Chen Tuan

Chen Tuan
Family name:Chén (Trần) Given name:Tuán (Đoàn) Courtesy name:Túnán (ĐồNam)
Chen Xiyi Asleep byHasegawa Tōhaku,Ishikawa Nanao Art Museum
Born	Luyi County,Henan
Died	(989-08-25)August 25, 989
Other names	Chén Xīyí (TrầnHiDi) Fúyáozǐ (ĐỡDiêuTử)
Occupation	Taoist

Chen Tuan
Traditional Chinese	TrầnĐoàn
Simplified Chinese	TrầnĐoàn
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chén Tuán Wade–Giles Ch'ên2T'uan2 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Chan4Tyun4 Jyutping Can4Tyun4

In thisChinese name,thefamily nameisChen.

Chen TuanTrần đoàn (died August 25, 989) was a ChineseTaoistcredited with creation of thekung fusystemLiuhebafa( "Six Harmonies and Eight Methods" ). Along with this internal art, he is also said to be associated with a method ofqi(energy) cultivation known today as Taiji ruler and a 24-seasonDaoyinmethod (ershisi shi daoyin fa) using seated and standing exercises designed to prevent diseases that occur during seasonal changes throughout the year.

Name and titles

The character "Tuan" ( đoàn ) is sometimes confused with the very similar-looking character "Bo" ( bác ), thus the name is sometimes incorrectly romanized as ChenBoor ChenPo.In Chinese, he is often respectfully referred to as "Aged Ancestor Chen Tuan" ( Trần Đoàn lão tổ Chén Tuán Lǎozǔ) and "Ancestral Teacher Xiyi" ( hi di tổ sư Xīyí Zǔshī).

Chen Tuan, styled Tunan, titled himself Fuyao Zi (one soaring upward in the high sky, from Nan Hua Jing written byZhuangzi).

Known as the "Sleeping Immortal", he is credited with using and creating sleepingqigongmethods ofinternal alchemical cultivation.

Biography and legends

Little is certain about his life, including when and where he was born. He was born around the end of theFive Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period(907 AD - 960 AD) and the start of theSong Dynasty(960 AD - 1279 AD), possibly in what is nowLuyiinHenan Province.By another account, he was born inZhenyuanofHaozhou(today'sAnhuiProvince).

Chen is said to have been astonishingly intelligent and erudite in his childhood.

According to certain Taoist schools who claim him as a founder, he lived two decades of a secluded life in theNine Room CaveonMount Wudang,though traveled frequently. In the first year of Xiande Period ofLater Zhou Dynasty(954) he is known to have been living on theMount Hua,one of the fivesacred mountains of China.

The story goes that Chen Tuan had planned a career at the Imperial court, but flunked the state examination and became a hermit sage instead. Thus, as a student he was conversant with theConfucianclassics, history, and the theories of various schools of thought. Among the classics, he was particularly fond of theYi jing(Book of Changes), which he was unable to put down. Apart from the classics, he was said to be conversant with medical principles, astronomy and geography, and famous for his poems as well.

Chen Tuan had a good command of primordial Yi learning, taught theRiver ChartandLuo River Bookas well as the Infinite andTaijiCharts. As an important teacher of Taoist doctrines who pioneered the Confucian school of idealist philosophy of the Song and Ming Dynasties, he had a profound influence upon later generations.

Having rejected the emperor's orders and edicts, he was still conferred the title of "Master Xi Yi" (Master of the Inaudible and Invisible) by theEmperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty.During the first year of Duangong Period (988), Chen appointed his disciples to cut a stone chamber in the Zhao Chao Valley (later renamed Xi Yi Valley); then Chen Tuan presented a report to the imperial court in which he wrote the following note: "I will die soon. I am about to leave, nowadays I’m transformed in the Zhang Chao Valley at the foot of Lotus Peak on the 22nd day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar." By the time he died when he cupped his cheek in his hand his facial features remained unchanged.

Many tales of Chen Tuan have been circulated around and it is said that "He wanders around and shows no concern for worldly benefits." However, despite many mystical and mysterious stories, Chen was known to care about and was compassionate to ordinary people. For this he is deeply respected by the common folk. This Taoist sage was considered the embodiment of the Supreme Lord Lao and received the nickname of "Aged Ancestor," a symbol of Taoism inMount Hua.Chen Tuan is depicted in theWu Shuang Pu( vô song phổ, Table of Peerless Heroes) by Jin Guliang.

Later historical references

According to the "semi-historical" biography of GeneralYue Fei,it was the immortal Chen Tuan who, disguised as a wandering Taoist, warned the Yue Family of the imminent Yellow River flood.

Sources

• General Yue FeiISBN962-04-1279-6

See also

• Chan Yik Yan
• Wu Yi Hui

References

Sources

• (in Chinese)Toqto'a;et al., eds. (1345).Song Shi( Tống sử )[History of Song].

External links

• History of Liuhebafa and Chen Xiyi
• liuhopafa
• Taoist Culture & Information Center
• Plexus-Plus: Myth becomes Historical Artifact