Page 754 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

7 12 T H E ENCYCLO PE DIA OF TAO ISM A-L

Lii Dongbin
g ~~~

ming: Yan ffi (or: /l); hao: Chunyang zi ~~r (Master of Pure
Yang), Chunyang zhenjun ~ ~ ~tt (Perfected Lord of Pure Yang),
Fuyou dijun $1ti1fjtt (Imperial Lord, Savior of the Needy)

Ui Dongbin is a semilegendary cultic figure of the late Tang or early Song
period. With his legendary master, *Zhongli Quan, he was the acknowledged
patriarch of both *Nanzong and *Quanzhen, i.e., the Southern and the North-
ern lineages of Taoism. Several hagiographies of him circulated during the
Song and early Yuan periods, excerpts of which are in the *Lishi zhenxian tidao
tongjian (j. 45). One of them is an alleged autobiography produced in Yuezhou
~ j+1 (Hunan), likely as the result of spirit writing (see *fuji), in which Lii in-
troduces himself as a native of Jingzhao ~ j~ (Shaanxi). In another biography
of the same region popular in Taoist circles, he is said to be the grandson of
a high Tang official and to be from Yongle jk~ in Shanxi (id., 45.Ia). The
latter is the site of the *Yongle gong (Palace of Eternal Joy), a major temple
dedicated to Lii.
The two biographies mentioned above represent two different traditions:
one northern, the other southern. The former states that Lii was an unsuc-
cessful scholar and a recluse who met both Zhongli Quan and *Chen Tuan
on Mount Hua (*Huashan) and the Zhongnan mountains (Zhongnan shan
~ff l¥I ill ) in Shaanxi. The second biography instead places Lii's encounter
with Zhongli Quan on Mount Lu (*Lushan) in Jiangxi. Qin Zhi'an *itgc
(n88- 1244), a Quanzhen Taoist, quotes a third biography written on the wall
of the Qingyang guan W $W1, (Abbey of the Black Ram) in Yuezhou, which
claimed that Lii was born in 796 and acquired the jinshi degree in 836 (*Jinlian
zhengzongji,5h-9a).
Early Song literary sources portray Lii Dongbin as a poet, calligrapher,
soothsayer, healer, alchemist, exorcist, and recluse possessing sword techniques.
He was revered both by the lettered classes and by ordinary people, especially
merchants. His biographies describe him as selling "ink. and paper" in the
market-place, mingling incognito with the crowd, giving help to anyone who
recognized him. As a performer of miracles, Lii became the object of a cult as
attested by sources from the second half of the twelfth century, such as Hong
Mai's y~JF! (n23- 1202) Yijian zhi ~~ it (Heard and Written by Yijian), which
records stories told by illiterate informants. From Hong's anecdotes it emerges