Master Hsiao, Chang Ming was the Founder of Tien De Religion. He was born in 1895 and died in 1943 at the age of forty-nine.
Master Hsiao was a native of Hsiao Bay, Hing Lung Market, Log Chi Village of Szchun Province in China. His first wife bore them two sons and three daughters. During the Sino-Japanese war, the Master’s first wife was killed in Wopei Province in an attack by Japanese warplanes. Because of his mother’s old age and his small children, Master Hsiao obeyed his mother’s wish that he re-marry.
The life of the Founder is replete with legendary episodes. He actually died at age of six in an illness; miraculously however, he returned to life after three hours of death. Furthermore, not only did his behavior become different so that his actions no longer were those of a child, but also the Founder began to frequently speak with profoundly philosophic wisdom. Later on, Master Hsiao felt in his heart the urgent need of salvation on the part of all the people. No longer having time to delay, he finally, one quiet night, kneeled down and bowed his head in front of his parents’ room to pay respect and thereupon left his home to preach to the people.
From the beginning, Master Hsiao used ‘Spiritual Healing’ to cure people’s illnesses to relieve their bodily pain. At the same time, Master Hsiao preached “ZHONG (Loyalty), XIAO (Filial Piety), REN (Benevolence), CI (Mercifulness)” four characters to cultivate people so that the remedy of “Curing Soul as well as Curing Illness” could be carried out and indeed achieve the goal of saving people and saving the world.
Later on, Master Hsiao expanded his message beyond the “ZHONG, XIAO, REN, CI” four characters to “ZHONG, XIAO, REN, CI, DE (Ethic), LIAN (Integrity), YEN (Forbearance), GONG (Impartiality), JUE (Consciousness), RANG (Tolerance),” and “JIE (Temperance), XIAO, REN, CI, DUAN (Dignity), DE (Ethic), QIN (Diligence), LIAN (Integrity), CHY (Sense of Shame), JING (Respect)” two sets of Characters for either his male or female disciples to follow accordingly. He propounded as Grand Harmony theory the amalgamation of five major religions so that all the religions can be in harmony. His aim was that the world would then be more at peace and that people would help each other and have compassion for each other. In this way, we can live nearly approximate a paradise on earth.
Owing to his healing of so many infirm people in China, and his giving many lectures on the sutras, as well as numerous sermons and exhorting all people to virtue, Master Hsiao gained wide respect. Many became his disciples to follow the path faithfully. As the number of disciples steadily increased, Master Hsiao and his followers established numerous religious centers scattered all over China and strengthened their effort directed toward the salvation of all people. Later on in 1927, the name of Tien De Religion (In English, Heavenly Virtue) came to be used. At the same time, the characters were expanded once again to today’s twenty characters:
