Zhang Guoxiang () was the fiftieth Celestial Master, who was the head of the Daoist Zhengyi School based at Longhu Shan in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

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province.

Life

Zhang Yongxu, the fiftieth Celestial Master, designated Zhang Guoxiang, his nephew, as successor due to the premature death of his son. The Ming court led by the Longqing Emperor (1567–72) did not look favourably upon the Zhengyi Taoists, and stripped Zhang Guoxiang of his title. The

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shenzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Yijun, art name Yuzhai, was the 14th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reig ...

(1573–1620), however, was more favorably inclined towards the Zhengyi School, and restored Zhang Guoxiang's title. Zhang spent thirteen years in Nanjing, where he got married, and was given a residence by the emperor. In 1607, the emperor ordered Zhang to compile a supplement to the Taoist Canon that was to include important texts written during the emperor's reign and was known as the ''Wanli Xu Daozang'' (Supplementary Taoist Canon of the Wanli Reign Period). Misfortune fell upon Zhang in 1609, when a flood destroyed the main temple at Longhu Shan. The emperor supplied finances to assist in the temple's restoration, but Zhang died before completion in 1611.

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang Guoxiang Ming dynasty Taoists Way of the Celestial Masters 16th-century births 1611 deaths 17th-century Taoists