Wu Chengzhen (; born 14 January 1957) is the first Chinese woman to be ordained as a '' fangzhang'' (abbess) in the history of

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

Early life

Wu Yuanzhen () was born on 14 January 1957, in

Xinzhou District, Wuhan Xinzhou () is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China, covering part of the city's northeastern suburbs and situated on the northern (left) bank of the Yangtze River. It is also the ea ...

Hubei province Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

as the youngest daughter of a family of six brothers and sisters. As a child, Wu read books belonging to her relatives about

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and Taoism. Before the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, she was able to finish high school and began working as an accountant, but no options for formal higher education were open to her. Wu began self-study, reading texts on philosophy, theology and enlightenment and at the age of 23 she followed an older sister's lead, making a commitment to Taoism, and changed her name to Wu Chengzhen.

Career

Early career

Wu began work as a cook and gardener at the Changchun Taoist Temple of

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

. She studied with Xie Zhongxin, the 22nd ''fangzhang'' of Baiyun Temple in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and after four years, in March 1984 she became a monk. The Changchun Temple, built during the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

, is one of the most important in China. In 1995, Wu was appointed the temple's ''zhuchi'' (lower-ranking abbess), and was selected as vice president of the Taoist Association of Wuhan. One of her main duties is fundraising. Taoist clergy depend on public donations for their public works projects. Wu reportedly has around 10,000 followers who annually donate at least 2 million yuan (US$292,920), used to care for the poor and children who have dropped out of school, widows, as well as for construction projects for bridges, roads, schools, and disaster relief.

Later career

In 2001, Wu completed a master's degree in philosophy at

Huazhong University of Science and Technology The Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST; ) is a public research university located in Guanshan Subdistrict, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei province, China. As a national key university directly affiliated to the Ministry of E ...

She became president of both the

and Wuhan Taoist Associations in 2007. In 2009, Wu began studying for her doctorate degree at

Renmin University of China The Renmin University of China (RUC; ) is a national key public research university in Beijing, China. The university is affiliated to the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry and the Beijing Municipal People's Government. RUC ...

with a thesis topic which evaluates the function of Taoism in creating a harmonious society. In 2009, she was unanimously elected by all of the leaders in all the Changchun Temple's departments to serve as their principal abbess. Her ordination was held on 15 November, 2009. In 2014, Wu traveled to the United States and helped found the U.S. Taoist Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Chengzhen 1957 births Living people 21st-century Chinese women 21st-century Chinese people Chinese women academics Chinese women philosophers Huazhong University of Science and Technology alumni Renmin University of China alumni People's Republic of China Taoists Chinese clergy People from Wuhan Philosophers from Hubei