《墉城集仙录》

The Records of Assembled Immortals of the Walled City recount the deeds of women from ancient times to the present who cultivated the Dao and attained the Dao, ascending to immortality. By leaving behind worldly life and ascending as immortals, they transcended the ordinary and realized the Great Dao. Thus they could rise above lives as brief as a white colt glimpsed through a crack or a lamp flickering in the wind, and enjoy lifespans as long as the legendary Zhuang tree and the moon’s cassia tree. Though the body is as fragile as a bubble, they could attain a life as steadfast as metal and stone. In every age, there have been people who gained long life and crossed beyond the world. Their deeds endured through the ages and were recorded in scriptures, illustrated records, and secret canons, where they are described in rich detail and clearly preserved.

Those who attained the Dao and became immortals followed different paths. Some rose in rank to become supreme sages; others took their place among the high perfected ones. Some governed the heavens, while others oversaw famous mountains. Some rode the Chi star and wandered along the River of Heaven; others hid within the moon or raced toward the morning light. Some attended court and feasted in the Nine Heavens—the lofty celestial realms in Daoist teaching—while others soared through the Eight Extremities, the farthest reaches in every direction. Before the Kaihuang era, and before the beginning of the cosmic tribulations, many such accounts had already been recorded in the precious books of the Three Caverns, the Daoist system of classifying scriptures.

From the Three August Ones and the Three Ancient Sovereigns onward—that is, from the time people began raising cattle and horses and entered civilized life—immortals often descended from the Celestial Palace to save living beings. At times, they also left their posts in the immortal realms to govern the human world for a while. They set forth laws and established teachings, assisted rulers, and guided the affairs of state. Confucian classics and historical works alike record these deeds.

Others concealed their radiance and mingled among ordinary people, later ascending to heaven amid immortal light. Some performed meritorious deeds in the mountains and forests, then lightened their bodies and rose along clouds, mist, and rosy vapors. Some left the noisy, polluted human world and rode phoenixes or cranes into the heights. Some personally assisted emperors; others were content to live among the people. They quietly accumulated merit, and their profound virtue reached Heaven’s hearing. In the end, they ascended together with their chickens and dogs, and even their families in the courtyard rose with them. Such events were written into the histories, and examples can be found in every age.

In the past, Ruan Cang, an official of the Qin dynasty, and Liu Xiang, a commandant of the Han dynasty, each wrote accounts of immortals, and their works have been passed down. Later came the Book of Cavernous Mysteries, Biographies of the Immortals, Biographies of Daoist Learning, Collected Biographies of Immortals, Continued Biographies of the Immortals, Later Biographies of the Immortals, Biographies of Immortals of the Caverns, and Records of the High Perfected Ones, among more than ten works devoted to compiling the deeds of immortals.

Classical texts contain many accounts of sacred mountains and blessed lands—places where immortals and perfected beings cultivate and dwell—as well as descriptions of geography, mountains and seas, investigations of spirits and natural wonders, and prescriptions and medicines for immortality. They also cite people by name, record their deeds in detail, and corroborate these accounts with what has been seen and heard. Thus the affairs of the immortals are already plain to see, with nothing hidden about them.

Ordinary people sometimes believe that one becomes an immortal only after the body dies and the soul and spirit attain perfection; they do not believe that the physical body can also ascend. This view comes from shallow understanding and a failure to grasp the principles. The True Scripture says: “After attaining the Dao, one leaves the world of dust. Some conceal themselves, while others appear. Though the Dao they realize is the same, their methods of cultivation may differ.” Thus there are more than a hundred paths to immortality; they are not limited to a single road or bound by one method.

Some become friends of perfected beings or guests of the Celestial Emperor, then suddenly arrive in dragon-drawn carriages and are received as they ascend to Heaven; others ride clouds into the distance. Gu Xi, Chang Li, Qing Guang, and Chi Song are examples of this kind. Others receive immortal books and talismans and registers—documents and credentials used in Daoist cultivation and ritual arts—and refine their bodies through Hidden-Light Refinement, cultivating in secluded and concealed places so that spirit and flesh grow anew. Through the abundant merit of their cultivation in former lives, they become immortals. The Five Elders, the Supreme Emperor, the Four Poles, and the True Kings belong to this kind. Still others, through steadfast sincerity, endure trials without wavering, turn their gaze toward Kunlun, the legendary mountain of immortals, and worship the Great Emperor in their hearts, eventually attaining the Dao. Huang Guan, Wei Dao, and the Lord Wei Fu are examples.

There are also methods of cultivation such as the Seven Transformations of the Great Cavern and the Eight Endowments and Three Diagrams, as well as immortal medicines, talismanic methods, and materials for cultivation, including fetal essence, mottled talismans, hidden mushrooms, curved silk, jade essence, Golden Elixir, yellow water, secret talismans, red trees, blue blossoms, ring-shaped steel, crimson fruits, white feathers, imperial images, the Nine Cycles, and the Eight Jades. After taking them, one can transform into a phoenix or a dragon; after swallowing and consuming them, the body can be transformed into gold or jade.

There are also secret methods involving golden seals and jade pendants, scriptures of the Three Sovereigns and Eight Luminaries, sacred writings of cinnabar and plain memorials, essential instructions concerning the Divine Tiger and Golden Truth, and techniques of flight. These enable practitioners to pass beyond the void and walk upon empty space, release streaming golden radiance, summon and subdue spirits, and bring rebels under control. In flight they wear kingfisher plumes and dark wings; when riding, they mount the flying canopy known as Quchen. They cultivate seventy-four methods, leaving none incomplete, and pass on thirty-seven forms of colored ritual practice, gradually assembling the full regalia of feathers. At a certain stage of cultivation, some receive the Nine Bestowals, marks of high honor, and ascend through the air; others must undergo seven trials before their dark wings, symbols of the power to ascend, become firm. The master transmits the secret instructions, but practitioners must also confirm them through their own realization. Calendrical cycles and celestial signs cannot shake their resolve, thunder cannot disturb their minds, wealth and status cannot confuse their aims, and sights and sounds cannot tempt their hearts. Such people can say, “My destiny lies with me”: they cultivate long life for themselves. How could one count all those throughout the ages who have attained the Dao and become immortals? The Southern Perfected One says that when merit is complete and reaches three thousand, one may ascend to heaven in broad daylight; by continuing to spread the Great Dao, one can ultimately attain deathlessness. This is what the saying means.

There are different ranks among the states of immortals. Those of the highest rank ride cloud chariots and fly beneath feathered canopies, ascending with both body and spirit. Those of the next rank withdraw into deep mountain valleys and forests, conceal their traces, and quietly undergo transformation. Those of the rank below them leave their former bodies and entrust themselves to another form, departing like a snake shedding its skin or a cicada leaving its shell. Those who ascend skyward in flight are superior; those who undergo corpse liberation, leaving behind or relinquishing their former bodies through transformation, are of a lower rank.

There are also people whose merit is not yet complete and whose accumulated good deeds have not become outstanding. Some are exceptionally filial and loyal, steadfast and courageous; others remain wholly devoted to the Dao, but their achievements have not yet benefited others. They live simply and cultivate alone, seeking only their own refinement, and their good deeds have not reached the realms of the unseen or the human world. Because the Highest One recognizes their aspiration and the Taiji their sincerity, when their lifespans end they are made into benevolent and fortunate spirits, ghosts who enjoy blessings. The Earthly Offices do not enter them in the registers of ghosts under their jurisdiction, nor record them among those outside the blessed realm of carefree ease. They live there in comfort and freedom, with their wishes fulfilled. When their allotted years have run their course, they may become ghostly immortals. Thereafter they rise into the realm of Yin Radiance and enjoy rank like that of kings. If they continue accumulating merit, they will advance to the stage of human immortals.

By doing good deeds in this way, one’s virtuous actions will not go unrewarded, and the path of the immortals can indeed be cultivated and learned. The registers of the immortals—which record their deeds and ranks—omit no merit, whether great or small. If a practitioner remains steadfast in resolve and completes their allotted lifespan, they may become a ghost immortal, one who has not yet transcended the realm of Yin and holds a lower rank. They may then ascend into the realm of Yin radiance and enjoy a rank like that of a king. By continuing to accumulate merit, they can advance to the rank of a human immortal. However great or small the merit, and however many or few the good deeds, one must persist in earning merit and doing good without slackening. How could a person who cultivates the Dao fail to encourage themselves?

Yin and Yang work together: this is the Dao’s subtle operation. They shape the myriad things and bring forth living beings, allowing life to multiply without end and the myriad phenomena to renew themselves in succession. Thus Heaven covers all things and Earth bears them; clarity and turbidity work together. The sun and moon shine upon the world, each serving its purpose by day and by night. Through the sun and moon as symbols of Yin and Yang, the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and humanity—are brought to completion. The Lord of the East (Dongwanggong), supreme among the male immortals, governs the eastern Zhen position; the Golden Mother (Jinmu), supreme among the female immortals, holds her honored place in the western Dui Lake. The male perfected beings and female immortals each have their proper place, and the domains they govern are clearly distinguished.

A review of Daoist proclamations, decrees, and illustrated biographies shows that these subjects are often recorded together without distinction. Here, accounts of visualization and cultivation have been gathered and arranged on the basis of the seven scriptures of the Shangqing tradition. The chapters on the sun, moon, and five planets, as well as those on aerial pacing, all include material concerning the Primordial Father and Mysterious Mother; both masculine titles and feminine names are recorded. The author brought together the various accounts and compiled them into a book, honoring the Golden Mother as supreme among the female immortals, establishing Yōngchéng—the immortal realm where the Queen Mother of the West resides—as her seat of governance, and recording the attainments of female immortals from ancient times to the present. The book is titled Collected Immortals of Yōngchéng.

The Upper Scripture says: “When a man attains the Dao, the highest rank he may reach is True Lord; when a woman attains the Dao, the highest rank she may reach is Primordial Lady.” This biography centers on the Golden Mother, with the Primordial Ladies ranked after her, and comprises ten volumes. It was compiled by Master Guangcheng, Du Guangting.

Volume One: The Sacred Mother, Primordial Lady

The Holy Mother Primordial Lady, one of Daoism’s revered deities, is a divine being formed from the gathering of the subtle, harmonious Qi of the hidden Yin. She is also known as the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden, and is the teacher of the Supreme Lord. In primordial times, the Most High Lord Lao brought forth divine beings. He underwent cosmic tribulations, transformed in response to the times, and appeared or withdrew from view in ways too numerous to recount. To manifest his birth in the human world and show that all things have beginnings, Lord Lao divided his form and spirit, entrusted himself to the Primordial Lady’s womb, and was born again.

In a distant age of cosmic chaos, Lord Lao often took up residence on Mount Celestial Ridge and Spirit Mirror. In the eighth year of the eighteenth king, Yangjia, of the Shang dynasty, in the year gengshen, Lord Lao rode the essence of the sun and traveled amid the cloudlike Qi of nine dragons. Gradually shrinking into a nine-colored pellet, he descended from heaven and lodged in the Primordial Lady’s womb. At the time, she lived beside the Wo Spring in Quren Village, Laixiang, Ku County, in the state of Chu. As she napped one day, she suddenly felt a ray of sunlight, like a shooting star, enter her mouth, and so she became pregnant.

For the next eighty-one years, the house where the Primordial Lady lived was often filled with an unusual fragrance and a radiance like that of the sun and moon, as if divine beings were guarding her. Her appearance remained beautiful and striking, and she did not age. On the fifteenth day of the second month of the ninth gengchen year of the twenty-second king, Wuding, of the Shang dynasty, she climbed an ash tree and gave birth to Lord Lao through her left side. At that moment, nine dragons surged up from the earth and leapt into the sky, spouting water to bathe him. Nine wells formed where the dragons appeared. They still stand at the Taiqing Palace in Bozhou and are known as the “Nine Wells.”

After his birth, Lord Lao could walk nine steps. With each step, a lotus sprang up beneath his feet to support him. The sun and moon shone brightly, and the gods and spirits came to guard him. Pointing to the ash tree, he said, “This is the source of my surname.” Thus he took the surname Li. For this reason, people also call the Primordial Lady “Mother Li.”

After completing the nine steps, he pointed his left hand to the sky and his right hand to the ground, saying, “Above the heavens and below the heavens, I alone am most honored. What is there in the world’s sufferings that is worth hearing or clinging to?” Within three days, his body underwent nine transformations. He grew to nine feet tall, with green eyebrows and a white beard. His forehead resembled the sun and the crown of his head the moon. A pillar rose on either side of his nose, and each ear had three openings. His brows and eyes were handsome, and his square mouth was well formed. His body bore five, seventeen, and seventy-two distinctive marks, along with eighty-one auspicious features.

The Primordial Lady, a revered Daoist female immortal, called him “Laozi” because his hair was already white at birth. Some say that he himself claimed to have nine titles; others say he had thirty-six titles and seventy-two names. The Inner Chapter on the Mysterious and Subtle says: “When Lord Lao was born, all the myriad gods between heaven and earth gathered in his courtyard. The Sun Youth radiated brilliance, the Moon Maiden scattered flowers, the Seven Primordials—the stellar deities associated with the Big Dipper and other stars—shone with light, and the Three Pure Essences, the three kinds of clear, numinous Qi in Daoist teaching, filled the courtyard. All kinds of flowers and plants gave off fragrance, and lotuses sprang from the earth. Divine youths and Mysterious Maidens stood at his sides. Subtle, wondrous music sounded of its own accord in the air, and celestial music resounded through the vast sky.”

Thereafter, Lord Lao served the Primordial Lady, secretly expounding the wondrous, mysterious Dao, preparing to teach all beings far and wide and vigorously uphold the orthodox Way. During a moment of leisure, the Primordial Lady said to Lord Lao, “When I examine myself, I find that my body is made up of things borrowed from six houses, only lent for my temporary use. What are these six houses?”

The Wood Spirit represented by Jia Yin forms the human bones; the Metal Spirit represented by Jia Shen forms the teeth; and the Earth Spirit represented by Jia Xu forms the muscles. The Wind Spirit represented by Jia Chen governs the breath; the Fire Spirit represented by Jia Wu brings warmth; and the Water Spirit represented by Jia Zi brings moisture. The Wood Spirit corresponds to the liver, the Fire Spirit to the heart, the Earth Spirit to the spleen, the Metal Spirit to the lungs, the Water Spirit to the kidneys, and the Wind Spirit to the gallbladder. These six forces together form the human body, which is why the body has five zang organs and six kinds of breath.

Each force resides in its own place within the body, forming the five zang organs, six fu organs, nine palaces, twelve chambers, four limbs and five bodily forms, three burners and nine orifices, 180 vital points at the joints, and 360 bone joints. This is what enables people to move, see, breathe, eat, speak, distinguish what they like from what they dislike, and understand right and wrong. If even one of the six forces falls out of balance, a person becomes ill.

People are born in different years, months, days, and hours. From the stellar mansion associated with each person, one can infer their wealth or poverty, rank or low standing, and the length of their life. Yet what is formed by the six forces may gather or disperse, come to life or die, take shape or decay, flourish or decline. This is the ordinary course of things. The human body is bound to decay, the spirit is bound to disperse, and life is bound to end. This is truly frightening. While the spirit remains, a person is alive; when it departs, only a corpse is left. How could this fail to grieve us?

This is because the five colors disturb the eyes and make it hard to see clearly; the five sounds disturb the ears and make it hard to hear; the five flavors disturb the mouth and tongue, throwing taste out of order; thoughts of choosing and rejecting disturb the heart and unsettle the spirit. Desire, when never satisfied, scatters the spirit; love and aversion, when not cast off, weary and agitate the heart. If these disturbances are not quickly removed, the will and vital essence will waste away day by day, and the lifespan will gradually shorten. How could this not serve as a warning?

The five colors are like awls piercing the eyes, the five tones like hammers blocking the ears, and the five flavors like axes chopping off the tongue.

All the things people covet for pleasure are like fires that burn them from within. These desires invite disaster and become the roots of calamity.”

The Primordial Lady said, “If you value long life, first cultivate yourself, then attend to your home and community, and from there extend your care to all under Heaven. Children should be filial, ministers loyal, those in high positions should care for those below them, and those below should fulfill their duty of obedience. Bring food and daily life into harmony, so they accord with the Dao and return to what is true.

“If you care only for yourself and pursue long life in solitude, seeking to escape the affairs of the world, while caring nothing for those above or below you, your family, or your friends; if you show neither loyalty nor filial piety, refuse to consider others, and favor only yourself; if you defy reason yet insist you are right, and knowingly indulge in conduct that lacks De—even if you renounce worldly pleasures and fine food, and make your mind as austere as a withered tree or cold ashes, what is there to admire? The value of cultivating the Dao lies in living at ease, free of burdens, in peace and harmony, able to meet every circumstance, enduring without interruption, and helping all living beings. This is the kind of long life worth valuing.

“Long life is difficult to attain. The key lies in loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness. Those who establish these virtues can benefit others through their merit, and their lives will naturally be prolonged. People without these virtues, even if they live alone in the mountains among plants and stones, merely waste their lives. In the end, they will fall into suffering: their past offenses remain unpurged, and they have earned no merit in the present. They will ultimately lose human form and be reborn in remote, desolate regions, or as other creatures such as birds and fish, cut off from the Dao for a long time. This is truly pitiable.

“Those who follow the Dao and do good can remain in joy; those who use their strength to do evil will face endless suffering after death. Superior cultivators of the Dao accumulate good deeds and thereby attain lasting life; they are called perfected beings, or those who have attained the Dao. Though Heaven and Earth may one day be destroyed, perfected beings do not perish. They transcend the Three Realms—the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm—and roam freely in the Highest Clarity, a high celestial realm in Daoism. The scripture warns people by tracing the consequences of a single evil deed through to countless evils: when ordinary people accumulate a thousand evils, their descendants become rebellious fiends; with two thousand evils, they themselves become slaves; with three thousand, they suffer many illnesses and are left isolated and impoverished.”

Committing two thousand evil deeds reduces one to servitude. At three thousand, one suffers six kinds of illness and becomes lonely and destitute. At four thousand, one contracts epidemic disease and wanders from place to place. At five thousand, one becomes a ghost in the Five Prisons. At six thousand, one becomes a prisoner in the Twenty-Eight Hells. At seven thousand, one becomes a condemned sufferer in the various hells of the four directions. At eight thousand, one falls into the Ice Hell. At nine thousand, one enters the Hell at the Edge of the Earth. At ten thousand, one falls into the Hell of the Hungry Ghosts, where the hungry suffer.

The source of all evil lies in the Three Actions: deeds of body, speech, and mind. One evil follows another, and together they accumulate into the myriad evils. Those who fall into the Hell of the Hungry Ghosts will never be pardoned; even at the end of time, it will be difficult to save them. How can this fail to bring sorrow? When people realize they have committed an evil deed, they should correct themselves at once and never repeat it. In this way, they draw near to the Dao. If afflicted by demonic forces, they should cleanse their thoughts, examine and blame themselves, repent, and cultivate themselves; then they can turn evil into good.

When a person does one good deed, their mind and spirit become settled. With ten good deeds, their Qi grows strong and healthy. With a hundred, auspicious signs arrive. With a thousand, their descendants can become divine immortals. With two thousand good deeds, one can become an officer in the realm of the sages, perfected beings, and immortals. With three thousand, one can become an official in the ranks of the immortals. With four thousand, one can become a teacher of the world and a leader in the realm of the sages, perfected beings, and immortals. With five thousand, one can become a chief master in that realm; with six thousand, a minister or senior official; with seven thousand, a duke or king; with eight thousand, an emperor; with nine thousand, one of the Five Emperors of the Primordial Beginning; and with ten thousand, the Supreme Jade Emperor.

The Primordial Lord said: “The foundation of all good deeds, too, lies in the Three Actions. The ten good deeds give rise to one another, until they accumulate into the myriad good deeds. Good deeds add to one’s allotted years; evil deeds take them away. There are authorities assigned to reward good and punish evil. The principle of karmic retribution is exact to the smallest measure.”

The foundation of longevity lies in good deeds. When one acts well in body, speech, and thought, the Ten Good Deeds continually grow and can accumulate into the myriad good deeds. Good deeds can lengthen one’s life, while evil deeds shorten it. Divine officials oversee the rewarding of good and punishment of evil, and karmic retribution misses nothing. Goodness is the foundation of longevity; one should be vigilant and strive to improve oneself.

The Primordial Lady said: “People live between Heaven and Earth and receive Qi that differs in clarity and turbidity, firmness and softness. As each person cultivates this endowment, different temperaments take shape. Those whose Qi is clear are intelligent and perceptive; those whose Qi is turbid are fierce and dull-witted. Those whose Qi is firm are noble, dignified, brave, and resolute; those whose Qi is soft are compassionate, generous, simple, and steadfast. Wood is strong and upright in nature, Earth is benevolent and harmonious, Water is modest and yielding, Fire is fierce, and Metal is stern and liable to break. Each temperament is shaped by the qualities one receives.

The wise can restrain and subdue their temperament, thereby extending their lives; the foolish indulge their desires and damage their nature. Nature is the source of life, and life is its foundation. One should cultivate oneself diligently and persist in refinement, nurturing one’s nature and guarding the Original Spirit—the spiritual root of life. In this way, one can leave suffering and find joy, with blessings that never run out.

Human life comes from Shen: when Shen is settled, life endures; when Shen disperses, life ends. Therefore, one should gather and guard Original Qi to nurture life. Qi gathers into Jing, Jing gathers into Shen, and when Shen has gathered in abundance, one can attain longevity.

The Primordial Lady also said: “People in the world know only how to satisfy their appetites with sumptuous food, but do not realize that fine food can also damage life. They know only how to honor themselves with high office and generous emoluments, but do not realize that extravagant rank and wealth can harm them. Thus, those who cultivate the Way should refine the body through the Nine Elixirs, release blockages through the Five Spirits—the spirits of the five internal organs—guide the innate, primordial Qi, and eliminate the roots of the Three Passes, the crucial passages or obstacles in cultivation. After nine rounds of refinement and ten transformations, when the hundred joints throughout the body are clear and unobstructed, and the bonds inherited from the womb have been severed, one can recognize one’s original nature. Once one recognizes this original nature, one can become a High Immortal.

An immortal is one who succeeds through inner cultivation and recognition of the original mind. The Dao appears when one seeks inwardly and cultivates with precision. The Real is attained by cultivating stillness and depth until one accords with the true Dao. Shen is achieved by continually accumulating spiritual responsiveness until one reaches wondrous clarity and understanding. If one can always guard the One—keeping the mind and spirit focused and undivided—one is not far from becoming an immortal.”

If the mind and spirit struggle and grow weary, the body becomes restless and unable to concentrate. Whether in movement or stillness, Jing and Qi are depleted. And if one lets the eyes and ears roam in every direction, constantly seeking and taking in more, then even after many years of pursuing the Dao, one will only drift farther from it. A person who does not cultivate the Dao is like an illusion, dwelling only temporarily between Heaven and Earth. But if one gathers the breath, nurtures the spirit, practices diligently, and focuses on the true Dao, steadfast perseverance over time can bring attainment. Having attained the Dao, one can dwell with Heaven and Earth in the “Great Nonbeing,” the realm of utter emptiness and formlessness. By further realizing emptiness and returning to the formless, one can abide in stillness together with the Great Nonbeing. Complete realization of stillness leads to a state beyond sight and hearing, where one becomes one with the Dao.

The Primordial Lady said: “The Dao is the utmost truth: empty, still, and open to all. The arts are methods of transformation, subtle and profound. The Dao has no form of its own, yet through the arts it can aid the people of the world. Human beings possess spiritual awareness, and through cultivation they can unite with the Dao. Those who learn these methods can naturally undergo transformation. The essentials of cultivating the Dao are depth, simplicity, and ease of practice. The secrets of cultivating the arts lie in talismans, medicines, and Qi. Talismans embody the spiritual power of the sun, moon, and stars; they are authentic credentials of the Way of Heaven. Medicines are the essence of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), formed from the vital energy of the earth. Qi is the refined essence born of Yin-Yang in harmony, gathering the spiritual potency of all things. These three are essential to reaching the realm of the Dao, and are treasured aids for those who seek immortality. Those who cultivate all three can endure through time and widely aid others.”

The Primordial Lady also said: “How the Dao is attained depends on how people uphold and extend its cultivation. Medicine can refine and nourish the body; talismans can summon spirits. When the spirit returns to the body, the mind becomes clear; when the body is strong, Qi becomes stable. With abundant spirit and Qi and a firm body, life can be preserved. Only after preserving life can one transform Qi into Jing, enter deeply into the formless realm, fly through the void, and freely govern birth and death, existence and passing away, thereby enduring through time.”

Once a person attains the Dao (the Way), even if heaven and earth are destroyed and they endure great calamities, disaster cannot harm them. This is the power of talismans and medicines.

The Primordial Lady said, “In ancient times, there were seventy-two chapters on the arts of transforming the precious elixirs and the methods of the returning elixir and golden liquid. Today, only nine chapters remain, divided into three volumes, with three chapters in each. The three chapters listed in one of these volumes are precisely the Elixir Scripture. The elixir methods also include five talismans: the first is Dark White, the second Golden Essence, the third Flying Talisman, the fourth Golden Radiance, and the fifth Three and Five. There are also nine kinds of returning elixir: White Snow, Male and Female, White Radiance, Golden Liquid, Elixir Radiance, Five Colors, Mud Tribute, Golden Essence, and Nine Cauldrons. Together, they are called the ‘Ninefold Returning Elixirs.’ Obtaining just one of these elixirs is enough to attain long life; it is not necessary to refine them all.

“The methods of the divine elixir involve three transformations and five refinements, up to a maximum of nine cycles. Medicines made from plants and trees rot when buried in the earth, disintegrate when boiled, and char when burned. They cannot grow on their own, so how could they make a person live forever? The art of the Golden Elixir is the opposite: the longer it is heated, the purer it becomes; the more thoroughly it is refined, the more wondrous its effects. Thus it can make a person live forever. The Old Lord therefore refined the Golden Elixir to show people the foundation of cultivating the Dao. A well said to have been used for elixir making is still preserved in Bozhou today.”

The Primordial Lady said, “Although the nine elixirs are the same, the realm each person can attain by taking them depends on their own cultivation. Those of the highest capacity become immortal officials; those of middling capacity dwell on Kunlun; those of lesser capacity can live forever in the human world.”

The Primordial Lady also said, “The Nine Elixirs and the Golden Liquid are both ways of ascending to heaven. Those who take the Nine Elixirs can become immortal officials, and cloud dragons will come to welcome them. Those who take the Golden Liquid will glow all over with a golden radiance and ascend to heaven at once. But all this rests on accumulating merit through good deeds; only then will the divine elixir come of its own accord. Without merit and cultivation, one can hardly expect to become an immortal.

“In the past, I was with the Primordial Heavenly Lord, receiving secret instructions twelve hundred times and enduring countless tribulations. I also widely taught and guided people to salvation.”

It is said that the Great Immortal of Utmost Truth, the Heavenly Emperor, the Supreme Lord, the Primordial Lady of Taiwei Taiyi, and, in later times, the Dark Lady and the Yellow Emperor all attained the Dao. The Great Dao is never passed on casually; it must be entrusted to someone suited to receive it. Those who sink into pleasure and desire, become attached to sensual delights, and let their hearts dwell on right and wrong are like stones dropped into a river: they sink and never return. This is truly lamentable.

Yet this Daoist method is profound and mysterious. It is hidden among the Nine Heavens and kept in the cloud archives—the celestial scriptures—of the Jade Terrace. It is imparted only once every ten thousand years, and always to someone worthy of receiving it. Only those who possess a Dark Register, a Daoist ordination register, and a jade name have the chance to see its texts. Those without the fitting karmic affinity, as well as those whose innate constitution is unsuitable or whose fate is harsh, have no way to hear of it.

After the Primordial Lady had finished speaking, cloud chariots, feathered canopies, and ranks of celestial officials and attendants gathered in solemn array. She then mounted the Chariot of the Eight Luminaries, the vehicle of the immortals, and ascended to Heaven in broad daylight. The Old Lord rode a white deer away above the cypress tree. His attendants escorted the celestial carriage back to the Great Clarity, the pure realm of the immortals in Daoist belief. Even today, deer tracks are said to remain on the cypress tree.

Another account says that the Primordial Lady held the highest and most revered position. She governed Heaven and Earth, harmonized Yin-Yang, commanded the winds and rains, set the Five Planets in motion, regulated cold and heat, and held authority over the cosmos. All immortals of the Three Realms were subject to her. Human life and death, and the rise and decline of the world, were also under her command. Calling her the Old Lord’s Holy Mother thus made clear that all life in Heaven and Earth has a source, and that people, too, have an ancestral lineage of transmission. She therefore instructed the Primordial Lord Taiyi to explain the essentials of the Returning Elixir and Golden Liquid, Daoist terms for methods of refining elixirs, and to pass them on to humankind.

Primordial Lady of the Golden Mother

All life has a source, and people, too, have an ancestral lineage of transmission. For this reason, the Primordial Lady of the Golden Mother instructed the Primordial Lord Taiyi to explain the essentials of the Returning Elixir and Golden Liquid and pass them on to humankind.

The Primordial Sovereign Mother of Metal, also known as the Ninefold-Spirited, Wondrously Sublime Mother of Metal of Turtle Mountain, or the Mother of Metal of the Great Spirit’s Nine Lights on the Turtle Terrace, is the Queen Mother of the West. She embodies the most wondrous Qi of the West, holds a position of great honor, and governs the deep, shadowy realm.

In ancient times, Dao Qi settled into stillness: it was pure and clear, and acted through Wuwei (non-action). To reveal its mysterious workings and bring forth the myriad things, Dao first gave form to the Duke of Wood through the Eastern Qi of utmost truth. The Duke of Wood was born above the blue sea, in the realm of Azure Spirit. He governs the Qi of Yang harmony and rules the East; he is also called the King Duke of the East. Dao then gave form to the Mother of Metal through the Western Qi of utmost mystery. The Mother of Metal was born in Yichuan of the Divine Continent. Her surname was Gou, and she could fly from birth. She governs the Qi of Yin spirits and rules the West; she is also called the Queen Mother of the West. The King Duke of the East and the Queen Mother of the West both took shape from the refined, pure Qi of the Great Dao. Together, they harmonize the two Qi of Yin and Yang, nurture Heaven and Earth, and bring forth the myriad things.

The Primordial Sovereign Mother of Metal takes gentleness and compliance as her foundation. She is the source of the utmost Yin Qi and dwells in the West. Like a mother, she nurtures all beings. All women who cultivate the Dao and attain immortality—whether in Heaven, the human world, or the three realms and ten directions—are under her rule.

She lives in palaces on Turtle Mountain and Pestle Mountain, and also in the area of Kunlun’s Dark Garden and Langfeng Park. There stand layer upon layer of golden walls, twelve jade towers, the Jade Splendor Gate, the Radiant Green Hall, the Nine-Tiered Dark Terrace, and purple-green cinnabar chambers. The Jade Pool lies to the left, while Green Waters flow past on the right. Beneath the mountain are nine layers of Weak Water and enormous waves ten thousand fathoms high. Only those riding extraordinary vehicles such as flying chariots and feathered wheels can reach it. The palaces rise high into the clouds, their green terraces supporting the sky and their halls roofed with blue jade. Between the crimson and purple chambers hang colorful curtains of precious jewels, and moon-bright, emerald-green cinnabar chambers are scattered throughout.

The Jade Tower rises high into the heavens, and the Green Terrace reaches straight into the clouds. Its surface is engraved with characters like blue-green jade, and its buildings are vermilion and purple. Rows of colorful jade curtains connect one to another, while the bright moon shines from all four directions. The Queen Mother of the West wears a flower-shaped immortal headdress called a huasheng and a sacred insignia that marks her divine office. Immortal maidens attend her on the left, and feathered attendants—boys who serve the immortals—follow at her right. A jeweled canopy illuminates the courtyard, while feathered banners shelter its center. Beneath the steps grow white-ringed trees and groves of redwood. Their branches, the color of blue-green stone, spread in countless directions, and the trunks of the jade trees rise a thousand fathoms high. Though there is no wind, wondrous music sounds of its own accord, clear and far-reaching, as if playing the music of the Eight Assemblies, the celestial music of Daoism.

The Divine Continent lies southeast of Mount Kunlun, which is why the Erya says, “The Queen Mother of the West dwells beneath the canopy.” It also says, “The Queen Mother wears her hair loose, has a sheng headdress and tiger’s teeth, and is skilled at giving a long whistle.” But this description actually refers to her messenger: the White Tiger spirit, who represents the Metal Virtue of the west. It is not the Queen Mother’s true appearance.

The Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning bestowed on the Queen Mother the authority to govern the ten thousand heavens, along with the Register of the Nine Radiances of Turtle Mountain, a Fulu record of celestial offices used to summon and dispatch spirits. This enabled her to command the myriad spirits, govern the perfected sages, oversee oaths and bear witness to them, and direct the ceremonial retinues of the immortals throughout the heavens. Whenever the Celestial Worthies and supreme sages gather in court, hold banquets, or conduct examinations and inspections, the Queen Mother is present. She also takes part in presiding over the transmission of the treasured scriptures of Shangqing, the jade books of the Three Caverns, and all rites of scripture transmission and initiation.

Long ago, when the Yellow Emperor campaigned against the tyrannical Chiyou, the fighting became difficult to bring under control. Chiyou excelled at illusion: he could summon wind and rain, and blow out smoke and mist, throwing the Yellow Emperor’s army into confusion. The Yellow Emperor withdrew to rest at the foot of Mount Tai. Overcome with worry, he drifted into sleep. The Queen Mother sent a messenger in a black fox-fur cloak to appear before him and give him a talisman, saying, “Taiyi is before you. Whoever obtains this will triumph; use it in battle and you will surely defeat your enemy.” The talisman was three inches wide and one foot long, gleaming blue-green like jade, with its signs written in vermilion blood.

After the talisman ritual was completed, the Queen Mother of the West commanded a woman with a human head and a bird’s body to say to the Yellow Emperor: “I am the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden (Jiutian Xuannü), a goddess in Daoist tradition. I will teach you the arts of the Three Palaces and Five Intentions, Yin-Yang, the Taiyi methods of Dunjia and Liuren, and the secrets of change in the Yin Talisman, along with the documents of the Five Talismans and Five Victories of the Lingbao tradition. With these magical arts, you will ultimately defeat Chiyou at Zhongji, destroy the descendants of Shennong, and execute Yugang at Banquan. The realm will then be at peace. You will establish your capital at Zhuolu in Shanggu.”

Several years later, the Queen Mother of the West sent the spirit of the White Tiger, riding a white tiger, to the Yellow Emperor’s court to present him with a map. In the Yellow Emperor’s later years, she again taught him the principles of clarity, stillness, Wuwei (non-action), and returning to what is true. She said: “If you do not regulate your eating and drinking, your body will not remain light and healthy. If your thoughts never cease, your spirit will not become clear. If you indulge in music and sensual pleasures, your heart will not be at peace. When the heart is not at peace, the spirit loses its efficacy; when the spirit loses its efficacy, the Dao is difficult to realize. The key to cultivation does not lie in gazing up at the stars, paying homage to the Big Dipper, or exhausting the body through hardship. It lies in keeping the heart clear and settled, free from disturbance by worldly affairs. Only then can one realize the Dao of the immortals and attain long life.”

Later, when Yu the Great served as regent, the Queen Mother of the West sent an envoy to present him with a white jade ring and gave a map to Boyi. Yu expanded the Nine Provinces demarcated by the Yellow Emperor into twelve provinces. The Queen Mother of the West also sent an envoy to present Yu with the Emperor’s reed pipe. When Yu played it, the sounds of the winds from the eight directions fell into harmony.

In the twenty-fifth year of King Zhao of Zhou, the year Yimao, Lao Jun and the Perfected Yin Xi traveled beyond the eight directions of Heaven and Earth, going west to Turtle Terrace, where Lao Jun expounded the Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness. For this reason, Ge Xuan, the Immortal Lord of the Left Palace of the Supreme Ultimate, wrote in his preface: “I once received this scripture from the Lord of the Eastern Florescence. The Lord of the Eastern Florescence had received it from the Lord of the Golden Tower, and the Lord of the Golden Tower had received it from the Queen Mother of the West. This scripture was passed down entirely by word of mouth and was never written down.”

I now set these matters down in writing. Long ago, when King Mu of Zhou traveled, he rode in a chariot drawn by eight fine steeds. On the right was Hualiu, and on the left, Lü’er. The right-hand outrider was Chiji, and the left-hand one was Bai Mou. Zaofu drove the main chariot, with Gao Mou as the attendant seated on its right. A second chariot followed, also drawn by four horses: Quhuang on the right and Yulun on the left; the left-hand outrider was Daoli, and the right-hand one, Mou Baiyao. Can Bai drove the main chariot, with Ben Rong as its right-hand attendant. The convoy sped a thousand miles and reached the territory of the Juzhuo people.

The Juzhuo people offered King Mu the blood of a white swan to drink, then washed his feet with the milk of cows and horses. After he and his attendants had drunk, they continued on their way and spent the night at the foot of Mount Kunlun, on the north bank of the Red River. The next day, they climbed the hills of Kunlun to admire the Yellow Emperor’s palace. There they set up a stone marker to record their visit for posterity. Later, the Queen Mother of the West welcomed King Mu and feasted him by the Jade Lake. She sang to him, and he answered in song; their lyrics conveyed a sense of sorrow. King Mu also watched the place where the sun sets. Hearing that it could travel ten thousand miles in a day, he sighed: “My De is still insufficient. Perhaps later generations will repeatedly call me to account for my faults?”

Another account says that King Mu presented the Queen Mother of the West with a white jade tablet and rich brocade as birthday gifts. He sang the “Song of White Clouds,” carved a record of his visit into Mount Yanshan, and then returned.

There are nine ranks among those who ascend to Heaven and become immortals, and their order must not be confused. The highest rank is the High Immortal, called the “True King of the Nine Heavens.” The second is the Lesser Immortal, called the “True Sovereign of the Three Heavens.” The third is the “Supreme Perfected Person”; the fourth, the “Flying Heavenly Perfected Person”; the fifth, the “Numinous Immortal”; the sixth, the “Perfected Person”; the seventh, the “Numinous Person”; the eighth, the “Flying Immortal”; and the ninth, the “Immortal.” No one may skip a rank among these grades. When ascending to Heaven, one must first pay respects to the Duke of Wood, the supreme eastern deity in Daoist mythology.

These ritual sequences must not be reversed. When one attains the Dao and ascends to Heaven, one must first pay respects to the Duke of Wood (Dongwanggong, the Eastern King), then visit the Golden Mother (Jinmu, the Queen Mother of the West). Only after completing these rites may one ascend to the Nine Heavens, enter the realms of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), pay respects to the Most High Lord Lao, and present oneself before the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning.

In the early Han dynasty, four or five children were playing by the roadside. One of them sang, “Wearing a green skirt, entering Heaven’s gate; bowing to the Golden Mother, kowtowing to the Duke of Wood.” No one at the time understood the meaning of the song. Only Zhang Zifang (Zhang Liang, a minister in the early Han) understood, and he went to pay his respects. He said, “This is the Jade Youth of the Eastern King. When immortals attain the Dao and ascend to Heaven, they should first bow to the Golden Mother, then pay respects to the Duke of Wood. Those who have not transcended the ordinary world, attained the Dao, and become perfected beings would not know this path to the realm of immortals.”

Emperor Xiaowu of Han, Liu Che (Emperor Wu of Han), was devoted to the way of long life. In the first year of Yuanfeng, he climbed Mount Song, built the Terrace for Seeking the Real, and observed purification and quiet contemplation. On the day of Wuchen in the fourth month, the Queen Mother sent the Jade Maiden of Yongcheng, Wang Zideng, to tell Emperor Wu: “I have heard that you wish to relinquish the realm’s stipends and the dignity of an emperor in search of the true Dao of long life. Your devotion is indeed diligent! On the seventh day of the seventh month, I will come for a brief visit.”

Emperor Wu asked Dongfang Shuo, and, after confirming that this was truly a divine manifestation, observed a hundred days of pure abstinence and burned incense in the palace. After the second watch, white clouds rose in the southwest. Thick clouds rolled toward the palace. As they drew near, the clouds and rosy vapors appeared in nine colors, while the sound of flutes and drums shook the sky. Dragons, phoenixes, people, and carriages arrived in great numbers; guards rode qilin and drove deer. Heavenly chariots and horses, colorful banners, and feathered regalia followed one after another. Thousands of chariots and tens of thousands of riders illuminated the palace halls. The accompanying celestial officials and immortals were too numerous to count, and each stood more than ten feet tall. Once the procession arrived, the accompanying officials could no longer be seen.

The Queen Mother rode in a purple-cloud carriage, drawn by a qilin with nine-colored markings. She carried the Heavenly Truth Strategy and wore the Vajra numinous seal, a seal believed to have miraculous power. Her yellow brocade robes were vividly patterned and gleamed with golden light. At her waist hung the Dividing-Light sword, and around her was tied a broad sash of flying clouds. Her hair was arranged in a high coiffure, crowned with the Supreme Truth Morning Tassel cap, and her feet were shod in square jade shoes embroidered with phoenixes. She looked about twenty years old. By nature, her bearing was gentle and lovely, her beauty beyond the ordinary: a true numinous immortal.

After the Queen Mother stepped down from her carriage, two attendants helped her onto the couch, where she sat facing east. The emperor knelt and paid his respects, then stood beside her in attendance for a long while. The Queen Mother invited him to sit and ordered a feast from the Celestial Kitchen: fragrant fresh fruit, purple mushrooms, flower stamens, and many other rare delicacies, dazzling in their abundance. These were things unknown in the human world, and the emperor could not name them.

The Queen Mother then told an attendant to bring peaches, seven of them on a jade platter, each about the size of a steamed bun. She gave four to the emperor and ate three herself. As he ate, the emperor saved the peach pits. The Queen Mother asked why, and he replied, “I want to plant them.” She said, “These peaches bear fruit only once every three thousand years. The soil in the human world is poor; even if you planted them, they would not grow. How could you possibly cultivate them?”

Next, the Queen Mother ordered her attendants to perform. Wang Zideng played the Ao instrument of eight spheres; Dong Shuangcheng played the Yunhe sheng; Young Master Shi struck the jade of Kunting; Xu Feiqiong played the Zhenling reed pipes; Wan Linghua beat the Wuling stones; Fan Chengjun sounded the Dongyin chime stones; Anxiang performed the music of the Nine Heavens; and Faying sang “The Song of Mysterious Numinousness.” The music rang out clear and stirring, and celestial melodies filled the sky.

When the singing and dancing ended, the emperor left his seat, bowed with his forehead to the ground, and asked about the way to long life. The Queen Mother said, “If you can hold worldly splendor and pleasure in low regard, live in a simple palace, and devote yourself to understanding emptiness and stillness and cultivating the Dao, that would be very good. But you indulge in sensual pleasures and sink into desire, carrying your conduct to excess. You also resort recklessly to killing, against all proper measure, and live extravagantly…”

Indulging your nature is like tearing your own body apart with a cart; giving free rein to sexual desire is like wounding yourself with an axe. Killing living beings brings retribution, while extravagance scatters the mind and spirit. As desires accumulate, the spirit is depleted; when sexual excess goes too far, life is cut short. Though your body is small, it harbors the calamity that destroys it; though it is so slight, it must endure countless injuries. To hope that this will rid you of the Three Corpses—the Daoist spirits said to dwell within the human body and cause wrongdoing and shorten life—and allow your body to endure forever is truly difficult. It is like a wingless bird hoping to fly to the Celestial Lake, or a fungus that lives from dawn to dusk hoping to enjoy the long life of spring and autumn.

If you can clear away this turmoil, remove impurity and transform your thoughts; nourish spirit and Qi in the Crimson Palace, close the palace of sexual desire and never let it open; still thoughts of extravagance in a quiet chamber; refrain from harming living beings; hold fast to compassion and delight in giving; refine and nourish your breath and cherish your Jing—if you can do all this, can the Way of long life truly be without hope? If you cannot, it is like trying to cross a great river while clutching a stone.

The Emperor knelt and received the Queen Mother’s admonition, saying, “I, Che, lack ability and have sunk into worldly life. After inheriting my ancestors’ foundation, I became entangled in worldly affairs and suffered punishment. My governance has been misguided, and my offenses have piled up like mountains. From this day forward, I ask permission to follow these words.”

The Queen Mother said, “You already understand the methods for nourishing your nature and the essentials of regulating your body. All that matters is to practice diligently and never grow slack. In the past, my teacher, the Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianwang), imparted these essential instructions to me on the Terrace of Severe Heaven:

‘If you wish for long life, first place yourself outside yourself, then seek within yourself the essential method for preserving life and the body. Hold fast to the Three Ones, the three vital spirits within the body, and preserve the numinous root. Nourish the hidden treasure of deep-seated Jing with the sweet dew of the Mysterious Valley, formed from the body’s Jing and Qi; then irrigate it with the essence of Everlasting Clarity, guiding it into the Gate of Heaven, an important aperture in the head. The Golden Chamber, where the spirit is stored within the body, revolves at the central pass. The blue and white Qi are distinct and gather at the Muddy Pellet, the spirit court in the head. Nourish the bodily fluids and seal away the Jing, so that body and spirit are complete. Let the three palaces be fully guarded and the Crimson Palace be at peace. Keep the Wu and Ji Qi of the Yellow Court, the spleen and the central palace within the body, from scattering. Connect the Five Viscera and the twelve channels; harmonize breathing in and out so that the six bowels flow freely and the hun and po souls are at peace. In this way, cast off the hundred illnesses, avoid cold and heat, preserve Jing and retain life, and extend your years.’

This is the essential method of cultivation: breathe in the Qi of Great Harmony and guard your natural, original authenticity. Any ordinary person who cultivates in this way can attain long life, command ghosts and spirits, and travel among the Five Sacred Peaks, though they cannot ascend into the air. If you can practice this method, it will be enough to free yourself from the dusty world.”

Those who cultivate the Way of the immortals all begin here. The Supreme One’s numinous medicines, the Lord of Heaven’s wondrous substances, the subterranean Yin-grown plants, and the marvelous herbs of the layered clouds are all medicines used by immortals. Whoever obtains and takes a numinous medicine of the highest grade can outlast the allotted span of Heaven and live forever. These are taken by the Supreme One, not treasured by middle-rank immortals.

If someone can obtain and take a middle-grade numinous medicine, they too can outlast the allotted span of Heaven, though they will eventually die. These are taken by the Celestial Perfected, beyond the reach of lower-rank immortals.

The next grade of medicines includes the Nine Elixirs and Golden Liquids, Purple Blossoms and Rainbow Essences, the Nine Transformations of Great Clarity, the syrup of the Five Clouds, Dark Frost and Crimson Snow, the leaping Three Yellows, White Fragrance of Eastern Yingzhou, Flying Life of Dark Continent, the Eight Minerals and Thousand Zhi fungi, the Nine Lights of Weixi, Stone Gall from the Western Flow, Green Coins of the Eastern Sea, Surplus Grain of High Mound, Jade Fields of Stacked Stone, the Returning Elixir of Great Void, Golden Orchid for storing it, Long-Luminous Crimson Grass, Cloud Youth’s Flying Stalk, and others. Whoever obtains and takes these medicines can ascend to Heaven in broad daylight. These are taken by flying immortals, beyond the knowledge or reach of earthbound immortals.

The next grade of medicines includes the resin of pine and cypress, mountain ginger, sunken essence, chrysanthemum, water plantain, goji berries, poria, sweet flag, dwarf lilyturf, sesame, yellow essence, spirit-flying herb, red board, peach gum, and wood blossom, as well as cohosh, teasel root, fragrant Solomon’s seal, and goldthread. These are only a few examples; medicinal plants are numerous, with thousands of names. If cultivators of the Way can take these medicines, they can extend their lives. Though they cannot live forever without limit or ascend into the blue sky, these medicines can make the body glow, restore a youthful appearance, and enable them to command ghosts and spirits, becoming earthbound immortals.

Those who seek the Way should first cultivate by means of this ladder, then advance gradually to higher realms. If they can regulate the breath, practice daoyin, and guide and control Jing and Qi, while guarding and stabilizing their own Shen and Qi, then their Jing and Qi will not dissipate and can endure for a long time. When primordial Qi remains present, they can escape death. In this way, they need not spend their wealth seeking medicines and minerals or labor in pursuit of them from place to place. They need only obtain the results through self-cultivation, which is more effective.

If one can regulate the breath and nourish Jing and Qi, so that Jing is not depleted and Shen and Qi are preserved, life can be prolonged. There is no need to spend money on medicines or to labor in search of things outside oneself: the essentials are already within. People use this principle every day without realizing it. For this reason, it is called the highest Daoist method and the key to cultivating life in accord with nature.

In the human body, Shen is bestowed by Heaven, the physical form by Earth, and Qi by the Dao. When Qi is present, a person lives; when Qi departs, a person dies. All plants and living things are the same. The body takes the Dao as its foundation. How, then, could one fail to nourish Shen, secure Qi, and preserve the physical form? The preservation of both form and spirit is what the highest sages prize. Is it not grievous when the body perishes and the spirit disperses? Once this body is lost, it is difficult to recover even after myriad kalpas, so you should cherish it. These words were taught to me by my teacher, the Primordial Heavenly King, a revered Daoist deity.”

Then the Queen Mother of the West ordered the Jade Maiden Li Qingsun, a female immortal who served the immortals, to write down these words and give them to the emperor, saying, “Practice them diligently.” As the Queen Mother prepared to depart, the emperor hurriedly rose from his seat, bowed, and begged her to stay. The Queen Mother then ordered her attendant to summon the Lady of the Upper Origin, a revered female immortal, to descend to the emperor’s palace. After a long while, the Lady of the Upper Origin arrived and took her seat again. A celestial feast was laid out. Some time later, the Queen Mother ordered the Lady of the Upper Origin to bring out twelve items, including the Book of the Eight Assemblies, the Diagrams of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks, and the numinous flying talismans of the Five Emperors and Six Jia.

The Queen Mother said, “These books are transmitted in Heaven only once every forty thousand kalpas; in the human realm, they may be passed on to a person who has attained the Dao once every forty years.” She then ordered her attendant Song Lingbin to open a brocade cloud pouch and take out a scroll. Rising to her feet, the Queen Mother personally handed the book to the emperor and recited an incantation:

“Heaven is high and Earth is low; the Five Sacred Peaks guard the body. The primordial fluid stirs the breath, and the great marsh gathers mysterious essence. The Dao of Heaven moves through the nine directions; the Six Directions endure in peace. The writings of the Supreme One’s Eight Assemblies bring to completion the way of flying through Heaven. True immortals use them as a token of trust and through them communicate with the numinous. If they are revealed or lost, punishment will follow from the celestial court; if this book is kept in safekeeping, long-lasting blessings and longevity may be attained. Be sure to observe these instructions with care. I hereby tell you this, Master Liu.”

When the prayers were complete, Emperor Wu of Han bowed to the Queen Mother of the West and received the talismanic texts she bestowed on him. The Queen Mother said, “Those who are just beginning to study the Dao and receive talismanic texts should learn the proper rules. When making offerings to the gods of rivers and mountains, they must cleanse themselves and observe ritual fasting before wearing the texts. The talismanic texts contain the writings of the Eightfold Assembly of the Most High, sacred characters used in Daoism to communicate with the gods. They are also credentials for soaring to heaven and becoming an immortal; through them, one may reach the gods. If the texts are revealed or lost, disaster will follow. Guard them carefully, and you may prolong your life. Be sure to act with caution. I tell you this in all seriousness.”

She added, “Forty years from now, if you wish to pass the talismanic texts you received on to someone else, you may give them to Dong Zhongjun or Li Shaojun. As emperor, you should be all the more diligent in making offerings to the gods of rivers and mountains, to bring stability to the state. Send written petitions to the gods and pray for the people’s protection.”

When she had finished speaking, the Queen Mother of the West and the Lady of the Upper Prime prepared to depart in their carriage, and their attendant immortal officials gathered around them. Smiling, the Queen Mother pointed to Dongfang Shuo and said, “He is the child next door to me, a natural wit who came to steal peaches three times. He was once an immortal official of the Most High, but his indulgence in jade wine made him lose the harmony needed to command his subordinates. So he was demoted to assist you. He is no ordinary mortal.”

Later, Emperor Wu ignored the Queen Mother of the West’s warning. He gave himself over to drink and pleasure, and continued to wage wars and kill. He campaigned against Liaodong, attacked Korea, opened routes into the southwestern tribes, and built towers and palaces, leaving the people of the realm distressed and resentful. From then on, he lost his heart for the Dao. Although he later went to Huizhong, toured the Eastern Sea, and performed three sacrifices, the Queen Mother of the West never appeared again. The Daoist books he had received were kept at Bailiang Terrace, where they were later destroyed by a heavenly fire. Li Shaojun departed from the world by the method of “releasing the form,” a Daoist means of becoming immortal through the corpse. After Dongfang Shuo ascended to heaven, he too never returned.

After the calamity of witchcraft and sorcery, Emperor Wu’s remorse grew even deeper. In the second year of Yuanshi, he died at Wuzuo Palace and was buried at Maoling. Later, more than fifty volumes of Daoist books kept in Maoling, stored in a golden casket, suddenly appeared one day on Baodu Mountain. A jade casket and a jade staff appeared in Fufeng Market. When people inspected Maoling, they found the original objects still in the tomb, while the golden casket, jade casket, and jade staff had appeared among the living. This, too, was regarded as proof of departing by shedding the corpse and leaving behind an assumed form.

There was also Lord Mao Ying, the Great Mao Lord, who lived on Mount Gouqu, in the area of present-day Maoshan, and governed the south. On the jiyou day of the eighth month in the second year of Yuanshou, the Perfected Man of Southern Mount Heng, Lord Chi; Lord Wang of the Western Citadel; and the Azure Lad of Fangzhu accompanied the Queen Mother of the West as she descended to Mao Ying’s dwelling.

Not long afterward, the Great Emperor of the Celestial Sovereigns sent the embroidered-robed envoy Leng Guangziqi to bestow on Mao Ying a divine seal and a jade tablet. The Lord Emperor of Taiwei sent the Censor of the Three Heavens’ Left Palace, Guan Xiutiao, to give him an eight-dragon brocade carriage and a splendid robe with purple feathers. The Lord of the Great Dao Above sent the Court Physician Xiechen, Shi Shumen, to Mao Ying’s dwelling to bestow a true talisman of the Golden Tiger and a bell of flowing gold. The Sage Lord of the Golden Gate then ordered the Perfected Man of Taiji to send Wang Zhong, the Jade Gentleman of Zhengyi Shangxuan, along with Bao Qiu and others, to give Mao Ying such elixirs as the Fourfold Swallow Embryo and the Luminous Divine Mushroom.

After the four envoys had delivered these things, they instructed Mao Ying to take the lingzhi, wear the divine seal and splendid robe, adjust his cap and sash, carry the talismans and registers, and stand holding the bell. The envoys told Mao Ying, “By taking the Fourfold Hidden Mushroom, you may hold the rank of Perfected Minister. By taking the Jade Mushroom of the Golden Gate, you may serve as Director of Destiny. By taking the Golden Essence of Flowing Light, you may serve as Director of Emoluments. By taking the Paired Flyers of Everlasting Radiance, you may serve as a Perfected Earl. By taking the Luminous Night Herb of the Cavern, you may oversee the offices of the Censors on the left and right. Once you have taken all of these, you will share the lifespan of Heaven and Earth, hold the office of Director of Destiny, and become the Upper Perfected Minister of the Eastern Peak, governing the immortals of Wu and Yue and overseeing the mountain streams and spiritual veins of Jiangzuo.”

When they had finished speaking, the four envoys departed together. Each of the Five Emperor Lords arrived in Mao Ying’s courtyard in a carriage suited to his direction, dressed in ceremonial robes. They conveyed the Great Emperor’s command and bestowed land and the office of Director of Destiny on Mao Ying, enfeoffing him as the Upper Perfected Minister of the Eastern Peak, ruler of the immortals of Wu and Yue and overseer of the mountain streams and spiritual veins of Jiangzuo. The Five Emperor Lords also gave him a purple jade tablet, a golden register engraved with writing, and the “Nine Bestowments,” gifts symbolizing his exalted status. They appointed him Upper Minister of the Eastern Peak. After the Perfected Lord of Destiny and the Perfected Man of Great Origin had completed these arrangements, they departed together.

The Queen Mother of the West and the Lord of the Western Citadel held a banquet for Ying. They served delicacies from the celestial realm, and host and guests drank to their hearts’ content and sang the “Song of Mysterious Numinosity.” When the banquet ended, the Queen Mother took the Lord of the Western Citadel and Ying to visit Ying’s two younger brothers, teaching each of them the essentials of the Daoist arts. She then ordered Lady of the Upper Origin, a female immortal of the celestial realm, to pass on four precious scriptures, including the Hidden Book of the Great Empyrean and the Essence of the Cinnabar Radiance, to Mao Gu and Mao Zhong. Holding the Hidden Book of the Great Empyrean herself, the Queen Mother instructed her attendant Zhang Lingzi to carry the document affirming their oath and pledge of trust, then hand the scriptures to Ying, Mao Gu, and Mao Zhong. Once this was done, the Queen Mother ascended to Heaven and departed.

Later, Lady Wang Huacun, the Primordial Sovereign of Purple Emptiness, withdrew to purify herself and cultivate in seclusion at the Terrace of Hidden Origin on Yangluo Mountain. The Queen Mother of the West and the Sagely Lord of the Golden Palace, a revered celestial deity, descended to the terrace. Riding in the Eightfold Radiance Carriage, an ornate vehicle for immortals, they went together to the Upper Palace of Clear Emptiness and transmitted to Wang Huacun the four scrolls of the Hidden Book of Jade Clarity. At that time, more than thirty immortal adepts—including Feng Shuanglizhu, Lady of the Three Origins; Shi Lucheng, the Left Immortal Lord of Purple Yang; Yan Gai, the Young Lord of the Supreme Ultimate and a lofty immortal; Wang Fangping, Perfected One of the Western Citadel; Nan Yue Chisongzi, Perfected One of Great Emptiness; and Wang Ziqiao, Perfected One of Tongbai—each sang songs of Yang and Yin of the Supreme Ultimate.

The Queen Mother of the West sang: “I ride the Eightfold Radiance Carriage and lightly enter the immortal realm of Jade Clarity. Dragon-shaped banners flutter high in the sky, while tiger-patterned flags command the divine troops of Vermilion Brilliance. I roam freely across the wondrous ford of mystery; the myriad things turn and flow without end. How lamentable that this gathering must one day come to an end, when Heaven and Earth are destroyed and the cycles of tribulation run their course. Then we must seek the realm within nonbeing, falling neither into death nor clinging to life. We awaken to the Way of nature, quietly observe the myriad things, and unite with the profound Dao. Mount Heng rises, steadfast as a true pillar; its jade-like radiance illuminates pure and numinous Qi. We attend to things without becoming attached to them; an empty heart can naturally receive numinous Qi. We meet joyfully on the banks of the Crimson River, sharing our delight with one another without end.”

After the Queen Mother finished singing, Lady Sanyuan also completed her answering song. The Queen Mother, Lady Sanyuan, the Left Immortal Lord Ziyang, the Immortal Elder of the Supreme Ultimate, Lord Wang of Pure Emptiness, and Wei Huacun of Southern Mount Heng, who had accompanied them, all traveled southeast to Mount Tiantai and Mount Huo. They then passed through the Golden Altar on Mount Gouqu and held a banquet in the Huayang Grotto-Heaven to welcome the Perfected One Mao of Taiyuan. Afterward, the Queen Mother left Wei Huacun beneath the Jade Palace in the grotto-palace of Mount Huo. All the other immortals ascended to heaven with the Queen Mother and returned to Turtle Terrace.

The Most True Golden Mother (Queen Mother of the West) is the teacher of all things. She commands the company of immortals, holds the highest rank, and governs the registers of the hidden realm and the visible world. Bian Dongxuan went in person to pay her a visit and receive the Dao. Xie Ziran served her and thereby attained immortality. For this reason, both the Dongxuan Biography and the Biography of Xie Ziran call her the Golden Mother Teacher—that is, the Queen Mother. The relevant mysterious scriptures record many of her deeds; they are not all included here.

Volume Two

Lady Shangyuan

The Lady of the Upper Origin, a Daoist female immortal, was a disciple of the Dao Lord. Some say that she attained the Dao and became an immortal in remotest antiquity, and that she oversees the registers of true immortals. Her status is second only to the Golden Mother of the Turtle Terrace, the Queen Mother of the West. When the Golden Mother descends, she often sends a maidservant to announce her arrival and invite the Lady to accompany her.

Emperor Wu of Han was devoted to the way of the immortals. He had prayed at famous mountains and performed Zhaijiao purification rites, hoping to receive a divine response. On the seventh day of the seventh month in the xinwei year, the first year of the Yuanfeng era (110 BCE), the Queen Mother of the West descended to the Han palace after the second watch of the night. Emperor Wu performed the rites of welcome and, after bowing his head to the ground, stood respectfully for a long time. The Queen Mother asked him to sit and treated him to delicacies from the celestial kitchen. They had spoken only briefly when she ordered her attendants to prepare her carriage for departure. Emperor Wu left his seat, bowed to the ground, and earnestly begged her to stay. The Queen Mother then sat down again.

The Queen Mother instructed her maidservant Lang Mixiang to invite the Lady of the Upper Origin. Emperor Wu did not know which immortal the Lady was. The Queen Mother said, “Mother Wang Jiuguang”—another title for the Lady of the Upper Origin—“sends her greetings. We have not met for more than four thousand years. The affairs of Heaven have worn me down, so I have not been able to visit you. Liu Che is devoted to the cultivation of the Dao, and I happened to come and see him. He seems fairly intelligent and could perhaps be guided in his cultivation. But his body is slack, his spirit clouded, his brain, marrow, blood, and Qi mingled together, and his five organs impure. His stomach and intestines are empty and weak; his bones lack fluids; the Qi in his pulses surges and rises in reverse; his body is abundant, but his vital essence is scant. He has not preserved the body of a youth; the Three Corpses, spirits said to lurk within the human body and obstruct cultivation, are restless within him; and the dark and bright vital essences, Yin and Yang in cultivation, are often in flux. Although he should be taught the supreme Dao, I fear he is ultimately not suited to become an immortal.

“I have not visited the human world for a long time. It is indeed foul and unpleasant, but an occasional visit is worthwhile, and this gives me a chance to set aside the subtle concerns on my mind. We sit here as host and guest, yet the atmosphere is dull and joyless. Could you come for a little while? If you would kindly honor us with your presence, I will stay and wait.”

Emperor Wu saw the maidservant descend from the hall, and in an instant she had vanished from sight.

After a while, the attendant arrived. The Queen Mother sent another attendant to reply. She said, “Ahuan, your servant, bows twice in greeting. We are separated by the Jiang River, and official duties have kept us so occupied that our appearances have faded. For nearly five thousand years I have admired your bearing, and my affection has never changed. The messenger Mixiang has arrived with your letter, saying that you will descend to Liu Che’s residence. As soon as I heard the news, I set out. But earlier, by order of the Great Sovereign Lord, I was instructed to go to Xuanzhou and verify the celestial calendar. I am on my way there for the moment. Once the task is done, I will return and join you at the banquet. Please wait a little while.”

Emperor Wu of Han then asked the Queen Mother, “May I ask who the Perfected One of the Upper Origin is?” Before the Queen Mother could answer, the lady had already arrived.

As she came, the sound of flutes and drums could still be heard from among the clouds. When she arrived, more than a thousand civil and military attendants accompanied her. They were all women, around eighteen or nineteen years old, with clear, radiant features. Most wore blue robes and shone with light; plainly, they were all spirit officials. The lady herself looked to be in her twenties. Her natural beauty was bright and lovely, and her eyes were spirited and alluring. She wore a robe of crimson frost, its cloudlike colors interwoven in a way that resembled neither brocade nor embroidery and was difficult to describe. Her hair was arranged in a three-peaked coiffure, with the rest falling to her waist. She wore a Nine-Spirit Night-Luminescent Crown and ornaments of six mountain fire-jade stones, a sash of phoenix-patterned jade flowers, and a Flowing-Yellow Essence-Brandishing Sword at her waist.

The lady entered the hall and bowed to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother told her she need not bow, then asked Emperor Wu to sit facing north. The banquet she arranged also featured a variety of rare delicacies, much like those the Queen Mother had served earlier. The Queen Mother told Emperor Wu, “This is the Mother of True Origin, a revered divine being. You should rise and pay your respects.” Emperor Wu stood and bowed, asked after her well-being, and then sat down again.

The lady smiled and said, “The Five Turbidities…”

After greeting his consort, the Son of Heaven returned to his seat. The consort smiled and said, “It is common for ordinary people to indulge in drink and sex, to crave fame and wealth, and to be greedy for food and pleasure. And you, as Son of Heaven, face far more temptations that can unsettle the mind than ordinary people do. Yet you have now uprooted these causes from a life of splendor and abundance, and turned instead toward the quiet, Wuwei (non-action) Way. You truly have resolve.” The Queen Mother said, “This shows that he sincerely aspires to the Dao.”

The consort said to the Son of Heaven, “Do you love the Dao? I have heard that you have repeatedly summoned practitioners of esoteric arts, and often gone to make offerings at sacred shrines on mountains and pray to rivers. You have certainly been diligent. But there is a reason your diligence has brought no results: you are burdened by five faults in your nature—irascibility, lust, extravagance, cruelty, and a desire to harm others. They have lain hidden in your body and mind for a long time, taking root deep in your five organs. Even the sharpest needles would scarcely be able to cure them.

“Irascibility sends the breath surging into disorder and disturbs the spirit, leaving the mind unsettled and the vital energy depleted. Lust causes the essence and vital energy to leak away and the souls and spirits to grow weary, leaving the essence exhausted and the souls and spirits diminished. Extravagance disperses the True Qi and defiles the spirit of the corporeal soul, bringing life to an end and spiritual vitality to decline. Cruelty makes a person lose their humane heart and damages the eyes, robbing them of benevolence and clouding their sight. The desire to harm others sets the inner mind at odds with itself and dries the mouth, leaving the inner being in turmoil and the outward breath cut off. These five behaviors are like blades and saws that sever the body, like axes that chop down nature and life.

“Even if you yearn for long life, what purpose is there in exhausting your nature and laboring in vain if you cannot rid yourself of these five afflictions? Still, through these practices of the Dao, you have gained a little benefit to sustain yourself.”

If, from this moment on, you put an end to five kinds of wrongdoing and instead understand and practice gentle, benevolent conduct, you must pay close attention to others’ circumstances and keep compassion in your heart. Treat people with tolerance and give generously. Relieve poverty and aid those in distress. Show consideration for those who toil, and remain forgiving and understanding. Take care of your own body as well.

Then continue doing good quietly over a long period. Help those facing danger and hardship; be diligent morning and evening without slackening, and do not dissipate your Jing and Qi. Refrain from sexual desire and nurture your spirit. Abandon luxury and be content with frugality. Practice fasting diligently, limit your food, abstain from the Five Grains, and avoid pungent, animal foods. Beat the Heavenly Drum, drink the Jade Nectar, wash the Flowery Pool, and tap the Golden Beam; these are methods of nourishing life. Practice in this way, and there may yet be hope for you.

Now the Mother, exalted in the status of a Heavenly Venerable, has left her celestial realm to descend among lowly mortals, humbling herself to come to this fox-haunted place. The Mother is utterly sincere, and speaks wondrous truths about the mysterious Dao. You should honor these precepts, observe them carefully, and clearly cultivate the Dao you have undertaken to follow. When your hundred years have passed, the Mother will surely lead you to the ruins of the Mysterious Capital, welcome you among the Kunlun immortals, grant you a rank among the celestial officials, and let you roam through the Ten Directions. My words are true. You must strive! If you cannot do these things, there is nothing more to say.”

The Emperor rose from his seat, knelt, and gave thanks. “My nature is fierce and stubborn, and I grew up amid chaos and filth. I am as ignorant and unenlightened as one facing a wall, unable to awaken or understand. Yet I cling to life and fear death, and I am willing to honor the spirits. To receive your instruction now is Heaven’s arrangement. I will keep your sacred teachings firmly in mind and make them my rule. Even someone as lowly as I should have the chance to preserve his life. I beg you to protect me with compassion and grant me the mysterious Dao.”

The Lady told the Emperor to return to his seat. The Queen Mother said to the Lady, “Your warning to him was very urgent. It should also prompt those who have not yet understood to reflect seriously on their intentions.”

The Lady said, “If he truly has the will to seek the Dao, he would throw himself before a hungry tiger and accept instruction without regard for his own safety. He would cross flames and endure hardship with single-minded devotion. Then there would be no cause for concern. But if he has no will to seek the Dao, he will doubt what is true and believe what is deluded. A person whose heart is full of doubt will feel no reverence, even when given an urgent warning.”

“Those who harbor doubts do not fear stern admonition from others. They speak urgently only because they hope to bring about what they desire.”

The Queen Mother said, “This young man has devoted himself to cultivating the Dao for a long time, yet he has never met a worthy teacher. As a result, he is about to abandon his steadfast resolve and even doubts that immortals exist anywhere in the world. So I left the Palace of Lang and came for a time into the human world, both to strengthen his resolve to cultivate the Dao and to help him focus on the Way without further confusion. Seeing him today has stirred my compassion. As for the method of corpse liberation—the Daoist practice by which a cultivator leaves the physical body behind and ascends to immortality through the remains—I am not reluctant to share it. In three years, I will certainly bestow it on him, so that he may refine half a dose of the elixir and receive a stone-image powder. If I gave these to him now, he might not yet know how to use them properly. The fierce Xiongnu have not yet been subdued, and fighting continues along the borders. Why should he hastily abandon his sovereign position and withdraw at once into the mountains? We should first see whether he is wholly devoted to the Way and remains so for the rest of his life. If he changes his mind, then I will come again and again.”

The Queen Mother then gently patted the emperor on the back and said, “You should follow the supreme teaching given by the Lady of Highest Prime (Shangyuan). You will surely attain long life. How could you fail to strive in your cultivation?”

The emperor knelt and said, “I will certainly have these words inscribed on a golden slip and make them a guiding rule for the rest of my life.”

The emperor then noticed a scroll in the Queen Mother’s head-cloth case, enclosed in a purple brocade pouch, and asked, “Is this some secret formula of the immortals? May I know the title of the book?”

The Queen Mother took it out and showed it to him. “This is the Diagram of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks, a Daoist secret diagram depicting the sacred mountains’ spiritual forms. Yesterday, the immortals of Mount Qingcheng came to ask me for it, and I was about to take it to them. This is a precious, forbidden text transmitted by the Most High of the Three Heavens. How could it be suitable for a mortal like you to carry? For now, I will give you the Scripture of the Birth of Numinous Radiance. It can help you communicate with the spirits and strengthen your resolve to cultivate the Dao.”

The emperor continued to bow and plead. The Queen Mother said, “Long ago, in the first year of the Clear Void of the High Sovereign, the Supreme Dao Lord of the Three Heavens surveyed the six directions—the four quarters of the earth, above, and below. He measured the lengths of seas and rivers and the heights of hills and mountains. He established the Pillars of Heaven to stabilize the land and set up the King Peaks to guard and support the other mountains. He honored Kunling because it held the numinous immortals; he honored Peng Mountain as a dwelling place for perfected beings. He settled the Fire God at the source of the Utmost Yin and placed the Great Thearch in the land of Fusang.

“Thus Mount Fangzhang became the place where the courses of destiny were governed, and the Canglang Sea Isles became the hall where the Nine Elders gathered. Zuying, Xuanyan, Changyuan, Liusheng, and the Phoenix-and-Qilin Grotto each became the name of an islet, all situated in the Dark Ford of the vast Cangliu Sea. There, blue and black waters mingled and waves surged and thundered. Many numinous beings, immortals, and jade maidens dwelt in the Cangming Sea. Their names are too many to know, yet their dwelling places are real.

“The Dao Lord surveyed the contours of mountains and rivers. He saw rivers and peaks winding around one another, hills turning back on themselves, mounds rising and falling, peaks climbing high, and mountain ranges stretching far. Their overall forms twisted and coiled like written characters. So the Dao Lord named them according to the shapes of their mountains and rivers, establishing a correspondence between each name and its actual form. He called these shapes ‘True Forms’ and stored them in the Mysterious Terrace, where Daoist documents are kept in secret. Later, these True Forms were sent forth as tokens of numinous truth. Immortals wore them as one wears an insignia of authorization; when Daoists carried them through mountains and rivers, the hundred gods and hosts of numinous beings showed them respect and drew near.

“Although you did not come under an official mandate, you have repeatedly gone to mountains and marshes to bow and plead, and your longing for the Dao has never faded. I admire this devotion, so I now bestow them upon you. Revere and handle them with great care, as you would serve a ruler and a father. If you divulge them or show them to others, calamity will surely befall you.”

The Lady said to the emperor, “The Mother has now opened the jade cases and pearl caskets that hold treasured scriptures, and bestowed upon you the secret writings of the Purple Terrace. The Book of the Eight Assemblies and the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks are among the most precious secret texts of the heavens. Unless you had come under a mandate and were destined to have a connection with the spirits, you could never have seen these writings.”

Although I have now obtained the physical form of this scripture and can contemplate its subtle principles, without the spirit talismans that protect the body and summon deities through the Five Emperors and the Six Jia, the talismans and registers of the Six Ding of Great Yin that connect with the true and drive away spirits through Jade Maidens, the secret texts of the Six Wu of Great Yang that summon deities and set celestial light in motion to command essences and spirits, the writings of Left Yi on the Hun Cave and Eastern Darkness, the statutes of Right Geng for summoning, capturing, and slaying, the Six Ren and Gui arts of concealment in the earth, the Nine Red-Ban talismans for entering fire through Bing and Ding, the Six Xin methods for entering metal and summoning yellow water and moonlight, the writings of the Six Ji on stone essence and golden light, and those on celestial light and commanding essence—along with the writings, statutes, and methods mentioned above, the arts of concealing one’s radiance and transforming one’s form, the Eight Endowments and Ten Decisions of Zi, Wu, Mao, and You, the Six Spirits’ majestic rites of Chou, Chen, Wei, and Xu, the Earth True One’s Qu Su, the formulae of the Long-Life Purple Book, and the Three-Five sequence, the Purple Measure and Flame Light of Yin, Ji, Shen, and Hai, and inner vision of the central region—then, lacking these twelve methods, how could one summon the mountain spirits and earth deities, gather in the myriad kinds of spirits and essences, drive away all ghosts, call forth tigers and leopards, or command dragons? What you have spoken of is only one part; you have yet to understand the rest.”

The Emperor then left his seat and bowed with his head to the ground. “I am merely a mortal from the turbid world below, ignorant of the true Way of clarity and stillness. Today I have heard of the Great Dao; I am fortunate to have encountered the Holy Mother. I now hope you will grant me the Way of the True Form, so that I may cultivate it and seek release from the world. Just now, Madam, you said that I should learn the arts for summoning deities and bringing spirits through the Six Jia, Six Ding, and Six Wu. I have already received your illumination and gained immeasurably from it. I only hope you will instruct me further and quench my hunger and thirst, letting the rain and dew of cloud and Yang nourish a withered tree, and sweet rain irrigate parched plants. I dare say no more.”

Liu Che, Emperor Wu of Han, pleaded repeatedly. The Queen Mother of the West then said to the Lady, “This is a treasured text of true forms, a scripture revered by the spirit officials. This child has sought it without ceasing and vowed that he must obtain it, so I am making an exception and intend to pass it on to him. However, the arts of communicating with the Dao and summoning spirits through the Five Emperors and the Six Jia cycles are exceedingly profound. They require the body and mind to be purified and a practice of utmost sincerity; I fear they are unsuitable for ordinary people. Since I have now bestowed the treasured text of true forms, Lady, you should pass it on to him.

“I also remember ascending Mount Xuanlong, Mount Yuye, and Mount Yaozhen with you to visit the youth Prince Tong. At my request, you sought the Supreme Hidden Book from him. At the time, I said that the Nine-Times-Three secret words could not be transmitted to an Immortal of the Middle Rank; you also promised to protect and assist Prince Tong. Since I find it difficult to disregard Liu Che’s sincerity, this is not simply a matter of my reluctance to part with the scripture. What has happened today brings the past to mind. Later, I ate spirit melons at Zhuling, and they tasted wonderful. Looking back, it seemed as though scarcely any time had passed, yet seven thousand years had gone by. Since you have already explained in detail the twelve items in the contents, you should consider how best to complete the transmission. How can you make your host, Liu Che, bow and plead, even to the point of shedding blood?”

The Lady said, “If the Queen Mother were truly unwilling to part with it, she would not have brought it just now. This scripture was transmitted by the Red Child, a Perfected One among the gathered texts of the Great Void. Its transmission is subject to rules distinguishing men from women, and it should be passed on to someone who has attained the Dao. I fear Liu Che’s capacities are shallow and that he may not be able to put it to use.”

The Queen Mother’s expression darkened. “Heaven’s prohibitions decree that revealing secret methods violates explicit precepts. A transmission must be made to a suitable person, and the recipient must understand the true Dao. Why did you just explain the contents of the Lingfei Chapter to someone of shallow capacity? To speak of it casually without formally transmitting it is to divulge the Way of Heaven. How can such a prohibition be less grave than a formal transmission? I will order the Three Palaces’ Inspector, the celestial official responsible for oversight and discipline, to investigate your careless disclosure of secret methods.

“My talismanic text of the true forms of the Five Sacred Peaks, which depicts their configurations and has significance in Daoist ritual practice, was created by the Supreme Heavenly Sovereign. Its contents are precious and mysterious; it serves as a token by which celestial immortals confirm their identities. How could it be passed on again to Liu Che?”

She had always prayed with sincerity and focus, repeatedly appealing to the spirits of the rivers and mountains. She also diligently practiced purification and fasting, hoping to seek immortality and receive a response. Her aim was to help and save the people, but she had not met a true master. That is why we were moved to show her favor. As for teaching people methods of cultivating immortality, we will no longer withhold them from Liu Che.

She prayed earnestly and practiced purification and fasting, with the aim of helping the world, yet she had never had a true master to guide her. That is why we chose to show her favor. As for the arts of cultivating immortality, we will no longer hold back from transmitting them. Each person has their own means of bringing about a response from the spirits. Can everyone master these means on their own? I now transmit to Liu Che the Text of True Forms, a sacred text depicting the forms of the divine immortals. This does not mean he is certain to attain the Dao. I want only to let him experience some genuine responses as he seeks immortality, so that he will not be misled. It may also guide those willing to turn toward the Dao, and help the unenlightened in the world understand that such sacred and true beings do exist between Heaven and Earth, thereby refuting the arrogant who deny them. That is my purpose.

Your nature is unrestrained and violent, and your gaze is not clear. How could you become a true immortal and soar through the air? Just practice diligently; perhaps you may draw near to the state of deathlessness. The Rules of Illumination, a body of Daoist precepts and standards for cultivation, says: “Long life is not difficult; the difficulty is hearing the Great Dao. Hearing the Great Dao is not difficult; the difficulty is putting it into practice. Putting it into practice is not difficult; the difficulty is persevering to the end.” A skilled craftsman can give others the tools and measurements, but cannot make them skillful. Since that is so, why hide these methods?”

The Lady said, “I will follow your teaching. But in the past, I received sacred texts from Lord Daoying and Master Wuchang. They stipulated that the texts be transmitted once every four thousand years, from woman to woman and from man to man. The prohibitions laid down by the Most High, a Daoist supreme deity, have also been written on the Talisman of Illumination and Life. Since receiving the transmission, I have passed it on to the worthy Lady Baolan, making sixty-eight women in all. So I truly cannot transmit it to a man. Recently I met the Young Lad of Azure Truth from Fuguang Mountain. He received the Numinous Flight of the Six Jia in the presence of the Lady of the Central Origin in Taiwei. It comprises twelve sections, identical to what I received. Azure Truth is my close disciple, and what he received also came from me. But I had never heard that the Numinous Flight of the Six Jia had been transmitted to anyone else, and Azure Truth is a male celestial official.”

Now it is time to teach this method to Liu Che. I told him the titles earlier because I took pity on his desire to seek the Dao and wanted him to devote himself to practice and search widely. To teach it to him later would also follow the rule that “men receive from men and transmit to men.” Let him gain it only after diligent effort, so that he understands the Dao of Heaven is precious and cannot be seized at will, and that Heaven’s secrets must not be divulged. I hope you will not take offense.

The method of the Queen Mother of the West’s true form is exceedingly precious. Yet, taking pity on Liu Che’s diligence and resolve, she still taught it to him. This was truly not quite proper. The Queen Mother smiled and said, “Perhaps this can be forgiven, too!” She then ordered her attendant Ji Luorong to hurry to Fuguang Mountain and have the Azure True Youth bring the twelve chapters of The Method of the Six Jia for Spiritual Flight and Summoning the Gods, preparing to confer them upon Liu Che.

Before long, the attendant returned, carrying a book casket decorated with phoenix patterns and containing an eight-colored jade case. She took out the Six Jia document and said, “Your disciple Achang reports: A moment ago, I was ordered to go to the Crimson River and assist Lord Seven Sources of the Southern Perfected in inspecting the assembled dragons and fierce beasts. After finishing the task, I passed by here and came to receive your teachings. I heard that the Queen Mother had invited you to visit Liu Che’s home, but I never imagined that the Supreme Celestial Spirit would descend to this polluted place. I do not know how you are faring, or what instructions you have for this journey.”

The attendant Ji Luorong relayed the message: “The honored deity wants the twelve chapters of The Golden Book’s Secret Characters: The Text of the Six Jia’s Spiritual Flight and the Essence of the Left and Right Registers, and intends to confer them upon Liu Che, so a copy has been sealed and sent by messenger. But although Liu Che wishes to seek the Dao, he truly lacks the aptitude to become an immortal. How could such a secret method be suitable for transmission to an ordinary person?”

Chang served beside the Celestial Emperor and often saw many people submit memorials, saying: “Mountain spirits weep in the forests, and lonely souls wail in remote wildernesses. When troops return from war, the family may indeed have rendered service. But if troops are sent out without cause and the people are made to labor in vain, the result is heaps of bones. Extravagance harms the people; unchecked cruelty has been seen by the Most High, and resentment has appeared in the signs of Heaven. Such an evil reputation, reaching the Mysterious Heavens, will surely prevent one from attaining the Dao and ascending to immortality. Yet because I have received the command of a revered one, I dare not disobey.”

The Queen Mother of the West smiled and said: “There are indeed many who make such reports about this person, but the Celestial Emperor need not hasten to reject him. Those who delight in the arts of the Dao and yearn for the Way of the immortals can dispel a hundred kinds of wrongdoing if they are wholehearted, observe purification, and reflect on their faults. If they restrain themselves, correct their conduct, honor the true gods, nurture their true nature, and keep their attention fixed on the primordial One, then by persevering in this for a month they can dispel a thousand kinds of wrongdoing. For many years he has devoted himself to the Dao and diligently observed purification; he has also repeatedly prayed at famous mountains, pleading for transcendence. Taking stock of his merits and faults, they have probably come to balance. From now on, however, he must be even more diligent and sincere, and follow the teachings of the Lady of the Upper Origin. He must no longer be extravagant, self-indulgent, or cruel. If he makes multitudes of people suffer and be injured, leaves wronged souls and distressed spirits with nowhere to seek justice, and causes corpses to litter the land and bloodshed to become a calamity, then his past merits and rewards will no longer outweigh these offenses.”

The Lady of the Upper Origin at once rose from her seat. Holding an eight-colored jade document case and a brocade pouch embroidered with phoenixes, she turned toward Heaven and addressed the Celestial Emperor:

“The Nine Heavens are vast and profound; the divine light of the Most High shines forth. The spirits perceive the mysteries, and the realm is pure, empty, and bright. The wondrous essence of the Way of purity and emptiness lies in guarding Qi (vital energy). With a heart wholly sincere toward the Dao, one can reach the stillness that resonates with the true Dao, allowing the body to follow the spirit’s will. In this way one steadies the spirit, prolongs life, and receives honor and transmission. The Art of Flying Spirits and the Six Ding divine generals—the six guardian spirits of Daoism—lend their aid. They summon the spirits, draw down the light of Heaven, and set Jing (essence) and Qi in motion. Thus one can walk through the void, conceal one’s form, live long and see far into the future, and turn white hair black again. The methods I transmit can grant a lifespan of forty thousand years; this teaching must be transmitted when the recipient is forty. If the precepts are broken and the secret methods disclosed, calamity will strike the whole clan. If one betrays the heavenly true, one will sink into the underworld. You must be cautious and take care not to bring calamity upon yourself.”

The Queen Mother said to Liu Sheng, “I solemnly tell you: your teacher is the Youth of Azure Truth, a youthful attendant of the azure immortals. He serves as Inspector to the Lord of the Way, the Supreme Yellow Central One, overseeing and assisting in his duties. He is also an inner-chamber disciple of the Ten Kings of the Primordial Beginning. His surname is Yan, his given name is Ling, and his courtesy name is Bihua. He has the appearance of a child. Among the immortal officials, ‘Youth of Azure Truth’ is his title. Clear-minded and perceptive, he can discern all things. His wisdom is profound and far-reaching; he can quietly contemplate the subtle and mysterious. His gifts are outstanding, and he once traveled through Guangfu.

“From this, we may infer that he first established a school and taught in Xuanpu, where he was appointed to oversee affairs in the immortal realm. You must honor and serve your master. If from now on you pursue only your own wishes and fail to abide by what your teacher has passed down, your nature and life will surely be brought to ruin.”

When she had finished speaking, the Queen Mother personally pointed out, one by one, the ritual procedures to be carried out, demonstrating them to the Emperor. After explaining all twelve, she warned him again: “The Five Emperors are the true spirits and vital essences that guard the five directions; the Six Jia are the spiritual forces that flow through the six positions. By wearing and venerating them, one may seek long life. This book was sealed away by the Supreme Emperor in the Terrace of Dark Radiance. You must cherish and protect it.”

The Queen Mother continued: “This book was composed by the Supreme Ones of the Three Heavens. It is kept in the sacred altar of the Terrace of Purple Mounds, enclosed in a case of fine jade, wrapped in silk made of orchid threads, bound with cords of northern gauze, and sealed with the imperial seal of the Great Emperor. The recipient must pass the book on to one person after forty years; if no suitable person can be found, it may be passed on to two people after eighty years. Those who attain the Way pass it on once every four hundred years; those who attain immortality, once every four thousand years; those who attain the state of the perfected, once every forty thousand years; and those who ascend to the Supreme One, once every four hundred thousand years. If the book is transmitted without using the imperial seal of the Great Emperor…”

To transmit Daoist teachings to someone unfit to receive them is called revealing the Heavenly Way. To meet someone suitable and yet withhold the teachings is called burying the treasures of the Heavenly Way. To teach indiscriminately is called treating the Heavenly Way with contempt; to receive the teachings and then fail to honor them is called neglecting the scriptures of the Heavenly Way. These four acts—revealing, burying, showing contempt, and neglecting—are like blades and axes that bring death, and carts that carry calamity. Those who reveal the Heavenly Way will die on the road, suffer punishment by earth, and have their bones split apart. Those who bury the Heavenly Way will be blind and deaf in a future life, live briefly, and die an untimely death. Those who treat the Heavenly Way with contempt will bring calamity upon their parents and be sent to Xuandu, the celestial palace where they will be punished. Those who neglect the Heavenly Way will die suddenly, fall into an evil path, and carry illness into their next life. These are all precepts of the Daoist tradition, so we must warn one another and never act carelessly.

The Queen Mother then gave Emperor Wu of Han the Diagram of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks, which depicts the terrain of the mountains and rivers and is associated with Daoist cultivation and ritual. The emperor bowed in thanks and received it respectfully. Lady Wang played the Yunlin instrument herself and sang the “Song of Walking the Mystery.” The Queen Mother then ordered her attendant Tian Sifei to join in. When the song ended, Lady Wang told Emperor Wu the names of his attendants, along with the names of their caps, robes, belts, ornaments, and the objects they carried, asking him to remember these details.

At daybreak, the Queen Mother and the Lady of the Upper Origin departed together in their chariots, escorted before and behind by chariots drawn by dragons and tigers. The music was the same as when they had arrived. Dense clouds filled the sky and turned into a fragrant vapor. Their procession traveled southwest and disappeared only after a long while. Having seen the Queen Mother and the Lady of the Upper Origin with his own eyes, Emperor Wu believed that immortals truly existed in the world. But he did not cultivate the Dao diligently enough, and in the end he departed only by the method of corpse liberation; he did not ascend to Heaven. The Queen Mother, the Lady of the Upper Origin, and the Youth of Azure Perfection all said that Emperor Wu lacked the capacity to become an immortal. Clearly, they had seen this long beforehand. Still, Emperor Wu ate the Queen Mother’s peaches, sacred fruits, and the food served at the immortal banquet, and drank immortal wine. His wholehearted seeking of the Dao also brought a response from the immortals, who came to him—something no ordinary person could achieve. Otherwise, why would objects from the human world have appeared in Maoling? This, too, was a sign of the transformations of the immortals, showing that their existence must not be dismissed lightly.

Later, in the fourth year of the Jiedi era of Emperor Xuan, an Yi Mao year (66 BCE), Mao Ying of Xianyang, courtesy name Shushen, received the mandate of the “Nine Bestowals of Gold” and was appointed Upper Minister of the Eastern Peak, Perfected Lord of Destiny, and Perfected One of Great Origin. At that time, the Lords of the Five Emperors bestowed his investiture upon him. This, too, shows that the existence of immortals must not be dismissed lightly.

Later, in the fourth year of the Dijie era under Emperor Xiaoxuan (the Yimao year), Mao Ying of Xianyang, whose courtesy name was Shushen, was granted the Nine Bestowals of gold—the nine honors bestowed by ancient emperors on meritorious officials—and received the exalted titles of Senior Minister of the Eastern Peak, Perfect Lord of Destiny, and Realized Person of Great Origin, among others. At that time, the Five Emperors had finished conferring their registers and each ascended to heaven and departed.

Mao Jun’s teachers, Lord Wang of Total Perfection, the Queen Mother of the West, and the Lady descended to the Heavenly Palace of Huayang, at the Golden Altar Mausoleum on Mount Jurong, to host a banquet for Mao Jun. Mao Ying’s second younger brother was named Gu, with the courtesy name Jiwei; his third younger brother was named Zhong, with the courtesy name Sihe. The Queen Mother and Lord Wang transmitted spiritual instructions for cultivation to them and bestowed the Register of Purple Silk, which recorded divine offices and the registers of life. Mao Gu was invested as Lord of the Register of Destiny, and Mao Zhong as Lord Who Preserves Life. They, too, attended the banquet in service of the Perfected Immortals.

Lord Wang told them, “The Lady is the mother of the Three-Heavenly True Emperors and a revered deity of the Upper Origin. She oversees the registers of the Jade Boys and Jade Maidens of the Ten Directions. You may personally state your wishes.” The two brothers left their seats, bowed, and asked for the essential teachings of long life. The Lady, moved by their steadfast resolve to cultivate the Dao, ordered her attendant Song Bifei to take out a purple brocade pouch, open a green-gold chest, and bring forth four scriptures: the Scripture of the Three Origins’ Flowing Pearls, the Scripture of the Elixir Radiance and the Dao of Essence, the Scripture of the Eight Arts of Concealed Earth, and the Scripture of the Taiji Register of Radiance. She bestowed them on the two brothers.

The Queen Mother then ordered her attendant Li Fangming to take out a cinnabar-jade casket, open a cloud-pearl chest, and bring forth the Scripture of the Jade Pendant and Golden Dang, the Scripture of the Hidden Writings of the Great Empyrean, and the Inner Writings of the Two Radiances of Dongfei. She presented these to the Lord of Destiny. After the books had been bestowed, the Queen Mother and the Lady took their leave, ascended into the sky in their train of carriages and horses, and returned to the vast heavens.

Lady Li of Radiant Numen

Lady Li of the Eastern Palace, Radiant Numina, who dwelt on Fangzhang Terrace—a pavilion in the realm of immortals—was the daughter of Lord Li Qingbin, the Central Mystery Daoist of the Northern Origin, and the younger sister of Li Lingfei, the Jade Gentleman and Grand Guardian. She attained the Dao in the time of King Tang of Shang and ascended bodily into the heavens by day. She was appointed Lady Radiant Numina of the Eastern Palace and lived in the thirteenth Vermilion Pavilion on Fangzhang Terrace.

On the night of the twenty-second day of the eighth month in the third year of Xingning (an yichou year) under Emperor Ai of the Eastern Jin, she descended to the home of the Perfected Yang Xi. The lady wore purple brocade and carried a Divine Tiger talisman. In her hand she held a flowing-gold bell, and she appeared to be about thirteen or fourteen years old. Beside her stood two serving women, about twenty-one or twenty-two, named Yinhui. Both wore blue silk gauze robes and held two white jade cases. Blue cords were wound around the cases, which bore the inscriptions “Imperial Decrees of the Most High” and “Jade Writings of the Most High.” The lady wore a blue-green jade sash, like the sashes worn by people in the world. Her hidden seal, shaped like a seal pouch, was about five zhang long and three or four chi wide. She descended together with such immortals and perfected beings as the Lady of the Upper Origin, the Lady of Purple Tenuity, and the Lady of Right Efflorescence.

As she took her leave, she composed this poem:

“Cloud cities of the immortals meet the heavens; seven kinds of numinous radiance shine upon the divine ones. At dawn, doors made of fine jade swing open, and nine kinds of immortal music ring from the vermilion door hinges. Purple clouds rise above the red gates; incense smoke drifts through the green windows. Four teams of steeds wheel about, their tiger banners in motion; blue standards are cast into the dark void. The canopy tilts with the clouds, while the falling-phoenix carriage is drawn by six dragons. I ride the clouds along the slopes of the Five Sacred Peaks and see the Three Su maidens turn their gaze toward your dwelling. Suddenly I smell foul vapors; the myriad dusts of the world stain my breast. Rank things befoul the spirit; the clamor of the mortal world clashes with quiet De (Virtue). Even clear, bright jade shines in splendor—why let the five organs alone be filled with filth? If you could promptly fold your hands, take leave of the world, and depart beyond it, you would not sit amid the dust of the world while body and mind fall into ruin.”

As she took her leave, she also chanted:

“Let the heart not grow scattered; let the spirit not sink into desire and toil. The Great Dao is easy to understand, yet hard to go against; calamities run deep, and there is no escape—they will bring the loss of your original nature. If you leave me and go, will I come again to the Xu household? I will return; you need only cultivate diligently.”

On the third day of the ninth month that year, she descended again and sang:

“Drinking freely, I behold the gathered immortals; in an instant, their forms fill the four directions. I cannot explain the reason myself, yet in my heart I still harbor an expectation. When we meet, we are all joyful; when we do not meet, there is no sorrow. I launch myself into flight through the dark void; two meetings will surely form an immortal bond.”

On the night of the first day of the twelfth month, she composed another poem and sent it to Xu Yufu:

“My flying carriage climbs to the lofty Morning Terrace, carrying me to the edge of Dark Ridge Mountain. I take the Purple Sovereign by the sleeve; in an instant, the winds of the eight directions drive my carriage onward. The Jade Radiance maiden lifts the green curtain, her blue skirt swaying against her emerald collar. The carriage is tall and splendid, its delicate moon-shaped jade pendants flashing with light. I briefly enter the dusty world, but must cover my nose and avoid those who block the way. Foul, turbid things injure my original Qi; all manner of filth wears down the heart and spirit. Why not rise swiftly and step lightly into the realm of Great Emptiness?”

Lady Sanyuan, an immortal woman of the Shangqing tradition who oversees the pledges made by those first entering the ranks of the immortals and certifies those who attain the Dao through spiritual transformation, bore the surname Feng and the name Shuanglizhu. She was a perfected adept of the highest rank in the Shangqing tradition. She also oversaw the pledges required of those newly admitted to immortal status and presided over the spiritual transformation and certification of successful practitioners, enabling them to become Perfected Ones and Primordial Ladies.

In the fifth year of Yonghe, the year Jiyou, during the reign of Emperor Mu of Jin (Sima Dan), Lady Feng met with the Queen Mother of the West, the Primordial Lady of the Southern Pole, the Primordial Lady of the Nine Subtleties, the Left Immortal Duke of Ziyang, Shi Lucheng, the High Immortal Count of the Supreme Ultimate, Yan Gai, the Youth, the Perfected King Fangping, who oversees the Perfected Ones of the Western City, and the Perfected Red Pine Master of Southern Mount Heng, who dwells in the Great Void, along with the Right Assistant King Wangzi Qiao of Mount Tongbai, and others. They gathered in the Crimson Chamber of the Upper Palace of Minor Purity and Emptiness. A banquet was set on Mount Heng. The Primordial Lady of Purple Emptiness, Wei Huacun, laid out rare delicacies from the immortals’ table and performed exquisite celestial music. The sounds of the Nine Spirits answered one another, while the notes of the many instruments rang clear and sweet.

The Queen Mother of the West rose and danced, then beat time and sang. When she had finished, Lady Feng played the Cloud Ao, a kind of celestial instrument, and sang in response. Her song said: “Jade Clarity, the celestial realm spoken of in Daoism, rises above the nine heavens; the immortals’ dwellings lie beyond the flying rosy clouds. Towers and pavilions in the clouds soar high and shine brightly; spirit palaces are deep and lovely. Clouds of five colors surge up, and pure breezes from the eight directions bring auspicious energy. I raise my head to chant verses that dispel demonic obstacles, and lower it to contemplate wisdom. Ten thousand Perfected Ones open wondrous visions and promise to meet in the Crimson Chamber. Only those of outstanding De are selected; divine radiance shines upon them, and they appear at once. Celestial peaks stand suspended in the sky, and grottoes lie deep and hidden. Roaming across the sea, one sees how narrow the view from a well truly is; following the true Dao, one perceives the impurity of the mortal world. Riding a flying wheel through tier upon tier of heavens, one naturally forgets worldly concerns such as fishing and seeking fish. I return to my realm of the great Chun tree, forever leaving behind the human world, where life lasts only from dawn to dusk.”

When the song ended, the Perfected Ones each sang verses on Yin-Yang, all concerning inner cultivation and realization of the Dao. Some praised the beauty of steadily accumulating merit and persevering in practice; others described the essentials of cultivation, such as Golden Liquor and Frost Blossom. Their melodies differed somewhat from the Yang songs in the Dongshen, but all were subtle teachings transmitted by the celestial Perfected Ones.

Lady Wang of the Southern Pole

Lady Wang of the South Pole was the fourth daughter of the Queen Mother of the West. Her given name was Lin and her courtesy name Rongzhen. She was also known as Lady Ziyuan or the Primordial Sovereign of the South Pole. She presided over the Palace of Great Cinnabar and was appointed Upper Guardian and Director of Destiny to the Sage Lord of the Golden Gate.

During the reign of Emperor Ping of the Han, she descended to a stone chamber on Mount Yangluo and transmitted thirty-one scrolls of scripture, including the Supreme Treasure Text, to the Perfected of Clear Emptiness, the Little-Being King Wang Bao. Wang Bao’s courtesy name was Zideng.

The Lady appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen. She wore a brocade shawl and a blue feather skirt, with a tiger-script tablet at her left side and a spirit-waving implement at her right. Her features were dignified, and she possessed a naturally gentle and graceful bearing. She rode in a carriage with a feathered canopy drawn by nine dragons, accompanied by nine thousand female immortals. She lived on Mount Changli, in the Cinnabar Sea of Boyang, and oversaw the transformation of people through teaching.

In the third year of Xingning under the Jin, the yichou year, the Lady descended to the home of the Perfected Yang Xi. There she met with eight Perfected Ones and recited a poem, which she transmitted to Yang Xi:

“Commanding the wind and waving a feather fan, I roam through the Great Void. Riding the energy of the Eight Radiances, I soar to the highest sky. Looking up, I drift beyond the heavens of Purple Dawn; looking down, I can see the most distant realms. My mysterious mind and spirit dwell in still emptiness, traveling up and down without lingering. In a realm that depends on nothing, neither extreme needs support; where there is dependence, there is something to strive for. By realizing emptiness, one can transcend death; by realizing form, one can preserve life. When the Upper Minister of the Eastern Peak, Dongbin—that is, the Great Lord of Mount Mao—meets others, he sings aloud: what is there to argue over between ‘dependence’ and ‘nondependence’?”

She also recited:

“Yoking the jade-brocade carriage, I tighten the reins and gaze up as it circles slowly. In the morning I tour the Palace of Vermilion Fire; at evening I feast beside the Pool of Night Radiance. My shadow appears above the clear rosy clouds, and eight dragons are arrayed in perfect order. I roam in a realm that depends on nothing, while the realm of dependence always follows behind. When I gather and rest in bliss with my beloved, ‘dependence’ and ‘nondependence’ argue over right and wrong. Being and nonbeing have no fixed, unchanging verdict; whatever each depends on will also return to itself.”

On the twenty-third day of the sixth month of that same year, the Lady again recited a poem and transmitted it to Lord Yang:

“When trees sway, they need the energy of their kind to resonate with them; when clouds gather, they wait for the dragon’s cry to rise.”

The wondrous principles resonate with one another; touch on one part, and all of them sound forth. A flying carriage came from Xihua, and suddenly the driver set out to pay a visit. The distant realms in the eight directions are not without their pleasures. Together, we chant in praise, naturally honoring the principles within them. I think of this dust-bound world, netted in all four directions, with its myriad transformations always circling through the heart. Let us journey together to Beihan Terrace, and let the marvelous wind open your heart.

The Lady once transmitted the True Scripture to Wang Zideng. When she had finished, she told him, “What I cultivate is the Way of the Eight Radiances, which flies through the heavens, roams the Void, and ascends to Shangqing, the Daoist realm of immortals. Practice diligently, and I will not deceive you.”

Then Lord Wang of Xicheng took Zideng north to Xuanzhou to visit the Supreme Elder and twenty-nine True Lords, Immortal Dao Lords. The Dao Lord was the Supreme Lord Gongzi Leboli. He ordered his attendants Fan Yunhua, Zhao Junzhu, and Wang Baotai to open the jade case and green repository where precious scriptures were kept. They took out two scrolls of the Shangqing Hidden Scripture, the True Scripture of the Eight Spirits in Dragon Script, and gave them to Zideng. They also bestowed upon him two pints each of Cloud-Bi Yang Water and Dawn-Flying Elixir Essence.

Zideng bowed in thanks and accepted the gifts. Returning to Xicheng Palace, he devoted himself to practice for nine years. Afterward, he could travel three thousand li in a day and see ten thousand li into the distance. It was said that he could vanish suddenly while sitting or standing, command the spirits, and ride a flying whirlwind carriage to survey the world.

He traveled east, crossing the Palace of Qiming and Mount Guang sang, where he paid a visit to the Great Emperor and received the Purple Phoenix Red Writ. Then he crossed the Vermilion Sea to the south and went to Mount Changli to pay court to the Southern Pole Primordial Lord, Lady Ziyuan, receiving the Great Elixir Register once more. After that, he went to visit the Red Terrace Youth, toured the world, and received Cloud Lang Water Frost.

The Lady said, “Would the words I spoke long ago have failed you?” Zideng bowed to the ground in gratitude, then traveled west across the vast Sea of Yuqiu and the Spring of Sinking Feathers. He climbed Mount Linong to visit the Three Sovereigns Dao Lord, Lady Zigai Huachen, and received the Jade Way Green Characters, the Hidden Scripture of the Great Perfected.

Later, she traveled north through Diaorou Xuanhai and climbed Guangye Mountain, where she met the High and Lofty Void Sovereign, the Great Lord of the Dao, and the Dark-Clear Lady of the Six Subtleties. The two perfected immortals bestowed on her the Juexuan Golden Register, crimson silk, and cloud fungus. After climbing the mountain and offering thanks, she took these immortal medicines. She then returned to Central Mountain, Turtle Terrace, and Kunling to pay her respects to the Most True Golden Mother. The Most True Golden Mother invested her with the title Perfected Lady of Great Simplicity and Clear Emptiness, and appointed her to lead the office of Left Protector, Grand Lord of the Three Origins and Four Departments under the King of Lesser You Heaven. She was put in charge of the Three Caverns’ treasured texts preserved in Daoist grotto-heavens, permitted to enter and leave the Shangqing immortal realm, and given duties at the Taiji Palace. She was the lady’s disciple.

Volume Three

Lady Yunhua

Lady Yunhua was the twenty-third daughter of the Queen Mother (the Queen Mother of the West) and the younger sister of Lady Taizhen Wang. Her name was Yaoji. She practiced the Way of Returning Wind, Harmonizing and Blending, and Refining the Spirit through the Myriad Visions to Soar and Transform, a Daoist visualization practice intended to cultivate the spirit and attain ascent and transformation. Once, as she returned from a journey through the Eastern Sea, she passed by a riverbank where Mount Wushan stood. Its peaks rose high and its cliffs towered steeply; its forests and valleys were deep, secluded, and beautiful, and its enormous rocks…

Lady Yunhua was the twenty-third daughter of the Queen Mother (the Queen Mother of the West) and the younger sister of Lady Taizhen. Her name was Yaoji. She practiced the Way of Returning Wind, Blending the Myriad Manifestations, Refining the Spirit, and Flying Transformation, a Daoist discipline that sought to refine the spirit, undergo transformation, and ascend to become an immortal.

Once, returning from a journey to the Eastern Sea, she passed Mount Wushan by the river. Its peaks were tall and steep, and its wooded valleys were quiet and beautiful. There was a great rock there, flat and broad like a raised terrace, well worth seeing. She stayed for a long time. At that time, Yu the Great was below the mountain controlling the waters. Suddenly a fierce wind shook the valleys, and boulders came crashing down; the situation was difficult to manage. Yu happened to meet Lady Yunhua and bowed to ask for her help. She ordered a maid to give him a ritual text for summoning the hundred spirits, then sent the spirits Kuangzhang, Yuyu, Huangmo, Dayi, Gengchen, Tonglü, and others to help him cut through the mountain rock and clear the water’s course. They removed the obstructions and hazards, allowing the water to flow along its natural course. Yu thanked her with a bow.

Yu once climbed to the summit of Chongshan to visit Lady Yunhua. She changed unpredictably as she glanced about: at times she became a rock; at others she suddenly rose into the sky and dispersed into light clouds. The clouds drifted to a halt, then gathered into evening rain. Sometimes she became a swimming dragon, sometimes a flying crane. Her transformations were countless, impossible to see clearly, and left no way to grasp her constant form. Suspecting that her strange transformations meant she might not be a true immortal, Yu asked Tonglü about her.

Tonglü said, “The Dao is the foundation of Heaven and Earth; those who wield the power of the Great Dao are sages. Among sages are different ranks, including perfected beings and immortals. Some receive the Qi of Heaven and Earth and become perfected without undergoing cultivation. Lord Wood and the Golden Mother are such beings. They are the ancestors of Yin and Yang, the source of Yin and Yang, the rulers of immortals and perfected beings, and the primordial initiators of Heaven and Earth’s creative transformations. Lady Yunhua is the daughter of the Golden Mother. In the past, she took the Three Primal Lord as her teacher, received the treasured scriptures of Shangqing, and was given texts beneath the Gate of Purple Clarity.”

Lady Yunhua was the daughter of the Golden Mother (Queen Mother of the West). She once studied under the Dao Lord of the Three Primes, received the precious scriptures of Shangqing, and was given a sacred text beneath the Purple Clarity Gate. She was appointed Lady of the Upper Palace of Yunhua, charged with instructing those who had attained youthful purity. She dwelt on the Terrace of King Ying, and appearing, disappearing, and transforming were her usual state. She gathered primordial Qi and thereby attained the true; she joined with the Dao as one, rather than being conceived in a womb and brought forth through bodily form. She belonged to the Qi of Lesser Yin in the Western Florescence.

Primordial Qi permeates heaven and earth and moves through plants and animals. In its vastness it encompasses creation; in its minuteness it can enter a single hair. In a human being, it becomes human; in the myriad things, it becomes the myriad things. How could it become only clouds and rain, dragons and cranes, wild geese in flight, or soaring phoenixes?

Yu agreed when he heard this, then went to pay a visit to Lady Yunhua. Suddenly he saw cloud towers, jade terraces, jeweled palaces, and jade gates rising layer upon layer until they reached the sky. Spirit officials, the divine officers of heaven, stood guard, and the many wondrous sights were too numerous to describe: lions watched over the palace gates, heavenly horses led the way, and venomous dragons, lightning beasts, and the Eight Powers, the awe inspiring spirits of heaven, stood in ranks around her carriage. The Lady sat upright on a jeweled terrace.

Yu bowed low and asked his question. The Lady invited him to sit and said, “When the sages first began to shape the myriad things, they divided the unity of the Great Pervasion—the primordial state in which heaven and earth were undivided and all was one—into countless forms. They also dispersed the great store hidden within it, transforming it into an endless array of things. Thus people determined times and seasons by following the movements of the sun, moon, and stars; divided the Nine Provinces and established states; set up water clocks to distinguish day from night and cold from heat, and arranged the cycles of the year. They marked directions by positions such as Dui and Li, and used mountains and rivers to distinguish dangerous terrain from level ground. They built walls and cities to gather the people, made weapons to protect them, established vehicles and clothing to show distinctions of rank, and planted grain to prepare for lean years. These institutions took the stars as their model above and followed the way of the divine and perfected beings; below, they served to sustain beings with physical form.”

Thus, the sun and moon have their periods of darkness and light; the growth and decline of all things follow the changing seasons of cold and heat. Thunder has its times of arising and subsiding, while wind and rain likewise alternate between movement and calm. Clear Qi rises, and turbid Qi descends. Flourishing and decline, order and disorder each follow their own patterns. People differ in their natural endowments, some wise and others foolish; their innate dispositions may be good or bad, their temperaments firm or yielding, their lifespans long or short, and their rank high or low. There is order in distinctions of status, fortune may be auspicious or inauspicious, and life has its times of hardship and ease. All these are bestowed by the Dao and arranged by Heaven.

The sage takes this as a guiding principle: human nature originates in Heaven, while one’s fate takes shape through one’s own actions. Heaven establishes the foundation, and the Dao sets it in motion. When the Dao is present, all things follow it; when the Dao departs, they cannot endure. Unless people cultivate themselves, they cannot attain the Dao.

The Old Master of the Mysterious Way once said: “Make the mind and spirit utterly empty and still, and hold fast to quietude without moving; then all things will naturally return. To return is to go back to the Dao, and so to endure. The Dao’s workings change in countless ways, yet never lose their root. Thus, Heaven accords with the hidden and mysterious Dao, Earth accords with abundant Qi, and humanity accords with the Dao and De. What else could exist apart from the Dao? The key to lasting without decline is for Heaven to preserve its mystery, Earth to sustain all things, and people to nourish their own Qi. In this way, life can be preserved. My fate is in my own hands, not ruled by Heaven and Earth. Ghosts and spirits cannot kill me; only straying from the Dao can bring me harm and cause my own demise.”

How ambitious, and how diligent you are! Your achievements benefit all things, your labor serves the people, and your good deeds are enough to move Heaven. Yet you have not heard the essential teachings of the supreme Dao. Long ago, at the Palace of Purple Clarity—the celestial palace of the immortals—I received a precious scripture and treasured it, diligently practicing its teachings. The Lord of the Three Origins, the revered deity who governs the Three Origins, said to me: “The Inner Scripture of the Supreme Perfected is a precious scripture kept by the Heavenly Perfected. Sealed away in the Golden Terrace, carry it with you when you enter the Grand Tenuity, the celestial star palace…”

Thus Yu ascended in a cloud chariot, while a divine warrior stood guard at the gate. He arranged his robes in an immortal chamber adorned with fine jade, held a banquet and made merry at Xilin, and for a long time invited the Immortal Lords to visit. He descended from West White Mountain into the open sky, roamed the region of Tianjin, by the Celestial River, and traveled through this famed mountain riding clouds and dragons. When the Perfected One arrived at the immortal chamber, the myriad spirits protected him, and the mountain’s numinous beings came out to welcome him. As he traveled, the Eight Radiances Jade Wheel accompanied him; when he sat in stillness, he dwelt peacefully in the Golden Hall. These are what is called the mysterious texts of the Supreme One’s jade pendants and Golden Registers.

If you wished to cross the sea but had no wheel swift as a gale, to pass through flying sands but had no cloud chariot, to climb perilous paths but had no vehicle to ride, or to cross muddy waters but had no means of passage, then travel by land would be hampered by the long distances, while travel by water would bring the danger of drifting and sinking. How, then, could you channel the valleys and dredge the many rivers? It would be exceedingly difficult! The Supreme One pities your resolve and will also bestow upon you the Lingbao True Writings, sacred Daoist talismans and scriptures. With them, you can drive tigers and leopards across the land, subdue flood dragons in the water, cut down evil spirits, and restrain the violent hordes, helping you accomplish your work. This power comes from the Heaven of Yangming.

The precious texts I received can also enable people to enter and leave water and fire, call out commands to the netherworld, subdue tigers and leopards, summon the Six Ding, the six Daoist guardian spirits, and hide themselves as they travel beneath the earth. They can reverse the courses of the Five Planets, preserve the lives of the Nine Ancestors, and even contend with Heaven.”

When she had finished speaking, she ordered her attendant Ling Ronghua to bring out the cinnabar-jade case. She opened the Shangqing treasure text and bestowed it upon Yu. Yu bowed as he received it, then departed. Later, with the help of Gengchen and Yuyu, he was able to channel the waters and open the rivers, completing his great work of flood control. He honored the Five Sacred Peaks and divided the land into the Nine Provinces. The Celestial Emperor then bestowed upon him a dark jade tablet and invested him as a Perfected One of the Purple Court.

Later, the Chu nobleman Song Yu told this story to King Xiang of Chu. Rather than investigate the essential teachings of the Daoist arts or seek long life, King Xiang built a high terrace at Gaotang Lodge and also constructed Yangtai Palace for worship. Song Yu wrote “Rhapsody on the Divine Maiden,” using it to give voice to lascivious desires in filthy language. How could the High Perfected Immortal, a being of profound Daoist attainment, ever descend after being slandered in this way?

At the foot of the mountain stands a shrine that local people use as a guesthouse. They built it as the “Palace of the Sunlit Terrace” to worship the goddess. In his “Rhapsody on the Goddess,” Song Yu used the goddess to express the passions between men and women, yet his language is licentious and vulgar. How could a sublime, perfected immortal be portrayed in this way, as though she had truly descended into the human world? Another shrine stands at the foot of the mountain, known among the people as the “Shrine of the Great Immortal.” Across the ridge lies a rock called the “Goddess Stone,” said to be the form into which the goddess transformed. There is also a stone image of a Celestial Worthy and an altar to the goddess. Bamboo grows beside the altar, its drooping branches like hairpins. When dead leaves or other debris blow onto the altar, the bamboo branches sweep them away with the wind. Thus the altar stays clean throughout the year, untouched by filth, and people have worshipped there for generations.

○ The Lady of the Left of Supreme Tenuity and Mysterious Purity

The Lady of the Left of Supreme Tenuity and Mysterious Purity is a high-ranking perfected immortal in the Celestial Palace of Supreme Tenuity. On the seventeenth day of the twelfth month of the yiyou year, the third year of Xingning, she descended with Perfected Taiyuan and other perfected immortals to the home of Yang Xi, a perfected adept of Jintan in Jurong. At Beichun Palace, they chanted this Daoist song:

“Lush and vast, this is no true dwelling; the Great Nonbeing is my palace. What has the Mysterious Lord to be concerned about? Enfolded in obscurity, only the realm where I abide defies description. I ride the Falling Phoenix, borne on purple clouds, and urge my steed toward the immortal shore at dawn. There, stillness stretches without limit, brilliance shines clear, and visions emerge in the heavens. Hidden lingzhi grows on Phoenix Mound; I wander beside the Jasper Grove. Dragon Embryo first shaped your form, while the Eight Jades circle in the morning. Langhua flourishes in the Jade Palace, its brocade-like blossoms lighting the cliffs. The great roc’s feathered fan sweeps over countless mountain ranges; with a beat of its wings, it soars straight into the clouds. In the Western Court, a command is given to sing aloud; celestial music resounds through the air among the clouds. Clear breezes from the eight directions surround the green heavens, and layer upon layer of mist parts at once. Divine youths scatter flowing golden light; Supreme Tenuity opens the jade table. The Three Primes bow and dance; the Purple Emperor waves his sleeve in praise. Mysterious radiance shines in every direction, bright and brilliant as the Morning Star. Rising beyond the world, I stand with a lofty, keen blade; looking down upon the human realm, I am moved. I turn back and look with compassion upon the earthly immortals: why do they still dwell among mountain forests and streams?”

That night, the immortals descended. Perfected Taiyuan described the scene in the Palace of Mysterious Purity and then chanted this poem. The whole poem expresses the Shangqing school’s teaching on inner cultivation and attaining perfection, and serves to harmonize the mind and spirit. Other canonical biographies do not clearly record this lady’s name or deeds.

The Spirit Consort of the Eastern Hua Upper Chamber

The Spirit Consort dwells in the Eastern Hua Upper Chamber of Fangzhu Palace. She is also a high-ranking immortal perfected being among the celestial immortals, perhaps one of the Great Emperor’s chief attendants.

Her song says: In the Jade Garden grow purple cassia trees, their crimson blossoms flourishing in beauty. From the Moon Palace wells a Spring of Buds; within the sun lies a pool like fine jade. With her left hand she plucks the round Spirit Luminary; with her right she commands the radiance of cinnabar clouds. Golden light streams and turns, illuminating the crimson courtyard, while clouds and mists disperse across the eight directions. A green canopy drifts in the bright light. Holding her ceremonial staff, she gives orders throughout the Taiwei star region. Phoenix-essence boys, lovely of countenance, sustain themselves on jade nectar. At dawn they draw in the breath of Great Simplicity and ride their chariots flying above jade steps. They breathe in and out the vital energy of the Sixfold Void, while jade attendants stand at either side, holding towels. She gently waves a fan of southern clouds, and fragrant breezes stir her brocade robes. She plays the Shang note; the hundred beasts dance in response, and even the spirits of the Six Heavens restrain their might. In an instant, billions of years have passed; her life is long and exalted. Yet she laments that she is like a small fish not yet put in the pot to cook, still grieving beneath the mountain crags.

This song depicts the celestial realm and the Spirit Consort’s powers, ceremonial retinue, and joy in long life. “Sixfold Void” refers to the vast space above and below and in the four directions; “Six Heavens” refers to spirits in the Daoist heavens; and “Taiwei” is the name of a region of the heavens. The song also mentions breathing practices and drawing in the breath of Great Simplicity, presenting cultivation as a way for those who seek the Dao to attain immortality and long life.

It is said that on the night of the seventeenth day of the twelfth month in the yichou year, the third year of the Xingning era of the Jin dynasty, the assembled perfected beings of Taiyuan descended into Lord Yang’s chambers. They said this song was often recited in the Palace of the Azure Lad, to encourage those studying the Dao in the Azure Palace to practice their cultivation. It describes the essentials of cultivation and the joys it brings. No other clear record survives of the Spirit Consort’s name or the specific practices she followed.

The Lady of the Purple Tenuity Palace

Lady Qing’e, whose courtesy name was Yuyin, was the twentieth daughter of the Queen Mother of the West. She once descended to the human world and taught the Scripture of the Supreme Treasure Spirit to Pei Xuanren. After Pei Xuanren attained the Dao through cultivation, he was given the title “Perfected One of Clear Numinousity.”

In the sixth month of the third year of Xingning (an yichou year) under the Jin, Lady Qing’e descended to Yang Xi’s home. She came with the Perfected One of Great Origin, the Perfected One of Tongbai, Lady Youying, and the Lady of Mount Heng. She said that her divine rank was Left Lady of the Purple Tenuity Palace. She guarded a palace on Mount Xuannong in Yuye and was responsible for instructing those who were on the verge of becoming Perfected Ones.

That evening, a gathering of immortals and Perfected Ones was held. Lady Youying sang of the pursuit of perfection, and Lady Qing’e responded:

“Riding the swift wind, I rise straight to the ninth heaven and halt my carriage at Three Blossoms Ridge. With something to hope for, the heart wanders in uncertainty; without such hopes, it grows still of its own accord. Why let the waters of Canglang trouble the mind? How could they compare with crossing the Dark Well?”

She sang again:

“The Tortoise Tower rises grand and lofty; moon pearls hang from the terrace walls. The immortals sit in rows in the Chamber of Nine Spirits, striking their instruments and singing in the realm of Great Nonbeing. The jade flute brings delight to my spirit, and golden nectar—immortal wine—dispels my sorrow.”

She sang once more:

“We feast and drink freely within Eastern Florescence, and a thousand melodies ring out. The Azure Lord calls me to rise. I bow in salute, gazing up at the Forest Court. My feathered robe gleams with emerald light, and my jade pendants chime. Together we point toward the Hall of High Dawn, promising to meet in the depths of the immortal realm.”

Lady Qing’e then recounted her journey through Xuannong and sang:

“Transcendent, I rise and step into crimson skies; borne on flying winds, I arrive at the Northern Ridge Court. Divine light illuminates the immortal terrace, and the full moon seems to tilt with the wind. I welcome its radiance and draw in the breath of cinnabar essence; soaring onward, I absorb the moon’s vital essence. Our sleeves meet among the cloud forests; we travel far and freely, returning to childhood’s innocence. In desolate stillness, I entrust body and mind to a realm with nothing to depend upon. How could questions of right and wrong, gain and loss, still occupy the heart?”

We transcend the mundane world, step up into crimson clouds, and ride the swift wind to the courtyard in the north. Mysterious radiance illuminates the immortal terrace, while a perfect halo turns with the wind. We welcome the light and draw in the Elixir’s essence—the vital energy spoken of in Daoism. We soar through the radiance and absorb the moon’s essence. Hand in hand, we meet among the cloud forests, our hearts open and expansive, returning to the childlike state of innocence. Still and serene, with nowhere to dwell, why should worldly rights and wrongs weigh on our minds? People entangle themselves in conflict; how, then, can they speak of nurturing life?

On the sixth day of the ninth month, the assembled perfected immortals descended once more. They ordered Lord Yang to take up his brush and convey their words, then chanted this poem:

Unhitch the wheel and ascend to the Great Rosy Clarity; draw in the reins and arrive at Purple Mound. Bearing the Qi of the eight directions in your hands, leap up and drift among the clouds. Explore once more the ordinances of creation, then look back and seek the lofty realm. The essentials of cultivating the Dao are already grasped, enough to dispel a thousand sorrows. In seeking the true Dao, you have found a good companion; now that this is so, what more is there to pursue? Chant this poem and pass it on to Xu, the recorder Mu, and Xi.

Hui—that is, Yan Hui—then chanted:

The purple sky is clear and boundless; beside the Dark Palace flows the Crimson River. The halls of Highest Clarity abound, and the Cloud Terrace rises high in splendor. The Eight Chariots speed toward the Vermilion Pool, their feathered canopies pointing straight to the clouds. The storm wind wheels through the Three Mornings, as jade blossoms scatter to the sound of golden bells. Seven reins join the Nine Celestial Steps; at ease and free, there is no need to long for home. I ask those who seek the Dao: why remain amid the waves of the dusty world? Can you not dwell in the Eastern Splendor realm, tending your true nature and nurturing the Great Harmony—the primordial Qi that flows in peace through Heaven and Earth?

When the poem was finished, they also ordered him to pass it on to Xu and Xi.

On the seventeenth day of the tenth month, the assembled perfected immortals descended together once more and ordered Lord Yang to write:

In your left hand you hold the precious canopy of jade blossoms; riding the flying radiance, you ascend to the Seven Origins, the realm of the stars represented by the Northern Dipper. The Three Mornings shine with purple light. Solemnly you ascend and meet the luminous perfected ones. In an instant, transformation and flight unfold; wonders appear in every direction. From this, spiritual radiance shines forth.

Holding a canopy adorned with jade blossoms, she stepped across the streaming light and ascended to the Seven Origins—the seven stars of the Northern Dipper. The Three Morning Deities, the Daoist gods of the sun, cast forth a purple radiance. She stood upright, gazing down upon the clear and true realm. In an instant she transformed and soared, while wondrous signs appeared on every side. The subtle, numinous Qi was boundless; one should devote oneself to contemplating the Shangqing scriptures. Why sit at a crossroads, allowing the mind to lose its focus? Dwelling in a place of darkness, one loses the hidden mystery and fails to notice the passing years.

When she had finished chanting, she turned slowly to Lord Yang and said, “Those who are diligent today apply themselves to their work, or immerse themselves in the profound and subtle principles. Those who are careful, too, can draw lessons from one thing and put them into practice. The difficulty of learning the Dao is beyond words. If you are ashamed of being shallow and vulgar, you will remain far from the Great Dao. Only after receiving the pouring of sacred influence can one be called worthy. The conduct of the wise naturally gives others insight; for now, you must first learn to forget yourself within.”

Then she chanted:

“The Dark and Pure is deep and distant; contemplate it in stillness. The setting sun falls, casting its light on Dongting. May I meet a kindred spirit who has risen beyond the worldly dust, serene and at ease, with few worldly pursuits.”

She chanted these lines several times, then said:

“The numinous beings dwell in hidden places among mysterious peaks; the True Spirits draw in their cloudlike radiance. The mysterious song is not far off, and subtle communion has its appointed time. Must we wait until the void is utterly still before…”

She chanted these lines several times as well, then continued:

The immortals dwell in seclusion on deep, remote peaks, while the true spirits draw in their cloudlike radiance. Their wondrous songs do not remain forever unvoiced; marvelous responses have their appointed time. Who would have thought that, amid the silence of the empty expanse, the most exquisite melody is always there? Hand in hand, we ascend to the immortal palace and feast together in the Guanghan Palace, the legendary palace on the moon. Who is that wise and discerning person? The only one in my thoughts is Yuzi, a name for an immortal.

After reciting this, he said: “Zhuo Yunxu’s steed flies with outstretched wings above Mount Kongtong. Would such a person not long admire the throne of emperors, yet forever leave behind a state of ten thousand chariots?” Here, praise for the life of a hermit is expressed through the image of an immortal turning away from worldly splendor to withdraw and cultivate the Dao.

On the thirtieth day of the second month, he recited a stanza:

“Lifting my robes, I wade across the clear river, and there I meet Lord Fusang, the immortal of the eastern land where the sun rises. We gather in grandeur at Tailingxu, a place in the immortal realm, and feast and enjoy music in the Palace of Mysterious Splendor. If one follows the Great Dao with purity and single-minded devotion, why not dwell on the eastern peak?”

This too depicts the beauty of Mount Fangzhu and the Eastern Hua immortal realm.

On the fourteenth day of the fourth month, he composed seven stanzas:

(1) Riding the sunlight, I set out from the ford at first light and ascend on the wind to Shangqing, the highest Daoist heaven. Cloud Terrace towers aloft; the Heavenly Gate and Jade City are splendid and beautiful. The morning breeze stirs cinnabar clouds, and red vapor falls over the Golden Court. Green blossoms shine on the mysterious peak, while purple mushrooms grow beneath the cliffs. Auspicious clouds coil around the cinnabar furnace; immortal jade is refined, and I ascend in all eight directions. At ease, I feast in the Guanghan Palace, my life enduring and my youth ever renewed. Dragon banners stir numinous lightning; tiger banners summon vermilion troops, the divine generals. The High Perfected, those who have attained the Dao, ride the Nine Luminaries, the divine spirits of the nine stars, and reveal their radiant power together in the deep grotto-heavens. Who can walk the hidden, mysterious immortal path and seek me, whose immortal life is without end?

(2) The Purple Tenuity Pavilion, like the abode of the Celestial Emperor, is veiled in hazy clouds; from its high terrace stream radiant light and the immortal breeze. Luan birds sing among the ornate canopies, while phoenix music guides the dragon chariot. The Eight Wolf divine generals bear red tallies, and the White Tiger plays the horn flute. Clouds surge and illuminate the numinous palace; immortals descend into the clamor of the mortal world. Where the beautiful one dwells, I loosen my horse’s reins. Those who share the same vital energy naturally respond to one another. Finding the source of the Great Dao takes but a moment; ten thousand years pass like a single morning. Even the appointed span of long life will at last decline. How can we say the passing of the kalpa is far off? True immortals look toward one another; do not let the mind and spirit drift away. With the power of emptiness, sweep away every obstruction, lest the mind and spirit become trapped in sorrow.

(3) At dawn I set out beneath the eastern light, riding an immortal carriage across the vast sea. Waves surge among the mountains, shaking the green cliffs; winds from all directions stir the mysterious clouds. I circle past Yiqianfang, the name of an immortal palace, my heart yearning for the True Immortals and responding to them deeply. The Three Treasures of the Immortals are there to behold and enjoy; the eastern peak is fit for a long dwelling. People of the world hurry along the roads of mortal life. Who among them can set foot on the path to longevity?

(4) I drift into mountains wrapped in clouds and rosy mists, lingering beside the carriage that bears me aloft. Purple vapor rises into the heavens and passes beyond the nine skies. The sound of jade flutes resounds through the distant firmament; clouds and mists disperse, and darkness recedes. High immortals feast in Taizhen, the immortal realm, while their clear, ringing songs go on without end. We travel between mountain peaks and immortal courts. Why should we still wait and hesitate?

(5) The Divine King shines over the numinous ford; the Seven Primordials, divine spirits of the stars including the Northern Dipper, cause the sacred gates to gleam. Within the square inch of the heart, the spirit of thought becomes still and transforms; with a single leap, I ascend to Taiwei, the celestial star palace. Wondrous tones rise with harmonious songs, and the great immortal gathering has its appointed time. In union with the heavenly beings, I ascend with the morning light; riding my chariot beyond heaven and earth, what overturning or danger could there be?

(6) For a brief while, a feast is held on the mountains of the mortal world. The seasons turn, and the green jade ring departs. Who can understand the span of ten thousand kalpas? Looking back, I sigh; the thought fills me with sorrow.

(7) Numinous herbs cover the mysterious mountain slopes. I gaze up at the essence of the stars, moved to reflection. Plants and trees flourish and grow; those of deep virtue must surely prosper.

On the night of the seventeenth day of the eighth month, the Lady, acting on Lord Yang’s command, said to Chief Clerk Xu: “Your nature is calm and settled, your character is simple and profound, you understand the mysteries, and your spirit is perceptive. You have severed your ties to the secular world, made your home in the cultivation of the Dao, and nurtured body and mind. The roots of your life have already been planted in the Great Mystery, the wondrous source spoken of in Daoism, and your name has been inscribed in the Great Beginning, the primordial Qi spoken of in Daoism. Your inner radiance is like jade, and your public reputation is illustrious. Riding in a vermilion carriage drawn by four horses, you command the spirits, wander through Xuanzhou, the isle where dragons dwell, soar on clouds, and pass in and out of the hidden realms. In this way, you will surely befriend Lord Gu of Yitai above, and oversee affairs in the Great Clarity, the pure and empty realm of the immortals, below.” Then she spoke with Lord Guardian of Life about the matters of Yuanzhi and Jiufang, and added: “Nian…”