《歷世真仙體道通鑑》Vol. 19

Wang Chang

The Perfected Wang Chang’s place of origin is unknown. He followed the Perfected Zhang Zhengyi and studied the Dao. Later, when the Perfected went to Mount Yunjin, Wang Chang alone among the disciples stayed behind to study astronomy, master the teachings of Huang-Lao, and attend at the Perfected’s side.

With books strapped to his back, Wang Chang walked along singing as he followed the Perfected to Mount Yunjin. Each day he served the Perfected, assisting him in taking elixirs and driving away ghosts and demons, while steadily accumulating cultivation and merit. Later, when they reached Mount Quting, the Perfected pointed to Wang Chang one day and said, “You alone have continually done good through successive lifetimes. You already possess the bones of an immortal and are ready to attain perfection.” Wang Chang then fully grasped the essential teachings of the Nine Cauldrons transmitted by the Perfected, and ultimately ascended in broad daylight.

Zhao Sheng

The Perfected Zhao Sheng, titled Master Lutang, came from an unknown place. At first, while the Perfected Zhang Zhengyi was in Shu, Zhao Sheng traveled more than a thousand li to seek him out, wishing to pay his respects as a disciple. The Perfected tested him with seven difficult trials, and Zhao Sheng remained steadfast throughout. In the seventh trial, the Perfected took Tao and Wang Chang and threw them into a mountain ravine. Seeing the Perfected seated on a jade bed beneath a jeweled canopy, Zhao Sheng stepped forward and bowed. The Perfected then transmitted to him the divine elixir and the precious scripture. Zhao Sheng later attended the Perfected, completed his cultivation and accumulated merit, and ultimately ascended to heaven in broad daylight.

The compiler, Daoyi, says: Zhao Sheng traveled more than a thousand li to seek a teacher. He remained focused and reverent, steadfast in his resolve, and did not abandon his principles even when facing death or enduring humiliation and mistreatment. In the end, he received guidance from a master and fathomed the profound principles of Dao and De. He continually accumulated cultivation and merit, refined and nourished his body, and ultimately ascended, his body made light. His resolve was no different from that of the legendary disciple who passed through solid rock at the instruction of Master Chuan. Those in later generations who seek immortality may indeed take Zhao Sheng as a model. The Dao De Jing says, “Those who strive to put it into practice are people of resolve.” It speaks precisely of people like him.

Zhang Heng

The Inheritor Zhang Heng, courtesy name Lingzhen, was the eldest son of the Perfected Zhang Zhengyi. Another account gives his courtesy name as Ziping and says he was well versed in astronomy and calendrical studies. After studying the Dao, he also entered the service of the Han court, serving as Inspector of Longxi and later rising to the post of Palace Attendant.

In his youth, Zhang Heng was learned and widely read. He lived in seclusion and declined office, yet was renowned throughout the realm. When the emperor heard of his Daoist arts, he summoned him to serve as Attendant at the Yellow Gate, but Zhang Heng declined. He paid no heed to worldly affairs, practiced breathing techniques, and abstained from ordinary food. On the twenty-third day of the first month in the year jiwei, the second year of Guanghe under Emperor Ling of Han, he followed the Perfected’s instructions and transmitted the Daoist teachings to his son Zhang Lu. He then attained the Dao with his wife, Lady Lu, on Mount Yangping, and ascended in broad daylight.

The Celestial Master Zhang Lu, whose courtesy name was Gongqi (written as “Gongqi” in the Book of Han), was the eldest son of the Inheriting Master. He was devoted to Daoist arts and followed the methods of cultivation practiced by perfected beings. He once served the Han dynasty, holding the posts of Colonel Director of Agriculture and General of the Household for Pacifying the People, and later governed the commanderies of Hanzhong and Nanzheng. Afterward, he lived in seclusion to cultivate the Dao and treated people’s illnesses with talismanic methods. Patients offered him a dou of rice, and their ailments soon healed. Over time, he accumulated tens of thousands of shi of grain.

When the King of Wei heard of this, he sent an envoy with troops to attack Zhang Lu. Zhang Lu’s disciples brought him the news, but he said, “Do not be afraid.” He then took his disciples up a mountain ridge to look out. Troops were visible on every side. Zhang Lu drew a line on the ground with the tablet in his hand, and the earth became a great river, its torrents surging and its depths unfathomable. The army could not cross. The envoy then brought a fleet to the riverbank. Zhang Lu drew another line in the river with his tablet, and a mountain more than a thousand zhang high suddenly rose from the water, blocking the army’s advance. The envoy returned and reported the whole affair in detail.

Another account says that during the Jian’an era, Cao Cao seized power. Zhang Lu was outraged but lacked the strength to attack him, so he gathered troops and held his ground. Later, King Jian enfeoffed Zhang Lu in Shu as Duke of Aiding Righteousness; this was said to have been on account of that episode.

The King of Wei sent an envoy after him to offer an apology. The envoy brought a seal and ribbons of office, appointing Zhang Lu governor of Liang and Yi provinces and General Who Guards the South, and enfeoffing him as Marquis of Langzhong, with an estate of thirty thousand households. Zhang Lu firmly declined, telling the envoy, “I am a cultivator of the Dao. People everywhere long to transcend the world and ascend. A fief granted by marking out land is not what I desire. Take the seal and ribbons back, and do not come again.”

Later, Zhang Lu’s cultivation reached completion, and he rode a dragon up to heaven in broad daylight. Another account says that he died on the southern peak of Mount Taibai and was buried south of Baocheng County. Much later, when Jiang Wei was stationed in the western mountains of Shu, he encountered Zhang Lu amid the clouds and mist. After a long while, Zhang Lu disappeared.

Zhang Lu had two younger brothers: the elder was named Zhang Wei and the younger Zhang Kui. Zhang Wei once served as General Who Summons Righteousness. He too was devoted to Daoist arts and was said to have ascended to heaven at Jialing. Zhang Kui once served as governor of Nan Commandery. He later resigned from office to cultivate the Dao and, after a long time, ascended to heaven in broad daylight.

Zhang Zi

Zhang Zi, recorded as Zhang Fu in the Book of Han, had the courtesy name Yuanwei and was the eldest son of the Celestial Master. He was summoned to serve as a clerk to the Chief Minister and became a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate in Attendance. Later, he governed Hanzhong Commandery and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Changting. After a long time, he attained the Dao and departed by “corpse liberation”—a term in Daoist lore for a cultivator’s release from the physical body and transcendence.

He had four younger brothers: Zhang Yong, Zhang Sheng, Zhang Yi, and Zhang Ju. Zhang Yong, whose courtesy name was Lingzong, once served as Commandant of the Chariot Retinue and as a Gentleman of Discussion, and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Louting. He later attained the Dao and departed by the method of corpse liberation.

Sheng, whose courtesy name was Yuanzong, once served as Commandant of the Imperial Carriage, Gentleman Attendant of the Palace Guard, and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Duting.

He once lamented, “My family has passed down the teachings for generations, and traditionally the eldest son inherits them. None of my elder brothers has married. Does this mean the lineage will end here?” During the Yongjia era of the Western Jin, he saw auspicious energy at night, east of the great river, rising straight into the sky. He said to his wife, “There I can refine my Elixir.” He resigned his office, traveled south, and reached Poyang Commandery. Gazing ahead, he said, “I am close to my destination.” He then journeyed into the mountains for five days and came to a place of striking beauty. Climbing to the summit, he exclaimed with delight, “I have found it!” On the summit were an elixir grotto, a well, and a stove left behind by a Perfected One who had refined elixirs there in the past. Sheng built a dwelling near the well and grotto and settled there.

A year later, Lady Lu came looking for him and joined him on the mountain. They later had a son. (Another account says that Lady Lu came from Shu with a child and lived at the foot of the mountain.) After nine years, the Elixir was complete. One day, Sheng departed by means of corpse liberation, a Daoist mode of attaining immortality in which a practitioner leaves behind the body and departs. People called him “Master Dragon and Tiger.” Most of his descendants lived to the northeast of the mountain.

Yi, whose courtesy name was Lizong, served as General of the Gate Guard, Commandant of the Imperial Son-in-Law, General Who Attacks Bandits, and Prefect of Nanzheng in Hanzhong. He was enfeoffed as Marquis of Langzhong. Later, he attained the Dao and departed by means of corpse liberation.

Ju, whose courtesy name was Ruzong, served as Investigating Censor, An’nan Zheng, and Assistant Prefect of Shenyang. Later, he attained the Dao and departed by means of corpse liberation.

Another account says that Sheng was the fourth younger brother, Yi the fifth, Ju the sixth, and Mengde the seventh. Mengde, whose courtesy name was Wenzong, served as Admonition Official and Director of the Imperial Clan. Later, he attained the Dao and departed by means of corpse liberation. At the White Clouds Abbey in Linmai today, there are a large stove and a mountain stove, said to be where the fourth-generation descendant of the Celestial Master refined the Elixir and attained the Dao. The Song-dynasty poet Tao Bi once wrote of the place:

“Where the feathered immortal paid homage to the Origin,

An ancient altar lies among old trees.

The elixir stove remains, its work complete;

The crane has flown, leaving its nest empty.

Heaven bestowed the seal in its script,

And the talismanic writings link him to the Dao.

That day, the primal breath of unity—

At night, wind stirs the pines and cassia trees.”

Zhang Zhaocheng

Zhang Zhaocheng, whose courtesy name was Daorong, was Sheng’s eldest son. He devoted himself diligently to cultivating the Dao. Often sitting upright in his room, he could send his spirit beyond his body to places hundreds of miles away, and he could tame tigers and leopards. He lived to the age of 119. When he died, his body was still warm, as if he were alive. After he was buried, thousands of fungi grew on his grave. One day, local residents saw a crane emerge through the tomb, while colored clouds rose above it. The later accounts of Sheng …

When the tomb was inspected, only his cap and shoes remained. Another account says that he attained the Dao in the early Jin and became an immortal and departed during the Xian’kang era of Emperor Cheng of Jin.

Zhang Jiao

Zhang Jiao, courtesy name Dexin, was the eldest son of Zhang Daorong. He received from a Perfected One methods for governing ghosts, and passed on to the people the various secret registers the Perfected One had bestowed, covering different ranks. The Jin emperor summoned him several times, but he never accepted a government post. After attaining the Dao, he lived for more than a hundred years. Before his death, he took leave of his disciples, then peacefully transformed and departed.

Zhang Zhonghui

Zhang Zhonghui, courtesy name Dechang, was Dexin’s eldest son. He inherited his father’s methods and could practice grain avoidance, eating no cereals, while walking several hundred li each day. Later, he went into the mountains of Shu and never returned; in the end, no one knew what became of him.

Zhang Jiong

Zhang Jiong, courtesy name Yanchao, was Dechang’s eldest son. He attained the Dao while young. Handsome in appearance, he was skilled at judging and discerning things. Each day, in a purified chamber, he laid out the registers of the Perfected One’s various ranks and reverently made offerings to them, burning incense at the appointed time without fail. He treated the sick and drove away malevolent spirits, always bringing relief and recovery to those afflicted. People everywhere admired him. He died at the age of ninety. Another account says that Emperor Taizu of Qi once summoned him to the palace.

Zhang Fu

Zhang Fu, courtesy name Dexin, was Yanchao’s eldest son. He loved the Daoist arts and inherited and upheld the Perfected One’s methods. He died at the age of ninety-two.

Zhang Zixiang

Zhang Zixiang, courtesy name Linbo, was Dexin’s eldest son. He read widely in the classics and studied the learning of past and present in depth. He entered government in the robes and cap of a Confucian scholar, and during the Sui dynasty served as deputy magistrate of Luoyang County. Before long, he resigned and withdrew with his wife and children to Mount Longhu. Another account says that he once remarked, “Although the Sui dynasty has unified the realm, its turmoil will not last long.” He then went into seclusion and never again held office.

Several hundred people studied under him. He devoted himself to cultivating health and longevity, yet his appearance grew ever younger, and he often looked like a twenty-year-old. He could bring the Elixir up from his abdomen and play with it in his palm. Sometimes at night he would place it in a vessel, where it shone so brightly that its light pierced the roof; afterward, he would swallow it again. Many years later, he attained the Dao. He died at the age of 102—some say 120. When his coffin was carried, it was extremely light. On the night of his burial, a cave suddenly appeared in the tomb. When the grave was opened and inspected, only his clothes remained.

Zhang Tong

Zhang Tong—some say the character “Tong” was avoided under the Song—courtesy name Zhongda, was Linbo’s eldest son. He inherited and upheld the Perfected One’s methods, remaining behind closed doors for years at a time, as long as forty years. His wife and children could not see him except on certain occasions. After a long time, he attained the Dao and died at the age of ninety-seven. Several months later, when he was being placed in his coffin…

Zhang Zhongchang, styled Derun, was the eldest son of Zhang Zhongda. He was well-versed in Confucian classics and possessed extraordinary abilities. When Emperor Gaozong of Tang summoned him to the imperial court, he secretly returned home and lamented, "I nearly fell into the worldly snare." He practiced Daoist cultivation at home, inheriting the methods of the Shouzhenren (Guardian of Truth Master), and could manifest bodily transformations. Once he placed a wine jar in his room and drank wine and ate meat with his wife. That night, he became drunk and vomited beside the jar, yet his corpse showed no signs of decay for many days. He passed away at the age of ninety-eight. Another account states that he buried the wine jar in his house and drank with his wife. When they later opened the jar, they found the vomit had remained unchanged for a long time.

Zhang Guang, styled Dezhao, was the eldest son of Zhang Derun. From childhood, he studied the methods of the Zhenren (Perfected Being) but later abandoned his wife and second son, Zhang Wu, to retreat into the mountains for over twenty years. After emerging, he lived with his wife again for five years before passing away at home at the age of one hundred and two. His son, Zhang Wu, also mastered the practice of bigu (abstaining from grains).

Zhang Cizheng, styled Ziming, was the eldest son of Zhang Dezhao. He was widely read, particularly excelling in the Yijing (Book of Changes), and had over a hundred students. Later, he secluded himself to cultivate the Dao, cutting off contact with his wife and children while inheriting the methods of the Shouzhenren. Every year during the Sanyuan festivals (Daoist Upper, Middle, and Lower Yuan observances), he transmitted secret fulu (talismans and registers), attracting followers from all directions. He used his accumulated wealth to aid the poor during famines and was skilled in alchemy. He lived over a hundred years before passing away in the mountains, with celestial music faintly heard in the air. Another record claims he could transmute tiles into gold and silver using elixirs, crafting them into vessels. When these were cast into water and later burned, they reverted to tiles.

Zhang Gao, styled Shilong (also recorded as Shilong, later altered to Shilong to avoid the taboo of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's name), was the eldest son of Zhang Ziming. He cultivated the methods of the Shouzhenren and could drink an entire shi (a large measure) of wine without becoming intoxicated. Emperor Xuanzong summoned him to the capital, where an altar was erected for him to receive fulu. He was rewarded with gold, silver, and silk, exempted from taxes, and granted the title Hanzu Tianshi (Celestial Master of the Han Ancestor). Emperor Suzong once offered incense and conducted a jiao (Daoist ritual), personally composing praises for the Celestial Master. During the Zhenyuan era, the court bestowed gilded silver incense burners, incense boxes, and crimson silk gold-woven kerchiefs. He passed away at home at the age of ninety-one.

Zhang Yingshao, whose courtesy name was Zhifeng, was the eldest son of Zhang Shilong. He read widely in the classics and later withdrew to the mountains, practicing fasting from grain. He could go a hundred days without eating. In ordinary life, he and his wife farmed with their own hands, and he also played an iron flute whose sound could be heard for several miles. One day he told his son, “Our family has passed down the teachings of perfected beings, people who have attained the Dao, for generations, and we have done many things to benefit others. I am now advanced in years. You should carry these teachings forward.” After speaking, he sat upright and still, closed his eyes, and died. He was ninety-nine years old.

Zhang Shun

Zhang Shun, whose courtesy name was Zhongfu (also said to be Zhongfu), was the eldest son of Zhang Zhifeng. As a young man, he served his mother with great filial devotion. He often said, “If you are neither filial to your parents nor faithful to your duties, yet wish to study the Dao and seek immortality, it is like abandoning boat and oars and trying to cross a great river on foot.” He once served as the local assistant magistrate of Guishui County. Later he resigned from office and built a thatched hut where he lived with his wife and children. At eighty-seven, his complexion was still ruddy and his teeth white. He died without having been ill.

Zhang Shiyuan

Zhang Shiyuan, whose courtesy name was Zhongliang, was the eldest son of Zhang Zhongfu. In his youth, he studied a wide range of texts. He did not begin to study the Dao until he was in his forties, and for a long time he sat quietly at night. Later, he could extend and retract his arms freely, moving as swiftly as if he were flying. He transmitted methods involving Fulu, talismans and registers, to others for treating illness, and they often took effect quickly. He could also make peach and plum trees bear fruit in an instant. When the ruler of the time heard of his Daoist arts, he summoned him repeatedly with offers of prestigious official posts, but Zhang firmly declined and never entered government service. He eventually died at home, aged ninety-two.

Zhang Xiu

Zhang Xiu, whose courtesy name was Dezhen, was the eldest son of Zhang Zhongliang. He was plain and unassuming, often wearing coarse cloth and disliking fine adornments. He and his wife worked the fields and kept apart from the villagers. Each year he transmitted methods involving talismans to treat people’s illnesses, and their conditions improved at once. He gave all the gifts he received from those who asked him to perform healing rites to the poor. He was content with a quiet, solitary life, without desires or yearnings. Two years before his death, he built his own tomb and said, “I will leave this world in two years.” When the appointed day came, he bathed, changed his clothes, sat upright, and died. He was eighty-five years old.

The Record of Efficacious Wonders also relates that Liu Qian, a wealthy merchant from Jiangxi, went to visit him and received the Dugo registers and ritual methods from the nineteenth Celestial Master. The following year, Liu died in Jinling. After two nights, he awoke and said, “When the officials of the underworld came to summon me, golden light suddenly descended from the sky. A messenger in yellow came through the air, holding a white tablet and reading aloud: ‘Liu Qian bears the Zhengyi registers, those of the Orthodox Unity tradition. His name is recorded in Heaven and does not fall under the jurisdiction of the underworld. Though his allotted years have ended, they may be extended by thirty years.’” After this, he put on coarse cloth and practiced the Dao. He went to Longhu Mountain and paid homage to the Celestial Master.

Zhang Shen

Zhang Chen, courtesy name Zijian, was Dezhen’s eldest son. He was widely learned, a Confucian scholar well versed in the classics in his time, and skilled in cursive and clerical calligraphy. In his later years he took an interest in Daoist arts and was able to practice bigu (abstaining from or reducing food as a form of Daoist cultivation). One account says that Emperor Wenzong of Tang summoned him and offered him an official post, which he declined. Later, during the reign of Emperor Yizong, he was ordered to establish an altar and conduct a Daoist ritual in the Xiantong era. He drank three times a day and often became thoroughly intoxicated. He eventually died at an age of more than one hundred.

Zhang Bingyi

Zhang Bingyi, also said to have been named Yan Gong, courtesy name Wenfu, was Zijian’s eldest son. His mother first dreamed that a golden tortoise entered her belly; when she awoke, she was pregnant. As a young man, he studied the Dao and could see what was happening beyond a wall. He once amassed a thousand in gold. When famine struck, he bought grain to provide relief for the poor.

When he was ninety-two, he said to his wife, “If an earthquake occurs after I die, prepare my body for burial.” Having said this, he sat upright, holding a bamboo tablet, and died. Seven days later, an earthquake did indeed occur, and people prepared his body for burial. His body was still warm and had not decayed.

Zhang Shan

Zhang Shan, courtesy name Yuanchang, was Wenfu’s eldest son. As a child, he did not eat meat. When he grew up, he took an interest in Daoist arts and traveled among famous mountains and great rivers for twenty years before returning. Afterward, he no longer left home and devoted himself to cultivating body and mind. He died at the age of eighty-seven; another account says he lived to eighty-one.

Zhang Jiwen

Zhang Jiwen, courtesy name Zhonggui, was Yuanchang’s son. Each year he transmitted secret registers of the various ranks to disciples willing to cultivate. These registers were Daoist ritual documents conferred on priests, signifying their ordination and ritual duties. He treated illnesses with talisman water, and patients recovered quickly. He died at the age of eighty-seven.

Zhang Zhengsui

Zhang Zhengsui, courtesy name Baoshen, was Zhonggui’s eldest son. He was plainspoken and upright and kept away from worldly people; when he met anyone on the road, he would hurry out of their way. Each year he used the ritual gifts received for transmitting ordination to help the poor. Though his household was poor, he did not mind. He died at the age of eighty-seven and was later posthumously given the title “Master of True Stillness.”

Zhang Qianyao

Zhang Qianyao was Baoshen’s eldest son. He took an interest in Daoist arts and administered and practiced the teachings transmitted by the perfected ones. The Huiyao records that in the eighth year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era, the court summoned Zhang Qianyao, a Daoist priest from Xinzhou, to the capital, where he established an altar at the Shangqing Palace to transmit registers and ordain people.

Emperor Renzong of Song heard that Zhang had attained the Dao. In the fifth month of the eighth year of the Tiansheng era, he summoned him to the palace and bestowed on him the title “Master of Pure Simplicity.” The emperor asked him about ascending to immortality. Zhang remained silent in thought for a long while, then replied, “This matter cannot be used to assist in governing and teaching the people.” The emperor praised his answer. The emperor then asked how many sons he had, and Zhang replied…

He left his eldest son at home to carry on the Daoist teachings, while having his second son study Confucianism. Later, he arranged for the second son, Jiansu, to serve as a clerk in the Directorate of Works, an official responsible for documents. Although Jiansu held office, his heart was ever more drawn to Daoism. He later resigned from his post as Assistant Director of the Court of the Imperial Guards and lived in seclusion by East Lake in Poyang. His descendants still live there today.

Zhang Sizong

Zhang Sizong was the eldest son of Master Chengsu. He inherited the teachings of the Perfected One, transmitted secret registers, and mastered the methods of breathing and regulating Qi. At seventy, he still looked like a child. He died at eighty-one and was later posthumously honored as Master Xubai. The Huiyao records that in the eighth month of the third year of the Zhihe era, he was granted the title “Master Chongjing.”

Zhang Xiangzhong

Zhang Xiangzhong, courtesy name Gongchen, was the eldest son of Master Xubai. At the age of seven, he was granted purple robes and inherited the Daoist lineage. Another account says that by thirteen he was exceptionally gifted, well versed in the Confucian classics and histories, and skilled in Daoist arts. Emperor Renzong of Song summoned him, offered him a seat, and asked him about the Daoist teachings. Pleased with his answers, the emperor specially granted him purple robes, wrote an imperial inscription in his own hand for him to protect his household, and gave him silk and gold vessels. The court bestowed rewards on him repeatedly thereafter. He inherited the Perfected One’s teachings and remained devoted to them throughout his life.

Zhang Dunfu

Zhang Dunfu, courtesy name Yanzhi, was Gongchen’s eldest son. As a young man, he wore Confucian robes and became known for his writing in the civil service examinations. Later, as the legitimate heir, he inherited the twenty-eighth generation of the Zhengyi lineage. He vigorously promoted his ancestors’ Daoist traditions and was revered throughout the region. He died at fifty-three and was posthumously honored as Master Baoguang.

Zhang Jingduan

Zhang Jingduan, courtesy name Ziren, was the fifth son of Zhang Di, the twenty-fourth-generation lineage holder. He loved Daoism and inherited the Perfected One’s teachings. He died at thirty-one, though another account says he lived to fifty-two. After his death, he was posthumously honored as Master Baozhen.

Zhang Jixian

Zhang Jixian, courtesy name Zunzheng, was the twenty-sixth-generation lineage holder. His father, named Churen and courtesy-named Dexuan, served as a Proclaimer of Instruction and as county magistrate of Linchuan. Zhang Jixian was his second son. At nine, Zhang Jixian inherited the Perfected One’s teachings. Beginning in the Chongning era of Emperor Huizong of Song, he was summoned to the palace four times. He was granted the title “Master Xujing” and an official rank equivalent to that of a Grand Master of the Palace.

At first, Emperor Shenzong of Song ordered a six-character seal reading “Yangping Zhi Dugong” to be carved from Kun jade and stored in the ritual implements treasury of the Palace of Auspicious Preservation of the Three Pure Ones. He intended to grant it to a person of the Dao. The seal was later bestowed on Zhang Jixian, who was subsequently elevated to the rank of Perfected One and given the title “Zhengyi Jingying Xianyou”…

The Perfected Lord (Zhenjun), an honorific title in Daoism for a revered Perfected One, then issued an edict ordering the officials concerned to build a lower monastery east of the capital for the Master to live in, and named it “Esteeming the Dao.” He also bestowed funds to repair the Shangqing Palace on Longhu Mountain and set aside fifty thousand paces of farmland to support those living at the palace. Later, he bestowed the plaque “Shangqing Zhengyi Palace” and posthumously honored the Master’s grandfather and father with the title “Master.”

The Master’s grandmothers, Chen and Feng, and his younger sister, Baozhen, were all ordained as Daoists. A monastery was built for them to live in. Following the precedent set by Master Chengsu, the Master’s elder brother, Shaoxian, was appointed to office and granted the rank of “Gentleman for Service.” The favors bestowed on him were generous.

The Master was unambitious and declined official posts, returning to the mountains. Behind Shangqing Palace, he had once built Jing Tong Hermitage as a place to practice “fasting of the mind” (xinzhai), which brings the mind to quiet single-mindedness, and “sitting in forgetfulness” (zuowang), which lets go of attachments to body and mind during meditation. He also practiced cultivation on Yunjin Mountain, where the Patriarch had once lived, following the traces of the alchemical furnaces of the Dragon and Tiger. It is said that auspicious light shone through the valleys, leaving behind sites such as the Hall of Auspicious Descent and the Tripod-Washing Pool, which remain to this day. Later, he wrote “Discourse on the Mind” and “Song of the Great Dao,” which were passed down to later generations.

In the year Dingwei, the Master was thirty-six. Emperor Qinzong issued an edict summoning him to court. When he reached Sizhou, he “released his transformation”—a phrase in Daoist biographies meaning that a Perfected One had died or ascended. In the winter of the year Jiyou, he went to Hangzhou to attend a birthday Zhaijiao purification ritual held under Xue’s direction. That year, bandits entered the region. The Master warned the people in advance and then departed. It is said that even to this day, Daoist companions traveling to and fro often report seeing him. He appeared and vanished at Luofu Mountain and in western Shu, his whereabouts uncertain.

Another account says that in the sixth month of the year Wushen, the Master and Commander Zhang of Hedong were returning from the capital. When they reached Xuyi in Sizhou, they moored their boat at the tax station. The Master felt slightly unwell, drank a cup of broth, and then died; his body turned waxen yellow. A Daoist at Yanchang Monastery asked to take charge of his burial, but the tax official refused. They had no choice but to bury him hastily on government land, with Lord Zhang overseeing the matter. Later, Lord Zhang received an imperial order and obtained a document from Liu Wenqi. It stated that a man from Yizhen named Zhang Jiuzhong, courtesy name Dunwu, had cultivated the Dao and earned considerable respect. He said that the Celestial Master had died there, and that an immortal’s tomb remained by the river. Soon afterward, someone arrived from Guizhou with a letter from the Celestial Master to Lord Zhang. Only then did they learn that the Celestial Master had not died. Others also said they had seen him at Luofu Mountain in Huizhou.

Zhang Shixiu, courtesy name Chaoying, was a descendant of Master Xubai. He had long studied Confucian learning and sat the civil service examinations many times without passing. He then withdrew contentedly from public life and resolved to cultivate himself. He made quietude and Wuwei (non-action) his aim, never married, and had no children. The people chose him to carry on the Daoist lineage of the Gong family. At the age of sixty-one, he “released his transformation” at his ancestral home on Longhu Mountain.

Zhang Shouzhen.

Zhang Shouzhen, whose courtesy name was Zunyi, was Chaoying’s eldest son. His mother, Lady Wu, once dreamed that someone handed her a celestial fruit and said, “Eat this. The child you bear will one day preside over the seal of Yangping’s Office of Merit.” After Zhang Shouzhen was born, he was simple and tranquil in temperament; as he grew up, he also had few desires.

In the tenth year of Shaoxing (1140), under the Song, Zhang Shouzhen took up the family’s Daoist vocation. Each year, on the Three Primal festivals—the Upper, Middle, and Lower Primal festivals—he transmitted the Dao and conferred registers. Seekers came from every direction in an unending stream. He dispelled evil and removed poison, spreading Daoist teachings widely. On the seventh day of the second month in the twenty-ninth year of Shaoxing (1159), Emperor Gaozong bestowed on him the Daoist title “Master of Correct Response.”

On the thirteenth day of the tenth month in the sixth year of the Qiandao era under Emperor Xiaozong (1170), Emperor Gaozong issued an edict summoning Zhang Shouzhen. On the thirteenth day of the eleventh month, he ordered him to go to Deshou Palace and stay at Yangyu Zhuang. Three days later, Gaozong received him, offered him a seat, and warmly asked him about Daoist methods. On the nineteenth day, Xiaozong summoned him, offered him a seat, and presented him with vegetarian food. After Zhang Shouzhen returned to his quarters, the court bestowed gifts on him several more times.

On the nineteenth day of the twelfth month, Gaozong ordered Zhang Shouzhen to perform a jiao ritual on the Moon Terrace—a Daoist rite in which an altar is established to invoke the gods. The prayers received extraordinary responses. The following year, Gaozong summoned Zhang Shouzhen again and gave him the Precious Registers of the Various Grades of the Three Caverns of Shangqing, a collection of Daoist registers from the Shangqing tradition, to transmit. Since these registers had circulated for a long time, Gaozong provided him with funds and ordered the Daoist Registers Bureau to carve printing blocks for the books. He also had Zhang Shouzhen transmit the registers at Yanxiang Abbey and ordered him to take the blocks back with him. Gaozong further bestowed on him an ivory tablet and the Jingzhen sword, and personally copied out the Classic of the Hidden Talisman and gave it to him.

After returning to the mountains and forests, Zhang Shouzhen lived at ease, paying no heed to worldly affairs. He often said that he had received a letter from his elder brother, Master Xujing, inviting him to travel through Sichuan, and that he intended to go. On the thirtieth day of the tenth month in the third year of Chunxi (1176), he died without illness. Daoist biographies call this manner of departure “feathered release.”

Zhang Bojing

Zhang Bojing, whose courtesy name was Deying, was the eldest son of Master of Correct Response. He was tall and distinguished in appearance, with a prominent occipital bone and a handsome beard. People said he had the bearing of a Zhengyi Daoist priest.

During the Qiandao era under Emperor Xiaozong of the Song, he accompanied Master of Correct Response to court in response to a summons. Gaozong offered him a seat and vegetarian food, and personally changed his name to Jingyuan. At the Southern Palace, Gaozong also listened as he explained and demonstrated Daoist methods, and praised him highly. A month later, Gaozong ordered Master of Correct Response to conduct a grand jiao ritual on the Moon Terrace. Master of Correct Response had Jingyuan assist in leading it. Several extraordinary responses occurred during the rite, and the emperor rewarded him and bestowed on him an ivory tablet. After returning home, he took charge of the Three Primal festivals’ religious affairs, and especially many people came to receive registers from him.

At first, when Prince Wei, a son of the emperor, was stationed in Mingzhou, he established a jade altar and summoned ritual masters. He became particularly close to Zhang Bojing. One day, Prince Wei sent a letter inviting him to come and meet him. Zhang Bojing suddenly said to his disciples, “However many favors the human world may bestow, I have my own appointed time to become an immortal, and I must not miss it.” Then he leaned against a table and passed away peacefully.

Zhang Qingxian

Zhang Qingxian, whose courtesy name was Shaozu, was the legitimate son of Deying. Before Qingxian was born, Deying had adopted his younger brother, Sìxian, as his son. Later, Qingxian was born.

Qingxian was naturally refined and composed. Quiet and reserved, he seemed like Liezi dwelling in a garden in the state of Zheng, unknown to the world. Only after a long time did his reputation gradually spread, revealing his extraordinary bearing. Daoists and laypeople alike admired him, and all agreed in saying, “He is truly descended from the Zhengyi Master”—an honorific for a leader of the Zhengyi tradition.

The relevant officials then submitted a memorial to the court. In the fifth month of the first year of Jiatai under Emperor Ningzong of the Song (the xinyou year, 1201), Qingxian formally succeeded to the thirty-fourth generation of religious leadership. People came from all directions to receive the Three Yuan registers—Daoist talismans and registers transmitted in the Three Yuan tradition—and to offer incense.

Qingxian had always upheld simplicity and sincerity. He lived frugally and treated others with kindness and generosity. He felt particular compassion for impoverished scholars with no one to rely on, who struggled through life in the cold and hardship, and often gave them assistance. He had no other indulgence; he simply enjoyed drinking, but never let it lead him into excess or loss of decorum.

On the Lower Yuan Festival in the second year of Jiading (1209), he opened an altar and held a Zhaijiao purification ritual. Seven days later, a man dressed in coarse silk and wearing a headscarf arrived. He was imposing in stature and seemed to be a man of the Dao. No one knew where he had come from. As soon as Qingxian saw him, he brought out wine and offered him a seat, receiving him as if they were old friends reunited. When they parted, the man leaned close and spoke at length into Qingxian’s ear, then left.

After that, Qingxian burned incense and abstained from grain, taking no further part in worldly affairs. His family guessed that he was about to transcend the world like a cicada shedding its shell, and asked him to leave them the formula for his cultivation. He kept the essential instructions secret and passed them on to no one. On the twenty-ninth day of that month, Qingxian rose early, washed and groomed himself as usual, then sat upright in peace and died.

Zhang Keda

Zhang Keda, whose courtesy name was Zixian, was the grandson of Boyu, the second son of the Zhengying Master, and the second son of Tianlin, the Renjing Master.

When Jingyuan ascended to immortality, Boyu had temporarily overseen the religious affairs of the thirty-fourth generation. After Qingxian ascended to immortality, his legitimate son Chengda was still young, so Tianlin again temporarily took charge of the religious affairs, now for the thirty-fifth generation. Tianlin was summoned by Emperor Ningzong of the Song and granted the title “Renjing Master.” Before long, Chengda died young, and Keda succeeded Qingxian in leading the religious affairs.

In the third year of Shaoding under Emperor Lizong (1230), the Renjing Master ascended to immortality. Keda was then only thirteen years old when he formally succeeded to the thirty-fifth generation of religious leadership. He was handsome in appearance, extraordinary in bearing, and exceptional in insight. People came from every region to receive and study the registers, often numbering in the tens of thousands, and Daoist teachings consequently flourished and spread.

In the third year of Duanping (1236), at the emperor’s command, Keda was granted funds to reprint the register blocks bestowed by the previous dynasty. In the second year of Jiaxi (1238), he was further granted the title “True Lord Zhengyi Jingying Xianyou,” to aid…

The deities of Mingshan Yuquan and Longjing were all granted higher titles. In the fourth month of a certain year, he was summoned by imperial command to the temporary capital. He prayed for the tide to recede, for rain to fall, for locusts to be driven away, and for the borders to be defended; each prayer proved efficacious. In the seventh month, the emperor received him, offered him a seat and a vegetarian meal, and bestowed on him the title “Master Who Contemplates the Wondrous.” The emperor praised him highly and granted him generous rewards.

The emperor also gave him money to restore Zhenyi Abbey, which an earlier dynasty had bestowed upon him, making it a home for him and his mother. He was granted land and exempted from rent and taxes. The emperor personally inscribed a plaque bearing the character “Abbey,” as well as names for its halls, including “Hall of True Daoist Ways” and “Pavilion of the Purple Tenuity.” He was also given a fan on which the emperor personally wrote: “Spirit and Dao unite as one; Heaven and humanity communicate with one another. So long as you cultivate with wholehearted sincerity and careful discipline, you will in time ride the sunlight upward, ascending beyond the world.”

The Master also petitioned the court to grant higher titles to the deities of Mingshan Yuquan and Longjing, and the court bestowed ranks upon them all. From then on, the honors he received grew still more substantial. The court often bestowed incense for him to conduct a Jiao (a Daoist altar ritual for prayer and blessing), almost every year, and his prayers were answered each time.

In the second year of the Baoyou era, he was again summoned by imperial command to the temporary imperial residence and ordered to serve as abbot of Longxiang Palace. Because his mother was elderly, he declined. The court granted his request and issued an edict appointing him to oversee the Fulu of the Three Mountains, as well as the Daoist religious affairs of the various palaces and abbeys before the emperor, and to direct the affairs of Longxiang Palace. He continued to hold the post in name from a distance until later.

After he was allowed to resign, he set his heart on a life of freedom beyond the world. In the third year of the Jingding era, he transmitted his teachings to his second son, Zongyan, and submitted a memorial to the court. On the tenth day of the fourth month, he underwent feathered transformation, the Daoist term for a cultivator’s death. The emperor and the crown prince both sent gifts to cover funeral expenses. At the burial, the court bestowed a burial sword, along with especially generous gifts. Chancellor Jiang Wanli composed his commemorative inscription.