Qiu Chuji

Qiu Chuji (1148 – 1227)

Qiu Chuji (Traditional Chinese: 丘處機; Simplified Chinese: 丘处机, alternately rendered Kiu Chang Chun, Taoist name 長春; [Perpetual Spring]; 1148 – 23 July 1227) was a Quanzhen Taoist, the most famous of Wang Chongyang's seven disciples, or Seven Immortals. He was also the founder of the Dragon Gate Taoism.

History

In 1219 Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol empire and the greatest of Asiatic conquerors, invited Chang Chun to visit him. Genghis' letter of invitation, dated 15 May 1219 (by present reckoning), has been preserved, one of the great curiosities of history. Here the formidable Mongol warrior appears as a meek disciple of wisdom, modest and simple, almost Socratic in his self-examination, alive to many of the deepest truths of life and government.

Chang Chun obeyed this summons; and leaving his home in Shantung (February 1220) journeyed first to Peking. Learning that Genghis had gone further west upon fresh conquests, the sage stayed the winter in the Mongol capital. In February 1221 Chang Chun started off again, traversing eastern Mongolia to the camp of Genghis' brother Ujughen, near Lake Bbr, or Buyur, in the upper basin of the Kerulun-Amur. From thence he travelled south-westward up the Kerulun, crossing the Karakorum region in north-central Mongolia, and so arrived at Chinese Altay Mountains, probably passing near the present Uliassutai. After traversing the Altay he visited Bishbalig, answering to the modern Urumtsi, and moved along the north side of the Tian Shan range to Lake Sairam, Almalig (or Kuija), and the rich valley of the Ili.

We then trace him to the Chu and across this river to Talas and the Tashkent region, and then over the Jaxartes (or Syr Dana) to Samarkand, where he halted for some months. Finally, through the Iron Gates of Termit, over the Oxus, and by way of Balkh and northern Afghanistan, Chang Chun reached Genghis' camp near the Hindu Kush. It was in Samarkand in the year 1221 where Chang Chun met with Muslim imams who viewed Chang Chun with disdain, in which he returned their contempt; "Why do you make the pilgrimage to Mecca?" spoke Chang Chun. "Do you not know that God is everywhere?"

Returning home he largely followed his outward route, with certain deviations, such as a visit to Kuku-khoto. He was back in Peking by the end of January 1224. From the narrative of his expedition (the Hsi Yu Ki, written by his pupil and companion Li Chi Chang) we derive some of the most faithful and vivid pictures ever drawn of nature and man between the Great Wall of China and Kabul, between the Aral and Yellow Sea. Of particular interest are the sketches of the Mongols, and of the people of Samarkand and its vicinity; the account of the fertility and products of the latter region, as of the Ili valley, at or near Almalig-Kulja; and the description of various great mountain ranges, peaks and defiles, such as the Chinese Altay, the Tian Shan, Mt Bogdo-ola (?), and the Iron Gates of Termit. There is, moreover, a noteworthy reference to a land apparently identical with the uppermost valley of the Yenisei.

After his return Chang Chun lived at Peking until his death on 23 July 1227. By order of Genghis Khan some of the former imperial garden grounds were made over to him, for the foundation of a Taoist monastery.

Authorship of Journey to the West (Xi You Ji) has sometimes been attributed to Chang Chun, but this is incorrect. The Xi You Ji was written by Wu Cheng'en. Such confusion may have arisen from its similarity to the title of Chang Chun's travel description, Qiu Chang Chun Xi You Ji.

Popular culture

Qiu Chuji is a fictional character in the novels of Jin Yong. The character is a fictionalized version of the historical figure and an expert practitioner of martial arts. He is not a very good Daoist in the strictly religious sense of the term as he does not abide by the laissez-faire precepts of Daoism for which he has been repeatedly berated by his senior Ma Yu. Qiu Chuji involved himself in matters of society extensively, assassinating corrupt officials, collaborators and traitors.

See also

• Wang Chongyang

The Seven Immortals

• Ma Yu
• Tan ChuDuan
• Liu ChuXuan
• Qiu Chuji
• Wang ChuYi
• Hao DaTong
• Sun Bu'er

References

• E. Bretschneider, Mediaeval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources, vol. i. pp. 35-108, where a complete translation of the narrative is given, with a valuable commentary
• C. R. Beazley Dawn of Modern Geography, iii.539.
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

• the Perfect Man of Eternal Spring Qiu Chuji
• Introduction to Quanzhen Daoism and the Dragon Gate Tradition
• Chinese Daoists (in Chinese)
• Journey to the West of the Perfect Man of Eternal Spring
• Qiuchuji complete biography in qiuchuji.org

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