The Yin Zhiping 尹志平
Paul PengShare
Yin Zhiping (1169-1251) was a native of Laizhou (now Ye County, Shandong Province) during the Jin and Yuan dynasties.
His courtesy name was Dahe, and he styled himself Qinghezi.
In his early years, he studied under Ma Danyang and embraced Taoism; later, he became a disciple of Qiu Changchun (Qiu Chuji) and resided at Qixia Guan (Qixia Temple).
He also received esoteric instructions from Wang Yuyang, and studied the I Ching (Classic of Changes) under Hao Taigu. From then on, his attainments in Taoism grew increasingly prominent. In the 15th year of the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Yuan Dynasty (1220), he followed the Real Person Changchun (Qiu Chuji) on his journey to the Western Regions.
When they returned to Yunzhong (now Datong, Shanxi Province), Yin Zhiping was ordered by Qiu Chuji to go to Shandong to pacify the people amid military chaos—both soldiers and civilians submitted to his authority.
Later, he lived in Dexing (now Zhuolu, Hebei Province) and served as the abbot of Longyang Guan (Longyang Temple). Qiu Chuji treated him with great kindness and bestowed upon him the literary name "Qinghezi".
After Qiu Chuji returned to Yanjing (modern Beijing), Yin Zhiping went back to Changchun Palace. In the 4th year of the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Yuan Dynasty (1232), the Emperor returned to the capital after his southern campaign and ordered Yin Zhiping to enter the Central Palace to perform sacrificial rituals on his behalf at Changchun Guan (Changchun Temple).
In the 6th year (1234), the Emperor granted him a set of Taoist scriptures. In the 8th year (1236), Yin Zhiping went to Zhongnan Mountain, where he renovated the ancestral Taoist temple (of the Quanzhen Sect) and taught and guided Taoist believers.
In the 10th year (1238), he passed on the "robe and alms bowl" (a symbol of the transmission of Taoist leadership) to Li Zhichang. He died of illness in the 1st year of the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Yuan Dynasty (1251) at the age of 83.
In the 2nd year of the Zhongtong era (1261), he was posthumously awarded the title "Real Person of Qinghe, Wonderful Dao, and Broad Transformation". He authored Baoguang Ji (Collection of Preserved Radiance), which consists of three volumes.
Details of his life can be found in works such as Zhongnan Mountain Ancestral Court Immortals and Real Persons Internal Biography and Stele of the Daoist Attainments of the Great Master Yin, the Qinghe Patriarch of the Great Yuan 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.
Read his full story →
