星洲道院 • 世界紅卍字會新嘉坡總主會
The Origins and Founding of the Singapore Dao Yuan
and The World Red Swastika Society (Singapore Administration Centre)
Part One: The Destined Encounter - The Seed of Singapore's Dao
The Man, the Moment, and the Mission
Yu Zizhong (余澤生, also written 余滋中, spiritual name Zhisheng 智生) was a native of Taishan County, Guangdong Province (台山縣沖葉墟與寧村人). A graduate of Zhijiang Academy, he had served as Director of the Guangdong Provincial Land Bureau (廣東省土地局局長) in the early Republic of China before retiring to Guangzhou amid the political turmoil of the era. A man of broad learning, quiet character, and genuine aspiration, he had been contemplating a journey to America to seek new opportunities when the events of 1928 changed everything.
He departed from Hong Kong by ship for Shanghai, where he intended to board a vessel for America. Waiting in Shanghai, no ship appeared. Recalling his long-held wish to visit the sacred cultural heartland of Shandong – the birthplace of Confucius and the cradle of Chinese civilization – he took the train to Jinan.
He arrived at the wrong moment. Japanese troops had just assassinated the Chinese diplomatic envoy Cai Gongshi (蔡公時) in Jinan, and the city had been placed under total martial law. Yu Zizhong found himself confined to his inn – stranded, in an unfamiliar city, surrounded by chaos, with no way to proceed.
The Visitor at the Inn
Confined to his room, anxious and without recourse, Yu Zizhong heard a knock. A visitor entered and asked: “Are you a Southerner? I have listened to your accent and observed your bearing – you appear to be a man from the south.” Yu replied that he was. The visitor said:
The visitor’s Master was of the Wuying Mountain (無影山) lineage – a figure described as no longer eating ordinary food, of great spiritual attainment, capable of knowing past and future. That very evening, the visitor demonstrated the mirror-light oracle (圓光術), planchette writing (扶乩術), sacred talismans, and exorcism methods – not as claims but as direct demonstrations of living spiritual power – to establish beyond doubt that he was not an ordinary person.
The Dream - The Dao Name Conferred
That night, Yu Zizhong had a dream. A white-haired old man with a dragon-headed staff stood at his bedside, face smiling, and said: “Great disaster is approaching. The people will suffer terribly. Only those who do good can escape. Do well. Do well.” The old man then disappeared without trace.
The visitor returned the following day, and they spoke again at length. That second night, the same white-haired old man appeared again and spoke directly: “You are the one designated to carry the Great Dao to the South.” He asked Yu if he was willing. Yu, understanding now, replied: “I am willing.” The old man turned to face north, performed three kowtows, then turned back and said: “I now bestow upon you the Dao name: Zhisheng (智生).”
From this moment, Yu Zizhong became Zhisheng – and the stranger became known as his Shandong Shifu (山東師父, Shandong Master), while the Wuying Mountain Master behind him was referred to as the Ancestral Master (祖師).
Before Yu Zizhong departed, the visitor gave him a sword, secret cultivation texts, books and documents, sacred incantations, methods for summoning spirits and exorcising demons, and the method of seated cultivation – all physically placed in his hands. Yu then bade his teacher farewell and took the train back to Shanghai and thence to Hong Kong, carrying his mission south.
Return to Guangzhou - The Tian Qing Cao Tang
Back in Hong Kong, Yu Zizhong told his story to friends and family. Most did not believe him. He demonstrated the mirror-light oracle to groups of visitors – still without convincing many. Undeterred, he returned to Guangzhou, to his home at 19 Shazhou Lane (沙州巷19號), and gathered those who would listen. Using the mirror-light oracle and planchette as demonstrations, the circle of participants grew gradually.
Through the planchette, the Deity Fu Sheng (孚聖) directed the formal establishment of a community planchette. The Tian Qing Cao Tang (天清草堂) was constituted in Yu Zizhong’s main reception hall, venerating four Divine figures: the Peach Buddha (桃佛), the Deity Fu Sheng (孚聖), the Buddha Ji (濟佛), and the Great Sage Sun Wukong (孫悟空). The community’s stated purpose: self-cultivation and goodness, compassion as guiding principle, inner cultivation and outer charitable action as its vow.
Key Details
Tian Qing Cao Tang — Guangzhou
Founder
Yu Zizhong (余澤生 / 余澤生), Dao name Zhisheng (智生); former Director, Guangdong Provincial Land Bureau
First address
19 Shazhou Lane (沙州巷19號), Guangzhou – Yu Zizhong’s private residence
Second address
Guangta Street (光塔街), Guangzhou – No. 50, near the mosque; a three-courtyard building purchased by collective donation
Divine patrons
Peach Buddha (桃佛), Deity Fu Sheng (孚聖), Buddha Ji (濟佛), Great Sage (孫悟空 / 大聖)
Dao Naming system
Four character-prefixes assigned through planchette: 禮 (Li, propriety), 智 (Zhi, wisdom), 知 (Zhi, knowing), 信 (Xin, trustworthiness)
Nine fundraising members
梅智性, 雷智義, 雷智守, 溫智德, 周悟通, 李智善, 伍智道, 陳智遇 – dispatched to raise funds for Guangta Street premises
Founding date
1927 per sources (A)(D); c.1914 per Chen Zhimian’s calculation
As word spread, people from all walks of life – government, academic, and commercial – came to seek cultivation. The Shazhou Lane premises quickly became insufficient. Nine members were collectively tasked with raising funds to purchase No. 50 Guangta Street near the mosque – a large three-courtyard building that became the Tian Qing Cao Tang’s permanent Guangzhou home. The building still stands today, though it was nationalised after 1949.
The Hong Kong Tian Qing Cao Tang
Once the Guangzhou community was stable, a divine instruction directed Yu Zizhong to establish a corresponding community in Hong Kong. With the help of old friends and new acquaintances, the Hong Kong Tian Qing Cao Tang was established – maintaining a planchette and teaching seated meditation. Membership grew rapidly. In 1935, the Hong Kong Tian Qing Cao Tang members joined the Hong Kong Red Swastika Society en masse, providing the core of its early leadership. Yu Zizhong also led fundraising efforts in 1939 for the construction of the Hong Kong Red Swastika Society’s building at 25 Dragon Road, Causeway Bay – his final act of service before his passing.