Teaching Without Words, Living Out a Patriotic Resolve: Master Fu Yuantian

Mount Qingcheng Taoist Association, Sichuan Province

Master Fu Yuantian (1925–1997) was a native of Jiulongchang in Jianyang, Sichuan Province. He served as president of the fifth council of the China Taoist Association, president of the China Taoist Academy, vice chairman of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, and a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Master Fu Yuantian was an important representative of Taoism in the New China. Throughout his life he loved his country and his religion, actively helped the Party and the government implement the Party's religious policy, and devoted his heart and his whole life's energy to the revival and development of Taoism. He valued practice over empty talk; “teaching without words, living out a patriotic resolve” is the truest portrait of his life.

1. Devoted Study Under a Teacher and a Resolve to Practice in the Taoist Community

Fu Yuantian's original name was Fu Changlin. Sickly as a child, he was brought into the Taoist fold by his mother and studied under Master Zhang Yongping, who enjoyed great prestige in Sichuan at the time; his teacher gave him the Taoist name “Yuantian.” Although Fu Changlin had entered the Tao, he had not yet left home to live in a temple. In his spare time from the old-style private school, he often practiced elixir refining, seated meditation, and martial arts under Master Zhang Yongping's guidance to strengthen his body. After five or six years of practice he gradually came to a deep understanding of Taoism, sensed its breadth and depth, and felt that it held much of great value to be carried on and promoted. From then on he conceived the aspiration to devote himself to Taoism, which later became his lifelong faith and pursuit.

In 1945, at the age of twenty, Fu Yuantian formally left home as a Taoist at the Huanglong Temple in Shuimo Township, Guan County, Chengdu (present-day Dujiangyan). In early spring 1950 he went deep into the mountains of central Sichuan and settled in a quiet spot in the wilds, where he reclaimed land to support himself and practiced the alchemical Way. In his spare time from labor he sat in meditation and recited scriptures; in particular he learned the Tao Te Ching by heart and explained the whole text in detail in terms of Taoist doctrine.

In 1955, admiring the character and Taoist learning of Master Yi Xinying of Mount Qingcheng, Fu Yuantian went to live and practice at the Changdao Temple on Mount Qingcheng, receiving instruction from Master Yi Xinying. Yi Xinying greatly appreciated Fu Yuantian's simple, sincere eagerness to learn and his devout, single-minded commitment to the Tao; he not only answered every question but also took the initiative to guide and teach him on all kinds of problems he met in studying and practicing the Tao, so that Fu Yuantian progressed rapidly in Taoist learning.

In 1962, because the Shangqing Palace on Mount Qingcheng lacked anyone to manage it, Master Yi Xinying sent Fu Yuantian there. When he arrived at the Shangqing Palace, he answered the government's call for the Taoist community to take part in building the country and organized the Taoists to plant tea and crops on the mountain, working actively in production. Diligent and unpretentious, fair and selfless, he always took the lead in the hardest work, and whenever something came up he found a way to do it well. His reputation at the Shangqing Palace grew day by day. In 1964 the Taoists chose him as the steward of the Shangqing Palace; serving as the accountant of Mount Qingcheng, he did farm work by day, kept the accounts at night, and also ran the temple affairs of the Shangqing Palace. He worked hard without complaint and never took the light tasks and shirked the heavy ones. Serving the old masters above and educating the young Taoists below, he shouldered heavy responsibilities and labored tirelessly.

2. Restoring the Temples and Carrying On the Work of Taoism

Master Fu Yuantian always took outstanding Taoist predecessors as his models in conduct and integrity. In December 1979, the Mount Qingcheng Taoist Association of Guan County was founded, and Fu Yuantian was elected its president. He led the Taoists of Mount Qingcheng in exploring a new path for the healthy transmission and development of Taoism, achieving outstanding results in self-support through labor, standardized management, and service to society.

After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Master Fu Yuantian began working tirelessly to restore the Taoist temples of Mount Qingcheng to their original state and to secure the livelihood of the Taoists. He led all the Taoists of the mountain down to carry grain and opened a restaurant to serve pilgrims and tourists. Later he founded the Qinglonggang Tea Factory on Mount Qingcheng, producing “Qingcheng Tribute Tea” and “Qingcheng Kuding Tea,” opening up a new path for the self-support of Taoism on Mount Qingcheng at that time.

In April 1984, seven temples on Mount Qingcheng, including the Changdao Temple and the Shangqing Palace, were placed under the management of the Taoist association, becoming the first Taoist temples in Sichuan Province opened to the public.

Fu Yuantian then oversaw the drafting of the Trial Measures for the Management of the Taoist Temples of Mount Qingcheng, which covered general provisions, management organization, management of Taoists, management of religious activities, financial management, security and fire safety, protection of cultural relics, environmental protection, and more, laying a foundation in rules and regulations for the orderly management of the temples. At the same time he set up the “Mount Qingcheng Taoist Temple Management Committee,” making clear that its members were chosen through democratic consultation and defining their responsibilities. This moved temple management toward standardization and democracy and accumulated valuable experience for democratic management of temples by Taoists in the new era.

While president of the Mount Qingcheng Taoist Association, he led the Taoists in repairing the temple halls, bringing new luster to the ancient temples and enhancing the atmosphere and solemnity of Mount Qingcheng as a sacred Taoist site. He also built mountain paths, bridges, and pavilions for the convenience of tourists and believers. He placed great importance on protecting the natural environment and organized the Taoists to plant trees, so that the natural and cultural landscapes of Mount Qingcheng complemented each other and the simple, solemn temples shone with the spirit of the times. He also raised funds from many sources and led the Taoists in building bridges and repairing roads and supporting education and charity in society, truly practicing the ideal of “helping the world and benefiting the people, bringing benefit and joy to all beings.”

In 1986, Fu Yuantian was elected vice president of the China Taoist Association. He went beyond Mount Qingcheng to inspect famous Taoist mountains and temples throughout the country, and actively supported the restoration of temples such as the Baxian Temple (Temple of the Eight Immortals) in Xi'an, Mount Longhu in Jiangxi, the Great Temple of the Southern Peak in Hunan, and the Yunquan Immortal Hall in Nanhai County, Guangdong. He also repeatedly organized teams to go to various places to help local governments resolve outstanding issues concerning certain temples. By the early 1990s, about 400 Taoist temples and monasteries had been opened nationwide and more than 80 local Taoist associations founded at various levels. The opening of these temples and the founding of these organizations created the conditions for uniting believers in carrying out normal religious activities.

3. Unwavering Commitment to Training Taoist Talent

In 1992, Master Fu Yuantian led a Taoist delegation that presented calligraphy and paintings to the Yuen Yuen Institute in Hong Kong.

As a leader of the Taoist community, Fu Yuantian always kept a forward-looking view of the future transmission of Taoism. He knew well that talent is the inexhaustible driving force that sustains the healthy transmission of Taoism, so he worked deeply in the field of training Taoist talent, infusing Taoism with new strength for the times.

The modern transmission of Taoism must be founded on education. He led the restoration and improvement of the system of Taoist college education and promoted the founding of specialized institutions such as the China Taoist Academy.

On May 5, 1990, the China Taoist Academy held its opening ceremony at White Cloud Temple (Baiyun Guan) in Beijing, and Vice President Fu Yuantian was appointed vice president of the Academy. In March 1992, at the fifth national congress of the China Taoist Association, Fu Yuantian was elected president of the Association and concurrently president of the China Taoist Academy.

In April 1993, at the opening ceremony of the first advanced-study class and the second specialized-study class of the China Taoist Academy, Fu Yuantian gave a speech on behalf of the China Taoist Association titled “Train Talent to Promote Taoism,” stating that “Taoist associations at all levels and temples everywhere must fully recognize the importance of training talent and vigorously support the development of education.” He repeatedly stressed the need to train Taoist talent with solid Taoist knowledge and noble moral character, to provide a firm foundation of talent for the development of Taoism. At his urging, the China Taoist Academy continually improved its curriculum, strengthened its teaching staff, and raised the quality of teaching, training a group of outstanding professionals for the Taoist community.

In September 1989, the China Taoist Association founded the Institute of Taoist Culture. While serving as its honorary director, Fu Yuantian organized all its staff to compile the first series of the Taoist Culture Series, ten volumes in all (nearly two million characters), and helped the China Central Newsreel and Documentary Film Studio make the documentary Chinese Taoism, which was translated into several languages and shown internationally by Chinese embassies abroad, increasing understanding of Chinese Taoism among peoples around the world. He also organized many symposiums on Taoist culture, reflecting the achievements of contemporary Chinese research on Taoist culture.

4. Carrying On the Liturgy, Maintaining Harmony, and Promoting Peace

The Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school has a long tradition of educating its Taoists through the system of ordination with precepts. For various historical reasons, after the Quanzhen school held an ordination at the Erxian Temple in Chengdu, Sichuan, in 1947, the practice was interrupted for a time. At Fu Yuantian's active urging, from November 12 to December 2, 1989, the Quanzhen school held its first great ordination ceremony since the founding of the New China at its ancestral court, White Cloud Temple in Beijing. He served as head of the leading group of the ordination assembly and gave a talk there titled “The Purpose of Ordination and the Direction of Our Efforts After Receiving the Precepts.”

Fu Yuantian had a broad mind and a spirit wholly devoted to the Tao. Although he was a Quanzhen Taoist, he never held sectarian views, and he handled relations between the Zhengyi and Quanzhen schools calmly and fittingly. He often said that Zhengyi and Quanzhen were both great schools of Taoism, with no distinction between them. Through his active advocacy and personal example, the Taoist community across the country achieved unprecedented unity.

In October 1991, Fu Yuantian helped Mount Longhu in Jiangxi revive the conferral of registers for the first time since the founding of the New China. On the suggestion of the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) school, in April 1994 he convened in Shanghai a “Symposium on the Conferral of Registers in the Zhengyi School of Taoism” to discuss holding Zhengyi register conferral and transmission. The second session of the fifth council of the China Taoist Association then drew up and adopted the Regulations on the Conferral of Registers on Taoist Priests of the Zhengyi School, making register conferral an important religious affair of the China Taoist Association, and set up the Association's leading group for the conferral of registers.

From December 5 to 7, 1995, the first conferral of registers and transmission for Taoist priests of the Zhengyi school since the founding of the New China was held at the Mansion of the Celestial Masters on Mount Longhu in Jiangxi. The Zhengyi Taoists were heartily gratified by the restoration and successful holding of this traditional ceremony.

Fu Yuantian was always committed to using Taoist culture to promote communication and exchange with compatriots in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao and to safeguarding national reunification. In September 1993, as honorary chairman of the Luotian Grand Offering Committee, he presided over the Luotian Grand Offering ritual assembly jointly launched by White Cloud Temple in Beijing and the Taoist communities of Taiwan and Hong Kong to pray for peace and prosperity for the nation and its people.

From 1994 to 1996, Fu Yuantian organized three “Cross-Strait Taoist Liturgical Exchange Meetings” jointly with members of the Taiwanese Taoist community. In the name of the president of the China Taoist Association he published the article “Contributing Our Strength to the Peaceful Reunification of the Motherland,” calling on “Taoists on both sides of the Strait to pursue the purpose for which the Most High founded the teaching, to uphold the traditional spirit of the nation, promote Taoism, carry on and develop the traditional culture of the motherland, and contribute our strength to the great cause of the peaceful reunification of the motherland.” In 1997, to celebrate Hong Kong's return, he published the commemorative article “The Great Tao Flourishes, a Song for a Prosperous Age.”

During his term as president of the China Taoist Association, Fu Yuantian actively pursued friendly exchanges with Taoist communities abroad. He received foreign guests from more than ten countries and more than 140 delegations from over 30 countries and regions on five continents, introducing them to the profound doctrines and rich cultural content of Taoism and actively spreading the idea of peace.

The bright moon over Qingcheng shines without words; the wind in the pines enters the heart, all in accord with the Tao. This year marks the centenary of Master Fu Yuantian's birth. By retelling his life and deeds, we hope to inspire today's Taoists to carry on the aspirations of their predecessors, continue along the path of the sinicization of Taoism, delve deeply into the positive content of Taoist doctrine that meets the demands of the progress of the times, and better serve society and benefit the people.