《歷世真仙體道通鑑》Vol. 46

Comprehensive Mirror of the Bodies and Ways of Perfected Immortals Throughout the Ages, Volume 45

(Compiled and edited by the Daoist Zhao Daoyi of the Palace of Ten Thousand Years of Sacred Longevity on Floating Cloud Mountain)

Lü Yan

The Master Lü Yan, styled Dongbin and known as Master Chunyang, is said by popular tradition to have come from Dongping. Another account says he was from Yongle Town in Puban County, Henan Prefecture, Western Capital—an area that today lies around Hedong and Hezhong Prefecture.

His great-grandfather, Lü Yanzhi, served as an official in the Tang dynasty and eventually became military governor of eastern Zhejiang. His grandfather, Lü Wei, passed the jinshi examination and, during the Zhenyuan era of Emperor Dezong, rose to the post of Vice Minister of Rites. In his later years, he served as governor of Tanzhou. Lü Wei had four sons: Lü Wen, styled Huaguang, who became governor of Quzhou; Lü Gong, who served as a judicial assistant in Lingnan Prefecture; Lü Jian, who served as an investigating censor; and Lü Rang, who served as Junior Attendant to the Crown Prince. Some say Lü Rang eventually became governor of Haizhou. The Master was Lü Rang’s son.

It is said that the Master was born beneath a crabapple tree on the fourteenth day of the fourth month in the twelfth year of the Zhenyuan era of Emperor Dezong (the bingzi year). From childhood, he was bright and quick-witted, able to recite tens of thousands of characters each day. In the second year of the Kaicheng era of Emperor Wenzong (the dingsi year), at the age of forty-two, he passed the jinshi examination. He had a well-proportioned build and bright, keen eyes. His hair was sparse and refined at the temples. He wore a Huayang headscarf, the kind worn by Daoist priests, and a carefree robe. His appearance somewhat resembled Zhang Liang’s, and also Sima Qian’s.

Later, while traveling on Mount Lu, he met an extraordinary person and received the secret of long life. Another account says that during the Huichang era of Emperor Wuzong, he twice sat the jinshi examination and failed both times. One day, as he was preparing to travel to Mount Hua, he stopped to rest at a tavern beside a road in Chang’an. Before long, a blue-eyed man with a long beard arrived from the west and rested there too. He lit a fire and cooked a meal himself. The Master sat basking in the sun and, without realizing it, fell asleep.

He dreamed that he passed the jinshi examination and held a succession of prominent posts. His memorials and responses always pleased the emperor. He later entered the Hanlin Academy and the central court, serving as an attendant, and was eventually promoted to the highest ministerial office. He served at court for more than thirty years. Once, he made a mistake while answering the emperor in the palace and was found guilty, then banished to Jiangnan. Along the way, snow and wind battered him; his servants and horses were exhausted. Alone and despondent, he was sighing when he suddenly awoke from the dream. The long-bearded man’s meal was not yet cooked.

The Master suddenly laughed and said, “The millet is not yet cooked, but in a single dream I have already reached Huaxu, the fabled realm of perfection.” The man asked in surprise, “How did you know I was dreaming?” The long-bearded man replied, “In the dream you just had, wealth and honor were nothing to rejoice over, and poverty and lowliness nothing to grieve over. In short, since ancient times, the hardships and success, glory and disgrace, long life and short, gains and losses, success and failure of the human world…”

For example, even among dreams, dreaming of wealth and status is considered a good dream, while dreaming of poverty and low rank is considered a bad one. Dreaming of a long life is a good dream; dreaming of an early death is a bad one. The dream you had just now was indeed a good dream. But once your wealth and status were gone, it became a bad dream in the blink of an eye. You have already learned this from experience.

What people call wealth and status is merely an empty reputation; wealth is like a fire that invites disaster. Gold, silver, pearls, and jade are all things outside the self, and one’s descendants belong to others as well. Once the breath stops, you cannot even attend to your own body. What, then, can you regard as firm and dependable?

When he had finished speaking, he wrote a poem on the wall. Hearing it, the gentleman came to a profound realization. He bowed in thanks and said, “You are truly an extraordinary person. May I ask your surname and where you live?”

The long-bearded man replied, “I am Zhongli Quan, known throughout the world as the ‘Scattered Idler’—a self-chosen name meaning one who is free and at leisure in the world. I live on Mount Zhongnan. If you have awakened to the truth, you may come with me.”

The gentleman then abandoned Confucian learning and traveled with Zhongli Quan, becoming his disciple. In the end, he attained the Dao. Later, in the first year of Guangming during Emperor Xizong’s reign, he met Lord Cui. After Lord Cui passed on the Mirror of Entering the Medicine to him, he understood the principles of cultivating nature and life, without the slightest error.

After that, he often traveled through the areas around Xiangtan, Yuezhou, and Ezhou, where people did not recognize him. He once wrote a poem on Yueyang Tower: “At dawn I roam Mount Bei; by dusk I reach Cangwu. A green snake lies hidden in my sleeve, and my courage is bold. Three times I have climbed Yueyang Tower, yet no one recognizes me. I raise my voice in song and fly across Lake Dongting.” He left many other poems and writings, a few of which appear in the Collected Works of Zhenchang. He also wrote the Treatise on Elucidating the True Meaning of the Elixir Formula and the Collection on the Sword. Each contains subtle and profound insights, which he left for later students.

Later, he traveled south to Baling, then westward back to Guanzhong. From Mount Zijie, he ascended to heaven in flight. Another account says that he passed through Jiangzhou, climbed Yellow Crane Tower, and ascended to heaven at noon on the twentieth day of the fifth month.

In his autobiography, he wrote: “I was originally from Jingzhao. At the end of the Tang dynasty, I sat the jinshi examinations many times but never passed. Later, while traveling on Mount Hua, I met Master Zhongli, who taught me the art of prolonging life. Before long, I met the Perfected One of Bitter Bamboo, who taught me the method of joining the sun and moon. When I met Zhongli again, I fully grasped the wondrous principles of the Golden Elixir. I was fifty years old when my cultivation of the Dao was complete.

“I successively guided Guo Shangzao and Zhao Xiangu. Both had the Dharma name He. They were naturally intelligent and perceptive, so I taught them the method of returning to the root and restoring life. I always wait for encounters with immortals when the wind is clear and the moon bright. I have traveled through the Two Zhejiang regions, Jingbian, and Qiaojun. I am five chi and two cun tall, with a yellowish fair complexion, a straight nose, and a mole beneath my left eye about the size of the end of a chopstick used by a common clerk. I usually wear a white lan robe and a black belt, and I can transform in countless ways…”

Someone claimed that he could save the people of the world, saying, “I sell ink and flying swords, and take people’s heads.” When I heard this, I could only laugh. There are three true swords: the first cuts through affliction, the second cuts through greed and anger, and the third cuts through sexual desire. This is my swordsmanship. If people wish to spread my teachings, they should spread my conduct rather than my supernatural powers; and rather than spread my teachings, they should spread my virtue. Why do I say this? If someone acts in ways contrary to these, then even if they walk hand in hand with me, they will never attain the Dao.

Since ascending to the heavens, the Master—Lü Xianweng, that is, Lü Yan—has often descended among humankind to guide those destined to learn the way of the immortals. He comes and goes, appearing and vanishing, and his whereabouts are impossible to discern. Accounts of his travels among the people are recorded in detail in various books, from beginning to end.

On the twenty-eighth day of the seventh month in the first year of the Xuanhe era (1119), Emperor Huizong of the Song issued an edict conferring an honorific title: “I hope to walk together with the people along the Great Way. For all immortals and recluses recorded in official registers, the responsible officials should investigate their deeds and promptly bestow recognition. Lü Xianweng concealed his tracks and veiled his radiance, keeping far from the world of dust. Later, when the Futing shrine was built, his former residence happened to be found there—a coincidence that inspires wonder. I now bestow a title upon him. May he, whose divine spirit does not perish, continue to witness this favor.” He was therefore specially titled “Perfected One of Wondrous Penetration.” In the first month of the sixth year of the Zhiyuan era under the Great Yuan, in 1269, he was further honored as “True Lord of Pure Yang, Expounding the Orthodox Way and Awakening through Revelation.”

Your servant Daoyi says: Lü Yan cast aside wealth, rank, and fame, and roamed freely beyond the world of dust. Through divine revelations, he instructed people and led them away from the common life. One of his poems says, “Three times I came to Yueyang, yet the people knew me not; I chanted aloud and flew across Lake Dongting.” Everyone who hears of his example is filled with admiration. The Dao De Jing says, “Those who understand me are few; those who model themselves on me are precious.” These words speak precisely of Lü Yan.

Shi Jianwu

The gentleman Shi was named Jianwu, styled Xisheng, and known as Huayang. He was from Fenshui in Muzhou, and his family had lived for generations near Qililai at Yanling. In his youth he passed the jinshi examination, studied the Book of Rites, and excelled at poetry. He longed for mountain forests and rosy clouds, and admired the immortals and their arts of lightening the body and ascending through flight.

In the fifteenth year of Emperor Xianzong’s Yuanhe era (820), he passed the jinshi examination. The chief examiner was Li Jian, Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and the examination topics were “The Great Broth Is Not Seasoned” and “Remnant Snow in Early Spring.” Among those who passed with him were Yao Kang and Yuan Hui, both later known for their poetry and prose. Shi Jianwu, however, never entered official service. Zhang Ji once presented him with a poem saying, “Though he gained an empty title, he does not carry it with him.” A poem bidding him farewell as he returned east also included the line, “Having won great fame, he remains at ease wherever he goes.”

For this reason, Xisheng called himself in a poem “a jinshi of Yuanhe, a recluse of Changqing.” He passed the jinshi examination the year before the era name changed to Changqing, and then left the path of official service far behind and went into retirement.

Later, during the Taihe era of Emperor Wenzong, he traveled from Yanling to Xishan to seek the Dao and settled there to cultivate it in quiet. At first, Xisheng met Perfected Jingyang, who taught him five sets of Neidan formulas and secret Waidan recipes. Later, he met Lü Dongbin and received the Great Way of refining the inner elixir of liquid gold and returning it to its source. From then on, he lived in seclusion at Xishan.

Today, about a mile from the Xishan temple lies Basho Spring. Following the stone steps up the mountain path, one can see the ruins of the study hall; the stone chamber also remains. One or two of the old cypress trees that Xisheng planted with his own hands still stand. He wrote many poems and other works, but fewer than four-tenths have survived in the mountains. Someone found at Yanling a proclamation he had left behind, a document of appointment in Daoism. It has since been carved into stone.

In the postscript to his Collected Works of Shi Huayang, Bai Yuchan wrote: “Li Zhen transmitted the formulas for the Taiyi knife-and-measure and fire talismans to Zhongli Quan; Zhongli Quan passed them on to Lü Dongbin, who was Shi Huayang’s teacher. Shi Huayang’s most prized disciple was Li Wenying. In the past, Master Shi gave Li Wenying sixteen characters, little known to the world: ‘The numinous One is wondrously present; the Dharma realm is perfectly pervasive. Leave behind every extreme, and hold firmly to the Center.’ I happened to learn these words, so I have also told Hu Qizhen, asking him to add what was omitted.”

The poem “The Stone Chamber,” inscribed by Yang Wuwei, says:

“Leaving the lofty Jade Capital, he also renounced the honors of the Golden List;

He returned in a white deer carriage and made his home in a stone chamber.

A hidden path behind the mountain leads through to Tianbao Cave;

Before his eyes lies the dwelling of immortals.

On cold, clear nights, he often hears dogs barking in the snow;

Looking back at the world of red dust, it seems like a frog at the bottom of a well.

Five hundred years ago, no one had yet come here;

Clouds and mist drift over Basho Spring, as though sealing away this immortal realm.”

Xu Jun

Xu Jun called himself a native of Penglai Township in the Eastern Sea. He spoke with wit and clarity, could readily quote the classics and histories, and was also skilled at writing. He often recited this poem: “I once saw Qin Shi Huang build a stone bridge; the sea gods hurried about, and the tides surged in alarm. Though Penglai lies across the sea and is hard to reach, ascending straight to the realm of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) is not far away.”

He often wore a gourd at his waist and sailed a small boat around Ezhou, also traveling through the Three Xiang and the Five Lakes. He would trade fish in riverside towns for wine, drink as he talked and recited poetry with people, then leave. In his later years, people fond of telling strange tales said they had known him for decades, yet his appearance had never changed.

Someone jokingly kept him there, specifying how many fish he wanted and how much each should weigh. Xu Jun soon caught fish that matched both the agreed number and weight, to everyone’s astonishment. When he saw someone ill, he took medicine from his gourd and treated them. The pills were as small as sesame seeds or millet grains, and he would not let people…

Anyone who uses this medicine need only mix it with wine and apply it between the chest and abdomen, and the illness will be cured. Its effects are remarkably reliable. Someone asked, “Can this medicine be taken by mouth?” The reply was, “Yes, but after taking it, you will grow tired of food and no longer wish to eat.” Those who love the cultivation of the Dao take one pill and go ten years without food, though they still need to drink wine and water from time to time to sustain themselves. After taking the medicine, their complexion remains rosy, and their teeth and hair do not deteriorate. Many people obtained this medicine, and all lived to the age of eighty or ninety. Qian Lang of Mount Lu took it many times, and so lived to a great age. Even now, fishermen on the rivers and lakes sometimes see him. When they give chase, they find his boat speeding like an arrow and cannot draw near. It is said that he has become a water immortal.

Qian Lang

The recluse Qian Lang, courtesy name Neiguang, was from Nanchang in Hongzhou. In his youth, he lived on Western Mountain, where he studied diligently and conducted himself with integrity. He passed the examination in the Five Classics and served in several official posts, earning a reputation for honesty and uprightness. When he left office, he had left behind benefits for the people, and his contemporaries praised him.

Early in the Kaicheng era, during the reign of Emperor Wenzong of Tang, he served as deputy commissioner of the Annam Protectorate. He was later promoted to the position of Minister of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, then retired to Mount Lu. Of a detached disposition and fond of Daoist arts, he became a disciple of Xu Jun, a Daoist of Mount Tai, and learned the art of “nourishing the brain and restoring the origin,” as well as methods of taking medicines, cultivation, and seeking long life.

During the reign of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, Qian Liu, Prince of Pengcheng in Qiantang, admired Qian Lang for attaining the Dao and living a long life. He therefore invited him to Qiantang and became his disciple. Qian Lang was then more than 150 years old, yet still looked young and was agile and strong. Several of his great-great-grandsons entered official service through the Classics examination and rose to high rank. Their hair had already turned completely white, while Qian Lang remained youthful.

One day, Qian Lang suddenly took his leave, saying, “I have lived in the human world for many years. I have just received a summons from Shangqing, and now it is time for me to depart.” Before long, his breathing ceased. Several days later, his face still looked peaceful and lifelike. When people lifted him into his coffin, his body felt as light as an empty robe. They therefore believed that he had undergone “corpse liberation”—a way, in Daoist lore, for a cultivator’s body to leave the world as the person attained the Dao and ascended. His great-great-grandson told others that his great-grandfather had lived for more than 170 years.

Yang Yunwai

Yang Yunwai, courtesy name Muxian, was from Xuzhou. His family had served in the military for generations, but Muxian was exceptionally intelligent from birth and had no interest in military life. When he was nearly twenty, he asked his parents to let him leave home and become a Daoist. They could not change his resolve.

At the time, there was an abandoned retreat in the barren mountains—a place where Daoists lived and practiced—and he went there to stay. Before long, an extraordinary person showed him a spot and said, “There is money buried beneath it. When you run short of grain, you can take some and use it.” The stranger then passed Daoist arts on to Muxian. From then on, Muxian’s understanding grew greatly. He was able to practice grain abstention, a legendary Daoist practice of going for long periods without eating grains, and could tame and calm tigers and wolves.

His parents often missed him, so Muxian would return home to visit. Yet whenever people saw him, he was in fact still at the retreat.

Everyone was deeply shocked. After a long time, Muxian left the area and traveled to Mount Lu, where he also lived among a herd of tigers. He traveled back and forth among many grottoes and caves. It was not until the end of the Dazhong era under Emperor Xuanzong of Tang that he settled in the gorges, taking up residence on Stone City Mountain in Wanzhou. There were many tigers there, and he sat quietly among them morning and evening. The mountain was very high and had no water, but before long a spring suddenly gushed forth.

Later, Muxian came to Yunsheng Palace in Yun’an. During the Xiantong era of Emperor Yizong of Tang, he told people, “Disaster will strike my homeland.” That October, Pang Xun rose in rebellion at Pengcheng. During the Qianfu era of Emperor Xizong of Tang, Huang Chao also raised an army around Caozhou and Puzhou, and the turmoil gradually spread across the empire. The gorges were rugged and remote, and the local people had assumed that the terrain would protect them and that there was no need to worry. But Muxian lay drunk across the market road, lamenting, “There will be much killing here. What can be done?” Later, fighting did indeed break out in the gorges. The place where Muxian had lain was caught in a massacre, and blood ran across the ground, staining it dark red.

In the second year of the Guangqi era under Emperor Xizong of Tang, Muxian passed through the county town, and a local man named Yuan came to see him. Muxian said, “I owe the Wang family of Baishui an old debt that I have not yet repaid. I am going to repay it now.” In the second month, the Wang family indeed rebelled and looted Yunsheng Palace. Muxian met the attackers’ blades head-on and died. When Yuan gathered his body and buried him, he saw that Muxian’s face looked as it always had. Later, people saw Muxian traveling around Fangling and Yun’an; Li Wenbiao, the nephew of the inspector of Yun’an, also encountered him in Chengdu. Yuan opened the tomb to look inside, but found only a coarse-cloth short robe left there. A stele stands at Yunsheng Palace in Yun’an, with an inscription written by Du Guangting.

Wang Changyu

Wang Changyu was from Zizhou and served as a prison clerk in the prefectural office. One morning, he ate a pig’s trotter and hid what he could not finish. Later, his wife and concubines put the trotter away. That evening, when he went to fetch it, he could not find it. The maid Honglian told him the trotter was missing. Changyu thought she had stolen it and beat her with a stick. Unable to bear the pain, Honglian was forced to confess. Only then did his wife bring out the trotter and say, “I was testing you. When you hear cases, will you judge them the same way?”

Changyu was deeply moved. From then on, he often corrected injustices when hearing cases, and his conduct gradually came into accord with what was right. Before long, an old man came to the market selling a medicine said to drive away rats, but no one bought any all day. Pitying the old man, Changyu bought some whenever he saw him and took it home. This went on for a long time, until the old man, puzzled, asked, “Are there many rats in your house?” Changyu replied, “I saw that you couldn’t sell your medicine, so I bought it. I wasn’t planning to use poison to kill rats.” The old man said, “Go ahead and use it. The rats may not die.”

When Changyu got home, he put the medicine in some food. The rats soon gathered around it. After eating, they all turned into doves and flew away. Changyu was greatly astonished.

Changyu went out in search of the old man, but could not find him. Before long, a Daoist began drinking himself into a stupor every day at the marketplace and lying in the road. People there called him the “Down-and-Out Immortal.”

At the time, Bai Zhaosi was military governor of Dongchuan, while Liu Pi was in rebellion with his troops. Bai ordered that no one travel at night, and anyone caught disobeying would be put to death. Changyu was an officer under the military governor, responsible for overseeing the right sector. One night, as he passed through the area under his charge, he saw someone lying in the road. When he went closer, he recognized the Down-and-Out Immortal. Without making a fuss, he helped him back to his own home.

When the Down-and-Out Immortal awoke, he scolded Changyu: “I had two bolts of fine silk, three taels of silver, and two thousand coins. Now they’re all gone. You must have taken them.” Changyu did not argue. He paid him the amounts he had named. The Down-and-Out Immortal took the goods and left, saying, “We’ll meet in Luzhou another day.”

Several years later, the authorities began investigating former officials and ordered Changyu to escort a consignment of silk to Luzhou. On the way, near Jiang’an, he met two Daoists carrying weapons and bows and arrows. His legs shook with fear, and he did not dare go any farther. One Daoist said, “It’s you! Don’t be afraid. I’m the Down-and-Out Immortal.” He led Changyu to where he lived and laid out a welcome feast for him. After they had drunk, the Daoist returned the gold, silver, and silk Changyu had paid him years before. “I made those arrangements,” he said, “for this very day.”

Changyu used the valuables to make up the shortfall in the silk he was escorting. He completed the handover without incident and returned with the official documents. The Daoist then said to him, “Do you know? Yang essence gathers to form the hun, while Yin essence gathers to form the po. Only when the two essences of Yin and Yang interact does spirit come into being. Spirit depends on the body to function, and the body depends on spirit to live. Once spirit departs, the body dies.” Changyu replied, “I didn’t know. I’m willing to receive your instruction.” The Daoist said, “Spirit depends on the Dao for preservation; the body depends on techniques to prolong its life.” He then taught Changyu the Red Dragon Great Elixir formula, a method for refining elixirs and cultivating immortality. “In ancient times,” he said, “the method of poisoning rats was the foundation of external alchemy. Refine it over a fire for three years, then take it, and you can become an immortal.”

The Daoist gave Changyu the name Yixuanzi, then told someone nearby to bring a horse. Changyu mounted it. Though it had no reins, the horse raced forward like lightning and shot straight into the sky. In an instant they reached a high peak; it seemed as if they had tumbled down, yet when they landed, they were standing firmly on level ground. Suddenly the horse spoke: “I was originally a dragon in a pool. Do you remember the alchemical method you heard?” It explained the method to Changyu once more. When it had finished, the horse leapt into the pool and vanished, transformed into dragon foam.

Before long, a woodcutter came by. Changyu asked where they were, and the woodcutter answered, “Dongchuan.” Changyu asked the way back. When he returned, he immediately went to the authorities and asked to be excused from future requisitions and assignments. After that, he went to practice alchemy at Changping Mountain in the northern suburbs and at the … in the western suburbs. The original text ends here unfinished.

The pills were successfully refined on Mount Fenghuang, and the adept lightened his body and ascended to immortality on the ninth day of the ninth month in the thirteenth year of the Dazhong era under Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

Erzhu Dong

Erzhu Dong, whose courtesy name was Tongwei, was of unknown origin. In his youth, he met an extraordinary adept who taught him the Way of “Returning to the Origin and Embracing the One”—a Daoist cultivation method for returning to one’s original state and holding fast to primordial Qi—and methods for refining the Great Elixir and attaining longevity. He therefore called himself “Master Returning to the Origin.”

During the reign of Emperor Yizong of Tang, he came to Pengzhou. Pengzhou has Mount Peng, both Great and Small. It was said that in the time of King Mu of Zhou, someone carved a wooden sheep there, rode it, and ascended to immortality. Tongwei said, “This place shares its name with the three immortal mountains in the sea, and it also bears traces of someone riding a sheep to immortality. I want to cultivate the immortal Way here.” He climbed the steep cliffs by their vines and found a stone chamber. Delighted, he said, “This place is enough for me to bring my cultivation to completion.”

Some time later, he left the stone chamber and sold medicine around Shu and Han. His manner was free and graceful, as though he were walking through the Great Void. At times he ate pig’s blood sausage, drank wine, and composed poems. No one could fathom where he went.

The innkeeper where he lodged often heard a “bip-bip” sound coming from his room and found it strange. Once, the innkeeper secretly peered inside and saw Tongwei rise from his bed until his body touched the ceiling beam. Later, while Tongwei was drunk, the innkeeper smeared white powder on his abdomen. At dawn, he looked and found a white mark on the beam.

Someone once found among some bones an object resembling a sparrow’s egg and brought it to Tongwei. He said, “Perhaps someone took a divine elixir but did not continue cultivating. The pure Yin Qi gradually vanished, but Yang Qi did not follow. Instead, something condensed on its own in the Dantian.” If a woman swallowed it, she would give birth to an unusual child. Indeed, someone swallowed this “egg” and bore a child whose divine radiance dazzled the eyes and whose birth filled the room with an extraordinary fragrance.

During the Dashun era of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, Wang Jian besieged Chengdu, and Tongwei was inside the city. The person sheltering him said anxiously, “Wang Jian has vowed to kill every person in the city on the day it falls. What can we do?” Tongwei replied, “There is no need to worry.” He used his magic to cover Wang Jian and his three armies with a mat, making them appear like ants crowded together. Wang Jian and his troops all saw a divine being riding on a black cloud, who rebuked them: “If you dare harm the people in the slightest, disaster will fall upon you!” Wang Jian and the others were so frightened that they knelt and begged for mercy, saying they would not dare. After entering Chengdu, Wang Jian did indeed restrain his troops. The markets and shops were left untouched, and the people were spared.

Later, Tongwei went to Guozhou as a guest. Once, while very drunk at the Tianfeng Retreat, he vomited pills into a well and said, “In time, this will become good medicine.” To this day, people who fall ill during the hot summer and return to their hometowns are sure to recover after drinking the well water. Guozhou’s Zhu Feng…

Tongwei came from the southern part of Shanzhou, where Erzhu Xian, a Daoist immortal of legend, and Li Chunfeng, a renowned Tang dynasty practitioner of the arts, had once cultivated the Way. One day Tongwei said to Zhang Hongzhi, a fellow native of the commandery whom he knew well, “It has been a long time since I paid homage to the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. Now I wish to go to Xie Immortal Mountain and journey to Chenji, where the Celestial Emperor resides.”

It was a clear, crisp winter night. The water clock, an ancient timekeeping device, had just reached midnight when a heavy snowfall suddenly began. Zhang Hongzhi feared Tongwei might freeze on the road. When the water clock had run dry and daybreak came, he set out to look for him. He found Tongwei lying by the roadside in a single thin garment. Tongwei held up a tablet of green jade and said, “As I was paying homage to the Primordial, I accidentally dropped this on the great rock in the stream. It made a sound. Go and look: that rock must have split in two.” Zhang Hongzhi went to see, and found that it had.

A neighbor had drunk himself to death. Tongwei poured medicine down his throat, and the man immediately sprang up, saying that he had already entered the underworld’s court. The official in charge had ordered him to return at once to the world of the living, saying, “The Perfected One has given an order: your life is to be extended by one cycle”—twelve years. Zhang Hongzhi was deeply astonished and asked Tongwei to teach him the Dao. Tongwei replied, “You have a heavenly fish-shaped birthmark on your thigh, with its head pointing downward. Studying the Dao will do you no good; you must live through another lifetime first.” Zhang Hongzhi had indeed always had a fish-shaped birthmark on his thigh, with its head pointing upward. By then, it had turned upside down.

Tongwei sold Danyang pills for 120,000 coins each. The governor summoned him and asked the price. Tongwei said, “The governor has plenty of money. I won’t sell for less than 1,200,000 coins.” The governor flew into a rage, accusing him of misleading the people. He had Tongwei shut inside a bamboo cage and sunk in the river. Upstream from Fuling, two men were fishing from a boat. When they hauled in their net, it felt unusually heavy. They pulled it up and found Tongwei, whose appearance was unchanged. “He must be an extraordinary person,” the fishermen said. “Perhaps he is in meditation.” They struck a bronze basin to wake him. After a while, Tongwei opened his eyes and asked them, “Who are you? How far is this place from Tongliang? Are there Three Capitals here?” The fishermen replied, “We are from the Baishi and Erjiang area, and we fish these waters. Tongliang is four hundred li from here. Eastward from here is the Immortal Capital Abbey on Pingdu Mountain in Fengdu County.”

Tongwei said, “My master once told me that I would become an immortal and depart when I encountered the Three Capitals and saw white stones floating on the water. This must be the place.” It turned out that Tongwei had often gone to the riverbank and thrown white stones into the water, waiting for them to float; no one else understood why. After coming ashore, he calmly asked the two fishermen, “You seem to be men of the Dao. Who taught you?” They replied, “In our youth, we received the essentials of the Three Ones, a Daoist practice of visualizing and guarding the One, from an immortal of the sea mountains. We have practiced refining Yang and dissolving Yin for quite a few years.” Tongwei then asked for wine and drank deeply. He took out pills and gave some to each of them. When they reached the lychee grove, they saw a procession of banners and standards descend from heaven to guide all three of them up into the sky.

He departed riding on a cloud. On Mount Songping in Fuzhou, in the area of present-day Fuling, Chongqing, pine trees grew among the rocks. Master Erzhu planted pines.

The stones throughout the Yingshan area bore patterns resembling pine trees. After people prayed, they could obtain stones with beautiful patterns, all naturally formed. Later, Tongwei appeared in the world once more and met Hu Erlang, a Daoist from Xianjing, in Chengdu.

According to the Supplement to the History of the Five Dynasties, Master Erzhu had attained profound merit through his practice. He once met an extraordinary person, who gave him a pill and said, “Take this after you have seen a floating stone, and you will become an immortal.” Following these instructions, Master Erzhu tossed every stone he came across into the water. Later, while traveling through the gorges, he was preparing to cross the river when an old man had already stopped his boat and was waiting. The old man asked his surname. “Shi,” he replied. The old man then asked which prefecture this place belonged to. “Fuzhou,” the old man answered. Master Erzhu suddenly understood. He swallowed the pill at once, and immediately his body grew light and rose up into the air.

Ying Jing

Ying Jing’s origins are unknown. During the reign of Emperor Xizong of the Tang, he served as magistrate of Dengfeng County. His benevolent rule won him the people’s deep support. When Huang Chao invaded Luoyang, the eastern capital, he sent troops to raid the surrounding counties. The officials and people of Dengfeng were terrified and at a loss. Ying Jing said, “Our county has no walls, granaries, or armory, and no food. What can we use to defend ourselves?” He therefore led the county’s people to safety on Mount Songgao, while remaining behind in the county to hold off the rebels. When the rebel troops came after him, he fought them in person and gave his life in the line of duty, protecting the people as they escaped. In this way, the people of Dengfeng were saved.

Later, Ying Jing left office to study the Dao and eventually became an immortal. He concealed his family name and became known simply as “Jing,” so people called him “Official Jing.”

During the Yuanyou era of Emperor Zhezong’s reign in the Song, Liu Ji met him on Mount Songgao and found him naturally free-spirited, with an extraordinary bearing. Official Jing once transmitted Daoist methods to Huang Pengshi; the account is recorded in Pengshi’s Sayings. He Geifei of Pengchi, who rose to the rank of a high official, admired men of noble character in his youth. Before long, he too met Official Jing at Feixian Rock on Mount Dapeng. From then on, he visited him many times. Official Jing took a great liking to him, and the two often clapped their hands, talked and laughed, and drank more than a dou of wine.

Official Jing would sometimes be sitting and sometimes standing, yet in the blink of an eye he could travel a thousand li; his whereabouts were impossible to predict. One day, when Official Jing was visiting He Geifei, Perfected Lu flew down from the sky and sat with him to talk. He Geifei hurriedly rose and bowed again, asking for guidance. Perfected Lu said, “You already have a master of your own.” He Geifei’s resolve was weak, and later he failed to follow Official Jing’s instructions fully. In the end, he died of illness.

Comprehensive Mirror of Successive Generations of Perfected Immortals and Their Embodiment of the Dao, Volume 45