《歷世真仙體道通鑑》Vol. 37

Comprehensive Records of Immortals Through the Ages Who Embodied the Dao, Volume 36

Compiled by Zhao Daoyi, a Daoist of the Palace of Longevity and Longevity of Ten Thousand Years on Floating Cloud Mountain

Song Yu

Song Yu was from the capital. His father, Song Yong, made his living as a traveling merchant and often journeyed through the regions around the lakes and rivers of Hunan.

Song Yong had been away from home for three years without returning. Song Yu’s mother said to him, “Your father has been gone so long. If nothing unexpected has happened, he must come back, but I worry day and night. Go and look for him.”

Song Yu therefore traveled south into Chu and reached Tanzhou. There he met a lame man, and the two drank together. The lame man brought out a large bowl and filled it with wine. After drinking, he handed Song Yu the half-bowl that remained and said, “Drink this.” Song Yu drank it and immediately detected a strange fragrance in the wine, so he drained the bowl. The lame man was delighted and asked him, “You’ve come looking for your father. Do you know where he is?” Song Yu bowed and replied, “I don’t.” The lame man said, “I do.” Song Yu bowed again and asked him to tell. The lame man said, “Tomorrow, leave through Qingtaimen and walk a few miles. You’ll see several newly built thatched cottages. That is where I live. I’ll point you to your father.” With that, the two parted.

Song Yu sat and waited until dawn, then left through Qingtaimen. After walking more than ten miles, he saw several new houses beside the road, neat and elegant. Two young attendants dressed in blue stood at the entrance and asked, “Are you Master Song?” Song Yu replied, “I am.” The attendants led him inside.

Song Yu entered the main hall. The lame man was seated there, wearing a tall crown and a purple robe, his manner as fierce as a wolf or tiger. He invited Song Yu to sit. Wine and delicacies were then brought out, filling the table with a feast more lavish than anything in a prince’s or nobleman’s household. After a long while, the lame man said, “There is nothing here to entertain us.” He called for “Big Feifei” and “Little Feifei.” One of the attendants took two pellets from a vessel. They gleamed like silver; the lame man placed one before himself and the other before Song Yu. He commanded, “You two, each show a little of your skill and entertain our guest.”

The two pellets rose into the air and struck against each other. In an instant, they became long swords, clashing without pause. Then they transformed into thousands of sharp swords, gleaming like autumn waters. At times they spread out like stars in formation; at times they gathered into a single bundle of silk. Sometimes they darted like flashes of lightning, and sometimes moved slowly, like ropes being drawn along. Sometimes they circled like fire traced by a compass; sometimes they sped forward like flowing waves.

After a while, the lame man asked Song Yu, “Would you like to learn this art? If you do, just swallow one of the pellets, and it will transform in the same way.” Song Yu said, “I came to find my father, not to learn this.” The lame man said, “You’ve spent a long time traveling about and must be weary. Your daily expenses are probably hard to meet as well. I have a kind of medicinal silver…”

“I can teach you this Daoist art,” he said. Yu replied, “My fate is meager and my blessings few. All my life, I can earn no more than a small salary. I am always afraid I will not be able to bear the responsibility, and I do not wish to learn.” The lame man said in astonishment, “Your attainment in the Dao is already greater than mine.”

He then told the people beside him to clear away the cups and dishes, and said, “Your father died far from home in Xiangzhou. Go there to look for him, and you will understand. You may come back here another time.” Yu returned home and came to visit again the next day, but found the room empty. He went to Xiangzhou and, just as predicted, found his father’s remains.

Yu later passed the jinshi examination and traveled widely. His complexion was rosy and bright, and remained so into old age. People believed this was probably because he had drunk the wine left in the cup.

Wei Shanjun

Wei Shanjun’s ancestors came from Jingzhao, in the area of present-day Xi’an, Shaanxi. His great-grandfather, Wei Xiaoyao, had no wish to serve as an official. His grandfather, Wei Xuanmin, once served as county magistrate of Gong County, so the family moved there. His father, Wei Ang, loved mountains and rivers. When his mother, Lady Wang, had just become pregnant, she would suffer abdominal pain for several nights whenever she ate meat or fish, so she switched to a vegetarian diet.

After Wei Shanjun was born, he began observing a vegetarian fast at the age of thirteen and reciting Daoist scriptures such as the Daode Jing, the Duren Jing, the Xisheng Jing, and the Shengxuan Jing. He used everything others gave him to help those in need. As an adult, he went to Songyang Abbey, where he followed Huang Yuanzé and received Daoist teachings from him. Later, at Dongyuan Abbey in Ruzhou, he studied secret essentials with the Daoist priest Han Yuanzui. Two attendants dressed in blue were often at his side.

In the early years of the Diaolu reign period under Emperor Gaozong of the Tang, a man named Liu Wener was passing through Shanxi when he saw a divine being more than a zhang tall, seated in armor. When the being saw Shanjun approaching, he rose to greet him. Wener asked an acquaintance who this was and was told, “He is a cultivator who upholds the precepts.” Impressed and astonished, Wener followed Shanjun back to Songyang.

During the Shengsheng reign period of Empress Wu Zetian, Shanjun was staying at Shengxian Abbey. One day he saw the divine being again. The being shouted sternly, “Who are you to come here? Leave at once, or you will be harmed.” Shanjun said, “Are you testing me? Why are you pressing me so harshly?” The being immediately apologized to him and withdrew.

Once, as Shanjun passed east of Tanxu Market, he encountered a large black beast mottled with spots. It kept circling him and would not leave, so he took it in and named it “Black Dragon.” During the Ruyi reign period, Shanjun was preparing to go to Shaolin Temple and fed it vegetarian food. The monks said, “The people have not eaten yet. How can you feed the dog first?” Shanjun apologized: “I was wrong.” Then he walked out of the temple and left. Looking back, he saw that the farther away the beast went, the larger it grew. At last, it stretched several zhang in length and transformed into a dragon. Shanjun rode it back to Songyang, and after that he was never seen again.

During the Changshou reign period, Shanjun suddenly said to his disciples, “I have studied the Dao for ninety-nine years; now I have completed a hundred. The Most High has summoned me, and I must go.” With that, he rode off on the dragon.

Zhang Huigan

Zhang Huigan, courtesy name Zhiyuan, was from Gao’an and a fourteenth-generation descendant of the Zhengyi Celestial Masters, the lineage of Daoism known as Orthodox Unity. He left Chongyuan Monastery and lived in seclusion on Mount Fuyun, devoting himself to cultivating the way of the immortals. This was during the reign of Empress Wu of the Tang. A Daoist named Hu Huichao at Youwei Monastery was said to have lived for several hundred years. He once traveled to Wutian Waterfall in Gao’an, paid his respects at the Altar of the Immortal Wu, and became a disciple of Zhang Huigan on Mount Fuyun.

In Chang’an year five, Empress Wu summoned Zhang Huigan, honored him as National Master, and held a purification ritual in the Hall of Light. Zhang Huigan sensed auspicious clouds appear, a divine dragon manifest, and yellow cranes fly in and gather. Empress Wu then issued an edict ordering him to go to the Taiqing Palace in Bozhou to preside over a Golden Register Zhaijiao, a Daoist ritual in which scriptures are recited at an altar to pray for blessings and avert calamities. The palace’s nine wells had long been dry. As their water froze solid, a thunderous crash suddenly sounded and water surged up from the wells. Two dragons emerged from the water and played together. Empress Wu was greatly astonished and rewarded him with five hundred bolts of silk.

After returning to Mount Fuyun, Zhang Huigan visited Wutian Waterfall, the Temple of the Two Worthies of Donglin, and Sanyuan Monastery. There he made offerings to the Six Dings, gave thanks to the Seven Origins, and refined elixirs. During the Tianbao era of Emperor Xuanzong, a divine being descended at his altar and said to him, “You have cultivated with great diligence, and the immortals have already recommended you. At dawn tomorrow, when the rooster crows, you will ascend.” At the appointed time, unusual clouds appeared in the sky, and Zhang Huigan ascended to immortality in broad daylight.

A bell cast in the gengzi year, the first year of Jiushi under Empress Wu, bears Zhang Huigan’s name and may serve as evidence. The Zhang family archway at Huigan’s former home is still preserved in Tiaolu Township, Gao’an.

Zhang Zhihe

Xuanzhenzi’s surname was Zhang, his given name Zhihe, and his courtesy name Zitong. He was from Shanyin in Kuaiji; some accounts say he was from Jinhua in Wuzhou. His original name was Guiling. At sixteen, he passed the examinations in the Classics. After presenting a policy proposal, he won the special favor of Emperor Suzong of Tang and was summoned to serve in the Hanlin Academy. Later, following his mother’s death, he changed his name and never again entered official service. He lived in seclusion among the rivers and lakes, calling himself “the angler amid mist and waves”; “Xuanzhenzi” was another name he used for himself.

He wrote the Xuanzhenzi. Wei Yi composed an “Inner Explanation” for the book. Zhang Zhihe also wrote fifteen chapters of the Taiyi, which set out 365 hexagrams. His elder brother, Zhang Heling, feared that he would withdraw from the world and never return, so he built him a residence east of Yuezhou city. Its roof was thatched with fresh grass, and its beams were left unshaped by axe or chisel. The house was furnished with leopard-skin mats, and Zhang Zhihe wore hemp shoes. He often fished without bait, for his thoughts were not on the fish.

The regional inspector Chen Shaoyou went to visit him and stayed the entire day. Chen petitioned to name Zhang Zhihe’s residence “Xuanzhen Ward.” Since the entrance was narrow, he also had the gateway widened; the lane came to be known as “Huixuan Lane.” Previously, a stream in front of the house had barred the way, and there was no bridge. Chen Shaoyou built one for him, and people called it “Dafu Bridge.” The emperor once gave Zhang Zhihe a male and a female servant. He married them to each other and named them “Fishing Lad” and “Woodcutter Girl.”

Lu Yu once asked him, “Who do you associate with?” Zhihe replied, “I take the vast emptiness as my home and the bright moon as my candle, and live alongside friends from all across the four seas. Why would I need any particular companions?”

Zhihe excelled at painting and could drink three dou of wine without becoming drunk. He upheld his true nature and nurtured his original Qi. He could lie in the snow without feeling cold, and dive into water without getting his clothes wet. He had traveled through the mountains and rivers of the world.

Yan Zhenqing and Zhihe were close friends. When Yan Zhenqing served as governor of Huzhou, he once held a drinking gathering with his guests. They sang in turn and composed the “Fisherman’s Song.” Zhihe began with this verse:

“White birds fly beside Xisai Mountain;

Peach blossoms drift on the stream, where the mandarin fish grow plump.

A blue bamboo hat, a green straw cloak—

In slanting wind and fine rain, there is no need to go home.”

Yan Zhenqing, Lu Hongjian, Xu Shiheng, Li Chengju, and the others joined in, composing twenty-five verses in all. They admired and praised one another’s work. Zhihe then had someone paint the scenery on white silk and set the lyrics alongside it. Before long, five paintings were complete. The flowers and trees, birds and beasts, fish swimming through the water, and mountain-and-river scenes were all wonderfully extraordinary, unlike anything seen before. Yan Zhenqing and his guests passed the paintings around, praising them without end.

Later, Yan Zhenqing traveled east to Pingwang Post Station. In high spirits from drinking, Zhihe spread a mat on the water, sat on it alone, and drank and chanted. The mat moved across the water, speeding up or slowing down at will, as if someone were rowing it. Clouds appeared above the mat, with cranes hovering over it. Yan Zhenqing, his companions and officials, and the onlookers were all astonished. Before long, Zhihe waved goodbye to Yan Zhenqing from the water, then rose into the sky and departed. The one still known among people today and treasured as a wonder is Zhu Ruzi.

Zhu Ruzi was from Angu in Yongjia. As a child, he became a disciple of the Daoist Wang Xuanzhen and lived at Dairuo Rock. (Tao Yingju once practiced the Zhen’gao at this mountain rock, which is therefore also called “Zhen’gao Rock”; Tao Mountain lies to its west.) Zhu Ruzi served Wang Xuanzhen diligently and longed deeply for the Daoist path. He often climbed the mountain to gather and eat yellow essence. More than ten years passed this way.

One day, while washing vegetables beside a stream, he saw two small flowers on the bank. Thinking them strange, he followed them until he came to a wolfberry tree. He and Wang Xuanzhen dug together and unearthed two wolfberry roots, shaped like flowers and hard as stone. They washed the roots and took them home to boil. Zhu Ruzi tended the fire, staying by the stove for three days and three nights. He tasted the broth, found it delicious, and kept eating. When the roots had softened, he told Wang Xuanzhen what had happened, and the two of them ate the rest together. Soon afterward, Zhu Ruzi suddenly ascended into the air and appeared on the peak of the mountain ahead.

Xuanzhen, whose Daoist name was Shangxuan Zhen, remained astonished by this for a long time. The child bade him farewell, then rode off on a cloud.

From then on, people called that mountain peak “Child Peak.” Later, Xuanzhen ate the roots of the plants there and disappeared after finishing them. He lived in seclusion among the rocky cliffs west of Mount Tao, and from time to time people who went into the mountains to gather or hunt caught sight of him.

Elder Wang

Elder Wang was from Yijun County in Fangzhou and lived in the countryside. He was deeply devoted to Daoist arts, enjoyed welcoming guests, and often did good deeds in secret. His wife shared his commitment and never grew weary of it.

One day, a Daoist in ragged clothes came to visit. Elder Wang and his wife welcomed him together and paid their respects. The Daoist stayed for more than a month, often discussing profound principles and drinking for pleasure with Elder Wang. The two got along very well.

Before long, the Daoist’s whole body broke out in festering sores. Elder Wang searched everywhere for doctors and medicine and cared for him with even greater diligence, but the sores worsened. The Daoist was ill for nearly a year. Then he said, “Ordinary medicines won’t cure me. Just soak me in several dou of wine, and I will recover naturally.”

Elder Wang carefully brewed the wine. When it was ready, the Daoist had someone fill a large vat with it, saying he would add medicine and soak in it. He then took off his clothes and climbed into the vat. Three days later, he emerged with completely black hair at his temples and his youthful appearance restored. His skin was smooth and delicate as congealed fat.

Everyone in Elder Wang’s household was astonished. The Daoist told Elder Wang, “This wine can be drunk. It can make people ascend to Heaven.” Elder Wang believed him. The vat had originally held more than five hu of wine, but when they looked again, only two or three dou remained. The wine was clear and fragrant, unlike ordinary wine.

At the time, Elder Wang was threshing wheat with two other men, so all three drank together and became drunk. The Daoist drank some too, then asked Elder Wang, “Would you like to ascend to Heaven?” Wang replied, “I am willing to follow you, Master, wherever you go.”

Just then, an auspicious wind sprang up, and colored clouds billowed like steam. The house, trees, the whole family, and even the chickens and dogs all rose into the air at once. The sound of threshing could still be heard. People in several villages saw it from far away and marveled. Only the cats and mice remained behind and did not fly away.

When the wind stopped, the two hired men who had helped with the threshing were left beneath a tree in another village. They later stopped eating and lived long lives. Today, a place called “Immortal Ascension Township” can still be found thirty li west of Yijun County.

Hou Daohua

Hou Daohua said he had come from Mount Emei and was staying at Daojing Monastery in Yongle County, Hezhong Prefecture. He behaved like a madman, and the Daoists at the monastery looked down on him.

Another account says he was from Ruicheng County in Shanzhou. He once went to Daojing Temple on the Zhongtiao Mountains and practiced under the guidance of the Daoist master Zhou Wuxian. In daily life, he always seemed like a madman. Whenever anything in the temple was damaged, he would take an axe and repair it himself.

He would climb to lofty heights and stand in perilous places, going wherever others could not reach. He also often took on humble, menial tasks.

Whenever guests came, whether Daoist priests, laypeople, or common folk, he would fetch and heat water for them, wash their feet and clothes, clean the latrines, and water the garden. He endured every hardship to serve everyone. As a result, people thought even less of him, scolding and driving him away, and treating him more harshly than a servant. Daohua, however, remained cheerful and untroubled.

He also often read the classics and histories, never putting his books down. After reading something once, he could recite it from memory. When people asked what use this was, he replied, “There are no ignorant immortals in heaven.” Everyone laughed at him.

More than ten years later, divine light would sometimes appear on the beams of the main hall, and people often saw it. A story spread that during the Kaiyuan era of the Tang, a Celestial Master named Liu had succeeded in refining an elixir and tested it on a dog. The dog ate it and died, so no one dared to take the elixir. He had hidden it in the hall’s roof beam. Everyone thought this was only a rumor. The Hunyuan Baolu, however, records that according to the Xuanshi zhi, during the reign of Emperor Wenzong of the Tang, the Daoist priest Deng Taixuan refined an elixir and left a box of it hidden in the courtyard.

Later, the buildings had deteriorated with age. While repairing them, Daohua climbed onto the roof beams and found a small gold box inside a hollow beam. It contained an elixir. He swallowed it and tossed the box down. For a time, nothing happened after he took it.

One day, he returned to the Daoist monastery drunk. In front of it stood a pine tree with low-hanging branches and a lovely appearance. Wearing wooden clogs, Daohua climbed the tree and cut off all its branches. The Daoist priests tried again and again to stop him, but he would not listen. He only said, “One day it will get in the way when I ascend to heaven.” Everyone thought he was mad and grew very angry. Just then, the magistrate of Yongle County arrived. The constables and local people had all seen him cutting the tree, so they reported what had happened to the magistrate. The magistrate scolded and humiliated Daohua, who remained cheerful and untroubled.

Seven days later, at dawn, Daohua rose, bathed, dressed carefully, and lit incense. He said, “The immortal envoy must be coming to receive me.” He then bowed repeatedly toward the sky. The others still did not believe him. After a while, someone said they saw clouds and immortal cranes circling above the pine tree in front of the monastery, accompanied by clear music from flutes and reed pipes. Daohua suddenly flew to the top of the pine and sat there for a long time. Everyone was astonished. The magistrate, the Daoist priests, and the local people all hurried over to gaze up at him and bow. Because he had earlier humiliated Daohua, the magistrate knocked his head against the ground until it bled. Daohua waved his hand to reassure him.

Daohua said, “By decree of the Jade Emperor, I have been appointed an Immortal Terrace Official and placed in charge of the Hall of Highest Clarity’s Hall of Devoted Believers. Now I must depart.” He then left these lines of verse:

“The great-return elixir in its case, its color unchanged through the years. Last night I swallowed it in vain…”

The verse is incomplete at the end of the source text; the translation above renders the surviving wording.

“Today I ascend into the blue sky and depart. I feel deeply ashamed, and I ask you to take great care—take great care. Celestial Master Deng, after I refined the elixir, I left it especially for you and Neizhi. My teacher knows this art. Please cultivate it as soon as you can; do not delay. We may yet have the chance to serve the Three Pure Ones, the highest deities revered in Daoism, and meet in the Great Luo Heaven, the supreme heaven in Daoist belief.”

In a moment, music sounded from the clouds, and banners and standards could just be seen. He then departed, rising into the air. This took place in the fifth year of the Dazhong era under Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Another account says that, as he bade farewell to everyone, he said, “On the first day of the seventh month last year, the Lord Lao sent the perfected man Han Zhong down. He bestowed on me the surname Li and the name Neizhi, and arranged for me to live at the Shangqing Shanxin Institute.” After that, he took off his shoes and left them beneath a pine tree, hung his clothes on an old pine, and ascended.

Zheng Yunsou wrote a poem titled “At the Daojing Abbey on Zhongtiao Mountain”:

“Clothes left atop the pines; he flies up to the jade empyrean.

The stream carries the traces of the sage, whose grace transforms Zhongtiao.

I wonder if he has already paid homage to all the immortals?

Now he is separated from the human world, as if only two nights have passed.”

The military governor Zheng Guang went to investigate and reported the matter to the court. The emperor issued an edict granting five hundred bolts of silk and imperial robes, and ordered the halls and corridors repaired. He bestowed on the abbey the name Ascension to Immortality Institute.

I, Daoyi, say: Hou Daohua was diligent and humble, cultivated his De, and treated others with self-effacement. Consider how he personally took up an axe to repair the dwelling, carried water to boil soup, and watered the garden, doing his work like a servant. Even if he had not later ascended, would people therefore have refused to regard him as an immortal? When true immortals spread their teachings, they must have a profound purpose. The Daode Jing says: “Heaven is everlasting and Earth endures. The reason Heaven and Earth can endure is that they do not live for themselves; therefore they can live long. Thus the sage puts himself last and yet comes first; he does not cling to his own body and yet preserves it. Is this not because he has no self-interest, and so ultimately fulfills himself?” Hou Daohua acted in just this way.

Ma Xiang

Ma Xiang, whose courtesy name was Ziran, was from Yanguan County in Hangzhou. His family had served for generations as minor clerks in the county office, but Ma Xiang alone was especially fond of the classics and histories, devoting himself to the study of writing. One day, the county magistrate sent him to Xichuan. Troubled by the assignment, Ma Xiang had walked twelve li north of the county seat when he suddenly met a Daoist. The Daoist led him into a stone well, and before long they had arrived in Xichuan. After completing his business and collecting the reply, Ma Xiang emerged from the well without realizing how he had got there. He returned to the county office with the reply, and everyone was astonished. From then on, they called him “Immortal of the Stone Well.” The well is still there today. Afterward, he followed the Daoist on travels throughout the realm. Later, he returned to Jiangnan and often drank to excess in Huzhou; once, he fell into the Zha Creek.

After a day, he emerged from the water with his clothes still dry. He sat on the surface and returned, saying, “Just now, it was because of Xiang…” The original passage breaks off here, so it is impossible to determine what followed “Xiang.”

Wang Xiang invited him to drink. He did not return to the stream until he was nearly drunk. A crowd of onlookers gathered, thick as clouds. The smell of alcohol still clung strongly to him, and he looked as if he had gone mad. Passersby followed him in droves. At times, he drove his fist into his nose; when he pulled it out, his nose was whole again. He pointed at the stream, and the water flowed backward. After a while, he pointed at a willow tree, which moved back and forth with the stream. Then he pointed at a bridge: it broke apart, then joined together again.

Later, he traveled to Changzhou, where he met Ma Zhi. Ma had just taken office as the governor of Changzhou. He had long heard of Xiang’s reputation, so he invited him to meet and welcomed him with special honors. Ma asked, “Brother in the Dao, how fortunate that we share a surname. I would like to become sworn brothers with you and learn your arts of the Dao. Would that be possible?” Xiang replied, “What do you have in mind, sir?” Ma answered, “I want to learn the arts of the Dao.” Xiang joked, “You are a Ma from Fufeng, while I am a Feng Ma. We are like ‘the wind, horses, and oxen that have nothing to do with one another.’” In other words, they had no connection. Even so, he became friends with Ma, who kept him at the government office and treated him with increasing respect.

At a banquet one day, Ma asked him to perform a small feat of magic. Right there at the table, Xiang filled a porcelain vessel with soil and planted a melon seed. In moments, a vine sprouted, flowered, and bore fruit. He picked the melons and passed them around. The guests all said they were fragrant and delicious, unlike ordinary melons.

Xiang also drew money from his whole body and from his socks, in quantities too great to count. He tossed it by the handful into a well, called out, and the coins flew back out one by one. Someone took some of the money, but after a while it vanished.

Ma also said that the city had many rats. Xiang wrote a talisman and had it posted beneath the south wall. Then he tapped a plate with chopsticks and let out a long whistle. Rats came running in groups and prostrated themselves beneath the talisman. Xiang called a larger rat to the steps and admonished it: “You little creatures have food by nature. Why dig holes in houses and disturb the governor day and night? I take pity on you and do not wish to kill you for now. You must lead your companions away from here at once.” The large rat turned back, and all the rats bowed their heads in apology. Then they lined up in a row, beyond counting, and went out through the city gate together. From that day on, there were no more rats in the city.

Later, Xiang traveled south to Yuezhou and passed by Dongyan Chan Monastery. At the time, three or four hundred monks were eating a vegetarian meal. Xiang was traveling with Wang Yansou, a disciple of the Daoist Wang Zhiwei of Mamu Rock in Yongkang County, Wuzhou. When the monks saw Xiang and Zhiwei arrive, they stayed seated and carried on eating without rising to greet them. They merely sent someone to bring Xiang some food. Xiang refused to eat and urged Zhiwei and Yan…

The old man urged the two monks to eat quickly. Before they had finished their monastic meal, he was already pressing them to leave, then hurrying them along the road. They reached an inn south of Zhuji County, more than seventy li from the Chan monastery. Late that night, someone at the inn suddenly called out, looking for a Daoist. The innkeeper promptly answered. It turned out that two monks wished to see Xiang.

When they met Xiang, the monks bowed and tearfully pleaded, “The monastic community did not recognize you, Master. Yesterday we failed to welcome and serve you in time, and brought your punishment upon us. Several hundred monks still cannot get out of bed. We are the two stewards; because we had not sat down, we were able to come here. We beg you to forgive them.”

Xiang simply went on sleeping and did not reply. Zhiwei and Yansou watched from the side, smiling. The monks pleaded all the more earnestly. Only then did Xiang get up and say, “From now on, do not harbor thoughts of slighting others. When you return, the people at the monastery will be able to get out of bed.” The monks went back and saw that it was just as he had said. The next day, Xiang continued south.

It was spring. Xiang saw a household whose cabbages were growing well and asked for some, but the owner refused and spoke rudely to him. Xiang told Yansou to fetch paper and brush. Zhiwei said, “He refused to give you cabbage. There is no reason to argue over it, and besides, we are people who cultivate the Dao. How could we behave this way?” Xiang smiled and said, “I’m not going to argue with him. I’m just playing a little joke.”

Yansou brought the paper and brush. Xiang drew an egret on the paper and sprinkled water over the picture. The bird flew into the cabbage patch and began pecking at the vegetables. When the owner tried to chase it away, it flew up, then landed again, repeating this several times. Xiang then drew a puppy and sent it running after the egret. The two creatures trampled through the garden, leaving the cabbages in disarray.

When the owner realized the Daoist was teasing him, he begged, “Please stop using your magic.” Xiang said, “I never came to ask for cabbage. I was only playing a joke on you.” He then called the egret and the puppy back, and both flew into his arms. The owner looked at the garden again: the cabbages were as good as new, without a single one damaged.

Xiang continued his journey south, entering Mount Huotong and reaching the territory of Changxi County. That night, he sought lodging at an inn. There were few rooms, but many guests had already arrived. The innkeeper joked, “There’s no room left. If the Daoist can sleep on a wall, I can take you in.” It was late. Zhiwei and Yansou said, “We only came here to stay at an inn. How could we sleep on a wall?” Xiang said, “You two sleep as guests normally do. I can spend the night sitting up.”

After everyone had gone to sleep, Xiang leapt onto a roof beam, hooked one foot over it, and slept hanging upside down. The innkeeper got up in the middle of the night and, holding a candle, saw this scene and was astonished. Xiang said, “If I can sleep on a beam, what difficulty could there be in sleeping on a wall?” With that, he entered the wall and did not come out for a long time. The innkeeper hurriedly begged forgiveness and apologized. Only after quite some time did he invite Zhiwei and Yansou inside…

He slept in a clean place in the host’s home. At daybreak, the host urged him to stay, reluctant to let him go, and lamented with deep regret. Knowing that he was about to leave, he then …

After bidding farewell to Weiyansou, Xiang walked a few li and saw that Xiang was already waiting by the roadside. Xiang was returning from Huotong to Yongkang County, where he stayed at Tianbao Abbey, east of the county seat. In front of the abbey stood a withered pine. Pointing to it, Xiang said, “This pine is more than three thousand years old. It is about to turn to stone.” In time, it did. Suddenly a gale arose, and thunder and lightning shook the area. The stone pine fell beside the mountain and split into several pieces.

Fa, the military governor of Guangzhou, was demoted to the post of prefect of Wuzhou. He was fond of unusual things. When he heard about the pine, he had two of its pieces moved to the prefectural office, then sent them to the Nine Pines Courtyard at Longxing Temple. Each piece of stone pine was six or seven feet tall and more than three feet in diameter. The stone still bore the texture of pine bark, and the pieces remain there to this day.

When people came to tell Xiang that they were ill, he had no medicine. He simply tapped the afflicted area with a bamboo staff. Whether the illness was inside the abdomen or elsewhere on the body, he would touch the place with the staff and blow toward its tip. The staff would then sound like thunder, and the patient would recover at once. Once, a person whose back and waist were bent and whose legs could not straighten came to seek treatment, leaning on a cane. Xiang tapped him with his staff and told him to put the cane down; the man immediately stood upright.

People sometimes gave Xiang gifts of money and goods. Unable to refuse them, he accepted, then distributed them among the poor. Wherever he traveled, whether to temples or mountain caves, he often left poems behind. When he climbed Mount Qinwang in Hangzhou, he wrote:

Where can one seek the Great One from the world’s beginning?
Only the calendar remains, while human hearts have changed.
The sun and moon of the nine heavens shift from dawn to dusk;
Mountains and rivers across ten thousand li change through past and present.
Wind stirs the water’s brightness, swallowing distant peaks;
Rain deepens the mountain mist, shrouding the tall woods.
The First Emperor’s scheme to drive away the mountains was in vain;
The vast blue sea has only grown deeper.

Later, Xiang returned to his hometown to visit his elder brother, but his brother happened to be away. His sister-in-law and nephew were delighted to see him. Xiang told them, “My brother and I share this house. I have returned now because I want my share of the family property. I want only the eastern garden.” His sister-in-law and nephew were puzzled. “Younger brother, you have been away from home for so long, and you have not even seen your elder brother since returning. Why speak of dividing the property already? Brothers are bound by blood; your elder brother would surely never agree to this.” They asked Xiang to stay for three days. When they saw that he ate nothing and drank only wine while waiting for his brother to return, they grew even more puzzled.

That night, Xiang suddenly died. The next day, his brother came home, and his wife and child told him everything in detail. Deeply grieved, he said, “My younger brother has practiced the Dao for many years. He did not return to divide the property; he used those words to entrust his final affairs to me and sever my attachment to him.” The family then prepared Xiang’s body for burial. That night, the coffin suddenly made a sound, which astonished the whole family. Even so, they buried him afterward.

Ma Ziran ascended to heaven in broad daylight at the Eastern Garden, nine li north of the county seat, now called Ma’s Tomb. In the tenth year of the Dazhong reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the following year, the Dongchuan authorities reported that after the Daoist priest Ma Ziran of Zitong County in Jianzhou had ascended to heaven in broad daylight, he appeared to people in Dongchuan and said, “I am from Yanguan County. I recently became an immortal in western Zhejiang through corpse liberation, the Daoist practice in which a cultivator sheds the mortal body and becomes an immortal. Now, by decree of the Jade Emperor, I have ascended to heaven here.” Dongchuan reported the matter to the court. The court then ordered the authorities in western Zhejiang to investigate. They opened the grave and examined the coffin, but found only a bamboo staff inside.

Wu Tongwei

No one knew where Wu Tongwei came from. He was a Daoist priest, clear-minded and composed, quiet and detached. Sometimes he recited poetry; sometimes he drank until he was drunk. He often roamed the famous mountains around Hongzhou. People would occasionally see him, and when they met him again years or even decades later, he looked younger than before. No one knew how he cultivated, whether he took elixirs, or where he went and lived. Later, while drunk in a wine shop, he ascended to heaven and departed.

Xu Que

Xu Que said he was from Gaoyang. In his youth, he sat the jinshi examinations many times but never passed. In his later years, he studied the Dao on Mount Wangwu and traveled throughout the Five Sacred Peaks, famous mountains, and grottoes. He then set out from Mount Emei, passed through the two capitals, and traveled from the Jingxiang and Bian-Song regions to the Jianghuai area. He also visited Maoshan, Tiantai, Siming, Xiandu, Weiyu, Wuyi, Huotong, and Luofu, among many other places.

Wherever he went, he inscribed cliffs and steep precipices—places difficult for people to reach—with the words: “Xu Que came from Mount Emei in search of Yanyuezi, and visited this place.” Everyone who saw these inscriptions marveled at their wonder, but no one ever discovered who Yanyuezi really was.

Later, Xu Que often traveled around Mount Lu. Once, drunk, he recited a poem: “Before the flowers in the Langyuan lies the land of drunkenness; I raise my cup and drink deeply of the Queen Mother’s wine of nine rosy clouds. The immortals rebuke me for my recklessness and banish me to the human world, to become a drunken madman.” When someone curiously asked what he meant, he replied, “I am a celestial immortal. While attending a banquet on Mount Kunlun, I was banished for behaving improperly.” Everyone laughed at him, thinking his words and actions mad.

Later, on a spring day, he adorned his head with flowers, danced with flowers in his hands, then climbed a wine shop, sang drunkenly, and rode the clouds away.

Jin Keji

Jin Keji was from Silla. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, he came as an envoy from Silla and was treated with honor for his literary talent. He was quiet by nature, fond of Daoist arts, and uninterested in luxury. At times, he took pleasure in regulating his breath and refining his body. He was learned and had a strong memory; his writing was elegant, his appearance handsome, and his manner and speech displayed the refinement of someone from the Central Plains. Before long, he passed the jinshi examination, but did not enter official service. Instead, he lived in seclusion on Mount Zhongnan…

He renovated his dwelling in Ziwugu, longing for a secluded life of quiet cultivation. With his own hands, he planted many rare flowers, herbs, and fruit trees. He often burned incense and sat in stillness, seeming absorbed in thought. He also spent long hours reciting the Dao De Jing and various scriptures of the immortals, never missing a day. Three years later, he planned to return to his homeland and left by ship across the sea. Before long, he came back, put on Daoist robes, and entered Zhongnan Mountain once more, devoting himself to good deeds and the accumulation of De. He never turned away anyone who came to ask for something. He was so focused and diligent in his work that others found it difficult to live or work alongside him.

In the twelfth month of the eleventh year of the Dazhong era (857), he submitted a memorial stating: “I have received the Jade Emperor’s decree and serve as an Attendant in the Yingwen Bureau. On the fifteenth day of the second month next year, I am to ascend to heaven.” Emperor Xuanzong found the matter extraordinary and sent a palace envoy to summon him, but he firmly declined and did not answer the summons. The emperor then asked to meet the Jade Emperor. He replied that the Jade Emperor was attended by another immortal and would not remain among mortals. The emperor therefore bestowed on him four palace women, fragrant medicines, gold, and silk, and sent two palace envoys to attend him and observe him.

He lived alone in a quiet chamber, and neither the palace women nor the envoys could approach him. Each night, sounds of conversation and laughter often came from within. The envoys secretly peered inside and saw celestial officials and immortal women seated separately upon dragons and phoenixes, facing one another with solemn dignity, with many attendants at their sides. The palace women and envoys did not dare disturb them.

On the fifteenth day of the second month, the spring sunshine was bright and flowers and grasses were flourishing. Just as foretold, five-colored auspicious clouds appeared in the sky, along with calling cranes, flying luan birds, and white swans. The sounds of sheng and xiao flutes and bronze and stone instruments accompanied them, as did feathered canopies, jade chariot wheels, and banners and streamers that filled the sky. They had come to welcome him. He ascended to heaven with them. Court officials and commoners crowded the mountain valleys; all who watched looked up, bowed in worship, and marveled.

Song Xuanbai

Song Xuanbai’s origins are unknown. He was a Daoist priest, more than seven feet tall, with features as finely drawn as a painting and a handsome, well-proportioned face. He had a plump build and fair skin, and spoke with elegant, pleasing words. Everyone who saw him liked him. He had considerable Daoist powers: in summer he wore padded clothes, while in winter he wore only a single-layer garment and lay in the snow. More than a zhang away from him, heat seemed to rise around his body, yet the snow did not melt. When he pointed a finger, a lamp would go out. If he pointed at someone, a strong draft seemed to blow right through that person’s surroundings. If he pointed at the flowers and plants in a courtyard, they too would rustle and sway.

He often traveled among famous mountains. After leaving Maoshan, he went to Xixuan Abbey in Runzhou, then entered the Gecang Grotto. He once practiced grain abstention and Qi regulation, taking no grains and cultivating himself through breath regulation and the absorption of Qi. At times, however, he would eat five jin of pork with a full basin of garlic. As soon as he finished, he would drink two dou of wine, then eat a single white plum. Someone who obtained a piece of garlic he had left over tasted it and said that it was not strongly flavored, but instead had an unusual fragrance.

The fragrance lingered between the teeth and on the tongue, never fading. Many people who had tasted it remained free of illness throughout their lives and lived to the age of eighty or ninety. Wherever Xuanbai settled, people offered him gold and silk to persuade him to stay. When he traveled, however, he left his beautiful concubines behind at his lodging. For this reason, people assumed that he had mastered the art of replenishing the brain and restoring the original essence.

The so-called “Three Peaks art of controlling women” was not something true immortals practiced—especially not someone like Xuanbai, who had attained the rank of an immortal destined to ascend. Yet his keeping of beautiful concubines did make people all the more puzzled. What can be said for certain is that he did not practice the art of controlling women. Perhaps he acted this way to conceal his abilities and blend in with ordinary society, so that no one could tell he was an immortal.

Later, Xuanbai traveled through Yuezhou during a severe drought. The local people tried to bring rain by exposing themselves to the sun in a rain-prayer ritual, but more than ten days passed, and the weather remained sweltering and dry. After seeing this, Xuanbai said that prayers for rain should accord with Heaven’s mandate; merely submitting petitions and pleading would not bring rain. He then burned incense and prayed at the Daoist temple where he was staying. That night, a torrential downpour began and continued until enough rain had fallen. The people of Yuezhou all regarded him as an extraordinary being with uncanny powers.

Later, Xuanbai came to Xinzhou and again encountered a drought. Someone in the region had heard that he could summon rain and asked him to perform his art. Xuanbai immediately worked his spell, sending nails flying to pierce the eyes of the City God. The governor, Wei Delin, accused him of deception, claiming that he had hidden women away. He ordered the City God’s eyes to be nailed again, convinced that Xuanbai was a demon and intending to humiliate him. The governor sent burly constables forward, but they all found themselves unable to move their arms or legs and fell to the ground; their cangues broke apart on their own. Smiling, Xuanbai said to Wei Delin, “Your Excellency has offended Liu Gen. Do you mean to punish your ancestors?” Wei Delin was then overcome with fear and begged Xuanbai to forgive him. Xuanbai accepted his apology and let him go. There were many more accounts of his supernatural deeds, too numerous to record one by one. Later, he ascended to Heaven in broad daylight at Nancheng County, Fuzhou. (Nancheng County now belongs to Jianchang Prefecture.)

He Zizhen

No one knew He Zizhen’s origins. He was a Daoist who lived on Mount Song. He was well versed in literature and had an elegant, unpretentious manner. He burned incense and practiced cultivation year after year with great diligence. Even young people did not know how old he was, but Daoists and laypeople alike said they had known of him for many years. No one ever knew what, exactly, he practiced.

One day, clouds and mist filled the sky, cranes appeared everywhere, and clear, melodious music rang out. He Zizhen suddenly ascended and vanished. At the time, the recluse Chen Tao was in the Eastern Capital and witnessed the people of Luoyang looking up and bowing in worship, all of them astonished. He then composed a poem: “Zijin’s phoenix-borne flight above ancient Luochuan, gold…”

When the peaches ripened once again, the immortal He Lang played the celestial music of the Three Pure Ones beneath Mount Songqiu, as clouds of five-colored auspiciousness gathered overhead.

Before the imperial garden, red-crowned cranes danced gracefully to welcome the immortals bearing red ceremonial standards. Maidens with blue-green coiffures sang as they greeted the incense-filled carriages come to rest.

In this immortal realm of long life, who would still grieve and weep in broad daylight? Within the world of the Taiji, tens of thousands of years had already passed.

Comprehensive Record of Immortals Throughout the Ages Who Embodied the Dao, Volume Thirty-Six.