Chongyang Gong
Chongyang Gong (Chongyang Palace) is in Zu'an Town, Huxian County, Shaanxi Province. It is an ancestral palace of Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism. The site was originally called Liujiang Village and was where Wang Chongyang, founder of Quanzhen Daoism, built a shelter to cultivate himself and where he had his bones buried later. It was renamed Zu'an (祖庵 Founder's Hut) after Quanzhen Daoism became popular.
Wang Chongyang was born in 1112, the second year of the Zhenghe reign period of the Song Dynasty Emperor Huizong. His original name was Wang Zhe, he styled himself Zhiming and his Daoist name was Chongyangzi or Master Chongyang. He was born into a rich and powerful family in the city of Xianyang in Shaanxi Province and later moved to the village of Liujiang. From childhood, he studied literature and practiced martial arts. After unsuccessfully sitting the imperial examinations for literary and military candidates, he ignored worldly affairs. In 1159, the fourth year of the Jin Dynasty’s Zhenglong reign period, Wang Chongyang met an immortal (allegedly Lü Dongbin) in the town of Ganhe who taught him magic codes for cultivation. Wang Chongyang pretended to be mad and styled himself Wang Haifeng (“Madman Wang”) to avoid being disturbed by others. Later he dug a four-m-deep cave, which he called the “tomb of the living dead,” in the village of Nanshi at the foot of Mount Zhongnan. He lived there secretly for two years, engrossed in cultivating his inner alchemy.
In 1176, the seventh year of the Dading reign period, he burned his shelter. When his neighbors came to fight the fire, he danced madly, crying out: “I have worked hard in Liujiang Village for several years as the dust in the shelter became thick day after day. Suddenly the true fire has burned the shelter to return it to the Supreme Lord. I suggest you do not be gloomy about it, and I am deeply remorseful. Nothing is left but ashes. I will not travel here again for I know the way to immortality.” Asked why, he replied: “Someone will rebuild this shelter in three years’ time.” Taking his leave of his friends and relatives, Wang Chongyang went afar to Shandong to spread Daoism. He left a self-portrait before he went, on which he wrote: “You will understand my origin and destination simply by turning your head without moving a single step.”
Together with his disciples Ma Yu, Tan Chuduan, Liu Chuxuan, Qiu Chuji, Wang Chuyi, Hao Datong and Sun Bu’er (whom later generations called the Quanzhen seven masters) in Shandong, Wang Chongyang developed a new religious sect called Quanzhen, which advocated zhengong or “true merit” and zhenxing or “true deeds.” The former referred to the cultivation of a person’s disposition and to exercises to benefit the internal organs. The latter referred to the implementation of his ideals to save people. Wang Chongyang opposed sectarian bias and advocated the integration of Confucianism, Buddhism and Daoism. Assimilating the Buddhist monastic system, he made it a requirement that Quanzhen Daoist priests must live in monasteries, strictly observing the sacred rules of the religious order and neither marrying nor eating meat. He ascended to heaven and became an immortal at the age of 58 in 1170, the 10th year of the Dading reign period.
The disciples buried his coffin in the village of Liujiang after Wang Chongyang passed away and they rebuilt his former residence. In 1185, the 25th year of the Dading reign period, Qiu Chuji took charge of building a Daoist temple on the site of Wang’s former residence. It was rebuilt and granted the title Lingxu Guan (灵虚观Numinous Emptiness Temple) during the Cheng’an reign period (1196-1200) of the Jin Dynasty Emperor Zhangzong. It was renamed Chongyang Palace in 1238, the 10th year of Emperor Taizong’s reign of the Yuan Dynasty, and the court conferred on it the title Chongyang Longevity Palace in 1245, the fourth year of the reign of Töregene Khâtûn (Empress Naimazhen).
The large-scale buildings included palaces, temples, towers and pavilions with more than 5,000 rooms, in which nearly 10,000 Daoists lived. It is a matter of regret, however, that most of its buildings fell into disrepair and became damaged when Daoism declined during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Luckily, quite a few tablet inscriptions have been preserved. More than 10 exhibition rooms for tablet inscriptions have been built since liberation in 1949, including one room called the Ancestral Hut Stele Forest, which houses a collection of 13 valuable stone tablets.
Chongyang Palace has been gradually restored over the past few years. The palace’s great hall, bell tower, drum tower, Hall of the Divine General and Hall of the Seven Perfect Ones have already been rebuilt and, as a result, the “ancestral palace” has begun to take shape. Chongyang Palace will surely be fully restored in the near future and regain its former elegance.
