Late Sòng–early Yuán 宋-元 Zhèng yī 正一 Daoist master, author of the [[KR5c0089|Dàodé xuán jīng yuán zhǐ 道德玄經原旨]] (DZ 702, 1305) and the complementary [[DZ 703|Xuán jīng yuán zhǐ fā huī 玄經原旨發揮]] (1306) commentaries on the Dàodé jīng, as well as a commentary on the Wénzǐ 文子.
Lifedates. 1237–1318 (CBDB 103594). Zì Chǔyī 處逸; hào Nán gǔ zǐ 南谷子 (“Master of the Southern Valley”). Lived through the entire SòngYuán transition: born in the late Southern Sòng (under Lǐ zōng 理宗), trained under the Mongol conquest and establishment of the Yuán, and died in the mid-Yuán (under Rén zōng 仁宗).
Origins and career. Native of Dāng tú 當塗 in Ān huī 安徽. Entered the Daoist order at age 14 (c. 1250 CE). Rose through the Zhèng yī 正一 lineage hierarchy to become abbot (zhù chí 住持) of several important monasteries, notably:
- Shèng yuán guān 聖元觀 at Hú zhōu 湖州 (Zhè jiāng) — a Southern-Sòng Zhèng yī centre.
- Various other Daoist establishments in the WúYuè 吳越 region.
Enjoyed substantial Mongol-Yuán court patronage in his mature years, and served as a disseminator of classical Daoist scholarship under the new dynasty.
Major works.
- [[KR5c0089|Dàodé xuán jīng yuán zhǐ]] 道德玄經原旨 (DZ 702, 1305, 4 juàn) — his Dàodé jīng commentary.
- Xuán jīng yuán zhǐ fā huī 玄經原旨發揮 (DZ 703, 1306, 2 juàn in 12 sections) — the complementary dissertation elaborating the thematic framework.
- Tōngxuán zhēn jīng zuǎn yì 通玄真經纂義 (DZ 746–747; preface c. 1310) — his commentary on the Wénzǐ 文子, a substantial 12-juàn work.
- Xián xián Daoist lineage anthology — attributed but not clearly identified.
Disciples. Lǐ Tài wǔ 李太霧 is identified in the sources as his disciple and major successor.
Philosophical orientation. Dù Dàojiān articulates a distinctive Daoist-Neo-Confucian synthesis:
- Sustained integration of Dàodé jīng and Yì jīng cosmology — the gǔ shén 谷神 of the Lǎozǐ identified with the tài jí 太極 of the Yì.
- Defence of the wú jí = tài xū identification against Zhū Xī’s 朱熹 orthodoxy — aligning with Zhōu Dūnyí’s 周敦頤 Tài jí tú shuō but reading it through a Daoist lens that places tài xū 太虛 above tài jí.
- Sīmǎ Guāng punctuation of Lǎozǐ chapter 1 — following the Northern-Sòng Confucian-Daoist reading that treats wú and yǒu as ontological categories.
- Xìngmìng shuāng xiū 性命雙修 alchemical framework — supporting the Southern Lineage nèi dān 內丹 doctrine of dual cultivation.
- Shào Yōng 邵雍 historical-cosmological framework — using the Huáng jí jīng shì 皇極經世 classification (Three August Ones, Five Emperors, Kings, Hegemons) to organise the political content of the Dàodé jīng.
Dù Dàojiān’s synthesis positions him within the late-Northern-Sòng Daoist-Neo-Confucian dialogue that also produced KR5c0070 (Dèng Qí) and KR5c0086 (Lǐ Dàochún) — all three drawing on Shào Yōng’s numerological cosmology in their Daoist commentary.
CBDB: 103594.