A brief introduction to Xu Xun, a Taoist priest of the Jin Dynasty. Who was earlier, Xu Xun or Zhang Daoling?
Biography Xu Xun (239-374), courtesy name Jingzhi, was a famous Taoist priest in the Jin Dynasty. He was a native of Yitangpo, Changding Township, Nanchang County (now part of Jiangxi), and his ancestral home was Runan (now Xuchang, Henan). His father, Xu Su, moved his family to Nanchang to avoid war in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Xu Xun was born in Yitangpo, Nanchang County (now Maciu Township) in the second year of Wu Chiwu (239). He was promoted to Xiaolian in his hometown and served as the Jingyang Order in the first year of Taikang in the Jin Dynasty (280). He was known as Xu Jingyang and also as Xu Zhenjun. Character Beliefs
Xu Xun's belief began to rise in the Tang Dynasty, and was advocated by the court in the Song Dynasty. In the third year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1010), Song Zhenzong upgraded Xishan Youweiguan to Yulong Palace. During the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, he was honored as "The True Monarch of Divine Power and Miaoji". In the Southern Song Dynasty, "The true monarch's traces can be found all over the north and south of Jiangzuo and Lakes. Therefore, those who are able to watch the mansion and provide peace to the altar are incomparable."
In some Taoist schools, Xu Xun, Zhang Daoling, Ge Xuan, and Sa Shoujian are regarded as the four great heavenly masters. People in Nanchang, Jiangxi and people with the surname Xu often regard Xu Xun as their patron saint.
The Renshou Temple in Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County, is the oldest temple on Taiwan's main island. It is said that during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, Xu Wenliang, a native of Zhangpu, Fujian, came to Taiwan to welcome Emperor Gantian. The temple is the largest public temple religious center in Dayuan Township. Every year, the 25th day of the 10th lunar month is the day of the Anzai Memorial Day. There are many descendants of Xu Xun in Dayuan Township, who respectfully call Xu Xun "ancestor", and many believers of various surnames in the township also call him accordingly. In addition to "ancestor", believers also call him "Gong Tian" or "Emperor Gan Tian". Character history
Xu Xun (239-374), courtesy name Jingzhi, was a native of Nanchang, Yuzhang, a Taoist priest of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the respected ancestor of the Jingming Taoist sect. According to legend, there are Taoist classics such as "Lingjianzi". According to Taoist records, a young man took hunting as his occupation. One day he went into the mountains to shoot a deer. The deer was aborted and the mother licked her calf and died. Xu Xun felt sad, folded his crossbow and returned home, and began to live in the Jin family's house in Tuo Xishan to practice Taoism. Hearing that Wu Meng, a native of Yuzhang (Nanchang, or Jiangxi in general), had obtained the magic formula of Ding Yi, a magician, he became his disciple and taught the essentials of the Three Qing dynasties.
He is intelligent by nature and well versed in classics, history, astronomy, geography, medicine, yin and yang and the five elements theory. He is especially fond of Taoist practice of magic. At the age of 20, he was promoted to Xiaolian, but he was repeatedly recommended but not accepted. At the age of twenty-nine, he worshiped Wu Meng, Lord of the Great Cave in Xi'an (now Xiushui), and learned Taoism. When he was thirty-six years old, he visited famous mountain resorts with the writer Guo Pu, and finally chose Xiaoyao Mountain (now Xinjian Xishan Township) in the western suburbs of Nanchang to live in seclusion. He only wanted to cultivate and was unwilling to be an official. He lived in filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, and religious belief. He came to the countryside and was deeply respected by the villagers. It was not until the first year of Taikang in the Western Jin Dynasty (280) when he was forty-two years old that he could not refuse due to repeated orders from the court, so he went to Sichuan to take up the post of Jingyang County Magistrate.
When Xu Xun arrived in Jingyang, he eliminated corruption, reduced punishments, advocated benevolence and filial piety, kept virtuous people near and distant traitors, and implemented many measures to benefit the country and the people. One year, there was a flood in Jingyang, and the low fields had no harvest. Xu Xun asked a large number of farmers to farm in the government fields, and worked in lieu of taxes, so that the victims could be rescued. At that time, the plague was prevalent, so Xu Xun used the medicine he learned to treat the disease. The medicine cured the disease, and the people were grateful and respected them like their parents. At that time, a folk song was sung in Jingyang: "No one steals, no officials cheat. I am a living king, and I am sick and unable to do anything." It praised Xu Xun's merits. People from neighboring counties came to join him one after another, and the number of households in Jingyang increased greatly. Xu Xun stayed in Jingyang for ten years. He was an honest official and had outstanding political achievements. He was affectionately called "Xu Jingyang" by people.
In the first year of Taixi (290), in view of the great chaos in the Jin Dynasty, and knowing that state affairs could not be done, Xu Xun returned eastward. When setting off, they were sent to hide in the wild; some built Xu Zhenjun's dragon-killing temple, painted statues of gods, and offered sacrifices to him all year round; some followed him thousands of miles away to the Xishan Mountains, where they lived together as a family and were with Xu Xun. They all changed their surnames to Xu and were known as "Xu Jiaying" ".
After Xu Zhenjun returned eastward, he was attacked by dragons in Pengli Lake (now Poyang Lake). Floods continued for many years. Xu Zu led his disciples and traveled all over the lake area. He not only controlled floods in Yuzhang, but also went to Hunan, Hubei, Fujian and other places to eliminate floods, winning widespread respect from the people.
In the fourth year of Emperor Yuan's reign in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (321), Xu Xun lived in seclusion at the old site of Meixian Temple in the southern suburbs of Nanchang, and founded a Taoist temple named Taiji Temple, with the title "Jingming Zhenjing" on his forehead, and established the Jingming Taoist sect. Its purpose is "Pure Ming, Loyalty and Filial Piety". Legend has it that Xu Xun lived to be 136 years old. On the first day of August in the second year of Ningkang (374) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, forty-two people in his family flew to heaven and became immortals. The world revered him as "Xu Xian". In recognition of his merits, the Eastern Jin Dynasty renamed Jingyang County Deyang County. Later generations built Xu Xian Temple in Xishan, where he lived, and Jingyang Temple in Tiezhu Palace, Nanchang. They were commended by successive dynasties with plaques. King Anshi of the Song Dynasty wrote "Xu Jingyang Temple Records". Character Motto
If you have bad intentions, it is useless to have feng shui;
If your parents are unfilial, it is useless to serve the gods;
If brothers are at odds, it is useless to make friends;
It is useless to study if you behave badly;
It is useless to be knowledgeable if you are arrogant;
It is useless to be clever if you are eccentric;
It is useless to take medicine if you are not willing to spare your vitality:
If one's fortune is not favorable, it is useless to seek in vain;
To take money from others in vain, to give to others is useless; The statue of Xu Jingyang on the bank of Jinghu River in Deyang, Sichuan
There is no benefit in lust and lust.
Thinking further, if you have one thing but lack that, if you make up for something but lack something, you will always feel sad.
If you take a step back and think about it, there are thousands of hectares of fertile land, and you can only eat one liter of rice a day; there are thousands of buildings, and you can only sleep eight feet a night.
One liter and eight feet, it won’t last long, so what’s the use?
If you care about yourself, how will you get it after death?
If you care about your children and grandchildren, your children and grandchildren will have their own blessings.
The family wealth is millions, but there is no trace of Yin Gong.
The accumulated wealth and children and grandchildren may not be able to keep it.
If you are reincarnated and become a beast, your children and grandchildren cannot replace you.
"Song of the Wheel" says:
Animals are originally changed by humans, and humans and animals have been reincarnated since ancient times.
I don’t see him wearing fur or horns, so I advise you not to act like an animal.
Rich and poor and rich again, rivers become roads and rivers become rivers.
Conscience will be rewarded by conscience, and cunning must be punished by cunning.
There is no retribution in heaven, what do you think ten years ago? In the first year of Yuankang of Xu Xun's reign (291), the Eight Princes' Rebellion broke out. Xu Xun thought that the Jin Dynasty was in chaos, so he abandoned his official position and returned eastward to join forces with Wu He spread filial piety fiercely in Yuzhang area. It is said that Xu Xun's Xishan Order has hundreds of people. There are twelve backbones of the order, who are called the Twelve True Monarchs, namely Xu Xun, Wu Meng, Xishan Wanshou Palace Shi He, Gan Zhan, Zhou Guang, Chen Xun, Zeng Heng, Xu Lie, Shi Cen, Peng Kang, Huang Renlan, Zhong Lijia. Five of them are Xu Xun's family or in-laws. With Xishan in Nanchang as the center, his missionary activities spread throughout Yuzhang and nearby areas. There are also Xu Xun's missionary remains in Pingjiang, Yuezhou (now Pingjiang, Hunan). There are many miraculous stories in various places in Yuzhang about Xu Xun fighting dragons, killing snakes, and eliminating harm for the people. According to Taoist legend, on August 15, the second year of Ningkang in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (374), Xu Xun "all his family ascended to heaven, and all the chickens and dogs left." Taoist priests in Xishan built Youwei Temple in Xu Xun's former residence as a place of worship. According to the "Biography of Filial Piety Wu Xu Erzhenjun": Whenever Xu Xun ascended to the throne, "people from all four villages gathered at the temple and set up Huang Dazhai. Daoliu was invited, and for three days and three nights, they raised the altar to the table, went up to Xuanyuan, and made Burning incense as a gift and sincerely asking for blessings will bring you blessings in life and death, and you will have no time to rest."①
In the Song Dynasty, Xu Xun was highly respected by the royal family of the Northern Song Dynasty. In the third year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1010), Xishan Youweiguan was upgraded to Yulong Palace. In the second year of Zhenghe (1112), he sent his envoy Cheng Qi to invite Taoist priests to build a Taoist temple in Yulong Palace for seven days and nights. Later, the Yulong Wanshou Palace was rebuilt in Xishan, Hongzhou, imitating the regulations of Chongfu Palace in Xijing. The building is magnificent and magnificent, and it was a famous Taoist temple in the Song Dynasty. During the Southern Song Dynasty, "the traces of the true emperor were found all over the north and south of Jiangzuo and Huhu. Therefore, those who watched the mansion and made peace in the altar were innumerable." ② In the Song Dynasty, the belief in Xu Xun was very popular among the Han people. “Every summer, the ministers, officials, and common people bring incense and flowers, drums, music, and flags, and go to the palace where they sleep. They invite a small image of the true king to his hometown and commune.
” ③ It is said that during the “Jingyue” in mid-autumn every year, those who go to the Yulong Wanshou Palace in Xishan to worship will support the old and the young, ride on horseback and ride on the road. Therefore, He Zhengong in the Southern Song Dynasty and Liu Yu in the early Yuan Dynasty both pretended to have Xu Xun. He was conferred by the gods and respected as the founder of Jingming Taoism.
There is no official history of Xu Xun's deeds, and there are many different Taoist records. For example, there are at least three theories about Xu Xun's attainment of Taoism: Wu Meng
"The Biography of Xu Xun" in Volume 16 of "Yun Ji Qi Jian" states: "When (Wu) Meng ascended to immortality and left, he said to his son: 'After I left, there was someone in the southeast. My surname is Xu and my name is Xun. I should come to pay homage to you. You should value it and teach it the real talisman. ' At that time, Xuguo came to pay tribute, and his son passed on the true talisman to Xun according to his father's order, and the true sense of cultivating became stronger and stronger. " Acquired from Duke Lan
According to "The Biography of the Twelve True Monarchs": Duke Lan was from Qufu County, Yanzhou, the hometown of Confucius. Because he was "specialized in filial piety", Master Douzhong specially taught him the "teaching of filial piety and brother-in-law" ", "Secret Edict of the Supreme Way", and predicted that there was a true immortal Xu Xun in the Jin Dynasty. This "sect of filial piety" should be passed down as "the leader of all immortals". Sure enough, after the death of Duke Lan, his secret method of filial piety, precious scriptures and gold The elixir, bronze talisman and iron certificate were obtained by Xu Xun, who obtained the Taoism from Chen Mu
Both Wu Meng and Xu Xun obtained the Taoism from Chen Mu, "Yongcheng Jixian Lu" said that Chen Mu "cultivated Taoism secretly." For decades,... Wu Meng and Xu Xun traveled south from Gaoyang to visit their mother. They asked her to teach them the way they had learned, and she taught them because of their alliance. The law of filial piety is implemented in Jiangbiao. " Regarding Xu Xun's birthplace, "Yun Ji Qi?" said that he was from Nanchang. "The Biography of Twelve True Monarchs" records that Xu Xun's native place is Runan, and "The Biography of Filial Piety Wu Xu Er Zhenjun" says that Xu Xun "looks forward to Gaoyang". Runan The Nan Xu family was a celebrity who presided over the "Yuan Dan Commentary" in the Han Dynasty, and the Gaoyang Xu family was a famous family in the Wei, Jin and Northern Dynasties. This may be a deliberate attempt to deify Xu Xun.
In ancient Jiangxi temples, Xu Xun was generally worshiped.