The Yin Wencao 尹文操
Paul PengShare
Yin Wencao (622-688)
Yin Wencao, courtesy name Jingxian, was a native of Tianshui in Longxi (now part of Gansu Province) during the early Tang Dynasty.
In his youth, he studied Confucian classics and enjoyed reciting the Laozi (Tao Te Ching), Zhuangzi, and Classic of Filial Piety. As he grew older, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to worship at the Temple of Immortal Yin and kept away from secular affairs. According to The Stele of Revered Master Yin of Tianshui, the Director of Zongsheng Taoist Temple and Holder of the Title Yinqing Guanglu Dafu in the Great Tang Dynasty written by Yuan Banqian, Yin Wencao gained a profound understanding of profound Taoist principles after reading texts such as the Xisheng Jing (Scripture of Ascension to the West) and Lingbao Jing (Scripture of the Numinous Treasure).
He studied under Master Zhou, from whom he received the Guishan Talisman (a Taoist ritual talisman), the Qingyu Hidden Method (an esoteric Taoist practice), and the Profound Essentials of Purple Clouds (a Taoist theoretical doctrine).
Subsequently, he was ordered by imperial decree to become a Taoist monk and was assigned to reside at Zongsheng Taoist Temple. He traveled to the Five Great Mountains (a group of sacred mountains in Taoism) and visited virtuous predecessors across the land.
Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty converted the former residence of the Prince of Jin into Haotian Taoist Temple in memory of Emperor Taizong, and appointed Yin Wencao as the director of the temple, concurrently overseeing all affairs of the temple.
In the fourth year of the Yifeng era (679), Yin Wencao was ordered by imperial edict to perform merit-making rituals at the Temple of Laozi, and was also commissioned to compile The Holy Chronicle of Emperor Xuanyuan (Emperor Xuanyuan, revered as the originator of Taoism in the Tang Dynasty) in ten volumes.
After Emperor Gaozong read the work, he was greatly pleased and conferred on Yin Wencao the title of Yinqing Guanglu Dafu (a high-ranking honorary official title in the Tang Dynasty) and appointed him to the position of Acting Assistant Minister of Rites (in charge of imperial rituals, sacrifices, and cultural affairs).
In the fourth year of the Chuigong era (688), Yin Wencao passed away without suffering from any illness. In addition to his compiled works, he also authored On Dispelling Delusions (four volumes), On Eliminating Demons (thirty volumes), and Biographies of Predecessors at Louguan Taoist Temple (one volume).
He also compiled Catalogue of the Jade Weft (a Taoist textual catalogue), which recorded more than 7,200 volumes of Taoist scriptures.
His most famous disciple was Hou Shaowei.
(Sources: Records of Steles of Immortal Masters of All Dynasties at Shuojing Platform of Zhongnan Mountain, The Stele of Revered Master Yin of Tianshui in the Great Tang Dynasty)
About the Author
Paul Peng
Paul Peng is a Zhengyi Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi — the ancestral home of the Celestial Masters' tradition. Ordained at 25 after a dream from the Celestial Master, he has practiced for 25 years under Master Zeng Guangliang. He is one of the curators of this store, which is officially authorized by Tianshi Fu. All items are consecrated at the temple by the resident priest team.
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