Zhengyi Dao

This temple was located at Mount Longhu, claimed to be the spot where Zhang Daoling had obtained the Tao, and where his descendants still lived.

Recognized by the emperor as the legitimate descendants of Zhang Daoling, these new Celestial Masters established a new patriarchy at their base of Longhu Shan.

[3] The importance of the Zhengyi school grew during the Song dynasty, with the Celestial masters frequently receiving imperial appointments.

He accepted the claim that the Celestial Master of Mount Longhu was descended from Zhang Daoling and granted the school the right to control affairs relating to Taoism in the Jiangnan area.

[6] Despite ending association with the court, the Celestial Master himself still retained a great deal of prestige and importance among Taoists throughout China.

[7] This prestige, which arose from the belief that he was descended from Zhang Daoling, was evident when the Celestial Master traveled and attracted crowds of people wherever he went.

[8] Unlike prior incarnations of the Celestial Masters, like the school based at Louguan, the Zhengyi Taoists did not venerate Laozi as a god.

A register was a way to allow that the Taoist tradition passed on to future generations by ensuring those who received them had an adequate knowledge of the school's teachings.

Zhang Yuchu (1361–1410) received an imperial commission in 1406 to gather texts, in particular those produced during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor (1368–98).