《歷世真仙體道通鑑》Vol. 42

Comprehensive Mirror of the Perfected Immortals Through the Ages on Embodying the Dao (Lishi zhenxian tidao tongjian), Fascicle 41

(Compiled by Zhao Daoyi, Daoist of the Shengshou Wannian Palace on Mount Fuyun)

Nie Shidao

Nie Shidao, courtesy name Tongwei, was a native of She County in Xin'an. He was naturally intelligent and sincere, upright in speech and conduct, and humble and cautious in his dealings with others. He was known for his filial devotion to his parents and was deeply respected in his village.

In his youth, he became a disciple of Jidehui, a figure "outside the mundane world" (a term referring to people within the Daoist clergy). Jidehui was his cousin. When Jidehui left his post as a provincial secretary (an official title) to serve as prefect of Xin'an, he chose a scenic spot on the Eastern Mountain, east of the prefectural city, built a dwelling there, and named it the "Study of Governance." Nie Shidao served him diligently.

At thirteen, Nie Shidao donned Daoist robes, and at fifteen he received the transmission registers (fulu, the ranked ordination certificates of Daoist practice) and began to learn the essentials of cultivating perfection. Later he traveled to Mount Jishan in Jixi. He said that he had read the Inner Transmissions of the Daoist tradition, which described the method of taking pine resin, so he and a fellow Daoist went to Mount Baizhang to gather it. The cliffs of the mountain were steep, and this was the origin of the name "Hundred Zhang" (about three hundred meters). The summit rose sheer on all four sides, roughly a thousand ren (several thousand meters) high.

One night they lodged beneath a pine tree at the top of the cliff. The sky was clear and the moonlight bright. Suddenly they heard celestial music rising from the southeast, accompanied by purple clouds drifting slowly toward them and passing over Mount Shijin. Mount Shijin was as high as Mount Baizhang, and although the two were more than thirty li (about fifteen kilometers) apart, from their summits each seemed within arm's reach of the other. When the music arrived there, it paused briefly, then sounded three rolls of a small drum, followed by the clear, resonant voices of metal and stone chimes, reed pipes, flutes, strings, and gourd organs. The drums kept time with the melody. No one could tell what tune it was; they only felt that the sound soared high and pure, utterly unlike earthly music. The music continued from the third watch of the night until cockcrow.

Afterward, they asked people at the foot of the mountain and learned that everyone had heard the celestial music that night. A companion sighed, "We were gathering spirit herbs when we suddenly heard celestial music. Could this be a response from the heavens? This is an auspicious sign that you are about to attain the Dao."

Afterward, Nie Shidao traveled further and returned to the Southern Marchmount, where he paid homage at the Yuqing Altar and the Guangtian Jade Altar. He later stayed at the Zhaoxian Abbey and entered the Dongling Source. It was spring, and he heard that the former hermitage of Perfected Cai was not far from there, where the flowers and trees were extraordinary and woodcutters sometimes saw Perfected Cai appear among them. Delighted by this, Nie Shidao fasted for seven days. On the seventh morning he went into the mountains alone, and gradually he caught an unusually rich fragrance of flowers. Without realizing it, dusk had fallen, and he suddenly came to a large stream, where he saw a woodcutter sitting on the sandy bank by the water.

Nie Shidao hurried forward to approach him. The woodcutter, his firewood shouldered and about to head down to the stream, turned and saw Nie Shidao. He stopped, steadied his carrying pole, and asked, "Why are you alone..."

Master Shi Dao replied, "I have devoted myself to studying the Way and seeking immortals. I heard that the Perfected Cai has retreated to live in this mountain, and I wish to call upon him and see him once."

The woodcutter said, "Lord Cai lives very deep in the mountains, where few people can reach."

Master Shi Dao said, "I have climbed through vines and scaled cliffs, and now I have reached this place. Since there is a path through the mountain, why should I fear distance?" The woodcutter continued, "Night is falling soon, so you had better leave now. Once you cross this mountain, there are homes to the east where you can find lodging."

Just as Shi Dao was about to follow the woodcutter, the woodcutter suddenly walked into a mountain stream. The water appeared shallow, but when Shi Dao stepped into it, he found it was extremely deep and swiftly flowing, and he did not dare to wade across. The woodcutter said, "You must wait fifty years before you can cross this stream." Shi Dao watched as the woodcutter stepped away over the surface of the water, and in the blink of an eye he was gone.

Shi Dao returned to the east side of the mountain and walked more than ten li, when he caught sight of three thatched huts in the distance, enclosed by a bamboo fence, with chickens and dogs about. As he drew near, he saw a man of about thirty with a fair complexion, living there alone. The man was greatly astonished to see Shi Dao arrive in the deep mountains. Shi Dao said, "My family has all gone out, so what am I doing here?" The host then asked him why he had come. Shi Dao replied, "To seek the hermitage of the Perfected Cai." The host said, "Did you meet a woodcutter on the road?" Shi Dao said he had. The host then said, "That was the Daoist Cai who just passed by."

Upon hearing this, Shi Dao bowed and offered a prayer: "I am a foolish and ignorant mortal. I met immortals and sages and failed to recognize them. This too must be my fate." Night had fallen, the mountain forest was pitch dark, and there was nowhere to lodge. The host asked where he had come from, and Shi Dao told in full detail of his journey from Xin'an to seek out the Perfected. Only then did the host agree to let him into the house. He pointed to a bed near the stove, had Shi Dao sit down, and said, "The food I had by chance in the mountains is finished, and I was just about to go out and find some more."

Shi Dao said, "I have not eaten for a long time, and I do not concern myself with food and drink." He saw a cooking cauldron beside the stove and several yellow porcelain boxes. The host said, "What is in the boxes may be eaten; help yourself." Shi Dao opened one box, and inside was tea. The host said, "Steep it in hot water and drink." After Shi Dao drank it, he found the tea's aroma most unusual. After a while he wanted more tea and opened the box again, but no matter how he tried, it would not open; the other boxes would not open either. Shi Dao felt in his heart that this did not seem like the home of an ordinary villager, but he did not dare say so.

The host went to sleep in another room and did not rise even after the sun had climbed high; the house also had no lamps or candles. In his sleep, the host spoke: "This place is remote and lonely; if you were to fall ill suddenly, no one would care for you. There are many households in the village ahead; you may go there." Shi Dao then walked several li but saw no homes, only steep cliffs on every side, so he had to turn back.

Shi Dao had lost his way back to the lodging of the previous night. After walking more than thirty li further, he suddenly came upon an old man, who was delighted to see him, invited him to sit on a rock, and asked why he had entered the mountains. Shi Dao related everything that had happened, one event at a time.

The old man said, "Lord Cai and his sons all live in seclusion in this mountain. The place where you stayed last night was the residence of Lord Cai's son." He continued, "Your Dao Qi (daoqi) is dense and strong, but your immortal bones have not yet formed. You have gone hungry and thirsty since entering the mountains. How could you stay here for long?" Before long, the old man broke off a stalk of grass and handed it to Shi Dao. It looked like ginger sprout, was more than a foot long, and tasted sweet when chewed. The old man then told him to draw spring water to drink. When Shi Dao raised his head, the old man had vanished.

Shi Dao lamented deeply. After eating the tu grass, he felt his strength restored and his body light, even stronger than when he had arrived. He tried to follow the mountain path back to the place where he had spent the previous night, but brambles and creepers had blocked the way, so he returned to the Zhaoxian Guan (Abbey of Summoning Immortals). The Daoists there were astonished. "This abbey lies near the Numinous Peak," they said, "but there are many insects and wild beasts nearby, and few can walk alone in these mountains. How could you have been gone for more than a month? We have been truly worried."

Shi Dao replied, "I only left yesterday, and I spent just one night in the mountains." He described in detail his encounter with the woodcutter, his lodging, and his subsequent meeting with the old man. The Daoists sighed. "Though we live together in this abbey, we have only the empty name of studying the Dao. We know of Perfected Cai (Cai Zhenren), yet have never had the fortune to meet him. Your son has long had an affinity with the immortals, and he has already met Lord Cai and his sons. As for that old man, we once heard that Perfected Peng (Peng Zhenren) also lived in seclusion in this mountain. Could he be Lord Peng? You entered the mountains and met three immortals one after another. In the human world it seemed only a night had passed, yet more than a month had truly gone by. This is probably a bond fated and long predetermined."

Shi Dao was deeply astonished, and so he stayed at the Zhaoxian Guan to cultivate. More than a year later, because his parents were growing old and he longed for his family, he returned to Wenzheng Mountain. Whenever he went into the mountains to gather firewood or dig medicinal herbs, he sometimes met tigers and leopards. On seeing Shi Dao, they would lower their ears, wag their tails, and crouch on the ground. He would stroke them and call to them, and only then would they rise and follow him. Sometimes he placed firewood and medicinal herbs on their backs, and they carried the load and escorted him home before leaving.

In the past, when Guo Wenju lived in Dadi Cave, tigers likewise crouched on the ground and obeyed him. The mountains near Shexian have many fierce beasts, yet they do not harm people, and this is said to be the result of Shi Dao's moral influence.

Sometimes his parents asked what he had gained from traveling and studying, and he told them about his experiences in full. His father was delighted and said, "You nourish me with filial devotion, and I support you with the methods of the Dao. To have you as my son is also a blessing. This must be due to a bond from a former life..." The original text breaks off here.

Qing later set out to travel again, intending to visit Mount Nan and Mount Jiuyi. He had long heard that Master Mei and Minister Xiao were both living in seclusion on Mount Yusi (a famous Daoist mountain), and that local people often saw them there.

Master Mei was Mei Fu, once a Commandant of Nanchang; Minister Xiao was Xiao Ziyun, a son of the Liang dynasty. Xiao Ziyun had served as Prefect of Dongyang, and to escape the Hou Jing Rebellion, his whole family retreated into the mountains. Both Mei Fu and Xiao Ziyun attained the Dao here. Shidao therefore remained at the Qingxu Abbey (a Daoist temple) on Mount Yusi to cultivate the Way. Admiring Mei and Xiao, he made a special trip to visit the Yumu Pit, hoping to catch a glimpse of them, and resolutely pressed deeper into the mountains.

When the mountain path had carried him far in, Shidao suddenly saw a man dressed in plain cloth, wearing a black gauze cap, who appeared to be about fifty years old. Shidao bowed respectfully to him and asked about his origins. At first the man called himself a "Traveler" and asked in turn where Shidao was going. Shidao replied that he was searching for Mei Fu and Xiao Ziyun.

The Traveler said, "I hear you cultivate diligently and have visited famous mountains everywhere, which is no easy thing. If you wish to see them, I can take you. However, the karmic ties from your previous lives are very pure, and your name should already be recorded in the Jade Register (the register of immortals in the celestial realm). Although you cannot yet ascend to immortality at once, you will ultimately be able to transcend the mortal world."

The Traveler continued, "My name is Xie Tongxiu. Fearing you would not know me, I make this clear. I formerly lived on Mount Nan, where I secluded myself together with Peng and Cai, and it has now been three hundred years. I know that you once travelled to the Dongling Source. I am now acting on the order of the Lord of the Eastern Florescence to oversee the matters of the earth immortals of the Mount Yusi forests, and I also govern the domain of the Qingxu Abbey. It seems that you and I have had a bond in the Dao from the start, which is why we have met today. However, Mei Fu and Xiao Ziyun were summoned at noon by the Heavenly King of Xiaoyou, and they will likely not return for some time, so you need not wait for them."

Shidao then bowed deeply and said, "I am merely a mortal of flesh in the mundane world, presumptuously seeking the great Dao. I have concentrated my mind and persisted day and night, yet I still do not understand its essential secrets; I am like one drifting on the sea, not knowing where the shore lies. That I should meet a Daoist lord today is truly the good fortune of cultivation across many lifetimes."

Tongxiu said, "Your sincerity is earnest, and truly worthy of compassion. Since your affairs in the mundane world are not yet concluded, I will first escort you out of the mountains. You may look in at the place where I live."

The two walked several li, when suddenly they came upon two thatched huts, very neat and orderly, containing a bed mat and a small pot that was heating water over a fire. It looked like the dwelling of a scholar, yet no one was there. Tongxiu had Shidao sit on a wooden horse (a wooden seat), while he himself sat on a white stone deer. Before long, a page boy with his hair in two topknots brought Shidao a bowl of hot broth. As Shidao took a sip, he immediately felt refreshed and clear-headed. Tongxiu then pointed to a shelf and had him take down a scroll, saying, "This is the Sushu (Book of Plain Writing)."

As long as you keep practicing and do not slacken, you will come to grasp the true essentials. Shidao wished to stay at Tongxiu's side and study with him, but before he could say so, Tongxiu already knew what was in his heart and said, "You have aged parents. Although an elder brother can look after them, if you still intend to travel south to seek instruction, this is not the time to talk of staying here. I have a disciple, styled Zizhi, who lives on Mount Jiuyi. If you go to see him, pass on a message from me and show him this plain letter (sushu, a letter without ornament). He will then understand everything it contains. If you cannot find him, leave the letter in a cave upstream of Maoru Creek and write the message I have entrusted to you on the cliff face. Zizhi will naturally transmit the essential Daoist methods to you."

When Tongxiu had finished speaking, he saw Shidao off, and in the blink of an eye he was gone. By then Shidao had already reached the outside of Yumu Pit, while Tongxiu returned to Qingxu Monastery. The other Daoists were astonished to see him back and said, "You left only seven days ago. How is it that you have returned so soon?" Shidao told them everything that had happened, one detail after another.

Two of the Daoists were delighted when they heard this and asked to enter Yumu Pit together with Shidao. When they reached the place of their former visit, the rocks and plants were clear and unchanged, exactly as before, except that the thatched hut was gone. They searched for it all day in dismay, and only then did they return.

The characters in the plain letter Shidao received were all legible. It set out the secret essentials and oral formulas by which Lady Wang of Guishan (the Queen Mother of the West of legend) governed and instructed the host of immortals. The letter further stated that immortals who practiced these methods could ascend to heaven, and that ordinary people who received the transmission could enter the grottoes of the blessed. Some of its content, however, was so profound that it could not be fully fathomed.

Later, Shidao came to the Xiangzhen Monastery on Mount Jiuyi in the southern sacred peak of Hengshan, and for more than a month he inquired about Zizhi's whereabouts. Everyone said that there was a recluse by Maoru Creek, but no one knew his name. Shidao entered the mountains to search for him many times and never found him. He therefore followed Tongxiu's instructions, cast the letter into the cave, and inscribed on the cliff face the message Tongxiu had entrusted to him. Afterward, he dreamed of a divine person who called himself Zizhi and taught him the meaning that dissolves doubts and clears obstructions. When Shidao awoke, he understood at once.

A little more than a year later, Shidao returned to live at Wenzheng, where he stayed for more than twenty years. Whenever he burned incense for his practice, he would gaze upon and bow before the portraits of the two Perfected Cai, Peng, Xie, and the other masters. He also personally compiled the Yichuan (Accounts of Strange Transmissions) and passed it on to Daoist priests and common people alike.

Later, the Founder of the Wu, who held sway over the Jianghuai region, heard of Shidao's reputation and deeds. Admiring his virtue, he ordered the construction of the Xuanyuan Palace in Guangling for Shidao to reside in. Shidao ascended the altar to pray for grace and to bless the people. Whether during floods or droughts, his prayers were always answered, moving heaven and earth, and auspicious clouds appeared. For this, the Founder of the Wu commended him and honored him with the titles "Great Master Xiaoyao" and "Gentleman Wenzheng."

Shidao was deeply filial. Although he traveled far for long periods in pursuit of the Dao, he never forgot his parents. While they were still alive, he was always concerned for his home. On the day of their death and mourning, he hurried back crawling on his hands and knees……

After the mourning rites for his parents were completed, he intended to withdraw from the world and fulfill his original aspiration. Before long, imperial envoys arrived one after another, and the imperial summons could not be declined. The Taizu emperor esteemed him all the more, and the people of the realm all looked to him with devotion.

Among his disciples were Zou Dekuang, Wang Chuno, Yang Kuangyi, Wang Yongzhen, Cheng Shoupu, Zeng Jingxiao, Wang Keru, Cui Chanran, Du Chongzhen, Deng Qixia, Wu Zhigu, Fan Kebao, Liu Rixiang, Kang Kejiu, and Wang Qixia. They were all enclosed disciples who received the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) methods, the cultivation and transmission techniques of the Daoist Shangqing school, and they spread these teachings to the various prefectures, continuing the Daoist tradition and advancing its doctrines. The court bestowed purple robes upon them to honor the Daoist community.

People from Qin, Wu, Jing, Qi, Yan, Liang, Min, and Shu came in succession, serving their master and the Dao with diligence over many years. Master Dao often said to them, "I possess no special arts. Why have you come from so far away?" The disciples replied, "If Master Zhang were living in Shu, people from all under heaven would still come to become his disciples. Whatever each of us practices, we obtain the essentials of the Dao from him. Those disciples who willingly serve as attendants and remain by his side for a long time will later attain immortality. Now we have grown old and feeble, and our descendants are also declining. We fear that human life is brief and hope to attain longevity. We beg you not to refuse our wish."

Master Dao received the crowd with a compassionate heart and never turned anyone away. According to each person's temperament and capacity for understanding, he guided them on the essentials of cultivation. It is like walking through mist and dew for a long time, where one's clothes gradually become damp, or like approaching fragrant woods such as luo, chen, and sandalwood, where one's body absorbs a faint scent. Thus Master Dao lived in Guangling for more than thirty years, and his disciples numbered over five hundred. He had long practiced embryonic breathing (taixi, a Daoist method of regulating the breath and nourishing qi), and he had also succeeded in refining elixirs. Often he thought of returning to the mountains of his home village, but because he had received deep imperial favor and could not defy the emperor's commands, he could not fulfill this long-held wish.

In the autumn month of the Xinwei year, he dreamed of a man wearing a black headscarf and red robes, who said to him, "Master, you have cultivated the Dao for a long time, and your merit and practice are complete. Heaven has sent someone to welcome you." When Master Dao awoke, his mind was clear, and he said to his disciples, "The immortal officials are summoning me. My days in this world are few."

On the twenty-third day of the tenth month of that year, a strange fragrance filled the room, and clouds and white cranes gathered in the courtyard, as if spirits were assembling. He bid farewell to the crowd at the Ziji Palace in the capital, and then departed through transformation, at the age of sixty-eight. He had earlier founded Xuanxu outside the Taiping Gate. When his disciples placed his body in the coffin, a sound suddenly came from within; when they opened it, the body had vanished like a cicada's shed skin.

A few days later, someone saw him in Yuzhang, accompanied by a young boy with his hair tied in a topknot. Along the way he met many monks and laypeople who knew him, and when they asked why he was traveling far away, he replied, "I have been away from Mount Nan for many years, and for now..."

Several of you have been to the Daoist temples you visited in the past, and stayed there for a while. Half a year later, someone came from Changsha and said that, just as the man in Yuzhang had, he had seen you on the road in Hengyang, heading back to the Dongling Spring. The woodcutter had said, "Fifty years from now, you will pass by this stream again." Later, this prophecy came true.

In the third month of the dinghai year of the Shunyi era, the Grand Assistant and Grand Preceptor, Wang Gong, Prince of Donghai, carried out the proper ceremonies and welcomed him back to Xin'an. They built a Xuantan (a sacred altar for worship and sacrifice), granted him fields and farmland, and converted his former residence into the Guizhen Yuan (Hall of Returning to Truth). He also submitted a memorial recommending him for honors, posthumously conferring on him the title of Minister of Ceremonial (Honglu Qing), and bestowed upon him a crown, a sword, and ceremonial robes. The favor and ceremonial honors he received were exceptionally generous.

Zhang Yun

Zhang Yun was a native of Shenshan County in Jinzhou. He was also known as Zhang Yun, and his courtesy name was Cang Zhen. His father was named Ju Qin, and his mother, Lady Yang, conceived him after sensing a black light; she carried him for eighteen months before giving birth. Zhang Yun was born on the sixteenth day of the fourth month of the fourth year of the Yonghui era of the Tang Gaozong reign. He stood seven chi and five cun tall, had a striking and refined bearing, and a carefree, easygoing temperament. His eyes and brows were handsome, and his voice rang like a bell. He was skilled at playing the qin and at calligraphy, and was also good at long, drawn-out chanting. He loved the teachings of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi, as well as the doctrines of the fangshi (masters of esoteric arts).

After his father died, someone wished to marry his daughter to him, but he left home, saying, "I admire the immortal Hongya of antiquity." He therefore named himself Hongya Zi and traveled to Qinggai Mountain, where he met an old man in a brown robe. The old man said, "In a cave in this mountain lives Jingcheng Zi. You should take him as your teacher." Zhang Yun went to seek him as instructed and found a man with loose hair, dressed in grass robes, sitting cross-legged on a stone. Zhang Yun bowed in respect. Jingcheng Zi asked, "Who sent you here?" Zhang Yun described the old man's words in detail, and so Jingcheng Zi passed on to him all of his arts.

Jingcheng Zi then said, "South of Gushe Mountain there is an ancient cave where you should dwell. If you can find five medicinal substances and have boys to serve you, you may ascend to immortality." Zhang Yun then went to Gushe Mountain. A divine person pointed out the location of the cave, and he indeed found five boys there, named Ju (tangerine), Li (chestnut), Shu (atractylodes), Ge (kudzu), and a fifth whose name is a rare character for a kind of tree. Zhang Yun commanded them and kept them at his side to attend him, and he himself lived in seclusion in the cave for fifteen years. He thoroughly studied the immortal scriptures and secret canons, and he understood the Nine Classics and the works of all the masters of the various schools.

A poor woodcutter once sighed over his destitute circumstances. Zhang Yun poured a cup of water and spilled it onto a stone. When the woodcutter looked again, the water had turned into coins. Each time the woodcutter went there, he received money. The scholar Liu Hui found this strange, so he followed the woodcutter, but he could not find any trace of Zhang Yun.

Zhang Yun often rode a green donkey and, accompanied by his five boys, entered Lingxia, sought out Kunlun, and traveled to Zhongnan Mountain and Taihua Mountain, moving back and forth among Qingcheng, Wangwu, and Taihang. He kept company with the two Celestial Masters (Tianshi), Ye and Luo, and frequently inquired into matters of the Golden Elixir (jindan), the Flowery Pool (huachi), and methods for transforming and refining the body. The subtleties of his cultivation were beyond anyone else's ability to fathom.

In the Shengli era, Empress Wu summoned Zhang Yun, but he did not go. Once, he lay drunk at the mouth of his cave, and as the wine was wearing off, he dimly saw a divine being ten zhang tall……

The man was tall and dignified, neatly dressed in his cap and robe. He pointed at the divine man and asked, "Why do you not practice 'great seclusion' (dàyǐn)?"

The divine man asked, "What is great seclusion?" The man replied, "To remain self-possessed and withdrawn while living at the crossroads of the great Dao, amid bustling markets and crowds, is what is called great seclusion."

The divine man then asked, "What is lesser seclusion (xiǎoyǐn)?" The man replied, "To live alone among the mountain forests and springs, untroubled and at ease, is what is called lesser seclusion. In earlier times, Boyi and Shuqi lived on Mount Shouyang, and that was lesser seclusion. To lose oneself in the mingling of the secular world is great seclusion."

Yun, the name of the figure in the text, bowed his head to the ground and accepted the instruction. The divine man then suddenly vanished.

Later, Yun lodged at the home of Li Qiao, a Gei Shi (Secretary of Supervision) in Luoyang, and stayed for thirteen years. Scholars and men of refined taste vied to call on him. In the seventh year of the Kaiyuan era (719), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang repeatedly summoned him. Unable to decline, Yun came to the Zhanlu Hall to pay his respects. The emperor asked, "You are said to be skilled at long whistling. May I hear it?" Yun answered by whistling aloud, and the sound was distant and clear, refreshing the minds and spirits of those who heard it. The emperor asked, "How do I compare with Emperor Yao? How do you compare with Xu You?" Yun replied, "Your Majesty's De surpasses that of Yao, but my own virtue falls short of Xu You's. In the past, when Yao summoned Xu You, Xu You did not go. Now Your Majesty has summoned me, and I have come." The emperor praised him and appointed him Grand Minister of the Imperial Sacrifices (Tàichángqīng). He was promoted many times afterward, and when he was named Situ, a senior ministerial post, he declined every time. He said, "Why does Your Majesty begrudge a single mountain or stream, and not allow me to follow in the footsteps of Chao Fu and Xu You?" In the eighth month of that year, the court permitted him to return to his mountain.

Once, within the palace, Yun pointed to a white donkey and said, "This is a snow spirit of a thousand years." The emperor then issued an edict ordering that his home village be repaired, renamed the village "Hongya Li," addressed him as "Zhengjun" (Gentleman of Summons), and granted him a stretch of grassland beside the Fen River for pasturing donkeys.

The Prince of Bin, Li Shouli, once asked, "It is said that when Liu An, the Prince of Huainan, attained the Dao and became an immortal, his chickens and dogs rose to heaven with him. Is this true?" Yun replied, "Studying the Dao and seeking immortality is like two people who fall asleep and dream different dreams. Even father and son, or husband and wife, cannot reach one another in those dreams." Li Shouli then asked, "Can divine elixirs be taken, and can gold be produced by transmutation?" Yun said, "Wealth, rank, sensual pleasure, and luxury are the axes that chop away at life. Transmutation and smelting shorten one's lifespan. Medicines made from plants, metals, and stones will harm the stomach and intestines. None of these should be pursued." Li Shouli asked, "Do people like us lack the aptitude to become immortals?" Yun said, "You need not exhaust your body or dissipate your essential qi. Keep your mind calm and serene, and reduce your desires. Then you can endure for a long time and enjoy the full span of your years." Li Shouli replied, "I will keep your teaching in mind."

Yun had always loved antiquities, and famous scholars of the age often sent him objects as gifts. The Duke of Kaiguo, Li Taiyi, once wrote to him: "I have heard that you love antiquities, and I have long admired you. Recently a man named Zhang obtained a piece from the Jin dynasty's Sima Hua..." [The original text ends here.]

A descendant of the sage's line traveled over a thousand li to deliver a wooden shoe of Confucius, saying, "This family heirloom has been kept for two hundred years. Having seen an object the venerable sage once wore himself, I did not dare to keep it in private, so I came here especially to offer it."

Tian Youyan, a Grand Attendant of the Heir Apparent, gave a tortoise to Yin Xi. Wang Rong gave a ruyi staff to Wang Lie, and the Censor Guo Han gave Wang Lie stone marrow. Confucius gave a pair of shoes to Yang Jiong, and Yang Xiong gave Confucius an inkstone of stone. The monk Weigong gave a qiong bamboo staff to Yang Qizhe, and Yang Qizhe gave a forging hammer to Ji Kang. Chen Ping and Jie Yuanting returned several of Xie Lingyun's beard hairs to Xie Lingyun. The monk Zhiyuan gave Cai Yong's "scorched tail" zither to Ge Hong, and the monk Xiaoran gave a comb for scraping music to Kashyapa. Qin Xiuzhuang gave Liu Shouzhang the draft of Heshanggong's commentary on the Laozi's five thousand characters. Liu Shouzhang gave Sima Zivei the deer-horn pillow of the Four Hoary Sages. Sima Zivei gave Zhou Zigong the mortar and pestle used by the Prince of Huainan. Zhou Zigong gave a scroll of ancient emperors' portraits to the Jiedushi Zhang Shouke. Zhang Shouke gave Wei Su a sea toad's tooth measuring a foot and eight inches long. Wei Su gave Liu Changxin the humming zither and lotus-flower crown of Tao Qian. Liu Changxin gave Yun the sheng reed pipe of Wang Qiao.

Yun later entered the mountains, gave up food and drink, relied solely on the practice of qi-ingestion (fuqi), and lived in seclusion on Mount Gu She, never to emerge again. After a long time, the Hedong Circuit Surveillance Commissioner Li Sizhen and the Governor of Jin Prefecture Guo Zhengyi went to Mount Gu She to search for him. After several days they finally found him beneath a pine tree. He wore a horn kerchief and a deerskin robe and lay there, saying, "Envoys from the court, why trouble a man of the mountain wilds?" The two men sighed and said, "He is truly a lofty recluse of the kind of Chao Fu and Xu You."

Yun once annotated the Laozi, the Book of Changes, the Rites of Zhou, the Ceremonial Rites, and the Guliang Commentary. He also wrote the Biographies of Eminent Recluses in ten juan, the Records of Immortals in twenty juan, the Records of Hedong in thirty juan, and the Flourishing Words of the Great Zhou in ten juan. None of these works has survived.

In the sixteenth year, a great plague broke out in Hongzhou. A Daoist of wild and unrestrained manner rode a donkey, accompanied by five boy attendants, and dispensed medicine in the marketplace. Patients recovered as soon as they took it. The prefecture reported the matter to the court, and the emperor, suspecting that this Daoist was Yun, repeatedly sent messengers to summon him. He was indeed Yun, but he declined to go on all three summonses. Afterward he lived at the old altar of Master Hongya, and when he went out he rode a donkey named "Snow Essence."

He often wore a black square cap, a red banana-fiber robe, a black rhinoceros-horn belt, and short boots. His five attendants carried a hexagonal fan, an iron ruyi, and a qiong bamboo staff. A cup filled with wine was always at his side. His wine vessel was shaped like a pomegranate of patterned stone, and his ladle was a natural pomegranate-shaped stone. Another account says that he often wore a bamboo-woven kerchief and held a hexagonal fan.

He wore a hanging-cloud hat and sat on a square wooden stool. Beside him lay two scrolls of mysterious writings, a ge-wood ruyi scepter, a Wei-style gourd flask, and a wood-cypress ladle, and he carried these things with him whenever he went out. He moved about the city, drinking, talking, and laughing, composed in his bearing, while bystanders could not understand what he said.

In the twenty-fifth year of the reign, a man from Fanyang obtained two great teeth, each over eighteen inches long, and presented them to the emperor. The emperor sent an envoy to ask Yun about them. Yun replied, "Not long ago I saw a great toad beneath Mount Kunlun, more than a hundred chi in length. These must be its teeth."

In the fourth year of the Tianbao era, Yun was ninety-three. At dawn on the eighth day of the fourth month, a thick fog descended, and he underwent shijie (corpse liberation, the Daoist term for shedding the physical body and ascending as an immortal) on his bed. People in the district saw him rise slowly into the sky, accompanied by five young attendants. In the eighth month of the same year, he was drinking with fellow villagers in Jinzhou when he left his clothes and shoes behind as a farewell. Six days later he underwent corpse liberation and ascended again, in the same manner as before. The people of Jinzhou collected the remains he had left behind, his yitui (the cast-off form that remains after corpse liberation).

During the An Lushan Rebellion, Yun aided Emperor Suzong of Tang through his numinous powers. In the Qianyuan era, Shen Taizhi memorialized the throne that a strange phenomenon had appeared on Fulong Mountain in Yuzhang. The emperor then issued an edict to build the Yingsheng Palace, to cast an image of Suzong, and to have Yun honored there as a co-recipient of worship. This palace is what is today called the Ziqing Palace. In the reign of Emperor Dezong of Tang, the people of Jinzhou built a shrine on Yun's former residence, and they also built a shrine on Hongya Mountain, where he had undergone corpse liberation, for sacrificial worship. Today all these sites are known as the Qizhen Abbey.

Three of Yun's poems have survived. The first reads: "Last year there was no field to plant, and this spring I again lack money for wine. Let the flowers and birds laugh at me; I will simply feign drunkenness and lie down on the terrace." The second reads: "The tunes I compose find no appreciation, and my lofty aspirations draw criticism. I do not understand the minds of the worldly, yet they would teach me how to conduct myself." The third reads: "I enter the city not to seek profit, and I pass through the court not to seek fame. At times I keep company with ordinary people and for the moment follow their bustling ways."

By water route from the Yuzhang River's western bank, one can travel a few li out and back to the old site of Xichang County, which dates to the Sui and Tang periods. Within a few hundred paces there is a small outcrop of stone, called the Hongya Fishing Terrace, and a stone pool, called the Hongya Inkstone Pool. Local tradition holds that this was the location of Yun's study hall. Yun lived in Yuzhang for eighteen years, and the old traces of him that can still be examined amount roughly to these.

The Taiping Guangji records that in the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang, Han Yu was demoted and sent to Chaozhou, and on his journey he passed through Mount Shang. A nephew who admired mountains and rivers and had cultivated the Way for many years had long since vanished. Suddenly he appeared before Han Yu's horse to greet him, and he accompanied him all the way to Deng Prefecture, saying, "My master is in this mountain." The area around Xuanhu and Yidi Peak was where Dongyuan Gong practiced cultivation. Using soft gold and water jade, he refined the Jiuhua Elixir (Nine Flowers Elixir), and the fire timing of its refinement was so subtle that it is difficult to...

Before taking his leave, someone asked his teacher, "Was that Master Hongya?" Danxia Weng replied, "The fame of Master Hongya circulated already in ancient times. Hongya Zi was born in the Tang dynasty, so clearly these were two different people. Still, Xuanzong also addressed Hongya Zi as 'Master.' Whether Han the nephew met Hongya Zi or the ancient Master Hongya, we cannot know. Someone in the world must know the answer."

Your servant Dao Yi comments: Zhang Yun, a Daoist recluse who concealed his cultivation within the dust of the world, lived among the common folk while nurturing his true nature, and his reputation spread throughout the court and the countryside. When Emperor Ming of Tang asked him a question, he replied, "Your Majesty's Dao surpasses that of Yao, but my De falls short of Xu You." This modesty could hardly go further. Since the Five Emperors, the realm had been governed by rulers in common, but from the Three Kings onward it became the household property of a royal house, and the character of its rulers consequently varied. Did Emperor Ming truly surpass Yao in Dao, and did Zhang Yun truly fall short of Xu You in De? The Dao De Jing says, "The rivers and seas can be kings of the hundred streams because they are good at lying lower than them." Thus, a sage who wishes to stand above others must yield in his words, and one who wishes to walk before others must withdraw in his speech. Zhang Yun was such a man.

Fu Xianzong

Fu Xianzong, an accomplished Daoist priestess, was a native of Chang'an. Her father, Fu Lun, once served as magistrate of Ziyang County. Fu Xianzong was intelligent from childhood and loved the teachings of the Daoist school. At the age of twelve she retreated to Mount Ziyang. Before long, a divine being told her that Mount Yuan'an was a blessed site suitable for cultivation, and she went there and built the Xuanling Monastery to live in.

After she had lived there for twelve years, one day several armored soldiers told her, "We are the mountain spirits who govern this mountain. Since you came to live here, we have had no peace. Moreover, this is not a place for perfecting the Dao. To the west of the prefectural city there is Pinggang Mountain, where you may dwell." Fu Xianzong followed their advice and rode a blue mule to Pinggang Mountain. There she heard ghosts and spirits following her in procession as she arrived, so she built an altar of stars and a quiet chamber, and within them she constructed a hall for Lord Lao.

Emperor Ming of Tang issued an edict summoning her to the court. At that time, boats on the Lichuan's Kubai River were damaged by the water every year. Fu Xianzong came to the riverbank, where the people described to her their suffering. She cast two stone tablets engraved with seal-script fulu (talismans and registers) into the water. The next day, two large fish were found floating dead on the shoals, and red characters were inscribed on their bellies: "We are the Red Carp, born in the river waters, yet we did not yield to the immortal official, and we deserve death." The prefect reported the matter in detail, and the emperor ordered a shrine dedicated to Fu Xianzong to be built on the riverbank.

Afterward, Fu Xianzong went to the capital. Her answers accorded with the emperor's intentions, and he bestowed generous rewards upon her and ordered her to perform a jiao (offering ritual of purification and petition) at the Shangqing Palace.

He personally visited the Immortal Lineage Master (Xianzong), the revered elder of a Daoist school, and respectfully invited the Azure Emperor of the East, Qingtong, together with his attendants, divine generals, and the assembled stellar lodges, to descend. The gods all arrived solemnly. The Supreme Emperor (Shanghuang) was both awed and frightened. After the rite, he asked the Immortal Lineage Master, "What Dao (the Way) do you cultivate that allows you to accomplish this?" The master replied, "I cultivate the Dao by devoting myself to bringing peace to the people and benefiting all things. I moderate my food and drink, seek frugality in my clothing, take tranquility and detachment as my standard, and conduct my affairs in a simple and unpretentious manner. My mind is clear, yet I do not seek to purify it deliberately, and when disturbed, it does not become turbid. By restraining myself through these cultivations, all the spirits come when summoned."

The Supreme Emperor then asked about the Golden Elixir (Jindan), the alchemical substance through which one is said to attain immortality. The master said, "The Golden Liquid Elixir cannot be taken immediately. One must first complete one's merit and practice, and extend one's kindness to the people and all things. Only then may it be taken, and only then will one attain longevity." The Supreme Emperor was greatly pleased to hear this.

After a long time, the master requested to return to his mountain. The emperor issued an edict ordering the repair of an old Daoist temple, bestowed upon it the name "Yingzhen Guan" (Temple of the Corresponding Perfected), and personally inscribed its plaque. Thereafter, the emperor repeatedly sent envoys bearing incense and candles to hold jiao (Daoist rites of offering and petition) there, and these were never interrupted.

On the fourteenth day of the tenth month of the third year of the Qianyuan era under Emperor Suzong of the Tang, the master suddenly heard a voice in the sky say, "The Supreme Sovereign has issued a decree." He then asked for water to bathe, lay down on his bed, and passed away peacefully. A local man named Wang Nian, returning from Chengdu, once saw the master riding a blue mule into Jianzhou along the way. After that, no one knew where he had gone. Song Hun, Censor-in-Chief (Yushi Zhongcheng), composed a stele inscription in his honor.

Daoist Cheng

Daoist Cheng was of unknown origin. He concealed his name and his traces. In the late Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, an envoy from the palace visited the Jintian Temple to pay his respects, and upon hearing of the fame of Perfected Cheng, he immediately went to call on him.

A Daoist in tattered clothes, carrying a cloth bag, then arrived. The envoy asked his surname, and he replied, "Cheng." The envoy invited him to stay at the post station and asked what he practiced, but he gave no answer. The envoy gave him a horse. After he reached Chengdu, the envoy secretly reported the matter to Emperor Xuanzong.

The emperor, sensing that this experience was out of the ordinary, summoned Daoist Cheng to the palace and lodged him in the Penglai Courtyard. He asked about the Daoist's arts and cultivation, but Daoist Cheng answered none of his questions. Before long, Daoist Cheng requested to return to his mountain, and the emperor agreed. He picked up his cloth bag and left, and the people who saw him laughed at him.

Later, when the curtains and wall panels in the courtyard were taken down, several lines were found written on them: "Along the road to Shu, heading west, the armies of Yan come from the north. I had intended to ascend to heaven in broad daylight, yet I must still see the Black Dragon drink from the Wei River." The writing had been scraped and washed, yet it had only grown clearer. When the emperor heard of this, he too could not understand its meaning. Several months later, however, the emperor did indeed tour the region of Shu.

Daoist Zhao Huizong

Daoist Zhao Huizong was a native of Yidu in Xiazhou. He had long been registered in the Daoist records. He obtained the Nine Heavens Immortal Register (Jiutian Xianlu) and the secret methods of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), and he mastered them all. Later he lived at Guo Daoshan. In the late Tianbao era of Emperor Xuanzong, he returned to Xiazhou. Suddenly, he piled firewood northeast of the prefectural city and burned himself to death.

Huizong sat calmly in the fire and recited the Dujing (Scripture on Universal Salvation). Before long he rose away on auspicious clouds, riding a crane. When the flames had burned out, the grass beneath where he had sat was still green. People found bamboo slips he had left behind, bearing two poems.

The first poem reads:

"I was born from the void and placed in emptiness. Essence-qi gathered to become spirit, and primordial qi gathered to become the body. Yang qi dispersed and became light; yin qi converged and became the tally of the Dao. The form returns to ash and dust, while the spirit dwells together with the immortals. The many defilements are about to be wiped away, and all the affairs of the world are forever dispelled."

The second poem reads:

"I drive a horse suited to the season, with the sun and moon as my escort. My light shines through the nine heavens as I rise to pay homage to the Celestial Emperor. May I and all others, together with my disciples, come to understand this: to cultivate by false paths preserves only the physical form; only the true Dao cultivates the spirit. Strive on, strive on! I have nothing more to say."

Zhai Fayan

Zhai Fayan, courtesy name Qianyou (Qianyou), was a native of Yun'an in Kuizhou. He stood six chi tall. In his youth he admired the teachings of Laozi and resolved to cultivate stillness and purity, abstaining from the Five Pungents (wuxin), the pungent vegetables that Daoist practice commonly prohibits, and he refused to eat them. He lived in a retreat hall in the village of Yushi.

In the fourteenth year of the Tianbao era under Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang, Zhai Qianyou was forty-one years old. One day he dreamed of a youth who said, "The two Perfected have sent me to tell you that tomorrow you may go to the stream." At dawn the next morning Zhai Qianyou woke, hurried to the stream, and saw two men seated face to face on a flat rock, their bearing extraordinary. They were the two Perfected from his dream. He hastened forward to pay his respects, behaving with great reverence.

Before long, mists spread across the area, and the Perfected rose away on the clouds. Turning back, they said to Zhai Qianyou, "Recently we examined the Lingyi Jing (Scripture of Spirit Marvels) and learned that you exist, so we have brought the talismans and registers to you. Go quickly to the Yunsheng Palace, where I will transmit them to you." Zhai Qianyou set off at once. The Perfected transmitted to him three methods from the Baoji Lingwen (Precious Scrolls of Spirit Writings): first, the Secret Art of the Three Generals; second, the Secret Art of the Purple Void (Zixu); and third, the Secret Method of Majestic Authority of the Supreme Orthodox Unity (Taishang Zhengyi Mengwei). They also bestowed on him one hundred and twenty divine pills (shenyuan), and instructed him to take one on the first morning of the first lunar month, so that his lifespan would reach as many years as the number of pills.

The Perfected further admonished him: "To the west there is a pool of accumulated water, where five dragons dwell. If you can summon and command them, you will be able to aid the common people." Zhai Qianyou bowed in thanks, received the instruction, and afterward built a separate quiet chamber, where he practiced these three methods with care. From then on, the Perfected and the gods of the sun, moon, and stars often descended to his dwelling at night.

The local people drew water from the river to drink, and often found it turbid and unpleasant. Zhai Qianyou therefore dug a well beside his residence and summoned a dragon to govern its waters. Even in the heat of midsummer, the well water remained cool and sweet. Zhai Qianyou became renowned for his kaozhao (the summoning examination, a Daoist rite of calling upon spirits). He often thought about the perilous currents of the river within the bounds of Yun'an County, where there were fifteen dangerous rapids. One day……

He summoned the river-shoal spirits of that region and ordered them to level the dangerous shoals. That night, fourteen shoal spirits answered the summons, but one never came. Qianyou grew very angry and was determined to summon her. At last the spirit arrived. She was a woman wearing a tall headdress and a wide-sleeved robe. Calmly, she addressed him: "Celestial Master (Tianshi) is carrying out the transforming work at the Heavenly Mandate. I am only a water spirit, so how could I dare to defy it? There are some improprieties, however, that I must report. In my view, your aim is merely to make passage easier for boats, but you do not realize that those who earn their living by hauling boats make a comfortable profit every day. Even if the cost rises a little, it is no real loss. Along the river there are three or four hundred households with no fields to farm and no mulberry trees to weave silk. They depend entirely on towing boats and carrying cargo for others to make a living. If you now level all the dangerous shoals, the boats will indeed travel more easily, but what will these people rely on for food and clothing? Taishang (the Most High, a revered Daoist deity) would surely not approve of this. I fear that you may later incur blame and be implicated, so you should weigh the matter carefully."

Qianyou sighed and said, "The considerations you raise had not occurred to me." He then issued a new order, instructing the fourteen shoal spirits to restore the dangerous shoals to their former state. That night, wind and rain rose violently, with thunder and lightning. The next day, the shoals at all fifteen sites were indeed found to have their turbulent waves and rough currents fully restored.

Wang Qi, the Military Governor of Jingnan, heard of Qianyou's reputation and personally took him as his teacher, receiving the Daoist talismans and registers (fulu). Receiving the registers was a ritual by which a Daoist entered the Way and obtained an official ordination rank. That same night, Emperor Daizong dreamed that Wang Qi was travelling with three divine beings. He therefore sent the Yellow Gate Attendant Ma Chengjing to inquire about the matter. Wang Qi reported Qianyou's deeds to the emperor. The emperor said, "I have a Hall of the Six Jia (Liujia Dian), adorned with precious treasures, and inside it are stored golden chests and jade tablets. I have repeatedly sent masters of the Dharma to open it, but the lock could never be opened. Since Qianyou is a man of the Way, he should certainly be able to open it." He then issued an edict ordering Wang Qi to invite Qianyou at once and arrange for his journey.

When Qianyou arrived in Chang'an, he sprinkled wine on the door of the Hall of the Six Jia, and the doors opened wide. The emperor was greatly pleased and bestowed on him the title "Master Tongling (Tongling Dashi)," meaning Master of Spiritual Penetration. Not long afterward, Qianyou asked leave to return home, and the emperor held a banquet to send him off. Qianyou removed a handkerchief (shui, a cloth carried for wiping) and placed it on a jade table. The other Daoists did not understand his intention. Qianyou said, "My method gives precedence to those of the highest attainment. Whoever can lift this handkerchief shall be my teacher." None of the Daoists could lift it. Qianyou then placed the handkerchief on the bodies of several of the Daoists, and they too were all unable to rise. The emperor asked what was happening. Qianyou said, "It is not difficult to let them rise now, but I only wish to make you all feel a little ashamed." When he finished speaking, he gave a single command, and the Daoists rose to their feet. The emperor was greatly astonished by this. Qianyou then departed, and three days later he reached Jiangling.

When Qianyou returned to his residence, his mother had already been killed by a tiger. Qianyou summoned the tiger, and the earth spirits came forward and said: "The Celestial Master's mother suffered the nine calamities and eight difficulties (jiu e ba nan). A heavenly talisman (tianfu) descended to punish her, and it was this that killed her." Qianyou whipped the tiger several dozen times and then released it.

From then on, Qianyou devoted himself even more single-mindedly to relieving the illnesses and hardships of the common people. He refined "yellow-white" (huangbai), an alchemical term for the making of gold and silver, and whenever he met someone in poverty, he gave away what he had made. On the first day of the twelfth month of the tenth year of the Taihe era of Emperor Wenzong of the Tang, he told his disciples, "Five days from now, I will go to pay homage to the Heavenly Emperor, and then I will transform and depart." On that day, his disciples prepared his burial. At dusk they heard the sound of bells and chimes coming from the clouds, and they saw brilliant five-colored clouds. Qianyou, standing above the clouds, bowed and said to his disciples, "Work hard at cultivation, and do not forget my Dao." Then he gradually drifted away. When the disciples opened the coffin to look, they found only his clothes and shoes inside.

Fifteen years later, a man named Li Wensheng met Qianyou in Yidu. Qianyou said, "I am touring Mount Qingcheng for a while, and before long I will return to ascend to heaven." By the Xilong River in Xinjin County, Yizhou, there is a tree called the "Xilong tree" (xilong shu, the tree that binds the dragon). The Fangyu Ji (Record of the Realm) says that the immortal Zhai Shi once came from Mount Emei and tied a dragon here. The author conjectures that Zhai Shi may have been Qianyou, but asks learned readers of later generations to investigate and judge whether this claim is correct.

Lishi Zhenxian Tidao Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror of Perfected Immortals Through the Ages), juan 41