The Zhang Zhijin 张志谨

The Zhang Zhijin 张志谨

Paul Peng
Zhang Zhijin was a native of Wen County (now Wen County, Henan Province) during the transition between the Jin and Yuan dynasties. According to The Stele of Rebuilding Lingdu Wanshou Palace at Tiantan (Heavenly Altar): Zhang Zhijin had the courtesy name Bogong and styled himself Ningshenzi (Master of Calming the Spirit) and Guangxuan Zhenren (Real Person of Broad Mystery).

His family was wealthy and generous, and they took pleasure in donating to help the poor. From childhood, Zhang was intelligent and perceptive, with a particular fondness for Taoist books.

During the Taihe era (1201-1208), he traveled by sea to engage in trade. When encountering pirates, he gave all his money and goods to them; his companions thus escaped the disaster of being killed.

One day, while traveling in Wuzhi, he met a Taoist priest who gave him a magical medicinal herb. After taking it, all his worries and anxieties vanished. From then on, he bid farewell to his relatives to study Taoism and became a disciple of Zhenren Changchun (Qiu Chuji).

He diligently practiced Taoist virtues and cultivated himself for as long as twenty years. In the second year of the Yuanguang era (1223), Zhenren Changchun bestowed upon him the title "Ningshenzi".

Zhenren Changchun intended to entrust him with the task of succeeding in propagating Taoist teachings, but Zhang Zhijin firmly declined and refused to accept.

In the third year of the Zhengda era (1226), he moved to Lingdu Guan (Lingdu Temple) at Tiantan.

In the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Dingzong of the Yuan Dynasty (1250), by imperial decree, Zhang Zhijin was specially posthumously awarded the title "Guangxuan Zhenren", and Lingdu Guan was renamed Lingdu Wanshou Palace.

He authored Wu Xiang Ji (Collection of No Form), which has been passed down to later generations.
Paul Peng — Zhengyi Taoist Priest, Longhu Mountain

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 →
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