Page 302 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

CH EN Z HI XU

Besides the above works, Chen also wrote lost commentaries to the Daode
jing and the Vajracchedika-sutra (Diamond Sutra).
Echoing his older contemporary, *Li Daochun, and anticipating some neidan
masters of the later period, especially *Liu Yiming, Chen offers a radically spiri-
tual interpretation of neidan. Instead of describing physiological practices, he
repeatedly states that the essence of alchemy consists in recovering the Original
Pneuma (*yuanqi) of the state "prior to Heaven" within the state "subsequent
to Heaven" (see *xiantian and houtian); this recovery is said to happen "in one
instant" (qingke ~Ji~U) . While the main doctrinal foundation reflected in his
works is the *Nanzong legacy (represented, in particular, by *Zhang Boduan
and *Bai Yuchan), his discourse exemplifies the neidan readiness to borrow
relevant notions and term from different traditions: throughout his works,
he quotes the Daode jing, the *Zhouyi can tong qi, the Wuzhen pian, and Bud-
dhist texts. The Daodejing, in his view, is the ultimate source of neidan ("The
Dao of Laozi is the Great Dao of the Golden Elixir"; Jindan dayao, 2.7a), but
Chen also stresses the unity of the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Taoism,
and Buddhism) and often juxtaposes passages from their respective sources
to show their ultimate identity according to the neidan way of seeing. Chen
states that he received the doctrine of the unity of the Three Teachings from
Zhao Youqin, whose Xian Fo tongyuan 1ill 1* Im r! (The Common Source of
Immortals and Buddhas), sometimes indicated as lost, is available in theJindan
zhengli daquan.
Although Nanzong is his main doctrinal source, Chen Zhixu describes his
lineage as a branch of Quanzhen. According to his reconstruction, which is
not based on historical fact, the Quanzhen patriarch, *Ma Yu (II23-84), passed
on his teachings to *Song Defang (II83- 1247), and the transmission continued
with Li Jue *H, Zhang Mo ~~ , and Zhao Youqin before reaching Ch en
Zhixu himself. Chen probably elaborated this lineage in recognition of the
status of the Quanzhen school, which enjoyed the official protection of the
court and whose Five Patriarchs had received the title of Real Lords (zhenjun
~!t) from the Yuan ruling house two decades before Chen's birth.

Fabrizio PREGADIO
m Boltz J. M. I987a, 184- 86, 208; Davis and Ch' en 1942; Li Yuanguo 1988,
416-31; Qing Xitai 1994, I: 369-71
* neidan;Jindan dayao; Nanzong