Which Taoist school was founded by Wang Chongyang in 12th-century China?

The Quanzhen School was the Taoist school founded by Wang Chongyang in 12th-century China.

Wang Chongyang, also known as Wang Zhe, established the movement during the Jin dynasty. The name Quanzhen means “Complete Perfection,” reflecting its goal of integrating Taoist cultivation with elements of Buddhism and Confucianism. Its teachings emphasized meditation, ethical discipline, inner cultivation, and a celibate monastic lifestyle.

Quanzhen differed from many earlier Taoist traditions because it developed a strong monastic organization and stressed spiritual transformation rather than relying primarily on ritual or external alchemy. Wang Chongyang’s seven leading disciples helped spread the movement across northern China; they are traditionally known as the Seven Immortals of Quanzhen.

The school became especially influential under the Mongol Yuan dynasty. Its Longmen lineage later became one of the most prominent surviving branches of organized Taoism. Quanzhen is sometimes confused with Shangqing or Tianshi Taoism, but those traditions emerged earlier and have different historical origins.