《历世真仙体道通鉴后集》

The Later Collection of the Comprehensive Mirror of Perfected Immortals Through the Ages and Their Embodiment of the Dao is a Daoist biographical work recording the deeds of female immortals throughout history.

Contents

Volume One

Primordial Sovereign of the Highest Realm; Primordial Sovereign of the Great One; Primordial Sovereign, Queen Mother of the West.

Volume Two

Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens; the Silkworm Maiden; Lady Yunhua; Heng’e; the Weaver Girl; Changrong; Nü’ou; Li Zhendu; Ying Nü; Solar Maiden; Lunar Maiden; the Hairy Maiden; Lady Mei; Nüji; Lady Sun; Zhang Wenji; Zhang Wenguang; Zhang Xian; Zhang Zhi; Lady Lu; Zhang Yulan; Qu Nü; Mother Chen; Lady Liu, the Immortal Aunt; Mother Xu; Lady Xu; Master Xue.

Volume Three

Lady of the Upper Primordial Realm; Lady Wang of the Southern Pole; Lady Wang of the Right Radiance; Lady Wang of Purple Tenuity; Lady Wang of Great Truth; Lady Li of Numinous Radiance; Lady Wang of the Central Marquisate; Lady Zhao of Gouyi; Magu; Princess Nanyang; Guo Shaoyao; Zhao Aier; Wang Lulian; Lady Wei of Mount Heng; Consort An of Jiuhua; Queen Mother of Hebei; Han Xihua; Wang Baotai; Wang Miaoxiang; Wang Fengxian; Lady Wang.

Volume Four

Primordial Sovereign of Purple Plainness; Zhao Sutai; Huang Jinghua; Zhou Yuanzhi; Zhang Taozhi; Fu Lihe; Zhang Weizi; Dou Qiongying; Han Taihua; Liu Chunlong; Guo Shuxiang; Sun Hanhua; Wang Jinxian; Li Xizi; Lady Fan; Sacred Mother of Dongling; Yunying; Bao Gu; Ding Shuying; Immortal Aunt Huang; Tea Matron of Guangling; Luo Nü; Mother Liang; Immortal Aunt Xu; Lady Hua; Jiao Jingzhen; Wang Fajin; Fei Miaoxing; Immortal Aunt Wei; Wang Nü.

Volume Five

Stellar Jade Maiden, Lady of the Jiang River, Lady of Supreme Mystery, Maiden of the Western River, the wife of Yuan Ke, the wife of Cheng Wei;

Zhang Jiangzi, Li Huigu, Shi Shunü, Zheng Tiansheng, the Immortal Woman Wen, Pei Yuanjing;

Qi Xiaoyao, He Xiangu, Xie Ziran, Lady Wang, Cai Xunzhen, Old Woman Ma;

Lu Meiniang, Hao Cailuan, Du Lanxiang, Lady Zhuge, Lady Wei, Yang Baozong;

an unnamed woman.

Volume Six

Qian Nüzheng, Cao Wenji, Zhao Xiangu, Zheng Xiangu, Liu Yan, Immortal Yu;

the woman from Mozhou, Yu Xiangu, Zhang Xianji, Xu Daosheng, Chen Qiongyu, Lady Hao;

Wu Yuanzhao, Sun Xiangu.

Comprehensive Mirror of Daoist Immortals Through the Ages, Later Collection, Volume One

The Supreme Primordial Lord (a revered female immortal deity in Daoism).

Although Lord Lao had appeared in various eras, he had never yet descended into the world by being born. To join the human world and teach its people, he first ordered the Mysterious and Marvelous Jade Maiden, a revered Daoist deity, to be born as the daughter of the Yin family of Tianshui. She was named Yishou and later married the immortal Li Lingfei. The Mysterious and Marvelous Jade Maiden is the Supreme Primordial Lady.

Li Lingfei was descended from Gaoyao. By the Shang dynasty, father and son in his family had successively cultivated the Way of long life. His father, Qingbin, lived for more than a hundred years, yet his appearance remained that of a young man. He once traveled among the mountains of the Five Sacred Peaks. One day, a cloud dragon came to receive him, and he ascended to Heaven in broad daylight. Moved by his father’s ascension, Li Lingfei devoted himself to cultivating the Great Dao. After more than a hundred days, in some year of the Shang dynasty, a cloud dragon came to receive him as well, and he ascended to Heaven in broad daylight.

In the seventeenth year of King Yangjia of Shang, a gengshen year, Lord Lao divided his spirit and transformed his Qi from the Great Clarity realm. Riding the essence of the sun and borne by nine dragons, he descended into the human world in the form of a five-colored flowing pearl. At the time, the Lady Yin was asleep in broad daylight. She saw the sky split open for several yards, and a host of immortals appeared, holding up the sun. After a long while, the sun gradually grew smaller and fell from the sky, becoming a five-colored pearl about the size of a pellet. The Lady Yin picked it up and swallowed it; when she awoke, she was pregnant. The Meteor Altar at Tiansjing Palace in Bozhou is said to mark the place where this occurred.

From then on, the Lady Yin’s appearance grew younger by the day, and her spirit seemed calm and at ease. In the room where she lived, the six Qi of Yin and Yang were in harmony: winter brought no severe cold, and summer no oppressive heat. Auspicious light illuminated the room, and evil beings could not intrude. She remained pregnant for eighty-one years, yet felt no passage of time. In the ninth year of King Wuding of Shang, a gengchen year, on the fifteenth day of the second month, in the hour of the Rabbit, the Holy Mother grasped a plum tree, and Lord Lao suddenly emerged from beneath her left arm.

Accounts of immortals say that Lord Lao remained in the womb for eighty-one years. The Inner Tradition, however, says that the Primordial Lady, who served as the teacher of the Lord of Heaven, was moved by the essence of the sun entering her mouth and became pregnant.

After seventy-two years, Laozi was born from his mother’s left side. Accounts of the year of his birth differ, though each has its own basis. The Record of Yu Xuan’s Journey Beyond the Pass says that Laozi remained in the womb for another seventy-two years, so his birth was equivalent to a normal nine-month pregnancy. By this reckoning, however, it may also have been eleven years.

When Laozi was born, the sunlight shone with unusual brilliance, auspicious clouds covered the courtyard, ten thousand cranes flew through the sky, and divine beings from the Nine Heavens celebrated together. A Jade Maiden knelt and presented water, while nine dragons brought clear water to bathe him. Legend says that nine wells formed where the dragons appeared. The Record of the Northern Expedition states that the Temple of Lord Lao had nine wells whose waters were interconnected. When water was drawn from one well, all nine would ripple.

As soon as he was born, Laozi took nine steps. With each step, a lotus flower sprang up beneath his feet. He pointed to the sky with his left hand and to the earth with his right, and said, “Above the heavens and below the earth, only the Dao is most revered. I must spread the supreme Dao and save all living things, plants and animals alike, throughout the ten directions, including the beings in dark prisons and hells who should be saved but have not yet been delivered, so that they may all attain deliverance.”

Laozi appeared and disappeared in the world, serving as a teacher to many nations. He held a place among the supreme immortals of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). Accounts give several versions of his titles and names. He was called “Pin,” also written “Yan,” a variant form of the same Chinese character. His personal name was Er, and his courtesy name was Boyang; some say his courtesy name was Boyangfu, with “fu” used as an honorific. Other records say his name was Ya and his courtesy name Bozong; his name was Zhi and his courtesy name Boguang; his name was Shi and his courtesy name Menggong; his name was Zhong and his courtesy name Ziwen; his name was Ding and his courtesy name Yuanyang; his name was Yuan and his courtesy name Boshi; his name was Xian and his courtesy name Yuansheng; or his name was De and his courtesy name Bowen.

Legend says that during the nine days after his birth, Laozi’s body successively manifested nine transformations. A heavenly crown and celestial robes appeared naturally upon him; he also possessed seventy-two marks of excellence and eighty-one auspicious features.

The “Seventy-Two Signs” refers to the seventy-two extraordinary features of an immortal. His head is round like the heavens, and his face shines brightly, like the sun rising at dawn. The jade pillow at the back of his head rises high; his white hair resembles crane feathers, and he stands more than seven feet tall. His eyebrows resemble the stars of the Northern Dipper and are emerald green. His beard is like a tiger’s mane or a dragon’s whiskers, white as silk. Pearls hang from his earlobes, and his ears have openings. They reach up to the crown of his head and are thick and firm.

His eyes shine like the River Eyes and sunlight; his square pupils bear green markings. The sides of his nose rise prominently, and his nasal bones stand high. His mouth is square like the sea, and his lips are red as cinnabar. His breath is purple and fragrant as orchids. His teeth are neatly arranged like shells and hard as silver. There are thirty-eight of them, evenly set in upper and lower rows. His tongue is long and broad, patterned like brocade. His voice is clear as jade and resonant as gold. His nose is high and straight, and his square chin is like a carpenter’s square. His temples are like the sun, and the hollow between his brows is like the moon. His face is like gold, and his bearing like jade. His dragonlike face is solemn and dignified; his gaze is like a phoenix’s, calm and composed.

On his forehead is a sign resembling the Dui trigram, with three lines extending upward. His Heavenly Court is flat, and his forehead full. He has a white mole on his cheek, a jade pellet–like protrusion on his chin, and three lines on his neck. His white neck rises proudly like a crane’s. His arms hang down past his knees, and each palm bears ten lines. His fingers are slender and individually marked; his nails are like jade, and fine green hairs grow on his body. His chest bears a recumbent, bone-like pattern, and his back a River Chief pattern. His navel is more than an inch deep, and his belly is soft as cotton. Brocade patterns mark his chest, and a dark seal marks his abdomen. His eyes bear wheel-shaped markings, and his feet tread the distinctive traces called “two deceptions.” The lines of Qian and Kun mark his fingers, and he stands twelve feet tall. Fragrance radiates from his entire body. His face is square and lustrous, his proportions balanced from top to bottom, his body hard as vajra, and his features clear as crystal. He walks with the tread of a tiger and moves with the stride of a dragon.

Such is his appearance. A Green Dragon guards him on the left, and a White Tiger supports him on the right; a Vermilion Bird guides him before, and a Black Tortoise follows behind. Purple clouds crown his head, lotus flowers lie beneath his feet, and the paired lights of the sun and moon rest upon his neck. The radiance of the Five Lights shines like the sun. His form is complete, and his brilliance penetrates the Nine Heavens. He possesses all the immortal’s features described above, radiant, extraordinary, and beautiful.

The Green Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise are divine beasts in Daoism that symbolize the four directions: the Green Dragon dwells in the east, the White Tiger in the west, the Vermilion Bird in the south, and the Black Tortoise in the north. The Five Lights usually refers to the lights of the five directions, shining over the four quarters and the center.

A purple cloud covers the head, lotus flowers support the feet, and two rays of light shine behind the neck. Five-colored radiance gleams like the sun. A perfect aura appears around the body, its light reaching straight to the nine heavens. Together with the immortal’s appearance described earlier, its splendor is wondrous and beautiful. The whole body bears eighty-one marks of beauty, called “excellent features.” Laozi was gestated in his mother’s womb for eighty-one years, reaching the utmost number associated with the sun. When he was born, his hair was already snow-white, so he was called “Old One.” In ancient times, a teacher was addressed as “Master,” and “Master” was also a general term for a man; hence he was called Laozi, “Old Master.”

Laozi lived in the village of Qu Ren, in Lai Township, Ku County of Chen State, on the north bank of the Wo River, in the area of present-day Weizhen County, Bozhou. After the Holy Mother gave birth to Lord Lao, his embodied form of the Dao, she was about to return to the Celestial Court and resume her rank as Primordial Sovereign. Wishing thereby to show people the principle of transmitting the Dao from master to disciple, she told Laozi:

People receive the Qi of Heaven and Earth and are born; the Qi they receive may be clear or turbid. Clear Qi makes people lucid, compassionate, and benevolent; turbid Qi makes them foolish, violent, and cruel. Those who are perceptive cultivate a good nature through practice; those who are benighted indulge their desires and damage their lives. Nature is the foundation of the body, and life is the source of existence.

Therefore, those who study the Dao should refine body and mind through the “Nine Elixirs,” methods of elixir cultivation used in Daoism; untie the knots of the “Five Spirits,” inner spirits associated with the Qi of body and mind; guide Qi back to the source of life; and clear away the “Three Passes,” bodily gates or obstructions described in cultivation. Only after nine rounds of refinement and ten transformations, when the body’s joints and passages have become open and clear and the knots formed in the womb have been undone, can one recognize one’s true self and become an Upper Immortal. Without study and cultivation, demons and malign forces invade the body, and every illness arises at once, until life is exhausted and suffering becomes indescribable.

Becoming an immortal begins with inner cultivation. Only with sincerity of heart can one become an immortal; the Dao is precious because it is sought within and guarded in the heart. When the Dao arrives, one can gather the mind and spirit, become still, and unite with the true Dao. By accumulating a state of emptiness and stillness, one can commune with the divine; thus one draws closer to becoming an immortal. But if the heart is caught up in contention, the spirit grows weary, and the body becomes restless and unfocused, then both action and repose drain one’s Jing and Qi. If the eyes and ears greedily seek sights and sounds, then no matter how many years one struggles to find the Dao, it will only grow farther away.

People dwell between Heaven and Earth for only a brief span. If they can gather their Qi, nourish their spirit, and devote themselves diligently to guarding the true Dao, long practice will bring attainment. They will then dwell together with Heaven and Earth within the Great Nonbeing, the vast realm of emptiness described in Daoism.

One who can see into the void and grasp what is formless will neither see nor hear it, and will thus become one with the Dao. Laozi asked, “Now I move among the dust of the world. Can I attain lasting life without death, adapt to worldly affairs, and guide the people toward transformation?” The Primordial Lady replied, “I possess a secret treasure, which I pass on only to sages. Whoever can cultivate it will be able to endure for a long time.”

Laozi said, “Please explain its essential principles.” The Primordial Lady said, “The Great Dao is profound and subtle, and difficult to know even when sought. It cannot be called either existent or nonexistent; it has neither sound nor form. Look for it and it cannot be seen; reach for it and it cannot be grasped. It encompasses Heaven and Earth and is boundless, yet it is close within oneself, though no one can fully fathom it. To understand its principles is called ‘Mysterious De’—profound Virtue and Power.

“Laozi asked, ‘Are there practical methods by which one can attain the Dao?’ The Primordial Lady said, ‘The Dao is the utmost truth: empty, open, and unobstructed. Technique is the subtle art that enables things to change. The Dao uses technique to save the world; through cultivation, people come to experience the Great Dao and can bring about endless transformations. The essence of the Dao lies in Wuwei (non-action) and following what is natural. The secrets of technique lie in talismans, Qi, and medicines. Talismans are numinous symbols of the sun, moon, and stars, representing Heaven’s true nature. Medicines are the essence of the Five Phases, representing Earth’s vital energy. Qi is the refined essence formed by the harmonizing and gathering of Yin-Yang, and is also the numinous nature of all things. Even if a person succeeds in cultivating just one of these, the work is not yet complete; cultivation is perfected only with the aid of talismans, medicines, and the Dao. This is my secret treasure. Whoever cultivates all of these together can endure for a long time and guide countless beings toward transformation.’

“The Lord Lao said, ‘The body is the vessel that bears the cultivation of the Dao, and Qi is the foundation that sustains life. When the foundation is uprooted, life ends; when the vessel is damaged, the Dao departs. Now I wish to cultivate these things, so that life may be secured and my work in the Dao may advance. May I hear the practical methods?’ The Primordial Lady replied, ‘The flesh and bones received by human beings are like vessels made by a potter…’”

Before ore is smelted, it is prone to decay quickly; before the body has undergone cultivation, life is short. This is the natural order. Even if someone’s virtue surpasses that of others, and their spirit is joined to the mysterious Great Dao, their body still cannot escape aging and death. Why is this so? Because people are subject to the transformations of creation, and aging and death cannot be avoided. Only elixirs can refine and nourish the body, while talismans and registers can summon the spirits. When the spirits return, the mind becomes clear and the temperament calm; when the body is strengthened, Qi (vital energy) is replenished and life preserved. Then, by transforming Qi and changing Jing (essence), one enters the realm of formlessness and flies through the void. Only when one can govern life and death, existence and extinction, can one endure forever. Even if those who have attained the Dao encounter calamity, and heaven and earth collapse and sink, disaster cannot harm them. This is why talismans and registers and elixirs are so precious.

Laojun asked, “When people take the divine elixir and attain longevity, is this because the spirits protect them, or because of the power of the medicine itself?” The Primordial Lady replied, “The effect of longevity comes from the elixir, but the elixir’s refinement depends on the spirits. Therefore, when preparing to refine an elixir, one must keep body and mind upright and commit no wrongdoing. The spirits will then protect you, and the elixir will surely be completed. Once the divine elixir enters the mouth, life has no end. Heaven and earth recognize this principle, and the Great Dao, too, will come to those who are humane and virtuous.”

Most people are muddled and ignorant, and are called “walking corpses.” They do not believe that longevity can be cultivated, and regard it as a deluded and absurd claim. From morning to night, all they do leads toward death. How could Heaven force them to live? They indulge their desires and satisfy their appetites, then die in the blink of an eye. What good is it to spend a thousand gold pieces on their funeral? Thus, the art of refining the divine elixir can not only grant longevity, but also become a treasure in the world. Those who understand this principle have no need to seek all under Heaven. Even if someone were willing to exchange an entire kingdom for my art, I would not teach it to anyone unworthy.

Laozi bowed deeply and said, “I wish to hear its essential teachings.”

The Primordial Lady raised her head and gave a long cry toward the sky. In an instant, a purple cloud, shaped like a canopy, swiftly descended from above. Five colors mingled within it, and its light shone in every direction. The immortal Juanzi stood nearby in attendance. The Primordial Lady brought out the Precious Chapters of the Divine Diagram, which recorded methods of transformation and techniques for refining the Returned Elixir, controlling the firing times, and extracting water-mercury and liquid gold. It comprised seventy-two chapters, which she transmitted to the Old Lord.

The book’s oral instructions said: “First, use Dark Essence to refine the Golden Male. Let the sun’s flowing pearl enter the Pool of Flourishing. Combine five liang of material from within the jin with Wenwei Xi. Unite red salt with white snow, and divide them into male and female. Once you have cultivated the Five Talismans and Nine Elixirs, you can ascend. The true Dao is right here; people of the world simply do not know it.”

The Five Talismans are: first, Dark Essence; second, Golden Essence; third, Flying Talisman; fourth, Golden Flower; and fifth, the Azure Dragon Essence of Three and Five.

The Nine Elixirs are: first, the White Snow Nine-Turn Returned Elixir; second, the Male-and-Female Nine-Turn Returned Elixir; third, the Yellow Flower Nine-Turn Returned Elixir; fourth, the White Flower Nine-Turn Returned Elixir; fifth, the Cinnabar Flower Nine-Turn Returned Elixir; sixth, the Five-Colored Nine-Turn Returned Elixir; seventh, the Mud-Mercury Nine-Turn Returned Elixir; eighth, the Golden Essence Nine-Turn Returned Elixir; and ninth, the Nine-Cauldron Supreme Radiance Returned Elixir. Refining any one of these nine elixirs is enough to attain long life; there is no need to refine all nine. The refinement of divine elixirs involves three transformations and five rounds of transmutation, with nine as the final limit. Those who take the elixir can become immortals like us.

The way to become an immortal does not lie in making offerings or praying to spirits and gods, nor in daoyin exercises or bending and stretching the limbs. It does not lie in sighing, making vows, or talking too much, nor in straining to think and exhausting oneself. The key to long life lies in the divine elixir. The principle is easy to understand, but putting it into practice is difficult. If you can cultivate in accordance with it, you can endure forever. Hold fast to this Dao, and you can become an immortal. I, too, attained the Dao by learning it; I was not born this way.

Laozi bowed his head to the ground once more and said: “I have received your gracious instruction on the Dao of the Nine Elixirs. I have heard that anyone seeking immortality who fails to obtain liquid gold will have suffered in vain. Please explain its essential points to me.”

The Primordial Lady said, “You have asked well. You have already heard the teachings on the Way of the Nine Elixirs, and now you have also heard that those who seek immortality suffer in vain if they fail to obtain the Golden Elixir. You therefore hope that I will point out its essential principles.”

The Primordial Lady said, “You have asked well. The Nine Elixirs and the Golden Elixir are both legendary methods of cultivation said to enable people to ascend to Heaven and become immortals. Of the Nine Elixirs, however, the Golden Elixir is supreme. Those who take the Nine Elixirs may have to wait three years, two years, one year, or half a year; others may wait a hundred, sixty, or thirty days, or even just three days, before an immortal official arrives riding a cloud dragon to welcome them. Only those who take the Golden Elixir are said to turn purple-gold in color as soon as it enters the mouth, immediately grow wings, and ascend to Heaven to become immortal officials.

Anyone who is to take the Golden Elixir must first observe a long period of fasting and abstain from grain for a year; only then may they take it. Those not destined to be entered in the immortal registers of the Mysterious Realm and granted a name among the undying will never hear the Way of the Golden Elixir. Its method is to refine the elixir according to the procedure described earlier, then, once the gold has been formed, transform it into liquid. In this way the process is complete. This is a secret treasure I have kept in my possession.

This teaching comprises twelve hundred instructions. Before the countless kalpas and the immeasurable heavens and earth came into being, I received this method from the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. I followed it in my cultivation, and so attained the supreme rank of Primordial Lady. I once kept this set of instructions as a treasure and transmitted it to the Most True Great Sage, the Heavenly Emperor, the Supreme Emperor, and the Primordial Lady of Supreme Unity of the Great Tenuity. Now I transmit it to you as well. You must devote yourself to its practice.”

After receiving the teaching, Laozi asked, “The world is filled with all manner of things, and living beings readily meet their deaths. What would happen if this method were now used to save living beings far and wide?”

The Primordial Lady said, “Those who lose their lives through obsession with splendor and attachment to desire are like stones falling into a river, never to return. This is truly lamentable. Yet the Daoist methods cannot be passed on indiscriminately; they must be transmitted to the right person. This teaching is profound and mysterious, preserved in the cloud-covered archives of the Ninefold Mysterious Jade Terrace. It is transmitted only once every ten thousand years, and only to those entered in the Mysterious Register, whose names are inscribed on jade tablets. Unless a person has the innate capacity for it and is willing to endure hardship in cultivation, they cannot hear this teaching. The ignorant commit many wrongs; all one can do is guide them gradually toward correcting their conduct. How could one violate the laws of Heaven and reveal a secret teaching at will? I have said all that I have to say, and must now depart. Later, I will send the Primordial Lord of Supreme Unity to instruct you.”

After he had finished speaking, thousands of chariots and myriad horsemen, the Five Emperors, and the Highest Perfected Ones—immortals of lofty rank—escorted him in the Eightfold Radiance Jade Carriage, the splendid conveyance of the immortals, to welcome him as he ascended to Heaven.

The alchemical methods in the Scripture of the Divine Elixir of Great Clarity (Taiqing Shendan Jing) derive from the Supreme Primordial Goddess. The wondrous power of the Divine Elixir can harmonize Yin-Yang, command wind and rain, set the Five Planets in motion, and regulate cold and heat. Drawn by nine dragons and twelve white tigers, it is relied upon by all the immortals beneath Heaven, who are also subject to its authority. Human life and death, too, are entirely bound up with it. This refers to the effects of taking the Divine Elixir.

The Old Lord traveled far across mountains, rivers, lakes, and marshes, seeking methods for refining divine elixirs. When he passed through Mount Lao, he indeed met the Primordial Lady Taiyi, a revered Daoist deity. She rode a mottled qilin in five colors, accompanied by dozens of attendants. The Old Lord asked her about the Great Dao. The Lady said, “The essential methods of the Great Dao lie in the Reverted Elixir and Golden Liquor, important terms in Daoist alchemy.” She then transmitted the complete secret method to him.

Later, the Old Lord met the Primordial Lady Taiyi again at Mount Li and thanked her for teaching him the alchemical method. The Lady said, “I am the senior of all immortals and the sovereign of the myriad ways. These wondrous and efficacious secret arts are already part of the profound Great Dao. Why would you need to thank me?”

The Old Lord said, “People in the world are often ignorant and unenlightened, and many die as a result. When I think of them, I feel sorrow. Could I give them divine medicine so they may all attain longevity?” The Lady replied, “No. The Way to longevity is exceedingly precious. It must be transmitted to people of virtue, as well as to those who are filial, honest, and sincere. Heaven brings forth the myriad things, among which are the good and the evil: the good should endure, and the evil should be removed. You cannot distribute divine medicine to everyone and let all people live forever. You already understand this principle; you must not reveal it lightly.”

The Old Lord believed that the Way to becoming an immortal could be attained only through cultivation. He wished to pass its methods on to later generations and thereby encourage people. So he guarded his true nature, devoted himself to cultivating the Dao, and practiced alchemy and the art of ingesting Qi through regulated breathing and guiding the vital energy. Afterward, he could ride the air and soar through the void, enter and leave being and nonbeing, and travel wherever he wished, beyond the knowledge of others. One day, riding a white deer, he once again stepped onto the cypress tree in the courtyard and ascended to heaven.

Primordial Lady of the Golden Mother

The Golden Mother Primordial Sovereign, also known as the Ninefold Numinous, Wondrous Golden Mother of Turtle Mountain, the Golden Mother of the Grand Numinous Nine Radiances and Turtle Terrace, or the Queen Mother of the West, is the most wondrous spirit of the West and the supreme deity of the deep, shadowy Yin energy.

Long ago, Dao-Qi (the vital energy of the Way) gathered in stillness, displaying a clear, pure state of Wuwei (non-action). When Dao-Qi was about to exercise its wondrous powers and bring forth the myriad things, it first transformed the pure, primal energy of the East into the Wood Duke. The Wood Duke was born above the blue sea, in the realm of Azure Numinousness. He governs harmonious Yang energy and rules the East; he is also called the Duke-King. The wondrous energy of the West then transformed into the Golden Mother. She was born in Yichuan of the Divine Continent. Her surname was Hou, and she could fly from birth. She governs the numinous Yin energy and rules the West; she is also called the Queen Mother.

Both the Wood Duke and the Golden Mother received the source energy of the Great Dao and took form through its gathering in the deep, mysterious realm. Together they govern the two energies of Yin and Yang, nurture Heaven and Earth, and harmonize the transformation and growth of the myriad things. The Golden Mother embodies the yielding nature. She is the root of utmost Yin energy, dwells in the West, and nurtures all forms of life. All women throughout Heaven and Earth, across the Three Realms and the ten directions, who attain the Dao and become immortals fall under her rule.

The Golden Mother dwells in the Garden of Enclosed Winds at Turtle Mountain and Mount Chong, within the Dark Garden of Kunlun. There stand tier upon tier of golden walls, twelve jade towers, gates of jade blossoms, halls of luminous green jade, nine-tiered dark terraces, and vermilion chambers adorned in purple and emerald. The Jasper Pool lies to the left, while emerald waters encircle the right. Beneath the mountain are nine layers of Weak Water, whose waves rise ten thousand fathoms. It can be reached only by riding a flying carriage or driving a feathered wheel. The Book of Documents: The Period of the Emperor’s Signs says, “The Queen Mother’s kingdom lies in the far western wilderness.”

Legend says that the Jade Que rose high and stood firm, supporting the vault of heaven. The Green Terrace lifted the clouds; azure jade was carved with immortal script, and palaces in vermilion and purple stretched one after another. Curtains adorned with colored jade shone brightly, while moonlight illuminated everything around them. The immortals in the palace wore splendid headdresses and carried sacred insignia. Immortal women attended them on the left, while feathered attendants served them on the right. A canopy soared high overhead, its light and shadow faintly shifting, while feathered ornaments screened the courtyard.

Below the steps grew white-ring trees and forests of cinnabar-hard wood. Their branches, blue-green as empty jade, spread by the thousands; their stone-like trunks towered a thousand fathoms high. Even when there was no wind, wondrous sounds arose among the trees of their own accord, clear and bright like langgan jade chimes striking one another, as if playing the music of the Eight Assemblies, the celestial music described in Daoist tradition. The Divine Continent lies southeast of Mount Kunlun, so the Erya says that the Queen Mother of the West dwells where the sun sets. The text also says that the Queen Mother wore her long hair loose, had a splendid headdress and tiger’s teeth, and was skilled at giving long cries. But this actually describes the Queen Mother’s envoy: the White Tiger spirit corresponding to the Metal Qi of the west, not the true appearance of the Queen Mother of the West herself.

The Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning, a revered Daoist deity, bestowed on the Queen Mother of the West the authority to govern the myriad heavens and the Register of Nine Radiances of Turtle Mountain. This enabled her to command and summon the myriad spirits, govern the perfected immortals and sages, oversee oaths and witness covenants, and direct the ceremonial retinues of all the heavens. The Queen Mother of the West was present whenever the Heavenly Worthies and exalted sages held court or feasted, and whenever they conducted examinations and inspections. She also took part in presiding over the transmission and initiation of scriptures such as the Treasured Scriptures of Shangqing and the Jade Books of the Three Caverns.

Long ago, when the Yellow Emperor campaigned against the tyrannical Chiyou, his army was mighty, yet he still could not bring Chiyou under control. Chiyou was skilled in transformation: he could summon wind and rain and breathe out smoke and mist, plunging the Yellow Emperor’s troops into confusion. The Yellow Emperor withdrew to rest at the foot of Mount Tai. In his grief and drowsiness, he fell asleep. The Queen Mother of the West sent an envoy clad in a black fox fur coat, who brought a talisman to the Yellow Emperor and said, “With the Great One before you, whoever obtains this talisman will prevail; whoever goes into battle will surely defeat the enemy.” The talisman was three inches wide and one foot long, smooth and lustrous as jade, with its script written in cinnabar-red blood. After the Yellow Emperor put on the talisman, the Queen Mother of the West then ordered a woman…

After the Yellow Emperor’s talisman ceremony was completed, the Queen Mother of the West sent a woman to appear before him. She had a human head and the body of a crow. She said to the Yellow Emperor, “I am the Mysterious Maiden of the Nine Heavens (Jiutian Xuannü), a goddess of legend.” She taught him the methods of the Three Officials and Five Intentions, Yin-Yang, Taiyi Dunjia and Liuren divination, the art of pacing the Dipper by the positions of the stars, the mysteries of the Yin Talisman, and the writings of the Five Talismans and Five Victories of the Numinous Treasure.

The Yellow Emperor then defeated Chiyou and pacified the Central Plains. After the time of the Shennong clan, he destroyed Yugang at Banquan, and the realm was brought to peace. He established his capital at Zhuolu in Shanggu. Several years later, the Queen Mother of the West sent the spirit of the white tiger, riding a white tiger, to the Yellow Emperor’s court, where it presented him with a map. In the Yellow Emperor’s later years, the Queen Mother of the West taught him the essentials of clarity, stillness, Wuwei (non-action), and returning to what is true and original. She said:

“If you never stop eating, your body cannot become light and nimble; if you never stop thinking, your spirit cannot become clear. If you indulge in sights and sounds, your heart cannot be at peace. When the heart and spirit are unsettled, the spirit cannot be luminous; when the spirit is not luminous, the Dao cannot be cultivated to completion. The essentials of cultivating the Dao do not lie in gazing up at the stars or paying homage to the Dipper, nor in tormenting yourself or exhausting your body. What matters is keeping the heart clear and settled, without rushing about over trivial concerns. Only then may you cultivate the immortal Dao and live forever.”

Later, when Yu the Great was administering affairs of state, the Queen Mother of the West sent an envoy to present him with a white jade ring and gave Yi a map. Yu then expanded the nine provinces established by the Yellow Emperor into twelve. The Queen Mother of the West also sent an envoy to present Yu with the Imperial Guan, a wind instrument for harmonizing the winds of the eight directions.

In the twenty-fifth year of King Zhao of Zhou, in the year Yimao, Lao Jun and the Perfected Person Yin Xi (who, according to legend, received Daoist scriptures from Laozi) traveled beyond the eight directions and journeyed west to Turtle Terrace, where they expounded the Scripture of Constant Clarity and Mysterious Refinement. For this reason, Ge Xuan, the Immortal Lord of the Left Office of the Supreme Ultimate, wrote in his preface: “I once received this scripture from the Lord of the Eastern Florescence; the Lord of the Eastern Florescence had received it from the Lord of the Golden Tower, and the Lord of the Golden Tower had received it from the Queen Mother of the West. These teachings were all transmitted orally, without being written down. Now I have set them down in writing and passed them on to the world.”

In the time of King Mu of Zhou, he ordered a chariot to be prepared for a journey. It was drawn by eight fine horses. On the right side of the chariot were harnessed Pili, and on the left Lü’er; another pair, Chiji and Baiyao, were hitched on the right and left. Zaofu drove, while Gaoju served as the armed guard beside him.

The king rode in a chariot drawn by eight famed horses. Baiyao held the reins, Canbai drove, and Benrong served as the armed guard on the right. They sped a thousand li to the land of the Jusu clan. The Jusu presented the king with the blood of a white swan to drink, then prepared cow’s and mare’s milk for him to wash his feet. After the people in the chariot had drunk, they continued their journey and spent the night beside Mount Kunlun, on the northern bank of the Red River. The next day, they climbed Kunlun Hill and gazed toward the Yellow Emperor’s palace. There they performed a sacrificial rite to establish a fief, praying that the lineage would endure through later generations. The king then paid a formal visit to the Queen Mother of the West as a guest and held a banquet by the Jasper Pool. The Queen Mother sang for the king, and he answered with a song of his own. Afterward, the king watched the sun set and traveled ten thousand li in a single day. He sighed, “My De is still insufficient. Later generations will probably examine my faults one by one.” Another account says that the king brought a white gui—a ceremonial vessel of white jade—and rich, heavy brocade to celebrate the Queen Mother of the West’s birthday. He sang “Song of the White Clouds,” then had an account of the event carved in stone on Mount Yi before returning. The Annals record: “In the seventeenth year of King Mu, he campaigned westward, met the Queen Mother of the West, and was received as a guest at Zhaogong.”

Ascension to immortality is divided into nine ranks. The first is the High Immortal, titled True King of the Nine Heavens; the second is the Second-Rank Immortal, titled True Sovereign of the Three Heavens; the third is the Supreme Perfected Person; the fourth is the Flying-Heaven Perfected Person; the fifth is the Numinous Immortal; the sixth is the Perfected Person; the seventh is the Numinous Person; the eighth is the Flying Immortal; and the ninth is the Immortal. These ranks must not be confused or overstepped. All who ascend to Heaven must first pay respects to the Duke of Wood, the honored deity of the East, and then make obeisance to the Golden Mother, the Queen Mother of the West. Only after receiving their appointment may they ascend to the Nine Heavens, enter the realms of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), pay respects to the Most High, and attend court before the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning.

In the early Han dynasty, four or five children were playing by the road. One of them sang, “Wearing a blue-green skirt, entering Heaven’s Gate, paying respects to the Golden Mother, and bowing before the Wood Lord.” No one at the time understood what the words meant. Only Zhang Zifang (Zhang Liang) knew, and he went to visit the child. “This is a jade youth of the Eastern King Lord,” he said. When immortals attain the Dao and ascend to Heaven, they must pay respects to the Golden Mother and bow before the Wood Lord. Those who have not transcended the mundane world and entered the realm of the perfected immortals cannot understand the way to do so.

Emperor Wu of Han favored the pursuit of longevity. In the first year of the Yuanfeng era, he climbed Mount Song, built the Terrace for Seeking the Zhen, and fasted in quiet contemplation. On the wuchen day of the fourth month, the Queen Mother of the West, a revered female immortal, sent Wang Zideng, the Jade Maiden of Tangcheng, to tell Emperor Wu: “I hear that you wish to set aside the realm’s stipend and the dignity of an emperor, and instead seek longevity. Is this true? You pursue the Dao with great diligence. On the seventh day of the seventh month, I will come for a short visit.”

Emperor Wu asked Dongfang Shuo, an official of the Han dynasty said to have knowledge of the immortals, whether this was indeed true. After receiving confirmation, he fasted in the palace for a hundred days, burning incense as he prayed and waited. After the second watch of the night, white clouds rose in the southwest, dense with vapor, and moved straight toward the palace. As they drew closer, they revealed clouds of nine colors, while the sound of flutes and drums resounded through the sky. The retinue included dragons and phoenixes, carriages and horses, with some riding qilin and others driving deer. There were also splendid chariots and heavenly horses; ceremonial banners streamed like rainbows and feathers. A thousand chariots and ten thousand riders illuminated the palace with their brilliance. The accompanying immortal officials were numerous, arranged in orderly ranks, each more than ten feet tall.

When the procession reached the place where the attendants were gathered, the Queen Mother rode in a carriage of purple clouds drawn by nine-colored, spotted dragons. She carried the heavenly immortal’s talisman and wore the diamond spirit seal, a precious imprint of the immortal realm. Her yellow brocade robes were vividly patterned and gleamed with golden light. At her waist she wore the sword that divides light and shadow, and a long sash of flying clouds. Her hair was arranged in an elegant coiffure beneath the Crown of the True Dawn, with its morning tassels, and her feet were shod in square jade shoes patterned with phoenixes.

She appeared to be about twenty years old, with an innate air of profound elegance and extraordinary, luminous beauty. She was truly an immortal. After alighting from her carriage, she was attended by two women, then climbed onto the couch and sat facing east. The emperor knelt and bowed, asking after her comfort on the journey. He stood waiting beside her for a long while, until she told him to put on the crown of Taizhen Morning Tassels and the jade shoes patterned with phoenixes. Then she invited him to sit.

She served the emperor delicacies from the Celestial Kitchen: fragrant fresh flowers and assorted fruits, as well as such immortal treasures as purple fungus and withered blossoms. The offerings were varied and exquisite beyond compare, unknown in the human world, and the emperor could not name them. She then told a maid to bring seven peaches on a jade plate. Each was about the size of a quail’s egg and a pestle. She gave four to the emperor and ate three herself. As he ate, the emperor kept the peach stones. When she asked why, he said he wanted to plant them. She told him that these peaches bore fruit only once every three thousand years; the soil of the Central Plain was too poor, and they would not take root there.

Next, she ordered Wangzideng to play “The Pride of the Eight Treasures,” Dong Shuangcheng to play the Sheng of Yunhe, Master Shi to strike the jade of Kunting, Xu Feiqiong to play the reed pipes of Zhenling, Wan Linghua to play the stones of Wuling, Fan Chengjun to strike the chime stones of Dongyin, Duan Anxiang to perform the music of the Nine Heavens, and Faying to sing the song of Xuanling. The many kinds of music rang out, clear and stirring, filling the vast sky.

When the singing and dancing had ended, the emperor left his seat, bowed, and asked how to attain long life. The Queen Mother said, “If you can regard glory and wealth lightly, be content with a lowly position, quiet your mind in stillness, and realize the Dao, you can naturally cultivate yourself well. But your nature is unrestrained, your desires excessive, and your lust knows no bounds. You also kill recklessly and indulge in extravagance. Extravagance brings ruin upon you; lust harms the body. Killing brings a fitting retribution, while excess corrupts the heart. When desires accumulate beyond measure, the spirit is damaged; when defilement grows too great, life itself is cut short.”

Although the human body is small, it harbors things within that can harm it. To injure oneself in pursuit of desire is like hacking at a square foot of wood with a hundred swords. Such practices cannot free a person from the Three Corpses—spirits or malign influences said in Daoism to dwell in the human body and obstruct cultivation. Instead, they become instruments of bodily harm. Indulgence in desire is an axe that fells the body; killing brings corresponding retribution, while extravagance corrupts the mind and spirit. When desires accumulate, the spirit is damaged; when impurities gather, life is cut short. It is impossible to escape the Three Corpses, preserve the body, and live long through such conduct. This is like a wingless bird trying to fly across the Celestial Lake, or a fungus that lives from dawn to dusk foolishly hoping for a long life.

If you can cleanse these disturbances, clear away impurities, and change your thoughts; preserve your spirit and Qi in the Vermilion Palace, the inner chamber associated with the mind and spirit, and close the Jade Palace, an inner chamber of the body in Daoist cultivation, so that the mind and spirit do not wander outside; restrain extravagance in quiet surroundings, cherish all living beings and do them no harm; uphold compassion, delight in giving, cultivate the breath, and cherish Jing—could you not then achieve something? Otherwise, it is like trying to cross a great river while clutching a stone: in the end, success will be beyond reach.

The Emperor knelt and received the Queen Mother of the West’s earnest instruction. He said, “I have little ability and have been sunk in worldly affairs. I inherited my forebears’ legacy, yet have been entangled in the affairs of the world, and my laws and punishments have often been unjust. My accumulated offenses are as high as a mountain. From this day forward, I will follow your words.”

The Queen Mother said, “You already know the methods for nurturing your nature and the essentials of regulating the body. You need only practice them diligently and persevere. My teacher, the Celestial King of Primordial Beginning, once gave me crucial instructions on the Terrace of Severe Firmament. He said: ‘If you wish to attain long life, cultivate yourself. Firmly guard the Three Ones—the three vital spirits or energies within the body that are central to Daoist inner cultivation—and preserve the root of life. Nourish the body with the essence of the Dark Valley, where deep currents of Qi reside, so that Jing and Qi gradually grow full and pure, ascending to the Gate of Heaven. The Golden Chamber, the place of inner refinement within the body, circulates between the central passes; the clear blue and white Qi converge distinctly at the Mudball Palace, the upper Dantian in the head. Nourish the fluids and gather in Jing so that the spirits of the body are at peace; protect the three palaces, and let spirit and Qi abide in the Vermilion Palace. The Wu and Ji Qi of the Yellow Court, the inner cultivation region associated with the spleen and stomach, have an undispersed source that runs through the five organs and twelve meridians. Exhale the old and inhale the new, harmonizing the six viscera and calming the ethereal and corporeal souls. Remove the hundred illnesses, ward off cold and heat, preserve Jing and Qi, retain life, and endure for a long time.’

“This is what is meant by breathing in the Qi of Great Harmony and guarding one’s natural nature. It is a truly essential method of cultivating the Dao.”

Anyone who practices this method can attain longevity, command ghosts and spirits, and travel among the Five Sacred Mountains. The only thing they cannot do is fly into the sky. If you can accomplish these things, you will have risen above the ordinary world. All who seek to become immortals begin here.

As for the Supreme One’s numinous elixirs, they are rare immortal medicines treasured by the Lord on High. The wondrous grasses born amid the Yin are also medicines consumed by immortals. Those who obtain the highest-grade elixirs can live beyond the span of Heaven and Earth. These are the medicines taken by the Supreme One, beyond the reach of ordinary earthly immortals.

Next come various immortal medicines, including the Nine Elixirs, Golden Liquid, Purple Splendor, Rainbow Essence, Great Clarity, the Nine Transformations, the Five-Cloud Nectar, Dark Frost and Crimson Snow, the Leaping Three Yellows, White Fragrance of the Eastern Sea, Flying Life of the Dark Continent, the Eight Minerals and Thousand Zhi, Awe-Inspiring Nine Lights, Gallstone of the Western Flow, Green Coins of the Eastern Sea, Surplus Grain of the High Mound, Jade Fields of the Accumulated Stone, and the Great Void Returning Elixir. There are also the Golden Orchid, Long-Light Crimson Grass, and Snow Child Flying Stalk, which are used to contain these medicines. Those who take these medicines can ascend to Heaven in broad daylight. They are medicines consumed by flying immortals; earthly immortals have no way of knowing them.

A lower grade of medicine includes the resin of pine and paulownia, mountain ginger, essence of Shen, chrysanthemum blossoms, alisma, goji berries, narrow poria, sweet flag, asparagus root, sesame, yellow essence, numinous flight, red boards, peach gum, wood essence, cimicifuga, teasel root, weixi, and coptis. These are only a few examples. There are many kinds of herbal medicines, with thousands of names. Taking them can prolong your life. Though they cannot grant endless longevity or enable you to ascend into the blue sky, they can nourish the body, restore a youthful appearance, and allow you to command ghosts and spirits, becoming an earthly immortal.

Those who seek the Dao should begin with this step, then gradually enter more subtle realms.

If one can regulate Jing and Qi through breathing, guard Shen and Qi, and prevent Jing from leaking away, one can preserve life for a long time. So long as Qi remains, one will not die. There is no need to spend money seeking medicines or to wear oneself out traveling about, since everything one needs is within oneself. People make use of these principles every day, often without realizing it. This is the key to the highest natural Way.

In the human body, Shen is bestowed by Heaven, the physical form by Earth, and Qi by the Dao. When Qi is present, life is present; when Qi departs, life ends. Even plants and all other things understand this principle. The human body takes the Dao as its foundation. How, then, could one fail to nurture the spirit, preserve the original Qi, and protect the physical form? The sages of the highest order prize the wholeness of both body and spirit. How could it not be grievous when the body is destroyed and the spirit dissipates? Once this body is lost, it is difficult to regain even after countless eons. You should cherish it.

These words were taught to me by my master, the Celestial King Primordial Beginning, a revered Daoist deity. I therefore urged the Jade Maiden Li Qingsun, a female immortal, to write them down and present them to the Lord Emperor, with the instruction: “You must practice them diligently.” The Queen Mother of the West ordered a carriage to be prepared, intending to depart. The Lord Emperor rose from his seat and bowed, asking her to stay. The Queen Mother then ordered her attendant to summon the Lady of the Upper Primordial, a female immortal, to descend with her to the imperial palace. After a long while, the Lady of the Upper Primordial arrived, and a banquet of heavenly delicacies was set out.

Some time later, the Queen Mother ordered that twelve items be brought out: the Book of the Eight Assemblies, written in eight kinds of celestial script or talismanic characters; the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks, Daoist diagrams depicting their shapes; and the numinous talismans of the Five Emperors and Six Jia, associated with the beliefs of the Five Emperors and Six Jia. She said, “These books and talismans are transmitted in Heaven only once every forty thousand kalpas; in the human world, they may be passed on to a person of the Dao once every forty years.” The Queen Mother ordered her attendant Song Lingbin to open a brocade cloud pouch and take out a scroll for the Lord Emperor. Holding the book, she rose and handed it to him herself, reciting:

“Heaven is honored and Earth is low; each of the Five Sacred Peaks has its true form. The primordial, original Qi surges, while the subtle essence of mystery lies stored in the great marsh. The Way of Heaven moves through the nine directions, and the Six Directions thereby remain at peace for ages. The script of the Great High One’s Eight Assemblies was formed by the Flying Immortals. True immortals take it as a token and use it to communicate with the spirits. If it is divulged and falls into the mortal world, one will suffer Heaven’s punishment. Such treasures belong with those who will live long. Be utterly prudent. I hereby impart this to Liu.”

After completing the invocation, the Lord Emperor bowed and accepted it. The Queen Mother said, “Those who are just beginning to study the Dao and receive talismans and registers should offer separate sacrifices to the rivers, mountains, and all the true spirits, in their quest for long life.”

“Be sure to treat this matter with great care. I have deliberately told you these things, Liu Sheng.” When the invocation was complete, Emperor Wu of Han rose and bowed in thanks, accepting the Queen Mother’s instructions and talismanic texts.

The Queen Mother said, “Those who are new to the Dao and receive talismanic texts should make separate offerings to the true spirits of the rivers and mountains. After fasting and purifying themselves, they may wear the talismanic texts. Forty years from now, if you wish to pass them on to your friends Dong Zhongjun and Li Shaojun, you may ask them to verify them. As emperor, you should be especially diligent in making offerings to the rivers and mountains, to bring stability to the realm. Bestowing written registers upon the true spirits can also protect the people.”

With that, the Queen Mother and the Lady of Highest Primordial Origin, a female immortal in Daoist tradition, ordered their attendants to prepare the carriage and depart. Their retinue gathered, ready to ascend to Heaven. Smiling, the Queen Mother pointed toward Dongfang Shuo and said, “He is a child from my neighborhood, naturally witty and humorous. He once came three times to steal peaches. In the past, he served as an immortal official of the Great Ultimate. But his attachment to jade wine disrupted the harmony of those under his command, and he was demoted to assist you. He is no ordinary mortal.”

Later, Emperor Wu of Han ignored the Queen Mother’s warning. He gave himself over to drink and sensual pleasures, repeatedly resorted to executions, campaigned in Liaodong, attacked Korea, and opened routes into the southwestern tribes. He built terraces and pavilions and undertook vast construction projects. The people throughout the realm resented him, and from then on he lost the Dao. He later visited places such as Huizhong and the coast, and made offerings to the Queen Mother three times, but she never descended to meet him again. The books he had received were kept on the Bailiang Terrace, where they were later destroyed in a heavenly fire. Li Shaojun shed his bodily form and departed, while Dongfang Shuo ascended and never returned. After the calamity of witchcraft and sorcery, Emperor Wu’s remorse deepened. In the second year of the Yuanshi era, he died at Wuzuo Palace and was buried at Maoling.

Later, the more than fifty scrolls of Daoist writings stored at Maoling all appeared one day on Mount Baodu. A jade casket and jade staff also appeared in Fufeng. They were taken to the market and examined, and were confirmed to be the same as those kept at Maoling. Yet how the casket and staff came to appear among the living remained a mystery.

Mao Jun Ying, courtesy name Shushen, accompanied Lord Wang of Xicheng to the White Jade Turtle Terrace to pay his respects to the Queen Mother and seek the Way of long life. He said, “With this unworthy body of mine, I look up to the enduring life of dragons and phoenixes; with a life as fragile as one that dawns and dies in a single day, I seek the long years that stretch through the seasons.”

The Queen Mother (Queen Mother of the West) took pity on Ying, whose devotion and sincerity were exemplary, and came to the White Jade Turtle Terrace. Ying paid homage to her and pleaded for the Way of long life, saying, “My abilities are mediocre, yet I admire the enduring lifespans of dragons and phoenixes. Human life is as brief as a mushroom that appears at dawn and dies by dusk, yet I hope to live on for a long, long time.” Moved by his sincerity, the Queen Mother told him, “In the past, I took the Primordial Heavenly King and the Sovereign Lord of the Vast Heaven, Fusang, as my teachers. They taught me the Way of the Jade Pendants and Golden Ornaments, and the Two Radiances Winding and Refining. Practicing this Way allows one to ascend to the Supreme Ultimate, reach the ten directions below, draw in the radiance of the moon, chew the essence of the sun, and enter the Gate of Heaven. This method is called the Scripture of Mysterious Truth. Now I will pass it on to you; you should practice it diligently.” The Queen Mother then had Lord Wang of Xicheng explain it point by point and transmitted to Ying the Precious Book of the Four Youths’ Dispersed Formula. Later, Lord Mao governed Mount Gouqu in the south.

On the ji-you day of the eighth month in the second year of the Yuan-shou era, the Perfected One of Mount Heng, Lord Chi, Lord Wang of Xicheng, and the Azure Youth of Fangzhu descended with the Queen Mother to Lord Mao’s residence. Soon after, the Great Emperor of Heaven sent the embroidered-robed envoy Leng Guangziqi to bestow on Ying a divine seal and jade tablets. The Lord Emperor of Taiwei sent the Censor of the Three Heavens’ Left Palace, Guan Xiutiao, to present Ying with an eight-dragon brocade carriage and splendid purple-feather robes. The Lord of the Great Dao above sent the Assistant Dawn Minister Shi Shumen to present Ying with a true talisman of the Golden Tiger and a flowing-gold bell. The Sage Lord of the Golden Tower, meanwhile, commissioned the Perfected One of the Supreme Ultimate to send the Zhengyi Upper-Mystery Jade Aides Wang Zhong, Bao Qiu, and others to present Ying with the Four-Section Swallow Embryo and the Radiant Divine Zhi.

After the four envoys bestowed these ritual objects, they had Ying wear the divine seal, put on the splendid robes, arrange his cap, sash, and Fulu (talismans and registers), and stand holding the bell. The envoys told Ying, “By consuming the Four-Section Hidden Zhi, you may attain the rank of True Minister; by consuming the Jade Zhi of the Golden Tower, you may serve as Director of Destiny; by consuming the Flowing Radiance Golden Essence, you may serve as Director of Emoluments; by consuming the Long-Shining Twin Fliers, you may serve as True Earl; by consuming the Night-Radiant Grotto Herb, you may oversee the offices of the Left and Right Censors. You have already consumed all of these.” Here, “consuming” refers to a Daoist cultivation practice of taking lingzhi and other elixirs in the hope of becoming an immortal.

Mao Ying (the “Ying” in the passage refers to Mao Ying) was granted a lifespan equal to that of Heaven and Earth. He was appointed to the office of Director of Destiny and given the title of Upper Minister of Mount Shu, overseeing the immortals of the Hao-Yue region and all the mountain ranges, rivers, and springs east of the Yangtze. When the message had been delivered, the envoys departed together.

The Lords of the Five Directions each arrived in Mao Ying’s courtyard in a carriage suited to their direction and wearing the corresponding attire. They conveyed the Great Emperor’s command, granting Mao Ying a purple jade tablet, documents inscribed with gold characters, and the “Nine Bestowals,” rites symbolizing an honorific appointment. They invested him as the Perfected Lord, Director of Destiny and Upper Minister of Mount Shu, and as a Perfected One of the Great Origin. Once the investiture was complete, the Lords departed together.

The Queen Mother of the West and Mao Ying’s teacher, Lord Wang of Xicheng, held a celestial banquet for him. During the feast, they sang the Song of Mysterious Numinosity. Afterward, the Queen Mother took Lord Wang to visit Mao Ying’s two younger brothers and separately taught them the essentials of the Dao. She also instructed the Lady of the Upper Origin to transmit four precious scriptures, including the Hidden Book of the Great Empyrean and the Essence of the Elixir Radiance, to Mao Gu and Zhong. The Queen Mother herself carried the Hidden Book of the Great Empyrean, while instructing her attendant Zhang Lingzi to bring the tokens for pledging faith and forming an alliance. She then bestowed the scriptures and alliance tokens on Mao Ying, Mao Gu, and Zhong. When the ceremony was over, the Queen Mother ascended to Heaven and departed.

Thereafter, Wang Bao, courtesy name Zideng, Zhang Daoling, courtesy name Fuhan, and all those who had received scriptures, including the Nine Sages and the Seven Perfected, went to pay their respects to the Queen Mother at her palace in Kunling.

Later, the Primordial Lady of Purple Emptiness, Wei Furen (Wei Huacun), was observing purification at the Hidden Origin Terrace in Yangluo. The Queen Mother and the Sage Lord of the Golden Tower descended to the terrace in a cloud carriage adorned with the Eight Luminaries. Together they proceeded to the Upper Palace of Clear Emptiness and transmitted the four scrolls of the Hidden Books of Jade Clarity to Wei Huacun. At that time, more than thirty perfected immortals were also present, including Feng Shuangli, Lady of the Three Origins; Shi Lucheng, the Left Immortal Lord of Purple Yang; Yan Gai, the Son of the High Immortal Count of Taiji; Wang Fangping, Perfected One of Xicheng; the Red Pine Master of Southern Peak, Perfected One of Great Emptiness; and Wang Ziqiao, Perfected One of Tongbai. They each sang the Yin Song of Taiji and the Yang Song of Taiji. The Queen Mother sang: “I harness my cloud carriage adorned with the Eight Luminaries and enter solemnly into the realm of Jade Clarity.”

The dragon banners are raised high, sweeping across the skies; a tiger guard—an imposing ceremonial retinue—surrounds the vermilion banners. The assembled company wanders at ease among the mysterious crossings, where countless streams flow without pause. With a single display of skill, they may thereafter meet or part; when the cycles of tribulation have run their course, Heaven and Earth themselves will collapse. One should seek the realm beyond existence and reach a state beyond death and life; comprehend the Dao of nature, and, in silent contemplation, unite with the Great Darkness.

Wei Huacun, the immortal of Southern Peak, stands out with her clear and refined talent, her essence as pure as jade. While in office, she never neglected her duties; open and receptive, she naturally received numinous responses. The immortals gathered at a bend in the Crimson River, sharing boundless joy.

When the song had ended, the Lady of Highest Origin also finished her answering song. The Queen Mother, the Lady of Highest Origin, the Left Immortal Lord of Ziyang, the Immortal Earl of Supreme Ultimate, and the Lord of Pure Emptiness then accompanied Wei Huacun eastward and southward, arriving beneath the cavern palaces and jade halls of Mount Tiantai and Mount Huo. All the Perfected Ones followed the Queen Mother as she ascended to Heaven and returned to Turtle Terrace.

The Queen Mother is the teacher and master artisan of all things. She governs and examines the Perfected Ones, holds a supreme sacred rank, and oversees affairs in both the underworld and the world above. For example, Bian Dongxuan personally went to pay her a visit and receive the Dao; Xie Ziran served her and thereby attained immortality. Thus, both the Dongxuan and the Biography of Ziran call the teacher of the Golden Mother the Queen Mother. The events recorded in these mysterious scriptures are not far removed from the world of ordinary experience, yet many details have still not been fully recorded.

End of Volume One of the Comprehensive Mirror of Perfected Immortals Through the Ages: Embodied Dao, Supplementary Collection.

Volume Two of the Comprehensive Mirror of Perfected Immortals Through the Ages: Embodied Dao, Later Collection

The Mysterious Lady of the Nine Heavens

The Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady, a Daoist goddess, was the Yellow Emperor’s teacher and a disciple of the Primordial Sovereign Mother. In his early years, the Yellow Emperor ruled the state of Youxiong and assisted Yugang, a descendant of Shennong. After Yugang grew weak, the feudal lords fought one another in ceaseless wars. Each occupied a region corresponding to a direction and one of the Five Phases, and took an imperial title based on its phase: descendants of Taihao called themselves the Azure Emperor; Yugang, a descendant of Shennong, called himself the Red Emperor; the Gonggong clan called itself the White Emperor; and descendants of Getian called themselves the Black Emperor. The Yellow Emperor rose to power from Youxiong and called himself the Yellow Emperor.

The Yellow Emperor honored worthy people, treated his subordinates with humility, and carefully cultivated De. In the twenty-first year after he took the throne, Chiyou rebelled. Chiyou had eighty-one brothers, with beastlike bodies but the ability to speak like humans. They had copper heads and iron foreheads, could swallow sand and stones, and did not grow grain. Chiyou imposed cruel punishments and harmed the people. He also forged weapons at Gelu Mountain and refused to obey the Yellow Emperor’s commands.

Preparing to campaign against Chiyou, the Yellow Emperor searched widely for worthy people to assist him. He found Feng Tai by the sea and Li Mu in a great marsh, then appointed Dahong to oversee government and Tian Lao to serve as his teacher. He established three ministers to correspond to the Three Stars of the Celestial Terrace: Feng Hou served as the Upper Minister, Tian Lao as the Middle Minister, and Wu Sheng as the Lower Minister. At first, the Yellow Emperor obtained a precious cauldron in which food could be cooked without a fire.

The Yellow Emperor observed the sun’s shadow and calculated the calendar. He appointed Feng Hu as a general, made the son of Fei Xiu the crown prince, and employed Zhang Ruo, Yang Peng, Li Mu, Rong Guang, Long Xing, Cang Jie, Rong Cheng, Da Nao, She Long, and other ministers to assist him. He then fought Chiyou at Zhuolu. For a time, the Yellow Emperor’s army could not prevail. Chiyou used magic to conjure a dense fog that obscured all directions for three days, leaving the army disoriented both inside and outside its ranks. Guided by the direction of the Dipper, Feng Hou made a south-pointing chariot. Its ladle-shaped pointer showed north and south and helped set the correct direction.

Filled with grief and anger, the Yellow Emperor fasted at the foot of Mount Tai. The Queen Mother sent a messenger clad in a black fox-fur coat, who brought Fulu (talismans and registers) to the Yellow Emperor and told him, “Focus your thoughts, and you will win.” Chiyou again used magic to conjure a dense fog for three days, throwing all directions into confusion.

Feng Hou made a south-pointing chariot based on the shape of the Big Dipper. Its ladle-shaped pointer faced south, helping people identify the four directions. Huangdi was consumed by grief and anger, and fasted at the foot of Mount Tai. The Queen Mother of the West sent a messenger dressed in black fox fur, who presented Huangdi with a talisman and told him, “Pray to Heaven with complete devotion and reverence, and the Supreme One, a revered deity of Daoism, will surely respond.”

Several days later, dense mist filled the space between Heaven and Earth, and daylight grew dim. The Dark Maiden of the Nine Heavens, a legendary goddess, descended. She rode a red phoenix, traveled on colored clouds, and wore splendid robes in nine colors. She came before Huangdi, who bowed and accepted her instructions. The Dark Maiden said, “I follow the teachings of the Supreme One. Ask me freely about anything you do not understand.”

Huangdi knocked his head to the ground and said, “Chiyou is violent and rampant, slaughtering the people. The people throughout the realm cry out in anguish and can barely keep their lives. I wish to learn how to win every battle and rid them of this scourge. Is that possible?” The Dark Maiden then taught Huangdi a series of military talismans and secret manuals of arts and techniques. These included talismans of the Six Jia and Six Ren for military action and divination; the Five Lingbao Talismans; documents for commanding ghosts and spirits; seals for communicating with spirits and suppressing malign forces; the Five Yin and Five Yang methods of Dunjia; diagrams for calculating victory and defeat; secret methods of the River Chart of the Five Sacred Peaks; and ritual implements such as staffs, swords, banners, seals, and pearls, used to direct troops and identify directions.

Huangdi then once again led the feudal lords into battle. Chiyou arranged an army of demons and spirits, including the chimei and wangliang, and enlisted the Rain Master and Wind Earl to defend him. He also ordered Yinglong to store up water and attack Huangdi. Huangdi subdued each of these forces in turn and finally defeated Chiyou in the plains of Juepei, in the region of Zhongji. Chiyou’s body was dismembered, and his limbs were buried separately. Later, when Yugang defied his orders, Huangdi executed him in the plains of Banquan. Huangdi continued northward, driving out Xunzhai and bringing peace to the four quarters. He toured the borders in every direction, covering a total of twenty-eight thousand li. Afterward, he cast a tripod, divided the realm into nine provinces, and appointed officials of the Nine Orders and Nine Virtues to investigate Heaven and Earth and perform sacrifices to the myriad deities. He also established laws and set up systems of instruction.

He then collected copper from Shoushan and cast a tripod at the foot of Xingshan. A Yellow Dragon came down to greet the Yellow Emperor, who rode the dragon up to heaven. These events were all the result of the Nine-Heavens Mysterious Maiden imparting talismans, strategies, and diagrams—documents and charts used for planning, divination, or military action—and helping him accomplish his great deeds.

In Shu, there had once been the Emperor Cancong. By the time of the Gaoxin clan, a legendary ancient ruling house, there was another woman in Shu known as the Silkworm Maiden. No one knew her surname. Her father had been taken captive, leaving behind only the horse she rode. The Silkworm Maiden longed for her father…

In ancient times, Shu was ruled by the Silkworm-Clump Emperor. During the reign of Gaoxin, there lived in Shu a woman who raised silkworms; no one knew her family name. Her father had been captured, and only the horse he rode remained at home. Longing for her father, the young woman was so grief-stricken that she refused to eat. Her mother then made a public vow: “Whoever brings her father back safely may marry my daughter.”

The horse heard these words, leapt up as if startled, broke free, and ran off. Several days later, the woman’s father indeed returned on horseback. From then on, the horse kept whinnying and refused to eat grass. The mother told her husband about the promise she had made in public. He said, “I made that vow to a person, not to a horse. Who would take a different kind of creature as a spouse? The horse has done a great deal by saving me from danger, but I cannot fulfill this promise.” The horse continued to whinny. Enraged, the father wanted to kill it. When it grew even more agitated, he shot it dead and spread its hide in the courtyard. Suddenly the hide sprang up, wrapped around the young woman, and flew away with her.

Ten days later, the horsehide came to rest on a mulberry tree, and the young woman was transformed into a silkworm. The silkworm ate mulberry leaves, spun silk, and formed cocoons, making clothing and bedding for people. One day, the Silkworm Maiden rode through the clouds on the horse, accompanied by several thousand attendants. She said to her parents, “The Most High—the supreme deity—has recognized that I have not forgotten my debt of gratitude and has appointed me a Celestial Consort of the Nine Palaces. You need no longer worry about me.”

Her tomb is now said to lie near the point where the three counties of Shiyu, Hanzhou, and Deyang meet. Every year, people seeking a successful silkworm harvest gather there from all directions. A custom in Shu is to place statues of a woman draped in horsehide in temples and monasteries throughout the region. She is called the “Horse-Head Maiden,” and people pray to her for a good silkworm harvest.

The Rites of Zhou, in its “Summer Offices” section, records that the Horse Officer was responsible for assessing horses. If a dispute arose over a horse, he was to judge the case and prohibit “raising silkworms a second time.” Zheng Xuan’s commentary explains that “second time” means raising silkworms again. In astronomy, the earthly branch Chen corresponds to the horse. Books on silkworms describe the silkworm as the vital essence of the dragon and say that, in the month when the Great Fire star is in charge, silkworm eggs should be bathed. From this, it seems that silkworms and horses share the same kind of vital energy, and neither should be allowed to flourish excessively. Raising silkworms a second time was prohibited because it harmed horses. According to these accounts, silkworms and horses are linked by their vital energy; someone must surely have investigated the principle behind this in depth. I, Dao Yi, have recorded the matter here in the hope that later generations will investigate it further.

Lady Yunhua

When Yu the Great was controlling the floods, he followed the contours of the mountains to clear the river channels. The Old Lord sent Lady Yunhua to assist him in secret. At the time, Yu was staying at the foot of Mount Wu when a fierce wind suddenly arose. The cliffs shook and crumbled, and the wind was impossible to subdue. Yu met Lady Yunhua, bowed to her, and asked for help. She ordered her attendants to fetch a sacred book for summoning spirits and deities, gave it to Yu, and commanded the deities Kuangzhang, Yuyu, Huanghui, Dayi, Gengchen, Tonglü, the Giant Spirit, and others to help him split the rocks and channel the waters: first blocking the places where they were obstructed, then opening a clear passage for the flow.

Yu once climbed to the summit of Chongsou to pay a visit to Lady Yunhua. In the blink of an eye, she might turn into stone, suddenly ascend and disperse as a light cloud, then gather again as evening rain. At times she became a roaming dragon; at others, a flying crane. Her transformations were endless, and she was difficult to approach. Yu therefore suspected that her strange comings and goings were unlike those of a true immortal, and asked Tonglü about her.

Tonglü said, “The foundation of Heaven and Earth is the Dao, and sages put the Dao to use. Among the ranks of sages are perfected beings and immortals. Some are endowed from birth with primordial Qi and become true immortals; they attain the Dao without cultivation. The Duke of Wood and the Queen Mother of the West are like this. They are the ancestral deities of Yin and Yang, govern the ranks of immortals and perfected beings, and are the source of creation and transformation. Lady Yunhua is the daughter of the Queen Mother of the West. The Collected Records of Extraordinary Immortals states that her name is Yaoji. She was invested as Lady of the Upper Palace of Cloud Radiance and oversees the instruction of youthful adepts. She lives on the Terrace of Jade Reflections. It is entirely natural for her to appear or vanish and change her form. She condenses primordial Qi to become a perfected being and is united with the Dao. Her form did not come into being through a mother’s womb; she was transformed from the Qi of Shaoyin in the West. Primordial Qi can spread throughout Heaven and Earth and move among animals and plants. In its vastness, it embraces creation and transformation; in its minuteness, it can enter even the finest hair.”

In the human world, one becomes human; as one thing among the myriad beings, one becomes a thing. Is it only a matter of transforming into clouds and rain, dragons and cranes, flying swans and soaring phoenixes? Yu agreed with these words and went to visit her again. Suddenly, he saw cloud towers and jade terraces, with palace halls of precious jade rising tier upon tier. Spirit officials—divine functionaries of the heavens—stood guard and attended in such numbers that they could not all be distinguished. Lion guardians watched the gates, heavenly horses cleared the way, and venomous dragons, lightning beasts, and the Eight Awe-Inspiring Divine Beasts accompanied the carriage.

The Lady sat upright on a terrace of precious jade. Yu bowed and knocked his head to the ground, then asked her for guidance. The Lady invited Yu to sit and said to him, “The sacred and enlightened creator began by bringing the myriad beings into existence, splitting open the undivided whole of chaos and differentiating it into countless forms. The creator opened the great storehouse hidden deep within and scattered its contents into things without end. Thus people observed the courses of the sun, moon, and stars, established times and directions, divided the land into the Nine Provinces, and founded states. They used water clocks to distinguish day from night and the cold and heat to determine the seasons of the year; they used Kan and Li—the water and fire images among the Eight Trigrams—to establish the cardinal directions, and mountains and rivers to mark regions of Yin and Yang. They built city walls to gather the people, made tools to protect them, devised carriages and garments to signify rank, and planted grain to meet times of disaster and poor harvests.

“All these institutions took their models from the stars of Heaven and from the divine and perfected beings, and were also used to nurture the things that have form. Thus the sun and moon wax and wane in brightness, and the growth and decay of the myriad beings change with the cold and heat; thunder and lightning have their seasons, and wind and rain follow their courses. Various breaths rise and float above, while abundant essences spread below. The destined measure of prosperity and decline; the fortunes of peace and disorder under Heaven; people’s endowments of wisdom or folly; their dispositions toward goodness or evil; their temperaments of strength or gentleness; their allotted spans of long life or early death; their stations of honor or lowliness; the order of those above and below; the responses that bring good fortune, calamity, blessing, or misfortune; and the timing of adversity and advancement—all these are received from the Dao, bound to Heaven, and recorded and established by the sages.

“A person’s nature comes from Heaven, while their destiny takes shape in the human world. Heaven establishes these orders, and the Dao sets them in motion. When the Dao is present, the myriad beings can exist; when the Dao departs, they all perish. Without the Dao, the myriad beings cannot endure; without cultivation, one cannot attain the Dao.”

The Most High—an honorific title in Daoism for the supreme deity or the Great Dao—says: “Let the mind reach utter emptiness and stillness, and devote yourself to holding fast to profound quietude; then all things will naturally return to their root.” Here, “returning” means going back to the Dao and making this state constant, never lost.

The workings of the Dao are endless, its transformations myriad, and no single transformation can sum them up. Heaven therefore embodies the profound and mysterious; Earth embodies undifferentiated abundance and solidity; and people should embody the Dao and De. To depart from these is to be out of accord with the Dao. To preserve life over the long term, Heaven must maintain its mystery, Earth must hold fast to its own root, and people must nourish their Jing and Qi. In this way, life can remain whole and unharmed. From this we know that my life and nature are in my own hands: Heaven and Earth do not seek to kill me, nor do ghosts and spirits seek to harm me. When people lose the Dao, they bring about their own demise.

You are ambitious and diligent. Your deeds have already benefited others, and you have also devoted effort to your own cultivation, enough to resonate with the Way of Heaven. Yet you have not heard of the highest Dao. In the past, I received the scriptures at the Gate of Purple Clarity, a celestial palace. I treasured them and practiced them diligently. My teacher, the Lord of the Three Origins, said: “The Inner Scripture of the Highest Truth is a treasured classic kept by the Heaven-Realized Immortals.” Seal it away in the Golden Terrace, and carry it as you journey to the Great Tenuity, the celestial star palace: you will then ascend to Heaven on clouds, with divine tigers guarding the gates. Adjust your robes in the Jade Chamber, and roam and feast in the Forest of Rare Beauty, a celestial realm. You will summon Immortal Lords for ages to come, dwell on White Mountain, and gaze down upon the vast sky. Roam the Celestial Ford, the heavenly river, and you can ride clouds and dragons; travel to famous mountains, and perfected beings will come to your dwelling. The myriad spirits will guard you, and the thousand essences will welcome you. When you travel, you will have the Eightfold Radiance Jade Carriage, an immortal’s vehicle; when you rest, you will dwell in the Golden Hall. This wondrous text is also called the Highest One’s Jade Pendant of Golden Constancy.

If you wish to cross the sea without a boat, pass through flying sand without a cloud carriage, travel rugged roads without a vehicle, or wade through muddy waters without a means of crossing, then on land you will be impeded by long, remote roads, while on water you will fear drifting away and sinking. If you wish to clear the valleys and open the countless rivers without the proper means, the task will indeed be perilous and difficult.

The Most High, a Daoist honorific for the Dao, took pity on you and prepared to pass on the True Writings of the Numinous Treasure, enabling you to drive tigers and leopards on land, subdue flood dragons in the water, destroy evil spirits, seize fierce beings, and accomplish your great work. Such supernatural powers belong to the Celestial Realm of Yangming.

The precious book I pass on to you can also enable you to move through water and fire, command the ghosts and spirits of the underworld with a shout, drive tigers and leopards, summon the Six Ding divine generals, conceal yourself in the eight directions, and reverse the movements of the Five Planets. It can help people preserve their bodies for a long time and live as long as Heaven and Earth. So the Most High ordered his attendant, Ling Ronghua, to take the Precious Writings of Shangqing from the peak of Jade Mountain. He opened the text and passed it on to Yu. He also ordered the spirits Kuangzhang, Juling, and others to help Yu kill the demons that harmed the people and could not be subdued by human strength alone. Yu killed Fangfeng at Kuaiji and bound Wuzhiqi, the spirit of the Huai River’s whirlpool, at Turtle Mountain—all through these divine powers. Later, Yu entered the Grotto Heaven of Yangming and became a Perfected One of the Purple Court.

Chang’e: After Yi obtained the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West, his wife Chang’e secretly drank it and flew to the Moon Palace.

The Weaving Maiden

In the heavens, the Weaving Maiden corresponds to the star Vega, while the Oxherd Star is the star known as the River Drum. In olden times, legend held that the Celestial River flowed into the sea. In the Han dynasty, a man living by the sea saw a raft pass back and forth at regular intervals every eighth month. A man of extraordinary ambition built a tall pavilion on the raft, stocked it with provisions, and set off upon it. More than ten days later, he arrived at a place that resembled a walled city, with orderly, closely packed houses. In the distance, he saw a woman weaving inside a house. He also saw a man leading an ox to drink. The man asked in surprise, “How did you get here?” The traveler explained why he had come and asked where he was. The man replied, “Return to Shu Commandery and ask Yan Junping, and you will find out.” The traveler went back and later asked Yan Junping about the matter. Yan said, “On a certain day in a certain month of a certain year, a guest star encroached upon the Oxherd constellation. By my calculations, that was when this man reached the Celestial River.”

The Record of the Divine and Strange by Dongfang Shuo recounts that Guo Han once met the Weaving Maiden when she descended to his home. She wore a garment like black clouds and a gauzy robe as fine as frost and snow. On her head was a golden crown shaped like a phoenix, and on her feet were Nine-Chapter shoes patterned with jade. She laid out prayer rites involving frost mist and cinnabar valleys, displayed mushrooms of the Nine Crystalline Jade Blossoms, and turned a fan that gathered and stirred the winds. Beside her was a dragon-shaped pillow decorated with a paired-heart design. The next day, she wrote on a piece of blue silk with cinnabar and lead powder, then sent it to Guo Han.

The Book of Han records that Dong Yong lost his mother when he was young and lived by caring for his father. His family was poor, so he worked as a farmhand. Each month, he pushed his father in a small cart to the shade of a tree by the fields, then went off to plow. After his father died, Dong Yong borrowed ten thousand coins from his employer and sold himself into servitude, using the money to bury his father. On his way back, he suddenly met a woman of striking appearance who asked to marry him. Dong Yong took her with him to see his employer. The employer demanded that Dong Yong’s wife weave six hundred bolts of silk before allowing the couple to leave. She immediately sat at the loom and finished the work within a month. The employer was astonished by how quickly she had woven the silk and let them go. When they reached the place where they had first met, the woman bade Dong Yong farewell, saying, “I am the Weaving Maiden of Heaven. Because of your deep filial devotion, the Celestial Emperor ordered me to come and help you repay your debt.” With that, she rose into the sky and departed. Today, Taizhou still preserves the place where Dong Yong is said to have lived, as well as the Well of the Heavenly Maiden’s Silk Weaving.

The story of the Weaving Maiden’s marriage to the Oxherd appears in the previous volume, in the “Biography of Wuding.”

Chang Rong was the daughter of a Shang king who cultivated the Dao at the foot of Mount Chang. She lived on the roots of pengmeng and had been seen going up and down the mountain for more than two hundred years, yet she always looked about twenty.

Whenever she gathered purple gromwell, she took it to dyers and gave the money she received to the poor and sick. She did this year after year, so many people offered sacrifices and gifts to her. Yet no one ever knew what kind of Daoist art she practiced. She often went out at noon, but no shadow could be seen. Some said Chang Rong could refine her form—that is, transform her body through cultivation. Before long, she suddenly rose into the sky and vanished. This account appears in the Biographies of Immortals (Lie Xian Zhuan).

“Female Companion” begins a separate passage.

Nanbo Zikui asked Nü’ou, “You are already very old, yet your appearance is like that of a child. Why?” Nü’ou replied, “I heard the Dao and realized it.”

Nanbo Zikui asked, “May I learn from you?” Nü’ou said, “I’m afraid you are not suited to learning the Dao. Buliang Yi had the capacity to become a sage, but did not possess the Way of a sage. I possess the Way of a sage, but lack the capacity to become one. I want to teach him the Dao, in the hope that he may perhaps become a sage. When someone who possesses the Way of a sage meets someone with the capacity to become one, teaching comes easily.”

“I continued to guide him, holding fast to the principles of the Dao. After three days, he could set the world outside his heart and stop worrying about its affairs. Once he had done that, I continued to guide him, and after seven days he could set external things outside his heart. Nine days later, he could set life and death outside his heart. After transcending attachment to life and death, he reached ‘dawn clarity’—a mind suddenly bright and clear. Having reached dawn clarity, he could ‘see the Unique’: he realized the Dao, which is singular and depends on nothing. After seeing the Unique, he was no longer bound by ideas of past and present. Transcending past and present, he could enter a state beyond life and death.

“The Dao can bring life to an end, and it can also free people from attachment to life. It does not deliberately welcome things or deliberately send them away; it does not cling to destruction or to achievement. This state is called ‘yingning’: only when turmoil in the mind has subsided can fulfillment be attained.”

Nanbo Zikui asked, “From whom did you hear these teachings?” Nü’ou replied, “I heard them from the Son of Fu Mo. The Son of Fu Mo heard them from the Grandson of Luo Song; the Grandson of Luo Song heard them from Zhan Ming; Zhan Ming heard them from Nie Xu; Nie Xu heard them from Xu Yi; Xu Yi heard them from Yu Shu; Yu Shu heard them from Xuan Ming; Xuan Ming heard them from Can Liao; and Can Liao heard them from Yi Shi.”

Li Zhenduo was the younger sister of the immortal Li Babai. She followed her elder brother in cultivating the Dao and lived in Mianzhu. Lord Lao and the three masters of Xuangu descended and taught her the art of ascending to the heavens. At first, …

Li Zhendu was the younger sister of the immortal Li Babai. She followed her elder brother in cultivating the Dao and lived in the area around Mianzhu. Lao Jun and the three masters of Xuangu descended and taught her the Way of Ascension. She ascended to Heaven in broad daylight before Li Babai did. Traces of Zhendu’s story can still be found today. Some say she once traveled near Fushan, a place the locals call “Zhendu’s Transformation.” It was also the site of the ancient Fushan administrative seat.

Another account says that Li Babai and his younger sister Zhendu chose to live at Wulong Ridge in Junyang, also known as Chishang Fort, where the prefectural seat of today’s Ruozhou is located. Later, the siblings refined elixirs in a stone chamber on Hualin Mountain. That site is now Fuyun Abbey in Fengxin County, Longxing Prefecture. The two were both from Shu, and though they chose to live in Junyang, they often traveled back and forth to Shu.

One day, Zhendu came from Shu to Junyang. Li Babai waited for her at Yingxian Gate, the site of today’s Wangxian Gate in Ruozhou. He saw that Zhendu held a lotus flower and looked as if she were pregnant. Angered, he thought of drawing his sword and striking her. Sensing this, Zhendu immediately crossed the river through the air, gave birth to a boy, and left behind a scroll of scripture. Then she rode the clouds and slowly ascended to Heaven.

The people of that time made a statue of Zhendu and prepared to enshrine it. Once the statue was finished, however, they could not move it, no matter how hard they tried. That night, Zhendu appeared in a dream and said, “My shrine should be built at Wulong Ridge.” The next day, when people tried to carry the statue again, they found it very light, so they built the shrine there.

In the tenth year of the Tianbao era under Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the Celestial Master Sun Zhidong petitioned to have the site renamed Yuanyang Abbey, in recognition of the traces of Zhendu’s manifest presence. In the seventh year of the Yuanhe era under Emperor Xianzong of Tang, Shen Ben, the magistrate of Gao’an County, moved the county seat to the abbey grounds. As a result, the county seat and the Daoist abbey successively changed locations. Today, Miaozhen Palace stands on Xiaoyao Mountain, two li west of Ruozhou city. The place where Zhendu gave birth to the scripture is now named Yitian Abbey. The female Daoists there have passed the scripture down from generation to generation. People from the prefecture often bring incense, candles, and offerings to the abbey to view it and pray for a safe birth and an easy passage through labor.

Zhendu is now honored as the Primordial Lady Mingxiang.

The woman who won the money.

Ying, daughter of Duke Mu of Qin, was named Nongyu. She was skilled at playing the sheng, but no one could play in harmony with her, so she hoped to find a skilled sheng player as her companion. Xiao Shi excelled at the xiao. When he played, he could summon gentle breezes, colored clouds, and phoenixes. Nongyu was willing to marry him. When she played the sheng, she too could summon auspicious signs, just as Xiao Shi did with the xiao. Meng Ming acted as matchmaker, and Sai Shu served as the wedding host. The couple agreed to marry, and a banquet was held in the western hall. No other music was played during the feast: the two alternated between the sheng and xiao, playing together until they summoned a phoenix. They mounted the phoenix and flew away. The people of Qin then built the Shrine of the Phoenix Maiden.

Solar Maiden

The Solar Maiden’s surname was Zhu, and her given name was Yi. She explained and elaborated on the Way of the Five Phases (the theory that uses Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth to describe how things change), reflecting on it and adding to it until it reached a subtle and profound level. She practiced in accordance with this Way, and its effects came quickly. She lived to the age of 280, yet her complexion remained rosy as a peach blossom. Her lips were bright red, her skin full and smooth, and her eyebrows and sideburns exquisitely formed. She looked like a girl of seventeen or eighteen. She served Juedongzi, and when the elixir was complete, Juedongzi bestowed it upon her. Thus she too was able to become an immortal and ascend to Heaven.

Lunar Maiden

Taiyin Nü, a female immortal, had the surname Lu and the given name Quan. Naturally bright and exceptionally wise, she was drawn to the Way of the Jade Maiden, a Daoist cultivation method, and had learned some of its techniques, though she had not yet reached their subtle depths. There was no accomplished teacher at the time, so she sold wine by the roadside, secretly using this as a way to seek out worthy people. Years passed, but she never met anyone whose understanding surpassed her own.

One day, she heard the Sun Child, the name of a Daoist immortal, sigh with feeling: “Others employ the White Tiger and the Remaining Serpent; I employ the Azure Dragon and the Dark Warrior. The world is vast—who truly understands these things?” Taiyin Nü was delighted to hear this and sent her younger sister to ask the visitor, “What is the number of Earth?”

The Sun Child replied, “I do not know. But the South is three, the North five, the East nine, the West seven, and the Center one.” These numbers are the correspondences assigned to the five directions and Five Phases in Daoist numerology.

When her sister returned, she reported, “This visitor is a great sage, a Daoist of profound virtue. I asked him about ‘one,’ and he had already answered with ‘five.’” Taiyin Nü then invited the Sun Child into her Daoist chamber, served him exquisite dishes and precious foods, and told him of her wish to entrust herself to his instruction.

The Sun Child said, “We both serve in the court of the Celestial Emperor, drink from the waters of divine light, and seek to ascend to the immortal realms and become leaders among the Jade Children. Our bodies both contain the precious Qi of the Five Phases. Those of worthy virtue naturally draw close to one another—what is there to wonder at?” He then taught Taiyin Nü the essentials of nourishing and guiding, and passed on a method for steaming and refining elixirs. Taiyin Nü compounded the medicine and took it; through this, she attained immortality. Though she was already two hundred years old, she still had the appearance of a young woman.

The Hairy Maiden (heading of the following passage).

Mao Nü, whose name was Yu Jiang and who is also recorded as Yu Mei, lived in the mountains of Huayin. Local villagers and hunters had seen her for generations. Hair grew all over her body, and she said she had once been a palace woman in the court of Qin Shi Huang. When the Qin dynasty fell, she fled into the mountains to escape danger. Later, the Daoist Gu Chun taught her to eat pine needles. After that, she no longer suffered from hunger or cold, and her body felt so light she seemed able to fly. She lived for more than 170 years. The sound of a zither was often heard from the cave where she lived. These accounts appear in the Biographies of Immortals (Lie Xian Zhuan).

The Baopuzi records that during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, a hunter saw a naked person covered in black hair in the Zhongnan Mountains. She leapt across pits and ditches and crossed mountain streams as swiftly as if flying. The hunter secretly watched to learn where she lived, then surrounded and captured her. He discovered that she was a woman. She said, “I was in the palace during the Qin dynasty. When the rebels attacked, the Qin king left the city and surrendered, and I fled into the mountains in terror. I had no food and nearly starved to death. An old man taught me to eat the leaves and fruit of pine and cypress trees. At first they tasted bitter and astringent, but I gradually got used to them. From then on, I was never hungry again. I was not cold in winter or hot in summer.” She was born in the Qin dynasty, so by the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han she was more than 300 years old.

Another account says that Yu Daochao and Yu Daoyuan were women of the Qin dynasty who went into seclusion in the Wuyi Mountains. People later saw them there frequently. Mao bamboo grew all around their dwelling, so people also came to call the two women “Mao Nü,” playing on the name “Mao bamboo.”

Mei Gu

Mei Gu was a woman from Danyang County during the Qin dynasty. She possessed Daoist arts and could walk on water while wearing shoes. A temple dedicated to Mei Gu stands in the county and remains there to this day.

Nü Ji

Nüji was the wife of the owner of the Chen family wine shop. An immortal passing by her home pawned five scrolls of books written on plain silk in exchange for wine. When Nüji opened them, she discovered that they contained methods of cultivation used by immortals. She secretly copied the essential instructions and practiced them. Several years later, the immortal returned and said with a smile, “You learned the methods in secret. Without a master to guide you, you are like someone with wings who does not know how to fly.” Nüji then followed the immortal away. It is said that the place where she now resides is Nüji Mountain.

Lady Sun

Lady Sun, who is also said to have borne the surname Yong, was the wife of Zhang Daoling, the Han dynasty Celestial Master (Tianshi). She and Zhang Daoling withdrew together to Mount Longhu to cultivate the Dao (the Way). In the second year of the Yuanhe era under Emperor Zhang of Han, the two traveled to Shu and lived at Yangpinghua. After Zhang Daoling completed his cultivation, on the ninth day of the ninth month in the second year of the Yongshou era under Emperor Huan of Han, the Most High—a revered Daoist deity—sent an emissary. Lady Sun and Zhang Daoling then ascended together from Yuntai Peak in broad daylight. The Pearl Bag of the Three Caverns records that the Celestial Master Zhang ascended to heaven, and his wife followed one year later.

Zhang Wenji

Zhang Wenji was the eldest daughter of the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling. She married a young master of the Yuan family of Chen Commandery. The Yuan family was wealthy and also fond of Daoist arts. After a long time had passed, she ascended to heaven in broad daylight, carrying five children in her arms.

Zhang Wenji

Zhang Wenji was the eldest daughter of the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling. She married a young master of the Yuan family of Chen Commandery. She ascended to heaven in broad daylight, carrying five children in her arms.

Zhang Wenguang

Zhang Wenguang was the second daughter of the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, though another account calls her his fourth daughter. She married the Prince of Ling as his consort. After receiving her title, she committed a taboo by using her father’s personal name. She went without food for several months and later ascended to heaven in broad daylight. Another account says that three days after entering the palace, she ascended from the main hall in broad daylight.

Zhang Xian

Zhang Xian, also known as Xianji, was the third daughter of the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, though another account calls her his fifth daughter. She married the Prince of Yan as his consort. Fond of Daoist arts, she collected methods of cultivation used by perfected beings. After a long time had passed, she ascended to heaven in broad daylight.

Zhang Zhi

Zhang Zhi, also known as Fangzhi, was the fourth daughter of the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, though another account calls her his sixth daughter. She married the second son of the Duke of Wei. After her husband died, she became gloomy and unhappy because she had committed a taboo by using her father’s personal name. Later, she ascended from her home in broad daylight.

Lady Lu

Lu was the wife of Zhang Heng, the second Celestial Master (Tianshi) of the Han dynasty. After Zhang Heng attained the Dao, Lu also attained the Dao on Yangping Mountain and ascended to heaven in broad daylight.

Zhang Yulan

Zhang Yulan was Zhang Heng’s daughter. From childhood she was quiet and pure, and ate no meat or fish. At the age of seventeen, she dreamed that a vermilion light entered her mouth, and afterward she became pregnant. Her parents questioned her, but she would never explain how it had happened. Only her maid knew the truth. One day, she said to the maid, “After I die, cut open my abdomen to prove what is in my heart.” That evening, she died.

Her parents followed her instructions and cut open her abdomen. Inside, they found something like a lotus just beginning to bloom. In the flower were ten scrolls of scripture written on white silk, called the Jing of the Fundamental Origin. More than ten days later, a fierce wind suddenly rose and heavy rain fell. The sky grew dark, and the scriptures vanished.

The Records of Chengdu states that the Celestial Master’s granddaughter became pregnant without a husband. Her father suspected her and wanted to kill her. After she gave birth, a strange light appeared, and within it was a scroll—the Jing of the Fundamental Origin. Her father recognized it as something miraculous and threw down his knife. Later, Yulan ascended to immortality at Dunxin Village, where the Shrine of the Young Lady now stands. Relics at the site still include the Terrace of the Holy Maiden, the Pool Where the Knife Was Cast Away, and the Pool for Washing the Scriptures.

Another account says that she received ten scrolls of the Jing of the Fundamental Origin, written on white silk about two chi long and six or seven cun wide. Their writing was so exquisite that it seemed beyond human hands. Later, someone copied the scriptures and buried Yulan. More than a hundred days afterward, a violent wind and thunderstorm suddenly arose, and the scriptures disappeared. Yulan vanished as well. The tomb opened by itself, leaving only an empty coffin inside.

Immortal Lord Ge Xuan of Eastern Wu cultivated himself on Mount Zegai in Jingmen Commandery. It was bitterly cold, with the ground frozen solid, and the Immortal Lord was barefoot and dressed in ragged clothes. One day, the two daughters of the Qu family saw him and felt sorry for him enduring the cold, so they stayed up through the night to make him a pair of shoes. The next day, when they went to deliver them, they discovered that the Immortal Lord had already left. Only the ashes in the furnace remained, still faintly warm. The sisters sifted through the ashes and found a pill of the Elixir, which they divided and swallowed. After that, their spirits felt clear and refreshed, and they no longer felt hunger or thirst; their only wish was to live a quiet, secluded life. Later, the sisters withdrew from the world and were never seen again. People of the time believed they had attained the Dao and become immortals.

Mother Chen.

Shen Mu, a female immortal of the Shen clan, was of unknown origin. Her courtesy name was Ying. She often stayed at Huangtang in Danyang Commandery, Jinling, where she secretly cultivated the Great Dao. She no longer remembered her age. People across several generations had seen her: though very old, her teeth and hair showed no signs of aging, and her appearance remained youthful. People all called her “Shen Mu” and believed she could serve as a teacher to others.

During the reign of Emperor Hao, Shen Mu was walking through the city of Danyang when she met a boy of about fourteen or fifteen. He bowed to her and asked to become her adopted son. Shen Mu told him, “You are already grown. You should serve and support your birth parents. How can you leave them and ask me to become your mother? That is contrary to your proper place and to the Great Dao.” The boy knelt, thanked her, and left.

More than a month later, Shen Mu passed through the city again and suddenly saw a child of about three crying out. She did not know whose child he was. When the child saw Shen Mu, he grabbed her clothes and would not let go. “Where is my mother? Please take pity on me,” he said. Feeling compassion for the child, who had no one to rely on, Shen Mu took him home and raised him. As he gradually grew, he cared for her devotedly, never neglecting her from morning to night. His nature accorded with the Dao, and his conduct reached the divine. Exceptionally intelligent, he had broad knowledge of the scriptures and histories, and was also well versed in astronomy, geography, and the various schools of thought. He investigated the roots and mysteries of things, seeking out the most subtle and profound principles.

When the child was nearly twenty, Shen Mu said to him, “I have cultivated and served the Orthodox Way for a long time. Through my raising you, you have formed a temporary bond with me. Since you were not born with a family name, what name should you use from now on?” The child replied, “Long ago, a Celestial Perfected—an immortal from the heavens—transmitted sacred writings to me and promised that I would become the Bright King of Filial Devotion and Brotherhood. Could I use this as my title?” Shen Mu said, “Since it was bestowed on you by a Celestial Perfected, how could I dare oppose it?”

Later, when the subject of finding him a wife came up, the child knelt before Shen Mu and recited, “I am not a person of this world, but a high-ranking immortal perfected in the upper realm. I have now become the son of a mother so that I may become the King of Filial Devotion and Brotherhood.”

Now that I have become your son, it is because of the bond we formed in a previous life. By practicing filial piety, I was able to deliver the various immortals. The fifteen boys from before were also my manifestations. Now my Dao Qi is complete, and I am about to return to my original form. Immortals and ordinary people follow different paths; how could marriage still be appropriate to discuss? It would be better to teach at the Huangtang altar, where Daoist methods are transmitted, and entrust the teachings to people of virtue.

Since my mother has accepted my teachings, my spirit now dwells in peace among the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing). Hearing these words of praise, Mother Chen was astonished and awestruck. She then established an altar precinct at Huangtang, offered incense with reverence, and vigorously spread the teachings of the Filial Piety Bright King.

The Bright King told Mother Chen the essential methods for cultivating the Dao: “You should practice regularly at the Dark Altar on high ground, keep away from rival groups, and take time to cultivate in seclusion among hills and wilderness. Take in the harmonious Qi of Yang; let your mind and spirit rest in the Great Void; dwell quietly and serenely in the Dark Garden, a realm of immortals. Without such inheritances as the Precious Canopy of the Nameless Hero, the Jade Book of the Yellow Venerable, the Great Cavern True Scripture, and the Way of the Supreme One’s Hidden Mystery of the Seven Primordial Ones of Expansive Radiance, you cannot ride at ease in a carriage of flowing rosy clouds or attend to the Terrace of Wenchang. Those who obtain this Daoist teaching will hear the nine phoenixes sing as many immortals and numinous beings gather around them. By refining and nourishing the body and directing the seasons, they can make the Eight Radiances appear in the sky, ride in a dragon carriage, command tiger troops, and roam in every direction. You must always cherish this teaching.”

Mother Chen then fully grasped the essentials of cultivation and received the numinous texts, efficacious scriptures transmitted in Daoist practice. The Bright King took leave of his mother and ascended into the heavens. After receiving the transmission, Mother Chen kept the methods secret and safeguarded them; for decades, no one knew of them.

Toward the end of the Western Jin, Xu Xun (Perfected Lord Xu) and Wu Meng (Perfected Lord Hao) heard that Mother Chen had attained the Dao and traveled far to Danyang to seek instruction. Knowing that their names were already recorded in the registers of immortals and that they were destined to become immortals, Mother Chen transmitted to them the teachings of the Filial Piety Bright King, the Way of the True Immortals’ Ascension, the Zhengyi method for cutting down evil, and the Three-Five Flying Steps, Daoist techniques and ritual steps patterned on the stars. She also entrusted Perfected Lord Xu with the copper talisman and iron credential of the Filial and Fraternal Piety Bright King, handed down by Lord Lan, together with the precious Golden Elixir scripture, all in accordance with the precepts of the Primordial Beginning. She explained to both men the Jade Emperor’s mysterious registers and the ranks recorded in the registers of immortals. Then she instructed Perfected Lord Xu to pass the teachings on to Perfected Lord Wu. The two men bowed in gratitude and prepared to take their leave and return home.

Xu Jun wished to visit Mother Chen every year. Mother Chen advised him, “You need not come again. I will soon return to the Imperial Realm, the immortal realm where the Celestial Emperor resides.” She took a stalk of fragrant grass, looked south, and cast it into the air. The stalk flew away on the wind. Then she said to Xu Jun, “When you return to your residence, find the place where the stalk has fallen, several dozen li to the south, and build a shrine for me there. It will be enough to come once each autumn.” As soon as she finished speaking, a carriage drawn by cloud dragons suddenly arrived to receive her, and she departed into the sky.

Today, at the border between Xinjian and Fengcheng counties, stands Huangtang Abbey. Tradition says it was built by Xu Zhenjun after he visited Huangtang in Danyang. It is also where people pay homage to Mother Chen each year on the third day of the eighth lunar month.

Immortal Maiden Liu

Immortal Maiden Liu, whose personal name was Yi, was from Jing’an County. She lived for several hundred years, yet looked like a child; Mother Chen once praised her in these terms. When Xu Zhenjun went to visit her, she had already ascended. He therefore left her a precious wooden flower carriage as a gift. The carriage rose on the wind and did not descend until three days later. For this reason, the abbey was named Sunlit Flower Carriage Abbey. The inscription on its stele still survives; today it is known as Qixia Abbey.

Mother Xu

Mother Xu was the elder sister of Xu Zhenjun and the mother of his son, Xu Lie. Seeing that she was widowed, Xu Xun built her a house several dozen paces west of his own residence, where she could live. Xu Xun secluded himself in the Western Mountains to cultivate the Way, studying its profound teachings day and night. Mother Xu and her son Xu Lie often grasped their hidden meanings as well.

When Xu Xun was away, Mother Xu managed the household. The immortals and recluses who came to visit were all able to meet her. On the day Xu Xun ascended, Mother Xu and her son Xu Lie received the Jade Emperor’s decree together and ascended to Heaven with the immortal family.

Xu Shi was the daughter of Xu Xun, the Perfected Lord Xu. She married Huang Renlan of Jian’an and fully grasped the subtleties of Xu Xun’s Daoist teachings. Each day, she studied the arts of the immortals. When Huang Renlan took up a post as an aide in Qingzhou, he went there alone, while Xu Shi stayed at home to care for her parents-in-law.

One night, a household servant reported hearing laughter and conversation in Xu Shi’s courtyard. Her mother-in-law asked her about it, and Xu Shi replied, “It was my husband, Huang, who came back.” Her mother-in-law said, “My son is serving in an official post thousands of li away. How could he have come here?” Xu Shi said, “He has already attained the Dao of the immortals and can travel a thousand li in an instant. I warned him not to reveal his whereabouts, so he did not dare let you know.” Her mother-in-law said, “If that is so, you should let me see him.”

That night, Huang Renlan returned. Xu Shi told him what had happened. Just before dawn, Huang Renlan had no choice but to come out and pay his respects to his parents. He said, “Although I serve as an official far from home, I often return quietly at night to keep my parents company. The Dao of the immortals is secret and must not be revealed. Otherwise, I fear we may incur punishment.” With that, he transformed his bamboo staff into a blue-green dragon, mounted it, and departed.

Later, when Xu Xun ascended to immortality, Xu Shi, Huang Renlan, her parents-in-law, and twenty-eight other members of the household all ascended to the realm of the immortals in broad daylight. As the immortals’ ceremonial procession set out, Xu Shi’s hairpin accidentally fell. This is why the place came to be known locally as “Xu Shi’s Fallen Hairpin Islet.” Feisheng, or “ascending to immortality,” is a term in Daoist legend for a practitioner who, having attained the Dao, rises to the realm of the immortals.

Lady Xue, the Refined Master

The female immortal Lady Xue, the Refined Master, is of unknown origin. During the Jin dynasty, the realm fell into disorder and the capital was in turmoil…

Master Xue, an honorific title for a Daoist nun, is not known to have come from any particular place. During the Jin dynasty, the age was troubled and the capital unsafe, so many Daoist cultivators withdrew to the mountains and forests to escape the world. Master Xue lived at the Terrace for Seeking the Real on Mount Heng in the south. Outwardly, she mingled with ordinary society; inwardly, she cultivated the Great Dao. She often traveled across Qikuo Peak riding a white leopard, with a yellow crow and a white ape always at her side. Later, she departed through “corpse liberation” on Cloud Dragon Peak, leaving her body behind as she transcended to immortality. Her story is recorded in A Collection of Immortal Traditions.

The Record of Xiangzhong says that after Xue, a female immortal of the Jin dynasty, ascended to immortality here, a Daoist temple was built in the fifth year of Emperor Wu of Liang’s Tianjian era (506). In the Northern Zhou, when Princess Wumu, Zhou Huipu, was born, a strange light filled the room. She ate no meat or fish from childhood, and as she grew older she preferred solitude, admiring the aspirations of Lady Wei and the Immortal Maiden of the Monkeys. Later, she settled in a stone chamber, where she welcomed the descent of the Holy Mother of the Western Numinous Realm. She received scriptures and methods of cultivation, and practiced the Way of the Three Su. Several hundred men and women in the areas around Tanzhou and Hengzhou admired her.

When great turmoil was about to engulf the realm, she told her disciples, “I will leave for a time and return in about a hundred years.” After that, those who came to study with her arrived in such numbers that the place was like a marketplace. In the early Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, the court bestowed on the temple the name “Western Numinous.” Later, the female Daoists Li Taizhen and Cao Miaoben successively attained the Dao. The temple today remains the one established through Princess Zhou’s donation. After it had long fallen into ruin, the Ma family rebuilt it. The Song court authorized the ordination of one female Daoist each year, so that cultivation and worship at the site could continue.

Collected Biographies of Perfected Immortals Through the Ages, Later Collection, scroll three: The Lady of Highest Primordiality.

The Lady of Shangyuan was a disciple of the Daoist Lord. She had been listed among the immortals since ancient times, and ranked just below the Golden Mother of the Turtle Terrace. Whenever the Golden Mother descended to the human world, she would often have her attendants listen to accounts of the immortals, and would also invite the Lady of Shangyuan to join her.

Emperor Wu of Han admired the way of the immortals. He once traveled to famous mountains to perform prayers and sacrificial rites, hoping to receive a response from the spirits. On the night of the seventh day of the seventh month in the first year of the Yuanfeng era (110 BCE), after the second watch, the Queen Mother of the West descended to the Han palace. Emperor Wu welcomed her, bowed on his knees, and stood respectfully beside her for a long time. The Queen Mother invited him to sit and served him rare delicacies from the celestial realm. As their banquet and conversation drew to a close, she prepared to depart. Emperor Wu left his seat, knocked his head to the ground, and earnestly begged her to stay. The Queen Mother sat down again and ordered her attendant Guo Mixiang to invite the Lady of Shangyuan to the Han palace to join the feast. This account appears in the Biography of the Golden Mother, Primordial Sovereign.

In the fourth year of the Jiedi era of Emperor Xuan of Han (66 BCE), Mao Ying, a native of Xianyang, received the appointment titled “Nine Bestowals of Gold.” He became Senior Minister of the Eastern Peak, True Lord of Destiny, and Perfected Man of Great Origin. After the Five Emperors had bestowed his investiture, each ascended to Heaven and departed. Mao Ying’s teacher, Lord Wang of Total Perfection, the Queen Mother of the Western Numinous Realm, and the Lady of Shangyuan then descended to the Huayang Celestial Palace at the Golden Altar on Mount Gouqu, where they held a banquet for Mao Ying. His two younger brothers, Mao Gu and Mao Zhong, were also present. The Queen Mother and Lord Wang taught them numinous formulas and granted them immortal offices: Mao Gu was appointed Glory of the Purple Plain and Lord of the Register of Destinies; Mao Zhong was appointed Lord Who Preserves Life and was also admitted to the assembly of those who attend the Perfected.

Lord Wang told the two younger brothers, “The Lady is the mother of the True Sovereigns of the Three Heavens and the honored deity of Shangyuan. She oversees the registers of the Jade Maidens of the Ten Directions. You may personally state what you seek.” The two brothers left their seats, bowed again, and begged for the way to long life. Moved by their earnest devotion to the Dao, the Lady ordered her attendant Song Bifei to bring out a purple brocade bag, open a green-gold case, and take out four scriptures, which she bestowed upon them: the Scripture of the Three Origins and Flowing Pearl, the Scripture of the Elixir Radiance and the Dao of Essence, the Scripture of the Eight Arts of the Hidden Immortal, and the Scripture of the Taiji Register of Radiant Forms.

The Queen Mother then ordered her attendant Li Fangming to bring out a cinnabar-jade case, open a cloud-patterned pearl casket, and take out the Scripture of the Jade Pendant and Golden Dang, the Hidden Scripture of the Great Empyrean, and the Inner Book of the Two Radiances of the Flying Cavern, which she transmitted to the brothers. When the transmission was complete, the Queen Mother and the Lady of Shangyuan took their leave. Accompanied by a great procession of chariots and attendants, they ascended to Heaven and returned to the Great Void, the celestial emptiness described in Daoism.

Lady Wang of the Southern Pole

Lady Wang of the Southern Pole was the fourth daughter of the Queen Mother of the West, though some accounts say she was the third. Her surname was Lin, her courtesy name Rongzhen, and she was also known as Lady Ziyuan. She was sometimes called the Primordial Sovereign of the Southern Pole. She presided over the Great Cinnabar Palace, was entrusted with overseeing the scriptures, and was honored as the Sage Lord of the Golden Tower. She also assisted and protected the deity in charge of people’s allotted lifespans.

During the reign of Emperor Ping of Han, she descended to a stone chamber on Yangluo Mountain and transmitted thirty scriptures, including the Supreme Treasure Writ, to Lord Qingxu. She wore a brocade cloak and a skirt of blue feathers, with a tiger-script talisman at her left side and a spirit-summoning implement at her right. She appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen, with a composed countenance and an elegant, far-reaching presence. She rode in a jeweled carriage adorned with feathers, drawn by nine dragons, and accompanied by nine thousand female immortals. She lived on Mount Changli in the Bohai Sea region and was responsible for instructing those who were about to become perfected immortals.

Lady Wang of the Right Radiance

Lady Wang of the Right Radiance was the Queen Mother of the West’s thirteenth daughter. Her name was Meilan and her courtesy name Shenlin. The General Record of Extraordinary Immortals gives her courtesy name as Shenlin, while other accounts say her name was Meilan and her courtesy name Zhonglin. She lived on Mount Changli in the Bohai Sea region and was responsible for instructing those who were about to become perfected immortals.

She was also known as the Lady of the Right Radiance of Canglang’s Cloud Forest. She governed Mount Canglang and was invested as the Lady of the Cloud Forest. In the third year of Xingning during the reign of Emperor Ai of Jin (365), she descended to Mount Gouqu.

Lady Wang of the Purple Tenuity

Lady Wang of the Purple Tenuity was named Qing’e, with the courtesy name Yuyin; the Declarations of the Perfected gives it as Yuyi. She was the Queen Mother of the West’s twentieth daughter. In ancient times, she descended to the human world and transmitted the Scripture of the Treasure Spirit to the Perfected Pei of Clear Numinousity. The Perfected Pei practiced according to the scripture’s methods and eventually attained the Dao.

In the sixth month of the third year of Xingning during the reign of Emperor Ai of Jin (365), she descended to Mount Gouqu together with Lady An of Jiuhua, twenty-three perfected immortals, and fifteen female immortals. There, she transmitted Daoist teachings to the Perfected Yang Xi. She guarded Xuanzhong in Yuye and was responsible for instructing those who were about to attain perfected immortality. The scriptures also mention that her Preface on Taking in Wood is included in the Shangqing scriptures.

Lady Wang of Great Perfection

Lady Taizhen Wang was the youngest daughter of the Queen Mother of the West. She wore beautiful, unusual garments and had an exceptionally lovely appearance; she seemed to be about sixteen or seventeen. Because she was young, she was appointed Director of Affairs of the Supreme Court of the Three Heavens and sent down to govern Mount Shu.

Lady Wang sometimes traveled to Mount Daizong. There stood towering stone chambers amid deep, secluded cliffs, inaccessible to ordinary people and more than a thousand zhang above the ground. Inside the chambers were jade tables, surrounded by golden trees and rare, wondrous objects. Whenever she plucked the strings of her zither, birds would fly in, gather around her, and dance as they listened. At times she rode a white dragon on journeys across the Four Seas.

The immortal Ma Mingsheng had once served as a county official. After bandits wounded him so severely that he nearly died, he encountered Lady Wang and received her aid. Several years later, Lady Wang sent him to study under An Qisheng. He learned the art of the Golden Elixir made from liquid gold, a method of alchemical preparation and cultivation through ingestion. In time, he attained immortality and ascended to the heavens.

Lady Lingzhao Li

Lady Lingzhao Li was the daughter of Li Qingbin, the Mysterious Dao Lord of the Northern Origin, and the younger sister of Li Lingfei, the Jade Lord Grand Guardian. She was appointed Lady Lingzhao of the Shu Palace and lived in, and governed, the Thirteenth Vermilion Lodge on Fangzhang Terrace. She wore purple brocade, carried a divine tiger talisman, and held a golden bell. Two attendants stood beside her, each appearing to be about twenty; the lady herself seemed to be about thirteen or fourteen.

Lady Zhonghou Wang

The female immortal Wang Guanxiang, courtesy name Zhonga’ai, was the third daughter of King Ling of Zhou, born to Song Ji. She was the half-sister of Prince Qiao. She learned from him the way to ascend and escape the bonds of the mortal world. Later, she entered the Book Beyond the Dimensions and cultivated in the mountains of the Wei clan. Afterward, she and Prince Qiao went together to Luhun. Having cultivated for thirty-nine years, she attained the Dao and ascended in broad daylight. The Zhen’gao says that she received a written investiture as Lady of the Purple-Clear Palace. The Inner Traditions calls her the palace’s consort who attends the perfected, Lady Houzhen. Seven of Prince Qiao’s siblings attained the Dao: five men and two women. Meishou, Guanxiang’s full brother, also attained the Dao.

Lady Zhao of Gouyi

Lady Gouyi was from the land of Qi and had the surname Zhao. In her youth she favored quiet and seclusion. She was ill for six years, during which her right hand remained clenched and she ate very little. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, a diviner who observed the Qi reported that signs of a noble person’s presence appeared to the northeast. The emperor sent people to search and found her, then summoned her to the palace. She was exceptionally beautiful. When the emperor pried open her hand, he found a piece of jade inside; her clenched hand then opened and stretched out. The emperor favored her, and she bore him Emperor Zhao. Not long afterward, the emperor had her killed. After she was placed in her coffin, her body did not grow cold, and its fragrance lasted for a month. After Emperor Zhao ascended the throne, he reburied her. When the coffin was opened, it was empty except for a pair of silk shoes, so her palace was named “Gouyi Palace.” Later, to avoid a tabooed name, it was renamed “Yi.”

Magu

Magu was the younger sister of Wang Fangping, a legendary immortal. She was about eighteen when she attained immortality through cultivation. Her hair was tied in a bun atop her head, while the rest fell to her waist. Her robes were adorned with patterns and shone brilliantly, in a style unknown in the human world.

Daoist writings say that the Old Lord surveyed the boundless worlds and, in the face of calamities such as the Three Disasters and Nine Perils and the Ten Blights and Eight Hardships, taught ways to dispel misfortune and avert calamity. They mention dispatching the Northern Black Cavalry, celestial officials and troops, Canglao Magu, and five hundred million riders, among others. From this we can see that Magu was a high-ranking immortal who descended into the human world in response to an age of calamity, with a history reaching far back.

Once, Wang Fangping descended to the home of Cai Jing and sent a messenger to invite Magu to join the banquet. Each of them prepared a feast, serving the food on gold plates and in jade cups. Most of the dishes were made from flowers, whose fragrance filled the house and its surroundings. They broke apart dried qilin meat, eating it as one might eat meat roasted over cypress wood. They served celestial wine, which tasted like sweet dew and jade nectar.

Magu said, “Since I began serving, I have seen with my own eyes the Eastern Sea turn into mulberry fields three times. When I arrived at Penglai just now, I found the sea shallower than before. I think its waters will soon recede by half again, and after that dust will rise once more.” Her words speak of the transformations of the world, as the sea becomes fields and fields become sea.

Magu’s fingernails were like a crow’s claws. Cai Jing thought to himself: If only those claws could scratch my back, it would feel wonderful. Wang Fangping had already sensed his thought. He ordered a divine officer to flog Cai Jing and rebuked him: “Magu is a divine being. How could you entertain such an improper thought?”

There is an altar to the immortal Magu in Xuanzhou and a Mount Magu in Jianchang Army; she is worshipped in more than one place. During the Zhenghe era of Emperor Huizong of the Song, the court honored her with the title “Primordial Lady of True Stillness and Responsive Power.” During the Jiatai era of Emperor Ningzong, her title was changed to “Perfected One of Empty Stillness and Responsive Power.”

Princess Nanyang

When Princess Nanyang of the Han married Wang Xian, Wang Mang was in power. The princess had long admired the Dao of clarity and stillness, revered the Great Dao, and often looked back on the prosperous reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, when the realm was well governed. She had also heard that immortals had appeared repeatedly during Emperor Wu’s reign. She said to Wang Xian, “The state is about to fall into disorder, and the age is in turmoil. A woman cannot hold events in check. We should preserve ourselves, keep to a quiet and peaceful life, withdraw from the world to cultivate the Dao, and distance ourselves as much as possible from worldly affairs. In this way, perhaps we can prolong our lives. If we go along with the current, advancing and retreating with the fortunes of the age, we will likely suffer displacement and hardship, and be driven into distress.”

Wang Xian was attached to worldly rank and stipend, and did not heed her. The princess therefore went to Mount Hua and built a thatched hut to live in. After more than a year, she devoted herself to cultivating the Dao of the Elixir and established communion with the perfected spirits. She then left the hut. Some people saw her glide across a deep ravine, riding on clouds and gradually vanishing into the distance. Wang Xian pursued her into the mountains, crossed the great ravine, and climbed to a high peak, but she had disappeared into the vast distance. Tears streaming down his face, he looked far and wide, yet could no longer see her. Suddenly, he found a pair of red shoes abandoned on the ridge. When he approached and picked them up, they had turned to stone. That peak was therefore called “Princess Peak.” Pan Anren (the Western Jin writer Pan Yue) once wrote an account of this event, and his work has been passed down.

Guo Shaoyao

Guo Shaoyao was the daughter of Guo Sai, a Han dynasty general who guarded the frontier regions and was from Shuping. From childhood, she loved cultivating the Dao and was devoted in her resolve. A Perfected One (a person who has attained the Dao) taught her the Six Jia arts, a Daoist method of cultivation, and she thereby attained the Dao. At times she now roams Xuanzhou, a legendary immortal realm; at other times she dwells at the Fangzhu Terrace of Donghua, a tower in the Daoist realm of legend.

Zhao Aier

Zhao Aier was the elder sister of Zhao Gai, an aide to Liu Yu, the Inspector of Youzhou. She loved cultivating the Dao and later attained it through corpse liberation, a Daoist means of becoming an immortal through the transformation of the body. She subsequently received Fulu (talismans and registers) and now dwells at the Fangzhu Terrace of Donghua.

Wang Lulian

The female immortal Wang Lulian was the daughter of Wang Gang, a commandant of the city gates under Emperor Ming of Wei and a native of Fanyang. The Zhengao (a Daoist text) says she was the daughter of Wang Bogang, but it is uncertain whether the records refer to the same person. Wang Gang attained the Dao at Yuanzhou. When Lulian saw her father ascend into the heavens, she resolved to cultivate the Dao with diligence. She entered Mount Lushen and met the Perfected One Taiyi, who taught her the method of ascending. She practiced accordingly and eventually ascended to heaven in broad daylight.

Lady Wei of Mount Heng

Lady Wei’s surname was Wei, her personal name was Huacun, and her courtesy name was Xian’an. She came from Rencheng and was the daughter of Wei Shu, who served as Left Vice Director of the Secretariat under Emperor Wu of Jin. Exceptionally gifted from birth, she loved the way of the immortals. At the age of twenty-four, she was forced by her parents to marry Liu Yan, a native of Nanyang. When he was young, Liu Yan had served as magistrate of Xiuwu County, and Lady Wei went there with him. She asked to have a quiet fasting chamber set up elsewhere, where she could devote herself to practicing the Dao.

After a hundred days of cultivation in the chamber, she longed wholeheartedly for the immortal powers to appear. She focused her thoughts, hoping to receive a response. At midnight in the last month of winter, four Perfected Ones came to her quiet chamber and taught her the essentials of cultivating the Dao. Later, the immortals came again and instructed her to feign illness and become an immortal through “release from the corpse”—a Daoist cultivation legend in which the physical body appears to die while consciousness is liberated and ascends to immortality. They also directed her to go to the Grotto-Heaven of Clear Emptiness on Mount Wangwu and, by command of the Celestial Thearch, transmit jade tallies and golden script, precious documents of the immortals. She was invested as the Primordial Lady of Purple Emptiness and appointed Director of the Mandate of Life among the Highest Perfected, overseeing the registers of cultivators’ lives and deaths and auditing the offenses assessed by the Three Offices, the divine authorities governing Heaven, Earth, and Water. She was later invested as Lady of Mount Heng, with rank equal to that of an Immortal Lord, and governed the grotto precinct of Mount Dahuo. In the fourth year of the Xianhe era under Emperor Cheng of Jin, legend says that a celestial carriage was sent to welcome her to Heaven.

Du Fu’s poem “Gazing at the Mountain” describes Mount Heng, the Southern Marchmount. The Southern Marchmount corresponds to the Vermilion Bird, and emperors through the ages have made offerings there according to ritual. It receives the earth’s numinous power and stretches vast across the south. The state continues the ancient rites of sacrifice, in which virtue matters more than the abundance of offerings. Imperial tours of the realm are now rare, and the age of the ancient sage-king Yu of the You clan has long passed. The poet has journeyed through hardships to the region of the Xiao and Xiang rivers. By boat, he draws near the clear light and looks up at the five peaks of the Southern Marchmount, including Zhurong. The peaks rise in succession; Purple Canopy Peak seems alone in refusing to face the others, as they vie in height. The poet respectfully hears that Lady Wei and the immortals fly among the mountains. At times the mountain clouds part, and the wind sweeps like flying frost. Constrained by the journey, he cannot climb to the high ridge; he can only hope to return by carriage, bathe, fast, and rest in the Jade Hall. He laments that he cannot personally make offerings to the mountain spirits, and prays that they grant blessings to the state.

The altar of Lady Wei stands on a huge boulder before the central peak of Mount Heng. The stone is about a zhang square, regular and solid in shape, rounded below and flat on top, as if set afloat upon another rock. It is said that when one person pushes it, the stone turns, but when many push together, it remains firm and unmoving. For this reason, it is regarded as a numinous stone. Cultivators of the Dao and recluses often rest and wander upon it, while strange clouds and numinous vapors gather above its summit. The Record of the Cinnabar Terrace calls Lady Wei the Primordial Lady of Purple Emptiness who governs Mount Heng; the True Records calls her the Director of the Mandate of Life among the Highest Perfected and a Perfected One of Mount Heng.

Jiuhua Anfei was an ancient female immortal who attained the Dao. On the night of the fifteenth day of the sixth month in the third year of Xingning, during the reign of Emperor Ai of the Eastern Jin (365 CE), Lady Wang of Ziwei descended and transmitted important Daoist teachings to the Perfected Yang Xi. With her was a female immortal dressed in garments of cloud brocade, red above and blue-green below, her clothing bright and splendid. She appeared to be about thirteen or fourteen years old. Two attendants stood nearby. One held a brocade pouch about a foot and two inches long, containing more than ten scrolls. Its opening was sealed with a white jade tag engraved with the words “Inner Truth of the Jade Purity Divine Tiger, Purple Origin Elixir Register.” The other carried a white box bound with red cords and shaped like ivory. One of the attendants appeared to be about seventeen or eighteen; all of them were striking in appearance and dress.

The female immortal and her attendants had clear, radiant complexions, translucent as jade. A rich fragrance emanated from them, as sweet as burning “fragrant infant”—a perfume said to come from foreign lands.

Lady Wang of Ziwei said, “She is the youngest daughter of Lady Li of the Golden Terrace, the Primordial Sovereign of the Great Void and Highest Truth. She once went to Mount Gui to study the Shangqing teachings. After completing her training, she received a written mandate from the Most High and was appointed the Purple Purity High Official, the Perfect Consort of Jiuhua.” She then bestowed on her the surname An, the personal name Yupin, and the courtesy name Lingxiao.

After the Perfect Consort of Jiuhua arrived, she kept three jujubes in her hand. They were the color of dried jujubes, but long and large in shape, without pits, and sweeter than ordinary jujubes by far. She gave one to Yang Xi to eat. The Perfect Consort then wrote a text and presented it to Yang Xi, and Lady Wang of Ziwei also wrote a text to instruct him.

After receiving the written texts, the Perfected Ones each departed. Only the Perfect Consort of Jiuhua stayed a little longer. She had her attendant open the brocade pouch and take out two Shangqing scriptures, The Hidden Book of Inner Contemplation, Purple Radiance of Jade Rosy Clouds and The Central Origin of the Sun’s Radiance: Shangqing’s Return at Dawn to the Childlike State. She gave them to Yang Xi to copy. Both scriptures record the teachings of the “Three Origins and Eight Assemblies.”

She also said to Yang Xi, “If you do not wish to endure the world’s calamities of wind and fire, and want to preserve your true body in the seclusion of mountain forests, you can study the Way of Sword Liberation as a means of ending your life in the world and leaving behind your mortal body.” Sword Liberation is a form of release described in Daoist accounts of immortals. It is said that a practitioner can use a sword to shed the physical body, vanish from the world, and become an immortal. Yang Xi later did indeed vanish through Sword Liberation and ultimately ascended to heaven.

The Queen Mother of Hebei was a female immortal with Daoist arts. No one knew her age; people saw only that her hair and beard were thickly white, unlike those of ordinary people. Chong Baihe, whose courtesy name was Zhongli, was an immortal of the Wei dynasty. Whenever he came to pay his respects to the Queen Mother, she would remain seated and tell him he need not bow. She would say to those around her, “Ahe is the child next door. I watched him grow up.”

At the end of Emperor Wu’s reign in the Jin dynasty, Chong Baihe took leave of the Queen Mother, saying he had been summoned to Kunlun. He then departed, and no one knew where he went. In the second year of Yuankang under Emperor Hui of Jin, someone who knew him saw him in the mountains of Huayin: he was riding a tiger and traveling with the Queen Mother. The four or five people accompanying them all looked younger than before. He also sent clear greetings to his family and friends through the witness.

Han Xihua’s origins are unknown. He was kind and protective toward all living things, often doing good deeds in secret. He cherished and protected even the weakest creatures, whose lives were brief. He cultivated the Dao and became an immortal; he now lives in the Grotto-Heaven of Mount Song, a dwelling place of immortals in Daoist belief.

The female immortal Wang Baotai’s origins are unknown. After attaining the Dao, she became a handmaiden to the Dao Lord who presides over the way of the immortals, and lived in the Palace of Yuanzhou. Yuanzhou is surrounded on all sides by the waves of Yuantao, a place beyond the reach of ordinary people.