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The Xiantiandao (, or "Way of the Primordial"; Vietnamese: Tiên Thiên Đạo, Japanese: ), or known as Blue/Green Lotus sect (青蓮教), also simply Tiandao (; Vietnamese: Thiên Đạo, Japanese: ), is one of the most productive currents of Chinese folk religious sects such as the White Lotus Sect, characterised by representing the principle of divinity as feminine and by a concern for salvation (moral completion) of mankind.
Xiantiandao was founded in Jiangxi in the 17th-century Qing dynasty as an offshoot of the Venerable Officials' teaching of fasting (), a branch of the Dacheng (大乘 "Great Vehicle") or Yuandun (圆顿 "Sudden Stillness") eastern proliferation of Luoism. It has also been traced to the earlier Wugongdao (五公道 "Way of the Five Lords"), a Yuan dynasty offshoot of the White Lotus tradition.Topley, 2011. p. 211Ter Harr, 1999. pp. 16-59
The Xiantiandao religions were considered heterodoxy and suppressed throughout the history of China; they are still mostly forbidden in China, yet they thrive in Taiwan where at least 7% of the population adheres to some sect derived from the Xiantiandao.
The Xiantiandao movement is not limited only to Chinese-speaking countries, with at least one sect, the "Way of Heaven" or "Heavenly Path", active in Japan. In Vietnam, "Tiên Thiên Đạo" doctrines ultimately influenced the rise of the Minh Đạo sects since the 17th century.
Sects that are or have been considered as part of the Xiantiandao stream are:
In 1690, Huang Dehui was arrested and executed by the Qing government. The leadership of the sect was continued several decades later by Wu Zixiang (吳紫祥). Wu changed the name of his group to Wupanjiao (五盤教). He was also arrested and sentenced to death. Leadership continued to the eleventh patriarch, He Ruo (何若) / He Liaoku (何了苦). In 1790, as the group leader, He Liaoku was sent to Longli County, Guizhou to serve in the army as a punishment from the government, thus the Green Lotus sect spread to Guizhou. He Liao Ku's disciple Yuan Zhiqian (袁志謙, known as the 12th patriarch) spread the teachings from Guizhou to Yunnan, Sichuan, and Hubei, where it flourished. In 1823 he founded Xigang Tang (西港堂) in Chengdu and worked actively to spread the teachings in the Yangtze valley. In 1826, the leadership was continued by Xu Ji'nan (徐吉南) and Yang Shouyi (楊守一) who became the 13th patriarchs. Shortly after, patriarchs Xu and Yang were arrested and executed by the Qing government in 1828. History shows that several new sub-sects were born after this era including Yuanming Dao (圆明道), Guiyi Dao (皈依道), Tongshan She (同善社) and the most important for Taiwan's religious history is Yiguandao (一貫道). The patriarchal lines of these sects are largely identical down to the thirteenth patriarch Yang Shouyi and Xu Ji'nan, after whom the lines split and ultimately lead to the development of some group as separate sects. The other groups maintain a different model of linear patriarchal succession.
In 1834, Xiantiandao elected five preaching leaders, known as the 'Five Elders' (五老). At colloquy of seven deities (七聖) held in 1843 in Yuncheng (雲城), it was decided that the sect would henceforth be divided into five branches headed by patriarchs named after the Five Elements (water, fire, wood, metal and earth). Xiantiandao texts often refer to the "Precious register of Cloud City", according to the Yuncheng Precious Mantra (雲城寶籙), the Seven Saints are "the patriarchs in charge of universal salvation in the three world ages" (開辦三期普度之祖). In that period, the Green Lotus sect later united with parties and armed groups to fight the officers and soldiers, and became a secret religious group, causing much unrest." In 1845, the Green Lotus sect staged a rebellion in Wuchang but failed.
Later, An Tianjue (安天爵) of the Wood, Chen Yijing (陈依精) of the Fire, Song Chaozhen 宋潮真) of the Earth were arrested by the Qing government and put to death. Pang Chaofan (彭超凡) / Peng Yifa (彭依法) of the Water, and Lin Zhuguan (林祝官) / Lin Yimi (林依秘) of the Metal escaped and evaded being arrested. These Peng Chaofan and Lin Zhuguan were later regarded as the 14th patriarch and 15th patriarch by many Xiantiandao groups. At the end of the Daoguang Emperor, Peng Chaofan continued to preach in Sichuan under the banner of Xiantiandao. Meanwhile, Li Zhuguan founded the Hall of Western Heaven (西乾堂) as a shelter for members of the Green Lotus sect which was later renamed Dongzhentang (東震堂) by Wang Jueyi (the 15th patriarch of Yiguandao). Yao Hetian who became the 14th patriarch of Yiguandao was probably also one of the successors of Li Zhuguan."
In the beginning, the main centers of Xiantiandao development were in Jiangxi and Sichuan provinces. In 1860, the sub-sect headed by Peng Yifa was introduced to Guangdong from Hubei province by his follower Chen Fushi 陳復始. Chen convert Lin Fashan 林法善 in Qingyuan, before going into retirement in Yichang 宜昌 in Hubei. In 1863, Lin Fashan founded the Cangxia Gudong (藏霞古洞) temple on Yuxia Mountain (嵎峽山) in Qingyuan county, which is the starting point of the Cangxia sub-branch and the starting point of Xiantiandao in Guangdong." Lin Fashan had two main disciples: Huang Benyuan 黃本源 (aka Daochu 道初) and Li Zhigen 李植根 (aka Jingquan Xiansheng 淨泉先生). While Huang took over the leadership of the Cangxia branch from Lin Fashan, Li in 1871 founded the Jinxiadong (錦霞洞) temple in Qingyuan. For the future regional development of Xiantiandao, Cangxiadong and Jinxiadong were both very important, with Huang spreading the teachings to the north and Li spreading the teachings to the south."
In 1873, the last of the Five Elders (15th patriarch), Lin Zhuguang passed away from illness in Mukou. Lin Zhuguang was the last patriarch of Xiantiandao who is still agreed upon by many Xiantiandao sub-groups. Afterwards, because Xiantiandao split into so many small groups, there was no agreement from each group on who the next patriarch should be, so each sub-group had its own Taoist lineage. After that, Xiantiandao spread throughout China and some parts of Southeast Asia." In the first half of the 20th century, there was tremendous growth in one of the Xiantiandao-rooted groups, Yiguandao. However, most of the other Xiantiandao groups did not develop into large organizations. Although some Xiantiandao groups joined forces to register Zhongguo Sanjiao Shengdao Zonghui (中國三教聖道總會) with the Beiyang regime in 1923, in reality Xiantiandao seems to have remained just a collection of independent temples and networks running on their own.", New Taipei City, Taiwan.]]
Those who are destined by their karma will board the golden boat and leave the sea of suffering together. They will meet the wuwei Patriarch (無為生祖) who transmits the mantra and the dots . Thus they will return to their origin and return to their source. The teaching of the Golden Herb (金丹法) continues through the three cosmic periods, opening the of heaven and closing the of earth. If they have penetrated the Mysterious Path (玄關), the holy body becomes real and together they will reach the Native Place. One must meet a teacher who dots and opens the aperture of the Mysterious Door to manifest the future purple golden body.
The Daoyuan diverges from the common maternal pattern by describing the supreme deity as male, naming him "Holiest Venerable Patriarch of the Primordial Heaven" (). Despite these and many other differences in liturgy, organization, and doctrine, ultimately each Xiantiandao sect represents a variation on a central theme. Other movements have significantly departed: the Tiandi teachings movements have shifted to a focus on the Tian.
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