Master Chen Liansheng (1917–2008) was one of the best-known Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Taoist priests of contemporary China and enjoyed great prestige in the Taoist community. For many years he served as abbot of the Shanghai City God Temple and held important leadership posts in the China Taoist Association and the Shanghai Taoist Association.
Master Chen Liansheng was the former abbot of the Shanghai City God Temple, the role for which he is best known. Under his leadership the Shanghai City God Temple was restored and developed, becoming an important Taoist venue and cultural landmark in Shanghai and indeed the whole country.
Master Chen Liansheng was vice president of the China Taoist Association: for many years he held leadership posts in the association and made important contributions to the restoration and development of Taoism nationwide.
Master Chen Liansheng was president of the Shanghai Taoist Association: as a leading figure of the Shanghai Taoist community, he actively advanced all aspects of Taoist affairs in Shanghai.
Master Chen Liansheng was a Zhengyi Taoist priest. He belonged to the Zhengyi school, one of the two great branches of Taoism, and was expert in the liturgy of fasts and offerings (zhaijiao).
Master Chen Liansheng's main contributions and influence: restoring and developing the Shanghai City God Temple. While he presided over it, the Shanghai City God Temple not only resumed religious activities but also achieved notable results in building Taoist temples and monasteries, training talent, and promoting culture.
Master Chen Liansheng attached great importance to the transmission of Taoist culture, especially Shanghai Taoist music. The Taoist music of the Shanghai City God Temple has been listed as national intangible cultural heritage, an achievement inseparable from his efforts. He himself was a master of scripture recitation, repentance liturgy, and Taoist music. He paid close attention to training the younger generation of Taoist talent, laying a foundation for the future of Taoism. He actively promoted exchanges of Taoist culture with other countries, deepening international understanding of Chinese Taoism. He led the Shanghai City God Temple in taking an active part in public welfare and charity.
Master Chen Liansheng was rigorous in his Taoist conduct, profound in his cultivation, and modest in manner, and was deeply respected and loved by people both inside and outside the Taoist community. He studied the Taoist scriptures in depth and devoted himself to bringing traditional Taoist doctrine together with modern society.
His contributions to expounding the scriptures and spreading the Tao, to liturgical practice, and to organizing and transmitting Taoist music were enormous. His teaching by word and example influenced many people.
In sum, Master Chen Liansheng was a highly respected leader of the contemporary Chinese Taoist community who carried on the past and opened the way for the future. He made indelible contributions to the revival of the Shanghai City God Temple, to the transmission of Taoist culture (especially Taoist music), to training Taoist talent, and to the healthy development of Chinese Taoism as a whole. His death was regarded as a great loss to the Taoist community.