Lu Zhongyi

Lu Zhongyi (Chinese: 路中一; 18 May 1849 – 26 February 1925) was the seventeenth patriarch of Yiguan Dao (I-Kuan Tao). His religious titles were Tung Li Zu and Jin Gong Zu Shi (金公祖師; Golden Elder). Lu is, according to Yiguan Dao doctrine, the incarnation of Maitreya.

He was born on the 24th day of 4th Lunar month in 1849, in Jining, Shandong province, China. He was said to be illiterate, his father died when he was young, left with his mother and sister Lu ZhongJie. He joined the army at age 22 and became an officer in the Manzhou DongBei (Manchuria) government. In 1895, at the age of 46 he was said to have a dream from God instructing him to become the student of the 16th patriarch Liu Qingxu (Wang Jueyi's successor).

He became the 17th patriarch of Yiguan Dao in 1905 in Qingzhou. Yiguan Dao followers believe that he is the first leader of the "White Sun" Era, the last era of the Three Stages Final Kalpa, thus he is the incarnation of savior Maitreya or Hotei. In 1918, Lu brought I-Kuan Tao to his hometown Jining, within a few years, Lu managed to attract some 25 disciples, among them Zhang Tianran and Sun Suzhen.