Li Deyuan

Li Deyuan, styled Guyan, was a renowned Taoist priest on Wudang Mountain in the early Ming Dynasty. According to the Ming Dynasty's "Great Mountain Taihe Mountain Annals", Li Deyuan was from Jintai, Shaanxi Province. Since childhood, he became a monk in the Chongyang Wanshou Palace and studied extensively the "Tao Te Ching", "Nanhua Zhenjing", "Xiao Jing" and other scriptures and treatises of the three religions. In his prime, he visited Wudang and became a disciple of the eminent scholar Zeng Renzhi at Zixiao Palace, where he was taught the Qingwei Thunder Method and the Innate Great Way by his master. Because of his insight, he deeply understands the source of the essence and function. After following his master for many years, he moved to the Yuanhe Taoist Temple for cultivation. In the 23rd year of the Hongwu reign (1390 AD), the King of Xiang came to pay homage to Wudang. Hearing that Li Deyuan had profound cultivation skills, he granted him the residence of the Changchun Temple in Jingzhou. One day, I called my disciple before me and composed a poem that read: "Over eighty years have passed, not a single cent has been tainted." He returned home with a big smile, and a bright moon hung high in the sky. Then he said, "Leave this poem to you as a memento. I'm leaving today." Having said that, he transformed into a celestial being. When King Xiang heard the news, he was deeply grieved. So he composed a poem: "You were never born; how could you expect your passing?" With a flick of the sleeve, the three mountains are adorned with golden palaces and silver gates. Hey! Today, the earth is bathed in bright light stretching for miles, and the autumn moon is bright. After the poem was completed, the remaining official buried Li Deyuan to the east of Yuanhe Temple on Wudang Mountain. From the fact that Li Deyuan learned the Qingwei Thunder Method from Zeng Renzhi in Wudang, it can be known that Li Deyuan first studied Quanzhen and later became a successor of the Qingwei School in Wudang.