The Wang Xiaqi 王霞栖

Wang Xiaqi (?—1711) was a native of Jiangnan (a region south of the Yangtze River, covering parts of modern Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces) in the early Qing Dynasty.

According to Jinge Xindeng (The Lamp of the Heart at Jinge Mountain): Both her father and elder brother were devoted to Xuanxue (profound learning, here referring to Taoism and esoteric thought), and there was an Jitan (planchette-writing altar, a ritual platform for communicating with deities or spirits in traditional Chinese religion) in her family. Wang Xiaqi aspired to dedicated spiritual cultivation. After marrying Qian Hanyang, she often lived in seclusion. In her middle age, when Qian Hanyang formally became a Taoist disciple at Guanshan Mountain (by converting to Taoism there), Wang Xiaqi then entered Nüzhen Guan (Nüzhen Taoist Temple, "Guan" refers to a Taoist monastery) and became a Huangguan (a Taoist nun, literally "yellow hat," a term for Taoist clergy).

She practiced the Lingfei Method (a esoteric Taoist cultivation technique), and eventually attained the Six Spiritual Powers (a concept in Taoism and Buddhism, referring to supernatural abilities like clairvoyance and clairaudience gained through spiritual refinement). Additionally, she upheld and practiced the essentials of Buddhist texts such as the Fanzhou (likely a reference to a Buddhist scripture, possibly a variant name or local title) and the Lengyan Sutra (Śūraṅgama Sūtra). Her mastery of Taoist doctrines and practices was profound—people near and far, who admired her chastity, virtue, and filial piety, all became her followers or converted to Taoism under her influence.

She once oversaw the construction of the Hu Zhennü Pagoda (Pagoda of Virtuous Maiden Hu) on Heshan Mountain by Zhe Lake (a lake in Zhejiang Province, exact name unspecified in the original text).

Wang Xiaqi passed away in the 50th year of the Kangxi reign (1711).

In the Taoist community, she was honored with the title Donghua Qiongguan Yaqian Neishi (literally "Inner Secretary of the Jade 牙签 [a term for books/archives] in the Jade Pavilion of Donghua," a noble Taoist honorific referring to her status as a learned and virtuous female Taoist master, with "Donghua" evoking sacred Taoist realms).