《云笈七签》Vol. 42

The Lady Primordial attained the Dao by harmonizing and taking the Divine Elixir of the Nine Tripods, an elixir refined in the Nine Tripods. She wrote nine scrolls of scripture.

Master Jiuyuan became an immortal after refining purple gold and harmonizing a divine elixir. The scripture he left behind is called the Jingxin Scripture.

Young Master Changsang often wore his hair loose and sang as he walked: “Place a golden headcloth upon your head and enter Heaven’s Gate; summon the long essence and take in the Mysterious Spring; beat the Heavenly Drum and nourish the Dantian (energy center).” The Historian beneath the Pillar heard him and said, “This is a song by Young Master Changsang. It describes a method of cultivation: take in the Qi of the Five Phases and guard the Inner Chamber, the place within the body where spirits reside.”

Gong Zhongyang received from Shaotong of Mount Song the method called “Walking the Six Cycles.”

Master Shanghuang practiced the Way of Walking the Dipper, a cultivation method in which one steps according to the positions of the stars, and obtained the art of becoming invisible.

Master Pu often rode a white deer and gathered lingzhi, the fabled immortal herb, on Mount Mao.

Mao Meng, whose courtesy name was Chucheng, came from the South Gate of Xianyang. He was the great-grandfather of Ying, Lord of Fate in the Eastern Palace. He went to Mount Hua to cultivate the Dao and later rode clouds and dragons, ascending to Heaven in broad daylight. Before this, a song had circulated in his hometown: “The one who attains the Dao and becomes an immortal is called Mao Chucheng; riding a dragon, he ascends to Great Purity, the celestial realm, and often descends to roam Xuanzhou and visit Chicheng. Passed down through generations, in time it will be my turn, Ying’s; if the Heavenly Emperor wishes to follow this example, let it be during the Jiaping winter sacrifice.” When Qin Shi Huang heard this, he began calling the twelfth lunar month Jiaping.

Master Changsheng would often rinse his mouth with water until it turned into jade flakes, then swallow them and ascend to Heaven.

After completing his Daoist training, Changcun Zi became an immortal official of Xuanzhou.

◎ Cai Qiong

Cai Qiong, whose courtesy name was Boyao, once took Laozi as his teacher and received the Great Mystery, Yangsheng Talisman and the Formula for Returning the Elixir. After preparing and taking the medicine, he attained the Dao and ascended to Heaven in broad daylight. It is said that he often used the Yangsheng Talisman to revive people who had died. As long as the bones of the corpse remained, casting the talisman onto them could bring the person back to life.

◎ Zhang Muzi

After cultivating according to the Chronicle of the Supreme Origin of Taiji, Zhang Muzi became an immortal. Later, he passed this method of cultivation on to Gong Shujin, Wang Wenqing, and Yin Zifang, who also all succeeded in their Daoist practice.

◎ Master Tongzi

Master Tongzi studied the Dao on Mount Di and became an immortal after practicing the Scripture of the Bathing Contract Bell.

◎ Elder of the Nine Sources

The Elder of the Nine Sources was the sovereign of Fangzhang Palace. He commanded the water spirits of the world as well as Yin-Essence water beasts, including dragons and whales and other strange creatures of the water.

◎ Gu Xizi

Gu Xizi studied the Dao and became an immortal, taking office as a True Official in the service of the Most High. Dongfang Shuo once became his disciple and received from him true-form charts depicting Langfeng, Zhongshan, Penglai, and Shenzhou.

◎ Wang Zhong and Others

This section mentions figures such as Wang Zhong.

◎ Gu Xizi

Gu Xizi studied the Dao and became an immortal, taking office as a True Official in the service of the Most High. Dongfang Shuo once became his disciple and received from him true-form charts depicting Langfeng, Zhongshan, Penglai, and Shenzhou.

◎ Wang Zhonggao

Wang Zhonggao often practiced divination at the markets of Huainan. Local elders passed down the story that people had seen him even in recent times. Wu Bei told Liu An, Prince of Huainan, about this, and Liu An eagerly welcomed Wang Zhonggao. Wang Zhonggao said to Liu An, “The Yellow Emperor was my father’s eldest son. In the past, I became a disciple of Lord Zhu Xiang and learned the secret of long life.” He then passed the secret on to Liu An.

◎ Yang Sheng

Yang Sheng lived on Mount Jinmen, west of Mount Shaoshi. In the mountain was a wondrous liquid called “Golden Jar Nectar.” Those who drank it could attain the Dao.

◎ Ximen Junhui

From a young age, Ximen Junhui was fond of Daoist arts and well versed in the apocryphal writings that foretold good and ill fortune and interpreted Heaven’s mandate. He once presented the Map of the Opening of Mountains to Qin Shi Huang, but the emperor did not accept it.

◎ Master Xuandu

Master Xuandu received the Scripture of the Black Jade Heaven-and-Earth Bell from an immortal. He attained the Dao by practicing as the scripture instructed.

◎ Huang Liezi

Huang Liezi once hunted in the region of Jiujiang and shot a five-colored divine deer. Following its tracks into a cave, he encountered divine fungus—the legendary immortal herb lingzhi. After taking it, he became an immortal who could ride the wind.

◎ Gongsun Qing

Gongsun Qing studied the Dao on Mount Dongliangfu. Another account calls the mountain Mount Zhiye. In a palace on the mountain were elixirs that had already been refined; anyone who took them became immortal at once. The spirits of the sun and moon also dwelt in the palace. During the refining of the elixir, people chanted: “The Jade Maiden apportions the ingredients; the toad mixes and pounds the medicine. Take one pill to refine and nourish the body; take two to make the face beautiful.”

◎ Cai Changru

Cai Changru was from Shu Commandery. He and his wife both took Ten Essences Pills, an elixir named for the “Ten Essences,” and their bodies and vital energy were exceptionally vigorous. At ninety, he had a son named Dushi; at one hundred and fifty, he had another son named Wuji. By the time he reached three hundred, he still looked like a young child.

◎ Yanming Zigao

Yanming Zigao became immortal after taking deer antlers.

◎ Cui Yezi

Cui Yezi took zhu, a medicinal plant usually identified as baizhu or cangzhu, and lived forever without aging.

◎ Ling Zizhen

Ling Zizhen became immortal after taking peach gum.

◎ Master Wanchiu

Master Wanchiu attained the Dao by taking the Life-Commanding Pill, an elixir used by immortals. By the end of the Shang reign of Tang, he had lived for more than a thousand years. He passed the formula to his disciple Jiang Ruochun. After taking the medicine, Jiang Ruochun still looked like a fifteen-year-old boy even three hundred years later. Pengzu once became his student and received three prescriptions from him.

◎ Ma Rong

Ma Rong lived in Gucheng, Liang. Both his eyes were swollen, red, and ulcerated; later, he attained the Dao through the Pupils Pill. By the end of the Shang reign of Tang, he had lived for more than a thousand years. He passed the formula to his disciple Jiang Ruochun. After taking the medicine, Jiang Ruochun still looked like a fifteen-year-old boy even three hundred years later. Pengzu once became his student and received three prescriptions from him.

Ma Rong lived in Gucheng in the state of Liang. His eyes were red, swollen, and ulcerated; he could no longer see, yet he could perceive everything around him with remarkable clarity, as though he saw through all things. In the north, many people suffered from leprosy. Their villages would not take them in, so they came to seek refuge with Ma Rong. After he treated them, they all recovered.

Ma Rong claimed that his feet were impaired and often traveled seated in a deer cart. However far he went, no person or ox could be seen pulling it, yet the cart would reach its destination on its own. Sometimes, in a single day, he was invited to dozens of places, and a Ma Rong would appear at each one. When speaking with others, he always called himself “Ezi.” He wrote three poems titled “Qian San,” whose contents resembled prophetic writings that used cryptic language to foretell good and ill fortune.

At the beginning of the third month in the second year of the Xiaojian era, Ma Rong wrote to bid farewell to the people of the two states. At noon on the sixteenth day, he indeed died.

◎ Ren Dun

Ren Dun was from Bochangg. In his youth, he studied the Dao on Mount Luofu and later lived in the Southern Grotto of Mount Mao. He practiced the art of stepping the Dipper, a Daoist method involving prescribed steps across ritual patterns, and the Dongxuan Five Talismans, a Daoist text on talismans and registers. It was said that he could command ghosts and spirits, make himself invisible, and divide himself into multiple forms. He lived alone in the mountains, where even tigers and wolves dared not harm him.

Jingxuanzi practiced the “Way of the Middle Section,” contemplating the Great Dao and guarding the Three Ones—the three places within the human body where divine spirits and Qi correspond to the Dao. He often chanted:

“Gazing from afar at Mount Kunlun, below it lie three qing of fields. Tell me, who lives in those fields? A red child named Yuanxian—the original spirit within the human body. Above the child grows a sacred tree where numinous birds perch; on either side stand paired palace towers. The sun and moon shine upon one another, and roads along which spirits come and go pass between them.

“He gathers herbs on the Three Subtlety Ridges, and drinks and rinses his mouth beside the Spring of the Flowery Pool. He roams the Twelve Towers, the pavilions of the immortals’ realm, and walks freely across the open fields. He wants to behold the Crimson Palace, the inner palace symbolizing the heart, but happens to arrive just as Zidan, an inner spirit, is falling asleep. There are golden towers and jade tables, linked to a canopy above. Looking back, he sees two messengers. In the distance lies Mount Taihang, with its steep, lofty valley beside the city of Qi.

“Even holding the reins of a flying dragon, he may suddenly arrive at a boundless abyss. Yellow essence grows at the spring’s bottom, and glossy fungus covers the Qi River valley. He wants to gather the yellow essence, then sees flowing cinnabar liquid right before him. After wandering there, he drinks the cinnabar liquid, and wings swiftly and brilliantly unfold. Before he can spur his horse and journey far, Wangzi Qiao, the legendary immortal, takes him by the arm and leads him onward. The places they pass are indeed perilous, but the greatest reward is attaining immortality.”

Bo Ju

Bo Ju, courtesy name Zigao, once went into the mountains to cut wood. He saw two white swans alight on a rock, whereupon they transformed into two immortals. The immortals said to each other, “We have just finished refining Yin Elixir and plan to go to Hebei to ask the Queen Mother for Nine-Sword Wine. This wine has excellent effects when taken.”

After hearing them, Zigao went to visit the Queen Mother. He obtained the Nine-Sword Wine, returned, and told the immortals what had happened. He then asked them to give him Yin Elixir. As soon as he took it, he rose into the sky and took up an office among the clouds, where he was put in charge of clouds and rain.

Xu Daoji

When Xu Daoji was young, he lived on Mount Huming. Later, he met a perfected being who told him, “Those who study the Dao should wear a sky-blue headcloth, recite the Dali, put on two white shoes, and travel between two crimson places. This is a secret method passed down by the Way of the Five Spirits; its words contain hidden meanings.” The Dali refers here to the Wen of the Three Sovereigns, a Daoist scripture. Xu Daoji practiced accordingly and later attained the Dao.

◎ Zhao Shuqi

No one knows where Zhao Shuqi came from. While studying the Dao on Mount Wangwu, he met a diviner. The diviner told him, “If you wish to enter Heaven’s Gate, you must cultivate the three passes—the three inner gateways in spiritual practice—visualize the vermilion-robed spirit, and align Kunlun, the central point of the head or body.” Zhao Shuqi asked him to explain the essentials, so the diviner gave him a scroll of plain silk: the Central Record of the Fetal Essence. Zhao Shuqi received the text with a bow and later attained the Dao.

◎ Mao Boda

Mao Boda, Liu Daogong, Xie Zhijian, and Zhang Zhaoqi all lived during the Eastern Han dynasty and studied the Dao together on Mount Wangwu for more than thirty years. After refining a divine elixir together, Mao Boda took it first and immediately died. Liu Daogong took it next and died as well. Xie Zhijian and Zhang Zhaoqi were afraid to take the elixir, so they left the medicine behind and prepared to go home. Before they had even left the mountain, they suddenly saw Mao Boda and Liu Daogong, each riding a white deer with an immortal holding a tally and accompanying him. Grief-stricken and astonished, the two men regretted their choice and apologized to them. Liu Daogong taught them how to take poria, and Xie and Zhang later also transcended the mortal world.

◎ Zhuang Bowei

Zhuang Bowei had loved Daoist arts since childhood, but did not know how to seek the Dao. Every day at sunset, he would face northwest, close his eyes, hold his fists to gather his spirit, and visualize Mount Kunlun. After keeping this up for thirty years, he met a man of Mount Kunlun and received the Formula of the Golden Liquids. He refined and took it, and attained the Dao.

◎ Liu Daowei

When Liu Daowei was young, he entered Mount Zhong to study the Dao. After twelve years of practice, an immortal came to test him. The immortal suspended a huge stone, weighing about ten thousand jin, from a single white hair, and had Daowei lie beneath it. His expression remained calm, his mind settled, and his body at ease. After another twelve years, the immortal bestowed a divine elixir on him. He took it and ascended to Heaven.

◎ Kuang Su

Kuang Su, courtesy name Zixi, was known from childhood for his filial devotion to his parents and respect and affection for his elder brother. When the court summoned him to serve as an official, he declined and devoted himself to learning the Way of becoming an immortal, traveling among famous mountains. When he reached Mount Fusi, he saw a lake several miles across on the mountain. Many numinous plants and strange things grew along its banks, though he could not identify them. Beside the lake stood a stone well whose spring was connected to the lake. There were also large geese carved from stone; every spring and autumn, they would take flight in flocks. Nearby was a small stone box containing jade tablets inscribed with the names of famous mountains and blessed lands, along with those who had attained the Way. Later, through cultivation by ingesting substances, Kuang Su attained the Way and became an immortal.

When Lu Dan was young, he studied the Way and became an immortal. Later, he entered government service and became an assistant official in the provincial administration. He often flew through the air back to his home, then returned to the provincial seat at daybreak.

Once, during the New Year’s court assembly, Lu Dan attended as agreed. He arrived late and circled before the pavilion, preparing to land. An attendant responsible for ceremonial protocol threw a broom at him and knocked off one of his shoes. Lu Dan then flew away.

Fan Chai was from Langzhong in Brazil Commandery.

Fan Chai was from Langzhong in Brazil and lived for many years on Bailizhou in the Zhi River, cultivating the Way of Great Peace and Wuwei (non-action). When he closed his eyes to regulate his breathing or rinsed his mouth, five-colored light would rise from his neck. In both winter and summer, he wore only a single cloth robe. While Huan Wen was still alive, Fan Chai’s hair had already turned gray; yet during the Yuanjia era of Emperor Wen of Song, his appearance remained unchanged.

Fan Chai could foresee good and ill fortune. Even events ten thousand li away were as clear to him as if they were right before his eyes. Someone asked him, “Sir, are you an immortal banished to the human world?” He replied, “Dongfang Shuo, the legendary immortal of the Han dynasty, was cleverer than I am. When I was a child, I often played and joked around with him.” He also said, “I saw with my own eyes King Wu of Zhou attack King Zhou at Luocheng. On the battlefield, those in front sang while those behind danced.”

When Emperor Wen of Song summoned Fan Chai, he referred to himself in his replies as “I,” sometimes using “wu.” When the “Prime Culprit”—here referring to Liu Shao, Emperor Wen’s eldest son—had just been made crown prince, Fan Chai passed the gate of the Eastern Palace, pointed to it, and said, “There’s a shrike in there. Why keep a bandit without realizing it?” Emperor Wen therefore came to hate him and ordered him to take his own life. The Prince of Jiangxia sent people to bury him at Chian Hill in Xinting. Later, when Emperor Wen ordered the coffin opened and inspected, he found no body inside and regretted what he had done.

The following year, Fan Chai’s disciple Chen Zhong rose in the night and suddenly saw the room shining as brightly as day. He saw Fan Chai enter and sit on the bed. Then an old man arrived, and Fan Chai rose to greet him. Chen Zhong asked who the old man was, but Fan Chai only smiled and did not answer. After a while, the two left together. Fan Chai said to Chen Zhong, “I’ll return to Dongxiang before long. Take good care of my dwelling—that is, Bailizhou.”

Master Fu

Master Fu cultivated the Dao in the mountains of Jiaoshan. After seven years of devoted practice, he encountered the Taiji Perfected One, a revered deity in Daoist legend. The Perfected One gave him a wooden drill and told him to use it to bore through a stone disc about five chi thick. He instructed him, “When you have drilled through the disc, you will become an immortal.”

Master Fu then drilled day and night without pause. After forty-seven years, he finally pierced the disc. An immortal came to him and said, “To hold fast to your resolve for so long…”

So he studied day and night without rest. After forty-seven years, he finally drilled through the stone. The immortal came and said to him, “With resolve as firm as yours, how could anyone fail to attain the Dao?” He then taught him how to make the Golden Liquid Elixir of Return (a Daoist alchemical medicine). After taking it, the man transcended the ordinary world.

Shi Tan

Shi Tan, courtesy name Hongsun, was from Bohai. He traveled among the famous mountains of Zhao and Wei and later attained the Dao. He could divide himself and appear at more than ten households at once. A Shi Tan appeared in each household, and each spoke different words.

Zheng Siyuan

As a young man, Zheng Siyuan was a scholar, well versed in calendrical systems, astronomical calculations, and stellar divination. In his later years, he took Ge Xiaoxian as his teacher and received Daoist scriptures and talismanic diagrams, including the Zhengyi Ritual Texts, the Inner Writings of the Three Sovereigns, the Diagram of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks, the Jing of the Great Clarity Golden Liquid, and the Five Talismans of the Dongxuan.

Later, he lived on Majishan in Lujiang, where his benevolence extended to birds and beasts. A tigress living on the mountain gave birth to two cubs. Someone below the mountain captured the tigress, and the male tiger fled in fright, leaving the cubs without food. When Zheng Siyuan saw them, he brought them home and fed them. The male tiger later returned and grew close to Zheng Siyuan. From then on, whenever Zheng Siyuan went out, he rode the male tiger, while the two cubs followed, carrying his scriptures, clothes, and medicines.

Once, at Hengjiang Bridge in Yongkang, he met an acquaintance, Xu Yin, just as he was warming medicinal wine. The tiger gathered firewood and lit a fire to heat water. Xu Yin had a toothache and asked Zheng Siyuan for a tiger whisker, hoping to insert it between his teeth while it was warm to ease the pain. Zheng Siyuan plucked a whisker for him, and the tiger lay still.

Guo Zhisheng, courtesy name Tongming, was from Zhuti Commandery. During the reign of Emperor Yuan of Jin, he was said to be four hundred years old, though he looked about fifty. He had two bamboo cases filled with short scrolls, which he always carried on his back. He often stayed at the home of Zhang Ji in Wuchang. Again and again, he lamented, “War and famine are about to arise, and calamity will spread among the people. People will use ditches as their coffins and flies as their dutiful sons to see them off. This disaster is sure to come; it is truly heartbreaking.”

Two years later, Sun En launched a rebellion. Between summer and winter that year, scarcely one person in ten survived being killed or starving to death. Guo Zhisheng suddenly said to Zhang Ji, “My time to die has come. Please prepare a rough coffin for me. There is no need to nail it shut or bury it. Just take it to the rocky mountainside and weigh it down with stones.” Not long afterward, he died. Zhang Ji carefully did as he had instructed. Several days later, Zhang Ji’s relatives returned from Fuyang and said they had seen Guo Zhisheng riding a white deer through the mountains. He had also sent someone to deliver a letter to Zhang Ji.

Jie Yan

No one knew who Jie Yan was or where he came from. He became a disciple of Lord White Ram and learned the “Way of Mysterious Whiteness,” a Daoist method of cultivation. He could alter his appearance and make himself disappear. He often accompanied his teacher to the East China Sea region and once stayed briefly in Wu, where he was treated with respect by the former ruler. The ruler had a quiet chamber built for him and sent people several times a day to ask after his well-being. Jie Yan sometimes took the form of a child and sometimes that of an old man. He ate nothing and accepted no gifts.

The ruler wanted to learn his arts. Jie Yan judged that the ruler had too many consorts and therefore did not transmit the Daoist methods to him. The ruler was furious and ordered Jie Yan bound to a chariot axle and shot at with a crossbow. When the bolts were released, only the ropes remained. No one knew where Jie Yan had gone.

Xu Fu

Xu Fu, courtesy name Junfang, was of unknown origin.

Xu Fu, whose courtesy name was Junfang, was of unknown origin. Emperor Qin Shi Huang discovered many people who had died suddenly lying in the paths of his parklands. Several times, he saw a bird shaped like a crow bring a blade of grass in its beak and lay it over a dead person’s face; the person would then come back to life. The officials in charge reported this to the emperor. Qin Shi Huang sent an envoy carrying the grass to consult Master Guigu, who lived north of the city. Master Guigu said, “This is the herb of immortality from Zuzhou in the Eastern Sea. It grows in jade fields and is also called the Spirit-Nourishing Mushroom. Its leaves resemble those of wild rice. It does not grow in clumps: a single stalk can bring one person back to life.”

Qin Shi Huang concluded that the herb could be found and sought out Xu Fu, a Daoist sincerely devoted to cultivation. He sent Xu Fu to lead five hundred boys and five hundred girls aboard tower ships and other vessels to search for Zuzhou. Xu Fu never returned, and no one knows where he went. Later, when Shen Xi attained the Dao, Huang-Lao sent Xu Fu as an envoy to welcome him. Xu Fu came in a carriage drawn by a white tiger; Lord of Transcendence Sima Sheng rode in a carriage drawn by a dragon; and Attendant Secretary Bu Yan rode in one drawn by a white deer. They arrived together.

◎ Chezihou

Chezihou was from Fufeng. Emperor Wu of Han admired his quiet and unworldly temperament and promoted him step by step until he became an Attendant-in-Waiting. One day, he told his family, “I am now going to take up a post among the Immortal Officials. I should leave this spring, then briefly return midway through the summer. After a short while, I will leave again.” Events unfolded just as he had said.

Emperor Wu of Han missed him and composed this song: “Fair orchid, your beauty endures; lovely mushrooms grow in the pond’s heart. Blossoms flourish, the scene is bright; the breeze lingers, carrying their fragrance. Heaven, how unkind you are: the one who attained the Dao has gone to the realm of the immortals. The road to heaven is long; who knows when we shall meet again? Before I realize it, tears fall and soak my robes.”

◎ Su Dan

Su Dan was from Guiyang and was known for his filial piety from a young age. When his mother wanted fish soup, Su Dan went to buy fish at the market in Xiangzhou. The market was fourteen hundred li from home, yet he returned very quickly. His uncle held an official post in the prefecture. At the market…

Dan once wrote home about a matter, and his family were all astonished. Later, he said to his mother, “I have been ordered to become an immortal and cannot stay at home to serve you.” He left behind two large chests and said, “If you want food, knock on the small chest; if you want money or cloth, knock on the large one. Whatever you need will arrive at once.”

The people of the village found this strange and reported it to the authorities. Officials sent people to inspect the chests, but there was nothing inside. Even so, Dan’s mother continued to obtain whatever she needed from them as before.

Before leaving home, Dan also said, “A great plague will break out this year, and about half the people will die. As long as our family drinks water from this well, we will remain safe.” Later, just as he had predicted, the whole family remained safe and well. His mother lived to be over a hundred before she died. People heard weeping on the mountain, and the sound did not stop until her period of mourning was over. The people therefore built a shrine to Dan.

◎ Zhang Jujun

No one knows who Zhang Jujun was or where he came from. Xu Jishan had been ill for three years and showed no sign of recovery. He fasted and offered sacrifices on Mount Tai, praying to be spared and calling out to the world of the unseen day and night.

Suddenly, a divine being appeared before him and asked, “Who are you? Why do you plead so earnestly with the unseen world? The Heavenly Emperor has sent me to question you. Answer truthfully.” Xu Jishan replied, “I am Xu Jishan, from Pingyu County in Runan Commandery. I have been ill for three years and do not know what offense I have committed. So I have come to this sacred mountain to ask about life and death, fortune and misfortune.”

The divine being said, “I am the immortal Zhang Jujun. I understand the Way of the Changes and can use divination to discover the source of your affliction.” Xu Jishan thanked him repeatedly and asked him for guidance. Zhang Jujun performed a divination for him, and the resulting hexagram was Zhen changing into Heng, with the first, second, and third lines changing.

Zhang Jujun said, “You are a man of wrongful conduct. How could your illness get better?” Xu Jishan said, “Please explain the reason.” Zhang Jujun replied, “You once traveled east with a companion to avenge your father. On the way, you killed him, threw his body into a dry well, and covered the opening with a large stone. The dead man lodged a complaint with the Celestial Court, and so you have been punished with illness.”

Xu Jishan said, “That is true.” Zhang Jujun asked, “Why did you do such a thing?” Xu Jishan said, “My father had once been beaten and humiliated, and I could never put it out of my mind. At the time, I set out with that companion to avenge him. On the way, he wanted to reveal our plan to our enemy, so I killed him.”

Zhang Jujun said, “The laws of the unseen world cannot be deceived. You must sincerely repent and confess your guilt. When I return to the mountain, I will pray that your life be spared.” Xu Jishan’s illness gradually improved. Zhang Jujun taught him the methods of divination, and Xu became skilled at divining with the Changes. It is a pity that he did not ask Zhang Jujun how to transcend life and death.

Feng Boda was from Jianchang County in Yuzhang Commandery. His family had practiced filial devotion for generations. He cultivated himself diligently and was also glad to help those in need. As a Daoist believer, his deeds and the circumstances of his attainment of the Dao resembled those of Chen Ci. He was a contemporary of Dai Jinsheng as well.

During the Yuanjia era, Feng Boda went to the capital. Later, he traveled south aboard a boat belonging to a fellow townsman of Dai Jinsheng. When they reached Meigen, a gale came up, and for several days they could not make headway. Feng Boda said to the boatman, “If you want to get home quickly, simply lie down and sleep soundly. Whatever you do, don’t open your eyes.” That night, everyone heard the boat’s bottom brush past treetops, yet it did not strike anything or suffer damage. Someone secretly peered out and saw two dragons holding the boat’s beams and protecting its hull as it sped along like lightning. Before dawn, the boat had reached home. Feng Boda then entered Mount Lu and never returned.

◎ Han Yue

Han Yue was from Guanjun County in Nanling Commandery. He devoted himself to the pursuit of immortality, though outwardly he seemed mad and dull-witted. He followed his master in prolonged fasting and recited scriptures almost without pause. Han Yue often wore wooden clogs and walked everywhere, no matter how far he had to go. At times, he would enter the mountains and stay away for fifty or a hundred days before returning. When his family asked where he had been, he never gave them a truthful answer.

Later, some local people were cutting dead trees to make bows when, in a stone chamber on a cliff at Mount Dayang, they saw Han Yue reading scriptures with six or seven immortals. Afterward, Han Yue returned from the mountains and suddenly died in Luancun. As his family carried the coffin home, they found it very light and suspected it did not contain his body. When they opened it, they found only a bamboo staff inside.

During the Daming era of the Song, a fellow townsman of Han Yue took up an official post at court and was sent on a mission north. At the southern gate of Qingzhou, he encountered Han Yue, who looked much younger than before. They talked for quite some time, asking after the lives and deaths of friends and relatives, their expressions showing both grief and joy. Han Yue said, “My wife’s cough still hasn’t gone away. I’m giving you a packet of powdered medicine now. Have her take it once with warm wine.” When the official returned to the capital, he relayed Han Yue’s words to his wife. After she took the medicine, her cough was cured at once.

◎ Guo Pu

Guo Pu, whose courtesy name was Jingchun, was from Hedong. When Wang Dun was preparing to rebel, he asked Guo Pu to interpret a dream for him. “Yesterday I dreamed that I was holding a plow and tilling the land in the river outside Stone City. Tell me what it means.” Guo Pu replied, “Tilling land with a plow in the great river will not succeed. Your rebellion, too, will fail.”

Wang Dun flew into a rage and asked Guo Pu, “Calculate for yourself: when will you die?” Guo Pu answered, “I, your subordinate, will die today.” Wang Dun ordered him executed. Guo Pu said to the officer carrying out the sentence, “When I was thirteen, I once took off my robe at Zhàtáng and gave it to you. I also said then that my life would one day be in your hands. You may use my sword to carry out the sentence.” Remembering Guo Pu’s great kindness to him, the officer wept as he performed the execution.

Three days after Guo Pu was buried, people in the Southern Market saw him selling the clothes he had worn in life and speaking with people he knew. When Wang Dun heard this, he did not believe it and ordered the coffin opened. But there was no body inside. Guo Pu had achieved “corpse liberation”—a Daoist method by which an immortal sheds the body or its physical remains and ascends to immortality. He is now revered as the Earl of the Water Immortals.

◎ Dai Meng

Dai Meng, whose courtesy name was Chengzi, was from Wuwei. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, he served as a Palace General. He had originally been surnamed Yan, with the given name Ji and courtesy name Zhongwei. After attaining the Dao, he changed his name. He entered Mount Huayin and studied secret methods under the Perfected One Qingling, Pei Jun. He received the Scripture of the Jade Pendant and Golden Dangling Ornament and the Talisman of Stone Essence and Golden Light. The immortals Guo Zihua, Zhang Jilian, Zhao Shuda, and Shan Shiyuan often associated with him.

◎ Guo Wenju

Guo Wenju was from Zhi County in Henei. In his youth, he loved mountains and streams and often visited famous mountains. He also explored and observed the stone chamber on Mount Huayin. Luo and Shan Shiyuan often traveled and spent time with him.

Guo Wenju was a native of Zhi County in Henei. As a young man, he loved mountains and rivers. He often traveled to famous mountains and had also visited the stone chambers of Huayin. After Luoyang fell, he went to the Wu region and settled on Dapi Mountain. He built himself a dwelling from wood and covered it with grass mats to keep out the wind and rain. He lived there for more than ten years, though wild beasts in the mountains often attacked people, without ever coming to harm.

The chancellor Wang Dao sent for him to come to the capital, where officials from the court all came to see him. Guo Wenju sat cross-legged with a carefree air, paying no attention to those around him. Zhou Yi asked, “Wild beasts attack people. Are you the only one who is not afraid, sir?” Guo Wenju replied, “I have no intention of harming the beasts, so they do not harm people either.” Zhou Yi, Yu Liang, Huan Wen, and Liu Hui all remarked, “Though Guo Wenju lacks the abilities of a worthy man, he has the De (virtue) of one.”

In the first year of the Xianhe era, Guo Wenju pleaded to return to the mountains, but Wang Dao would not agree. A few days later, he slipped away to White-Earth Mountain in Lin’an. The following year, Su Jun rebelled. People at the time believed Guo Wenju had foreseen the revolt and had left the capital for that reason.

Guo Wenju owned two scrolls of the Laozi Jing (scripture), wrapped in cloth and hung inside his dwelling, but no one had ever seen him read them. Xu Kai, who lived beyond the mountain, became his disciple and received from him a Dao register—a talismanic credential by which Daoism confers religious rank—and became a General of the Register. The officials and soldiers recorded in the register took visible form and served at Xu Kai’s command. Later, the spirit in charge of the local altar and hearth warned Xu Kai, “You must not take a wife, or I will no longer work for you.” Xu Kai later married a woman of the Ji family, and all the spirits vanished, leaving only two register officials, who no longer obeyed his commands. They told him, “You have broken your agreement with the master. The Celestial Administration has recalled the officials and soldiers, leaving only us to guard the Taishang Register. We will no longer serve you.” When Guo Wenju died, he departed like a cicada shedding its shell. The people below the mountain erected a stele in his honor.

Guo Wenju once wrote on bamboo leaves, giving the writings the titles “Poem of the Golden Male” and “Record of the Golden Female.” Later, someone found them beneath the sleeping mat in his dwelling. Read in sequence, their contents seemed much like prophecy texts, and they were passed down through the world.

—Yao Guang

Yao Guang’s origins are unknown. He had mastered the art of the divine elixir and could divide his body and its image into separate forms. He could vanish while sitting or standing; fire could not scorch him, and blades could not wound him. The ruler of Wu put him to the test in person. He ordered several thousand bundles of reeds to be piled up, had Yao Guang sit among them, then wrapped him in layer upon layer of another thousand bundles, more than ten layers in all. They set the reeds alight, and smoke and flames blotted out the sun. The whole city came to watch, and everyone thought Yao Guang had been burned to ashes. When the fire went out, he shook the ashes from his clothes and rose, calm and as he had always been. He held a scroll in his hand, which the ruler of Wu could not read. Later, no one knew where he had gone.

◎ Xu Wan

Xu Wan was from Haiyan in Wu Commandery. Even as a young man, he possessed Dao Qi (the vital essence and abilities cultivated by practitioners of the Way) and could subdue evil spirits. A woman surnamed Du in Qiantang was being tormented by a malevolent spirit. Xu Wan summoned it, and a man wearing a white jacket and a single-layer hemp robe walked through the door. Xu Wan shouted at him, and the man immediately turned into a white turtle.

One day, Xu Wan went with several male cousins to gather firewood on Mount Shiqi. They did not return even after nightfall. The next morning, people went up the mountain to search and found Xu Wan still there, a sickle tucked under his arm, leaning against something without moving. When someone went to embrace him, they discovered that it was only an empty shell.

◎ Ding Lingwei

Ding Lingwei was from Liaodong. As a young man, he studied the Way under a master and attained the Way of the Immortals, gaining the ability to transform his body at will. Once, he briefly returned to his home region in the form of a white crane, perching on the ornamental pillar at the gate of the commandery city. He said, “I am Ding Lingwei. I left home a thousand years ago. Now that I have returned, the city walls and buildings are as they were, but the people have changed. Why do you not study the Way of the Immortals and free yourselves from the burden of tombs and death?”

When Zuo Yuanfang became a sheep and Ding Lingwei became a crane, these were temporary transformations, not permanent changes into a sheep or a crane. The Genealogy of the Dings of Liaodong records that Ding Lingwei’s ancestor, Ding Lingxian, studied the Way and became an immortal in the early Han dynasty.

◎ Wang Jia

Wang Jia, whose courtesy name was Zinian, was from Anyang in Longxi. He lived for a long time at the mouth of Dongyang Valley, taking his disciples up the mountain cliffs and dwelling in caves. He regulated the Six Qi (six breaths or forces of transformation) and guarded the Three Ones (a Daoist method of cultivating the unity of body, mind, and spirit). He kept up his practice through both winter and summer, and ultimately attained the Way and became an immortal.

Wang Jia, whose courtesy name was Zinian, was from Anyang in Longxi. He lived for many years at the entrance to Dongyang Valley, leading his disciples up the mountain cliffs to dwell in caves. He cultivated the “Six Qi”—six kinds of breath or transformative energy—and upheld the “Three Ones,” a Daoist inner practice centered on the unity of the body’s spirits. He wore the same clothes in winter and summer, yet his appearance grew younger with each passing day.

Fu Jian of Former Qin summoned him several times, but Wang Jia refused to enter government service. Later, when Fu Jian launched a major campaign southward, he appointed his younger brother Fu Rong as grand general and sent someone to consult Wang Jia. Wang Jia said, “Metal is firm; Fire is strong.” He then mounted the messenger’s horse, dressed himself properly, and slowly rode east for several hundred paces. Suddenly, he took off his clothes, rode back at a gallop, sat on his bed, and said nothing more. Fu Jian could not understand what this meant, so he sent someone to ask, “How long can the state’s fortunes endure?” Wang Jia replied, “Not yet ended.” Fu Jian was pleased, taking this as an auspicious sign.

The following year was the guiwei year. Fu Jian suffered a crushing defeat at Shouchun, and Former Qin soon fell. The phrase “disaster in the wei year” meant that calamity would come in a year marked by the earthly branch wei. “Metal is firm; Fire is strong” used the Five Phases as an analogy: Former Qin lay to the west and belonged to Metal, while the Eastern Jin had its capital in the south and belonged to Fire. Fire can melt Metal, hinting that Former Qin would be defeated by the Eastern Jin. Not long afterward, Wang Jia moved to Mount Songgao.

After Yao Chang pacified Chang’an, he asked Wang Jia, “Will I be able to ascend the throne?” Wang Jia replied, “You will probably attain it.” Yao Chang flew into a rage and said, “This little Daoist answers Us disrespectfully.” Officials petitioned to have Wang Jia and his two disciples executed. Yao Chang first sent men to capture Wang Jia in Longyou. They pursued him for more than a thousand li and arrived just as the appointed day of execution had come. Wang Jia wrote a letter to Yao Chang. Yao Chang ordered the coffins of Wang Jia and his two disciples to be opened, but found no bodies inside. Each coffin held only a bamboo staff. Before long, Yao Chang died.

◎Kou Qianzhi

No one knows where Kou Qianzhi was from. In his youth, he loved Daoist arts and went to Mount Dai, the Eastern Peak, to cultivate the Dao, laboring diligently for many years. One day, he received instruction from a perfected person and was given the method for forming the Elixir. He then ascended to Heaven in broad daylight. The talismanic texts Kou Qianzhi transmitted were highly effective in treating illness and relieving people in urgent need. Even today, many people in the north still practice his Daoist methods.

◎Dong You

Dong You was from Haining and was the youngest of three brothers. His father died early, and his mother was especially protective of him. Because he was often ill, she thought he could not manage the household.

When he was eighteen, Dong You said to his mother, “My illness is severe, and I fear I will not recover soon. I will only burden my two older brothers, and in the end I may not survive. I would like to enter the Daoist tradition and take up sweeping and other menial tasks, spending my life that way and avoiding the need to manage a household.” His mother agreed.

Dong You lived at his master’s home. He was respectful and careful, diligent in his practice, and kept long periods of ritual fasting. He devoted himself to study without ever slacking, and eventually mastered Daoist arts. One night, when he was forty-one, a perfected immortal—a transcendent who had attained the Dao—appeared and taught him the art of crossing water without drowning. The immortal gave him a horsewhip and told him that by tapping the water with it, he could walk across the surface as though on level ground.

During the Yixi era of the Jin dynasty, Dong You returned home to bid farewell to his mother. “I have attained the Dao and will no longer remain among the living,” he told her. “I have come back to say goodbye to my family.” His mother asked where he was going and when he would return. Dong You replied, “I must go to Mount Emei to continue my studies. I do not know when I will return.”

His relatives and neighbors all came to see him off, accompanying him as far as the West River at Quyang. They watched as Dong You tapped the water with his horsewhip and walked across it, his figure gradually disappearing into the distance. He turned back and said to his two older brothers, “I hope you will pass down the work of the Daoist tradition from generation to generation.”

Liu Xinhu’s origins are unknown. He was tall and heavily bearded, and when he let his arms hang down, they reached his knees. He lived for many years on Mount Wudang, five hundred li from Xiangyang, yet could set out in the morning and arrive by evening. He showed no obvious signs of special cultivation, but often treated the people with medicines, working tirelessly. He gathered most of his medicines himself, knew medicinal herbs and minerals well, and understood their properties deeply.

Liu Daochan, the governor of Yongzhou, thought his arms were too long and had him taken from Xiangyang to Emperor Wen. Each morning, Liu Xinhu was locked in a prison cart and taken into the mountains to gather herbs; in the evening, he was brought back to the Court of Judicial Review, the office responsible for criminal cases. Later, he wrote two short books and gave them to a prison officer, who did not dare accept them, so Liu burned them. One night, Liu Xinhu suddenly vanished, though the lock on the prison gate remained intact. A night watchman at the Changhe Gate discovered him and took him back to the Court of Judicial Review. Liu Xinhu said to the prison officer, “The authorities will soon kill me. After I am buried, do not nail the coffin shut.”

He was indeed executed. Several days after his death, Emperor Wen remembered his words and ordered the coffin opened. There was no body inside, only a bamboo staff.

◎ Wang Zhi

Wang Zhi was from Dongyang. Once, while gathering firewood in the mountains, he saw several boys in a stone chamber, playing go, singing, and laughing. Wang Zhi set down his axe and stopped to watch. One of the boys gave him something resembling a cluster of fruit pits and told him to hold it in his mouth and swallow its juice. At once, he no longer felt hungry or thirsty. The boys told him, “You have been here a long time. You can go home now.”

Wang Zhi picked up his axe and found that its handle had completely rotted away. When he returned home and worked out how much time had passed, he realized that he had been away for several hundred years.

Yu Ji was from Langya. His ancestors had practiced Daoist arts for generations without taking life, and Yu Ji devoted himself to cultivation with greater diligence than those before him. He often wandered beside the flowing waters of Quyang, where he obtained more than a hundred scrolls of divine texts. Their pages were ruled with red lines on white silk, with blue characters and vermilion marks. The collection was called the Taiping Qinglu Shu (Book of the Great Peace’s Azure Registers), a Daoist classic.

When Sun Ce pacified Jiangdong and advanced on Kuaiji, he saw that the people all called Yu Ji “Lord Yu” and treated him as they would a deity. Sun Ce invited him to stay at the military camp. Many soldiers fell ill and asked Yu Ji to perform his arts. He would sprinkle water or have them rinse their mouths, and they recovered. Sun Ce commanded an army of tens of thousands and planned to welcome Emperor Xian of Han and campaign against Cao Cao, so he asked Yu Ji to divine the wind. His predictions were often fulfilled.

The soldiers all revered Yu Ji. Some even bowed to him before going to pay their respects to Sun Ce. Seeing them often gathered around Yu Ji, Sun Ce grew angry and said, “Am I really worth less than Lord Yu?” He had Yu Ji arrested and accused him: “There has been a long drought, the rivers have run dry, and yet you do not share the people’s concern. You sit calmly in a boat, pretending to work miracles and deluding my soldiers, ruining my army. Today I will do away with you.” He then had Yu Ji bound and forced him to pray for rain. “If you can move Heaven and bring heavy rain before the day is out, I will spare you. Otherwise, you will be executed.”

Soon clouds gathered and rain began to fall. It poured so heavily that the river overflowed and boats were swept away. The soldiers all congratulated Yu Ji, but Sun Ce still had him killed. Weeping, the soldiers prepared Yu Ji’s body for burial. The next morning, when they went to check, they found that the corpse had vanished. Sun Ce was overcome with grief and regret. From then on, he often felt that Yu Ji was appearing beside him.

Before long, Sun Ce was ambushed and wounded by retainers of Xu Gong. When he looked in a mirror, he saw Yu Ji’s image in it. He struck the mirror hard and shouted; the wound in his chest split open, and he eventually died. To this day, there are people in the world who worship this Daoist lord.

—Chang Ji

Chang Ji’s origins are unknown. While gathering firewood in the mountains, he was caught in a sudden landslide and fell to the foot of the mountain, barely breathing. His wife hurried to him and wept in deep anguish. When the immortal Yin Yi heard what had happened, he said sorrowfully to her, “I am an immortal, and I can save your husband.” He then gave her a medicine prepared by decocting “jiao,” along with its recipe, and said, “When the medicine is gone, if he has not yet recovered, prepare another batch according to the recipe. Taken over a long period, it can enable a person to attain the Dao and become immortal.”

His wife treated Chang Ji with the medicine, and he recovered as promised. Chang Ji prepared it according to the recipe and took it for a thousand days. Then, suddenly, he ascended into the sky. His wife wept as she chased after him. Looking back, he said, “The path of cultivating the Dao is different from worldly life. Take good care of yourself.” Deeply moved, his wife prepared the medicine again and took it for three years. She, too, ascended into the sky and arrived at Mount Penglai, where she found Chang Ji. “I knew you would come,” he said.

◎ Wang Ziqiao

Wang Ziqiao was from Hedong. During the reign of Emperor Ming of Han, he served as a Gentleman of the Secretariat and was later sent out to serve as magistrate of Ye County. Under Han custom, local officials near the capital had to return to court to report on their duties at each festival and on the new moon, the first day of the month. Whenever the emperor saw Master Ziqiao arrive at court, he could see no trace of a carriage or horses, and found this strange.

The emperor secretly ordered the officials in charge of observing the heavens and stars to keep watch. They discovered that two wild ducks always flew in from the southeast. Someone then set a net to catch them, but found only a single shoe. People at the time all considered this a remarkable event.

◎ Du Qi

Du Chao. Whenever the emperor saw Master Ziqiao arrive at court, he could see no trace of a carriage or horses, and found this strange. The emperor secretly ordered the officials in charge of observing the heavens and stars to keep watch; two wild ducks always flew in from the southeast. Someone then set a net to catch them, but found only a single shoe. People at the time all considered this a remarkable event.

◎ Du Qi

Du Qi, courtesy name Guangping, was from Jingzhao. In the early Jian’an era, he crossed the Yangtze to join Sun Ce. Sun Quan later appointed him Commandant of Establishing Trust. In the second year of Huangwu, he began cultivating the Dao, taking Jie Yan as his teacher and learning the arts of huangbai, techniques for refining gold, silver, and other substances. After practicing for many years, he became able to make his body disappear and conceal his tracks.

Later, he lived east of Mount Mao. He often gathered mountain produce with his disciples and took it to mountain markets and town markets to trade, but no one recognized them. After this, he entered a cave many times and eventually attained the Dao and became immortal.

◎ Fan Youchong

Fan Youchong was from Liaoxi. He studied the “Way of the Great Simplicity for Embryonic Transformation and Alteration of Form,” a method of cultivation involving embryonic breathing and transforming the body. Each morning, he visualized three kinds of Qi—blue-green, white, and red—each like a fine thread, entering his mouth from beneath the sun’s disk in the east. He then drew them in ninety times, stopping when he felt full. After cultivating in this way for ten years, he became an immortal.

Fan Youchong came from western Liaoning. He received the Way of the Great Simplicity for Transforming the Embryo and Changing Form, a cultivation method passed down secretly by Great Simplicity. Every morning, he visualized three streams of Qi—green, white, and red—as fine as threads. They entered his mouth from below the sun’s disk in the east, and he then drew them in ninety times. He stopped once he felt full. After practicing this method for ten years, he attained the Dao. It is a concise and effective method, a Daoist practice secretly transmitted by Great Simplicity.

Master Qinggu’s origins are unknown. He often practiced the “Nine Breaths and Absorbing Qi” method, a form of cultivation in which breath is regulated to draw in Qi. Later, he refined the great elixir in the furnace and attained the Dao after taking it. One day, Liu Wenrao suddenly descended from the sky and came to his bedroom. He taught him the “Staff Liberation” method, a technique for leaving and ascending by entrusting one’s body to a walking stick. This enabled Master Qinggu to enter Mount Taihua. Liu Wenrao, whose given name was Kuan, came from Hongnong. He held office during the Eastern Han, rising to the posts of Minister over the Masses and Grand Commandant. He treated the people as his own children. Even when angry, he did not show it on his face, and he never spoke harshly or hurtfully. He took pleasure in doing good deeds quietly and in helping the poor and distressed. The people all loved and respected him, relying on him as they would on their parents.

Xia Fu’s origins are unknown. From a young age, he was fond of Daoist arts and often took the herb shu and mica. Later, he entered Mount Wu, where he met Master Redbeard and received his essential instructions. He also encountered the True Mother of Mount Tongbai.

Another account says that Xia Fu’s origins are unknown. From a young age, he was fond of Daoist arts and often took the herb shu and mica. Later, he entered Mount Wu, where he met Master Redbeard and received his essential instructions. He then met the Perfected One of Mount Tongbai, who taught him the “Yellow Water and Cloud Nectar Method,” a practice of ingesting substances named yellow water and cloud nectar. He followed this method and attained the Dao. In his youth, Xia Fu had been summoned to serve in the ducal government. He wrote the summons on a mulberry tree and left; people of the time admired his lofty, detached aspirations.

Liu Feng, courtesy name Weihui, came from Yingchuan. He studied under Ji Zhu and ingested the essences of the sun and moon, later attaining the Dao. Afterward, he returned to his hometown, leaving behind his walking stick and shoes as objects to which his body could be entrusted, while he himself departed and ascended.

Zhan Shanggong’s place of origin is unknown. He studied the Dao at Fulong and later planted plum trees, which came to cover the mountain where he lived. After attaining the Dao, Zhan Shanggong now serves as Right Guardian of the Nine Palaces, an office among the Daoist immortals. He often tells the other immortals, “Long ago, beneath Mount Huayang, I ate delicious white plums. It seems only a short while ago, yet in the blink of an eye three thousand years have passed!” Later, Guo Sichao lived in Zhan Shanggong’s former home and planted five kinds of fruit trees. Zhan Shanggong said, “This is an excellent place for planting nai trees, an ancient kind of fruit tree. The nai fruit of Fuxiang can ward off epidemics and calamities.”

◎ Zhou Taibin (with Jiang Shumao)

Neither Zhou Taibin nor the Marquis of Baling, Jiang Shumao, is known to have come from any particular place. They studied the Dao on Mount Jugu, planted five kinds of fruit trees and five kinds of vegetables, and traded their produce at the market for cinnabar. The Jjiang-Ba area now has abundant leeks and xie, a vegetable resembling small garlic; perhaps these are the plants they once cultivated. Both men cultivated themselves into immortals. Jiang Shumao once wrote to his colleagues at the Taiji Office: “Long ago I studied the Dao at Guigu, attained the Dao at Shaoshi, and rested at Huayang as I awaited my transformation into an immortal. In a transcendent realm far from the mortal world, I awaited my ascent. I rode in a chariot swift as the wind and held a feast on Mount Jugu.”

Taibin was skilled at playing the qin. In the past, he would pluck just one string, yet its music could bring the sounds of all eight kinds of instruments into harmony. He once taught Mi Changsheng and Sun Guangtian, also known as Sun Deng, to cultivate the Dao. Both later attained the Dao and became immortals.

◎ Guo Sichao

Guo Sichao was from the state of Yan and attained the Dao during the Qin dynasty. He settled south of Mount Jugu, where he built a pond to collect mountain-stream water, then dug deep foundations and built an enclosing wall. The remains can still be made out today. Sichao often sailed a small boat around the pond, tapping its hull as he sang.

The first poem says: A clear pond encircles peaks wreathed in cloud and mist, while dense woods spread in a sweep of green. Dark birds fly over the quiet plain, their manner unhurried as they speak with one another. Oars stir up wondrous waves; bowing in homage, they travel on the morning breeze. The time has not yet come to break free from worldly bonds, so they roam at ease among the mountains and forests.

The second poem says: The spirit wanders beyond the ninefold heavens, studying the Great Dao, and at last attains Quanzhen (Complete Perfection), the Daoist state of returning to the root and one’s true nature, with body and mind fulfilled. The numinous phoenix folds its wings; the splendid dragon hides its scales. The mind and spirit rise high, and all the dust of the world becomes mere grime. Looking back with pity on those whose lives are brief, one asks: who can make the chariot of life roll on without end?

The third poem says: They roam through the air, riding the swift wind downward, walking invisibly through the void. The full moon shines with bright rosy clouds, and nine phoenixes sing in the morning sun. Wings sweep and fan the waters of the Celestial River; clouds gather in mist, and auspicious vapors soar. They then arrive at the gates of Taiwei (the celestial palace precincts) and drink golden pear nectar (the sweet, dew-like drink of immortals). They roam freely beyond the mysterious heavens, attached neither to existence nor to extinction.

The fourth poem says: Riding the swift wind, they arrive at Shenxiao (the lofty celestial realm), wrapped in rosy light as if accompanied by nine suns. The High Sovereign travels alongside a dragon-shaped carriage and reaches the Ninefold Splendor Chamber (a palace in the realm of immortals). Divine tigers move among jade trees and jeweled groves; fragrant winds gather into one. The gate to the shadowy realm (the portal to a dark and mysterious domain) opens and closes. After wondrous transformations appear, the traces of the mysterious vanish.

— Zhang Xuanbin

Zhang Xuanbin was from Dingxiang. He was once recommended for the post of maocai, a category for selecting talented men in the Han dynasty. At first, he studied under Lord Ji of Xihe, learning the arts of ingesting substances and the methods of the Bedchamber and White Origin, Daoist practices of cultivation. Later, on Mount Shaoshi, he met Fan Ziming and learned the arts of escape, transformation, and concealing one’s form.

He once lived on Mount Tianzhu. Now he has come to Huayang and serves as Master of Prohibitions, overseeing the various water and rain deities. Xuanbin is skilled at discussing “emptiness and nothingness.” What is called “nothing” is the foundation on which “Great Being” depends, and lesser being arises from it. By accumulating lesser being, one can nourish lesser nothingness; from Great Being, one can perceive the foundation of Great Nothingness. Being contains nothingness, and nothingness contains being. Thus, my eyes cannot see the myriad things, and the myriad things cannot see “nothingness.” Through being, one brings nothingness to completion; through nothingness, one reaches nothingness. In this way, nothingness has no dwelling place, and even empty space becomes its dwelling. Before I was born, there was no “nothingness” in all under Heaven. The many numinous immortals of Mount Tongbai could not refute him. He claimed that he had once met Song Chensheng at Penglai and discussed “nothingness” with him, grasping its meaning in broad outline.

Zhao Weibog

Zhao Weibog was from Dongjun. In his youth he loved the Daoist arts and studied under Master Zhang of Handan. He absorbed the luminous essence of the sun and moon and ingested the “essence of the Nine-Cloud Bright Mirror,” a numinous energy or essence described in Daoist cultivation. Through this he attained the Dao. Later, he came to Huayang and served as Assistant in the Office of Preserving Life.

The River Chart, a text of ancient legend, says: “In the lands of Wu and Chu, many people will be able to witness Great Peace.” He often told people that these words were no idle claim and that their fulfillment was near. The bright mirror he kept was no ordinary object of this world.

Zhao Weibog was also skilled at producing long whistles. Their sound was like a great wind sweeping through dense woods, or like flocks of birds calling out together. Before long, clouds gathered from all directions, and a fine drizzle began to fall.

Le Changzhi

No one knows where Le Changzhi was from. He once held office during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han, rising to the post of Attendant in the Secretariat. Later, he studied under Master Li of the Central Peak, learning the method of pacing the Seven Luminaries, a Daoist ritual of stepping in accord with the movements of the Big Dipper and other stars. Through practicing this method, he attained the Dao.

Du Bing

Du Bing, whose courtesy name was Shugong, was from Qiantang in the state of Wu. When he was seven or eight, he was playing with his companions north of the city. An old man called out to him, “This child has an extraordinary appearance. It is a pity that I am already old and will not live to see him accomplish great things.” Du Bing’s father died when he was young. He served his stepmother with great filial devotion, and his reputation spread throughout the region. The commandery invited him three times, with full ceremony, to enter government service, but he declined each time.

Du Bing sighed and said, “Nowadays, the human world is mingled with ghosts and spirits. Without the Qi of Zhengyi—the orthodox Daoist vital energy—there is no way to subdue them.” He therefore became a disciple of Chen Wenzi, a native of Yuhang, received his teachings, and joined the Zhengyi tradition. He was highly effective in healing the sick and dispelling evil influences, and people flocked to him.

One night, a divine being descended and introduced himself: “I am Zhang Zhennan. You are destined to carry on my Daoist methods, so I have come to teach you various secret essentials and techniques. These belong to the Yangping register, an important Zhengyi center and system of transmission.” Whenever Du Bing entered a state of meditation and burned incense, he could see the fortunes and misfortunes that would befall people over the next three or five generations, and describe them clearly. His memorials to the gods, his writing of Fulu (talismans and registers), and his use of talismanic water all took effect at once. Daoists and common people from near and far gathered around him like clouds. Within ten years, tens of thousands of households were registered as followers and supplied him with grain.

At that time, Xie An, Grand Tutor of the Jin dynasty and governor of Wuxing, saw a yellow-white glow and asked Du Bing about it. Du Bing replied, “Your ancestors once secretly performed good deeds that benefited others, and their blessings have passed down to later generations. In time, you will rise to the highest ranks of government.”

The family of Lu Na, the Director of the Department of State Affairs, had for generations suffered from a spreading, ulcerating disease shortly before death. Lu Na had just turned thirty when he suddenly developed the same sores. Du Bing submitted a memorial and prayed to avert the calamity, saying, “The great disaster facing Your Excellency can be overcome.” He also passed on to Lu Na a prescription for Lingfei powder. After Lu Na took the medicine, Du Bing said he would live to the age of seventy.

When Huan Wen, Grand Marshal, campaigned north, he asked Du Bing whether he would win. Du Bing replied, “You will set out on a punitive expedition next March, but you will suffer a setback.” Huan Wen advanced as far as Fangtou, where the Shimen gates could not be opened, the river ran dry, and their provisions were exhausted. In the end, the Xianbei forces surrounded them. Huan Wen said to his younger brother Taoye, “I regret not listening to Master Du. That is why we have suffered this defeat.” Before Fu Jian had reached Shouchun, the chariot…

General Xie Xuan led an army to campaign against Fu Jian and asked Ge Hong who would win. Ge Hong replied, “Our army should not set out; even if it does, it will achieve nothing. The enemy should not invade; if they do, they will surely be defeated and destroyed. This is precisely the time for the general to establish his achievements.” Later, Fu Jian’s forces were indeed defeated and scattered.

Lu Song called himself “Master” and was usually surrounded by more than three hundred disciples. Ge Hong told Huan Wen that Lu Song was the spirit of an old tree in Dongzhi, using this guise to mislead the people. He would soon lead his followers into the palace compound, and only then would he die. During the Xian’an era, Lu Song did indeed lead several hundred men and women into the palace in the middle of the night, claiming they would restore the throne to the Duke of Haixi. Government troops promptly executed them. Only then did Huan Wen marvel at Ge Hong’s foresight.

Later, Huan Chong wanted to appoint Ge Hong’s son, Ge Xi, as an official under his command. Ge Hong declined, saying, “My descendants all have short lives, and I do not want them to enter government service. Only in the generations of my great-grandsons and great-great-grandsons will they receive the blessings I have accumulated.” Ge Hong also said, “After I die, someone will falsely claim to possess my arts and use them to undermine the Great Dao. This will be only a minor calamity, like the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and will be put down quickly.”

Ge Hong wrote these words on plain silk, sealed it, and entrusted it to his wife, Madam Feng, instructing her, “If ominous signs appear, open it and show it to the children and nephews.” He also urged his descendants to cultivate virtue and conduct themselves with care and restraint.

During the Long’an era, Sun Tai of Langya was convicted of using sorcery to delude the people, and many who were implicated suffered as a result. Ge Hong suddenly summoned everyone and spent the whole day feasting and celebrating without restraint. He ordered his clerk, Chong Taosheng, to buy funeral supplies at the market, and had his household prepare burial clothes, a coffin, and its coverings. “I will die at noon on the twenty-sixth day of the third month,” he said. Not long afterward, he felt slightly unwell. On the appointed day, he died peacefully in his sleep. His body remained supple, and his breath was fresh. Disciples of the Daoist tradition erected a stele for him and posthumously honored him as “Illustrious Master.”

Hu Qian was from Wei Commandery. He was free-spirited and unrestrained, and felt no shame about wearing shabby clothes or eating simple food. He enjoyed drinking and was not particular about the quality of wine or dishes. He often recited: “Wind blows in through the window; wine stirs in the cup. In my hand I hold forty-nine yarrow stalks, while wondrous radiance shines down from above. Beneath the lofty canopy and the yarrow stalks, I laugh alone at the depths of the Dao.” He also said: “When advancing, I do not seek to climb the Dragon Gate; when withdrawing, I do not pursue rank or fame. Nothing can wear away these long days, and I am often so drunk that I forget myself.”

Hu Qian was skilled in divination with the Book of Changes (Yi). He often cast fortunes outside the shop run by Xu Xinfu in a back lane of Jiankang, charging one hundred coins per reading. He accepted no more than five hundred coins a day, and stopped divining once he had reached that amount. Hu Qian’s mother lived west of the road outside Shangfang Gate, cared for by three or four foster daughters. Each day, Hu Qian sent her three hundred coins for her support; he used the remaining two hundred to drink or give to the poor.

One morning, Emperor Hai Xi of Jin went out and saw a red snake coiled on the imperial bed. It soon disappeared. The emperor issued an edict ordering Hu Qian to cast a divination. The Book of Changes Forest (Yilin), a text that uses the hexagram statements of the Book of Changes to judge fortune and misfortune, said: “The foundations of the Jin house are firm as rock, yet Your Majesty bears the sign of leaving the palace.” Emperor Hai Xi asked, “Can this calamity be averted?” Hu Qian replied: “The year after next, a great general should suffer defeat on a northern campaign. At that time, send thirty thousand troops to meet the enemy north of Shouchun, and this calamity will be averted.”

In the autumn of the following year, Huan Wen’s northern expedition ended in defeat. He blamed Yuan Zhen, governor of Yu Province, for failing to send troops in support, and had him killed.

Zhenshi Stone, a place name, comes from the Western Sea and bears an inscription in abbreviated script. Wen Qiao’s concubine was in labor, and the birth was extremely difficult. After divining, Xu Qian said, “The six stables in the northwest corner of the residence are in ruins. If they are torn down, she will be able to give birth to a boy. His voice will be loud and his bearing imposing; in time, he will shake the Four Seas.”

Wen Qiao rewarded Xu Qian with three hundred thousand coins. Xu Qian said, “I often worry that I cannot spend all the money I earn from divination, and there is no room at home to store it. Please return it to the government office.” Wen Qiao refused to take it back. Xu’s household then brought out an empty stall and lent it to Xu Qian for storing the money. Before long, the lady of the household sent him another three hundred thousand coins.

After receiving Wen Qiao’s money, Xu Qian divined three times each day and used what he earned to support his mother. He spent Wen Qiao’s money on wine, often finding ways to make sure his guests drank their fill. Whether they knew one another or not, they gathered together for a great drinking bout. As a result, wine lovers from near and far flocked to him. The Xu household continued to treat him with the respect due a worthy man and never kept track of how much wine he took.

Later, Xu Qian stopped going to the Xu household. The family searched for him for years, then unexpectedly came across him at Qiaogou, a place name. Xu Qian said, “There are many people at home who want that stall. Take me back first, and I’ll retrieve the money I left there.” Xu Qian laughed and said, “In three years, I drank several thousand dou of wine. At forty coins a dou, that was just enough to cover the cost of the wine. There should be about a hundred and fifty coins left now. The lady need not pay to hire me anymore. I carved the account into the wall with a melon. Just calculate it from that and you’ll see.” The Xu household checked as he said, and the figures were exact.

Later, Xu Qian’s mother died during the night. The next morning, when he returned, he said, “Our ties have run their course.” Then he left, and no one knew where he had gone. Several days later, members of the Xu household saw Xu Qian lying beside the road at Luoxing. At first they thought he was drunk, so they took his hand to lead him away. But when they pulled him up, all they found was an empty garment; his body had vanished.

◎ Zhu Ku

Zhu Ku’s place of origin is unknown. For a long time, he took “Stone Spring Fasting Talisman Water,” a talisman water said to enable fasting. He neither ate nor drank, yet felt no hunger or thirst; his body remained strong and his appearance did not age. Later, Zhu Ku suddenly said that he was destined to become an immortal. He chose a day to set out and bade farewell to his friends and family, saying that someone would come to welcome him. He wore only a single robe and a white ge (an ancient garment covering the knees). Before long, two yellow cranes alighted in the courtyard, and Zhu Ku departed this life. Three more yellow cranes appeared in the courtyard. They followed him as he flew beyond the eastern city gate, then transformed into three Daoist priests dressed in yellow, who walked eastward hand in hand. They asked a villager to carry a message back to his home. When his family examined Zhu Ku’s body, only an empty shell remained.

◎ Jiang Bozhen

Jiang Bozhen’s place of origin is unknown. From a young age, he loved the arts of the Dao and once gathered herbs on Meng Mountain. One day, he met an immortal. The immortal had him stand upright in the sunlight and examined his back, finding that his intentions were not upright. The immortal said, “You diligently seek learning, yet do not know that your own intentions are not upright. This is your failing.” He then taught Jiang Bozhen to take stone brain. Stone brain is a mottled, soft substance shaped like a small stone, found in many places. After taking it for a long time, the body grows warm without feeling thirsty. Jiang Bozhen eventually became an immortal. After taking stone brain, Fanyangzi also attained the Dao.

【Fascicle 112 · Biographies Section · Biography 10】

【Record of Encounters with Immortals】

◎ Ji Zonglao

Jizonglao was a Daoist from Yuzhang, in what is now the Jiangxi region. He traveled among famous mountains, visiting masters and seeking learning and the Dao, but for a long time gained nothing. In the second year of the Dazhong era, the Wuchen year, he met a Daoist at a village temple in Shuzhou. The man’s clothes were worn, and he hurried in through wind and snow to seek lodging. Jizonglao arranged for him to stay in a Daoist room, and he retired there for the night. By then it was dark; there were no lamps or candles, and the wind and snow were fierce. Suddenly, Jizonglao saw light shining from the room. He peered through a crack in the door: the room was bright, though there were no lamps or candles. The Daoist had taken from a small gourd everything he needed—blankets, curtains, bedding, utensils, furnishings, clothes, and more.

Knowing that the Daoist was no ordinary person, Jizonglao knocked and asked to see him. The Daoist did not answer, and the light in the room soon went out. Jizonglao sat outside the door and kept watch through the night, hoping to meet him in the morning. When he opened the door at daybreak, the Daoist had already vanished. Deeply blaming himself for failing to seize his chance, Jizonglao continued traveling throughout the land, searching everywhere for him.

Ye Qianshao

Ye Qianshao was from Xinzhou. As a boy, he went into the mountains to gather firewood and took shelter from the rain beneath a large tree. Suddenly, he saw the Lord of Thunder, a deity who commands thunder and lightning, caught between the tree’s branches and unable to spread his wings and fly away. The branches had closed together again after being struck by lightning. Ye Qianshao pried them apart with a stone and freed the Lord of Thunder.

The Lord of Thunder thanked him, embarrassed, and asked him to return to the same place the next day. Ye Qianshao came back as promised, and the Lord of Thunder appeared and gave him a scroll of ink talismans. He said that by following its instructions, Ye Qianshao could summon thunder and rain, drive away illness and suffering, and do good by saving people. The Lord of Thunder said that he and his four brothers could be summoned to make thunder by calling “Thunder One” or “Thunder Two,” and they would answer. But Thunder Five had a fierce and impatient temperament, so Ye Qianshao must never call him unless there was an emergency.

He often produced remarkable results when drawing talismans to pray for rain. Once, while drunk in the city of Jizhou, he was seized by the prefect, who berated him and even tried to humiliate him. When Qian Shao was brought to the foot of the steps, he loudly called upon the Thunder King. It was the dry season, and the sun blazed fiercely. As soon as he called, a peal of thunder sounded in the sky, and people fell to the ground in panic. The prefect came down the steps, treated him with respect, and asked him to perform a rite for rain. Two days later, abundant rain fell. The story spread far and wide.

When Qian Shao traveled through Huazhou, rain had already been falling there for days, and the Yellow River was rising rapidly. The officials were so occupied with the flooding that they had no time to sleep or eat. Qian Shao struck a metal tablet, a ritual implement or talisman board made of iron, and people again fell to the ground in panic. The prefect came down the steps, treated him with respect, and asked him to perform a rite for rain. Two days later, abundant rain fell. Qian Shao then used a two-foot-long iron tablet to draw a talisman and set it upright on the riverbank. The river surged up and piled into a hill-like mass, then flowed along its course, not daring to cross the boundary marked by the talisman. The people were thus spared from being submerged. The story is still told to this day.

When sick people came to ask him for talismans, he did not choose his brush or ink carefully. He simply wrote one and handed it over, and people said it always worked. He often traveled around Jiangsu and Zhejiang. He liked eating meat and fish, and did not cultivate the Dao; later, no one knew where he went.

◎ Yu Manchuan

Manchuan Yu was a court musician in Chengdu. Water was scarce near his home, and for many years an old man had regularly carried water to supply several households.

On the third day of the third month, Manchuan went to Tongzhen Temple on Xueshe Mountain for the silkworm fair, a market held in spring. There he met the old water seller and struck up a conversation. The old man said he lived nearby, so he took Manchuan around the fair and then invited him home.

They entered a narrow path overgrown with alder bamboo and followed a water channel for about ten li. Before long, they saw a gateway, halls, and pavilions. Inside, voices filled the air, and there were divine images and murals; the place looked like a Daoist temple. The old man led Manchuan into a large kitchen, where many people were gathered. When Manchuan went to look for him again, the old man had vanished. After asking those around him, Manchuan learned that Ge Gui had been performing transformations in the kitchen.

Ge Gui said that preparations for a large Zhaijiao purification ritual, a Daoist ceremony held to pray for blessings, would not begin until the following day, yet Manchuan felt that only a moment had passed. In fact, three days had gone by. The old water seller never appeared again.

◎Presented by Jinshi Wang Rui

The presented scholar Wang Ruibo read widely in the classics, histories, and other texts. He studied diligently, investigated questions the ancients had left unresolved, and uncovered insights that earlier Confucian scholars had overlooked. He wrote thirty juan of Jiuguzi, in which he often pinpointed and corrected, with striking precision, errors in the Six Classics and historical writings. The book includes two essays and several explanatory analogies. Its understanding is elevated and its insight profound; even perceptive thinkers of antiquity might not have surpassed it.

Wang Rui loved to drink and took pleasure in his own company, unrestrained by worldly conventions. When his drinking was done, he would still discuss principles and examine literary style with others. Like Liu Lan, he often criticized the ancients. But after years of breathing the mountain air and dew and inhaling and exhaling among the clouds, he fell ill. He suffered from lingering chills for years, and no treatment could cure him.

While traveling through Yan, he met a man on the road carrying a cherrywood staff and wearing a palm-fiber hat. His face was lean as a crane’s, and his manner austere and unworldly, unlike that of ordinary people. His name was Xidao. Smiling, he asked Wang Rui, “Young man, are you troubled by the three delusions? How did you grow so frail?” Wang Rui said that was not the case. Xidao replied, “Your illness can be cured. Though I have already left home to practice the Dao, I understand the art of the furnace and cauldron—the methods for refining and nurturing body and mind. There is no illness that cannot be driven away.” Wang Rui then took him as his teacher and observed a three-day purification beside the Zhang River. Afterward, Xidao passed on this oral formula: “The essence of Wood is the celestial soul; the liquid of Metal is the earthly soul. Kan and Li, representing Water and Fire, Yin and Yang, must be set in motion; neither gentleness nor urgency should be taken to excess. Metal and Wood each have their appointed measure; only when Qin and Jin are joined is the union fitting. The results may appear in as little as sixty days, or take as long as three years.”

The formula was sung in verse: “Soul and spirit unite in subtle accord, like Yin and Yang, like man and woman joining. Yang Qi warms, Yin Qi nourishes, and the troubles of spirits and demons are dispelled. A thousand recitations and ten thousand praises have not revealed the mystery; from ancient times to the present, people have spent their lives seeking it.” Wang Rui received the formula and followed it to prepare and take the medicines. After a year, his illnesses and skin eruptions gradually healed.

Thereafter, he withdrew from the world, pretending to be wild and unrestrained as he moved among ordinary people. At the age of eighty, he died on the road to Pengshan, and those who knew the truth buried him. Before long, he appeared again in Chengdu and often stayed in Lewen County. At that time, fierce beasts gathered in the area and caused great harm; Wang Rui would sleep drunk in the grasses and woods without the slightest fear. People believed that he, too, belonged to the kind who cast off their mortal bodies like cicadas shedding their old shells, attained the Dao, and became immortals.

Wang Congji was a eunuch. When the Prince of Shu first took control of the Qiong and Shu region, Li and Ya prefectures were established as the Yongping Army, and Wang Congji served as supervising-army judge. Later, when the Shu army recovered Chengdu, the military garrison was abolished and converted into a prefecture. Wang Congji lived in Shu for more than ten years. Though he was an official, he lived in poverty, took pleasure in doing good, and had no fixed dwelling.

Once, in the market at Qiongzhou, he met an old man. The old man looked at him askance and said, “You are about to meet a great calamity, and your life will barely be preserved.” The old man took a small gourd from his sleeve and gave him fourteen cinnabar elixir pills, saying, “Take these. In about ten days a beard will grow. Do not be surprised; in this way you may escape the disaster.” After Wang Congji had taken the medicine for three to five days, a beard indeed grew.

More than a month later, the court issued an edict to execute the eunuchs, and Wang Congji’s name was on the list. Someone urged him to flee, but he replied, “How can one evade the command of ruler and father?” He then bowed his head and went to be bound. The governor pitied him and submitted a petition to the Prince of Shu pleading on his behalf. The Prince of Shu specially pardoned him; when he saw Wang’s appearance, he no longer looked like a eunuch.

Linghu Xuan

Linghu Xuan was the son of Linghu Xun, governor of Yuhang. He had always loved the profound and mysterious principle and was not eager for fame or official advancement. At his private residence in Kaihua he built a quiet chamber for himself. Every three or five days he would enter it; after opening the door and going in, he burned incense and did not come out until the whole day had passed.

At that time immortals descended upon him. Strange smoke and fragrance often appeared in his courtyard, and people could frequently see or smell them. Linghu Xuan said that when he entered stillness, an Azure Youth (Qingtong) led him up to the high mountains in the heavens to pay homage to Lord Lao. He once saw Lord Lao confer upon the Celestial Master (Tianshi) Zhang the title “Yuanzhong Daxiang,” to succeed Perfected Yin (Yin Zhenren) in his office.

At first, Perfected Yin and the deities of the Three Heavens assessed their merits before Taishang (the Supreme Lord). Taishang said, “The various Hu disturbed the Central Plain and gradually encroached upon Huaxia. Perfected Yin was unable to stop them; this was his fault. To reestablish the twenty-four transformations—the Daoist regions of teaching—to distinguish the human path from the ghost path, and to extend grace to all living beings: this was Daoling’s merit. These two matters each have . . .”

One should ascend a high terrace and meditate in stillness to test the Great Dao. Yin Zhen could then be summoned to climb a lotus-shaped ritual platform and sit upright and quietly. Before long, everything before his eyes grew dark and hazy. Zhang Daoling was then told to ascend the same platform. After he had sat there for a long time, strange colors and rays of light appeared, and all kinds of scenes shifted and changed. Heaven and humanity seemed to respond to one another and become linked. From then on, Zhang Daoling took Yin Zhen’s place and became the Master of the Central Origin.

In the year yiwei, I heard Linghu speak of this matter. In the year dingyou, I met a Daoist named Zhang in Mengyang, Xichuan. He said that the Celestial Master had descended and transmitted the Daoist teachings, and that people near and far revered and served him. I then heard him describe how the Celestial Master had imparted the teachings: the Celestial Master had advanced in rank and had recently become the Master of the Central Origin. This matched exactly what Linghu had said about their achievements being judged on the platform; there was no discrepancy. The subtle art is profound and unfathomable, and cannot be verified in full detail. I shall therefore record this strange event.

— Li Quan

Li Quan, who went by the name Master Daguang, lived on Mount Shaoshi. He loved the Way of the immortals, often traveled among famous mountains, and gathered widely from the various arts and methods. When he came to Tiger-Mouth Rock on Mount Song, he found the Yellow Emperor’s Scripture of the Hidden Talisman and the Basic Plain Book. The two books were scrolls mounted on vermilion-lacquered rods and sealed in a jade box. An inscription read: “Seventh day of the seventh month, second year of the Zhenjun era of Great Wei. The Shangqing Daoist Kou Qianzhi has stored these in a famous mountain, awaiting someone of kindred aspiration to whom they may be passed.” The books were already in tatters. Li Quan copied them out and recited them several thousand times, yet still did not understand their meaning.

Later, he traveled into Qin and came to the foot of Mount Li, where he met an old woman. Her hair was bound atop her head, with the rest hanging down at either side. She wore ragged clothes, leaned on a staff, and had a striking appearance. A stray fire was burning a tree by the roadside. Seeing it, she said to herself, “Fire arises from wood; once disaster breaks out, it is bound to cause harm.” Li Quan was astonished to hear this and asked her, “Those are words from the Yellow Emperor’s Scripture of the Hidden Talisman. How can an old woman know them?”

The old woman replied, “I have upheld this talismanic scripture through three cycles of the primordial energies and six full cycles of the sexagenary calendar. Young man, where did you get it?” Li Quan bowed respectfully and told her in detail how he had found the book.

The old woman said, “Your cheekbones reach straight to the Gate of Life; your Life Wheel is level with your Sun Angle. Your Qi and blood have not yet declined, and your mind is upright and impartial. You are worthy and eager to learn, courageous in seeking the Dao and glad to pursue knowledge. You are indeed my disciple. Yet at the age of forty-five, you will face a great calamity.” She then took out a cinnabar-written talisman, threaded it onto the tip of her staff, and had Li Quan kneel and swallow it, saying, “May Heaven and Earth protect you.”

The old woman sat on a stone and explained the meaning of the Scripture of the Hidden Talisman to Li Quan. She said, “The Scripture of the Hidden Talisman contains three hundred characters: one hundred clarify the Dao, one hundred clarify the method, and one hundred clarify the art. The upper section speaks of the immortals’ way of embracing the One; the middle section speaks of methods for enriching the state and bringing peace to the people; the lower section speaks of strategies for strengthening the army and winning victories. All of this arises from the subtle workings of the inner mind and accords with affairs in the world outside.

“Judged by its profound subtlety, even the Scripture of the Yellow Court and the Scripture of the Eight Radiances are not sufficiently mysterious to compare with it. Judged by its essential teachings, the classics, histories, writings of the philosophers, and historical records cannot match it. As for its ingenious use of strategy, Sun Wu, Wu Qi, Han Xin, and Bai Qi are no match for it. This scripture must not be revealed to anyone without the Dao. Those who have attained the Dao can use it to grasp the right path; noble people can use it to master methods; ordinary people who use it will bring calamity upon themselves. This is because people differ in their understanding and in what they are endowed with.”

Anyone who transmits this scripture must first purify the mind and observe ritual abstinence. A person who possesses a copy of the scripture serves as the master; one who does not serves as the disciple. Do not esteem someone because they are wealthy and powerful, or look down on them because they are poor and lowly. Anyone who violates this rule will lose twenty years of life. On the day corresponding to one’s birth year in the zodiac, reciting the scripture seven times can strengthen the mind and prolong life. Copying the scripture once each year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month and storing it in a stone cave on a famous mountain can also lengthen one’s life.

After a long time had passed, his mother said one evening, “It’s getting late. I have some wheat porridge; let’s eat together.” She took a gourd from her sleeve and asked Quan to fetch water from the valley. Once the gourd was full, it suddenly weighed more than a hundred jin. Quan could not lift it, and the gourd sank into the spring. When he returned, his mother had vanished, leaving only several liters of wheat porridge. Quan ate the porridge and from then on no longer ate ordinary grains.

During the Kaiyuan era, Quan served as deputy military commissioner of Jiangling and Censor-in-Chief. A skilled military strategist, he wrote the ten-volume Taibai Yinjing and the ten-volume Zhongtai Zhi. At the time, Li Linfu was pushing him aside, and his official career had not advanced. He therefore entered the famous mountains in search of Daoist arts, and was later never heard from again.

◎ Liu Yanguang

Liu Yanguang was from Jianbi Granary in Jinling. He once held an office in the government in western Zhejiang and served the military commissioner Tang Ruoshan. Ruoshan was devoted to Daoist arts. Both he and his younger brother, Tang Ruoshui, had encountered immortals and learned from them the essentials of Daoist cultivation.

During the Kaiyuan era, Emperor Ming of Tang held Tang Ruoshan in especially high regard. He bestowed on him a tally of authority and appointed him to guard western Zhejiang. A little over a year later, Tang Ruoshan resigned, set out to sea by boat, and left a memorial to the throne aboard. When the supervising commissioner reported the matter to the court, the emperor ordered Tang Ruoshui to search for his elder brother among the sacred mountains around Jiangling. But no one ever learned where Ruoshan had gone.

Ten years later, Liu Yanguang was sent on an assignment to Yangzhou. At the fish market, he came upon Tang Ruoshan, who was selling fish from a carrying pole. Ruoshan invited Liu to his home. Outside, the lanes were narrow and dilapidated, overgrown with weeds and damp with dew, barely wide enough for a person to pass. Once inside, however, the space gradually opened up. It was paved with bricks and stones and planted with flowers and grasses; its terraces and pavilions were richly adorned, as though they belonged to another world.

Ruoshan had food prepared. When he heard that Liu still owed money to the government and that his household had fallen into deep poverty, he looked on him with compassion. Then he had Liu prepare pig iron and charcoal at the shop where he was staying. That night, Tang Ruoshan came to the shop, arranged the charcoal and iron, lit the furnace, and left. He said to Liu, “Your descendants will encounter the Dao on a sacred mountain. You should no longer serve as a low-ranking official; simply remain quiet and upright, and live in seclusion in your home village. Use one third of this gold to repay your government debt, and the rest to establish your household. Do not eat delicacies; this will increase your good fortune and emoluments. Do not wear fine clothes; this will increase your blessings. Secretly doing good, helping others, and aiding those in urgent need are held in esteem in Daoist cultivation. You should study the Scripture of the Marvelous Writings of the Five Thousand Words, the Supreme Grade of Deliverance of Humanity, and put its teachings diligently into practice.”

After receiving the gold, Liu repaid his government debt as Tang Ruoshan had instructed and established a household in Jianbi. His descendants lived for eight or nine decades, generation after generation. Later, his grandson Liu Songnian entered the Dao and went to Mount Tiantai to cultivate.

Song Wencai was from Pengshan County in Meizhou. At first, he and several fellow villagers traveled together to Mount Emei. After reaching the summit, he suddenly realized that he had lost something he had been carrying, so he went back along the path to look for it. As he gradually became separated from his companions, he saw an old man, who led him onward at an unhurried pace. All around them were broad, level paths and unusual flowers and trees. After walking several hundred steps, they reached a palace complex: steps paved with jade, halls resplendent as jade, and towers among the clouds and pavilions amid rosy mists—sights rarely seen in the human world.

The old man led Wencai up the E-tai terrace to gaze at the peaks. There were game boards laid out on the ground, with Daoist adepts playing chess; azure youths gathering herbs; clear streams flowing between the rocks; and immortal cranes flying overhead. Wencai asked in astonishment, “What place is this?” The old man replied, “This is a small grotto-heaven within a famous mountain. Among the thirty-six heavens, this is the Emei Grotto-Heaven, the twenty-third heaven, where the Heavenly Perfected Immortals dwell.”

Just as Wencai was about to bow and sit down, someone repeatedly called his name. The old man said, “Your companions are looking for you. You cannot stay here long. If fate allows, you may return another time.” He instructed a young attendant to escort Wencai outside the gate. There he met his companions again. When he turned back, the immortal palace had vanished. His companions said that they had been separated for half a month and had searched for him every day, finding him only that day. Wencai then recounted in detail the strange sights he had encountered.

◎ Liu Jing

Liu Jing, a native of Pengcheng, toured Mount Jinhua in search of Perfected Ones and the Daoist teachings. When he reached halfway up the mountain, the scenery before him seemed unlike anything ordinary: the mountains and rivers were exceptionally beautiful, and the vegetation lush.

◎ Liu Jing

Liu Jing of Pengcheng went to Mount Jinhua to explore and hoped to seek out a Daoist practitioner. When he reached halfway up the mountain, he found the scenery wondrous: the mountains and streams were beautiful and lush. He saw a tall gate tower and pavilions rising above the clouds. After passing through the gate, he saw clear pools, trees with neatly arranged branches drooping low, and supple vines bearing pear-like fruit whose fragrance filled the air.

Liu Jing looked around and, seeing no one nearby, picked some fruit and tucked it into his robe and sleeves. Before he could eat any, several small dogs suddenly came racing out, barking furiously and lunging to bite him. He hurriedly fought them off and looked around, but could find nowhere to hide. He had no choice but to take out the fruit he had picked and throw it to the dogs. When the fruit was gone, the dogs left as well. He turned back, only to find that the palace and pavilions had vanished. All that remained were woods and valleys overgrown with weeds. The monk Xiuyu was a friend of Liu Jing’s, and Liu Jing often told him this story.

Peng Qiu, whose courtesy name was Bojian, was from Beihai. During the Taishi era of the Jin dynasty, he went to cut wood in the mountains at Mount Yunu, west of Beiqiu. Suddenly he caught a strange fragrance and followed it. The mountainside opened up before him, revealing a palace with lofty, spacious halls and terraces. Peng Qiu entered and peered inside. He saw five jade trees; farther in, four immortals were playing a board game in the hall. When they saw Peng Qiu, they rose in surprise and asked, “Lord Peng, what brings you here?” He replied, “I followed the fragrance.” After saying this, they resumed their game as before.

Just then, a young immortal climbed upstairs, plucked at a qin, and sang playfully, “Why has Yuanhui gone upstairs alone?” Peng Qiu stood beneath a tree and, feeling hungry, licked the dew hanging from its leaves. Before long, a woman arrived riding a crane. She asked, “Yuhua, why have you let this mortal come here? The Queen Mother has already ordered Wang Fangping to inspect the abodes of the immortals. You should make him leave at once.” Peng Qiu was frightened and went out through the gate. When he looked back, the palace had suddenly disappeared.

By the time he returned home, the Jianping era had begun. His former dwelling and the village houses had all become ruins and graves. He then set out again to wander among famous mountains and seek the Way of the immortals, and never returned.

◎Wang Kejiao

Wang Kejiao was from Kunshan, Suzhou. He had been a farmer and had never understood Daoist arts. When he was a child, five-colored light would shine from his eyes, especially brightly at night; even in a dark room, he could see clearly. Someone told his family and friends, “This is an illness. Once the light disappears, he will go blind.” His parents, not knowing what to make of it, called in an ordinary physician, who treated him with moxibustion. As predicted, the light disappeared.

In the eleventh month of the tenth year of Xiantong (869), Wang Kejiao was returning home from the market. As he passed by the river, he saw a large boat adorned with gold and colorful decorations, and set with pearls, jade, and kingfisher feathers. Music played as those aboard feasted and enjoyed themselves. He stood watching, and the boat drew alongside the bank. A boy in blue robes led him aboard. There were more than ten people on the boat, wearing tall headdresses and feathered robes decorated with brilliant patterns resembling clouds, rosy mists, mountains, and waters. Each held a musical instrument.

One of them sang, “Uncle Wang San, we’d like to meet you.” Wang Kejiao did not know who these people were. Someone beside him said, “You have excellent bones for becoming an immortal, but they were damaged by the moxibustion. You still cannot drink wine. Only after going without food for ten years might you hope to attain the Dao.” He gave Wang Kejiao a chestnut to eat. Wang Kejiao ate half and kept the other half in his hand. Then everyone played music and drank wine, and the boy led him off the boat.

Wang Kejiao felt as if he had awakened from a dream. The moment his feet touched the ground, he found himself on a rocky ledge beneath a waterfall on Mount Tiantai. In an instant, he had traveled here from a place a thousand li away. Yuan Cong, the governor of Taizhou, suspected the story was false and sent an inquiry to verify Wang Kejiao’s hometown and whereabouts. Thirty days had passed between Wang Kejiao’s disappearance and his arrival at Mount Tiantai.

From then on, Wang Kejiao no longer ate, yet his appearance remained bright and healthy. Yuan Cong gave him Daoist feathered robes and had him stay at Ziji Palace. Wang Feng, the Surveillance Commissioner of Yuezhou and Censor-in-Chief, submitted a memorial saying, “He seemed just now to have journeyed in spirit to the heavens and heard a performance of ‘Xiaoshao.’ In the blink of an eye, he appeared to awaken from a dream, while thirty days had passed in the human world. Although it is said that he can attain the Dao only after ten years, I fear he may one day ascend and depart.”

The emperor issued an edict: “The deeds of immortals are all recorded in the classics, and these wondrous events deserve to be recounted. On careful examination, Wang Kejiao is indeed no ordinary person. Moreover, he is dwelling on a famous mountain. Famous mountains have been much the same since ancient times; how far away, then, are Penglai and Yingzhou? I command the officials of this circuit to care for him properly and let him live in seclusion at ease.” Thereafter, the court allowed him to wander and dwell in seclusion. For several years, he continued to travel in the Jiangnan region.

Chen Jian was certainly no ordinary person. Besides, he was in a celebrated mountain, where things were no different in ancient times than they are today. How distant could immortal realms such as Penglai and Yingzhou really be? He devoted his whole heart to the Daoist arts and practiced with single-minded dedication, eventually fulfilling his wish to live in seclusion in the mountains. In the years that followed, though he traveled about and rested in various places, he remained in the Jiangnan region.

Chen Jian was a minor official in Jinhua County, Wuzhou. One day, he arrived at the county office early. The gates had not yet opened, so he stood nearby and waited. Suddenly, a Daoist appeared, walking briskly, and glanced sideways at him. Without realizing it, Chen Jian began following him.

After three or five li, they reached a Daoist temple. Its halls towered high, and a great mountain stood beside it. The Daoist led him into a room furnished with a desk, brushes, ink, and other writing materials. He took out a scroll written on yellow silk and more than ten sheets of paper, handed them to Chen Jian, and said, “You have a gift for writing. Copy this for me.” Chen Jian opened the scroll and looked at the beginning. It was written entirely in ancient seal script. He had never known or studied seal script, and was at a loss. The Daoist had already left, and there was no way to refuse, so he tried copying the text from the original. To his surprise, the writing came easily, and he finished in half a day.

The Daoist gave him a cup of broth and said, “This is the Divine Elixir of Jinhua. It is not easily obtained. Drink it, and your life will have no end.” The broth tasted exquisitely sweet. After thanking Chen Jian, the Daoist saw him off and said, “When troubles come upon the world, return here, to the Jinhua Grotto-Heaven, the immortal realm spoken of in Daoism.”

When Chen Jian stepped outside, he felt as though he had awoken from a dream. Only then did he discover that three days had passed. After returning home, he began practicing seal script. His strokes were exceptionally forceful, and from then on he no longer ate or drank. Prefect Xian Zi was about to receive the registers, a rite by which one accepted Daoist registers and became a Daoist. He found the matter extraordinary and took it as an auspicious sign sent by immortals. On a county document, he wrote: “I am about to transmit the secret registers, and such an auspicious sign has appeared. It both makes the path to awakening clear and truly accords with the omen of attaining the Dao and becoming an immortal.”

Before long, Chen Jian entered Jinhua Mountain again, and thereafter he often returned to the prefectural city.

“The Guest of the Golden Court” is the title of the next section.

Pei Shen once served as the assistant prefect of Tongzhou, a local government post. It is said that his elder cousin, traveling from Luoyang to Zhengzhou, found nightfall approaching on the way…

Pei heard someone groaning. He dismounted and pushed aside the mugwort to search, finding a sick crane with its wings drooping and its beak lowered. The wound on its wing was festering, and its feathers had fallen out. Pei found this strange, and when he heard its cries of pain, he felt deep compassion for it.

Suddenly, an old man in white robes came walking over, leaning on a staff. He said to Pei, “You are still young, sir. Why feel pity for this crane? If you apply human blood to it, it will surely be able to fly again.”

Pei knew Daoist arts well and was lofty and free-spirited in nature. He replied at once, “I am willing to prick my arm and give my blood. That is no trouble.” The old man said, “Your kindness is admirable, but only the blood of someone who has been human for three lifetimes will work. You were not human in your previous life. Only Hu Lusheng of Luoyang has been human for three lifetimes. If you did not have urgent business on this journey, why would you have made a special trip to Luoyang to find him?” Pei listened in silence, then returned to Luoyang. He found Hu Lusheng, told him the whole story in detail, bowed, and pleaded with him.

Hu Lusheng readily agreed. He took out a stone box about the size of two fingers, pricked his arm with a needle, and let blood drip down like milk. Once the little box was full, he handed it to Pei and said, “Say no more.” Pei returned to the sick crane. The old man said happily, “He is indeed a man who keeps his word.” Then he spread all the blood over the crane’s wound, saying that this was how they formed a bond. After a while, the old man told Pei, “I live not far from here. You can stay for a little while.” Pei felt that he was no ordinary person, so he addressed him as “elder sir,” a respectful title for an old man, and followed him for several miles to a homestead. There stood a thatched cottage behind a bamboo fence, with the courtyard and eaves in disarray.

Pei was terribly thirsty and asked for water. The old man pointed to a small earthen niche, used for worship or storage, and said, “There is a little fermented drink inside. You may have some.” Pei saw an apricot pit as large as a bamboo hat in the niche, filled with the drink. He struggled to lift it and drank. It tasted like almond milk curds, and afterward he was no longer hungry or thirsty. Pei bowed to the old man and offered to stay as his servant. The old man said, “You still have a modest official stipend in the human world, so you cannot stay here for long. Your worthy uncle has indeed achieved something through cultivation. He and I are friends and often visit one another, though you did not know it. I have a letter I need you to take to him.” The old man wrapped something in a parcel about the size of a soup bowl and warned Pei not to open it secretly.

The two went back to check on the crane and found feathers growing over its wound. The old man then told Pei, “You drank the fermented drink just now. When you return, you will weep for your nine clans—your relatives on your father’s and mother’s sides, your wife’s family, and others. You need only abstain from alcohol and sex.” Pei returned to Luoyang and could not resist trying to open the parcel in secret. He saw a red snake poking its head out from each of the four corners, so he stopped. Later, his uncle opened the parcel. Inside was something like dried barley porridge. After eating it, the uncle entered Mount Wangwu and was never heard from again. Pei lived to the age of ninety.

During the Yuanhe era of the Tang dynasty, Quan Tongxiu failed the civil service examinations and traveled from place to place. He was ill and poor, and had hired a villager to help him; the man had been working for him for a year. Once, while sick, Quan wanted licorice and bean soup, so he told the villager to buy some licorice. The villager prepared only the fire for cooking the soup and did not go to buy the licorice. Quan suspected he was being lazy, but for the moment had no time to question him.

Not long afterward, Quan saw the villager break off a small branch and rub it between his hands. When he held it near the fire, the branch turned into licorice. The villager then took some coarse sand and, after rubbing it, turned it into beans. The soup he cooked was indistinguishable from soup made with real licorice and beans. Quan was astonished, and his illness gradually improved.

Quan said to the villager, “I have been poor and ill for a long time. Now that I have recovered, I plan to go elsewhere. I would like to buy some meat and wine, gather the village elders, and ask everyone for a little travel money, but I have no money to pay for the provisions.” The villager cut down a dead mulberry tree, placed the wood chips on a platter, and sprinkled them with water. Every chip turned into beef. He then brought several bottles of water, which turned into wine. The village elders all came to the feast, ate their fill, and drank until they were drunk. In this way, Quan received a length of fine silk and thirty strings of cash.

Only then did Quan feel ashamed. He apologized to the villager, saying, “I am truly fortunate to have met a Daoist—a person who cultivates the Dao. Such an encounter is rare indeed. Please let me serve as your attendant and take you as my master.” The villager replied, “When I was young, I committed a transgression and was punished by being reduced to the lowly status of a commoner. I was fated to serve you, scholar, for a fixed period. Do not ask to change the established order; let us simply see this matter through.” Quan agreed, but whenever he asked the villager to do something, he felt uneasy.

Later, the villager took his leave and departed. Before leaving, he spoke of the fated limits on longevity and short life, adversity and success. He also said that all things could be transformed, except red chopsticks buried in mud, and hair and beard: no medicine could change them. With that, he left, and no one knew where he went.

At Fuye Temple in Caoqiao, Hangzhou, there was a Daoist master named Pan. [The text that follows repeats the earlier account of the fated limits on longevity and short life, adversity and success, and the transformation of all things except red chopsticks and hair and beard.]

At Fuye Temple in Caoqiao, Hangzhou, there lived a Daoist master named Pan. His family was well off, he was generous and open-hearted, often welcomed guests, and gladly did good and helped people in need.

One day, a young man of unusually handsome and refined appearance came to pay his respects to Master Pan. “I have long heard of your noble character and how you often rescue people in peril,” he said. “I would like to stay for two months in the small retreat beside the bamboo path in the temple’s rear courtyard, to avoid a calamity. I hope you will agree. Please don’t worry that I will cause trouble or need food and drink. Just give me two sheng of wine, and that will be enough to sustain me for sixty days.”

Although Master Pan did not know where the young man came from, he gladly agreed when he heard that the young man needed refuge. The young man went into the thatched retreat. No one came looking for him, and he neither ate nor drank. When the sixty days had passed, he thanked Master Pan. Then he asked casually, “Have you ever received an initiation into Fulu (talismans and registers)?” Master Pan replied, “The register I received has already reached the rank of the Middle Covenant of the Cavern of Mystery. I simply did not dare to go further and study the higher methods.” In Daoism, Fulu serve as credentials for conferring ritual rank and magical arts, and are also associated with rites such as Zhaijiao (purification ritual) and summoning divine generals.

“The rank you have received is already very high,” said the young man. “But I once received the rank of the Register of the Earth Gods of the Nine Provinces of Orthodox Unity. I would like to take the liberty of passing it on to you in gratitude.” He then burned incense before the image of the Celestial Worthy and transmitted to Master Pan the names of the Earth God’s divine generals, along with the spirit officials and officers. Whenever he called and summoned them, soldiers and their mounts appeared at once. After the rite, he instructed the divine troops: “Now that the transmission is complete, you must follow and protect Master Pan. Whenever he summons you, answer his command immediately.” The troops then vanished.

The young man said to Master Pan, “You may set up a bed in the central hall to serve as an altar, arrange a table, then sit upright and burn incense. You will be able to know all matters of good and ill fortune throughout the Nine Provinces, both great and small. But do not let meat, fish, or blood offerings defile the altar. If you break this rule, you will surely be punished unseen. If you remain pure, careful, and true to the precepts, you can attain long life and become an immortal.” Having said this, the young man vanished, and no one knew where he had gone.

Master Pan immediately set up a bed and a leaning table in the central hall and sat there. Before long, he knew every matter, great and small, throughout the Four Seas. After ten days or so, however, the spirit officials were constantly reporting news, creating a great commotion. Master Pan flew into a rage and said, “I am a man who lives quietly and at leisure. The whole…

“How need we know of such distant affairs?” Pan ordered the spirit officer (a divine official tasked with conveying the commands of the gods) to stop reporting the messages. The spirit officer replied, “This is my duty. I cannot leave it undone.” The messages kept coming, and Pan repeatedly demanded that the reports cease. Later, Pan began eating meat and garlic to drive the spirit officer away. After three or five days, the reports gradually faded into the distance, and the spirit officer no longer appeared.

One night, the young man came again and said, “I was reckless in transmitting the secret true formula of Heaven, and have already been punished. Master, you have offended the numinous spirits and, according to your offense, should face judgment in the underworld. In gratitude for your having once taken me in, I cannot stand by and watch you fall into trouble, so I will teach you another method. You must widely practice hidden virtue and help the sick and suffering, thereby making amends for your earlier transgression. Otherwise, you will fall into the dark prisons of hell.”

Since eating meat and pungent foods, Pan had known that he had lost some efficacy in his cultivation. Hearing these words, he became even more fearful and anxious. The young man then shaped a little figure, four or five inches long, from rice crumbs and placed it in a hole in the wall. He also gave Pan two Jade Seed talismans (Daoist talismans used to avert calamity and heal illness), instructing him: “When people come seeking help because of illness or hardship, ask the rice figure to find the source of their affliction, then use my talismans to treat them. Do not take payment. Simply accumulate merit and make amends for your transgression. Practice diligently and do not slacken; I will return in ten years.”

From then on, Pan wrote talismans in cinnabar and dispelled calamities and cured illnesses for people. Those who came seeking help were as numerous as people at a market. More than ten years later, the young man returned and stayed for over a month. He spoke with Pan for many days about affairs in Heaven and beyond the world, then took his leave. A little over a year later, Pan died without having been ill. People supposed that he had attained the Dao of corpse liberation (a Daoist method in which the body is shed and one ascends after attaining the Dao).

◎Lu Jun

After passing the jinshi examination, Chancellor Lu Jun served as a Gentleman of the Secretariat. He requested leave to depart the capital on grounds of illness and was appointed governor of Junzhou. After taking up the post, his condition gradually worsened. He grew thin and weak and no longer wished to see anyone. He often rested alone in a quiet chamber on the hill behind the prefectural office. His attendants kept their distance, and no one dared approach unless he summoned them.

Suddenly, a man in shabby clothes climbed over the wall and entered. Lu Jun asked who he was. The man said his surname was Wang. Lu Jun asked where he had come from, and he replied that he had come from the mountains. Lu Jun smiled and said, “You must be the Mountain Recluse Wang. What guidance have you brought me?” The recluse replied, “You hold a high position and have risen to the highest rank among ministers, yet your life will be short. You are now in a period of misfortune, which is why you suffer from an illness that has resisted treatment. I have come specially to save you.”

There was no water in the mountain chamber. Lu Jun was about to call someone to fetch water and make tea, but the recluse stopped him. He dipped his waist sash into a well and took out a pill. Then he wrung the water from the sash and gave the pill to Lu Jun to swallow. Afterward, he made this promise: “In five days, your illness will be cured, and you will be healthier than usual. But three years from now, you will face another great calamity. Accumulate hidden merit by doing good without seeking reward, and keep compassion and helping others in your thoughts. I will return then, and we will meet in early summer.”

From then on, Lu Jun’s illness indeed began to improve, and within about ten days he had recovered as before.

The following year, Lu Jun left office and returned to the capital, where he was appointed Salt and Iron Commissioner. In April, on the roadside outside the eastern gate of the Salt and Iron Office, he suddenly saw the Mountain Recluse Wang come to find him. After they had greeted each other, the recluse said, “Your second great ordeal this year is near. This calamity is extremely severe…”

While you were serving in the commandery, you overturned an unjust case the previous year and saved three people from execution. As a result, the calamity has already passed. This month, you will feel slightly unwell for only three to five days; the illness is under control, so there is no need to worry. The next day, the mountain recluse sent two servants with ten thousand coins to Dog’s Back Slope, where they gave alms to the poor and sick.

The recluse then departed again, saying, “At noon on the fifth day of the fifth month in the twenty-third year, you may have a Daoist await me on the summit of Ten Thousand Mountains. By then you will be governing the Han River region. I will give you the Elixir of Cinnabar Flower. Do not miss the appointed hour.” Afterward, Lord Lu held a succession of prominent and prestigious offices, and his favor and status grew ever greater. Later, in the second year after he was sent to govern the south of the Han River, it was the twenty-third year.

When the appointed day arrived, Lord Lu ordered the Daoist Niu Zhiwei to climb to the summit of Ten Thousand Mountains at noon on the fifth day of the fifth month. The recluse was indeed there. He gave Niu Zhiwei two Golden Elixirs and told him to swallow them, saying, “You have the qualities for cultivating the Dao, but you have not accumulated enough hidden merit—good deeds done without seeking reward—and you do not yet meet the standards of a cultivator. You should devote yourself more diligently to practice.” He then gave Lord Lu ten Golden Elixirs and said, “You will enjoy a long life. Do not neglect your cultivation. When your allotted years in this world come to an end, you will be able to return to the Palace of Peng, where the immortals dwell.”

The recluse bowed farewell to Niu Zhiwei and vanished in an instant. Niu Zhiwei later lived into his eighties, yet his appearance remained that of a man around thirty. Lord Lu lived to nearly ninety, with keen hearing and clear eyesight, and his strength never failed. After his death, an unusual fragrance filled the entire room.

Wang Zizhi

Wang Zizhi, whose courtesy name was Xianmiao, said he was from Goushi in Henan and often traveled around Luoyang, the capital. Local elders said they had been seeing him for fifty years, yet he had always looked about forty. No one knew his true age. He enjoyed cultivating Qi and drinking wine.

When Wang Zhongying, Duke of Langya, had just arrived in Puzhou to take up his post as military governor, Xianmiao came to the Ziji Palace. Wang treated him with great generosity. Hearing that he liked wine, he sent him two cups every day. A day later, as Xianmiao was going out, he met a woodcutter at the palace gate. The man looked most unusual, and Xianmiao found him fascinating. He bought the wood and paid more than its worth. The woodcutter accepted the money without protest and turned to leave. Xianmiao sent someone to follow him and find out more. The man saw the woodcutter go straight into a tavern, drink all the wine, and then return.

Another day, the woodcutter came again and said to Xianmiao, “The wine here is quite good, but it is nowhere near as fine as the wine brewed by the Shi family in Xie County. I just came from there. I only regret that I had no companion earlier, so I couldn’t drink my fill.” Xianmiao went down the steps, took his hand, and sat with him around the brazier. “Can you get some of the Shi family’s fine wine?” he asked. The woodcutter nodded, drew a talisman with a vermilion brush, and placed it over the fire. Before the smoke from the paper had cleared, a young attendant appeared.

The woodcutter instructed him, “Take the honored master’s servant with you and bring these two wine cups to the Shi family to fetch wine. I’ll wait here to have a hearty drink with the honored master.” It was already late at night, and the city gates were closed. The young attendant said to Xianmiao’s servant, “Close your eyes,” then laid a hand on his head. In an instant, the man and the wine jar passed through a crack in the gate and arrived in distant Xie County. They bought wine and returned to Xianmiao. He and the woodcutter drank together. The wine was sweet, rich, and intensely fragrant; no other wine in the world could compare.

Around midnight, the woodcutter…

The woodcutter said to Zizhi, “You’re already drunk. Shall I invite a guest to join you for a drink?” Zizhi replied, “Please do.” The woodcutter wrote a vermilion talisman (a Fulu written in cinnabar) and placed it over the fire. In an instant, a strange fragrance filled the room, and a dignified-looking man appeared. He had handsome features, wore a purple robe, and held a tablet in his hand. After bowing, he sat down.

The woodcutter invited him to sit and poured wine for everyone to drink in turn. When the two pots of wine were nearly empty, the woodcutter heated an iron chopstick and touched it to the man in purple, saying, “You may go now.” By then, dawn was breaking, and everyone took leave.

The woodcutter then asked Zizhi, “Do you recognize the man who was here just now? In a little while, you can go and look at the River Deity Temple.” After seeing the woodcutter off, Zizhi went to the temple and discovered that their drinking companion from the previous night had been a god. The mark left by the hot iron chopstick was plain to see.

When Zhao Jun was serving as a court physician, he personally investigated the matter. Su Shui, a collator at the Hongwen Academy, had also lived in the Zhongtiao Mountains and knew the details of the incident well. Later, Zizhi met the Immortal Woodcutter again, and the Immortal Woodcutter taught him further methods of cultivation. Zizhi thus became an earthbound immortal, one who had attained the Dao, could live forever, and dwelt among ordinary people.

—Zheng Youxuan

Zheng Youxuan came from a distinguished family and lived in Chang’an. As a boy, he studied under a teacher alongside a child from the neighboring Lüqiu family. Zheng was frivolous and arrogant, convinced of the honor of his own lineage. The Lüqiu child came from a poor family, so Zheng often mocked and insulted him: “You come from such a lowly background. You shouldn’t be studying alongside me at all. Even if I don’t say it, don’t you feel ashamed?” The Lüqiu child silently showed his embarrassment. A little over a year later, he died.

Ten years passed. Zheng Youxuan passed the Mingjing examination with one of the highest scores and was appointed a military aide in Shuzhou. After taking up his post, he was ordered by the commandery governor to serve temporarily as county lieutenant of Tangxing, an official responsible for public order and other duties. One of his colleagues, Qiu Sheng, was the son of a wealthy merchant and had just turned twenty. Qiu’s family was rich, and Qiu Sheng drank and amused himself with Zheng every day, often giving him money as well. Yet Zheng considered Qiu Sheng no member of the scholar-official elite and never treated him with courtesy.

One day, Zheng hosted a banquet but did not invite Qiu Sheng. As the feast was drawing to a close, a friend said to him, “Qiu Sheng holds office in the same place as you. You’ve hosted a banquet without inviting him—has he done something wrong?” Zheng felt ashamed and summoned Qiu Sheng.

When Qiu Sheng arrived, Zheng offered him a cup of wine. Qiu Sheng declined, saying he could not drink a full cup, and firmly refused to finish it. Zheng flew into a rage and scolded him: “You common market fellow, always counting every little thing—what right do you have to occupy an official post? You’re lucky enough to hold the same rank as me, and you still dare refuse a drink?” With that, he swept his sleeves and rose to leave. Overcome with shame and humiliation, Qiu Sheng withdrew. He then resigned from office, shut himself away, and died of illness a little over a month later.

The following year, Youxuan left Xuanguan and moved to Mengyang. He had always been devoted to the teachings of Huangdi and Laozi. Hearing that a Daoist master named Wu lived in the Shu Mountains, Youxuan greatly admired his character and went to visit him, hoping to become his disciple. He stayed there for nearly ten years, but never received any instruction. Gradually losing heart, he took his leave of Master Wu and returned home.

Later, Youxuan traveled through Baocheng toward Chang’an. On the way, he stayed at an inn and met a boy of just over ten, handsome and exceptionally clever. Youxuan spoke with him and was astonished by his quick, resourceful replies. The boy said to Youxuan, “We have known each other for a long time. Do you remember me?” Youxuan replied, “I don’t remember.”

The boy said, “In a former life, my surname was Lüqiu, and I lived in Chang’an. We once studied together, but you treated me as a freak and insulted me. Later, when you served as county commandant of Tangxing on behalf of the son of the Chou family, I lived with you again. I gave you generous bribes, but you called me a commoner from the marketplace. Why were you so arrogant? You relied on your birth into an official family to look down on and mistreat others. That was wrong. I am the Perfected One of Great Clarity, a revered Daoist deity. The Emperor of Heaven saw that you possessed Dao energy, so he sent me to be reborn in the human world and make your acquaintance, intending to pass on the secrets of immortality to you. But you were frivolous and arrogant, and in the end you could not attain the Dao. Alas, how sorrowful!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the boy suddenly vanished. Only then did Youxuan realize the mistakes he had made. Filled with shame, he eventually died in sorrow.

The Man with the Curly Beard

No one knew the real name of the sworn brother called the “Curly-Bearded Guest.” Near the end of Emperor Yang of Sui’s reign, the Minister of Works, Yang Su, remained in Chang’an. The emperor had gone to Jiangdu, and Yang Su held great power. Arrogant and exalted, he paid no heed to the ways of the world.

At that time, Li Jing, Duke of Wei, went to call on Yang Su wearing a bamboo hat and carrying a staff. There he met Red Whisk, who stood in attendance beside Yang Su. Red Whisk, a singing girl surnamed Zhang, was outstanding in both beauty and talent. She saw that Yang Su was headed for ruin and soon left him, setting out with Li Jing.

Li Jing and Red Whisk left the Western Capital together, bound for Taiyuan. On the way, they stopped at Lingshi Inn to rest their horses and met the Curly-Bearded Guest. He was tall and powerfully built, with a face covered in red, curling whiskers. He wore ragged clothes and rode a lame donkey. He threw his cloth bag on the ground, took a pillow, and reclined sideways, watching Zhang let her hair fall to the floor as she stood by the bed and combed it.

Seeing the Curly-Bearded Guest staring at Zhang, Li Jing grew furious, but held back, only glancing at him from time to time. Zhang studied the man’s face carefully. Holding her hair in one hand and shielding herself with the other, she shook her head at Li Jing to signal that he should not lose his temper. She quickly finished combing her hair, straightened her clothes, and went over to ask the reclining man his surname. He replied, “Zhang.”

“I am Zhang too,” she said. “We must be brother and sister.” She bowed to him, then asked his place among his siblings. “Third,” he said. He asked Zhang the same, and she replied, “I am the eldest daughter.” The Curly-Bearded Guest said happily, “How fortunate that I’ve met a younger sister today.” Zhang then called Li Jing over. “My lord Li, come pay your respects to our third brother.” Li Jing bowed to him. The three sat together, cut up meat, and ate. The Curly-Bearded Guest fed the leftover meat to his donkey, then smiled and asked Li Jing, “You’re a poor scholar, my lord Li. How did you come to meet such an extraordinary woman? Tell me how you came together.”

After hearing their story, the Curly-Bearded Guest asked, “Where are you going?” Li Jing replied, “To Taiyuan, to seek refuge.” The Curly-Bearded Guest had someone bring wine, drank with them, and asked Li Jing, “Have you heard of any remarkable person in Taiyuan?” Li Jing said, “The governor’s son, about eighteen years old, surnamed Li.” The Curly-Bearded Guest said, “It sounds like that may be the man, but I’ll have to see him with my own eyes. Could you arrange for me to meet him, my lord Li?” Li Jing replied that his friend Liu Wenjing was very close to the man and could certainly arrange a meeting.

The Curly-Bearded Guest said that a man who observed the movements of destiny had sent him to seek out that person. So the two agreed on a date to meet at Fenyang Bridge.

When the appointed day arrived, the man came as expected. Li Jing said to Liu Wenjing, “I know someone skilled in physiognomy who would like to meet you. Please welcome him.” Liu Wenjing had long thought Li Jing an extraordinary man, and since they were discussing the great question of how to support a ruler, he immediately prepared wine to receive the visitor.

They all went together to meet Tang Taizong. Taizong arrived without dressing properly: his clothes and shoes were in disarray, and he wore a coarse wool robe. Yet he was radiant, and his bearing and appearance were unlike those of an ordinary man. When the guest saw him, he fell silent, sat at the end of the table, and looked dispirited and despondent. After drinking several cups of wine, he beckoned Li Jing and said, “This is the true Son of Heaven.” Li Jing repeated his words to Liu Wenjing, who was even more delighted and congratulated him again and again.

After the guest had left, the Man with the Coiled Beard said, “From what I can see, he is very likely to achieve great things. But we should let our Daoist brother, a man who cultivates the Dao, meet him as well.” He arranged to meet Li Jing and his sister at a tavern east of the horse market in the capital. When they arrived, they went upstairs and found the Man with the Coiled Beard drinking with a Daoist. They sat together and agreed to travel to Taiyuan with their Daoist brother. The Daoist played chess with Liu Wenjing, and Li Jing joined them.

Tang Taizong came too. His bearing was exceptional, and his presence seemed to shine. After exchanging greetings, he sat down, bright and composed, and his spirit lifted everyone in the room. Every glance and gesture was dazzling. At the sight of him, the Daoist brother grew somber and set down his chess piece. “This game is lost,” he said. “The defeat is settled. How strange! There is no way to turn it around. What more can I say?” When the game was over, he said to the Man with the Coiled Beard, “This realm is no longer yours. You can go elsewhere and make your mark. Strive forward, and do not dwell on this.”

They all went to the capital together. The Man with the Coiled Beard sent his wife and sister out to meet Li Jing; his wife, too, was as beautiful as a celestial being. Wearing a gauze headscarf and a coarse wool robe, and carrying a slingshot, he joined them. Then they entered the main hall, where musicians played and wine was served, and they celebrated to their hearts’ content. More than thirty musicians performed at the feast. Its grandeur surpassed even that of a royal household, like a gathering in a celestial grotto.

Before long, people brought in twenty beds, each covered with an embroidered cloth. When the covers were lifted, the Man with the Coiled Beard said, “These are account books and keys, recording the quantities of treasure and money.” He gave them to Li Jing, along with his other possessions, and said, “I had planned to make my mark in the Central Plain, perhaps through three to five years of warfare. These riches would have been no great expense. But now that the true ruler has appeared, why should I keep them? The Li house of Taiyuan is the true ruler of this age; within three to five years, the realm will be at peace. Li Jing’s sister is skilled at helping him. Without her, he could not assist a wise ruler. You must strive forward!”

He continued, “Ten years from now, something extraordinary will happen thousands of miles to the southeast. That will be my chance to make my mark. When you hear the news, secretly celebrate for me with wine.” Then he summoned more than a hundred household servants and had them come forward to pay their respects to Li Jing. “Li Jing’s sister is your mistress,” he said. After that, he and his wife donned military attire and rode away. The Daoist brother also vanished without a trace.

After learning of this, Li Jing devoted himself to assisting Tang Taizong and helping him establish his great enterprise.

During the Zhenguan era, people from the southeast reported to the throne: “A sea raider led a thousand large ships and more than a hundred thousand troops into the kingdom of Fuyu. He killed its ruler and made himself king. The country has since been at peace.” Li Jing realized that the Bearded Traveler had achieved great things. He returned and told his wife, then poured wine and offered congratulations toward the southeast. From this we can see that the rise of a perfected person—one who has attained the Dao and accomplished extraordinary deeds—is granted by Heaven. How could an ordinary person lightly plot a rebellion?

◎ Cui Xizhen

Cui Xizhen, a native of Kuaiji, saw an old man carrying firewood and standing in the snow outside his gate in the depths of winter. When Cui saw him at dawn, his face showed compassion, and he clasped his hands and asked the old man about himself. The old man took off his bamboo hat and spoke with him. Cui saw that his appearance was unusual, so he asked his surname. “My surname is Ge,” the old man said. “I am third among my siblings.” Cui invited him inside to sit.

Cui asked, “It’s so cold and snowy. May I make you some barley soup cakes to eat?” The old man replied, “Barley holds an abundance of vital energy in every season, and eating it benefits people. Don’t add fermented black beans, though; they are harmful to the central organs—the spleen, stomach, and other viscera of the middle burner.” Cui thought his words made sense, so he…