Foundation Principles
The meaning of Quanzhen can be translated literally to "''All True''" and for this reason, it is often called the "''All True Religion''" or the "''Way of Completeness and Truth.''" In some texts, it is also referred to as the "''Way of Complete Perfection.''"
With strong Taoist roots, the Quanzhen School specializes in the process of "alchemy within the body" or ''Neidan'' , as opposed to ''Waidan '' . The Waidan tradition has been largely replaced by Neidan, as Waidan was a dangerous and often lethal pursuit. Quanzhen focuses on internal cultivation of the person which is consistent with the pervading Taoist belief of Wu Wei, which is essentially "action through inaction."
Like most Taoists, Quanzhen priests were particularly concerned with longevity through alchemy, harmonising oneself with the Tao, studying the Five Elements, and ideas on balance consistent with theory.
History
According to traditional legend, Wang Chongyang met two Taoist immortals in the summer of 1159 C.E. The immortals, Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin taught him Taoist beliefs and trained him in secret rituals. The meeting proved deeply influential, and roughly a year later in 1160 C.E., Wang met one of these men again. In this second encounter, he was provided with a set of five written instructions which led to his decision of living by himself in a grave he created for himself in Zhongnan Mountain for three years.
After seven years of living in the Mountain , Wang met two of his seven future disciples, Tang Chuduan and Qiu Chuji. In 1167 C.E., Wang traveled to and met Ma Yu and wife Sun Bu'er who became his students. These and others would become part of the seven Quanzhen disciples, who were later known as the Seven Masters of Quanzhen.
After Wang's demise, it was left to his disciples to continue expounding the Quanzhen beliefs. Ma Yu succeeded Wang as head of the sect, while Sun Bu'er went on to establish the Purity and Tranquility Sect, one of the foremost branches of Quanzhen.
Another notable disciple of Wang was Qiu Chuji who founded the famous White Cloud Monastery in Beijing. Qiu Chuji was the founder of the Dragon Gate Taoism. Qiu was on good terms with the monarch Genghis Khan who put him in charge of religious affairs in . As a result, the Quanzhen School of Taoism continued to flourish long after Wang's death, right through to the present.
Popular culture
According to Jinyong's wuxia novels, particularly The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes, Quanzhen was the Taoist martial arts school founded by Wang Chongyang after losing a duel to Lin Chaoying.
How it was founded
Wang, as portrayed by Jinyong, was a patriot of , China and helped the people to fight against the invading Jurchens. Wang failed in this attempt and as a result, he spent several years meditating in an ancient tomb in Zhongnan Mountain.
Later, Lin Chaoying, Wang's rival in terms of martial arts, came to issue a bet, saying that if she won their match, he would have to give up the tomb to her or either become a Taoist priest or a Buddhist monk. Lin won the match and thereupon, Wang chose to become a Taoist and created a hut near the tomb, which later became the Chongyang Palace Shrine.
Support of the people
Apart from the story of how Wang founded the Quanzhen School, Jinyong did not deviate much from traditional legend or actual facts. Like in the real Quanzhen School, the Orthodox Religion of All True , as mentioned in the books, has its main principles based primarily on Taoist studies and secondarily on martial arts. In a short period of several decades Quanzhen gained a lot of support from both the world of martial arts and the common people. The disciples of Wang Chongyang, called the Seven Elders, were all revered as immortals and were a staunch ally of the Han Chinese during the occupation of the northern territories by the and the Mongolians later on.
In Jinyong's book, The Return of the Condor Heroes, Wang Chongyang's position as the most prominent martial arts figures of the era was eventually succeeded by his martial arts brother, Zhou Botong while his position as leader of the Quanzhen School was succeeded by Ma Yu, in accordance to historical records.
Orthodox kung fu
Jinyong's books described the Quanzhen School as one of the foremost kung fu sects in Jiang Hu. In terms of greatness, it rivalled the Beggars' Sect, which was another patriotic martial arts school who fought against the invading Mongolian horde. But while Beggar Sect members employed clever, unorthodox ingenuity to win their matches, Quanzhen's martial arts was strongly orthodox. Its popular techniques include:
*The Big Dipper Formation
*Pre-heaven Skill
*Quanzhen internal energy cultivation
*Quanzhen swordsmanship, i.e., ''the Swordsmanship of Common Demise''
*Quanzhen palm styles, i.e., ''Treading Frost and Breaking Ice Palms.''
References in Chinese literature
The Quanzhen School featured heavily in three of Jinyong's most popular wuxia works, known as the Condor Trilogy. First was The Legend of the Condor Heroes where the main character Guo Jing was trained in internal cultivation of strength by Ma Yu. The antagonist, Yang Kang was also a student of Qiu Chuji who had a bet with the Jiangnan Qi Guai that their two disciples should meet sixteen years after and duel.
In the sequel, The Return of the Condor Heroes, Yang Kang's son, Yang Guo was brought to Zhongnan Mountain by Guo Jing to train under the Quanzhen taoists. However, the rebellious Yang Guo was not suited for the orthodox ways of Quanzhen and later went to train under Xiaolongnü instead, who was the grand-disciple of Lin Chaoying. In this book, the animosity between the two schools was symbolically fixed with the union of the young couple.
Chapter one of ''The Heavenly Sword and the Dragon Saber'', the last of the trilogy, mentioned Quanzhen School in passing. The book was set hundreds of years after the two novels.
Branch and Sect
The seven disciples of Wang Chongyang continue expounding the Quanzhen beliefs. The seven Masters of Quanzhen established the following 7 branches.
*Ma jue : Yuxian lineage ;
*Tan Chuduan : Nanwu lineage ;
*Liu Chuxuan : Suishan lineage ;
*Qiu Chuji : Longmen lineage ;
*Wang Chuyi : Yushan lineage ;
*Hao Datong : Huashan lineage ;
*Sun Bu'er : Qingjing lineage .
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