Sun Suzhen (; 16 October 1895 – 4 April 1975) was the 18th matriarch of

Yiguandao Yiguandao / I-Kuan Tao (), meaning the Consistent Way or Persistent Way, is a Chinese salvationist religions, Chinese salvationist religious sect that emerged in the late 19th century, in Shandong, to become China's most important redemptive ...

. She was the successor of

Zhang Tianran Zhang Tianran ( zh, t=張天然; 8 August 1889 – 29 September 1947), born Kui Sheng ( zh, t=奎生), was the eighteenth patriarch of the Yiguandao religious sect. He is usually referred to as the ''Father of Yiguandao'', or as ''Shi Zun'' ...

Early life

Sun Suzhen was born in Shan County,

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

on the 28th day of the eighth lunar month in 1895. She was introduced to Yiguandao in 1908 and became a student of

Lu Zhongyi Lu Zhongyi (; 18 May 1849 – 26 February 1925) was the seventeenth patriarch of Yiguandao. His religious titles were ''Tung Li Zu'' and ''Jin Gong Zu Shi'' (金公祖師; Golden Elder). Lu is, according to Yiguandao doctrine, the incarnation ...

. She was regarded by Yiguandao's followers as the incarnation of the Yuehui "Moon Wisdom" Bodhisattva, the counterpart of Ji Gong. She became the 18th matriarch of Yiguandao, together with

(the reincarnation of Ji Gong), in 1930.

Yiguandao leadership

After the death of Zhang in 1947, she took control of Yiguandao. Many of Zhang's followers followed her leadership. Only a small fraction stayed on with Madame Liu. When the communists took over China in 1949, Sun moved to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. She then went to

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, Malaysia for a short period (1951–52) then returned to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, she was said to have left behind a large number of "heavenly mandates" (). To this day, there are a few elders in Hong Kong who are believed to be the keepers of these heavenly mandates.

Later life and death

In 1954, she moved to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Because Yiguandao was illegal in both mainland China and Taiwan and was categorized as a cult by both authorities, she kept a low profile and was kept under seclusion. She was sick in her last years and under the care of a nun surnamed Zhou in

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

. Later she was under the care of

Wang Hao De Wang Hao-te, also known as Wang Hao Demir, was the founder of the Great Way of Maitreya (). Wang was born on August 31, 1921, in a small village called Zhang Gu in Shandong. He went to Taiwan when he was 17 years old during the Second World War, an ...

until her death. She died on the 23rd day of the second lunar month in 1975 (4 April 1975), one day before the death of Chiang Kai-shek. The location of her gravesite is unknown, but it is likely that she was buried in an unmarked grave in Daxi, Taoyuan. She was given the title ''Zhonghua Shengmu'' () (Holy Mother of the Chinese) by her followers.

References

* David Jordan & Daniel Overmyer. 1985. The Flying Phoenix: Aspects of Chinese Sectarianism in Taiwan. Princeton University Press. * Soo Khin Wah. 1997. A Study of the Yiguan Dao (Unity Sect) and its Development in Peninsular Malaysia. Ph.D. dissertation, University of British Columbia.

External links

History of Sun Su Zhen according to her followers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Suzhen 1895 births 1975 deaths I-Kuan Tao Patriarchs People from Heze Taiwanese people from Shandong Deified Taiwanese people