taikai (styled Sanyang), etc.; the disciple of Wang Changyue, Jizu Daoshi Huang Shouzheng, established the Xizhu Xinzong (Western India Mind Sect) at Jizu Mountain in Yunnan, passing it down to Guan Tianxian, who passed it to Jin Huaihuai, who passed it to Huo Siren, and then to Zhu Zhuosheng, etc.

The ninth-generation Longmen disciple Zhou Tailang (styled Mingyang) established the Jinggu Dong Branch in Hangzhou, passing it down to the tenth-generation Dai Qingyuan (styled Chuyang), Gao Qingyu (styled Dongli), and Fang Qingfu (styled Ningyang). Dai passed it to the eleventh-generation Luo Yizhong (styled Shengzhe), who then passed it to the twelfth-generation Cai Yangshan (styled Tianyi), and then to the thirteenth-generation Dai Beizhuang, and the fourteenth-generation Zhang Fuchun; the tenth-generation Gao Qingyu established the Tiantai Tongbai Palace Branch, passing it down to the eleventh-generation Fang Yiding (styled Rongyang), Min Yide (styled Lanyun), and Shen Yibing (styled Qingyun), which continued to spread with great prosperity.

The tenth-generation Chen Qingjue established the Bidong Sect in Qingcheng Mountain, Sichuan, which was passed down to the 23rd generation by the Republic of China. There were many other Longmen branches, too numerous to list. After its "revival" in the early Qing Dynasty, the Longmen Sect thrived uniquely, with more and more branches spreading across an increasingly wide area. Its scale not only surpassed and overshadowed other branches of Quanzhen Dao but also replaced the Zhengyi Sect in many provinces. Hence, the saying that "Linji (a Buddhist sect) and Longmen (a Taoist sect) dominate half the world" is indeed not an exaggeration.