《茅山誌》Vol. 14

The Palace of Easy Ascension (Yiqian Gong) and Terrace of Embracing Truth (Han Zhen Tai) are both names of celestial palaces on Maoshan (a renowned Daoist sacred mountain). The Palace of Easy Ascension is home to eighty-three immortals, among them Lady Xiechen, who is a true maiden from the Nine Palaces (an important directional system in Daoist cultivation). The Most High Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun) once dispatched her to instruct these immortals in cultivation methods, transmitting scriptures like the Scripture of Life Preservation (Baoming Jing), with Lady Xiechen overseeing their training.

This Lady Xiechen was actually the daughter of Huang Qiong, Minister of Works during the Eastern Han dynasty, named Huang Jinghua. She followed her master Han Zhong in cultivation and attained immortality after ingesting elixirs refined from Mount Min.

Within the Palace of Easy Ascension also resides an immortal named Zhao Sutai, who has dwelled there for four hundred years without desire to leave. She claims no place under heaven brings her greater joy than this abode. Zhao Sutai is the daughter of Zhao Xi, Governor of You Province during the Han dynasty. During his tenure, Zhao Xi aided the poor and once rescued Wang Hui and others from the Yellow River. Though his clan later suffered extermination, due to having accumulated dozens of hidden virtues (secret good deeds), after death he ascended to the Vermilion Mire paradise (one of Daoism's Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens). His descendants all dwell in blessed grotto-heavens, while Zhao Xi himself frequently visits the Bureau of Fixed Records (the celestial office managing immortal registers). Zhao Sutai prefers roaming the mountain paths in simple attire, delighting in landscapes at her leisure.

The Records of Mystical Communion (Xuantong Ji) documents: The Palace of Easy Ascension has an immortal consort overseeing instruction—Lady Zhao, styled Sutai, appearing in her thirties and often wearing green embroidered robes. The palace also houses several exceptionally talented and beautiful female immortals: Dou Qiongying, Han Taihua, Liu Chunlong, Wang Jinxian, Li Xizi, Guo Shuxiang and others. These women possess not only extraordinary beauty and transcendent bearing, but their literary grace and elegant demeanor are particularly astonishing—they are the most outstanding figures in the Palace of Easy Ascension.

Among them: Dou Qiongying was sister to the eminent Eastern Han minister Dou Wu—her seventh-generation ancestor Dou Zhi made burying anonymous bones his vocation, accumulating hidden virtue that blessed descendants; Han Taihua was daughter of Western Han general Han Anguo, married to General Li Guangli of the Ershi Army; Liu Chunlong was daughter of Liu Fengxian, Han dynasty Chamberlain for the Imperial Clan; Li Xizi, though born to farming stock, was grandmother of Eastern Ping governor Li Zhong during the Jin dynasty—she often practiced hidden virtue, deliberately leaving granaries uncovered in winter lest birds starve; Wang Jinxian was daughter of Jin dynasty scholar Wang Yan; Guo Shuxiang was mother of Wang Xiu. Wang Jinxian also had a maidservant named Liuchu...

This passage records the life stories of several female immortals who attained the Dao (the Way) on Mount Mao, a sacred Daoist mountain. The accounts are divided between two celestial realms: the Palace of Easy Passage (Yiqian Gong) and the Terrace of Embracing Truth (Hanzhen Tai).

The Palace of Easy Passage was home to several women who achieved immortality through cultivation:

• A woman surnamed Tian, granddaughter of Tian Feng, the magistrate of Junyi in Yuyang, in her early twenties.
• A woman surnamed Xu, dignified in appearance.
• Lady Wang, the Left Consort, who changed her name to Taiying, around twenty years old, dressed in purple robes.
• Lady Liu, the Right Consort, styled Xuanwei, clad in green robes.
• Lady Tao, the Overseer of Studies, renamed Zhi’an, in her forties, wearing robes of mixed green and purple.
• The mother of Xu Yuan, originally named Kedou (Tadpole), who later changed her name.

Among them was Li Feihua, a native of Huaiyin, who had cultivated in the Palace of Easy Passage for ninety-four years yet appeared to be only twenty, dressed in blue-green robes. Three women—Liu Miaoji, Sun Fanghua, and Ruan Huixiang—were enfeoffed as immortal consorts in the Eighth Vermilion Terrace of Fangzhu (a celestial realm) due to their cultivation achievements.

The Terrace of Embracing Truth was the dwelling place of female immortals who had already attained the Dao, subordinate to the Eastern Palace of Great Primordiality (Taiyuan Donggong), housing nearly two hundred residents. Among them were two female perfected beings (zhenren) who served as leaders:

1. Zhang Weizi, daughter of Zhang Qing, the Minister of Works during the reign of Emperor Zhao of Han. She practiced the method of liberation by corpse (shijie xian), a technique of feigning death to attain immortality, and frequently cultivated by ingesting mist—a method transmitted by the Eastern Hua Jade Consort Chun Wenqi of the Eastern Sea. Mist was considered the essence of mountains and rivers; consuming it allowed one to merge with the clouds.

2. Fu Lihe, daughter of Fu Jian, nephew of Emperor Huan of Han. Originally a devout Buddhist, she later became the mistress of the Terrace of Embracing Truth due to her sincere devotion to the Dao. She attained immortality by absorbing the refined Qi (vital energy) of the Five Stars (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water). When she sang, birds and beasts would gather to listen.

These accounts reflect Daoism’s reverence for female practitioners and illustrate various paths to immortality—such as absorbing Qi, cultivating virtue (De), and esoteric methods like liberation by corpse, ingesting mist, and refining the energies of the Five Stars. These practices highlight the unique spiritual techniques within Daoist cultivation.

Zhan Shanggong was a figure from the ancient era of Emperor Gaoxin, recorded in the text Dinglu Jun. Legend holds that this Master Zhan once studied the Dao at Fulongdi, residing on a mountain covered with plum trees. Today, he serves as the Right Guardian of the Nine Palaces (a position in the Daoist celestial hierarchy). He often tells fellow immortals: "Back then, beneath the Huayang Grotto-Heaven (one of Daoism's sacred grotto paradises), I ate white plums—their flavor was exceptionally exquisite. Thinking back, it feels like no time has passed, yet three thousand years have gone by in the mortal world."

During the Qin dynasty, Jiang Shumao, Marquis of Baling, attained the Dao at Juqu Mountain (the ancient name of Maoshan). He cultivated five kinds of fruit trees and five pungent vegetables, trading these crops for cinnabar used in alchemy. Jiang once wrote to his colleagues at the Taiji Palace (a dwelling of Daoist immortals): "I studied the Dao at Guigu, attained realization at Shaoshi Mountain, cultivated body and mind at Huayang Grotto, and await ascension in the realm of transcendence. Sometimes I ride wind chariots to feast at Juqu Mountain, often sighing at how swiftly time passes and all things change. The scenery remains, yet old companions are gone—how should one dispel such melancholy?"

Zhou Taibin was an exceptionally skilled qin player who once taught Mi Changsheng and Sun Guangtian (also known as Sun Deng). He could produce the eight tones (an ancient classification of musical sounds) with a single string—a truly remarkable feat.

Du Qi, styled Guangping, hailed from Duling in Jingzhao. At the beginning of the Jian'an era of the Eastern Han, he crossed south to join Sun Ce, and Sun Quan appointed him Commandant of Established Trust. In the second year of Huangwu, he began studying the Dao under Master Jie Yan, learning the Xuanbai arts (Daoist invisibility techniques) and later mastering concealment and disappearance. He first dwelled at Middle Maoshan and later traveled between Liangchang Mountain. Du Qi, along with Xu Zongdu and Yan Xiansheng, often moved about Maoshan, occasionally entering grotto-heavens and blessed lands. They sometimes gathered mountain goods to trade for clothing and food, yet the local villagers never knew of these activities.

Xu Zongdu was from Jinling and once served as Marshal under Lü Ti, Left Commandant of Sun Hao’s army, learning the art of qijin (energy restraint techniques) from Master Fenggu. Yan Xiansheng, nephew of Bujia and disciple of Xu Zongdu, later retreated into seclusion for cultivation. Note the writing of the character "Qi" in Du Qi's name: his "Qi" has four strokes, differing slightly from the usual three-stroke variant.

Du Qi had two disciples: one was Sun Hanhua, daughter of Sun Jian (of the Wu imperial clan, a cousin of Sun Quan), whose father Sun Xi once served as Governor of Yuzhang and was enfeoffed as Prince of Shanyin. Hanhua first cultivated at Jian'an and in her later years went to Maoshan to practice the Xuanbai method, preserving her youthful appearance. The other disciple was Chen Shijing, who served as a Gentleman of the Palace under Sun Xiu and had been devoted to the Dao since youth, often visiting Buddhist temples. Being a fellow townsman of Du Qi, he too received teachings in his later years. These individuals operated primarily on the periphery of Maoshan and were not permanent residents of the grotto-heavens.

Zuo Ci (courtesy name Yuanfang) practiced fasting and cultivation during the Jian'an era (late Eastern Han dynasty), ascending Mount Mao and entering the cavernous void. In the Yin Palace, he encountered the Three Mao Lords (immortals Mao Ying, Mao Gu, and Mao Zhong) and obtained divine lingzhi mushrooms. Later, he petitioned the Lord of Lifespans (the deity governing longevity) for cinnabar from the Jade Gate, receiving twelve jin of it. Tao Hongjing (the Recluse Scholar) noted that though Zuo Ci was initially pressured by Cao Cao, he eventually sought this cinnabar and refined it in a furnace to produce the Ninefold Radiance Elixir (Jiuhua Dan).

The Lord of Fixed Records (an immortal of Mount Mao) revealed that Zuo Ci now frequently resides around Mount Xiaokuo, often traveling through the Mount Mao region while awaiting a new celestial appointment. Zuo Ci's youthful appearance is attributed to the effects of the Ninefold Radiance Elixir. It is said that when Zuo Ci first arrived, he devotedly cultivated for five years on the sacred mountain before gaining entry to the Eastern and Western Palaces (two major grotto-heavens of Mount Mao). A disciple of Li Zhongfu, Zuo Ci later became the teacher of Ge Xuan.

Master Pu (name lost to history) often rode a white deer while gathering spiritual herbs on Mount Mao. Xu Mai (also known Xu Ying, courtesy name Shuxuan) was a native of Jurong in Danyang and the elder brother of Xu Mu, a perfected being of the Shangqing tradition. From youth, he was drawn to Daoist practice. Once, he asked Guo Pu to divine for him and received the top line of the Hexagram Tai (Peace). Guo Pu interpreted this as a heavenly auspice, confirming his path in Daoism. Initially studying under Bao Jing, Xu Mai could not bear to leave his parents, so he chose to cultivate at Mount Xuanliu in Yuhang—near the Mount Mao of Yanling, the western gateway to Lake Dongting, which connects with the Five Sacred Peaks. Immortals like Chen Anshi and Mao Jiwei had frequented this area. There, he built a hermitage, often traveling to the cavern chambers of Mount Mao while returning home only on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month and during festivals. After his parents passed, he sent his wife, Lady Sun, back to her family and renamed himself Xuan, with the courtesy name Yuanyou ("Far Roaming"). In the second year of the Yonghe era (346 CE), he settled in the Western Hills of Lin'an, associating with Wang Xizhi and his son. Later, he moved to Mount Chishan in Linhai, where he met Wang Shilong, Zhao Daoxuan, and Fu Taichu, becoming Wang Shilong's disciple to study the methods of "unbinding constraints and reversing course," practicing techniques like ingesting Jade Liquor and absorbing the essence of the brain.

Eventually, the Left Gentleman of the Three Offices' Prohibitions (a Daoist divinity) dispatched Marquis of the Canonical Handle Zhou Fang and the Envoy of Rectifying Wrongs Yan Baihu, who brought the Crimson Slips of Transgressions to interrogate Xu Ying about his faults, threatening arrest if he failed to respond. Terrified, Xu Ying forced out a long whistle and replied: "The Great Dao (Dao) shows no favoritism—it only favors the good; Heaven and Earth have no private affections—they only cherish the virtuous (De)."

This account records the miraculous deeds of several Daoist practitioners. Xu Zi'a, the author's seventh-generation ancestor, was a man of profound benevolence and virtue (De) whose kindness extended even to birds and beasts. During years of famine and plague when barely one in a hundred commoners survived, Xu exhausted his family fortune to save others, preparing medicinal formulas that revived 408 people. Due to these virtuous deeds, three of his descendants ascended as immortals (xian), while five became "world-transcending immortals" (those who attain the Dao while still alive), their names recorded in the immortal registers of the Supreme Elder Lord (Taishang Laojun).

During a later crisis, the immortal Dinglu Jun dispatched his attendant Li Zun bearing fiery talismans to rescue Xu, causing the troublemaking demons to flee in terror. Xu Zi'a eventually became an earthbound immortal (a middle-ranking celestial being) at Donghua Mountain (a sacred Daoist peak), later moving to Gaizhu Mountain for cultivation. In letters to his disciples, he lamented having met his enlightened master too late, which hindered his practice, acknowledging how arduous the path had been—experiences well known to the True Lord Dinglu.

Ren Dun (courtesy name Shangpu), a native of Bochang in Le'an, studied the Dao at Luofu Mountain in his youth. During the Yongjia era of the Jin dynasty, he traveled to Mount Tai before settling at Huayang's southern grotto to practice "Pacing the Dipper" (a ritual star-stepping technique) and the "Five Cavern Talismans of Dongxuan" (Daoist fu incantations). He could command spirits, become invisible, create doppelgangers, and cultivated himself by consuming medicinal herbs like Solomon's seal. Once he dug seven feet into the earth to obtain red clay, consuming nine pellets daily. Frequently moving between the human world to transmit scriptures and teachings, he attracted devout followers. In the first year of Yongchang during heavy snowfall that killed most birds and beasts, he distributed food in the mountains—dozens of tigers and deer traveled peacefully with him, and packs of tigers often followed obediently during his journeys.

One day, a towering figure over ten feet tall appeared wearing five-colored dark-yellow robes, bowing and identifying himself as an emissary of Taishang Laojun, announcing Ren Dun's enrollment in the immortal registers. Having served as abbot of the Grotto-Heaven Temple, Ren informed his disciples of his impending travels to Mount Kuocang and Gaizhu Mountain after perfecting the Great Elixir. His former residence became today's Chongshou Temple, with records of his deeds preserved in both the Yunji Qiqian and Chichen Gazetteer.

Finally, the account mentions the revered Master Huang of Taoyuan, who built the Celestial Worthy Hall at Maoshan with exceptional mastery of Daoist arts. Holding high-ranking Daoist registers (Falu credentials), he expounded scriptures at Maoshan with great authority.

At that time, thousands gathered daily at Maoshan's Daoist center to hear lectures. One day, just as the scripture exposition began, a swarthy, vulgar-looking man barged in shouting insults, a mule whip tucked at his waist like a caravan driver. He railed: "You so-called Daoists! What's the meaning of this summer heat assembly? Instead of practicing cultivation deep in the mountains, you dare spout nonsense here!" Seeing this, Master Huang (a Maoshan elder) immediately halted his lecture and responded with humility, while the terrified audience fell silent.

After a long pause, the man's tone softened slightly. "How much silver would building new temple halls require?" he asked. Master Huang estimated five thousand strings of cash. The man then had them gather eight or nine hundred pounds of scrap metal, dug an earth furnace to smelt it. From his sleeve pouch, he produced two elixir pellets which he stirred into the molten metal—soon transforming it into premium-grade silver worth over ten thousand strings. "This more than suffices for temple construction," he declared. "Scripture lectures yield meager results; best discontinue them." As Master Huang and disciples bowed in gratitude, asking how to repay him, the man simply smiled and vanished through the gates.

A decade later, when summoned to the capital, Master Huang suddenly spotted the same whip-bearing man west of Chang'an's avenues. Now carrying a bundle behind an old man riding a donkey, he bore no resemblance to his formidable Maoshan appearance. As Master Huang moved to bow, the man gestured for him to instead kowtow to the donkey rider—an elder with snow-white hair yet the youthful face of a fourteen-year-old maiden. This account appears in Unofficial Histories.

(Commentary: This record exemplifies Daoism's "concealing truth within transformation" tradition. The seemingly crude muleteer was actually an accomplished adept, using metal-transmuting alchemy to fund temple construction before manifesting the paradoxical "aged-youth" form—a direct demonstration of Daoist "rejuvenation" cultivation.)