The Ruan Xiaobo 阮孝波

Ruan Xiaobo was a figure of the Tang Dynasty.

He served as a Dharma Master at Dahongdao Guan (Dahongdao Taoist Temple).

In the fourth year of Chang'an (704 AD), he was ordered by imperial decree to hold the Jinlu Grand Zhai (a grand Taoist ritual for blessing and spiritual purification) at Daiyue Guan (Daiyue Taoist Temple) on Mount Tai (the Eastern Great Mountain). During the ritual, he performed "Jiao" (Taoist ceremonial prayers) and the "Toulong" (Dragon-throwing) ritual—an important Taoist practice where a dragon-shaped token is offered to mountains or rivers to pray for blessings. Additionally, together with Xing Xuying and others, he created a set of ten items depicting "Yubao Huangshang Tianzun" (a revered Taoist deity) for the emperor, a set of twenty-two murals depicting Tianzun (Taoist deities), copied one volume of Benji Jing (Sutra of the Origin) and one thousand volumes of Dusheng Jing (Sutra of Delivering Beings).

In the first year of Shenlong (705 AD), he was again ordered by imperial decree to hold the Jinlu Grand Zhai at Daiyue Guan, performing "Jiao" and "Toulong" rituals. Using items such as "Benming Zhencai" (auspicious objects corresponding to one's birth year for warding off evil and securing blessings), he created a statue of "Xuanzhen Wanfu Tianzun" (a Taoist deity associated with profound truth and boundless blessings) for the emperor and empress.

Accounts of his deeds can be found in The Stele of Daiyue Guan (Daiyue Guan Bei).