The Wu Shanjing 吴善经

Wu Shanjing was a native of Xiandu Mountain in Jinyun (now part of Zhejiang Province) during the Tang Dynasty. In his youth, he studied Tao Te Ching and various scriptures of Lingbao (a major school of Taoism). Aspiring to a life of transcendental wandering beyond the mundane world, he traveled to and climbed many famous mountains such as Tiantai Mountain and Maoshan Mountain when he was 17. Later, he entered the Taiqing Palace, became a Taoist monk under the tutelage of Shen Chongxu, and formally studied under him.

According to Epitaph of Mr. Wu, the San Dong (Three Grottoes) Master of Taiqing Palace in the Tang Dynasty by Quan Deyu, Wu Shanjing received the San Dong Scripture Dharma and the San Jing True Talisman from his teacher. Later, he became a Grand Master of San Dong and once annotated Tao Te Ching. His well-known disciples included Zhao Changying, Fu Dongyou, Zhou Yuande, and others. He passed away in the 9th year of Yuanhe (811 AD) at the age of 83.