《吕祖年谱海山奇遇》

In former times, Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) traveled to Lu Xian’s Thatched Hall by the North Sea, appearing in person to teach the Dao and guide those with the right affinity. In the guise of Binweng, he personally recorded dozens of accounts, writing them as events had actually unfolded, in the easy manner of ordinary conversation. Through stories of Lü’s experiences in the world and beyond it, these accounts moved those devoted to cultivating the Dao and helped them understand that affinity with the immortals is precious and the true Dao is hard to encounter; that there is no need to covet fame and rank or worldly possessions; and that there is no need to travel again through the worlds depicted in the Map of the World and Seas, or dream once more of wealth and power in the Yellow Millet Dream. This was Patriarch Lü’s way of instructing people through his own experience. To reflect carefully on his intentions is more satisfying still than the stories of his guiding Lu Sheng and Chen Sheng.

I, Yuesheng, was slow-witted from childhood. When I read the Biographies of the Immortals as a boy, I was especially fond of Patriarch Lü, as though I had been bound to him by affinity long before. Later, after reading the Handan Stage Play, I wrote a poem: “Ten years ago, I had already given up my ambition for fame and rank; I only wished to awaken before Lu Sheng. No longer lost in the Yellow Millet Dream of high office and wealth, I would take up my zither and sword and set out to learn the way of the immortals.” This, too, was my own awakening; there was no need to trouble the Patriarch with his painstaking persuasion.

One day, I went into a temple to admire its old paintings. I saw a figure wearing a blue headscarf and a black sash, with a flute at his waist and a whisk in his hand. I knew it was a true likeness of Patriarch Lü, so I found a way to obtain the portrait and set it up for worship. Before long, I also came upon the Complete Works of the Threefold Cultivation. Reading it brought sudden clarity: I understood that the work of becoming an immortal lay within oneself, not on the Three Mountains of Penglai. I then burned incense, bowed, and vowed to follow the true methods of the Dao.

From then on, whenever I investigated the Patriarch’s deeds, I made sure to record where and when he guided people, and how each encounter unfolded. I aimed to make these records exact and detailed, rigorous and careful. My purpose was not to write a biography of the Patriarch, but simply to preserve the intentions behind his work of guiding the world.

What I regret is that the immortal books give conflicting accounts of Lü’s birth, birthplace, and life. I had long wanted to establish the truth, but my limited knowledge prevented me. At last, I obtained Lu Xian’s Collected Records of Lu Xian’s Daoist Affinities in the Huaihai Region and a volume of Binweng’s own notes. The many conflicting accounts could now be settled. I bowed before the Patriarch’s image and respectfully compiled this chronological account of his life.

After the account was complete, an old man came to visit. His long beard fell in five strands, and he called himself Master Wushan. With him was a handsome scholar from Yangzhou. Both said they came from the south. Their voices rang out like bells. Delighted by the account, they said it faithfully recorded Patriarch Lü’s deeds, then added several dozen lines of notes beside the text and departed as lightly as if they were drifting away. At the time, I was tending the stove and warming wine, hoping to receive this reclusive visitor. But by the time the wine was ready and I had waited a long while, the men had vanished without a trace.

Some suppose that the two characters in “Wushan” can be taken apart to mean “five mouths and one mountain,” while “from the south” echoes words spoken by the immortal at the summit of Zhongnan Mountain. There is also a tune pattern called “Lü from the South,” so the old man must have been Master Lü himself. As for the handsome scholar from Yangzhou, perhaps he was Lu Xian.

Nine General Notes:

This annal strives to present events truthfully and in detail. Earlier accounts vary widely, so this book relies chiefly on the records written by Caotang himself and the Collected Accounts of Daoist Encounters. Records of what someone personally experienced or heard firsthand are more trustworthy than reports passed on by others. The text mentions a title, Southern Lü Mode; this should refer to Master Lü. “A gifted young man from Yangzhou” may be Immortal Lu.

Lü Zu (Lü Dongbin) often appeared in the human world in playful guise. The surnames, native places, and birth and death dates he gave publicly were not consistent; perhaps they were all metaphors in alchemical texts for conveying principles.

The legend of Longsha—a place where immortals were said to appear and guide people to salvation—became widespread from the Ming and Qing dynasties onward. Yet of every ten related accounts, perhaps not even one is reliable. Lü Zu said, “In a single day, I attend three thousand gatherings. Of the several hundred ritual sites among them, I choose only one or two; and even at those, I guide only a few people.” This underscores the need to verify accounts of immortals guiding people with care.

Marvelous Encounters in Seas and Mountains tells many stories of Lü Zu guiding people to salvation. The accounts of Han Xiangzi, He Xiangu, Cao Guojiu, Lan Caihe, and others also vary widely, like the stories of Lü Zu. This book examines them in particular detail so that the immortals’ deeds and their respective teacher-disciple relationships can be made clear.

Those whom Lü Zu guided were worthy people whose reputations matched their character, and they are already recorded in old books, with few omissions. The various accounts of his miraculous appearances represent only one ten-thousandth of what took place; readers who know the facts and understand the matter should bear this in mind.

Xiao Dongxuan, Wang Chang, and others were worthy people whose reputations matched their character, and they are already recorded in old books, with few omissions. The various accounts of their miraculous appearances represent only one ten-thousandth of what took place; readers who know the facts and understand the matter should bear this in mind.

The Mirror of the Immortals calls Xiao Dongxuan, Wang Chang, and others disciples of Lü Zu. But the Song-dynasty Extensive Records of the Taiping Era says they lived before the Zhenyuan era. This book therefore does not presume to place them among Lü Zu’s disciples.

Marvelous Encounters in Seas and Mountains and the collected poems can be read alongside one another: where the poems are brief, Marvelous Encounters in Seas and Mountains gives a fuller account; where the poems already provide detail, it does not repeat it.

Some passages in Marvelous Encounters in Seas and Mountains match the prefaces to the poems. This repetition is permitted so that events can be arranged by year.

This book focuses on recording events year by year. Anything that can correct errors in historical accounts of the immortals is included, even where some details remain incomplete, and left for learned readers of the future to supplement and amend.

“The above is taken from the Daoji Xuanlan”: The content above was transcribed from the Daoji Xuanlan.

The Complete Table of Contents of the Chronology of Ancestor Lü and His Miraculous Encounters with Immortals at Haishan: This is the table of contents of the Chronology of Ancestor Lü and His Miraculous Encounters with Immortals at Haishan.

Volume One: Chronology records events from Lü Zu’s seventy-three years and contains six pieces:

• Record of the Fire Dragon’s Transmission of the Sword
• Record of Visiting an Immortal at Mount Luofu
• Record of the Yellow Millet Dream
• Record of Entering Zhongnan
• Record of Paying a Visit to the Yellow Dragon
• Record of Traveling to Mount Pingdu

Volume Two: Tang Dynasty Events covers one hundred and five years. Its contents include:

• Guiding Immortal Liu, Guiding Zhang Ci, and Guiding Shi Jianwu
• Map of the World Across the Seas, and Guiding Chen Jiqing
• Guiding the monk Huaiyi
• Guiding Han Bo (the character “Bo” may be an error; an additional study argues that Han Xiang was not an immortal)
• Guiding He Xiangu (with an additional study of He Xiangu of Zengcheng, Guangzhou)
• Guiding Li Qi
• Guiding Lu Sheng in the Handan Dream
• Guiding Niu Sheng and Xiahou Sheng
• A Discussion of the Five Dynasties
• Guiding Rao Tingzhi, Guiding Ma Xiangu, Guiding Lan Caihe, Guiding Liu Haichan, Guiding Geng Xiangu, and Guiding Huang Chengxu
• A shepherd boy composing a poem, lamenting Southern Tang, transforming into a teahouse woman, Guiding Qiao Erlang, and Guiding Liu Fang
• Record of the Story of Magu’s Transformation into the Celestial Consort
• Six additional notes on immortal traces, all concerning events from the early Northern Song

Volume Three: Northern Song Events covers one hundred and fifty-one years. Its contents include:

• The Image with Three Heads and Six Arms, and the Yellow Crane Tower
• Guiding Chen Xiyi together with Haichan
• The Prophecy of the Broken Melon, the Locust Tree Test, Three Drunken Visits to Yueyang, and the Strange Sign of the Earthen Jar
• The Brothel in Yanzhou, and the Tavern in Yongkang
• Foretelling Longevity (with Liu Gongfu’s Talk on Poetry appended)
• Guiding Guo Shangzao, Ding Wei’s Encounter with an Immortal, and Guiding the monk Dayun
• The Receding Flood at Taizhou, Releasing Dead Fish, and Guiding the monk Fazhen

The table of contents also lists “Yi,” as well as repeated entries for “The Prophecy of the Broken Melon,” “The Locust Tree Test,” “Three Drunken Visits to Yueyang,” “The Strange Sign of the Earthen Jar,” “The Brothel in Yanzhou,” and “The Tavern in Yongkang.”

Determining a Person’s Lifespan (citing Liu Gongfu’s Notes on Poetry)

Crossing into the Guo family’s home, then leaving by way of the kitchen stove

Ding Wei encounters an immortal

Transforming the monk Dayun

Making the rising waters recede in Taizhou

Releasing a dead fish

Transforming the monk Fazhen

Transforming a Daoist surnamed Hou

Touching a jiao dragon until it becomes a dragon

Writing a poem at Tianqing Abbey

Warning Lecturer Shi

Painting a portrait of Lü Zu in Yueyang

Teasing Chen Zhizhong

Transforming Cao Jingxiu together with Patriarch Zhongli (with an investigation of the mistaken tale that Gu Jiu was called the Imperial Uncle)

Knowing how events will unfold, but not how they will end

Giving a poem to Dong Lao

Transforming a monk in a bathhouse

Transforming Shi Yuxiu

Transforming Liu the Lame Immortal

Wang the knife sharpener changes trades

A comb turns into a dragon

Immortal Jujube Pavilion

Renaming Stone-Reflection Pavilion as Lü Immortal Pavilion

Giving a poem to Chan Master Huijue

Visiting Yellow Crane Mountain

Repaying the brush maker

Warning Chen Danran

Warning Hou Jiu and Ma Shan

Guiding Han Wei Gong to his heavenly departure

Warning the guardian of Yiling

Transforming an oriole

Rebuking Huiqing to his face

Fan Chunren receives instruction in the alchemical art of transmuting base metals into gold and silver

Drinking with Teng Sheng

Appearing in a dream to Su Shi aboard a boat at Red Cliff

Visiting Huangzhou and Huizhou twice to transform Su Shi

Bestowing an elixir on Li Ji

Giving a poem to Chen Lie

Visiting Dayu

A portrait at Shenguāng Abbey

Visiting Zhuming Abbey

Transforming Zhang the Immortal Maiden

Kneading earth into wine

Appearing in a dream to Su Shi aboard a boat at Red Cliff

Visiting Huangzhou and Huizhou twice to transform Su Shi

Bestowing an elixir on Li Ji

Giving a poem to Chen Lie

Visiting Dayu

A portrait at Shenguāng Abbey

Visiting Zhuming Abbey

Transforming Zhang the Immortal Maiden

Kneading earth into incense

A pleasure house in the Eastern Capital

Handling affairs in the palace during the Chongning era

Zhang Ziyang’s former incarnation

Chang Xuzhong

Transforming Zhennu

Warning Emperor Huizong of Song

Inscribing words on the gate of Taiping Temple

Transforming Sun, the fish seller

Transforming Yao Pingzhong together with Patriarch Zhongli

Transforming Qiao Tianshou

Supplement: Eight accounts of immortals’ deeds (with two additional versions)

Volume Four (Southern Song, spanning 153 years)

Transforming Lan Fang

Warning against sexual energy-harvesting techniques

Guiding Liu Fazhen

Warning Huang Ruogu

Meeting Xu Shenweng and chatting for a while

Transforming Guan Zhao

Teasing the Daoist association

Instructing Ning Wei

Inscribing twenty characters on a stone

Visiting Master Xue, an alchemist who cultivates Daoist arts

Guiding the Three Xiangs, helping them advance in Daoist cultivation and attain liberation

Guiding Chongyang, Wang Chongyang

Traveling to White Cloud Hall

Meeting cranes on Mount Qingcheng

At a restaurant in Fuzhou

Admonishing Qiao Shou

Traveling to Huating

Traveling to Jiangling

Playing chess with Wang of Yuezhou

Guiding Lu You and the scholar Song

Traveling to Yongfeng

Admonishing the jinshi graduate Cui

Guiding Guangzhen

At the Taiping Temple in Tanzhou

Guiding Lan Qiao together with Cai He

Appearing in the form of an old man wearing a yellow jacket

Inscribing a poem at Golden Goose Temple

Taking Zhang Tiangang into the Siming Mountains

Emperor Shizu of the Yuan issued an edict conferring on Patriarch Lü the title “True Lord of Pure Yang, Expounding the Orthodox Way and Awakening Through Transformation”

Wandering on Mount Heng in the south

Traveling to Qinzhou

At the Taiping Temple in Tanzhou

Guiding Lan Qiao together with Cai He

Appearing in the form of an old man wearing a yellow jacket

Inscribing a poem at Golden Goose Temple

Taking Zhang Tiangang into the Siming Mountains

Emperor Shizu of the Yuan issued an edict conferring on Patriarch Lü the title “True Lord of Pure Yang, Expounding the Orthodox Way and Awakening Through Transformation”

Wandering on Mount Heng in the south

Traveling to Qinzhou

Traveling to Chengdu

Traveling to the Daoist temple in Jiangzhou

Admonishing Jia Sidao

Four accounts of an immortal’s deeds

Volume Five (eighty-nine years in the Yuan dynasty)

Guiding the monk Fang Miao

Visiting Hao Tianting

Conferring the additional title of Fuyou Emperor-Lord on Patriarch Lü

A lingzhi mushroom growing from his hand

The Nine Heavens Investigating Commissioner, a divine being who inspects and gathers reports in the celestial realm

Poems exchanged with Zhang Sanfeng at Lake Dongting

A prescription for treating a festering abscess

Guiding the hermit Lü

Traveling to Mount Jinping

Visiting the lay Buddhist Pu

Volume Six (two hundred seventy-six years and four months in the Ming dynasty)

Jiaqing Tower

The scholar Lu reborn

Guiding Lu Qianxu

Confronting and rebuking Yan Song face-to-face in the Western Park

Treating atrophy

Guiding the Xu family of Guangling and Li Changpeng of Linjiang

Expounding the first eight chapters of the Immortal Scripture

Returning to Linjiang to expound the latter eight chapters of the Immortal Scripture

A poetry gathering at Jiahe

Instructing the scholar Leng

General Chen

Chen Zhongchun obtains medicine

Transmitting the Eight-Chapter Scripture to Zhao Xingcui

Revising the Eight-Chapter Scripture and transmitting it to Fuchengzi

A member of the Tang imperial house was named Li Qiong, styled Baiyu.

Records of Immortals Through Spirit Writing

Notes in the Sand from Spirit Writing

Two Witty Sayings in the Sand from Spirit Writing

Volume Seven (Our Dynasty)

Flying Hand in Hand into the Sky

Passing the Sword to Liu Hai and Inscribing His Name

A Respectful Report to the Immortal

Instructions to Hong Ruogao

Determining Success in the Imperial Examinations

Staying at Yu River and Bringing Down a Crane

Transforming Seven Disciples on Mount Yan

Instructions to Li Liweng

Instructions to Shi Tianji

Xu Tailong Publishes the Later Eight Grades Scripture

Transforming Master Fu

Teaching the Proclamation on Loyalty and Filial Piety

Teaching the Heart-Awakening Scripture

Teaching the Pure Tenuity Three Grades True Scripture at Hensan Palace

Explaining the Fundamental Aim of Chan Buddhism

Teaching the Wondrous Scripture of Joining the Three at Hensan Palace

Attachment to Traces

Transforming Liu Tishu

Transforming Deng Dongyan

Transforming Liu Qingxu

Transforming Huang Yixing

Manifesting at Huji

Leaving an Inscription at a Village School

Immortal Traces at Flying Sword Pavilion

Transforming Chen Derong

Numinous Traces in a Stone Chamber

An Immortal’s Quick Wit

A Poem of Wild Geese in Flight

A Literary Gathering at Hangu

Manifesting at Fengqi Temple

A Voice from Immortal Jujube Pavilion

The Three Characters “Hui Mu Lin”

Immortal Traces at Flying Sword Pavilion

Transforming Chen Derong

Numinous Traces in a Stone Chamber

An Immortal’s Quick Wit

A Poem of Wild Geese in Flight

A Literary Gathering at Hangu

Manifesting at Fengqi Temple

A Voice from Immortal Jujube Pavilion

The Three Characters “Hui Mu Lin” Manifest Again

A Poem from the Yongning Daoist Office

Strange Encounters in the Sea and Mountains, Volume One, recounted by the Qingjiang disciple Huo Xiyue

Preface to the Chronology

Immortals are people who can live forever and endure through the ages. “The waters around Penglai grew shallow” and “the blue sea became fields of mulberry trees” are expressions that evoke the vastness of time. Since the Tang dynasty, Patriarch Lü has lived through 1,049 years. The past stretches far back, and the future is boundless. How could a chronological biography record it all? Yet the events of Patriarch Lü’s life—his birth, his entry into the world, his withdrawal from it, his transcendence, and his remaining among humankind to guide and transform living beings—can all be traced in gazetteers, biographies, and books of immortals dating from the Five Dynasties, the Song dynasties, the Yuan and Ming dynasties, and the Qing dynasty. As a true immortal whose presence has never faded through the ages, he is recorded in each of them. Though his life cannot be documented year by year in full, it can still be set down, as best one can, in a chronological biography. This will bring fresh understanding to those who admire the Patriarch, and show later generations who believe there are no immortals that immortals truly exist; those who believe there is no eternal life that it is attainable; and those who believe immortals cannot endure through the ages that they can. The biography also records the Patriarch’s cultivation of himself, his universal salvation of living beings, his miraculous manifestations, his travels throughout the land, and his establishment of altars and associations and his instruction through Dragon Sand. All these accounts serve to show that he endures in the world.

The Patriarch said, “Though fields of mulberry trees have changed, I remain. Forever I shall be one who transcends the mundane world and comes among humankind.” These words may sound extravagant, but they are no empty boast. With this in mind, I have carefully compiled this chronological biography.

Year of the Earth Tiger, the fourteenth year of the Zhenyuan reign under Emperor Dezong of the Tang dynasty (798 CE)

According to the Imperially Compiled Essentials of the Monthly Ordinances, the Immortal Lü was named Yan and styled Dongbin. He came from Yongle County in Puzhou. He was born at the hour of the Snake on the fourteenth day of the fourth month in the fourteenth year of the Zhenyuan reign. At his birth, an unusual fragrance filled the entire room, and celestial music sounded in the sky. A white crane flew into the bedcurtains, then vanished.

The Xianjian says that Lüzu was the reincarnation of the ancient sage-king Huangtan. Huangtan was a ruler in the Tiji era. After governing the world for 250 years, he relinquished the throne and entered Mount Taibai to cultivate his true nature and attain the Great Dao. In the end, he ranked among the Celestial Immortals.

A Daoist scripture says that the Celestial Lord passed through many kalpas in the Heavenly Palace. On the ninth day of the first month of the first year of the Tianbao era, he attended the Venerable Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning and expounded the alchemical methods of numinous cinnabar to the Perfected Ones of the Ten Directions. Later, by command, he descended into the Lü family of Henan on the fourteenth day of the fourth month of the fourteenth year of the Zhenyuan era, in order to revive the Daoist teachings.

Lüzu’s ancestors had lived for generations in Yongle County, Henan. His great-grandfather, Lü Yanzhi, served as an official in the Tang dynasty and eventually became military governor of Hedong. His grandfather, Lü Wei, ultimately served as Vice Minister of Rites. His four uncles were gentle, kind, respectful, and frugal. His father, Lü Rang, once served as governor of Haizhou, and his mother’s surname was Wang. After Lüzu was born, he was given the childhood name Shaoxian.

From childhood, Lüzu had an extraordinary appearance: a high crown of the head, broad back, sturdy build, and upright waist; greenish eyebrows, bright eyes, a long neck, prominent cheekbones, a high, straight nose, and a complexion pale with a yellowish tinge. At the outer corner of his left eyebrow was a black mole about the size of a chopstick tip, which later turned red. The lines on the soles of his feet faintly resembled the cracks in a turtle shell.

While Lüzu was still an infant in swaddling clothes, Mazu saw him and said, “This child’s bone structure is unusual; he was born no ordinary person. In the future, when you encounter ‘Lu,’ live there; when you see ‘Zhong,’ strike it. Remember these words.”

In the year jimao (799), Lüzu was two; in gengchen (800), he was three; and in xin si (801), he was four. He was gifted from an early age and could recite texts by the age of three or four. He understood that he should be filial to his parents and respect his elder brothers, and his relatives all cherished him.

In the year renwu (802), Lüzu was five.

Guǐwèi (803), age six.

Jiǎshēn (804), age seven.

Shùnzōng’s Yǒngzhēn era, first year, Yǐyǒu (805), age eight.

The Xiānjiàn (Record of Immortals, a Daoist collection of biographies of immortals) records that Lüzu began studying with a teacher at the age of five. For the next three or four years, he studied diligently without pause, reading nearly every kind of ancient book and the works of the various schools of thought. The Běnzhuàn (Biographical Account) says that he was bright and quick-witted in his youth, could memorize ten thousand characters a day, and could compose a piece of writing as soon as he began to speak.

Xiànzōng’s Yuánhé era, first year, Bǐngxū (806), age nine.

Dīnghài (807), age ten.

Wùzǐ (808), age eleven.

Jǐchǒu (809), age twelve.

Gēngyín (810), age thirteen.

Xīnmǎo (811), age fourteen.

Rénchén (812), age fifteen.

Guǐsì (813), age sixteen.

Jiǎwǔ (814), age seventeen.

Yǐwèi (815), age eighteen.

Bǐngshēn (816), age nineteen.

Dīngyǒu (817), age twenty.

That year, Lüzu was twenty. The Xiānjiàn records that when he was twenty, his father arranged for him to marry the daughter of Commandant Liú. As an adult, he stood eight chǐ and two cùn tall, had a pale yellow complexion, smiled often, and had a few small pockmarks on his face. He liked to wear a Huáyáng headcloth, commonly worn by Daoist priests, and a white lánshān, a long robe with a finished edge, tied with a black belt. In appearance, he resembled Zhāng Zǐfáng (Zhāng Liáng) in some respects and the Grand Historian (Sīmǎ Qiān) in others.

An examination of the Yellow Crane Tower in Wǔchāng reveals a plaque there inscribed by one of Lüzu’s descendants many generations later, showing that Lüzu did indeed have descendants. Both the Běnzhuàn and the Xiānjiàn say that he was unmarried at twenty and that his marriage had not yet been settled. This account should not be treated as definitive, and is corrected here.

Wùxū (818), age twenty-one.

Jǐhài (819), age twenty-two.

Gēngzǐ (820), age twenty-three.

Mùzōng’s Chángqìng era, first year, Xī Chǒu (821), age twenty-four.

Rényín (822), age twenty-five.

Guǐmǎo (823), age twenty-six.

The jiachen year (824 CE), age twenty-seven.

The yisi year, first year of the Baoli era under Emperor Jingzong (825 CE), age twenty-eight.

The bingwu year, age twenty-nine.

The dingwei year, first year of the Taihe era under Emperor Wenzong (826 CE), age thirty.

The wushen year (827 CE), age thirty-seven.

The yisi year, first year of the Baoli era under Emperor Jingzong (825 CE), age twenty-eight.

The bingwu year, age twenty-nine.

The dingwei year, first year of the Taihe era under Emperor Wenzong (826 CE), age thirty.

The wushen year (827 CE), age thirty-one.

The jiyou year (828 CE), age thirty-two.

The gengxu year (829 CE), age thirty-three.

The xinhai year (830 CE), age thirty-four.

The renzi year (831 CE), age thirty-five.

The guichou year (834 CE), age thirty-six.

The jiayin year (835 CE), age thirty-seven.

The bingchen year, first year of the Kaicheng era (836 CE), age thirty-nine.

The dingsi year (837 CE), age forty.

The wuwu year (838 CE), age forty-one.

The jiwei year (839 CE), age forty-two.

The gengshen year (840 CE), age forty-three.

The xinyou year, first year of the Huichang era under Emperor Wuzong (841 CE), age forty-four.

The renxu year (842 CE), age forty-five.

The guihai year (843 CE), age forty-six.

That year he was forty-six. His biography records that he sat for the jinshi examinations twice during the Huichang era but failed to pass. The Collected Records of Daoist Connections says that his official career went poorly during the Huichang era; the Mirror of Immortals also records that he went to Chang’an at the age of forty-six. It is only the account that places this event in the second year of the Tianshou era that is incorrect.

The jiazi year (844 CE), age forty-seven.

The yichou year (845 CE), age forty-eight.

The bingyin year (846 CE), age forty-nine.

These three years were the period when, after failing the examinations, he traveled around Jiangzhou.

Record of the Fire Dragon’s Transmission of the Sword (see the Collected Records of Daoist Connections).

During the Huichang era (841–846), Mr. Lü’s official career went poorly, so he traveled through Jiangzhou and came to Mount Lu. There he met the Perfected Fire Dragon, a cultivator from Daoist legend. A disciple of Ge Xiangong, he was surnamed Zheng and named Siyuan, and was known by the title “Little Zhurong.” People called him a divine healer. When someone fell ill, he would draw talismans and recite incantations, and the illness would soon subside. His title was associated with Zhurong, a figure in ancient legend.

Seeing that Lü Zu had a refined and unusual appearance and a mind detached from worldly concerns, the Perfected Fire Dragon taught him formulas for cultivating himself and laying a firm foundation in Neidan (internal alchemy). He also passed on to him the “Heaven-Penetrating Spirit Sword,” a sword method known as the Heavenly Escape Sword Technique. As they parted, he composed this poem:

“Over ten thousand miles, I smite demons; the sword’s light coils like lightning.

Its white-dragon blade wheels through the air, agile in flight.

Once I wielded it to cut down evil spirits.

Now I give it to you, to help sever your troubles.”

He told Lü Zu that he could remain on the mountain and complete the Jade Refining, a stage of Neidan cultivation. Later, wherever he heard a bell ring, he would be able to learn the formulas for Golden Refining. With that, he departed.

On this basis, the account in the Xianjian that Lü Zu first met Master Zhong and only later met the Perfected Fire Dragon is considered incorrect, since the Biography agrees with the account given here. The Record of Strange Events also says that Lü Zu twice failed the jinshi examination during the Huichang era. While traveling on Mount Lu, he met the Perfected Fire Dragon and received the Heavenly Escape Sword Technique; only afterward did he meet Patriarch Zhong and receive instruction in the Great Way of the Golden Elixir. The sequence is clear.

In the first year of the Dazhong era, the Dingmao year (847), Lü Zu was fifty.

At that time, Lü Zu was fifty. At the Wangjiang Pavilion in Jiangzhou, he wrote: “Three times I sat the jinshi examination and failed, so I traveled the rivers and lakes; only at fifty did I begin to attain the Dao.” Some say he sat the examination twice, others three times; both accounts refer to the Huichang era. “At fifty, the Dao began to be attained” refers to the first year of Dazhong; “began to be attained” means that he had only just achieved some initial progress.

The Wuchen year (848): fifty-one.

The Jisi year (849): fifty-two.

At this time, he was fifty-two years old. The Caotang Ziji says: “When I was fifty-two, I had already completed my Neidan (internal alchemy), yet I continued to live as a Confucian scholar. I lodged in people’s homes, moved among ordinary folk, and often traveled around Mount Lu.” Another biography records that he “mingled with the world and earned his living through writing,” meaning that he kept a low profile among ordinary people and supported himself through calligraphy, painting, or writing.

Gengwu (850), age fifty-three

His biography says that at fifty-three he “returned to the ancestral faith at Mount Lu.” “Returning to the ancestral faith” means entering the religious lineage of the immortals; in other words, he was preparing to cultivate the Great Dao at Mount Lu.

Xinwei (851), age fifty-four

Renshen (852), age fifty-five

Guiyou (853), age fifty-six

Jiaxu (854), age fifty-seven

Yihai (855), age fifty-eight

Bingzi (856), age fifty-nine

The Caotang Ziji says: “When I was fifty-nine, I lodged at Mount Lu to rest and recuperate. I went into town to visit my parents, then, once outside, I reclined and roamed among mist and rosy clouds. I read the classics of the three teachings—Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism—and admired the scenery within the gourd. My movements were light and vigorous wherever I went.”

“To make the Dao complete in one’s form” refers to how, by this time, cultivation of the Dao had brought his body and mind to a state of wholeness.

Dingchou (857), age sixty

He traveled to Mount Luofu and wrote a poem for the Daoist priest Luo Fu. The Gangmu records that in the eleventh year of the Dazhong era (857), the emperor, who revered the Way of the immortals, sent an envoy to Mount Luofu to invite the Daoist priest Xuanyuan Ji.

Title: Record of a Visit to the Immortals at Mount Luofu (in the Daoyuan Huilu).

In the eleventh year of the Dazhong era, Lü Zu (Lü Dongbin) traveled to Mount Luofu to visit Xuanyuan Ji. Xuanyuan Ji was a Daoist on Mount Luofu who had received instruction from Tong Jun. He had cultivated in the mountains for several hundred years, yet his appearance had never aged. When Lü Zu arrived, Xuanyuan Ji had just been summoned to court, so Lü Zu traveled alone around the Hengshan area.

He suddenly encountered the immortal Ma Xiang. The two took to each other at once and talked with great pleasure. Ma Xiang’s courtesy name was Ziran, and he was from Yanguan in Hangzhou. He had once met Wei Boyang and received from him the teaching of the Great Dao. In the tenth year of the Dazhong era, Ma Xiang returned home and transformed himself with the aid of a bamboo staff before departing. In the spring of the eleventh year, he ascended in spirit at Zitong in broad daylight. He then went to Mount Luofu, where he met Lü Zu and addressed him as “Great Immortal Elder,” a senior among immortals.

As Xuanyuan Ji returned to the mountain, he passed by the stone bridge and saw two people coming down the steps to greet him in front of the stone tower. One was Ma Ziran, carrying a bamboo staff with a wine gourd hanging from it. The other wore a blue headscarf, a yellow robe, hemp sandals, and a black belt. He carried a precious sword on his back and held a whisk in his hand, with the bearing of a gongcao emissary, a divine official responsible for delivering messages and carrying out tasks. Xuanyuan Ji asked who the visitor was. Ma Ziran answered for him: “Master Lü has the aspiration to transcend the world of dust, and the wish to help save its people.” Xuanyuan Ji listened in amazement and said, “How could I have been so late in meeting him!” The two sat together and spoke heart to heart. When they parted, Lü Zu composed a poem for Xuanyuan Ji as a gift, then departed.

At this time, Lü Zu had not yet met Zhong Zu, Zhongli Quan, who is said to have been Lü Zu’s master. The Xianjian records Ma Ziran as saying, “This is none other than Chunyangzi, the foremost disciple of Perfected Zhengyang.” But this account is mistaken.

There were two people known as “Ma Ziran.” One lived during the Dazhong era of the Tang dynasty; “Ziran” was his courtesy name. The other was a disciple of Liu Haichan, and “Ziran” was his given name. Each wrote Daoist songs containing lines such as “I met Haichan and became his disciple.” Later readers mistakenly took them to be the same person. In fact, Liu Haichan went into hiding when Liu Shouguang, Prince of Yan, proclaimed himself emperor, and attained the Dao during the Later Tang. This was more than seventy years before the Dazhong era. How could Liu Haichan’s grand-disciple have attained the Dao before Liu Haichan had even met Lüzu?

In the year wuyin (858), Lüzu was sixty-one.

He lived quietly in his hometown.

In the first year of Emperor Yizong’s Xiantong era, the year jimao (859), Lüzu was sixty-two.

Lüzu was then sixty-two. The Biographical Account records that he passed the jinshi examination in the early years of the Xiantong era.

The Dream of the Yellow Millet (Collected Records of Daoist Connections)

In the early years of the Xiantong era, Lüzu set out for Chang’an at his parents’ urging to sit for the examinations. As he entered a wine shop, he sighed, “When will I pass, and ease my parents’ hearts? And when will I attain the Dao, and ease my own?”

An old Daoist nearby heard him and asked with a smile, “Young man, do you aspire to leave the world and cultivate the Dao?” The old Daoist wore a blue headcloth and a white robe, had a long beard and clear, refined eyes, and carried a purple staff with a large gourd hanging at his waist. He inscribed a quatrain on the wall:

“Seated or lying down, I always carry a jug of wine;

I keep my eyes from recognizing the imperial capital.

Vast as Heaven and Earth, I have no name or surname;

Carefree among the people, I am a man apart.”

Lüzu was greatly astonished. Seeing the old Daoist’s ancient, unusual appearance and the poem’s free and unrestrained spirit, he clasped his hands and asked his name. The old Daoist replied, “My surname is Zhongli, my given name Quan, and my courtesy name Yunfang.” Lüzu bowed again and invited him to sit.

Zhongli Yunfang said, “You can compose a quatrain too, and let me see it.” Lüzu then wrote beneath his poem:

“Born to a Confucian family in an age of peace,

My official ambitions weigh me down; a commoner’s life feels light.

Who, in this world, would contend for fame and profit…”

After “Who, in this world, would contend for fame and profit,” the original continues with the words “chen shi yu yin yi jue,” whose meaning and connection to the surrounding text are unclear. The surviving sense is roughly that, though born into a Confucian family in peaceful times, the speaker is burdened by the pursuit of an official career and finds the life of a commoner more carefree; he wonders why people in the world should chase fame and profit.

It happened that peace prevailed throughout the land on his birthday. Wearing an official’s robes and cap, he felt constrained; as a commoner, he felt at ease in both body and mind. Who in this world can ever win all the fame and wealth there is to be had? I would rather serve the Jade Emperor and return to Shangqing, the Daoist celestial realm.

Yunfang, the Daoist cultivator Lü Zu had met, read the poem and felt a quiet delight. He and Lü Zu rested together in the inn. Yunfang rose to prepare a meal himself, while Lü Zu, growing drowsy, laid his head on the table and dozed.

In his dream, Lü Zu went to the capital as a candidate for the civil service examinations and passed the jinshi examination. He began as a local official and gradually rose to become a gentleman-in-waiting. He later held prominent posts as an investigative censor, a policy adviser, a secretary in the Central Secretariat, and an academician in the Hanlin Academy. Over the course of his career, he alternately rose and fell, sometimes promoted and sometimes demoted. He married two women from wealthy families in succession; his children had all married, and he had many grandchildren and nieces and nephews. His household was supplied with official robes and insignia, and remained distinguished for nearly forty years. He then served alone as chief minister for ten years, wielding immense power.

Suddenly, convicted of a grave crime, he had his property confiscated, was separated from his wife and children, and was exiled to Lingnan. He lived alone in poverty and misery. One day, on horseback amid wind and snow, he was about to let out a long sigh when he suddenly awoke from his dream. Yunfang smiled beside him and said, “The millet has not yet finished cooking, and you have already dreamed a whole life, as though you had reached the Land of Huaxu, the fabled ideal realm.”

Lü Zu asked in astonishment, “Master, do you know what I dreamed?” Yunfang replied, “You just experienced the rises and falls of official life, and its shifts between honor and disgrace. Yet fifty years passed in the blink of an eye. Why rejoice when you gain, or grieve when you lose? Once awakened, one sees that everything in this world is only a great dream.”

Moved by this, Lü Zu understood that fame and office were illusory. He bowed to Yunfang and said, “You are surely no ordinary person. Teach me the art of escaping the mortal world.” Yunfang declined. “Your natural endowment is not yet mature, and your resolve is not firm enough. To escape the mortal world, you will need to undergo several lifetimes of cultivation.” Lü Zu prostrated himself and pleaded, saying that from this life onward he was willing to cultivate good causes. Yunfang answered, “You still have several years of worldly ties to settle.” With that, he drifted away.

Feeling bereft, Lü Zu had no choice but to sit the spring examinations, which he passed. His name was inscribed on the Wild Goose Pagoda. He could not help laughing. “Have I entered another millet dream? I must not wait until I am on horseback in the wind and snow before I come to my senses.”

In the gengchen year (860), Lü Zu was sixty-three.

At that time, Lü Zu was sixty-three and began his official career. In his own account, he says that in the winter of the second year of Xiantong, he took up the post of magistrate of Dehua County in Jiangzhou.

Year of the Metal Snake (861), age sixty-four

At that time, Lü Zu was sixty-four and serving as an official in Jiangzhou. He met Patriarch Zhongli again—that is, Zhongli Quan, who is said to have taught Lü Dongbin the Dao. Chen Shangyang records that after passing the imperial examinations, Lü Zu was appointed magistrate of Dehua County in Jiangzhou. Later, as he wandered Mount Lu and traveled through the Lishui region, he met Perfected Zhengyang (Zhongli Quan) and received instruction in the Dao.

Record of Entering Zhongnan

The Record of Entering Zhongnan recounts that while serving as magistrate of Dehua County in Jiangzhou, Lü Zu wandered Mount Lu and traveled through the Lishui region, where he met Perfected Zhengyang and received instruction in the Dao.

In the third year of the Xiantong era, Lü Zu served as magistrate of Dehua County in Jiangzhou. In the heat of the sixth lunar month, he went to Mount Lu to escape the summer heat. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a bell, and Zhongzu emerged from the mountain. Lü Zu thought the time had come to seek the Dao, so he asked Zhongzu to guide him on the path ahead. Zhongzu sat with him among the trees, taught him the essentials of Golden Elixir cultivation, and urged him to resign from office, return home, and set out for Mount Zhongnan as soon as possible.

Lü Zu resigned at once and made his travel arrangements, choosing to go and seek instruction in the sixth lunar month. When he reached the first ridge of Mount Zhongnan, he met Zhongzu. Zhongzu said, “You are someone who sincerely seeks the Dao. You have already received the Fire Dragon method, and through its practice you have restored a childlike body. You are now sixty-four. The cyclical Qi of your hexagrams has run its course and returned to Heaven; you have also returned to the pure Yang image of the Qian hexagram. For this reason, you may be called ‘Pure Yang.’” Zhongzu added that from then on Lü Zu would be his companion in the Dao on the mountain. He gave him the name Yan and the courtesy name Dongbin, then encouraged him to build a small hermitage, sit in stillness, and cultivate the Return Elixir.

Lü Zu wanted to alter his method of cultivation according to his own ideas. Three times he attempted to refine the Elixir at the furnace, and three times he failed. He was deeply at a loss. Zhongzu said, “This is because your worldly thoughts have not yet been fully extinguished, and you have not kept the timing of the firing process precise. From now on, you must cultivate your mind in stillness and enter a state of deep tranquility before you can succeed.”

One day, as Lü Zu sat on a couch, he experienced the following scenes in a hazy, profound state:

He returned home from Chang’an and found that all his family members had died of illness. He felt no grief; he simply prepared coffins. Before long, the dead came back to life.

He was selling goods at a market. The buyer and seller agreed on a price, but the buyer suddenly changed his mind and offered only half. Lü Zu did not argue. He left the goods and went home.

A beggar leaned against his gate and asked for money. Lü Zu gave him money and goods. The beggar complained that it was too little, so Lü Zu gave him more. The beggar then complained that he had been too slow and insulted him. Lü Zu continued to treat him courteously. The beggar laughed and left.

While tending sheep in the mountains, he encountered a tiger. Lü Zu stood among the flock. The tiger looked at him as though it would rather prey on a person than harm the sheep. Knowing he might not escape, Lü Zu walked straight toward the tiger and faced it. The tiger let him go.

Later, he lived in a thatched hut deep in the mountains and read.

Soon afterward, a young woman appeared, about seventeen or eighteen years old, with striking and captivating features. She was dressed with great elegance and beauty. Glancing sidelong at Lü Zu, she seemed consumed by desire for beauty and contemptuous of everything else. Lü Zu knew there was no avoiding this trial, so he went straight up to face her. The woman vanished at once.

As Lü Zu was reading in a thatched hut deep in the mountains, a young woman of about seventeen or eighteen, exceptionally beautiful and finely made up, suddenly appeared. She said she had lost her way while returning to her parents’ home for a visit and asked to rest there for a while. That night, she pressed him to share her bed, but Lü Zu remained unmoved.

When Lü Zu returned home from an outing to the countryside, he found that thieves had carried off everything in the house. He was left with scarcely enough to get by, yet felt not the slightest resentment or anger. He cultivated the land himself to support his needs. While hoeing, he uncovered dozens of gold ingots, which he immediately buried again without taking any.

He also bought an old bronze inkstone at the market. After taking it home and polishing it, he discovered that it was actually made of gold. He at once sought out its original owner and returned it.

In the city, an eccentric Daoist priest was selling medicine, claiming that anyone who took it would die immediately. The medicine remained unsold for more than ten days. Lü Zu found this strange, so he bought a dose and took it home. He remained perfectly unharmed.

In spring, the river swelled. Lü Zu hired a boat to cross it. When they reached midstream, winds and waves surged, but he sat upright in the boat without stirring and came through safely.

While alone in his room, Lü Zu saw countless strange-looking ghosts and spirits. Some tried to beat him; others tried to kill him, but he showed no fear. Then several dozen yakshas brought in a prisoner whose body was covered in bloody wounds. Weeping, the prisoner cried, “You killed me in a past life. Pay for it with your life!” Lü Zu replied, “A life for a life—what grounds have I to refuse?” He then looked for a knife and a rope, intending to take his own life. Suddenly, a voice from the sky shouted, and all the ghosts and spirits vanished.

Yunfang clapped his hands and came out, saying, “The desires of ordinary people are hard to overcome, and those with the makings of an immortal are hard to find. I seek worthy people more eagerly than people seek me. I see that your resolve is firm: you have faced demonic trials ten times and never been overcome by them. You will surely attain the Dao. Yet your merits and cultivation are not yet complete. I will teach you the secret arts of yellow and white—that is, techniques for refining gold and silver—which you can use to aid the people and benefit all living beings.”

Before Lü Zu’s merit was complete, Yunfang told him, “When I have completed three thousand meritorious deeds and eight hundred virtuous acts, I will come to guide you.” Lü Zu asked, “Will the Geng-Xin substance refined through alchemy—the metal or elixir obtained through the process—ever change?” Yunfang replied, “After three thousand years, it will return to its original nature.” Hearing this, Lü Zu looked sorrowful and said, “That would bring harm to people three thousand years from now. I do not wish to do it.”

Yunfang smiled and said, “To infer this from the matter at hand is already to encompass all three thousand meritorious deeds and eight hundred virtuous acts.” He then recounted how he had renounced the world to cultivate the Dao and attained the Way. He also said that he had once received a charge from Perfected Lord Kuzhu, a Daoist immortal: in the future, he would meet someone whose name contained two instances of the character “mouth,” and that person would be his disciple. If he found this person, he was to teach him the Sun-Moon Intermingling Method, a Neidan term for a practice in which the Yin and Yang of the sun and moon unite. Looking closely at Lü Zu’s surname, Yunfang now saw that it indeed matched Perfected Lord Kuzhu’s prophecy. “You have come to Mount Zhongnan,” Yunfang said, “but have yet to enter the wondrous realm. I dwell at Crane Peak. Will you come with me?”

Lü Zu followed Yunfang at once. That night, the stars and moon shone together, and all around them was silent and deserted. Yunfang took Lü Zu by the hand and they set out. After only a few steps, it seemed as if they were riding swift horses across mountains and rivers; in an instant, they had arrived at the cave dwelling. Its southern gate was locked. Yunfang struck it with his iron staff, and the gate suddenly opened by itself, revealing a spacious and radiant interior.

They climbed to a high peak and came to the eastern entrance of a great cavern. Two tigers crouched guard before the gate. Yunfang rebuked them, and they lay motionless on the ground. He led Lü Zu into the cavern. There they saw golden towers and jade terraces, rare birds and unusual flowers, all dazzling in their brilliance. The air was warm as spring. The two sat on a rugged boulder and drank three cups of Yuanhe wine.

Before long, a blue-robed attendant arrived, his hair arranged in two topknots with golden bells fastened to them. He wore a red skirt, green sleeves, cloud-patterned shoes, and jade ornaments. A strange fragrance emanated from him, and he held a letter written in gold. “The assembled immortals are gathered at the Upper Palace of Penglai,” he said. “They invite you, sir, to attend a meeting at the Celestial Pool to discuss the spiritual excursion of the True Lord of the Five Origins.” Yunfang prepared to leave. Afraid that he would not return, Lü Zu composed a poem to see him off.

Lü Zu sighed: “It is rare to have another chance to meet someone of such profound virtue as you. I have also heard that you are heading east to the Immortal Altar. A jug of wine hangs from your staff, and spring seems to travel with the wine; on your head you wear a crown formed from clouds of five colors.

“The one who drinks like a sea turtle is unknown to ordinary people. His skill in burning talismans and commanding the mountains and forests would make even ghosts and spirits tremble. Once you have gone, I fear I will slowly grow old. Please bestow on this impoverished scholar a ‘Bone-Transforming Elixir’—a Daoist legendary elixir said to remake the body and lead one beyond the ordinary into the Dao.”

Yunfang said, “For now, just stay here. I will return before long.” With that, he faced southeast and departed upon a purple cloud. Lü Zu took out the plain book Yunfang had given him, unfolded it, and read and recited it again and again. Ten days later, Yunfang returned and asked, “Living here alone in peace and quiet, don’t you long to go home?” Lü Zu replied, “Now that I have set my mind on cultivating the Dao, how could I still yearn for my hometown?”

Yunfang said, “Very good. I will transmit to you the method of the Nine-Turn Golden Liquid Great Reversion Elixir. The Dao holds the mystery of Yin-Yang transformation: if you guard only Yin, you are guarding only the Po soul; if you guard only Yang, you are guarding only the Hun soul. When the Hun and Po come together and Yin and Yang meet, one is called a perfected person.”

Lü Zu asked, “The Hun and Po are hidden and hard to fathom, and the ultimate principles within them are exceedingly profound. How can I grasp them fully?” Yunfang replied, “Wisdom appears in what is subtle and hidden; the body and mind grow settled, and the spirit becomes tranquil. Once Shen and Qi have merged, how could they fail to unite with the true Dao? A body of gold and a substance like jade come originally from sincere and devoted cultivation. When the Great Elixir is complete, the body becomes light and agile, as if able to fly.”

Lü Zu then asked about the use and increase or decrease of Heaven and Earth, the sun and moon, the four seasons, the Five Phases, water and fire, the Dragon and Tiger, and lead and mercury. He also asked about methods of cultivation such as the inner contemplation of the River Chariot, as well as the Ten Demons and Nine Tribulations. Yunfang transmitted to him the highest and most subtle formulas, explaining each one clearly and in detail.

Lü Zu next asked what signs would appear during cultivation. Yunfang said, “At first, lustful and improper thoughts gradually cease, while one also cultivates one’s outward conduct. When gathering the medicinal substance, the Golden Essence fills and flourishes, and the Yin Po dissolves. Then true Qi becomes abundant in the heart, and sweet fluid forms in the mouth. Next, Yin and Yang energies intermingle, and the abdomen rumbles like thunder. After that, the Hun and Po are still unsettled, and one may be startled and restless in sleep. Sometimes slight illnesses also arise, but they heal on their own without treatment. Later, the Dantian grows warm at night, and by day the body and Shen feel refreshed. Even in a dark room, divine light appears of its own accord. It is as though one were cradling an infant while ascending to the Golden Palace, the celestial palace spoken of in Daoism. Then comes a sound like a clap of thunder; the joints open freely, and one breaks out in a sudden sweat. The Jade Liquid is cooked and refined until it congeals like cream and scatters like snowflakes. Some accounts also say that blood turns into milk, that one gradually comes to loathe strong-smelling foods, and that the worldly body grows light and nimble, gradually transforming into a substance of gold.”

Some practitioners find that the sweat on their bodies congeals into a soft, buttery substance and falls like snowflakes. Some say their blood turns to milk, so that they gradually lose their taste for pungent, gamey foods. Others say their mortal bodies grow light, then gradually become as firm as gold and jade. Next, they move as swiftly as a galloping horse, remain unmoved by the world around them, and can heal illnesses by breathing on them. Inwardly, their minds and spirits become clear and bright, and their eyes grow dark and glossy as lacquer. Their hair grows back, their true Qi becomes abundant, and they often feel no hunger. They eat little but can drink a great deal of wine. Their bodies take on a sheen, and their Jing and Qi appear refined and clear. Strange scents arise in the mouth, and a fragrant aroma comes from the nose. Their sight reaches far into the distance, and scars fade. Tears, mucus, saliva, and sweat no longer flow, and the Three Corpses and Nine Worms—all turbid, harmful entities said in Daoism to dwell in the human body and damage mind and body—are completely expelled.

Afterward, their inner aspirations become lofty, while the world within appears still and luminous. Worldly desires subside, and both mind and surroundings return to emptiness and stillness. The Hun and Po no longer wander, and dreams gradually grow fewer. Their spirit grows strong and their true Qi gathers, day and night alike. Yang essence condenses into form, and the Numinous Palace—the inner dwelling place of the spirit—becomes secure. Neither cold nor heat can trouble them, and neither life nor death can hold them back. Their breath and exhalations can dry external mercury, a term in alchemy referring to mercury or related substances used in Waidan. Divine light often appears whether they are sitting or lying down.

While sitting in stillness, they often hear celestial music, clear and penetrating, like a concert of bells, stone chimes, strings, and bamboo flutes—sounds rarely heard in the human world. During inward contemplation, they seem to travel through the realm of Huaxu and see splendid towers, terraces, and halls—sights rarely found in the human world. Next, they come to find ordinary people foul and rank, see inner deities manifest, and see outer deities come to pay homage. When their cultivation and merits are complete and their Dao practice accomplished, they receive a heavenly mandate and talismans and registers. Purple clouds fill their vision, and golden light envelops their bodies. At times, they see red dragons soar and dark cranes dance, while colored clouds circle around them and auspicious Qi appears in abundance. Celestial flowers drift down from the sky, and divine maidens descend. They pass from the ordinary into the sacred and roam in freedom. This is the moment when a great man’s work is accomplished and his name made.

Lü Dongbin was delighted to hear this. Yunfang then passed on to him a book called The Mirror of Compounding the Medicine and said, “If you obtain this book…”

“So the methods for controlling the fire in gathering the medicine and refining the elixir are now clear to me.” Patriarch Lü asked, “Who wrote this?” Yunfang replied, “It was written by Cui Gong, whose given name was Wang. His rank in the realm of the immortals is already high; he is the Perfected One of the Mysterious Origin.” After reading it, Patriarch Lü exclaimed, “Having read Cui Gong’s Mirror for Entering the Medicine, I understand much more clearly.”

Yunfang said, “At first, on a stone wall in Zhongnan Mountain, I found three sections of the Lingbao Scripture: the upper section, called the Golden Writ of the Primordial Beginning; the middle section, called the Jade Register of the Primordial Sovereign; and the lower section, called the True Meaning of the Great One’s Primordial Origin. Together they comprised several thousand scrolls. I selected their essential teachings and compiled them as the Complete Methods of the Lingbao, dividing the work into three vehicles, six principles, and sixteen subjects. It explains how Yin contains Yang and Yang contains Yin, and how the Qi of Heaven and Earth rises and falls; how water arises from Qi and Qi from water; and how the heart and kidneys join. It uses the Eight Trigrams (Bagua) in coordination with the twelve double-hours to set the process in motion, with the key lying at Gen, one of the trigrams, which represents the northeast and stillness. It also explains how the three fields—the upper, middle, and lower Dantian—transform one another in a cycle, with the key lying in the Niwan, the upper Dantian in the head. As for the methods for beginning cultivation, for now I use swallowing Qi and swallowing saliva as metaphors. The true instructions for the true Qi must be passed from master to disciple by word of mouth; they are not found in writing.”

Yunfang then showed Patriarch Lü several pellets of divine elixir and said, “These are not elixirs made by refining earthly metals and minerals. They are compounded from wondrous treasures. They have substance but no fixed form: like clouds, fire, light, or shadow, they can be seen but not grasped. Once taken, they unite with a person’s consciousness and spirit, making the person light and subtle; they are not elixirs of material form. When your work with liquid gold is complete—that is, when your Neidan cultivation has succeeded—you too must refine such an elixir and carry it with you. Only then will you be able to animate dry bones and save those with a destined connection, allowing even the illiterate to transcend, and rescuing your nine generations of kin from the bitter sea of worldly suffering.”

Yunfang then gave him this poem:

“I knew you possessed an extraordinary spiritual nature, and so I made your mind and spirit wander, leading you into the realm of cultivation. The Crystal Palace above the Hanyuan Hall clearly points the way to the immortal’s dwelling.

When a great man encounters the true secret, he must hold fast to it with steadfast resolve. The Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) naturally work together to condense the Golden Elixir; within it lies the secret of reversing the tortoise and serpent.”

The Three Corpse Spirits—beings that Daoism holds dwell within the human body, record one’s faults, and obstruct cultivation—must be eliminated completely. In cultivation, one must understand the secrets of advancing and withdrawing through the Six Jia (methods connected with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, the times and days, and ritual practice), firmly preserve the oral instructions, and remain resolute. When the Five Phases come into harmony, the knife-and-gourd vessel—a symbol of the Inner Elixir in Daoist cultivation—will naturally be refined. There is also a secret method of reversing the positions of the turtle and snake.

The Three Corpse Spirits must be eliminated completely. Understand the hidden principles of advancing and withdrawing through the Six Jia, along with these three essentials, and you will bring the myriad spirits into submission, command the Fire Dragon, and depart from the Nine Palaces of Heaven.

After cultivation through nine cycles of nine, on the day you attain perfection, the Three Realms and Four Courts—the various celestial realms and divine offices described in Daoism—will hold a ceremony to welcome you into the celestial assembly. At that moment, Qi will soar and your divine might will shine forth. Penglai will be my dwelling place.

The immortals gather for feasts, and celestial music resounds. Two immortal youths lead me, a traveler ascending to the mystic heights, into the immortal realm. Because your Dao-hearted resolve is firm and you have never turned back, I have passed these methods on to you. We made a solemn vow, and I personally wept as I spoke to you.

When you meet others, do not casually reveal these methods. Even when you meet a close Daoist companion, do not pass them on lightly. Do not resent my repeated warnings: those who treat these teachings with contempt will surely face punishment in the underworld.

As we clasp hands and part, what does my heart feel? Today I have specially composed another song for you. Even if I explain every kind of profound teaching, I cannot know whether you believe me.

I have carefully and clearly entrusted all this to you. Treasure and safeguard my teachings, and you will ascend to Daluo, the highest celestial realm in Daoism.

After listening, Lü Zu suddenly gained a clear perspective on worldly affairs. He then asked about the teachings of the “Three Origins, Three Pure Ones, Three Treasures, and Three Mirrors.”

Yunfang said, “The first Origin is called the Great Origin of Chaos and Emptiness. From it came the Heavenly Treasure Lord, who presides over the Qingwei Heaven Palace in the Jade Clarity realm, where the Qi appears blue. The second Origin is called the Great Origin of Red Chaos. From it came the Numinous Treasure Lord, who presides over the Yuyu Heaven Palace in the Highest Clarity realm, where the Qi appears dark yellow. The third Origin is called the Origin of Mysterious Communion in Stillness. From it came the Divine Treasure Lord, who presides over the Dachi Heaven Palace in the Great Clarity realm, where the Qi appears dark white. The Scripture on the Life-Giving Qi of the Nine Heavens says that although the three revered deities have different titles, they share the same source. Each deity presides over one of the Three Teachings, yet their Qi flows through a common lineage. They are therefore also the revered masters of the Three Caverns, the three systems of Daoist scriptures.”

As the transmission was coming to an end, someone suddenly knocked at the door. When it was opened, two men arrived, their bodies seeming to gather a radiance of gold and emerald. They exchanged greetings and sat down together. The visitors were Zheng Siyuan of Qingxi and Shi Hufu of Taihua.

Zheng Siyuan said, “I had just gone to congratulate the perfected man Yin Siyi on completing his alchemical work, and took the opportunity to visit this immortal dwelling.” Shi Hufu asked, “Who is this attendant?”

Yunfang replied, “He is the son of Lü, the governor of Haizhou in our dynasty. In his youth he studied the Confucian classics; he was naturally gifted, with a keen and perceptive mind. During the Dazhong era, he met Master Zheng, who taught him the Jade Fluid Return Elixir and the Celestial Escape Sword Method. Later, he encountered me in a wine shop in Chang’an. With sincere devotion to the Dao, he began to understand the transformations of Yin-Yang, the refining of body and spirit, and the mysteries of entering the Dao.”

Shi Hufu smiled and said, “Have both our teachers received such an outstanding disciple?” Zheng Siyuan replied solemnly, “He is a true disciple of Master Yunfang. We should join together to help him complete his cultivation.” Shi Hufu, too, grew reverent and said, “His features are refined, his spirit intent, his gaze bright, and his Jing held within. Since you wish to escape the nets of the mundane world, you may write us a poem.” With that, he handed over a gold-tubed brush, rosy clouds paper, and a rhinoceros-glue inkstone. Lü Zu at once offered this poem:

After countless rebirths, I have at last arrived in this life. Only now do I understand that this body was not easily attained. So I left behind my home and my native land and went into the cloud-veiled mountains, refining and nurturing my soul until it joined with the essences of the sun and moon.

At that time, I heard a perfected one—a person of profound cultivation—speak of the Nine Cauldrons, an important term in Neidan cultivation. To seek the Great Medicine, the essence sought through internal alchemy, I went to pay a visit to the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the highest deities revered in Daoism. Now I have had the good fortune to meet a high perfected one, and to leave my name at the immortal gate of the Purple Mansion, the dwelling place of immortals.

The two immortals praised the clarity of my talent. Each gave me a secret method, and then they parted. Spring birds were chirping at the time. Yunfang inscribed this poem at the cave entrance:

Spring chill fills the sky, and dewdrops fall from the flowers;

The morning sun shines over the sea, as clouds gather among the mountains.

He then said to Patriarch Lü: “At the appointed time, I must go to pay homage to the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. The feathered guests of the Ten Isles will travel to the Jade Capital, the dwelling place of the Celestial Emperor, to report that my cultivation has reached the rank that qualifies me for ascension to immortality. I fear you cannot remain in this cave for long. In ten years, we shall meet at Lake Dongting.” With that, he took up his brush and wrote in cursive on the cave wall:

The sun shines bright in the day; the full moon glows clear at night;

Yin-Yang joins with the hun and po souls, blending together as they rise to heaven.

Before long, two immortals appeared, dressed in light garments like colored clouds and holding golden tablets and treasured talismans. They announced: “By imperial decree, Zhongli Quan is appointed Envoy of the Golden Palace of the Nine Heavens, charged with selecting immortals.” After accepting the decree, Yunfang said to Dongbin: “Remain in the human world and accumulate merit. In time, you too will be like me.” Dongbin replied: “My aspirations differ from yours, Master. I must deliver all living beings before I am willing to ascend to the higher realms.”

At that moment, phoenixes soared and immortal cranes danced. The banners of the procession were splendid, and the immortal music rang clear. Yunfang and the two immortals bearing the decree gradually departed on clouds.

Renwu (862), age sixty-five

While living quietly at Crane Peak, I thought of Master Fire Dragon and Master Zhongli, and wrote a poem.

Guiwei (863), age sixty-six

Jiashen (864), age sixty-seven

The thatched hut’s record says: “The year after Patriarch Zhongli departed, I lived in the Zhongnan Mountains, devoting myself to cultivating the Golden Liquid Great Elixir, the elixir sought through Daoist Neidan practice. The work of refining the elixir through nine cycles was complete; after ten months, my Shen and Qi were perfected. In my leisure, I took the wondrous Dao of the Golden Elixir and rendered it in verse. This was the sixth year of Xiantong, the Jiashen year.”

Yiyou (865), age sixty-eight

I lived in the Zhongnan Mountains, devoting myself to cultivating the Golden Elixir, or internal alchemy as Daoists call it. After completing the practice of the “Nine Returns,” my cultivation was fulfilled, and ten months later my spirit and Qi were fully replenished. In my spare time, I set down the wondrous Way of the Golden Elixir in verse. It was the sixth year of Xiantong, the year Jia-Shen.

Year Yi-You (865 CE), age sixty-eight.

On the visit to Mount Huanglong, the Collected Records of Daoist Encounters says: In the seventh year of Xiantong, Lu Zu had completed refining his Golden Elixir and could not help feeling pleased with himself. He continued traveling through Mount Lu and came to Mount Huanglong. Just then, Chan Master Huiji took his seat to teach the Dharma, and Lu Zu climbed into the Leigu Hall to listen.

The Chan master asked who was listening below. Lu Zu replied, “A wandering Daoist, traveling wherever the clouds and waters take him.” The master asked, “When the clouds have dispersed and the waters run dry, what remains?” Lu Zu answered, “It truly makes one sigh for the monk.” The master said, “The Yellow Dragon has appeared.” Lu Zu replied, “I’ll cut it down with my flying sword.” The master laughed aloud. “Ah, this matter cannot be settled by verbal argument.”

The master then asked about Lu Zu’s attainments. Lu Zu replied, “A whole world is hidden within a grain of rice; mountains and rivers are cooked in a half-pint pot.” The master said, “That is nothing more than a ghost clinging to its corpse.” Lu Zu said, “Even so, I carry the medicine of immortality in my bag. How could I know that I differ from the Buddha’s Dharma?”

Pointing to his iron staff, the master said, “Even after thousands upon thousands of kalpas, you will still fall into emptiness.” At this, Lu Zu suddenly awakened and left behind a verse:

“Set down the travel bag; smash the zither. The Way of the Great Elixir is more than gold in water. Since first meeting the Yellow Dragon, I have urged ordinary people to seek with all their hearts.”

Then Lu Zu bowed again and again, took his leave, and departed.

According to the Wudeng Huiyuan, Perfected Lü once visited Guizong Temple on Mount Lu. Not long afterward, he passed by Mount Huanglong, where Chan Master Huanglong happened to be teaching from the platform. Perfected Lü asked, “A whole world is hidden inside a grain of rice, and mountains and rivers are cooked in a half-pint pot. What does this mean?” Huanglong pointed at him and said, “You’re a ghost who cares only for guarding your fleshly body.” Perfected Lü replied, “But I have the medicine of long life and immortality hidden within me. How can I know whether it differs from the Buddha’s teaching?” Huanglong answered, “Even if you lived through eighty thousand kalpas, in the end you would still fall into nothingness.” Perfected Lü suddenly understood. He bowed again to Huanglong and asked to be shown the path of returning to the Real; at once, he grasped Huanglong’s meaning.

The Xianfo Tongyuan says that Chan Master Huanglong, who guided Perfected Lü, was the incarnation of Xia Huanggong, one of the Four Elders of Shangshan. He first led Patriarch Zhongli to meet Emperor Donghua, Wang Xuanfu. Later, he took up residence at Huanglong Temple on Mount Lu, where he set his bow and arrow and waited for Perfected Lü to arrive. His compassionate intentions ran deep. Huanglong gave Perfected Lü much insight, and Lü gained greatly from him. By transmitting his lineage to Lü, Huanglong enabled him to gather the strengths of many schools and ultimately reach a wondrous, transformative state. The impact of this transmission was by no means slight.

Visiting Mount Pingdu (Collected Records of Daoist Encounters)

During the Xiantong era of Emperor Yizong of the Tang, Perfected Lü traveled from Mount Huanglong in Nankang toward Hunan. He visited the area around Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake, then went from Chu into Shu. Hearing that Fang Ping and Yin Changsheng often stayed on Mount Pingdu, he went to visit them, but did not meet them. He therefore continued on to Mount Qingcheng. Later, when he passed by Mount Pingdu again, Fang Ping saw him and exclaimed, “You are a patriarch among the immortals!” The two were very much in accord. It was the year Yiyou.

On the morning of the Zhongyuan Festival in the seventh month, as he was taking his leave, Perfected Lü inscribed this poem on a wall:

“On the morning of the Ullambana Festival, I passed through Pingdu;

Among the famous mountains under heaven, none surpasses this one.

Each of the two men travels alone, unrecognized by the world;

In the immortal halls of Wang and Yin, all is especially serene and numinous.”

He also inscribed:

“At the cry of a crane, a white crane flew out from Mount Qingcheng;

Once more I paid a visit to my friends Wang and Yin.

My heart dwells only on the joys of the Three Isles;

In the blink of an eye, the spring light of Dongting has swept past.”

The old gazetteer of Wuyang records that during the Xiantong era of the Tang dynasty, a master named Lü came to tour the Jin River. He often rested in cliffside caves and would stay inside for several days at a time. When people visited the places where he had stayed, they found only his clothes, hat, and straw sandals left on the ground; no one knew where he had gone. Lü Zu wrote in a poem, “I once shed my cicada shell by the Jin River.” Perhaps he was referring to this incident.

In the bingxu year (866), Lü Zu was sixty-nine; in the dinghai year (867), seventy; in the wuzi year (868), seventy-one; in the jichou year (869), seventy-two; and in the gengyin year (870), seventy-three.

These five years were a time when Lü Zu’s miraculous powers and achievements reached their height and his Daoist cultivation attained great profundity. The Record Written at the Thatched Hall says: “During the Xiantong era, I received revelations from the Yellow Dragon and continued to deepen my practice of the profound arts. I ascended Mount Yiwu in the north and brought to completion the Great Way of returning to emptiness. From then on, my spirit and Qi filled the Great Void, my powers extended throughout the worlds as numerous as the sands—a term in Buddhist and Daoist texts for the vast cosmos—and my vow to save all living beings knew no bounds.” This account comes from the Gazetteer of Jinzhou.

Immortal Rock is on Mount Yiwu, northeast of the Beizhen Temple. There stands a solitary, towering rock, with a sacred image of Lü Zu carved into its face. It is also called Lord Lü’s Rock. It seems likely that this was where Lü Zu cultivated his spirit and practiced the Dao.

End of Volume One.

Marvelous Encounters in the Sea and Mountains, Volume Two. Narrated by Huoxiyue, a disciple of Qingjiang Shang.

Preface.

The ancient immortals said, “First deliver yourself, then deliver others. Only after you have completed your own cultivation can you help other people.”

By the age of seventy-three, Lüzu had attained the Great Dao and completed his own deliverance. Thereafter he lived long and saw far, enduring through countless kalpas. His age need not be recorded year by year; at the end of each dynasty, it is enough to note simply, “so many years of age,” omitting it elsewhere. Matters such as the sexagenary dates of each dynasty, changes of era name, and succession to the throne, however, should be recorded clearly and in order.

This account of Lüzu’s wondrous traces as he delivered people and aided the world makes it possible to record events according to their times, and allows different chronological biographies to corroborate and supplement one another. Lüzu traveled and manifested transformations; wherever he went, some attained the Dao and others awakened to understanding. His footprints reached across mountains and seas. These deeds and the people connected with them have been passed down together—a truly wondrous encounter. That is why the book is titled Chronological Biography of Lüzu: Strange Encounters amid Seas and Mountains.

The contents include: Delivering Immortal Liu; Delivering Zhang Ci; Delivering the Earth Immortal Shi Jianwu; Map of the Four Seas; Delivering Chen Jiqing; Delivering the monk Huaiyi; Delivering the Earth Immortal Han Bai; Delivering He Xiangu; Delivering the Earth Immortal Li Qi; The Dream at Handan; Delivering Lu Sheng; Delivering Niu Sheng; “On the Five Dynasties,” by Xiahou Sheng; Delivering Rao Tingzhi; Delivering Ma Xiangu; Delivering Lan Caihe together with Patriarch Zhong; Delivering Liu Haichan and He Yiyang; Delivering Geng Xiangu; Delivering Huang Chengxu; The Shepherd Boy Composes a Poem; Lament for Southern Tang; Transforming into a Tea Shop Woman; Delivering Qiao Erlang; Delivering Liu Fang; Speaking of Magu; Transforming into the Heavenly Consort and Recording an Immortal’s Deeds; and six further accounts.

Delivering Immortal Liu (see Collected Records of Daoist Connections)

Liu Xian originally had the surname Guo and came from the same hometown as Lü Zu. He lost his parents in childhood and had no one to rely on. Taking pity on him, Lord Haizhou adopted him and named him “Jier,” meaning a child entrusted to the Guo family and fostered there. As a boy, Jier studied alongside Lü Zu. Naturally bright, he learned to read quickly.

After attaining the Dao, Lü Zu returned to his hometown to sweep and make offerings at his ancestral graves. When he reached Puyin Village in the southern suburbs, he happened to see Guo Jier making offerings before a deserted grave. Moved by Jier’s kind heart and mindful that he was now advanced in years, Lü Zu gave him an elixir he had refined. Jier immediately felt clear and refreshed in spirit, and his body began to change.

Lü Zu then spoke before the grave, burned incense, and bowed, saying, “May I guide all those with whom I have a destined connection, so that even the nine generations of my kin may ascend together to the upper realm.” Afterward, he returned home to see his wife and children. As he was leaving, he told them, “For now, live in peace. We will meet again in the future.” With that, he departed with Guo Jier.

All his life, Guo Jier loved planting willow trees. He called himself “Liu Qing,” and also used the name “Qingqingzi.” Though advanced in years, he remained strong and healthy. People called him “Liu Xian,” or “Old Tree Spirit,” and gradually forgot that his original surname was Guo. Lü Zu therefore changed his surname to Liu and gave him the name Qi. He also composed a playful poem about him: “What a venerable old tree spirit from the southern town—he clearly knows when immortals pass by.” The poem alludes to his great age and the wisdom he had gained.

Liu Xian recorded his own account: “Some people believe that I was a willow tree spirit who cultivated the Dao and became an immortal. This is a profound misunderstanding. The scriptures say that it is rare to obtain a human body, rare to be born in the Central Land, and rare to meet a true teacher. Lü Zu also said that only after countless kalpas and lifetimes can one obtain a human body; one should understand that this is a karmic connection planted in a former life. How could plants, trees, birds, or beasts cultivate the Dao and attain it? My surname was Guo, and I loved planting willows, so I called myself Liu Qing. Because I lived a long life and remained strong and healthy, people called me Liu Xian.”

The Xianjian records: “When Lü Zu reached the southern suburbs, he saw a person sitting beneath a willow tree…”

The Xianjian says that Lü Zu came to the southern suburbs and saw a man sitting beneath a willow tree. He asked where the man had come from. The man had once been a young servant boy named Ji’er. After his master’s household fell into ruin, he hanged himself from the willow tree. A fragment of his spirit-consciousness still lingered and often took visible form. Lü Zu gently guided him and gave him a refined elixir to swallow, changing his appearance from something like an evil spirit’s. Lü Zu set him to tend the alchemical furnace and prepare meals, calling him “Guo at the Stove.” This account is mistaken; see the Biography of Immortal Guo below for details.

Rescuing Zhang Ci (Collected Records of Daoist Encounters)

In the early Xiantong era, Zhang Ci failed the jinshi examination. He then traveled around the Jianghuai region, wandering for several years. Later, he met Lü Zu and learned the arts of the Dao. He often cultivated his Qi and practiced grain avoidance—that is, regulating his breath and abstaining from the grains. He enjoyed drinking wine and playing chess, and lived at ease, free from constraint.

One day, he arrived in Yancheng. A band of ruffians took advantage of his drunkenness, challenged him to a test of strength, and eventually tied him up. When Zhang Ci sobered, he wrote two poems, “Praising Virtue” and “Setting Forth My Circumstances,” and presented them to the county magistrate.

The poem “Praising Virtue” reads:

“The family’s traditions have always been fragrant as orchids;

For generations, its distinguished line has borne the title of a hegemonic state.

His quiet bearing is like autumn moonlight suspended in the sky;

His renown in letters resounds like the waves of the sea.

Though the public hall is quiet, he diligently tends to affairs of state;

In the prefectural offices, why not raise a cup and drink?

The water flowing today beneath Dongjian Bridge

Will from now on remain clear for a long time.”

After reading the poem, the magistrate judged Zhang Ci to be a refined and virtuous man, and asked him about the essentials of cultivating the Dao. Zhang Ci answered in verse: “The magistrate governs a great city, yet amid his many duties can still enjoy wine in the prefectural offices. The water beneath Dongjian Bridge today will remain clear for a long time.” Through the poem, he praised the magistrate’s capable governance and the peace it brought the people.

Zhang Ci recognized that the magistrate was a refined and virtuous man, and asked him about the fundamental essentials of cultivating the Dao. Zhang Ci replied that the magistrate was then governing a great city and had no time to devote himself to the mysterious Dao. He offered no further explanation, but wrote a poem by Lü Zu to prompt the magistrate’s understanding:

“Why rely on outside connections to seek the way?

The path to longevity must be cultivated within oneself.

Do not say the Great Dao is hard to attain;

It is only that your own practice has not been sustained to the end.”

The magistrate bowed in reverence to these words.

Later, as Zhang Ci was about to part from the magistrate, he casually recited:

“Zhang Ci, Zhang Ci—the world does not understand you.

All the scriptures under Heaven are stored within your belly.

Your body moves freely among the people of this world,

While your heart has long wandered at ease beyond the heavens.”

Afterward, Zhang Ci ascended to immortality in Jiangnan. Later, while traveling among the famous mountains of the south, he came upon people tending a furnace and practicing alchemy. He laughed aloud and told someone to take a brush and write on the wall:

Alas, the black-gold sand—a mineral or elixir ingredient used in Daoist alchemy—would not stay peacefully upon the head. Even if one keeps firing the elixir in the red furnace, how could that preserve one’s youthful appearance forever? Today the flowers bloom on the branches; tomorrow they may fall beneath the tree. Better simply to drink and pay no mind to time passing.

The annals record that, earlier on, there was a poem addressed to the scholar Zhang Ci.

After returning home, Master Lü traveled through the Jianghuai region. He tested his numinous sword, slaying a great serpent, and later reached Lake Dongting, where he drank alone in Yueyang Tower. Master Yunfang—the immortal said to have encountered Patriarch Lü—suddenly appeared and said, “I have come to fulfill our former agreement. The Supreme Lord has ordered all your family members to dwell in the grotto of Mount Jing. Your name, too, has been entered in the register at Jade Clarity, the heavenly realm where Daoist deities reside.”

On the eighteenth day of the third month, Yunfang led Master Lü to pay his respects to Perfected Lord Kuzhu. In gratitude, Master Lü presented the “Method of the Sun and Moon Joining” he had received, a Daoist cultivation technique for bringing the Qi of the sun and moon into union. When Perfected Lord Kuzhu saw him, he exclaimed, “Here is a true grand master of the immortals!” Master Lü later went to court and paid his respects to the Primordial Jade Emperor, who appointed him an envoy for selecting immortals. From then on, he would at times withdraw from the world and at times appear among people, relieving their suffering and manifesting in unpredictable ways.

At that time, Master Lü composed “An Ode to Junshan in Lake Dongting.” In a note written at his thatched hall, he says that before writing the ode, Master Yunfang had arranged to meet him at Lake Dongting. He therefore traveled from place to place until he arrived there, respectfully awaiting the immortal’s cloud chariot, gazing up at the blue sky as he paced and chanted.

The next day, Master Yunfang arrived and said, “The Supreme Lord has ordered all your family members to dwell in the grotto of Mount Jing.” A day later, Master Lü again paid his respects to the Primordial Jade Emperor, who appointed him an envoy for selecting immortals.

Several other poems belong to this period: one inscribed on a temple wall when he attended an immortal gathering at the Jade Pool; one sent to a seeker of the Dao; one written after he drunkenly offered his Daoist robe as a joking pledge to an innkeeper; one lamenting how hard it is to find a kindred spirit and mentioning Xingzhu and Mount Lu; and one composed after he met Shi Xisheng while passing through the Western Hills of Hongdu.

At the end is the note: “Transmitted to the terrestrial immortal Shi Jianwu.”

Jianwu, whose courtesy name was Xisheng, was from Fenshui in Muzhou. In the fifteenth year of the Yuanhe era under the Tang, he passed the jinshi examination. During the Changqing era, he brought his family to live in seclusion on West Mountain in Hongzhou. From then on, he withdrew from public life and called himself “a Yuanhe jinshi and a Changqing recluse.”

He once built a thatched hut on West Mountain and devoted himself to practices for prolonging life. He received five methods of internal alchemy passed down by Jingyang (Xu Xun), along with techniques for visualizing immortals. He also received a sixteen-character formula from the Taiji Perfected One Du Chong: “One numinous presence, wondrously existent; the Dharma realm, pervading and interpenetrating. Leave behind every extreme, and hold fast to the center.”

Xisheng followed this sixteen-character formula to preserve his health. Yet after forty years of cultivation, he had still not attained the state of shedding his mortal form, undergoing transformation, and becoming an immortal. In the early years of the Xiantong era under the Tang, Patriarch Lü traveled to West Mountain. Seeing that Xisheng’s heart was set on the forests and rosy mists of the mountains, he taught him the Great Way of Returning the Elixir through Liquid Gold, a method of internal alchemy. Xisheng practiced it in secret and eventually became a perfected immortal.

He once wrote “A Chant in Stillness on West Mountain”:

“Layer upon layer, the Dao’s Qi gathers and forms spirit; the jade gates and golden halls renew themselves each day. If you count those who attained the Way on West Mountain, include me, and the number comes to thirteen.”

His fellow Daoist Li Wenying, who shared his aspirations, became his disciple.

Chen Jiqing, author of A Map of the World.

Ji Qing was a native of Jiangnan. He had been away from home for ten years and had failed the jinshi examination, leaving him stranded in the capital. He once went to Qinglong Temple to visit a monk, but did not find him there. An old man from Mount Zhongnan was also waiting for the monk to return. He bowed to Ji Qing and invited him to sit with him.

A map of the world, depicting its mountains, rivers, and regions, hung on the room’s eastern wall. Ji Qing studied it, searching for the old route back to Jiangnan, and could not help sighing. “If only I could travel by boat along the rivers, passing through Luoyang and crossing the Huai and Yangtze Rivers, to return home. Even if I had not passed the jinshi examination, I would have no regrets.”

The old man smiled. “That will be easy.” He asked a temple boy to snap off a bamboo leaf to serve as a little boat, then placed it on the Wei River on the map. “Just keep your eyes on this boat, and your wish will come true. But when you reach home, be sure not to let a feast detain you.” Ji Qing watched closely. The Wei River on the map seemed to ripple, and the bamboo leaf boat gradually grew larger, its sail unfurling. In a daze, he felt himself stepping aboard.

He set out from the Wei River and then reached the Yellow River. Along the way, he moored at a temple and composed a poem on a pillar in the southern corridor:

“When frost bells ring, the night wind rushes;

Crows in disarray fly back to roost in the cold woods.

I moor here now, lamenting in a sorrowful murmur,

Alone I stand, facing Lotus Peak.”

The next day, he reached Tong Pass and climbed a high cliff, where he wrote a poem east of the pass gate. He also wrote one on the gate of an ordinary temple:

“Beyond the pass, I mourn that my ambitions have come to nothing;

A thousand tangled thoughts disturb the hopes just formed.

On the slope below, there is no horse to lend me strength;

At the gate, sweeping leaves me covered in dust.”

“Again and again my plans have failed;

What I think and what I say do not agree.

I have become one ashamed to return home,

Yet that is better than being ashamed to return and never going.”

Everything he encountered along the way was just as he had wished. More than ten days later, he arrived home. His brothers, wife, and children came to greet him at the gate. In his study, he composed a poem titled “Evening View from the Riverside Pavilion”:

“Standing in the riverside pavilion, sorrow fills my view.

The years gone by have slipped far from sight.

The fields and garden have vanished like floating clouds;

Half the people and affairs of my native place have flowed away with the waters.”

It was no longer possible to find the old men fishing by the river, nor could he find the sandpipers of earlier days by the water. If only he were not already advanced in years, with his hair turning white, he would gladly have joined them among the distant mountains, reciting poetry together until their hair was white.

That evening, he said to his wife, “The deadline for taking the imperial examinations is near. I cannot stay any longer; I must set out at once.” Then he composed a poem to bid her farewell:

The moon tilts westward, cold dew glimmers with pale light.

I leave tonight, my heart unable to settle.

The wine deepens my sorrow;

The poem is finished, and I can only recite it through tears.

The song of parting made the phoenix flute sound especially forlorn; the departing crane’s shadow stirred resentment toward the jade zither. The bright moon shone on the place of longing, while the autumn wind brought a piercing chill. There was nothing to do but prepare a fur coat against the cold.

He then composed a poem to bid farewell to his brothers:

It was not that I began seeking a path for myself too late;

Rather, my fate arrived too late.

My old friends have all risen to success,

While I still linger at the crossroads.

The north wind passes, and the first snow has just stopped;

At dusk, pale clouds drift by.

My heart heavy with sorrow above the clear river,

I hurry on, still racing to meet the examination deadline.

After the first watch of the night, he boarded a boat and departed once more. His family wept in grief, watching sorrowfully as he went farther and farther away. He retraced his old route to the banks of the Wei River. The temple looked just as it had before. Seeing the old mountain recluse sitting there in a coarse cloth robe, he thanked him and said, “The rules have returned. Could this have been a dream?” The recluse replied, “After sixty days, you will understand.” As evening fell, the monk still had not arrived, and the recluse took his leave as well. Jiqing returned to his lodging.

Two months later, his wife and children came from Jiangnan, bringing alms money and bolts of cloth. They told Jiqing that he had died, and that they had come to visit. His wife said, “You left on such-and-such a day. That night, you wrote a poem in the western study and left behind two poems of farewell. This truly was no dream.”

The following spring, Jiqing failed the imperial examinations and headed east. He came to the Chan Grotto and the Guanmeng Hermitage, where he saw the two poems he had inscribed. The ink was still fresh.

A year later, Jiqing passed the examinations and gained official distinction. He then stopped eating and entered Mount Zhongnan. Before long, he found the old mountain recluse. Only then did he learn who the recluse was. He followed him in cultivation and never returned.

The History of Immortals says: “Using dreams to awaken those who are dreaming was a way Lüzu understood deeply. Everyone knows the ‘Dream of Handan’—the story of Lu Sheng in the Tang dynasty, who dreamed of wealth and glory and awoke to find that his pot of millet was not yet cooked—but few know what The Map of the Four Seas depicts. It portrays a desolate and sorrowful scene, utterly unlike the bustling splendor of the Dream of Handan.”

The History of Immortals also says: “Using dreams to awaken those who are dreaming was a way Lüzu understood deeply. Everyone knows the Dream of Handan, but few know what The Map of the Four Seas depicts. Its desolate, sorrowful scenes stand in contrast to the bustling splendor of the Dream of Handan, allowing people to experience both grief and joy to their fullest. It is truly a marvel.” Related accounts appear in Records of Unusual Encounters, Mirror of Immortals, Extensive Records of the Taiping Era, and Stories from the Complete Tang Poetry.

Initiating the Monk Huaiyi

Huaiyi was originally from Yue and was then living at Yunmen Monastery in Qingzhou. One morning, as he was preparing to go to the main hall to burn incense, he met two Daoist priests. Their bearing was noble and upright, and they seemed beyond the ordinary. They asked Huaiyi, “There is a wondrous realm. Would you like to visit it?” Huaiyi agreed and followed them into the mountains.

The mountain flowers and trees were fragrant, and the springs and rocks made a secluded, lovely scene. Range after range of peaks rose into the clouds, with tall pines lining the way. At times, jade palaces appeared, blocking the sunlight, and tier upon tier of city walls rose high into the sky. The sights before him were too numerous to describe.

After a long while, Huaiyi felt hungry. The Daoist priest noticed and said, “Mountain peaches can satisfy your hunger.” He then gave Huaiyi a peach from the mountain, as large as a sheng measure. Its fragrance was extraordinary and its flavor exquisite—nothing like anything found in the human world. After Huaiyi ate it, he could walk across water without wetting his clothes or shoes, and rise into the air without any hindrance. Light as a feather, he leapt up into the clouds, waved his sleeves in the sky, and looked up at the sun and moon and down at the Milky Way. Before long, he returned to where he had started. By then, a month had passed in the human world.

The Daoist priest told him, “My surname is Hui, and this is my disciple, Guo Liu. You have already visited Penglai, the fabled island abode of immortals. From now on, you should first become an immortal, then return to the Buddhist path to cultivate.” With that, he departed.

From then on, Huaiyi no longer ate grains. One day, he returned to Yue, told his parents what had happened, and said he wanted to travel far and wide, visiting famous mountains and scenic places. His parents agreed.

Emperor Yizong of the Tang established ordination platforms where monks and nuns could receive the precepts, and for a time Buddhism was widely venerated among the people. Society then looked down on Daoism and favored Buddhism. Lüzu guided Huaiyi into the Dao just as one raises a boat pole in time amid a swift current: the point is that this action came at precisely the right moment.

Renchen, Guisi.

The reign title of Emperor Xizong was Jiawu, the first year of the Qianfu era.

In the years yǐwèi and bǐngshēn, Wang Xianzhi captured Huainan. In the year dīngyǒu, Huang Chao captured Yizhou and Danzhou. These were followed by the years wùxū and jǐhài. In the year gēngzǐ, the reign era was changed to Guangping. Huang Chao captured the Eastern Capital, entered Chang’an, and proclaimed himself emperor of Great Qi.

During these nine years, Lüzu wore a sword and carried a whisk as he traveled among famous mountains. The accounts include his meeting with Xuanyuan Ji, who came to visit him as he descended Mount Lu, and the poem he composed on that occasion; poems presented to a knight-errant and a swordsman; a poem presented to the master of the stone chambers above and below Mount Song; a poem composed after meeting Ma Xiang while touring Mount Hua; and poems associated with Du Han Qingfu at Mount Shang.

Lüzu guided the earthbound immortal Hanbai—not Han Xiang—to transformation. In Hanbai’s name, the character bai (“cypress”) has the water radical added on the left; this spelling is used throughout the rest of this text. Hanbai, whose courtesy name was Qingfu, was a great-great-grandnephew of Han Yu. Accounts of him also mention that, in early September of the final year of the Zhenyuan era, Lüzu met Ma Xiang while touring Mount Hua and composed a poem; poems associated with Du Han Qingfu at Mount Shang; and Lüzu’s guidance of the earthbound immortal Hanbai—not Han Xiang—to transformation.

Bai, whose courtesy name was Qingfu, was the grandnephew of Han Changli (Han Yu). He was born on the third day of the ninth month in the final years of the Zhenyuan era. Even as a child, he seemed different from others and had no wish to pursue an official career through the civil service examinations. He met the young Master Hongya and learned methods of quiet cultivation. He preserved his boyhood purity and never released his Jing, so he was known as Master Original Yang. He wandered from place to place, free-spirited and unconstrained.

During the Changqing era, Han Xiang passed the jinshi examination. Han Changli urged Bai to study and sit for the examinations, saying, “You should follow your elder brother’s example and make your name through achievement.” Bai replied, “Grandson follows a path different from the one you favor.” He then wrote the lines, “Among green mountains, in a grotto of clouds and waters—this is my home,” declaring his aspiration. Han Changli knew he could not force him.

Later, when Han Changli was exiled to Chaozhou, Han Xiang accompanied him along the way. One day they reached Languan Pass. The weather was bitterly cold, the wind fierce, and snow fell heavily. Suddenly they heard a flute playing toward them from ahead of the horses. As they drew closer, they saw that the player was Han Bai. Han Changli was delighted and invited him to travel with them, still hoping to persuade him to seek an official career. Han Bai only smiled and said nothing. When they parted, he took out a pill and gave it to Han Changli, saying, “Take this medicine, and it will protect you from miasma.” With that, he departed lightly and freely.

Toward the end of the Xiantong era, Han Bai withdrew to Shangshan, hoping to refine the Ninefold Divine Elixir, but he did not understand the subtle principles of the firing process. The Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) came there on a journey and passed on to him the secret method transmitted by Patriarch Zhong (Zhongli Quan).

A textual inquiry: Han Xiang was not an immortal

Han Xiang’s courtesy name was Beizhu, and he was Han Yu’s grandnephew. Han Yu’s elder brother was Han Yan. Han Yan’s son was Laocheng, whose son was Han Xiang. In the third year of the Changqing era, Han Xiang passed the jinshi examination. He could write poetry and prose, and he also exchanged poems with the scholar-officials of his time.

Han Xiang, whose courtesy name was Beizhu, was the great-grandson of Han Yu’s elder brother, Han Yan. Han Yan’s son was named Laocheng, and Laocheng’s son was Han Xiang. In the third year of the Changqing era, Han Xiang passed the jinshi examination. He excelled at poetry and prose and often exchanged poems with the scholar-officials of his day. He spent his life in official service and had no experience of cultivating to become an immortal.

During the Changqing era, Yao Wugong wrote a poem for Han Xiang, saying that he had just sat the spring examination and already had his name entered in the Ministry of Personnel’s register. At thirty, he had earned a high distinction, and his future was impossible to predict. Yao Wugong also wrote a poem to see Han Xiang off to take up a post in Jiangxi. It said that he had passed the examinations while young and had newly received an imperial order to join the army; his luggage held weapons, and poets filled the farewell banquet.

Han Xiang once accompanied Han Yu to Chaozhou. The present-day Changli Collection includes two poems Han Yu wrote to his grandnephew Han Xiang at Zengjiangkou, as well as “After Being Demoted, I Reached Languan” and “To My Grandnephew Xiang.” Jia Dao also wrote a poem to Han Xiang; these works are all found in the Complete Tang Poems. According to these records, Han Xiang did not lead a carefree, wandering life among clouds and rivers. This shows that he was no immortal. Yet can the legendary accounts of Han Xiang’s immortal deeds have had no basis in fact at all? That is not so.

The Daoist Records of Meetings Bound by the Dao says that Han Yu had a grandnephew named Han Bai, born on the third day of the ninth month near the end of the Zhenyuan era. Even as a child he seemed unlike others. Before he had sat the civil service examinations, he encountered Zhang Yun, known as Little Hongya. Zhang Yun taught him methods of quiet cultivation. Han Bai preserved his youthful purity and did not dissipate his original essence, so he was given the title “Master Original Yang.” Thereafter, he roamed freely and devoted himself to Daoism.

At the beginning of the Changqing era, Han Xiang passed the jinshi examination. Han Yu urged Han Bai to study and sit the examinations, seeking distinction like his elder brother Han Rong. Han Bai replied, “You and I take pleasure in different things.” He then wrote a poem to express his aspirations:

Deep among green mountains, clouds, and waters is where my home lies.

At night I imbibe jade fluid; at dawn I chew the rosy mists.

I play melodies on a jade-green lute, while the furnace fire refines white cinnabar.

A golden tiger lies hidden in the precious cauldron; in the field of lingzhi, a white crow is raised.

A single gourd contains heaven and earth; a three-foot sword can cut down demons.

I can quickly brew fine wine, and make flowers bloom in an instant.

If anyone wishes to learn from me, let us go together to admire the immortal flowers.

He gradually came to understand that this matter could not be forced. Han Bo claimed he could make a remarkable flower bloom, so Han Yu asked him to try. Han Bo brought over a flowerpot, filled it with soil, and in the blink of an eye a cluster of peonies had blossomed, brilliant red.

Written in gold on the petals was a couplet: “Clouds stretch across the Qinling Mountains—where is my home? Snow heaps up at Blue Pass, and my horse can go no farther.” Han Yu asked what the lines meant. Han Bo replied, “When the time comes, you will understand.”

Later, Han Yu was banished to Chaozhou. When he passed through Blue Pass, a heavy snowstorm stopped him from going on. Han Bo happened to arrive and cleared the snow for him. Only then did Han Yu grasp the meaning of the lines on the flower. He continued them into an eight-line poem. His sorrow over the journey eased a little, and he invited Han Bo to stay with him at the post station, still hoping he would pursue fame and official success. Han Yu wrote:

“Since ancient times, talent has always found a use in the world. Who alive could rival someone as gifted in letters as you? When you have achieved success and renown, you can put your heart and body aside and withdraw to the forests and hills.”

Han Bo replied with a smile:

“The people of the world are all drunk on fame and profit; I alone remain clear-minded in the Dao. One day I will surely ascend, breaking through the autumn sky and becoming a point of blue light.”

As they parted, Han Bo took out a pill and gave it to Han Yu, saying, “Take this, and it will protect you from miasma.” With that, he drifted away.

Toward the end of the Xiantong era, when Han Bo was in his sixties, he met Lüzu (Lü Dongbin) again on Mount Shang. There he learned the art of the divine elixir, and afterward ascended. Today people know only of Han Xiang, not Han Bo. This is probably because the characters “Xiang” and “Bo” were corrupted during the copying of texts, causing Han Bo to be mistaken for Han Xiang. To call Han Xiang an immortal is to wrong him; Han Bo’s entire story was attributed to Han Xiang, and Han Xiang’s own story was lost as a result. The accounts of the two are now presented together and compared so that people may know Han Xiang was originally a man who sought fame and official success…

Han Bo was also an immortal. “Bo” describes a stream flowing clear and gently over shallow ground, so he was known as “Clear Master.”

He Xiangu was from Lingling in Yongzhou. Her father was named Ying, and her mother’s surname was Zhong. Both enjoyed quiet cultivation and were glad to give alms. One night, He Xiangu’s mother dreamed that she had wandered to the banks of the Xiao and Xiang rivers. On the water she saw a woman dressed in white, standing on a great white lotus and floating toward her. “I am the Goddess of the Xiao and Xiang,” she said. “I wish to stay in your home and travel through the human world for a time.” Her mother gazed at her for a long while. When she awoke, she found herself pregnant. He Xiangu was born on the first day of the eleventh month in the third year of Yuanhe. She would not drink her mother’s milk, so her family mixed lotus-root powder with water and fed it to her.

At eight or nine, He Xiangu was dignified and lovely in appearance, and enjoyed visiting Daoist convents for women. The nuns taught her scriptures and writing, which she learned as though she had known them already. When she was thirteen, her parents died one after the other. She remained at home with her aunt and an elderly servant. By nature she preferred vegetarian food, and when people came seeking help, she gave willingly, just as she had when her parents were alive.

Later, an elderly nun from the Nanyue Abbey asked her to help repair the image of the Perfected Lord Sheng. Inside the statue, they unexpectedly found two scrolls of the Huangting Jing (a Daoist classic on nourishing life and cultivation). Written on them were the words: “Whoever is destined, whoever is blessed; if you obtain this scripture, you will know joy in the Jade Pool.” He Xiangu was delighted. Though the character “He” in the inscription did not specify whom it meant, it matched her own surname. She asked to exchange other scriptures for the two scrolls, and the nun readily agreed. From then on, He Xiangu often recited the Huangting Jing at home.

At eighteen, she remained unmarried and chaste, and underwent an ordination ceremony at home to become a female Daoist. She burned incense, swept the floor, and paid homage to the Emperor of Fusang. Much later, the Youthful Lord Qing, acting on the orders of the Emperor of Donghua, came to her home. He gave her Zi Zhi pills to take and taught her methods from the Huangting Jing, including “the threefold layering of the zither-heart” and “rinsing and swallowing the numinous fluid.” The book says that after her cultivation, her body shone with radiance, her breath was like orchids, she could dispel evil influences, and her appearance seemed refined as if by jade.

When someone in Lingling sought to marry her, she pretended to be mad. She often went about the marketplace, making herself filthy, so that people would think her mind was unsound and leave her alone. When people insisted that she was an immortal maiden, she concealed herself even more.

By the time she was sixty, most people in her village had died, yet she still looked like a young woman of about twenty. The Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) traveled south through Heng and Xiang. Seeing her in the marketplace, he recognized that she had deep innate capacity and was suited to the Dao. He gave her a peach. She ate only half, and from then on she was never hungry and could speak of people’s good and ill fortune.

After the Patriarch Lü guided her into the Dao, she went to Mount Zhongnan to pay a visit to the Patriarch Zhong (Zhongli Quan) and learn how to take divine elixirs. Later, her body became light, and she could perform the “step of emptiness,” moving through the air without hindrance. The Patriarch Lü said her cultivation had reached the “Great Vehicle” level, then took her eastward and introduced her in turn to the Patriarch Shaoyang, the Duke of Wood, and the Queen Mother of the West. The Queen Mother took her back to Langyuan, where she swept up fallen peach blossoms to build up merit. Later she ascended to the Qingxia Cave in the Eastern Sea and became the True Great Primordial Lady, with the Daoist title “One Yang.” It is said that she often traveled through the human world with the Patriarch Lü and manifested herself there in many notable ways.

It is said there were two Immortal Maidens He. One was the second daughter of a man named He Tai, from Zengcheng in Guangzhou. When she was young, she went into the mountains with her companions to gather tea, but later became separated from them and lost her way. Beneath the eastern peak, she saw a Daoist wearing a tall headdress and went forward to pay her respects. The Daoist gave her a peach. After eating it, she suddenly no longer felt hungry or thirsty. Later, she dreamed of the immortal Magu, who taught her to take powdered mica. After a long time, she was able to travel through the valleys, light as a swallow, and could even fly. During the Changshou era of Empress Wu Zetian, the court issued an edict summoning her to the palace. Halfway there, she sprang up to the treetops and was never seen again. Later, she appeared many times at the Magu Altar in Yuzhang. The “Three Immortals Who Send Children” described in the Biographies of Female Immortals were He Xiangu of Guangzhou, Miaogu, and Magu.

Li Qi Attains the Way and Becomes an Immortal (see Biographies of Eminent Recluses of the Late Tang)

Li Qi was a reclusive scholar of Huayang. It is said that after taking the Minor Restoration Elixir, he lived for several hundred years without ever appearing to age. When Lü Zu traveled through Jurong to visit the scenic wonders of the Jintan Grotto-Heaven, he encountered Li Qi beneath the shade of pine trees, amid clouds and flowing water. Lü Zu recognized at once that he was an eminent recluse and taught him how to refine the Golden Liquid Great Restoration Elixir. Delighted, Li Qi asked to become Lü Zu’s disciple. Lü Zu said, “I am younger than you, sir. We can simply become friends bound by clouds and rosy mists—that is, companions joined through the Dao of immortality.” Li Qi replied, “The Great Dao has no distinction between earlier and later. Whoever has attained deeper cultivation can be a teacher.” With that, he performed the rites of discipleship before Lü Zu. Lü Zu took a secret method from his pouch and passed it on to him, then gave him this poem:

“Huayang Mountain abounds in magic mushrooms and immortal herbs;

Its recluses, too, can prolong their years.

Climb the lofty trees beside the cliffs beneath green pines;

Drink from the rushing springs deep in the white clouds.

Neither cold nor hot, the spirit feels at ease;

Traveling east and west, the breath flows long and steady.

When three thousand deeds of merit are complete, you may return;

Do not reveal the secrets of the Grotto-Heaven to worldly people.”

As Lü Zu took his leave, he arranged to meet Li Qi again on Mount Hua. He also left two more poems, then drifted away.

During the reign period Ganfu of Emperor Xizong of Tang, the Ancestral Master Lü traveled north and called himself “Old Lü.” On the road to Handan, he stopped to rest at an inn, removed his hat and pack, and sat down. Just then, a young man in a coarse cloth tunic, riding a blue-gray horse, was on his way to the fields and stopped at the inn. He sat at the same table as Old Lü, and the two talked and laughed together. Old Lü asked his name. The young man replied, “My name is Lu Ying, and my courtesy name is Cuizhi.”

Lu Ying looked at his shabby, worn clothing and sighed deeply. “A man living in this world should be able to make his way, yet I have been thwarted at every turn and fallen into such hardship.”

Old Lü asked, “You seem free of illness, and you speak and laugh with ease. Why sigh over your poverty?”

Lu Ying answered, “I am only scraping by. How could that be called a comfortable, satisfying life?” Old Lü said, “If this is not comfortable and satisfying, what would be?” Lu Ying replied, “A scholar living in this world should establish achievements and make a name for himself. He should lead troops in the field and serve as prime minister at court, enjoy sumptuous food and fine music, and make his family more prosperous and its estate more substantial. Only then could life be called satisfying. I once resolved to study and learned a wide range of skills, convinced that fame and office were within easy reach. Now I am past my prime, yet still laboring in the fields. If this is not hardship, what is?”

As soon as he had finished speaking, Lu Ying felt his eyelids grow heavy and wanted to sleep. The innkeeper was steaming yellow millet at the time. Old Lü took a blue porcelain pillow from his pack and handed it to Lu Ying. “Sleep with my pillow beneath your head,” he said. “I will bring you success and honor, and everything you gain will be as you wish.”

Lu Ying looked down at the pillow and saw a small hole at each end. Inside, the space gradually grew wide and bright, and he rose and stepped into it.

Several months later, he married the daughter of the Cui family of Qinghe. His wife was beautiful, and her dowry was substantial. From then on, his clothing and daily comforts grew more refined by the day. The following year, he passed the jinshi examination, exchanged his commoner’s clothes for official robes, and entered government service. He successively served as Collation Clerk, Court Attendant, and Magistrate of Weinan. Before long, he was promoted to Investigating Censor, and later became a Palace Reader. For three years he was in charge of drafting imperial edicts, after which he left the capital to oversee affairs in Tongzhou.

The following year, he passed the Presented Scholar examination, left behind his commoner’s robes, and entered government service. He successively served as Collator of Books and as Weinan Commandant assigned to attend the emperor. Soon he was promoted to Investigating Censor, and later became Palace Recorder, drafting imperial edicts for three years. He then served as governor of Tongzhou before being transferred to Shanzhou. By nature, he was eager to achieve great things. In Shaanxi, he once had an eighty-li-long canal excavated, solving the local problem of impassable waterways. The people benefited from this work and erected a stone stele to commemorate his achievements.

Later, he was transferred to Bianzhou and concurrently appointed Commissioner for Investigation in Henan. He was then summoned to the capital to serve as Jingzhao Prefect. At the time, Emperor Shenwu was focused on dealing with the Rong and Di peoples along the borders and expanding the territory. The Tibetan generals Xinaluo and Zhulong Mangbutu captured Guazhou and Shazhou; the military commissioner Wang Junchan had just been defeated and killed, and the Hexi and Huangshui regions were in turmoil. The emperor valued his talent as a commander and appointed him Censor-in-Chief and military commissioner of the Hexi Circuit. He inflicted a crushing defeat on the Rong forces, beheaded seven thousand of them, expanded the territory by nine hundred li, and built a great fortress to guard a strategic pass. The people of the frontier erected a stone monument on Mount Juyan to praise his achievements.

When he returned to the court, he received an elaborate investiture and honors. He was then promoted to Vice Minister of Personnel and Minister of Revenue, while also serving as Censor-in-Chief. His reputation for integrity was illustrious, and he was widely respected. Later, he incurred the jealousy of the serving prime minister and was slandered with false accusations, resulting in his demotion to governor of Ruizhou. Three years later, he was summoned back to the court as a Palace Attendant. Before long, he joined Chancellor Xiao and Minister Pei Guangting as a Commissioner of State Affairs, taking part in major government decisions for more than ten years. He planned carefully and handled matters adeptly. The emperor summoned him several times each day to hear his advice and have him remedy lapses in government affairs. For this, he was called a worthy chancellor.

His colleagues grew jealous of him and falsely accused him of colluding with frontier generals and plotting treason. The court therefore ordered him imprisoned. Government runners arrived at his gate with a party of men and hurried to arrest him. He was terrified and unable to put the matter out of his mind, so he said to his wife and children, “My family in Shandong has five …”

His heart was troubled and uneasy. He said to his wife, “My family has five qing of fertile land in Shandong, enough to protect us from hunger and cold. Why did I have to seek office and rank, only to end up in this state? From now on, I can never again wear a short jacket of coarse cloth and ride my little blue-gray horse along the Handan Road.” As he spoke, he took a knife and tried to kill himself. His wife saved him in time, and he escaped death.

Later, officials from the Three Departments intervened on his behalf, sparing him the death penalty. He was exiled to Huanzhou for several years. After the emperor investigated his wrongful conviction, he issued an edict appointing him Secretariat Director and making him Duke of Yan, granting him special favor. He had five sons, named Jian, Zun, Wei, Ti, and Yi, all of them capable. Jian passed the jinshi examination and served as an Assistant Director in the Department of Evaluation; Zun served as a censor; Wei as a Court of Imperial Sacrifices assistant; Ti as a county lieutenant in Wannian; and Yi, the most accomplished, became Left Gun at the age of twenty-four. Their in-laws were all members of renowned families across the empire. He had more than ten grandsons.

Twice he was exiled to remote, desolate regions, and twice he rose to the highest ministerial office. He held posts both inside and outside the court, spending many years moving in and out of the central offices. His career spanned more than fifty years. He wielded great power and lived extravagantly, indulging his love of pleasure; the singers, dancers, musicians, and women in his inner quarters were exceptionally splendid. Over the years, the court bestowed on him more fertile land, grand residences, beautiful women, and fine horses than could be counted. In old age, he repeatedly asked to retire, but his requests were denied. When he fell ill, visitors came without end, and renowned physicians and precious medicines were sent to him.

Before his death, he submitted a memorial: “Your servant was originally a scholar from Shandong, content with life among his fields and gardens. By chance, I lived in a bright and sagely age and was able to enter official service, where I received far more recognition and favor than I deserved. When leaving court, I was entrusted with the insignia of authority; upon returning, I rose to the rank of chief minister. For many years, I moved between the court and the provinces. I have failed to repay Heaven’s grace: I did not aid the wise transformation of the realm, and my talent and virtue have proved inadequate to the high position I hold, bringing me ridicule. I have lived ever more anxiously, as though walking on thin ice. My fear has grown day by day, yet I failed to notice that I had grown old.”

I am now over eighty years old and have risen to the rank of one of the Three Excellencies. Age has weakened my body, my strength is nearly spent, and my illness is grave. Though I see that my days are numbered, I have no accomplishments with which to repay Your Majesty for your enlightened kindness, and have failed to requite your profound favor. I am now about to leave this sagely age forever. With gratitude and reluctance in my heart, I respectfully submit this memorial to express my thanks.

The Emperor issued an edict: “Through your outstanding De, you became one of my chief ministers. When you left court, you guarded the frontier command; when you entered court, you helped bring peace to the state. The realm has long enjoyed stability, and that is truly due in part to your efforts. Recently, you fell ill, and each day I hoped you would recover. I did not expect your condition to worsen; this is deeply saddening. I am now sending the General of the Agile Cavalry, Gao Lishi, to visit you at your residence. Do your utmost to accept treatments such as acupuncture and stone needling, and take good care of yourself. I hope even more that you may recover soon without taking medicine.”

That evening, Lu Sheng died.

Lu Sheng stirred and awoke to find himself lying in the inn, with Lü Weng sitting beside him. The innkeeper’s yellow millet was still steaming in the pot, not yet cooked; everything was just as it had been before. Lu Sheng suddenly sat up and said, “I never imagined it was all a dream!”

Lü Weng said, “The fortune one experiences in life is no more than a dream like this.” Lu Sheng pondered for a long while, then said with a sigh, “I understand now the principles of favor and disgrace, adversity and success, gain and loss, life and death. This is the teaching you used to dispel my desires. I will follow your instruction.” He bowed, then bowed again and asked to study the Dao. Lü Weng graciously agreed to take him as a disciple, taught him the secrets of the Great Elixir—the esoteric methods of Daoist Neidan—and also instructed him in swordsmanship. From then on, Lu Sheng accompanied Lü Weng on journeys across the sea.

At that time, the land was beset by turmoil for a period. Later, he returned west to Hezhong, moved to Zhongnan Mountain, and encountered the poems of the reclusive Sikong Biao-sheng.

Hao Tianting’s commentary on Lü Zu says: “During the Xiantong era, …”

At that time, turmoil and disorder followed one another. Lüzu returned west to Hezhong and later moved to Zhongnan Mountain, where he read poems about the reclusive life of Sikong Biao-sheng. In his commentary on Lüzu, Hao Tianting says that Lüzu passed the presented-scholar examination during the Xiantong era and served twice as a county magistrate. After Huang Chao’s uprising, he moved to Zhongnan Mountain.

In “My Own Record of the Thatched Hall,” Lüzu says: “During the Ganfu era, when Huang Chao rebelled, I returned to Hezhong with Immortal Liu. My first wife, Lady Liu, stayed at home and became a Daoist nun, while our four sons went elsewhere to earn a living. I therefore took them to Zhongnan Mountain and settled them at Ziyun Hermitage, where I asked Aunt He to raise them. Later, after I underwent corpse-liberation—that is, the Daoist practice of leaving the physical body to become an immortal—I brought them to the cave abode at Jingshan.”

In an inscribed portrait of himself, Lüzu also says: “I had four sons. To escape the turmoil, I took only my wife into the mountains.” Taken together, these two accounts show that Lüzu did indeed have a wife and children. The inscribed portrait, however, does not say that he returned home to fetch them after attaining the Dao. Stories that he was originally surnamed Li and named Jue, that he changed his surname to Lü after cultivating with his wife, and that he took his wife with him to escape the turmoil while leaving his four sons behind are all allegorical. (For details, see the entry for the sixth year of the Tianqi era.)

Initiating Niu Sheng and Xiahou Sheng

Niu Shengshan and Xiahou Shengziyun were scholars from Hezhong. Their bodies resembled tortoises, their bones cranes, and they had the bearing of immortals. When Lüzu returned to his home region, he took pity on them as fellow natives and taught them the methods of “kindling Fire in the Hidden Palace and conveying Water to the Cinnabar Terrace.” He instructed them to live in seclusion deep in the cloud-wrapped mountains and to withdraw from the world as soon as they could. The two thanked him, received his teaching, and departed.

Xiahou Ziyun had a gift for poetry and later lived in seclusion on Dadi Mountain. He once wrote “Five Quatrains on the Joyful Garden”:

Green leaves and red blossoms spread everywhere;
I study the immortals’ scriptures closely.
By chance I transplant chrysanthemums beside the cliff;
My hoe seems to sever the roots of the white clouds.

The poem describes green leaves and red flowers everywhere, and the close study of the immortals’ classics. By chance, he transplants chrysanthemums beside a cliff; as he hoes the ground, it seems as though he has cut through the roots of the white clouds. This reveals both his poetic talent and his taste for quiet, secluded places.

During the reign of Tang Emperor Xizong came the first year, Xinchou; second year, Renyin; third year, Guimao; and fourth year, Jiachen, of the Zhonghe era. Xizong changed the era name to Guangqi: Yisi and Bingwu. (The court held Fuzhou.) Dingwei.

Emperor Xizong changed the reign title to “Wende”; that year was the wushen year.

The first year of Emperor Zhaozong’s Longji reign was the jiyou year, when Qian Liu occupied Hangzhou.

Emperor Zhaozong changed the reign title to “Dashun.” The gengxu and xinhai years followed, when Yang Xingmi occupied Yangzhou.

Emperor Zhaozong changed the reign title to “Jingfu.” The renzi and guichou years followed.

Emperor Zhaozong changed the reign title to “Qianning.” The jia-yin year saw Li Maozhen occupy Fengxiang, followed by the yimao, bingchen, and dingsi years.

Emperor Zhaozong changed the reign title to “Guanghua.” In the wuwu year, Wang Shenzhi occupied the Min region, followed by the jiwei and gengshen years.

Emperor Zhaozong changed the reign title to “Tianfu.” In the xinyou year, Li Maozhen was invested as Prince of Qi, followed by the renxu and guihai years. Zhu Quanzhong was invested as Prince of Liang, Yang Xingmi as Prince of Wu, and Qian Liu as Prince of Yue.

The first year of Emperor Aidi of Tang’s Tianyou reign was the jiazi year, followed in order by the yichou, bingyin, and dingmao years. Prince of Liang Zhu Quanzhong killed Emperor Aidi of Tang and proclaimed himself emperor. At the time, Hedong, Fengxiang, Huainan, and Xichuan still acknowledged the Tang dynasty and followed the Tang calendar, calling the reign year “Tianyou Year Four.” Ma Yin occupied Tanzhou, and the Liang dynasty invested him as Prince of Chu. Gao Jichang served as military governor of Jingnan. Qian Liu was invested as Prince of Wuyue, and Zhu Quanzhong called himself Taizu of the Liang dynasty. In the wuchen year, Wang Jian, Prince of Shu, proclaimed himself emperor; Yang Longyan became Prince of Wu; and Li Keyong, Prince of Jin, died, succeeded by his son Li Cunxu. In the jisi year, Wang Shenzhi became Prince of Min and Liu Shouguang became Prince of Yan. In the gengwu year, the Prince of Yan proclaimed himself emperor. In the xinwei year, Liang Yougui proclaimed himself emperor. In the renshen year, Liang Youzhen succeeded to the throne. After the guiyou, jiaxu, and yihai years, Wang Yan succeeded as Prince of Shu in the bingzi year. In the dingchou year, Liu Yan of Southern Han proclaimed himself emperor. After the wuyin and jimao years, Yang Pu succeeded as Prince of Wu in the gengchen year, followed by the xinsi and renwu years.

After Emperor Zhuangzong of Later Tang destroyed Later Liang and established Later Tang, he changed the reign title to “Tongguang.” Its first year was the guiwei year, followed by the jiashen and yiyou years. During this period, Tang destroyed Former Shu.

The first year of Emperor Mingzong’s Tiancheng reign was the bingxu year. In the dinghai year, Wang Yanhan succeeded as Prince of Min. Zhao Taizu was born that same year, as was Taizong of the Khitan. The wuzi year followed.

Emperor Mingzong changed the reign title to “Changxing.” The jichou, gengyin, xinmao, and renchen years followed in succession. The chronology then mentions Wu’s “Tongguang Year One, the guiwei year,” followed by the jiashen and yiyou years, when Tang destroyed Shu.

In the first year of the Tiancheng era under Emperor Mingzong, Bingxu (926), Wang Yanhan was ruler of Min. Dinghai (927): Zhao Taizu was born, and Taizong ascended the throne in the Khitan state. Wuzi (928).

Emperor Mingzong changed the era name to Changxing. Jisi (929), Gengyin (930), Xinhai (931), Renchen (932): Qian Yuanguan was ruler of Wuyue.

Emperor Min ascended the throne. Guisi (933): Wang Yanjun was ruler of Min.

In the first year of Emperor Min’s Yingshun era, Jiawu (934), the Deposed Emperor ascended the throne and changed the era name to Qingtai. Meng Zhixiang, ruler of Shu, proclaimed himself emperor, but died that autumn; his son Meng Chang succeeded him. Yiwei (935): Yang Kuan was ruler of Wu, and Wang Chang was ruler of Min. Bingshen (936): the Tang Deposed Emperor died, and Shi Jingtang, Prince of Jin, proclaimed himself emperor. Dingyou (937).

Yang Kuan, ruler of Wu, abdicated in favor of Xu Zhigao. Xu Zhigao resumed the surname Li, changed his name to Li Sheng, adopted the era name Shengyuan, and named his state Southern Tang. Wuxu (938), Jihai (939), Gengzi (940), Xinchou (941): Qian Hongzuo was ruler of Wuyue. Renyin (942): Liu Bin was ruler of Southern Han, and Shi Chonggui ascended the throne as ruler of Jin.

The first year of the Baoda era under Emperor Yuanzong of Southern Tang was Guimao (943). Jiachen (944): Liu Sheng was ruler of Southern Han. Yisi (945), Bingwu (946): Tang forces pacified the state of Min. Dingwei (947): Jin fell. Liu Gao, Emperor Gaozu of Han; the Khitan Emperor Shizong; Ma Xiguang, ruler of Chu; and Qian Hongchu, ruler of Wuyue, were in power. Wushen (948), Jiyou (949): Liu Chengyou, Emperor Yin of Han, and Gao Baorong of Jingnan were in power. Gengxu (950): Liu Yun was ruler of Han. Xinhai (951): Guo Wei, Emperor Taizu of Zhou, killed Liu Yun, ruler of Han, in Songzhou and then ascended the throne; Later Han fell. Liu Chong established Northern Han, and the Khitan Emperor Muzong ascended the throne.

Renzi (952), Guichou (953), Jiayin (954): Chai Rong, Emperor Shizong of Zhou, was in power. Yimao (955), Bingchen (956): Liu Chengjun was ruler of Northern Han. Dingsi (957).

The first year of the Zhongxing era of Southern Tang was Wuwu (958); Liu Chang was ruler of Southern Han. Jiwei (959): Emperor Gong of Zhou was in power. Gengshen (960): Zhou fell, and Song Taizu founded the Song dynasty, changing the era name to Jianlong. That year, Gao Baoxu was ruler of Jingnan. Xinyou (961).

After Li Yu, the last ruler of the Southern Tang, ascended the throne, he continued to use the era name “Zhongxing.” In the renxu year, Jingnan was ruled by Gao Jichong. In the guihai year, the Song conquered Jingnan and changed its era name to “Qiande.” In the jiazi year, the Song conquered Shu. In the yichou, bingyin, and dingmao years, Northern Han was ruled by Liu Jiyuan. In the wuchen year, the Song changed its era name to “Kaibao.” In the jisi, gengwu, and xinwei years, the Song attacked Southern Han. In the renshen year, Southern Han fell. In the you and jiaxu years, Emperor Taizu of Song died and Emperor Taizong succeeded him. In the yihai year, Southern Tang fell.

From the wuyin year, the fourteenth year of Zhenyuan under Emperor Dezong of Tang, to the gengyin year, the twelfth year of Xiantong under Emperor Yizong of Tang, there were seventy-three years, recorded in one juan. From the xinmao year, the thirteenth year of Xiantong, to the yihai year at the end of Southern Tang, there were one hundred and five years, recorded in two juan. By this reckoning, Lü Zu’s years in the Tang dynasty amounted to one hundred and seventy-eight.

On the Five Dynasties (recorded by Caotang)

From the Zhonghe era onward, the Tang dynasty fractured, and the realm was divided among regional warlords. Historians divided this period into the Five Dynasties, which together lasted one hundred and seventy-eight years.

On the Five Dynasties (recorded by Caotang)

From the Zhonghe era of the Tang dynasty onward, the empire was divided, with powerful local rulers controlling their own territories. Historians grouped this period into the “Five Dynasties” and arranged them in succession. It would be better to recount them in the order of the Later Tang and Southern Tang.

In the second year of Emperor Ai of Tang, Zhu Quanzhong murdered the emperor and set himself up as ruler. He was simply a rebel minister. Fortunately, Hedong, Fengxiang, Huainan, Xichuan, and other regions continued to uphold the Tang calendar, recognizing its reign titles and its claim to legitimate succession. During the reigns of the Later Liang’s three rulers, only Hedong and Fengxiang continued to use the Tang reign title Tianyou.

Li Keyong was a Shatuo man to whom the Tang court had granted its surname. He abandoned his original surname, Zhuxie, and joined the Chinese realm. He labored tirelessly to suppress the Huang Chao rebellion, and for his service was invested as Prince of Jin. He vowed never to abandon his loyalty throughout his life, and was truly devoted. Li Cunxu succeeded to the title of Prince of Jin, carefully preserving his father’s rank, and was naturally filial. Sadly, after destroying the Later Liang, he did not seek out a member of the Tang imperial house to enthrone. Yet he obtained the imperial regalia, named his state the Later Tang, and was counted by historians as part of the legitimate succession. There was, indeed, some basis for this.

Shi Jingtang moved the capital to Bianjing and declared himself emperor. He was merely a strongman controlling one region; how could he be considered part of the legitimate succession? Xu Zhigao founded a state at Jinling and later restored the surname Li. Yang Kuan upheld the state of Wu as his country and declared himself emperor there. The Later Tang fell in the year Bing Shen, and the Southern Tang arose in Ding You. The legitimate succession, then, should belong to the Southern Tang.

Liu Zhiyuan declared himself emperor at Jinyang, then made Bianjing his capital after entering Luoyang. His situation was no different from that of other regional strongmen. Guo Wei rose to power, and Liu Yun was destroyed; like Zhu Wen, Guo Wei murdered his ruler and seized the throne. Chai Rong succeeded to the throne, but the imperial seat passed among different surnames. Though the state was called “Zhou,” its ruler was not truly a successor to the legitimate line.

At the beginning of my “Song of Knocking on the Yao” (see the Collected Poems of Chunyang), I did not write “the Zhou dynasty at the end of Han,” but instead wrote “the Tang state at the end of Han.” This was precisely because, although the regional powers had fallen one after another, the Southern Tang still existed. For more than ninety years in all, no one unified the realm, yet the name of Tang was carried on in an unbroken line. Historians instead placed Liang, Jin, Han, and Zhou side by side and called them the “Five Dynasties.” This is something I cannot understand.

The Song Taizu received the Mandate of Heaven and swept away the rebels in every region, until at last the Southern Tang fell. It is therefore clear that the Song inherited the legitimate succession from the Southern Tang. I leave these words for those who study history.

The Transcendence of Rao Tingzhi

Rao Tingzhi, courtesy name Liangong, was from Nancheng. In the early Zhonghe era of Emperor Xizong of the Tang, he passed the jinshi examination. Once, while visiting the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuchang, he heard the sound of a flute and followed it until he encountered Ancestor Lü. Ancestor Lü taught him the essentials of cultivating stillness. From then on, Rao no longer kept company with his wife or concubines, living alone in quiet ease. Later, he served as assistant prefect of Dengzhou. When his coffin was carried back to his hometown after his death, it was remarkably light. According to legend, he had left the world through “liberation from the corpse,” a Daoist term for shedding the physical form and departing as an immortal.

The Collected Records of Daoist Encounters, the Record of Strange Events, and the Genealogical Register of Surnames all say that Rao Tingzhi passed the jinshi examination in the Tang. Only the Complete Compilation identifies him as a man of the late Song. This is probably because the Mirror of Immortals records the related events under the Jingding era of Emperor Lizong of the Song. In fact, the Mirror of Immortals describes his appearance of miraculous powers in the late Song and his travels with Ancestor Lü on Mount Heng; it does not give his birth era. His origins are therefore included here.

The Transcendence of Immortal Maiden Ma (see the Collected Records of Daoist Encounters)

During the Guanghua era of Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang, Ancestor Lü traveled through Kuocang and, passing through Chuzhou, guided Immortal Maiden Ma to the Dao. She was from Qingtian. After marrying, she lived in poverty but cared for her mother-in-law with great filial devotion. She encountered Master Lü and received instruction in immortal arts. Afterward, she often worked in wealthy households, helping with chores and weaving cloth.

Even when she was a hundred li from home, if there was soup to eat, she would not eat it first. Instead, she would place her bamboo-leaf hat on the water and let it float home ahead of her. When her mother-in-law saw the hat, she knew her daughter-in-law had sent food and would take it to eat. Ma traveled back and forth with such ease that people realized she was extraordinary and called her “Great Immortal Maiden Ma.”

When Qian Liu, King of Wuyue, heard of this, he provided money and cloth to support her mother-in-law. Before long, her mother-in-law died, and Ma too passed away without falling ill. A neighbor saw her in the countryside, saying, “I’m following my master back to Penglai.”

The Transcendence of Lan Caihe Together with Ancestor Zhong

Ancestor Lü said of himself: “Lan Caihe, whose courtesy name was Yangsu, was my fellow Daoist. In his youth, he met Master Zhengyang and received instruction in the methods of ‘Jade Refining’ and ‘Golden Refining.’ In the early Tianfu era of Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang, he completed the Great Elixir. I urged him to continue cultivating the divine elixir, then transcend body and spirit, transform, and ascend, so that he could save and guide living beings. Later, when his divine elixir was complete, he ascended at Haoliang.”

Lan Caihe was a perfected master of ancient times from the lineage of Ling Lun, a realized immortal who had been banished to the human world. He wandered from place to place, singing songs to awaken the unenlightened people of the world. He often wore a worn-out blue robe and a black belt with six plaques, more than three inches wide. He wore a shoe on one foot and went barefoot on the other. In summer, he lined his robe with cotton; in winter, he lay in the snow, yet his breath rose like steam. When someone asked why, he replied, “Who says a man cannot become pregnant? I happen to have been pregnant for ten months.”

He often begged in the city, carrying a large clapper more than three feet long. Old and young alike followed him to watch. He sang: “Step, step, sing—Lan Caihe! How long can the world last? A rosy face is like a tree in spring, yet time flies like a shuttle. The ancients departed one after another and never returned; the people of today keep arriving in the world, in ever greater numbers. At dawn I ride phoenixes through the clear sky; by evening I watch mulberry fields turn to white waves. Everlasting light shines across the heavens, and palaces of gold and silver rise high.” He sang many other verses, too many to record here. The songs he sang offhand all carried the flavor of the immortals, beyond the understanding of ordinary people.

After receiving money, Lan Caihe threaded it onto a cord and dragged it along behind him. He paid no mind when coins fell to the ground, sometimes giving them to the poor and sometimes to taverns. He was carefree and unconstrained. After living in the human world for several years, he said he intended to enter Mount Zhongnan and gather spirit fungi, the fabled herbs of immortality. This was precisely the counsel given to him by Patriarch Lü.

During the Later Liang period, Lan Caihe suddenly appeared at a tavern in Hao-liang to buy wine. After drinking until he was thoroughly drunk, he heard the sound of sheng and xiao flutes coming from the sky. He saw a crane descend and rode it up into the clouds. He cast down his boots, robe, belt, and clapper, then gradually disappeared into the distance.

There was another person named Lan Fang, styled “Master of Long Laughter,” who was not the same person as Lan Caihe. His story is recorded later.

Haitan Zi was named Liu Cao, with the courtesy name Zongcheng, and came from Yanshan. Having passed the jinshi examination through his command of the classics, he served as an official in the Yan state. He held the post of military adjutant in Lulong and gradually rose to become prime minister. In his daily life, he enjoyed discussing the principles of nature and life, and revered the teachings of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi.

Later, he unexpectedly met Master Zhengyang, a Daoist immortal usually identified as Zhongli Quan. Master Zhengyang taught him the purpose of purity and Wuwei (non-action), and how the Dao could preserve both body and mind. When Liu Shouguang overstepped his station and declared himself emperor, Liu Cao’s remonstrations had no effect. He then used illness as a pretext to resign and leave office. He wrote a poem: “I leave behind the three thousand households of the fiery dwelling, and shut out the million families of the gate guards.” He then changed his name to Xuanying and took the title Haitan Zi.

Haitan Zi traveled widely in search of the Dao. He met Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) and received from him the Golden Fluid Return to the Elixir, a term in Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) practice. Thereafter, he withdrew into seclusion to cultivate the Way, attained immortality, and traveled through the human world. He journeyed far to Qin River country, cultivated the Way around Mount Taihua, and also lived in seclusion below Mount Qingcheng.

After Chen Xiyi (Chen Tuan, a Daoist scholar of the Five Dynasties and early Song) met Haitan Zi, he earnestly sought instruction in the Dao’s mysteries, and Haitan Zi taught him the wondrous Way of the Golden Elixir. Chen Xiyi’s disciples Zhang Wumeng, Jia Desheng, and Zhong Fang also studied with Haitan Zi. Admiring Chen Xiyi’s lofty aspirations, Haitan Zi once visited his mountain dwelling and spoke with him for an entire day. As a joke, he splashed ink onto a rock, and the ink marks appeared as written characters. Later, Zhang Wumeng, Jia Desheng, and Zhong Fang came to the mountain and each said that on a certain day Master Liu had visited their home and splashed ink to write. It turned out that on that day Haitan Zi had manifested himself in several places at once.

When Haitan Zi later sat in meditation and passed away, white vapor rose from the crown of his head, transformed into a crane, and ascended. In the sixth year of the Zhiyuan era under the Yuan, he was posthumously named the True Lord of Illuminating Understanding and Expansive Dao.

He also once transmitted the Dao to the immortal woman Geng and guided her to salvation.

Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) traveled south with Immortal Maiden Yiyang. Along the way, they met a woman surnamed Geng, a native of Southern Tang. She was upright in character and quick-witted. Seeing that she had the aptitude to cultivate the Dao, Patriarch Lü said, “Immortal Maiden, this woman could become your disciple.” Yiyang replied, “The Great Dao favors no one. She must first be tested.”

At the time, Geng was walking alone in the countryside, carrying a basket of vegetables. Yiyang approached her playfully and asked, “Miss, do you have any soup at home? Could you give this female Daoist something to quench her thirst?” Geng replied, “I do, but my home is quite a distance away.” Yiyang said, “Give me your basket, and I’ll have someone fetch it from your home.” Geng asked, “Who will carry it?” Yiyang answered, “The basket will walk by itself.” Geng did not believe her. Yiyang secretly used her spiritual powers to make the basket rise into the air. Before long, it had made the round trip, bringing back Geng’s clothes as well. Astonished, Geng asked, “Are you a female Daoist with magical powers, or an immortal?” Yiyang smiled and said, “If you take this for magic, magic can be learned. If you take it for the Way of the Immortals, that too can be pursued.”

Geng heard this and suddenly understood something. She was willing to follow Yiyang, learn the Way of the Immortals, and explore its methods. Yiyang revealed her true identity, and Geng was overjoyed. Yiyang then taught her to bow before Patriarch Lü and imparted the mysteries of dual cultivation of the Dao and its methods. Here, “dual cultivation” refers to a specialized method of Daoist cultivation.

Geng soon left home to wander the world. She could knead snow into silver and paint embroidery-like patterns on cloth. When Zhu Wengong (Zhu Xi) met her, he found her extraordinary and asked her about the Dao and its methods. Geng fobbed him off with wild, cryptic remarks, and Zhu Wengong could not press her further. After that, she displayed more and more wondrous transformations, and people called her Immortal Maiden Feng.

Sun Bu’er, the wife of Ma Yifu, one of the Seven Perfected Ones, had studied the Dao under Wang Chongyang in her youth. Later, she met Immortal Maiden Feng, who took her to Luoyang and opened Feng Immortal Cave as a place for her to live. Sun Bu’er ultimately succeeded in cultivating the Dao and became an immortal.