Yuán 元 Quán zhēn 全真 Daoist master, hào Xiāo yáo zǐ 逍遙子 (“Master of Free-and-Easy Wandering” — the hào echoes Zhuāngzǐ chapter 1 Xiāo yáo yóu 逍遙遊). Active c. 1296. Author of two Daozang commentaries:
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[[KR5c0116|Wén shǐ zhēn jīng zhù]] 文始真經註 (DZ 727, 9 juàn, preface 1296) — commentary on the Wén shǐ zhēn jīng / Guān Yǐn zǐ attributed to Yǐn Xǐ.
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Zhé yí zhǐ mí lùn 折疑指迷論 (DZ 276, preface 1296) — a polemical-philosophical work on resolving doubts and pointing out errors in Daoist practice.
Lineage. Niú Dàochún is identified in the Daozang sources as a Quán zhēn Daoist — i.e., a member of the mainstream Northern Daoist monastic tradition founded by Wáng Chóngyáng 王重陽 (1113–1170) and consolidated under Mongol-Yuán patronage. His hào Xiāo yáo zǐ is characteristically Quán zhēn — evoking retreat, freedom, and Zhuangzian playfulness.
Dating. Active 1296 (the preface date of both his attested works). No precise lifedates. No CBDB record identified.
Scholarly orientation. Both of Niú’s works reflect mature Yuán Quán zhēn scholarship: integrating textual-philological rigour with pedagogical accessibility. The Wén shǐ zhēn jīng zhù is especially noteworthy for its text-critical apparatus, citing two otherwise-unknown editions of the Guān Yǐn zǐ (Guō Zǐqián’s edition and Xī xuán zǐ Jiǎ’s edition) — showing Niú’s serious engagement with the textual tradition of his source.