The Yang Xizhen 杨希真

Yang Xizhen (1101-1121) was a native of Yizhen during the late Northern Song Dynasty, with the courtesy name Yuandao. He was originally a rice merchant in Yizhen.

He did not start speaking until the age of six. As he grew older, he learned to respectfully worship the statues of the True Lords of the Four Classics. In the second year of the Xuanhe era (1120) of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, he went to Maoshan Mountain to study the Tongchu Great Method (a core Taoist practice).

During Emperor Huizong’s reign, efforts were made to seek out extraordinary figures across the country. Yang Xizhen was summoned to the imperial court, where he presented scriptures such as The Scripture of the Divine Transformations of the Nine-Spirited Jade Infant and the esoteric essentials of Lingxu (a Taoist concept referring to "spiritual emptiness" or a transcendent realm).

The emperor issued an imperial decree ordering Huang Mian to collate and verify these texts, which were then recorded and included in the Taoist Canon (Daozang). Yang Xizhen was specially conferred the titles of "Dantai Lang Chonghe Miaoyi Dharma Master" (Dantai Lang: an honorary Taoist official title; Chonghe Miaoyi Dharma Master: Master of Harmony and Wonderful Unity) and "Zhu Chaoqing Dafu" (a mid-ranking imperial official title for advising on rituals). Thereafter, the Tongchu Great Method became widely known in the world.

In the sixth year of the Xuanhe era (1124), Yang Xizhen passed away at the age of 24. His disciple Shen Yu, who held the official position of "Chengwu Lang" (a low-ranking imperial official title), wrote Biography of True Person Yang.

(Source: Maoshan Zhi / Records of Maoshan Mountain, Volume 16)