Lu Shizhong was a

Daoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

exorcist In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...

in 12th century China, and the founder of the Great Method of the Jade Hall School of Daoism. Lu was born in Shangsui (now

Chenzhou Chenzhou () is a prefecture-level city located in the south of Hunan province, China, bordering the provinces of Jiangxi to the east and Guangdong to the south. Its administrative area covers , 9.2% of the provincial area, and its total populatio ...

), and was related to the prefecture's magistrate, Lu Guan. At the age of 17, he met a wandering Daoist and learned various talismanic and shamanic arts. In 1120, he had a vision in which he was shown the location of a secret manuscript of the

Shangqing School The Shangqing School (Chinese:上清派), also known as Supreme Clarity or Highest Clarity is a Taoist movement that began during the aristocracy of the Western Jin dynasty. Shangqing can be translated as either 'Supreme Clarity' or 'Highest Clari ...

by a student of

Zhang Daoling Zhang Ling (; traditionally 34–156), courtesy name Fuhan (), was a Chinese religious leader who lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty credited with founding the Way of the Celestial Masters sect of Taoism, which is also known as the Way of the F ...

; this manuscript would later form the basis of Lu's main treatise ''The Great Method of the Jade Hall of the Three Heavens of the Supreme Mysterious Origin'' (). Lu used the arts that he had learned to make a living performing rites and exorcisms for wealthy patrons. He founded the Great Method of the Jade Hall School ()

References

{{reflist Chinese Taoists Chinese exorcists 12th-century Chinese people