Description

Zhang Daoling, styled Fuhan, was born on the fifteenth night of the first lunar month (the Lantern Festival) under a full moon in 34 CE, and his mortal journey concluded in either 156 or 178 CE. As the founder of the Way of the Orthodox Unity Covenant with Power (Zhengyi Mengwei Dao)—later known as the Celestial Master tradition (Tianshi Dao)—during the Eastern Han Dynasty, he stands as a foundational figure in Daoist history. He not only synthesized the teachings of Huang-Lao Daoism but also laid the doctrinal foundations for subsequent Daoist schools. To Daoist adherents, he is revered as the Venerable Ancestral Celestial Master—the progenitor of the Zhang lineage of Celestial Masters—and the inaugural patriarch among Daoism’s Three Ancestors. He is exalted with sacred titles such as Perfected Lord of Orthodox Unity (Zhengyi Zhenren), Great Dharma Master Who Supports the Teachings of the Three Heavens (Santian Fujiao Dafashi), and Luminous High Deity (Gaoming Shangdi). Among the populace, he is affectionately honored as Celestial Master Zhang (Zhang Tianshi).