Page 668 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

62.6 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A-L

Lei Siqi

1231-1301?; zi: Qixian 'fHI; haG: Kongshan xiansheng ~ LlJ 1G ":E
(Elder of the Empty Mountain)

This thirteenth-century specialist in the *Yijing and its diagram (tu DE) and
numerological (shu 11&) traditions was a native of the prosperous scholarly
area of Linchuan ~In'; J 11 (Jiangxi). In his youth he studied at the Niaoshi guan
,~ti IDl (Abbey of the Bird Stone). After Khubilai khan (r. 1260-94) established
Mongol rule in south China in 1276 and named the thirty-sixth Celestial
Master, *Zhang Zongyan (1244-91), head of Taoist affairs for the Mongol
regime, Zhang asked Lei Siqi to become lecturer in the Mysterious Teaching
(*Xuanjiao) in Beijing.
Lei later returned to the Guangxin .I:lfl'f (Jiangxi) mountains, where he lec-
tured and taught until he passed away at Niaoshi guano Among his renowned
disciples were *Wu Quanjie (1269-1346), Fu Xingzhen f~tttt and Zhou Weihe
Jj'f] *ff. ifp. His main extant works, both completed around 1300, are the titles
found in CT 1011 to CT 1014 (Kalinowski 1989-90, 88). The longest text, Yitu
tongbian ~ fIiill :@ ~ (Miscellany on Divination with the Book of Changes; CT
1014; see Qing Xitai 1994, 2: 113-14) is preceded by a set of four prefaces (CT
1012) by Zhang Zongyan in 1286, Jie Xisi t~1*:ItJT (1274-1344) and Wu Quanjie
(both dated 1332), and the last by Lei himself, dated 1300, which states that the
Yishi tongbian !0 ~:iill ~ (Miscellany of Diagrams on the Book of Changes; CT
1011) is the successor to the Yitu tongbian. The titles of these texts both derive
from studies grounded in the diagrams of the Yijing. The two annotated pages
of Hetu ~PJ f@1 (Chart of the [Yellow J River; CT 1013) belong to the Yitu tongbian
(CT 1014). Lei also wrote the Laozi benyi ~J-;;$: ~ (Fundamental Meaning
of the Laozi) and Zhuangzi zhiyi m: T I§' ~ (Core Meaning of the Zhuangzi),
which appear to be no longer extant. The Yuan scholar YuanJue ~,fiIl praised
Lei for his profound understanding of cosmic processes as seen in his writings
on both the Yijing and on the Daode jingo

LowellSKAR
m Boltz J. M. 1987a, 248; Qing Xitai 1994, I: 347-48; Zhan Shichuang 1989,
96-115; Zhang Guangbao 1997
* Xuanjiao