《茅山誌》Vol. 15

The story of Wu Chuo took place during the Liang Dynasty of the Southern Dynasties period. Legend has it that during the Shenfeng era, while gathering medicinal herbs at Huayang Cave, he saw a child playing beneath a pine tree holding three large pearls. When Wu Chuo approached to ask whose child this was, the boy suddenly ran into the cave. Concerned the child might be harmed by tigers, Wu Chuo chased after him, calling out as he went. After fewer than thirty steps, the child suddenly transformed into a dragon and stuffed the three pearls into its left ear. Being naturally bold, Wu Chuo struck at the dragon’s left ear with his medicine axe—only for both the dragon and the pearls to vanish. Moments after he stepped outside, the cave entrance sealed itself shut. Later, during the Xuanhe era of the Song Dynasty, the imperial court posthumously honored Wu Chuo with the title "Master of Nourishing Simplicity."

Xue Biao, a native of Jinling, showed little interest in worldly affairs or material wealth even in his youth. In the second year of the Jianwu era of the Southern Qi Dynasty, he secluded himself in Dongchuan for three years to focus on Daoist cultivation before returning to practice at the Dongtian Temple on the eastern ridge of Mount Mao. There, he lived an ascetic life, sustaining himself like a pine tree on wind and dew. The Dongtian Temple was where the Jin Dynasty Perfected Ren had attained the Dao, and the alchemical furnace he used was said to retain potent spiritual efficacy—precisely why Xue Biao chose it as his hermitage.

Feng Faxian (courtesy name Fayuan) hailed from Qu’e in Jinling. In the first year of the Tianjia era under Emperor Wen of the Chen Dynasty, the emperor dispatched the court official Yu Li to invite Feng Fayuan to preside over a three-day grand purification ritual (Zhaijiao). Whenever Feng Fayuan bowed in reverence, the temple bell would ring of its own accord, and when he chanted the Pacing the Void scripture (Buxu Jing), the bell would resonate in harmony—phenomena that astonished all who witnessed them.

Ma Shu (courtesy name Yaoli) was from Mei County in Fufeng. A master of classical texts and histories, he was particularly well-versed in Buddhist scriptures, the Zhouyi, and the Laozi. When Prince Shao Ling (Xiao Lun) served as governor of Southern Xuzhou, he appointed Ma Shu as an academician. Later, when Xiao Lun raised troops to defend the throne, he entrusted Ma Shu with 20,000 volumes of books. After deep study, Ma Shu lamented: "Those who chase fame see hermits as shackles, while mountain-loving recluses view officials as prisoners. The fame-obsessed dismiss Laozi’s wisdom as worthless, yet those addicted to pure discourse scorn Confucian teachings as dregs. Truly, each follows their own path." Thus he retired to Mount Mao, resolved to live out his days there. In the first year of the Tianjia era under the Chen Dynasty, he settled there permanently.

This passage records the deeds of several historical figures associated with Maoshan Daoism, which I will explain in modern terms:

Regarding Emperor Wen (likely referring to Tao Hongjing): The imperial court summoned him to serve as Minister of Revenue (a financial official position), but he declined the appointment. He possessed eyes that could see clearly in darkness. A pair of swallows nested in the trees of his courtyard, becoming so familiar with him that they would fly into his corridors and even perch on his desk. This continued year after year for nearly thirty years, until his passing in the thirteenth year of the Dajian era. He authored the Daojue Lun (Discourse on Daoist Enlightenment), which has been transmitted through the ages.

Dai Sheng was from Qu'e in Jinling. He left home to pursue spiritual cultivation in his youth but came from a poor family and once worked as a laborer for his fellow villager Liu Biao. Because Liu, being a military officer, was fond of hunting, Dai Sheng left him and went to Maoshan to practice Daoism.

Chu Ya, styled Xuantong, was from Qiantang in Wu Commandery. During the late Liang dynasty, he retreated to live in the mountains. He delighted in charitable deeds, valuing righteousness over wealth, often distributing grain from his own fields to the poor. Every morning he would sweep the courtyard, fetch water for communal use, and help others gather firewood. In summer, he grew melons and allowed anyone to pick them freely.

Huan Fakai, styled Yanshu, was a distinguished disciple of Tao Hongjing and once served as the master of Qingyuan Lodge for Prince Nanping of the Liang dynasty. Later, finding official duties too distracting for his spiritual practice, he built the Xuangzhou Hermitage (a cultivation retreat) on the right side of Yugang Mountain. The renowned scholar Zhou Hongrang composed poems inscribed on its walls, while Wang Sengbian sent artists to paint portraits of both Huan Fakai and himself. Though some mistakenly claimed Huan was merely Tao Hongjing's fire-tending servant, Tao's poetic dedications and epitaphs for him clearly attest to his true status.

Sun Wentao, also named Tao, was from Shanyin in Kuaiji. He entered Maoshan to study Daoist methods under Tao Hongjing. He excelled particularly at copying the handwritten scriptures of earlier perfected beings like Yang Xi and Xu Mi, and later achieved great skill in calligraphy modeled after Wang Xizhi. The famous Nine Bestowals Stele of the Southern Grotto and Stele of Xu Changshi's Old Altar Pavilion were both his work.

Qian Miaozhen was a woman from Jinling who left home at nineteen to study Daoism under Tao Hongjing. During the Putong era of Emperor Wu of Liang, she lived alone in the deep mountains reciting the Huangting Jing (Yellow Court Classic, an important Daoist scripture), with swallows frequently keeping her company at her dwelling.

This passage records the life stories of numerous renowned Daoist practitioners and cultivators from Maoshan (a sacred Daoist mountain). One cultivator spent thirty years in a mountain cave refining his practice. When he was about to attain immortality and depart this world, he personally composed seven poems to bid farewell to his reclusive fellow Daoists. One day, he tied a white silk ribbon around himself and disappeared into the cave. The imperial court later named this cave the Palace of Swallow Cavern (Yandong Gong), where female Daoists still perform rituals to this day.

The text lists several practitioners: Ge Jingxuan of Danyang was a descendant of the Immortal Lord (Xiangong); Xiao Shirong of Lanling abandoned his official post to enter the mountains for cultivation; Xing Xiuzhi of Pingchang earned the admiration of senior practitioners through his diligent practice; Shao Yuantai of Lanling was renowned for his profound mastery of Daoist methods; and Xu Boqian of the Eastern Sea taught people through his virtuous conduct (De). There was also the Buddhist monk Zhiyuan, who mastered the Five Vehicles of Buddhist teachings while cultivating both Daoist and Buddhist paths.

Jiang Fuchu established the Peizhen Abbey on Maoshan. In the second year of the Jianyuan era (480 CE) of the Qi dynasty, he received an imperial decree to practice at the Zongyang Abbey, where he eventually bathed, changed robes, and ascended as an immortal at an advanced age. The former abbots of Huayang Abbey, Lu Yizhong and Wang Faming, were both recluses of lofty aspirations. Zhang Yuanzhi, abbot of Chongyuan Abbey, built a retreat platform by the Junshan Stream, later named Crane Terrace after white cranes nested there.

Pan Yuanwen, abbot of Zhuyang Abbey, received an imperial edict in the 12th year of Tianjian (513 CE) to establish a temple enshrining the scriptures of the Three Mao Lords (Mao Ying, Mao Gu, Mao Zhong) and the Xu brothers (Xu Mu, Xu Hui). Xu Lingzhen, abbot of Sizhen Abbey, was the sixth-generation descendant of the Jin-dynasty Perfected Lord Xu (Xu Zhenren). Chongxu Abbey was originally built by imperial decree of Emperor Ming of the Liu Song dynasty to support Master Lu Xiujing, and was later reconstructed by Tao Hongjing.

Finally, the text lists descendants of the Celestial Master (Tianshi, referring to Zhang Daoling): his ninth-generation descendant Zhang Xuanzhen mastered the Three Caverns scriptures (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen—the three major Daoist canons). Among the tenth-generation descendants were Zhang Jingsu, Zhang Zhiming, and Zhang Zihua, all Daoists of exceptional virtue and outstanding character.

This passage records the names of temple administrators at Mount Mao (the birthplace of the Shangqing tradition of Daoism) during the Southern Dynasties period. These administrators were renowned Daoist priests of their time, overseeing Daoist activity centers in the Mount Mao region.

The term "guan" (temple) referred to Daoist cultivation and teaching centers, equivalent to modern Daoist temples. Each administrator's name is accompanied by their place of origin - for instance, "Danyang Yongshi" indicates someone from Yongshi County in Danyang Commandery, "Wu Commandery" refers to the area of present-day Suzhou, while "Qu'e" was the ancient name for modern Danyang in Jiangsu.

Many administrators' names incorporate the character "fa" (法, dharma) or other Daoist-inspired elements, such as Zhang Faming, Tang Fayi, and Zhu Fayong - a naming convention characteristic of Daoist priests at that time. Temple names like Chongyuan Guan (Temple of Honoring the Origin), Huayang Guan (Flourishing Yang Temple), and Zongxuan Guan (Temple of Mysterious Ancestry) all embody Daoist philosophical ideals of pursuing the profound Dao.

Notably, the list includes multiple administrators from Yanling (modern Changzhou, Jiangsu) and priests from Jiangnan regions like Wu Commandery and Jinling, demonstrating the close connection between Mount Mao Daoism and southern aristocratic families during this period. Special mention of "Zhang Zhou" as "tenth-generation descendant of the Celestial Master (Tianshi)" identifies him as an ancestor of Zhang Daoling, holding particularly esteemed status within Daoism.

This record documents the list of abbots and Daoist priests at various temples on Mount Mao (the ancestral seat of the Shangqing lineage of Daoism) during the Liang and Chen dynasties of the Southern Dynasties period. At that time, Daoism flourished on Mount Mao, with numerous monastic retreats (cultivation centers) established and jointly managed by both male and female practitioners.

The male abbots included: Wang Xidi of Zhengyan Abbey (from Jinling), Chen Yaoyun of Jiangzhen Abbey (from Yanling), Yang Chaoyuan of Linwu Abbey (from Shanyang), among others. Female abbots (referred to as nüguan) were even more numerous, such as Pan Lingqiao of Qingxuan Abbey (from Yanling) and Wang Mingzhu of Zongling Abbey (from Yanling), hailing from regions like Jinling, Yanling, and Wu Commandery.

Particularly noteworthy are the descendants of Zhang Daoling, the tenth-generation inheritor of the Celestial Master (Tianshi) tradition (also known as the Five Pecks of Rice lineage), who appear in the records: the female abbots Zhang Zitai and Zhang Jifei. Additionally, there were nüguan overseeing various cultivation centers, such as Zhang Miaorong (from Qu’e) of Taisu Retreat and Xue Yaoluo (from Jinling) of Shangming Retreat.

The identities of the Daoist priests were also meticulously distinguished: there were "elixir-ingesting priests" (fushi daoshi) like Xu Lingcui (from Jiyang), who specialized in alchemical refinement and medicinal consumption; "phoenix-brush priests" (fenghao daoshi) like Huan Fangkai (from Lanling), skilled in talismanic arts (fulu); and "mountain-dwelling priests" (shanju daoshi) like Zhang Fazhen (from Jurong), who practiced in seclusion. High-ranking masters were categorized as "Three Caverns masters" (Sandong fashi), such as Yin Lingyang (from Qu’e), who were versed in the entire Daoist canon, and "Two Caverns masters" (Erdong fashi), like Zhou Xianming (from Lu Commandery).

Finally, the record includes the biography of Master Tongbai, Wang Gui: styled Hongfan, also known as Daomo, he hailed from the Wang clan of Linyi in Langya. His ancestors had served as officials for generations, and at the age of twenty, he became a disciple of the renowned Daoist master Wang Fazhu to pursue cultivation. This account reflects the well-organized structure of Mount Mao Daoism during the Southern Dynasties, its egalitarian approach to male and female practitioners, and preserves valuable historical records of key Daoist figures.

This scripture records the biographies of several eminent Daoist masters from Mount Mao:

Wang Yuanzhi (Dharma Master) served as a novice attendant to his teacher for sixteen years, living through both the Sui and Tang dynasties. In 615 CE during the Sui era, he was commissioned by the emperor to seek extraordinary individuals across twenty-four commanderies in Henan. During the Tang Zhenguan reign period, he received imperial orders to reconstruct Huayang Abbey. On the first day of the eleventh month in 667 CE, he informed his disciples of dreaming about three feathered immortals bearing jade tablets who announced his celestial appointment as Overseer of Immortals in the Huayang Heavenly Palace. Recalling an identical dream from his youth at Mount Tongbai, he recognized this as a divine summons. After ritual purification on the eighth day, he held the jade tablets and achieved feathered ascension on the ninth day at age eighty-eight, buried beside Tao Hongjing's tomb at Leiping Mountain.

Wang Min was a master of esoteric arts dwelling at Qingluo Mountain near Luoyang. Villagers claimed he had lived centuries without aging. During Emperor Xuanzong's Kaiyuan era, the sovereign received him at court and treated him with great respect upon seeing his youthful face and dark hair. When the emperor obtained authentic Shangqing (Highest Clarity) scriptures handwritten by Yang Xi, Xu Mi and Tao Hongjing from Mount Mao - but missing thirteen pages - he specially dispatched Wang Min with imperial documents and gifts to invite Master Xuanjing (Sima Chengzhen) at Ziyang Abbey to complete the texts. The emperor emphasized avoiding disturbance by ordinary officials, entrusting only Wang Min for this sacred mission to connect ancient and modern celestial calligraphy. Spiritual cranes danced upon Wang Min's mountain arrival, and divine beings manifested during Xuanjing's transcription - all resulting from profound spiritual resonance.

Wu Yun originally studied Confucianism in Shandong before becoming a disciple of Pan Shizheng at Mount Song and adopting Shangqing practices. During Kaiyuan, he traveled south to Jinling, spent years studying at Mount Mao, then journeyed east to Mount Tiantai, becoming a prolific writer. Emperor Xuanzong enjoyed their conversations and appointed him to the Hanlin Academy, though Wu soon requested and received permission to return to Mount Mao. During the An Lushan Rebellion's chaos in Jiangnan, he moved to Kuaiji and Tiantai regions, exchanging poetry with Li Bai and Kong Chaofu before passing away in Yue territory.

Cui Xizhen resided west of Zhongling (modern Nanchang), excelling in qin zither and painting while cultivating Daoist arts. On the snowy night of October 1st, 767 CE... (text fragmentary)

At dawn when opening his door, Cui Qian (a Tang Dynasty recluse) saw an old man wearing a straw raincoat and bamboo hat sheltering from snow beneath his gate. Sensing extraordinary bearing in the visitor, Cui invited him inside. After removing his raincoat, the elder revealed an unearthly demeanor and bone structure. Growing more reverent, Cui apologized that his humble home only had barley flour to offer, asking if the guest would partake. The old man replied, "Barley absorbs the essence of all four seasons—it's the finest among grains, especially when paired with fermented bean sauce." After Cui had these prepared, he then presented pine flower wine. The elder remarked the wine was astringent and flavorless, then produced from his robe a yellow, rock-hard medicinal pellet. Scraping a portion into the wine with a stone, the liquor instantly became exquisitely sweet. The remaining pellet was gifted to Cui (the text's "Xi Zhen" being Cui's alternate name).

Peering through a window crack, Cui saw the elder painting on plain silk before the bed curtains, completing the work swiftly. When Cui emerged, the visitor had vanished. Following snowy footprints for miles to the riverbank, he spotted among reeds a large vessel bearing several peculiar figures. One turned back laughing: "Even Ge San [Third Son of Ge Hong] got chased by this man!" Another addressed Cui: "In spiritual practice, don't overemphasize formal master-disciple rituals." Cui bowed gratefully and returned home to discover a painting left on the silk: three figures, two trees, a white deer, and a medicine chest. Two were Daoist-looking herbal gatherers holding mysterious fungi (xuanzhi); the trees resembled pines growing on secluded cliffs, their storm-battered withered forms strangely connected at the roots. Later when Cui took the painting and pellet to present to Celestial Master Li (a Mao Shan patriarch), the master identified it as the work of Ge Hong's third son, explaining the "immortal standing beneath dead wood" symbolized how the realized transcend even pine-and-cypress longevity, while the pellet was millennium-aged pine resin.

Postscript notes: Cui Qian reclused on Mao Shan until 796 CE when recommended by Wei Qumou for imperial audience with Emperor Dezong. Another adept surnamed Gong (name lost) cultivated at Penglai Temple in the East Sea for decades before manifesting marvels at Huayang Grotto (Mao Shan's famed cave-heaven) during 860-874 CE.