Chen Po
Encyclopedia
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Chén Tuán); his courtesy name was Tunan (图南/圖南 Túnán); his pseudonym as a sage was (Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
) Chen Hsi I (Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
) Chén Xīyí (陳希夷) or Master Xīyí 希夷先生 or Fúyáozǐ 扶搖子. In Chinese, he is often respectfully referred to as "Aged Ancestor Chen Tuan" (陳摶老祖 Chén Tuán Lǎozǔ) and "Ancestral Teacher Xiyi" (希夷祖師 Xīyí Zǔshī). Little is certain about his life, including when and where he was born. He was born around the end of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was between 907–960/979 AD and an era of political upheaval in China, between the fall of the Tang Dynasty and the founding of the Song Dynasty. During this period, five dynasties quickly succeeded one another in the north, and more than 12 independent states were...
and the start of the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
, possibly in what is now Luyi in Henan Province.
According to certain Taoist schools who claim him as a founder, he lived a secluded life in the Nine Room Cave on Mount Wudang. Later at Mount Hua
Mount Hua
Mount Hua or Hua Shan in Chinese is located in Shaanxi Province, about 120 kilometres east of the city of Xi'an, near the city Huayin in China. Also known as Xiyuè, Western Great Mountain, it is one of China's Five Sacred Taoist Mountains, and has a long history of religious significance...
, one of the five sacred mountains of China
Sacred Mountains of China
The Sacred Mountains of China are divided into two groups, one associated with Taoism and the other with Buddhism. The group associated with Taoism is known as the Five Great Mountains , whereas the group associated with Buddhism is referred to as the Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism .The sacred...
, he is said to have created the kung fu system Liuhebafa ("Six Harmonies and Eight Methods"). Along with this internal art, he is also said to be associated with a method of Qi
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
(energy) cultivation known today as Taiji ruler, sleeping meditation, a 24 Daoyin Qigong Method (er shi shi ssu shih tao yin fa) seated and standing exercises designed to prevent diseases that occur during seasonal change.
The story goes that Chen Tuan had planned a career at the Imperial court, but flunked the state examination and became a hermit sage instead. He was also said to be conversant with the Confucian classics, history, and the theories of various schools of thought. In his legends he was said to be fond of taoist philosophy, medical principles, astronomy and geography, and famous for his poems as well. Chen Tuan liked to study the I Ching
I Ching
The I Ching or "Yì Jīng" , also known as the Classic of Changes, Book of Changes and Zhouyi, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts...
, which he was unable to put down. Chen Tuan, styled Tunan, titled himself Fuyao Zi (one soaring upward in the high sky, like a roc in Nan Hua Jing written by Zhuangzi) born in Zhenyuan of Haozhou (Hao County of Anhui Province nowadays). As a Taoist master in the late Tang Dynasty, Five Dynasties and early Northern Song Dynasty, Chen was astonishingly intelligent and erudite in his childhood. He travelled here and there and dwelled in Wudang Mountain for two decades at the beginning. Later he lived a hermit’s life in Huashan at the First Year of Xiande Period of Later Zhou Dynasty (one of the Five Dynasties).
Chen Tuan has a good command of primordial Yi learning, teaches River Chart and Luo River Book as well as Infinite and Taiji Charts. As a culminant figure of Taoist doctrines who pioneers the Confucian school of idealist philosophy of the Song and Ming Dynasties, he has a profound influence upon later generations. He is adept in practicing Taoist inner alchemy and often sleep meditation. Strange to say, it often takes several months for sleeping meditation practice; and as a result was known as the "Sleeping Immortal." Having rejected emperor’s orders and edicts, was still conferred the title of “Master Xi Yi" (Master of the Inaudible and Invisible) by the Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty. During the first year of Duangong Period of the Emperor Taizong, Chen appointed his disciples to cut a stone chamber in the Zhao Chao Valley (later renamed Xi Yi Valley); then Chen Tuan presented a report to the imperial court in which he wrote the following note: “I will die soon. I am about to leave, nowadays I’m transformed in the Zhang Chao Valley at the foot of Lotus Peak on the 27th day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar”. By the time he died when he cupped his check in the hand his facial features still remained without a change.
Chen Tuan once told to his disciples: “I will visit Emei Mountain next year.” Later a secret agent saw him at Emei Mountain, only to find no trace of Chen Tuan while he was looking for him. Many tales of Chen Tuan have been circulated around; for instance: "He wanders around and shows no concern for worldy benefits. However, Chen still cares about the ordinary people and is compassionate so that he is deeply respected by the people. This Taoist sage was considered the embodiment of the Supreme Lord Lao and received the nickname of “Aged Ancestor”, a symbol of Taoism in Huashan.
Legends
According to the "semi-historical" biography of Gen. Yue FeiYue Fei
Yue Fei , style name Pengju, was a military general of the Southern Song Dynasty. His ancestral home was in Xiaoti, Yonghe Village, Tangyin, Xiangzhou, Henan...
, it was the immortal Chen Tuan who, disguised as a wandering Taoist, warned the Yue Family of the imminent Yellow River flood.
See also
- Wu Yi HuiWu Yi HuiWu Yihui 吳翼翬 was a Chinese martial artist and scholar. He was the first person to open teachings and spread the style of liuhebafa in public, and was a prominent fighter and instructor who influenced many of the masters of his generation.- Biography :Wu Yihui was originally from Tieling in...
- Chan Yik YanChan Yik YanChan Yik Yan 陳亦人 1909-1982 was a disciple of Liuhebafa Master Wu Yi Hui. Although Wu Yi Hui taught many students, it's only Chan Yik Yan who is known to have completed the entire Liuhebafa system....
- Liuhebafa Chuan
- Master Chen Po Hsi