《雲笈七籤》Vol. 111

Yu Ji was from Langya. For generations his father and forebears practiced Daoist arts and did not take life. Yu Ji cultivated the Dao with diligence and hardship, surpassing those who came before him. He often traveled along the flowing waters of Quyang, where he obtained more than a hundred scrolls of divine scriptures. These books had red ruled lines, white paper, blue-green headings, and vermilion title entries, and were titled the Taiping Qinglu Shu (Book of Great Peace and Blue Registers).

After Sun Ce pacified Jiangdong, he advanced his troops and seized Kuaiji by surprise. The local gentry and commoners all called Yu Ji “Yu Lang” and served him as they would a spirit or god. Sun Ce summoned Yu Ji to be his guest. Many officers and soldiers in the army fell ill with an epidemic; they asked Yu Ji to sprinkle water and rinse their mouths, and the sick recovered. When Sun Ce led tens of thousands of troops on campaign, intending to welcome Emperor Xian of Han and attack Cao Cao, he once had Yu Ji divine the wind direction. Yu Ji’s predictions repeatedly came true, so the officers and soldiers respected him greatly; some even first paid their respects to Yu Ji before going to have audience with Sun Ce.

Seeing that his officers and soldiers often gathered at Yu Ji’s place, Sun Ce grew angry and said, “Am I not the equal of Master Yu?” He then had Yu Ji arrested and rebuked him: “The drought has lasted a long time and the waterways are blocked, yet you do not worry on everyone’s behalf. You sit at ease in a boat putting on supernatural airs, disturbing my officers and soldiers and corrupting my ranks. Now I am going to deal with you.” Sun Ce immediately had Yu Ji bound and exposed under the blazing sun, and ordered him to pray for rain. If he could move Heaven and bring heavy rain by noon that day, he would be pardoned; otherwise he would be executed. Before long, dark clouds rose and rain poured down in torrents, even swamping the officers and soldiers. Everyone congratulated Yu Ji, but Sun Ce killed him in the end. The officers and soldiers wept as they laid out and buried Yu Ji, but when they went to check the next day, the corpse had disappeared. Sun Ce was deeply grieved. From then on, he often saw Yu Ji appear before him and behind him. Soon afterward, Sun Ce was ambushed and wounded by retainers of Xu Gong. When he looked in a mirror and saw Yu Ji in it, he struck the mirror and shouted loudly; the wound on his chest split open, and he died. To this day, there are still people in the world who serve Master Yu and cultivate Daoist methods.

It is not known where Chang Ji was from. While he was gathering firewood in the mountains, a cliff collapsed and he fell to the foot of the mountain, with only a faint breath left. His wife hurried over and, seeing him, wept bitterly. When the immortal Yin Yi heard of this, he was moved with compassion and said to the wife, “I am an immortal and can heal your husband.” He gave her a medicine decocted from horn, explained the prescription, and instructed her: “When the medicine is used up and he is still not fully recovered, prepare more according to this prescription. Taken over the long term, it can enable a person to attain the Dao and become an immortal.” The wife used the medicine to treat Chang Ji, and he soon recovered. Chang Ji prepared the medicine and took it; after a thousand days, he suddenly ascended into the sky. His wife wept and ran after him; he turned back and said to her—here the original text breaks off.

The Dao spoke: the Dao is different from the mundane world—you must take good care of yourself. The woman, moved, reconciled with him and again took the medicine that had been prepared. Three years later, she once more flew to Mount Penglai and saw Ji Ji. Ji Ji said, "I knew you would come."

Wang Ziqiao

Wang Ziqiao was a native of Hedong. During the reign of Emperor Ming of Han, he served as a Gentleman of the Imperial Secretariat and later was appointed magistrate of Ye County. According to Han-dynasty regulations, officials of the metropolitan region had to return to court to report on their duties at festivals and on the first and fifteenth days of each month. Each time people saw Master Ziqiao come and go, bystanders could perceive no traces of carriage or horses, and they found this very strange. Emperor Ming secretly sent astrologers to observe the heavens and his movements, and they discovered that two wild ducks would always fly in from the southeast. People set nets and caught one of them, only to find it was actually a shoe. Everyone at the time regarded this as exceedingly wondrous.

Du Qi

Du Qi, courtesy name Guangping, was a native of Jingzhao. In the early years of the Jian'an era, he crossed the Yangtze and went to serve under Sun Ce. Later, Sun Quan appointed him as Colonel of Establishing Trust. In the second year of the Huangwu era, he began to study Daoist arts, taking Jie Yan as his teacher and learning "yellow-white alchemy" (the Daoist art of refining gold, silver, and similar substances). After many years of practice, he was able to conceal his physical form and erase his traces. Later he lived east of Mount Mao, often going into the mountains with his disciples to gather and cut wood, then taking the goods to mountain markets to trade, yet others could not recognize them. Du Qi entered caves many times and ultimately attained the Dao and became an immortal.

Fan Youchong

Fan Youchong was a native of Liaoxi. He studied the "Way of Great Simplicity: Fetal Transformation and Body-Changing" (a Daoist cultivation method concerning embryonic breathing and transforming the physical form). Every day at dawn, he would visualize three kinds of qi—blue, white, and red—each like a fine thread hanging down from the eastern sun-disc and entering his mouth; he would absorb them ninety times and stop once he felt full. Cultivating in this way for ten years, he attained the Dao. This method is concise and effective, a secretly transmitted Daoist art of Great Simplicity.

Master Qinggu

Master Qinggu—no one knows where he was from. He constantly practiced the "Way of Nine Breaths and Qi-Circulation" (a Daoist art of regulating body and mind through breathing and inhalation), and later he also successfully refined the great furnace elixir; after ingesting it, he attained the Dao. One day, a certain Liu Wenrao descended from the heavens into his bedchamber and transmitted to him the "staff-liberation method" (a Daoist art of using a staff or similar object to symbolize a corpse, enabling the practitioner to escape and depart), and thus he was able to enter Mount Taihua.

Liu Wenrao, whose name was Kuan, was a native of Hongnong. He held office during the Later Han, rising to the positions of Minister over the Masses and Grand Commandant. He regarded the common people as his own children; when angry, his face did not reveal it, and his words were never harsh. He delighted in doing good in secret and in relieving the poor and distressed. The people all loved and drew close to him, relying on him as they would their own parents.

Xia Fu

Xia Fu—no one knows where he was from. In his youth he was fond of Daoist arts and regularly ingested Atractylodes and mica. Later he entered Mount Wu, where he encountered the Crimson-Bearded Master and received essential instructions; he also met the Perfected One of Tongbai and learned the "yellow-water cloud-nectar method" (a Daoist ingestion and cultivation practice named for yellow water and cloud nectar). After practicing accordingly, he attained the Dao and became an immortal.

In his youth, Xia Fu had once been summoned by the ducal office. When he reached a mulberry tree, he simply departed and went on his way, and the people of his time all admired his transcendent unconventionality.

Liu Feng

Liu Feng, courtesy name Weihui, was from Yingchuan. He took Ji Zhu as his teacher and practiced the method of absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. After attaining the Dao (the Way), he returned to his hometown, left his staff and shoes behind as a substitute body, and departed.

Zhan Shanggong

Zhan Shanggong (the name of a Daoist immortal) was of unknown origin. He studied the Dao in Fulong and later planted many plum trees on the mountain. After attaining the Dao, he became an official in the Right Bao Office of the Nine Palaces (a Daoist immortal post). He once said to the assembled immortals: “Formerly I lived at the foot of Huayang Mountain and ate a kind of white plum that tasted excellent. Before long, three thousand years had suddenly passed.”

Guo Sichao later lived where Zhan Shanggong had lived and planted five kinds of fruit trees. Zhan Shanggong said: “This place is very suitable for planting nai (a kind of apple tree). The so-called nai of the Blessed Land can dispel disasters and epidemics.”

Zhou Taibin (with Jiang Shumao)

Zhou Taibin and Jiang Shumao, Marquis of Baling, were both of unknown origin. They studied the Dao at Juqu Mountain, planted five kinds of fruit trees and five kinds of vegetables, and sold them to exchange for cinnabar. Today the Jiangba area has many chives and xie (a vegetable resembling Chinese scallion); perhaps these were planted by them back then.

Both became immortals. Jiang Shumao once wrote to an official of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) Palace, saying: “I formerly studied the Dao in Ghost Valley, attained the Dao at Shaoshi, nurtured my wings at Huayang, and waited in the Realm of Ease to be raised up. From time to time I ride a wind-chariot and hold banquets at Juqu Mountain.”

Zhou Taibin was skilled at playing the qin. He once plucked a single string, yet the sound of the qin could make the eight tones resonate together; he also used the qin to instruct deer. Sun Guangtian was Sun Deng. Later both Zhou Taibin and Jiang Shumao attained the Dao.

Guo Sichao

Guo Sichao was from the Yan region. After attaining the Dao in the Qin dynasty, he came to the south side of Juqu Mountain. At his dwelling he built an embankment to hold back the mountain ravine waters, deepening the pond, and constructed foundations and enclosure walls. Traces of it can still be seen today. Sichao often rode a small boat for pleasure on the pond, tapping on the boat and singing.

The first says: “The clear pond reflects cloud-wrapped mountains; dense groves are all green. Dark birds fly over the secluded wilds; I calmly converse with others. I ply the oars and stir up numinous waves; I bow to the morning wind and ride it along. I have not yet reached the time of liberation, so I can only wander freely among mountains and forests.”

The second says: “My spirit roams beyond the nine heavens; with single-minded cultivation I at last preserve my original innocence. I fold the wings of the numinous phoenix and hide the scales of the splendid dragon. I lift up this tiny form; the myriad sounds are all like dust and dirt. Looking back, I pity those whose lives are brief—who among them can complete their journey through life?”

The third says: “I roam through the sky, riding the flying wind; I step through the void and leave no trace. The scene between heaven and earth is bright, lit by colored clouds; nine phoenixes sing in the morning sun, beating their wings and fanning the Heavenly River. Among dense clouds, auspicious clouds fly…”

Building the gateways of the Taiwei Palace, scooping up this golden pear nectar; roaming beyond the mysterious steps, neither clinging to “existence” nor falling into “extinction.” The fourth vision is this: riding a suddenly rising carriage, dancing in the Shenxiao (Divine Empyrean); draped in rosy radiance and girded with nine suns; the High Emperor drives his dragon chariot and straightway arrives at the Jiuhua palace chambers. Divine tigers pass in and out of the jade forest; fragrant winds blend; the palace chambers open and close, and the gates of the netherworld open accordingly, while mysterious transformations and traces then fade into concealment.

Zhang Xuanbin

Zhang Xuanbin was from Dingxiang. He was once recommended as a Mao Cai (Flourishing Talent, a Han dynasty selection category). At first he took Lord Ji of Xihe as his teacher, studying the arts of ingestion and practicing internal cultivation methods such as “Dongfang” (Cave Chamber) and “Baiyuan” (White Prime). Later, on Shaoshi Mountain he met Fan Ziming, who transmitted to him Dao methods for hiding his form, transforming, and concealing his shadow.

Zhang Xuanbin formerly lived on Tianzhu Mountain; now he came to Huayang Grotto-Heaven and served as Lijin Bo, overseeing the various deities of water and rain.

Xuanbin was skilled at discussing “emptiness” and “non-being.” He said: “‘Non-being’ is the dwelling place of ‘Great Being,’ and ‘Lesser Being’ arises from it. By accumulating Lesser Being, one can nourish Lesser Non-being; by penetrating Great Being, one takes Great Non-being as the root. What is called ‘being’ may also be called non-being; what is called ‘non-non-being’ may also be called being. Therefore my eyes do not see the ten thousand things, and the ten thousand things do not see non-being. Only by entrusting oneself to being can one accomplish non-being; only by entrusting oneself to non-being can one attain non-being. Seen in this way, non-being has no fixed dwelling—the great void may also be called the dwelling of non-being. Before I was born, all under Heaven was within non-being. The numinous immortals of Tongbai Mountain cannot break or destroy non-being.” He also said that he had once met Song Chensheng on Penglai and discussed “non-being” with him, and had roughly grasped its meaning.

Zhao Weibo

Zhao Weibo was from Dongjun. In his youth he loved Daoist arts and took Mr. Zhang of Handan as his teacher. He gathered the radiance of the sun and moon and ingested the “Radiance of the Nine-Cloud Bright Mirror” (the numinous radiance and Jing-Qi spoken of in Daoist cultivation). After attaining the Dao, he entered Huayang Grotto-Heaven and served as Baoming Cheng (Assistant for Preserving Life).

The Hetu (Yellow River Chart) says that in the regions of Wu and Chu people often get to see an era of Great Peace. Zhao Weibo often told people: “These words are not empty; the verification will soon appear.” The “Bright Mirror” he cultivated was no ordinary thing of this world.

Zhao Weibo was also skilled at long whistling; his sound was like a fierce wind striking a forest, and also like a flock of birds calling together. In a moment, returning clouds gathered from all sides and a fine rain fell in profusion.

Yue Changzhi

Yue Changzhi was of unknown origin. He held office during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han, serving as Vice Director of the Palace Secretariat. Later he took Mr. Li of the Central Peak as his teacher and studied the “method of pacing the Seven Primes” (a Daoist practice of walking according to the positions of the seven stars or other luminaries); after practicing it, he attained the Dao.

Du Bing

Du Bing, courtesy name Shugong, was a native of Qiantang in the state of Wu. When he was seven or eight, he was playing north of the city with companions when an old man stopped him and said: “This child has an extraordinary appearance. It is a pity that I am already old and fear I will not live to see him achieve something.” Du Bing lost his father early and served his stepmother with great filial piety.

It is said that his home commandery three times invited him with ceremonial courtesy to enter official service, and he declined each time. He sighed and said: “At present the human realm and the world of ghosts and spirits are mixed together in disorder; without the Qi of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity)—the orthodox Dao Qi spoken of in the Zhengyi tradition—there is no way to subdue this chaos.” He then took Chen Wenzi of Yuhang as his teacher, received the registers, and became a Zhengyi disciple. He was very effective in healing the sick and saving people, and the common people all came to rely on him.

Later, one night, a divine being descended and said: “I am Zhang Zhennan. By destiny you are to transmit my Daoist methods, and so I have come especially to bestow upon you their various secret essentials.” Whenever Bing of Yangping zhi entered stillness (seated meditation) and burned incense, he could see the fortunes and misfortunes of common people within three to five generations, and he described them clearly. The memorial petitions he submitted and the talisman water he used often took effect as soon as they were applied. Daoists and common people near and far flocked to him like gathering clouds. Within ten years, the registered rice households—households that paid Daoist grain dues and belonged to the Daoist organization—numbered in the tens of thousands.

During the Jin dynasty, Grand Tutor Xie An, then Administrator of Wuxing, once saw a yellow-white light and asked Bing about it. Bing said: “Your ancestors accumulated virtue and did good deeds, and their blessings will extend to their descendants. You will in the future reach the highest position among ministers.” In the family of Lu Na, Minister of the Secretariat, generation after generation someone at the point of death would suffer from a spreading sore. Lu Na had just passed thirty when he suddenly contracted this sore as well. Bing submitted a memorial on his behalf and performed a prayer to avert calamity, saying: “Lord Lu’s great calamity has already passed.” He also transmitted to him the formula for Lingfei Powder. After Lu Na took it, Bing said that he could live to seventy.

When Grand Marshal Huan Wen campaigned north, he once asked Bing whether he could win. Bing said: “In March of next year, if you personally lead troops on campaign, you will surely suffer a setback.” When Huan Wen reached Fangtou, the stone gate could not be opened, the river had dried up, and provisions were exhausted; in the end he was besieged by Xianbei troops. He said to his disciple Tao Ye: “It is a pity that I did not heed Master Du’s words, and so came to such a defeat.”

Before Fu Jian had yet reached Shouchun, General of Chariots and Cavalry Xie Xuan led troops to attack Fu Jian and asked about victory and defeat. Bing said: “Our side must not advance; if we advance, we will surely achieve nothing. The enemy must not come; if they come, they will surely be routed. This is precisely the time for the general to devote himself and establish merit.” Later Fu Jian’s army indeed collapsed and suffered a great defeat.

Lu Song called himself “Master” and constantly had more than three hundred disciples around him. Bing told Huan Wen of this, saying: “Lu Song is the spirit of an old tree at Xiedong zhi, falsely assuming a title to confuse the people. Before long he will approach the palace gates; only after that will he die.” During the Xian’an era, Lu Song took several hundred men and women in the middle of the night and went straight into the palace, claiming that he would restore the Duke of Haixi to the throne. Government troops immediately marched out and put them all to death. Only then did Huan Wen marvel at and acknowledge Bing’s prophecy.

Later Huan Chong wanted to recommend Bing’s son to serve as a Congshi, but Bing declined, saying: “My sons and grandsons are all short-lived, and I do not wish them to enter official service. It will not be until the generation of great-grandsons and great-great-grandsons that they will receive my blessings.” Bing also said: “After I die, my Daoist methods should be entrusted under the pretext of…” The original text breaks off at this point.

Those who destroy the Great Dao are merely carrying out a small-scale purge, similar to the Yellow Turbans (a populist rebel force at the end of the Eastern Han); they will soon be eliminated. This prophecy was written on plain silk. He sealed the writing and gave it to his wife, Lady Feng, saying: “If disasters or strange changes occur, you may open it and show it to the sons and nephews. Diligently cultivate virtue and carefully guard yourselves.”

During the Long’an era, Sun Tai of Langya was convicted of bewitching the masses with heterodox words, and many people were implicated and suffered disaster. Bing suddenly gathered crowds all day long, indulging in pleasure without restraint. He ordered the clerk Chong Tao to go to the market and buy funeral supplies, and had his household sew clothes and bedding, saying: “I will die at noon on the twenty-sixth day of the third month.” Later he fell mildly ill, and on that day he died in his bedroom as predicted. His corpse remained supple and his vital breath pure and clear. Daoist priests and disciples from various places erected a stele for him and gave him the posthumous title Ming Shi.

Hu Qian

Hu Qian was from Wei Commandery. Unrestrained and unconventional by nature, he was not ashamed to wear ragged clothes or eat coarse food. He loved drinking and did not pick between good and bad wine or food. He often chanted: “The wind blows in through the crack in the window, the wine sways in the cup. I raise my hand and grasp forty-nine points of numinous light; above, a radiance shines. I stand alone beneath the tall yarrow, laughing at the profound mystery.” He also said: “Advance, and I cannot climb the Dragon Gate; retreat, and I seek neither fame nor rank—nothing can wear away this day.” He was often happily drunk and was expert in Yi divination.

Hu Qian often resided in Jiankang; later he divined for people in front of the shop of Xu Xinfu in the back alley. He charged one hundred coins per hexagram and stopped once he had earned five hundred coins each day. If someone came for another hexagram and offered even a thousand coins, he would refuse to divine. His mother lived west of the road outside Shangfang Gate; she had three or four adopted daughters at home, whom she cared for herself. Each day Hu Qian sent three hundred coins to support his mother; the remaining two hundred he used for drink and also gave some to relieve the poor.

When the Duke of Haixi of Jin went out early one morning, he saw a red snake coiled on the imperial bed; after a short while the snake vanished. The Duke issued an edict summoning Hu Qian to divine. Basing himself on the Yilin (a divination text), Hu Qian said: “The Jin house has a foundation as firm as a boulder, but Your Majesty shows the sign of leaving the palace.” The Duke of Haixi asked: “Can this be averted?” Hu Qian replied: “The year after next, a great general is due to fail in a northern campaign. If thirty thousand men are sent to meet the enemy north of Shouchun, this calamity can be averted.”

In autumn of the following year, Huan Wen’s northern expedition failed. He blamed the governor of Yu Province, Yuan Zhen, for not sending troops in support, killed Yuan Zhen, returned to garrison Shitou City, deposed the Duke of Haixi, and installed Emperor Jianwen in his place. When Huan Wen’s concubine was in difficult labor, Hu Qian divined and said: “After the open sheds of the six stables northwest of your residence collapse, the child will be born. It will be a boy; his voice and bearing will be mighty, and in the future he will shake the four seas.” After the child was born, Huan Wen rewarded Hu Qian with three hundred thousand coins. Hu Qian said: “The money I earn from divination—I often worry that I will not be able to spend it all, and besides…”

There was no place at home to keep the money, so Xu asked to return it to the public treasury, but Wen did not agree. Xu then borrowed an empty wooden bin and stored the money in it. Before long, Xu sent another three hundred thousand cash.

After Wen received the money, some days later he cast three hexagrams and used the money to support his mother; he also used Xu’s money to buy wine, wanting to enjoy himself to the full. Whether guests were acquainted with him or not, he invited everyone to gather and drink freely. Thus wine lovers near and far followed Wen to drink.

Xu had always treated Wen as a worthy man and shown him courtesy, never calculating how much wine he asked for. Later, Wen no longer came to Xu’s house seeking wine. More than a year later, Xu met Wen at Qiaogou and said, “My family wants to take back that wooden bin; please come home with me and retrieve the money you deposited before as well.”

Wen laughed and said, “In these three years I have drunk several thousand dou of wine. Only four hundred thousand cash is just enough to cover the wine bill; about one million five hundred thousand remains. Sir, there is no need to pursue this further. I once used a melon to scratch the accounts on the wall; calculate according to that and you will know.” Xu tried calculating as Wen had said, and indeed it was exact to the smallest fraction.

Later, Wen’s mother died at night. The next morning Wen returned and told Xu, “Our connection is finished.” Having said this, he left, and no one knew where he went. Several days later, Xu’s family saw Wen lying on the ground beside Luoxing Road. At first they thought he was drunk, so they took his hand to lead him away; but they found only an empty garment, with no body inside.

Zhu Ku

No one knew where Zhu Ku was from. He long took Shichun and cultivated by means of Bigu (grain avoidance) and talisman water, so he was neither hungry nor thirsty. His body was strong like a man in his prime, and he showed no signs of aging. Zhu Ku suddenly said that the time for his immortal ascension had arrived; he set a date to take leave of relatives and friends, and said someone would come to receive him.

He wore a single-layer garment and tied a white belt. Soon two yellow cranes landed in the courtyard. Zhu Ku then ascended as an immortal and departed. Three more yellow cranes appeared in the courtyard, followed him flying beyond the eastern outer wall, and transformed into three Daoist priests dressed in yellow, who walked east hand in hand. Zhu Ku entrusted a fellow villager to carry a letter home. When his family examined his remains, they saw only an empty shell.

Jiang Bozhen

No one knew where Jiang Bozhen was from. When young he was fond of Daoist arts. While gathering herbs on Mount Meng, he suddenly met an immortal. The immortal had Jiang Bozhen stand facing the sun, observed him from behind, and found that his thoughts were not upright. He said, “Though you study diligently, you do not know that your thoughts are not upright; this will harm your cultivation.”

The immortal then taught him to take Shinao (stone brain). Shinao is mottled in color, soft in texture, shaped like small stones, and found everywhere. After long taking it, the body becomes hot but one does not feel thirsty. Jiang Bozhen later attained the Dao through this. Fanyangzi also attained the Dao after taking Shinao.