《华阳陶隐居内传》

Someone asks: Master Zhenbai (Tao Hongjing, an eminent Daoist of the Southern Dynasties) already has a biography in the "Biographies of Eminent Recluses" of the Book of Liang. Why compose another?

The Book of Liang says that Tao Hongjing, courtesy name Tongming, was a native of Moling in Danyang. His mother once dreamed of two celestial beings holding incense burners. When Emperor Gao of Qi was chief minister, he summoned Tao to serve as tutor-companion to the imperial princes. Though living in the households of the powerful, Tao kept apart from the outside world. In the tenth year of Yongming under Qi, Tao took off the court robes, hung them on the Shenhu Gate, and submitted a memorial resigning from office. When the court granted this, the ministers and nobles held a farewell at the Zhengluo Pavilion, with such grand processions and tents that people said nothing like it had ever been seen east of the Yangtze. Afterward, Tao traveled among famous mountains in search of immortality herbs, often stopping to sit or lie down by streams and valleys. Tao especially loved the sound of wind in the pines and planted pines throughout the courtyard. After Emperor Wu of Liang took the throne, he often wrote to inquire after Tao, and letters passed between them several times a month, so people of the time called Tao the "Prime Minister of the Mountains." In the second year of Datong, Tao died at the age of eighty-five, with the countenance unchanged and the body still able to bend and stretch freely.

These materials are gathered here in the commentary to show how brief the Book of Liang account is. The biographies of Tao written by Zheng Zhang and Shi Jun are appended as well. The Book of Liang treats Master Tao as the Records of the Grand Historian treats Laozi: so much is cut that the cultivation of this immortal and sage is never fully revealed, and the account comes across as muddled instead.

There has long been much debate over Han Fei being placed in the same biography as Laozi. Yet the Book of Liang ranks Master Tao alongside Shen Lin, Ruan Xiaoxu, Fan Yuandan, and others. Master Tao saw through past and present, and Tao's deeds were prominent in the world. Tao's spirit (Shen) dwelt in stillness and purity, and Tao's thought probed the profound principles. Tao sorted out the three grades and cut away the false and illusory, divided the five domains and distinguished the categories of things. Tao wrote the Concealed Instructions (Yinjue) to set out the main points of the path of cultivation, and compiled the Declarations of the Perfected (Zhen'gao) to reveal what the divine perfected had transmitted. Tao drew out subtle principles and sought the realm of pure emptiness. One may say Tao was the Dong Hu of the Mysterious Gate (a historian known for recording events truthfully) and the Confucius of the Daoist school.

Master Tao also read widely in the ancient classics and ranged across the writings of the hundred schools, investigating the patterns of heaven, earth, and the stars, as well as Yin-Yang lore, tortoise divination, and milfoil divination. Tao examined the obscure principles of nature behind such phenomena as the death of a whale, the appearance of a comet, the arrival of a qilin, and the eclipse of the moon; the collapse of a copper mountain answered by the resonance of bells; silkworms spinning and the merchant-tone string snapping; dragons chanting as clouds arise; and tigers roaring as winds stir. Tao held that these could be called "resonance," and went further into their subtleties, pointing out that they are not simple matters of stimulus and response. If one compared Shuxiang, Zichan, Jing Fang, and Guo Pu with Master Tao, would it merely be a matter of breadth of learning?

In the tenth year of Yongming under Qi, the Grand Master of the Palace Xie Lun heard from Wuxing that Master Tao had abandoned office and gone into seclusion at Huayang, and wrote a biography on the road. It says that Tao Hongjing, from youth, had aspirations unlike others, was intelligent with an excellent memory, and was well versed in the Five Classics, the philosophers, and the histories, while also mastering both ancient and modern standards of calligraphy. Even while in the world, Tao longed to ride the clouds and drive dragons, transcending the dust of the mortal realm, and had no wish to marry or hold office. Because the means of livelihood were not yet sufficient, Tao took up a post briefly as tutor-companion to the Prince of Yidu. Though living in a powerful household, Tao stayed alone in a single room and rarely engaged with outside affairs. Day and night Tao read and copied texts, gathering profound learning. After more than twenty years, Tao gradually took up the ingestion of elixirs and cultivation practices, nearly reaching the point of penetrating the hidden and grasping the subtle. As the practice advanced day by day, Tao shook off the dust and departed to live on Mount Mao. The biography also describes Tao's bright and handsome bearing, spirited eyes, and tall, slender frame, plainly set apart from others.

Xie Lun's biography ends there, and is even briefer than the Book of Liang. The author does not understand it: Xie Lun had already heard that Master Tao lived in the mountains and admired Tao, so ought to have examined the achievements of Tao's cultivation with care. Why was it written so hastily? Tao Lan once said that the same thing happened when Wang Youjun wrote the biography of Master Xu.

Because the early biographies were sketchy, Tao Lan wrote the Record of Origins (Benqi lu). Yet by the end of Qi this work still omitted many matters. Tao Lan was a nephew of Master Tao, and the Record of Origins is on the whole fairly detailed, but its prose lacks elegance and its narration is cluttered. Tao Lan said that it could not yet count as a formal biography, only a record of Master Tao's deeds set down first so that nothing would be lost. For some unknown reason, Tao Lan stopped continuing it in the first year of Yongyuan.

Later, Master Tao's disciple Pan Quanwen took up the compilation. Pan said that the Record of Origins reached only the end of Qi, and that for the more than twenty years since there was no relevant record, so Pan first filled in the gap year by year, leaving it for a later biographer to elaborate. Pan's record runs from the first year of Tianjian to the fourth month, summer, of the seventh year of Tianjian. At that time Master Tao changed names and, in secret, searched distant famous mountains; in the fourth month of the seventh year of Tianjian, Tao took a new name and traveled south, and the details are recorded elsewhere in the biography. Since no one else could know of it, Pan's record ends there.

Alas! The Book of Liang and the two biographies by the Grand Master Xie are all too brief, and the disciples' records lack order. The deeds of Master Tao, who withdrew from the world to cultivate the Dao (the Way) and nourish the nature in stillness, are in danger of gradually sinking into oblivion. So the author examined the relevant deeds with care in the Concealed Instructions for the Ascent to Perfection (Dengzhen yinjue), the Declarations of the Perfected, the Scripture of Great Purity (Taiqing jing), and Master Tao's collected writings, and composed this work in three fascicles.

The records of the Inner Biography of Recluse Tao of Huayang (Huayang Tao Yinju Neizhuan) that preserve Recluse Tao's deeds, have they nearly all been lost? The author therefore consulted the Secret Instructions for the Ascent to Perfection (Dengzhen Yinjue), the Declarations of the Perfected (Zhen'gao), the Taiqing Jing (Scripture of Great Purity), and the master's own collected writings, and, investigating the relevant events, compiled them into three fascicles.

Inner Biography of Recluse Tao of Huayang, Fascicle One

Compiled by Jia Song, Youth of the Ivy and Vines

The master's name was Hongjing, his courtesy name Tongming, and he was a native of Moling in Danyang.

The Original Record says: His residence stood in Baiyang Lane.

The Tao family's ancestry can be traced back to Emperor Yao. When Yao governed Jizhou, the family lived for generations in Pingyang. Di Qing, a chancellor of the Western Han, and Tao Dun, a Minister of Works of the Eastern Han, were both well known; it is said that their deeds were still discussed when Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang. Tao Chao, Hongjing's thirteenth-generation ancestor, was the first to cross the Yangtze, and so the family became natives of Danyang. His seventh-generation ancestor, Tao Jun, held office in the state of Wu as General Who Guards the South.

The Original Record says: Tao Jun was the younger brother of Tao Huang, Inspector of Jiaozhou.

Tao Jun was enfeoffed as Marquis of Jurong. After the fall of Wu, the family moved north; during the Yongjia disorders, they moved south again.

The Original Record says: Tao Jun was the third son of Tao Jun. (Note: the genealogy given here repeats the surrounding text and is probably corrupted.)

During the Yongjia era, he served as Marshal under Sima Yue, Prince of Donghai, commanding the garrison troops, and followed Sima Yue to Xuchang. Later, after a military defeat, he crossed the Yangtze once more and returned, becoming an adviser to the Grand General Wang Dun. Wang Dun once submitted a memorial requesting that his household registration be reassigned. He was called to office only late in life, appointed adviser to the Chariot and Cavalry General and to the Chancellor, but he did not take up the post.

Hongjing's great-great-grandfather, Tao Pi, was of lofty and eminent character and prized integrity, and refused to hold office. His great-grandfather, Lord Xing of the Tao family, served as Merit Officer of the commandery.

The Original Record says: Lord Xing was versatile and talented, and also managed the family's property. He was once recommended as Merit Officer of the commandery, and was later nominated as one "filial and incorrupt" after review, and appointed Magistrate of Guangjin.

His grandfather, Tao Long, stood seven chi and five cun tall, had an imposing bearing, was skilled in medicine, and often took it upon himself to help others. He followed Emperor Wu of Song in the campaign against Yao Hong, and for his merit was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yuanfeng in Jin'an.

The Original Record says: Yan Jun once asked Tao Long for his residence, wishing to expand it into a monastery. Tao Long refused and then resigned his post. Later he was stripped of his title and exiled to Guangzhou, after which he was gradually promoted to office in Xinhui Commandery.

Tao the Recluse's father was named Zhenbao, with the courtesy name Guozhong, and he was a well-known figure in the Jiangdong region. He once served as Censor-in-Attendance of the Southern Terrace, and later became magistrate of Xiaochang County in Jiangxia Commandery.

According to the Benqi lu (Record of Origins), Zhenbao excelled at horseback riding and archery, understood medicines and arts of technique, read widely in the works of the Hundred Schools and in the histories, and was handsome in bearing. He was on friendly terms with Xiao Sihua, Wang Zhao, and Liu Bing. In the winter of the fourth year of the Yuanhui era, he was sent north as an envoy to promote amity between the two states, and he wrote down what he saw and experienced on the journey, along with poems.

Tao the Recluse's mother, Lady Hao, came from Donghai and was named Zhizhan. The Benqi lu says that unusual omens appeared when she died.

Lady Hao once dreamed that a green dragon emerged from her belly and rose into the sky toward the east. The Benqi lu records that the green dragon suddenly rose up from her body and ascended straight eastward into the heavens. The Book of Liang instead says that she dreamed of two celestial beings carrying incense burners who came to her dwelling, and that she soon became pregnant, an account that differs from the other. The author considers that the Benqi lu was written by Tao Xu, a grandnephew of Tao the Recluse, and so should have examined the course of events in great detail and would not have left anything out.

Lady Hao followed the green dragon with her gaze but could not see its tail. The next day she told others, "I will give birth to an extraordinary boy, but I fear he will have no descendants." Someone replied, "Perhaps this means he will become an immortal?" The Benqi lu says that after she woke, she quietly told her husband, Zhou, that she would bear an extraordinary boy.

Tao the Recluse was born at midnight on the thirtieth day of the fourth month in the third year of the Xiaojian era of the Song dynasty. The Benqi lu records that this was a bingshen year, that the day of his birth was a jiaxu day, that the year had an intercalary fifth month, and that the following day happened to be the summer solstice.

When her time came, his mother bathed and then felt slightly unwell, so she rose to prepare for the birth. When Tao the Recluse was first born, he did not cry out in alarm; only afterward did he begin to wail.

It is said that when Tao Hongjing's mother was bathing, she felt a slight discomfort in her body and rose to leave. When Master Tao was born, he did not cry out in fright; when he first learned to sit, he already seemed unusually bright and quick. At five or six he loved reading and writing so much that, even with toys beside him, he reached only for his brush and inkstone. By eight or nine he had read more than a thousand scrolls and was highly skilled at composition. Reading the Yi Bu and Ge Zhichuan's (Ge Hong's) Shenxian zhuan (Biographies of Immortals), he came upon the story of the Eight Elders of Huainan.

The Benqi lu records that the home of a fellow villager, a man named Ju, had once hosted Ge Hong. The sixty-first scroll of the Biographies of Immortals also contains a related account.

Master Tao would sleep at night holding his scrolls, and once said: "Ascending through the blue clouds and seeing the white sun: how distant, in the end, is such a thing?" Immersed in the arts of the Dao (Way), firm in his convictions and profound in his understanding, he formed an aspiration to rise above the mundane world from an early age. His bearing was refined and extraordinary, and his complexion was radiant and clear. Whenever he went out, passersby gathered to watch, saying: "Young Master Tao is an immortal who has descended from the Jade Capital (the realm of immortals in Daoist legend) into the human world." He would shield himself with a feather fan, and even in winter he never put it away.

At eleven, he wrote an essay titled "Erudite" (Boshi) for Wang Hao (a personal name).

The Benqi lu says that Wang Hao was the son of Zhao, Chief Secretary to the Minister of Education.

Master Tao also composed a reply letter on Wang Hao's behalf, and its opening read as though it had come from the hand of a seasoned and sober elder. At fifteen, he returned to the capital from the southern provinces.

The Benqi lu records that when Master Tao was thirteen, his father followed Liu Bing, Minister of the Board of Personnel, to Huainan. After returning to the capital at fifteen, he lodged in the home of a relative and friend, Xu Zhou.

He wrote the "Record of Seeking the Mountains" (Xunshan zhi), the full text of which can be found in his collected works.

Even as an adult, Master Tao refused to marry. Pure in conduct and sparing in desire, he never drew close to sensual pleasures for the whole of his life. He said: "I wish to keep my heart and soul (hun) clear and still, in Wuwei (non-action)." He stood seven chi and two cun tall, with sparse eyebrows and a broad, long forehead, and on his right shoulder was a purple birthmark the size of a copper coin.

According to the Jinque houshèng lieji (Chronicle of the Later Sage of the Golden Gate), the Lord of the Azure Youth (Qingtong Jun) said that these were all the physical marks of one destined to become an immortal. On his right leg were also dozens of black moles arranged in the shape of the Dipper stars. He disliked meat and pungent foods and ate only "green hammer rice" (qingchui fan, a kind of food eaten by Daoist practitioners).

The Qingxu zhenren zhuan (Biography of the Perfected of Pure Void) records a formula in which nanzhu (Lyonia, or "southern candle") is the principal ingredient; nanzhu is probably a medicinal food taken by high immortals.

He had a particular fondness for the sound of wind in the pines, and wherever he lived he planted pine trees with his own hands. He often felt that he had not yet read ten thousand scrolls, so he counted the Daoist scriptures (Jing) among them. The trunk was shaped like a dipper.

He disliked meat and strong-smelling foods and ate only "green mallet rice" (qingchui fan). Green mallet rice is a dish made from nanzhu (a plant, the Lyonia or "southern candle" shrub). The Biography of the Perfected Master Qingxu records a recipe for ingesting it, with nanzhu as the main ingredient, and says that this is the food taken by the higher immortals.

He had a particular fondness for the sound of wind in the pines, and wherever he lived he planted pine trees with his own hands. He often felt that he had not yet read ten thousand scrolls, so he counted the Daoist scriptures (Jing) among them. After this, he rarely went in and out of the prefectural offices; when the authorities summoned him to office, he refused every time.

At first, his father was on good terms with Liu Bing. When Liu Bing served as Governor of Danyang (a regional administrative official), his son Liu Si was young and already well known, and he dearly loved literature. Master Tao also associated with Liu Si; when they went out they shared a carriage, and at meals they ate the same food.

At that time the political order of the Song dynasty had collapsed, and the Prince of Cangwu was killed. The Book of Song records that the deposed emperor Liu Yu was the eldest son of Emperor Ming; after taking the throne he was wild and cruel, and once used Emperor Gao of Qi, Xiao Daocheng, as a target for archery practice. He was later killed and, after his death, was given the title Prince of Cangwu.

After Xiao Daocheng rose to power, Emperor Shun was still on the throne and governing. Shen Youzhi, Governor of Jingzhou, raised troops against Xiao Daocheng, and Xiao Daocheng entered Jiankang and took control of the court. The Book of Song records that Emperor Shun was the third son of Emperor Ming. Emperor Gao of Qi monopolized power and deposed and installed emperors at will, and half the court opposed him; thereupon Emperor Gao of Qi entered Jiankang and took control of the court.

Yuan Jixu, the Minister over the Masses, plotted at Shitou City to launch a campaign against Xiao Daocheng, and Liu Bing took part as well. Liu Bing then fled to Shitou City, and Master Tao followed him with his own followers. Together with Han Ben and Mi Dan, Master Tao was responsible for drafting documents and proclamations. Xiao Daocheng dispatched troops and broke through Shitou City.

The Book of Song records that the Minister over the Masses, Yuan Chai, held Shitou City and plotted a campaign against Xiao Daocheng, but did not succeed and was soon destroyed. The Original Record (Benqi lu) records that Master Tao was then twenty-two years old, entered Shitou City with Liu Bing, and joined Yuan Chai in planning the uprising. He remained loyal to old ties and kept faith, never abandoning his old friends; even in danger, with the situation unresolved, he did not seek to withdraw and save himself.

Later, Master Tao was able to leave. Liu Si had become a Buddhist monk and came to ask him about the way of cultivation.

The Benqi lu (Record of Origins) records that on the night disaster struck the city, Liu Si and his younger brother and others barely escaped and fled toward the capital.

Liu Si was later captured and died in prison at Jiankang. No one dared to visit him, but Master Tao Hongjing wept over his body and personally saw to his burial.

The Benqi lu adds that the Master laid Liu Si to rest with his own hands and mourned him deeply.

Earlier, Liu Si, Jiang Yi, Chu Xuan, and others had been the four trusted companions of Emperor Shun. Together they wrote the Eulogy for the Virtue of Song, composed in seven chapters in the "linked pearls" (lianzhu) style, and it was celebrated at the time as a masterpiece. By this point, however, the original manuscripts had all been lost. The Master sighed and said: "Whether wise or foolish, every person must in the end live out a hundred years. What is precious is the reputation and fine virtue left behind. It is a pity that Master Liu and his famous work have now been lost together."

The Benqi lu records that after Liu Si fled from Stone City, his writings were scattered and lost. The Master wished to gather and compile them on his behalf, but in the end he could not find them.

The following year, Xiao Daocheng was enfeoffed as Duke of Qi and granted the "borrowed yellow battle-axe" (an imperial emblem conferring the authority to wage war), and it became clear where the realm's destiny lay. Because the Master had long been on friendly terms with the Liu family, he was often troubled and uneasy.

The Benqi lu records that after the Master left Stone City, he had wanted to leave the world behind and retire to the mountains. But it was then the turning point between the Song and Qi dynasties, and both the situation and the public mood were unsettled. Since the Master also had old ties with the Liu family, his heart remained anxious and ill at ease.

He therefore sought an audience with Xiao Daocheng through Ji Zhen. Xiao Daocheng thought highly of him, the two held each other in mutual respect, and he had the Master stay in his own camp tent. After the rebellion of Shen Youzhi was put down, the Master followed Xiao Daocheng back to the Eastern Residence (Dongfu) and served as a study companion (shidu, one who accompanies and instructs in the classics) to Xiao Daocheng's sons.

The Benqi lu records that after the suppression of Shen Youzhi, the Master returned with Xiao Daocheng to the Eastern Residence and served as study companion to his fifth son, Xiao Ye, and sixth son, Xiao Gui, while also overseeing the documents and records of the household. The Master was twenty-three years old at the time, and was later appointed Attendant Gentleman to the Prince of Baling.

After Emperor Gao of Qi, Xiao Daocheng, ascended the throne, the Master was appointed Attendant Gentleman to Xiao Yi, Prince of Yuzhang and Grand Commandant.

The Liang shu (Book of Liang) states that when Emperor Gao of Qi was serving as chancellor, he summoned the Master to be study companion to the various princes. This account is mistaken.

The Liang Shu (Book of Liang) states that when Emperor Gao of Qi served as chancellor, he summoned Master Tao to serve as tutor-in-attendance to the various princes. This account is mistaken.

The Master understood that serving as a close attendant to the emperor would invite exclusion and resentment, so when he was offered an appointment again later, he declined it. The following year, he accompanied the Prince of Ancheng to garrison Shitou City. When Emperor Shizu had just taken the throne, he appointed Master Tao as General Who Stirs Martial Valor and as tutor-in-attendance to the Prince of Yidu. Under the Qi dynasty, a tutor-in-attendance customarily also handled the duties of a records officer on the military staff. Whether the matter concerned auspicious or inauspicious ceremonies, documents within or outside the palace, or memorials, petitions, and official dispatches, the Master handled it with exceptional distinction. Everything he set down in writing was held up by others as a model.

The Benqi Lu (Record of Original Origins) records that when the Master dealt with auspicious and inauspicious ceremonies and with documents inside and outside the palace, and when he composed memorials, petitions, and dispatches, he showed outstanding excellence. Scribes and document-keeping officials from several princely households came to study under him and took his writing as their standard.

The tutors-in-attendance of the other princes were jealous of him and slandered him in secret, yet the Master remained calm and composed throughout. Once, the Prince of Guiyang ascended the Twin Mists Terrace and held a banquet to which he invited the nobles of the imperial clan and their guests, and the Master attended together with the Prince of Yidu. The Prince of Guiyang had everyone draw lots for a theme and each compose a rhapsody (fu). There were ten themes in all, placed in a vessel for drawing. The Master drew "Water Immortal" and was delighted.

His rhapsody is included in his collected writings.

After reading it, Shen Yue and Ren Fang exclaimed: "It is like gazing at the sea in the clear autumn, seeing only its boundless expanse. How could one possibly fathom its depth?" They were deeply impressed by the Master's talent.

Not long after, the Master was appointed General of the Palace Guard of the Left. People of the time felt that this post did him a disservice. Yu Daojing repeatedly raised the matter with Emperor Wu, who replied: "The late emperor once held this post himself, and Pei Songzhi also moved on from it to become a supernumerary gentleman. This reflects the esteem in which I hold the Master. How could you not know that?"

The Benqi Lu records that the Master was twenty-nine at that time. The Qinghan Palace had just been completed, and Emperor Wu was eagerly preparing for outings and banquets. The Master submitted a memorial presenting an ode, which people of the time praised as outstanding.

One day at Shitou City, the Master suddenly fell into a trance, as though he had gone somewhere else, and for seven days he was unaware of his surroundings. When he finally came to, he said: "I have seen something most extraordinary." Yet he kept what he had seen secret and told no one.

According to the Benqi lu (Record of Origins), when the Master was twenty-nine years old, he suddenly fell ill at Shitou City and lost consciousness, taking neither medicine nor food. After seven days, the illness abruptly left him. He said that during his sickness he had seen many things. From then on, his face was gaunt, and his speech became slurred and slow.

That same year, Sun Youyue of Shuyang began to transmit to the Master the talismanic diagrams (fu-tu) of the Daoist tradition. These diagrams were said to derive from authentic ancient originals, but they had been copied many times, and the Master found them unsatisfactory. The following year, he set out for Mount Mao.

The Benqi lu records that in the wuchen year, the Master first traveled to Mount Mao. He sought out scriptures (Jing) and methods of the Way, withdrew from worldly affairs, and settled there for a long stay, beginning his cultivation on Mount Mao from that time on.

The Master obtained the handwritten manuscripts left during the Xingning era by the earlier Perfected Ones (zhenren), Yang Xi and Xu Mi.

According to the Zhen'gao (Declarations of the Perfected), in the third year of the Xingning era of the Jin dynasty, a company of immortals and Perfected Ones, including the Perfected Lord Taiyuan, Lord Mao; the Perfected Lord Ziyang, Lord Zhou; and Lady Ziwei, the Consort Anfei of the Nine Florescences, descended together upon Mount Mao. They imparted spoken teachings and scriptural texts to Yang Xi, and Chamberlain Xu and his son received transmissions alongside him. Yang Xi and Xu Mi responded to the descent of the immortals, and the writings and records they left behind are remarkably clear. That the Master obtained these manuscripts was, perhaps, Heaven's way of entrusting them to the right person.

Moved by sincere devotion, the Master felt as though he were seeing these numinous beings with his own eyes. He examined the letters exchanged among the three Perfected Ones and found that the manuscripts he had obtained still had many gaps, so he continued his search far and wide. Having requested leave, he traveled east, visiting Lou Huiming at Mount Dahong, meeting Du Jingchan at Mount Taiping, and then going to Mount Chao to find the monk Zhong Yishan. With humility he sought out their handwritten materials and obtained more than ten scrolls of manuscripts in the hands of the Perfected Ones. After wandering among mountains and waters for over two hundred days, he returned to the capital.

The Benqi lu records: after wandering among mountains and waters for over two hundred days, the Master returned to the capital.

Soon afterward, he set out again for various places to continue searching for writings left by earlier masters, and his harvest was considerable. Later he traveled throughout the famous mountains of Changshan in Dongyang, Tianmu Mountain in Wuxing, and the regions of Yuqian, Linhai, and Suian. Naturally agile and light of body, he found climbing mountains and crossing waters no hardship. Whenever he met collapsed cliffs or sheer rock walls, he clambered and leapt across them; when he came upon deep caves and mountain streams, he would chant and whistle long and loud, wash and bathe, linger there, sitting and reclining, and gather flowers, herbs, and medicinal plants. Neither the cries of gibbons nor the roosting of dark birds could make him leave, and he often slept alone in places where elk and deer roamed.

He would often say: "When I see red-gated, lofty houses, I know they stand for a life of wealth and ease, yet I have never had the slightest thought of living in them. When I gaze on high mountains and broad marshes, I know it is not easy to make a life there, yet I am always longing to go and draw near them. I do not understand why this is so; perhaps Heaven's will has made me this way."

After returning to the capital, he served as General Who Stirs Awe (Zhenwu Jiangjun) and was later granted the post of Fengchaoqing (a nominal court office without fixed duties). Even as a boy, the Master would often say that life at court and in the marketplace was not worth clinging to. When he grew up, he arrived just as the Song gave way to the Qi, and, seeing that the times were unsuited to official service, he settled himself in a humble position. Later, when warfare broke out one upon another, he straightened his robes and tightened his sash, looked about him, and said: "Let us depart." He used to say that within the Great Heaven there are another thirty-six Grotto-Heavens (dongtian, the dwelling and cultivation places of Daoist immortals and perfected beings).

The Biography of the Maos says: "Within the Great Heaven there are thirty-six Grotto-Heavens lying beneath the earth; the many sacred mountains within the Eight Seas likewise have grotto-dwellings, each perhaps extending a thousand or five hundred li in every direction, and these do not fall within the thirty-six Grotto-Heavens."

Is Mount Fulong in Jiangzuo the thirty-eighth Grotto-Heaven? Here the original text says "it is the eighth of them," meaning that it is ranked as the eighth of the thirty-six Grotto-Heavens, and it is called the "Grotto of Huayang in the Golden Altar." In the Han dynasty, the three Lords Mao attained the Dao and indeed dwelt there. He said: "I shall dwell here for a long time." Confucius said: "One lives in seclusion in order to fulfill one's aspirations, and practices righteousness in order to realize one's Dao. I have heard this saying, but I have never seen such a person." "Now the righteousness I follow has been fully realized, and there is no other course left for me to pursue; so let me undertake the work of living in seclusion to pursue my aims." Thereupon he styled himself "Recluse of Huayang."

The Original Record says: "When mourners came to ask about letters, documents, and similar matters, they all used this title in place of his personal name."

Just as Shi'an (Huangfu Mi, courtesy name Shi'an) had his Spring and Autumn of Xuanyan, and Zhichuan (Ge Hong, courtesy name Zhichuan) had his Baopuzi, so too this event took place in the tenth year of the Yongming era.

The Record of Origins states: That year was the year Renshen, and the Master was thirty-seven years old.

The day of departure had been set, and the Master arranged for those close to them to leave the capital first. After taking leave of colleagues in the Secretariat, the Master hung their court robes on the Shenhu Gate, put on a deer-skin cap (the headwear of a recluse), and left the city alone. In bidding farewell to Wang Yan, the Master spoke of the matter. Wang Yan said: "His Majesty is stern by nature and strict in his governance, and does not permit anyone to behave in an extraordinary or conspicuous way. If this should anger him and bring down blame upon you, I fear it would thwart your aspiration to retire to the mountains and forests. What then?" The Master thought silently for a long while, then said: "What I do is for my own sake, not for the sake of reputation. If there are such concerns, why go about it this way at all?" So the Master did not return to the Secretariat, and merely submitted a memorial resigning from office.

Zheng Zhang and Shi Jun say that in the tenth year of Yongming the Master took off their court robes, hung them on the Shenhu Gate, and submitted a memorial resigning from office, which the emperor granted by edict. They knew only how the matter began, not what followed. The text of the memorial of resignation can be found in the collected works.

After the memorial was delivered, the emperor issued an edict in reply, the text of which is likewise found in the collected works.

As the Master was about to leave the capital, they went to take leave of the Prince of Yidu. The two choked with emotion, and for a time neither could speak; those nearby could not console them. Someone said to the Prince of Yidu: "Your Highness holds the Master in such esteem, so how can you let them go?" The Prince of Yidu replied: "This is now a fine thing for all under heaven. The Son of Heaven has permitted the Master to no longer serve as a subject, so how would I dare stand in the way?" The Prince presented the Master with a fur robe and a mirror, and assigned several attendants to serve in the mountains.

The Record of Origins states: The Master had formerly served as reader-in-attendance (an official who accompanied princes and nobles in their reading) to both the Prince of Anchang and the Prince of Yidu. The princes and the Master shared deep affection. When others asked the Prince of Yidu why he did not keep the Master, he answered: "This is now a fine thing for all under heaven. The Son of Heaven has permitted the Master to no longer serve as a subject, so how would I dare stand in the way?" He then gave the Master a fur robe and a mirror, and assigned several attendants to serve in the mountains.

The Record of Origins (Benqi lu) states that Master Tao had formerly served as reader-in-attendance to the Prince of Ancheng and the Prince of Yidu, and was on close terms with all the princes, old and young alike. The Princes of Wuling, Poyang, Guiyang, and Hengyang all treated the Master with particular generosity, and whenever the Master visited, they would often spend the entire day in conversation.

During the Yongtai era, the Master was careful to avoid promotion in office, deliberately appearing distant and self-effacing, and so drew neither fame nor entanglement. The Prince of Yidu had shown insight and bearing from an early age and had spent the longest time in the Master's company, so the two were especially close. The Master, for their part, accompanied and assisted the Prince with wholehearted devotion. When the Prince later heard that the Master was about to take leave of the dusty world and retire to the mountains, the Prince wept many times. At the parting, the Prince said to those nearby, "Must we simply let the Master go?" Someone answered, "Recently the Prince of Wuling wanted to recommend the Master as Registrar of the commandery, and I had to argue very hard to have the Master excused from the post. You must act with care." As a result, the Prince of Yidu did not meet the Prince of Wuling for three days. "Now the Master intends to pursue a lofty undertaking that is rare in all the world. How could I, out of personal affection, stand in the way and keep the Master at court for good?"

The farewell banquet was set for the next morning. The Prince of Yidu presented the Master with nine kinds of fur robes and a mirror, prepared clothing, books, carriages, horses, and all that the journey required, and sent five or six trusted attendants to escort the Master as far as Hushu. The Prince also assigned several clerks and servants on a long-term basis to handle the various affairs of the mountain retreat, and arranged for letters to be sent by post station every ten days or every month. The Princes of Wuling, Guiyang, and Poyang each likewise presented poems, along with gifts, servants, and staff to manage the Master's affairs.

When the Master, by command, boarded a boat bound for the Eastern River, the high ministers of the Qi state gathered together at the Zhenglu Pavilion to see the Master off. They raised their cups in farewell and waved their goodbyes, saying, "Jiangdong has never seen such a scene in recent times, and today we have finally witnessed it with our own eyes." Someone brought up the old precedent of the "Two Shus returning to the fields": Shu Guang and Shu Shou of the Han dynasty, who after resigning their posts brought their imperial rewards back to their home village. The Master replied, "The First Emperor of Qin, Emperor Gaozu of Han, Xiang Yu the Hegemon-King of Chu, and Sun Ce of Wu all once held sway over the four quarters and dominated the realm through the strength of their power. Yet once the breath was cut off, they ended as no more than a handful of yellow earth. How much more so for people like us! That I dwell in the high mountains and among the clouds, seeking the immortals and perfected ones and the hidden realms of the transcendents, is precisely for this reason."

Only at dusk did the company part. Even the driver of the carriage raised a cup in respect to the Master. Those who had come to see the Master off sighed to one another, "The solitary swan has already spread its wings and soared into the heights, while we, greedy for grain and provisions, still thrash about in the net." The following year, great disorder broke out in Qi, and Xiao Luan, Marquis of Xichang, killed the emperor. Only then did people realize that the Master had long since foreseen that upheaval was coming.

The Inner Biography of Tao the Recluse of Huayang: the first fascicle ends here, and the middle fascicle begins.

At first, the Master searched the area around Greater Mao and Middle Mao Mountains for Jijin Ridge (Accumulated Gold Ridge), judging it a fitting place to practice the highest Dao (the Way). The Zhen'gao (Declarations of the Perfected) records that Greater Mao Mountain adjoins Middle Mao Mountain, and that within the Long Ravine lie linked rocks, anciently called Mount Jijin. The area is suitable for dwelling, and one may seek a spot with water and build a residence and quiet chambers for cultivation. The Master settled there and found it well suited to refining elixirs and practicing the highest Dao.

Thereupon the Upper and Lower Lodges of Huayang were built on the western flank of the ridge. The Dengzhen yinjue (Secret Instructions for Ascending to Perfection) says that the Upper Lodge was for studying emptiness and stillness and preserving the true Dao, while the Lower Lodge was for refining elixirs and compounding medicines.

The Master wore a purple skin kerchief and a robe of coarse cloth made of sanyilai fabric, stitched from strips. This strip-sewn robe is a garment assembled from narrow bands of cloth; the Jijuan (Collected Fascicles) says that nine strips were attached on the left and ten on the right, symbolizing the two luminaries, sun and moon. Someone once presented the Master with a red silk coverlet, which was returned with a reproach. The Master remarked that someone had recently sent sanyilai cloth from Jin'an, of very fine quality.

The Master's heart and spirit (Shen) were calm and still, wholly devoted to pursuing the profound Dao. Although living alone in the mountains and yearning for the lofty realm of the Perfected, the Master still exchanged letters with relatives and friends without interruption, keeping in touch with people both near and far, and so could not entirely sever worldly ties. The Master often wrote poems on paulownia leaves and sent them to the Prince of Yidu. The final lines of one poem read: "I wish to become a pair of white feathers, forever brushing the dust from the road you travel."

Not long afterward, the Master dreamed one night that the Prince of Yidu said the prince had died and would be reborn in two years. The Master asked where the prince was going, and the prince replied that this was not yet known. They spoke of ghosts and spirits, then clasped hands and parted in sorrow. The Master tried to detain the prince once more, but the prince said a finger hurt and that staying longer was impossible. The next day, the Master sent someone out of the capital to inquire, and learned that the Prince of Yidu had been killed.

The Benqi lu (Record of Origins) states: In the eleventh year of the Yongming era, the Prince of Yidu was appointed to serve as…

The Record of Origins (Benqi lu) says that in the eleventh year of Yongming, the Prince of Yidu was appointed Governor of Southern Yu Province and garrisoned Gushu. At the end of the Yanxing era, by the usual course of events, what followed was not fixed by Heaven's decree. On the eighteenth day of the eleventh month, the Master suddenly dreamed of the Prince, and the scene in the dream unfolded in just such a way. On waking he was grieved and alarmed, and his heart was uneasy. The next day he sent someone out of the city to make inquiries, and learned that the Prince of Yidu had died on the tenth of that month.

After Emperor Ming took the throne, he held the Master in high esteem. He issued one edict after another urging him to leave his seclusion, and he prepared a comfortable carriage and generous gifts to bring him to live on Mount Jiang. The Master declined, and the matter was dropped.

The Record of Origins further says that in the second month of the third year of Emperor Ming of the Song, the court firmly insisted on inviting the Master out of seclusion to live on Mount Jiang. The Master just as firmly refused, and asked Jiang You to present his position in a memorial on his behalf, whereupon the invitation was finally set aside. From then on, the court sent people to visit him several times a month, and gifts arrived in an unbroken succession. Whatever the Master wished for was provided as far as possible, yet he always declined these gifts and sent them back.

Later, the Master had a tall tower built at the Upper Lodge. In the early years of Yongyuan, he climbed the tower and dwelt there in stillness for a long time.

The Record of Origins also records that envoys came and went several times each month, and the gifts never ceased, but the Master always declined them. Later he built the tower at the Upper Lodge, intending to shut out the outside world. After he moved into it in the first year of Yongyuan, he was cut off from the world and no longer attended even to the letters and documents that arrived from outside.

From then on, the Master was separated from worldly affairs, with only one or two attendants serving him morning and evening. He gathered in his reputation and lived hidden and unseen, yet by following the natural course of things there was nothing he could not accomplish. His dwelling was so pure and still that not even weeds grew there. He had often disliked that his residence lay somewhat far from a water source, and at this time a spring surged up out of the ground. Ganoderma mushrooms (lingzhi) grew at the Lower Lodge, sweet dew descended on the Zhao Terrace, a hairy-shelled turtle swam in the pond in front, and a white mouse appeared in the medicine chamber. These were all regarded as major auspicious signs of one who has attained the Dao (the Way), and as omens that a time of sage rule was about to come.

In this same year, the Master had his disciples Dai Tan hold the tablets and Bingce hold the slips, and bestowed on his student Lu Jingyou, a native of Wu Commandery, the "establishment of the Lianshi domain together with the ten merchants." "Xi" (bestowal) is the worldly expression, while "sai" (thanksgiving offering) is the language of the immortals. Nine is the extreme of the yang numbers and symbolizes the ruler's seat; ten is the end of the yin numbers and serves to restrain nine. Confucius said, "The Zhou had great sai rites, and therefore good people were prosperous." For this reason it is called the "Ten Sai."

The Master thus became a recluse dwelling in a place of purity and stillness.

Related deeds are recorded separately in the collected works.

At that time, the Marquis of Donghun (Xiao Baojuan, the deposed emperor of the Southern Qi) was benighted and tyrannical, and the situation south of the Yangtze was turbulent and unstable.

"Ten" marks the end of the Yin numbers, and so the name was fixed using "ten." Confucius said: "In the Zhou dynasty there was a great Sai, and good people were enriched by it." For this reason "Ten Sai" was adopted as the title.

The master lived in reclusion, practicing quiet cultivation, and became a gentleman scholar who took no part in worldly affairs.

Related deeds are recorded separately in the collected works.

At that time, the Marquis of Donghun was benighted and tyrannical, and the situation south of the Yangtze was turbulent and unstable. The Book of Qi records that the deposed emperor, the Marquis of Donghun, was named Xiao Baojuan. After taking the throne he was cruel and violent, and the histories rarely record conduct so harsh. He once had pregnant women cut open and killed, and he brutalized the common people. For nearly thirty days of nearly every month he went out, with no fixed destination, often setting off suddenly to the east or to the north. At first light he would announce an outing to the suburbs of the city, and would drive his attending officials along, running and shouting down the roads until the streets were packed with people. As soon as the drums sounded, people had to run on foot. Anyone who committed even the slightest offense was cut down on the spot. Merchants and artisans could not carry on their work, and even those who gathered firewood or cut grass dared not take to the roads. Those who fell ill were abandoned, and their bodies went uncollected and unburied. The people wailed in anguish, and their wretched lives were worse than being in deep water and raging fire.

The army of Xiao Yan, General Who Subdues the East, was stationed at Stone City, while the Marquis of Donghun still held the Terrace City. Many within the righteous army harbored doubts. The master looked up to observe the signs of heaven and knew that the turn of fortune was coming. He also observed the hearts of the people and pitied the common folk who suffered so greatly. He therefore hastened to set out the tuchen (prophetic texts that foretell the rise and fall of dynastic fortunes) and wrote letters to encourage and support Xiao Yan.

The Record of Origins states: From the Yongyuan years onward, the master had been attentive to the world's drift toward darkness. When he heard that the righteous army was advancing westward, he longed for its arrival day and night. After the army reached Xinlin, the master took up his brush himself to express his approval, and sent his disciple Dai Mengzhi to deliver the letter by a roundabout route. Dai Mengzhi got as far as Zaojia Bridge but could go no farther. Later the master climbed up to Stone City and sent Li Sigong to submit a memorial on his behalf, and at last received a reply. This was the first day of the eleventh month. The Terrace City was still strongly defended, and people were wary because of the earlier fall of the Cui family, so many hesitated. Only the master did not waver, holding that every matter would be accomplished in due order.

When the time came to accept titles and rewards and to decline recommendations, Fan Yun and Shen Yue both rode as aides to the new regime, yet still did not know what name the new state should take. The master then cited the words "water blade, wood place" from Wang Zinian's Song of Returning.

In his "Song of Return" (Guilai Ge), Wang Zinian repeatedly said that "water, blade, wood" were cryptic words foretelling auspicious omens, and he also cited Lord Wang's "Palindrome Discernment" (Huiwen Shi). The three poems composed by Rong Qian likewise praised the character "Liang" (梁) in the strongest terms, calling it a sign of accord with the Mandate of Heaven.

Later, the various tuchen (prophetic diagrams and texts that foretell fortune and misfortune and signal the Heavenly Mandate) also declared the character "Liang" a symbol of accord with that Mandate. As the time approached to proclaim the Mandate, it was further determined that the ceremony should be held on the bingyin day in the fourth month.

The Record of Origins (Benqi Lu) states that at the turn from late spring to early summer, the proclamation ceremony ought to be held. Shen Yue conveyed the imperial will, praised the character "Liang" as an omen of accord with the Mandate, and requested that a date be chosen. Although the master made only a rough calculation over a few days, the date fell precisely on the eighth day of the fourth month, a bingyin day.

[The text is fragmentary here:] ...radiance, and afterward it rained again.

The Record of Origins states that on the night of the yichou day clouds gathered and a fine rain fell, and the court worried that it might give rise to doubts. As dawn approached, the court ascended the altar, burned incense, and made the announcement to Heaven. When the rites of accepting the abdication were complete, the emperor returned to the palace by carriage, with the officials following in procession to offer congratulations. That night the rain fell heavily once more. The court felt uneasy, but everyone else regarded it as confirmation of the Heavenly Mandate.

After Emperor Wu of Liang took the throne, his respect for the recluse Tao Yinju grew even deeper. He sent Zhu Sizhi and the palace attendant (shezhen, an attendant at the emperor's side) Huang Luzejin up the mountain to invite Master Tao to come out and serve. Master Tao drew two oxen: one roaming free in the wilds, content and at ease; the other draped in embroidered brocade, with a man beside it striking a knife and pulling a rope. Emperor Wu said, "He means to imitate the tortoise dragging its tail in the mud (a tortoise that prefers a free life in the mire). How could anyone persuade him to come?" He then wrote to Master Tao: "Now that I am lord of ten thousand chariots, I am deeply burdened by affairs of state. I wish to rein in my mind and ambition and take up the rites of a disciple before you. May I?" He also asked how much longer he would remain on the throne, saying, "Will my dynasty's fortune be long or short?"

Master Tao replied, "Two more cycles of the chen year." Later he added, "Forty-eight years after Emperor Guangwu passed away, now go straight up by seven times seven." These words use veiled language to foretell a number of years. Emperor Wu reigned for forty-nine years, and most of the omens Master Tao announced in advance were couched in riddles like this. Master Tao pursued the profound arts of the Dao and probed their guiding principles, advancing so swiftly that it seemed he trod upon sunbeams and rode the clouds, with no need for elixirs. He concentrated his mind and gathered his Shen (spirit); only cinnabar, realgar-yellow, and other materials were not yet fully assembled.

In refining the Nine-Cycle Elixir (an elixir transformed through repeated refinings), cinnabar and realgar were the most essential. At that time the Later Wei and Yuwen Tai were powerful, and the roads to Wudu were blocked, so realgar could not be brought in.

In the third year of the Tianjian era, Emperor Wu dreamed one night that someone said to him, "The elixir can indeed be refined."

On the same night, Emperor Wu also dreamed that someone said, "One who has ambition but no vessels, how can he easily ascend to heaven?" The words seemed to mock Emperor Wu of Han. It was a long time before Emperor Wu of Liang understood their meaning. He then sent the attendant Huang Lu to tell Master Tao: "I imagine the elixir has not yet been completed, and the materials for the three great elixirs are also incomplete. You are sincere in your devotion to the Perfected One (zhenren, one who has attained the Dao), so please speak plainly and have no reservations." Master Tao at first declined, saying, "Would I imitate Shaojun (Li Shaojun, a Han-dynasty adept)?" Emperor Wu then told him the words from the dream. Thereupon Master Tao instructed his disciples Lu Yichong and Pan Yuanwen to clear a site on the east side of Jijin Ridge as a place for refining the elixir, and to cut through the rock face and channel the stream water eastward. Master Tao held that elixirs come in many kinds, including the Yellow Emperor's Nine Tripod Elixir and the Nine Elixirs.

The Dengzhen Yinjue (Hidden Instructions for the Ascent to Perfection) says that this method comes from the Taiqing Zhongjing (Central Scripture of Great Clarity). Its refining and transformation procedures are intricate and tangled, and later people have been unable to investigate them thoroughly.

Lord Wang Hongjing is the Perfected One of Pure Void and Lesser Possession (Qingxu Xiaoyou Zhenren).

Concerning Zuo Ci's "Nine Florescences," the Zhen'gao (Declarations of the Perfected) says that Zuo Ci gained the benefit of the "Nine Florescences" from refining elixirs over a furnace fire. This method has never been made public in the world.

Besides these, there are methods such as the Five Spirits and Seven Transformations and the Essence of Spirit for Summoning the Hun Soul, nearly thirty in all. At best, these methods can restore a person's youth or extend life, so that one becomes an earthly immortal (dixian).

Some of these methods are confused and abbreviated, so that one cannot put them into practice on their basis. Others are of a lower rank and limited in effect, and cannot lead to a higher realm.

The elixir methods listed above are all minor methods from the Taiqing Zhongjing. They are not the higher arts of Shangqing (Highest Clarity) or Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), and cannot be used to reach the state of soaring through the void, riding the radiant light, ascending on high, and flying.

There are also two methods for the Golden Liquid Elixir, and each presents obstacles to actual preparation. The Dengzhen Yinjue says that one is the Golden Liquid of the Great One (Taiyi), the formula annotated by Ge Hong in the Baopuzi. It could in principle be carried out according to the formula, but it lacks niter (xiaoshi), and no text in the hand of a Perfected One survives, which makes it all the harder to trust. The other is the Golden Liquid of Great Clarity (Taiqing), said to have been handed down by Anqi Sheng. Its formula calls for materials such as luxian and lu guan, which are very hard to obtain in the world. Its sacrificial rites also require the laozu (sacrificial meats and ritual vessels), which gives further cause for concern, and so it is difficult to carry out.

The superior methods transmitted by the High Perfected number four, but the formulas for these four have not been made public. Although formulas of this kind circulate in the world, they raise the suspicion that they are later forgeries falsely attributed to the Perfected.

As for Langjie Yuanzhong, the annotations in the Dengzhen Yinjue say that corresponding scriptures exist, and that it belongs to the Shangqing methods.

As for Quchen Jingmiao, the Dengzhen Yinjue records its scriptural formula, and it belongs to the Taiji methods. These two methods are not only ones that people of shallow understanding dare not attempt lightly, but both also require materials that are hard to come by, such as lu salt and niter.

Only the Nine-Cycle Elixir method uses medicinals and minerals that are relatively easy to find. Its formula is concise, without superfluous elaboration, and clearly ordered and easy to understand. A practitioner can therefore set their mind on it with single-minded resolve, and solemnly preserve it and follow it.

The Dengzhen yinjue (Records of the Hidden Instructions for Ascending to Perfection) says: the Nine-Cycle Divine Elixir (an elixir refined through many repeated cycles of preparation) and the Scripture of Ascending to the Void were transmitted by the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) Perfected One to Master Changli, then by Master Changli to Lord Wang, the Perfected Overseer of the Western City, and finally by Lord Wang to the Perfected One of the Great Origin.

In the spring of the fourth year, the Master was advancing in age. His bearing was serene, as though he had already seen through the affairs of the world, and so he sealed away his ambitions and devoted himself wholly to cultivation.

The Dengzhen yinjue says: the Nine-Cycle Divine Elixir and the Scripture of Ascending to the Void were passed from the Taiji Perfected One to Master Changli, from Master Changli to Lord Wang, the Perfected Overseer of the Western City, and from Lord Wang to the Perfected One of the Great Origin.

In the spring of the fourth year, the Master moved to live at Lingshu, leaving Wang Faming to watch over the Upper Lodge while Lu Yichong stayed in the Lower Lodge. Pan Yuanwen, Xu Lingzhen, and Yang Chaoyuan also followed him. That year they began refining the elixir. On the first day of the following year, they opened the furnace, but the elixir had not been completed.

The Jijuan says: when the furnace was opened on the first day of the first month of the fifth year of the Tianjian era, only the two pieces of elixir nearest the upper tier were pale in color and light in luster, as though they had already ascended. The remaining pieces were only just showing green at their edges, while their outer surfaces displayed a reddish sheen.

On the ninth day of the ninth month, they lit the fire again to refine the elixir, but the results were still largely unsatisfactory.

The Benqi lu (Record of Origins) says: when the furnace was reopened on the ninth day of the ninth month, the Master lit the fire himself. The furnace vessel developed many fine cracks, and thunder shook the mountains as well. Fearing that the essential qi (Qi) of the elixir would be startled and dissipate, he repaired the vessel once more and did not dare to use a fierce flame.

When the appointed term arrived, the furnace was opened, yet there was still no success.

The Benqi lu says: at the end of the year, when the scheduled term had come, it was decided to open the furnace and take out the vessel to inspect it.

The Master's mind was ordinarily tranquil, as though he were in a state of fasting. He continually gathered in his spirit (Shen) and refined the elixir again and again, growing ever more careful and concentrated. When he lit the furnace fire, he used a yangsui (a device that gathers sunlight to produce fire) at midday to draw the flame, which shows how meticulous he was in the work of refining. By nature he slept little and never napped; he often sat through the night until dawn, and often read by moonlight. During this refining, he was heavily exposed to smoke and fumes.

The Dengzhen yinjue says: at the start of the fourth year, the refining of the elixir began, and from the lighting of the fire until the term ended, nearly twelve hundred hu of grain husks were used. While refining the elixir at night in the chamber, the Master also worried that outside influences might disturb the essential qi of the elixir, and so he kept the doors and windows tightly shut. From this one can imagine how dense the smoke inside the chamber must have been.

The lamp was set down low, and its light was so faint that the characters could barely be read. When the emperor learned of this, he sent Bolü (波律) candles. Bolü is a foreign aromatic substance which, when burned, makes the light bright enough to read by.

The Master held that cultivation is no ordinary undertaking and should be carried out far from human habitation, in secret. Yet this mountain lay close to the capital and its markets, and its rocks and woods were neither deep nor remote. People said that any movement on the mountain could be seen, which is exactly the situation most dreaded by those who refine elixirs. The Dengzhen Yinjue (Secret Instructions for the Ascent to Perfection) likewise says that when such an undertaking becomes known at court and among the common people, and everyone is watching, this is the gravest of all transgressions.

The Master therefore resolved to change clothing and surname and travel far away. The destination was the Jianjin region, whose mountains and seas are deep and vast, and whose people knew nothing of the practice of the Dao (the Way) and would neither question nor spy on the Master's movements. The Master remarked that simply casting off the body and passing away leaning on a staff would not be impossible, but that this is only a lesser accomplishment of the Way.

"Casting off the body and leaning on a staff" is among the lower forms of Shijie (尸解, release from the corpse, in which the adept leaves the physical body behind and ascends in liberation). Departing in this way, one could never return to one's native place, and so could not again deliberate and arrange matters of cultivation.

Moreover, had the Master died abruptly, those nearby would have had no model to follow. So the Master reported the plan to Emperor Wu of Liang, who found it difficult to accept. The Ji juan (collected letters) preserves the emperor's reply, which shows that the emperor already knew the Master wished to move elsewhere. The emperor wrote that the Master presumably intended to seek out a secluded and beautiful place, having planned it through divination, but asked whether the move would be carried out by human hands or by ghosts and spirits. After all, the Master would still have to tread upon the same earth as before, and the body would not vanish for that reason.

The Master, determined to go straight ahead, hesitated no more. The plan was kept entirely within the Master's own mind, and no one else noticed anything. The Master announced a retreat of fasting and purification lasting five xun (閉門齋戒五十天, fifty days behind closed doors), during which all outside affairs would be cut off. At midnight the Master left the mountain. The sky was extremely dark, and no one saw. Two attendants followed, carrying the baggage, and took the names Wang Zhengguan (王整官), while styling themselves "Waibing" (外兵, Outer Soldier).

What a Perfected One (真人, Zhenren) does cannot be discerned by the knowledge of the ordinary world. These names and official titles may well conceal some other profound intention.

He originally intended to enter the deep mountains to practice cultivation, and considered going to Mount Tiantai. When he reached the Zhejiang region, the tide was surging and crossing was difficult, so he turned toward Shuyang and remained at Changshan. He heard that sea pirates were active on the southern route and that it was impassable, so he advanced only a little farther, reaching Chiyan, where he spent the night in a stone chamber at Quxi. In a dream someone told him: "If you seek the Returned Elixir (huandan, the Daoist art of alchemical refining for attaining immortality), you must ask about the 'Three Yongs.'" On waking he reflected and concluded that the "Three Yongs" referred to the region of Yongjia, Yongning, and Yongkang.

When the master first arrived at Zhuyang and began building a dwelling, it was during the Yongming, Yongtai, and Yongyuan eras. The instruction in the dream should surely have pointed to that place. But if the dream referred to Yongjia, Yongning, and Yongkang, why was it that, after he built his dwelling, the prophecy was not fulfilled?

He therefore went out to make inquiries, and the villagers all said: "Past this stone chamber, another hundred or so li will bring you to Lanzhong Mountain in Yongkang. The mountain there is extremely high and is the most suitable for dwelling." The next morning at dawn he went to survey the place and plan its construction. The mountain was indeed suitable for dwelling, but its fields were few, and it was difficult to gather rice husks.

The Jijuan (Collected Fascicles) records: After harvesting their rice, the local people pounded grain daily for their everyday meals, so no rice husks could be collected.

Later he entered Qingzhang Mountain in Nanxi, where he liked the rice paddies and settled. It happened that harvests were poor for several years in a row, making life hard to sustain, and bandits were roaming about everywhere.

The Jijuan further records: The master's journey was beset with difficulties at every turn. From the several prefectures along the Green Sea onward, the way had been peaceful, but over these two or three years there were bandits in the mountains everywhere. He also tilled the fields himself, yet met with famine.

He then said: "I once heard from the Wuyue Tu (Chart of the Five Peaks) that Mount Huo is the Residence of the Director of Destinies (Siming fu, the divine bureau that oversees lifespans and the registers of fate), and it must be a place where immortals dwell."

The Mingshan Ji (Record of Famous Mountains) says: "Mount Huo is in Luojiang County, three thousand four hundred zhang high, with a summit eight hundred li in circumference. It is the dwelling of Lord Mao, Shuqing, Director of Destinies."

Master Tao then set out by sea. He passed Niucen and left the mouth of the harbor, and looking east he saw Fusang (the legendary divine tree of the east, also used to mean the farthest reaches of the eastern lands). He could not help sighing: "It is said that once you have seen the great sea, other waters are not worth a glance; and once you have traveled in the realm of the sages, it becomes hard to describe in words. I have read widely in my life and studied everything; today I can set all of it aside."

Mount Huo stretches some six or seven hundred li in an unbroken range, and from afar it looks like banks of layered clouds. Its rocky cliffs are abrupt and lofty, quite unlike those elsewhere. The Master stepped personally into this immortal realm and focused his mind and spirit (Shen) on the mysterious pass (the key point in Daoist cultivation for contemplating and realizing profound principles). The responses were efficacious, and each side communicated with the other. Because these matters were secret, they were not recorded. The place had few people and little farmland, and it lacked chaff for fodder, so life there was rather inconvenient.

The Jijuan records: the Master explored the surrounding area thoroughly, but no decision was made about where to settle.

Later, the Master returned by sea to Yongjia and arrived at Taliu. The terrain here truly resembled an immortal realm, and the scenery was fine. The Master focused his mind and spirit on the mysterious pass, and the responses were efficacious, with each side in communication. These matters were secret and were not written down. The place had few people, little farmland, and a shortage of chaff for fodder.

The Jijuan records: the Master explored the surrounding area thoroughly, but no decision was made about where to settle.

Afterward, the Master again returned by sea to Yongjia and reached Taliu, where he found the terrain especially fine.

The Dengzhen Yinjue (Hidden Instructions for the Ascent to Perfection, a work recording Daoist cultivation and the lives of recluses) says: In the sixth month of the Renchen year, the Master traveled by boat across the sea and returned to Muliu Islet in Yongjia. There was a large expanse of old fields there, standing alone in the sea with no one living on it, and it was well suited to settlement.

It happened that the imperial court sent Situ Huiming to welcome the Master back to his former mountain ridge.

The Dengzhen Yinjue says: In the eighth month, the Master arrived at Muliu, judged that it could be lived in, and went ashore to build a dwelling. In the tenth month, Huiming arrived. At that time the Master hoped to stay at Muliu for the time being, so he discussed it with Huiming. They went back and forth for many days, but he never dared to agree to remain. So he returned together with Huiming.

On the way, letters from the court arrived one after another, still hoping that the Master would go to the capital. When he reached Jinling, he declined on grounds of illness and then returned to Huayang. The emperor ordered the construction of the Zhuyang Lodge for the Master to live in. The Master declined several times, but the emperor still issued an edict insisting on the arrangement.

The Dengzhen Yinjue says: In the Jiawu year, the emperor provided funds to purchase the former residence of Administrator Xu and the lodge of Song of Changsha, and also sent Pan Yuanwen to build the Zhuyang Lodge together with local officials and craftsmen.

He built an alchemy chamber (liandan yaowu) and a quiet courtyard to the east of the lodge, said to be in pursuit of the traces left by the immortals of Xuanzhou.

The Dengzhen yinjue records: "In the past, Li Ming once refined the Nine-Cauldron Elixir here. He excavated the old site at Outer Xuanzhou and repeatedly unearthed broken pottery and tiles, all of them implements once used."

After Tao Hongjing returned from Mount Nanhuo, he repeatedly undertook the preparation of elixirs, yet never succeeded, though it was not without omens: each time the cauldron was opened, frost-like crystals could be seen. His disciples often assumed the elixir had been completed. After examining the alchemists' accounts, the master pointed out the following. When the Langgan Elixir is completed, the radiant blossoms that scatter forth number thirty-seven kinds. When the Quchen Elixir is completed, the scattering blossoms are of many mixed colors, their light flowing and glittering, and dark black in hue. When the Taiqing Golden Liquid Elixir (Golden Elixir) is completed, the scattering essence (Jing) resembles shooting moons and falling stars, appearing in cloud-like patterns of nine colors, its aspect like purple flowers revealed beneath the sun, while the essence looks like a great blue-green light shining among the clouds. When the Ninefold Elixir is completed, the scattering vital essence likewise shows nine colors, with flowing light that is bright and clear. If it is not like this, then it has not yet been completed.

The elixir blossoms obtained over these years have all drifted off lightly, sometimes giving off a clear, sharp light like frost and snow, but with no mixed colors. The elixir blossoms obtained over eighteen years shone more brilliantly than before, and all resembled flowers of five or six petals, their edges like sword points or the teeth of the zhen bird. The dregs in the lower layer were dry, coarse, and blackened; when pounded they resembled star-dust, and when burned they gave off vermilion-yellow and black smoke. Probably the heat of the fire was at times too weak and at times too fierce, and so the vermilion-yellow elixir blossoms could not scatter forth. At that time, Deng Yuzhi was living on Mount Nanyue.

The Dengzhen yinjue records: "Deng Yuzhi was a native of Yidu Yiling. In the fourth year of the Tianjian era, Yang Gongze, Governor of Xiangzhou, brought him to the capital to meet the emperor and reported the matter. Deng Yuzhi stayed for a time at Mount Jiang. Later, Yang Gongze supplied him with the medicinal materials and equipment needed to refine the Ninefold Elixir and sent him back to the mountain to carry out the refining. When the appointed time arrived and the cauldron was opened, there were frost-like crystals resembling stalactites upon the cauldron, shining brightly and never showing any mixed colors. Deng Yuzhi did not present the elixir to the court, but took it himself."

The Dan Jing (Classic of the Elixir) records that in the first month of the Yiwei year, when the cauldron was opened, the upper layer held something like stalactite frost and snow, while the sediment in the lower layer came to nine portions, purple-black in color. Most people took their portions and consumed them. The Feihua, however, was not shared with anyone, nor offered to anyone. It was carried alone to Nanyan to seek counsel, and afterward all of it was stored away.

Later, someone said they had fallen ill. After eight days of illness, that night, although wind and snow had been raging over Mount Heng, the sky suddenly cleared for a brief moment.

The Dengzhen Yinjue says that at first Master Deng's appearance was as it had always been. After three days his body lay peacefully where it was, and after many more days the corpse still had not decayed.

The Dan Jue (Instructions on the Elixir) says that if an elixir, once refined, does not display a variety of brilliant colors, it is a poisonous elixir. One who takes it will die for a time, then awaken after a while and depart.

The Dan Jing says that if the days of refining have not been sufficient and the colors have not fully appeared, the result is likewise called a poisonous elixir. Hence the Taiqing states that even a single liang taken at once will cause a temporary death. In former times, after Wei Boyang and his disciples succeeded in refining the elixir, one of them took it and died on the spot. The others went out to walk about, and by the time they returned, that person had already departed.

The Master held the aspiration to ride the clouds, drive the dragons, and ascend in flight. He said of himself that at the age of twelve, in the scriptures kept at Quge, he saw the various methods of elixir refining from the Taiqing copied on yellow silk, and thereupon formed his resolve. At eighteen he received the Supreme Dao and encountered the Shangqing Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) method, and he then regarded those elixir methods as lowly and was unwilling to practice them. How could he have taken a poisonous elixir in order to seek escape from the world and ascension? Over the years, the elixirs he obtained were all buried away. The Feihua he refined over eighteen years, though free of any mixed color, had a luster of exceptional distinction, and he wished to try using it to make yellow and white substances, in order to verify whether it would succeed.

The Dan Jing says: take ten jin of lead and place it in an iron vessel, boil it three times over a fierce fire, then add one zhu of the "Efflorescence of the Rounded Turning." Stir it in the lead for a moment, and it will immediately turn into gold.

That night he gathered in his spirit (Shen) and prayed for a response from the divine. Suddenly he saw a person arrive, their form hazy, as if within smoke and clouds. That person said to him, "There is no need to try. Even if you try, it will not succeed." The people of that time were mostly greedy for…

That night he composed his mind and gathered his spirit, praying for the divine powers to respond. Suddenly he saw a figure approaching, its outline hazy, like a scene glimpsed through mist and cloud. The figure said to him: "There is no need to attempt the refining; even if you tried, you would not succeed. People today are mostly greedy. The moment they hear that gold and jade can be refined, they rush to seek it, and in doing so they have violated the prohibitions of Heaven. Such a practice may indeed bring some result, but it still cannot be counted as fully meeting the necessary conditions." Then the figure sighed and said: "Could there really still be people in this world who ascend to Heaven in broad daylight? Keep on practicing gradually, and you will come to understand of your own accord." As soon as these words were spoken, the figure vanished in an instant. Thereafter, the master did not attempt the refining again.

The master often said that his own departure from the world would resemble that of Mao Taiyuan setting out from Xianyang. The Biography of the Perfected Taiyuan (Taiyuan zhenren zhuan) records that when the Perfected Man left Xianyang, he arranged for his relatives, friends, and fellow villagers to come and see him on that very day. Rare and splendid carriages, horses, and music appeared out of the void, and he then traveled south amid a retinue of a thousand chariots and ten thousand riders, which the local people all saw with their own eyes.

Zhao Guangxin ascended to Heaven in broad daylight on Mount Kebai. The Ge Zhichuan's Biographies of Immortals (Ge Zhichuan shenxian zhuan) likewise records that Zhao Guangxin ascended in broad daylight on Mount Kebai.

He wished to use this to bring clarity to those who were confused, and to have the matter recorded in the annals for all time. But he feared that circumstances would not align and that his silence would leave him unable to express himself, so that he would in the end fail to realize his wish. Later he sighed and said: "I once heard a hidden teaching: the cultivation of immortality faces nine obstacles, and reputation is one of them. Could it be that what has kept me from ascending in broad daylight and flying up to the heavenly realm is the empty name I left behind from serving in three dynasties? Since the Venerable of Southern Perfection (the honored one among the immortals of the south) did not ascend rashly..."

"Southern Perfection" refers to Lady Wei, the Primal Lady of Purple Void (Zixu Yuanjun). She departed through liberation by transformation in the middle of the night, that is, she left the world in a way that left no visible trace of immortality. Xiao Miao, the Minor Karmic Affinity, also departed by transformation in this manner. Yu Fu, son of Registrar Xu, departed by transformation after performing his obeisances.

The old methods left by the Master of Mysteries (Xuanshi, Tao Hongjing's teacher) were truly worthy of admiration and adherence. In the fifth year of the Putong era (524), Tao Hongjing once again coated and prepared the elixir cauldron and lit the fire to refine the elixir. In the first month of the following year, on the first day, a jiazi day, when the cauldron was opened, the light within it was a lustrous black that made even the candle flames seem dim, stirring the heart and dazzling the eye. What had been refined resembled the earlier results in form, but now bore additional colors intermingled like a rainbow. Planning for this work had begun in the fourth year of the Tianjian era (505), and by this point it had taken seven attempts in total before it succeeded.

Earlier, Xie Lan, Minister of the Board of Personnel, had dreamed that someone told him: "Master Huayang has already attained the Dao (the Way) and will soon take charge of the registers of official posts." Some time later, a woman surnamed Qian, whose niece also lived at Huayang, became a disciple of Master Tao and received scriptures and talismans. One day she suddenly took her leave. The Master asked where she was going, and she replied, "I am going to be a guest at the Golden Gate of the Heavenly Palace." The Master said, "Several disciples have already left me before you." Qian replied, "My teacher will serve as Superintendent of Waters at Penglai." The Master then escorted her across the mountain ridge and presented her with a poem, the text of which appears in his collected works.

In his later years, the pupils of the Master's eyes suddenly became square. The Biography of Lord Zhou of Ziyang records that Lord Zhou often met Huang Tai in the marketplace, and seeing that his pupils were square, concluded that he was an immortal and asked him for the art of long life. Huang Tai called himself Lord Su, Senior Minister of Xuanzhou. Some also say that those with square pupils can live ten thousand years. The Master's eyes displayed this same extraordinary radiance, and the spirit of his writing became still more refined and unconstrained. As for the pavilion where he lived, not even his closest disciples were permitted to look inside.

The Master lived eighty-one years and passed away on the twelfth day of the third month, a guichou day, in the second year of the Datong era of the Liang (536). Early that morning he had someone write out his Declaration of Departure and showed it to his disciples; the text is preserved in his collected works. At the hour of si (9–11 a.m.), he departed peacefully, his body supple and his complexion unchanged, while an unusual fragrance and strange, numinous light filled the mountain valleys. When preparations were made for the burial, only his empty garments were seen, with no remains.

The Way of "Bianjie" (变解, release through transformation) is a Daoist term for departing from the world in bodily form while manifesting extraordinary signs. At first, the corpse appears to remain intact; before long it vanishes, leaving only the cap, the sword, and empty robes. At that moment, with body and mind at peace, the adept quietly departs. The body stays supple and the complexion unchanged, while strange fragrances and numinous apparitions linger over the mountain valleys. When the time came for the encoffining, only the empty robes were to be seen.

In the Way of Bianjie, the corpse at first appears to remain; before long, only the cap, the sword, and the empty robes are left.

On the fourteenth day, the coffin was laid to rest on Mount Leiping. Emperor Wu of Liang bestowed upon him the posthumous title "Master Zhenbai" (贞白先生, Master of Pure White). The Master had designated his grandnephew Songqiao as heir to his lineage, and Songqiao continued to dwell at Huayang. The books the Master wrote during his lifetime include:

Xuehua (《学花》) in one hundred fascicles; Commentary on the Classic of Filial Piety and the Analects, with Prefaces in twelve fascicles; Preface to the Three Ritual Classics in one fascicle; Preface to the Odes by Minister Wang in one fascicle; Inner and Outer Collections on Filial Sons in four fascicles; Records of the Jade Casket in three fascicles; Eulogies on the Records of the Three Kingdoms in one fascicle; Commentary on the Baopuzi in twenty fascicles; Missing Characters in the Shiyu in two fascicles; Records of Prefectures and Commanderies, Past and Present in three fascicles; Sequel to Prince Kang of Linchuan's Shishuo in two fascicles; Brief Annotations on the Writings of Taigong Sunhao in two fascicles; Essentials of Yuanyi's Collection in three fascicles; Old and New Methods of the Seven Luminaries in two fascicles; Essentials of Divination on Wind, Rain, Flood, Drought, Famine, and Plague in one fascicle; Brief Essentials of Divination by Milfoil and Tortoise in one fascicle; Secret Mysteries of the Numinous and Strange in one fascicle; Almanac of Auspicious and Inauspicious Days for All Affairs in one fascicle; and Miscellaneous Matters of Mathematical Arts in one fascicle. In all, these total one hundred sixty-six fascicles.

The books the Master wrote while in the mountains include: Dengzhen yinjue (《登真隐诀》, Secret Instructions for Ascending to Perfection) in twenty-four fascicles; Zhen Chu Ying (《真绌婴》) in ten fascicles; Commentary on the Classic of Materia Medica in seven fascicles; Zhouhou baiyi fang (《肘后百一方》, Elbow-Reserve Formulas, One in a Hundred) in three fascicles; Book of Dreams in one fascicle; Proven Prescriptions for Practical Use in five fascicles; and Collected Formulas for Golden Elixir and Transmuting Yellow and White in one fascicle.

The Fu Yunmu zhu shi fang (Formulas for Taking Mica and Other Minerals) records methods for ingesting mica and other minerals, in one fascicle.

The Fushi caomu za yao fa (Methods for Taking Herbs, Trees, and Assorted Medicines) records methods for consuming plants, trees, and various other medicinal substances, in one fascicle.

The Duangu mifang (Secret Formulas for Cutting Off Grains) records secret formulas for bigu (abstaining from grain, that is, reducing or ceasing food intake through cultivation or dietary practice), in one fascicle.

The Xiaochu sanshi yao fa (Essential Methods for Eliminating the Three Corpses) records important methods for eliminating the "Three Corpses" (sanshi, spirits that, in Daoist belief, dwell within the human body, drive people to do evil, and shorten their lifespans), in one fascicle.

The Fuqi daoyin (Qi Ingestion and Guiding-and-Stretching) records cultivation methods of qi ingestion and daoyin. Qi ingestion refers to practices such as regulating the breath and drawing in Qi; daoyin refers to physical movements coordinated with the breath. It comprises one fascicle.

The Renjian que zaihuan fa (Methods for Averting Disasters in the Human World) records methods for warding off calamities and misfortunes in the mortal realm, in one fascicle.

In total, the works number fifty-seven fascicles.

During the Qi and Liang dynasties, hundreds of princes, nobles, and high officials sought instruction from the Master (Tao Hongjing), and he turned them all away. Only Xu Mian, Jiang You, Qiu Chi, Fan Yun, Jiang Yan, Ren Fang, Xiao Ziyun, Shen Yue, Xie Lun, Xie Lan, and Xie Ju received his hospitality and support during their lifetimes. Shen Yue once fell ill and considered resigning his post to live in seclusion, but after recovering he grew attached to office again. The Master sealed up the letters Shen Yue had written earlier and sent them back, hoping to rekindle his resolve. Shen Yue replied, "The Emperor will not permit me to submit my request to resign." The Master sighed and said, "This man is so mired in worldly concerns."

Those who love the splendor of a life of bells and tripod feasts see rocky cliffs and secluded valleys as places to be abandoned; those who cherish life in the mountains and forests see official robes and rank as shackles. Judged by the level of one's inner realm, a life of bells and tripod feasts is plainly inferior to one among cliffs and hidden valleys. Anxiously guarding oneself over honor and disgrace, tiptoeing through a web of snares, how could that compare with chanting freely among mountains and marshes and feeding on zhi mushrooms (lingzhi, the "herb of immortality")? Shen Xiuwen (Shen Yue) held high office and enjoyed great renown, yet the Master judged him mired in worldly concerns, which shows that moral cultivation is more precious than power and position.

Only Qi and Xie Lan remained. In his youth, Xie Lan was always worried that he would not live long. The Master said to him, "While I am here, I will not let someone like you meet with such a fate."

The Master built an armillary sphere (huntian xiang, an instrument simulating the movements of the heavens), about three feet high. In it the earth stood still while the heavens revolved. It marked the lunar lodges and their degrees, the paths of the sun, moon, and five planets, the stars that stand at the meridian at dusk and dawn, and the earlier and later times at which stars rise and set. When its mechanism was turned, its motion seemed to match the true appearance of the heavens. He said that such an instrument was necessary for cultivating the Dao (the Way), and that it was not merely a matter for court historians. He also used flowing water to make a self-operating clepsydra (a water clock), which cycled through the twelve double-hours without anyone needing to stand watch over it.

The Master was calm and profound by nature, pure, gentle, and generous, never harsh or severe. Young and old alike were delighted and glad to see him; yet his bearing was dignified and numinous, so that people naturally felt awe and conviction before him. His disciples served him with such reverence and solemnity that it seemed as though they were in an imperial court. After entering the mountains, he always wore a simple scarf, cap, and coarse cloth garments.

He often said: "A person's endowment and allotted destiny truly seem to be arranged in advance by Heaven. Tong Jun abandoned the royal palace; Master Wencheng cast off the robes of a marquis; the Three Mao Perfected Lords left the world and ended their family lines; the two Xu masters gave up their households and freed themselves from bodily entanglements. These choices were not necessarily all born of insight; the guidance of fate also played a part. In the past I met with several opportunities and nearly succeeded each time, only to lose them again. During the Yongming era, I submitted five memorials requesting leave to withdraw, and each time things did not go smoothly. Had it not been so, how could I have come to my present circumstances?"

He believed that the signs of an immortal were already present in him, and so he held to the Dao in his heart all the more firmly. His thinking was deep, and in whatever he investigated or read, he reached a level that ordinary people could hardly attain. He especially loved studying the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), Yin-Yang, wind-angle divination (fengjiao, reading omens from the direction of the wind), heihou (a form of astro-meteorological prognostication), Taiyi, Dunjia, star calendars, mathematics, mountains, rivers and geography, local customs and products of various regions, as well as medical formulas, incense and medicinal substances, the compounding of drugs, and insects, birds, grasses, and trees. Of the names, categories, and related lore of all these things, there was nothing he did not know well.

He often said: "I myself cannot become Confucius, but I can teach others to become Confucius, just as Guan Zhong could not become hegemon himself but could help Duke Huan of Qi accomplish hegemony."

End of the middle fascicle of The Inner Biography of Recluse Tao of Huayang.

The Inner Biography of Recluse Tao of Huayang, Lower Fascicle

Compiled and edited by Jia Song, the Child of Bili Vines

Imperial decrees of the Xuanhe era of the Song dynasty.

I have received the splendid Celestial Mandate of Langxiao and hold the precious talisman of Longhan. I am about to spread the sacred teachings widely, to promote the transforming influence of the Dao (the Way), to illuminate the subtle principles within the supreme teaching, and to proclaim this Mandate to the assembled immortals and perfected ones. Tao the Recluse, Superintendent of Waters of Penglai (Tao Hongjing, who once served as an immortal official overseeing the waters of Penglai), made his name resound and revealed his talents, and ascended to the resplendent palaces of the immortal realm; he consorted with the spirits without being burdened by worldly dust. Although he has lately dwelt in the mountains, he has long communed with the divine through his sincerity, and his rhapsodies have already spread to the immortal isles across the sea. When I consider that his De (Virtue) and renown have no equal, how could I forget his subtle mastery of the Dao arts? I shall therefore bestow upon him an honored title, that all living beings may enjoy blessings for a long time to come. He is hereby enfeoffed as "Perfected One Who Honors the Origin and Glorifies the Teaching."

Inscription on the Stele of Liberation by the Perfected (Jiezhen bei ming)

Composed by Xiao Lun, Prince of Shaoling

The night-shining pearl and the fine jade are not treasures commonly found in ordinary vessels; and how could a soaring bird or a wondrous fish be easily forgotten by people?

Strange night-shining pearls and fine jade are not the treasures found in ordinary vessels, and soaring birds and swimming fish are not the usual sights of garden ponds. Those who truly hold lofty aspirations often do not know why they are the way they are; they simply walk this path by nature. Thus Xu You (a legendary recluse) lived in seclusion on Mount Ji in the time of Emperor Yao and washed his ears to refuse the abdication offered to him, and the Old Man of Hanyin (a legendary hermit) likewise lived in retirement and refused office during the Zhou. Lofty virtue and the custom of reclusion have been handed down since antiquity. Those who arise in answer to their times and reveal their virtue (De) are surely found here.

The Master was named Hongjing and styled Tongming, and he was originally from Pingyang in Jizhou. His ancestors descended from the line of Emperor Yao, the Lord of Tao and Tang. Yao governed Pingyang in Jizhou, and so the clan settled there. It is said that auspicious signs attended Yao's birth, that he was wise and discerning, possessed of extraordinary virtue, and that his kindness reached all under heaven and he governed every affair well. The Tao family's origins are deep and its lineage long. When the Han dynasty arose, one branch of the Taos submitted to Emperor Gaozu and served as Right Marshal, and a later descendant, Qingzhai, rose to be Chancellor. At the end of the Eastern Han they moved south and began to settle in Danyang. His seventh-generation ancestor Jun served the state of Wu as General Who Guards the South and Regional Inspector; his grandfather Long served the Song dynasty as Commandant of the Southern Central Army and Military Advisor; and his father Zhenbao served as Gentleman Attendant in the princedom of the Prince of Jian'an, with the rank of Minister of Education. All of them were upright and frugal in conduct and read widely in literature and history.

The Master received the pure and harmonious Qi (vital energy) of heaven and earth. His natural endowment was deep and refined, and he combined many virtues and was complete in many forms of excellence. He joined benevolence with righteousness, steady as a mountain and still as a deep pool. His learning and virtue were so profound as to be hard to fathom, and neither the pure nor the turbid could take his measure. His moral bearing was as lofty as the Milky Way, and his breadth of spirit as vast as clouds and rosy mist.

At six he understood how to read and could compose writing. At seven he read tens of thousands of characters from the Classic of Filial Piety, the Mao Odes, the Analects, and other works. Compared with the ancients, even Dongfang Shuo, who in youth knew the classics by heart, and Liu Zhen, who in his youth could compose poetry and rhapsodies, could hardly match him. His fame spread as a result, and the Palace Attendant even wrote a eulogy for him.

A man of his village obtained Ge Hong's Biographies of Divine Immortals, and on reading the tales of immortals such as the Eight Elders of Huainan, he sighed: "Reading this book makes one feel a spirit that rises above the clouds." From then on the Master recited it morning and evening, never pausing for a moment. At twenty-seven he served as Reader-in-Attendance to the Prince of Yidu, in charge of documents and records. The court was recruiting talent and summoning men of letters, and selection was made with great care; everyone said that this time the right man had been chosen. Ruan Yu's gift for documents might not have sufficed for assisting in governance, and how could Sun Chu's eloquence compare with his?

The Qi court was fond of building palaces and was then constructing parks and gardens around the old lodge at Qingxi. The Master submitted a memorial with an ode, and both its literary style and its substance were excellent, surpassing odes such as the Yuezhi and comparable to works describing auspicious omens and blessings. The emperor read it for a long time and admired it all the more, and appointed him Court Attendant (a nominal court post). He served with reverence and diligence day and night, attending court ceremonies such as the spring audiences and autumn receptions on schedule, as though bound by rules.

The Master had never sought glory and had long wished to resign from office and retire. He once said to his relatives and friends: "My earlier aspiration was simply to have no wish to remain in the world, striving and competing. When I reach forty, I shall devote myself wholly to retiring into the mountains and forests. Now I am already thirty-six, and time does not wait. Is it not wise, perhaps, to know how to seize the moment? Do not make things difficult for me." The following year he submitted a memorial of resignation and left the court, taking off his official cap and removing his seal of office, and came to the Beishan area. Imitating the ancients in reclusion, and admiring Zhang Liang's resolve to abstain from grain (bigu) and withdraw, he prepared a boat and provisions and resolved to travel far to the east. The court sent words of comfort, and the worthies of the day held farewell banquets for him. The ancients had compared such men to Shu Guang and his nephew Shu Shou and to the Four Graybeards, praising his transcendence of the dusty world and his distant retreat; though they lived in different ages, their aspirations were in accord.

The Master then took his staff and journeyed far, wandering among famous mountains, and later arrived at Jurong and climbed the ridge of Mount Mao. This was considered a place where immortals dwelt and where marvelous events were lodged, and once he came he had no wish to leave, finally choosing to settle there. He said: "Confucius said that one lives in seclusion in order to hold fast to one's aims, and practices righteousness in order to realize one's Dao (the Way). I have heard this saying, but I have never seen such a person. Now I have no suitable path for practicing righteousness, so let me devote myself wholly to the work of living in seclusion and keeping my aims. Therefore I call myself 'Recluse.' It is like Ge Hong calling himself 'Master Who Embraces Simplicity' and Huangfu Mi calling himself 'Master of the Dark Banquet.'"

He dwelt leaning against rock cliffs and sheltered from the world beside the forest. Where branches crossed he built a dwelling, and he cut a small path to serve as his gate. Before the house were cliffs and flowing water; sounds came from among the shrubs, deep valleys and steep ridges encircled it, and clouds and rosy mist seemed to weave the scenery around him. He pillowed his head on stones and drank from mountain springs, and mountain birds did not come to disturb him; when he climbed the mountains to gather herbs and chanced upon wild beasts, the beasts were not startled. He wandered the hills at ease and leisure, his mind clear and his resolve unshaken.

At the end of the Qi dynasty, the government declined and the times were unfavorable, and in the jiachen year an earthquake struck the water country of the Luo Valley region. The Master quietly investigated the heavenly signs and the numbers of fate, perceived the omens in advance, and so cut off correspondence with those near and far. In the past, Xia Fu had heard of such a thing; now people saw the Master actually do it. The Liang dynasty's fortunes then flourished in accord with the mandate of Heaven, the heavenly signs were clear, and the four seas were at peace. The Master submitted a memorial of congratulation and thereupon resumed correspondence. From the Tianjian era onward, the emperor frequently issued edicts providing him with medicines, year after year without interruption; few could compare with such deep favor.

The Master once left Mount Mao temporarily and went to the Southern Peak. Mount Mao was a sacred place known far and wide, like the immortal realm of Kunlun, a famous mountain held in place by heaven and earth, with marvelous plants and trees within it. Living apart from the world there, he lingered and forgot to return. In the eleventh year of Tianjian, the emperor sent the Minister Huiming to summon the Master back to Mount Mao and assigned him another residence. The Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan once showed courtesy to Tianlao, and Emperor Wu of Han once invited the Lord on the River with ceremony; in the Liang dynasty, the emperor's respect for the Master was no less than these precedents.

The Master nurtured his mind and aims in the mountains for many years and was skilled at cultivating life, and so auspicious signs accompanied him: fierce beasts did not trouble him, ghosts and spirits were never encountered, and his courtyard had no brambles, as peaceful as the hometown of Confucius. Sweet springs welled up beside his steps, and the surrounding plants and trees grew lush. Immortals then came and went, immortal guests ascended and descended, phoenixes gathered, and the numinous fungus grew abundant and glossy.

In the second year of Datong, the year designated bingchen, on the twelfth day of the third month, the Master took leave of the world and underwent transformation (qianhua, the Daoist term for the passing of an immortal), at the age of eighty-one. The emperor lamented, the crown prince mourned, and an edict of commendation was issued; he was posthumously granted the title Grand Master of Palace Leisure and the posthumous name "Master Zhenbai" (Master of Pure Whiteness), which was the court's mark of honor. On the fourteenth day of that month, the Master was buried at Leiping Mountain in Jurong County, Danyang Commandery. This was like the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, of whom only robe and cap were buried, and like Prince Qiao, who departed with his sword hidden away; the Master's burial accords with these legends.

The Master's bearing was deep and weighty, and his thought thorough and clear. He held literary grace within while keeping his conduct upright, yet he did not make a show of propriety. Into his middle years his deportment still accorded with the rules. His brow was open and bright, his appearance fine and clean; he was not swayed by encouragement or by obstruction, and he often did good and gave generously. He cherished the passing of time and loved ancient books; his will was firm and he tempered his integrity, and he did not slacken even into old age.

As for the methods of Huainan's Great Treasure, the seismoscope of Longxi, the books of Taiyi and Dunjia, the calendrical and astronomical arts of the Nine Chapters, Guan Ning's calligraphy, Yunnan's art of observing winds and reading the Qi of the seasons, the medical prescriptions of the Suwen from the Taicang tradition, and the zither pieces and techniques of Ji Kang, Grand Master of Palace Leisure, he searched for them all widely and mastered every one. As for Hou Yi's archery, Xun Fen's skill, the divination of the Su family, and the yarrow-stalk divination of the Guan family, he understood them at a glance, without effort. Zhang Hua's encyclopedic learning, Ma Jun's ingenuity, Duixiang's perception of subtle signs, and Ge Hong's learning in nurturing one's nature: the strengths of these several worthies were all combined in the Master alone.

His disciples Huan Fawei and others, admiring his far-reaching example and recalling his lofty character, therefore carved a dark stele to record and transmit his deeds, so that his name might spread through the high heavens. The inscription reads as follows:

He left behind a crow as the sign of his manifestation and cast aside his precious sword to still his spirit (Shen) in quiet contemplation. His figure lingered amid purple-black clouds of qi, and his radiance shone upon the Cinnabar Grove (the red trees of the realm of the immortals). His traces remain to this day, and the manner he bequeathed is worthy of later generations' emulation. Who can carry on a Way-practice as profound as his?

This worthy man was pure in conduct and loftier in aspiration than ordinary people. His virtue (De) grew more refined with each passing day, bright as a suspended mirror and elegant as steadfast bamboo. He took the propagation of the Great Dao (the Way) as his own responsibility, and neither word nor deed departed from benevolence and virtue.

In earlier years he had moved through officialdom and kept company with the scholar-officials. Yet he grew weary of the toil of correcting the ills of the age, and he was unwilling to run about seeking advancement in an official career. Later he resigned his post, put on the robes and cap of a mountain Daoist, and journeyed far into the mountains and waters, standing aloof beyond the dusty world. His heart was never estranged from people, and his seclusion did not cut him off from insight into the Dao.

He built his dwelling amid lofty crags and made his home among lush grass and trees. Quiet cultivation lengthened his years; his Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit) were full and abundant, as though able to withstand old age. Thus his name was fair, and he enjoyed health and long life. Beside his residence, white water flowed past the courtyard, and steep peaks rose before his cave-dwelling. Dewdrops adorned the orchid-lined steps, and clouds of qi rose from the cassia-wood beams. The setting sun slanted across the mats, and flower petals fell upon the jar by the window.

Shangping (an Eastern Han recluse) has not yet returned, nor has Wang Sun (a term for a recluse) come back. Blue seas have turned to mulberry fields, and hills and valleys have shifted with the years. Yet his great stele stands firm, and the fair name he left behind will be handed down for ten thousand years.

Inscription on the Back of the Stele

Composed by Sima Daoyin, courtesy name Ziwei, a native of Henei and a Daoist of the White Cloud of Huafeng on Mount Tiantai.

The origin of the great Dao (the Way) is vast and boundless; the ten thousand things and all the spirits are conceived by it. Its natural character is subtle and elusive, difficult to fathom, yet the process by which it brings forth the myriad beings can be seen in the swirling, flowing qi (vital energy) that moves between heaven and earth.

As for those who received and practiced the scriptural methods, concentrated their thoughts to commune with the spirits, circulated the elixir fluids within the body, and refined both form and Shen (spirit), until body and mind returned to the one Dao, transcended the mundane realm, and entered the Three Pure Ones' heavens (Sanqing, the highest realms revered in Daoism), few since antiquity have mastered every part and brought it to perfection. Someone who could gather widely, distinguish the genuine from the false, keep to purity and stillness, and also practice diligently was, perhaps, only Master Zhenbai.

The Master was endowed with spiritual qi from birth. During his fetal breathing (taixi, the deep, subtle, long-drawn breathing method of Daoist cultivation), he once dreamed of a dragon rising. His bearing was strikingly distinguished, and his bone structure showed the immortal air of a crane. His mind was like a bright mirror that perceives everything; his capacity was like a great bell, receptive and empty, answering whenever it was struck. For this reason the celestial scriptures and authentic transmissions were gathered at Zhaotai, and the profound meanings and subtle words were all grasped by his heart. He compiled and classified them, arranged the chapters, and assembled them into complete volumes. He expanded the phoenix script (fengzhuan, Daoist talismanic writing) of the golden books and enriched the dragon texts (longzhang, precious Daoist writings) of the jade cases, revealing hidden and subtle meanings that earlier generations had not explained, and enlightening later learners. Like the teachings sent down by the many Perfected Ones, he could well serve as a illustrious teacher for a hundred generations.

To look upon the Master's portrait is as if one could behold the Dao at a glance; to read his writings is to see his intentions and feelings laid out in the words. Even across a thousand years, it is as though one met him in person within a single morning. As for the wonders of visualizing the deities and secretly communing with them, and the methods of refining the form and transcending transformation, these are not things I know firsthand, and it is truly difficult to transmit them in detail.

The Master cultivated his person and established his virtue (De); his practice and merit were profound, and the Dao books and methods he received were complete. Measured by Daoist liturgy (Keyi) and the grades of cultivation, he had already surpassed the rank of ordinary true immortals. Yet each person's allotted destiny differs, and manifestation and reclusion follow different paths. He must have followed the opportunity of circumstance and been released from his body, not making ascent to heaven and visible display his business; that he secretly rose into Shangqing (the Highest Clarity, a lofty Daoist heaven) is truly beyond what can be known.

Even so, after the Master leaned on his armrest and passed away, his hut at Lu still remained; the substitute sword had not yet flown off to ascend, and the gate of Yinqiu was still shut. The Dao is revered and virtue is precious, unchanged through the ages. Now, unrolling his surviving writings and examining his deeds, I can no longer see the Master with my own eyes. Dynasties have repeatedly changed, and mountains, rivers, and the human world have grown ever more distant from one another. Reflecting on the lofty conduct of this immortal, I have long felt ever greater regret.

Zi Wei was about to travel to Mount Heng and was staying for a time at Mount Mao, where he consulted with the men of the Dharma and its meaning about carving the stele. The eulogy that Shaoling composed in earlier days was complete in content; now it is being engraved in stone so that the text may fully preserve the traces of former times. So I made an effort to take up the brush, briefly recounting the True One's practice of the Dao, and carved it on the back of the stele to make known its date.

Written on the thirteenth day of the ninth month, the day jisi, in the jiazi year, the twentieth year of the Kaiyuan era of the Great Tang.

In the second year of the Datong era, the year of Bingchen, on the twelfth day of the third month (the Guichou day of the Renyin month), at the Si hour, Master Tao of Huayang Cave passed away as an immortal at Zhuyang Lodge on Mount Mao. The Master's name was Hongjing and his courtesy name was Tongming; he was eighty-one years old. Although his body had bent and stretched with age, his countenance had not changed. The imperial court issued an edict posthumously granting him the office of Grand Master of Palace Leisure (Zhongsan Daifu) and bestowing the posthumous title "Master Zhenbai" (Master of Pure Whiteness). It also sent a palace attendant and a chief secretary to oversee the funeral arrangements. At the Si hour on the fourteenth day, he was buried on Mount Leiping.

True practitioners consider a return to emptiness the highest beauty, and those who attain the Dao (the Way) consider boundlessness the truest state. They do not cling to life, and so their great De (Virtue) endures; nor do they loathe death, and so the Valley Spirit (the Dao's empty, still, and inexhaustible nature) does not perish. Their concealments and manifestations, their transformations, are so subtle that nothing can fathom them. Later, the mountain cliffs split open and the rocks came apart, and a jade coffin descended from the heavens. The silver writings and bamboo tablets ceased to be passed along, and the flowing pearls no longer moved. The nine-jointed divine turtle (the legendary creature said to bear the immortal mountains on its back) appeared in the sky, and thousand-harmony incense (incense used in sacrificial rites) was burned beneath the earth. The immortal officials rejoiced at gaining a companion, while his disciples grieved at losing their teacher.

Back when I was still in the mortal world, I had already encountered the art of the bridge (an allusion to the story of Zhang Liang receiving a military text on a bridge, here meaning a secretly transmitted art). Now, as Crown Prince, I have repeatedly received instruction from Fuqiu (a legendary immortal). Holding the surviving Fulu (talismans and registers), my heart is sorrowful; thinking of the staff of transformation, I feel a bitter ache. And so I compose this inscription:

The nameless Dao allows people to escape death and become immortals. In ancient times there was Yuanfang (Zuo Ci, a legendary master of esoteric arts), and there was Zhichuan (Ge Hong, styled Baopuzi), who shed their physical forms and transformed and ascended; this has been so since antiquity. The Master was truly extraordinary and outstanding, receiving the immortal registers and returning to the original source. The pear tree passed along the writings of Official Wan, and letters came again by merchant boat (both allusions refer to exchanges among legendary immortals). The tiger carriage gleamed in the light, and the discarded husk drifted upward into clouds and mist. By the spring stream, flowers bloom brilliantly; among the ridges of Mount Mao, brooks murmur and plants and trees flourish. In the vast expanse of the cave-heaven, three immortals have turned into white cranes. When will they return?

Shen Yue's Reply to Master Huayang

The Three Pure Ones (Sanqing, the three highest heavens in Daoist belief) are impossibly distant, and I am left with only a single breath of Qi, lingering in vain in the human world. I only hope that you will turn your immortal radiance back toward us, relieve our calamities, and rescue souls in peril. If I might be granted the Nine Elixirs (the immortality elixirs of Daoist legend) by you...

The Three Pure Ones (Sanqing, the three highest deities revered in Daoism) are beyond what I could ever hope to reach; for now only a faint, dim thread of life remains to me, lingering in vain. What I long for is to turn back the hours, to relieve those in peril, and to deliver souls trapped in hardship. If I could be granted the Nine Elixirs (jiudan, the immortal elixirs of Daoist legend), why should I fear the six dragons racing onward and time flying past?

I long ago wished to seek out the famous mountains, but I had to wait until the matters of marriage were settled. Though both of these affairs have now been concluded, many other attachments still remain. Suddenly I heard that the imperial edict had arrived, and saw the dragon-patterned ceremonial banners shining brilliantly. At court he stood among the Eight Worthies (the eight legendary virtuous ministers), was enfeothe lord of newly opened lands, and enjoyed a fief of a thousand households. He never made a show of an official's cap and sash, nor did he groom himself or tidy his appearance. The jade pendants at his waist rang clearly before the cavern gate, and the golden cicada ornament on his cap gleamed in the morning sun. For a time he received no recommendation from petty men, yet he was graciously appointed magistrate (lingyin, a local official). How could he forget the aspiration of his whole life? He simply had no leisure to attend to the people and care for them.

I once heard a lofty master of the Dao say that with a foot of wood (chimu, the wood by which a dragon is said to rise into the sky) one can ascend to the clouds. The carriages of the immortals need not be laid out upon the ground, for their dwellings hold many beautiful trees. One waits quietly for the Three Zhi (sanzhi, three fabled immortal herbs) to mature, sitting upright as the hundred spirits come to pay court. The bearer of letters must be the Azure Bird (qingwu, the legendary bird that carries messages), and honored guests arrive riding dragon-horses. What is sought is not only the fruit of the spirit peach, but to see with one's own eyes the great Chun tree flourish and then wither. Consuming jade powder can hold back the years, and drawing in and exhaling mists and rosy clouds can restore one's complexion. From afar one recognizes the sacred tree of Qingqiu, and looking back one sees the sun rise over Fusang. The vapors spread in splendor like a mirage over the sea, and towering mountains and seas rise before one's eyes.

Su Xiang of Hou Lake praises the portrait of Master Tao:

The profound discourses on medicine and the pearl fill the classics. The Three Halls (sanguan, the pavilions that house the canonical texts) are shrouded in cloud and mist, yet the man himself has long since gone far away. The age has declined and the transmission of the Dao has been lost; few are those who can preserve their integrity. The sigh he gave at the end of his life became a warning as from a fine physician to the world; He and Bian refers to the ancient physicians Yi He and Bian Que.

Tao Yinju of Huayang praises the portrait of Master Tao:

The profound discourses on medicine and the pearl fill the classics. The Three Halls are shrouded in cloud and mist, yet the man himself has long since gone far away. The age has declined and the transmission of the Dao has been lost; few are those who can preserve their integrity. The sigh he gave at the end of his life became a warning as from a fine physician to the world; He and Bian refers to the ancient physicians Yi He and Bian Que.