The Qiu Chuji 丘处机

Qiu Chuji (1148-1227) was a native of Qixia in Dengzhou during the Jin Dynasty, which is now part of Shandong Province.

His courtesy name was Tongmi, and his Taoist title was "Changchunzi" (Master of Eternal Spring). He was commonly known as "Changchun Zhenren" (Immortal of Eternal Spring) in the world. He was born into a prominent clan; he was intelligent and had an excellent memory. At the age of 19, he became a Taoist monk at Kunyu Mountain in Ninghai (now southeast of Muping) and studied under Wang Chongyang (the founder of the Quanzhen School).

After his master passed away, Qiu Chuji lived in a cave in Panxi for six years. He always carried a coir raincoat and a bamboo hat with him when traveling, so people called him "Reverend Coir Raincoat".

Later, he went to Longmen Mountain in Longzhou (now Baoji City) to live in seclusion and practice Taoism intensely for seven years, eventually becoming the founder of the Longmen Sect of the Quanzhen School. In the 28th year of the Dading era (1188), Emperor Shizong of the Jin Dynasty summoned him to Yanjing (now Beijing), consulted him on the profound Dao (Tao), and appointed him to preside over the Taoist ritual (jiao) for the "Wanchun Festival" (the emperor’s birthday). In the 1st year of the Mingchang era (1190), Emperor Zhangzong of the Jin Dynasty issued an edict to ban the Quanzhen School and other Taoist sects on the ground that they "misled the people and disrupted social order". Qiu Chuji then returned east to Qixia in Shandong.

In the 7th year of the Taihe era (1207), the Imperial Concubine Yuan of Emperor Zhangzong presented him with a copy of The Great Jin Xuandu Treasury (a comprehensive collection of Taoist scriptures). In the 8th year (1208), Emperor Zhangzong bestowed official plaques inscribed with "Taixu" (Great Void) and "Taihe" (Great Harmony) for the Taoist temples where Qiu Chuji resided.

In the 2nd year of the Zhenyou era (1214), Qiu Chuji requested permission to persuade Yang An’er, the leader of an uprising army in Shandong, to surrender to the court. This effort earned him great respect from the imperial court.

In the 3rd year of the Xingding era (1219), he stayed at Haotian Taoist Temple in Laizhou (now Yexian County, Shandong). Envoys from the Southern Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty successively sent invitations to him, but he declined all of them. Later, Genghis Khan, Taizu of the Yuan Dynasty, sent his envoy Liu Zhonglu to invite Qiu Chuji in the winter month.

In the 4th year of the Xingding era (1220), Qiu Chuji set off from Laizhou with 18 disciples, including Yin Zhiping, Li Zhichang, and Song Defang. After a journey of ten thousand li (about 5,000 kilometers) that lasted two years, they reached the Great Snowy Mountains in the Western Regions and met Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan bestowed upon Qiu Chuji the titles "Immortal" and "Great Master".

Qiu Chuji’s disciple Li Zhichang wrote The Journey to the West of Changchun Zhenren, which provides a detailed account of this experience. In the 19th year of the reign of Yuan Taizu (1224), Qiu Chuji returned to Yanjing. Genghis Khan gave him a tiger tally (a symbol of imperial authority) and a sealed imperial edict, appointing him to take charge of Taoism across the empire. An imperial edict was issued to exempt all Taoist abbeys and Taoist practitioners from taxes and corvée labor. After that, a large number of Taoist followers gathered around him.

With Taoism thriving day by day, Qiu Chuji established eight Taoist associations in Yanjing, namely Pingdeng (Equality), Lingbao (Numinous Treasure), Changsheng (Longevity), Mingzhen (Bright Truth), Ping’an (Peace), Xiaozai (Disaster Aversion), Changchun (Eternal Spring), and Wanlian (Ten Thousand Lotuses). He also built Taoist temples and set up altars for rituals in various places, thereby expanding the influence of the Quanzhen School.

In the 22nd year of the reign of Yuan Taizu (1227), an imperial edict ordered the renaming of Taiji Palace to Changchun Palace, and Qiu Chuji was granted a golden tiger tally to lead Taoism. In July of the same year, he passed away in Baoxuan Hall and was laid to rest in Chushun Hall of Baiyun Temple. In the 6th year of the Zhiyuan era (1269), an imperial edict posthumously awarded him the title "Changchun Zhenren Who Propagates the Dao and Leads Taoism". In the 3rd year of the Zhida era of Emperor Wuzong of the Yuan Dynasty (1310), he was further posthumously enfeoffed as "Jade Emperor Changchun of Complete Virtue, Divine Transformation, Bright Response".

Qiu Chuji inherited the doctrines of Quanzhen Taoism. He advocated the equality, interconnection, and integration of the three religions (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism); he argued that practitioners of Taoism should become monks/nuns to cut off all worldly ties; and he maintained that purifying one’s mind and reducing desires was the fundamental basis for cultivating the Dao and becoming an immortal.

His works include Direct Instructions on the Great Elixir (Da Dan Zhi Zhi), which details nine methods of refining the "elixir" (a core concept in Taoist internal alchemy). Based on the process of the universe’s creation and the human body’s formation, the book explains the principle that a person’s innate vital energy and acquired vital energy can interact and merge through cultivation to form the "Great Elixir".

His other works include Collected Essays on Proclaiming the Dao (Ming Dao Ji), Treatise on Regulating Life and Seasons (She Sheng Xiao Xi Lun), and Collected Works from Panxi (Pan Xi Ji), among others.