《虚静冲和先生徐神翁语录》

What people enjoy and encounter in life is governed by Heaven’s mandate, and each has an allotted share and destiny, difficult to alter even by the slightest degree. Since people cannot thoroughly investigate how things work, they do not understand their own destinies and can only seek the guidance of those who have attained the Dao. This is what is meant by “knowing my mind before I do”—seeing in advance what I am thinking.

Confucius could foresee that Boniu would die and knew that Shang Qu would have a son. Did he rely on ordinary methods of divination? Perhaps he drew insight from what he had seen with his own eyes. Xu Shenweng, a Daoist of the Song dynasty, once wrote for people in Hailing and, through their writing, pointed out the good and ill fortune they would encounter in life. Nothing he said failed to come true. In his early years, he traveled through the Huai and Yangtze regions, where many people heard his pronouncements. As time passed, fewer and fewer people remained who knew of his deeds.

Miao Xiyi, a Daoist at the Tianqing Abbey, was Xu Shenweng’s disciple and followed him for several decades. He preserved records of Xu Shenweng writing for people and foretelling their good and ill fortune, then asked Zhu Yi to edit, arrange, and retain the authentic material, so that Xu Shenweng’s disciples could learn of it. By then, twenty-seven years had passed since the events. After Miao Xiyi died, someone took the records away. Later, when Zhu Yi took up an official post in the area, he recovered the original records from among the people and arranged them anew.

Confucius said, “I do not speak of strange phenomena, violence, disorder, or spirits.” If something is said but does not come to pass, it is strange; only what lies beyond the reach of human understanding can be called mysterious. Matters such as those involving Xu Shenweng seem beyond the reach of words. If his pronouncements truly came to pass, and if he could use warnings about good and ill fortune to make people understand what to avoid and what to pursue, would such foreknowledge not be worth learning about?

What those of old who attained the Dao did was simply to investigate how things work to the utmost and fully understand human nature. By investigating how things work, they could understand the principles of all under Heaven; by fully understanding their own nature, they could go on to understand the nature of all things. For this reason, they were called those who knew, saw, and awakened ahead of others. Ordinary people regard this as an extraordinary ability, but those who have attained the Dao do not claim it for themselves. Was Xu Shenweng called the Divine Elder for these things alone?

Written by Zhu Yi of Tongxiang, in the third month of the Wuyin year of the Shaoxing era.

He was said to possess the abilities of “foreknowledge, foresight, and preawareness” because he could know, see, and sense things before they happened. Ordinary people found this strange, but those who followed the Dao did not regard it as an achievement to boast about. Yet was this really all there was to Xu Shenweng, the “Divine Elder,” that earned him the name?

In the third month of the Wuyin year of the Shaoxing era (1138), Zhu Yi of Tongxiang wrote this preface.

Postface to the Recorded Sayings of Xu Shenweng

I had long heard that Xu Shenweng of Hailing, in the area of present-day Taizhou, Jiangsu, was an extraordinary man. I often regretted that I had not been able to read more accounts of him. In the Yisi year of the Chunxi era (1185), while serving temporarily as a local official in Taizhou, I took the opportunity to seek out traces of him, but could find almost no biography to consult.

I asked Xu Shenweng’s disciples about him. They said, “From the Han and Jin dynasties onward, people here have attained the Dao and become immortals in unbroken succession. During Xu Shenweng’s lifetime, Chen Doudou, Master Zhou, and Master Tang also appeared in turn. Xu Shenweng himself once said, ‘I am merely like Qiu of the neighboring household’—a reference to Confucius’s self-deprecating remark that he was just an ordinary person from the neighborhood. Besides, in the more than fifty years after he attained the Dao, countless commoners, servants, women, and children received his admonitions. Who could have recorded all those events one by one?”

When I asked whether anyone had personally seen or heard accounts of Xu Shenweng, I was told, “It has been seventy-eight years since Xu Shenweng departed for the immortals’ realm, and none of the elders are still alive.” Later, someone showed me a collection of his recorded sayings, printed at Yanling. The Daoist Miao Xiyi had recorded them, and the Secretary Zhu Xinzong had edited and abridged them. The collection was quite thorough, but it contained many errors that could not be checked or corrected.

In my spare time, I visited local residents and found some who could recount what their fathers, elder brothers, and Xu Shenweng’s disciples had seen and heard. Comparing these accounts with Miao Xiyi’s record, I found occasional discrepancies and was able to identify errors in the written text. I also came across a record of Xu Shenweng’s travels and teachings, titled Account of His Itinerant Ministry, written by the village elder Pan Ruyi. It was carefully compiled, but regrettably did not cover much.

I therefore had Miao Xiyi’s recorded sayings brought together and revised them in light of accounts from various sources. I deleted, amended, or supplemented dozens of passages that were confused or inconsistent. Where it was difficult to determine what was correct, I preserved the differing accounts for readers to consider. I also added stories passed down by local elders, along with eighteen accounts found in such works as Notes from the Eastern Study, Further Notes from Longchuan, Mr. Sun’s Garden Conversations, and the Gazetteer of Tong’an. Together with the Account of His Itinerant Ministry, these were compiled into one volume and carved on durable wooden blocks. I hope these records will endure and be trusted by later generations. I also hope that households throughout the region will recite Xu Shenweng’s teachings, learn to reject evil and follow good, and thereby help improve local customs.

On the first day of the first month of the Dingwei year, Zhu Songqing, Grand Master for Court Audiences, Prefect of Taizhou, and Supervisor of Agricultural Promotion, Cultivation, and Military Farms within the jurisdiction, wrote this preface.

Recorded Sayings of Master Xu the Spirit-Wondrous, the Empty, Still, Open, and Harmonious — Volume One

Master Xu the Spirit-Wondrous was named Xu Shouxin and came from Hailing in Taizhou. At nineteen, he entered the Tianqing Abbey, concealed his identity, and worked there as a humble cleaner. He once met a person who had attained the Dao and received Daoist teachings from him. After that, he recited the Scripture on Salvation every day. When people asked him about good or bad fortune, he would answer by drawing on its words.

He often carried a broom, so people called him “Xu the Second Broom.” Jiang Yingshu, the Transport Commissioner, gave him the name “Spirit-Wondrous” because the Scripture on Salvation says, “The Spirit Lord receives the command and sweeps away all inauspiciousness.” From then on, everyone called him by that name. In the second year of the Chongning era, the emperor bestowed on him the title “Master of Emptiness, Stillness, Openness, and Harmony” and summoned him to the capital three times. On the twentieth day of the fourth month in the second year of the Daguan era, he died in a Daoist residence at the Shangqing Palace of Auspicious Blessings, aged seventy-six. The court posthumously awarded him the title Grand Master of the Palace, ordered his burial east of the city of his native prefecture, on the eastern plain of Xianglin, and, during the Xuanhe era, a local abbey called Shengzhen Abbey was built at his gravesite.

During the Jiayou era, the Tiantai Daoist Yu Yuanji came to stay at Yuntang. After more than a year, he contracted leprosy, and everyone shunned him. Only Master Xu served him with exceptional care and respect. When Yu Yuanji died, Master Xu informed Xu Zongchen of Hai’an Town and borrowed a coffin to bury him. He mourned him deeply, treating him as a teacher.

After returning from the burial, Master Xu again wept aloud. He paid his respects one by one to the Daoists at the abbey, including the servants. Then he went before the Hall of the Northern Pole, burned all his clothes and belongings, bags included, and, wearing only a tattered robe, picked up his broom and resumed sweeping. At times he would go inside, shut the door, and remain there all day, seeming at one moment to sing and at another to laugh. Whenever he met someone, he would bow first. Everyone thought he had gone mad.

The day after Yu Yuanji was buried, Xu Zongchen saw Master Xu come to thank him and took out a bolt of cloth and a thousand coins to give him. Master Xu had already gone out. Though they were only a few paces apart, Xu Zongchen chased after him but could not catch up. Finding this strange, he later asked at the abbey and learned that Master Xu had never gone out at all.

During the Zhiping era, there was a Daoist cultivator who was ugly, dark-skinned, and broad-foreheaded. He wore a cloth headwrap and robe, and hung a fist-sized medicine gourd from his staff. He said he came from the Two Rivers region. Someone wanted to give him a bolt of cloth worth a thousand coins, but Master Xu had already gone out. Though the two were only a few steps apart, the person chasing him could not catch up. Zong Chen found this puzzling. Later, he went to the temple to ask and learned that Master Xu had never gone out at all.

The Daoist called himself “Black Daoist.” He lived in Zhao Sheng’s home and often visited the temple. At first, he went to see Chen Yongyi, the temple’s abbot, who often gave him thirty gold coins. After that, he would sit silently beneath the Hall of the Northern Pole. Only when Master Xu came would he speak with him in a low voice; no one else could hear them. After more than a year, the Daoist left and said to Zhao Sheng, “I have nothing to repay you with, so I’ll make sure your shop has no mosquitoes in summer.” Just as he had said, the shop later stayed full of guests.

During the Xining era, Tang Riyen was given the title “Master of the Dao, Pure and Serene.” One night, while making his rounds through the monastery, he saw what looked like a fire in the kitchen. But when he went closer, there was nothing there. His quarters were below the kitchen, so he opened the door to look inside. Xu Shenweng was seated facing east with his eyes closed, calm and untroubled.

One day, when the dining hall had run short of grain, Tang Riyen sent Xu Shenweng to the estate to urge the delivery of rice. Xu went. At dusk, Tang went behind the Hall of the Three Pure Ones and saw him lying with his head on a broom. Tang woke him and began to scold him. Xu Shenweng said, “The rice will arrive tomorrow morning.” Tang was angry and asked nothing more. The next morning, he questioned the men transporting the rice. They said, “Brother Xu pressed us so hard yesterday that we didn’t dare delay for even a moment. We’ve already delivered the rice.” The estate was more than a hundred li round trip from the prefectural city. Tang was astonished, so he bestowed a name on Xu Shenweng and entered him on the register of disciples. Only then did people believe that he had encountered an extraordinary person, as Daoists would say.

Later, when people asked Xu Shenweng about good and ill fortune, he sometimes copied lines from the Scripture for Deliverance (Duren Jing), a Daoist classic, as his reply; sometimes he said nothing, and sometimes he shouted at them. Each response had its own purpose. At the end of the Xining era, his trustworthiness earned him a reward: permission to be ordained as a Daoist priest. Xu Shenweng smiled and declined, saying, “All I know how to do is sweep.” He continued doing menial work as before.

Every night, Xu Shenweng gathered scraps of paper from around the halls that bore written prayers for incense offerings. He took them back to his room, casually wrote characters on them, then folded the papers and set them aside. The next day, when people came asking for written words, he handed them out one by one. The characters he gave each person answered that person’s question. Once the papers had all been handed out, people stopped coming to ask for them.

The Divine Elder Xu, an honorific title in Daoism, never casually discarded anything when sweeping. He piled rotting leaves beside the tree roots and gathered the dry leaves in one place. After each purification ritual (zhaijiao), he collected the lamp oil left in the lamps to use for pounding rice and grinding flour in the morning and evening. He would also squeeze the grease from cooking utensils that could no longer be used. He could not bear to throw away even the oil residue, so he stored it in a vessel. The broken grains sifted out when pounding and winnowing rice were set aside as well. In bitterly cold weather, he gathered beggars and had them burn leaves to keep warm, scattering the leftover scraps over the leaves to be burned. Then he cooked porridge from the broken rice and ate with the beggars.

Cui Xianweng, a Daoist at Zhenyuan Palace in Shuzhou, was named Guzhi and styled Daoguang. Once, while traveling through Shichuang Ridge, he saw two people playing chess beneath a pine tree. They gave Cui Xianweng a chess piece and told him to swallow it. Hesitant, he continued on his way. Halfway along, he suddenly met the Divine Elder Xu, told him what had happened, and showed him the chess piece. The Divine Elder Xu took it, swallowed it, and then passed through Haotang and left. Later, Cui Xianweng returned to the place, where the two chess players again told him to swallow a chess piece. He hesitated once more, and halfway along the road met the Divine Elder Xu again. He told him what had happened and showed him the piece. The Divine Elder Xu swallowed it again, then passed through Haotang and left. Afterward, Cui Xianweng returned to Shichuang Ridge and encountered the chess players from before. He berated them harshly, and from then on he suffered from madness.

Tang Riyan welcomed Daoists who came from all directions. The Divine Elder Xu would sometimes tidy and sweep the Cloud Hall, a place in a Daoist temple for gathering and cultivation; on the day of the cyclical sign xu, people would always arrive.

Shen Boyu, magistrate of Hailing County, brought his young son to see the Divine Elder Xu and asked whether the boy was destined for office and an official stipend. The Divine Elder Xu did not answer, and Shen Boyu pressed him repeatedly. At last he said, “Venus and Mercury are in the Palace of Destiny; at twenty-seven, he will have an official position and stipend.” Later, Shen Boyu asked a fortune-teller to calculate the boy’s chart and found that both planets were indeed in the Palace of Destiny. The year in which his son was later appointed to office also matched what the Divine Elder Xu had said.

When Magistrate Shen’s wife fell ill, he asked the Divine Elder Xu to write something for him. The Divine Elder Xu wrote four characters: “Guanyin of No Thought.” Shen asked him to write once more, so the Divine Elder Xu wrote, “Recite this ten times.” In the tenth month of that year, Shen’s wife died. Later, when Magistrate Shen read the Commentary on the Scripture for Deliverance of Humanity, he learned that Guanyin of No Thought was a deity who kept the register of the souls of the dead during the long night.

The retired Mr. Zha, who had once served as an official in the Directorate of Carriages, came with Magistrate Shen to see the Divine Elder Xu, but the latter did not come out. After Mr. Zha knocked for a long time, the Divine Elder Xu said, “I will see the gentleman Shen, but not the gentleman Zha.” The two men then left. Before long, Mr. Zha died.

The temple’s abbot first explained that its buildings were in disrepair and that more and more people were coming to seek an audience with Xu Shenweng. He therefore placed a cabinet beside Xu Shenweng’s seat, agreeing that it would be used to collect donations for repairing the buildings. Xu Shenweng consented. People from near and far sent money, and sometimes the donations amounted to more than ten thousand coins in a single day. On some days no one made a donation and the cabinet remained sealed, yet the amount of money received was still as much as usual.

During the famine in the Xining era, supplies at the temple ran short. Every morning Xu Shenweng personally brought out several hundred jin of gold and gave it to the steward, who was responsible for the temple’s affairs, to buy vegetables. The servants assumed that he was secretly hoarding wealth and decided to steal it. After Xu Shenweng had gone out, they waited and then secretly opened his door. But they tripped over a basin of water inside the room and fell, soaking their clothes. As they were busy shaking out their clothes, Xu Shenweng suddenly appeared sitting atop a tree in the woods and said with a laugh, “I told you not to open the door.” The would-be thieves fled in disarray.

The governor of the commandery, Zhang Cishan, had an old friend serving as an official in Chengdu. The friend wrote to him: “There is a Daoist in Chengdu wearing ragged clothes who claims to be Xu Erweng of the Tianqing Temple in Taizhou.”

During the Yuanfeng era, Jiang Yingshu served as an official in charge of transporting supplies. On his first visit to Xu Shenweng, he asked, “What abilities do you have?” Xu Shenweng replied, “I have none at all.” Jiang Yingshu then asked, “Can you foresee good fortune and calamity?” He said, “I don’t know.” Jiang asked again, “Can you understand the Scripture for Delivering People (Duren Jing), a Daoist text?” Xu Shenweng replied, “I can’t understand it.”

Jiang Yingshu continued, “Then how do you think I’m doing in office?” Xu Shenweng said, “You, sir, are very clever.” After Jiang pressed him repeatedly, Xu Shenweng finally said, “You should conceal your traces.” Jiang asked, “What will happen if I don’t?” Xu Shenweng pressed a hand to his own back and said, “The lump on my back hurts. I can’t say any more.” As it happened, Jiang Yingshu also had a lump on his back. Whenever he grew angry, it hurt so badly that he could hardly speak, but he had never told anyone about it.

Jiang Yingshu then ordered two attendants to support Xu Shenweng and bowed to him, saying, “You are a Perfected One!” A scripture contains the words, “The Divine Lord receives his charge and sweeps away all ill omens.” Jiang believed Xu Shenweng fulfilled these words, so he called him the “Divine Lord.” Jiang Yingshu left a poem: “Holding a broom, he swept away all dust and grime; thirty springs have passed since then. I cherish his solitary way of walking: quiet, guarding softness, never striving to stand ahead of others.” He also had the Hall of Guarding the Feminine built for Xu Shenweng. Some say that Lü Jifu’s poem included the line, “To end prideful boasting, guard the feminine alone,” and that Jiang Yingshu borrowed the words “guarding the feminine” as the hall’s name. “Guarding the feminine” means remaining still and humble, yielding rather than competing for dominance.

Jiang Yingshu also saw a stele beside the hall commemorating the Perfected One Le Zichang, and wrote a poem on it: “Three tiers of the Jade Altar lie thick with moss, as if the Perfected One once drank a red cup here. Immortal winds rustle through the firs and cypresses; perhaps he has simply returned for a while, riding the wind in his chariot.” Le Zichang’s former residence stood beside Lezhen Bridge in what is now Chongzhen Ward. Tradition holds that this was where he ascended to immortality. During the Liang dynasty’s Datong era, a temple called Lezhen Abbey was built there. In the Tang dynasty’s Dazhong era, the abbey moved east, to the site of today’s Tianqing Abbey. Xu Shenweng also lived east of Lezhen Bridge, so Jiang Yingshu’s poem suggests that Xu Shenweng was Le Zichang, the Perfected One, reborn and returned to the world.

Jiang Yingshu once asked Xu Shenweng to write something for him. Xu wrote the character “dragon.” Jiang asked, “Why haven’t you finished writing it?” Xu replied, “I’ll add to it later.” That year, Jiang was appointed Academician-in-Attendance at the Dragon Library Pavilion. He asked again, and Xu said, “For now, you can hold your post for a long time.” When Jiang pressed him further, Xu added three dots to the character. Jiang asked what would happen to the lump on his back. Xu said, “The ‘below’ in ‘Your Excellency’ means it will move downward.” Later, Jiang was promoted to Academician of the Dragon Library Pavilion, and the lump on his back did indeed shift slightly downward.

Jiang Yingshu again asked Xu Shenweng to write for him, and in succession received the phrases “Red Heaven Demon King” and “Bearing Heaven, Carrying Stones.” He asked, “How many shi can I carry?” Xu replied, “Two thousand shi.” Before long, Jiang was appointed chief official of Guangzhou, which was taken as fulfillment of “Red Heaven Demon King.” Later, when he entered court and took up a post as a Council of Military Affairs official, this was taken as fulfillment of “Bearing Heaven, Carrying Stones.”

When Jiang Yingshu served as Transport Commissioner, he considered for a long time whether to dig a channel at Guishan, but told no one of his plan. One day, he went to see Xu Shenweng with the matter on his mind. Xu suddenly said, “If you want to dig it, then dig it. Why ask anyone else?” Later, when Jiang entered court and took up a post as a Council of Military Affairs official, this was taken as fulfillment of “Bearing Heaven, Carrying Stones.”

Wang Jinggong sent someone to ask Xu Shenweng to write for him. Xu wrote the four characters “Chu Shu Wang,” just as they appear here. Xu said, “There is no need to use the ‘person’ radical inside the character ‘encourage.’” This was because a scripture contains the phrase “red writing, jade characters.” Later, as Wang Jinggong was returning to Jinling by boat, an old man suddenly appeared on the bank and called out, “Your Excellency, Xu Shenweng has a letter for you.” Wang took the letter and saw that its four characters were the same as those Xu had written earlier. The old man then vanished. Before long, Wang Jinggong died. During the Zhenghe era, the court posthumously ennobled him as Prince of Shu, and this was regarded as the prophecy’s fulfillment.

In the final years of the Yuanfeng era, Imperial Secretary Yu Ce was dismissed from his post in Tongzhou. His attendant went to pay a visit to Xu Shenweng. Xu wrote the words, “Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, lion, white crane, arrayed to the left and right, sun and moon illuminating Shu Wang.” The account says that later events also bore out his prophecy.

Yu Shangshu Yu Ce was dismissed from his post in Tongzhou late in the Yuanfeng era. Those accompanying him came with him to visit Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng wrote six images on paper: the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, lion, and white crane, then arranged them in pairs on the left and right. The sun and moon shone brightly, lighting the whole room. Altogether, he wrote twenty-four characters. Xu Shenweng said, “I’ve got them, I’ve got them—how could I have come by these characters!”

After Yu Ce reached the capital, he was appointed Libationer for Ceremonial Rites at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. The court was then refurbishing ritual objects. When he saw the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and other images arranged among the ceremonial regalia, he understood that Xu Shenweng’s writing had been an omen. Later, he and his son Yu Hang asked for characters together and received the four characters “Thirty-two passes.” Yu Hang was eleven at the time. In the Yuanfu era, he passed the provincial examination at exactly thirty-two years of age.

In the seventh year of Yuanfeng, candidates went to the Southern Examination Hall to sit the examinations, and someone asked Xu Shenweng to write characters for him. He wrote four characters meaning “Music emerges, turning to ash.” Zhang Zhengyi’s son, Zhang Dacheng, received four characters meaning “Mountains swallow smoke.” In that examination session, some candidates wrote empty, aimless arguments, and a fire broke out at the examination compound.

When the Minister of Works Fan Tang was serving as an imperial inspector, he asked Xu Shenweng how much he ate each day. Xu Shenweng replied, “I stop when I’m full.” Fan Tang asked whether he dreamed. Xu Shenweng said, “Ever since I met Qian Houlai, I haven’t dreamed.” Fan Tang then asked whether he had attained the Dao through practice, through awakening to the Dao, or by meeting someone. Xu Shenweng did not answer. After Fan Tang pressed him repeatedly, he said, “By meeting someone.” Asked what year he had met that person, he replied, “The gengxu year.” Fan Tang then asked, “This is the gengshen year. Will you guide people to liberation?” Xu Shenweng smiled and said nothing.

Fan Tang had no son, so he asked Xu Shenweng to write characters for him. Xu Shenweng wrote “Winding Bay.” A little over a year later, Fan Tang had a son at Wantou in Yangzhou. Later, when passing through Hailing again, he went to pay his respects to Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng said, “Go another three or five li east of the prefectural city and meet a scholar.” The next day, Fan Tang passed through Tongzhou. As soon as he reached Tangwan, he had another son.

While mourning his mother at Daining Monastery in Taizhou, Qian Xie, a Gentleman of the Palace, visited Xu Shenweng and asked him to write characters. Xu Shenweng wrote seven characters: “The Heaven of Shangming, the Seven Luminaries, and Moyitian.” Before long, Qian Xie’s household suffered a fire. “Huilu” was the term used for a fire in ancient books. Qian Xie’s son Qian Dongmei had once received from Xu Shenweng the four characters “Together they arrive before the Emperor.” Later, Qian Xie was ordered to serve as an envoy to the Three Han states, and Qian Dongmei went with him. The two took their leave and departed on the same day.

The records say that the commoner Liu Gu had known Xu Shenweng for a long time. He once went to the Hall of Perfected Le and asked, “Where is Perfected Le?” Lord Xu pointed to the tip of the statue’s nose. Liu Gu silently understood the meaning and said, “The appearing and disappearing of Perfected Le is simply a movement of primordial Qi.” Liu Gu wrote a poem:

“Come, come, ask about the cause of emptiness and stillness;

I keep my head bowed, alone, brushing away the dust.

Pointing to a dab of clay on the statue’s nose,

I smile and say: this is Perfected Le.”

Liu Gu once spread grass for bedding with Lord Xu and spent the night in the kitchen. One night, the room became as bright as day. Liu Gu saw Lord Xu sitting with his mouth open and eyes staring, and heard someone in the air say, “Xu Xi entered foreign territory and died standing upright; Lü Huiqing ate goji-berry pods.” At the time, Xu Xi was planning affairs on the frontier, while Lü Huiqing was still in mourning at Weiyang, in the area of present-day Yangzhou. Both were friends of Liu Gu. Later, Xu Xi met disaster at Yongle, while Lü Huiqing was demoted during the Yuanyou era and did not regain office until the Jiashu year of the Shaosheng era.

Before Supervising Secretary Lü Yirou had passed the civil service examinations, his father went to see Lord Xu. Lord Xu said, “Fifty-four is auspicious,” and added, “Second place.” Lü Yirou later passed the examinations in second place; “fifty-four” was his position in the rankings.

Wang Zhongjing, a Court Consultant, sent someone to ask Lord Xu to write for him. Lord Xu wrote a character that was incomplete and unclear. When Wang Zhongjing asked again, Lord Xu said, “Enter the Dao at once; I fear it may already be too late.” Wang Zhongjing died that year.

When Sun Sheng’s term as assistant prefectural administrator ended, he went to take leave of Lord Xu. Lord Xu said, “You will be slandered while in office.” Sun Sheng later declined to take up two appointments. When an imperial amnesty was proclaimed, he was granted a red official robe and appointed Censor.

Wang Hefu asked Lord Xu for an inscription, and Lord Xu wrote the words “Three Mountains.” Wang Hefu later became superintendent of Chongfu Palace on Mount Song.

While in the capital, Lin Chuchu saw writing by Lord Xu at the home of the Daoist priest Jiang of Taizhou. He burned incense and prayed before Lord Xu’s image, then drew a sheet of writing and received the four characters “return, ferry, five, constancy.” He was later appointed professor in Changzhou and served two successive terms, for a total of five years.

Jiang Jing, the son-in-law of Liu Gu, served as a Palace Attendant-in-Waiting. During the Yuanfeng era, he went to visit the Master. He said, “The first time I saw the Master, he was standing on a ritual platform for a Daoist purification rite. Judging by his manner and appearance, I thought he was an ordinary person. But observing his expression and bearing, I felt he was like the ancients described: someone able to commune with all things between Heaven and Earth.”

Jiang Jing stood silently and upright like an egret, raising his eyes to observe the Master and test him. The Master was sweeping the ground, so he raised the broom in reply. Jiang Jing bowed to him, then shouldered the broom and left the platform. From this, he knew that the Master truly was one who “embraced the One and never let it slip away”—someone who upheld the Way’s undivided purity without losing it, and could know good fortune and misfortune without divining.

Fan Qian, a judicial official, wrote to ask Li Nangong to handle a matter for him. After waiting a long time without a reply, he grew puzzled and asked the Master about it. The Master wrote the character “stone” on a rock. Several days later, Li Nangong sent Shi Pi to deliver strings of cash to Fan Qian.

Li Zhide and Shi Fayan had no sons, so they asked the Master about it. He said, “An official post bought from the Ministry of Rites is not as good as one bestowed by the emperor.” Later, they consulted him again. He wrote the two characters “Kong Meng,” and afterward they did indeed have two sons.

When Li Zhide went to take up the post of county magistrate in Yancheng County, Chuzhou, he visited the Master. The Master said, “When you arrive to take office, it will be just as the transfer of duties is taking place.” Soon afterward, in the Yichou year of the Yuanfeng era, the court granted a general amnesty and revised official ranks. On the day Li Zhide received the imperial decree, the official seal was also being handed over.

Zhou Yu passed the jinshi examination in the third year of the Xining era, but for a long time he was not appointed to a post. One day, he went to see the Master, who wrote the two characters “Eight Capitals.” Although Zhou Yu knew that the classics spoke of the “mysterious union of the Eight Radiances,” he did not understand what the two characters meant. The Master said, “This time, your rank should be right.” That year, Zhou Yu was temporarily appointed county lieutenant of Suqian County in Huaiyang Army. After capturing bandits, he was appointed Collator in the Palace Library. It turned out that his provisional official rank had been seventh grade, and promotion to the ranks of a capital official made it eighth.

At the beginning of the Yuanyou era, Wang Sheng, a Palace Gate Attendant, went to see the Master while escorting a convoy of supplies. The Master…

In the early years of the Yuanyou era, Wang Sheng, an imperial guard officer, was escorting a transport convoy when he came to seek an audience with Xu the Divine Elder. Xu said nothing, but asked him to drink three cups of water. Wang Sheng declined, saying he could not drink that much. Xu then said, “If you cannot drink three cups of water, how could you drink an entire river?” Alarmed, Wang Sheng dared not conceal the truth: his wife, Lady Li, was jealous and had drowned a maidservant, and he was planning to hold a Jiao ritual, a Daoist ceremony, to resolve the matter. Xu said, “That is for the best.” On the night the ritual ended, Wang Sheng and Lady Li both dreamed that the drowned maidservant said, “The Divine Elder has delivered me from suffering. My grievance has now been resolved.”

After retiring, Zhang Andao, a palace commissioner, developed an eye ailment. He sent someone with incense to ask Xu the Divine Elder for a written message. Xu replied with four characters: “Return, Deer, Liu, Dark.” The scriptures speak of “returning to Zhi and flowing into the Dark.” Zhang Andao wrote in thanks: “I received these four characters from you and understood your meaning as soon as I saw them. I therefore burned my registers of official stipends. May the greedy and miserly thoughts I have accumulated since time without beginning vanish with the flames.” Afterward, his eye ailment gradually improved.

At the beginning of the Yuanyou era, Lü Jifu, a deputy chief councilor, completed his period of mourning for his mother and was appointed governor of a commandery. Hearing that a memorial impeaching him had been submitted to the court, he asked Xu the Divine Elder for a written message. Xu wrote two characters: “Take up the command.” Lü Jifu said, “I am afraid of being found guilty and demoted. How could I dare hope for such an appointment?” Xu replied, “In the end, you will command troops and serve as a military governor.” Before long, Lü Jifu was demoted to assistant military governor of Jianning Army. After the Shaosheng era began, he was summoned to administer Yan’an and soon rose from Academician of the Hall of Literary Brilliance to military governor of Baoning Army.

When Lü Jifu first came to pay his respects to Xu the Divine Elder, Xu looked at him and said, “Guard it well, guard it well.” People all thought this meant he should hold on to his wealth and rank. Later, when Lü Jifu was appointed to a regional military administration, he firmly declined and was instead assigned to Shanzhou. Some then thought the words “guard it” had come true in his serving as governor of Shan, since the character for “guard” also meant “govern.” After that, he suffered a succession of demotions, and people thought Xu’s words had been urging him to remain content with his circumstances.

Lü Jifu once received a written message from Xu the Divine Elder that read: “In the Northern Capital, the Springs and the Curves are crowded with ten thousand ghosts. They seek only to obstruct people and cut off the gateway to life.” Later, Lü Jifu was demoted from Yan’an.

When the Inner Minister Su Zizhan (Su Shi, who once served as a Hanlin Academician) had just been appointed prefect of Dengzhou, he came to ask Xu Shenweng to write something for him. Xu Shenweng wrote three characters: “Come, King, Guard.” Su Shi then asked him about the essentials of cultivating the Dao. Xu Shenweng replied, “Idleness is good.” When Su Shi met the Daoist Xu, he asked him to explain the three characters. The Daoist Xu said, “The scriptures speak of ‘vermilion writing and jade characters.’ ‘Edict’ means a command from the ruler. The character ‘come’ that the master wrote foretells that a royal appointment is on its way.” Later, Su Shi was indeed summoned to the court and appointed a Hanlin Academician. Afterward, he left the capital to serve as prefect of Yangzhou.

Su Shi remained puzzled by the words “Idleness is good” and sent someone again to ask for writing, but Xu Shenweng wrote nothing. Later, when Su Shi was demoted to Huizhou, he sent his son Su Guo to ask for writing. Xu Shenweng did not receive Su Guo, but said only, “Your elder brother believed my words, yet failed to apply them to himself.”

Su Huangmen Ziyou (Su Zhe, who once served as an Attendant Gentleman of the Gate of Yellow) sent someone from Jixi to ask for writing. Xu Shenweng wrote, “His destiny is to pass into extinction; his body will pass through Great Yin.” Before long, Su Zhe was summoned to court and served in various posts as an attendant official, eventually becoming Vice Director of the Chancellery. At the end of the Yuanyou era, he left the capital to serve as prefect of Yuanzhou and sent someone to inquire again. Xu Shenweng wrote, “Turn the scriptures ten times, and blessings and virtue will descend at once.” He also told the messenger, “Ten in the past, ten now.” Hearing this, Su Zhe said, “A diviner once told me that the year of Xu would bring much good fortune, while the year of You would bring many troubles. Could it be that, after ten years, I might live through another lifetime?” Before he reached Yuanzhou, he was transferred again, this time to Lingnan. He did not return to the court until the end of the Yuanfu era.

During the Yuanyou era, the Daoist Pan Fengzhen sat the examinations on the scriptures several times but never passed. Xu Shenweng wrote four characters for him: “Thirty-two days.” Later, Pan Fengzhen passed the examination at exactly thirty-two years of age.

Jiang Wei, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations from Sanqu (in the area of present-day Quzhou, Zhejiang), wanted to change his name to “Ruzhen.” He came to pay his respects to Xu Shenweng, but before he could speak, Xu Shenweng said, “Your surname is Jiang. Remove the character ‘work’ and add the character ‘woman’—that would be very good.” Jiang Wei accordingly changed his name and later passed the imperial examinations.

During the Yuanyou era, Liu Yuan, an official in charge of guest reception, was banished along with his father. He asked Xu Shenweng to write something for him and received the four characters “Hold the jade, grasp the tally.” Before long, both father and son were summoned back. Liu Yuan was appointed to an office in the Inner Eastern Gate Bureau, while his father took charge of the Directorate of Palace Attendants. A scripture speaks of “holding the register and grasping the roster, both arriving before the Emperor.” Xu Shenweng interpreted “register” as “jade” and “roster” as “tally.” Perhaps this was because both father and son held high offices in the palace and later served as acting military governors.

Chen, a teaching assistant from Suzhou, asked Xu Shenweng to write something for him. Xu did not write, but instead scolded him repeatedly and had someone fill a large cup with water for him to drink. After this had happened several times, Chen pleaded that he truly could not drink any more. Xu Shenweng said, “If you cannot even drink this water, how could you have drunk the lake water?” It turned out that Chen had once taken money that belonged to someone else. When that person fell into the water, Chen had made no effort to save him. Hearing this, Chen was terrified and apologized to Xu Shenweng. Xu said, “You came here burdened by debts of money and life. If you still do not awaken, you will be difficult to teach.” Chen then entered the Dao and began cultivating.

A military officer serving as a frontier commander had been out of contact with his family for a long time. He came to ask Xu Shenweng to write something for him, and Xu wrote the two characters “layered house.” Soon afterward, news of his death arrived, and the authorities sent people to escort his coffin home. Only then did people understand that “layered house” had foretold that a body from a thousand miles away would be brought back.

In the xinwei year of the Yuanyou era, Inspector Qi came to ask Xu Shenweng to write something for him. Xu wrote the character “mourning.” Within ten days, Inspector Qi’s mother died. When he visited Xu Shenweng again, Xu wrote the character “following.” Not long afterward, Inspector Qi himself died. It was said that the character “following” has “sheep” above and “next” below: “sheep” refers to the wei year, while “next” means that something follows in turn.

When Prefect Zhou Denggang was traveling to take up his post, his boat stopped in the Sishui area. Xu Shenweng sent him a letter. Zhou opened it and saw only the words “murder and arson.” Three days after he arrived, a case of murder and arson occurred in the prefecture, and all three bandits were captured.

In the guiyou year of the Yuanyou era, a candidate from Jiangling visited Xu Shenweng. Xu said, “This year, eight people whose names contain the character ‘mouth’ will pass.” When the results were announced, there were indeed eight successful candidates with the character “mouth” in their names.

A candidate from Gusu was going to the capital to take the provincial examination. He asked Xu Shenweng to write something for him. Xu said, “You need not worry. The local earth deity of Huating has prepared gifts and is coming to welcome you soon.” The candidate did pass the examination and was appointed registrar of Huating County.

A relative of the official He Xuan invited him to go together to pay a visit to Xu Shenweng. He Xuan did not want to go, so he said, “Can people really not know their own circumstances?” But he could not find a way to refuse, and had to go along. As soon as Xu Shenweng saw him, he said to He Xuan, “Can you really not know your own circumstances?”

During the Yuanyou era of the Northern Song, Chen Gu led a group in making a canopy seat as an offering to the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak. He invited the scholar Hao Ting to go with him. Hao Ting was uncertain, so he asked Xu Shenweng to write him a character and received the character “dwelling.” Chen Gu told him, “The character ‘dwelling’ foretells safety and stability.” After they had finished their task, the two returned to Gaoyou, but Hao Ting soon died of illness. Chen Gu carried his coffin back to his hometown. Only then did he understand that “dwelling” had hinted at the ancient practice of carrying a corpse back home.

During the Yuanyou era, Zhang Dunli, Commandant of the Palace Guard and imperial son-in-law, reported Xu Shenweng’s reputation to the court. The court bestowed on him purple official robes and the title “Master of Perfect Penetration.” Xu Shenweng declined them and continued to wear ordinary clothes as before.

Xu Shenweng once wrote a verse for everyone to see: “Heaven and earth are no more than a foot across; the four seas are no more than a drop. In the blink of an eye, not a trace can be seen.”

He also wrote this poem: “Look toward the southern manor from afar: its scenery is serene. The fields of those who came before are gathered in by those who come after. Those who come after need not rejoice, for still others will come later to take them over. Time rushes by like flowing water; we should be content if we can live well in the present. Children and grandchildren have blessings of their own; do not turn yourself into an ox or horse for them to drive. Wealth and poverty each have their causes; what is allotted by fate need not be pursued by force. No seeds were sown in spring, yet one waits idly by a barren field, hoping for a harvest. The southern manor and northern house are like flowers before our eyes; there is no need to boast without restraint about good sons and daughters. If one day I die, these family possessions will ultimately pass into the hands of Zhang San and Li Si.”

In the fourth year of the Yuanyou era, a county official named Chen Deyi lost an official document. Li Yuangui, magistrate of Hailing County, issued a notice giving people one month to find it. He asked Xu Shenweng to write a character, and Xu wrote “cai.” The day before the deadline, the document was indeed found beside the main road. That day was the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Xu Shenweng explained that the month’s earthly branch was “zi,” according to one way of reckoning months. Add “zi” to “cai,” and the result is “cun,” meaning “to exist”; combine “eleven” and “one,” and the result is “zai,” meaning “to be at.” The character forms thus hinted that the lost document would be recovered.

Zhong Jing of Yangzhou suddenly died during the Yuanyou era, but came back to life just as he was about to be placed in his coffin. He said he had first been taken under guard to the underworld, the legendary realm of the dead, and was allowed to return to life after an examination. Halfway back, the ghost official escorting him asked, “What will you give me in thanks?” Zhong Jing replied, “I have only a single fasting certificate, a document authorizing a Daoist purification ritual.” The ghost official said, “That will do too.” He exchanged a sheet of paper for the certificate and happily went away with it. When Zhong Jing awoke, he held a small piece of paper in his hand. Two lines had been written on it in fine, faint ink, but he could not make them out, so he showed it to Xu Shenweng. Xu said, “This is a payment slip used as money in the underworld. It says, ‘One fasting certificate, worth five hundred strings of cash.’ Hurry back, buy paper money, and burn it together with this slip.”

Hao Qing, a fishmonger from Haimen in Tongzhou, passed through Hailing and came to ask for a written character. He received “jin,” meaning “forbid.” Hao Qing said, “I sell dried fish. What is there to forbid?” Later, when he reached Qiantang, he encountered bandits, who robbed him of everything he owned. The bandit captured afterward was named Lin Xiaoer.

The Daoist Li Bashishi Shourou was skilled at interpreting the character “Gong.” In the early Yuanyou era, he went to Yangzhou to hold a Longhua assembly. Daoists and laypeople alike received him with the rites used to honor “Gong.” Gong suddenly wrote several characters on a small piece of paper, folded it, and gave it to Xu Daozheng, saying, “When Li Bashishi returns, give this to him.” Several days later, Li Bashishi returned ill, and Xu Daozheng handed him the note. It read, “I have already taken in Bei Luo Deng.” Shourou cried out “I deserve death” again and again, and eventually died.

Jia Bin, an assistant palace officer on the Right Division, sought a written character during the Yuanyou era and received the character “Feng,” with four dots added beneath it. Later, he served as military patrol supervisor and post station manager for the courier routes in the four prefectures of Zhang, Quan, Fu, and Xing, overseeing military affairs and the relay of official messages.

Zhou Jing, a Court Gentleman for Manifest Virtue, fell ill with a cold disease in the final years of the Yuanyou era. In a dream, an old man gave him medicine and said, “I have come especially to save you.” After waking, he quickly recovered. At the time, he did not yet know Gong. Later, at the home of Qiao Zhizhong, a Gentleman of the Palace Secretariat, he saw a portrait of Gong and recognized that the figure was the old man from his dream. In the bingzi year of the Shaosheng era, he came to pay his respects to Gong. As soon as Gong saw him, he bowed and said, “It has been a long time. How have you been?” Only then did Zhou Jing understand that Gong had saved him when he was ill.

The Chengdu Daoist Sai Gongchen.

In the winter of the Wuchen year of the Yuanyou era, the Chengdu Daoist Sai Gongchen brought Xu Shenweng a biography of the Divine Lord, written by Jia Shanxiang, and asked him to inscribe it. When Xu Shenweng saw him, he said, “Why take the trouble to write a biography? Human life is full of things that cannot be foreseen. First compose an eulogistic poem, and then I will write an inscription for you.” Sai Gongchen composed this verse: “O Divine Lord, O Divine Lord, like the bright moon suspended high in the sky. Without using the eyes to look, you can still see into boundless distance.”

Xu Shenweng then wrote the four characters “longevity, virtue, activity, scripture” and said, “Your parents are healthy and happy; there is no need to ask about them. ‘Virtue’ means that your mother, née He, has hidden virtue—she has quietly done good and accumulated merit—and this will bring you blessings. ‘Activity’ means that when it is time to move, move; when it is time to be still, stop. The character ‘scripture’ is written somewhat poorly; you should practice it diligently.” Master Jia received the two characters “earth spirit.” Indeed, Master Jia had once dreamed that someone transmitted to him a divine command in the form of a talisman and later was appointed to the earth deity’s office at the Taiqing Palace in Bozhou.

Before becoming a monk, the Buddhist monk Zhitong went to a Daoist temple to ask to enter monastic life, and consulted Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng said, “You can become a monk,” and wrote the character “Chen” for him. Later, Zhitong entered monastic life at Zifu Temple, where the elder Daoyuan shaved his head. Daoyuan’s family name before becoming a monk was Chen. Some time later, Zhitong came to thank Xu Shenweng, who said, “Zifu Temple is now desolate. In the future, someone will rebuild it, and later still, towers, terraces, halls, and pavilions will be added.” He then wrote the character “Dao” for Zhitong, who assumed it referred to his teacher’s name.

After Daoyuan died, Fadao succeeded him. He oversaw the rebuilding of Zifu Temple, making it splendid. Twenty-eight years later, the emperor issued an edict ordering each prefecture to select its most important local temple and convert it into a Divine Empyrean Jade Clarity Palace of Ten Thousand Longevities. The prefecture selected Zifu Temple. The palace was overseen by the palace director, Master Daoqing Yin Ruoshen. The temple’s pagoda was renamed the Yuluo Xiaotai, and its halls and covered walkways were all renovated. What Xu Shenweng had said earlier came to pass.

When the official Chen Xiang was serving as assistant prefect, he wrote to Xu Shenweng and sent him a poem. It said, “In the morning, take a broom and follow me; at night, take a broom and sweep my room. Sweep without cease, day and night, until all the dust is gone, and the true immortal will appear.” The poem uses sweeping away dust as a metaphor for cultivating the mind and eliminating desires, so that one’s inner true nature may be revealed.

The presented scholar Zhou Huo failed the civil service examination in the eighth year of the Yuanyou era and asked Xu Shenweng to write a character for him. Xu Shenweng wrote the character “tian” for him. Three years later, when Lu Nongshi took office as prefect of Taizhou, Zhou Huo put himself forward for recommendation and was selected.

The Daoist priest Liu from Changzhou left home to become a Daoist during the Yuanyou era. Xu Shenweng said, “You should not live here.” He then wrote the three characters “jiu ri qian,” with “ri” written on the left. Several years later, Liu became a Daoist at the Jiuyuan Court in Jianlong Abbey in the capital. A scripture contains the phrase “jiu ri dao qian.”

The successful candidate Zhou Huo failed the civil service examination in the eighth year of Yuanyou and asked Xu Shenweng to write him a character. Xu Shenweng wrote “dian.” Three years later, Lu Nongshi took office as prefect of Taizhou and recommended Zhou Huo.

During the Yuanyou era, Jiang Jiang went with a group of people to pay his respects to Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng addressed Jiang Jiang alone and gave him a piece of paper bearing the character “zang.” He said, “You will have use for this character.” Li Bashi explained, “Could it be that two burials have yet to be carried out? One person was born in a Mao year, and the other in a Si year.” Jiang Jiang wept and said, “Neither of my parents has yet been buried; they were indeed born in the Mao and Si years, respectively.” So he arranged their burials that very day, not daring to delay.

Yao Wenzhi, who lived east of Yangzhou, did not know Xu Shenweng at first. In the early Yuanfeng era, he suddenly saw an old man knocking at his door. The man held only a broom and said, “I am Xu Erweng of Taizhou. A broom of mine has grown in your rear garden. You can go and see it.” Yao Wenzhi accompanied him into the garden. The old man pointed to a spot and said, “This is my broom.” Following his gesture, Yao Wenzhi saw a bamboo shoot sprouting there, shaped like a broom. When he turned back, the old man had vanished.

Yao Wenzhi later went to pay his respects to Xu Shenweng and realized that he was the same old man he had seen, but Xu Shenweng said he had never left home. He told Yao Wenzhi, “You can build a hermitage there and practice cultivation; in time, you can also find a way to build a Daoist temple.” Yao Wenzhi therefore built a hermitage where the bamboo had grown, painted an image of Xu Shenweng, and offered incense before it. Whenever he faced a difficult matter, he prayed to the image, and his requests were all answered. During the Yuanyou era, Yao Wenzhi came to build a Hall of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing).

Wenzhi planned to move his parents’ graves. He first found a low-lying site, then found a higher one. Unable to decide, he took a handful of soil from each place and hid them separately in his sleeves, intending to ask Xu Shenweng (a Daoist of the Song dynasty) to judge between them. Before Wenzhi could speak, Xu Shenweng said, “Use the low-lying site.” Wenzhi took out the two packets of soil, and Xu Shenweng pointed to one of them and said, “This soil is good.” When Wenzhi checked the knife he had used to wrap the soil, he found it was the soil from the lower site.

Qian Duanshu’s sister had no sons, so Qian Duanshu brought her to see Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng wrote the four characters “Yuanshi Shangdi” (“Primordial Supreme Emperor”). His sister said, “I understand now. I will have only one daughter.” And so it proved, because the character “shi” is composed of “nü” and “tai.”

During the Yuanyou era, before Wang Wei had entered official service, he came to pay his respects to Xu Shenweng. As soon as Xu Shenweng saw him, he called out, “Wang, you need not worry about your prospects.” He then said to a Daoist, “Please take Wang to the Daozheng office for tea.” When Wang Wei visited Xu Shenweng again, Xu Shenweng patted him on the back and said, “When you become a prefect, take care of the affairs of the temple gate.” Wang Wei could only respond again and again. Twenty years later, Wang Wei became a judicial officer in Taizhou. At the time, the temple’s abbot had become embroiled in a lawsuit and was sent by the supervisory and judicial authorities to the court that heard cases. Wang Wei suddenly recalled Xu Shenweng’s earlier words and did everything he could to look after the abbot.

Fan Xiaowu, a man from Hangzhou, brought a courtesan surnamed Lü to ask Xu Shenweng to write something. Xu Shenweng wrote in large characters, “The Lü family has no husband; the Fan family has no wife.” Both were horrified and hurried out.

A man from Rugao named Ji Tiancong owed a tea merchant three hundred thousand cash coins. The merchant reported him to the authorities. Unable to repay the debt for a long time, Ji Tiancong hanged himself in his own bamboo grove. Fortunately, a scholar surnamed Ding rescued him. When the tea merchant heard what had happened, he felt compassion and returned to the authorities to ask for more time to repay the debt. After that, Ji Tiancong’s livelihood began to prosper again, and he later repaid the merchant five hundred thousand cash coins. The merchant refused the extra money and left.

When Ji Tiancong fell ill, he prepared and took qiushi, a medicine made by refining urine. Near the end of the Yuanyou era, he went to pay his respects to Xu Shenweng, a Daoist adept referred to as “the master” in the recorded sayings. Xu Shenweng said, “Aren’t you Ji San?” Then he slapped him and scolded him: “Why are you eating something so filthy? Do you remember what happened in the bamboo grove? After reaching such a desperate point, what is there left to cling to?” Ji Tiancong came to his senses and begged to stay at the temple and serve Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng agreed, saying, “You can do something useful for me and build up some good karma.” He then appointed Ji Tiancong and Yao Wenzhi as supervisors in charge of the work of building the Hall of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and repairing the Daoist temple.

In the seventh month of the fifth year of Chongning, Ji Tiancong fell ill and asked Xu Shenweng for water empowered with a talisman. Xu Shenweng did not give him any. Instead, he asked, “What is your surname?” Ji Tiancong replied, “Ji.” Xu Shenweng asked, “How do you write the character ‘Ji’?” He said, “It has the bamboo radical on top, with ‘lai’ and ‘xi’ below.” Xu Shenweng said, “Take only the character ‘xi’ and add the character for ‘evening.’ Hurry home.” Ji Tiancong sat upright and died during the night of the twenty-first, a day marked by the cyclical sign jisi. Here, the character “xi” alludes to the twenty-first day, while adding the character for “evening” beside the character “ji” hints that he would die that night.

One day, Xu Shenweng said to the Daoists repairing the temple, “Go at once to Zhenzhou and buy timber.” They did as he said and, on arriving in Zhenzhou, asked the local people about it. They said that a very large timber raft had arrived that morning. The seller wanted sixteen hundred strings of cash, while a monk from Changlu had offered fifteen hundred, but the deal had not yet been concluded. The Daoists bought the timber at the seller’s asking price. By the time the people from Changlu hurried back, it was too late.

When Deng Yan, a presented scholar from Xiuzhou, went to the capital to sit the examinations during the Yuanyou era, he asked Xu Shenweng to inscribe a character for him. Xu wrote the character “sheep,” but overnight it became four characters. Deng did not pass the examination that year, and died in the Xinhai year.

When Cheng Ruoqing, later honored as the Attendant of the Precious Register, was living in Chou, no one knew who he was. During the Yuanyou era, he took leave of Xu Shenweng and returned to Qianshan. Xu wrote a poem to see him off: “Clad in ragged clothes, holding his knotted robe; a phoenix whose feathers have fallen is no better than a chicken. Though clams and mussels shine with no outward luster, within they conceal precious pearls—only the world does not know.” Twenty years later, Cheng Ruoqing was summoned to travel with Xu Shenweng. They lived together at the Shangqing Palace, and Cheng received the title “Master of the Precious Register.”

Liu Yi, an official overseeing a prefectural commission, sent someone to ask for an inscription. Xu Shenweng wrote the three characters “person beneath the forest.” Liu Yi was delighted and said, “I believe in Daoism. Yesterday I dreamed of two boys drinking milk, and only then understood that I am a ‘person beneath the treasured forest.’” Liu Yi later died in Chuzhou.

The elder brother of Prefect Xiong Gao was an official of the rank of Palace Reader. He had gone to seek medical treatment because of an illness and also planned to return to Poyang. Xiong Gao told Xu Shenweng about this and asked him to divine the outcome. Xu wrote the character “ding” and said, “It can also be written as the two characters ‘obtain ding.’ If you write the character for ‘below’ and raise just one stroke, it becomes ‘ding.’ Add a mouth, and it becomes ‘can’; add a person, and what character does that make?” He added, “How could the character ‘envoy’ fail to be written? Add just three dots, and it can be written.” A few days later, Xiong Gao came to ask for another inscription, and Xu wrote the three characters “Dao says this.” Later, news arrived that Xiong Gao’s elder brother had died at Dingzi River in Zhenzhou, and his young son had died the following day. People therefore thought that the character “Dao,” missing two strokes, foretold mourning; the allusion to the place name “Ding River” was also extremely obscure.

The registrar Liu Bian had once conducted an inadequate examination of a corpse, and the prefectural officials had temporarily put the matter aside. Liu Bian came to see Xu Shenweng, intending to set out in the first month of the year. Xu said, “The first month of next year.” Liu Bian did not believe him. Later, Commissioner Li Cong issued an order detaining Liu Bian for questioning. Only in the first month of the following year was he finally released.

Lin Dan, the transport commissioner of Huainan, asked Xu Shenweng to write something for him. Xu wrote six characters, “Shang Shang Dang Dang [□] Ling,” with one extra stroke in the fourth character. Later, Lin Dan was transferred to serve as transport commissioner of Hedong, and eventually died in Shangdang.

When Master Foyin Liaoyuan was living at Jinshan Monastery, he once wrote a letter to Xu Shenweng. Xu did not open it, but simply said, “Very good.” He then wrote the character “jin” fourteen times on the envelope, arranging them in pairs, and sent it back with the messenger. Later, Liaoyuan sent someone again to ask Xu for writing. Xu wrote three characters: “er qi fo.” After that, Liaoyuan lived at Jinshan Monastery for fourteen years.

In the winter of the gengwu year of the Yuanyou era, Liu Gu, a commoner from Jiangyin, was accused after someone incited villagers to file a complaint against him over a land dispute. The case was referred to the Huainan Eastern Judicial Commissioner’s Office. Afraid of getting into trouble, Liu Gu went to pay his respects to Xu Shenweng. Xu wrote the character “tian” seven times, in three parallel columns, with one character placed beneath the other six. Liu Gu understood the hint, changed his surname to Huangfu, and fled to Mount Lu. He once visited his son-in-law, Jiang Jing, in Anren, Raozhou. When the Huainan Eastern Judicial Commissioner’s Office learned of this, it reported the matter to the court, which ordered an investigation of Jiang Jing. Three years after Liu Gu fled, during the Shaosheng era, the land dispute was finally settled fairly. Jiang Jing, too, happened to benefit from an imperial amnesty and was spared punishment.

In the middle of the fourth month of the jiaxu year of the Yuanyou era, Xu Shenweng shut himself indoors and would not come out. When the Daoist community asked him to emerge, he said, “I will come out once the era name changes.” A few days later, the era name was indeed changed to the first year of Shaosheng.

The Hanlin academician Wang Mingsou once received a piece of Xu Shenweng’s writing. When he opened it, he saw that the character “Lü” had been written in the form “[□].” Later, Wang Mingsou lost first a young son and then an adult daughter. He again sent someone to ask Xu Shenweng for guidance, and Xu wrote four characters: “jiqiu shuangjiang.” Wang Mingsou was later appointed vice minister of justice, in the ninth month.

In the early years of the Shaosheng reign period under Emperor Zhezong of the Song dynasty, a candidate for the civil service examinations from Hailing asked Xu Shenweng (Xu Shenweng was Xu Shouxin) whether he would pass. Xu Shenweng said, “When Attendant Gentleman Lu arrives, everyone in the city will be wearing green official robes.” Later, He Chang, Yan Bang, Guo Guan, Zhang Zhichang, Li Bin, and Guo Yuanyu passed the jinshi examination one after another. When Lu Nongshi was serving as regional governor, he hosted a banquet for these newly successful jinshi. Chamberlain for Ceremonial Functions Zha Yingchen composed a poem containing the lines, “Wait and see Huang Ba summoned to court to serve as chief minister; you must believe Xu Weng’s words have spiritual power.” The meaning was: wait and see Huang Ba summoned to court to become chief minister, and believe that Xu Weng’s words truly came to pass.

Before Li Bin passed the jinshi examination, his mother, Madam Jiang, went to consult Xu Shenweng. He glanced at her and said, “Your fortune is not yet flourishing this year, but your ancestors accumulated hidden virtue—that is, blessings earned through good deeds done quietly.” Madam Jiang asked again, and Xu Shenweng said, “Come to see me again when Wood is flourishing.” That year, Li Bin was recommended for the examination, and Madam Jiang returned to see Xu Shenweng. He said, “This is precisely the time when Wood is flourishing.” Li Bin did indeed pass the jinshi examination.

In the Bingzi year of the Shaosheng era (1096), Shang Shizhi went to Weiyang (Yangzhou) to sit for an examination and asked Xu Shenweng about his prospects. Xu Shenweng said, “I’ll take responsibility for this myself; one person born in a Hai year is still needed.” Shang Shizhi was recommended that year. Wang Shan, who ranked first among the candidates from Hailing, and Shang Shizhi were both born in a Xinhai year.

During the Shaosheng era, a Daoist priest from the Tianqing Temple in Xiuzhou asked Xu Shenweng for a prediction in writing in the summer. He received the phrase “Heard above, thirty-three characters.” He was twenty-five at the time and died eight years later.

The jinshi Lu Biaomin went to pay his respects to Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng said, “I’ll give you the character ‘shi.’” After looking at it, he changed it to a character resembling “yin” and said, “You cannot use this character, but your father can.” Not long afterward, Lu Biaomin’s grandmother died.

The magistrate of Rugao County, Liu; the assistant magistrate of Hailing County, Cai; and the deputy magistrate of Xinghua County, Chen, went together to pay their respects to Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng wrote the character “shi.” To Liu he said, “Add a ‘kou’ to it, and it becomes ‘zhi.’” To Cai he said, “Add ‘ju’ to it, and it becomes ‘ju.’” Then to Chen he said, “Add ‘dou’ to it, and it becomes ‘duan.’” Before long, Chen died of illness. Liu usually relied on clever schemes in his dealings, so Xu Shenweng used the word “zhi” to remind him. Cai’s personal name was Juhou, and he later became a court official.

After Jiang Daogan fell ill, he asked Xu Shenweng to write an inscription for him. Xu Shenweng wrote the character “Meng.” Jiang Daogan died on the tenth day of the tenth month.

The wife of a Sun family official from the prefecture came to see Xu Shenweng. Before she could speak, he rebuked her: “What face do you have to come here? Even if you return the belongings now, it is already too late.” The old woman fled in terror. The next day, she was arrested by the authorities. It turned out that a few days earlier, coveting the clothing of a woman surnamed Xing, she had murdered her.

Shang Shizhi had a minor illness and came to visit Xu Shenweng. Xu said to him, “The Dao gives birth to One; One gives birth to Two; Two gives birth to Three; Three gives birth to the myriad things.” As he saw Shang out, he repeated “horse tooth nitre” several times. It seemed to be a reminder to pay attention to his medicine. After Shang returned home, a doctor left him a prescription whose medicinal decoction happened to contain horse tooth nitre.

The Transport Commissioner Zhang Zu asked Xu Shenweng to write an inscription. Xu wrote the character “Long.” Zhang Zu explained it himself: “A dragon in the earth has lost its water; besides, ‘Long’ also resembles the character for tomb.” Before long, he died of illness.

Judge Cao Shunyuan came to see Xu Shenweng and received the four characters “Fu Fu Yan Shi.” Two women in his household were pregnant. The Jing speaks of “bearing Heaven and shouldering stone”; the character “Fu” suggested two people.

Professor Bao You and Administrative Assistant Wu La came to see Xu Shenweng. He said, “You two gentlemen have already mastered the Three Teachings: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.” Wu La said, “It is precisely because I have not mastered them that I hope you will point me toward a way in.” Xu Shenweng said, “There is the Gate of Perfect Understanding, and there is the Gate of Prajna.” He then discussed matters concerning the Three Teachings one by one. Wu La said, “Even so, which gate should I enter first?” Xu replied, “If you have already mastered all three teachings, why ask which gate to enter?”

One day, Wu La and several officials went to conduct a Jiao, a Daoist rite in which an altar is established to pray for blessings and honor the spirits. When they arrived at the Daoist temple, he worried that the money he had brought would not be enough and wanted to add more. As soon as the thought arose, before he had made any arrangements, he went to see Xu Shenweng. Xu immediately said, “If you want to make an offering, make it. Why come and ask?”

Professor Bao came to pay a visit to Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng asked him, “What character do you get by adding the water radical above the character nei?” Professor Bao replied, “There is no such character.” Xu Shenweng then asked, “What about adding the water radical below nei?” Professor Bao said, “There is no such character either.” Xu Shenweng asked again, “What if you put the water radical beside it?” Professor Bao answered, “That makes the character rui.” Xu Shenweng smiled and said, “That character will come in handy today.”

After Professor Bao returned home, the prefect invited him to dinner in the West Tower. As soon as he took his seat, he saw an inscription on the wall left by Su Dongpo. It included the character rui, which happened to correspond to what had occurred that day.

In Shanyang, a wealthy man named Yang Zuozuo once smelled an unusual fragrance. Suddenly, an old man carrying a broom passed through the courtyard. The Daoist nun Xu Daosheng of Huaiyang was there at the time. Surprised, Yang Zuozuo asked her about him, and Xu Daosheng told him, “That is Xu Shenweng.” Yang Zuozuo stepped forward to greet the old man with a bow, but he had already vanished, leaving only a wooden dou measure on the ground.

Yang Zuozuo and Xu Daosheng went together to see Xu Shenweng. When Xu Shenweng asked about the wooden dou measure, they told him it was a dou-shaped fitting from a pillar in the Hall of the Three Officials. He said, “I would like to renovate this hall.” Yang Zuozuo then donated several hundred thousand coins, and the Hall of the Three Officials was rebuilt.

Sang Zhengguo of Gaoyou was about to sit the civil service examination and sought Xu Shenweng’s advice. Xu Shenweng wrote the three characters huang lü lu. The scripture said “yellow thread, white slips,” but Xu Shenweng crossed out the character for “white” and wrote “green slips” instead. That year, Sang Zhengguo indeed passed the examination.

Registrar Hu Siwen accompanied his father into retirement and returned to their home in Taizhou. Xu Shenweng said, “Registrar Hu’s circumstances are like Registrar Pan’s.” Earlier, Registrar Pan had also accompanied his father into retirement, and his father died soon afterward. Before long, Hu Siwen’s father died as well.

Scribe Zeng Zhan visited Xu Shenweng on the Double Ninth Festival. As he took his leave, he told him, “I will come to see you again when spring begins next year.” Xu Shenweng said, “We will meet on this day next year.” Zeng Zhan was delayed by other matters, and by the time he visited again, it was already the Double Ninth Festival of the following year.

The elderly Yuan Fengwang painted a portrait of Xu Shenweng at home and offered wine and food to it every day. One day he happened to forget the offerings, so the next day he personally took radishes to the storeroom below. When Xu Shenweng saw him, he said, “I really do depend on you. If I hadn’t eaten the meal sent by the Qian family yesterday, wouldn’t I have gone hungry?” The Qian family also brought him a meal every day.

The son of the Sun family came to visit Xu Shenweng. Xu wrote down the three characters “person beneath the sun” and said, “Hurry home. These words will come true before the day is over.” Sun’s son rushed home, soon fell gravely ill, and died at sunset.

After Judge Zhang Lian was dismissed from office, he wanted to find a boat but could not. He went to see Xu Shenweng, who wrote down the two characters “auspicious water” and said, “Keep this matter in mind for now, and go take care of it.” Zhang Lian went to see the prefect, who said, “We’ll find these two characters before the day is over.” Sun’s son rushed home, fell gravely ill, and died at sunset.

After Judge Zhang Lian was dismissed from office, he wanted to find a boat but could not. He went to see Xu Shenweng, who wrote down the two characters “auspicious water” and told him to keep the matter in mind. Zhang Lian went to see the prefect, who said, “I’ve just sent Zhou Yong to look for a boat.” The “auspicious water” in question referred to Zhou Yong.

Vice Prefect Zheng Xun brought his whole family to see Xu Shenweng. One of his daughters had just reached the age of fifteen, the traditional age of adulthood for girls. Xu Shenweng suddenly said, “The mother cannot bear to part with her daughter, and the daughter cannot bear to part with her mother.” Before long, the daughter fell ill and died.

Weiyong, a monk of the Vinaya tradition at Bao’en Temple who observed Buddhist precepts, came with several other monks to see Xu Shenweng. Xu looked at Weiyong, brought over a sitting mat, and struck a pose as if preparing to meditate. Then he said to the others, “None of you understands how to sit like he does.” At the time, no one understood what he meant. Later, Weiyong became abbot of Baoning Temple.

During the Shaosheng era, Tang An of Wuwei Army met Xu Shenweng and brought his portrait home, where he worshipped it for many years. Tang An’s daughter-in-law had a three-year-old child. One night, Tang An dreamed that Xu Shenweng said, “You may let this child leave home and become a Daoist.” When he woke, he told his wife, Lady Qin, about the dream. She was furious, thinking it an ill-omened thing to say. Before long, the child fell ill and died. In her anger, Lady Qin threw Xu Shenweng’s portrait into the river. Later, she contracted an epidemic and developed a condition that left her arms weak and powerless.

Tang An went to pay his respects to Xu Shenweng again. Xu Shenweng said, “Your wife threw me into the river, thinking I would drown. But I reached Changlu and came back.” Deeply ashamed, Tang An apologized and left. Later, Liu Zhen, a merchant from Tanzhou, came to see Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng suddenly said, “Thank you for saving me the other day.” Liu Zhen replied, “When I went to Changlu the other day, I saw a scroll floating on the water. I fished it out and discovered it was your portrait.”

One day, Lu Xi met Xu Shenweng at the back gate of a Daoist temple. Xu Shenweng asked, “What is your surname?” Lu Xi answered, “Lu.” Xu Shenweng said, “Why don’t you sit outside the gate? A relative is coming to visit you.” He added, “Three days, two days.” Three days after Lu Xi returned home, a relative named Shisheng indeed came to visit. Later, Shisheng also caught the illness. Lu Xi went to seek Xu Shenweng’s advice again, and Xu Shenweng gave him the character “□.” Three days later, Shisheng died outside the gate of Lu Xi’s home.

Wang Anzhong, an official with the title of Gentleman for Attending to Affairs, once wrote down his name and age and asked Xu Shenweng to bestow a courtesy name on him. Around the three characters of “Wang Anzhong,” Xu Shenweng wrote eight characters: “Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise.” “These are what you need,” he said. Later, Wang Anzhong went to the capital for a grand state ceremony and was assigned duties at the suburban altar. He saw that the banners of the four divine beasts stood in the four directions around the place where he was stationed.

Wang Anzhong once asked Xu Shenweng to use his powers to pray for water. Xu Shenweng replied, “There is no need to invoke water here. Willow-branch water will be useful on the fifth day of the fifth month.” Later, when Wang Anzhong returned to Hangzhou, his daughter fell ill. A monk dipped a willow branch in water to treat her and chanted an incantation that day. His daughter died that same day, which was the Dragon Boat Festival, the Double Fifth, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

The prime minister Zhang Tianjue once moored his boat in front of Shanguang Temple at Weiyang. He saw a Daoist on the bank take a comb from between his fingers and comb his hair. The man’s bearing and presence were extraordinary. Zhang hurriedly invited him over and asked, “I saw what you were using to comb your hair just now. Could it have been a sword?” The Daoist nodded. Zhang asked if he might see it. As before, the Daoist drew a comb from between his fingernails. It was white as silver and about three inches long. He blew on it, and it suddenly became a sword. Zhang took it and examined it; it was indeed a sword. As they sat and talked, the Daoist suddenly vanished.

Later, when Zhang Tianjue went to Hailing to pay his respects to Xu Shenweng, he wanted to ask about the encounter from years before. Before he could speak, Xu Shenweng handed him a sheet of paper bearing the two characters “Dongwen.” If the middle stroke of “dong” was moved beneath the character, it formed another “dong”; the character “hui” could be seen as two “kou” characters. Zhang Tianjue understood from this that the Daoist he had met by the water was Master Lü (Lü Dongbin).

In his spare moments, the Master would often stand beside the incense cabinet. Suddenly, two beautiful women came hand in hand, singing with calm composure, and walked straight to where he was. Everyone was astonished. After a long while, the two women departed. The elders Chen and Li, who were standing nearby, asked the Master, “Who were they?” He replied, “They were Immortal Maiden He and Immortal Maiden Jiang.” Everyone hurried after them, but by the time they reached the gate, the women had vanished.

Gong Shenfu, a senior official in the Directorate of Education, had just been cleared for reinstatement after being listed among the banished. Someone pursued him, asking him to write a piece of calligraphy. The Master wrote eight characters: “Revive the dead and raise the corpses; make human beings of white bones.” A scripture says, “Restore the bones and raise the dead.”

The abbot of the Tianqing Monastery was the first to write a petition for alms—a document invoking the gods and soliciting donations—and asked the Master to serve as its “slanting head,” apparently a role involving the writing or administration of the petition. The Master said, “This petition will succeed as long as it comes across someone whose name has the ‘mouth’ radical.” Most of the people listed in the petition had the ‘mouth’ radical in either their surname or given name.

The elder Li Qi often interpreted the characters written by the Master. One day, he asked the Master to write something for him. The Master wrote the two characters “right” and “wrong,” but rendered “wrong” as an empty box. Elder Li could not understand it. Daoist Xu said, “The Master means that in the characters you interpret, there is little ‘right’ and much ‘wrong.’” The Master laughed when he heard this.

Elder Chen Qi also often interpreted the characters written by the Master. When Elder Li could not understand them, Daoist Xu once said as well, “The Master means that in the characters you interpret, there is little ‘right’ and much ‘wrong.’” The Master laughed when he heard this.

Once, as Elder Chen Qi stood attending the Master, the Master handed him a sheet of paper bearing the four characters “Cross beyond the Three Realms.” Elder Chen was delighted and said, “The next line in the scripture says, ‘Take your place among the immortal elders.’” But the Daoist Xue Gu said, “This is no auspicious sign.” Xue Gu was ill at the time, and there was a crane in the courtyard. The Master prayed for the crane to “cross beyond the Three Realms,” repeating the words several times. A few days later, the crane died. Before long, Elder Chen Qi also died, just as foretold.

Shen Fu, an officer in the Grain Transport and Levy Bureau at Jiangyan, received talisman water from the Daoist adept Zhang Zigao of Weizhou in the early years of the Shaosheng era. As a result, he fasted for nearly two months. Later, he came to pay his respects to the Master, who wrote seven characters for him: “Since you still eat, the tax is heavy.” The Master meant to admonish him not to starve himself. Shen Fu did not understand, and died a little over a month later.

When Yuan Chengyi Fu was appointed magistrate of Haimen County in Tongzhou, he brought his whole family to pay a visit to Xu Shenweng. Fu personally brewed a cup of tea and offered it to Xu Shenweng. After taking a sip, Xu passed the tea to Fu and said, “All of you drink it, and you will be safe and happy.” Before Fu had a chance to drink, someone came in to greet him. Xu then handed the tea to Fu’s wife and children, who drank from it one after another. As Fu’s family sailed home, they asked him, “The immortal just now told everyone to drink the tea. Why were you, the county magistrate, the only one who didn’t?” Only then did Fu realize he had not drunk any, but he thought little of it. Later, when he died in Haimen, everyone in his family who had drunk the tea remained safe and well.

In the year jiǎxū of the Shaosheng era, the Tianqing Abbey held a Shangyuan Zhaijiao, a Daoist purification ritual for blessings around the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. After the ritual ended on the sixteenth, the Daoist Wang Shanxiang and others were clearing away ritual implements in the storehouse when a distinguished-looking man in a cloth robe came to the entrance and greeted them with a deep bow. Wang Shanxiang and the others paid little attention to why he had come, and the man left. When Xu Shenweng arrived, he asked, “Why didn’t you invite that Daoist to have some tea?” Wang Shanxiang replied, “We were busy at the time.” Xu Shenweng reproached them: “That was Lord Lü, who had come to visit me.” Wang Shanxiang hurried after him, but could not catch up.

Zhu Zongyin, a man from Xinzhou, wanted to become a monk, so he asked Xu Shenweng to write something for him as an omen. Xu wrote the four characters “Three Realms, Five Emperors” and said, “You can go to Zhenzhou.” Zhu Zongyin then entered Yizhen Abbey. Later, he sat for the scripture examination, a test of Daoist knowledge of the scriptures, and drew a passage whose heading was precisely the two characters “Emperor Ranks.” That year, he passed the examination and was granted Daoist status. It is said that the heading above the passage he drew read “Three Realms, Five Emperors,” while the heading below it continued, “Ranks and Proclaims the Supreme Clarity.”

A candidate from Siming named Qin had taken the civil service examinations many times without passing. He went to ask Xu Shenweng, who told him, “When you see Zhang Guolao cross the sea in an iron boat, you will pass the provincial examination.” Later, Qin sat for the provincial examination. While resting at Jingde Temple, he saw a mural on the wall depicting exactly the scene Xu Shenweng had described. That year, he passed.

The Daoist priest Liu Shouning raised funds to cast a bell and asked Xu Shenweng, a highly accomplished Daoist, when it would be finished. Xu Shenweng said, “It will take three firings of the furnace.” Later, the bell was cast again, but the attempt still failed. Liu Shouning sought his advice once more. Xu Shenweng said, “You must go to Tongzhou.” So they went to Jinghai and found a man named Zhang Lengzi, intending to work the bellows and smelt the metal. Suddenly, they saw Xu Shenweng arrive. Everyone joyfully went to greet him, but he vanished at once. Afterward, the bell was successfully cast in a single attempt.

End of Volume One of Recorded Sayings of Master Xu Shenweng, the Empty, Still, Profound, and Harmonious.

Volume Two records that, beginning on the first day of the ninth month in the Yihai year of the Shaosheng era, Xu Shenweng shut the doors of his residence and neither went out nor ate or drank. The Daoist community knocked at the door, but he never responded. On the seventh day of the eleventh month, the governor of the commandery, Lu Nongshi, arrived and ordered the Daoist director to knock. After a while, a voice answered from within. Lu Nongshi called out, “I have been waiting here for a long time. Ever since you stopped coming out, the common people and the scholars have been deeply worried.” Xu Shenweng then came out to meet him. Lu Nongshi asked why he had done this. Xu Shenweng replied, “It was only because of a few minor matters.” Several days later, someone presented him with four purple-patterned stone pillars.

When Xu Shenweng had shut himself away and would not come out, Daozheng Xu Shoujie also knocked at his door and asked to pay his respects. After Xu Shenweng came out, he said to Lu Shou, “The Attendant Minister is a difficult person to guide.” He then asked for wine. Lu Shou knew that Xu Shenweng usually did not drink and thought there must be a reason he was asking for wine this time, so he hurried to fetch some. Xu Shenweng did not drink it, however. “Wine is something that ruins people,” he said. Lu Shou asked, “Even you, Divine Lord, are not an exception?” Xu Shenweng replied, “I am no exception either. Wine and wealth are no different. If someone has reached this point and still cannot give them up, he is truly difficult to guide.” In fact, these words were meant specifically as a warning to Xu Shoujie.

Xu Shenweng next asked for paper and brush and wrote: “Perhaps first savor the two characters ‘emptiness’; by keeping faith, many good fortunes arise. It is hard to repay Taizhou’s Xu Shoucheng for his support. From now on, one must not go into the wilds; advance and retreat are both difficult. Thus he came to sincere devotion and sought merit for the long-departed dead. Written on the seventh day of the eleventh month in the second year of Shaosheng.” There were fifty-two characters in all. He handed the paper to Xu Shoujie and said, “For now, keep this with you. In a few days I will take it back.” No one could understand what the words meant.

Back in the final years of the Yuanyou era, when the Three Pure Ones Hall—a hall enshrining the Daoist Three Pure Ones—was being rebuilt, Xu Shenweng had told Xu Shoujie, “You should give up your title and donate all your clothes and possessions to repair the hall.” Xu Shoujie had not followed his advice. Now Xu Shenweng warned him again, but he still failed to understand. On the seventh day of the eleventh month the following year, Xu Shoujie died.

In Jiangyan, a soldier named Wang Li was gravely ill and near death. His wife went into the city to buy funeral supplies. On the way she happened to meet an elderly neighbor, Madam Li, and the two went together to see Xu Shenweng. He said, “The Wang family’s possessions will end up belonging to the Li family.” After they returned home, Wang Li recovered, but Madam Li’s son died. They therefore used the coffin originally prepared for Wang Li to lay Madam Li’s son to rest.

Wang Hui asked Xu Shenweng (a Daoist priest of the Song dynasty) to choose a suitable day for planting early rice. Xu Shenweng said, “The second day of the sixth month is a good day.” The Daoist community asked anxiously, “Won’t that be too late?” Wang Hui had always trusted Xu Shenweng’s words, so he went home and waited until that day. A drought struck that year, and all the rice seedlings planted earlier withered and died. Rain fell at the end of the fifth month, and Wang Hui sowed his rice on the second day of the sixth month. His harvest was twice as large as in an ordinary year.

Zhai Yuan of Haimen presented Xu Shenweng with a large silver censer. Xu Shenweng rebuked him, saying, “If you do this, won’t you cause trouble for that monk?” Zhai Yuan repeatedly urged him to accept it, but Xu Shenweng still refused. After Zhai Yuan withdrew, he told the Daoists, “When I first had this censer made, I meant to offer it at Sizhou to the great monk Sengqie, who is revered among the people as an incarnation of Guanyin. I have now changed my mind and decided to give it to Xu Shenweng, which is why he said those things.” He then went to see Xu Shenweng again. Xu Shenweng said, “You needn’t come to see me. Go and speak with Elder Jie first.” After Zhai Yuan returned home, he fell ill and died. Zhai Yuan’s eldest son was named Yuan Zeng, with the courtesy name Xiaojie. He had already died and had not yet been buried. Father and son were both lying in the room where the dead were kept, awaiting burial.

Both of Han Shunyan’s sons contracted the plague at the same time, so he asked Xu Shenweng whether the outcome would be auspicious or inauspicious. Xu Shenweng wrote the character “sheng,” meaning “life,” and Han Shunyan was delighted. Later, one son died while the other recovered. Li Bashi explained, “The one who recovered was born in the year of the Ox. The character ‘sheng’ is made up of ‘niu’ (cow) and ‘yi’ (one).” Han Shunyan agreed that this was indeed the case.

Both sons of the Huai family contracted the plague at the same time, so they too asked Xu Shenweng whether the outcome would be auspicious or inauspicious. Xu Shenweng wrote the character “sheng,” meaning “life,” and Han Shunyan was delighted. Later, one son died while the other recovered. Li Bashi explained, “The one who recovered was born in the year of the Ox. The character ‘sheng’ is made up of ‘niu’ (cow) and ‘yi’ (one).” Han Shunyan agreed that this was indeed the case.

In Huaiyang Commandery, a wealthy man who lived in the countryside was named Chang Qing. Near his home stood a mountain that extended west to Fuli. It contained many deposits of stone, but they had never been quarried.

One day, an old man knocked at Chang Qing’s door and said, “There is patterned stone in this mountain. Could you quarry it and donate it to the Tianqing Abbey in Taizhou, to build the main hall?” Chang Qing laughed and said, “How could there be patterned stone in this mountain?” The old man replied, “Go and take it. There’s no need to doubt.” With that, he suddenly disappeared.

Chang Qing told his wife, Cao, what had happened. She said, “Why not try digging and see?” Sure enough, the stone had markings like purple brocade. Chang Qing and his wife went to pay a visit to Xu Shenweng, a Daoist figure, and discovered that he was the old man they had seen before. Before they could speak, Xu Shenweng wrote the four characters “Transforming and Giving Birth to the Heavens” and handed them over as proof of authorization to build the hall. The couple thanked him with a bow. Xu Shenweng asked, “You haven’t made anything yet. Why are you thanking me?” Chang Qing said, “What are we to make?” Xu Shenweng replied, “Stone beams and pillars.”

Chang Qing returned to Huaiyang and began quarrying the stone. In less than a year, everything was ready. They carried the stone by boat across the sea, but encountered a violent storm along the way. The boatmen were helpless. Chang Qing called out to Xu Shenweng for protection. Suddenly the sky darkened, and amid mist and flashes of lightning, it seemed that divine beings were pulling the boat swiftly forward. By the time the wind stopped the next day, the boat had reached Haimen. They continued on to Chaiyu. Chang Qing first went to pay a visit to Xu Shenweng, who said, “The fright you suffered on the way was no small thing. Without it, you would not have arrived so quickly.”

Geng Chun, a gentleman of proclamation, wanted to arrange a marriage for his eldest son and asked Xu Shenweng about it several times, but received no answer. One day, Xu Shenweng wrote the two characters “Horn Leads” and added, “This family shares your grandmother’s surname.” Later, Geng Chun’s eldest son married a woman of the Zhang family from Tongzhou. Her grandmother, too, had the surname Zhang.

A monk named Tan Yong lived at Shita Temple in Yangzhou. After leaving his post, he returned to Tianhe and went to say goodbye to Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng wrote the character “Fragrance” and gave it to him. Later, Tan Yong went to Siming and lived at Xiangshan.

The official Zhang Suiming was appointed commander of Yangzhou. Before arriving to take up his duties, he went to pay a visit to Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng took a sheet of paper, wrote a large character meaning “death,” and placed forty-nine dots beside it. Zhang Suiming died less than a month after arriving in Yangzhou. His younger brother, Zhang Cheng, also died later, after forty-nine days.

In Jiangdong, the region around the lower Yangtze, a wealthy merchant surnamed Li paid a visit to Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng ladled out water for him to drink. After several cups, Li excused himself, saying he could not drink any more. Xu Shenweng said, “That man drank the water of an entire river.” Before long, Li’s younger brother, Li Suiming, arrived in Yangzhou and died less than a month later. His other younger brother, Li Jicheng, died forty-nine days afterward.

Another account says that Xu Shenweng asked Li, “That man drank the water of an entire river, yet you cannot even drink a few cups?” Ashamed, Li apologized and asked to hold a grand Zhaijiao, a large Daoist purification and prayer ritual, to atone for his past wrongdoing. Xu Shenweng agreed. In the past, Li had crossed the river in a boat with another merchant. Coveting the man’s valuable possessions, he pushed him into the river while he was drunk.

The presented scholar Chen Hu had a fifteen-year-old daughter who bowed and offered incense before Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng bit her neck twice, then tried to bite her again. The girl screamed and fled. That night, she hanged herself. Early the next morning, Chen Hu confronted Xu Shenweng about what had happened. Xu Shenweng said, “This girl was ensnared by a grievance from a previous life. I meant to blow Qi three times toward her to save her, but your daughter fled on her own. I knew she would likely be beyond saving. Go look at the rope, and you will see the signs.” Chen Hu returned home to inspect it and found that the rope used for hanging had been made of three strands. Two had snapped, and only one remained intact.

When Lu Nongshi, the Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, was stationed in Taizhou, he learned that the court had appointed Zeng Zikai to replace him, but that he himself had not yet received a new appointment. Finding this strange, he asked Xu Shenweng. Xu replied, “Attendant Lu will replace Attendant Zeng, and Attendant Zeng will replace Attendant Lu.” Lu Nongshi said, “When I was in Jinling, Attendant Zeng and I replaced each other.” Xu Shenweng gave the same answer as before.

Lu Nongshi then asked, “Who would be suited to replace Attendant Zeng in Haizhou?” Xu Shenweng again said, “Attendant Zeng will replace Attendant Lu.” Lu Nongshi once more mentioned that he and Attendant Zeng had replaced each other in Jinling, but Xu Shenweng repeated the same answer. Then Xu said, “Haizhou is a suitable place for an official to serve as governor.” More than ten days later, an appointment came from the court assigning Lu Nongshi to Haizhou. Later, Zeng Zikai was transferred from Taizhou to Haizhou, and, just as foretold, he and Lu Nongshi replaced each other.

Lu Nongshi once had a memorial engraved and sent to the court, and asked Xu Shenweng what would become of it. Xu wrote the word “Zheng” and asked, “What word do you get when you add the hand radical to ‘Zheng’?” Lu Nongshi replied, “Zhi, meaning ‘to throw.’” Xu Shenweng said, “Then it will be thrown away.” Lu Nongshi was troubled by this. Xu said, “After three years, it will no longer be thrown away.” When Lu Nongshi was leaving Hailing, he took leave of Xu Shenweng and asked how things would go. Xu replied, “There will be many Daoist practitioners, and vegetables will be expensive.” Later, Lu Nongshi was transferred from Haizhou to Caizhou. Before long, he was summoned back to the court and appointed Chengxia, a court official. The proposals he had previously submitted had not been approved, but now they were finally put into effect, and he was given important responsibilities. The prediction that after three years his memorial would no longer be cast aside also came true. Lu Nongshi had also once received the four words “bearing heaven, carrying stone,” which Xu Shenweng took as a sign that he would become a senior minister.

Later, while Lu Nongshi was at court, he sent someone to ask Xu Shenweng for written characters and received the two words “end of life.” He was later stationed in Bozhou, where there was a shrine to Lord Lao, a Daoist temple dedicated to the Supreme Old Lord. When Lu Nongshi became gravely ill, he again sent someone to consult Xu Shenweng and received the five words “above three, twenty-two.” Xu Shenweng added, “Make the lower ‘two’ like the left side of the word ‘heaven,’ and it becomes ‘heaven’; the two words ‘Left Vice Director’ do not need the word ‘person’ either.” Lu Nongshi eventually died in Bozhou, on the twenty-second day of the third month.

During the Shaosheng era, Lin Ling’e asked Xu Shenweng for written characters and received the three words “person beneath the forest.” In the early Zhenghe era, he was summoned from Chuzhou to the court.

During the Tianqing era, the Three Pure Ones Hall was rebuilt. As the main beam was being raised, the Daoist community reported the matter to Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng said, “Once it is raised, it will have to come down; after it comes down, it will be raised again.” Later, Attendant-in-Chief Lu came here and looked up at the inscription on the beam. He wrote the words “Daozheng Encourages Donations.” Attendant-in-Chief Lu said, “This is the work of the Divine Master. What does it have to do with anyone else?” He immediately ordered the inscription taken down, replaced with the Divine Master’s name, and the beam raised again. Everyone said that Xu Shenweng’s words had come true.

Later, the Wanshou Palace at Xianyuan was renovated. A new Three Pure Ones Hall was built, and the old hall was turned into a lecture hall. The hall’s plaque was therefore taken down and replaced with one for the lecture hall. In the wuxu year of the Zhenghe era (1118), the lecture hall was converted back into a hall to enshrine the Sacred Ancestor, a deity revered in Daoism. The lecture hall plaque was taken down and replaced with the hall’s plaque.

The Daoist Kan Ruozhuo was going to Shanyang to visit his parents. Before leaving, he said farewell to Xu Shenweng, who wrote the two characters “go” and “wild.” After reaching Shanyang, Kan Ruozhuo died.

Pei, the wife of Zhou Zhi, was gravely ill. Zhou Zhi wrote down the month of his wife’s birth and asked Xu Shenweng to add an inscription. Pei had been born in the sixth month. Xu Shenweng added the character for “ten” beneath the character for “six,” but Pei ultimately did not recover.

Attendant-in-Chief Shen Xi once asked Xu Shenweng to write an inscription, saying, “I hope you will tell me the good and ill fortune of my life.” Xu Shenweng wrote, “Wait through the Five Emperors,” and said that Shen could rise no further in office. He also wrote the character for “attendant” as three overlapping instances of the character for “person.” Later, Shen Xi’s son Shen Zhao became an attendant-in-chief and also served as an attendant lecturer and attendant reader. Afterward, he left the capital to serve as a commandery governor.

Shen Zhao took mineral medicines made from refined stones. He usually liked only to drink water and could not eat solid food. He wrote to Xu Shenweng asking whether he could eat a little solid food to nourish his health, and was waiting for a reply. One night, he dreamed that Xu Shenweng gave him a steamed bun to eat. Several times he could not swallow it, so Xu Shenweng said, “You must force yourself to eat it.” Shen Zhao made himself eat half of it, and the next day he was able to eat solid food.

Whenever Nai Guangshun met Xu Shenweng, Xu Shenweng would say, “You live behind the city. Why don’t you move to the east side?” He said this for three or four years, but Guangshun always replied that he had no means to move. Xu Shenweng grew angry. Guangshun then asked him to choose a day for the move. Xu Shenweng said, “The fifth day of the fifth month will be auspicious.” Later, Guangshun moved because of a flood, and the day he moved was indeed the fifth day of the fifth month.

Guangshun also came to seek advice before arranging his son’s marriage. Xu Shenweng said, “Eight households will all light lamps, but yours will be the only one that does not.” Guangshun therefore brought home his new daughter-in-law before the lamps were lit. Over the next nine years, all eight households in the same lane that held weddings suffered misfortune; only Guangshun’s family remained safe.

When Guangshun’s daughter was seven, she fell ill with fright sickness. Guangshun went to see Xu Shenweng, who said, “Hurry and ask Daoist Dai, then go see the scholar Chen.” Guangshun asked Daoist Dai, who said, “I have no medicine. I hear that the scholar Chen recently prepared the Precious Treasure Elixir, which treats this very illness.” Guangshun went to ask for the medicine. By the time he obtained it, his daughter could no longer be saved; giving her the medicine had no effect. Guangshun went back to see Xu Shenweng, who said, “Congratulations—though you will not become a father-in-law.” When Guangshun returned home, his daughter had already awakened. Later, she left home to become a Daoist nun.

A man named Qian Zhen suddenly died, though the area around his heart remained faintly warm. His family could not bear to prepare his body for burial, and after five days he awoke. He said that at first someone came to summon him and took him to a government office, where people were handling official business. They were about to go to the east of Rugao County to oversee road repairs when, after the work was finished, an official reported that another road also needed repair and that this man should be sent to oversee it. The official said, “Qian Zhen belongs to Xu Shenweng’s assembly. You can let him return quickly.” So they caught up with Qian Zhen again and made him promise to oversee the roadwork. After Qian Zhen awoke, Xu Zhen happened to return from outside. He suddenly developed a headache and died that very night.

The palace attendant Yang Zuo went to Tiantai to serve as supervisor of wine and came to visit Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng wrote the two characters “Chongwu” (Double Fifth). Yang Zuo later died at the age of fifty-five, and from encoffining to burial exactly fifty-five days also passed.

The monk Fasheng came to visit Xu Shenweng for the first time and asked to leave the household. Xu Shenweng said, “You cannot be Guanyin Bodhisattva; for the time being, be Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.” Fasheng later went to a temple to leave the household and had his head shaved at the scripture examination. The “scripture examination” here was the assessment he received before leaving the household. What Xu Shenweng meant was this: Guanyin wears a jeweled crown, while Ksitigarbha alone is shown with the crown of his head exposed.

Huang Qi had no son, so he asked Xu Shenweng for characters. Xu Shenweng wrote the four characters “Yuan Tai Ping Yu” and said they resembled the meaning of “Yuanyue Ganyun.” Huang Qi interpreted it accordingly, but in the end he still had no son. Xu Shenweng’s meaning was that “taiyu” (fetal nurture) was not complete.

On one occasion, Huang Qi asked Xu Shenweng about his younger female cousin’s illness. Xu Shenweng said, “Your sister is unsettled, and I am powerless to help.” A few days later, she died.

Zhai Ping was ill, and his wife asked Xu Shenweng about him. Xu Shenweng said, “Jiao, jiao.” When his wife returned home, Zhai Ping had already died, and only then did she understand that Xu Shenweng’s words alluded to the jiao in jiaocang, “cellar storage.”

Meng Zhen, a man from Zhejiang, was skilled in the divination art of guige and wished to change professions and seek office. When he visited Xu Shenweng, Xu Shenweng wrote the five characters “Zhi Xin Yi Jiu Ge.” Meng Zhen grasped their meaning and still made his living in the capital with his original skill; later his skill became widely sought after.

Bian De went to Sishang to burn incense. He had already reached the local boundary when he suddenly lost his way. He walked west for more than a li and saw dry bones covering the ground; it did not seem like a place where people passed. An old man called out to him, “This is not the road; you can go this way.” Bian De then found the official road. After returning, he visited Xu Shenweng, who said, “When you went to burn incense, you too took the wrong road.”

Chen Zongshi, a Daoist of Dongling Abbey in Changzhou, wrote down his name during the Shaosheng era and visited Xu Shenweng to ask for characters. Xu Shenweng did not speak; he only added the character for “mountain” to the character “zong.” Chen Zongshi asked repeatedly, but Xu Shenweng still did not answer.

In the Shaosheng era, the Daoist Chen Zongshi of Dongling Temple in Changzhou wrote his name for Xu Shenweng and asked him to bestow a courtesy name. Xu Shenweng said nothing. He simply added a mountain above the character “Zong.” Chen Zongshi asked repeatedly, and Xu Shenweng replied, “Just so.” On his way home, Chen heard that Dongling Temple lacked a Daoist priest. People from his village petitioned the county magistrate to let him burn incense and practice there. When the appointment document arrived, his name had been written as “Chongshi.” Chen Zongshi said it was wrong. The official replied, “It was changed to avoid using the county magistrate’s name, which is taboo here.”

Wang Shaoqing, whose courtesy name was Shuofu, served as prefect of Poyang in the Shaosheng era. He sent someone to ask Xu Shenweng for a courtesy name and received the character “shou” (“longevity”), with its “mouth” component missing. When he reached Jinling, he was reassigned to Shouzhou. On the day he took office, he received notice that his elder brother had died. Only then did he understand the omen in the incomplete character for “longevity.”

When Lü Daqing, whose courtesy name was Zhifu, was serving as a transport official, he paid a visit to Xu Shenweng, who wrote the character “ang” for him. Later, Lü Zhifu was appointed in turn as prefect of Suzhou, Mingzhou, and Raozhou. He therefore assumed that “ang” hinted he would govern three places. While serving in Raozhou, he returned from outside one day and looked up at the signboard above the prefectural offices. Only then did he grasp the meaning of “ang.” On another occasion, Lü Zhifu was preparing to return to Longshu with his family and went to take leave of Xu Shenweng before departing. Xu asked, “Are there wells there?” Lü Zhifu said there were several wells at his residence. Xu replied, “Many wells are good.” After Lü arrived in Shuzhou, a fire broke out.

In the jiashu year of the Shaosheng era (1094), Wu Chang asked Xu Shenweng for a written prediction and received the three characters “san san bi.” At that time, Wu Chang had not yet entered official service, and he had long hoped to practice Fulu (Daoist talismans and registers). In the bingzi year (1096), he accompanied his father on an appointment in the Jianghuai region and received instruction in the Orthodox Method of the Celestial Heart, a Daoist ritual practice, from Master Wang at Yan Chang Temple on Mount Magu. Master Wang said, “I have just understood the characters Xu Shenweng wrote. They refer to a passage in the scripture: ‘Report upward to the thirty-two heavens of the Celestial Heart, perform thirty-two bows, close your eyes, and contemplate in stillness.’ Xu Shenweng concealed the three characters ‘tian xin mi’—‘Celestial Heart secret’—within these words. They refer to the secret method of the Celestial Heart. ‘Bi’ means to keep it concealed.”

During the Yuanfu era, Cai Chengyi Si seems to have served as registrar of Liuhe County. After his mother died, he went to pay a visit to Xu Shenweng. Xu asked where he lived, and Cai replied that he lived in Yizhen. Xu said, “You can move here and live nearby, and help me teach a sick child.” The following year, Cai Si moved there with his family. His eldest son had suffered from an illness in both feet since childhood and could not walk, so Cai left the boy with Xu Shenweng to serve as an incense attendant, a Daoist post involving the tending of incense before the deity. Xu gave the child the name “Shanren.” A year later, the child could walk; four years after that, he accompanied Xu Shenweng to the capital and became a Daoist.

When Cai Si’s wife, Lady Zhang, paid a visit to Xu Shenweng, he wrote down twenty-two characters: “The Dao says: In the first month, observe a long fast; let the hun and shen be clear and upright, and let the original Qi endure. Without suffering or distress, the body will be radiant.” In the phrase, the character for “distress” was written as “kang.” The general meaning was that by following the Dao and cultivating oneself, one should observe an extended fast in the first month so that the hun and shen become clear and upright, the original Qi endures, and the body is free of suffering and distress and becomes radiant. A few days after Xu wrote this, everyone in the Cai family fell ill. Cai sent someone to ask Xu Shenweng for help. Xu gave the messenger more than ten lingonberries, a kind of fruit, and one plum, saying, “Give each person one lingonberry; only the second lady should eat the plum.” They followed his instructions. Everyone who ate a lingonberry remained safe and well, but Lady Zhang, who ate the plum, died.

When Lady Zhang had once fallen ill, Cai Si had asked Xu Shenweng for spell water, water ritually empowered by a Daoist priest. She drank it and recovered, so Cai offered gold and silk in thanks. Xu refused, saying, “I still have a great act of merit for you to perform.” When Cai pressed him, Xu said only, “The time will come.”

During the Chongning era, Cai Si brought his whole family to pay a visit to Xu Shenweng. Xu led him to a wall painted with images from the Scripture for the Salvation of Humanity, an important Daoist classic, and showed him the transformations depicted in the text. He then wrote down four characters: “The body passes through Great Yin.” A few days later, Cai Si fell ill and went to ask Xu Shenweng about it. Xu said, “Do some meritorious work, and the illness will not harm you.” At the time, the Jade Emperor Pavilion was being rebuilt. Cai agreed to raise funds for a merit offering on behalf of ten thousand people, to be used to make statues of the Jade Emperor and the deities of the Thirty-Two Heavens. Once his illness had stabilized, Cai returned to Qiantang, solicited donations, commissioned wooden statues, and arranged for attendant figures, ritual vessels, flowers, fruit, and other offerings to be sent there. He lived another seventeen years.

Cai Si’s son-in-law, Tian You, came to visit Xu Shenweng because his mother was ill. Xu wrote down four characters: “Mountains, rivers, forests, and trees.” Tian You’s mother died soon afterward.

In the year Jimao of the Yuanfu era (1099 CE), Quan Yanbo went to sit the autumn civil service examination. Three days before the results were posted, Xu Shenweng sent the Daoist attendant Zhou Xiyuan to his home with the news: “The Divine Lord asked me to bring you good news.” Quan Yanbo asked whether he had said anything else before Zhou left. Zhou replied, “At the time, the Divine Lord simply raised his thumb.” When the results were posted, Quan Yanbo had indeed passed in first place.

Xie Gongju, a native of Chengdu, was doing business during the Yuanfu era. When he reached Zhenzhou, he had sold all his goods and had only a few dugout boats left. Before he could find a buyer, he met an old man. The man asked, “Why not go to Hailing and look up Xie Xun? The salt works could use these boats.” Xie Gongju went to Hailing and sold them. Later, when he went to see Xu Shenweng, he realized that Xu was the very old man he had met before.

After the magistrate of Taixing County, Hao Jiacheng, paid a visit to Xu Shenweng, the Divine Master immediately vanished. Hao took his leave and went up to the Hall of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing). Xu Shenweng appeared and called to his attendants: “Why hasn’t your master set out yet?” They replied that he had not yet taken leave or received an official document from the prefecture. Xu Shenweng said, “If he does not leave today, he will not be able to leave tomorrow either.” The next day, Hao Jiacheng suddenly developed an illness in his legs and feet.

Grand Minister Qi Zhan paid a visit to Xu Shenweng. The Divine Master asked his age, and Qi Zhan replied that he was sixty-five. “In five more years, you’ll be seventy,” said the Divine Master. Qi Zhan lived to the age of seventy and then died.

Pu Zhen, a loyal and upright military officer, had suffered a stroke and could no longer walk. He came to see Xu Shenweng in a sedan chair for the bedridden, with several women helping him into the hall. As soon as he saw Pu, the Divine Master flew into a rage. “You’ve spent a thousand days training your troops, yet you’ve become so ill. What will you be able to do in the future?” He used his staff to drive away the people supporting Pu, then struck Pu himself. As Pu tried to dodge, he found himself running after the staff without realizing it, and his legs and feet soon returned to normal.

Zhang Gan, styled Chuzhi, from Huainan East Circuit, paid a visit to Xu Shenweng. The Divine Master immediately said, “Your honored father, the Court Gentleman Wen, has received an appointment in Lizhou.” Later, Zhang Gan received word that his father had indeed been appointed Judicial Commissioner for Lizhou Circuit, an official responsible for its legal and judicial affairs.

When Ge Guang fell ill and could not sweat, he asked someone to pray to Xu Shenweng. Xu Shenweng wrote the four characters “Di Yuan Yu Zhai” for him. When Jing (possibly a personal name) brought the document to Xu Shenweng, Xu suddenly said, “Zunwen, the Court Gentleman for Deliberations, has already received approval and been assigned to serve in Lizhou.” Before long, news arrived that Zunwen had indeed been appointed Judicial Intendant for the Lizhou Circuit, an official responsible for criminal justice across the circuit.

After Ge Guang fell ill and continued to be unable to sweat, he asked someone to pray to Xu Shenweng. Xu wrote the four characters “Di Yuan Yu Zhai” for him. A scripture contains the phrase “Di Yuan Yu Qi Jing,” so Ge Guang went to a Daoist temple to hold a purification ritual and perform the rites. At noon the next day, he began to sweat, and his illness was cured.

Ge Guang had no sons, so he asked Xu Shenweng, “The statue of the Great Spirit of the Supervising Students has been damaged. I would like to have it remade, but I don’t know what it should look like.” Xu Shenweng replied, “Make it look like a dignified, solemn young man.” Ge Guang followed his advice, and the next year he had a son whose appearance resembled the statue. Later, he had two more sons; all three were dignified in appearance.

Zhu Zhaoyan was observing mourning in Qianshan when the county magistrate asked him to take charge of the county school. He sent someone to Hailing to ask Xu Shenweng for a written prediction. Xu wrote six characters: “Twenty-four, twenty-four.” At the time, the county school had exactly twenty-four students. Later, several more students enrolled, and Zhu Zhaoyan thought the prediction had failed. After a while, some students left, and the number usually never exceeded twenty-four. Only then did he understand: by writing “twenty-four” twice, Xu Shenweng meant that the number of students would repeatedly return to around twenty-four. Local elders said that, before this, another official had taken charge of the county school while observing mourning, and the number of students there had likewise never exceeded twenty-four.

During the Yuanfu era, Dong Qing planned to leave the world and become a Daoist at the Tianqing Temple, where he would be responsible for washing away filth for the community, but he could not make up his mind. One day, he went to see Xu Shenweng and arrived just as Xu was eating. Xu took Dong Qing by the hand, picked up his rice bowl, and led him straight to the latrine. He fetched more than a hundred toilet slips himself and washed them with water, cleaning as he ate. Moved by this, Dong Qing bowed and said, “I am willing to take on this duty myself.” From then on, he stayed at the temple and carried out his work diligently without slackening.

In the winter of the third year of the Yuanfu era, a Daoist who lived in the neighborhood returned from western Huai and suddenly became raving mad. The weather was bitterly cold, yet he wore only a single robe and carried a book. His speech, too, became strange. At times he groaned without stopping, as if being tortured, and spoke of the wrongs and evil deeds he had committed in the past. He also carried a chest and a bamboo basket to the public hall, laid out the things hidden inside one by one before the seat, and kowtowed as he begged for mercy. Xu Shenweng struck him several times in the chest with his fist. The man suddenly fell to the ground, drenched in sweat, and then came to his senses.

The Daoist Master Shi Huaisheng of Chongzhen Abbey in Jintan once attended to affairs in the neighborhood with a Daoist named Li, following Shen Gong. Li had hidden money in his shoe to test Shen Gong. Huaisheng advised him that he should not do this. Later, the two went together to pay their respects to Shen Gong, who immediately exposed Li’s hidden money. Shen Gong thus intended to guide Huaisheng toward enlightenment. After Shen Gong’s transcendence through death, Huaisheng lived at Chongzhen Abbey. He could accurately foretell people’s good and ill fortune, and was remarkably quick at composing poems and hymns. In the Dingmao year of the Shaoxing era, he died at the age of eighty-seven. More than a year later, Zhao Deming met him in Changzhou and saw that he looked just as he had before. Only later did he learn that Huaisheng had already died.

During the Yuanfu era, Emperor Zhezong had not yet established an heir to the throne, so he sent a palace messenger with incense to seek Shen Gong’s guidance. Shen Gong wrote the two characters “auspicious person” in reply. The messenger remarked privately that the character “auspicious” contained “eleven mouths.” Soon afterward, Huizong ascended the throne. It was said that the two characters had hinted at praying for Huizong’s name, Zhao Ji.

In the third year of the Yuanfu era, Wang Chen went to take the Southern Palace examination, the jinshi examination administered by the Ministry of Rites. His wife went to pay a visit to Shen Gong. Shen Gong said, “For now, congratulations to Wang Xian.” He added, “The matter of one son is already settled.” That year, Wang Chen passed the jinshi examination.

When Wang Gu, a Hanlin scholar, was serving as a circuit transport commissioner, he went to pay a visit to Shen Gong. Shen Gong wrote the character “to go” and said with a smile, “A fish is hidden right inside this character; I’m afraid you still won’t obtain it.” Wang Gu later became prefect of Hengzhou. Shen Gong also once wrote the words “five years.” Wang Gu was later transferred to a military command in Guangdong.

In the early Yuanfu era, Lü Heqing of the Ministry of Finance came from Weiyang, in the area around Yangzhou, to pay his respects to Xu Shenweng. After meeting him once, Xu Shenweng shut himself away and would not come out. Lü Heqing held Zhaijiao purification rituals for several days. At the seventh service, Xu Shenweng suddenly appeared and said, “Thank you, Minister Lü, for arranging this on my behalf. Hurry home. If you arrive early, you’ll be able to offer your congratulations.” Officials in the commandery invited Lü Heqing to a meal, so he did not set out until the following evening. By the time he reached Yangzhou, his home had already been destroyed by fire, and it was too late to save it.

Zhu Pang of Hezhou, whose courtesy name was Zemin, asked Xu Shenweng in the early Yuanfu era about his prospects in the imperial examinations. Xu Shenweng did not answer. When Zhu asked again, Xu said, “A scholar can write for himself; there’s no need to come asking me for a character.” Zhu persisted, and Xu Shenweng said with a smile, “I tell you to stop, but you refuse. You’ll only stop when the heavy rain is falling on your head.” Later, Huo Renzhong passed the examinations.

Zhu Zemin once brought portraits of Lü the Perfected One and others to show Xu Shenweng. He first unrolled the portrait of Master Lü and asked, “Has he been here?” Xu Shenweng replied, “He has.” Zhu asked, “How did you receive him?” Xu answered, “I received him as a guest from Shandong.” Zhu then unrolled the portrait of Jiang the Immortal Maiden. Xu Shenweng also said that she had been there, though she was a little plumper than she appeared in the portrait. Asked how he had received her, he replied, “I received her as an ordinary woman.” Zhu next unrolled the portrait of Master Shen and asked the same questions. Xu Shenweng said, “He has been here. I received him as an ordinary person.” Asked which of the three was the most accomplished, Xu replied, “Master Lü was fairly good.”

Shi Xiang, from Yancheng in Chuzhou, paid his respects to Xu Shenweng during the Yuanfu era. Xu Shenweng said, “Go home quickly. In the ninth month, a cultivator will come. You must receive him well and give him some of your possessions.” After Shi Xiang returned home, one night in the middle of the ninth month, as he was burning incense, he heard someone outside the gate. It turned out to be a band of robbers. Understanding Xu Shenweng’s words, Shi Xiang opened the gate to welcome them, set out food and wine, and gave them gold and silk. No one in the household was frightened.

Shi Xiang received from Xu Shenweng two bottles of water blessed with Daoist incantations. Xu Shenweng instructed him, “Give one bottle to your family to drink regularly. Keep the other and give it away when an epidemic breaks out in the village.” Shi Xiang followed his instructions, keeping one bottle sealed and stored for three years. Its seal remained as intact as when it was first closed. Later, a severe epidemic struck the village, and everyone was spared fear and distress.

Xiang received two bottles of water that the Master had ritually blessed. The Master instructed him, “Have your family drink from this bottle regularly. Keep the other until an epidemic breaks out in the village, then give it to the sick.” Xiang followed his instructions and set one bottle aside. It remained sealed for three years, its stopper still intact. Later, a great epidemic suddenly broke out, and Xiang took the water and gave it to those who had fallen ill. It gave off an extraordinary, fragrant scent, and everyone who drank it recovered. When the water was gone, however, a mouse’s skeleton remained inside the bottle, white as snow. No one knew where it had come from.

In the autumn of the third year of the Yuanfu era, the Daoist Xu Ruogu, Xu Ruoxu, and several others were walking with the Master among the palace corridors and covered walkways. The Master suddenly said to Xu Ruogu, “You must not outshine Master Xu.” Xu Ruogu withdrew in alarm. At the time, Xu Ruogu held the office of Daoist Supervisor, while Xu Ruoxu was still one among the assembled Daoists. In the Zhenghe era, Xu Ruoxu was appointed Deputy Director of the Daoist Office on the Right Street, while Xu Ruogu became Daoist Registrar. At the beginning of the Xuanhe era, Xu Ruogu was granted the title Gentleman of Jintan; Xu Ruoxu was appointed to lecture on the scriptures at the Hall of Concentrated Spirit and to serve as Signatory of the Office of Daoist Registers on the Left Street. He was later promoted to Collator of the Registers at the Hall of Concentrated Spirit.

After Chancellor Cai (Cai Jing) fell from power at the end of the Yuanfu era, he was appointed Academician of the Duanming Hall and the Longtu Pavilion, and was placed in charge of Dongxiao Palace. When he came to pay his respects to the Master, the Master came out to greet him as soon as he reached the Daoist temple gate. Cai Jing asked the Master to write something for him. The Master wrote the words “Together, arrive before the Emperor,” with the lower stroke of the character “Emperor” splitting into two legs. The Master also once sent someone to tell him, “The chancellors of the Eastern and Western Offices, and the Privy Councilor.” At the beginning of the Chongning era, Cai Jing and Yuandu were both summoned to court. Before long, Cai Jing became chancellor, while Yuandu was appointed to the Privy Council. The Master also once wrote the words “Thirty-Two Heavens.” Thereafter Cai Jing became Director of the Secretariat, was promoted to Left Vice Director, and then became Right Chancellor; each of these promotions came twelve days after the previous one.

Yuandu once received from the Master the words “The Daoist way prizes life,” as well as the two words “Zhao Chancellor” and “Qing Chancellor.” Later, he was appointed Military Governor of Zhaoqing and granted permission to establish a princely residence.

The Censor-in-Chief An Dun had had a similar experience at first.

Yuandu once received from the Master the words “The Daoist way prizes life,” as well as the two words “Zhao Chancellor” and “Qing Chancellor.” Later, he was appointed Military Governor of Zhaoqing and granted permission to establish a princely residence.

An Dun, Vice Director of the Censorate, had just received orders to take up a post in Changsha when he went to pay his respects to Xu the Spirit Immortal. Xu asked only, “How much is the salary?” An Dun did not understand what he meant, so Xu explained slowly, “You will not make it to Changsha.” Before long, An Dun was indeed recalled to the court.

On another occasion, An Dun privately asked Xu about a matter that troubled him. Xu said, “Go and see the Cai brothers at once.” The two Cai brothers had just left the court, and An Dun assumed Xu was joking. Soon afterward, the brothers were indeed recalled and appointed chancellors. An Dun was then recalled as well and appointed to a senior governing post.

During the Yuanfu era, the Daoist priests Xu Xichun and Huang Ruohou had not yet received formal ordination, the official ritual confirming their status as Daoist priests. One day, Xu the Spirit Immortal folded a piece of paper bearing the character “Order” and gave one to each of them. When they opened the papers, each found the character “Chen.” When the era name changed to Chongning, the prefect Chen Liaoweng came to visit Xu the Spirit Immortal and asked whether he had any Daoist priests who had served him for a long time. The temple’s director replied that the two were Xu Xichun and Huang Ruohou. Chen Liaoweng said, “The building of this temple depended entirely on Xu the Spirit Immortal’s efforts. Why have these two disciples still not received ordination?” He therefore ordered the temple to complete the formalities, and the two were officially ordained.

The Daoist master Quan Ruoshui, known as Baoguang Fashi, held a post overseeing the Daoist registers at Tianqing Temple during the Yuanfu era. He had long aspired to practice Fulu (talismans and registers), and Xu the Spirit Immortal often called him “Master.” In the yiyou year, Quan Ruoshui asked Xu whether he could resign from his post overseeing the registers. Xu replied, “Good, Master.” Later, Quan Ruoshui passed through Qianshan and used talisman water to heal people. The regional inspector reported his deeds to the court. Quan Ruoshui then went to the capital and was bestowed the title “Baoguang Fashi.”

Chancellor Cai once brought his family to pay a visit to Xu the Spirit Immortal. Pointing to Madam Xu, Xu said, “Madam is about to collapse.” Those present supported her. At the time, no one understood what he meant; once they reached Qiantang, Madam Xu became bedridden with illness.

Chancellor Cai once drew the character “Army” and was later appointed prefect of Yunzhou. He drew the character “Kun” and was later appointed prefect of Chengdu. He drew the character “North” and was later appointed a Hanlin academician. “Kun” refers to the southwest, and Chengdu lies in the southwest. Hanlin academicians were also called “scholars of the Northern Gate,” so each appointment corresponded to the character drawn.

In the third year of Yuanfu, two days before lanterns were to be lit for the Shangyuan Festival, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Xu the Spirit Immortal struck down all the lanterns with his staff. A few days later, Emperor Zhezong’s posthumous edict arrived.

Two degree candidates from Jianzhou, surnamed Zhu and Liu, went to the capital to sit the Ministry of Rites examination (the Southern Palace, meaning the Ministry of Rites examination compound). Xu Shenweng wrote the character “Auspicious” for each of them and gave it to them. After they reached the capital, Zhu fell ill and died, while Liu passed the examination and earned the Presented Scholar degree. It turned out that on Liu’s character “Auspicious,” the “mouth” component below “scholar” had been written down from the “scholar” component. On Zhu’s character, the “mouth” was below “earth,” and the ink was faded.

Wu Jing, a degree candidate from Gusu (present-day Suzhou), went to the capital to sit the provincial examination. Xu Shenweng wrote the three characters meaning “seventy-three.” When the examination results were announced, Wu Jing had indeed placed seventy-third.

Recorded Sayings of Master Xu Shenweng, the Void, Still, Untroubled, and Harmonious, fascicle two.