The Xu Xun 许逊

Xu Xun (? - 374), a native of Gaoyang (present-day Runan County, Henan Province) in the Jin Dynasty, resided in Yuzhang (present-day Nanchang) for a long time. His courtesy name was Jingzhi.

In his middle age, he studied Taoism under Wu Meng, became proficient in classics and history, and secluded himself in Xishan (Western Mountain), where he fully inherited the divine prescriptions and esoteric methods of Wu Meng and Ding Yi.

In the early years of the Taikang era of the Jin Dynasty (280 AD), he came out of seclusion and once served as the magistrate of Jingyang (present-day Zhijiang County, Hubei Province; some say Deyang County, Sichuan Province). He achieved remarkable administrative achievements and was deeply respected and obeyed by both officials and common people.

Later, seeing the chaos in the Jin court, he resigned from his official post, took Mother Chen as his teacher, and obtained the Supreme Lingbao Pure Brightness Method. He is revered as the founding ancestor by both the Pure Brightness School and the Lvshan School.

During the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, he was conferred the title of "Perfect Lord of Supreme Dao, Mysterious Response, Divine Merit, and Wonderful Salvation". His works include Spirit Sword Manual and Record in the Stone Casket, etc. (Source: Volume 6 of Records of the Supreme Lingbao Pure Brightness Religion, Volume 16 of Seven Slips of a Cloudy Satchel, and Volume 26 of Comprehensive Mirror of the Dao-Practicing Immortals Through the Ages).