The Zhang Sanfeng 张三丰

Zhang Sanfeng was a native of Yizhou in Liaodong (now southwest of Zhangwu, Liaoning Province) during the Yuan and Ming dynasties.

His given name was Quanyi, courtesy name Junshi, and he had literary names including Sanfeng, Xuanxuanzi, and Zhang Lata. According to "Biography of Zhang Sanfeng" in The History of the Ming Dynasty, he studied Taoism at the Taiqing Palace in Luyi, Henan during the Yuan Dynasty.

In the late Yuan Dynasty, he resided at the Jintai Guan (Golden Terrace Taoist Temple) in Baoji, Shaanxi.

In the early Ming Dynasty, he entered Wudang Mountain in Hubei and built a thatched hut for himself at Yuzhen Guan (Encountering Truth Taoist Temple) north of Zhanqi Peak.

In the 23rd year of the Hongwu era (1390), he left Wudang Mountain, and his whereabouts became unknown.

Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty sent envoys to search for him multiple times, but all attempts failed.

In the 3rd year of the Tianshun era of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty (1459), he was posthumously granted the title "True Person Tongwei Xianhua" (True Person of Penetrating Subtlety and Manifesting Transformation); in the 22nd year of the Chenghua era (1466), he was specially granted the title "True Immortal Taoguang Shangzhi" (True Immortal of Concealing Radiance and Upholding Aspirations); and in the 42nd year of the Jiajing era (1563), he was further granted the title "Zhenjun Qingxu Xuanmiao" (Perfect Lord of Purity, Emptiness, Mystery, and Subtlety).

His religious ideology held that "Buddha Sakyamuni, Confucius, and Laozi all referred to [the same principle] as 'Tao'" and that "the practice of cultivating Tao is what constitutes 'teaching'; the sages of the three teachings all based their doctrines on this Tao." He advocated the unity of the three teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism).

He also promoted internal alchemy cultivation and the accumulation of good deeds and merits, holding the view that "in metaphysics (Taoism), merits and virtues form the foundation, and the Golden Elixir serves as the application; only then can one become an immortal."

Regarding his deeds and legends, relatively reliable sources include "Biography of Zhang Junshi" in The History of the Ming Dynasty, "Biography of Zhang Sanfeng" in The History of the Ming Dynasty, Yutang Manbi (Random Notes from the Jade Hall) by Lu Shen of the Ming Dynasty, and Wanli Yehuo Bian (Random Notes from the Wild during the Wanli Era) by Shen Deqian of the Ming Dynasty. Later generations compiled The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng, which was included in Daozang Jiyao (Essentials of the Taoist Canon).