Longhu Mountain and the Zhengyi School
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Ancestral Celestial Master Zhang Daoling used talisman water to heal the sick and aid the common people. Later, he received a mandate from Taishang Laojun to establish Taoism, naming it the "Zhengyi Mengwei Dao" (The Way of Orthodox Unity and the Covenant of Power). The meaning of "Zhengyi" (Orthodox Unity) is "to master evil with righteousness" and "to unify all with the One," which is also called the "singular, non-dual path."
Laojun bestowed upon the Celestial Master three sacred treasures: the "Three-Five Demon-Slaying Swords" (male and female), the "Seal of Yangping Jurisdiction," and the "Zhengyi Mengwei Talismans." The Seal could command the myriad deities; the Swords could repel evil and slay malevolent spirits; and the Talismans could avert disaster and attract blessings, symbolizing the profound power of the Taoist rites.
The Zhengyi School reveres the Tao Te Ching as its classic scripture, honors Laozi as the founding ancestor of the Tao, and later generations refer to the founding patriarch, Zhang Daoling, as the "Ancestral Celestial Master."
The Ancestral Celestial Master chose a mountain, abundant in spiritual energy, to refine elixirs. When the elixirs were completed, a dragon and a tiger appeared, and the mountain was thus named "Longhu Mountain."
The fourth-generation Celestial Master, Zhang Sheng, moved his residence to Longhu Mountain, establishing the foundation of the "Celestial Master hereditary family." To this day, it has been passed down for 63 generations over more than 1,900 years, and Longhu Mountain has since been known as the Ancestral Court of Zhengyi Taoism. It earned a parallel reputation with the Confucius family of Qufu, known as "Zhang in the South, Confucius in the North."
The Yuan Emperor, Kublai Khan, bestowed upon the 36th-generation Celestial Master, Zhang Zongyan, the title of "Heir to the Han Celestial Masters." Later, the Yuan Emperor Chengzong officially entitled the 38th-generation Celestial Master, Zhang Yucai, as the "Leader of the Zhengyi School," granting him authority over the talismans of the Three Mountains. From that point on, the Shangqing registers of Maoshan in Jiangnan and the Lingbao registers of Gezao Mountain in Jiangxi all came under the authority of the Zhengyi School of the Longhu Mountain Celestial Masters. Longhu Mountain thus became the "Altar of Ten Thousand Dharmas."
Later, the founding Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang personally wrote the decree, "To forever preside over all Taoist affairs in the realm," and bestowed it upon the 42nd-generation Celestial Master Zhang Zhengchang, a tradition that has been passed down to this day.
As the 30th Celestial Master, the Perfected Lord Xujing, said: "The sacred registers of our lineage, in the high, can move Heaven and Earth; in the low, they can shake mountains and rivers. In the light, they can command dragons and tigers; in the dark, they can summon ghosts and spirits. Their power can raise the withered from bone, and their cultivation can allow one to transcend life and death. On a grand scale, they can bring prosperity to the nation; on a small scale, they can repel disasters and calamities."
This demonstrates the vastness of their use and their ultimate spiritual efficacy.