The Zhang Xiaoyao 张逍遥

Zhang Xiaoyao (1595-1661) was a native of Qi County, Henan Province during the transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties.

He entered Xianren Cave (Immortal Cave) to gather medicinal herbs and eat wild plants. He practiced spiritual cultivation and the ritual of worshipping the Big Dipper; his sincere devotion moved the heavens (or enlightened beings). A True Person (a revered Taoist adept) then taught him the essential principles of "Xingming" (the cultivation of life and nature, a core concept in Taoism referring to the nurturing of physical vitality and spiritual essence) and the way of Jindan (the Taoist Art of the Golden Elixir, central to internal and external alchemy).

Later, he traveled to Yuzhang (an ancient name for present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi Province) and resided in Hongjing Cave, where he practiced the Jingming Filial Piety Dao (Jingming School of Taoism, which emphasizes purity, enlightenment, and filial piety as core tenets). People at that time admired him deeply, and the number of those who sought to meet him and learn his teachings grew day by day. He passed away in the 18th year of the Shunzhi reign (1661) at the age of 67.

Details of his life story can be found in the Jiangxi Tongzhi (General Records of Jiangxi Province) and Volume 6 of Taishang Lingbao Jingming Zong Jiaolu (Records of the Jingming Sect of the Supreme Numinous Treasure Taoism).