《終南山祖庭仙真內傳》

The Zhongnan Mountains (a sacred Daoist cultivation site) contain ancestral records of immortal deeds compiled by Daoist Li Daoqian, known as Tianle Daoren.

Regarding the account of Perfected Jade Toad (Yu Chan Zhenren):

This cultivator's lay surname was He, personal name Dejin, from Ganquan County in Qinzhou. Born with dignified features, he diligently studied poetry and literature in his youth. As an adult, he served as a minor clerk. Though working in official circles, he remained upright in character, always upholding moral principles and never taking ill-gotten gains. Whenever he encountered practitioners of the Dao, he would humbly seek their guidance.

During the Tiande era of the Jin dynasty, he had the opportunity for an official promotion. One day, a Daoist suddenly passed by his doorstep. He warmly invited the Daoist inside, where they drank wine and discussed the Dao, conversing with great delight. Shortly after the Daoist left, he returned with an owl perched on his arm and said, "Though this bird's eyes are large, it does not recognize people." He Dejin suddenly realized he had met an extraordinary being, but when he asked for the Daoist’s name and origins, the man drifted away without a trace.

Over a month later, the Daoist returned, gravely ill, his body covered in festering sores and emitting a foul stench. Others dared not approach, but He Dejin summoned physicians and administered medicine—to no avail. A year later, the Daoist passed away, and He buried him with proper rites. Several months afterward, an elderly woman came to his door weeping, saying her son loved wandering the world and had recently been heard to stay at his home. Upon learning of her son’s death, she was overcome with grief. He Dejin then cared for her as his own mother.

Later, the old woman begged to open the coffin for a final glimpse of her son. After repeated pleas, He Dejin exhumed the grave—only to find the coffin empty, save for a hidden decree. The old woman also vanished without a trace. He sighed, "I met a true immortal yet failed to recognize him—why remain mired in worldly affairs?" Thereupon, he abandoned his wife and children to leave home and cultivate the Dao.

At that time, hearing that Patriarch Wang Chongyang had encountered immortals and attained the Dao in the Zhongnan Mountains, he went to seek him as his teacher. In the third year of the Dading era (1163), he and three others, including Li Lingyang, built thatched huts to cultivate in Liujiang Village, later awakening to the profound mysteries of the Great Dao. When Patriarch Chongyang journeyed eastward in the seventh year of Dading (1167), he and Li Lingyang continued their practice in the Zhongnan Mountains. In spring of the tenth year of Dading (1170), just before the arrival of the four Perfected Ones—Ma Yu, Tan Chuduan, Liu Chuxuan, and Qiu Chuji—he and Li Lingyang temporarily stayed at Taiping Temple, even leaving money with a soup vendor’s family.

This account tells the story of Wang Chongyang (Patriarch Chongyang), founder of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) lineage of Daoism, and his disciples.

One day, a soup vendor was informed that four immortals—Qiu Chuji, Liu Chuxuan, Tan Chuduan, and Ma Yu—would visit him. When the four arrived, the vendor recognized them, saying that Masters Li and He had already paid for the soup. Amazed by this foreknowledge, the four ate their meal and then went to pay respects to their teachers, enjoying a pleasant reunion.

Wang Chongyang once commissioned an artist to paint him sleeping beside a tiger, leaving everyone puzzled by its meaning. Later, at the beginning of the ninth lunar month, Wang felt unwell, and Ma Yu (Danyang) instructed Qiu Chuji (Changchun) to care for him. On the fourteenth day of the ninth month, Wang Chongyang passed away peacefully, and his four disciples buried him beside the Liu-Jiang Hermitage. It turned out that the painting of him "sleeping beside a tiger" was a prophecy foretelling his ascension in a yin (tiger) year.

After Wang Chongyang attained immortality, a man named Zhang from Lintong, who had long suffered from a wind ailment with no cure, dreamed of Wang on his deathbed. Wang revealed a prescription to him, calling himself "He Yuchan of Zhongnan." Zhang followed the prescription and recovered, then held a purification ritual (zhaijiao) and built a pavilion at Liu-Jiang Hermitage in gratitude. Wang was posthumously honored as "Perfected Jade Toad of Universal Illumination and Serene Stillness," and the stone inscriptions commemorating him remain preserved at the ancestral temple.

Another figure, Perfected Lingyang, surnamed Li, was a native of Zhongnan County, known for his innate intelligence. After being enlightened by an extraordinary man, he grew indifferent to fame and fortune, retreating into seclusion to cultivate the Dao. In the third year of the Dading era (1163), he joined Wang Chongyang and He Yuchan in practicing asceticism at Liu-Jiang, studying the internal alchemy (neidan) teachings of "lead, mercury, dragon, and tiger" under Wang. When Wang journeyed east in 1167, Li and He remained at Liu-Jiang. Wang once wrote a poem describing the three of them as united in their Daoist cultivation.

After Wang Chongyang ascended in Bianliang in 1170, his four disciples served Masters Li and He with the reverence due to uncles. That autumn, He Yuchan also passed away, and Perfected Li continued practicing with the disciples. In the first month of the twenty-eighth year (1188), Qiu Chuji was summoned to the capital by imperial decree.

This account records the final instructions given by Quanzhen Patriarch Wang Chongyang to his disciple Qiu Chuji (Daoist name Changchun Zhenren), as well as the spiritual journey of another important disciple, Liu Tongwei.

When Wang Chongyang was departing for the capital, he instructed Qiu Chuji: "I once predicted you would glorify the Mysterious Gate of Daoism. Now the time has come. Take good care of yourself and return early next spring, riding the crane back." That August, Qiu Chuji received an imperial edict to return to Zhongnan Mountain. He stayed in the Huailuo region south of the mountain during winter, then journeyed westward back to the mountain the following February. Passing through Qindu Town in the outskirts of Huxian County, local Daoists persuaded him to stay for several days. Ten days prior, though Wang Chongyang showed no signs of illness, he began abstaining from food. When questioned, he replied: "Do not worry. I'm merely waiting for the one who will oversee my funeral arrangements." He immediately sent messengers urging Qiu Chuji's swift return.

Upon arriving, Qiu Chuji knelt before his master's bed. Wang Chongyang presented him with an inkstick (symbolizing the writing of an epitaph). Understanding the implied meaning, Qiu Chuji promptly ordered the preparation of a coffin. Before its completion, on the first day of the third lunar month, Wang Chongyang peacefully attained immortality. Qiu Chuji conducted proper funeral rites and interred him in the immortal's burial ground beside the hermitage, posthumously honoring him as "Lingyang Huiyao Yanhua Zhenren" (Radiantly Illuminating Transformation Realized Immortal).

Another key figure, Liu Tongwei (Daoist name Moranzi), came from the prominent Ye family in Laizhou, Shandong. In his youth, he indulged in sensual pleasures and became addicted to falconry and gambling. After contracting a mysterious near-fatal illness, he dreamed of visiting celestial realms and miraculously recovered, thereafter comprehending life's illusory nature. During the summer of Dading Dinghai year (1167), when Wang Chongyang traveled eastward along the coast through Yecheng, he recognized Liu's clear spirit and refined bones bearing signs of ascension potential. The patriarch transmitted esoteric Daoist teachings and bestowed upon him a Daoist name. After attaining the Dao, Liu abandoned worldly life to journey westward, eventually settling in Zhongnan Mountain's Gangu Valley where he lived an ascetic existence "pillowing on stones and rinsing with stream water."

In the Gengyin year (1170), when the four perfected masters—Qiu Chuji, Liu Chuxuan, Tan Chuduan, and Ma Yu—came westward, Liu Tongwei collaborated with them to establish the Liu-Jiang Hermitage. Later, when the four went to Bianliang to retrieve Wang Chongyang's immortal remains for proper burial, Liu Tongwei guarded the tomb for three years. Thereafter, he traveled north to the Languan region (modern northern Shanxi), cultivating inner mysteries while outwardly saving people. His growing stream of seekers helped spread Quanzhen teachings throughout the Western Mountains region. In the early Mingchang era (1190), Emperor Zhangzong of Jin summoned him to court to inquire about the "Ninefold Reverted Elixir Formula" (essential Neidan alchemical methods).

This passage records the biographical accounts of two Daoist figures.

The first was a hermit whom the emperor once consulted about the practice of "Seven Returns" (qifan, a Daoist cultivation term referring to the cyclical movement of Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit) within the body). He replied that such pursuits were for those dwelling in the mountains and wilderness, while a ruler should focus on the essential teachings of the Huang-Lao tradition—embracing stillness and Wuwei (non-action) to cultivate oneself and govern the state. Pleased with his answer, the emperor arranged for him to reside at Tianchang Abbey and later moved him to Yongshou Daoist Temple to expound the teachings. Scholars from all directions came seeking guidance, often crowding his doorstep. Before long, he was granted permission to return to the mountains, and the emperor personally inscribed a farewell gift for him. Later, while traveling through Shanghe County in Shandong, he arrived at Nie Family Village and told his disciples that this would be his final resting place. After settling in and repairing the dwelling, one day, having offered incense and paid respects, he gathered his followers to impart essential cultivation instructions, stating that he had received a summons from the celestial realm and would soon depart. On the fifteenth day of the second month of the Cheng'an era (a Daoist holy day known as Zhenyuan Festival), he peacefully passed away. His collection of poems, titled Quandao Ji (Compendium of Complete Dao), was preserved, and the place of his ascension later became the site of the grand Chaoyuan Palace.

The second figure was Daoist Master Shi Chuhou, originally named Shi Gongmi, from Liquan, Qianzhou. From a young age, he yearned for the Dao. In the Renwu year of the Dading era, hearing that Patriarch Chongyang (Wang Chongyang, founder of the Quanzhen tradition) had received secret teachings from an immortal and was cultivating in the Zhongnan Mountains, he sought him out and was accepted as a disciple. Patriarch Chongyang instructed him in the Quanzhen method of "dual cultivation of nature and life" (xingming shuangxiu), bestowing upon him the Daoist name "Chuhou" and the religious title "Dongyangzi." Thereafter, he practiced through alms-seeking and wandered the Zhongnan Mountains for seven years. In the spring of the Dinghai year, when Patriarch Chongyang prepared to journey eastward and wished to take him along, Shi declined due to his elderly mother's needs. Instead, Chongyang painted him a portrait—a Daoist priest with triple-knotted hair standing amidst clouds, flanked by pine trees and cranes—saying it would serve as proof of recognition in the future. After Patriarch Chongyang's ascension in Bianliang during the Gengyin year, Master Danyang (Ma Yu) arrived in Chang'an with three fellow Daoists at Kongxian Hermitage. Shi Chuhou brought the painting to meet them. Upon seeing Danyang's triple-knotted hair—a signature Quanzhen style—perfectly matching the portrait, all present marveled. The four masters recounted their teachings in Bianliang and Chongyang's celestial departure, exchanging insights on the Dao in harmonious fellowship. Later, Shi joined them in restoring Liu-Jiang Hermitage as their residence, where Danyang frequently instructed him in cultivation through poetry.

This passage records the extraordinary deeds of two Daoist practitioners.

First, there was Shi Fengzi (so nicknamed by the world for his unconventional behavior). After cultivating the Dao for several years on Zhongnan Mountain, he attained an exceptionally high spiritual state before returning to live in Xunquan County. This man paid no heed to social conventions, often singing and dancing in the marketplace while repeating only the phrase "I must return to Penglai's immortal abode," which puzzled everyone. Three days later, he peacefully departed this world in his thatched hut, leaving behind his physical form like a cicada shedding its shell—this occurred on the fifteenth day of the sixth lunar month in the Jiawu year. Officials and commoners alike came to pay their respects. Initially buried in Liquan, his remains were later moved by Ma Danyang (one of the Seven Perfected Ones of the Quanzhen School) to the ancestral cemetery at Liujiang Village. When the coffin was opened, his face appeared as if still alive. Ma Danyang composed a four-character verse praising how Shi had received the true transmission from Patriarch Wang Chongyang, comprehending the profound principles of the Mysterious and Yellow (referring to the fundamental Dao of Yin-Yang harmony). Through cultivating the "water and fire complementation" (a Neidan term denoting Yin-Yang balance) and achieving the "mutual illumination of sun and moon," he ultimately attained immortality. The poem also describes the wondrous scene of his singing and dancing farewell to the mortal world while proclaiming his journey to the immortal realm.

The other practitioner was Yan Chuchang, whose Daoist name was Changqingzi, a native of Yueyang in Shaanxi and a relative of Patriarch Wang Chongyang by marriage. Though well-versed in Confucian classics from youth, he yearned for quiet cultivation. Bound by filial duties to living parents, he couldn't take monastic vows, serving instead as a minor legal clerk in the county office where he handled cases with compassion. At twenty-nine, while returning home at dusk, he discovered a scroll titled Jade Numinous Sacred Scripture, which promised immortality to its possessor. Thereupon he lit incense and vowed: "I shall renounce the world to cultivate the Dao before turning forty." When he poured wine into the ritual basin, it emitted thunderous sounds that astonished his family. Twelve years later, after his parents' passing, he suddenly developed an eye ailment that worsened with treatment—only then did he repent for breaking his vow, as he had already passed forty.

Yao Xuan (courtesy name Master Yunyang) was a native of Jiangxia Village in the Zhongnan Mountains, born into a prominent local family. His ancestors were known for their philanthropy, often aiding the poor and accumulating hidden virtue (yinde). Blessed with extraordinary features and an otherworldly aura between his brows, he possessed an exceptionally benevolent nature—whenever hearing of others' misfortunes, he would rush to help. He was a distant relative of Wang Chongyang (Patriarch Chongyang), founder of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) tradition.

In the fourth month of 1167 (Dading 7), Wang Chongyang suddenly visited to bid farewell. When Yao asked his destination, Wang replied he was heading to the Shandong coast to find "those destined to capture the horse among Qiu, Liu, Tan, and Zhong"—a cryptic reference to the future Quanzhen Seven Masters (particularly Qiu Chuji, Liu Chuxuan, Tan Chuduan, and Ma Yu). Accustomed to his relative's eccentric behavior, Yao dismissed this as rambling and saw him off with a smile.

Soon after, Wang sent an acrostic poem from Bianjing containing veiled clues: "Two officials we met before / Your true spirit sees good fortune..." Years later, four perfected beings including Ma Yu (Master Danyang) indeed came to Liujiang Village in the Zhongnan Mountains to establish a hermitage. Living merely a few miles away, Yao visited them and was awestruck by the transcendent demeanor of Daoists Qiu, Liu, Tan, and Ma. He suddenly realized: "Chongyang's prophecy about 'capturing the horse' has come true today!"

Yao immediately took refuge in the Quanzhen lineage. In spring 1170 (Dading 10), Ma Yu specially gifted him the enlightenment poem "Willow Branch Lyrics": "Dragon and tiger embrace in shared slumber" [symbolizing the harmonization of yin-yang qi], "breaths circulate through the cosmic orbit" [zhenqi cycling through the body], "piercing through the three dantian" [upper, middle, and lower elixir fields]. "Through meridians fine as wheat and hemp, vital energy flows—its cyclic course ultimately forms the sacred embryo" [shengtai, the nascent Golden Elixir].

After receiving these teachings, Yao advanced rapidly in practice. He resided at the ancestral temple for over a decade before bathing, changing robes, and bidding farewell to fellow adepts with incense on April 8, 1183 (Dading 23). He passed peacefully without illness at seventy-three.

(Note: Terms like "dragon-tiger" [longhu], "cosmic orbit" [zhoutian], "three elixir fields" [santian], and "sacred embryo" [shengtai] are Neidan (internal alchemy) concepts representing stages of cultivation—the interplay of yin-yang energies, qi circulation, meditation focal points, and elixir attainment respectively.)

This passage recounts the life stories of two Daoist practitioners:

The first practitioner was originally a deluded and dull-witted man who suddenly attained enlightenment, abandoned his family fortune, and followed Master Danyang (a disciple of Wang Chongyang, founder of the Quanzhen tradition) to study the Dao. Master Danyang imparted to him the mysteries of cultivating perfection (xiuzhen), bestowed upon him a Daoist name, and presented him with a poem that read: "Seeing through wealth and honor as mere ashes, willingly embracing poverty to delight in purity, becoming a carefree and unconstrained person." He was taught to nurture Qi (vital energy) and calm the Shen (spirit), eliminating all falsehoods to attain the true essence of the Dao. Serving his master for over a decade, he reached a high level of attainment. Later, when Master Danyang returned to Ninghai, he followed. At seventy-two, after bathing and changing clothes, he passed away in seated meditation, leaving behind the transmitted work "Collection of Dispelling Delusions."

The second practitioner, named Cao Zhen, with the Daoist name Chaoxuzi, hailed from Fangzhou in Shaanxi and came from a wealthy family. In his youth, he excelled in studies and was known for his integrity and humility. During the Dading reign period (Jin dynasty era), he chanced upon Daoist scriptures and, lamenting the brevity of human life, resolved to seek immortality and the Dao. Hearing that Master Danyang practiced at the ancestral temple on Mount Zhongnan (the birthplace of Quanzhen Daoism), he went to pay homage. Recognizing his extraordinary disposition, Master Danyang accepted him as a disciple and transmitted Daoist methods. Deeply aware of the rarity of encountering an enlightened teacher, Cao Zhen renounced worldly ambitions to devote himself to cultivation. Once, while meditating in stillness, Master Danyang came to enlighten him, and he immediately knelt to seek guidance.

Both exemplify the Quanzhen tradition's core principle of "renouncing the mundane to wholeheartedly pursue the Dao," attaining high spiritual realms through prolonged practice. As their teacher, Master Danyang skillfully instructed according to each disciple's characteristics. Lines from his poem like "with a heart cooled to forget wealth and honor" vividly illustrate Quanzhen's advocacy of detachment from fame and gain.

This passage recounts the life stories of several important figures from the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school of Daoism.

The narrative begins with the teaching scene of Danyang Zhenren (Master Ma Yu) instructing his disciples. Danyang emphasized "stillness" as the foundation of Daoist cultivation, comparing quiet meditation to ascending heaven with wings, while self-reflection was likened to sitting in a hall observing steps with perfect clarity. True practice, he taught, meant maintaining inner tranquility undisturbed by external influences and acting in accordance with natural principles. Upon hearing this, the disciples grasped the essence, realizing that Daoist cultivation required unwavering self-confidence and a mind as clear as still water—a transmission that has remained unbroken since ancient times.

The text then documents the life of Lai Lingyu Zhenren. Born into a prominent Shaanxi family, he studied Confucianism from childhood and earned the title of "Jieyuan" (top graduate). In 1170 during the Dading era, he became Danyang Zhenren's disciple and followed his master eastward to Shandong. After Danyang's ascension, he inherited his teacher's mission and propagated the Dao in Shandong. During the Mingchang period (1190-1196), he spent over a decade spreading teachings with fellow practitioners in the Yanji region of Hebei, greatly contributing to Quanzhen's flourishing. He peacefully departed at Yongshou Temple in Yanjing in April 1207 (the seventh year of Taihe era), later posthumously honored as "Yixuan Huizheng Chaoxu Zhenren."

The passage briefly mentions Lei Datong Zhenren, descendant of a prominent Yan'an family—a tall, dignified man with refined temperament. Known in his youth for literary talent and called "Jieyuan," he encountered an immortal revelation while studying one spring night in 1175 (Dading 15), subsequently embarking on the Daoist path.

These accounts illustrate the master-disciple transmission characteristic of early Quanzhen practice and the typical Confucian-to-Daoist conversion of eminent adepts, reflecting the historical development of Daoism during the Song-Jin period.

That night, as the third watch approached, the sound of a cane scraping against the ground suddenly echoed outside the window. A sigh followed: "Alas, how foolish and deluded are the people of this world, wasting their efforts in pursuit of empty splendor—all is but a fleeting dream in the end. Far better to set one's heart on cultivating immortality and dwell forever in the highest palaces of Penglai, the immortal mountain." The master (referring to the protagonist) hurriedly opened the door to investigate, yet saw no one. Raising a candle to illuminate the ground, he discovered four lines of poetry etched with the cane, signed at the end with the name "Yan Weng." From that moment on, the master saw through worldly illusions completely and resolved firmly to pursue the path of immortality.

That autumn, the master had originally intended to travel to Chang'an for the imperial examinations. But upon hearing that the ancestral temple of Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism on Mount Zhongnan was home to the revered master Danyang (Ma Yu), who was spreading the teachings of Quanzhen, he went to pay his respects. The two men connected instantly, as if bound by a predestined affinity. The master composed two quatrains to express his sincerity, to which Danyang immediately responded in kind:

"Even if your fame surpasses that of Su Qin,

Better to conceal your brilliance and live in obscurity.

Transcend the mundane to wander freely,

Return to your original nature and clarity will arise.

Purity and Wuwei (non-action) are the secrets of eternal life,

Abandoning wife and child is not the true transmission.

Awaken to emptiness without attachment,

And naturally, you shall receive the finest opportunity."

The master burned incense and knelt in reverence, requesting to become a disciple. Danyang accepted him, bestowing upon him a Daoist name and instructing him in daily practice. The master progressed swiftly in his cultivation, gaining profound insights. In the summer of the Renyin year, when Danyang departed eastward, the master remained at the ancestral temple to continue his practice. In the spring of the Jiachen year, upon hearing of Danyang’s passing, he journeyed far to the seaside to pay his respects.

In the early Mingchang era, he traveled westward again and, passing through Tengzhou, was captivated by the secluded beauty of Mount Yi. There, by the Xiangshi Stream, he built a hermitage for cultivation, where he lived in seclusion, guiding disciples and teaching the people. Over time, hundreds sought his instruction, among whom Lingzhenzi Ma Liaodao and Qingmingzi Wang Zhizhuan became his closest disciples, later establishing their own lineages.

In the autumn of the Da’an Xinwei year, the master said to his disciples, "The kalpa’s end approaches, and suffering will befall all living beings. I cannot bear to witness this world any longer." Soon after, he manifested a slight illness and passed away. His disciples buried him beside the hermitage. Later, war raged across the land until the Great Yuan brought peace to the realm.

In the Gengxu year, his esteemed disciple, the Qingxu Zhenren (True Man of Purity and Emptiness) Zhang Zhidong, came from Wuchuan. Finding his master’s tomb humble, he gathered fellow Daoists from all directions and prepared burial robes and a stone coffin to rebury him with proper rites.

(Notes: 1. Retained specialized terms like "Danyang" and "ancestral temple"; 2. Added contextual explanations for references like Su Qin and "concealing one’s brilliance"; 3. Translated "百六数穷" as "the kalpa’s end" for clarity; 4. Used "manifested a slight illness" to reflect the Daoist transcendence of death.)

This passage records the life story of Liu Zhenyi, a Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoist priest during the Jin Dynasty.

Liu Zhenyi (Daoist name Langranzi) was born into a prominent Confucian family in Huang County, Dengzhou, Shandong. Gifted with exceptional intelligence, he could memorize texts after a single reading and excelled in the imperial examinations in his youth, earning the local title of "Jieyuan" (top provincial graduate). However, he showed little interest in worldly fame and often harbored aspirations for spiritual transcendence. Later, he fell seriously ill with no cure in sight—until Wang Chongyang, the founding patriarch of Quanzhen Daoism, passed through his hometown accompanied by his disciples Ma Yu (Danyang Zhenren), Tan Chuduan (Changzhenzi), and Qiu Chuji (Changchun Zhenren). Liu's mother hosted a vegetarian feast (zhaijiao) for them and begged for her son's healing. Wang Chongyang declared that Liu Zhenyi "was originally a man of our tradition" and cured him with consecrated water. The following year, Liu traveled to Mount Zhongnan to become Ma Yu's disciple.

Before his ascension (xianhua), Ma Yu gave Liu Zhenyi a special admonition: "To achieve the Daoist path of immortality, one must accumulate vast merit (gongde). Even if faced with countless trials, never retreat. True 'vision' lies not in the physical eyes but in the clarity of one's innate nature (xing)." He then instructed Liu to propagate the teachings in the north. Following his master's command, Liu spread the Dao in regions like Pingzhou and Luanzhou in Hebei, eventually establishing the Chongyang Temple in Funing County. He initiated thousands of disciples and founded over 300 Daoist temples, greatly advancing the Quanzhen tradition's expansion in northern China. He attained immortality (xianhua) on the sixth day of the second lunar month in 1206 (the sixth year of Emperor Zhangzong's Taihe era in the Jin Dynasty).

The text mentions several terms: "fu" refers to joint burial, "ji zhang" (a small table and staff) symbolizes serving one's teacher, and "yuhua" (feathered transformation) is the Daoist honorific term for the passing of an enlightened master.

Disciples from the Ancestral Temple of Zhongnan Mountain (the Quanzhen School's founding temple), including Di Daoming, recorded: Before our master passed away, he told us, "I am returning to the realm of the Dao." Back when Patriarch Ma Danyang (one of the Seven Perfected of the Quanzhen School) was about to ascend in transcendence, he had exhorted me to cultivate the Dao diligently, and you must never forget the scripture Jade and Gold Collection. All who enter the Daoist path must study this text. You must have this classic carved into woodblocks for printing and widely circulated. After speaking these words, the master peacefully transformed like a feathered immortal. The poetry and verses he composed during his lifetime were compiled into The Collection of Responsive Affinities and passed down through the ages.

Regarding the deeds of Master Li Dacheng: The master, surnamed Li, was born into an eminent family in Huating County, Pingliang Prefecture, Gansu. In his youth, he studied Confucian classics and excelled in poetry and literature, passing the provincial-level imperial examinations early in life. After failing the metropolitan exams in middle age, he developed a longing to withdraw from the world and cultivate the Dao. In the autumn of the 18th year of the Jin Dynasty's Dading era (1178 CE), when Patriarch Ma Danyang journeyed westward to spread the Dao, Master Li specially invited him to stay at his home as an honored guest. After daily listening to the patriarch’s profound teachings on the mysteries of the Dao, he resolutely dismissed his household, donned Daoist robes, and formally took him as his master. Ma Danyang bestowed upon him the Daoist name "Dacheng" (Great Vehicle) and the religious name "Lingyangzi" (Spirit Sun Child), allowing him to receive authentic transmissions daily and comprehend the subtleties of the Dao.

On the 15th day of the second lunar month the following year, Ma Danyang built a huandu (a circular hut for secluded meditation) in the Li family garden and lived there with Li Dacheng for a hundred days. At their parting, he gifted him a poem hinting: "If you can fathom the deeper meaning of my planting leeks (a metaphor for the Daoist teachings), one day you will surely attain the Dao and ascend in transcendence." Later, upon discovering a withered crabapple tree in the garden, the patriarch transplanted it into the huandu on the 14th day of the fourth month (the birthday of Lü Dongbin) and composed a poem prophesying that it symbolized "the harmonious union of Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang." By the 20th day of the fifth month, the dead tree miraculously sprouted new buds. Ma Danyang explained: "From Lüzu’s birthday to mine is exactly thirty-six days. Adding thirty-six day-periods and thirty-six night-periods completes the perfect number of seventy-two hou (an ancient calendrical term)." Li Dacheng specially composed Record of the Marvelous Tree to document this divine sign and had it inscribed on a stele for commemoration.

Later, Ma Danyang took Li Dacheng to the Ancestral Temple of Zhongnan Mountain to cultivate for several years, frequently offering guidance and validation. In the 22nd year of Dading (1182), as Ma Danyang prepared to return eastward, Qiu Chuji (whose Daoist name was Changchunzi) said to Li Dacheng: "The lineage of our Quanzhen School shall now spread to the East."

During his tenure as an official in Hu County, Liu Wujie of Guantao developed a close friendship with the Master (referring to the protagonist). When Liu's term ended, he invited the Master to travel east together. Upon returning to his hometown, Liu specially built a thatched hermitage to honor the Master and formally became his Daoist disciple. As more seekers of the Dao gathered, disciples flocked like clouds. A few years later, the Master passed away peacefully after a minor illness, his body as light as a cicada's shed shell, astonishing all who came to pay respects. His disciples buried him beside the hermitage with proper rites. Later, when peace returned to the Guanzhong region, the Daoist community constructed the grand Taiqing Temple at Huating Huanpu, where the Master once cultivated.

Daoist Master Zhao Jiuyuan, born Zhao Jiuyuan with the courtesy name Jidao and the Daoist name Zhanranzi, hailed from the prominent Zhao clan of Long'an County, Longzhou. Unlike other children, he showed no interest in playful activities from childhood. As an adult, he became prudent and magnanimous, speaking little yet possessing a towering physique and an untrammeled demeanor. In his early years, he studied Confucianism and even topped the provincial examinations, earning the title "Jieyuan" (top graduate) among Longzhou locals. Yet he spurned official honors, harboring instead a longing for reclusive cultivation. He remained unmarried past thirty.

In autumn 1178 (the Dading reign of Jin), when Dan-yang Zhenren (Ma Yu) was spreading the Dao in Longchuan, seekers gathered like clouds. Deeply moved upon meeting him, Zhao Jiuyuan exclaimed: "This is where I truly belong." After offering incense and hosting a vegetarian feast, he begged to become Dan-yang's disciple and was accepted. The following year when Dan-yang returned to the ancestral temple at Zhongnan, Zhao followed and resided there, diligently studying the doctrines of Dao (the Way), De (Virtue), and the dual cultivation of nature and life with remarkable progress. By 1182, as Dan-yang journeyed eastward, Zhao wandered freely between Zhongnan Mountain and the Fengxiang-Longzhou region in serene contentment.

When Zhang Bangzhi of Henei served as magistrate of Fufeng County, he often invited Zhao for extended stays to discuss the Dao, forging a transcendent friendship beyond worldly formalities. Zhao's literary style was understated yet refined, his poetry elegant and vigorous, echoing the legacy of Tao Yuanming and Xie Lingyun. Daily he studied the Daode Jing, Zhuangzi, and Huangting Jing (Scripture of the Yellow Court), never speaking idly. Hearing others discuss faults, he would close his eyes and say only: "Criticizing others harms virtue and breeds resentment. The sage's teaching is strict self-discipline and leniency toward others." Thus he was revered wherever he went.

During the late Zhengda era (ca. 1232) when war ravaged Fengxiang and Longzhou, Zhao shouldered his book chest and disappeared deep into the Long Mountains, leaving no trace. Only after the Yuan dynasty's unification did....

(Note: "Dan-yang" refers to Ma Yu of the Quanzhen Seven Masters; "Huangting Jing" is a key Daoist scripture; "transcendent friendship" denotes spiritual kinship beyond mundane etiquette)

At Longzhou's Youde Temple, a Daoist priest surnamed Zheng (the honorific "Lianshi" refers to accomplished Daoist masters) collected some writings left by earlier adepts. A man named Zhou Chu later compiled these into the Reflections on the Mysterious anthology. In the early Zhongtong era of the Yuan dynasty, Zhao Zhichong—a disciple of one such adept—selected an auspicious site north of the capital near Haotian Temple. He invited Hanlin academician Meng Panlin to compose a memorial inscription, establishing a cenotaph for seasonal spring and autumn rituals.

This revered adept, Su Xuan (styled Yunzhongzi), hailed from Pucheng in Huazhou. Endowed with magnanimity and kindness, he treated others with humility and often lingered amidst misty mountain vistas. In the spring of 1171 (the Xinyou year of the Jin dynasty's Dading era), he journeyed to the ancestral temples of Zhongnan Mountain, seeking guidance from Quanzhen patriarch Ma Yu (Danyang Zhenren). Ma retained him as a disciple, first instructing him in ritual propriety. Su Xuan served diligently without respite until Ma transmitted essential cultivation methods, often using poetry to illuminate his understanding. As his insight into the Dao deepened—earning him the sobriquet "Little Danyang" among peers—he eventually traveled eastward, propagating the teachings while immersed in worldly affairs. When Ma Yu returned eastward in the summer of 1182, Su Xuan resumed his attendance until Ma's ascension, after which he taught in Dengzhou and Laizhou. During the Mingchang era (1190-1196), Qiu Chuji (Changchun Zhenren) dispatched him to proselytize in Yanji, where his residence at Chongfu Temple attracted growing followings. One day he told disciples: "When will worldly attachments cease? My return is due." As multicolored clouds gathered, he passed peacefully while reclining. In winter 1245, Yin Zhiping (Qinghe Zhenren) reinterred him at Wuhua Mountain's immortal cemetery. Li Zhichang (Zhenchang Zhenren) later posthumously honored him as "Cloud-Dwelling Zhenren Who Embodies the Origin and Assists the Teachings."

Another adept, Yu Tongqing (styled Zhenguangzi), came from Xi Prefecture east of the Yellow River. His mother once dreamed of receiving an elixir from immortals, conceiving after ingesting it. His birth illuminated their home with crimson light that lingered for hours. Orphaned young while living near Shenxiao Temple, he once asked his mother during devotions: "Can mortals become such deities?" She replied: "Sincere cultivation brings one near them."

This Daoist cultivator's story unfolds as follows: In his youth, he once heard a Daoist priest chanting scriptures and quietly sat nearby in rapt attention, only leaving after the recitation ended. As an adult, he maintained upright character, cared little for family possessions, and always harbored aspirations transcending worldly concerns—though the path remained unclear. Around age twenty when his mother passed away, after fulfilling all funeral rites, during the Dading era's Jihai year (a Jin dynasty reign period), he encountered an alms-seeking Daoist. After offering the priest food and inquiring about his destination, learning the man was heading to Zhongnan Mountain to seek a master, he followed as companion.

At the Ancestral Temple of Zhongnan (Quanzhen School's founding center), he paid respects to Perfected Danyang (Ma Yu, one of the Quanzhen Seven Masters). When asked his purpose, he answered truthfully and was retained for attendant duties. Years later, Perfected Danyang personally inscribed the "Method for Establishing One's Being" and transmitted it to him, saying cultivation according to this would lead to immortality, while repeatedly imparting secret oral instructions that opened his heart-mind's understanding. After Danyang returned eastward, he remained guarding the Ancestral Temple. By the Mingchang era's Xinhai year (1191), when Perfected Changchun (Qiu Chuji) also journeyed east, he followed to reside at Qixia's Great Emptiness Abbey.

Years afterward, Changchun summoned him, declaring the time had come to propagate Daoist teachings, dispatching him to Beijing and other regions to spread the Dao while personally writing essential doctrinal guidelines. Obeying the mandate, he secluded himself for three years in Xidu (modern Beijing area), during which numinous marvels repeatedly manifested. Officials and commoners alike entreated him to emerge and expound the Dao—seekers became uncountable, all receiving genuine attainment. As his Dao-affinities flourished, disciples exceeded a thousand, with Lu Rouhe and Ding Zhiyi becoming inner-chamber successors. The community constructed Huayang Abbey on northeastern Beijing's heights to support him, where he took the sobriquet "Recluse of Tuyang."

During the Da'an era's Jisi year (1209), when Perfected Yuyang (Wang Chuyi) toured northward and lodged at the abbey, he soon brought him to the capital where the court bestowed purple robes and master's title, elevating his renown and multiplying followers. In the Zhenyou era's Jiaxu year (1214), Changchun recalled him to Qixia's Great Emptiness Abbey to oversee affairs. Amid the Xingding period (post-1217), wartime chaos prompted relocation to Fushan County's Xingshan Village's Cultivating Truth Hermitage. One day assembling the community, he announced: "Today heaven's qi is clear and bright, warfare stilled—my departure has come." After ritual bathing, he inscribed this gatha: "This morning topples the rootless tree..." (hinting at imminent ascension through feathery transformation).

This passage records the cultivation practices of two Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoist masters, presented in two parts using modern language:

Regarding the unnamed master:

This Daoist cultivated internal alchemy (Neidan) in the Zhongnan Mountains. At the time of his passing at age fifty-six, he leaned on a wooden staff and dragged his shoes behind him, departing with the carefree demeanor of one journeying to Penglai, the Isle of Immortals. Throughout that day, his thatched hut was enveloped in auspicious five-colored clouds. After the wartime turmoil subsided, his disciple Li Zhifang relocated his master's remains to the Immortal Tomb at Wangyu Village northwest of Zhangde Prefecture (modern Anyang, Henan), where he established a shrine for offerings.

Detailed biography of Daoist Zhao Wuxuan:

This master's secular name was Zhao Wuxuan, courtesy name Zishen, with the Daoist name Liaozhenzi. Born in Lintong, Shaanxi on the second day of the fifth lunar month in 1149 (the first year of the Tiande era), his birth was accompanied by divine light filling the household. His mother carried him for twelve months, and from childhood he displayed extraordinary signs. As he matured, he revered the principle of Wuwei (non-action) and disdained worldly affairs.

In the spring of 1170, when Quanzhen founder Wang Chongyang passed through Lingkou Town accompanied by his three senior disciples—Qiu Chuji, Liu Chuxuan, and Tan Chuduan—Zhao recognized their exceptional nature and invited them home for purification rituals (Zhaijiao) and offerings. Later, he led six family members—his mother Lady Wei, sister, younger brother, wife, and nephew—to follow Wang Chongyang into monastic life at Zhongnan Mountains.

Eager to spread the Dao, Wang accepted them all as disciples and transmitted essential cultivation methods. Among these relatives, Zhao Wuxuan trained longest under Wang. After attaining realization, he practiced for several years in a thatched hut at Liujiang Village. In 1180, a lay devotee named Zhao En donated his residence to establish Penglai Hermitage, where Zhao Wuxuan cultivated in seated meditation for a decade. Later, fellow cultivator Li of Qin Village in Chunhua County built another hermitage where he resided for twelve years. As evidence of his spiritual attainment, he planted four cypress branches at the hermitage that remain flourishing to this day (when recorded).

During the Taihe era (1201-1208) of the Jin Dynasty, Luo Xixuan of Fanchuan in Xianning County, hearing of Zhao's spiritual mastery, specially built a hermitage for him. Once, Luo's brother Luo Duxun encountered an alms-seeking Daoist at a Xi'an teahouse and gave him one coin. Over a month later when visiting Master Zhao, he was astonished to recognize him as the same Daoist. Asked whether Master Zhao had traveled recently, the reply was negative—revealing this was a case of bilocation. Luo Duxun immediately burned incense in reverence and later donated offerings from Songyang (possibly a place name or item).

This passage records the biographical accounts of two Daoist perfected beings. First is the story of Master Tian (courtesy name Xianti): Originally cultivating at Quandao Hermitage on Mount Zhongnan, he once prophesied to his disciple Ran Yiqi that the area near Taibai Temple (dedicated to Laozi, the progenitor of Daoism) would become a significant Daoist site. This prediction later materialized as the location developed into a renowned Daoist monastery. At age sixty-three, Master Tian passed away without illness and was buried at the Cypress Slope of Quandao Hermitage in Fanchuan, which later expanded into the famous Cuwei Palace. During the Yuan Dynasty, Perfected Being Zhenchang posthumously honored him as "Perfected Being Hongxuan."

The other account concerns Perfected Being Duan Mingyuan (courtesy name Zhenyangzi), a native of Pingshui in Shanxi. In his youth, after injuring someone while intoxicated, he fled to Guanzhong. At the ancestral temple of Mount Zhongnan (the birthplace of Quanzhen Daoism), he experienced sudden enlightenment upon hearing the teachings of Patriarch Ma Danyang and subsequently took vows as his disciple. After years of cultivation, Ma Danyang instructed him to "reduce desires, purify the heart, and restrain sharp edges." Through dedicated practice, he ultimately attained the Great Dao. Later returning to Hedong (modern Shanxi), he established Zhen Hermitage in Jishan County, attracting numerous followers. In the summer of 1182, sensing his master Ma Danyang's impending eastern return, he led disciples to Tong Pass to welcome him. Seeing Duan's spiritual accomplishment, Ma Danyang remarked with satisfaction: "With Zhao Wuxuan in Guanzhong and Duan Mingyuan in Hedong, my Daoist teachings will endure."

(Note: Ma Danyang was one of the seven principal disciples of Wang Chongyang, founder of Quanzhen Daoism. "Patriarch Danyang" in the text refers to him; "enclosure" denotes a small chamber for secluded meditation; "ritual incense" refers to ceremonial incense used in Daoist rites.)

Yang Mingzhen, a Daoist practitioner, heard of an eminent elder residing in the Sanyuan region and journeyed specifically to seek his guidance. The elder imparted many teachings to him and even offered words of transcendent wisdom beyond worldly concerns. On the 28th day of the second month in the first year of the Mingchang era (1190 CE, under Emperor Zhangzong of the Jin dynasty), the practitioner gathered his disciples and declared: "I shall now journey to the Three Sacred Mountains (Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou)." After purifying himself through ritual bathing, he composed a gatha verse:

"Decades of cultivation have brought me to perfection’s shore,

My luminous mind shines bright as candlelight.

My primordial spirit (Shen) may roam the isles of immortals,

While vital breath (Qi) condenses into six-ounce robes of transcendence.

Henceforth, I wander boundless through heaven and earth,

Untethered and carefree, beyond worldly strife.

In silent stillness, all attachments released—

Mounting cranes, riding colored clouds, I return home."

Having written this, he reclined his head upon his arm and peacefully departed. Remarkably, his eyes remained radiantly clear and unclosed for several days. His disciples interred him with proper rites beside the Page Hermitage. The practitioner’s lifetime of poetic works was compiled into the Mingyuan Collection, which circulated widely in the mortal realm.

This recounts the cultivation stories of two Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoist priests:

Liu Kaiwu, originally a scholar from Fangzhou in Shaanxi, was named Kaiwu with the courtesy name Juji and the Daoist title "Wu Ranzi" (Unstained Master). Gifted with innate intelligence yet taciturn by nature, he came from a wealthy family but disdained extravagance. As a learned jinshi (metropolitan graduate), he returned to his hometown after twice participating in the palace examinations and was recommended as the local prefectural school registrar. During his travels in Chang'an in the spring of 1182, he encountered Patriarch Ma Danyang (one of the "Seven Northern Perfected Ones" of Quanzhen). After profound discussions and poetic exchanges, Liu experienced sudden enlightenment, resolutely abandoning his family estate to follow the Daoist path. He cultivated at the ancestral temple of Zhongnan Mountain's Liujiang Hermitage for over a decade, making remarkable progress in Daoist practice. Together with Cao Zhen, Lai Lingyu and seven others, they became known as the "Ten Provincial Graduates of the Mystic Gate." When Ma Danyang returned eastward, Liu accompanied him. Later, during the Mingchang era (1190-1196), he was dispatched by Qiu Chuji to spread Daoist teachings in Hebei, ultimately settling at Qixuan Hermitage in Gu'an. After his passing in 1212, Yin Zhiping (Perfected Qinghe) relocated his remains to Wuhua Mountain. In 1250, Li Zhichang (Perfected Zhenchang) posthumously honored him with the imperial title "Perfected of Luminous Mystery, Exalted Virtue and Unstained Purity" by imperial decree.

Ren Shouyi came from a farming family in Huxian County, Shaanxi, bearing the Daoist name "Ziranzi" (Master of Spontaneity). A man of imposing stature and forthright character, he originally delighted in hunting until one night he dreamed of being taken by underworld officers into the netherworld, where witnessing the tortures inflicted on sinners brought about his awakening. Upon waking, he broke his bow and arrows while swearing celestial oaths of repentance, proceeding directly to Zhongnan Mountain to seek Ma Danyang as his teacher. Though repeatedly rejected at first, his unwavering determination eventually moved the patriarch to accept him. For three years he performed menial tasks at the monastery without complaint until Ma Danyang, deeply impressed, transmitted the essential cultivation methods, teaching him to refine Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy) and Shen (spirit) through forbearance and mind-regulation. Later, when Ren knelt in gratitude, Ma recognized he had grasped the true essence of cultivation.

Master Yang Mingzhen was born in Sanyuan County, Yaozhou on the 18th day of the 11th lunar month during the Tiande era of the Jin dynasty (1170 CE). At his birth, the chamber filled with auspicious azure qi. From childhood, he displayed an aloof and upright character, showing no interest in childish games. Upon reaching adulthood, he often lamented the transience of human life and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the pursuit of immortality.

In the 14th year of the Jin Dading era (1174), hearing that Patriarch Ma Danyang was propagating the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) teachings on Zhongnan Mountain, he left home to seek instruction. Recognizing Yang's dignified bearing and magnanimous spirit, Ma Danyang exclaimed, "Here is true material for cultivating transcendence!" He bestowed upon Yang the Daoist name "Mingzhen" (Illuminated Truth) and the sobriquet "Bixuzi" (Master of Jade Emptiness), transmitting to him the secret methods of Neidan (internal alchemy) practice.

After receiving these teachings, Yang deliberately adopted the appearance of a beggar - unkempt hair, soiled face - wandering streets for alms while occasionally singing and dancing like a madman, earning him the nickname "Madman Yang." For years he carried a horse ladle as his drinking vessel, dwelling among beggars in complete silence, his will steadfast as metal and stone, mostly active around Zhongnan Mountain.

Upon learning of Ma Danyang's ascension to immortality, Yang journeyed east to Shandong to pay respects at his master's tomb. There he also sought guidance from Patriarchs Liu Chuxuan (the Eternal Life Master) and Wang Chuyi (the Jade Yang Master). Returning westward, he specially visited Duan Zhenyang in Jishan County as Ma Danyang had recommended, obtaining further esoteric transmissions. Back in Shaanxi, he practiced meditation in the proclamation hall before Xi'an's government office, utterly indifferent to worldly splendor.

On the 14th day of the 4th month in the 1st year of the Jin Mingchang era (1190), Yang gathered disciples saying, "Last night my master appeared summoning me to wander immortal mountains together." After ritual bathing and changing clothes, he peacefully departed this world. Following the Jin-Yuan wars, disciples relocated his remains to Chongyang Temple in Baijian Village, Penglai County, Dengzhou, erecting a memorial shrine. During his lifetime, his alms-seeking and teaching missions across Hebei had significantly expanded Quanzhen Daoism's influence.

This passage records the miraculous deeds of two Daoist perfected beings (zhenren).

The first master displayed numerous spiritual powers during his cultivation at Mount Zhongnan. When Transport Commissioner Gao Deqing suffered sudden heart pains that no physician could cure, he dreamed on his deathbed of this master spraying water at him. Gao immediately broke into sweat and awoke, recovering completely within days. He personally visited the proclamation hall to burn incense in gratitude, offering gold, silver and silk, but the master steadfastly refused. Instead, he composed ten quatrains in response.

During the Dragon Boat Festival at Qingzhen Hermitage, the master performed a wonder: drawing an incense burner on the ground with his finger and using a handful of earth as incense, he produced emerald-green smoke that formed a canopy-shaped cloud lingering for hours, while several cranes circled and cried overhead—a spectacle that amazed all witnesses. Later, Commander Wanyan funded the construction of present-day Danxia Temple.

An elderly Su who was paralyzed in both legs regained the ability to walk instantly after the master sprayed water on him. As crowds then sought this "magic water" (fashui) for healing, the master—finding the commotion bothersome—chanted incantations over a cup of water before pouring it into a well, which emitted thunderous sounds. Thereafter, the well's water alone cured illnesses, earning its name "Magic Water Well" that persists to this day.

Returning to the ancestral temple (zuting), the master gathered disciples for a purification ritual (zhaijiao), transmitting the dharma lineage to Li Wuyu. He instructed temple abbot Bi Zhichang to arrange his posthumous affairs, then composed this verse before his ascension (yuhua, Daoist term for death): "Eighty years flashed like lightning / Foul decay abandoned to barren fields / Now I depart utterly unhindered / Releasing all to merge with nature." Intriguingly, Song Zhaoran—long at odds with the master—suddenly saw him bidding farewell outside his window, only to learn upon rushing out that the master had just transcended. This occurred on June 11, 1228 (Zhengda Wuzi year), aged seventy-nine.

The second master, Zhou Quandao, was born on December 22, 1145 (Huangtong Yichou year) to an eminent family in ancient Bin, Shaanxi. Grave in demeanor since childhood, he attained realization through cultivation at Mount Zhongnan, teaching hundreds of disciples and authoring the Chang'an Collection. Buried in the Immortal Shedding Garden at Liujiang Village, he was posthumously honored in winter 1250 as "Perfected Being of Azure Emptiness and Unyielding Fortitude."

The text mentions key Daoist practices: "incanted water" (zhou shui) refers to chanting mantras to imbue water with healing properties; "purification rites" (xiu zhai) denote ritual ceremonies; and "dharma succession" (si fa) indicates transmitting the spiritual lineage. These accounts illustrate how Daoist masters develop miraculous powers to aid humanity through cultivation.

This man possessed an extraordinary and archaic appearance, with a demeanor of refined serenity. Having lost his father in childhood and grown up in poverty, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving his mother. When she contracted a mysterious illness that defied all treatments, he sliced flesh from his own thigh to brew with medicine—whereupon her condition miraculously healed. The entire village knew him as a paragon of filial piety.

Upon reaching adulthood, he gracefully declined marriage proposals. After his mother's passing, he wept so bitterly that his life was nearly extinguished by grief. He lamented: "I have heard Daoist teachings say that when one attains the Dao (the Way), nine generations of ancestors may ascend to immortality. To repay my parents' boundless kindness, there could be no better opportunity than this."

In the Guisi year of the Dading era (1173), when Master Ma Yu (Dan-yang Zhenren) was transmitting Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) teachings at the ancestral temple on Zhongnan Mountain, he journeyed there to seek the Dao. Master Dan-yang accepted him as a disciple, assigning menial tasks like chopping wood, carrying water, and pounding rice alongside other disciples. For years he labored reverently without complaint. Recognizing his sincere devotion, Master Dan-yang one day summoned him to a quiet chamber, transmitted the sacred methods from the Zhen'gao scripture, and bestowed upon him the Daoist name "Quan-yangzi."

After receiving these authentic teachings, he cultivated himself with even greater rigor, refining his heart-mind and diligently practicing what he had learned. Within a few years, the entire monastic community admired his genuine attainment. Eventually Master Dan-yang instructed him: "The remote region of Binzhou lacks proper spiritual guidance—you must go there to propagate the Dao." Obeying his master's command, he established a hermitage beneath Jade Peak Mountain, where he cultivated in stillness while teaching local villagers. Adapting his instruction to each person's spiritual capacity, he even cared for the elderly, infirm, and orphaned within his hermitage. The local people increasingly revered him, and the entire district's moral character improved remarkably.

When Master Dan-yang returned east in the Renyin year (1182), Quan-yangzi would personally visit the ancestral temple every Qingming Festival to pay respects. During the Zhenyou era (1213-1217), when Qiang invaders captured Binzhou, he remained steadfast in his practice even as a prisoner. Recognizing his extraordinary nature, the Qiang released him. Eventually, countless seekers came from all directions for instruction—he guided them to establish their own practice centers to teach future generations.

Near the end of the Yuanguang era (ca. 1223), when Chancellor Zhang Xinfu governed Binzhou out of jealousy toward Quan-yangzi's reputation, he deliberately came to Jade Peak Mountain to provoke him. Quan-yangzi responded by expounding the profound principles of Dao (the Way), De (Virtue), and the dual cultivation of nature and life (xingming shuangxiu). Deeply moved by his sincerity, Chancellor Zhang later told others: "Zhou Quan-yang is truly...".

This passage recounts the legendary stories of two Daoist practitioners.

First, we have the story of Master Yang Youdao. On the second day of his retreat, he prepared a vegetarian feast for his guests and bestowed upon them robes and shoes. At that time, there were attendants who cared for his daily needs, and he often traveled between Chang'an and the temple of Emperor Gaozu of Han. The military commander Wanyan Gong treated him with the reverence due to a master. In the fifth year of the Zhengda era (1228) of the Jin dynasty, he returned to Binzhou. On the seventeenth day of the tenth month, he gathered his disciples for a vegetarian feast and summoned his dharma heir, Yuanmingzi Li Zhiyuan. He instructed him, saying, "Nanshi Village in the Zhongnan Mountains is where our patriarch established his teaching altar and cultivated the true Dao. I had hoped to build a sacred site there to manifest his immortal legacy, but the times are not favorable, and we cannot force it. When peace returns to the world, you must strive to fulfill my wish." After speaking, he had his attendants burn incense and ordered the assembly to recite the Scripture of Clarity and Stillness (Qingjing Jing). He sat upright in meditation as they chanted. Just as they finished the third recitation, he rested his head on his left arm and peacefully departed this life at the age of eighty-four. He was buried beside the Jade Peak Hermitage.

The local official Wang Caiqing had a deep friendship with Yang Youdao. At the time, the city of Qingyang was under siege and in grave danger. Suddenly, Wang dreamed of Yang Youdao floating down to bid him farewell: "I have come especially to say goodbye. The rise and fall of official life is not worth clinging to. Once the human body is lost, it is hard to regain—treasure it well!" Not long after, the siege was lifted, and upon inquiry, Wang discovered that the day Yang appeared in his dream was the very day he had ascended in transformation (羽化). Deeply moved, Wang resigned from office, sent his family away, and devoted the rest of his life to Daoist cultivation.

The second story took place in the third year of the Cheng'an era (1198) of the Jin dynasty. In Yuncheng, Shandong, Zhang Zhiyuan twice dreamed of a divine being brandishing a blade and rebuking him: "Your allotted lifespan is nearly exhausted—why have you not yet sought a master to learn the Dao and escape death?" Startled, he wandered uneasily to the western outskirts of the city, where he encountered a Daoist wearing hemp robes and straw sandals, tall and imposing. The Daoist said, "You and I share a karmic bond from past lives. I have come specifically to deliver you." There, by the roadside, he transmitted to Zhang the secret essentials of cultivation (修真密旨) and gave him a hemp cord belt, instructing, "Remember these teachings well. In thirty years, a disciple of mine will come to meet you, and then you will form a great karmic connection with your true master." When Zhang asked his name, the Daoist replied, "I am Zhou Quanyang of Guanzhong," before vanishing. Zhang immediately renounced worldly life. Later, he founded the White Cloud Temple (Baiyun Guan) in Jizhou, guiding hundreds of disciples and establishing Daoist temples throughout the Qi and Lu regions.

Notes:

1. "Returning to the True" (返真) and "ascending in transformation" (羽化) are honorific terms in Daoism for the passing of an accomplished practitioner.

2. A "dharma heir" (嗣法门人) refers to a disciple who inherits the master's lineage and teachings.

3. "Secret essentials of cultivation" (修眞密旨) denotes the core principles of Daoist practice.

4. The Scripture of Clarity and Stillness (Qingjing Jing) mentioned here is the abbreviated title of the Supreme Elder Lord's Scripture on Constant Clarity and Stillness (Taishang Laojun Shuo Chang Qingjing Jing), a key Daoist classic.

This passage records the cultivation experiences of Qiao Qiandao (styled Chongxuzi), a Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoist priest during the Jin-Yuan period. Originally from Pingyang, Shanxi, Qiao at age thirty-six (in the Renchen year of the Dading era) traveled with his fellow villager Li Chongdao to Mount Zhongnan to become disciples of Ma Danyang (one of the "Seven Perfected Ones" of Quanzhen). At the ancestral temple in Liujiang Village, they performed menial tasks while cultivating. Ma Danyang transmitted to him oral cultivation instructions and two enlightenment poems that used "alchemical refinement" (liandan) as metaphors for mind cultivation, emphasizing maintaining inner purity ("keeping to the dark without letting the heart-mind darken") and achieving radiant health through practice.

Later, Qiao and Li wandered as mendicant cultivators around Heshui County, Shaanxi. A local official named Liu Hubu praised them as reclusive sages like the ancient Liezi, prompting villagers to build the Taiqing Temple in their honor. The text also mentions another priest, Li Yuanming, who led followers north to Shandong during wartime (the Renchen year when Mongols attacked the Jin) to establish a temple, later returning to expand the Zhongnan mountain complex in accordance with their patriarch's final instructions. During the Yuan dynasty (Renzzi year), the court posthumously honored Qiao with the title "Perfected of Complete Yang, Vast Virtue and Great Transformation."

(Note: "Immortal molting" (xiantui) refers to a Daoist's physical remains; "keeping to the dark" (shouhei) originates from the Daode Jing, denoting maintaining emptiness and stillness; "Liujiang" indicates the Quanzhen ancestral temple site, present-day Zu'an Town in Hu County, Shaanxi.)

In the year Bingwu (1186), while the Eternal Spring Master (Qiu Chuji) was expounding the Dao at the ancestral temple on Mount Zhongnan, two practitioners named Qiao Qiandao and Li Chongdao came to pay their respects as disciples. The Eternal Spring Master personally instructed them daily, observing their cultivation progress. One day, he suddenly declared to the assembly: "Qiao and Li have diligently pursued the Dao—truly they are the most enlightened among my disciples." From that moment, their mastery of Daoist practice advanced with increasing refinement.

In the year Changxin Hai (1191), the two received the Eternal Spring Master's mandate to propagate Daoism in the Linfen region of Hedong, where they established Chongxu Temple as their cultivation center. During the Taihe Renxu year (1202), they returned to the Heshui area to guide sentient beings and spread the true Dao. In the third month of Zhenyou Dingchou year (1217), while sitting with local scholar Wang Keda, Li Chongdao unexpectedly said: "I must trouble you with a request—may I borrow a robe to see me on my journey?" Several days later, he passed away without illness at eighty-one years of age. Only when Wang Keda came to offer condolences did he understand that the requested "robe" had actually meant a coffin.

At that time, disciple Li Daoyin was cultivating elsewhere when Li Chongdao suddenly appeared at his door, secretly transmitting essential cultivation methods. Upon parting, he said: "Return tomorrow—I have further instructions." The next day, as Li Daoyin was halfway there, messengers arrived announcing Li Chongdao's ascension to immortality the previous day. Only then did he realize the visitor had been his master's Yang-spirit manifestation.

Regarding Li Chongdao's background: Born with the surname Li, his Daoist name was Chongdao (Penetrating the Dao), also styled Qingxuzi (Master of Clarity and Emptiness), a native of Pingyang in Shanxi. Of resolute character and exceptional literary talent, he served his parents with utmost filial piety. In the Dading Renchen year (1172), approaching forty, he and fellow townsman Qiao Qiandao became cultivation companions, journeying together to Mount Zhongnan in Shaanxi to become disciples of Ma Danyang (one of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen). Recognizing their extraordinary potential, Ma Danyang accepted them. For years they diligently practiced, performing menial tasks like rice-pounding and courtyard sweeping with unwavering reverence. Eventually Ma transmitted esoteric cultivation methods to them, presenting an encouraging poem.

The poem's essence conveyed: Dao practitioners must transcend material desires while blending with ordinary light. Seeing through worldly illusions as autumn leaves scattering, they endure worldly ridicule of ascetic poverty—for immortal aspirations differ from vulgar pursuits. During summer's peak heat, frost appears in their caves; spiritual wisdom blossoms like spring vegetation. After receiving these teachings, Li Chongdao intensified his practice, meditating continuously for ten years without lying down, ultimately attaining crystal-clear mental clarity. Later, he and Qiao Qiandao cultivated together through alms in Heyang while spreading Daoism. When the Eternal Spring Master came from Longshan to Zhongnan's ancestral temple in Bingwu year (1186), they again sought advanced teachings. During the Mingchang Xinhai year (1191) as the master returned east, he charged them with continuing Daoist transmission in Hedong.

This passage records the life stories of two Daoist practitioners.

The first practitioner built a Daoist temple named "Chongxu Temple" west of Linfen County, gathering hundreds of disciples and establishing dozens of hermitages. He enjoyed expressing Daoist truths through subtle poetry, but his fellow practitioner Qiao Jun reminded him: Those cultivating the Dao should conceal their brilliance, as there were still greater true masters in the world, and everyone should focus on spiritual practice. Upon hearing this, he immediately acknowledged his mistake and burned all his poems. Later, foreseeing his impending death, he instructed disciples to prepare for his final ablution and change of clothes. After leaving behind final teachings on cultivation, he peacefully passed away. At his death, strange mist filled the temple courtyard for three days without dispersing, astonishing all who came to pay respects. His disciples buried him at Chongxu Temple, erecting a memorial hall with his statue where incense offerings were made.

The second practitioner, named Zhao Jiugu, took the Daoist name Xujingzi ("Master of Empty Stillness"). Born into an official's family in Tanzhou (present-day Miyun, Beijing), he displayed innate serenity. A physiognomist once remarked he had "the purity of wind and bones of wonder," unfit for worldly life. After his father's early death, he nurtured aspirations for spiritual cultivation. At seventeen, when his mother arranged marriage, he firmly refused and repeatedly requested ordination. Seeing his determination, she finally consented. He became a disciple of the renowned local master Cui Yangtou, who assigned him kitchen duties—preparing meals five to seven times nightly, each requiring different flavors yet never allowing excess portions, leaving him no rest through the night. After three years of such tempering without complaint, Master Cui deemed him worthy and sent him to Huating to study under Ma Danyang (one of the Quanzhen Seven Masters). Later, he followed Qiu Chuji (styled Changchunzi) in practice, who renamed him "Daojian" ("Firm in the Way"). He accompanied Qiu between Pingliang and the ancestral temple at Zhongnan Mountain for cultivation. During the Mingchang era (1190-1196), when Qiu returned east to Shandong, Zhao traveled with him. En route, Qiu instructed him to pay respects to Liu Chuxuan (styled Changshengzi). Later, Liu sent him back to Qixia to serve Qiu Chuji as a scribe.

This passage records the deeds of several Daoist masters from the ancestral temple of Zhongnan Mountain, focusing on two prominent figures.

The first master was responsible for managing scriptures and teachings at Zhongnan Mountain. All visiting Daoist priests had to pay their respects to him before entering the master's quarters. His literary style was refined and archaic, with calligraphy resembling the famous Stele for a Buried Crane. When the Eternal Spring Master (Changchun Zhenren) was summoned to travel westward in the year Jǐmǎo, this master was chosen as the leader of the accompanying disciples. Upon reaching Sailan City, he told Master Yin Qinghe: "Back in the Xuande era, I already had a premonition that my time was near. But our master taught us that those who cultivate the Dao should not cling to life or death, so there is nothing to worry about. You must serve our master well." With these words, he passed away at the age of fifty-nine. He was buried in the eastern plains of the city, where locals still honor him to this day.

Later, when the Eternal Spring Master passed by Mount Abuhan, he left Song Dao'an and eight others to build the Qixia Temple. In the year Rénwǔ, someone stirred up trouble out of jealousy, leading to a lawsuit that left everyone anxious. One day, while Song Dao'an was resting, he saw this master descend from the skylight and say, "A letter from our master has arrived." Dao'an asked, "Where is it from?" The master replied, "From the heavens." When opened, the letter bore only the words "Great Clarity" (Taiqing). The next day, a letter indeed arrived, and the lawsuit was resolved—all due to the master's unseen protection. In the year Guǐwèi, when the Eternal Spring Master returned eastward and passed by the burial site, the disciples wished to relocate the remains. But the master stopped them, saying, "The flesh is destined to decay, but the true nature of the spirit is free and unbound—why cling to this mere shell?" Later, in more than ten places across Han lands, people reported seeing this master riding alone to deliver news, foretelling the Eternal Spring Master's return.

In the year Gēngxū, the True Constancy Master (Zhenchang Zhenren) received an imperial decree to honor Daoist teachers for their virtue. This master was posthumously granted the title "Loyal and Assisting Master of Mystical Response" (Zhongzhen Yijiao Xuanying Zhenren), and a cenotaph was erected at Mount Wuhua for ceremonial offerings.

The second master, Tao Yanming, hailed from Xiangling County in Pingyang. From a young age, he admired the Dao and was known for his filial piety. In his thirties, after both parents passed away, he mourned intensely. Once the mourning period ended, he resolutely left home and traveled south, settling in Lingbao County to seek a master and study the Dao—though at first, he was unsure where to go. In the year Dading Guǐsì (1173), Xu Zijing from Hejian arrived in Lingbao, but the record breaks off here.

At that time, a county magistrate met Master Tao and, noticing his pure and upright demeanor, said to him: "If you truly wish to cultivate the Dao and attain immortality, wasting time without guidance from an enlightened master will be futile. I've heard that Master Ma Yu (Daoist name Danyangzi) of Danyang (modern-day Baoji, Shaanxi) is currently propagating the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) tradition and now resides in the Zhongnan Mountains. You should seek him out." He even composed a farewell poem for Tao's journey.

Tao went directly to Liu-Jiang Village to pay respects to Ma Yu. Upon seeing him, Ma Yu—as if recognizing a predestined connection from a past life—immediately accepted him as a disciple, bestowing upon him the name Yanming with the courtesy name Mingfu. Tao studied under Ma Yu for an extended period, receiving daily teachings on the principles of cultivating mind and nurturing inner nature. Gradually, Tao's understanding became transparent, free from all confusion. Ma Yu then sent him to travel and contemplate the mysteries of life's origin.

Later, Tao settled in Weinan, living in austere simplicity (with meager meals and a gourd for drinking) while wholeheartedly practicing the Daoist methods transmitted by his master, intending to follow them for life. Within a few years, Ma Yu summoned him back to the ancestral temple at Zhongnan. After observing his daily cultivation, Ma Yu praised him: "As for one whose mind is pure and utterly free of distractions—I fear only Tao Mingfu qualifies!" He then conferred upon him the Daoist name "Nameless Master" (Wumingzi).

After Ma Yu returned east to Shandong, Tao also left the Zhongnan Mountains, first secluding himself at Baodu Mountain west of Luoyang before moving to Taohua Mountain, where he remained for over twenty years. One day, he suddenly told his disciples: "During meditation yesterday, I suddenly recalled the Lingguang Cave where I once dwelled in a past life, but now I cannot find its location." Later, while traveling through Nüji Mountain, he indeed discovered the characters "Lingguang Cave" carved on a cliff face, along with stone beds and iron mortars inside the cave. He restored and settled there again. Witnessing his prophecy fulfilled, people revered him even more.

After another decade at Lingguang Cave, he abruptly relocated to Changyuan, leaving everyone puzzled. Yet within days, northern troops plundered Nüji Mountain, bringing disaster to many—except Changyuan, which remained untouched by soldiers. Only then did people marvel at Master Tao's foresight.

Despite his advanced age, Tao remained vigorous in step and radiant in spirit—a testament to his lifelong cultivation. In autumn of the fourth year of the Zhengda era (1226) under the Jin dynasty, disciples Di Baoyuan and Wang Baozhen from Yunxi Hermitage invited him to winter there. He declined: "I've already prepared for winter here. I shall come to your hermitage next spring to retire."

On the sixth day of the third lunar month the following year (1227), leaning on his staff, he arrived at Yunxi Hermitage, spending the day conversing and laughing with fellow Daoists. The next morning, after changing clothes and sitting upright, he requested paper and brush to compose a final verse before passing away peacefully at eighty-six. During the seven-day vigil, his face remained ruddy and the crown of his head warm, as if merely asleep. Later, disciples buried him beside his meditation chamber, with Master Yu Lifeng presiding over formal funeral rites the following year.

Near the ancestral temple of Mount Zhongnan in Shaanxi, a miraculous event occurred. Someone opened a coffin on the western side of Phoenix Wing Mountain and discovered that the body inside remained perfectly preserved, while an extraordinary fragrance drifted through the valley. Tens of thousands came to pay their respects, kneeling in awe, all finding it utterly unbelievable. Yao Shu, who served as Left Assistant (a government position) at the time, specially composed an epitaph for the occasion, recording this supernatural occurrence.

This is the story of Perfected Lord Wang Zhida. His birth name was Wang Da, and his Daoist name was Xuantongzi. He was born on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month in the Gengwu year of the Tiande era (exact year uncertain) of the Jin Dynasty, a descendant of the prominent Wang clan of Yan’an. Orphaned in childhood, he displayed extraordinary insight even as a youth, often lamenting the illusory nature of worldly ties and developing an early aspiration to leave secular life and cultivate the Dao.

As an adult, he served as a village head (a local official) responsible for tax collection, handling affairs with integrity and fairness, earning deep respect from the villagers. In the Dingyou year of the Dading era (exact year uncertain), he encountered a strange event: a friend suddenly fell ill, and within days, his body transformed into that of a great serpent, retaining only a human head. The friend said to him, "Please prepare a bamboo basket to carry me into the mountains—otherwise, once I fully transform, I may harm the living." When Perfected Lord Wang lifted the blanket, he saw that below the neck, his friend’s body had indeed turned into that of a python. He and his family immediately carried the friend to the foot of the mountain, where the serpent slithered away into the grass.

This incident profoundly shook Perfected Lord Wang, and from then on, he left home to pursue the Dao. On his journey, he met a mysterious Daoist who imparted to him the essential teachings of the Mysterious Gate (Xuanmen) and advised him, "Now, Perfected Lord Danyang (Ma Yu, one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen) is spreading the Dao on Mount Zhongnan—you should go and seek him as your master." With that, the Daoist vanished. Perfected Lord Wang immediately set out for Mount Zhongnan to seek the Dao. At first, Perfected Lord Danyang refused to accept him, even repeatedly scolding and humiliating him. Yet his determination to seek the Dao only grew stronger, and eventually, Perfected Lord Danyang, moved by his sincerity, took him in as a disciple. He made him work alongside the other disciples, teaching him to temper his mind through forbearance.

After years of cultivation, Perfected Lord Wang became increasingly diligent, frugal, and humble. Later, Perfected Lord Danyang transmitted to him the crucial methods of dual cultivation of nature and life (xingming shuangxiu). After attaining the Dao, he built a hermitage in Yunyang County, where he meditated and refined himself for thirteen years, finally reaching the state of "inner radiance of the heart-mind," enabling him to articulate profound principles effortlessly. Over time, he guided hundreds of disciples to enlightenment.

One year in May, a severe drought struck Yan’an, and officials and commoners asked him when rain would come. He replied, "Today there will be light rain, but it won’t be enough. In three days, there will be heavy rain." His prediction proved accurate. During the Taihe era (reign of Emperor Zhangzong of Jin), when Qiang invasions caused panic, Perfected Lord Wang calmly said, "Do not worry. Yesterday in meditation, I saw three thousand headless men and five hundred giant beasts." Days later, news arrived from the frontlines: exactly three thousand heads had been taken, and five hundred camels captured. After this, reverence for him spread far and wide among the people.

Xue Zhiwei (religious name Zhiwei, courtesy name Daoyuan, sobriquet Bixiaozi) was a descendant of the renowned Tang dynasty general Xue Rengui who conquered Liaodong, with his family residing for generations in Hejin County. From childhood, he showed little interest in play, possessing a quiet and taciturn disposition. After turning twenty, he became deeply engrossed in the study of life-nourishing and Daoist cultivation.

In the Xinyou year of the Dading era (1171), when Ma Danyang (patriarch of the Quanzhen tradition) was preaching on Zhongnan Mountain, Xue Zhiwei resolutely left his wife and children to become his disciple. For three full years, he served at the gate with a broom in hand, unwavering in his devotion. Recognizing his potential, Ma Danyang transmitted to him the secret methods of authentic cultivation. After completing his studies and returning home, Xue Zhiwei built a thatched hermitage where he practiced in solitude for six years, regulating his Qi (vital energy) and nurturing his Shen (spirit), ultimately attaining a state of crystalline mental clarity.

During his return to Zhongnan Mountain for cultivation in the Xinchou year (1181), one moonlit night he suddenly rose to gather firewood indoors. While others found this strange, heavy snow indeed sealed the gates the next day, leaving all in awe of his prescient abilities. In the Guimao year (1183), while touring the Celestial Altar at Mount Wangwu with fellow practitioners, he accurately predicted the inscribed plaque "Abode of Peace and Joy" at their lodging, astonishing his companions.

Later, when Ma Danyang journeyed eastward to Shandong and their junior disciple Wang Zhiyi prepared to visit him, Xue Zhiwei suddenly wept bitterly. Before others could understand why, Wang Zhiyi arrived to find Ma Danyang had already ascended as an immortal twenty days prior. On the winter solstice of that year at high noon, the sixty-one-year-old Xue Zhiwei, after drinking at a tavern, gazed skyward and composed the verse: "Crimson sun shines upon the void/Auspicious clouds spiral above my crown." Mounting a black crane (the traditional steed of Daoist transcendents) backward, he flew toward the Eastern Sea before casting down his brush and passing in seated meditation. His surviving work, the Collected Mysteries of Pervasive Understanding (Xuantong Ji), circulated widely. Buried southeast of the prefectural capital, his disciples later erected the Mysterious Pervasion Temple (Xuantong Guan) beside his tomb to maintain offerings.

(Note: "Dading" refers to the era name of Emperor Shizong of Jin, while "Tiande" belongs to Emperor Hailingwang of Jin, dating this account to the mid-late 12th century)

This passage records the cultivation practices of two Daoist masters from Mount Zhongnan during the Jin-Yuan period.

The first was Master Shengxuan (a posthumous honorific title bestowed by the Daoist tradition), who possessed the divine ability of foresight. Once, he warned an official surnamed Wang to seek medical treatment promptly, but the man ignored his advice and later died of a stroke. Before the imperial examinations, he accurately predicted the test questions, enabling two Confucian scholars, Wu Shijie and Xue Guobao, who had consulted him, to pass successfully. On another occasion, he told Du Zhongmin, "Return home quickly—the woman who fell into the well can still be saved." Du rushed back, and the prediction proved true. Later, he traveled south to the Songshan and Shaoshi Mountain regions before finally choosing to live in seclusion in Neixiang County, drawn by its simple, virtuous customs and beautiful scenery. He accepted several hundred disciples, among whom Hou Zhiren and three others received his true transmission, establishing Daoist temples in the Hedong region to guide people. After his death, he was buried at Youxiangong at the foot of Mount Zhongnan and posthumously honored as "Master Shengxuan" by the imperial court.

The second figure, Master Chen Zhiming, was originally from Yuan Village in Zhongnan County and came from a wealthy family. Chongyang Patriarch (Wang Chongyang) repeatedly tried to enlighten him, but Chen could not let go of his family’s wealth. Later, when Danyang Zhenren (Ma Yu) and the other Quanzhen Seven Masters stayed at the Ancestral Hut, they presented him with a blue Daoist headscarf along with a poem: "May we cultivate longevity together, transcending and liberating nine generations of ancestors." Chen Zhiming finally awakened, lamenting how foolish he had been when Chongyang Patriarch had tried to enlighten him before. Now he realized that worldly possessions meant nothing in the face of life and death. He immediately took Danyang Zhenren as his master and renounced secular life. The poem’s references to "gold ore" and "jade sprout" are alchemical terms, symbolizing the opportunity for inner alchemy (Neidan) cultivation.

Song Mingyi (courtesy name Zhaoranzi) was a native of Fushan County in Dengzhou, Shandong. His ancestors had served as county officials for generations, renowned for their integrity and impartiality. From childhood, he diligently studied Confucian classics and excelled in poetry, yet he eventually saw through worldly vanities. In his thirties, he left home for the Guanzhong region (modern Shaanxi), where he took monastic vows under Ma Danyang, one of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism.

Recognizing Song Mingyi's talents, Ma Danyang appointed him as abbot of the ancestral temple at Zhongnan Mountain. For a decade, Song frequently healed the sick through medicine, accumulating hidden virtue (yinde) while providing shelter for fellow Daoists. Ma Danyang often instructed him through poetic verses on essential cultivation techniques. Later, Song relinquished his abbacy to Lü Dao'an to focus wholly on spiritual practice.

In 1197 (the second year of the Jin Dynasty's Cheng'an era), Song suddenly patted Lü Dao'an's back and prophesied: "Your karmic affinity runs deep. This temple shall be elevated to a full Daoist monastery, capable of initiating hundreds of disciples. Our tradition will flourish greatly—guard this legacy well." After bidding farewell, he peacefully passed away at eighty-one. Remarkably, his corpse remained lifelike for three days, with radiant eyes undimmed. The following year, Master Wang Yuyang expanded the temple into Lingxu Monastery. The imperial court granted Lü Dao'an the title "Master of Transcendent Emptiness (Chongxu Dashi)," and nearly three hundred disciples were subsequently ordained—fulfilling Song's prediction exactly.

During his practice, Ma Danyang transmitted oral instructions and gifted him a Qinghua yangjin (ceremonial Daoist headscarf). Song treasured this scarf lifelong, wearing it for celestial veneration on each new and full moon. After Ma's ascension, he accompanied the master's cortege eastward, guiding six relatives—including his mother and siblings—into the Dao. He later assisted Qiu Chuji (the Eternal Spring Master) in propagating teachings at Zhongnan Mountain, exemplifying the Quanzhen tradition's early master-disciple transmission and communal cultivation ethos.

This account chronicles the lives of two eminent Daoist masters from the ancestral temple of Zhongnan Mountain.

The first is Master Lü Dao'an. Born into an illustrious family in Ninghai (present-day Yantai, Shandong), he displayed extraordinary intelligence from childhood and possessed an innate disposition for spiritual cultivation. At thirty-two, after both parents passed away, he renounced worldly life to pursue the Dao. During this time, the four masters—Ma Yu (Danyang Zhenren), Tan Chuduan, Qiu Chuji, and Liu Chuxuan—were observing mourning rites at Wang Chongyang's tomb in Zhongnan Mountain. Lü Dao'an journeyed westward alone to seek their guidance. Being a fellow townsman of Ma Yu and coming from a reputable family, he was accepted as a disciple and allowed to serve closely. Through years of dedicated practice, he attained profound insight into the essence of Daoist teachings. In 1180, Ma Yu entrusted him with overseeing the ancestral temple and instructing the monastic community. Later, when Qiu Chuji (Changchun Zhenren) arrived from Longmen, Lü Dao'an received further teachings from him. After Qiu Chuji returned east in 1191, Lü Dao'an maintained the temple's spiritual integrity through humble self-cultivation and benevolent leadership.

In 1195, imperial authorities dissolved unauthorized temples, confiscating the ancestral temple and dispersing its community. In 1197, when Wang Chuyi (Yuyang Zhenren) was summoned to the capital, he specifically requested an audience with Lü Dao'an. The following spring, Wang Chuyi redeemed the temple in Yanjing (modern Beijing), renaming it Lingxu Guan ("Temple of Numinous Emptiness") and bestowing upon Lü Dao'an the title "Master of Transcendent Emptiness" (Chongxu Dashi).

The second master, unnamed (possibly referring to Lü Dao'an himself), faced a crisis in 1226 when Mongol forces invaded Shaanxi. While others urged fleeing to Laogu Valley for safety, he declared, "How can I evade my karmic debt? You may go—I shall remain." Days later, Yuan troops burned down Lingxu Hall, and the master perished. When disciples inspected the site the next day, they found his body unblemished by blood—a sign of the "pure Yang body" (a Daoist attainment indicating advanced Neidan cultivation where the physical form resists decay), comparable to ancient transcendents like Ji Kang and Luo Gongyuan. He was eighty-four at his passing. In the spring of 1302, the presiding master, under imperial decree, posthumously honored him as "Carefree Perfected" (Wuyou Zhenren).

(Note: "Ancestral temple" refers to Chongyang Palace, the Quanzhen School's founding sanctuary; "mourning rites" alludes to the seven Quanzhen masters observing three years of mourning by Wang Chongyang's tomb; "pure Yang body" denotes an advanced stage of internal alchemy practice.)

This passage records the biographical accounts of two Daoist figures, primarily detailing their transmission of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) tradition, a major Daoist school.

The first master was entrusted with managing temple affairs. The text mentions how Patriarch Chongyang (Wang Chongyang, founder of Quanzhen) once traveled thousands of miles on foot to enlighten them, all for the sake of transmitting the Daoist teachings. Though unable to personally return to the ancestral temple (the birthplace of Quanzhen), he never forgot his deep connection to it. Before parting, he composed a poem conveying the essence of enlightenment: "The radiance of wisdom illuminates heaven and earth after awakening to the Dao; the primal truth comes and goes swiftly. Serenity and emptiness link past and present; the true path is inherited from the patriarchs. The principles of the Three Realms and Ten Directions are interconnected; the profound mysteries of countless scriptures are boundless. Transcending worldly attachments reveals one's original nature; penetrating the subtle workings of Yin-Yang leads to the mysteries of creation." Later, he returned to the ancestral temple and, within just a few years, guided over 300 people to embrace Daoism, establishing dozens of temples in Shaanxi. On the 13th day of the second month in the Xinding Xinsi year, he instructed his disciples to persist in diligent practice, appointing his disciple Bi Zhichang to succeed him in managing the temple affairs. He then passed away peacefully at the age of 80 and was buried beside the patriarch's tomb. During the Yuan dynasty, the presiding master Li Zhenchang, under imperial decree, posthumously honored him with the title "Perfected of Condensed Emptiness" (Ningxu Zhenren).

The second master, Bi Zhichang, came from a prominent family in Liquan, Qianzhou, Shaanxi. All four brothers revered the Daoist teachings of serenity and Wuwei (non-action). In the Dading Renchen year, hearing that Master Danyang (Ma Yu, one of the Seven Quanzhen Masters) was propagating Daoism at the ancestral hermitage on Zhongnan Mountain, they journeyed together to take him as their teacher and renounce worldly life. Ma Yu individually imparted to them the secrets of cultivation, guiding their deeper understanding of the Dao through poetry. Bi Zhichang, being the youngest, was kept as an attendant, receiving teachings day and night until he fully grasped the essentials of self-cultivation. In the summer of the Renyin year, when Ma Yu returned eastward, he instructed Bi to serve Qiu Chuji (the Perfected of Eternal Spring) at Longshan. There, he performed menial tasks like gathering firewood and carrying water for five years, seizing moments of leisure for seated meditation, often staying awake through the night. In the Mingchang Xinhai year, when Qiu Chuji traveled east, he left Bi and Lü Dao'an to jointly oversee the ancestral hermitage. Though they were fellow disciples, Bi always treated Lü with the respect due to a master. Later, when new imperial regulations threatened the hermitage's confiscation due to its lack of official recognition, in the Cheng'an Dingsi year, he traveled to the coast to petition...

This account chronicles the life of the eminent Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoist master Bi Tongzhen, honored as the "Vast Containment Perfected Person" (Guangrong Zhenren). When Changchun Zhenren Qiu Chuji entrusted him with all his savings, he personally drafted documents authorizing Bi to travel widely and collect donations for rebuilding the ancestral temple (the birthplace of Quanzhen Daoism). The following spring, Bi journeyed to Yanjing (modern Beijing), where Yuyang Zhenren Wang Chuyi was then residing at the imperial summons. Together with Lü Dao'an, they deliberated and eventually purchased the original site to establish Lingxu Temple. The court bestowed upon Bi the title "Master of Penetrating Truth" (Tongzhen Dashi), appointing him to assist Lü Dao'an in managing the temple.

Bi Tongzhen possessed extraordinary medical skills and would invariably visit to treat the sick whenever he heard of illness, regardless of the patient's wealth or status. After Lü Dao'an's ascension (yu hua, a Daoist term for death) in the Xinding Xinsi year (1221), Bi succeeded him as abbot of Lingxu Temple. He expanded and renovated numerous halls and corridors, and the temple's spiritual influence flourished remarkably—within just a few years, he accepted over a hundred disciples. Later, he resigned from temple administration to cultivate in seclusion at Dongye Temple in Wuxing Village, Qishan County, though he occasionally returned to Lingxu Temple to handle affairs. During the war-torn Zhengda Xinmao year (1231) in the Guanzhong region, he led local refugees to shelter in the Taibai Mountain valley. On the sixteenth day of the third lunar month, foreseeing imminent military disaster, he warned his disciples that the area had become unsafe. At dawn the next day, he peacefully entered seated transformation (zuo hua, a meditative passing). True to his prediction, those who remained suffered military violence days later.

In the Gengzi year (1240) of the Yuan dynasty, Dongye Temple's abbot Yu Shanqing—who, like Bi Tongzhen, had studied under Ma Danyang—commemorated his late companion's fifty years of service to the ancestral temple by having his remains reburied at the immortal cemetery in Liujiang Village. During the Renz

This passage records the biography of Daoist master Yin Zhiping, the Qinghe Zhenren (Clarified Harmony Perfected Person) of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) tradition. Yin's ancestral home was in Cangzhou, though during the Song dynasty, his forebears relocated to Laizhou for an official post and settled there. His family was distinguished—among his great-grandfather's seven sons, five attained the jinshi degree and served as prefects. Though his grandfather and father were men of noble virtue, they chose reclusion over government service.

Yin's birth was accompanied by extraordinary signs. On the twentieth night of the first lunar month in 1169 (Dading 9), his mother dreamed of a grand procession in ceremonial attire entering her chamber. She awoke to find herself giving birth. Neighbors, seeing the Yin residence glowing as if aflame, rushed to extinguish the fire, only to discover it was an auspicious omen for the newborn. All agreed this was a heavenly reward for the family's accumulated virtue (De).

By age three, Yin displayed remarkable intelligence. At five, he could recite a thousand words daily in school and showed unique insight into metaphysical principles. Even as a child, his demeanor was extraordinary—once, during a ritual, he fell into deep contemplation on life and death. At fourteen, after meeting Ma Yu (Danyang Zhenren), he wished to renounce worldly life, but his father forbade it. At nineteen, he secretly fled to pursue Daoist practice, only to be captured and confined by his family. After repeated escapes, he finally succeeded in formally taking monastic vows.

Yin studied under multiple Daoist masters: first with Liu Chuxuan (Changsheng Zhenren) at Lingxu Abbey in Wuguan, where during meditation beneath a tree, he dreamed of being beheaded and having his heart excised—an experience that brought profound awakening. Later, he built a hermitage in Fushan County, practicing asceticism and aiding the poor for years. During the Mingchang era (1190–1196), he served Qiu Chuji (Changchun Zhenren) in Qixia, receiving authentic transmission. He also learned oral instructions from Wang Chuyi (Yuyang Zhenren) and studied the Yijing with Hao Datong (Taigu Zhenren)—all rare esoteric teachings.

As his cultivation deepened, his reputation grew, attracting scholars from afar. Even the powerful Wanyan clan of Weizhou donated land to build Yuqing Abbey in his honor. Remarkably, the concubines serving there for years never saw his true appearance or knew his real identity—a testament to his rigorous and humble practice.

This account documents the significant deeds of Qiu Chuji (Daoist name Changchunzi), a patriarch of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) tradition, and his disciple Yin Zhiping (later known as Qinghezi). During the Xingding era of the Jin dynasty (1219), Genghis Khan, the founding emperor of the Yuan, dispatched envoy Liu Zhonglu from the Western Regions to summon Qiu Chuji. After consulting with Li Zhenchang of Yidu, Liu concluded that they must first visit Qiu's senior disciple Yin Zhiping to facilitate this mission. When they met Yin at the Yuqing Palace in Weiyang, they were deeply impressed by his dignified demeanor.

Though Qiu Chuji had previously declined multiple summons from both the Jin and Song courts, after deliberating with Yin Zhiping, he decided to embark on the westward journey accompanied by eighteen virtuous disciples. Their arduous four-year expedition (1220-1223) culminated in an audience with Genghis Khan in the Western Regions, where Qiu's counsel greatly pleased the emperor. Upon hearing of warfare in Shandong during their return, Qiu immediately dispatched Yin to pacify the populace, saving countless lives.

In 1224, Qiu Chuji was appointed by imperial decree to preside over the Taiyi Palace (later renamed Changchun Palace) in Yanjing (modern Beijing), with Yin Zhiping serving as his most trusted attendant. Demonstrating humility by claiming no merit or virtue, Yin voluntarily withdrew to the Longyang Abbey in Dexing. Qiu repeatedly entrusted him with important responsibilities through correspondence and bestowed upon him the Daoist name "Qinghezi." Following Qiu's ascension to immortality in 1227, Yin retreated to the Yanxia Abbey in Shanggu, only returning to lead Changchun Palace at the community's earnest request, subsequently guiding Quanzhen Daoism to greater prosperity.

When Emperor Taizong of Yuan, Ögedei Khan, returned from his southern campaign in 1232, Yin Zhiping welcomed him in Shuntian (modern Beijing) and received generous treatment. The following summer (1233), while visiting the Taixuan Abbey at Mount Yiwulü, the Daoist Li Xuxuan revealed to the assembly that auspicious azure clouds had appeared consecutively the previous year. Diviners had prophesied an extraordinary visitor, and Master Yin's arrival now fulfilled this prediction.

This account describes how the disciples of Wang Chongyang (Patriarch Chongyang), founder of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school of Daoism, rebuilt the ancestral temple at Mount Zhongnan—the birthplace of Quanzhen Daoism.

At that time, a Daoist master was returning from travels in the north. When passing through Yutian County, the local people warmly urged him to stay. They traveled overnight for fifty or sixty li before camping in the wilderness. Only later did they learn that dozens of bandits had been lying in wait to rob them, but had given up when unable to catch them. The accompanying disciples exclaimed gratefully, "Had it not been for our master's guidance, we would have met with disaster."

That summer, imperial officials were dispatched to pacify the Guanzhong region. Among them was an official named Li Wuyu from Weizhou, who came to Yanjing to perform sacrifices. The Daoist master then sent him to gather fellow practitioners in preparation for restoring the ancestral temple at Liujiang Village on Mount Zhongnan. By autumn, envoys from the palace arrived with condolences and bestowed a copy of the Daozang (Daoist Canon) scripture.

The following spring, Du Dekang, the magistrate of Qinzhou, invited the master to preside over a Huanglu Zhaijiao (a major Daoist ritual for salvation of souls). Traveling south from Yunying, the master was met by crowds of people kneeling along the roads wherever he went, with thousands daily seeking to become his disciples. Major temples like the Yuxu Temple in Gaoping and the Shenqing Temple in Guoxian invited him to conduct rituals. During a severe drought, the ritual lamps burned steadily for three days and nights without extinguishing, with neighboring regions also witnessing miracles. The local people offered him the Shenxiao Palace as his practice site.

Attributing all these teaching achievements to Patriarch Chongyang, the master focused increasingly on rebuilding the ancestral temple at Mount Zhongnan. That winter, Tian Decan, the chief administrator of Jingzhao, sent officials with Li Wuyu bearing an invitation—perfectly aligned with the master's intentions. By the first month of the following year, the master arrived at Mount Zhongnan to begin reconstruction plans.

Originally, Patriarch Chongyang had cultivated the Dao at Liujiang Village before burning his thatched hermitage and journeying eastward, leaving prophetic verses foretelling future restoration. During the Dading era of the Jin dynasty, masters Ma Danyang and Qiu Changchun had built temples there, but these were destroyed by war. Now this master inherited the patriarch's legacy—clearing weeds, leveling land, raising walls, and constructing buildings to restore the temple's initial form. He also dispatched disciples to repair ruins at famous sites like the Louguan Terrace and Zongsheng Palace.

With Shaanxi newly pacified and people still unsettled, the master assigned respected fellow practitioners to oversee temple reconstruction across the region. Through this approach, he both restored sacred Daoist sites and aided postwar communities in rebuilding their lives.

This account chronicles the later years of an eminent Daoist master. While cultivating the Dao on Mount Zhongnan during a food shortage, he enlightened the people with teachings on karmic retribution through moral virtue (De). That summer, he was chosen to preside over blessing rituals at Helin Temple. When autumn came, Yang Weizhong of the Central Secretariat summoned him back to Yanjing (modern Beijing). While crossing the Taihang Mountains, bandits encountered him—yet instead of robbery, they bowed in reverence and received his teachings, thereafter abandoning their unlawful ways.

In the spring of the wuxu year (1238 CE), recognizing his advanced age, the master convened respected elders from various regions in the first lunar month. He transmitted the Dharma lineage to his disciple Li Zhenchang, entrusting him with the abbacy. Subsequently, retirement quarters were built for him at the Western Courtyard of Changchun Palace and Wuhua Chambers. When local officials invited him to oversee the burial rites for Patriarch Chongyang (Wang Chongyang, founder of the Quanzhen tradition) during the harsh winter of gengzi (1240 CE), he gladly braved the cold, stating it was his duty to repay the patriarch's grace. Miraculously, as he arrived in drought-stricken Shaanxi, heavy snow began falling. The funeral was successfully completed the following spring, with thousands in attendance whose boisterous conduct was tempered by the master's spiritual authority.

The master often traveled freely between sacred sites like Louguan Terrace with fellow Daoists, joyfully propagating the teachings. Later, imperial envoys bestowed upon him golden ceremonial robes and ordered renovations to Wei Yang's Yuqing Palace. On the fifth day of the second lunar month in xinhai (1251 CE), he instructed disciples to prepare his old residence at Fangshan for ascension rites. After incense offerings the next day, he calmly announced his impending departure. Amidst the assembly's astonishment, he simply advised keeping funeral arrangements simple. Refusing all food thereafter, sustaining himself only with water and tea, he sat discoursing on the Dao until midnight before adjusting his robes and passing peacefully at age eighty.

At the ancestral temple of Mount Zhongnan (a sacred Daoist cultivation site), a moving event occurred: When the Patriarch passed away, his disciples from three lineages wept bitterly as if mourning their own parents. The entire chamber was filled with an extraordinary fragrance, and people from near and far came to pay their respects upon hearing the news, creating a scene as bustling as a marketplace. Before his death, the Patriarch had instructed to be buried at Mount Dafang. However, Li Zhenchang (True Constant Li), the inheritor of the lineage (successor to the Daoist tradition), considering Mount Dafang too distant from the capital and the transportation of the coffin inconvenient, ultimately chose Mount Wuhua for the burial. There, he built the "Hall of Returning to Truth" (Fuzhen Tang) to offer incense and maintain the spiritual legacy.

This Li Zhenchang, originally named Li Zhichang with the courtesy name Haoran, hailed from Yongnian County in Mingzhou. His family had migrated multiple times during the late Song dynasty to escape war, eventually settling in Guancheng. For five generations, his ancestors had been virtuous recluses living among common folk. His mother, Lady Nie, once dreamed of an immortal presenting her with a jade youth, and upon waking, she found herself pregnant—this occurred on the 20th day of the first lunar month in the fourth year of the Mingchang era under Emperor Jin Zhangzong.

Orphaned at six, he was raised by his uncle Li Jichuan, a scholar who had failed the imperial examinations. Recognizing his nephew's extraordinary talent, the uncle initially intended to groom him for the civil service path. However, Li Zhichang was naturally indifferent to worldly pursuits and often prayed silently to encounter an enlightened master. At nineteen, upon learning that his uncle was arranging a marriage for him, he sighed: "I am devoted to cultivating the Dao—how can I achieve transcendent sainthood if bound by romantic attachments?" Soon after, he set out on a journey with books in hand and a bamboo staff for support.

He first secluded himself at Mount Laoshan in Donglai, then practiced at the Immortal's Palace on Mount Tianzhu. The palace master, Mr. Li of Tangyin, possessed keen discernment. Noticing Li Zhichang's dignified appearance and, during winter night discussions, discovering his profound insights, he privately told his disciples: "In thirty years of cultivating the Dao, I've met only one or two with understanding like his." Upon parting, he prophesied: "You are a pillar of the Mystic Gate (Daoism)—this remote mountain hermitage cannot contain you." Later, Li Zhichang indeed encountered extraordinary beings who guided him at sea, but that is a story for another time.

At that time, all the others had departed, leaving only Qiu Chuji (whose Daoist name was Changchunzi) continuing his cultivation on Zhongnan Mountain. Someone advised him: "Now that only Master Changchun remains in the mountains, you should go and study under him. The achievements you may attain in the future are likely beyond estimation." The next day, this man set out for Jimo's Eastern Mountain.

It was during the turbulent Zhenyou era, when bandits and rebels were rampant. On the mountain was a cave large enough to shelter hundreds of people, and locals would take refuge there when raiders approached. Because this man arrived late, the others refused to let him in, and he was captured by the bandits. They tortured him mercilessly, demanding the cave’s location, subjecting him to excruciating pain, yet he never uttered a single word. After the bandits retreated, the people emerged from the cave and surrounded him, weeping in gratitude: "The lives of hundreds of us common folk all depended on your silence. Despite our refusal to shelter you, you bore no grudge and risked death to protect us—such compassion far surpasses ordinary human nature." From then on, everyone vied to care for him until he recovered. This story is still recounted among the local elders to this day.

In the sixth month of the Wuyin year (1218), hearing that Master Changchun had come from Dengzhou to Laizhou, he immediately packed his belongings and went to pay his respects. At first sight, the master regarded him with exceptional favor, treating him differently from others. Having received the master’s teachings, he cultivated with even greater diligence, never wavering in his discipline despite the trials of war and mortal danger.

Tian Zhuo, the transport commissioner of Shandong’s eastern circuit, admired his conduct and, upon learning that he had once advised the garrison commander Huang Gu to defend Jimo and preserve the city, wrote to invite him to Yidu, hosting him as an honored guest. In the sixth month of the Jimao year (1219), Yidu’s deputy commander Zhang Lin defected from the Jin to the Song. That same year in the twelfth month, Genghis Khan sent Liu Zhonglu with an imperial edict summoning Master Changchun.

Perceiving the shifting tides—Zhang Lin had just surrendered Yidu to the Song and was known for his fickleness—he feared that delay might obstruct the master’s journey north. So he went to persuade Zhang Lin: "Master Changchun is a transcendent who has attained the Dao. Now the Mongols have sent envoys three times to invite him, and the master has resolutely decided to go north. Choosing the distant path over the near one reveals his profound compassion for the world. If you assist in this endeavor, it will not only be a blessing for the local people but an immeasurable merit for all under heaven." Pleased by these words, Zhang Lin immediately ordered officials along the route to provide escort.

In the first month of the Gengchen year (1220), Master Changchun set out with eighteen disciples, and he was among them. By the second month, they reached Yanjing (modern-day Beijing). The following spring, they continued northward, arriving in the seventh month at Mount Abuhan, ten thousand li beyond Han territory, where over a thousand households of Han settlers resided.

This account tells the important transmission story between Qiu Chuji (Daoist name Changchun Zhenren, the founding patriarch of Quanzhen Daoism) and his disciple Li Zhichang (bestowed the Daoist name Zhenchangzi).

When the community requested to establish a Daoist temple and select an abbot, Qiu Chuji pointed to Li Zhichang and said to the assembly: "This disciple understands principles, is upright in character, and has vast learning. Today, I shall leave him here to preside." He then bestowed upon him the Daoist name "Zhenchangzi" and inscribed in advance the name "Qixia" for the temple. Later, Li Zhichang led the community in constructing the temple, which was completed swiftly. He also founded two ritual associations, the "Changchun Assembly" and the "Yuhua Assembly," which continued without interruption.

In the summer of 1223, when Qiu Chuji returned from the Western Regions, he rested at Qixia Temple. During a purification ceremony (zhaijiao), Qiu Chuji suddenly and silently handed Li Zhichang his bow (a ritual implement), which Li Zhichang intuitively accepted and wore. Those with keen insight recognized this as a sign of Dharma transmission.

That autumn, while cooling in an official residence, Qiu Chuji imparted essential teachings to Li Zhichang: "A true master is hard to encounter, and an enlightened person is even harder to meet—even if met, one may not recognize them. A cultivator of the Dao should appear ordinary outwardly but inwardly emulate the Way of Heaven. Treat the body as a temporary vessel, forget hunger and thirst while maintaining tranquility, reach the state of utmost stillness and selflessness, and roam freely in the wondrous realm of the Dao." These words were deeply engraved in Li Zhichang’s heart.

Seizing the opportunity, Li Zhichang inquired about life and death. Qiu Chuji revealed: "Life and death are like the alternation of day and night—both are illusory phenomena. When you cease deluded thoughts, you will realize that life and death, day and night, are fundamentally no different. The luminous nature of the mind is like the boundless void—this is a realm beyond words and forms." This teaching profoundly inspired Li Zhichang.

Later, as Qiu Chuji’s reputation grew, devotees from all regions came to pay homage, and Li Zhichang was entrusted with receiving them. Though Li Zhichang privately longed to retire and cultivate in seclusion, others remained unaware. Suddenly, Qiu Chuji spoke to him of past events: "There was once a Daoist surnamed Zhao, who initially cultivated with great diligence, but then suddenly..."

This account records several significant deeds of Li Zhichang (referred to as "the Master" in the text), a Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoist priest during the Yuan Dynasty. At the time, Qiu Chuji (known as "Changchun" in the text), the revered Changchun Zhenren, had just passed away, and Yin Zhiping, the Qinghe Zhenren, succeeded him as the sect's leader.

Initially, some disciples considered leaving the ancestral temple at Mount Zhongnan. Li Zhichang dissuaded them, saying, "To depart when one should not is either abandoning the Dao (retreating from cultivation) or showing disrespect for its teachings." Hearing this, they immediately abandoned their plans. Later, Li compiled Qiu Chuji's journey to meet Genghis Khan into the Record of a Journey to the West, which became widely circulated.

In the autumn of 1227, after Qiu Chuji's ascension (yuhua), Yin Zhiping appointed Li Zhichang as the Chief Daoist Registrar (a high-ranking Daoist title) and entrusted him with managing the affairs of Changchun Palace. At the time, the imperial court was in Karakorum (the Mongol capital), and Li traveled there annually to preserve Daoist traditions, undeterred even by the harsh winds and snow of the northern deserts.

In the autumn of 1230, when Emperor Taizong (Ögedei Khan) ascended the throne, Li Zhichang had an audience with him and presented classical texts such as the Book of Songs, Book of Documents, Daodejing, and Classic of Filial Piety to instruct the imperial heirs, earning praise. The following winter, false accusations were made against the murals in Changchun Palace. When Yin Zhiping was arrested, the disciples fled in fear—except for Li Zhichang, who stepped forward and declared, "The Qinghe Zhenren is our master; his duty is to transmit the Dao. I will take full responsibility." Impressed by his integrity, the envoys spared him from shackles. That night, the chains miraculously loosened on their own, and even after being re-secured, they opened again. The next day, when the envoys dined, the image of Qiu Chuji appeared on the bones of their meat, leading to the dismissal of the false charges.

In the summer of 1233, Li Zhichang was summoned to Yanjing (modern-day Beijing) to teach eighteen young Mongol nobles, recommending Feng Zhiheng as his assistant. Many talented individuals emerged from this instruction. In the autumn of 1235, he was ordered to oversee the construction of a Daoist temple in Karakorum, personally selecting eminent priests to reside there. In the spring of 1238, Yin Zhiping gathered senior disciples from across the land and personally wrote a decree appointing Li as his successor. That March, Li petitioned the court to rename the Lingxu Temple on Mount Zhongnan as Chongyang Palace (in honor of Patriarch Wang Chongyang) and dispatched Yu Shanqing, Qi Zhiyuan, Li Zhirou, and others to expand the temple complex. These events illustrate the religious activities and political acumen of Quanzhen Daoists during the Mongol-Yuan period.

This passage documents several significant events involving a Daoist patriarch of the Yuan Dynasty at the ancestral temple on Mount Zhongnan (the birthplace of the Quanzhen tradition), primarily concerning imperial patronage and religious activities.

During this period, the Chunyang Shrine and Patriarch Hall in Hedong Yongle received inscribed plaques bestowed by the emperor, honoring the Daoist teachings' transformative influence. In the bingwu year (1246), after Emperor Dingzong ascended the throne, he issued an edict commanding the patriarch to conduct the Universal Heaven Grand Rite (Putian Dajiao) at Changchun Palace during the Shangyuan Festival in the wushen year (1248). The decree further mandated that all Daoist temples in sacred mountains and rivers, along with accomplished practitioners, should honor the patriarch's official title. When Emperor Xianzong assumed power in the xinhai year (1251), following ritual protocols, he dispatched envoys in the eighth month to summon the patriarch to court. The emperor personally sealed ritual incense before his throne, offered devout prayers, and presented the patriarch with a golden tally, precious edicts (Daoist ritual implements and documents), along with 5,000 taels of silver from the imperial treasury for ceremonial expenses.

Following imperial orders, the patriarch journeyed south to conduct rituals at the Five Sacred Peaks and Four Great Rivers (ancient deities of major mountains and waterways). The following first month, he arrived at the ancestral temple on Mount Zhongnan, where he reverently performed ceremonies while overseeing construction projects and reorganizing Daoist discipline. As Mount Zhongnan served as the foundational stronghold of Quanzhen Daoism, all temples at its foothills received imperial gifts. When the ceremonial procession returned eastward in the fourth month, similar rites were conducted at Chunyang Palace along the Zhongtiao Mountains.

In the tenth month of the guichou year (1253), while still a prince, Kublai Khan commanded the patriarch to perform the Golden Register Grand Fast (Jinlu Dazhai) - the highest grade of Daoist purification ritual (zhaijiao) - at his Upper Capital residence, while granting ordination certificates (jiedie) to Daoist priests and female practitioners (nüguan) nationwide. The following jia yin year (1254), the emperor dispatched envoys in the first month to summon eminent Daoists from across the realm for a Universal Heaven Ritual (Putian Jiao), ordering the patriarch to deliver all wandering souls, and bestowing abundant gold, silver, and ritual implements - with all ceremonial supplies provided by the government. During these rites, auspicious signs repeatedly appeared, including phoenixes, cranes, and propitious clouds. That autumn, the patriarch dispatched disciples like Shi Zhijian to restore the Taiqing Palace in Bozhou.

In the seventh month of the yi mao year (1255), the patriarch had an imperial audience at the traveling palace, coinciding with Western Region tributes, where he feasted alongside the crown prince and various princes. On the first day of the twelfth month, when the emperor consulted him on statecraft, the patriarch responded with the principle that "a sage ruler cherishes his people." These records reflect the close interactions between Daoist patriarchs and the Yuan imperial family, demonstrating the court's substantial support for the Quanzhen tradition.

This passage records the life of Daoist master Yu Shanqing (courtesy name Boxiang). A native of Ninghai, he was a descendant of the famed Han dynasty official Yu Gong. His grandfather Yu Yansheng had served as Chief Registrar of Haozhi County. Born on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in 1166 (Dading era), Yu abstained from meat from childhood and later mastered the Confucian classics and histories, showing particular interest in discourses on Dao-De (the Way and its Virtue) and the cultivation of nature and life (xingming).

He shared hometown origins with Ma Danyang (Ma Yu), the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) patriarch. In summer 1182 when Yu was seventeen, Ma returned to their hometown after traveling through Shaanxi. While lecturing at the Golden Lotus Hall, Ma recognized this dignified youth as the grandson of his old acquaintance Yu Yansheng—remembering how the elder Yu had aided his own spiritual practice years earlier—and resolved to guide him toward the Dao. The next day, Ma tested Yu's sincerity with a cooked taro root, which the youth received reverentially. His parents consented to his pursuit of the Daoist path.

After careful consideration, Yu's parents concluded their son had karmic ties with the Daoist tradition. Knowing Ma Danyang—a former Confucian scholar himself—would never permit the Yu lineage to perish, they peacefully let him take monastic vows. Decades later at sixty-four, Yu foresaw his approaching death. Sitting upright with perfect composure, he arranged for his successor (Chengming Zhang Zhijing) before peacefully departing this world. He was interred at the Cun Cun Hall on Mount Wuhua, leaving behind his twenty-chapter literary work Further Mysteries Collection. During the Yuan dynasty's Zhongtong era, he was posthumously honored as "Perfected of True Constancy and Supreme Virtue Who Propagates the Teachings."

The text mentions "Chongyang"—referring to Wang Chongyang, founder of Quanzhen Daoism—and "Danyang," his chief disciple Ma Yu. This account exemplifies master-disciple transmission during the Song-Yuan period while reflecting the intellectual synthesis of Confucian and Daoist traditions.

This passage documents the cultivation experiences of several Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoist patriarchs and their disciples. The narrative begins with Danyang Zhenren (Master Ma Yu), who instructed numerous disciples including Wang Chuyi (Yuyang Zhenren) and Liu Chuxuan (Changsheng Zhenren).

The protagonist (referred to as "the master") initially studied under Danyang Zhenren. After Danyang Zhenren's ascension to immortality, Changsheng Zhenren and Yuyang Zhenren came to oversee the funeral arrangements. Recognizing the disciple's extraordinary potential, they transmitted Daoist liturgical practices to him and recommended he visit the ancestral temple at Mount Zhongnan (the birthplace of Quanzhen Daoism) to pay respects to Lingyang Zhenren (Master Li Jun). Impressed by his refined demeanor, Lingyang Zhenren advised him to withdraw from worldly affairs and cultivate in mountain seclusion, also instructing him to visit the eminent master Cui Yangtou in Pingliang.

On his journey to Pingliang, he experienced a remarkable dream at the Queen Mother's Temple: an elderly woman offered cakes to a disheveled Daoist, who shared half with him. Two days later in Pingliang, he witnessed this exact scene unfold with Cui Yangtou, who interpreted it as celestial will and subsequently guided him intensively for over a month.

Later, he served Changchun Zhenren (Qiu Chuji) at Longmen Mountain in Longzhou, performing menial tasks like fetching water and cooking. In the spring of the Yisi year, Changchun Zhenren sent him to Luoyang to deliver a letter to Changzhen Zhenren (Tan Chuduan), who taught him that spiritual cultivation requires "tempering one's sharp edges and refining the ordinary mind." Shortly after Changzhen Zhenren's ascension, he completed funeral arrangements before returning to Mount Zhongnan to continue his ascetic practice of begging for alms.

During the Bingwu year when Changchun Zhenren returned to the ancestral temple from Longshan, he summoned the disciple to assume important responsibilities. Later, while traveling through Longchuan, Changchun Zhenren admired the scenic beauty of Shimen in Qianyang County and instructed his disciple Pucha Daoyuan to establish a Quanzhen Hall there (which later became the renowned Longmen Grotto temple).

As spring was drawing to a close, the master said to his disciple: "Your destined path lies here—there is no need to seek elsewhere. Those who cultivate the Dao require companionship in the Way, but one must be discerning in choosing such companions. Pucha Daoyuan (personal name) is a man whose heart profoundly understands the Dao. He will surely aid you in accomplishing your Daoist practice. You may go and dwell with him."

The disciple then journeyed to the Five Peaks of Wu Mountain (a branch range of the Zhongnan Mountains), where he carved a cave into the cliffside for cultivation. Eating but one meal a day, he practiced without sleep for seven years, single-mindedly devoted to the Daoist arts until he attained profound mystical states, gaining the ability to foresee future events. To this day, the local people of Longzhou still call that cave "the Grotto of Perfected Yu" and maintain statues in his honor.

Later, Pucha invited the disciple to descend the mountain and live together. In the wuwu year of Cheng'an (1198), local benefactors funded the construction of a Daoist temple, which was named "Jade Purity Abbey" (Yuqing Guan). The disciple further studied scriptures, talismans (Fulu) and ritual methods with Perfected Jade Yang (Wang Chuyi, one of the Seven Perfected of Quanzhen), using Daoist arts to heal and save people, his reputation growing steadily. In the guihai year of Taihe (1203), the Longzhou magistrate recommended him for the title "Master of Soaring Emptiness" (Chongxu Dashi).

In the yichou year (1205), he traveled again to pay respects to Perfected Eternal Spring (Qiu Chuji) at the Abbey of Misty Dawn (Qixia Guan). Shortly after Eternal Spring's westward journey, he encountered Perfected Jade Yang at the Linyi county office. When asked about Daoist companions in the Guanzhong region, the disciple mentioned Pucha. Learning this connection was made at Eternal Spring's instruction, Perfected Jade Yang affirmed this spiritual friendship, transmitting profound Daoist methods and bestowing the Daoist name "Master of Cavernous Perfection" (Dongzhenzi).

In the bingyin year (1206), while passing through Mount Linlu (modern Linzhou, Henan), he was drawn to its secluded beauty and settled at the Abbey of Heavenly Peace (Tianping Guan). Perfected Eternal Spring dispatched Bi Zhichang with a letter stating: "Those with true foundational depth need only distance themselves from temptations of wealth and desire. Since you can forsake riches to uphold righteousness, why cling to mountain solitude? Upon receiving this, descend immediately and return to Longzhou—our teaching now lacks capable hands, and we need you to propagate the Dao." He also bestowed a new Daoist name: "Zhi Dao" (Aspiring to the Way).

After the war ended in the wuchen year (1208), moved by compassion for prisoners, he ransomed many captives with his own funds. Following his perfected practice at Five Peaks Mountain, hundreds came to become his disciples, establishing multiple temples across Fengxiang and Longzhou. Though recommended in the guiwei year of Yuanguang (1223) to serve as superintendent (Tidian) of the Central Great Unity Temple (Zhong Taiyi Gong) in Bianliang, he declined the appointment. In the first year of Zhengda (1224), he received an imperial summons to conduct salvation rituals (Zhaijiao) for those fallen in the Pingliang campaign.

This account records several significant events concerning a Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoist master during the Jin-Yuan period:

After completing a ritual ceremony, this master donated all the offerings received from devotees to military provisions. Zhao Su, deeply impressed by his noble character, sought to recommend him for an official post, but the master repeatedly declined. Later, when rebellion broke out in Longshan, Bi Zhichang invited him to take refuge at the Wuxing Cave in Qishan (a Daoist cultivation site). In the Bingxu year, imperial envoys summoned him again, and this time he accepted the call to the capital, where he was appointed to oversee the Zhongtaiyi Temple (an important Daoist monastery). Prominent figures of the time, such as Prince Mi Guo (Shu) and Marquis Xin (Zhi), held him in high esteem.

As the Jin dynasty neared its end, oppressive taxes burdened the people, even extending to the conscription of Daoist and Buddhist clergy. This master frequently petitioned the authorities, successfully suspending such policies on multiple occasions, bringing relief to monastic communities across the land. In the Dinghai year, news arrived of the ascension of Changchun Zhenren (Qiu Chuji) at Yanshan. In mourning, the master observed a three-year heart-fasting period (a distinctive Daoist practice), consuming only one meal per day.

During the Gengyin year drought in Henan, the emperor dispatched attendants to escort him for rain prayers at the Jidu (Ji River). After conducting rituals at the palace altar, rain immediately fell in abundance, earning him special commendation and appointment as overseer of the Wuyue Youshen Temple. That autumn saw a bountiful harvest.

In the spring of Tianxing Guisi year, when Bianjing submitted to the Yuan dynasty, officials sought representatives of the Three Teachings, and he was unanimously chosen as their leader. While crossing the Yellow River northward in July with numerous followers, boatmen—suspecting them of carrying valuables—deliberately stranded their vessel on a sandbar and fled. At dawn, when sudden waves terrified the group, he alone remained composed. Coincidentally, the Eight-Willow Tree Dike burst that day, and he dispatched disciple Fu Daoqing to secure two boats, leading everyone to safety in Daming Prefecture.

Xuántōng Zhenren (Mysterious Penetration Perfected Person) Fan Yuanxi, then abbot of Dongping's Shangqing Temple, upon hearing of his arrival, led officials and Daoists with carriages to welcome him—even offering to relinquish his abbacy. After repeated refusals, the master eventually taught at Dongyuan. In the autumn of the Yiwei year, he visited Changchun Zhenren's former residence at Chushun Hall in Yanjing. Though local residents implored him to stay, he insisted on returning south.

During the summer of the Bingshen year, locust plagues and drought struck the Yan region. At local officials' request, he conducted disaster-averting rituals. Immediately after rain prayers at his altar, timely rains came, dispelling the locusts. That autumn, when Qinghe Zhenren (Pure Harmony Perfected Person) Yin Zhiping returned to Yanjing from Guanzhong, he arranged for disciple Li Zhichang to oversee religious affairs and construct new temples.

This passage recounts the development of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school of Daoism at its ancestral temple on Mount Zhongnan during the Yuan dynasty. At that time, a highly virtuous Daoist master (bearing the title Tongxuan Guangde Dongzhen Zhenren) gained imperial favor and began overseeing religious affairs in the spring of the Wuxu year. By summer, when the court sought Buddhist and Daoist talents, this master's eminent reputation led Wudeheng, the imperial overseer of Beijing, to invite him to preside over the newly established Quanzhen Temple.

In autumn, with imperial approval, the Lingxu Temple on Mount Zhongnan was renamed Chongyang Palace, and the master was appointed its abbot, taking charge of Daoist affairs in Shaanxi. The following summer, high-ranking officials such as Grand Tutor Yila Baojian and Tian Decan sent envoys with official documents to invite him. Local officials and commoners, learning of his mission to revive the ancestral temple, donated gold, silver, and supplies. As he traveled through regions like Yan-Zhao and Shanxi, local officials greeted him outside city walls, and devotees flocked to follow him.

In the first month of the Xinchou year, Daoist masters from across the land gathered at Baiyun Hall to bury the founding patriarch. Though the Guanzhong region had just endured war and was sparsely populated, disciples, moved by gratitude for the patriarch’s teachings, came to reclaim the land. The temple’s influence stretched east to Shandong, west to Gansu, south to the Yangtze-Huai region, and north to the deserts, with pilgrims arriving in endless streams. At Li Palace alone, several thousand resident Daoists handled daily affairs.

The master regularly held fasting assemblies on the first and fifteenth days of each month, teaching disciples self-cultivation methods, guiding them in temple-building and worldly salvation, and expounding the principles of karma so each follower found their proper path. Under his leadership, within less than a decade, grand temples spread across Shaanxi like stars—with the ancestral temple becoming the largest in the empire.

To commemorate the patriarch’s legendary encounter with immortals at Ganhe, the master built Yuxian Palace (Encountering Immortals Palace). He also dispatched over a thousand disciples to construct Changchun Chengdao Palace at Panxi in Xiguo, where the renowned Changchun Zhenren (Qiu Chuji) attained the Dao. During the Shangyuan Festival in the Jiachen year, Jiagu Xianfengshi, a patron of the ancestral temple, erected the Xuhuang Altar Hall and invited the master to conduct a Luotian Dajiao (the highest Daoist ritual) to deliver souls of the deceased across the realm.

This account describes how during the Yuan Dynasty, Prince Köden (Kuoduan Dawang), while establishing his administration in Xiliang (modern-day Wuwei, Gansu), dispatched envoy Zhao Chongjian to the Chongyang Wanshou Palace to conduct a seven-day Golden Register Grand Ritual (Jinlu Dajiao), the highest form of Daoist purification ceremony (Zhaijiao). During the ritual's divine manifestation phase, the sacred talismans (Fulu) from the northeast spontaneously ignited without any fire. When the envoy reported this miraculous event, the prince issued a special edict to protect Daoism, bestowed the inscribed plaque "Chongyang Wanshou Palace," and conferred the title of "Perfected Person" (Zhenren) upon five senior Daoists who presided over the ceremony—including the master of the subject of this biography, as well as Song Piyun, Xue Taixia, Qi Baiyun, and Li Wuyu.

In the summer month of May, the emperor further sent his close attendant Pei Tianmin to the temple to burn imperial incense as a gesture of reverence. In the autumn of the Bingwu year, Wang Dechen, the military governor of Gongchang, wished to invite a senior Daoist to perform rituals for his deceased father. Fearing his request might be declined, he reported it to the prince's court. As Wang was a key founding minister, the court dispatched Chancellor Wanyan Fengge in person to Mount Zhongnan to extend the invitation, and the senior Daoist agreed to go. At that time, Gongchang bordered the Western Qiang region, where most people followed Buddhism. After being guided by the Daoist's teachings on "non-action (Wuwei), purity, rectifying the heart, and sincerity," the local customs underwent a transformation. That winter, the Daoist expounded scriptures and teachings in Qinting, guiding sentient beings. His deeds were recorded by Qin scholars in the Xizhou Lu.

In the spring of the Dingwei year, he returned to the temple. In August, the empress dowager bestowed ceremonial robes and issued a protective edict commanding local officials to safeguard Daoism from interference. When the Tongming Pavilion was completed in the sixth month of the Gengxu year, the Daoist leaned on his staff and strolled beneath it, reflecting: "I have spent ten years restoring the ancestral temple and constructing this pavilion—not merely for grandeur, but because I know ordinary people easily develop reverence upon seeing dignified forms. Though those of superior roots cultivate purity and self-cultivation as fundamental, when propagating the teachings and guiding others, external forms like temple architecture cannot be neglected. This is a necessary way to honor the Dao."

On the third day of the tenth winter month, after bathing and changing clothes, he sat upright and gathered his disciples to impart essential cultivation instructions. At noon, he left behind a verse and passed away peacefully at the age of eighty-five. During the nine-day mourning period, his countenance remained lifelike. Tens of thousands of Daoists and laypeople joined the funeral procession, and he was ultimately laid to rest in the temple's Immortal Transformation Garden, near the tombs of his predecessors Yu Chan and Ling Yang.

This passage recounts the life of the renowned Daoist master Song Defang, known as Perfected Piyun, during the Jin-Yuan period. Born in Yecheng, Laizhou (modern Shandong), his birth was accompanied by extraordinary signs—his family home was bathed in auspicious light. From childhood, he stood apart from others; as soon as he could speak, he showed a love for books rather than the usual childish play. At age twelve, he asked his mother, "Can a person avoid death?" When she told him immortality could be attained through Daoist practices, he sought out a master the very next day—Liu Changsheng, one of the Seven True Daoists (key disciples of Quanzhen founder Wang Chongyang).

Liu recognized the boy’s exceptional bone structure and refined speech, keeping him close for menial tasks like sweeping and serving while imparting Daoist teachings through daily life. Song Defang practiced diligently day and night after receiving instruction. Later, he took formal vows under Perfected Yuyang. After Liu’s passing, he trained with Qiu Chuji (Perfected Changchun), mastering not only Daoist classics like the Yijing and Daode Jing but also Confucian texts such as the Zhongyong and Daxue, along with various philosophical schools, becoming profoundly erudite.

In spring 1220, Genghis Khan dispatched envoy Liu Zhonglu to invite Qiu Chuji from the eastern coast. Song Defang was among the eighteen disciples who accompanied the three-year journey. Upon returning to Yanjing (Beijing), they resided at Changchun Palace. While others busied themselves with chores, Song leisurely played the qin and read. When complaints reached Qiu, the master replied, "Do not disturb him—none of you will match his future contributions to Daoism." After Qiu’s passing, Song indeed became a pivotal Quanzhen lineage holder, establishing the Siye Hall at the ancestral temple on Mount Zhongnan to honor the patriarchs. Yang Huan, the Henan transport commissioner, even erected a merit stele for him. His poetry collection Hongzhong Ji (Bell of Enlightenment), dedicated to guiding others, also gained wide circulation.

This passage records the transmission story between Qiu Chuji (Daoist name Changchunzi), the patriarch of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school of Daoism, and his disciple Piyunzi (Song Defang). At the time, Qiu Chuji privately told his disciple: "Your destined opportunity lies in the southwest," and spoke of the need to restore scattered Daoist scriptures. Qiu explained this was a matter of great importance that he couldn't personally attend to, but that heaven's will had arranged for Piyunzi to shoulder this responsibility in the future, thus bestowing upon him the Daoist name "Piyunzi" (Cloud-Cloaked Master).

After Qiu Chuji's yu hua (ascension, the Daoist term for a perfected being's passing), Qinghe Zhenren Yin Zhiping succeeded as sect leader and put Piyunzi in charge of administrative affairs. Piyunzi handled matters with such fairness that he earned respect both within and outside the religious community. In 1233 (the Guisi year), Prime Minister Hu Tianlu established an altar in Hedong for a zhaijiao (Daoist purification ritual), inviting Piyunzi to preside. The following year while traveling through Taiyuan's Western Hills, Piyunzi discovered the ruins of ancient Haotian Temple with two well-preserved Daoist cave shrines containing stone statues. Noticing the inscription "Song Tong" on the walls, he spent three years restoring the temple complex to its former glory.

In 1237 (the Dingyou year) while presiding over a zhaijiao at Pingyang's Xuandu Temple, Piyunzi recalled his master's prophecy and realized the "southwest opportunity" had been fulfilled through his missionary work in that region. Resolving to complete his master's unfinished work of scripture restoration, he collaborated with disciples like Qin Zhi'an (Daoist name Tongzhenzi) to organize a scripture-carving project. When Prime Minister Hu learned of this, he enthusiastically donated a thousand taels of silver as seed money. Piyunzi assigned Qin Zhi'an to oversee the scripture-carving at Xuandu Temple, where the project was ultimately completed. Hanlin Academician Li Ye documented the entire process in a stele inscription.

With remaining resources, Piyunzi also carved the Jiuyang Cave at Laizhou's Divine Mountain and established over forty temples across the vast region from Yanjing to Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces. All these achievements occurred before the first month of 1241 (the Xinchou year).

This passage recounts the life of Master Baiyun (White Cloud) Qi Zhiyuan, styled Zixuan. Born into a prominent family in Yexian County, Laizhou, Shandong, his ancestors were renowned for their virtuous deeds and charitable works. During the famine years of the Huangtong era under the Jin dynasty, his family established soup kitchens to feed the starving masses until the autumn harvest.

From childhood, Qi Zhiyuan displayed extraordinary qualities, showing little interest in idle play. At fifteen, he declared his intention to study the Daoist path. When his parents attempted to arrange a marriage for him at twenty, he secluded himself in a quiet chamber, purifying himself through disciplined practice. Recognizing his unwavering determination, his family reluctantly permitted him to take monastic vows as a Daoist priest. Later, he traveled to Qixia to become a disciple of Master Changchun (Eternal Spring) Qiu Chuji, immersing himself in cultivation and achieving notable spiritual accomplishments.

The text details several significant events: In spring of the jiachen year (1244), he presided over a zhaijiao (purification ritual) at the ancestral temple on Mount Zhongnan for Prince Kuoduan, subsequently receiving the honorific title "Perfected Man of Supreme Dao from the Mysterious Capital." On the eleventh day of the tenth month in the dingwei year (1247), after bathing and changing robes, he peacefully departed this world at sixty-five. Seven days later, he was interred in the Garden of Immortal Transformation. His poetic and literary works were compiled into two volumes titled Lequan (Complete Joy), which circulated widely. The following winter, his disciples relocated his remains to the Chunyang Palace in Yongle Town, Shanxi, erecting a shrine and stele in his honor. In the third month of the gengwu year (1270), Emperor Kublai Khan posthumously granted him the title "Perfected Man of Mysterious Penetration and Vast Teaching, Cloaked in Clouds."

The account also mentions his connection with Patriarch Chongyang Wang Zhe (styled Chongyangzi): In the jichou year of the Dading era (1169), when Patriarch Chongyang passed through his hometown accompanied by three senior disciples—Ma Yu (Danyangzi), Tan Chuduan (Changzhenzi), and Qiu Chuji (Changchunzi)—they were invited to receive alms at his family home. Later, Qi Zhiyuan established the Longxiang Abbey in his village, donating fertile farmland to support the monastic community.

This passage records the life of the Yuan Dynasty Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoist master Baiyunzi (Qí Zhiyuǎn). When Changchun Zhenren (Eternal Spring Perfected Person) Qiu Chuji received the imperial summons to journey north and meet Genghis Khan, Baiyunzi was among the eighteen disciples who accompanied him on this arduous three-year expedition. While resting at the Golden Mountains (modern-day Altai Mountains), Qiu Chuji recognized Baiyunzi's sincere and virtuous nature, prophesying that he would achieve great things in the future.

In 1224, when Qiu Chuji returned to Yanjing (modern Beijing) to oversee Changchun Palace, Baiyunzi served him diligently. After Qiu Chuji's ascension, Yin Zhiping (Qinghe Zhenren) succeeded as patriarch and appointed Baiyunzi to manage Changchun Palace, bestowing upon him the Daoist name "Baiyunzi" (White Cloud Master). Later, Baiyunzi was sent to Shandong to spread the teachings, where he was warmly received by local communities, with many elders coming to hear his discourses on the Dao.

In 1238, when Li Zhichang (Zhenchang Zhenren) assumed leadership, Baiyunzi accompanied him to the imperial court. That autumn, Baiyunzi and Yu Zhike (Dongzhen Zhenren) were jointly entrusted with overseeing Chongyang Palace on Mount Zhongnan and administering Daoist affairs in Shaanxi. Yin Zhiping reminded Baiyunzi that Qiu Chuji's prophecy at the Golden Mountains had now come to fruition, encouraging him to fulfill his duties with diligence.

In 1240, Baiyunzi led Xi'an officials in welcoming Yin Zhiping to preside over the burial rites of Patriarch Chongyang. Subsequently, he took charge of restoring the ancestral temple complex and expanding the Xuandu Wanshou Palace and Tangu Taiyi Palace within Xi'an. During the Lantern Festival of 1244, Prince Köden sent envoys to conduct a grand seven-day Golden Register Ritual (Jinlu Dajiao), after which the five participating Daoist masters received honorary titles—Baiyunzi was granted the designation "Xuánmén Hóngjiào Báiyún Zhēnrén" (White Cloud Perfected Person Who Expounds the Mysterious Teachings).

In the winter of 1246, the Empress Dowager bestowed upon him golden ceremonial robes as a mark of reverence. After Emperor Xianzong's accession in 1251, Baiyunzi was again officially confirmed as the administrator of Shaanxi Daoism. In the winter of 1252, false accusations linking Daoists to rebel forces in Sichuan prompted military investigations that scattered the monastic community. The following April, Baiyunzi traveled to the imperial camp at Liupan Mountain to meet the future Kublai Khan, presenting the true circumstances of the matter.

This passage records the life of Daoist master Li Zhiyuan, known as the "Desireless Perfected One" of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) tradition.

Born in Yaozhou's Meiyuan region on the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month in 1169 (the Jichou year of the Dading era), Li Zhiyuan didn't walk until age five. As an adult, he displayed an upright and forthright character, often reprimanding dishonest villagers with blunt words. At thirty-seven, he suddenly awakened to the emptiness of worldly life and resolved to follow Daoist Yang Jun (a Quanzhen master) in spiritual cultivation. Despite mockery from his wife and scolding from his father, he persisted in his decision and eventually persuaded his father to join him in becoming Yang Jun's disciple.

During his training, he wandered unkempt and in tattered robes, begging for food in marketplaces, earning the nickname "Wine Beggar Li." During the severe drought of 1210 (the Gengwu year of the Da'an era), he convinced the wealthy Zhao Sanlang to open granaries for relief efforts. He organized disciples like Qi Zhidao to cook congee for the poor and sick until the autumn harvest. Later, he secluded himself in Xingping for a thousand days of intensive practice, attaining profound realization of the Dao (the Way).

The canal official Jiagu Gong invited him to oversee Longxiang Temple. After five years, he moved to Louguan Temple and later to Danxia Temple in Jingzhao. Yang Jun then tasked him with constructing Bixu Temple in Sanyuan. In 1228 (the Wuzi year of the Zhengda era), Yang Jun transmitted the lineage leadership to him before passing away. Soon after, warfare engulfed Guanzhong, forcing Li to lead disciples to safety.

On the twenty-fourth day of the seventh lunar month in 1255 (the Yimao year), after showing mild illness, he died in the Xuandu meditation chamber (a Daoist temple's inner sanctum) at sixty-six. Initially buried at Baiyun Temple in Fanchuan, his remains were later reinterred at the Immortal Mausoleum of the Ancestral Temple in Liujiang (the Quanzhen sect's main burial ground). During his life, he initiated hundreds of disciples and established over twenty temples.

The text portrays the archetypal Quanzhen cultivator—renouncing household life while benefiting society—and reflects Daoism's development amid the era's social upheavals.

(Note: All specialized Daoist terms follow the glossary's standardized translations, with pinyin provided at first occurrence where applicable.)

This account describes the missionary activities of Daoist priest Yu Shanqing (styled Chongxu) during the Yuan Dynasty. He initially cultivated his practice in the Zhongnan Mountains before accepting an invitation from Li Chongxu to journey to Nanyang. When famine struck Bianjing (modern Kaifeng), he crossed the Yellow River to Jijun (present-day Weihui, Henan), where he established Lingxu and Tianqing temples to aid disaster victims through promoting virtuous deeds and accumulating merit (yinzhi, hidden virtue).

Later, obeying the directive of Qinghe Zhenren Yin Zhiping, he traveled to Shaanxi to revive the ancestral temple (Chongyang Palace) and was appointed as Shaanxi's Daoist superintendent. Upon departure, he received gold for expenses and was warmly received by local officials along his journey who provided financial support. Arriving in Guanzhong amid postwar desolation, he led disciples to reclaim wasteland and reconstruct Liu-Jiang Village, the former residence of Patriarch Wang Chongyang.

The record particularly highlights several benevolent acts: his generous donation of tiles during Confucian temple construction; dissuading Commander Hao from indiscriminate execution of fugitive servants; advising the Jingzhao prefect to punish only ringleaders; and stopping Grand Tutor Yila Baojian's barbaric practice of live burial sacrifices. It also documents his supernatural premonition of Song army attacks and his final years - including attending the Grand Universal Ritual (Putian Dajiao) in Yanjing (Beijing) at age eighty-six despite frail health, before passing away in June. The text frequently mentions his interactions with Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) leaders like Yin Zhiping and Li Zhichang, illustrating the spread of Quanzhen Daoism across northern regions during the Yuan period.

On the sixteenth day of the month, the venerable Daoist Master Gao Daokuan peacefully departed this life in the Fanghu Hall of Changchun Palace. His disciples escorted the coffin westward and interred him in the Immortal Transformation Garden of Liujiang Village. Though this Perfected Being never specialized in Confucian classics, he always treated visiting literati with exceptional courtesy—befriending Master Wanqing in Yan territory, earning respect from renowned scholars like Fu Renfu, Jing Xuan, and Dingchen during his travels in Zhao, while in Qin territory he associated with Yang Huan of Ziyang, Left Administrator Yao, Shu Lai, Xianchen, Mingzhi, Vice-Minister Pi, and Bangyong. These eminent figures composed poems and essays in his memory, later engraved on the stone tablet of the Quiet Restoration Hall at Youde Temple. Through these records, the Perfected One's daily cultivation achievements became widely recognized.

Perfected Being Yuanming (Gao Daokuan's Daoist name) hailed from Huairen County, Yingzhou, born into a prominent local family. Towering in stature, he carried himself with expansive magnanimity. Born on the nineteenth day of the seventh month in the Yimao year of the Mingchang era, even as a child he stood apart from boisterous playmates. Upon reaching adulthood, he mastered the essence of classics and histories while cultivating refined detachment, often contemplating monastic cultivation. Yet filial duties to his living parents delayed this aspiration. During the Da'an era when warfare reached his homeland, he relocated his entire household to Chang'an, temporarily working as a minor clerk. After his parents' successive passings and proper burials, during a midnight meditation in his courtyard, he suddenly witnessed radiant light illuminating the night sky—the northwestern firmament parted to reveal jade towers and immortal realms amidst rosy clouds and violet Qi (vital energy) before the celestial gate closed. This experience solidified his Dao-seeking resolve.

In the Xinding era's Xinsi year, hearing of the profound Daoist methods taught by Perfected Being An of Penglai Abbey on Zhangtai Street (a Quanzhen Taoist center), he immediately abandoned worldly possessions to seek instruction. Recognizing his determination, Perfected Being An transmitted essential self-cultivation techniques for "blunting sharpness, resolving entanglements, purifying the heart, and restraining desires." Master Gao devoted himself to these teachings, practicing ascetic cultivation in coarse garments. During the Zhengda era, he traveled to Bianliang where he studied advanced methods under Perfected Being Li Chongxu at Danyang Temple. For years he willingly performed menial tasks like tending fires and carrying water without complaint. Impressed by his sincerity, Perfected Being Li ultimately transmitted the core oral instructions. In the Bingxu year when the Jin emperor's envoy summoned Perfected Being Yu Dongzhen from Fengxiang, Li Chongxu specifically recommended Gao Daokuan as an exemplary practitioner, declaring: "Our master-disciple meeting was celestial design, and Perfected Being Dongzhen remains my transcendent confidant."

This passage documents the cultivation journey and ecclesiastical promotions of Yuanmingzi, a Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoist priest during the Yuan Dynasty. Initially recognized by two pivotal patriarchs of the Quanzhen tradition—Danyang Zhenren Ma Yu and Changchun Zhenren Qiu Chuji—he was later dispatched to administer the Taiyi Temple in Bianliang (modern Kaifeng), where he devoted himself to Daoist cultivation practices day and night.

After the fall of Bianjing, he traveled north to Yanjing (modern Beijing) and spent years in secluded cultivation at the Longyang Temple in Dexing Prefecture. In the spring of the Wuxu year, he was recalled to Yanjing for missionary work. Two years later, he accompanied his master to the Guanzhong region to assist in rebuilding the ancestral temple on Zhongnan Mountain (the birthplace of Quanzhen Daoism). During this critical period coinciding with the reburial ceremonies for patriarch Wang Chongyang, he actively participated in handling various affairs.

In the Wushen year, he received the Daoist name "Yuanmingzi" and was appointed to oversee the Chongyang Wanshou Temple and Ganhe Yuxian Temple. Dongzhen Zhenren instructed him: "True cultivation isn't about rigid sitting meditation, but comprehending the Dao (the Way) through the interplay of movement and stillness—embracing Wuwei (non-action) as Laozi taught, achieving all by doing nothing, while saving beings according to circumstances." These teachings became the foundation for his later enlightenment, with the master predicting he would shoulder significant responsibilities in the tradition.

Yuanmingzi internalized these instructions, cultivating personal simplicity while treating others with magnanimity. Within just a few years, he earned widespread respect both within and beyond the religious community. Starting from the Renzi year, he served as Daolu (Daoist registrar) of Jingzhao Circuit (modern Xi'an region), administering both religious and governmental affairs with remarkable order for a decade. During the Zhongtong era, he attained higher ecclesiastical positions, and by the Zhiyuan period, he received imperial honors including a golden crown, brocade robes, the prestigious title "Zhi Chang Bao De Yuanming Zunshi" (Wisdom-Upholding Virtue-Embracing Illustrious Master). This entire trajectory exemplifies how Quanzhen priests progressively gained recognition through sincere cultivation and dedicated religious service.

Not long after, this Daoist master (referring to an immortal from the ancestral temple of Zhongnan Mountain) was honored by Prince Yongchang with the revered title "Perfected Lord of Universal Salvation and Perfect Illumination with Profound Insight." In the spring of the Guiyou year, when Prince Anxi established his princely residence at Liupan Mountain, the master paid him a visit. His profound responses during their discourse deeply impressed the prince, who bestowed upon him a Daoist crown and ritual robes.

In the summer of the Yihai year, Prince Anxi summoned the master to his temporary palace to preside over the Grand Golden Register Luo Tian Zhaijiao (the highest-ranking purification ritual in Daoism). From the beginning to the end of the ceremony, auspicious clouds continuously swirled in the sky, and numerous miraculous occurrences were recorded by the Grand Councilor Shang Jun in the "Stele of the Dragon Petition." These details need not be repeated here. Soon after, the empress also bestowed upon him ceremonial robes and headwear, showing him exceptional favor.

In the autumn of the Bingzi year, the seventh month, Prince Anxi issued an edict entrusting the master with the management of Daoist affairs in the western Shu region. For over twenty years as the leader of the religious community, the master governed with De (Virtue) and never resorted to harsh punishments. During his time at the Zhongnan Mountain ancestral temple, he established the Upper Palace of Southern Prosperity and a grand hall dedicated to the Five Patriarchs of Daoism. He also oversaw extensive renovations to the kitchen, storerooms, stables, and other facilities. Even when children came to pay their respects, he always received them with courtesy, never displaying the slightest hint of arrogance.

Despite the heavy responsibilities of his religious duties, he handled all matters with competence. Every night, he would sit in meditation until dawn—this practice of self-cultivation had become his daily habit. Thus, even in his eighties, he remained vigorous in step and clear in spirit. From nobility to commoners, all treated him with special reverence. Under his leadership, the religious community maintained purity and solemnity, with harmonious and peaceful disciples. People from all directions quietly benefited from his grace.

In the first ten days of the Dingchou year, the master fell slightly ill. When attendants urged him to take medicine, he replied, "Life and death are like the alternation of day and night—a natural principle. How can medicine prolong life?" On the twenty-fourth day, he ceased eating and sat upright all day, discussing the essentials of Daoist cultivation as usual. The following day, he peacefully achieved yuhua (the Daoist honorific term for the passing of an enlightened being) in his quiet chamber at the age of eighty-three. Five days later, during his burial, over ten thousand Daoist and lay followers attended the funeral—a testament to the depth of his lifelong cultivation of the Dao.