《雲笈七籤》Vol. 104

Yunji Qiqian, Scroll 144

“Biography of Lord Su, the High Minister of Xuanzhou,” compiled and edited by Zhou Jitong.

The former master was surnamed Su, given name Lin, courtesy name Zixuan; he was from Qushui in Puyang. From childhood he was endowed with an extraordinary nature, outstanding and set apart, and his resolve to seek the immortal Dao grew firmer day by day.

He often carried a load on a shoulder pole and traveled far. When he went to the region of Zhao to take Master Qin Gao as his teacher, he was only twenty-one, and he studied the Way of refining Qi to benefit life. Qin Gao had originally been a retainer of King Kang of Zhou. Through cultivating inner virtue he had mastered immortal arts and alchemical methods, and he could move through water and fly through the air. At that time he had already lived nine hundred years, but had not yet attained deathlessness; he belonged to the flying immortals. Later, he rode a red carp into the water, and he also often came and went among the human world. Su Lin set his hopes on the lofty immortal realms, and his aspiration never changed.

After this, Su Lin changed teachers and studied under the Huashan immortal Master Qiu. Master Qiu had been a carpenter in the time of King Tang of Shang. He practiced the methods of ingesting medicinal substances and embryonic breathing (taixi), as well as the arts of regulating and nurturing spirit and mind and guarding the Hun and Po souls, from which he gained profound benefit. He said to Su Lin: “You are truly one endowed with immortal qualifications and should study the true Daoist methods. The path I follow is not worth your following.” He then introduced Su Lin to Juanzi.

Juanzi was a Zhenren (True Person). After they met, he transmitted to Su Lin the secret essentials of cultivating Perfection, and told him: “To become an earthbound Zhenren, one must first take medicinal substances, remove the Three Corpses (Sanshi), and kill the grain worms (guchong).”

The Three Corpses (Sanshi), also called the Three Corpse Worms, are, in Daoist teaching, three malevolent impurities that dwell in the human body and harm the person. The first is called Qinggu; it injures a person’s eyes, so that the eyes become dim, the face wrinkles, the breath is foul, and the teeth fall out. This is because the Qi of Qinggu invades the Niwan (an important center in the head). The second is called Baigu; it injures the five viscera, so that the mind weakens, strength is insufficient, one is forgetful, and the spirit is unsettled. This is because Baigu penetrates and depletes the fluids of the six viscera. The third is called Xueshi; it injures the stomach and intestines, so that the abdomen feels full and distended, the bones become thin and the flesh withered, the mind does not open, and thoughts are unstable. If one eats little, one feels hungry, and one is also prone to sadness and sighing, with clouded spirit and confused thoughts. This is because Xueshi disturbs the passes and apertures of the Hun and Po souls and embryonic breathing.

If one takes medicine without removing the Three Corpses, then even if one abstains from grains, the worms within the body will not die. Merely abstaining from the five flavors brings no benefit even if one is diligent in exhalation and inhalation practices, because these worms will still survive and obstruct one’s longevity. Therefore, taking medicinal substances cannot help one avoid death and prolong life; the reason lies precisely in the failure to remove the three malevolent impurities Qinggu, Baigu, and Xueshi. Even if one further abstains from grains, the human body remains heavy….

When the spirit is stagnant and obstructed, the breath faint, and the heart depressed; when dreams too are unreal, inverted and disordered, and lewd thoughts cannot be removed—this is because corpse-worms (shichong, creatures that Daoism holds dwell in the body and harm body and mind) disturb the five spirits (wushen) within. Whoever wishes to seek the true Dao should first take the Insect-Controlling Pill (Zhichong Wan). The Zhichong Wan is also called the “First Spirit Departing from the Root Pill” (Chushen Quben Wan). One who wishes to cultivate into a Zhenren should first take the Immortal-Controlling Pill (Zhixian Wan); the Zhixian Wan is the Supreme Eight-Jewel Flying Essence Elixir of Taishang.

Those who seek deathless longevity, immortality, and true attainment all first take the Zhichong Wan to remove corpse-worms, thereby laying the foundation for longevity. If there are worms in the belly, how can one become an immortal? If the body is full of ghosts and evils, how can one obtain the true Dao? These worms are fierce and wicked and hasten a person’s death, so they should be removed.

Later, Juanzi told Lin: “I have received a summons from the Heavenly Emperor and will ascend to heaven to fill the post of Grandee of the Four Departments of the Central Yellow, concurrently serving as Duke of the Northern Sea. My departure from this world is not far off.” Later Lin went to Juanzi’s quiet bedchamber and obtained a letter he had left behind. In the letter it said:

“The Five Dippers and Three Ones (Wudou Sanyi) are the secret essence treasured by the Great Emperor. Concentrate and comprehend them for twenty years, and the Three Ones will appear and transmit this writing to you. With the Three Ones, long life without extinction is still possible—how much more so for guarding the Three Ones? If one can visualize the Three Ones, one’s name may be engraved on the jade register; how much more so if one can meet the Three Ones? If one further visualizes the Dongfang (the divine chamber in the upper Dantian), one may become a Lord of Shangqing; if one further understands the Three Primes (Sanyuan), one may become one of the Lords of the Five Thearchs.

The Posterior Sage Golden Citadel Emperor Lord can ride swift thunder and divine light and roam the heavens of the ten directions, truly because he cultivated the Dao of the Dongfang, the Three Primes, and the True One. I once consumed the essence of Atractylodes for three hundred years, practiced the Qi-ingestion method for five hundred years, concentrated my thoughts for six hundred years, guarded the Three Ones for three hundred years, guarded the Dongfang for six hundred years, and guarded the Mysterious Elixir for five hundred years. During this time I also roamed famous mountains, gazed afar at the Eight Seas, traveled among the Five Peaks, and rested in cave chambers. I delighted in the hanging branches of the forests and in birds and beasts chasing one another; I also watched rivers and streams exhale and inhale essence, hills and marshes grow lush with plants, and the ten thousand beings grow while cold and heat alternate. I fished in long streams and wandered by deep waters; I stilled my mind in the mountains, thought of the true Dao, nourished primal Qi, summoned the Six Ding deities, and the Jade Maidens appeared to guard me. I wandered through the six directions without restraint.

Guarding the body and seeking the true Dao for more than two thousand eight hundred years—this is truly the carefree life of immortals; I did not seek fame or eminence. Now at last I have been summoned to ascend and fill a celestial office. Thinking of worldly grace, I cannot help lingering in melancholy; but I am about to cut off the breath of the human world, and I fear I must soon depart. Let me now take leave of you. Be diligent in cultivation; we shall gaze at each other from the Biao Chamber.”

When Lin finished reading the letter, he wept and lingered uncertainly, then bowed…

From then on, the traces of Master Kongjuan disappeared. The so-called “Xuandan” refers to the Shen in the Niwan Palace. The methods for cultivating Xuandan come from the Taishang Suling Jue: by guarding the “Three Ones” (Sanyi), one may become a Dizhen (Earthly Perfected); by guarding the “Dongfang” (Cave Chamber), one may become a Zhenren (Perfected Person); by guarding the “Xuandan,” one may serve as an official in the Taiwei Palace.

Lin Jin respectfully practiced these arts and succeeded in cultivating the Dao. He traveled throughout the world and visited famous mountains; he could divide his body and manifest forms. Sometimes he lived in seclusion at Danling; sometimes he sold shoes in market alleys, using an ugly appearance to test whether he had truly attained the Dao. He freely withdrew from the world, and his transformations were unfathomable; people of his time could not recognize him.

On the sixth day of the third month in the second year of the Shenjue era of Emperor Yuan of Han, he said to Ji Tong, “Yesterday I received a summons from Xuanzhou and was appointed Upper Minister of the True Mandate, concurrently serving as Grandee of the Taiji Central Observatory. I must take leave of you.” At dawn the next day, a retinue of cloud chariots with feathered canopies and dragon-horse and tiger teams came to welcome him, with several thousand attendants. On that day Lin Jin ascended to heaven, slowly heading northwest. After a long while, clouds and vapors obscured him, and he disappeared.

Before Lin Jin departed, Taiji had sent an envoy down to the mortal realm to appoint him as Perfected of the Central Peak; later Taishang sent Wang Lang down to appoint him as Earthly Perfected of the Five Peaks and granted him the establishment of a palace at Danling. I personally witnessed my former master attain the Dao and become an immortal; he was three times bestowed immortal offices and finally ascended to heaven. This was probably because his De was deep and sublime, and he had long been responsive to immortal affinity: divine transformations come from the source of emptiness and nonbeing; his Shen and Qi were clear and luminous, pervading the eight directions. He rode dragons and phoenixes, flying upward through the gate of the immortals and Perfected. He appeared and disappeared in the world, using various circumstances to test people of the dusty world. His Daoist arts were wondrous and his methods precious; they cannot be fully described in shallow words. I now only briefly record the deeds of my master, leaving them for future people of the Dao to consult.

Biography of Taihe Zhenren (the Perfected of Great Harmony; Appendix: Yuanyangzi)

Taihe Zhenren Yin Gui, courtesy name Gongdu, was from Taiyuan and was a younger cousin of Master Wenshi. In his youth he studied astronomy and also understood Chenwei (the doctrine of using signs and omens to predict fortune and misfortune). Later he came to serve Master Wenshi, who taught him to ingest Huangjing flowers and transmitted more than a hundred Daoist scriptures, all with secret instructions orally imparted by the master himself.

After Master Wenshi ascended to immortality, Yin Gui and the recluse Du Chong and others remained at the master’s former residence to cultivate; he was then twenty-eight years old. He cut off the five grains from his diet, practiced Qi circulation, and devoted himself to the supreme methods. Taishang took pity on him, bestowed on him the title Taihe Zhenren, and commanded him to oversee the immortal officials at Duyang Palace.

Yin Gui sometimes also went out to travel, carrying more than ten tubes of divine elixir with him, traversing the world to help those with whom he had affinity: sometimes he transmuted gold and silver to relieve the poor; sometimes he applied elixirs to heal the sick and save lives.

Those who pray for rescue in danger all receive his grace and blessing. Sometimes he ascends to court at the Jade Capital (Yujing, the immortal realm where the Heavenly Emperor resides), checking the karmic causes and effects of reward and punishment for good and evil deeds and the fated terms of destiny; sometimes he discusses the trajectories of Heaven and Earth, the sun, moon, and stars, and the differences in their slow or rapid motion.

Sometimes he feasts and roams with the immortals and Zhenren (Perfected) of the various heavens, cross-checking the ranks, offices, and methods of governance in the charts and registers of immortals and spirits; sometimes he expounds the dignified deportment of childlike innocents and those newly entered upon the immortal path, and the rules for advancing and retreating, bowing and raising the head. Sometimes he patrols various places, observing the signs among worldly people and supervising the blessings people obtain from cultivating merit and establishing conduct, fasting and praying; sometimes he oversees men and women studying the Dao, transmitting the ways of scriptures and prescriptions and medicinal remedies.

Sometimes he travels through hundreds of mountains and thousands of rivers, reviewing the matters under the jurisdiction of divine offices and the lists of sins and blessings recorded by ghosts and spirits; sometimes he discourses on wind and rain, thunder and lightning, floods and droughts, abundance and famine. In what he does and how he transforms, his identity is not fixed: sometimes he is a Daoist priest, sometimes a Confucian scholar, sometimes a child or a simple, rustic person, and sometimes an elder; he cannot be defined by any single identity.

Sometimes, together with the assembled Zhenren and immortals, he drives dragons and rides phoenixes, soars through the void and harnesses the empty air, racing like clouds and swift as lightning; he passes between the formed and the formless, dividing his body and scattering his shadow, roaming everywhere. Sometimes he patrols the cave-heavens (dongtian) of the Five Peaks and goes to the immortal palaces of the Ten Continents, entering and leaving the remote regions of the eight directions and the underworld of the Nine Dark; sometimes he drinks and draws water by the jade-green sea, inhales cloud-breath atop the Dark Mound, picks elixir blossoms in Langyuan, and gathers crimson fruits in the Jade Garden.

Therefore, the Shangqing Qiongwen Di Zhang says: Taihe Zhenren, Taihua Zhenren, the Lord of Long Life of the Three Heavens, the Forbidden Lord and General Director of the South Pole, the Middle Marquis of the Western Terrace, the Middle Perfected of the Northern Emperor, the Prince of the Nine Spirits, the Immortal Consort of the Great Spirit, the Jade Youth of Crimson Essence, Master Xuangu, Chisongzi of the Southern Peak, Wang Qiao of Zhongshan, Ziyang Zhenren, the Lord Wang of the Western City, Master Zhonghuang, Zhao Boxuan, Shan Zhongzong, and others all cultivated together the supreme method of the Three Perfected Treasure Scripture. Each of them had a golden countenance and a circular halo above the head; they mounted the void and ascended to Heaven, feasting and roaming in the Purple Court (the celestial palace); they could transform in ten thousand ways, roam as they pleased, and by issuing commands summon spirits, subdue all demons, decide life and death, ride the empyrean and mount the smoke, and enter and leave the palace of the Heavenly Emperor.

Yuanyangzi is an immortal, born at the farthest end of the North Pole and conceived within the Void. He rises and sinks together with Heaven and Earth and circulates with the sun and moon; he wears the garments of spontaneity, contains within the Qi of firmness and strength, and also harbors the De of softness and harmony. He roams leisurely beyond the Great Vastness and lingers above the Central Peak, observing how the Qi of harmony spreads, examining the guiding order by which the ten thousand things move, and also contemplating the differences in the orbital paths of the sun, moon, and stars…

The Huangting Jing (Yellow Court Scripture) recounts the entire course of flourishing and decline. Later, Yuanyang (here referring to the author or transmitter of the scripture) encountered Lord Lao (Laojun, the Daoist honorific for Laozi); Lord Lao took pity on him and dispatched him to transmit the scripture.

This scripture is named Huangting. It discusses Taizu (the primordial state before the cosmos differentiated) and the supreme principles of Yin-Yang, and it clarifies the essentials of harmonizing body and mind and nurturing Shen (spirit). People of high antiquity who cultivated the Dao could grasp its true meaning; from middle antiquity onward, however, people failed to grasp the essentials, and transmissions often contained errors. This has long been the case.

The Yellow Emperor and Laozi composed this scripture in the hope that all who study the Dao might become immortals. After the Yellow Emperor and Laozi, many Confucian scholars of outstanding talent and learning wrote commentaries on it, but they did not grasp the original intent of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi, and thus lost the essential meaning of the scripture. Yuanyang was bewildered by this. He withdrew to reflect, collected the subtle sayings and prophetic utterances of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi, and made a general commentary, but he still could not fully elucidate its profound Daoist meaning; he could only enable students of the Dao to gain a slight understanding from it.

The one who obtained the Huangting Jing was Laozi. Some accounts in the Shiji hold that “Huang” refers to the Yellow Emperor and “Lao” to Laozi; here the scripture is also called the “Taishang Jing” (Supreme Scripture), and this is regarded as a fitting name.

Biography of Taiji Zhenren

Taiji Zhenren (Perfected of the Supreme Ultimate, an immortal in Daoist legend), Du Chong, courtesy name Xuanyi, was a native of Haojing. In the dingsi year of King Zhao of Zhou, he heard that Master Wenshi (Wenshi Xiansheng, an immortal in Daoist legend) had ascended to immortality, so he withdrew to Lingzhai (the Numinous Dwelling) and cultivated the mysterious Dao. At that time, five recluses and men of lofty purity came from afar. They were quiet and reticent, high-minded in aspiration, and upright and unsullied in conduct; they did not compare their levels of Daoist attainment with one another, and together promoted the norms of humility and non-self-display.

Later, King Mu of Zhou heard of Du Chong’s deeds and built a Daoist temple and shrine for him, appointing him as a Daoist priest. In cultivated bearing Du Chong was comparable to Chaofu and Xuyou (recluses of high antiquity in legend), and he made De conduct a model for the world. Therefore the Son of Heaven treated him with courtesy but did not regard him as a subject; the feudal lords respected him but did not confer noble rank upon him. This was because he devoted himself single-mindedly to promoting the work of the Dao.

Du Chong dwelled at leisure in a quiet chamber, intoning the principles of Dao and De. He frequently regulated and protected the Qi and fluids within his body, and used breathing techniques of exhalation and inhalation to nurture his body. After cultivating in this way for more than twenty years, in stillness he entered into spiritual communication with a Zhenren. Master Zhan came to his quiet chamber, with two attendants holding a jasper casket standing to left and right. Du Chong bowed his head and begged for instruction, and so was granted a casket containing the Jiuhua Danfang (Nine Splendors Elixir Formula, a recipe text for alchemical cultivation).

Master Zhan said to Du Chong: “Lord Lao and Master Yin (the legendary Yin Xi) once summoned the Great Thearch at Bachun Mountain in the Eastern Sea and gathered many Zhenren. The immortals of the mountains, rivers, and cave-dwellings throughout the world quickly came. At that time, the Earth Bureau (the divine office in charge of earthly affairs) made a recommendation on account of your diligent cultivation of the Dao, so Lord Lao ordered me to deliver the immortal scripture to you.”

After Du Chong prepared and took the elixir according to the formula, his body gave off a jade-like luster, his five viscera were firm and moist, his bodily form was perfectly proportioned, and his Qi…

(The original text breaks off at the phrase “again resonated with a Zhenren”; the sense is that afterward he once again had spiritual communication with a Zhenren.)

After Lord Li transmitted to him the Taishang Suling Dongxuan Dayou Miaojing, he continued to practice it and soon obtained verification. He then opened the embryo and placenta, eliminated stagnation, preserved nature and life, and condensed true Qi; he could also govern the host of spirits and penetrate many wondrous principles.

King Mu of Zhou revered the Daoist teachings and sought immortality. He rode the fine steed named Yifeng, traveling a thousand li in a day: midway he reached the Kunlun Mountains and ascended Xuanpu Palace; to the west he went to Guishan and in the Chamber of Blue Jade met the Queen Mother of the West; to the east he traveled the Jade Sea, paid respects to the Elder, and plucked flowers of the Ruomu tree; then north to Xuanlong and south to Changli, where he drank with others the numinous marrow of Jiangshan. He drove tigers and leopards, commanded the hundred spirits, penetrated the dark underworld, and his supernatural powers were unfathomable. King Mu of Zhou lived to over one hundred and twenty years. In the jihai year of King Yi, Shangqing Yuanjun sent immortal officials down to receive him, bestowed upon him an immortal book, enfeoffed him as Taiji Zhenren, and ordered him to serve as the next Immortal King of Wangwu Mountain.

Biography of Taiqing Zhenren

Taiqing Zhenren Song Lun, courtesy name Dexuan, was a native of Luoyang. In the jiachen year of King Li of Zhou, he entered the Dao and took up cultivation. From then on he devoted himself to quiet practice, collected his heart-mind and spirit, maintained guarding the One, kept distant from worldly affairs, recited the Five Thousand Words—that is, the Daodejing—several times each day, and ingested Huangjing (Polygonatum) and Baizhu (Atractylodes). After cultivating in this way for more than twenty years, he secretly sensed the descent of Lord Lao. Lord Lao had a circular radiance behind his head and emitted golden light from his face; he wore a nine-colored li-luo cape and a seven-radiance dawn crown. Six immortal youths attended him, carrying true scriptures on their backs and holding registers in their hands.

Song Lun prostrated himself and pleaded. Lord Lao said to him: “I have a scriptural method of cultivation through external scenes that penetrates the true Dao. It was born at the beginning of the Three Primes, emerges from the court of the Nine Mysteries, gathers the auspicious omens of the Five De, and condenses the essence of the Six Qi. It can divide and transform true Qi, emit light, and make a person enduring and firm, extending years and increasing lifespan. If you can practice it, you will soon ride a cloud chariot, enter and leave the void, penetrate the dark underworld, shine together with the three lights of sun, moon, and stars, and be equal in numinosity to the two Qi of Yin-Yang; you will transform according to your mind and ascend to Shangqing.”

Song Lun bowed and received the scriptural method. Lord Lao then opened a treasure store and took out the “Flying Six Jia Plain Memorial” and the “Cinnabar Talisman” from the numinous method, handing them to Song Lun. After Song Lun received the scripture and practiced it, he naturally communed with the Dao, and six jade youths often took turns serving him. He observed things like a spirit deity, and whatever he said invariably came true; he could look at a cliff and step across it, and could tread on water and pass dangers without needing a ferry. Sometimes he transformed into an elk, sometimes into a dove or pigeon, flying over the fields, using these transformations to test people’s minds. Song Lun lived to over ninety; during the reign of King Jing he was bestowed an immortal book, enfeoffed as Taiqing Zhenren, and ordered to descend to the world to oversee the register of immortals of the Central Peak.

The Treatise says: According to the Biographies of the Immortal Masters of Louguan and the Original Record of Louguan, when King Kang of Zhou heard that Mr. Yin (Yin Xi) harbored the lofty aspiration to seek immortality and attain the Dao, he appointed him a daifu official and bestowed upon him a fine title; he also called his dwelling Louguan, the Tower Observatory. In the time of King Zhao of Zhou, Master Yin encountered Laojun, the Daoist honorific for Laozi, and thereby attained the Dao. Later, King Mu of Zhou, admiring the traces of the Dao left by earlier people, built shrines and Daoist temples for this purpose, gathered recluses who cultivated the Dao, and established Daoist priests. From then on, this lineage has continued to the present without interruption.

Therefore the Louguan Stele says: “Louguan was built by Yin Xi, the daifu and Pass Officer of King Kang of Zhou in former times. Because he made a tower of thatch, it was called Louguan.” The inscription also says that when King Mu of Zhou traveled west and Duke Wen of Qin hunted east, both came in person, turned their carriages aside to stay, and honored Daoism. Qin Shi Huang built a temple south of Louguan, and Emperor Wu of Han built a palace north of Louguan. Inscriptions recording visits from the Jin and Song periods are still preserved today; and since the Qin and Han, the families who guarded the shrine and temple have never ceased.

On this basis, it is credible that Laojun’s westward journey and passage through the pass occurred in the time of King Zhao of Zhou. Some say that Laojun passed through the pass under King You, King Li, King Ping, or King Jing of Zhou; these are claims fabricated out of thin air by later people who had not read the Basic Annals of Laojun. It is handed down that during the time of King You of Zhou, while Confucius was alive, someone saw Laojun; these records all speak of Laojun’s return to the Central Plains after the Huahu, the conversion of the barbarians, a period belonging to the “Youyan” phase.

Others say that Laojun went west from Sanguan Pass. According to Zhang Tianshi’s, that is Celestial Master Zhang Daoling’s, Basic Annals of Laojun, after Laozi completed the Youyan phase, he traveled with Mr. Wenshi, the honorific for Yin Xi, to Chicheng and Mount Shangyu, and then passed through Mount Nüji, Mount Jitou, Mount Tianzhu, and Mount Taibai. When King Zhaoxiang of Qin heard of this, he built a city at the western foot of Mount Taibai. Today there are still ruins of an old city in the Sanguan area; it is said that Laojun once passed through there and later ascended Mount Kunlun. Thus the local old site still preserves names such as “Yin Xi City” and “Laoting Post Station.” Seen in this light, the claim that Laojun again passed through Sanguan in the guichou year is clearly untenable.

Some people believe that because the Shiji does not record these matters, they are all false. Yet the nine heavens and nine earths, the sources and courses of rivers, and the customs of every region throughout the world—even the historical records cannot set them down one by one; how much less could a single residence or a single Daoist temple be written in full into the annals? If the historical records are regarded as the only true record, then all the genealogical registers, maps and documents, apocryphal and weft texts, and scriptures and treatises in the world would also have to be considered false—would Louguan and this biography alone be like this? The Louguan lineage has concrete deeds that can be verified and has been transmitted for a long time. At this point the original text is incomplete and then turns to the material concerning King Xuan of Zhou.

At that time, the king was outside the city when he heard a woodcutter singing as he walked: “Don the golden headscarf and enter the Heavenly Gate; breathe the long Jing and inhale the Mysterious Spring; sound the Heavenly Drum and nourish the Mud Pill (Niwan).” (“Mysterious Spring,” “Heavenly Drum,” and “Mud Pill” are all Daoist cultivation terms, referring respectively to the Jing and Qi in cultivation, the method of clicking the teeth, and the upper Dantian in the head.) People at the time did not understand these words; only Lord Lao said, “These are the words of one by whom the state may be preserved; their meaning is deeply secret.” All of these are methods for cultivating the Dao of Supreme Correct Truth.

Biography of the Perfected (Zhenren) of the Great Origin, Upper Minister of the Eastern Peak, and True Lord Director of Destinies

(Compiled by his disciple, the Immortal Zhonghou Li Dao, courtesy name Anlin.)

The Perfected’s surname was Mao, given name Ying, courtesy name Shushen; he was from Nanguan in Xianyang. His ancestors were descendants of the Ji clan, and later a branch formed the Mao clan. The family for generations accumulated virtue and did good, with blessings extending through a hundred generations, and worthy and enlightened men appeared in succession.

His great-great-grandfather was named Meng, courtesy name Chucheng. He had far-reaching insight and could discern the rise and fall of worldly affairs. Knowing that the Zhou dynasty was about to decline, he no longer served the feudal lords and instead took the gentleman of Guigu, of Beiguo Beia, as his teacher. After that, he lived in seclusion on Mount Hua, roaming freely among numinous peaks and secluded valleys, quietly aspiring to the way of immortals and standing aloof from the dusty world.

His great-grandfather was named Yan, courtesy name Taineng, and was the fourth son of Meng. He held office under King Zhao of Qin as a retainer, later rose to Colonel of Chariots and Cavalry, and was enfeoffed as Marquis Gong of Changping. At that time, he assisted in government affairs and ordered the administration of the state, establishing meritorious deeds.

His grandfather was named Jia, courtesy name Zhenglun. He held office under King Zhuang of Qin and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Guangxin. When Qin Shi Huang ascended the throne, Jia assisted the court. During the reign of King Zhuangxiang, Qin’s territory gradually expanded: it annexed Ba and Shu, Hanzhong, Wan, and Ying, and established Nan Commandery; to the north it took Shang Commandery. Qin’s eastern territories included Hedong, Taiyuan, and Shangdang, extending east to Xingyang; after destroying Eastern Zhou and Western Zhou, it established Sanchuan Commandery. Lü Buwei served as chancellor and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Wenxin; Jia was enfeoffed as Marquis of Dexin and was ordered to recruit retainers and wandering scholars in preparation for annexing the world.

In the sixth year of Qin Shi Huang, Han, Wei, Zhao, Wei, and Chu jointly attacked Qin and seized Shouling. The First Emperor sent Jia to lead troops in attack, and Jia achieved military merit. When Wei threatened Qin’s eastern capital, Jia again sent out troops to punish them and pacified the situation. The First Emperor admired Jia’s resolve and integrity and bestowed upon him five thousand jin of gold.

In the twenty-fifth year of Qin Shi Huang, Qin launched a great expedition and sent Jia to attack Liaodong in Yan; he captured the King of Yan and returned. Subsequently, the First Emperor again sent Jia to pacify Jing and Jiangnan, and the people there all submitted. In the same year, Qin established Kuaiji Commandery, and Jia led troops to garrison Kuaiji, where he later died. The First Emperor mourned his loyalty and buried him with the rites of a chancellor to the southwest of Longshou Mountain in Chang’an. Jia had six sons.

They were all renowned for their fame and praised by people of their time. The First Emperor granted them all official posts and noble ranks, allowed them to inherit the enfeoffments of their forebears, and bestowed surnames on them respectively. His...

His sixth son was named Zuo, courtesy name Yanying. He neither served as an official nor pursued study, but resolved to farm in the countryside. He was Ying’s father. Zuo had three sons: the eldest, Ying, courtesy name Shushen; the second, Gu, courtesy name Jiwei; and the youngest, Ai, courtesy name Sihe.

In his youth Ying had extraordinary aspirations; he was naturally intelligent and of a lofty temperament. He did not seek fame and prominence, did not associate with those whose interests did not accord with his own, but immersed his mind in purity, stillness, and emptiness, peacefully keeping to a remote and detached life. At eighteen he left his family and went to Mount Heng, where he studied Laozi’s Daode Jing and the Commentary on the Zhouyi, and collected mountain herbs to ingest. He lived in seclusion among remote mountains and sheer cliffs, dwelling alone on numinous peaks, single-mindedly seeking the mysterious Dao and resolved to leave the mortal world for good.

On the gengzi day of the ninth month in the thirtieth year of the First Emperor, Ying’s great-great-grandfather Meng, in Mount Hua, rode clouds and drove dragons and ascended to heaven in broad daylight. Before this, a ballad had circulated locally: “The one who attained the Dao and became an immortal is Mao Chucheng; he rode a dragon and ascended, entering Taiqing (the pure and empty heavenly realm in Daoism), sometimes roaming in Xuanzhou and sometimes sporting in Chicheng. Generation after generation have followed him away; now it is my turn, Ying. If Your Majesty wishes to learn from him, begin at the time of the La sacrifice.” When the First Emperor heard the ballad, he asked its meaning. Local elders replied in detail that it was an immortal’s ballad urging the emperor to seek longevity. Hearing this, the First Emperor was very pleased; he then conceived the intention to seek immortals and renamed the La sacrifice “Jiaping.”

Ying dwelled on Mount Heng for six years, longing for the supreme Dao day and night. His sincere devotion reached and moved the dark unseen realms, and in his dreams he often heard mysterious discourses, as if communing with spirits. He dreamed that the Jade Maiden of the Great Mystery (a goddess in Daoist legend), holding a jade tablet, led him forward and said to him: “In Xicheng there is a Lord Wang who has already attained the Dao and can be your teacher. Why do you not go seek his instruction?” Ying’s mind suddenly opened; his heart became clear and unobstructed. After waking, he still felt numinous light welling up and radiance glowing, and he felt as if he had, in a rare encounter of a thousand years, comprehended the great Dao.

At dawn the next day, as the morning sun first rose, Ying set out for distant places, climbed the mountain ridges, followed steep and perilous paths, and finally reached Xicheng. He observed a three-month purification fast, bathed and purified himself, bowed toward the mountain, then pushed through thorns and braved danger, kowtowed toward the immortal realm, and finally met Lord Wang.

Twenty years later, Ying followed Lord Wang west to Mount Gui and met the Queen Mother (Xi Wangmu). Ying then kowtowed and bowed again, and addressed the Queen Mother: “I, Ying, am a lowly and insignificant person; my life is like the remnant of dry bones, and how would I dare, with this unworthy body, aspire to a longevity like that of dragons and phoenixes? I am like a fungus that lives at dawn and dies at dusk, yet I privately hope to possess a lifespan of many years and months. Though I look up toward the distant lineage of the Dao, I do not know how to obtain rescue...”

The road was difficult and blocked, and there was nowhere to entrust what I sought. I often feared that one day I would die amid hardships like drilling wood to make fire and become a laughingstock among worldly people. Therefore, in former days I carried my book chest and withdrew to the mountains and forests, painstakingly searching for a teacher. Later I met Lord Wang; taking pity on my sincere search for the Dao, he transmitted to me the essential formulas for cultivating the body and Fuqi (the practice of regulating the breath to nourish life).

Thereupon I fasted and cultivated in a quiet, sealed chamber. The master then solemnly warned me: “The human body is not jade or stone and cannot remain forever unchanged; the Qi within the body, too, cannot remain constantly the same. If one wishes to live long, one should regulate the outgoing and incoming breath, making it moderate and harmonious, and harmonize the bodily fluids. Only by cultivating both body and spirit in this way can one avoid error. As responsive thoughts accumulate day by day and month by month, the hun and po souls will not stagnate and become obstructed; when regulation accords with one’s proper measure, the breath will be just right. In this way the bodily form and Jing-Qi will not be exhausted, and this dwelling place, the body, will not decay. If you let the spirit become weary from rushing to and fro, and let the fluids be depleted by exhalation and inhalation, the body will decline day by day and the spirit will wither; the lifespan will shorten year by year, like the moon waning day after day. You should probe the subtle methods and seek the benefits of prolonging life and extending years.”

The Queen Mother of the West (Xi Wangmu, a female immortal in Daoist legend) said: “Your intention is utterly sincere. My former teachers, Yuanshi Tianwang and the Great Emperor of Fusang in Imperial Heaven, once transmitted the essential formulas to me. Are you willing to listen?” Thereupon she orally transmitted to Ying The Way of the Jade Pendant and Golden Dang and The Classic of the Mysterious Truth of Taiji. Ying bowed to receive the words transmitted to him, knocked his head on the ground, and stood.

The Queen Mother of the West then said to Ying: “What is called the ‘Golden Dang’ is the canopy of Shangqing (Highest Clarity); it is the inner true method within the Yin radiance. The ‘Jade Pendant’ is the Most High’s hidden mystery, cavern-flying precious chapter. Those who obtain these Dao methods can all ascend into the clouds, mount Taiji, rest peacefully in the high heavens, and roam within the purple void. What I just said was transmitted by Yuanshi Tianwang and the Great Emperor—namely, The Hidden Book of the Two Radiances of the Great Empyrean and the chapters of the Jade Pendant and Golden Dang. In addition, there are the inner true talismans of the two radiances of Yin-Yang, which correspond to the main text. The methods of the Most High may be transmitted only to those who hold the office of Controller of Destinies. The chapters you have received—the jade tablets, the Xuanting, and the recorded characters—are engraved in golden script, their radiance illuminating within; the plain-written Shangqing text would seem to be intended for the Lord of High Ministers and the Controller of Destinies. This Dao will be transmitted to you separately later. However, unless you first hear the Dao of the Mysterious Truth of the Bright Hall, you cannot obtain the Hidden Book of the Great Empyrean.”

Ying then took leave of his teacher and returned to the world. He tied a coarse rope around his waist and mingled in ordinary society, not deliberately making himself appear different; he merely said that he had once entered the northern valley of Mount Heng and studied Confucian worldly learning. At that time he was forty-nine years old, and his parents were still alive. When his father saw him, he was very angry and considered his son unfilial.

[Ying] One who serves and supports the good should not pursue monstrous, delusive matters and rush about everywhere. I originally meant to admonish you, but treated you as an ignorant child and even thought to punish you with a staff. After you knelt long in apology, I realized: you were charged to cultivate the Dao and were meant to attain it. Cultivating the Dao and worldly affairs are hard to reconcile; even if you stay far from providing support and cannot serve us morning and evening, you can still bring peace to the household and long life to your parents.

Ying had already received the Fulu (talismans and registers used in Daoism to transmit teachings and perform rites) conferred by the Holy Master. Assisting him at his side were soldiers of the Heavenly Ding; guarding him were immortal youths and jade maidens. Now that his Daoist cultivation was complete, he must not be struck; otherwise it might provoke strict scrutiny by the Three Officials (deities governing Heaven, Earth, and Water). His father observed ritual propriety outwardly but had not fully cultivated inner virtue; he still doubted the mysterious Dao realm, and so wanted to test Ying’s condition to free the crowd from doubt.

The father picked up the staff and was just about to strike Ying when the staff immediately broke into dozens of pieces. The fragments flew like arrows shot from a bow, piercing walls and denting pillars. Only then did the father understand that Ying was no ordinary man, and his anger subsided. Ying said, “What I said just now was precisely out of worry that this would happen. If someone nearby had happened to be hurt, that would not be good.”

During the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, Ying’s two younger brothers both became prominent: Ai served as Grandee of the Five Offices and Governor of Xihe, and Gu as Bearer of the Golden Mace. When the two went to take up office, several hundred local people came to see them off. Ying was also at the farewell banquet and said to the guests, “Although I have not held an office with a two-thousand-bushel salary, I do have a post among the immortals and spirits. On the third day of the fourth month next year, I too must go take up my post. Will we be able to gather like this then?” Everyone agreed.

On the appointed day, several qing of land in front of Ying’s house were suddenly leveled flat, without a single pebble. Blue silk canopies were set up there, and beneath them several layers of white felt were spread, enough to accommodate several hundred people. When the news spread, people far and near talked about it eagerly; guests choked the roads, several times more numerous than when his two brothers had been seen off.

After all the guests had arrived, Ying prepared a great banquet, but the host did not show himself. People saw only golden plates and jade cups come automatically before them, bearing all kinds of rare delicacies and fine fruits whose names they could not identify. The wine was mellow and excellent; music of strings and bamboo, bells and chimes filled heaven and earth; a musk-like fragrance spread for several li. The food kept increasing according to the guests’ needs, and none of the more than six hundred people failed to eat and drink their fill.

The next day, the procession came to welcome Ying to his post. There were several hundred civil officials, dressed in vermilion robes and white belts; the military officers arrayed armored soldiers and ivory banners, their weapons glittering in the sunlight. Ying took leave of his family and relatives one by one, and then said to the junior members of the clan: “The true immortal Dao…”

In reclusion, what matters is that one’s traces remain concealed: one should not display one’s name, nor deliberately adorn or show oneself off, disturbing the sight and hearing of the world. The reason I did not silently withdraw, hide my traces, and quietly ascend Kongtong Mountain was that I wished by this Dao to guide and encourage my two younger brothers, so that they too would give rise to admiration and pursuit—how could it have been only to awaken them from stubborn error? All under Heaven who have the heart to face the Dao should direct their minds toward seeking transcendence and hope to attain something.

After saying this, Ying returned to Juqu. The local people therefore changed the name of Juqu Mountain to Maojun Mountain. At that time his two younger brothers were still serving as officials. When they heard that Ying had left behind wondrous and transcendent traces—becoming an immortal in broad daylight, riding the wind and flying, treading the void, crossing waves and passing fords, with spirit officials (lingguan, divine functionaries who serve the gods) attending at his left and right—and that these deeds circulated among the people, while his guards of honor and banners shone throughout the world, only then did they believe that the immortal Dao could truly be cultivated and learned, and that gods and spirits could also be perfected. From this they understood that Chisongzi and Wang Ziqiao were not empty legends, and that the affair of riding the dragon at Dinghu had really occurred.

Then both brothers resigned their offices and returned home. But they were already advanced in years and practiced only some shallow methods transmitted by Ying; they had not obtained the oral formulas, and their cultivation brought no benefit. They sighed facing one another and said, “Our elder brother has already attained the Dao, and he is no stranger. Why should we not go to him, personally ask for the secret oral formulas, and instead remain here guessing from recipe books and seeking long life? Even if this journey does not obtain our brother’s way of transcendence, in the end it should not leave us to die in a state where we ought not to die.”

The two together left home, supporting the carriage and driving it themselves, to seek their elder brother. On the sixth day of the third month in the fifth year of the Yongguang era of Emperor Yuan of Han, they crossed the Yangtze and went to Dongshan to find Ying. When they met, Ying was filled with mixed grief and joy, and with tears said to his two brothers, “You have awakened too late!” His two younger brothers knelt and said, “We are foolish and lowly and cannot comprehend the Dao and De. We earnestly beg our elder brother to grant us the method of long life and rescue his younger brothers.” Ying said, “You are already old, and it is very difficult to make up for it. Even if you obtain the true oral formulas, at best you can become earthbound immortals (immortals perfected while remaining in the human world). As for the great art of ascending to Shangqing and soaring into the heavens, that is not what I have learned. For now you can only begin with methods that are easy to practice, so that you may gradually gain something to rely on.”

Then Ying taught the two brothers to ingest the Green Sprouts (qingya), a Daoist method of ingesting and refining Jing and Qi; to learn the ingestion of nascent Qi; and the method of swallowing and drawing in Qi and fluids, thereby sustaining blood and Qi, supplementing their weakened and depleted bodies, and gathering in the sinews and bones. This too is a way to delay aging and keep people from dying. Afterward the two observed a long fast for three years, and Ying further transmitted to them the higher Dao, causing them to visualize the Mingtang (the inner palace chamber within the body) and to employ the Qi of Mysterious Perfection to regulate the vital Jing and Qi of life and to harmonize the hun-soul and Shen.

Within three years, the two exhausted their sincerity and focused their thoughts single-mindedly, and at last they saw divine light. Thereupon the Six Ding (the yin spirits and guardian generals in Daoism) came to attend them, and heavenly soldiers guarded them. Ying also gave each of them a dose of the nine-cycle Reverted Elixir (jiuzhuan huandan), a Daoist elixir, and a divine formula… The original text breaks off here.

The three men each bowed in prostration, received and took the immortal medicine, and thereby accomplished the immortal Dao (the Way). Afterward, the immortal envoy bestowed on them the Zisu zhi Shu (Book of Purple Silk), a Daoist immortal text, one hundred characters for each, and handed it to the two, Mao Gu and Mao Zhong. Ritual officiants were also present at the time, reading aloud and collating the documents.

The Zisu Wen (Purple Silk Text) says:

“Taishang (the Most High, the Daoist honorific for the supreme deity) has issued a command; the celestial realm records the true book. This book says: Mao Gu of Xianyang, whose home is at Nanguan and whose courtesy name is Jiwei, has received the command to be entered in the immortal register; his rank is to become an immortal. He is appointed Dinglu, concurrently overseeing the Earthly Perfected, recommending those who possess the Dao, and determining life spans. May he be reverent and diligent in governing the territory under his jurisdiction; the statutes and ordinances, palaces and lodges, cave abodes, and immortal terraces of the four directions are all under his command. He will administer affairs at Gouqu Mountain in Danyang. Mao Gu should exert himself; all his conduct, movement, and rest will be subject to examination.

“It also says: Zhong, younger brother of Mao Ying and Mao Gu, is naturally pure and upright. Though he once delayed and erred, he was still able to return to rectitude. His thoughts are subtle and profound, his sincerity thoroughly penetrating, and he has cut off the Six Heavens (the realm of ghosts, spirits, and malevolent influences in Daoist discourse). His talent and intelligence are outstanding, and his reputation is notable. He is now appointed to oversee the Sanguan (the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water), preserve life spans, and establish an immortal name; he will govern Daizong (Mount Tai) and be in charge of registering the dead and recording the living. He will rank among the earth immortals and be a hero of the Nine Palaces; he will exhort and educate the young and unenlightened, guiding them and bringing them to fulfillment. He will also instruct female officials and transmit many wondrous methods; govern the hundred ghosts; oversee sacrifices, assessments, and inspections; investigate water sources; patrol rivers, seas, and watercourses; manage the sealed storehouses and registers of metals and grains; and supervise the cultivation of immortal herbs such as dragon ganoderma and cave grasses. He will administer affairs at Liangchang Mountain and guard the mouth of the Northern Cavern and the gate of the Yin Palace.”

After the envoy had finished conferring the book, he departed. On the jiyou day of the eighth month in the second year of Yuanshou of Emperor Ping of Han, the Heavenly Thearchs of the Five Directions descended, each riding a carriage corresponding to his direction and leading their hosts of officials. By command of the Great Thearch, they conferred on Mao Ying the position of Siming Dongqing Shangzhen Jun (Director of Destinies, Eastern Minister, Superior Perfected Lord). The appointment document was written on tablets made of purple jade, with characters engraved in gold. It said:

“Mao Ying’s heart was empty and luminous; he was quiet and fond of the Dao, deeply immersed in mysterious and wondrous principles. From childhood he let down his hair at North Mountain and lived in seclusion to cultivate; amid forests, marshes, and waters he stilled his mind and pondered, accumulating thought in quest of the divine. He climbed high mountains and walked deep valleys, seeking the gate of a teacher through hardship; he flung himself over perilous cliffs and plunged into countless waters. Single-mindedly oriented toward the Dao and following his innate nature, he finally met an enlightened teacher and was granted numinous texts. He cut his hair and made vows, endured bodily mortification, wore ropes as clothing, was content with austerity, and did not regard hunger and cold as shameful; wherever he might be, he sought only the great Dao, and what he guarded was simply true sincerity. His sincerity reached the Heavenly Thearch above and moved Taixuan (the Great Mystery).

“Now we reverently confer upon Mao Ying the rank of Taiyuan Zhenren (Perfected of the Great Origin), make him commander and Upper Minister of the Eastern Peak, and appoint him Divine Lord of Destinies. Lord Mao’s mind is level and upright, his character firm as metal and stone, his cinnabar heart outstanding, and his spirit dwells on high and far. Therefore Mao Ying is granted a jade battle-axe, green banners, and the Eight Majesties’ tally, so that he may campaign against the malevolent deities of mountains and marshes and withstand the myriad spirits. Even when in bitter cold, Lord Mao savors the mysterious principles among forests and valleys…”

You admire the true Dao (the Way), your thoughts reach far, and your mind is single-minded and devout; therefore I now grant you recompense: the ceremonial honor of purple plumes and a magnificent crown adorned with lotus flowers.

You summon and command the myriad spirits, seal the mountains and call the clouds; therefore I bestow upon you a purple cape embroidered with feathers (a purple stole embroidered with feather patterns), and cause the flying hosts of messengers to obey your dispatch, so that you may calmly ascend the stairway of the clouds and walk with the Lord of Jade Perfection (Yuzhen Jun).

You abandon family and household and travel far alone; you leave your kin and devote yourself single-mindedly to seeking immortality. Through hardship and danger, exposing your body even in winter, you cultivate among mountains and rivers; therefore I bestow upon you the mottled dragon chariot and the white tiger chariot, so that you may serenely float in the great void and speed through the court of the Emperor.

You cut through thorns and brambles, braving severe cold, frost, and snow, seeking the luminous true Dao without fear; therefore I bestow upon you the Quchen precious canopy, jade curtains, and a green chamber, so that you may roam the Nine Palaces and cultivate with a still mind.

You keep far from vanity and glory, and your heart never tires; you hide yourself in deep mountains and meditate quietly among the myriad trees. Therefore I bestow upon you the flowing-gold fire bell and twin pearls like the bright moon, enabling you to ascend to Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) and transmit messages to Shangqing (the high heavens in Daoism).

Your will is firm and pure, untouched by lust, evil, and disturbance; inwardly and outwardly you are upright and open. Therefore I bestow upon you brocade banners, embroidered pennants, and a white-feather dark staff, so that you may summon the Jade Maidens of the Six Yin (Daoist deities) and have them attend your carriage.

Your heart is compassionate, and you perform selfless good deeds toward all things without seeking return; you hold thoughts of care for every tiny living being in the world. Therefore I bestow upon you the phoenix-luan flute, golden bell, and jade chime, so that in the halls of emptiness and stillness you may harmonize with the divine, rejoice in truth, and set the myriad spirits dancing.

You endure hunger and thirst by nourishing the spirit, and undergo hardship in seeking truth; the myriad things cannot delude you, and a thousand evils cannot damage your purity. Therefore I bestow upon you purple lin paste, jade nectar, and a golden vase, so that your lifespan may be as long as the sun, moon, and stars, and your merits may be inscribed on cinnabar-jade tablets.

Your bearing is refined and pure, your mind lofty and undefiled; eight-direction radiance appears on your person, layered splendor shines in your heart, and divine light illumines the Great Rosy Clouds. You are truly a Perfected One (Zhenren) elder in both name and reality, and so I bestow upon you the title “Taiyuan” (Great Origin). You possess nine virtues and, through long-accumulated resonance, ascend to Taiwei (the Great Subtlety); heavenly beings and the realm of emptiness, stillness, and whiteness unite as if by unspoken agreement in one place.

Now with these nine bestowals I reward your former vows. Your spirit-mind will become clearer, and the Four Spirits (the four guardian spiritual beasts) will find their resting place; the Elixir Spirit (the divine power formed through inner cultivation) will open and manifest. Your nature is upright and unwavering; you hold to the true Dao with a firm foundation and perceive the hidden and subtle.

I now appoint you as Chief Minister of the Upper Rank, overseeing all affairs of the Eastern Peak, and additionally confer upon you the office of Siming (Master of Destinies), responsible for the charts and registers that record the names of immortals. I bestow upon you forty jade youths and forty jade maidens, so that you may enter and leave Taiwei and go to Taiji to receive commands and conduct affairs. Your administrative seat is established in the Red City Jade Cavern.

The officials in the prefecture reported Ying’s movements and conduct to their superiors. Thereupon Ying bade farewell to his two younger brothers and, together with Lord Wang, proceeded to the Jade Cavern Mansion of Chicheng (an immortal mansion in Chicheng Mountain). Along the way, the spirits and presiding deities of the mountains and rivers came in tens of thousands to welcome them and clear the road ahead.

As he was about to depart, Ying said to his two younger brothers: “I am now leaving. From this time on I will have official duties and cannot come and go as often as before. Still, we may meet morning and evening. Let us agree to come to this mountain again after one year: on the eighteenth day of the third month and the second day of the twelfth month, I will ask my master, the Perfected Man of Great Emptiness of the Southern Marchmount (an immortal of the Southern Marchmount), to visit you. Remember this. If people who love the Dao come here to wait for me, I will make proper arrangements and then teach them.”

Later, Jiwei and Sihe stayed in the mountains to cultivate and maintain the cavern mansion, and they built Daoist temples outside the cave. They transmitted the Dao, causing the myriad things to be nourished and the common people to receive grace; their De (Virtue/Power) also extended to birds and beasts. People each found their proper place; the blessings and misfortunes indicated by the spirits were fulfilled; and good and evil, guilt and responsibility could be clearly distinguished. Since the methods of internal cultivation in the mountains had been mastered, outward teaching proceeded smoothly and without obstruction. Thus wind and rain came at the proper times, the five grains ripened, diseases and pestilences no longer arose, and tyranny and harm no longer appeared.

The local elders sang:

“Mount Mao joins with Jinling; rivers and lakes occupy the lower reaches. Three immortals ride white swans, each governing a mountain peak. They summon rain to irrigate the parched rice fields and also moisten the seedlings on dry land; mulberry trees form shade, wives and children dwell in peace, and we are freed from a hundred sorrows. White swans fly in the blue sky—who knows when they will come roaming again?”

Yunji Qiqian, Scroll 104