《仙苑编珠》

The Great Dao is spontaneous and natural, existing before Heaven and Earth took shape.

The Dao Jing says: “There was something complete and undifferentiated that existed before Heaven and Earth. It was silent and empty, standing alone and unchanging. It moved in cycles without end and could serve as the root of all things under Heaven. I do not know its name, so I call it ‘Dao.’” Zhuangzi says: “Dao truly exists, yet it acts without action and has no form. It gives mystery to ghosts and spirits and makes the Lord on High manifest; it brings forth Heaven and Earth. It is before the Taiji, yet is not high; it lies beneath the four directions of Heaven and Earth, yet is not deep. It predates Heaven and Earth, yet is not ancient; it has endured since remote antiquity, yet is not old.”

The Qi of primordial unity gathered and transformed, and from it Pangu came into being.

The Record of the Primordial Beginning, the Perfected Ones says: “Long ago, before Heaven and Earth had separated, all things were in a murky chaos. The sun and moon had not yet formed, and Heaven and Earth were shaped like a perfectly round egg, with dark mystery and yellow earth mingled together. At that time, there was a Perfected One named Pangu, formed from the vital essences of Heaven and Earth. He called himself the Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning and roamed within the chaos. Heaven was shaped like an enormous canopy, with nothing to support it above and no foundation beneath. In the deep, still emptiness of the Great Void, there was no sound; primordial Qi surged like water. Without this Qi, Heaven and Earth could not have come into being.”

After Heaven and Earth separated, they stood thirty-six thousand li apart. The Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning dwelt at the center of Heaven, a place called Jade Capital Mountain. A palace on the mountain was adorned with gold and jade. He often breathed the Qi of Heaven and bent down to drink from the springs of Earth. Later, the Lady of Mysterious Primordial suddenly came into being among the rocks. She could speak from birth, her human form was already complete, and she was naturally beautiful beyond compare. She was titled the Holy Mother of Great Primordiality. When the Lord of Primordial Beginning later descended to wander through the lower realm and saw her, he summoned her back to the Upper Palace.

The Heavenly Sovereign faced east, while the Queen Mother circled westward.

After the Primordial Heavenly King and the Holy Mother of Great Origin returned to the Celestial Palace, one kalpa—a vast cosmic cycle—passed before the Heavenly Sovereign was born. He governed the world for thirty-six thousand years, then received a mandate to become the Great Emperor of Fusang. He lived in Fusang Palace at the eastern edge of the world and was also known as the King Father of the East. It is said that the custom of an earthly emperor’s heir living in the Eastern Palace was modeled on this arrangement. The Heavenly Sovereign also fathered the Nine Radiant Dark Maidens, titled the Most Real Queen Mother of the West, who lived on Mount Kunlun at the world’s western edge. Thus the King Father of the East was also called the Wood Lord, and the Queen Mother of the West the Metal Mother; both were exalted deities between Heaven and Earth.

Fuxi devised the Eight Trigrams (Bagua), and the Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan, handed down five writings.

The Zhuangzi says that after attaining the Dao, Fuxi could connect with the source of the original Qi of Heaven and Earth. A text says that during Fuxi’s rule, a divine tortoise appeared bearing a chart and writings on its back. Fuxi then drew the Eight Trigrams and devised written contracts. Later, after attaining the Dao, he became the Azure Emperor of the East.

The Zhuangzi says that after attaining the Dao, the Yellow Emperor ascended into the clouds. A scripture says that Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor, climbed Mount Emei, met the Heavenly Perfected Immortal, and received the Five Numinous Treasure Talismans, five kinds of sacred talismans in Daoist legend. After governing the world for three hundred years, the Yellow Emperor cast a cauldron and refined an elixir on Mount Jingshan. When the elixir was complete, a yellow dragon descended to welcome him, and seventy-two others, including Wei Chen, ascended to Heaven with him. The Yellow Emperor stored the talismans on Mount Yuanwei.

Zhuanxu rode in a chariot called the Bound-Origin Carriage, traveling north to Youling and south to Jiaolu. Twelve people accompanied him. The Daoist Biographies records this account.

The text also gives the heading-like phrase “Zhuanxu’s Yuan Generation, Emperor Ku’s Dragon Pancake,” which may refer to events in the lives of Zhuanxu and Emperor Ku.

The Daoist Biographies records that Zhuanxu, also known as Gaoyang, rode in a conveyance called “Jieyuan”—an ancient type of boat or carriage—to survey the Northern Youling, the Southern Jiaolu, the Western Yousha, and the Eastern Panmu. The spirits of mountains and rivers, all kinds of plants and animals, and every place reached by the light of the sun and moon were under his authority. After traveling in every direction and surveying the full range of the Eight Trigrams, he summoned the spirits of the Four Seas and ordered them to bring precious jade from Tianshi Mountain in the kingdom of Anxi. He had it sealed away to guard the immortal mountains with grottoes and the hills where the offices of the underworld were located. He also cast a precious ding vessel from copper from Yushan, and ordered each region to present one to an immortal mountain with a grotto.

The Zhuangzi says that after attaining the Dao, Zhuanxu lived in the Dark Palace, a legendary abode of immortals. Di Ku, also known as Gaoxin, made spiritual contact with the True King of the Nine Heavens and the True Sovereign of the Three Heavens. The two spirits descended to Mutai in a cloud carriage drawn by nine dragons and bestowed on him the Five Sacred Fulu of Lingbao. With these talismans, Di Ku attained the Dao and became an immortal. He later sealed them away on Zhongshan.

Yu Shun obtained an elixir of immortality, while Xia Yu attained the Dao through his work controlling the floods.

The Zhengao records that Yu Shun received a substance called “Tenfold Frost of White Silver, Purple Radiance” from the Longhu King of the Northern Rong. After taking it, he became an immortal.

The Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue records that when Yu the Great was controlling the floods, the work was taking too long to complete. He therefore consulted the records left by the sages in the Central Scripture of the Yellow Emperor and learned that the book was hidden at a place called Yuanwei, southeast of Jiushan. It rested on patterned jade and was covered by a great stone; its pages were golden slips, inscribed with green jade and bound together with silver. Yu traveled south and climbed Mount Heng, where he sacrificed a white horse, but could not find what he sought. He looked up to the sky and sighed. In a dream, a man dressed in red embroidered robes told him, “If you wish to obtain the method for controlling the floods and the means to command and guard against flood dragons, you should fast beneath the steep cliffs of the Yellow Emperor’s Peak. There, a book of golden slips is hidden.”

Yu withdrew and fasted. On the day of Jigeng, he climbed Mount Yuanwei and moved the stone aside. Just as he had been told, he found a book of golden slips and jade. He followed its instructions to control the floods, opening Longmen and clearing the channels of the hundred rivers. This brought great benefit to the people of the realm, and his achievements were immense. The Five Sacred Fulu of Lingbao transmitted today in Daoist circles are said to be this very book. The place where the talismanic book was retrieved is Mount Kuaiji, also known as Yu’s Cave.

Lao Jun (Laozi) transcends the infinite, while Peng Zu is renowned for his great longevity.

Confucius said, “I privately compare myself to Lao Peng.” Ge Xiangong (Ge Xuan) said: Laozi was born in accord with nature and existed long before the time of the Great Beginning, before Heaven and Earth had taken shape. His appearance had no cause. He passed through the countless transformations of Heaven and Earth, from their beginning to their end—transformations too many to count. His end has no end, and what he reaches the limit of has no boundary; ultimately, he transcends the Infinite. He also said: People of the world believe that Laozi began in the Zhou dynasty, but in fact the title “Laozi” had already appeared countless kalpas ago, in an age so remote and obscure that it cannot be measured.

The Commentary on the Zhuangzi says: Peng Zu’s surname was Qian and his given name was Keng; he was a great-grandson of Zhuanxu. Skilled in cultivating life and in cooking, he once presented pheasant soup to Emperor Yao and was enfeoffed at Pengcheng. His Daoist arts were worthy of reverence as a founding master, so he was called Peng Zu. The Biographies of Immortals and the Biographies of the Listed Immortals both say that he lived through the Xia and Shang dynasties, reaching the age of seven hundred and sixty without showing signs of aging. Later, he traveled west toward the region of the Flowing Sands, and no one knew where he went after that. Thus Luo Yin wrote in an inscription: “The water’s movement brought down a spirit, whose radiance first appeared with the Dark Emperor, the northern water deity. The lineage of the immortals opened a blessed inheritance, then carried on auspicious signs at Pengxu. Stars shimmer above the waters south of Puzhu; cloud cranes fly across the realm of the drifting sands.”

Guang Chengzi’s realm was lofty, and Yin Xi studied the Daoist arts deeply.

The Zhuangzi says: The Yellow Emperor went to Mount Kongtong to visit Guang Chengzi and asked how to cultivate himself and nourish life. Guang Chengzi said, “You have asked well. I will tell you: the Supreme Dao is subtle and profound, and dwells in a realm of hidden mystery.”

Guang Chengzi’s realm was lofty, and Yin Xi studied the Daoist arts deeply.

The Zhuangzi says: The Yellow Emperor came to Mount Kongtong and paid a visit to Guangchengzi, asking him how to cultivate body and mind. Guangchengzi said, “You ask a good question. I will tell you: the subtlety of the highest Dao is deep and hard to fathom; its ultimate reaches are still and silent. Do not deliberately look or listen, and your spirit will naturally become centered. Do not exhaust your body or disturb your vital energy; then you can live a long life. I have practiced this for 1,200 years, and my body has never grown old.”

The Biography of the Origin and the Scripture of Laozi’s Ascension to the West both say: After Yin Xi, the Guardian of the Pass—commander of Hangu Pass, who is said to have received Laozi’s teachings—obtained Laozi’s five thousand words of the Daodejing, he studied them ten thousand times. Later, at the Qingyang Market in Shu Commandery—the place where Laozi and Yin Xi are said to have met—he followed Laozi and ascended to heaven in broad daylight. He traveled across the seas, climbed to the Three Pure Ones’ realm (Sanqing), the highest celestial realm in Daoism, and then descended to teach and transform eighty-one kingdoms.

Lu Ao traveled across the sea, while Ruoshi rode the wind and swept up into the clouds.

The Biographies of Immortals says: Lu Ao was from the state of Yan. During the Qin dynasty, he traveled to the Northern Sea and came to Mount Menggu, where he met Ruoshi, a legendary immortal. Ruoshi was dancing against the wind. Seeing Lu Ao, he said, “I have arranged to meet Hamanman, a legendary immortal from a distant land, above the Nine Defiles. I cannot stay long.” With that, he cultivated his form and entered the clouds.

Chisongzi summoned clouds and brought rain; Xiaofengzi rose and fell with the smoke.

The Biographies of Immortals says: Chisongzi was the rain master in the time of Shennong. He consumed water-jade, a legendary elixir, and taught the method to Shennong. He could enter fire and move up and down with the wind and rain. In the time of Gaoxin, he again served as rain master; the rain master of today is also him. Xiaofengzi had once served the Yellow Emperor as master of pottery. Someone taught him how to raise five-colored smoke, so Xiaofengzi piled up firewood, set himself alight, and rose and fell with the smoke.

Huangshanjun lived for several hundred years; Baishi Xiansheng lived for three thousand.

The Biographies of Immortals says: Huangshanjun practiced Pengzu’s methods of nourishing life. He lived for several hundred years, yet his appearance remained youthful. Baishi Xiansheng was a disciple of Zhonghuang Dafu. By the time Pengzu was alive, Baishi Xiansheng had already lived for three thousand years. He once boiled white stones for food on Mount Baishi, and this is how he came to be called “Mr. White Stone.”

King Mu of Zhou once visited the Jade Pool, while Gouquan lived on Mount Huai.

The Liezi records that King Mu of Zhou rode in a chariot drawn by eight fine horses, traveling ten thousand li in a single day. He arrived at Mount Kunlun and held a banquet with the Queen Mother of the West at the Jade Pool. The Queen Mother sang “The Ballad of White Clouds,” and King Mu joined in.

The Traditions of the Transcendents records that Dan Quan gathered medicinal herbs on Mount Huai and enjoyed eating pine nuts. Several inches of hair grew on his body, his eyes were square, and he could fly and catch up with galloping horses.

Ma Shihuang treated a dragon’s illness, while Kou Xian made his living by fishing.

The Traditions of the Transcendents records that Ma Shihuang was the Yellow Emperor’s horse doctor. One day, a dragon descended and opened its mouth toward him. Ma Shihuang said, “This dragon is ill.” He needled the area beneath its lips and then gave it licorice decoction to drink. The dragon recovered. After that, dragons often emerged from pools and marshes to ask him for treatment. One day, he mounted a dragon and departed. Kou Xian was from the state of Song and earned his living by fishing. After catching fish, he sometimes sold them, sometimes released them, and sometimes ate them himself. He liked to grow bili vine and eat its flowers and fruit. Duke Jing of Song asked him about the art of long life and immortality, but Kou Xian refused to tell him, so the duke had him killed. Several years later, people saw him sitting above the gate of the state of Song, playing his zither as he departed.

Nongyu’s flute-playing summoned the cry of the phoenix, and Xiao Shi became an immortal together with her.

The Traditions of the Transcendents records that Xiao Shi lived during the time of Duke Mu of Qin. Skilled at playing the flute, he could summon peacocks and white storks. Nongyu, Duke Mu’s daughter, loved him, so the duke married her to him. Xiao Shi taught Nongyu to play flute notes like the cry of a phoenix, and phoenixes came to perch on their tower. One day, the two of them departed riding on phoenixes.

Li Wenyuan passed down the arts of yellow and white alchemy, while Shen Wentai taught the Way of the Red Spring Divine Elixir.

The Traditions of the Immortals records that Shen Wentai was from Jiuyi. He obtained the Red Spring Divine Elixir, the Earth-Removing Talisman, and methods for restoring youth and extending life. He wished to travel to Kunlun, and devoted himself to quiet cultivation for more than two thousand years. He later passed these methods on to Li Wenyuan. The methods of decocting yellow elixir with bamboo-root juice, practicing the arts of yellow and white alchemy, and expelling the Three Corpses—the spirits said in Daoism to dwell in the human body and hinder cultivation—were all transmitted by these two men.

Song Lun could travel through the air, while Ge Hong peacefully passed away sitting upright.

The Traditions of the Louguan Monastery records that Song Lun, courtesy name Dexuan, recited the “Five Thousand Words” (Daodejing) every day from the age of twenty-two. He ate yellow essence and white wood, and through this the Lord Lao appeared to him and taught him the Way of Central Ascent, the Scripture for Communing with the Real, and such magical arts as Lun’s Method of Walking and the Rock-Stretching Step. From then on, he could travel three thousand li a day and cross dangerous waters without needing a ferry or a road.

The Traditions of Daoist Learning records that Ge Hong, courtesy name Zhichuan, read ten thousand scrolls. He asked to serve as magistrate of Goulu, intent on refining cinnabar. He wrote the Inner Chapters and Outer Chapters, comprising about 116 chapters; one hundred volumes of inscriptions, denunciations, poems, and rhapsodies; thirty volumes of proclamations, memorials, letters, and petitions; ten volumes each of the Traditions of Immortals, Traditions of Worthy Historians, Traditions of Recluses, and Collected Accounts of the Strange; and 310 volumes of excerpts from the Five Classics, histories, and writings of the various schools, along with methods of the arts and miscellaneous matters. He also wrote the hundred-volume Golden Coffer Prescriptions and the four-volume Emergency Formulas at Hand. At the age of eighty-one, he peacefully passed away as if falling asleep, shedding his bodily form and transforming.

Zheng Yuanyang raised tigers; Juanzi opened a fish.

Zheng Siyuan was Ge Hong’s teacher. Once, among the mountain crags, he found two tiger cubs whose mother had already died. He fed them and raised them until they were grown. Before long, a male tiger came to the front of his hermitage. It was the cubs’ father. The three tigers came and went together, carrying his medicine pouch and scriptures for him. Later, Zheng Siyuan became an immortal and departed from Mount Kuocang.

The Traditions of Immortals records that Juanzi was from the state of Qi and ate tree fungi for three hundred years. While fishing at Heze, he caught a carp and opened its belly, finding a talisman inside. With it, he could summon clouds and rain.

Shaoweng paid homage to the mountain; Song Lai swept the market.

The Declarations of the Perfected records that long ago, Lou Shaoweng entered Mount Hua and opened a carp, finding a talisman in its belly. With it, he could summon clouds and rain.

The True Revelations records: Long ago, Lou Shaoweng entered Mount Hua and worshipped there for twenty years. At last, one day, he was able to meet the Immortal of the Western Peak and learned the Way of the Immortals from him. During the reign of Duke Zhuang of Chu, Song Laizi, who oversaw the marketplace, swept it every day. One day, a beggar suddenly began to sing. Laizi knew he was an Immortal and followed him to practice the Way. After thirteen years, Laizi finally completed his cultivation of the Way of the Immortals and became an Immortal of the Central Peak.

Yongbo obtained the Seven-Star Powder; Wang Yao had a bamboo basket.

The Traditions of the Immortals records: Chen Yongbo obtained the recipe for the Seven-Star Powder. After taking it for twenty-eight days, he suddenly disappeared, and no one knew where he had gone. His elder brother, who was eleven years old, also took it for twenty-eight days and then vanished in the same way. The recipe said that after taking it for thirty days, one would become an Immortal and depart of one’s own accord.

Wang Yao, whose courtesy name was Boliao, cured everyone who came to him. He used neither acupuncture nor medicine. He simply had the patient sit on a piece of cloth, and the illness would improve on its own. Wang Yao had a bamboo basket only a few inches long, and a disciple surnamed Qian.

One night, heavy rain began to fall. Wang Yao ordered his disciple to carry the basket through the rain on a nine-jointed bamboo staff, yet the disciple’s clothes did not get wet. They climbed a mountain and entered a stone chamber, where two people sat side by side. Wang Yao opened the basket and took out three pieces of jade tongue yellow. The three struck them against one another. After a long while, they put the jade tongue yellow back in the basket and carried it away. The two people said to Wang Yao, “Come back soon. Do not linger in the human world for long.”

More than a hundred days later, Wang Yao himself carried the basket away and never returned. Thirty years later, his disciple saw him on Mount Horse Hoof.

Jie Jun had a bamboo staff; Zuo Ci had wooden clogs.

The Shenxian Zhuan says: Jie Xiang, whose courtesy name was Yuanze, was from Kuaiji and possessed great Daoist arts. Emperor Tai of Wu respected him and asked him to display his powers of transformation. Jie Xiang planted melons and fruit, and in the blink of an eye they had grown ripe and were ready to pick and eat. When Emperor Tai wanted crucian carp, Jie Xiang dug a square pit in front of the palace hall, filled it with water, and fished beside it, catching fish. The emperor then said that ginger from Shu was hard to obtain. Jie Xiang replied that he could send someone to buy some. The emperor gave him five hundred coins. Jie Xiang placed a talisman inside a bamboo staff, had the messenger ride the staff on his journey, and told him to close his eyes. The messenger heard only the wind rushing past his ears. By the time he had bought ginger in Shu and returned, the cooks had not yet finished cutting up the fish.

Zuo Ci, whose courtesy name was Yuanfang, also possessed Daoist arts. Sun Ce wanted to kill him, so he ordered people to drive him forward on foot. Wearing wooden clogs and leaning on a bamboo staff, Zuo Ci walked slowly. Sun Ce pursued him on horseback, yet he always remained a hundred paces away. Later, when Cao Cao tried to kill Zuo Ci, all that remained before his eyes was a bundle of grass.

“An old man with white light, and Ke Zidu with purple Qi” refers to an old man whose head shone with white light and to Ke Zidu, whose head was wreathed in purple Qi.

The Shenxian Zhuan says: When Emperor Wu of Han traveled east, he saw an old man at the foot of Mount Tai whose head shone with white light several feet high. The emperor asked him how this came about. The old man replied, “When I was eighty-five, I grew weak. A Daoist taught me to abstain from grain, consume the essence of trees, and drink water. He also taught me to make a divine pillow, stuffed with thirty-two kinds of medicinal herbs. I am now one hundred and eighty years old, and can walk three hundred li a day.”

Ke Zidu also appeared while Emperor Wu was traveling. More than ten feet of purple Qi rose above his head. When the emperor asked him about it, he replied, “I am now one hundred and thirty-eight years old, and I practice the Dao of Peng Zu.” Emperor Wu received the teachings but was unable to put them into practice. Zidu lived for more than two hundred years, consumed the essence of trees, and later ascended to Heaven in broad daylight.

“Receiving the scripture from the River Elder, Emperor Wen of Han obtained its teaching” refers to Emperor Wen of Han receiving the meaning of the scripture from the River Elder.

Immortal Ge says: No one knows the name of Heshang Gong, the legendary hermit and commentator on the Dao De Jing. During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, he built a hut of reeds by the river and often recited Laozi’s Dao De Jing. Emperor Wen admired Laozi’s teachings but could not understand a few passages, so he sent an envoy to seek Heshang Gong’s advice. Heshang Gong gave no answer.

The emperor went in person and asked, “All the land under Heaven belongs to the ruler, and all the people under Heaven are his subjects. Though you possess Daoist arts, you are still one of my people. Why are you so proud and unwilling to submit? I have the power to make people rich and honored, or poor and lowly.” Suddenly, Heshang Gong clapped his hands, rose, and slowly ascended dozens of feet into the air. He said to Emperor Wen, “Above, I do not reach Heaven; in the middle, I am not entangled with people; below, I do not dwell on the earth. How, then, could I be one of your subjects? And how could Your Majesty make me rich or poor?” The emperor bowed and apologized. Heshang Gong then passed on to him two scrolls of his Commentary on the Dao De Jing.

Lou Zheng was skilled in transformation and practiced the art of Vermilion Flower, transmitted by Mozi.

The Traditions of Immortals records: Lou Zheng studied the Record of the Five Phases by Mozi and took Vermilion Flower pills, a legendary elixir. He lived for more than eight hundred years and still looked like a child. He could transform one person into a hundred, a hundred into a thousand, and a thousand into ten thousand. He could summon wind and clouds from nothing, walk across water, and make every fish and soft-shelled turtle in the water rise onto the shore. He could exhale five-colored Qi from his mouth, stretching for ten miles and shooting straight into the sky. He could also fly through the air and travel anywhere.

Mozi, whose name was Di, was a minister of the state of Song and the author of the Mozi. He excelled at defending cities, devising ingenious defensive equipment and methods. He once tested his skill against Gongshu Ban, leading Gongshu Ban to conclude that even a siege ladder could not capture Song, and so he abandoned the attack. Later, Mozi entered Mount Di to cultivate the Dao. An immortal transmitted to him the twenty-five scrolls of The Formula for the Elixir of Di’s Vermilion Flower: Spirit Communication and Transformation through the Five Phases. He traveled among the Five Sacred Mountains, and after that nothing more was known of him.

Sun Bo was in accord with the Dao; Ban Meng was another name for him.

The Traditions of Immortals (Shenxian zhuan) says that Sun Bo practiced Mozi’s art of transforming the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water). He could turn plants, trees, metals, stones, and people into fiercely burning fire. Even when others poured water on it, the fire would not go out; it would cease only when Sun Bo himself stopped it. The things subjected to the art remained just as they had been, without being scorched. He could also lead hundreds of people across the surface of the water without their clothes getting wet or anyone sinking. Some people even spread mats on the water, sat down, and enjoyed wine and a feast. Sun Bo could also pass through stone. Later, he entered Mount Linlü to refine elixirs, then became an immortal and departed.

Ban Meng was a woman who could fly through the air and sit down to pass through the earth. She could make roof tiles fly up, and by pointing at the ground, conjure a well. She could also hold ink in her mouth and spray it onto paper to write essays. She drank wine and took elixirs, lived for more than four hundred years, and later entered Mount Tiantai and departed.

Wang Gang cultivated the two Qi of Yin and Yang, while Zhang Zhen mastered the Five Phases.

The Traditions of Immortals says that Tianmenzi, whose surname was Wang and whose given name was Gang, was skilled in methods of replenishment and nourishment. He practiced the Way of the Dark and the Plain, which uses Yin-Yang techniques to nurture body and mind. He lived to the age of one hundred and eighty, yet still looked like a young girl. Later, he drank pearl liquor, an immortal wine made by refining pearls, jade, and other materials; he became an immortal and departed for Xuanzhou, a legendary immortal realm.

Zhang Zhen was a prince. He studied under Duozi and mastered the principles of the Five Phases, using them to preserve health, treat illness, and avert calamity. He could summon wind, clouds, thunder, and rain. He could also transform plants, broken roof tiles, and stones into cattle, sheep, and other domestic animals, or into dragons and tigers. He could multiply himself into hundreds or thousands of forms and walk across rivers and seas. He could spray water that turned into pearls and jade and remained so; shape a horse from mud that could travel a thousand li in a day; exhale Qi of five colors and cast talismans to summon fish and turtles; and let people see things a thousand li away. He could also hold water in his mouth and use it in a ritual treatment, curing illness at once. Later, he entered Mount Kongtong to refine elixirs and ascended to heaven in broad daylight.

Jiuling could dispel calamities; the North Pole revered Jing (essence).

The Biographies of the Immortals says: Jiulingzi, whose surname was Huang and given name was Hua, mastered the arts of restoring youth, resisting aging, and fetal breathing, a practice of cultivating Qi through regulated breathing. He also understood the essentials of the Five Phases. He could ward off harm from weapons, tigers, and wolves, and suppress all manner of calamity. He devoted himself to these methods, and their effects were remarkable. He lived among ordinary people for five hundred years, then took an elixir and departed as an immortal.

Beijizi, whose surname was Yin and given name was Heng, mastered the arts of nourishing the spirit, cultivating the temperament, and cherishing Jing and Qi. The key was this: “Use metal to govern metal, and this is called truth; use people to govern people, and this is called spirit.” Later, he took a divine elixir and departed as an immortal.

Taiyang Hua mastered the secrets of the Cavern of Transcendence and attained longevity.

The Biographies of the Immortals says: Taiyangzi, whose surname was Li and given name was Ming, received the cultivation methods of Yuzi. He liked to drink and was often drunk. When Yuzi reproached him, he replied, “I came to the Way late, and my temperament is stubborn. I have not yet shed my worldly habits, so I use wine to ease my pride.” He was skilled in cultivating the Way of the Five Phases. He lived among ordinary people for five hundred years; his skin was smooth and radiant, and his face glowed, though his sideburns had turned white as snow. He wore protective garments adorned with the Seven Treasures and had grasped their essential principles. After taking an elixir, he became an immortal.

Juedongzi, whose surname was Li and given name was Xiu, followed this key to cultivation: “The soft and yielding can overcome the hard and strong; Yin can suppress Yang. Always be as cautious as if facing an abyss or treading on thin ice: this is the Way of longevity.” He lived to the age of four hundred without growing old in appearance, wrote thirty works, then took the Returning Elixir and became an immortal.

The Yang Maiden obtained its wondrous method, and the Yin Maiden, too, achieved success.

The Biographies of the Immortals says: Taiyang Nü, whose surname was Zhu and given name was Yi, practiced methods for augmenting the Five Phases and found, through testing, that their effects were wondrous. She lived to the age of two hundred and eighty. Her complexion was like peach blossoms, and she looked like a girl of seventeen or eighteen. Later, she obtained a divine elixir and departed as an immortal.

Taiyin Nü, whose surname was Lu and given name was Jin, liked to practice Yuzi’s methods, but had not yet mastered their mysteries. She once sold wine beside a wine furnace, where she encountered Taiyangzi passing by. He taught her methods for replenishing and nourishing herself, as well as techniques for steaming and refining elixirs. After taking an elixir, she became an immortal.

The woman of supreme Yin was surnamed Lu and named Jin. She practiced the “Way of the Jade Child,” but failed to grasp its subtlety. Later, while selling wine by a stove, she met the Sun Child as he passed by. He taught her methods of nourishment and restoration, along with ways to refine elixirs. After taking an elixir, she became an immortal and departed.

The Mysterious Maiden prepared food, while the Son of the South Pole knew wondrous arts.

The Traditions of the Immortals records: The Great Mysterious Maiden was surnamed Xu and named He. Widowed at a young age, she began to study the Dao and practice the “Arts of the Jade Child.” She could sit still and make the kitchen utensils operate on their own, producing endless transformations. The Son of the South Pole was surnamed Liu and named Rong. He could hold powder in his mouth and turn it into real eggs; with a cup, he could produce the shells of turtles and ao sea turtles; and he could turn water into fine wine. After taking a Cloud-Frost Elixir, he became an immortal and departed.

Fenglin of the Lou family cultivated by holding his breath; Lord Zhou attained the Dao through reciting scriptures.

The Declarations of the Perfected records: Lou Fenglin studied the Dao on Mount Song and cultivated for four hundred years. He could hold his breath for three days without breathing, and also took coptis root in pursuit of long life. Three brothers, known as the Lords Zhou, studied the Dao on Mount Chang for ninety-seven years. They met an old man who passed on to them seven scrolls of true scriptures. The three recited them together. Suddenly they saw a white beast; the two younger brothers stopped reciting to look at it, but Lord Zhou remained undistracted. After reciting the scriptures ten thousand times, he rose lightly into the heavens and departed. The two younger brothers had stopped reciting to watch the beast, and the scriptures suddenly caught fire and burned up. They failed to ascend to heaven. The story presents this as a lesson in the need for undivided attention.

Bozhen held his intention upright; Jidao cultivated in accordance with the celestial signs.

The Declarations of the Perfected records: While cultivating the Dao and gathering herbs, Jiang Bozhen met an immortal. The immortal told him to stand upright in the sunlight, but his shadow slanted. “Your mind is not upright,” the immortal said. He then taught Bozhen to open his mind and face the sun when it had risen to a height of three zhang. When he felt warmth within his heart, that meant his intention was upright. Bozhen practiced this every morning and later attained the Dao.

When Xu Jidao was studying to become an immortal, he met a divine immortal, who told him: “If you wish to study the Dao, you should recite the Celestial Calendar at noon on a clear day, step upon two streams of white light, and circle around two streams of red light.” He practiced accordingly and later attained the Dao.

Liu An, Prince of Huainan in the Western Han, honored worthy people and sought the Dao (the Way); eight immortals descended into his courtyard.

The Traditions of Divine Immortals records that Liu An, Prince of Huainan, was fond of Daoist arts. When he heard of people who practiced the Dao, he would travel any distance to invite them, using humble words and generous gifts. His sincerity moved eight immortals, who then descended. One could sit calmly and summon wind and rain, or stand and raise clouds and mist. One could subdue tigers and leopards and summon dragons. One could divide into multiple forms and change appearance, then vanish from sight upon sitting down. One could walk through the air and cross the sea without disturbing the waves. One could enter fire without being burned and dive into water without getting wet. One could transform at will and display all kinds of supernatural powers. One could avert disasters, overcome calamities, and live forever. Another could refine earth into gold and make mercury solidify into silver. Several details are repeated in the original, so they are combined here.

Ding Lingwei returned in the form of a crane; Su Dan’s ox turned into a deer.

The Scripture of Flying Immortals says that Ding Lingwei entered the mountains at the age of seven to seek the Dao. After a thousand years, he became a crane and returned to his hometown. He alighted on a tall ornamental pillar and sang, “I am Ding Lingwei of old. I studied the Dao for a thousand years, and only today have I returned.”

The Biography of Lord Su says that Su Dan was from Binzhou. As a child, he tended oxen, and one of them once turned into a white deer. He later attained the Dao. After returning to his hometown, he lived on Niupi Mountain. The officials of the prefecture and county came together to pay him a visit. At dusk, Lord Su unfolded the Huangting Jing (Yellow Court Scripture), a Daoist classic. The scroll turned into a bridge stretching all the way to the city gate, and the officials returned across it.

Dazu attained the Dao by taking rehmannia; Tang Feng attained the Dao by taking “stone honey.”

The Traditions of Divine Immortals says that Dazu attained the Dao after taking rehmannia, and Tang Feng did so after taking “stone honey” from Mount Zhongyue. “Stone honey” was an ancient name for a sweet medicinal substance or a mineral-based medicine.

Morong Gong attained the Dao by taking coptis; Xianmenzi attained the Dao by taking green fruits.

The Traditions of Divine Immortals says that Morong Gong attained the Dao after taking coptis, while Xianmenzi attained the Dao after taking a powder made from the green fruits of sweet chrysanthemum.

The Three Elders refined Qi; the Four Whiteheads took lacquer.

Three elders cultivated their breath, while four white-haired elders consumed lacquer. Here, “refining Qi” and “taking lacquer” refer to Daoist cultivation and ingestion practices. The original then repeats the accounts of Dazu taking rehmannia and Tang Feng taking stone honey, as well as Morong Gong taking coptis and Xianmenzi attaining the Dao through green chrysanthemum fruits.

The Three Elders refined Qi; the Four White-Haired Ones took lacquer. Three old men from Changling consumed Yin energy and cultivated their breathing, eventually attaining the Dao and becoming immortals. The Four White-Haired Ones of Mount Shang took “Ninefold Powder,” a medicinal preparation, and also consumed lacquer; they too attained the Dao.

Miao Zhen entered a cave; Ji Mei’s coffin flew apart. Qian Miao Zhen, a female practitioner, studied the Dao from childhood and lived on Dongshan at Jujudong. At the age of eighty-three, after reciting the Yellow Court Scripture the prescribed number of times, she bade farewell to her family and friends, took a yellow-and-white medicine, and then spent the night in Yan Cave. At dawn the next day, female Daoists and Daoist priests hurried over to visit her. Suddenly they heard a thunderous sound from inside the cave and saw a carriage decorated with dragons and phoenixes approaching from the northwest. It carried her up to heaven.

Ji Huiying studied the Dao on Tianmu Mountain in Yuqian. After she “cast off her cicada shell”—that is, after she was said to have shed her mortal body and ascended—people buried her according to customary rites. Several years later, a rumbling sound rang out from the mountain, as loud as thunder. When villagers went to investigate, they saw the coffin boards flying into the air: the lid landed in the southern village, later called Shangpian Village; the base landed in the northern village, later called Xiaban Village; and the two side boards landed together in one place, later called Bantong Village. On this basis, the scripture says that Ji Huiying, too, ascended to heaven and became an immortal.

Encountering Zhu Huang’s medicine; stealing the pills of the Lady of Wei. The text mentions Zhu Huang coming upon an immortal medicine, as well as someone stealing the immortal pills of the Lady of Wei.

The Biography of Immortals records that Zhu Huang was from Guangyang. He suffered from illness for a long time, and his mind became confused. The Daoist Ruan Qiu gave him seven kinds of medicine, which he took as nine pills each day. In time, all his illnesses were cured. Ruan Qiu taught him to recite the Huangting Jing (Yellow Court Scripture), a Daoist classic, and took him into Fuyang Mountain. After eighty years, Zhu Huang’s beard and hair had turned black. He then became an immortal and departed.

Nü Wan was a woman who sold wine at a market in Chen. When an immortal passed by, he left five scrolls of the Su Shu (Plain Book), a Daoist text, in her care. Nü Wan secretly copied the words in the book and grasped the Way of nourishing her nature. From then on, she did not grow old. She left home, and eighty years later her beard and hair had turned black. She became an immortal and departed; no one knew where she went.

Changsheng Stops the Rain; Fang Hui Seals the Gate

The Biography of Immortals records that Ping Changsheng died and came back to life many times. He lived in Gucheng County. Once, a sudden flood struck, bringing disaster to many people. Ping Changsheng climbed Que Gate Mountain and called out, “Changsheng is here. The rain will stop in five days.” Just as he said, it did. Decades later, he again served as a minor gatekeeper in Huayin.

Fang Hui was a recluse in the time of Yao who refined and consumed mica, a mineral. Near the end of the Xia ruler Qi’s reign, he took office but was captured by bandits and confined in a house. Fang Hui transformed himself and escaped, then used his seal to seal the house’s gate. People at the time said, “Obtain a pellet of Fang Hui’s clay, and any gate can be opened.”

Qiu Sheng, Master of Wood; Zixian and the Bamboo Staff

The Biography of Immortals records that Qiu Sheng served as Master of Wood, an official responsible for forests and trees, in the time of Tang of Shang. He consumed pine resin, built a stone chamber with his own hands, and later became an immortal and departed. King Wu of Zhou once went to his stone chamber to make offerings to him.

Qiu Sheng, Master of Wood; Zixian and the Bamboo Staff

The Biography of Immortals records that Qiu Sheng served as Master of Wood in the time of Tang of Shang. He consumed pine resin, built a stone chamber with his own hands, and later became an immortal and departed. King Wu of Zhou once went to his stone chamber to make offerings to him.

Hu Zixian was a diviner who lived for more than a hundred years. One night, an immortal came to find him carrying a bamboo staff and called out his name. Hu Zixian and an old woman who sold wine each rode on a bamboo staff; in truth, the staffs were dragons. They climbed Huayin Mountain and then became immortals and departed.

Zhu Zhong Sells Pearls; Ren Guang Sells Elixirs.

Zhu Zhong was from Kuaiji and often sold pearls at the marketplace. During the reign of Empress Lü, someone sought to buy a pearl three inches across. Zhu Zhong presented him with one and received a reward of five hundred jin. Princess Luyuan then privately offered him seven hundred jin for a pearl, so he presented her with one four inches across. During Emperor Jing of Han’s reign, Zhu Zhong presented dozens of pearls, each three inches across, and then departed. No one knew where he went.

Ren Guang was from Shangcai and was skilled in taking elixirs. He once sold them near the marketplace in the city. Zhao Jianzi went to Mount Baiti to invite him, and after that, no one knew what became of Ren Guang or his descendants for three generations.

Shangqiu Zixu was from Gaoyi. He enjoyed tending pigs and playing bamboo wind instruments. He took medicinal herbs—the kind used in Daoist practice—and calamus, drinking only water, yet he felt neither hunger nor the effects of age. People saw him in generation after generation. Even after three hundred years, no one knew where he had gone.

Tao Angong was a master metalworker from Lu’an. One day, the furnace flames suddenly spread apart, and purple fire surged straight into the sky. A red vermilion bird, a legendary divine bird, settled on the furnace and said, “Angong has already made contact with Heaven. On the seventh day of the seventh month, I will come to receive you, riding a red dragon.” On the appointed day, the red dragon indeed arrived, and heavy rain fell from the sky. Tao Angong mounted the dragon and ascended to Heaven.

It is said that Huang Daozhen was from Wuling and earned his living by fishing. While traveling by boat, he suddenly entered Peach Blossom Grotto and met immortals. Liu Chen and Ruan Zhao were from Ke County. They once went to Mount Tianmu to gather herbs, lost their way, and entered Peach Blossom Grotto, where they met immortals. They lived there for half a year. When they returned home, they found that seven generations of descendants had already been born.

Chu Ping and pine resin; Feng Gang and flowering plants.

The Biographies of the Immortals records that Huang Chuping was from Danxi. When he was fifteen, his family sent him to tend sheep. He met a Daoist who took him to Mount Jinhua to cultivate the Way. Forty years passed before he saw his family again. His elder brother, Chuqi, came looking for him. When they met, Chuqi asked where the sheep were. Huang Chuping said they were on Mount Shu. His brother went to look and saw only white stones covering the mountain. Huang Chuping rebuked the stones, and they all turned into sheep.

The brothers took pine resin and poria together and cultivated for nearly ten thousand days. They became able to leave the world and ascend to heaven, whether seated or standing. Huang Chuping changed his surname to Chi and took the title Songzi; Chuqi took the title Chixuzi. The Red Pine Temple in Zizhou is said to stand where they cultivated.

Feng Gang was from Yuanyang. He often gathered flowers from various plants and trees, soaked them in water, sealed them in clay, and buried them for a hundred days before making them into pills. It is said that if a dead person placed one pill in their mouth, they would immediately come back to life. After taking this medicine, Feng Gang lived forever, became an immortal, and departed.

Lü Gong encountered an immortal; Shen Jian entrusted a maidservant.

Lü Gong, courtesy name Wenjing, enjoyed taking elixirs when he was young. He once went to Mount Taihang to gather medicinal herbs. Suddenly, he met three immortals. One said to him, “Do you wish to live forever? My surname is Lü and my courtesy name is Wenqi. We share the same surname, so you are fated to receive the Way of immortality.” Lü Gong followed the immortal away. After two days, the immortal passed on a secret formula to him and told him, “You have followed me for two days, but two hundred years have already passed in the world.” When Lü Gong returned to his hometown, he found that more than ten generations of his descendants had lived there.

Lü Xi, a Daoist priest, wept as he welcomed Lü Gong and bowed to him. Lü Gong then passed the secret formula on to him. According to legend, no one in Lü Xi’s family ever grew old and died; they all became immortals and departed.

Shen Jian was from Danyang. He mastered the arts of daoyin (breathing and stretching exercises for health) and taking medicinal substances to promote health and longevity. He could cure illness: anyone who was sick recovered as soon as they saw him. Once, before leaving on a long journey, he left behind two maids, three male servants, a donkey, and ten sheep, giving each one a pill. For three years, they neither ate nor drank. When Shen Jian returned, he gave each another pill, and they began eating and drinking again. Later, Shen Jian rose into the air and flew, sometimes departing and sometimes returning. Three hundred years later, no one knew where he had gone.

Hua Sheng could shed his skin, and Le Chang could make people young again.

The Shenxian zhuan (Biographies of Immortals) records that Hua Ziqi took Jiao Li Xiansheng as his master and received the Lingbao secret formula. After preparing and taking it, he could walk five hundred li in a day and had enough strength to lift a thousand-jin weight. He shed his skin ten times each year and later became an immortal and departed.

Le Zichang was from the state of Qi and knew the formula for the Jusheng Chisong Powder, taught by the immortal Huo Lin. The book says that when snakes take it, they can transform into dragons; when people take it, they can become children again. Le Zichang took it for a long time and lived to be 180, while still looking like a young girl. His nine wives took it too: the old ones became young and strong, while the young ones stopped aging. Later, they climbed Mount Laosheng and became immortals, departing together.

Shu Qing refused to serve as a minister, while Boyang made it appear that he had died.

The Traditions of the Immortals records that Wei Shuqing of Zhongshan became an immortal after taking mica. One day, while Emperor Wu of Han was at leisure in his palace, he suddenly saw a man riding through the clouds on a white deer. The man stopped in front of the palace. Startled, the emperor asked who he was. The man replied, “I am Wei Shuqing of Zhongshan.” The emperor said, “Are you not one of my subjects?” Wei Shuqing did not answer and vanished in an instant. The emperor deeply regretted the encounter.

Wei Boyang was from the Wu region. He went into the mountains to refine a divine elixir, accompanied by three disciples and a white dog. When the elixir was ready, he gave some to the dog first, and it died. He then took the elixir himself and died as well. One disciple, whose surname was Yu, also died after taking it. Believing the elixir was poisonous, the other two disciples abandoned them and left. Later, Boyang rose to his feet and departed with the disciple who had taken the elixir and the white dog. Along the way, he met a woodcutter and asked him to carry a letter back to his home village and deliver it to the two disciples as well. Boyang wrote two books, the Cantong qi and the Wuxiang lei, explaining the essential principles of the divine elixir.

“Fang Shuo became the Year Star, and Fu Yue joined the Ji and Wei constellations” refers to the claim that Dongfang Shuo later became the Year Star (Jupiter), while Fu Yue became associated with the Ji and Wei constellations.

The Secret Instructions for Ascending to Perfection records that Dongfang Shuo, whose courtesy name was Manqian, held office during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han and took divine pills. During the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, he left office and went to Kuaiji to sell medicine; later, he ascended to become the Year Star.

The Zhuangzi says that after Fu Yue attained the Dao, he assisted King Wu Ding of Shang, bringing order to the realm. He rode the Eastern Dipper, mounted the Ji and Wei constellations, and took his place among the stars.

“Shen Xi’s three chariots, An Shi’s two men” is the title of an account concerning Shen Xi and An Shi. The Traditions of the Immortals also records that Shen Xi, a native of Wu Commandery, studied the Dao in Shu. He could dispel calamities and cure illnesses, and he helped the people. His merit moved the spirits, and he was consequently borne by the Eastern Dipper, mounted the Ji and Wei constellations, and took his place among the stars.

The Traditions of the Immortals records that Shen Xi of Wu Commandery studied the Dao in Shu. He could ward off calamities, cure illnesses, and help the common people, and the De he accumulated moved Heaven. One day, he traveled with his wife in a carriage. On the road they encountered a carriage drawn by white deer, one drawn by a blue-green dragon, and one drawn by a white tiger. Riders accompanying the carriages wore red robes and carried spears and precious swords. They told Shen Xi, “You have served the people well. Huang-Lao—the Yellow Emperor and Laozi, revered in Daoism—has now sent celestial officials to welcome you.” Then three immortals gave Shen Xi a white jade tablet inscribed with immortal writings, a blue-green jade boundary marker, and characters written in cinnabar jade, and carried him up to Heaven.

Chen Anshi had once served as a retainer to Guan Shuben. Whenever he went out and encountered birds or beasts, they would move aside of their own accord. He never killed any living creature. When Chen Anshi was thirteen, Shuben was fond of Daoist arts. One day, two immortals came to visit Shuben disguised as scholars. Shuben did not recognize who they were. After waiting a long time without seeing the immortals return, he said to Anshi, “Since you like the Daoist arts, I can teach you.” He then gave him two pills to swallow. After taking them, Anshi no longer needed food, and Shuben instead bowed to him as his teacher. As Anshi was about to ascend to Heaven, he passed on the Daoist arts to Shuben, who later also became an immortal and departed.

For eight hundred generations, Li A begged in the marketplace.

The Shenxian zhuan (Biographies of the Immortals) records: Li Baibai was a man of unusual bearing, and no one knew his given name. People of the time estimated that he had lived for eight hundred years, so they called him “Li Baibai,” or “Li of Eight Hundred.” He had no fixed abode. When he learned that Tang Gongfang, a Han-dynasty practitioner of occult arts, could teach Daoist techniques, he pretended to be covered in sores to test him. Tang Gongfang tried all kinds of medicines, but none cured him. Li Baibai said that someone had to lick the affected places with their tongue. Tang Gongfang had two maidservants lick them, but that did not work; he licked them himself, but that did not work either. He then had his wife lick them, with no better result. Li Baibai next said that he needed to be bathed in three hu of fine wine (a hu was an ancient unit of capacity). After the bath, his body was as white and smooth as congealed fat. Then he had Tang Gongfang, his wife, and the three maidservants bathe with him in the wine, and they all became young as children. Afterward, Li Baibai gave Tang Gongfang a cinnabar scripture, a text on alchemical practice and attaining immortality. Tang Gongfang prepared and took the elixir according to its instructions, then became an immortal and departed.

Li A was from Shu, and people had seen him there for generations. His appearance never aged, and he often begged for food in the marketplace. A man named Gu Qiang always followed him. When Gu Qiang was eighteen, Li A looked about fifty; when Gu Qiang was over eighty, Li A still looked just as he had before. One day, Li A suddenly told the people around him, “Kunlun has summoned me back. I must go.” After saying this, he never returned.

This concludes Scroll One of the Xianyuan bianzhu (Pearls Gathered from the Immortal Garden).

Xianyuan bianzhu, Scroll Two

Written by Wang Songnian, a Daoist priest of Mount Tiantai

Duzi changed his appearance, and Guifu changed his looks.

The Biographies of the Immortals records: Duzi was from Ye. He ate pine nuts and poria for a long time and lived to be a hundred. At times his body appeared young, at other times old; his face, too, was sometimes handsome and sometimes unattractive. One day he led a yellow ox to a wine seller’s home in Yangdu. The seller’s daughter took a liking to him and left with him. Along the way, she picked peaches and plums, all of them exceptionally sweet. People from the village secretly followed them, hoping to take Duzi away. They all grabbed the ox by its ears and ran off, but Duzi could not catch them. Decades later, someone saw him at the foot of Pan Mountain, still selling peaches and plums in winter.

Guifu was from Xianglin. His skin was dark, though at times it turned white, yellow, or red. He regularly ate osmanthus and its leaves, mixed them with turtle brain, and made a thousand pills to take. Even today, osmanthus pills are still passed down in southern Jingzhou. Later, he suddenly rose into the air and vanished into the clouds.

Wuguang ate cattail and Chinese chives; Yuanqiu ate lotus root and scallions.

Wuguang lived during the Xia dynasty. His ears were seven inches long, and he loved playing the zither. He ate cattail and the roots of Chinese chives. When King Tang of Shang offered him the realm, Wuguang refused. He strapped a stone to his back, threw himself into the Liao River, and drowned. Four hundred years later, during the reign of King Wuding, people saw him again. Yuanqiu was a Daoist on Mount Qu. He wore his hair loose, had ears seven inches long, and no teeth in his mouth. He could walk four hundred li a day. He often grew scallions and mugwort, and lived for more than a hundred years, but no one knew where he came from.

Chifu ate elixirs and saltpeter; the Hairy Woman ate pine needles.

Chifu was from Bayong and once served as registrar at the Biyao Shrine. After taking elixirs and saltpeter for thirty years, he regained his youth. His hair turned red, and the words “Chifu” appeared on his palms. The Hairy Woman of Mount Hua was named Yujiang. She said she had been from the Qin palace and had fled into the mountains to escape the turmoil of war. A Daoist taught her to eat pine needles. From then on, she no longer felt hunger or cold, and green hair grew over her body.

Wang Qiao rode a crane; Lingyang fished for dragons.

Wang Qiao, whose courtesy name was Zijin, loved playing the sheng. Its notes sounded like the cries of a phoenix. The Daoist Fuqiugong guided him up Mount Song. Thirty years later, on the seventh day of the seventh month, Wang Qiao rode a crane into the heavens from Mount Weishi. The Immortals’ Scripture says that after becoming an immortal, Wang Qiao was ranked among the “Attendants at the Imperial Dawn,” immortal officials who serve the Heavenly Emperor. He governed the Five Sacred Peaks and oversaw the affairs of the perfected beings of Mount Tongbai, with his seat at Jinting Cave on Mount Tiantai.

Lingyang Ziming loved fishing. Once, he caught a white fish and found a letter hidden in its belly. The letter taught him methods of ingestion and cultivation. He then climbed Mount Huang and gathered the “Five Fats,” medicines used in the immortals’ practice of ingestion. After taking them for three years, a dragon came to welcome him and carried him up to Mount Lingyang.

Xifu and Guazi; Qilongwu and the Guardian.

Xifu was from Nanjun and lived in the mountains. An immortal once came to buy melons from him and taught him how to prepare the melon seeds. He stored the seeds together with cinnamon, aconite, angelica, and other medicines, and took them at the spring equinox. After more than twenty years, he was able to fly.

Qilongwu was from Hunt­ing. When he was twenty, he found more than a thousand dragon hatchlings in a pond. They looked like guards stationed at an official residence, so he kept them in a thatched hut, fed them grass, and had them guard his home. As the dragon hatchlings grew, they gradually left. Fifty years later, a flood swept away his house, and the dragons departed too. One day, Qilongwu rode a dragon to Hunting.

Jizhu was in Chang’an, and Xin Xuan was in Wu and Yue.

The Biography of Daoist Masters records: Sima Jizhu made his living telling fortunes in the city of Chang’an. At the time, Song Zhong and Jia Yi served as senior officials. When they saw him, they said, “Why is the work you do so lowly, sir?” Sima Jizhu replied, “To be free of hunger and cold within, and free from fear of robbery without; to hold high office without having to kill, and to live in a low position without being harmed—this is the way a gentleman conducts himself in the world. The phoenix does not keep company with sparrows. What could you understand?” Later, Song Zhong fell into disgrace and Jia Yi met with hardship. Both remembered Sima Jizhu’s words, but in the end neither knew where he had gone.

The Secret Instructions for Ascending to Perfection says: Someone practiced the method of Xiling’s sword liberation, using a sword ritual to leave the mortal body and ascend to immortality. He lived at the Great You Palace on Mount Weiyu. He consumed the essence of luminous elixirs and drew in the morning light of Fuchen. His face looked like a woman’s, yet his beard was three feet long.

Xin Xuanzi loved wandering among famous mountains. He aspired to follow Prince Jin in ascending to Heaven and to emulate Lingyang Zian, who roamed the realm of the Mysterious Void. For this reason, he took the name Xuanzi and the courtesy name Yanting. In his own account, he said, “The Queen Mother of the West saw how devotedly I cultivated, and the Northern Deng Emperor took pity on my Daoist heart. It has now been two hundred years, yet the Great Emperor still commands me to govern the Lord of the Eastern Sea and oversee the affairs of the spirits in the Wu and Yue regions. I have not yet been able to don emerald robes and ascend to the Ninth Heaven, nor to ride the clouds and roam the ten directions.”

Xu Mai lived in seclusion in the mountains, while Longwei concealed himself in a cave.

The Zhengao records that Xu Mai’s childhood name was Aying. The Daoxue zhuan says that he was determined to travel far and never return to his former home, so he changed his name to “Far Wanderer.” At the age of twenty, he visited Guo Pu for a divination. The oracle said, “You have received an auspicious sign bestowed by Heaven; you are suited to study the Way of ascending to immortality and soaring far away.” He then became a disciple of Bao Jing. Later, he traveled among famous mountains with like-minded companions, took medicinal herbs used in Daoist practice, fasted and abstained from grain, and could hold his breath for a long time, reaching the duration of a thousand breaths. At first, he lived around Tonglu, Xincheng, and Lin’an. He built towers and pavilions where he stayed, with a back gate opening onto the mountains, and often went up the slopes to gather herbs, sometimes staying away for a whole month. He often said, “Aying loves the mountains and forests as a fish loves returning to the water.”

The Zhengao records that Master Wang Shilong took jade liquid and Chaonao Essence, elixirs and vital essences spoken of in Daoist cultivation. The Elder Longwei was a man who attained the Dao on Mount Bao. No one knew his family name; he was known as “the Hermit.” When King Helü of Wu climbed Mount Bao, he ordered him to explore to the end of a cave. He entered and returned after 174 days. He said he had traveled about seven thousand li and suddenly come upon a thousand paths and a hundred routes. Everywhere there seemed to be golden cities and royal mansions, yet they were empty of people. A plaque above a city gate read, “The Empress’s Separate Palace.” In a jade chamber, he found a scroll of red writing. After bowing, he took it as proof of his discovery. Once outside, he showed the red writing to the king; it turned out to be the Five Talismans of the Numinous Treasure, which Xia Yu had kept.

Xian’an took licorice, and Boyu took pine shavings.

The Biography of Lady Wei says that Lady Wei, whose courtesy name was Xian’an, was often ill in her youth.

The Biography of Lady Wei says that Lady Wei, whose courtesy name was Xian’an, often fell ill when she was young. The Perfected One, King Qingxu, told her, “The first step in learning the Dao is to cure illness and remove disease, so that the five organs become full, the skin and flesh grow supple, the bones and marrow are replenished, and the ears and eyes become keen. Only then can you begin your practice.” The Perfected One then passed on to her a formula for licorice pills. Lady Wei took the medicine as prescribed, and all her ailments were cured. Later, she attained the Dao and became the Supreme Perfected, Commander of Fate, Purple-Void Primordial Lady of Mount Heng, a revered Daoist deity.

Chu Boyu was from Qiantang. When he was sixteen, his family arranged a marriage for him. On the wedding day, as the bride’s carriage entered the household, he climbed over the courtyard wall and left, living in seclusion on the central peak of Mount Tiantai for twenty years. A woodcutter once saw him beneath the mountain’s layered cliffs. He looked calm and composed, with only two small piles of pine shavings beside him. Once word of this spread, people near and far came to know of him. Emperor Gao of Qi summoned him to serve at court, but he declined. He later moved to Mount Dahuo, attained the Dao, and departed as an immortal.

“Ma Ming mastered the divine elixir; Ge Yue excelled in esoteric arts” means that Ma Ming was skilled at refining divine elixirs, while Ge Yue was proficient in magical techniques.

The Traditions of Immortals says that Ma Mingsheng was from Linzi. His family name was He, and his courtesy name was Junxian. When he was young, robbers wounded him, leaving him collapsed by the roadside. A divine being encountered him and gave him medicine to take, which saved his life. Later, he became a disciple of Master Anqi and traveled widely, enduring many hardships, until at last he obtained the Scripture of the Great Clarity Golden Liquid Elixir, a Daoist text on refining the Golden Liquid Elixir. He entered the mountains to cultivate. Once the elixir was complete, he did not hurry to ascend to heaven. He took only half of it and became an earthly immortal, one who still moves among people in this world. He then traveled throughout the Nine Provinces, lived for more than five hundred years, and finally ascended to heaven in broad daylight.

Ge Yue was known as Master Huanglu. When someone fell ill, they could send him their name from a thousand li away and ask him to perform a rite; the illness would then be cured. By means of restraining techniques, he could immobilize tigers, wolves, all kinds of insects, and birds in flight. He could also make water flow backward for one or two li. During severe droughts, he could summon dragons to bring rain. He had the strength to lift a thousand jin and could run fast enough to catch a galloping horse. A multicolored cloud of Qi rose more than ten feet above his head. He lived to the age of two hundred and eighty, then one day rode off on a dragon.

Xiaofu traveled by fire, while Shimen could make smoke rise into the air.

When Xiao Fu was young, he repaired shoes for people at the market in Quzhou in the north. No one knew how old he was, and he never seemed to grow old. When people sought to learn from him the art of attaining longevity, he refused to teach them. Only Liang Mu learned his method of using fire. Later, Xiao Fu went up Mount Sanliang to bid farewell to Liang Mu, then rode dozens of torches up to heaven. Shimen was Xiao Fu’s disciple and also learned the art of using fire. He liked to eat peach and plum blossoms, and later became the dragon master of Xia Kongjia, responsible for raising dragons. Kongjia killed him and buried him. One day, wind and rain suddenly carried him away, while smoke and flames rose of their own accord among the mountains and forests.

Wei Dao’s resolve was firm; Huang Guan endured every trial and passed them all.

The True Words records: Jin Wei Dao studied the Way and sought immortality on Mount Fanzhong for twelve years. An Immortal tested him by suspending a stone weighing one hundred thousand jin in midair with white hair, and having Wei Dao undergo the trial beneath it. Wei Dao’s resolve was firm and unwavering; he endured beneath the stone for twelve years. The Immortal then bestowed a divine elixir on him, and he ascended to heaven in broad daylight.

When young, Master Huang Guan was devoted to Daoist arts. He fasted and made pilgrimages for a long time, praying for longevity. He persisted in this for forty-nine years, then entered Mount Jiao. An Immortal tested him with one hundred and forty trials, and he passed them all. He then received the Golden Elixir and recited the Great Cavern Perfect Scripture, a Daoist classic, before ascending to heaven in broad daylight.

Zizhu hired people to attend to his affairs; a man from Xiaqiu abandoned fasting and pilgrimage, and prayed for longevity.

The Traditions of Immortals records: Zizhu spoke with a Chu accent and a soft, gentle voice. He went to visit the King of Jiangdu and said, “Mr. Xiao once came to stay at my home. That was three hundred years ago.” The king asked where Mr. Xiao lived. Zizhu replied, “On Dragon-Brow Mountain.” The king sent an envoy to pay him a visit. When the envoy found Mr. Xiao, he saw a man covered in hair, with broad ears and loose hair, playing a zither. Mr. Xiao said, “Zizhu is the ninth-generation descendant of my neighbor.” Xiaqiuzhong was also an immortal from the land of Xiao, and had sold medicines in a blessed place for more than a hundred years.

One day, the ground suddenly shook. Dozens of houses collapsed, and every house near the water was destroyed. Xiaqiuzhong, too, was taken for dead. Someone threw his body into the water and took his medicines to sell. Xiaqiuzhong returned wearing a fur coat to retrieve the medicines, and the man who had thrown his body away fell to his knees and begged forgiveness. Xiaqiuzhong said, “What I regret is that you let others learn who I am. I will leave now.” Later, he appeared in the land of Xiao as a courier for the King of the Hu. Northerners called him a “banished immortal”—an immortal sent down to the human world.

Yinsheng the Beggar and the Brewer Who Earned Ten Thousand Coins a Day

Yinsheng was a beggar beneath the Weiqiao Bridge who often begged in the marketplace. The townspeople despised him; once, they poured dung over him, yet his clothes remained clean. A senior official once tried to have him bound in stocks, but in no time he had reappeared in the market, begging. Later, the house of the person who had poured the dung suddenly collapsed on its own. People then sang: “When you see a beggar, give him good wine to drink, and you may escape the disaster of a ruined house.”

The Brewer was a winemaker at a wine shop in a market in Liang. His wine was very popular, and he could sell ten thousand coins’ worth each day. He pretended to have committed an offense, and the shop owner drove him away. Afterward, the wine turned sour and would not sell. Merchants competed to host him with their daughters. Sometimes he left, sometimes he returned. After more than a hundred years, he became a minister in Liang, taught the people to grow vegetables, and predicted that a great famine would come in three years. His prediction came true. He suddenly removed his official seal and sash and departed.

Wang Zhi’s Rotten Axe Handle and Mr. Xu’s Drunken Sleep

“Wang Zhi’s rotten axe handle” refers to Wang Zhi going up the mountain to cut wood and encountering immortals playing chess. After watching them for a short while, he discovered that his axe handle had rotted away. When he returned to the human world, he learned that many years had passed. “Mr. Xu’s drunken sleep” is an immortal tale about Mr. Xu falling asleep after getting drunk.

The Record says: Wang Zhi was from the Xi’an region and had a natural fondness for chess. Once, while gathering firewood in the mountains, he saw two immortals playing chess beneath a stone bridge. Wang Zhi set his axe aside and sat down to watch. When the game ended and he stood up, he found that the axe handle had rotted away. By the time he returned home, he learned that several hundred years had passed in the world. Today, Rotten Axe Mountain in Quzhou is said to be where this story took place. “Rotten axe” refers to the decayed handle; later, it also came to describe tales in which only a moment passes in the mountains while a long time goes by in the human world.

Xu Gong was from the Jinhua region. After entering the mountains, he came upon several Daoist priests drinking wine and joined them. When he awoke from his drunkenness, he found that the place where he had been was now a lake. By the time he returned home, several generations of his descendants had lived and died. Xu Gong Lake in the Jinhua Mountains is said to have been named after this event.

Shang’s immortal roams through fire; Taiyi floats upon a lotus.

The Tales of Immortals records that Shangqiukai was a man from the state of Jin. From childhood, he was fond of Daoist arts and lived on Mount Gushe, said to be a dwelling place of immortals. He could walk through water and fire without drowning or being burned. Sometimes he rescued people from capsized boats; at other times, he would sigh toward the water and put out a great fire. He was skilled at painting, but often lived in poverty and lodged with the Fan family. The Fan family’s guests treated him with contempt, mocked him, and deceived him.

One day, a fire broke out at the Fan residence. The guests were helpless, but Shangqiukai alone rushed into the flames to retrieve brocade. He went in and out repeatedly, and not a speck of ash touched him; he was not burned either. While the fire was still raging, he sighed toward the guests, and the flames went out. Only then did everyone suspect that he was an immortal, and they apologized to him. Later, Shangqiukai entered Qin Mountain and never came out again.

There is also a story about Taiyi. The Lost History of the Han records that during Emperor Wu of Han’s Yuanshou era, an astrologer reported that the star Taiyi had disappeared. People suspected that an immortal had descended to earth, and so they apologized to Shangqiukai. Later, Taiyi also entered Qin Mountain and never came out again. It is also said that Emperor Wu once summoned Dongfang Shuo to ask why the star Taiyi had disappeared. Dongfang Shuo replied that its disappearance meant the Dao had descended into the world, bringing blessings and longevity to ruler and people alike. When Emperor Wu asked how this could be verified, Dongfang Shuo advised him to send people to set up a ritual offering on the shore of a river or sea in the southeast, the Xun direction. If the person who arrived came by boat or rode a crane, and was unlike ordinary people, that would confirm the sign. Once they saw this person, they should cut bamboo to erect an altar and perform a Jiao ritual, a Daoist rite of offering prayers at an altar, to give thanks to the Lord on High.

Emperor Wu followed this advice. In the same month, the governor of Kuaiji Commandery reported that someone had appeared at sea: his hair was tied in two hornlike knots, his complexion was like jade, he had a handsome beard, and he was naked except for a covering of machine leaves around his waist. He rode on a red lotus leaf more than a zhang long, lying on his back in its center and holding a scroll of yellow writing. He drifted in from the northeast. The governor and his companions burned incense and bowed in welcome. When they came within a hundred paces, the man was suddenly hidden by clouds and mist. When the mist cleared, he was gone, leaving only the yellow scroll floating to shore. They picked it up and saw that it was not wet at all; its characters were bright and clear, all written in celestial script, the legendary writing of the heavens, which no one could read. They sent it to Emperor Wu. He ordered Dongfang Shuo to decipher it, and Dongfang Shuo said it was the Scripture of the Fire Pearl from the upper realm, also known as the Linked Pearls.

Li Sheng took medicinal minerals, and the leprosy on Guizi’s body was cured.

Li Sheng, whose personal name was Shenfu, was from Zhongyang in Fengyi. He studied the Dao under Lord Wang of Hongnong. He learned the method of ingesting jade and also practiced the Scripture of the Fire-Escaping Pearl, which some also called the Linked Pearls.

After Li Sheng ingested jade, Guizi’s leprosy was cured as well.

Li Sheng, whose personal name was Shenfu, was from Zhongyang in Fengyi. He studied the Dao under Lord Wang of Hongnong, learning the method of ingesting jade and practicing the arts of dunjia, invisibility, and budo yan. Budo means stepping along the configurations of the stars of the Northern Dipper, following their positions. It is a method of cultivation used in Daoist ritual. When Li Sheng was over a hundred years old, he often spoke with visitors. People could hear his voice, but could not see his form. Later, he entered the Western Mountain and never emerged again.

There was also a man called Guizi, whose personal name is unknown. He once served as governor of Xuzhou. He suffered from leprosy for more than ten years, and none of the many physicians who treated him could cure him. Devoted to Daoist arts, he later met the Daoist Yu Jun. Yu Jun told him to resign from office and serve as his attendant. Guizi tended horses for three years without ever faltering. Yu Jun gave him elixirs and one hundred and fifty scrolls. After Guizi put on the clothing Yu Jun had given him, his leprosy was cured. He lived to the age of one hundred and ninety, still looking like a youth. He once sold medicine in Chengdu, then later returned to the Western Mountain and never emerged again.

Fang Ping transmitted the Daoist teachings to Cai, while Zixuan took Juan as his teacher.

The Biography of the Immortals says: Wang Yuan, whose courtesy name was Fangping, attained the Dao and lived in the home of Grand Commandant Chen Jiu for more than thirty years. One day, he shed his mortal body like a cicada leaving its shell, then traveled east into Mount Kuocang. Passing the home of Cai Jing at Xumen, he recognized Cai’s potential to become an immortal and shared with him essential teachings on cultivation before departing. Cai Jing later shed his mortal body as well.

Ten years later, Cai Jing returned home. On the seventh day of the seventh month, Lord Wang came again, accompanied by immortal music, ceremonial attendants, and feathered canopies. His cloud chariot arrived through the air. Once seated, Lord Wang sent someone to summon Magu. When she arrived, the two held a banquet according to ritual, setting out gold plates and jade cups along with many delicacies. Most were flowers and fruits, whose fragrance filled the house and its surroundings. Everyone shared strips of dried meat, said to be the flesh of a qilin.

Magu said that since attaining the Dao, she had personally seen the Eastern Sea turn into mulberry fields three times. She had just returned from Penglai, where the sea had grown shallow by half once again; she feared that before long it, too, would become dry land. When the wine was gone, Lord Wang sent a messenger to Yuhang to ask the Mother for more. The messenger returned with a jar holding about five dou of wine. Magu’s fingernails were like a crow’s claws, and Wang Yuan wondered to himself, “Does she often scratch her back with them?” Just then, the sound of a whip came from the air: Magu had struck Wang Yuan on the back with it.

The Biography of Su Jun says: Su Jun, whose courtesy name was Zixuan, first became a disciple of Qin Gao and later of Master Qiu. Master Qiu transmitted to him a formula made from pine resin, saying he himself had taken the medicine for 2,700 years. Later, Su Jun became a disciple of Juanzi, learned how to subdue the corpse worms, and practiced the “Way of the Three Ones,” a method of guarding the three vital spirits within the body. He mastered the essentials of guarding the Nine Palaces of the Niwan, the spirit chambers within the head. On the sixth day of the third month in the second year of the Shenjue era under Emperor Yuan of Han, he rode clouds and dragons westward and ascended to Heaven, becoming a Senior Minister of Xuanzhou, an office in the realm of immortals. Juanzi was the man who once cut open a fish’s belly and found writing inside.

The three Mao brothers and the two Xu fathers and sons.

The Hidden Instructions for Ascending to Zhen records that the elder Mao Lord was named Shushen. At eighteen, he entered Mount Dan to study the Dao and took Lord Wang of Xicheng as his teacher. He went to Mount Gui and obtained the Nine-Turn Returning Elixir. During the reign of Emperor Yuan of Han, an immortal official descended and bestowed upon him the Jade Emperor’s Nine Gifts. He was invested as Perfected One of Great Origin, Supreme True Minister of Mount Shu, and Lord of Destiny for Wu and Yue. He lived in Red-City Grotto on Mount Tiantai, where he administered the affairs of the immortals.

His younger brother Jiwei took the Supreme Ultimate Nine-Turn Elixir and became the Lord of Registers for Wu and Yue. Another brother, Sihe, studied the same teachings as the middle Mao Lord. He became the Lord Who Preserves Life among the Three Offices, was enfeoffed to govern the sources of rivers, and oversaw the planting and growth of sacred fungi.

Xu Mu, courtesy name Xuanyi, served as Chief Clerk of the Guard in the Jin dynasty. The Primordial Lady of Mount Heng sent Lord Yang to teach him the various Shangqing methods. Having perfected his Daoist cultivation, he became a Marquis of the Left Minister and a Shangqing Perfected One. His son Xu Ke, courtesy name Daoxiang, was also taught the scriptures and methods by Lord Yang. After attaining the Dao, he became a Dawn Attendant to the Emperor and a Shangqing Perfected One.

Mao Meng rode a dragon, while Xiao Zhen drove a tiger before him.

The Biographies of Daoist Studies records that Mao Meng, courtesy name Chucheng, was the great-grandfather of the Three Mao Lords. He became a disciple of Master Guigu. In the thirty-first year of the First Emperor of Qin, he rode clouds and drove a dragon on Mount Hua, ascending to heaven in broad daylight.

Xiao Kangzhen entered Mount Yi to study the Dao. At forty, he ate only leaves and made pills from flowers of many kinds. He also boiled and took mulberry leaves together with polygonatum and other ingredients. By the age of eighty, his white hair had turned black, and his fallen teeth had grown back. He often recited the Yellow Court Scripture, and each time a tiger would lie down before his bed. When he wished to rise, he first used autumn seeds to drive the tiger away, and it would walk ahead of him like a dog.

Feng Chang met Peng, and Peng in turn became Du’s disciple.

The Traditions of the Louguan records: Feng Chang, whose courtesy name was Yanshou, was appointed by King Xuan of Zhou to serve as a zhuxia shi, an official in charge of books and records and of documenting affairs and statements. At the age of forty-one, he resigned from office to pursue the Dao, recited the Five Thousand Words—that is, the Dao De Jing—and took asparagus root. Later, while living on Mount Zhongnan, he met Perfected Peng, who descended to a Daoist chamber riding a white tiger. Perfected Peng transmitted to him the Hidden Book of the Most High. During the reign of King Ping of Zhou, Feng Chang ascended to Heaven and became a Perfected of the Western Peak.

Peng Zong, whose courtesy name was Faxian, became a disciple of Lord Du at the age of twenty. He received the alchemical scripture Five Thousand Words and the Way of the Female One, a Daoist method of cultivation. His practice brought results. Several divine lamps often floated in the air around him, illuminating the room. He could breathe without interruption for three days and nights, and recite the Five Thousand Words twice in a single breath. At the age of one hundred and fifty, during the reign of King Li of Zhou, he ascended to Heaven and became a Perfected of the Great Clarity.

Lord Du, named Chong and styled Xuanyi, heard that Perfected Yin had attained the Dao and moved into his former residence, where he cultivated for more than twenty years. His practice brought Perfected Zhan to his bedroom, where he transmitted an immortal formula. After preparing and taking it, Lord Du’s body shone with a jade-like radiance. At the age of one hundred and twenty, during the reign of King Mu of Zhou, he ascended to Heaven and became a Perfected of the Supreme Ultimate.

Wang Tan ascended on clouds, while Zhou Liang flew and danced astride a bird.

Wang Tan, whose courtesy name was Yangbo, was called an “Adept Apart from the World” by Emperor Wen of Han—a person indifferent to worldly affairs who lived in seclusion to cultivate the Dao. At the age of thirty-six, he often recited the Five Thousand Words (the Daodejing). He regularly gave away gold, silver, cloth, and silk to aid the hungry and poor, leaving these goods along roads and thoroughfares. Anyone he met who was struggling to make a living could benefit from his generosity.

The Perfected Zhao, a Daoist immortal of legend, tested him by taking the form of a madman and begging from him for many years. Wang Tan never grew weary or slack in helping him. Moved by his compassion, the Perfected Zhao taught him wondrous arts. Later, Wang Tan met the Celestial Maiden of Great Mystery on Mount Zhongnan and received the art of “concealing one’s appearance and transforming one’s form.” He was said to have become radiant alongside the sun and moon, changing with the clouds and rosy mists.

An old acquaintance said to him, “I hear that the ritual master is skilled at transformation. Could you show me?” Wang Tan turned into a tree, and the man chopped at it with an axe. He then became a stone, and the man burned it with fire; he became rippling water, and the man blocked it with earth; he became fire, and the man doused him with water; he became a crow, and the man trapped him under a net; he became a fierce tiger, and the man struck at him with a blade. At last Wang Tan became a corpse, and his acquaintance fled in terror. After running several li, the man saw Wang Tan restored to his original form. He bowed and apologized. Wang Tan then transformed into a floating cloud and rose high into the sky, vanishing without a trace.

Zhou Liang, whose courtesy name was Taiyi, was born after his mother had carried him for fifteen months. By the age of nineteen, he stood eight chi tall. He became a disciple of Yao Tan and learned the arts of the Dao. Wangzi Jin, a legendary immortal, invited him to play the qin and blow the sheng together as they traveled around the Yi and Luo rivers. The music rang clear as gold and jade striking one another, and birds danced along with it. Zhou Liang lived to the age of one hundred and ninety, then ascended to heaven during the reign of King Lie of Zhou.

Magu of the Eastern Sea, and the Old Mother of Yuhang.

Related accounts appear in the chapters “Wang Yuan” and “Cai Jing.”

The Ge Immortals and Lingbao; the Wang Lords and Shangqing.

The Lingbao Jing records that the Immortal Xian, whose name was Gong, devoted himself to seeking the Dao on Mount Tiantai at the age of eighteen. In response, three Perfected Ones descended and transmitted to him the various Lingbao scriptures, as well as the methods of the Golden Register and Yellow Register purification rituals. The purification rites practiced today derive from these methods. Related accounts appear in the chapter “Cai Jing.”

The Ge Immortals and Lingbao; the Wang Lords and Shangqing.

The Lingbao Jing records that Xian Xiangong, whose personal name was Xuan, devoted himself to practicing the Dao on Mount Tiantai at the age of eighteen. In response to his sincerity, three Perfected Ones descended and transmitted to him the Lingbao scriptures and the Golden Register and Yellow Register rites of purification. The three ritual masters invoked in Zhaijiao ceremonies today are said to be the same Perfected Ones who transmitted the scriptures and rites in those days.

The Shangqing Jing records that Lord Wang, whose personal name was Xiang and courtesy name was Zideng, was the son of Kai, who had served as a Senior Lord of the Palace during the Han dynasty. At the age of thirty-one, Wang Xiang entered Mount Hua to study the Dao. In response to his sincerity, the Perfected One of Western Liang descended and taught him the practice of Green Essence Rice. Later, he entered Mount Xicheng and became a disciple of Lord Zongzhen, studying the various Shangqing methods. After attaining the Dao, he became the Perfected One of Clear Emptiness.

Celestial Master Zhengyi and Yu Ji’s Taiping Jing

The Zhengyi Jing records that Zhang, the Celestial Master, whose personal name was Daoling, studied the Dao on Mount Heming in Shu. At that time, humans and ghosts mingled in Shu, and calamities and illnesses broke out without cease. In response to his sincerity, the Supreme Lord Lao descended and transmitted the Zhengyi Covenant and Authority methods, used to distinguish humans from ghosts. He also established the Twenty-Four zhi—Zhengyi Daoist districts and places of practice. It is said that people still receive their blessings to this day, and the Altar for Restraining Ghosts also remains.

The Shenxian Zhuan records that Yu Ji was from Beihai. He had suffered from sores for many years, and no medicine he tried cured them. Later, at a market, he met an old man selling medicine, surnamed Bo and named He, and told him about his illness. Bo He gave him two scrolls of plain-text writings, saying, “These writings will not only cure your illness but also enable you to live forever.” Yu Ji accepted them and then learned that they were the Taiping Jing. He followed the practices described in the book, and his illness was cured. Later, he expounded this scripture on a peak in Diaotai Township, Shangyu, and compiled it into 170 volumes. Mount Taiping and Gan Creek still exist there today.

Wang Chang and the Nine Cauldrons; Zhao Sheng’s Seven Trials

The Traditions of the Divine Immortals (Shenxian zhuan) records that Wang Chang was Zhang the Celestial Master’s (Zhang Daoling’s) close disciple, one who had received his personal instruction. Zhang the Celestial Master told his disciples, “The worldly habits in you have not yet been cast off. I will pass on the essentials of the Nine Cauldrons method only to Wang Chang.” Later, Zhao Sheng asked to become his disciple. Zhang the Celestial Master put him through seven trials, all of which he passed, and he too became a close disciple. Thereafter, Zhao Sheng and Wang Chang ascended together to the Great Clarity Heaven, one of the lofty heavenly realms described in Daoism.

Li Shaojun died, and Bo Dao refined an elixir.

The Traditions of the Divine Immortals records that Li Shaojun heard that Emperor Wu of Han valued Daoist arts, so he went to meet him and secretly set about refining a divine elixir. When it was ready, he said to Emperor Wu, “Your Majesty cannot give up extravagance or keep away from sensual pleasures. You wage war without cease, and cannot restrain your anger or joy. In distant lands, many souls have died far from home and cannot return; in the marketplaces and at court, bloodshed and killing continue. For these reasons, the divine elixir, the great medicine, is difficult to make.” Li Shaojun then claimed to be ill and died. Emperor Wu regretted that he had not done more to keep him.

The Declarations of the Perfected (Zhengao) records that Mao Bodao, Lou Daogong, Xie Zhijian, and Zhang Zhaoqi worked together to refine a divine elixir. When it was ready, Mao Bodao took it first and died immediately. Lou Daogong took it next and died as well. Seeing this, Xie Zhijian and Zhang Zhaoqi left the elixir behind and went away. When they looked back, however, they saw Mao and Lou walking on the mountain. The two were astonished and grief-stricken. Mao and Lou told them that they had obtained the Huiling formula, an elixir recipe named for ingredients such as ash and lingzhi. After taking it, they had both lived for several hundred years, but had not ascended to heaven.

Lord Gui tended horses, while Yin Gui evaded the ravages of war.

The Traditions of the Immortals records that Lord Gui once served as governor of Xuzhou, but suddenly contracted leprosy, which resisted treatment. Hearing that Gan Ji had attained the Dao, he went to visit him with several hundred attendants. Gan Ji said, “If you want to recover, you must dismiss all your attendants and stay here to tend the horses.” Lord Gui therefore resigned his office and stayed to care for the horses for three years. Gan Ji never treated his illness, and Lord Gui did not know whether he had recovered. Only afterward did he receive the arts of the Dao. He later lived to the age of 190, then became an immortal and departed.

Yin Gui, whose courtesy name was Gongdu, took the flowers of huangjing for many years, three he each day. People across generations had seen him, and by their reckoning he had already lived for a thousand years. During the Yongkang era of the Jin, he passed through Luoyang and asked to stay one night. The next morning, he told his host, “Next year there will be widespread warfare, and more than half the people will die. I will give you a pill; carry it with you, and you will escape disaster.” The following year, the rebellion of the Prince of Zhao indeed broke out. Tens of thousands died, and only this host escaped unharmed.

Guo Wen reached into a tiger’s mouth; Lou Feng sent robbers fleeing in terror.

Guo Wen of the Eastern Jin, whose courtesy name was Wenju, lived as a recluse on Mount Dapi in Yuhang. One day, an old tiger came before him and opened its jaws wide. Guo Wen saw that a bone was lodged in its throat, so he put his hand into the tiger’s mouth, reached down its throat, and pulled out the bone.

The Traditions of the Immortals records that Lou Feng studied the Dao under Jiqiuzi and took Shiguìying and Zhongyue Shihuang. He lived for 300 years. He was especially skilled in the art of summoning and commanding divine soldiers to guard himself. Once, on the road, he came upon a group of merchants surrounded by several hundred bandits. He said to the bandits, “Disperse at once, or I will kill you.” They ignored him and shot arrows at the merchants. Lou Feng shouted for the arrows to stop; they turned around and struck the bandits instead. At once, a fierce wind arose. Trees were blown down, sand and stones filled the air, and the sky and earth grew dark. The bandits fell to the ground, their hands bound behind their backs, and could only beg for mercy. Lou Feng then ordered the celestial soldiers to release them and let them go.

Kong An had ambition; Fan Li changed his name.

The Traditions of the Immortals records that Kong An regularly practiced Qi circulation and took lead cinnabar. He lived to three hundred, and his appearance remained like that of a child. He once told his disciples, “In the past, I served a fisherman by the sea. He was Fan Li of Yue. Fan Li changed his name many times. Seeing that I was devoted to the Dao, he took pity on me and passed on five secret formulas, enabling me to transcend the world.”

Li Gen, whose courtesy name was Ziyuan, was said to have been seen by people in generation after generation, always with an unaging appearance. Wu Tai of Shouchun studied under him and learned how to refine gold and silver. Li Gen could also transform his body, enter water and fire, and cause food and drink to arrive on their own. Wu Tai often said that the pupils of Li Gen’s eyes were square. The Immortal’s Classic says that he lived for eight hundred years.

When Chen Zihuang was over seventy, his hair had turned white and his teeth had fallen out. He followed a prescription, taking medicines made from plants, and abstained from grain for three years. Afterward, his hair had all turned black again, and his teeth had grown back. He lived to two hundred and thirty, then became an immortal and departed.

The phrase “Attending Concubines: Lou Jing; Burning Charcoal: Yan Qing” serves as the heading for the following two stories about Lou Jing and Yan Qing.

Lou Jing was a gentleman-in-attendance under Emperor Wen of Han. He followed Zhang Jun in studying the Dao and obtained a formula for mica and cinnabar pills. After taking them, he lived to one hundred and thirty, yet still looked like a thirty-year-old. He passed the pills on to Prince Wang. When Prince Wang was seventy, he took them. He was said to have eighty concubines and twenty children, to walk three hundred li a day and drink a dou of wine, and to have lived to two hundred.

Yan Qing was from Kuaiji. His family was poor, and he often burned charcoal in the mountains. One day he encountered an immortal, who said, “Your bones and features are suited to becoming an immortal.” The immortal then gave him a scroll of plain writing, telling him to place it in a clean vessel and set it in a high place. He also taught Yan Qing how to take stone brain. Yan Qing followed his instructions and often heard the voices of more than ten people attending him near his dwelling. Whenever he carried charcoal out of the mountains, these spirits would guide his boat; others saw only the boat moving by itself. Later, Yan Qing abstained from grain and entered Lesser Huo Mountain to practice. In the end, he departed.

Li Changzai often took wives and had about ten attendants around him. Whenever he traveled with a load of charcoal, a spirit would guide his boat, and others saw only the boat moving by itself. Later, he stopped eating grains and went to Mount Xiaohuo to cultivate the Dao.

Li Changzai often took wives, while Li Zhongfu could transform his body.

Li Changzai was from Shu. He studied the Dao when young. People often saw him, and by their reckoning he was already four hundred years old, yet his appearance had not aged. Each time he took a wife, he would leave after some time. More than thirty years after one such departure, people saw him taking a wife on Mount Fei; after he had a child, more than seventy years passed before he suddenly left again. Later, people saw him at the foot of Mount Hushou. He took a wife there as before, and had a child as well.

Li Zhongfu was from Fengyi and had studied the Dao under Master Wang. He ingested water-jade, a kind of Daoist immortal medicine made from jade, and practiced dunjia, a Daoist occult art. He could make his body invisible. When he reached the age of three hundred, he instead became young and robust. At times he remained invisible for a hundred days; at other times, for as long as a year. When he ate and drank face to face with people, they could hear his voice but could not see him. Once, an acquaintance who made his living catching birds with nets was five hundred li away from him. The man caught a large crow in his net, and only after examining it did he discover that it was Li Zhongfu. After spending three hundred years among ordinary people, Li Zhongfu entered the Western Peak and departed as an immortal.

Bo He watched the walls; Zhao Qu summoned spirits.

Bo He, whose courtesy name was Zhongli, once took Master Dong as his teacher and practiced xingqi (regulating the breath and circulating Qi), grain abstention, and the ingestion of water. Later, he went to Mount Xicheng and became a student of Master Wang. Master Wang told him, “The secret of the Great Dao cannot be obtained all at once.” Later, Master Wang went for a time to Ying, then entered the Western Peak and departed as an immortal.

Bo He watched the walls; Zhao Qu summoned spirits.

Bo He, courtesy name Zhongli, once studied under Master Dong, learning breathwork (a practice of regulating the breath), grain avoidance (abstaining from the five grains), and drinking water. Later, he went to Mount Xicheng and became a disciple of Lord Wang. Lord Wang told him, “The secrets of the Great Dao cannot be obtained all at once. I will go to Yingzhou for a while. You may remain here in the stone chamber and study the stone walls carefully. In time, you will naturally see writing. Once you see it, read it aloud, and you will attain the Dao.”

Bo He then studied the stone walls. In the first year, he saw nothing. In the second, he could make out some writing faintly. By the third year, the words appeared clearly: The Central Scripture of Great Clarity, Formulas for the Divine Elixir, The Writings of the Three Sovereigns, and The Five Diagrams. Bo He memorized their contents thoroughly. When Lord Wang returned, he said, “You have obtained it.” Bo He then refined a divine elixir and took half of it, which enabled him to prolong his life. With the other half, he made five thousand jin of gold, which he used to help the poor and the sick.

Zhao Qu, courtesy name Zirong, suffered from leprosy and was near death. Fearing contagion, his family brought food to a stone chamber deep in the mountains and abandoned him there. Zhao Qu wept day and night for more than a hundred days. Then, suddenly, he saw three people enter the chamber. Weeping, he begged them for help. The divine beings gave him five dou each of pine seeds and pine resin, and told him, “Take these, and not only will your illness be cured, you will also attain long life.” Zhao Qu took them, and his illness was cured. After two years of taking them, the stone chamber filled with light at night, as bright as day. One night, he saw a beautiful young woman, at first only three cun tall. By the third year, she had grown to the size of an ordinary person and often stayed by his side. He also heard the sound of zithers and lutes playing. After three hundred years, Zhao Qu entered Mount Huo and departed as an immortal.

Gan Shi was skilled in breathwork, abstained from the five grains, and took asparagopsis, a medicinal herb. He lived for one hundred and eight years and was three cun tall; by the third year, he had grown to the height of an ordinary person and often stayed nearby, while the sound of zithers and lutes could also be heard. After three hundred years, he entered Mount Huo and departed as an immortal.

“Gan Shi, asparagopsis; Huang Jing, Chi Xing” is a concise summary phrase in the scripture. It mentions Gan Shi taking asparagopsis and lists the names of two people, Huang Jing and Chi Xing.

Gan Shi excelled in xingqi (a practice of regulating the breath and circulating Qi). He ate no ordinary food, instead taking tianmendong (Asparagus cochinchinensis, a herb often used in Daoist cultivation). He lived to the age of 186, then entered Mount Wangwu and became an immortal.

Huang Jing, whose courtesy name was Boyan, studied the Dao on Mount Huo. He visualized a red star in his head, bright as fire, and made it circulate throughout his body. More than two hundred years later, he became an immortal.

Chen Chang made offerings to the water spirits; Gong Song wrote scriptures.

Chen Chang lived on Mount Zhuyu for six hundred years. He held sacrificial rites in each of the four seasons and neither ate nor drank. He practiced nothing else. When someone fell ill, he gave them water that had been used in the rites, and they all recovered. Gong Song was a gifted writer who composed more than two hundred volumes of Daoist books. He took mica, a mineral used in Daoist cultivation, and became an earthly immortal. Later, he entered Mount Zhuyu and became an immortal.

Taibin played the zither; Fu Sheng drilled through stone.

The Zhengao (Declarations of the Perfected), a Daoist text, records that Zhou Taibin was talented and skilled at playing the zither. He once taught Mi Changsheng and Sun Guangtian to play the eight tones on a single string—a truly extraordinary skill. Zhou Taibin attained the Dao and became an immortal; he now serves as Left Minister at Penglai.

Long ago, a Master Fu took an interest in cultivating the Dao when he was young. He entered a stone chamber on Mount Jiao and lived there for seven years, where he met Lord Lao of the Wood Pole. Lord Lao gave him a wooden drill and told him to bore through a slab of rock about five feet thick. “When you have drilled through this stone, you will attain the Dao.” Master Fu then drilled without pause, day and night. After forty-seven years, he finally bored through the stone, obtained the Golden Elixir, and ascended to heaven as a Perfected of the Southern Marchmount.

Bowei was on Kunlun; Guangxin was on Mount Xiaobai.

Zhuang Bowei loved cultivating the Dao from a young age. At sunset, he would sit facing northwest, close his eyes, and visualize Mount Kunlun, the legendary mountain of immortals. He practiced this way for twenty-one years, while also taking medicinal substances and studying Daoist methods, never ceasing his visualization. Ten years later, whenever he closed his eyes, he could see an immortal of Kunlun teaching him the formula for Golden Liquor, a Daoist elixir. In this way, he attained the Dao.

During the Wei dynasty, Zhao Guangxin lived on Mount Xiaobai in Ke. Every day he went to Chang’an to sell medicines and save people, then returned to Mount Xiaobai in the evening. People of the time said, “He leaves Mount Xiaobai in the morning and is back in Chang’an by evening.”

The Dengzhen Yinjue records that someone received a method of cultivating the breath and maintained the Way within the Mysterious. After seventy-eight years, he refined the Nine Blossoms Elixir and took it once. The Great One, a revered Daoist deity, then sent a cloud chariot to welcome him to the Eastern Florescence Palace.

Zhang Xuanbin became a disciple of Duke Ju of Xihe and learned methods for taking medicines made from plants. Later, he met the Perfected One Fan Ziming, who taught him the Way of Transforming and Vanishing from Sight: the art of changing one’s appearance and concealing one’s form. Zhang had once lived on Mount Tianzhu; he has now come to Huachang Cave, where he serves as Lord of Rains and Bans, overseeing rainfall.

Zhao Chengbo excelled at producing long, piercing calls. At times his calls sounded like many birds singing together; at other times, like wind sweeping through a dense forest. Sometimes clouds gathered above him, sometimes thick mist swirled around him, and sometimes fine rain fell. He now lives in a cave, where he oversees the Five Mushrooms, Golden Jade, and Immortal Plants, legendary fungi and herbs.

The Louguan zhuan records that the Daoist master Tian, whose given name was Shiwen, entered the Dao at nineteen and became a disciple of Lord Wei, receiving the scriptures and registers of the Three Caverns.

The Louguan Zhuan records: The Daoist master Tian was named Shiwen. At nineteen, he entered the Dao and took Master Wei as his teacher. He received the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) scriptures and methods of practice, studied the arts of circulating Qi and swallowing rosy clouds, and also consumed white wood. On every Gengshen day, he would carry incense up a mountain to pay his respects. During one Zhaijiao (purification ritual), several dates fell from the sky. Each was two inches long and exceptionally sweet. When Master Tian was seventy-five, a celestial maiden came down from the sky to welcome him, and he went to the Hall of Blessings in the Southern Palace.

Wang Qiao of the Han dynasty was an immortal who concealed his identity and served as magistrate of Ye County. At night he would go to a gathering in the Immortal Palace, then return as usual at dawn, unbeknownst to the people of the world. One day, an office attendant suddenly saw two rabbits fly into the hall and knocked them down with a staff. Only then did he discover that they were Wang Qiao’s two Wu, the fabled celestial birds.

Huang Ziyang lived on peach bark, while Gaoqiuzi cultivated the Golden Elixir.

The Zhenyu says: Huang Ziyang studied the Dao on Mount Fuluo for more than ninety years, eating only peach bark and drinking yellow spring water that flowed from a rock. Later, he met Sima Jizhu, who passed on to him an immortal’s method. In this way, he attained the Dao. Gaoqiuzi entered Mount Lujing to study the Dao for five hundred and twenty years. He read only the Daoist scriptures written on yellow silk, consumed rice, and refined the Hong Elixir, becoming an earthly immortal. Two hundred years later, he took the Golden Elixir, an alchemical elixir used in Daoist cultivation, ascended to the Great Clarity Heaven, and became a Perfected One of Mount Zhong.

Laizi attained the Dao by drinking Red Spring; Luoxia Gong attained it by consuming lingzhi at night.

The Shenxian Zhuan says: Kenlaizi became an immortal after drinking Red Spring; Luoxia Gong became an immortal after consuming a lingzhi called “Red Crow Night-Glowing Fungus.”

Zhang Chang became an immortal after consuming asparagus root; Fei Meng attained the Dao and became an immortal through the Four Seasons Powder.

Xingzi loved dogs; Muyin because of the child.

The Biographies of the Immortals records that Xingzi was from Shu and loved dogs. Once, a dog ran into a mountain cave, and Xingzi followed. They walked through the cave for more than ten nights, covering several hundred li, and finally emerged on a mountaintop. There they saw a terrace hall and official buildings, surrounded by dense green pines. An immortal official and his attendants gave Xingzi a letter bearing a talisman and asked him to deliver it to Lord Qiao, the magistrate of Chengdu. When Lord Qiao opened the envelope, he found it full of fish eggs. He placed them in a pond to raise them, and after a year they had all turned into dragons. Xingzi later followed the dog back and forth to the immortal realm many times. More than a hundred years passed; eventually, he went up the mountain and never returned.

Mu Yu’s mother often helped people give birth. Once, while someone was in labor, they saw her and burst out laughing. From then on, she dreamed every night of a man in a tall official’s hat and white robes standing beside her. He said he was the Lord of Fate, who governed people’s lifespans and destinies, and that he would make her child Mu Yu an immortal. She later gave birth to a boy, whom she named Mu Yu. One night, a carriage and horses suddenly arrived to welcome him, and he departed with them to become an immortal.

The spirit of Ma Yue descended, and Hou Kai served his master.

The Account of Louguan records that the Daoist master Ma was named Jian, with the courtesy name Yuanyue. He studied under Lord Sun and received such Daoist scriptures as the Five Talismans of True Writ and the Large Characters of the Three Sovereigns. He could summon the myriad spirits and subdue evil beings, and his spells often took effect at once. Later, a heavenly spirit suddenly appeared and said to him, “Through your past merits, your name has already been entered in the registers of immortals. Why continue to pray to and command the spirits?” Master Ma then concealed these spells and devoted himself to holding to the One, gathering his spirit, and cultivating the Dao. When he was ninety-eight, a white cloud suddenly drifted in from the northwest and entered his bedchamber. His disciples went to look, but saw only the cloud rising toward the south and gradually receding. No one knew where it eventually went.

The Daoist master Hou was named Kai, with the courtesy name Fashen. At fourteen, he became a disciple of Chen Baochi and received the essential teachings of the Dao. His teacher told him, “You carry the scriptures and methods within you, and are well suited to enter the mountains for cultivation. Do not let this opportunity pass.” Master Hou replied, “Though entering the mountains may bring me the foundations of cultivation, leaving my teacher would be a grave breach of the precepts. I would rather serve you all my life.” Only at fifty-two did he finally begin his cultivation. In response, a numinous spring welled up with sweet dew, and mist curled among unusual trees. At eighty-six, he became an immortal and departed.

“Birds gather around Mother Xian; a tiger follows Chen Chi” is a title-like summary of the two accounts below. It means that Master Mother’s good deeds drew flocks of birds, while an old tiger accompanied Chen Baochi.

The Daoist master Mother was named Shixian. At eleven, she became a disciple of Master Niu and studied the Dao. Worthy people both inside and outside the court admired her virtue. She used the offerings she received to seek out poor elders and quietly deliver money and goods to their homes without leaving her name. In winter, she would also scatter grain across an acre of cold ground to feed the sparrows. The birds would then gather in flocks in her courtyard.

The gentleman Chen, courtesy name Baochi, was skilled at playing the qin and at chess by the age of twenty-one. At first he served Master Wang; later, he went to Huayin and became a disciple of Master Lu Jingzhen, learning profound and mysterious methods. Each morning, when he performed his bows, a white tiger would sit docilely beside him and accompany him wherever he went. Later, groups of tigers would strike trees to warn people to beware of wicked men. If a fierce tiger appeared, they would strike the trees to give warning as well. The local people therefore called the tree the “Tiger-Warning Tree,” said to be the tree the tigers used to sound an alarm.

Liang Chen, styled Kaocheng, became a disciple of Master Zheng at the age of seventeen and studied the Daoist arts. As he walked, he always kept his eyes on the ground, afraid of hurting any living thing underfoot. If a bird or animal blocked his path, he would often take a detour around it. At seventy-seven, he suddenly saw clouds and mist enveloping the trees. He then refined and nurtured his bodily form, mounted the clouds, and departed.

Sun Che, styled Zhongxuan, became a disciple of Master Wang at the age of eighteen. Sometimes he lived inside a hollow tree; at other times he sat quietly in a secluded room, where he used vines and creepers to weave a mat. When people came to ask his advice, he could tell their fortunes simply by studying their expressions, and said no more. At seventy, he suddenly told his disciples, “I have to go out for a while.” With that, he brushed off his robe and left. No one knew where he had gone. Those who shared his path missed him, so they placed his vine mat in the quiet room. They often heard someone speaking beside it. When his friends heard of this, they each took a piece of the mat.

Master Wang, styled Daoyi, focused his spirit beyond the white clouds and devoted himself beneath the cinnabar pillar. He rebuilt Daoist temples and reopened the mysterious gate of cultivation. Through his sincere and dedicated practice, he often received wondrous spiritual responses. After Heaven bestowed its blessing, his storehouse was always full: whatever was taken from it was replenished, and its supplies never ran out. He often gave his possessions to others and did good works on a wide scale, helping the poor and sick from near and far. At sixty-three, a white deer suddenly entered his courtyard, appearing and disappearing from sight. After that, he shed his mortal form and became an immortal.

Yin Tong, styled Lingjian, became a disciple of Master Ma at the age of twenty-six and studied the Daoist arts. He took Yellow Essence and Asparagus Tuber and swallowed pills of realgar. Worthy men had long admired his great De, and visitors arrived in an unbroken stream of carriages and horses. Daoists and laypeople alike respected his upright conduct, while officials and gentry came to see him one after another. Those who had received his kindness repaid him with generous gifts. Yin Tong used all these gifts to do good and build up De, giving widespread aid to those suffering from hunger and cold, and keeping nothing for himself. He became an immortal at the age of one hundred and one. A divine lamp often shone in his room.

“Immortal Ni of Penglai; Qihui of Mount Tai” are the opening words of a saying or report naming two immortals: Ni of Penglai and Qihui of Mount Tai.

The Biography of Daoist Masters records: Master Chen Ni was an immortal from Penglai. He took substances such as magnetic mother stone and silver bei tong. His hearing became exceptionally keen, allowing him to hear sounds from a thousand years away. He had twelve disciples, all of whom learned his methods of cultivation and eventually attained the Dao and became immortals.

The Biography of Louguan records: The Daoist Master Qi, whose given name was Hui and courtesy name Pingding, lived when Tang Gaozu had just established his rule. The Master and eighty Daoists had rendered service to the state, so he was appointed Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with the insignia of gold and purple; the other Daoists received the rank of silver and blue-green. Later, while performing a Jiao ritual for the state—a Daoist rite in which an altar is set up to pray to the deities—he received a response: yellow clouds shrouded the altar and mingled with the incense smoke. Two white deer also called out as they went away. The Master then said to his disciples, “The Immortal Scripture says that anyone who wishes to become an immortal must enter Mount Taibai.” So he and his disciples climbed Mount Taibai, determined to pursue the immortal Dao.

This concludes the middle scroll of Pearls Gathered in the Immortal Garden.

Pearls Gathered in the Immortal Garden, Lower Scroll

Written by Wang Songnian, a Daoist of Mount Tiantai

How wondrous, Boshan! Upon meeting his niece… [The original text ends here.]

The Traditions of Immortals records that Bo Shanfu entered Mount Hua, devoted himself to cultivation, and took medicines. In this way, he attained long life and remained ageless. When he returned to his home village, he saw that his niece was old and often ill, so he gave her some medicine. After taking it, she became young again at the age of seventy, her face rosy as a peach blossom.

A Han dynasty envoy saw a woman whipping an old man while he knelt and took the blows. The envoy was puzzled and asked why. The woman said, “This is my son. Long ago, his uncle Bo Shanfu gave him medicine, but he refused to take it. Now he is old and cannot walk as well as I can, so I beat him.” When the envoy asked her age, she replied, “I am a hundred and forty, and my son is eighty-seven.”

Liu Gang set a house ablaze, and Lady Fan stopped the fire with rain.

Liu Gang was magistrate of Shangyu County. He and his wife, Lady Fan, had both attained mastery in Daoist cultivation. Sitting together on a bed, Liu Gang used his arts to make fire break out on the east side of the house. Lady Fan, in turn, made rain fall from the west, and it eventually put out the fire.

The Holy Mother of Dongling entered a prison, while Kong Yuan cultivated beside the water.

The Holy Mother of Dongling was the wife of Du. She learned Liu Gang’s arts and could make her body disappear while sitting or standing. Du did not believe she had this ability, so he falsely accused her of adultery and had her sent to prison. As soon as she entered, the Holy Mother flew out through a window, rose into the clouds, and departed.

Kong Yuan regularly took pine resin, huīlíng (a medicinal substance used by Daoists), and pine nuts. Though he was more than a hundred and seventy years old, his body grew ever younger and stronger. Someone invited him to drink and asked him to show off his drinking skill. Kong Yuan planted his staff on the ground, stood upside down, and drank from a cup held beneath his head—something no one else could do. He also dug a cave more than ten feet square beside the water and lived there while practicing grain avoidance (stopping the eating of grains), sometimes staying inside for a month or two before coming out. Later, he entered Mount Hua in the Western Marchmount, cultivated the Dao, and attained the Dao.

She Zheng’s sharp eyesight; Wang Lie’s stone marrow.

She Zheng, courtesy name Xuanzhen, was a native of Badong. It was said that when he spoke of events from the time of Qin Shi Huang, he described them as though he had witnessed them himself. He often kept his eyes closed and did not open them even when walking. His disciples followed him for decades and never saw him open his eyes. One disciple insisted that he open them and take a look. She Zheng did so, and at once a thunderclap rang out. His gaze shone like lightning, and the disciples were so frightened that they fell prostrate on the ground. Li Baibai called him “a four-hundred-year-old child.”

Wang Lie, courtesy name Changxiu, was a native of Dengye. He regularly took huangjing (a food and medicinal herb commonly used in Daoist health practices) and refined lead. According to legend, he lived for 238 years, yet still looked young, and climbed mountains as swiftly as if flying. In his youth he had been a scholar and was friends with Ji Shuye, also known as Ji Kang. Once, while entering the Taihang Mountains, Wang Lie heard what sounded like a mountain splitting open. He went to investigate and saw a fissure hundreds of zhang wide, from which flowed a bluish, mudlike substance resembling marrow. He took some and kneaded it; within moments it hardened into stone, with a texture like warm wax. He tasted a little, and it had the flavor of polished rice. The Xianjing says that every five hundred years, a sacred mountain opens, revealing marrow within. Whoever obtains and consumes it can live as long as Heaven and Earth.

Jiao Xian gave away firewood, and Sun Deng lived in a cave.

Jiao Xian, courtesy name Xiaoran, was a native of Hedong. He regularly took baishi (a mineral used in Daoist cultivation and health practices according to legend), and also shared it with others. When cooked, it was like taro. Every day he cut firewood and distributed it to people. In winter he often wore only a single layer of clothing. Once, the small hut where he lived caught fire, but he sat motionless. After the fire had burned out and the hut was completely destroyed, his clothes were not even scorched. During a heavy snowfall, many houses collapsed under the weight of the snow. People went to look for him but could not find his hut. Together they lifted the hut and discovered him beneath the snow, his breathing as steady as if he were inside a cave. Some said that he would sometimes appear old and sometimes young, and lived this way for two hundred years. Later he took leave of those around him; no one knew where he went.

Sun Deng lived in the mountains, where he dug out a cave for shelter. He enjoyed playing the zither and reading the Yijing. In both winter and summer he wore only a single layer of clothing; when it was cold, he covered his body with his hair, which grew more than a zhang long. At times he went to the marketplace to beg for money, then gave what he received to the poor. He said that Ji Shuye had exceptional talent, surpassing ordinary people, but lacked understanding of the way to preserve himself. Sometimes, even with a one-stringed zither, Sun Deng could play a complete melody. No one knew what became of him.

Ge You lived on Mount Suishan, and Wang Zhen lived on Mount Nüji.

The Biographies of Immortals records that Ge You was a member of the Qiang people and lived during the reign of King Cheng of Zhou. He liked carving wooden sheep and selling them. One day, he rode a wooden sheep into Shu and climbed Mount Sui. From then on, the noblemen and wealthy people who followed him never returned. It is said that they all became immortals and departed together.

The Traditions of Immortals records that Wang Zhen of Shangdang was seventy-nine years old and had studied the Dao for thirty years, yet still looked young and handsome. He walked with an easy stride and could keep pace with a galloping horse. When Emperor Wu of Wei met him, he thought Wang Zhen looked no more than about thirty. Wang Zhen passed on the method of steaming the elixir, a way of refining elixirs, to You Yuanjie. People in his village calculated that Wang Zhen was already over four hundred years old. Later, he climbed Mount Nüji with three young concubines and departed, never to return.

“Ge You and Mount Sui; Wang Zhen and Mount Nüji” briefly summarizes the preceding account: Ge You is associated with Mount Sui, while Wang Zhen eventually climbed Mount Nüji. The final phrase, “yingjiu leba, shijin yinshi,” merely lists these characters, and its meaning is unclear, so it is provisionally retained as in the original.

The Biography of the Immortals records that Le Ba was from Shu. The governor appointed him as a gongcao, an official who assisted the commandery governor with administrative affairs, and treated him with the respect due a teacher. When the governor asked him to demonstrate his arts, Le Ba sat upright and walked into a wall, then emerged on the other side. The governor had a tiger brought in; when the tiger returned, it had turned into Le Ba.

Le Ba was later promoted to governor of Yuzhang. In the area stood a temple whose deity could speak with people. After taking office, Le Ba investigated the origins of the shrine to the local gods of soil and grain and of the temple deity. He learned that the deity had once gone to Qi as a scholar, where the governor married his daughter to him, and they had a son. Le Ba drew a talisman in Qi, and the temple deity turned into a wildcat.

Later, the court summoned Le Ba to serve as a Minister of the Secretariat. On the first day of the first lunar month, the emperor hosted a banquet for his officials. Le Ba held a mouthful of wine and stood up. Looking toward the southwest, he sighed and said, “There is a fire in my hometown, Chengdu. I must summon rain to put it out.” The emperor sent a courier to investigate. He learned that a fire had indeed broken out in Chengdu on the first day of the first lunar month. Around mealtime, rain fell from the northeast and extinguished the blaze; the rainwater even smelled of wine.

Yin Changsheng was from Xinye. When he heard that Ma Mingsheng had attained the Dao, he became his disciple and served him like a household attendant for more than ten years. Later, Ma Mingsheng took him into Qingtian Mountain and taught him the Great Clarity elixir, a Daoist alchemical preparation. Once the elixir was complete, Yin Changsheng took half a dose and thereby joined with the Way of Heaven. He used the remaining half to refine yellow earth, producing several thousand jin of gold, which he used to aid the poor and sick throughout the land. Yin Changsheng lived in the human world for 170 years, yet his appearance remained like that of a young woman. He wrote a nine-part Elixir Scripture and eventually ascended to Heaven in broad daylight.

Ju Zixun was from the state of Qi. No one knew the method by which he cultivated himself. In his everyday dealings, he was honest and modest. It was said that he lived for more than two hundred years, yet his appearance showed no signs of aging. Once, a scholar from his village was about to travel to the capital, where many high-ranking officials wished to meet Ju Zixun. He agreed to see them one by one. The capital was a thousand li from the village. They all arrived at his home at the same time—twenty-three households in all—and every household claimed to have seen him, recounting exactly the same events. The officials wanted him to stay, but Ju Zixun rode out of the city on a gray-green mule. They pursued him on fast horses, yet remained half a li behind him the whole way.

The Biographies of Immortals records that Qin Gao was from the state of Zhao. Skilled at playing the zither, he once served as a personal attendant to King Kang of Song. He practiced a way of longevity associated with Juan and Peng. More than two hundred years later, he arranged to meet his disciples in the waters of Zhuo Commandery. He later rode a red carp and departed as an immortal.

Hu Gong made his living selling medicine. Fei Changfang came to know him through an encounter at the market.

The Traditions of Divine Transcendents says that no one knew the Gourd Lord’s real name. Fei Changfang, a native of Runan, often saw him selling medicine while doing business in the marketplace. He charged a single price for his medicine, which could cure every kind of illness. When he had earned several hundred thousand coins, he gave the money to the poor and cold.

The Gourd Lord often hung an empty gourd in front of his seat. Every evening, after nightfall, he would leap inside it. No one else could see this; only Fei Changfang, watching from an upper floor, could see him and knew he was no ordinary man. So Fei Changfang swept and sprinkled water each day, bowed to the Gourd Lord, and offered him food. The Gourd Lord accepted the food without thanking him. This went on for a long time, and Fei Changfang never slackened.

One day, the Gourd Lord suddenly said to him, “Come back after dark.” Fei Changfang did as he was told. The Gourd Lord said, “When you see me leap into the gourd, follow me inside.” Fei Changfang entered the gourd and saw colorful pavilions and gate after gate, with the sun and moon shining brightly and many attendants all around. The Gourd Lord said to him, “I am an immortal. You are worthy of receiving instruction, which is why I have allowed you to see this.”

Fei Changfang followed the Gourd Lord in his cultivation, but failed all three trials. The Gourd Lord said, “You cannot attain the Way of the immortals. I can only make you one of my subordinate officials.” He gave Fei Changfang a bamboo staff and sent him home, as though flying through the air. When he arrived, Fei Changfang tossed the staff into Ge Bei, a marsh. From then on, he drove away demons and spirits for people and helped them through floods and droughts; every request he received was fulfilled.

Dong Feng brought Xie back to life, and Liu Gen could see ghosts.

Dong Feng, whose courtesy name was Junyi, was from Houguan County. At the time, Shi Xie was serving as governor of Jiaozhou. He had been dead for three days when Dong Feng came south and placed three pills of medicine in his mouth. After a while, Shi Xie came back to life, and half a day later he was able to sit up. He said that when he died, it had seemed like a dream: he saw several dozen people in black robes take him through a great gate adorned with pearls and hand him over to a jailer. They then led him into a room and sealed it from the outside with earth. Inside, it was pitch-black. Suddenly, he heard someone say, “The emissary of Taiyi (the deity Taiyi’s envoy) summons Shi Xie.” Then he heard the sound of earth being dug away. Someone led him out and helped him onto a carriage, and only then did he awaken.

Dong Feng lived in the area for a year, claiming he was ill and pretending to die. Later, he went to Mount Lu and planted tens of thousands of apricot trees. When people asked how long he had lived, he said he had lived for a hundred years, then ascended to Heaven in broad daylight.

Liu Gen, whose courtesy name was Jun’an, was from the Jingzhao region. As a young man, he studied the Dao and went to practice in a stone chamber on Mount Song. In the bitter winter cold, he had no clothes to wear, yet green hair one or two feet long grew on his body.

Later, when Gao, the governor of Yingchuan, took office, a severe plague broke out in the area, killing more than half the population. He sent for Liu Gen to drive away the disease. Liu Gen had people dig a pit in an open place in the direction of Tai Sui and bury Fulu (talismans and registers) written in vermilion ink. The plague vapors receded at once.

Later, when Lord Zhang took office, he considered Liu Gen a sorcerer and summoned him, intending to humiliate him in public. He asked Liu Gen, “You have Daoist arts. Can you make people see ghosts?” Liu Gen replied, “I can.” He then asked someone to bring a brush and a prepared memorial board, a wooden tablet used for writing memorials, and wrote a talisman on it. He struck the table, making a clear, ringing sound. Suddenly, they heard four or five hundred people shouting announcements and clearing the way for a carriage, which came surrounded by attendants and stopped in front of the hall. Sitting inside were Lord Zhang’s parents. They rebuked him for offending the immortals and causing them to suffer confinement and humiliation. After Lord Zhang kowtowed and admitted his fault, the two vanished.

Later, Liu Gen lived at Lord Mao’s altar on Mount Dongting, and green hair still grew on his body.

Song Lun practiced the art of the Six Jia; Du Chong practiced the art of the Nine Flores.

The Biography of Louguan records: Song Lun, courtesy name Dexuan, began studying the Dao at the age of twenty-two, during the reign of King Li of Zhou. He recited the Five Thousand Words—that is, the Dao De Jing—and took huangjing and white fungus. He practiced for twenty years. Later, Lao Jun manifested before him and taught him Daoist methods such as the Six Jia of Numinous Flight and the Vermilion Elixir Talisman of Plain Memorials. His practice brought wondrous responses, as though the spirits were aiding him; nothing he said failed to come true. He could walk while gazing toward mountain cliffs, covering three thousand li in a day. He could cross water and pass through obstacles without following ferries or roads. When he was over ninety, during the reign of King Jing of Zhou, he ascended to immortality and became the immortal in charge of Mount Song.

Du Chong, courtesy name Xuanyi, began studying the Dao at the age of twenty-five, discerning the truth and quietly guarding the One, steadying his spirit and concentrating it on unity. After practicing for more than twenty years, he received a manifestation from Perfected One Zhan, who taught him the Nine Blossoms Elixir formula and told him: “Lao Jun and Perfected Yin have summoned the Great Thearch and the assembled immortals to Eight Stops Mountain in the Eastern Sea. The Earth Bureau, whose spirits govern the affairs of the earthly realm, recommended you for your diligence in cultivating the Dao, so I was ordered to give you the immortal formula.” After Du Chong took the elixir, his body shone with a jade-like radiance. During the reign of King Mu of Zhou, when he was already one hundred and twenty years old, he was appointed a Taiji Perfected One.

Dao Ling was like a leaf of the banyan; Yao Tan was like a silver blossom.

The Daoxue Zhuan records that when the female immortal Wang Daolian was seven years old, she already understood the practice of the Dao. She bought fragrant oil to make offerings to the gods, ate vegetables and plain foods, and did not wear brightly colored silk. She received and upheld the Three Caverns scriptures (the three categories of Daoist texts), reciting and studying them day and night. At first, she entered Long Mountain and built a Daoist temple there, named “Xuanyao,” with three altars. Later, a tree suddenly grew southeast of the altars. Its shape was like an open canopy, and its shade covered one altar. Its five leaves grew in opposing pairs. People at the time could not identify the tree, so they called it “palm-leaf.” A jade casket also descended from heaven and landed on the altar, shining with light. When Wang Daolian had recited the scriptures ten thousand times, a cloud carriage came to welcome her, amid peals of thunder and fierce winds, while fragrance filled the air.

The Louguan Zhuan records that Yao Tan, styled Yuantai, was from Pingyang. At the age of nineteen, during the reign of King Ping, he studied the Dao and lectured on the Five Thousand Words (another name for the Dao De Jing). A violent wind suddenly rose, and the mountainside split apart. The wind seemed to gape like an open mouth, but he never felt afraid. He consumed refined pine resin, and later a divine being taught him the “Way of Mysterious White and Returning to Form” and the “Scripture of the Three Diagrams of the Heavenly Gate for Flying.” After Yao Tan practiced these methods, a divine radiance shone in his eyes; when he opened them, they gleamed like lightning. He lived to the age of two hundred and ten. During the reign of King Jian, in the fifth month, wind and rain swept through the land beneath a darkened sky as thunder and lightning shook the heavens. Silver flowers descended from the sky and covered the ground. Yao Tan was granted an immortal scripture and titled Perfected One of Xuanzhou.

Lü Shang obtained the marrow of the earth; Wang Zhu obtained divine cinnabar.

The Biographies of the Immortals records that Lü Shang (Jiang Taigong), fleeing the turmoil brought by King Zhou, lived in seclusion in Liaodong. Later he traveled to Zhou territory and fished at Fanjing. He often took elixirs such as marsh fungus and earth marrow. At the age of two hundred, he announced that he had died. After he was buried, people found no body in the tomb, only six chapters of the Jade Bell.

Wang Zhu and a Daoist climbed a rocky mountainside together. The Daoist said cinnabar could be gathered there by the tens of thousands of pounds. When local officials learned of it, they sealed off the cinnabar, but it flew out like fire. Only then did the authorities allow them to gather and refine it. After taking cinnabar for three years, Wang Zhu and the county magistrate Zhang Junming refined a miraculous, snowlike cinnabar. After five years of taking it, the two could fly; then they ascended to immortality and departed together.

Mr. Fuju carried the tools he used to polish mirrors and worked in the marketplaces of Wu, charging one coin each time. He also asked his customers whether they were ill, then took out purple pills for them to swallow. Every patient recovered. Over several years, he saved more than ten thousand people and accepted no payment. Only then did people realize he was an immortal. Later, he climbed the sheer cliffs of Mount Wu, hung down medicine for people, and told them he was returning to Peng Mountain, the legendary abode of immortals, where he would send down divine water for them. Before long, water did indeed flow down by itself from the cliff. Many people drank it and recovered from their illnesses.

Fu Xian often lived in Ju and traveled along the seashore. Once, he encountered three immortals playing chess and tossing melons. They had him carry dozens of green and white melons and told him to close his eyes. After a long time, he discovered that he had arrived at Mount Fangzhang, south of Mount Penglai. Later, he returned to Ju and often went to Mount Fangzhang to collect treasures and pearls and jades to sell, though no one knew where he had gone.

Zhu Ying gathered flocks of birds, and Xuansu subdued snakes.

Zhuan Gong was from Luoyang and lived at the foot of a mountain north of Shixiang. He had raised falcons for more than a hundred years. Each of his falcons had a name, and he had more than a thousand of them. They roosted at night and were released during the day; whenever he called, they would fly back to him. He sold the falcons and their young, earning tens of millions of coins. Then he left all the money behind and departed. Later, he climbed Mount Wu, where hundreds of white cranes and peacocks would often settle beside him.

Xuansu claimed to be from Hejian. He regularly took quartz and sold medicines at the market: seven pills for one coin, said to cure every kind of illness. When the Prince of Hejian fell ill, he took the medicine and passed more than ten snakes; his illness was cured. Some people said Xuansu cast no shadow. The prince had him stand in the sunlight to check, and indeed no shadow could be seen. The prince married his daughter to Xuansu, but Xuansu left in the middle of the night, and no one knew where he went.

Lu Tong cultivated fruits; Wen Bin took chrysanthemums.

Lu Tong was Jiejü, the eccentric man of Chu. He valued the cultivation of life, ate peaches and the fruits he grew himself, and traveled among famous mountains. For generations, people said they had seen him on Mount Emei in Shu. Even after several hundred years, no one knew where he had ultimately gone.

Wen Bin was from Taiqiu Township and made his living selling shoes. He often married, then left his wives behind after more than ten years. Later, he met a woman over ninety years old and told her to take chrysanthemums, groundsel, mulberry mistletoe, and pine nuts. After taking them, she regained her youth and strength.

Ziyang ascended the mountain; Qingling encountered one who had attained the Dao.

The Biography of Perfected Lord Zhou Jun of Ziyang records that Lord Zhou, whose courtesy name was Jitong, was the seventh-generation descendant of Zhou Bo. At sixteen, he became a disciple of Lord Su and studied Daoist methods. Afterward, he traveled throughout the realm, visiting every famous mountain. Later, he attained the Dao and received registers, becoming Perfected Lord of Ziyang and taking his place among the immortals of the Upper Clarity (Shangqing).

The Biography of Perfected Lord Pei of Qingling records that Lord Pei, whose courtesy name was Xuanren, met the Daoist Zhi Ziyuan at the age of twelve. He received five secret teachings for cultivating the Dao and practiced according to them. Five years later, he was able to behold the essences of the sun and moon, and the Five Planets descended upon his dwelling. He then received registers and became Perfected Lord of Qingling, taking his place among the immortals of the Upper Clarity (Shangqing).

Yang Quan’s courtesy name was Daoyu. According to the Declarations of the Perfected (Zhengao), the female immortal E Luhua descended and gave him several poems, along with a hand towel made of fire-washed cloth and a gold-and-jade bracelet. E Luhua said that she was Luo Yu of Mount Jiuyi. Because of a transgression in a former life, she had been banished to the human world, where she had lived for nine hundred years.

Yang Xi served as a secretary in the chancellor’s residence under Emperor Jianwen of Jin. He later left office and studied the Dao on Mount Mao. The Lady of the Purple Tenuity, the Anfei of Jiuhua, descended and gave him poems and a date. In the twelfth year of the Taiyuan era, Yang Xi rode clouds and dragons and ascended to Heaven in broad daylight. He received registers and became the Lord of Fate, attendant to the Emperor at dawn and senior assistant of the Eastern Florescence, overseeing the spirits and people of the Wu and Yue regions.

Jiao Kuang corresponded with the blue bird, while Yu Zhang corresponded with the white crow.

The Biography of the Louguan Temple records that Jiao Kuang, a Daoist priest from Wengshan, whose courtesy name was Dadu, was held in high esteem by Emperor Wu of Zhou and appointed as his Imperial Preceptor. When he built a Daoist temple at Huayin, earth welled up from between the rocks and continued to flow until there was enough for the construction. He stored oil in a stone urn; whenever the oil ran out, the urn would fill itself again. Whenever visitors from outside came to pay their respects, two blue birds often arrived to announce their coming. Spirits guarded the mountain, and fierce beasts stood watch at the temple gate.

The Master Yu, named Zhang and courtesy-named Changwen, was already reading the Daode Jing at the age of seven. At eleven, he took Master Hou as his teacher, left home to cultivate the Dao, and received the Three Caverns scriptures and ritual methods—the three major lines of Daoist scriptural transmission. He copied 136 secret celestial talismans by hand and could foretell good and ill fortune. At the age of eighty-two, he shed his mortal form and departed. As he entered meditation at the end of his life, a white crow flew up into the sky, seeming to write in the air.

Lingshou was young and vigorous; Dongguo was bright and clear.

The Traditions of Immortals records that Lingshou Guang was from Fufeng. At the age of seventy, he obtained the recipe for Zhu Ying pills. After preparing and taking them as directed, his appearance and body grew young and vigorous again, as though…