Yiguandao is generally understood to have taken shape in northern China, with Shandong Province as its cradle. Its emergence is associated with the late Qing period, when various currents of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist thought were already interweaving in popular religious life. Within this milieu, the movement’s lineage coalesced under traditions linked to the Way of Former Heaven, giving it a distinct spiritual genealogy while still remaining rooted in broader Chinese religiosity. The emphasis on Shandong as the point of origin highlights both a geographical and cultural center from which its teachings began to radiate outward.

Regarding the time frame, Yiguandao is often situated in the late nineteenth century, when its institutional and doctrinal contours became more clearly defined. This period marks the consolidation of earlier, more diffuse practices into a recognizable movement, rather than a sudden or isolated founding moment. The reference to the late Qing era underscores that Yiguandao did not arise in a vacuum, but drew upon and reorganized preexisting religious resources. In this sense, its origin is best seen not as a single event, but as a gradual crystallization of syncretic currents in Shandong and the wider north China region.