There are two other sayings in Taoism: "practice in Guanshan in prosperous times, and go down the mountain in troubled times to save people." During the period of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, when the Japanese invaders invaded and there were signs of chaos, Taoist priests resolutely took part in this stirring national war. There is a story circulating on social media in China that there is only one old Taoist in a Taoist temple. When the reporter interviewed the old Taoist, he asked: Why is he alone? He said that when he was a child, Master and his brothers went down the mountain to fight against Japan and never came back.
This story was widely circulated on the Internet, but Liang Xingyang, the Taoist priest, pointed out that it was just a joke, but the Taoist priest also cited many examples. Although it was only a joke, the Taoist priest was really unambiguous when he participated in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. We are familiar with the five strong men of Langya Mountain. Now many netizens know that after the Five Heroes jumped off the cliff, Ge Zhenlin and Song Xueyi were caught by the branches on the mountainside and survived. It was Li Yuanzhong, a Taoist who practiced in Qipaituo Taoist Temple in Langya Mountain, who saved the two strong men.
Li Yuanzhong's achievements are not limited to this. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he resolutely led Taoist priests down the mountain to resist Japan, assisted the Eighth Route Army in surveying the terrain and building fortifications, and used Taoist temples on the mountain to hide clothes and food for the Eighth Route Army and cover the wounded and sick. After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), he was also received by Commander-in-Chief Zhu De.