《歷世真仙體道通鑑》Vol. 22

Feng Heng, whose courtesy name was Junda, was from Longxi. He studied Daoist arts from childhood, mastered the Laozi and the Zhuangzi, and diligently sought out secrets of cultivation. At first, he took coptis root for fifty years. Later, he went into Bird-and-Beast Mountain to gather medicinal herbs, then took shu, a medicinal plant, for more than a hundred years. When he returned to his hometown, he still looked about twenty years old.

Whenever he heard that someone was ill, whether he knew the person or not, he would take medicine from the bamboo tube at his waist and give it to them. Sometimes he used acupuncture, and the patient recovered at once. He guarded his Jing and Qi, did not indulge his eyes, and rarely raised his voice. He had thoroughly read and memorized every kind of book, classic, and biography. Later, he met the woman Lu again and received from her the formula for the Returned Elixir, a secret for refining and cultivating elixirs, and the Diagram of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks, a Daoist text depicting the terrain of the Five Sacred Peaks. He then traveled throughout the land. Along the way, the mountain officials and water spirits secretly came out to welcome him, while fierce ghosts and strange creatures hid or fled. Some people did not believe in his powers and attacked him with arrows, knives, and swords, but could not harm him.

Feng Heng often rode a green ox. Since no one knew his name, people called him the “Green-Ox Daoist.” Emperor Wu of Wei asked him for the essentials of nourishing life. Feng Heng replied, “Keep the body moving regularly, but do not overexert it. Eat small amounts often, but not so little that you become depleted. Eat less rich, greasy food; limit sour and salty flavors; reduce anxious thoughts; restrain joy and anger; do not become absorbed in racing about and amusement; and be careful in sexual relations. In this way, you will come close to the Dao. The sages nourish Yang in spring and summer and Yin in autumn and winter. By following life’s roots, they can accord with the mysteries of Heaven and Earth’s transformations.”

Feng Heng had two attendants: one carried a book chest, the other a medicine chest. The book chest held twelve scrolls of Rongcheng’s Art of Nourishing Qi, one treatise on the Mozi Method of Invisibility, and one scroll of the Lingbao Scripture for Guarding Life. The medicine chest held prepared mercury frost, coptis powder, and other medicines. He lived among ordinary people for more than two hundred years. Later, he entered Yuanqiu Mountain and was never seen again.

Wang Lao

Wang Lao’s name is unknown. He was friends with the woman Lu and Feng Junda, and often traveled in search of the Dao, visiting famous mountains. Once, south of Mount Dongyue, he met an immortal riding a white deer down from the mountain, accompanied by more than ten maidservants. Recognizing the figure as an immortal, Wang Lao bowed and asked to be taught the way to long life.

The immortal said, “Have you heard of Lord Anqi? I am Lord Anqi. Your earnest sincerity has moved Heaven, and the Most High has sent me to teach you the secret of transcending the world. The scripture says, ‘It is continuous, as though it were there; use it, and it is never exhausted.’ This is the true Dao.” With that, Lord Anqi ascended to Heaven and departed.

Wang Lao cultivated even more diligently according to these instructions. Three years later, he could run fast enough to catch a galloping horse, and his skin had become plump and radiant.

He looked like a young woman and could divide himself into multiple forms and transform at will. Whether sitting or standing, he could vanish in an instant, and he could travel throughout the human world. People often saw him in the lands within the Four Seas.

Zhang Hao, whose courtesy name was Wenming, was from Runan. During the Yongchu era of Emperor An of the Eastern Han, there was a recluse who practiced the Dao. When Zhang Hao was twenty, Feng Heng summoned him. To examine his character, Feng Heng first sent him to wade through a deep abyss, where sharks and whales drew near. Zhang Hao remained calm. Feng Heng then tempted him with beautiful women and tested him with money, but neither stirred his heart. Feng Heng said, “This man can be taught.”

Feng Heng then gave him the Qingyao Purple Book, the Golden Root Upper Scripture, and half a liang of divine elixir, warning him: “Practice diligently and you will attain success; grow lax and you will lose what you have gained.” Zhang Hao bowed and accepted his charge, then went to Mount Chicheng to take the elixir and cultivate the Dao. Much later, he could hear sounds from far away and see distant things clearly. Those seeking the Dao often came to visit him. At times he transformed into a white crane, at times into a flying cloud, soaring through the sky and roaming the empty expanse. He concealed his form so that no one could see him.

At the start of the Taihe era of Emperor Ming of Wei, he ascended to the Realms and became an immortal.

Wang Shaodao and his like-minded companion Li Boshan often performed good deeds in secret and helped others. They accumulated Dao practice and good works over many lifetimes, and in the end attained immortality. Shaodao often said to people: “When merit has accumulated to three thousand deeds, one can ascend by day. When good works abound, a cloud chariot will descend. By continually spreading the Great Dao, one can naturally reach the state of deathlessness. These words are truly credible. In former times, the Perfected One of Taiji could manifest eight bodies in a single day, and attained the Dao through successive rounds of cultivation. Ge Xuan, too, cultivated for seven lifetimes before attaining the rank of Immortal Lord. Moreover, accumulated merit can aid one’s ancestors above and benefit one’s descendants below. How could it be only a way for oneself alone to live forever? Strive and be diligent! What I say is no empty talk.” They both attained the Dao and became immortals.

(The True Teachings says that Wang Shaodao, Fan Shusheng, and Li Boshan were outstanding figures in the Court of Childhood’s Beginning. Wang Shaodao was Wang Duner of the Han dynasty. Fan Shusheng was from Beidi and once served as Governor of Shanyang. Li Boshan was the father of Li Chong, a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate under Emperor Wen of Wei. Li Chong’s father had served as Magistrate of Baima under the Han and performed good deeds in secret. The phrase “accumulated the Dao over generations” means that they practiced the Dao and amassed good works over many lifetimes. The two immortals of this court mentioned above each rose through one or two promotions before entering it.)

Lu Da’an.

The Perfected One’s surname was Lu and his given name was Guang; he was also known as Da’an. He was from Huang County in the Danning Army of western Shu. Later he moved to Wuzhou. He was the ninth-generation descendant of Lu Wenshu of the Han dynasty. He was born at the hour of the Rat on the fifteenth day of the ninth month in the first year of the Han’an era, during the reign of Emperor Shun of the Han. Naturally clear-minded and gifted with a handsome physique, he had sparse hair and blue-green eyes. He inherited his family’s learning and became broadly versed in the classics and histories.

At the time, China had passed through the Three Kingdoms period, and the Jin dynasty was later established. The court set up the civil service examinations to select talent, but the process was unfair, and the path to office was difficult to pursue. Lu Guang sighed, “Since childhood, I have lived in straitened circumstances, while fortune rises and falls with the times. Though I have the ability to help the world, circumstances and fate have worked against me, and I cannot bring my plans to fruition. From now on, I will no longer seek fame and office.” He then gave up his family’s estate and began cultivating the Dao.

He traveled to Heyang and lodged at a postal station. An official there warned him, “You cannot stay here. A demon haunts the station. If you don’t believe me, disaster may befall you.” The Perfected One replied, “I have a divine sword that can destroy evil spirits. There is no need to say more.” And so he stayed.

In the middle of the night, a bitter wind blew. The Perfected One closed his eyes and examined the scene. In a corner of the courtyard, amid demonic qi, he saw a woman weeping as she pleaded, “Perfected One, please save me. I was a member of the Zhang family and lived in this old house. In the past, bandits raided and killed me, and my body was buried here. Only if you gather my remains and bury them will I be able to be reborn.” The next day, the Perfected One searched by digging and, sure enough, found a set of white bones with linked ornaments. He buried them on high ground in a burial plot. From then on, he was even more resolved to pursue the Dao. He sought far and wide for ways to save the living and deliver the dead, and traveled everywhere in search of renowned mountains.

On the fifth day of the fifth month in the jiachen year, the fifth year of Emperor Wu of Jin’s Taikang era, Lu Guang was walking at Mount Gushe when he suddenly saw an old man in a yellow fur coat sitting on a rock beneath an ancient cypress. He stepped forward, bowed, and asked, “Sir, why are you here alone?” The old man looked up and sighed deeply, but for a long while gave no reply.

The Perfected One bowed with great respect. After a while, the old man said to him, “You have been standing beside me for a long time. What is it you wish to seek? I see that your prospects for office and wealth are slight, but your affinity with the Dao is deep. In time, your reputation will match your lifespan, and all that you undertake will reach completion.” Hearing this, the Perfected One felt as though he had awoken from a dream. He hurriedly bowed again and said, “What this disciple seeks is the Dao.”

The old man said, “The Dao is deep and mysterious, without form or appearance. How do you intend to seek it?” The Perfected One asked again, “Though the Dao is indeed beyond words, I wish to learn how to save the living and deliver the dead, so that I may help people. Is this possible?”

The old man said, “The Dao is the source of the mysteries of all things. It responds to things at every moment, yet always abides in stillness. It cannot be sought through words or seized by force. The key is to gather the spirit and maintain stillness, keeping the mind calm and even, so that one’s nature returns to emptiness, stillness, and subtlety, and the primordial Qi received from Heaven is preserved for a long time…”

Only when all things no longer disturb you can you circulate your skill and distribute Qi, rinse with inner fluids, and refine Shen, thereby transcending the ordinary and entering the sacred realm.

The Perfected One Who Entered the Sacred Realm said, “After hearing your teachings today, my resolve is firm. I beg you, Master, to teach me a Daoist method so that I can help others and cultivate myself.” The old man replied, “You are someone who can be taught.” He then gave him the Scripture and Register of the Great Method of the Six Heavens of Suchness—a Daoist text of ritual methods and Fulu (talismans and registers)—and said, “Cultivating according to this method can save the living and deliver the dead; its wondrous uses are beyond description. You must carefully guard this book of methods.” The old man immediately swept away with his sleeve. The Perfected One could not catch up. The old man turned back once more and told him, “After six years of cultivation, we will meet again.”

The Perfected One then went to Immortal Palm Peak on Mount Hua to cultivate. At midnight on the fifteenth day of the tenth month in the second year of Yongxi, Emperor Hui’s reign, he dreamed that the Supreme Lord Lao commanded an attendant Jade Youth to give him ten jade keys and told him to consult the book of methods previously transmitted by the old man. When he awoke, his mind and spirit were clear, and his understanding had opened fully. From then on, he wrote Fulu and circulated and distributed Qi to treat illness and drive out evil spirits, and his methods never failed.

In the third month of the first year of Yongkang, blood rain fell in the Qin region, an ominous star appeared in daylight, and epidemics spread as people met untimely deaths. The Perfected One reverently used talisman water and lit a Hunyuan lamp. The disaster did not subside until more than thirty days had passed. In the first month of the second year of Yongkang, a tiger and a rhinoceros burst into the city. The people were terrified, and no one could stop them. Wang Rong was serving as chancellor at the time. Emperor Hui challenged him, saying, “You bear the heavy responsibility of assisting the ruler. How can you let these fierce beasts alarm the people? I now order someone to be summoned to subdue them.” The Perfected One was Wang Rong’s nephew, so he came forward in response to the posted notice and told Wang Rong, “I have a way to subdue them.” Seeing that his nephew was confident, Wang Rong reported the matter to the court. The emperor summoned the Perfected One to the palace. He asked to rid the people of this threat, and, once given the imperial command, acted according to the Hunyuan method to summon and control the tiger and rhinoceros. They actually flew in from the sky, greatly astonishing the emperor. The Perfected One sprinkled talisman water on them, and they transformed into a fly and a toad. He then circulated his Qi and swallowed them, and peace immediately returned to the city.

The emperor was delighted. He praised and questioned him, saying, “You truly are a Celestial Master and Perfected One of my dynasty. Though you lived in a different age from the Celestial Master of the Han dynasty, you share the same title; though separated by generations, your achievements are equal.” The emperor bestowed on him green silk, a red official robe, a blue silk sash, a jade ring, and gifts of gold and silk. The Perfected One smiled and declined, submitting a memorial that said, “I have helped the state and aided the people. How could I bear to stain myself with possessions?” Afterward, he lived on Mount Hua. He transmitted the Hunyuan Register to Ding Yi, the Hunyuan Scripture to Guo Pu, and the Hunyuan Method to Xu Jingyang, and also passed on the Hunyuan techniques of acupuncture and moxibustion to others.

On the night of the twelfth day of the eighth month in the first year of the Da’an era, the Immortal Zhu Miantong dreamed that the Most High Lord Lao spoke to him: “Your age accords with your name, so you may ascend to Heaven and assist the Great Emperor of the North Pole at the Purple Tenuity, serving as the Perfected Lord of Destiny. From now on, on the third and ninth days of each month, you must descend to the human world and observe people’s good deeds and faults. Whenever they encounter disasters or hardships, respond at once and help them.”

When he awoke, his body felt light, and in the blink of an eye he had ascended to Heaven. The Way of Primordial Unity that he transmitted is still passed down in the world today.

Wang Zhen

Wang Zhen was from Shangdang. He began studying the Dao at the age of seventy-nine, practicing the art of embryonic breathing, a Daoist method of cultivation that emphasizes regulating the breath and nourishing Qi (vital energy). For more than thirty years, he ate no grain. He looked young, with a rosy complexion, could move fast enough to catch a galloping horse, and was stronger than several men combined.

When Emperor Wu of Wei heard of him, he summoned him. Seeing that he looked no more than thirty, the emperor suspected he was deceiving him and questioned people from his hometown. They all agreed that they had known Wang Zhen since they were children; even then, he had already been more than four hundred years old. Only then did Emperor Wu believe in his Daoist powers, and he held Wang Zhen in great respect.

Chen Chang

Chen Chang lived on Zhuyu Island Mountain and was already more than six hundred years old. The people of the mountain built him a house and slaughtered livestock to offer him sacrifices at each of the four seasons. Chen Chang, however, neither ate nor drank, and looked like a man of sixty.

Whenever someone who served him fell ill, they would take a vessel to him and ask for sacrificial water. After drinking it, the sick person would recover. The people of Zhuyu Island Mountain served Chen Chang for generations, yet knew neither where he came from nor the details of his diet and cultivation.

Zhuyu Island Mountain lies in the Eastern Sea. Zhou Xiang, a man from the state of Wu, once wandered onto the mountain by mistake. He lived there for three years before he was able to return, and then described its conditions in detail: Zhuyu Island Mountain stretches a thousand li in every direction and has more than a thousand households. All the grains grow there, and the people do not know their own ages. Their customs are the same as those of Wu.

Wang Hui

The Daoist Wang Hui was from the Wei dynasty and was a disciple of the Young Lord White Ram. He lived at the Dongzhen Monastery on Bear Prison Ridge on Mount Hua. He often planted yellow essence beside a stream; tigers plowed the ground for him, and leopards cleared the weeds. When he went out, he rode tigers and leopards fitted with saddles and bridles, urging them on with a whip just as one would a horse.

Wang Hui took yellow essence and atractylodes year-round. Later, he transmitted his Daoist arts to Wang Fachong and then departed by the method of corpse liberation, a Daoist legendary means by which the cultivator’s body is left behind while the person transcends and departs. His disciples buried his cap and shoes on the left side of a rocky cliff, which was shrouded in yellow clouds.

Wang Hui once wrote more than a hundred characters of secret instructions to teach others, but no one could understand them. He wrote: “The Yellow Emperor ascended from the Cauldron Lake…”

Riding the plain carriage into the purple mist, he awakened to the subtle principles. Before long, Yin Qi began to circulate and transform, and the dragon raced and coiled along with it. The withered, declining trees were about to shed their leaves, while bright scales sank into the abyss. The roaming immortal rose amid rosy clouds, and the sight filled the heart with joy. The years stretched on: by day, he divined without using a tortoise shell; by night, he sang, and there was indeed a propitious occasion. Mount Song, which stands guard over the Central Peak among the Five Sacred Mountains, held the harmonious Qi in place; their wheel-like rotations together composed a chapter. If you can reflect on and grasp the principle within, I will grant you a bottle of Golden Elixir. The sounds and rhythms run together: Changji.

Changji

No one knows where Changji came from. One day, while gathering firewood in the mountains, he was caught in a landslide and fell to the foot of a cliff, barely alive. His wife hurried to him and wept in grief. When the immortal Yin Yi heard what had happened, he was deeply saddened. He said to her, “I am an immortal and can heal your husband.” He gave her medicine and its prescription, saying, “When the medicine is used up, if his illness has not yet healed, you can prepare more according to the prescription. If he takes this medicine for a long time, he will attain the Dao and become an immortal.”

His wife used the medicine to treat Changji, and he soon recovered. He prepared more according to the prescription and took it. After a thousand days, he suddenly ascended into the sky. His wife wept and ran after him. Changji looked back and said, “The path of cultivating the Dao differs from the ways of the world. Take good care of yourself and remain cautious and self-possessed.” Deeply moved, his wife prepared more medicine and took it as well. Three years later, she too ascended, and met Changji on Mount Penglai. Changji said, “I knew you would come.”

Zhang Xuanbin

Zhang Xuanbin was from Dingxiang. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Wei (Cao Cao), he was recommended for the post of Maocai, but later returned to his hometown. He became a disciple of Master Ji of Xihe, studying the arts of ingesting medicines and methods of cultivation such as “Inner Chamber” and “White Origin.” Later, on Mount Shaoshi, he met Fan Ziming, who taught him the art of vanishing and transformation, by which one could conceal one’s traces and change one’s form. In his early years he had lived on Mount Tianzhu; he now served in Huayang as the Earl in Charge of Prohibitions. The Earl in Charge of Prohibitions was a divine official responsible for water and rain. The Zhengao says that this post also oversaw the preservation of life and the inspection of state affairs.

Zhang Xuanbin was skilled at discussing “emptiness.” He said, “Nonbeing is the abode of great Being, and from it lesser Being arises. By accumulating lesser Being, one can nurture lesser Nonbeing. When one encounters great Being, one can take it as a foundation and understand great Nonbeing. Being and Nonbeing depend on each other: within Being there is Nonbeing, and within Nonbeing there is Being. Thus my eyes cannot see things at all, and things cannot see Nonbeing either. Through Being one brings Nonbeing to completion; through Nonbeing one attains Nonbeing. At the realm of Nonbeing there is no abode; even the great void becomes an abode of Nonbeing. Before I was born, all under Heaven was Nonbeing.”

This, in broad terms, was the principle he expounded. Even the immortals of Mount Tongbai could not refute him. He said that he had once visited Penglai and paid his respects to the immortal of Penglai, the Left Immortal Lord Song Chensheng. He discussed “Nonbeing” with Song Chensheng and, in broad terms, grasped its essential meaning.

The minister Daoyi said, “To discuss the Dao through the word ‘nonbeing’ is indeed to grasp its subtle essence. The Daode Jing says: ‘The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth; the named is the mother of the ten thousand things. Therefore, constantly observe the mysteries of the Dao through nonbeing, and constantly observe the beginnings of the ten thousand things through being. These two arise from the same source but have different names; both may be called profound mystery.’ It also says: ‘The ten thousand things under Heaven arise from being, and being arises from nonbeing.’ Zhang Xuanbin must have deeply understood the meaning of these passages, and so offered this brief explanation.”

Wang Zhonglun

Mingshi Mountain in Gaotang County rises more than one hundred ren—a ren being an ancient unit of length. When people struck the mountain rock, it rang out with a clear, far-reaching sound.

During the Taikang era of Emperor Wu of Jin, a recluse named Tian Xuan lived beneath the rocks. He often struck them in the wind and moonlight, taking pleasure in the sound. Each time, he saw a man in a white robe wandering over the rocky slopes. The man would not leave until dawn. Later, Tian Xuan had someone strike the rocks while he hid inside them to watch. The man came again, just as before. Tian Xuan suddenly seized his sleeve and demanded to know who he was.

The man said his surname was Wang and his courtesy name was Zhonglun, and that he came from the state of Wei. “During the reign of King Xuan of Zhou, I entered Mount Shaoshi to study the Dao,” he said. “I often travel to Mount Fang, and pass through here on my way back and forth. I like the sound of these rocks, so I often stop to listen.”

Tian Xuan earnestly begged him to teach him the art of long life. Wang Zhonglun left him a stone the size of a sparrow’s egg, saying that it could help a person abstain from grain. As he departed, Wang Zhonglun walked through the air for more than one hundred paces, his figure gradually obscured by mist. After obtaining the stone, Tian Xuan held it in his mouth and found that he could go one hundred days without feeling hungry.

Peng Qiu

Peng Qiu, whose courtesy name was Bojian, came from Beihai. During the Taishi era of Emperor Wu of Jin, he went to cut wood on Mount Yunu, west of Juqiu. Suddenly he caught a strange fragrance and followed it upwind to find its source. The mountain opened out before him, revealing a palace: tier upon tier of connected pavilions, spacious and magnificent.

Peng Qiu entered and peered inside. He saw five jade trees. Farther on, four female immortals were playing chess in the hall. When they saw him, they rose in surprise and said, “Lord Peng, what brings you here?” Peng Qiu replied, “I followed the fragrance and came here.” They then resumed their game.

A younger immortal went upstairs to play the zither and teased, “Why has Yuanhui gone upstairs alone?” Peng Qiu stood beneath a tree, and when he grew hungry, he licked the dew from its leaves. After a while, a woman arrived riding a crane. She said, “Yuhua asks why you have allowed this mortal to come here. The Queen Mother has already ordered Wang Fangping to inspect the dwellings of the immortals. You should send him away at once.”

Peng Qiu grew frightened. After he went out through the gate, he turned back, and the immortal realm suddenly vanished. By the time he returned home, it was the Jianzhong era; his former home and buildings had all become ruins.

…He then traveled once more among famous mountains in search of Daoist arts, and never returned.

Bao Liang, courtesy name Taixuan, was from Chenliu. Even as a young man, he had keen insight into hidden matters and could perceive things of profound mystery. He was inward-looking and studied alone, so people did not understand him. Another account says that he once served as Governor of Nanhai, where he obtained secret methods and grasped the truth. He also received from Chenmu the essentials for cultivating the Dao and attaining immortality.

The Record of Grotto Heavens says that Bao Liang and his younger sister were, in a previous life, descendants of Li Zhan and Zhang Lü, their ancestors seven generations removed. Li Zhan and Zhang Lü were both from Beixiang, Duling, and had once lived near the Wei River Bridge. For many years they accumulated hidden virtue, delighted in Daoist arts, and hoped their descendants would enjoy long life. In the life of Bao Liang and his sister, the two families changed generations and surnames, and were reborn as relatives. Though they came from different families, they shared the same accumulated virtue and blessings.

Bao Liang studied the classics, prophetic texts, astronomy, and calendrical methods. He became a disciple of Zuo Yuanfang and received the Central Method, along with the Fulu techniques of the Three Sovereigns and the Five Sacred Peaks for summoning and commanding spirits. These methods were used to summon deities, command ghosts and spirits, seal off mountains and rivers, and subdue harmful forces. They were said to be highly effective.

In the first year of Daxing under Emperor Yuan of Jin, Bao Liang made a brief journey to the region east of the Yangtze. On the road north of Mount Jiang, he met a handsome young man of about sixteen or seventeen. They walked together for several miles. The young man’s steps were unhurried, yet Bao Liang could not catch up even on horseback, and watched him gradually disappear into the distance. Bao Liang asked, “From the way you walk, I take it you are someone who has attained the Dao?” The young man replied, “I am the immortal Yin Changsheng. The Great High Lord Lao knew that the Lord of Red Citadel was devoted to the Dao, so he arranged for you to meet me.” Bao Liang immediately dismounted and bowed. He asked after Yin Changsheng’s well-being, but before they could say much more, Yin Changsheng told him, “In ten years, this place will be ravaged by war, and the ground will run with blood.” Ten years later, the Su Jun Rebellion broke out, just as he had foretold.

Yin Changsheng continued, “You have long admired the Daoist arts. I should teach you the art of immortality.” He also explained that among the methods of attaining immortality, “release from the corpse” was the most wondrous. This means that a cultivator leaves behind a form that appears dead while the true body escapes and departs. The superior method of release from the corpse uses a knife; the inferior method uses bamboo or wood. In either case, a writing brush is stained with divine elixir, and the words “Great High, Great Mystery, Yin Sheng Talisman” are written along both sides of the blade. After a short while, the written characters disappear, and the corpse on the bed looks like the person himself. The true body has already escaped and will not return home. The family mistakenly believes that the knife, bamboo, or wood is the person. Yin Changsheng passed this method on to Bao Liang.

Yin Changsheng also discussed the length of the Jin dynasty’s fortunes with Bao Liang. He used the span of a year to calculate spans of ten and a hundred years, thereby hinting at Emperor Yuan’s remaining years. At court, Bao Liang claimed that he had learned this through calculation, without mentioning that he had met Yin Changsheng; Yin Changsheng had instructed him to do so.

The Illustrated Gazetteer of Mount Luofu records that when Ge Zhichuan (Ge Hong) lived on Mount Luofu, Bao Liang served as Governor of Nanhai.

He was renowned for his mastery of Daoist arts. Once, while traveling through the region under his jurisdiction, he went to sea by boat and was caught in a strong wind. Severely hungry, he boiled white stones and ate them, making it through the ordeal that way. He was on very good terms with Ge Hong, and the two often visited one another in the mountains, sometimes talking until dawn before parting. When people saw him arrive, there were no carriages or horses at his gate, only two swallows flying back and forth. Puzzled, they asked him what was going on. He replied that the two swallows were, in fact, his shoes.

The Collected Biographies of Immortals of the Walled City (Yongcheng Jixian Lu) records that Jing married his daughter to Ge Hong. Later, Jing returned to Danyang and, after his death, was buried at Shizigang. During the rebellion of Su Jun, looters opened his coffin but found no body inside, only a large sword. When they tried to take it, the moment they approached the tomb they heard the sounds of soldiers and horses all around them. They looked back, startled and terrified. One of them picked up the sword, which suddenly gave off a tremendous roar like thunder. The looters were so frightened that they scattered in every direction. After the rebellion was put down, people recovered the sword and buried it separately.

The Declarations of the Perfected (Zhengao) says that Jing later became a lord of the underworld. He also led the Perfected of Qianshan and, five hundred years later, would become an attendant gentleman at Kunqiu. The Book of Jin records that Bao Jing, courtesy name Taixuan, was from Donghai. When he was five, he told his parents that he had originally been a child of the Li family of Quyang and had fallen into a well and died at the age of nine. His parents investigated what he had described. They found the Li family and questioned them to verify his account, and discovered that everything he said matched. Bao Jing was learned in both inner and outer teachings and well versed in astronomy and the writings on the Yellow River and Luo River. He later served as governor of Nanhai. While traveling on official business, he once went to sea and was caught in a storm. Hungry, he boiled and ate white stones, saving himself in this way. He also met the immortal Yin Jun, received Daoist instructions from him, and lived to be over a hundred.

Xu Mai

Xu Mai, courtesy name Shuxuan and childhood name Ying, was from Jurong in Danyang. His family had for generations belonged to the eminent gentry, with official rank and prestige passed down through the generations. From childhood, Xu Mai was drawn to Daoist arts and quietly devoted himself to seeking hidden truths.

The Declarations of the Perfected (Zhengao) says that he cherished the Way of purity and emptiness and withdrew from worldly life, so he changed his name to Yuanyou, “Distant Traveler.” He associated with Wang Xizhi and his sons, and Wang Xianzhi repeatedly expressed his respect for him. Xu Mai also wrote down an account in his own hand, stating that he had transmitted the Yin-Yang talismans of the Six Jia. According to this record, he was twenty-three in the first year of Yongchang, which would make his birth year Gengshen. Yet the family genealogy says that he withdrew into seclusion at the Western Hills of Lin’an in the autumn of the fourth year of Yonghe, at the age of forty-eight. The two accounts differ by one year, so this account follows his own record; on that basis, he would have been forty-nine when he withdrew. He married the daughter of Sun Chong of Wu Commandery, courtesy name Yanda, who was the granddaughter of Sun Xiu, General of the Cavalry.

Xu Mai once consulted Guo Pu about a divination. The result was the hexagram “Great Strength” changing into “Great Possession,” with the changing line at the top. Guo Pu told him, “This is an extremely auspicious sign, bestowed by Heaven. You should study light…”

At first, Bao Liang transmitted to him the methods of the Central Section and the Inner Writings of the Three Sovereigns. Later, he suddenly bade farewell to his family and never returned. He went east into Mount Xuanliu in Lin’an. Letting his hair hang loose and casting off worldly attachments, he changed his name to “Far Traveler.” He practiced methods of ingestion and took Solomon’s seal, gradually feeling their benefits. He devoted himself to observing subtle principles, without rest day or night. After several years, he secretly attuned to the realm of the mysterious and void. The Perfected One Taiyi, a revered Daoist deity, entered his name in the registers; Lord Mao, an immortal perfected being, descended and transmitted superior methods to him. He thus became skilled in fetal breathing, a breathing practice, and inner observation, the quiet contemplation of body and mind. He also practiced step-by-the-stars, a Daoist ritual in which one walks according to the positions of the stars, and lived in seclusion to cultivate the Way. Whenever he resonated with the Daoist realm, he felt as though he were about to soar beyond the Milky Way.

Later, he moved to Chicheng in Lin’an, where he met Wang Shilong, Zhao Daoxuan, and Fu Taichu. Fu Ying followed Wang Shilong in learning the practice of “loosening bonds and reversing the course,” a technical term for cultivation whose precise meaning is unclear here. He took the essence of jade liquid ascending to the brain, a term for Daoist practices of ingesting substances and visualization. After three years of cultivation, his face had regained the youthful appearance of a child.

After Fu Ying attained the Way, the Three Offices dispatched Zhou Fang, Marquis in Charge of the Registers, and Yan Baihu, Envoy in Charge of Transgressions, to investigate him. They produced red registers of offenses, documents recording immortal status and transgressions, each holding a copy. They questioned Fu Ying about his many faults, claiming that if he could not answer, they would arrest him. Fortunately, Gong Youjie and Li Kailin were there to assist. Fu Ying was terrified, but forced himself to laugh aloud and shouted: “The Great Dao shows no favoritism; it helps those who do good. Heaven and Earth have no private motives; they grant compassion according to a person’s virtue. Thus, blood flowed across the land in the Battle of Banquan, yet this did not prevent the Yellow Emperor from ascending to Heaven on a dragon. The Three Miao were punished, and the vegetation was stained red in the Battle of Zhuolu, yet this did not prevent the sages from transforming through their numinous power and reaching Heaven. My seventh-generation ancestor, Xu Zi’a, accumulated benevolence and secretly showed kindness to birds and beasts. In years of famine and plague, only one household in ten survived. Zi’a gave away all his wealth to aid the people and prepared medicines with his own hands. Of those whose lives hung by a thread, 408 were saved through Zi’a. His beneficence has passed down to us, his descendants. Five of us are destined to become immortals, and our names have already been entered in the Green Palace, where the registers of the immortal realm are kept. How can the likes of you presume to interfere?”

The Zhen’gao records that the Chief’s seventh-generation ancestor was Zhao, courtesy name Zi’a, and that he once rendered aid through relief and rescue. But the family genealogy gives the seventh-generation ancestor’s name as Jing, courtesy name Mingqing. He later served as a Guanglu official under Emperor An, and in the first year of Yongjian under Emperor Shun was appointed Situ. Both his name and courtesy name differ from those in the Zhen’gao; it is unclear why. In the second year of Yongchu under Emperor An, a great famine occurred: a dou of rice cost two thousand coins, and people even resorted to eating one another. If Zi’a saved 408 people, it must have been in that year. Ying Shao’s Han guan yi records a memorial by Cui Yuan.

Xu Jing remained in the position of prime minister at nearly a hundred years of age. This shows that he had not only benefited his descendants through hidden virtue, but also won renown in the world through his own accumulated merit. Thus he lived a long and healthy life and attained the highest office.

His sons and grandsons also held the rank of the Three Excellencies, among the highest offices in ancient times. His family had crossed the Yangtze for generations; later, one family member after another served the court, and in the end one attained the Dao and became an immortal. Just then, Lord Siming, the deity who governs human lifespans and registers of fate, sent Li Zun, who was waiting on him, to arrive holding a bell. Fang and the others laughed as they departed, and soon afterward received deliverance. Shidong Palace became an Earth Immortal of the middle rank, and Xu Mu, the fifth younger brother of Ying, also attained the Dao around the same time.

The Biographies in the Book of Jin record: “Xu Mai, courtesy name Shuxuan, was from Jurong in Danyang. His family had served as officials for generations. As a young man, he was quiet and detached, with little desire for an official career. While his father was still alive, he could not bear to leave his family, so he said, ‘Mount Xuanliu in Yuhang County, near Maoshan in Yanling, is the western gate of Dongting and secretly links with the Five Sacred Peaks.’ He therefore built a secluded retreat on Mount Xuanliu, a quiet dwelling for Daoist cultivation. He returned home to visit his parents only on festivals such as the first and fifteenth days of the month. After his parents died, he sent his wife, née Sun, back to her family and traveled among famous mountains. In Changshan, in Tonglu County, he gathered medicinal herbs and took zhu (a type of atractylodes). After three years, he wished to abstain from grain while living in the mountains. But because the mountain was close to populated areas, it was difficult to devote himself fully to cultivation, so he built a fence around it. Those who were fond of Daoist arts and wished to visit could not see him. He often practiced breath cultivation, regulating his breathing through controlled inhalation and exhalation; in a single session he could sustain more than a thousand breaths.

“Later, he moved to the western mountains of Lin’an and changed his name to Xuan, with the courtesy name Yuanyou. He wrote to his wife to bid her farewell. When Wang Xizhi visited him, he often stayed the whole day and forgot to go home; the two enjoyed a friendship that transcended the mundane world. Xu Xuan wrote to Wang Xizhi: ‘South of Shanyin, toward Lin’an, there are many halls of gold and chambers of jade, as well as immortals and lingzhi mushrooms. Zuo Yuanfang and others, along with those who attained the Dao at the end of the Han dynasty, are all there.’ After that, Xu Xuan was never seen again. Those who were fond of Daoist arts all believed that he had ascended to immortality.”

Xu Mu

Xu Mu, courtesy name Sixuan, was also called Xu Mi. His grandfather was Xu Shang, and his father was Xu Fu. Xu Mu was already well known in his youth. When Emperor Jianwen of Jin was still a prince, he and Xu Mu formed a family friendship. Xu Mu first served as a doctorate at the Imperial Academy. After several promotions, he held posts including Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary and Chief of Staff to the Protector of the Army. Though he held high office and wore the distinguished seals and headgear of a senior official, his heart still yearned for Daoist virtue. His fourth elder brother, Xu Yuanyou, had withdrawn from the world and never returned; Xu Mu therefore submitted a memorial requesting leave from his honored office. Emperor Taizong of Jin did not force him to abandon his resolve. Xu Mu then moved to Maoshan, where he and Yang Xi studied the mysterious Daoist teachings in depth. Later, a jade document descended from Heaven, appointing him a Shangqing Perfected. At the age of seventy-two, he removed his official robes and carriage, leaving behind…

Xu Mu, courtesy name Ruya, was plain by nature, widely learned, and talented in many fields. Emperor Jianwen held him in high regard for many years, believing him fit to serve as a model for the world. Xu also associated with many worthy men of his time. In his youth, he held posts including secretary to a commandery and assistant director of merit. Later, Wang Dao, Cai Mo, and others summoned him to serve as an administrative aide in Linchuan, but he did not take up the post. He was subsequently selected as a doctorate at the Imperial Academy, then appointed magistrate of Yuyao County. After entering the capital, he served as a Gentleman of the Secretariat, a commandery assessor, chief aide to the commander of the guards, an attendant gentleman, and a regular palace attendant.

Though he handled worldly affairs in public, in his heart he cultivated the true teachings. He secretly received instruction from his masters, followed the Highest Dao, and attained an immortal office through his own cultivation. He became a Perfected One of Shangqing, was granted the rank of marquis and earl, and served as a director of the Office of Governance and an assistant in the administration of the immortals, helping the sage govern the people. He died in the first year of Taikang under Emperor Xiaowu, at the age of seventy-one. His wife, a daughter of Tao Wei from the same commandery, was named Kedou. She died during the Xingning era and, too, entered Yiqian to pursue her cultivation.

Emperor Gaozu of Liang built a separate shrine for him in the mountains, called the “Perfected One’s Lodge.” His former residence was converted into Zongyang Temple in the thirteenth year of Tianjian; it is now called Ziyang Temple. South of the residence was a well that Xu, the Senior Secretary, had dug himself. Farther south was a pond built by Guo Sichaо to hold back water from Liugu Valley, hence its name, “Public Spring.” The Record of Mao Mountain says that north of Little Mao Mountain stands a peak called Leiping Mountain. Northwest of it was the residence of Xu, Senior Secretary and Perfected One of Shangqing, which has since been turned into a Daoist temple. In front of the temple, the Perfected One’s numinous altar still remains.

Hu Qian

Hu Qian was from Wei Commandery. He was free-spirited and unconcerned with small matters. He was not ashamed of coarse food or clothing, and did not care whether his wine was fine or ordinary. He often chanted:

“Wind slips in through the cracks in the window; wine sways in the cup.

I hold forty-nine yarrow stalks in my hand, their numinous light shining above.

Beneath the lofty thicket of yarrow, I alone laugh at the hidden depths of the Dao.”

Yarrow stalks were used for divination in ancient times. “Forty-nine” refers to the number of stalks used in divination with the Classic of Changes.

He also said: “When entering public life, I seek no rise to the Dragon Gate; when withdrawing to live at home, I seek neither fame nor rank. If there is nothing else to do, I may as well use the time to while away the day.” He often drank until thoroughly intoxicated and was especially skilled in divination with the Classic of Changes.

Hu Qian often stayed outside the shop of Xu Xinfu in a back lane of Jiankang, making his living by divination. He charged one hundred coins for each reading. Once he had earned five hundred coins in a day, he stopped; if someone asked for another reading, he would refuse even an offer of a thousand coins. Hu’s mother lived beyond Shangfang Gate, on the west side of the road. Each day he sent her three hundred coins for her support; he spent the remaining two hundred on wine or gave them to the poor.

One morning, the Duke of Haixi of Jin went out and saw a red snake coiled on the imperial bed. The emperor was greatly troubled and ordered Hu Qian to cast a divination. Hu drew a pronouncement from the Book of Changes Forest that said: “The Jin house has a foundation firm as a great rock. Your Majesty…”

Hu Qian once foretold: “There will be a sign that someone is to be expelled from the palace.” The Duke of Haixi, Sima Yi, asked whether this calamity could be averted. Hu Qian replied, “The Pi hexagram, which signifies obstruction and lack of communication, shows that it will not come to pass until the year after next.”

At that time, a large army was defeated on a northern expedition. Hu Qian said, “Thirty thousand men will meet this army north of Shouchun. This calamity can be averted.” In the autumn of the following year, Huan Wen’s northern campaign indeed ended in defeat. He blamed the failure on Yuan Zhen, the governor of Yu Province, for not sending troops to help. He had Yuan Zhen killed, returned to garrison at Shitou Fortress, deposed the Duke of Haixi, and enthroned Emperor Jianwen.

A concubine of Huan Wen’s gave birth, and the roof of a palace building happened to collapse. The child was unharmed. Hu Qian said, “It is a boy, vigorous and forceful in bearing. One day he will shake the four quarters.” Huan Wen rewarded Hu Qian with three hundred thousand coins. Hu Qian said, “I often cannot spend all the money I receive for divinations, and have nowhere to store it. Please return this money to the public treasury.” Huan Wen refused to take it back. Lady Xu lent Hu Qian an empty cabinet in which to keep the money. Before long, Huan Wen’s wife sent another three hundred thousand coins.

After receiving Huan Wen’s money, Hu Qian performed three divinations each day and used the proceeds to support his mother. He spent Huan Wen’s money on wine, hoping to drink his fill. He invited everyone, whether acquaintance or stranger, to gather and drink freely. Lady Xu continued to treat him with respect as a worthy man, never keeping count of how much wine he drank. Later, Hu Qian stopped visiting her and no longer asked her for wine.

More than a year later, Lady Xu met Hu Qian at Qiaogou and said, “My family would like to use that cabinet. If it is convenient, sir, please come home and collect it, along with the money you left in it.” Hu Qian smiled and said, “In these three years, I have drunk several thousand dou of wine. The money for only forty days’ worth of wine happened to equal what I needed to support my mother. What remains is no more than about one hundred and fifty coins, so you need not trouble yourself about me any further. I once scratched a record on the wall with my fingernail; you can work it out and see.” Lady Xu checked the figures as he instructed, and they were accurate to the last coin.

Later, Hu Qian’s mother died during the night. He returned the next morning and said, “Our allotted ties have come to an end.” After burying his mother, he left, and no one knew where he went. Several days later, members of the Xu family saw Hu Qian lying by the roadside at Luoxing. At first they thought he was drunk. They took his hand and tried to help him up, but all that remained in their grasp was an empty garment; his body was gone.

Chen Dao Yi comments: Hu Qian supported his mother out of filial devotion, without seeking fame or profit. He cultivated the Great Dao inwardly, yet outwardly showed no sharpness, blending in with ordinary society. He charged one hundred coins for each divination and set himself a daily limit of five hundred coins. Most of what he earned went to support his mother, while he kept a small portion for himself. If a divination would have required a thousand coins, he would not perform it. This was not because he lacked integrity or was stingy, but because he observed the Dao with moderation, and so was not harmed by material things. The Daode Jing says: “Which is dearer, fame or life? Which matters more, life or wealth? Which is more harmful, gain or loss? Therefore, excessive attachment brings great cost, and hoarding too much brings great loss. Know contentment, and you will not be humiliated; know when to stop, and you will not fall into danger. In this way, you can endure.” Hu Qian had truly grasped this teaching deeply.

Comprehensive Mirror of the Dao-Bodied Perfected Immortals Through the Dynasties, Volume Twenty-One