Yunzhongzi () is a character in the Chinese novel Fengshen Yanyi. He is a Daoist immortal who resides at Jade Pillar Cave (玉柱洞) on Mount South End (終南山).
In Fengshen Yanyi
Yunzhongzi first appears after Daji enters the court of Di Xin. He recognizes Daji as a fox spirit and goes to the Shang capital to warn the king about her. He presents Di Xin with a wooden sword and tells him that it can be used against the spirit. Di Xin places the sword in the palace, where it causes Daji to become ill. After Daji discovers the source of her illness, she persuades Di Xin to have the sword removed.
Yunzhongzi later encounters Ji Chang, the ruler of Zhou, after the birth of Leizhenzi. According to the novel, a violent storm occurs before the child is found, and Yunzhongzi takes him as his disciple. He names the child Leizhenzi and raises him on Mount South End.
Yunzhongzi gives Leizhenzi two magical apricots to eat, causing him to develop wings and acquire supernatural strength. He also gives him a weapon and teaches him how to use it. When Ji Chang is imprisoned at the Five Passes, Yunzhongzi sends Leizhenzi down the mountain to rescue him, but orders him to return afterward.
Later, Yunzhongzi summons Leizhenzi back to Yuzhu Cave and gives him a golden staff and further instruction in the use of his wings. He then sends Leizhenzi to Xiqi to assist King Wu and Jiang Ziya in the campaign against the Shang.
Yunzhongzi later takes part in the Zhou campaign against the Shang. At Juelong Ridge, he tells Wen Zhong that he has been sent by Randeng Daoren to await him. He summons eight Divine Fire Pillars (通天神火柱), arranged according to the Eight Trigrams, and uses them to trap Wen Zhong. He also uses Randeng's Purple Gold Bowl to prevent Wen Zhong from escaping.
When Jiang Ziya is trapped in Lü Yue's Plague Formation, Yunzhongzi comes to the Zhou camp and tells him that he will suffer a hundred-day ordeal. He gives Jiang Ziya protective talismans and a pill, and takes charge of the military seal while Jiang Ziya is unable to command the army.
Yunzhongzi later participates in the battle at the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, entering the formation alongside other Daoist immortals. The novel describes his sword as being “like a rainbow”.
Interpretation Scholar Gao Zhenhong discusses Yunzhongzi and Lu Ya Daoren as figures associated with Chanjiao. He notes that the novel does not explicitly identify either of them as disciples of Yuanshi Tianzun. Gao instead connects them with Chanjiao through their places of cultivation, Zhongnan Mountain for Yunzhongzi and Kunlun Mountain for Lu Ya, which he regards as places associated with Chanjiao practitioners.
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