Qiu Chuji (10 February 1148– 22 August 1227), courtesy name Tongmi (通密), also known by his Taoist name Master Changchun, was a renowned Taoist master from late Southern Song/Jin dynasty and a famous disciple of Wang Chongyang, the founder of Quanzhen School. He is known for being invited by Genghis Khan to a personal meeting near the Hindu Kush, who also respected and honored him as an Immortal.
Qiu is one of the Seven Perfected of the North. He is the founder of the Longmen (Dragon Gate) school of Quanzhen Taoism which already at his time became the most widespread school of Taoism, so prominent that it became synonymous with the phrase "the Dragon Gate covers half the realm", and it is still the case nowadays.
On the nineteenth day of the first lunar month in 1148 (the eighth year of the Huangtong era of the Jin dynasty), Qiu Chuji was born in Bindu village, Qixia county, Dengzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province. Orphaned of both parents from an early age, he endured the hardships of the human world, being fed and clothed from the charity of many families. From childhood, he yearned to cultivate immortality.
As a youth, he took refuge on Gongshan Mountain north of his village, living a life of “wearing pine blossoms on his head, eating pine nuts, and drinking pine breeze with the moon over the pine stream.”
In 1167 he began studying Daoism. In the following year, hearing that Wang Chongyang was teaching at the Quanzhen Hut in Ninghai Prefecture, Qiu Chuji went there and became his disciple.
Between 1168 and 1170, Qiu Chuji accompanied Wang Chongyang in spreading the teachings across Shandong and Henan. Here societies were enstabilished such as the Seven Treasures Society, the Golden Lotus Society, and the Three Lights Society, so as to lay a foundation for the Quanzhen Taoism.
In 1169, Wang Chongyang journeyed westward with four disciples: Ma Danyang, Qiu Chuji, Tan Chuduan and Liu Chuxuan. In the winter of this year, they arrived in Bianliang, Henan, and fixed their residence in an inn run by a porcelain dealer surnamed Wang. On the 4th day of the first lunar month in the next year, Wang Chongyang passed away and ascended to Heaven. In his will he instructed: “Chuji’s studies shall be entrusted to Danyang.” Thereafter, under the tutelage of Ma Danyang, Qiu Chuji’s knowledge and Daoist cultivation advanced rapidly.
Immediately after burying their master temporarily in Meng Zongxian's garden, Ma, Tan, Liu and Qiu went to Zhongnan county, Shaanxi, to pay a formal visit to Wang Chongyang's fellow Daoists and earlier disciples. In 1172, they reinterred Chongyang in Liujiang village, Zhongnan county, and then dwelled in huts beside the grave for some years.
At night during the Mid-Autumn festival in 1174, the four disciples respectively spoke out their plans and then parted ways.
Qiu Chuji travelled westward and when arrived at the Pan stream (Panxi), he decided to conduct here his cultivation, dwelling in a cave. Later, noticing that the people were struggling to cross the stream in the high water season, he carried them on his back across the river everyday. So, six years passed in Panxi.
In 1180, Qiu Chuji came to the Longmen (Dragon Gate) Mountain in Longzhou (present-day Baoji). Seeing the beautiful scenery, quiet surroundings, natural caves and springs, and hearing that immortal Lou Jing of the Han dynasty once cultivated himself in this place, Qiu decided to settle here. After selecting a cave as his residence, he went on with his cultivation and refinement for seven years, emerging as the founder of the Quanzhen Longmen school.
During this time, Qiu Chuji's reputation grew. In 1186, Jiagu Qingchen, commander of the Jingzhao forces, invited Qiu to take charge of religious affairs at the Ancestral Hut in Liujiang, Zhongnan county.
In the spring of 1188, Emperor Shizong of the Jin dynasty summoned Qiu Chuji. The latter then stayed in Yanjing (now Beijing) for half a year. During this period he asked several times for leave, but Emperor Shizong never agreed and often called him in to discuss official business in the palace. Qiu Chuji beseeched to retire over and over. Seeing that he was determined to leave, Shizong had to consent and bestowed upon him a huge sum of money, which he declined resolutely.
In the winter of 1191, as Emperor Zhangzong of the Jin dynasty gave orders to prohibit preaching, Qiu Chuji had to lead Zhao Daojian, Song Dao'an and a few other disciples away from Shaanxi back to his hometown Qixia, in Shandong Province. Here the Taixu (Supreme Emptiness) Temple was constructed under the supervision of Qiu Chuji, becoming a base for spreading Taoism.
Qiu Chuji, who often relieved victims with money and food donated by wealthy persons, was held in high esteem among the people in the areas of Yan and Zhao, Qi and Lu. Local officials also acquiesced, seeing that he was really doing good to the people. As a result, Qiu Chuji enjoyed great renown for his merciful aids both in the court and among the commonality.
In 1214, riots took place in Shandong. Learning about his prestige, Pusan Chao'en, the military officer responsible for suppressing rebellions, asked Qiu Chuji to offer amnesty to the rebellious people in the areas of Dengzhou and Laizhou. Because Qiu Chuji enjoyed high public regard, the rebels in various places all showed a willingness to accept amnesty and pledge royalty to the ruler.
Between 1216 and 1219, the Jin and Song courts both invited Qiu Chuji several times to assist the court, but were always turned down. The local officials and gentry felt puzzled about his decision. Thereupon Qiu Chuji explained, "I act in accordance with Heaven's will, so how can you understand it?"
In the winter of 1219, Genghis Khan of Mongolia sent Zhaba'er and Liu Zhonglu, carrying an imperial edict and a tiger golden tablet with them, from the Naiman state in the Western Region for Qiu Chuji. Qiu Chuji accepted the invitation. Knowing that the Mongolian army had been notorious for its ruthless killing. In order to dissuade this army from brutal massacres and running amock, he willingly accepted Genghis Khan's invitation. In the second lunar month in the early spring of the next year, Qiu Chuji took 18 of his disciples along to embark upon their westward journey to stop the killing.