《雲笈七籤》Vol. 84

Shijie (Corpse Liberation) (in Daoism, refers to a cultivator shedding the old form and departing in another form):

Taiji Zhenren’s Exposition of the Scripture of Stone Essence, Golden Light, Concealing Scenery, and Recording Forms

Lord Wang of the Western City, the Supreme Minister and General Perfected (a title of a Daoist immortal), received this method from Lord Ziyang and cultivated according to it. After completing the Dao, he transmitted it to his disciple Mao Ying; Mao Ying then transmitted it to the Lady of the Southern Marchmount, who passed it on to students of the Dao so that they could become Zhenren (Perfected Ones).

Explanation of the “Method of Stone Essence, Golden Light, Concealing Scenery, and Recording Forms”

What is called “stone” is the substance of iron; “essence” is the essence within stone; “gold” is the hard substance of the precious sword; “light” is the numinous radiance of the blade. With a mysterious wind one conceals the scenery, and with the sword one gathers the forms of the Four Treasures; brandishing the sword, one cuts down a hundred demons, and the sword’s light reflects the Five Phases, causing the Seven Primordials (the stars, primordial Qi, and so forth in Daoism) to shine with radiance. This is the method of fire soldiers (using divine weapons to subdue evil demons).

Xuanyuan (the Yellow Emperor) was buried at Mount Qiao, and so a precious sword and shoes were left in his tomb; Yuzi (here referring to Emperor Ku) was buried at Bohai, and the sword in his tomb once rang out within the empty coffin; Wang Qiao was buried at Jingling, and the sword in his tomb flew high into the sky. These are all verified proofs, showing that the Jing and Qi of the Nine Mysteries resonate and unite, and that this is the result of the divine formula of the Great Void manifesting its efficacy and the sword of power undergoing wondrous transformation.

All those who use a sword to perform Shijie are using the sword to substitute for their own body. After five hundred years, these swords all naturally return to their original places. Within this, faint subtle sounds have never ceased, and the circumstances are indistinct and hard to seek; they cannot be explained clearly in words, nor can they be written out in text. Cultivators and those who have seen it with their own eyes can only comprehend it in their hearts.

Xuanyuan once personally mined copper at Mount Shou to cast a cauldron, and had tigers, leopards, and various birds observe the furnace fire. After the cauldron was completed, Xuanyuan suddenly died and was buried at Mount Qiao. Five hundred years later, the mountain collapsed, the tomb chamber was empty, and there was no corpse; only a precious sword and red shoes remained. Later, they too vanished within a single day.

Another account says that after the Yellow Emperor refined the elixir, he ascended to heaven riding a dragon. His ministers, filled with admiration, buried his sword and shoes at Mount Qiao. Five hundred years later the mountain collapsed, and the tomb chamber was completely empty, with only the precious sword left; later the sword also disappeared.

Yuzi is Emperor Ku. He once went to Mount Zhong and obtained the Scripture of Nine Transformations and Ten Changes. Afterward he withdrew into concealment, was no longer constrained by the sun and moon, and traveled among the stars. Later, one day, he suddenly died, and his tomb was built at Mount Bohai. When the Xia dynasty declined, someone opened Yuzi’s tomb; the tomb chamber was completely empty, and only a sword was seen placed in the northern chamber. The sword of itself emitted sounds like a dragon’s chant and a tiger’s roar, so people did not dare approach it. Later, this sword also disappeared. When the tomb was opened….

The tomb of Wangzi Qiao was at Jingling. During the Warring States period, someone again dug open his tomb and saw only a sword in the burial chamber. Just as the man was about to pick it up and examine it, the sword suddenly flew up into the sky. Looking into accounts of this kind, a divine sword can stand in for a person’s body; after five hundred years, the sword returns of itself to its original place. Perhaps a person with numinous powers deliberately caused the tomb to collapse so that the sword could emerge and then soar up into the heavens?

An Account of Shijie (Corpse Liberation)

The way of shijie is, I suppose, a relatively accessible wondrous method. It makes those who aspire to this path harbor doubts, and makes those who hear of it feel that it is hard to attain; and because it seals this path under the name of death, there is little more to be said. As for Peng Keng roaming the mountains and forests, Feng Gang going in and out of markets and courts, the Four White-Haired Recluses (Sihao) using plain cloth to counterfeit a head, and the Eight Lords (Bagong) with their myriad transformations—none of these are what I would wish to pursue.

Some people already have the conditions to attain shijie immortality through a particular method: some are naturally endowed in this way; some have declining aspirations and conduct; some have shallow and narrow learning; some have weakened and stagnant resolves. These cases all concern those who aspire to this path and may obtain shijie; they are not the people I mentioned above. People such as Yanmenzi had already taken superior immortal medicines, and yet deliberately chose shijie.

In the past I learned the superior methods of shijie from my former teacher, and I also studied the way of entrusting oneself to transformation. Although I have had no opportunity to apply them, I have never forgotten them. Now the world is troubled and disordered, with various factions at war and the situation tense. The Three Officials (Sanguan, the Daoist divine administration of Heaven, Earth, and Water) drive out malevolent influences and are severe against those who injure the Dao. Those who discuss immortals instead bring illness upon themselves; those who chase profit seek wealth and honor. Why, then, should one who resolves to cultivate the Dao and seek long life rush about in a world like wind and fire, tuck up his robes to enter prison, and place himself amid the dangers of the marketplace?

Now I secretly transmit the methods of shijie; disciples may each transmit them to those who ought to become Zhenren (Perfected). Using them to hide, one can stay far from danger and evil; performing them and departing this world, one can bring to an end one’s descendants’ attachment to oneself; concealing one’s form and roaming, one can ascend the famous mountains. As for those who are complete in Daoist arts and thoroughly understand the methods, they can command the hundred ghosts and summon the many spirits, depart instantly while seated, and also disperse primordial Qi and transform their bodily forms. Even amid an army formation, blades cannot wound them; even when passing through danger, disaster and illness cannot harm them; even when entering court or marketplace, no misfortune can befall them. Such people, of course, need no longer practice the method of shijie transformation. Generally speaking, those who choose shijie are mostly people who are in no hurry to ride the dragon carriage up to Heaven, but instead delight in dwelling peacefully in the mountains and forests.

Further Account

The Zhengao (Declarations of the Perfected) says: “Those who swallow the flower of langgan yet build mound tombs are Yanmenzi Gao...”

Qiu Zi and Master Hongya are precisely those people referred to in the text. Yanmenzi’s tomb is in Lu County of Yuyang Commandery; Gaoqiu Zi’s tomb is in Wenxi County of Hezhong Commandery; and Master Hongya’s tomb is in Guzang County of Wuwei Commandery. All three places are said to be empty tombs of the ancient dead, but people do not know that Gaoqiu Zi once entered Liujing Mountain by the method of shijie (corpse-liberation—the Daoist cultivator’s way of shedding the mortal body and ascending to the immortal realms). Later he consumed the water of Golden Liquid, and at Zhongshan received the Langgan Flower Elixir; afterward he again feigned death, entered Xuanzhou, received the celestial writ, and was appointed Zhenren (Perfected) of the Central Marchmount. Yanmenzi now receives the celestial writ in the Golden Court of the Great Cavern of Mount Meng and has been appointed Immortal Minister of the Central Origin. Master Hongya is now the Zhenren of Qingcheng.

Those who rinsed their mouths with the qi of the dragon fetus and thereby escaped death, and who after drinking jade nectar knocked upon coffins, include Wang Xicheng, Zhao Boxuan, and Liu Zixian; those who took the Golden Elixir and then claimed that they had reached the end of their allotted lifespan include Zang Yanfu, Zhang Zifang, and Mo Dizi. As for those who ingested the nine-cycle elixir yet whose corpses putrefied and stank, or who took daogui medicine and then had worms breed in their bodies, there were Sima Jizhu, Ning Zhongjun, King Zhao of Yan, and Wang Zijin.

Those who practiced shijie and feigned death did so precisely to use “death” to cut off the world’s attachment to life and death, and to let the common people know that life has the boundary of a beginning and an end. Would they willingly let their bones rot in dark places and become food for ants? They merely wished to stop those who defy the ways of the world and to block the source of the common people’s pursuit of this path.

The Method of Shijie by Forging a Sword

A Zhenren’s shijie by means of a precious sword is the highest form of cicada-shell transformation and ascent. Before carrying it out, one should fast for a hundred days; then have the swordsmith choose a gengshen day in the seventh month or a xinyou day in the eighth month and forge a fine, sharp sword. The sword is three chi nine cun long, one cun four fen wide, and three and a half fen thick; for the nine cun from the tip downward, both sides must be sharpened. The hilt may be made long or short as required, and the pommel may be fitted with an inscribed sword ring. The blade itself need only reach three chi nine cun.

The so-called “register ring” means inscribing characters on the sword ring: both the left and right faces of the ring are to be inscribed with the character ren (“blade”), nine times on each face; on the back of the ring is inscribed the character yi (“already”), nine in all. The characters must be cut deeply. When carving, begin from the ridge of the blade and cut downward, following the direction of the blade edge—that is, cut along the contour of the ring.

All inscribed places should preferably be inlaid with gold or silver, so that the characters will be clearer. There are also engraved designs on the blade; at the center of the sword ring there is another solid raised part, shaped like a small half-ring, called the Fuqi (“Hidden Foundation”). On the left side of the inner ring is inscribed the character ri (“sun”), and on the right side is inscribed…

The sword face is engraved in the shape of the character for “moon”; originally it was circular. Outside the sun and moon motifs a border is engraved, and this is what is called the “outer border” (guo). This sword can gather the radiance of the sun and moon, and after five hundred years it can emit light again. When brandished it can enter the Five Peaks; when put away it hides in deep and secluded places. Downward it can subdue the Qi (vital energy) of the Nine Yin; upward it can receive the Qi of Xuanming. In protection it suffices to drive away evil demons; in manifesting power it suffices to illuminate the Seven Essences. Raised, the sword can reflect the registers of the Five Qi; lowered, it can substitute for oneself and transform the bodily form.

To distinguish the left and right, inner and outer of the sword, one should lay it flat with the tip pointing south, the back upward, and the blades downward. In this way, the side facing east is the right, and the side facing west is the left; the side facing east is the inner, and the side facing west is the outer. The saying “circling the summit, yellow and red; extending through the Five Phases; pacing the Dipper and containing Yin; cutting lightning and slicing wind” refers to effects of this kind. “Dipper” means the seven stars of the Northern Dipper; “Yin” means the deities of the Six Ding, the six Yin deities in Daoism.

The tip is nine cun long, with blades on both sides. On the ridge between the two blades, three Ding characters are engraved on each of the inner and outer faces: starting from the ends of the blades on both sides, one is engraved every three cun, with the characters oriented toward the tip.

This sword should always be kept on the bed where one sleeps, placed among pillows, combing utensils, and bedding, so that it does not leave one’s person, and is used to protect oneself. It can both drive away evil demons and reflect the Five Forms, a Daoist term referring to the five elements that constitute bodily form. If the talismanic writing of the divine medicine is further inscribed on the sword, one can then conceal one’s shadow and hide in the dark and obscure.

The length, width, thickness, and method of engraving the patterns and text of this sword are all modeled on the spirit swords of the Four Perfected Ones of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). It is sometimes called “Dividing Radiance” (Fenjing), and sometimes “Brandishing the Spirit Blade” (Hui Shen Dao). The crucial point lies in whether the material of the blade is sharp or blunt: the superior Daoist cultivator would take Kunwu stone and gather metal from the Western Stream, smelt and cast the sword so as to conform to the prescribed form. Such superior materials are not easily obtained by people in the world, but if one selects refined iron and makes it according to the model, it is also sufficient to achieve the effects of flowing light, transcendence, invisibility, and transformation of the body. Since the divine medicine and ritual methods mentioned earlier are already present, one need not wait until obtaining material like that of Xiwu in order to bring forth wondrous function; ordinary iron can also be used. The key lies only in the casting model and the material.

When fierce beasts such as tigers and wolves hear the cry of the qilin, they flee back to their caves; when flocks of birds hear the call of the phoenix, they no longer sing. Are the horns of the qilin sharper than the claws and fangs of tigers and wolves? Is the voice of the phoenix fiercer than the seizing strikes of eagles and ospreys? What is precious is that they possess numinous and extraordinary sounds and wondrous Qi. When the subtle principle of the Dao (the Way) manifests, with De (Virtue/Power) it becomes the standard that the ten thousand things follow, and with truth it becomes the master of the realm of ultimate emptiness; therefore it is sufficient to calm the bewilderment suffered by the spirits of the ten thousand things and to overawe a thousand kinds of malevolent evil.

To carry out this method, why must one necessarily use gold produced at Mount Kunwu to cast a sword, or a sharp instrument capable of cutting jade? The sword of Prince Qiao (Wangzi Qiao) was nothing more than an ordinary iron sword. The sword the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) now wears is the one he left behind when he underwent corpse-liberation at Mount Qiao. From this one can see that such a sword was not made from gold flowing from Mount Xikun either.

Steps, Accounts, and Methods of Sword Liberation

If one wishes temporarily to conceal one’s traces and dwell in famous mountains and on high peaks; or to follow transformations at any moment and roam freely among mountain forests, lakes, and marshes; or to cut off concern for sons and daughters so that a lifetime of cultivation has a beginning and an end, outwardly relinquishing family ties and inwardly stilling desires, not seeking to become a true immortal official but only wishing to live in seclusion and be self-sufficient, one should practice the method of “sword corpse-liberation.”

First write “Qu Chen Fei Jing” on both sides of the sword. Then pretend to be ill. After that, hold the sword and lie down. Next, mix the “Fei Jing” with saliva, roll it into a pill the size of a large bean, and swallow it; then mix another pill the size of a small bean, hold it in the mouth, and use saliva to smear it on the sword’s ring. Then softly recite the sword’s name and make this invocation: “Liangfei Zigan, now I feed you with Qu Chen Fei Jing, causing you to substitute for my body so that my traces are not divulged. I will hide and withdraw; for the time being you enter the tomb. After five hundred years, come again to seek the road I have taken. Now I take leave of you; do not by any means ruin my affair. Ascend to the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji) and report your merit to the Eight Purities.”

When the invocation is finished, close the eyes, swallow the breath, and count ninety breaths. When you open your eyes, you will suddenly see Taiyi riding a heavenly horse and arriving before your couch. Then mount the heavenly horse, and looking back you will see that the sword you were holding has already changed into your own corpse and remains where it was. As you are about to depart, you should change into the garments brought at Taiyi’s welcome, and leave your original clothes and headcloth behind, covering the sword with them. Then ride the horse up into the air and go wherever you wish. You may also change your name and surname and return to your native place, without encountering taboos or obstacles.

The corpse transformed from the sword is no different from the corpse of a real person; it too will stink and breed worms. But once the sword enters the coffin, it will turn back into a sword and no longer be a corpse. The so-called heavenly horse is a divine beast of the sort of Jiguang and Tenghuang. The Perfected of the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji Zhenren) orders the envoy Taiyi to bring the horse and hold the reins to come and meet you, and to send precious garments; all this appears in a blur, and its origin is hard to know.

When the heavenly horse departs, even if many physicians are attending at the bedside and sons and grandsons crowd all around, I have already changed clothes and put away the sword; my form shifts and my traces change. Though the crowd is shoulder to shoulder and face to face with me, they cannot perceive my actions. This is what is called transforming the body and hiding by withdrawal, roaming among the sun, moon, and stars, with breathing and transformations without end, no longer the original physical form.

The precious garments have no seams . . .

The sword was styled Zigan and named Liangfei. Even when the sword was not in use, while sleeping or lying down one should constantly recite the sword’s name: “Liangfei, Zigan, divine metal wields its spirit, command the hundred essences, cause me to attain long life, so that ten thousand evils do not harm me; heaven and earth lean toward each other.” In practice, one should secretly recite this within the sword ring.

When mounting a horse, place two “Cangjing Luxing Lingwan” (Numinous Pellets That Conceal Radiance and Record Form) into the sword’s green bag, tie the bag’s mouth tightly, and hide it in the bedding. After some time, it will again become the sword that was previously in the bag. Only after two or three years will the sword suddenly vanish by itself.

This elixir is called “Quchen Feijing” (Flying Essence of the Curved Dawn), and is also named “Qiyang Rijing zhi Huagai Langgan” (Canopy Langgan of the Seven Yang Sun Essence). It can cause a person to circulate and conceal himself, disperse his form and divide his body, and hide his traces. The vastness of the four seas cannot contain its form, yet the smallness of a millet grain is enough to wrap around it; it can conceal itself seven times, causing the sun, moon, and stars to grow dim and obscured—truly wondrous.

Those who use other drugs to obtain shijie (corpse liberation, the Daoist disappearance of body or traces as a means of transcendence) are not transformed by the numinous pellets, and therefore none of them can return to their hometowns; if they return, they will be seized by the Sanguan (Three Officials, the divine officers governing heaven, earth, and water). There are many forms of shijie: some die and then revive; some are beheaded and die, then later appear from beside the body; some die and before being encoffined the corpse disappears; some still retain human form but no longer have bones; some leave behind only their clothes while the body vanishes; and some lose their hair, after which the body disappears.

Departing in daylight is called “upper shijie”; departing at midnight is called “lower shijie”; departing when heaven is about to brighten or about to darken is called “Dixia Zhuzhe” (Lords of the Underworld). In all these cases, traces that have not vanished are left behind, and it is easy to arouse the suspicions of others. Even if one gains concealment, it still cannot satisfy the wishes of worldly people, nor can one return to one’s hometown and settle in one’s wanderings; this is deeply regrettable. The crucial point lies here: this is merely the method of shijie belonging to Taiqing (Great Clarity, one of the Daoist heavens). How can it compare with the transformations and hidden withdrawal of Taiji? The two are utterly different in level, and there are reasons for this.

Admonitions of the Taiji Zhenren

The Taiji Zhenren admonished: transmitting arts of this kind must be determined according to the times. In high antiquity, when the worldly order was peaceful, it could be transmitted in full; in middle antiquity, when the worldly order declined, only half could be transmitted; in lower antiquity, when the worldly order was chaotic, only one third could be transmitted. This applies not only to this method; the great Way of long life is the same. If one encounters a truly suitable person, transmission is not restricted by the age of lower antiquity. What is here called “lower antiquity” refers to the age of the Metal Horse. The relevant material is recorded in the Admonitions of the Taiji Zhenren.

The Method of the Divine Staff for Shijie

The Chishu Yujue (Red Book Jade Instructions) says: one should choose bamboo growing on a sunny slope of a numinous mountain, seven chi in length and with nodes, and make it into a spirit staff. The bamboo should be straight from top to bottom; sweet bamboo is best.

On the second node of the bamboo staff write the Black Emperor Talisman; on the third node, the White Emperor Talisman; on the fourth, the Yellow Emperor Talisman; on the fifth, the Red Emperor Talisman; on the sixth, the Green Emperor Talisman. Leave the topmost node empty so that it communicates with Heaven; leave the bottommost node empty so that it establishes Earth. Seal the upper end with wax, pierce its center, and stamp it with the seal of Yuanshi (Primordial Beginning); then seal the lower end with wax, pierce its center, and stamp it with the seal of the Five Emperors (Wudi). Make a cover of red fabric, sized just large enough to hold the bamboo staff. Whether lying down, resting, sitting, or rising, always keep it with you. When traveling, you may take off the staff cover, conceal the spirit staff, and then go out or come in.

Each time you use it, first choose a clean place. Point the staff at Heaven, and the celestial gods will arrange a respectful welcome; point it at Earth, and the earth deities will wait to receive you; point it toward the northeast, and all ghosts will be bound. When riding the staff or performing rites, you should click your teeth thirty-six times and visualize one Zhifu officer for each of the Five Emperors, each wearing the color corresponding to his direction, with five-colored radiance streaming and illuminating the staff; then visualize one Jade Maiden of each of the Five Emperors, together guarding the left and right of the spirit staff.

Then recite softly:

“Primordial upper essence of the Mountain of Great Yang, who opened Heaven and Earth: sweet bamboo communicates with the numinous, and the Zhifu guardian officials command the divine troops. Five-colored radiance streams, while Vermilion Fire and Golden Bells assist the High Perfected. Going out and entering the dark and obscure realms, when I summon Heaven, Heaven reveres me; when I govern Earth, Earth welcomes me; when I point at ghosts, ghosts are annihilated, and demons are bound. The numinous talisman and spirit staff awe and control the four directions; they perish with me and live with me. After ten thousand kalpas, may they substitute for my body and shadow, release me from the bonds of spirit and form, and cause me to ascend to Shangqing (Highest Clarity). May all who receive the talisman mandate and obey the commands revere and heed them.”

After the prayer, draw in the Qi of the five directions, swallowing five times for each direction, twenty-five times in all, and then stop.

If one cultivates by this method for nine years, diligent and careful without negligence, immortals and Zhenren (Perfected) will appear; the spirit staff can also carry a person flying through the air. If one wishes to attain shijie (liberation by corpse, as Daoism calls release from the original bodily form into immortality), the spirit staff will substitute for one’s body; in an instant one becomes a Zhenren. The cultivator should burn incense on the eight seasonal festivals corresponding to his natal destiny and bow in worship before the spirit staff. In this way the spirits will respond and descend, and the Daoist arts will be accomplished.

Water Liberation (Three Persons)

Xin Xuanzi

Xin Xuanzi, courtesy name Yanqi, was a man of Dinggu in Longxi. He loved Daoist arts and once traveled and practiced in Qinchuan; later he drowned in Changliang. The Queen Mother of the West (Xiwangmu) and the Northern Emperor of Fengdu took pity on him and ordered the Three Officials (Sanguan) to gather and receive him…

Once the remains are retrieved and the hun and po souls are restored, one can again become an ordinary person. You are now appointed as Nangong Duminguan (Official of Life Deliverance in the Southern Palace), temporarily acting as Marquis of Donghai, and filling the post of Jinyuan Zhonglang Jiang (General of the Household of the Forbidden Origin), with authority over the affairs of ghosts and spirits in the Wu-Yue region.

Duan Jizheng

The Daoshi Lingxian Ji (Records of Daoist Traces and Numinous Immortals) records that Duan Jizheng, a native of Dai Commandery, was a recluse who in his later years followed Sima Jizhu in studying Daoist arts. He drowned while crossing the Qin River; this was probably a manner of discarding the body and becoming immortal through water—“water liberation” (shuijie). He is now in Mount Weiyu.

Wang Jinxian

Wang Jinxian was a daughter of Wang Yan of Langya. She was captured by Shi Le and became a maidservant; a woman named Liu Chu came with her to the banks of the Yellow River. Liu Chu vowed not to submit to humiliation and jumped into the river. At that time the female immortal Han Xihua of Mount Song was roaming abroad; seeing this, she felt compassion, caught the two women, rescued them, and led them to the shore. To all appearances they seemed to sink into the water, but in reality they were secretly saved.

Han Xihua then took Wang Jinxian into Mount Songgao and transmitted to her the essential Daoist techniques. Wang Jinxian is now in the Huayang Yiqian Palace.

Liu Chu was originally surnamed Tian and was the granddaughter of Tian Feng, a native of Yuyang and magistrate of Junyi. She was then about twenty-two or twenty-three, of proper appearance, and possessed resolve and integrity, so she was able to throw herself into the Yellow River together with Wang Jinxian. Tian Feng had formerly accumulated hidden virtue, done good, and stored up blessings; these blessings also reached Liu Chu, and so she too was able to attain immortality.

Yunji Qiqian (Seven Slips from the Cloudy Satchel), juan 84.