Tao Te Ching/The Essence of Chinese Classics Author: (Spring and Autumn Period) Laozi | Editor: Wang Wei | Translator: Gao Wenfang Publisher: Beijing United

Huang Shang, courtesy name Yuanji, was a native of Fengcheng, Jiangxi Province. His birth and death years are unknown. He was a Taoist priest in the Yuan or Qing Dynasty.

According to the preface of "Le Yu Tang Quotations", Mr. Huang Yuanji was a man of the Yuan Dynasty. He usually hid himself from the public and did not gather his disciples to teach until the Daoguang and Xianfeng years of the Qing Dynasty. However, it is not reasonable to say that Huang Yuanji lived nearly a thousand years. The Huang Yuanji of the Yuan Dynasty mentioned in the preface of "Le Yu Tang Quotations" and the Huang Yuanji of the Qing Dynasty should not be the same person. The attitude of Ge Guolong, the author of "New Translation of Le Yu Tang Quotations", is "From an academic standpoint, anything without definite evidence should be doubted. Perhaps the two people having the same name is just a coincidence!"

Huang Yuanji set up the "Le Yu Tang" in Fushun, Sichuan Province during the reign of Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty (1851-1862) to teach Taoism for more than ten years. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, he explained the "Tao Te Ching", which was later compiled into the "Tao Te Ching Lecture Notes", which was published in the tenth year of Emperor Guangxu (1884).

A more detailed account of Huang Yuanji's death can be found in Li Lequ's "Visiting Taoism Records": "In the tenth year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, Master Huang Yuanji preached in Ziliujing, Sichuan. When he finally left the temple, his disciples respectfully saw him off outside the temple. Huang ascended to heaven immediately. When his disciples saw him, they all burst into tears and began to regret having wasted their time in the past and not having studied Taoism from their teacher." In addition, according to the legend among Huang Yuanji's disciples, Huang Yuanji transformed his body into a breeze and passed away while surrounded by his disciples.

Huang Yuanji's life was filled with legends and anecdotes. He can be said to be the master of modern Chinese traditional inner alchemy. After Huang Yuanji, the "Tianfu Leyutang" school spread to various places. The content of Huang Yuanji's lectures in Sichuan was compiled into a book by his disciples, which still has a far-reaching influence on the practice of modern Taoist inner alchemy.

According to his disciples, Huang Yuanji belonged to the Taoist Hidden Immortal School. The lineage of his teachings was: Guangchengzi → Huangdi → Qibo Tianshi → Laozi → Yinxi → Ma Yi Daozhe → Chen Tuan → Huolong Zhenren → Huang Yuanji.

Huang Shang's life stories taught at Le Yu Tang were recorded by his disciples and compiled into three books: "Lectures on the Daodejing", "Le Yu Tang Quotations" and "Dao Men Yu Yao". It is said that there are also books such as "Xuan Zong Kou Jue", "Xing Xin Jing Zhu" and "Qiu Xin Jing Zhu", but they have been lost.