The Jingming Dao 净明道

Jingming Dao, whose full name is "Jingming Zhongxiao Dao" (Pure and Bright Dao of Loyalty and Filial Piety).

It is a Taoist school that emerged in Xishan (Western Mountain) of Nanchang during the Song and Yuan dynasties, derived from the Lingbao Sect.

"Jing" (pure) refers to not being contaminated by external things, and "Ming" (bright) refers to not being disturbed by external things. The school takes "Jingming (pure and bright) loyalty and filial piety" as its tenet, which also serves as the name of the sect.

The establishment of Jingming Dao went through a long period of gestation. Jingming Dao reveres Xu Xun (Xu Jingyang), a Taoist priest of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, as its founder, claiming that its rituals and talismans originated from Xu Xun. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Xu Xun resided in Nanchang to preach, and together with his eleven disciples, they were collectively known as the "Twelve Perfect Ones". After Xu Xun's death, Taoism in Xishan continued uninterrupted. Youwei Guan, where Xu Xun practiced asceticism by burning incense, was revived by Hu Huichao, a Taoist priest of the Tang Dynasty, and later received imperial awards from emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty. In the early Southern Song Dynasty, Zhou Zhengong, a Taoist priest of Yulong Wanshou Palace (formerly Youwei Guan) in Xishan, utilized the belief in Xu Xun, prayed for Xu Zhenjun (Perfect Lord Xu) to grant salvation, and was said to have received Feixian Duren Jing (Scripture of Immortals Flying to Save People) and Jingming Zhongxiao Dafa (Great Law of Pure and Bright Loyalty and Filial Piety). He then built Yizhen Altar in Xishan and initiated more than 500 disciples, marking the formation of this Taoist school. However, the lineage of Zhou Zhengong's school did not last long and seemed to fade into obscurity.

At the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, Liu Yu, a Taoist priest in Xishan, rose to establish the religion. In the 20th year of the Zhiyuan era of Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty (1283), Liu Yu claimed that Hu Huichao, a Taoist from Xishan, descended to announce that the great Jingming religion would flourish, with 800 disciples to emerge, and that Liu Yu was to be their teacher. Liu Yu first built Tengsheng Daoist Temple to persuade people to follow the good path. Later, Liu Yu successively claimed to have received Yuzhen Lingbao Tan Ji (Records of the Jade Truth Lingbao Altar), Zhonghuang Dadao (The Great Way of the Central Yellow), and Baji Zhenquan (True Interpretation of the Eight Extremes) from Xu Xun; Yuzhen Litan Shu (Document for Establishing the Jade Truth Altar) from Guo Pu; and Taoist methods and the essence of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) for subduing evil spirits with the Three-Five Flying Steps from Hu Huichao.

In the first year of the Dade era (1297), the Taoist school named "Jingming Dao" was formally established. The Jingming Dao reestablished by Liu Yu regarded Xu Xun as the Jingming Dao Teacher (the first transmission of Lord Jingyang), Lan Gong and Chen Mu as the initiators of Jingming, and the Twelve Perfect Ones of Xishan as the propagators of Jingming. It also revered Zhang Yun, a Taoist of the Tang Dynasty, as the Jingming Scripture Teacher; Hu Huichao as the Jingming Dharma Teacher; and Guo Pu, a Taoist of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, as the Jingming Supervising Initiation Teacher, collectively known as the "Three Jingming Teachers". Liu Yu claimed to promote the Jingming religion as the second transmission of Lord Jingyang.

The four generations of Dharma-passing patriarchs of Jingming Dao after Liu Yu were called the successors of Jingming. Huang Yuanji was the third transmission of Lord Jingyang, Xu Yi the fourth, Zhao Yizhen the fifth, and Liu Yuanran the sixth. The period from Liu Yu to the fifth generation of the four successors of Jingming was the heyday of Jingming Dao.

Huang Yuanji set up three altars in Xishan—Yuzhen (Jade Truth), Yinzhen (Hidden Truth), and Dongzhen (Cave Truth)—to initiate disciples. Since then, the rituals and talismans of the Jingming altars in Xishan have been prevalent in the world. Huang Yuanji, Xu Yi, and Liu Yuanran all went to the capital to promote Jingming teachings, made extensive connections with scholar-officials, and enjoyed great fame for a time. Recommended by Zhang Sicheng, the 39th Celestial Master, Huang Yuanji was granted the titles of "Jingming Chongde Hongdao Dashi" (Master of Promoting Virtue and Expanding the Way of Pure and Brightness), "Jiaomen Gaoshi" (Eminent Scholar of the Religious Sect), and "Yulong Wanshou Palace Tidian" (Overseer of Yulong Wanshou Palace) by the Yuan court. Zhao Yizhen once studied under Zhang Guangji and Li Xuanyi, learning the doctrines of the Northern and Southern branches of Quanzhen Dao. Jingming Dao maintained close and friendly relations with Quanzhen Dao and Zhengyi Dao. After Liu Yuanran, the lineage of Jingming Dao became unclear, and the sect gradually declined. In the 9th year of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1652), Xu Shoucheng, the eighth-generation Dharma-successor of Qiu Chuji, entered Xishan to study Jingming Dao and dedicated himself to restoring the Taoist temples in Xishan. In the 31st year of the Kangxi era (1692), after Xu Shoucheng's death, his disciples Tan Taizhi, Zhang Taixuan, and Xiong Taian resided in Xishan to continue the Jingming lineage.

After that, the history of Jingming Dao is not recorded. Jingming Dao takes "Jingming loyalty and filial piety" as the core of cultivation. "Jingming" is the requirement for inner cultivation, and "loyalty and filial piety" are the requirements for external conduct. Jingming Dao regards loyalty, filial piety, incorruptibility, prudence, leniency, generosity, tolerance, and forbearance as the "Eight Treasures handed down to the world", requiring Taoists to strictly abide by them. It holds that loyalty and filial piety are the foundation of the great way, stating that "with loyalty and filial piety as the foundation, the heart (square inch) becomes pure and bright; with the four virtues (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom) all present, the spirit gradually becomes spiritual; without deliberate cultivation, one can naturally attain the way" (Jingming Zhongxiao Quanshu [Complete Book of Pure and Bright Loyalty and Filial Piety], Volume 2).

A characteristic of Jingming Dao is the integration of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, advocating the unity of the three teachings. It holds that the "Jingming" of Taoism, the "zhongshu" (loyalty and reciprocity) of Confucianism, and the "Mahayana" of Buddhism share the same ultimate goal despite different approaches. Jingming Dao attaches great importance to the cultivation of feudal ethics and has strong characteristics of Neo-Confucianism. Jingming Zhongxiao Quanshu is the fundamental classic of Jingming Dao, compiled by Huang Yuanji, and is an important material for studying Jingming Dao. More than ten scriptures of Jingming Dao are included in the Daozang (Taoist Canon).

Jingming Dao is a new Taoist school characterized by advocating loyalty and filial piety. Its doctrines were highly praised by bureaucrats and scholar-officials in the Yuan and Ming dynasties and also received attention from the rulers of those dynasties.

The Dharma-passing patriarchs of Jingming Dao had close relations with the Celestial Masters of Longhu Mountain and also interacted with the Longmen Sect of Quanzhen Dao and the Southern Branch of Quanzhen Dao, making it an influential sect during the Yuan and Ming dynasties.