《張三丰先生全集》Vol. 11
About this page. The original text of 《張三丰先生全集》 Vol. 11 (Qing Daoist texts 清代道教文獻, 15 volumes) is shown in Classical Chinese as transmitted in the Kanripo (Kyoto University) edition. An English interpretation of the 77 passages on this page accompanies it: select a passage or press “Interpretation” to show it. All texts in English
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Source textInterpretation
A Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
Reprinting the Daozang Jiyao (Essential Selections from the Daoist Canon)
The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
Li Xiyue, the Changyi Mountain Man of Hanjia, recompiled it; Zhang Daoyuan (Zishen) respectfully transcribed it.
Zhu Daosheng of Langzhong (Wanchengzi) respectfully published it.
His nephew Ying (Chuncheng) and Zhu Zan (Suyuan) jointly collated the text.
His son Huang (Panxi).
The True Scripture of the Dipper Mother, Primordial Honored One, and the Nine Emperors (Doumu Yuanzun Jiuhuang Zhenjing)
Praise for Offering Incense (Zhuxiang Zan)
The Dipper in Heaven, the Dipper in the Heart: to revere the Dipper, first revere the heart; to revere the heart is also to revere the Dipper. The heart tallies with the seven returns; the number seven joins with nine and returns to nine. In the precious cauldron incense is burned; I take refuge in the Dipper Mother. Thrice bathed and thrice fumigated, I bow my head and prostrate myself.
With single-minded devotion, I take refuge and pay homage.
Divine Queen of the Great Beginning, Sage of Tianzhu (India), presiding over Kui and Gang, coming and going in India, personally dwelling in the highest realm, establishing to the utmost the Heaven of Great Centrality, governing all spirits, roaming through the Three Realms. The elixir is completed in the nine cauldrons; the Dao brings salvation to all living beings. Great compassion, great vows; great sage, great mercy. The One-Qi Brahma King, the Prenatal Divine Queen, Marici (Molizhi Tian), the Dipper Mother, Supreme Primordial Lady.
With single-minded devotion, I take refuge and pay homage.
The Perfected One who transmits the Dao, an immortal chosen by Taiqing (Great Purity), dwelling at Wudang and opening the teaching, he is the orthodox transmission of Wenshi. As if foolish and drunk, he blended his immortal traces into Lichun. Teaching filial piety and loyalty, he expounded the mysterious wind in Huaxia (China). He delivered Wan San at the Dian Sea; son-in-law and daughter ascended together. Continuing the divine penetration of Dragon and Tiger, he was complete in both the Dao and its methods. A precious raft for the ten directions, a master of the Three Teachings. Great compassion, great vows; great mercy, great benevolence; utmost mystery, utmost wonder; utmost extraordinariness, utmost spirituality. Chief Minister of Donghua, outer minister of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), divine officer of thunder, Celestial Master (Tianshi) of Lingbao, first ancestor of the One Qi of Great Harmony, Perfected Lord Daotong Wenyuan, Heavenly Worthy of Penetrating Subtlety and Manifest Transformation.
With single-minded devotion, I take refuge and pay homage.
Inner Minister of Yuqing (Jade Purity), immortal selected at the Golden Gate, manifesting as a teacher of the Three Teachings, wielding the law and issuing the commands of the Five Thunders. Awakened from the Yellow Millet Dream, he forgot the fame and merit of the world; the precious sword’s radiance cuts down demons and monsters among humans. For the four kinds of birth and the six paths, whenever there is sincere connection, response is certain; in the Three Realms and ten directions, no prayer goes unanswered. In the Yellow Crane Tower he left wondrous traces; in the Purple Mushroom Cave he refined numinous cinnabar. He preserved his sacred image on the cloud cliff and revealed immortal traces in the jade cosmos, expounding the incense-fire of the Dharma gate and serving as a ladder and boat for mysterious heirs. Great sage, great compassion; great benevolence, great filial piety; the founder who opened the mountain and initiated the teaching, Xuanying (Mysterious Response) Patriarch; Chief Minister of Heavenly Thunder; Perfected Man of Lingbao.
Brief Explanation
1. Dipper Mother (Doumu): the mother of the stellar deities revered in Daoism, often associated with the Northern Dipper and the cult of the Nine Emperors; “Marici (Molizhi Tian)” in the text is one of her common titles.
2. Praise for Offering Incense (Zhuxiang Zan): a praise recited while burning incense and bowing; it first honors the Dipper Mother and then Zhang Sanfeng.
3. Zhang Sanfeng: an important figure in Ming-dynasty legend associated with the founding of Wudang, internal martial arts, and Neidan (internal alchemy) cultivation; here he is listed alongside the Dipper Mother, thunder rites, and titles such as master of the Three Teachings, which are sacred designations within liturgical texts.
4. Kui and Gang, the Five Thunders, Lingbao, and similar terms refer respectively to stellar deities, thunder rites, and concepts related to the Daoist Lingbao tradition; in the praise text they express his religious status as one who “wields the law” and “manifests transformation.”
A Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
Scripture Titles and Honorific Names
The Emperor Lord of Pure Yang, Who Expounds Rectitude, Admonishes and Transforms, and Sincerely Protects (Chunyang Yanzheng Jinghua Fuyou Dijun)—the divine title of Patriarch Lü Dongbin—together with the Heavenly Worthy Who Promotes the Wondrous Dao (Xingxing Miaodao Tianzun) and the Muni True Buddha of Universal Salvation, Perfected Radiance, and Free Action (Pudu Guangyuan Zizai Wenni Zhenfo), are all honorific titles used for him on the scripture altar.
Incantation of the Profound Treasury for Opening the Scripture
The one Qi transforms and generates; it is conceived in Wuji (the Limitless). Prior to heaven and earth, it is the root of all things. Vast, empty, void, and still, it harbors creation; in solemn stillness it awaits, and the divine manifests. The bright moon emits the radiance of a white ray; clouds return to the crimson Heavenly Gate. The Celestial Pool turns with the cycles, and the Imperial Chariot never halts. Its De accords with the principle of the Three Primes; its merit is transmitted to the spirits of the nine sons. Majestic are the true father and mother; rich and flourishing are the ancient scriptures. The ultimate Dao encompasses the mysterious and wondrous; the True Person embodies utmost sincerity. A devout heart can move and bring response; for ten thousand ages it is recorded as long life.
(This is the scripture-opening incantation. Its general meaning is to praise the pre-heaven one Qi and Doumu as the mother of all things, and to say that sincere devotion can bring about resonance and the attainment of long life.)
The Pre-Heaven Divine Queen Doumu Yuanzun’s True Scripture (Jing) of the Great Dao of the Nine Sovereigns
At that time, the Pre-Heaven Dao Queen, the Primordial Honored Doumu (Mother of the stars of the Northern Dipper), dwelt in the Dipper Pivot Palace of the Qi-One Brahma Heaven. Together with King Zhouyu and the Heavenly Worthy Doufu (Dipper Father), she looked down below.
She saw a Zhenren (True Person) surnamed Zhang, named Tongdao, styled Kunyang—that is, Zhang Sanfeng. He was originally the fifth of the Nine Sovereigns, Tianqin, who had descended into the mortal world. In the interval between the Northern Yuan and the Southern Ming, he lived in seclusion on Mount Fuquan in Emei, cultivating the Dao. He devoutly venerated the Dipper and awaited the summons to ascend. Doumu’s compassionate heart was moved. At the place where the jade pivot of the heavens turned, with a sudden sound, she manifested a luminous and wondrous form, rode a chariot drawn by seven boars, and within a single double-hour descended into the Zhenren’s altar of Dipper worship. She gathered colored clouds and suspended a precious throne, and for him she expounded this Nine Sovereigns True Scripture. The Zhenren bowed his head to the ground and prostrated himself before the throne.
At that time, Doumu said to the Zhenren: Rise, and I will tell you. I am Marici (Molizhi Tian), the Ten Thousandfold Great Yang. Before the Heavenly Sovereign I had already come into the world; before the Earthly Sovereign, I dwelt in the Western Continent, in the kingdom of Tianzhu. I exerted great spiritual powers and traveled to and from India. I also saw that in the northern continent of Uttarakuru there was King Zhouyu, whose sacrificial observances accorded with his heart, who was compassionate and devoted to the good Dao. So I went to assist him: I sought a pure land, built walls and gate towers, bore the writ in the Palace of the Central Earth, and truly nurtured the chamber of the golden embryo. A single mass of divine Qi underwent three transcendences and gave birth to holy heirs.
The nine-headed eldest son was named Tianying; he became the Human Sovereign and later ascended as a Jade-True immortal spirit. The second was Tianren, the third Tianzhu, the fourth Tianxin, the fifth Tianqin, the sixth Tianfu, the seventh Tianchong, the eighth Tianrui, and the ninth Tianpeng. Jade forests and jade blossoms, standing tall and dense—these were the nine sons, called the Nine Sovereigns. The Human Sovereign and his younger brothers…
(The remainder of the scripture is not transcribed here; the text ends at the point where the original scroll breaks off.)
Note: In the text, “Tianying, Tianren, Tianzhu,” and the other names are personified titles for what later generations call the Nine Stars of the Northern Dipper, or the assisting and auxiliary stars. “Venerating the Dipper” refers to the cultivation method of facing and worshipping the Northern Dipper.
A Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
The Nine Sovereigns divided and governed the Nine Provinces and were called Jufangshi. The wind of their benevolence was vast and mighty, universally benefiting all living beings. After the Nine Sovereigns ascended, mother and children dwelt together.
Yuanshi Tianzun (Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning) called me Empress of the Prior Heaven Dao, so as to make manifest the virtue of nurturing the Nine Sovereigns. With Hongjun in hand, I grasp the Dipper pivot. Above, the Nine Sovereigns reflect the Nine Stars, and the Nine Stars encircle a single celestial enclosure. By the wondrous oneness of Qi (vital energy), I further transform into the Seven Primes Lords. The Nine Luminaries sometimes descend into the world, and the Seven Primes act in their stead to regulate the cycles.
Doumu (Mother of the Dipper) said: If in the world there are people who cultivate virtue and practice the Dao (the Way), and who reverently ask what the Nine Sovereigns govern and what the Seven Primes represent, one need only explain the stars of the Northern Dipper; all that they preside over can then be known. The Dipper is the heavenly chariot; it moves in the center, oversees the eight extremities, harmonizes Yin-Yang, establishes the four seasons, brings the Five Phases into harmony, fixes the various divisions, and shifts the seasonal measures—all are bound to the Dipper.
The first is Tianshu, governing Yang virtue; the second is Tianxuan, governing Yin punishment; the third is Tianji, governing blessing and goodness; the fourth is Tianquan, governing calamity and evil; the fifth is Yuheng, governing life and death; the sixth is Kaiyang, governing the hundred grains; the seventh is Yaoguang, governing the six armies. The eighth is located to the left of Kaiyang and is called Fu Star; the ninth is located to the right of Yaoguang and is called Bi Star. Both assist the Dipper in accomplishing its work.
Thereupon were proclaimed the titles of the Great Sage Northern Dipper Nine Sovereigns Star Lords:
Great Sage Northern Dipper Nine Sovereigns, First Yang-Virtue Tanlang Star Lord
Great Sage Northern Dipper Nine Sovereigns, Second Yin-Punishment Jumen Star Lord
Great Sage Northern Dipper Nine Sovereigns, Third Blessing-and-Goodness Lucun Star Lord
Great Sage Northern Dipper Nine Sovereigns, Fourth Extinguishing-Evil Wenqu Star Lord
Great Sage Northern Dipper Nine Sovereigns, Fifth Life-and-Death Lianzhen Star Lord
Great Sage Northern Dipper Nine Sovereigns, Sixth Establishing-Grain Wuqu Star Lord
Great Sage Northern Dipper Nine Sovereigns, Seventh Commanding-the-Armies Pojun Star Lord
Great Sage Northern Dipper Nine Sovereigns, Eighth Left-Assistant Dongming Star Lord
Great Sage Northern Dipper Nine Sovereigns, Ninth Right-Assistant Yinguang Star Lord
Thus the names and titles of these Star Lords shine brilliantly in the celestial patterns. They hold the registers that prolong life and record death, and wield the authority to bless the good and bring misfortune upon the wicked. Emperors and feudal lords, ministers and officials, scholars and commoners—all living beings—belong to the Dipper Palace. If a good man or good woman, afflicted by old age, illness, and various kinds of suffering, can merely repent of offenses and erase transgressions, sincerely venerate the Dipper, and recite these teachings of the Great Dao scripture,
Note: This chapter discusses the relationship among the Nine Sovereigns, the Seven Primes, and the Nine Stars of the Northern Dipper. It lists the titles of the Nine Sovereigns Star Lords and what they govern—Yang virtue, Yin punishment, blessing the good, calamity and evil, life and death, the hundred grains, the six armies, and so on. The final passage explains that venerating the Dipper and reciting scripture can eliminate offenses and relieve suffering.
Vernacular Explanation
Lighting the divine lamps of the Nine Sovereigns so that they shine upon the life palace, calamities will naturally turn into blessings and felicity, and obstacles will become auspiciousness; the many ways this proves efficacious are too numerous to describe one by one.
Doumu (Mother of the Dipper), mother of all the stars of the Northern Dipper, says: When the Northern Dipper revolves, on every new and full moon—the first and fifteenth days—the stars of the Seven Primes return to their positions. Its body hides Qian within Kun; its nature contains the firm within the soft; its Dao unfolds the wondrous within the wondrous; its qi is endowed with yang within yang. It manifested in the final years of the Qin and, during the Western Han, appeared in person to expound the teaching, with a countenance of lofty and august solemnity. If good people who seek blessings wish to behold the august presence of the Seven Primes, the Golden Immortals, and the Great Sages, they must first sweep away dusty thoughts and purify the source of the mind; then bow reverently with lowered head, close the eyes, and contemplate in stillness. When heavenly music floats in the air, the golden countenance and golden body reveal themselves spontaneously, resembling the sacred image of Magu or Lady Shangyuan, endowed with the heroic spirit of a woman, compassionate and universally saving all beings. As soon as the Lord of the Seven Primes descends into the central courtyard, all evils retreat and a hundred blessings arrive of themselves. Thereupon she spoke the efficacious incantation of the Northern Dipper’s Seven Primes for resolving adversity:
Great Sage, Lord of the Seven Primes of the Northern Dipper, can resolve the adversity of the one body;
Great Sage, Lord of the Seven Primes of the Northern Dipper, can resolve the adversity of the two karmic offenses;
Great Sage, Lord of the Seven Primes of the Northern Dipper, can resolve the adversity of the Three Corpses;
Great Sage, Lord of the Seven Primes of the Northern Dipper, can resolve the adversity of the four slayings;
Great Sage, Lord of the Seven Primes of the Northern Dipper, can resolve the adversity of the Five Thieves;
Great Sage, Lord of the Seven Primes of the Northern Dipper, can resolve the adversity of the Six Excesses;
Great Sage, Lord of the Seven Primes of the Northern Dipper, can resolve the adversity of the Seven Injuries;
Great Sage, Lord of the Seven Primes of the Northern Dipper, can resolve the adversity of the Eight Hardships;
Great Sage, Lord of the Seven Primes of the Northern Dipper, can resolve the adversity of the Nine Untimely Calamities;
Great Sage, Lord of the Seven Primes of the Northern Dipper, can resolve the adversity of the Ten Demons.
Holy indeed is the Lord of the Seven Primes; blessings reach the faithful and good. All illnesses can be resolved; the forces of impermanence dare not intrude. Divine in healing disease, its response is like an echo in the valley. If you wish to behold the radiant image, burn incense and wait for the moon to rise.
Doumu says: The Seven Primes return again, and one also looks for the Nine Sovereigns to come back. Those who revere the Seven Primes can enable people to avoid death and prolong life; those who revere the Nine Sovereigns can further enable people to become immortals and Buddhas. If good men and women first pay homage to the High Perfected of the Seven Primes and then pay homage to the Great Sages of the Nine Sovereigns, in their homes and dwellings there will surely be sweet dew descending and sweet springs arising; scoop them up with the hands and drink, and one returns to youth, with golden light enveloping the body. Then, before the thrones of the Nine Sovereigns, make offerings and keep the fast for a full cycle of nine years; when the practice is carried through, the merit will be accomplished.
Plain-Language Explanation
A man named Man [personal name] received a good reward through ritual veneration of the Dipper, and there was even the verified response of his ascending into the sky on a crane. Thereupon he proclaimed the Spell of the Nine Emperors of the Northern Dipper for Verified Response, which says:
Great Sage, Lord of the Nine Emperors of the Northern Dipper, can release all adversity;
Great Sage, Lord of the Nine Emperors of the Northern Dipper, can release the adversity of the two luminaries;
Great Sage, Lord of the Nine Emperors of the Northern Dipper, can release the adversity of the Three Disasters;
Great Sage, Lord of the Nine Emperors of the Northern Dipper, can release the adversity of the Four Conditions;
Great Sage, Lord of the Nine Emperors of the Northern Dipper, can release the adversity of the Five Aggregates;
Great Sage, Lord of the Nine Emperors of the Northern Dipper, can release the adversity of the Six Dusts;
Great Sage, Lord of the Nine Emperors of the Northern Dipper, can release the adversity of the Seven Killings;
Great Sage, Lord of the Nine Emperors of the Northern Dipper, can release the adversity of the Eight Winds;
Great Sage, Lord of the Nine Emperors of the Northern Dipper, can release the adversity of the Nine Dark Regions;
Great Sage, Lord of the Nine Emperors of the Northern Dipper, can release the adversity of the Ten Entanglements.
How wondrous are the Nine Emperor Lords! Their gracious light fills the nine bounds;
A body without hindrance or calamity, a body neither born nor extinguished.
Coming and going diligently to save the world, throughout heaven and earth they roam in spring;
The Dao and its methods are boundless; auspicious clouds protect the Supreme Perfected.
Doumu (Mother of the Dipper, mother of all the stars of the Northern Dipper) then said again to the Zhenren (Perfected): “The Seven Primordials and the Nine Emperors are all born through connection with my prenatal one qi. The movement and stillness of the one qi—Yin-Yang, the dark and new moons, day and night, dusk and dawn—all take their lead from it; the creation and transformation of the one qi—the Five Phases, the Bagua, and the numerological systems of the Hetu, Luoshu, and Yijing—are all comprehensively encompassed within it. Years, months, days, and hours; the heavenly stems and earthly branches; east, west, south, and north; mountains, rivers, seas, and peaks; and egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born, and transformation-born beings—all are nothing other than the presence of the one qi. It encompasses all that is great and enters all that is fine. Those who believe live; those who turn away die. Those who follow prosper; those who defy perish. The great multitudes of the Three Teachings should all know this.
“You were originally the fifth of the Nine Emperors, the Celestial Fowl Star, descended into this world. You need not rely only on former causes; rely only on the present—if you can cultivate in the present, former causes can be continued. When the work of seven and nine is accomplished, you will reach the holy realm. Therefore I expound this scripture, named The True Scripture of the Prenatal Qi and the Nine Emperors. I expound it, you transmit it; nothing could be more intimate.
“Wherever this scripture is, ten thousand spirits guard it and a thousand sages praise it; the essentials of the Three Primes are connected by the one qi. Read this scripture thoroughly, and one can transcend birth and death; read this scripture thoroughly, and one can fully understand the mysterious causes. Treasure it and transmit it; do not show it to those who are not fit.”
When Doumu was about to finish expounding the scripture, celestial immortals and the assembled constellations came to welcome her, and she returned to the Dipper Palace. At that time the Zhenren received the wondrous method.
Note (to aid understanding of the background):
Ritual veneration of the Dipper refers to the Daoist practice of bowing to the Northern Dipper and reciting spells, often connected with averting calamity, extending life, and releasing adversity. The Nine Emperors are nine lordly deities transformed from the stars of the Northern Dipper together with auxiliary and assisting stars, each governing a category of calamity; the progression from one adversity to the Ten Entanglements in the text describes their sequential dissolution. The Seven Primordials are commonly correlated with the seven luminaries of the Northern Dipper and corresponding deity names, and belong, together with the Nine Emperors, to the stellar deity system of the Dipper Bureau. Prenatal Qi is regarded in Daoism as the source qi from before heaven and earth divided and before form and qi were manifest; Doumu is often described as the mother of all stars and as transformed from the prenatal one qi.
Vernacular Interpretation
The Zhenren said to Doumu that he now vowed to transmit this scripture and hand it down to faithful men and women. If men or women receive, uphold, read, and recite this scripture, immortal officials within the Dipper will protect and safeguard them in every direction. Thereupon he bowed again to Doumu and spoke in praise:
When one upholds the Nine Emperors Scripture at home, the true spirit of one’s natal destiny descends; when one upholds the Nine Emperors Scripture at home, one’s father and mother obtain protection and long life; when one upholds the Nine Emperors Scripture at home, the ancestors of seven generations all attain transcendence and ascent; when one upholds the Nine Emperors Scripture at home, the nine generations of the deceased also ascend to the realm of the Perfected; when one upholds the Nine Emperors Scripture at home, all manner of impurities and defilements turn to dust; when one upholds the Nine Emperors Scripture at home, ten thousand evils return of themselves to the right path; when one upholds the Nine Emperors Scripture at home, all evils are forever dissolved and cleared; when one upholds the Nine Emperors Scripture at home, the ten clans naturally flourish and prosper; when one upholds the Nine Emperors Scripture at home, one long preserves auspiciousness, success, and steadfastness.
Doumu said: Excellent, excellent! You may propagate the orthodox teaching; your merit is boundless. Guide later generations and together cultivate the fruit of the Dao. The Zhenren bowed his head in thanks, faithfully received it, and put it into practice.
The Primordial Divine Empress Doumu Yuanzun’s Great Dao Nine Emperors True Scripture
Fuyou Dijun of the Primordial Chunyang Clan said: Formerly I, together with the great assembly of Han San, expounded the Chapter on Gazing at the Stars and Venerating the Dipper, considering that the Dou Keyi—the liturgy for worshiping the Northern Dipper—transmitted in the world has only the forms of worship but lacks the secret essential instructions. Now, as I observe the Nine Emperors scriptures spoken by Doumu Yuanzun and Kunyang Zhenjun, they harmoniously integrate the Great Dao of the Three Primes, clarify the spiritual efficacy of the one Qi, and are fully worthy to share the same track with the Supreme Five Dippers—the Five Dippers scriptural methods—and to be transmitted as one lineage. Those of superior capacity who cultivate them will surely transcend the ordinary and enter sagehood; those of middling capacity who awaken to them can also see their nature and illuminate their minds. I universally vow that people throughout the three thousand great thousand worlds and through hundreds and ten thousand generations may take refuge in and revere them, gaining boundless merit.
I now set forth the regulations for those who venerate the Dipper: all who practice the Nine Emperors True Scripture should first purify the Dipper chamber and shut out worldly involvements. Bowing their heads facing north, they should stand upright with hands folded respectfully, as if Doumu’s celestial countenance had descended above and as if a thousand Perfected and ten thousand sages were surrounding and attending them. Then they should devoutly venerate the Dipper. The body should be upright, the heart correct, the Shen (spirit) settled, the intention wise, the Qi harmonious, and the voice even; rising and descending should have rhythm, advancing and retreating should have proper form, starting and stopping should have ceremony, and rising and bowing should have measure. First bow to the august names; next recite the true scripture.
After the recitation of scriptures and worship is completed, next one must recite two chapters of the “Dipper Mantras.” Although I would not call myself especially intelligent, I have privately read through the Daoist Canon and the Buddhist Canon, and so I know that there are dozens of Sanskrit mantra texts related to Doumu (Mother of the Dipper); it is impossible for anyone to recite them all every day. Therefore, here I select from the canonical scriptures concise, essential, and efficacious records, and recite them once together with all virtuous devotees.
1. Doumu Heart Mantra (original Sanskrit transliteration omitted)
Sanskrit sounds for convenient recitation (Chinese-character phonetic gloss; rendered below in pinyin):
Namo Lai dan na duo lai ye ye, Dan ni ye tuo. A jia mo xi, Mo jia mo xi, A du mo xi. Bu bu lai mo xi, Mo he bu bu lai mo xi, A dan tuo na mo xi. Mo li bu ye mo xi. Na mo sui du di, Lai ji cha, Lai ji cha mou. Sha wa, Sa dan wa, Lan zuo sha wa, Dan lai sha wa, Suo zi bu na lai. Fei pi yao suo wa he. Namo san man duo mu tuo nan. An ma li ji mang suo he.
2. Further, proclaiming the Northern Dipper Heart Mantra (original Sanskrit transliteration omitted)
Sanskrit sounds for convenient recitation:
Om, Gou di na, Ji ji na, Luo lou na, Xi da na, Zhi xi na, Ba tou na, Ba ye na. Om, Hum hum hum (pronounced “gong”). Ju zhi di she su zha, A re mi zha, Wu du zha, Ju qi zha, Bo lai di zha, Ye wei re zha, Ju luo di zha, Qi mo zha, Sa po he.
Here ends the exposition of the Dipper mantras by the Emperor Lord Chunyang (Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals of Daoism, sobriquet “Chunyang Zhenren”). The Perfected One (Zhang Sanfeng) bowed a hundred times with his head to the ground, then composed a comprehensive encomium, saying: “Fuquan Peak…” (the original book continues below).
Note (for background understanding, not the main text of the scripture):
The “Dipper Mantras” belong to the Daoist tradition of Northern Dipper devotion and recitation in Zhaijiao (purification ritual): Doumu is the mother of the stars, while the Northern Dipper governs the averting of disaster, prolonging life, deliverance from adversity, and protection of the person. The mantra texts mostly inherit Sanskrit mantras from the Buddhist canon and scriptures and repentance texts from the Daoist Canon; hence the text first gives transliterations of Sanskrit, then appends “convenient readings” marked with approximate Chinese sounds, so that those who do not understand Sanskrit may recite them orally. After the exposition, the “Emperor Lord Chunyang” expounds the teaching, and Zhang Sanfeng bows and composes a praise—this is a common narrative manner in the book’s presentation of Keyi (liturgy).
Vernacular Explanation of the Scripture
At the height of the autumn moon, at the third watch, the vast sky is one expanse of blue, pure and without dust — On the night of the Mid-Autumn moon, at the third watch, the night sky is clear as if washed, with not a cloud in ten thousand li.
The Heavenly Mother (Tianmu), moved by compassion, descends to the mountain pavilion and the Dharma-teaching platform — Tianmu (Doumu Yuanjun, revered in Daoism as the Mother of the Stars) resonates with compassion for the lower world and descends to the mountain pavilion and the platform for expounding the Dharma.
Before her, immortal flowers bloom brilliantly and fragrantly; in an instant they continue to the present — The immortal flowers before the platform are radiant and fragrant, as if in a single instant they have continued down to today.
Lord Fuyou recites the spell and supplements the true scripture; with great compassion and great vows, the Heavenly Mother also rejoices — Lord Fuyou (Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals, styled Chunyang Zhenren) proclaims the spell and supplements the true scripture; because of his great compassion and great vows, the Heavenly Mother also rejoices.
The Complete Works of Mr. Zhang Sanfeng
Recompiled by Li Xiyue, mountain man of Changyi in Hanjia; respectfully transcribed by Zhang Daoyuan (courtesy name Zishen). Respectfully published by Zhu Daosheng of Langzhong (courtesy name Wancheng). Jointly collated by his nephews Ying (courtesy name Chuncheng) and Zhu Zan (courtesy name Suyuan); and by his son Huang (courtesy name Panxi).
The True Scripture of the Numinous Wondrous Supreme Sages of the Three Teachings, Prior to the Supreme Ultimate
The three true scriptures imitate the style of the Huangting Jing (Yellow Court Classic); their original purpose is to exhort people to revere the holy, and they also contain the way of the Golden Elixir; every word can be practiced. I originally did not dare to add a single word. Because I had received the text directly from my master, who commanded me to transmit it immediately and to make a commentary, I withdrew and annotated it.
Explanation of the title: “Prior” refers to what is before the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate); “Three Teachings” refers to the transmission of establishing destiny, completing destiny, and restoring destiny; “Supreme Sages” is a metaphor for the highest grade of the Golden Elixir; “Numinous” compares to the prenatal Yuanshen, which is extremely subtle and difficult to fathom; “Wondrous” contains the meaning of the young woman in the Dui trigram receiving the sunlight of the male in the Zhen trigram; “True Scripture” is true lead. Formerly, Zhenren Shangyang, when annotating the Taishang Duren Miaojing, made a title encomium saying: “The Most High sits upright before the Taiji, rooted before father and mother were born…” I, in my ignorance, have the same intention with regard to this title.
Lord Fuyou’s Encomium at the Opening of the Scripture
Prenatal ancestral Qi, silent and deep — The prenatal ancestral Qi, the qi of the source of life, before any differentiation, is still and profoundly deep.
The qin plays the melody of Dharma, the flute sounds immortal notes — The qin symbolizes harmonizing and bringing about harmony; the flute symbolizes regulating the breath; both also symbolize the resonance within emptiness.
Incense and flowers fill the chamber, like a forest of jade; the inner court is deep and still; the sacred carriages of the unsurpassed Three Honored Ones arrive — Incense and flowers fill the chamber like the immortal realm of a jade forest; the inner court is deep and secluded; the sacred carriages of the unsurpassed Three Honored Ones, referring to the highest divinities, descend. The last two lines actually refer to being unstained by a single mote of dust and moving the holy through utmost sincerity; one verse already reveals the main purport of the whole scripture.
Prenatal ancestral Qi is the great medicine; silent and deep is the time before the Taiji was divided. The qin and flute symbolize harmony and breath regulation, and also the state of “within emptiness.” The line about incense and flowers compares to the lead flower emerging from the cauldron; the last two lines actually refer to purity, utmost sincerity, and moving the supreme sages.
May this merit be spread universally to all; now that I have received and upheld it, may its radiance be transmitted for ten thousand kalpas — May this merit be extended to all sentient beings; now that I have obtained and upheld this Dharma, may its radiance be passed down for ten thousand kalpas.
Note: In the original, the bracketed character is missing or variant; it is commonly written as “man” or “ai,” meaning that fragrant flowers fill the chamber.
A Vernacular Reading of The Complete Works of Mr. Zhang Sanfeng
Scripture
At that time, Dongxuan Zhenren Zhang (Zhang Sanfeng, master of the Daoist Neidan lineage) employed a horned dragon to hold the brush and expound the true scripture. The scripture says: The ancient sages of the Three Teachings, whose Dao is exalted through ten thousand generations, enjoy bright sacrifices (the rites of offering). The Unadorned King of Mount Ni in the Eastern Zhou (Confucius, born at Mount Ni and called the Unadorned King) was born on the full-moon day of the winter month, arriving at Changping (in the Zhou calendar, the winter month founded on Zi corresponds to Xu; today it is the fifteenth day of the ninth month). Siddhartha Muni of the West (Shakyamuni) was born on the eighth day of the fourth month, arriving at the city of Wei (in the Shang calendar, the fourth month founded on Chou corresponds to Chen; today it is the eighth day of the third month). The Supreme Lord of the Ten Directions and Three Realms (Laozi/Taishang Laojun) descended his awe-inspiring numen on the fifteenth day of the second month (in the Shang calendar, the second month founded on Chou corresponds to Yin; today it is the fifteenth day of the first month). Passing through a thousand hundred years, turning the great wheel (the revolution of heaven and earth), yuanqi (primordial qi) becomes abundant, and thus saintly heroes are nurtured; in heaven above and on earth below, these three honored ones are known through vast kalpas.
Interpretation
“At that time” — “er” means “already,” while “shi” is the time when yang qi arises. The prenatal great Dao always reveals itself from “that time,” and so scriptures often begin with this phrase.
The patriarch expounded the Dongming Jing and was advanced to the rank of Dongxuan — “dong” means penetrating all without obstruction, and “xuan” means fathoming its mystery. Now he again expounds this numinous and wondrous true scripture, which includes the great medicine of the Golden Elixir (the ultimate substance in Neidan cultivation).
The qiu (horned dragon) belongs to Yin, and the long (dragon) belongs to Yang; Yin and Yang meet beneath the brush, and the great Dao emerges from the true scripture.
The scripture says: After the ancient sages appeared in the world and attained the Dao, they receive the bright sacrifices of ten thousand generations. This encourages later students to bow in reverence to the sages and sincerely seek the Golden Elixir.
Yet the birth dates of these three supreme sages are different, which shows that the “living zi hour” when the prenatal medicine is produced (the moment when yang qi first arises in Neidan cultivation) also cannot be rigidly fixed. The sages must pass through a thousand hundred years as the great wheel turns; only when yuanqi is abundant are their spirits nurtured — just as in the way of the Golden Elixir, one must pass through five thousand and forty-eight days, and then the metal qi becomes full and the water tide arises (when Jing and Qi are abundant and true Yin and true Yang converge). Above heaven and earth only these three sages are most honored; within one body only metal (true Yang) and lead (true Yin) are most precious. Through vast kalpas all hear their names — after obtaining the elixir, one passes through great kalpas without decay.
I now expound the Scripture of the Three Sages: water has its source, trees have their roots. May people realize the grace of these three sages and, on each holy birthday, express sincere reverence. There is no need for sacrificial vessels like those of the imperial court, no need for repentance assemblies with the sounding of fish and whale instruments (ritual instruments); only fast and be solemn, straighten cap and scarf, sweep the pure hut clean of the slightest dust, empty the empty chamber, light silver lamps, let incense smoke coil upward, and offer a wisp of clear water and fruit.
Key Points
On the surface this passage discusses the birth dates of the three sages of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism (Confucius, Shakyamuni, and Laozi), but in fact it uses the “three sages” as a metaphor for three key elements or stages in Neidan cultivation. By showing that the sages’ birth dates differ, it explains that the “living zi hour” cannot be confined to a fixed time; by “a thousand hundred years turning the great wheel and yuanqi being sufficient,” it compares the long accumulation required in alchemical cultivation; and through the simple ritual of sacrificing to the three sages, it emphasizes that cultivation lies in sincere intention and a rectified mind, not in outward form.
The tea blossoms are clean and fragrant. I bow and prostrate, awaiting the descent of the True Person’s cloud chariot. I vow to uphold Qian’s four virtues of origination, success, benefit, and perseverance (yuan, heng, li, zhen); I vow to cut off greed, delusion, love, desire, and anger; I vow to practice the five thousand words of the Daode jing; I vow to harmonize the ways of the Three Teachings and forever preserve eternal spring. With one sincere thought I inquire deeply, my mind free from confusion; great grace descends from Heaven without delay. The Three Sages command the myriad spirits; they bestow blessings and longevity—who dares obstruct?
With the mind of revering the sages, the Patriarch expounded the true scripture; therefore whoever reveres the true scripture should revere it as one reveres a sage.
Pre-heaven Qi (xiantian yiqi) arises from emptiness, and its source seems hard to fathom; in fact, Yang Qi is born within Gui (when Yin reaches its extreme, a single Yang arises), just as water has a source and wood has roots. I only wish people would constantly remember the grace of the source. When true Qi (zhenqi) comes, one must express sincere reverence and welcome it, as if meeting the birthday of a sage. The Cantong qi says: with utmost sincerity and undivided attention, cautious and secret, keep watch according to the time—this is precisely the meaning. The noble person values the Dao; matters of ritual vessels such as the fu and gui are left to the custodians, and confessional assemblies and the like are left to Buddhist monks and Daoist priests. I merely fast the mind and solemnize the spirit, enter the chamber and approach the furnace, straighten my cap, push back my headscarf, and wait. Taking the Yellow Chamber (Huangfang) as my pure retreat and the Mysterious Pass (xuanguan) as my empty room, I sweep away every speck of dust and empty all ten thousand cares; gold and silver light appears, solemn as a bright lamp—the silver lamp symbolizes the lead cauldron. A wisp of clear fragrance is the first Qi of one Yang; fruit and tea blossoms are exactly the metaphor of the “medicine” spoken of in Buddhism. At that time the water source is perfectly clear and the jade buds first open—how could it not be pure and fragrant? The Cantong qi says: The True Person is supremely wondrous, as if present and as if absent. At this moment one should humbly bow, incline the ear and listen quietly, and turn the eyes inward in contemplative observation; then the True Person’s cloud chariot is just arriving. To wait for the True Person is like waiting for a sage. Qian’s yuan, heng, li, and zhen may be compared to the gathering of the Five Phases; greed, delusion, love, desire, and anger must not cling in the slightest. The five thousand words of the Daode jing speak precisely of this true and constant Dao; by weighing the admonitions of the Three Teachings, one may then let the great function appear before one, obtain it in an instant, and forever preserve eternal spring—hence it is said, “one thought of true inquiry.” Great blessing is bestowed from above without delay—meaning that in a brief moment the Yang Elixir (yangdan) is formed. The three surnames meet in the Central Palace, and all spirits obey its command; hence it is said to “govern all the myriad bureaus.” Blessing me and granting me longevity depend entirely on the consciousness-spirit (shishen) of the pre-heaven body—who dares obstruct?
If you take the true scripture as true gold, it far surpasses the ordinary lead and silver of the human world; with utmost sincerity and undivided attention, cautious and secret, harboring a wondrous treasure, your house will surely prosper.
Vernacular Explanation
True Scripture (Zhenjing) refers precisely to true gold. The Patriarch speaks very clearly here: true gold is the life-treasure of longevity—how could ordinary lead or ordinary silver ever be compared with it? So long as one is utterly sincere and single-minded, guarding it secretly as a rare treasure, true gold will return to the furnace, and yellow and white [gold and silver] will fill the room; how then could one still sigh over household poverty? The phrases in the text “moistening the house,” “moistening the body,” and “dwelling securely and at ease” all describe the state in which the true Qi (vital energy) of the elixir head (dantou) is held within the body. Once the Yang Elixir is obtained, it is not merely as in refining the self and laying the foundation, when one can only lessen illness and prolong life; one can simply establish life and complete the form, enduring long and seeing far. At that time one’s name is inscribed in the immortal ranks and erased from the black register [of death]; the so-called stains of sin and dust of the mortal world are canceled in one stroke. Walking the Dao, one is peaceful and plain; opening wide the family gate, the elixir hut is itself a mansion of immortals. Then, using the mother Qi of the Yang Elixir to capture and subdue the child Qi of the Yin Elixir, one refines the Golden Liquid Nine Returns (Jinye Jiuhuan); adding the changing of the cauldron and dividing of the fetus, the golden elder and jade younger brothers will each ride cranes and ascend to heaven. From this one may be hidden or manifest in the human world, accumulating merits and practicing virtuous conduct, saving oneself and saving others; when the heavenly tally arrives, one flies up in broad daylight, and red clouds escort the carriage as one ascends the heavenly gate.
Those who are vessels of superior capacity for the Dao must comprehend the meaning of the scripture and put it into genuine practice before they can reach this realm; do not think that reciting the scripture orally for a lifetime is enough to become immortal.
Do not be unconcerned when encountering a sacred birthday (the Patriarch’s birthday and other holy days); if anger and resentment pile up, one gives vent to a wicked voice, and further indulges in intimate color in the bedchamber and proclaims lust, the heavenly deities will observe and know it, and it will be difficult for one to remain [unscathed]. Even if one’s ordinary reverence for the sages is already utterly sincere, at such a time one should especially deepen one’s vigilance and fear. If at this moment one has not the slightest intention of bowing in worship, from this one may infer one’s usual attitude in daily life.
When people encounter a sacred birthday, they should take the greatest heed; when the time arrives of Yang Sheng (Yang arising)—such as the winter solstice, when one Yang arises, and similar solar terms—one must apply one’s intention. If one still gives way to anger and evil, and greedily clings to lustful color, there is no one who will not lose true Qi; not only does one harm one’s own body, but the heavenly deities who investigate will also take away one’s years of life. Waiting for the time to refine the self certainly requires sincerity; entering the chamber and approaching the furnace requires even deeper vigilance and fear. “Seeking lead without Zheng” (one should concentrate on keeping the precepts and not be negligent)—only thus can there be no loss.
Note: This section mixes Neidan (internal alchemy) terminology (such as lead and silver, elixir head, true Qi, Yang Elixir and Yin Elixir, Golden Liquid Nine Returns, changing the cauldron and dividing the fetus, etc.); its general meaning is to use the refining of gold as a metaphor for the attainments of inner cultivation. The final phrase “seeking lead without Zheng” may involve the wording of a specific oral formula, and editions with various commentaries may have variant readings; here it is translated according to the sense of the text as: when approaching the furnace, one must be single-minded, vigilant, and fearful, and must not be perfunctory.
Vernacular Explanation
Opening: Warning Against “Excessive Attachment” and Urging Sincerity
If one regards “reverence and fixation” as too important, then even if one is ordinarily “refining the self” (lianji, cultivating the mind and nature), this can reveal that the mind is impure. This long passage repeatedly warns of this, and its meaning is quite clear.
I wish everyone would reverently receive it (feng zhi cheng), wash the mind and cleanse the thoughts, be single-minded and pure in vision; although it seems as if one neither sees nor hears, it is as if the three sages come riding on red clouds—Confucius’s dignified demeanor like the newly risen sun, Shakyamuni’s Dharma-form like the full autumn moon, and the purple Qi coming from the east at Hangu Pass—causing one to look up in awe, to be diligent and cautious at all times, as if gazing up at a high mountain, and to strive even more. In this way, ordinary scholars and commoners will ultimately not sink to the level of the vulgar.
Revering the Sages and Seeking “Lead”: Stillness and Purity Are Required
To revere the sages, one must truly receive them with reverence; in seeking “lead” (qian)—in Neidan (internal alchemy), the taking of prior-heaven Qi, the foundation for beginning practice—one should keep to stillness and solidity, wash the mind and cleanse the thoughts, and make the will pure and upright, using this to contemplate “return” (fu)—returning to original truth, the moment of the return of the single Yang.
“Purity” is the opposite of “mixture”: seeking the elixir requires pure sincerity for success. Generally, when Qi is settled and Shen is concentrated, there is purity; when desire stirs and emotion prevails, there is mixture. Seeking lead according to the proper time is pure; acting recklessly at the wrong time is mixed. Moreover, prior-heaven Qi is silent and deep, without sound or shadow, unseen and unheard—only through reverence do seeing and hearing seem truly to perceive. The saying that sages ride clouds and true persons emerge from the cauldron—what the lineage calls “a single red light”—is precisely the ultimate truth.
Rising Sun, Autumn Moon, and Purple Qi: All Are Metaphors for Fire Timing (Huohou)
Like the rising sun: sunlight newly appears, like the night of the third day of the lunar month, when the moon begins to be born and Yang Qi first sprouts.
Like the autumn moon: metal and water are ample and full, like the night of the fifteenth, when the moon is full, the time when Yin-Yang are harmonized.
Like purple Qi: true Qi rises vigorously, and fire erupts at the mysterious pass—the image of Qi ascending and the passes and apertures being activated.
The alchemical tradition speaks both of the third day and of the fifteenth: the third symbolizes that the Qi of metal and water is still new; the fifteenth symbolizes that the Qi of metal and water is already full. If Qi is insufficient, water is not generated. The first, third, and fifteenth must be seen within the same “time”; they must be thought of as linked in a single string, and one must not rigidly calculate them by numbers—if one calculates by numbers, how could it be called the “living Zi hour” (huo zishi)?
Within the “third day” the “fifteenth” is already included: the third day is like the second division, when the medicine is still tender; the fifteenth is like Yang Qi in its pure fullness. The Huangting Jing (Yellow Court Scripture) says, “Three and five join in accord, the nine times nine festival,” which is exactly this meaning. At this time, when one advances the fire, there is the image of purple Qi entering the pass; otherwise, if one is slightly late for even a moment, one falls into posterior heaven, and the Yang elixir is hard to complete. Therefore one should at all times look up with trembling care and not lose the moment of “yao movement” (yaodong, the activation of the Qi mechanism). “Gazing up at the high mountain” is what the alchemical scriptures call “on the mountain of form, face to face welcoming the true person”—face to face is precisely the true realm and the true mechanism.
Conclusion: Even Ordinary People Can Transcend the Ordinary
If one understands this principle in Neidan, then even ordinary scholars and commoners can transcend the ordinary and enter sagehood; the opportunity for becoming a sage lies in whether this single “battle” can be won. Human affairs must not be treated lightly. The oral instructions transmitted by the master have been fully revealed here, and this is to inform fellow practitioners.
A Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
Above the mid-heaven, celestial flowers fall like rain across heaven and earth; before the teaching platform, the atmosphere is entirely renewed. Mountains, rivers, and the great earth seem to give forth light; in the Lotus Society the flowers open, like white snow welcoming spring. Heaven above, in compassion, expounds the true scripture and sends divine guardians to come. On a Bing-Ding day, on that night, the moon rises from the Geng direction, its clear radiance shining brightly and illuminating the Xu and Wei lunar mansions. Deep in the blue heavens, the faint sound of flutes and reed pipes can be heard; the censer-bearing devotees look up to the sky to receive it. Taking the revered scripture as host and oneself as guest—from this cultivation onward, one can dissolve malevolent spirits and fierce malign forces.
“Mid-heaven” is a metaphor for the realm of emptiness and nonbeing; “flower rain” is a metaphor for the wondrous state in which metal and water arise and generate—when emptiness and nonbeing wondrously unite with Qian and Kun, the cauldron and furnace are precisely therein; heavenly stars and earthly tides are just like them filling Qian and Kun. The teaching platform is the place of alchemical refinement; what is the atmosphere before the platform? According to the teaching of the Niwan Palace: mountains, rivers, and the great earth emit fierce fire; according to Zhang Guo: when the furnace is opened, one already perceives radiance released—this is the atmosphere before the platform. The Lotus Society’s flowers opening and white snow welcoming spring refer to the manifestation of lead flowers, pure white like snowflakes. The Lord on High is a metaphor for the heart-sovereign; when the heart delights in true gold, it mobilizes spirit-fire to refine it; to awaken to the true, one must borrow Ding Gong to calcine and refine. On this day and this night, it happens to be when the moon emerges from the Geng direction—although this is manifestly the time when the scripture is openly expounded, in reality it precisely signifies the time of seeking gold. The clear light pours forth, illuminating the Xu-Wei cavity; the flutes and reed pipes in the blue heavens are exactly like the scene of mercury welcoming lead as it enters, and husband and wife in joyful union. The censer-bearing devotee refers precisely to the elixir cultivator: I cast myself into the other’s house; the other instead becomes host while I become guest. Host and guest rise and sink, other and self are reversed—this is precisely the wondrous method of seeking the elixir. Cultivating from this point, when the elixir is obtained and enters the cauldron, yin fades and yang flourishes, and one can dissolve baleful omens.
When heaven and earth are not in harmony, one should recite the true scripture—only then can wind, thunder, rain, and clearing proceed in timely fashion; when the solar terms are not harmonious, one should recite the true scripture—only then can spring, autumn, winter, and summer be evenly balanced; when the state and realm are not at peace, one should recite the true scripture—only then can east, south, west, and north celebrate universal prosperity; when people and creatures are not at peace, one should recite the true scripture—then all mountain corners and watery marshes can rejoice; when the Nine Dark Regions and Nine Hells hear the true scripture, stagnating souls can be transcended and the dead ferried across; when famous mountains and famous monasteries treasure the true scripture, Daoist adepts can be received and guided, and eminent monks ferried across.
Here “recite” refers to cultivation and practice. Heaven and earth are metaphors for the single body; when the movements of the single body are inconstant, then rain becomes violent, wind whirls, Kan and Li run astray, thunder roars, dew turns cold, and male and female are alarmed and frantic. To make wind, thunder, rain, and dew distribute smoothly, one must be skillful in cultivating the true scripture. The qi-nodes refer to the four seasons; if the governing ordinances of the four seasons are not carefully regulated, then the spring-Mao and autumn-You bathing will fall out of harmony.
A Vernacular Interpretation of the Scripture
To violate common order, so that winter and summer, cold and heat are reversed and Yin-Yang is thrown into confusion, yet still wish spring, summer, autumn, and winter each to remain in its proper place—this too requires careful cultivation of the Zhenjing (True Scripture), here meaning the methods and mental techniques on which Neidan (internal alchemy) cultivation relies.
The state is like the Zhenjing of the elixir foundation: when the state is secure and peaceful, east, south, west, and north all rejoice together. The myriad things are like the Zhenjing of the elixir foundation: when the state is prosperous, mountains and wilds, waters and marshes all rejoice. Again, the souls in the dark prison belong to yin evil; when they obtain the Zhenjing, the yin evil retreats and scatters. The monks in mountain forests and temples do not yet have complete yang qi in their bodies; when they obtain the Zhenjing, their yang qi becomes complete.
The wondrous meaning of the Zhenjing encloses one layer within another. The Zhenjing gives first importance to the Sacred Birth (shengdan), which symbolizes the birth of a single point of true yang of the pre-heaven (xiantian). If one believes and receives it for a moment, one can immediately begin to radiate light; how much more so if one preserves it for a long time without losing it and ascends to the highest vehicle? A thousand auspicious signs cannot be fully described; to penetrate the Yaohan (Jade Casket), which symbolizes the profound meaning of the alchemical scriptures, is to be near Penglai. The one who majestically proclaims this numinous and wondrous scripture is the lord of Dongxuan (Cavern Mystery) and the grandson of the Celestial Master (Tianshi).
The wondrous truths are layered, continuing the preceding passage and gathering it together: people and things, the state and nation, the seasonal qi, heaven and earth, together with such stages as building the foundation, refining the self, gathering the medicine, and harmonizing the elixir, are all densely contained within it. Yet this Zhenjing focuses only on the great matter of the Golden Elixir; hence it begins by speaking of the Sacred Birth to compare it to the birth of the pre-heaven. In the Golden Elixir, one takes true yin and true yang, the “two-eight” substances of the same kind, seizes them in a single moment, and refines them into one grain of yang elixir; the creative transformation occurs in an instant. If a person can believe and receive for a moment, they can radiate light for a moment; and if they preserve it without loss, raising the yang elixir to join with the yin elixir and refining it into the Golden Liquid Nine Returns (Jinye Jiuhuan), is this not ascending to an even higher vehicle? When the nine returns are accomplished, a thousand auspicious signs gather like clouds; if a person can penetrate the Yaohan, they are not far from Pengshan. To proclaim this scripture and expound its numinous wonder, if not for a lord who has profoundly penetrated the mysterious and subtle, who could do it? Who is this lord? The holy grandson of Celestial Master Zhang, Patriarch Sanfeng. Only a true master can discuss the true Dao; how could this be easy to speak of?
The True Scripture of the Great Sage’s Numinous Response: The Center and the Three Teachings (Zhong San Jiao Da Sheng Ling Ying Zhen Jing)
“Center” symbolizes the work of entering from outside to inside, of metal returning to nature; “Three Teachings” symbolizes the ways of nourishing nature, seeing nature, and restoring nature, and together with the preceding three teachings it takes a single meaning. “Great Sage” compares to the Great Return; “Numinous” is one grain of numinous elixir; “Response” compares to inner and outer corresponding; “True Scripture” is the golden liquid.
Sovereign Lord Fuyou’s Praise at the Opening of the Scripture
Ambrosia pours over the crown, its flavor rich and its fragrance mellow; the Dharma platform is swept clean, and flower rain fills the sky; white clouds part the peaks, and the clear sky fills the courtyard; a gentle breeze brushes the face as I gaze afar at the sagely virtuous countenances of the Three Venerable Ones.
Vernacular Interpretation
Opening Note
The verse at the very start of the scripture already fully conveys the essential meaning of the “Great Return of Golden Liquid”—the mutual generation of metal and water in internal cultivation and the achievement of returning the elixir—so it is not annotated line by line here.
General Meaning of the Verse
The Lingying Jing (Scripture of Numinous Response), transmitted by Zhang Xianweng (Zhang Sanfeng), the Dongxuan Perfected One, descended from the high heavens. In the Great Dao (the Way), three holy venerables dwell at the center. Before them, three sages took the lead in promoting the teaching; after them, three sages followed, and thus the teaching’s influence flourished.
The first three sages were one in the Zouyi region east of Yanzhou, one at Luojia Peak (Guanyin’s bodhimanda), and one Guan Yin (the Keeper of the Pass), who initiated the mysterious and wondrous current. The Dao’s transformation spread through China and the borderlands. At the center, three more sages descended from the heavenly palace, their grace vast and gently nourishing.
When “righteousness is gathered to become Qi (vital energy),” the spirit becomes full; being utterly firm and great, it is not something ordinary conditions can forge. It can respond wherever its name is invoked, with vast compassion, saving from suffering and distress, so that those deluded by dust may revive.
Master Wenshi (Yin Xi) is like a roaming dragon, leading the assembled Perfected and assisting the work of transformation. The numinous radiance of the three sages and the concentrated qi of the age are also complete because of learning and cultivation through the “three winters.” The great man cherishes his resolve, keeps the conduct of a Confucian, dwells in benevolence and acts from righteousness, transcending the common crowd; at Putuo he keeps the Dao in mind, holding fast to a solitary sincerity. Amid ten demons and nine hardships he realizes perfect penetration. On Shilou Mountain, sealed by clouds and rosy mists, he cultivates with bitter resolve and refines the “red” of the divine elixir (elixir light). Together with fellow cultivators he ascends and surges upward; to this day the bright moon still shines on the vines and pines.
The Scripture Descends from the High Heavens, Like Sweet Dew
The patriarch transmitted the Lingying Zhenjing to the human world, as if sweet dew were descending.
Although the three sages are distinct, the way of restoring nature and the principle of guarding the center return to one; therefore all “dwell at the center.” “First promote, then follow”: the first three sages promote it, and the middle three sages follow—just as the Golden Elixir comes first and the Golden Liquid comes after.
The Cantong qi says: “At last one obtains the golden flower; turning, it becomes mutually causal, transforms into white liquid, coagulates to utmost firmness.” It also says that the golden flower first leads, dissolves, and transforms into water. “Golden flower” is prenatal Qi (vital energy); when practice reaches this point, the teaching’s influence becomes ever more flourishing.
The three sages who emerge first, though their origins differ, all belong to the body of Qian metal (heavenly metal), gather numinous excellence, descend from the heavenly palace, and bestow grace upon the world—like the Golden Elixir entering the cauldron: after uniting with Qian, it passes the Magpie Bridge, ascends Kunlun, and then transforms into a cup of amrita poured down over the crown; the Magpie Bridge returns to the Yellow Chamber, and the numinous elixir is formed.
“Vast and smoothly flowing” precisely describes an elixir beautiful in form and liquid in substance. This elixir is generated from “gathering righteousness”—righteousness belongs to metal, utterly great and utterly firm; heaven and earth cannot mold it. It can also arrive upon hearing the call, save from suffering and distress, and let sweet dew fall everywhere upon those deluded by dust. One day it will break through the crown and emerge, agile as a roaming dragon, able to participate in the work of creation.
A Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
This kind of efficacious light is always obtained through one’s own cultivation and nurturing. The Second Sages (referring to worthies second only to Confucius, such as Mencius) set their resolve on the compassionate ferry, refined the Dao at the Stone Tower, and cultivated the elixir in the inner landscape—all are one and the same matter.
I wish that everyone in the human world might be reverent, looking up to his merits and virtues as towering as high mountains. Whenever the birthday of the Three Sages arrives, the tea is fragrant and rich, the water-flowers are vivid; silently reciting the true scriptures cleanses the breast as if one had received sage grace; seeing the solemn true countenance—entering a temple, one tunes the sheng and plays music; entering a monastery, one harmonizes drums and sounds bells; on the pond a turtle floats up to listen to the tapping of a tube; among the clouds phoenixes dance in harmony with silk-and-paulownia strings. In the ritual carriage, green luan and white cranes follow; where there is sincere feeling there is response, and joyous celebrations multiply.
The generation of Golden Liquid is something the Patriarch wished people to revere. This birthday is like the moment when Golden Liquid is generated—the tea fragrance is rich, the water-flowers are dense; its fragrance is like butter and its sweetness like honey. Cleansing the breast, one first receives the grace of Golden Liquid, forming a spiritual substance, as if seeing the countenance of golden light. Such a flavor of the Dao cannot be tasted by ordinary people. The Perfected Chen Shangyang said: When a spoonful enters the mouth, circulate one’s own true fire to nourish it. At the time of circulating the fire, one suddenly feels true qi from the Jiaji (spinal pass) rushing upward to Niwan (Mud Pill), with a gurgling sound, as if something is touching its way up into the brain. In a moment, like sparrow eggs, one by one, it descends from the palate through the Double Tower (the throat), like icy butter, incomparably fragrant, sweet, and delicious. When this state is felt, it verifies the Golden Liquid Returning Elixir; slowly swallow it back into the Dantian. From then on it is continuously unceasing; with eyes closed in inner observation, the viscera are distinct as if illuminated by candles, and gradually a golden light envelops the body. As for tuning it with the sheng and yong and delighting it with bells and drums—this is precisely the time when the Golden Lord and the Green Maiden meet. Beating the bamboo summons the turtle; the turtle listens to my call. Playing the qin attracts the phoenix; the phoenix receives that attraction—this is the purport of the Wuzhen Pian (Awakening to Reality). The green luan symbolizes the strong qi of the dragon; the white crane symbolizes the strong qi of the tiger. The dragon swallows and the tiger inhales; inner and outer medicines congeal; stimulus brings response, and sound and qi communicate. This means that the inner medicine of Golden Liquid must combine with the outer medicine of Golden Elixir before success is achieved—how fortunate indeed.
When a Confucian scholar bows in reverence, he becomes open, bright, and intelligent; when a Buddhist monk bows in reverence, he breaks through delusion and deafness; when a Daoist priest bows in reverence, he rouses himself from dimness and benightedness (pronounced meng, meaning dark and unclear). Do not divide the Three Sages into the Three Dukes—the Three Teachings take different paths, but their wonder is naturally the same: nourishing nature and preserving spirit, ten thousand li fuse into one; seeing nature and stabilizing spirit, ten thousand dharmas are empty. In the Mysterious Gate, many heroes step back; refining nature and harmonizing spirit accord with their common source.
Those who study the true Dao (the Way) need not divide the Three Teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism; so long as they revere the “spiritual medicine” and refine it into the “spiritual elixir,” they can nourish their nature, preserve Shen (spirit), see their nature, stabilize the spirit, refine their nature, and regulate the spirit—the Three Teachings can originally return to a single source.
When the true scripture is recited, its sound and rhyme are clear and penetrating, as exquisite as bejeweled necklaces and jade-like gems; the ink-color swells outward and then entirely disperses, while the precious flame blazes fiercely. In the world it can be covered and protected with red gauze; its precepts can be handed down to merchants and artisans; it can encourage scholars and farmers; it can instruct people and be assigned to children for recitation; it can be recited in every household and offered in shrines; it can encourage good fortune and warn against misfortune—one may call it “jade resonance and gold pounding.” Only by carefully savoring the true scripture and, with the curtain lowered, observing it in stillness can one know the whole course of the Three Sages; like timely rain transforming beings, like sweet dew sprinkled from heaven, like the nine chapters of the lotus, its literary force embraces the He and Huang region, and every line is a precious raft for ferrying people across.
The true scripture is likened to golden liquid; when it touches the Niwan (Mud Pill, upper Dantian), it produces sound, hence it is called “rhyming chengcong.” When it congeals into the great elixir, it sparkles exquisitely in mutual reflection with the Buddhist bejeweled necklaces and the Waidan (external alchemy) jade gems. “When the swelling ink is cleared away, the precious flame blazes” metaphorizes lead dried and mercury added; when the spiritual elixir enters the cauldron, the hundred vessels return to the root, and the encircling barriers and defenses, wrapped by the circulation of talismans, are just like the red gauze cage. If beings recognize this, all can enter the Dao. The Cantong qi (The Seal of the Unity of the Three) says: “False writings are transmitted through the world and delude the multitude, so that officials do not take office, farmers lose their weeding, merchants abandon their goods, and men of aspiration’s families become poor.” The Patriarch and Wei Boyang share the same compassionate heart, and so these words are reiterated to make people understand. If one can carefully savor the true scripture, then the beginning and end of the Three Sages can be known, and the beginning and end of the Golden Elixir can also be known. What Mencius calls the timely rain, what the Great Being calls sweet dew, and Wenshi’s source of words are all like this; the great elixir of golden liquid is truly a precious raft for ferrying the world across.
Those who study Confucianism, study Buddhism, or study the immortal way do not realize that the Three Sages all emerged from the ordinary and common, covering and supporting the teeming multitudes, the countless masses (pronounced congcong)—I hope people will bow in reverence and not be lax or indolent. The books of the Three Sages are like beans and cabbages: in a thousand gates and ten thousand households they provide meals; the Dao of the Three Sages is like the vault of heaven: the eight directions and four extremes are all sheltered under its canopy. Facing the scripture and contemplating the sages, one should be solemn and harmonious; in the Lingtai (spiritual terrace), do not let restless thoughts arise. Quietly nourish the heavenly disposition like a young seedling; the master is the bright moon, white and hazy. At every moment guard against slackness; gently and steadily intensify your refining work. Around the scripture hall on all sides warm clouds glow; a single grain of the heart-flower holds purple down—entering sagehood and transcending the ordinary depends on me alone.
Vernacular Interpretation
If people in the world do not know the merits and virtues of the Three Sages (San Sheng)—the three patriarchs revered in Daoism—they will mostly fall into the ranks of ordinary mortals; if they do not know the Way of Golden Liquid (Jinye zhi Dao)—the method in Neidan (internal alchemy) cultivation by which metal and water mutually generate—they cannot possibly become immortals. May readers, facing the scripture (Jing) text, remember the sages, and following the scripture, cultivate the Golden Elixir (Jindan).
In the method of refining the elixir, one must first cleanse the Spirit Terrace (Lingtai)—make the mind pure and calm, undisturbed by distracting thoughts. After congealing the elixir (hedan)—when Yin-Yang essence and Qi (vital energy) meet and form the elixir—one must again quietly nourish the infant—gently nurturing the inner elixir as if caring for a newborn child—with the mind like a bright moon, at all times gently and continuously guarding it. This is the ten months' work—the ten-month nurturing symbolized by gestation. The "hall" spoken of in the scripture is a metaphor for the Dantian (energy center)—the place of cultivation within the lower abdomen. "Warm clouds bake and illuminate, awakening the truth" means that within the body there is a natural true fire, and the blazing flame in the furnace remains ever red; when it congeals into a single "heart flower," one can enter sagehood and transcend the ordinary, becoming one's own master.
Do not forget the ruler and father; one must not violate filial piety and loyalty. Do not learn from the stubborn and benighted who show off the sharp edge of Chan; do not imitate heterodox paths and fall into confusion, sinking down into the hells (niraya) and into swarms of ghosts. The Three Sages are in heaven, and the sun is bright and rising: they manifestly protect good people and open up the dark mist. When the True Scripture is transmitted, its Qi is like a rainbow, and its literary radiance shines brilliantly, shooting toward the Dipper and Ox. Raising high a long sword and leaning on Kongtong—the heavenly immortal, numinous sage, named Sanfeng.
These four lines admonish people to establish the great foundation and seek the great Dao (the Way). The Three Sages in heaven are bright as a brilliant sun, silently protecting good people and virtuous scholars, sweeping away disasters and evils; this is also like obtaining the Ninefold Return (Jiuhuan)—the completion of the return elixir—where true yang is established and all yin disperses. The Qi of the scripture is like a rainbow, its radiance shining brilliantly toward the Dipper and Ox, exactly like the sign of the infant emerging from the womb, breaking through the crown and soaring into the heavens. Today's "raising the long sword high and leaning on Kongtong to expound the teaching" is none other than Master Sanfeng, who attained this from the great Dao and is seated in unsurpassed rank.
The Later True Scripture of the Great Sages of the Three Teachings, of Numinous Penetration (Hou Sanjiao Dasheng Lingtong Zhenjing)
"Later" refers to after the elixir is accomplished; the meaning of the Three Teachings is that they return to the same source. Great Sage (Dasheng) is the great Dao itself; numinous penetration (lingtong) means transformation without fixed direction; the True Scripture (Zhenjing) is the true sage.
Opening Scripture Gatha by Patriarch He of One Yang (Yiyang He Zu)
When the cultivation of the scripture is complete, one universally saves those of good affinity; incense congeals into precious seal-script, and golden lotuses surge from the earth. The great Confucian, the great Buddha, and the great Daluo immortal (Daluo xian) ride phoenixes up to heaven, and again see the three venerable sage images in solemn dignity.
"Scripture cultivation is complete" means the great Dao has been accomplished; one should then universally save those of good affinity and be established in the unsurpassed rank. The intent of this piece lies precisely here.
Dongxuan Zhenren (Perfected Man of the Cavern Mystery) Zhang Xuanxuan, embracing the True Scripture, proclaims it to the world; now again he expounds the chapters on the Three Sages—three chapters, nine sages, and the Nine Yangs (Jiuyang) complete. Emperor Wen of Zitong (Zitong Wendi) at Qiqu Peak, First Patriarch Bodhidharma (Damo Chuzu) with a single stalk of lotus, and Fuyou alone uphold the great vow.
(The "Fuyou" in the last line usually refers to Emperor Fuyou, Lü Dongbin; in the text he is listed together with Zitong and Bodhidharma as one of the sage images of the Three Teachings.)
Plain-Language Interpretation
Scriptural Text (Verse Section)
The Chuan school (a lineage transmission within Neidan) opened north and south, and the Great Dao is boundless; the three sages (here referring to three Dao-realizers associated with the Zhang Sanfeng lineage) manifested spiritual powers that filled the eight directions of the earth. They cultivated the body and practiced austerities for many years, were filial, fraternal, benevolent, and compassionate, and their merit and virtue were complete; they broadly promoted the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism) with utter sincerity. Crossing the river and wall-gazing (referring to Bodhidharma’s wall-gazing and other austerities), their resolve was firm; their Dao encompassed the Three Teachings, and their minds were tranquil and detached. The Ten Trials at Zhongnan (the “ten trials” of disciples in Neidan tradition) stood firm like a mountain; how many can truly bear the true meaning of the Three Teachings? People see only the natural joy of Wuwei, but do not know that Youwei (first applying effort, first doing the work) actually comes before it.
Patriarch’s Explanation (Third Section, Using “Nine Yang” as a Metaphor for the “Ninefold Return” Achievement)
The Patriarch, holding fast to the Dao of true constancy, again proclaimed it to the world and composed the third section, using the number “nine yang” to metaphorically describe the achievement of the inner alchemical “ninefold return.” The three sages all realized the Great Dao, and the Great Dao is always entered into true reality through ascetic practice. The saying “It begins with active doing, unseen by others; only when it reaches Wuwei do the masses know it” precisely means this. “Wuwei” metaphorically refers to things like wall-gazing and quiet cultivation; if we speak of manifesting spiritual powers and succoring the world and saving people, that is the sages’ compassion, and in the world it again belongs to “Youwei.”
The three sages’ compassion fills the universe; their manifested traces have no fixed place and are difficult to describe in detail. For seventeen lives they were ministers and high officials (in legends or allusions, accumulated worldly fame over many lives); in writings on hidden virtue it is often praised: their great grace through ten thousand ages is worthy of praise, and the star of blessing shines brightly through the Weiyuan enclosure. In the lands of East and West (China and India) they expound Mahayana Chan; how could there be no karmic connection at Shaolin Temple? During the Six Dynasties, disclosures of inner cultivation (teachings on Neidan and inner practice) among the various masters were in great ferment; without the Master, who could stem the raging tide? Wearing a sword and roaming throughout the seas and skies, they conferred the true exposition on heroic men and women alike; their wondrous names and abbreviated surnames were inscribed on mountains and rivers, and women and children throughout the Nine Provinces all heard of them.
This passage says that the three sages divided the embryo and sent forth the spirit, with numinous responsiveness and miraculous manifestation; it is hoped that later realized ones can also, like the three sages, compassionately instruct the world, guide people, repel evil, and uphold the right; in the morning they roam the Northern Peak, at dusk they lodge at Cangwu, broadly forming good affinities to save people.
Encouraging Later Generations
Now I proclaim to aspirants: merit and fruition must be perfected as with the three sages—becoming a sage, a Buddha, an immortal. The heart of goodness and the capacity for goodness should be broad and great; if there is no virtuous conduct to cultivate the root, then at the slightest movement a host of demons will create obstacles and entangle one. After the Dao is accomplished, one may mingle one’s traces and hide amid the mist and clouds of the universe; only then, on a later day, may one rise high in the immortal ranks.
This passage encourages later generations: look up to the three sages, earnestly esteem merit and fruition, broadly cultivate virtuous conduct, and only then can the Great Dao be accomplished.
Concluding Verse
The hearts of the three sages are like a sweet spring (a spring of sweet nectar), whose abundant blessings flow long to succor later worthies. If Qinghe (perhaps a metaphor for a certain patriarch or place) forgot the human world, why would he need to manifest his body as a magistrate? If Duona (Bodhidharma and others) remained forever hidden in nirvana, how could the Five Leaves come down from the Western Heaven (India)? If Elder Hui (an honorific in Neidan) remained forever separated from the world, how could there be the teaching of the Five Leaves? (The meaning follows from the above, emphasizing that sages emerge because of the world.)
Note: This piece uses the “three sages” to connect Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and inner cultivation, emphasizing first Youwei and ascetic practice, then Wuwei and realization of the Dao; it also exhorts people to take virtuous conduct as the foundation and not seek only spiritual powers; after accomplishing the Dao, one may also hide one’s traces and mingle with the world, which resonates with the quiet cultivation of “wall-gazing.” The specific allusions (the Ten Trials at Zhongnan, wall-gazing, the ninefold return, etc.) are explained differently by various schools; here, following the tone of the original, I offer a literal-style clarification and do not adopt any single school’s arbitrary exegesis.
This scripture primarily elucidates the cultivation attainments and transformative merits of three Daoist sages (Wang, Liu, and Han), revealing how each attained the Great Dao (Dao) through distinct paths.
Though following different cultivation paths, all three sages reached supreme realization. The Wenchang Emperor (deity of literary fortune) was originally a Confucian scholar who attained divinity through comprehending the Dadong Zhenjing (Great Cavern True Scripture); Bodhidharma (first patriarch of Chan Buddhism), though a Buddhist master, practiced methods aligned with the Golden Elixir (Jindan) tradition; while Lüzu (Lü Dongbin) needs no introduction as an immortal of Daoism. This demonstrates the fundamental unity of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.
The canonical works left by these sages all center on cultivating the Golden Elixir. Bodhidharma's poetic line "circulating true scriptures within the abdomen, distinguishing host and guest in the Muddy Pellet (Niwan)" describes the method of circulating genuine Qi (vital energy) and cultivating the upper Dantian (energy center). Lüzu's classics encompass all phenomena, using accessible forms like poetry to universally deliver beings.
The scripture depicts devout cultivation scenes: on sacred birthdays, disciples purify the ritual space, offer flowers, fruits, lamps, and candles while silently reciting scriptures. Profound cultivation manifests miraculous signs—crimson clouds rising, yellow cranes dancing, celestial guardians appearing—all metaphorical representations of the practitioner reaching "spirit liberation" states:
The "auspicious birth" symbolizes the practitioner's rebirth moment; "pine gate" refers to the upper Dantian at the crown; "completely shedding dust" represents absolute emptiness; "beholding the sacred countenance" means perceiving one's true dharma form. "Sunrise with radiant clouds" signifies the primordial spirit's (Shen) radiance; "three sages' dharma procession" metaphorizes the practitioner's attained state. The concluding celestial guardians and thunderclaps depict heaven-earth resonance upon complete realization.
Finally, practitioners are cautioned against disparaging any method—seemingly simple spirit-writing (planchette divination) or Bodhidharma's legendary single sandal may conceal profound cultivation truths.
Vernacular Interpretation
Scriptural Passage
His hair, though already grizzled, is as it was before; do not say that he merely “dwells in truth” and stops there—he embraces the Three (the way of the Three Pure Ones, Sanqing) and to this day still often descends at the Yueyun Altar.
This passage says: The spiritual power of the Three Sages (the Three Pure Ones) is not limited to the day when the Dao (the Way) was attained and manifested in the human world; even now, as they instruct people, (the hymn is well phrased) their divine virtue throughout the world is still inexhaustible. The encomium says: The measure of nature is complete, the Dharma pervades worlds as numerous as sand grains; though all conditions have ceased, the One True remains free. Appearing in various forms through countless generations, they guide the deluded multitudes into true cultivation that does not decay.
Ah, all are touched by the grace of the Three Sages! May people stand in awe before the solemnity, to expound the true scripture and compose memorials and annotations—no need to consult hexagrams or draw lots; only accumulate virtue and cultivate purity and integrity, and divine protection will naturally be bestowed again and again. The recorded notes of Wenchang are all false transmissions; why need study the foreign monk’s staff-verses? Do not delve into the Lingbao Bifa. The true scripture’s wondrous meaning carries a corrective needle; expounding the teaching on the jade terrace, he strokes his beautiful beard.
This passage says: Those who receive the grace of the Three Sages must embody the true Dao of the Three Sages. The Patriarch’s true scripture is simply a great-vow memorial for practitioners of the proper path—one only wishes to accumulate virtue, cultivate integrity, and accomplish the Great Dao, without casting hexagrams or seeking lots. After the Dao is accomplished, divine protection is bestowed repeatedly, like heavenly talismans and successive edicts. As for others who vainly imitate recorded notes, seek Emperor Wen (Wenchang) to grant them awakening and intelligence, vainly discuss staff-verses and say “So this is what Buddha-Dharma is,” or practice Lingbao merely seeking to cure illness and prolong life—none of these are the true transmission of the Three Sages. The Patriarch composed three great scriptures to make clear the Great Dao, precisely as corrective acupuncture for the world. An ancient immortal said: Why does this mind open to the Great Dao? Only because it has from the first turned toward the Dao. The Patriarch’s compassionate heart is again the same as that of the Three Sages. The Master’s beard was most beautiful; in former years he roamed Yunnan and Guizhou, and people all called him “Beautiful-Bearded Master Zhang.” When he mounted the platform to expound the teaching, one seems to see him lifting his beard and smiling.
Note on Reprinting
Daozang Jiyao—The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
Recompiled by Li Xiyue, the Changyi Mountain Man of Hanjia; respectfully written by Zhang Daoyuan, styled Zishen; respectfully published by Zhu Daosheng, styled Wanchengzi, of Langzhong. Collated by his nephew Ying Chuncheng and Zhu Zan Suyuan; [by] his son Huang Panxi.
The Dongxuan Precious Repentance for Delivering Humanity and the Supreme True Scripture of All Heavens
Verse for Opening the Scripture
The single Qi (vital energy) of Great Harmony revolves in the primordial vastness; expounding the teaching in the human world, the cleared sun is red; embracing all phenomena, dense as clustered peaks; compassionate love...
Vernacular Explanation
Opening (verse): The writings in his breast are like brocade, forging the Qi of primordial Heaven and Earth; the primordial Qi circulates secretly like wind passing through a bellows; taking the scripture as Heaven’s mouth, he conveys words to the high vault of Heaven.
At that time, the Supreme Worthy of the Golden Portal, the Jade Emperor (Yuhuang Shangdi), sat upright in the realm where he governs the world, high in Yama Heaven, one of the heavens of the Buddhist desire realm; red clouds supported his throne, and his body manifested thirty-two kinds of precious radiance, illuminating the lower world.
His sagely intent was earnest, and so he sent down a jade voice to issue instructions. The attending ministers to left and right memorialized: “Now that all living beings within the seas have long enjoyed peace, and good people in the villages are many, yet goodness for oneself alone is not enough; one must make goodness available to all under Heaven. Without such universal goodness, it cannot count as true goodness. Your vows are vast; you should further seize the time to expound the teaching, silently support the flourishing dynasty, cause the wind of benevolence to spread far and the rain of transformation to fall long, so that compassion surpasses that of the multitude and immortal rank rises further beyond the sage realm.”
At that time, the Minister-Preceptor of the Jade Void, Zhenwu the Dark Emperor, bowed his head and spoke: “Since the time of the Yellow Emperor, I cultivated the truth at Taihe and was able to accomplish the supreme Way; I have had the honor of attending at the Purple Empyrean, and more than four thousand years have passed until now, when one person has been born—a descendant of the Celestial Master (Tianshi), named Quanyi, who has broadly established merit and practice, possesses great spiritual powers, repels evil and unfolds the orthodox, and spreads the teachings of primal clarity. At the assembly of the Southern Pole he was once enfeoffed as Real Man Jiwu, meaning that he brings luster to the traces of the Taihe Dao. Later I received from the Supreme Worthy of Jade Clarity (Yuqing) the title Broad Compassion and Universal Salvation, from the Supreme Worthy of Highest Clarity (Shangqing) the title Flying Dragon Saving the World, and from the Supreme Worthy of Great Clarity (Taiqing) the title True Lord Wenyuan; the southwestern provinces have repeatedly received great blessings. I believe this person is sufficient for a heavy responsibility, but I fear his office is too low to promote universal teaching. I beg the Supreme Worthy to bestow favor; he will certainly not betray the grace. I now proceed to Haotian to respectfully make this known to your exalted hearing.”
When the Supreme Worthy heard the memorial, his heavenly countenance was joyful and expansive; he ordered that Quanyi be summoned for an audience and not delay. The True Lord then calmly entered for audience, bowed his head before the throne; mysterious radiance covered his crown, and the sacred favor was glad.
The Emperor said: “Outstanding! You, True Lord Quanyi, deeply understand the Great Dao; the Minister-Preceptor has praised you, and I already know your virtue. If you can indeed extend your heart to the vast and distant and freely unfold the mysterious scriptures, I shall soon order the historian officials of the immortal garden to draft a precious proclamation on your behalf and bestow glory upon you. Now I promote you, True Lord Quanyi, to the rank of Dongxuan Emperor Lord, Right Minister of the Jade Void, Celestial Master Participating in the Dharma, Inspector of the Boundless, with authority to act at discretion; above and below and throughout the eight extremities you may roam freely. If you have merit and no fault, I will again extend favor and bestowal.”
The jade voice descended, and the True Lord bowed in acceptance of the command.
Note: In the text, “Quanyi” refers to Zhang Sanfeng; “Real Man Jiwu,” “Dongxuan Emperor Lord,” and the like are Daoist conferral titles; Yuqing, Shangqing, and Taiqing are the honored lords of the realms of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing). The whole text is a ceremonial narrative of the Jade Emperor’s conferral of reward on Zhang Sanfeng and Zhenwu’s recommendation; its wording largely imitates Daoist precious proclamations and court assembly documents.
The Emperor, having received the homage, withdrew to the Golden Palace and dwelled in the Red Jade Palace. The Haotian Preceptor-Minister then ordered the Xuantian attendants to guide the Dongxuan Emperor Lord on a tour of the North Pole. They feasted and conversed for three days; the various perfected beings and the stellar mansions arranged the itinerary and held a farewell banquet, after which the Emperor Lord continued his wanderings.
The Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) earnestly handed down precious instructions.
Yuanshi Tianwang (Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning) said: When heaven and earth had not yet separated, all was vast and obscure; the Five dwells within the Ten, and the mysterious principle is governed in the Yellow Center. The myriad things are conceived like embryos, nurturing the three talents of heaven, earth, and humanity; movement arises within stillness, and primordial chaos first opens.
He also spoke the most exalted Dharma words: the qi of Great Harmony is seeded in Qian, the father; Zhen, the eldest son, is born from Kun, the mother. The sun rises and the moon enters; opening and closing the gate and grasping Yin-Yang—this is the root of the Dao. If a person can encounter this, life may extend for ten thousand ages.
Lingbao Tianwang (Heavenly King of the Numinous Treasure) said: Following the Dao produces human beings; reversing the Dao produces the elixir. In the method of making the elixir, through retreat and yielding, through humility and restraint, establish the center and give rise to the upright; steadfast and soaring, below close the Earthly Gate and above open the Heavenly Gate. If a person sees this, the Dao-qi endures forever. Swiftly, as by statutory command, guard my Dharma body; fire talismans drive away all evils; a single point is infused into the Huangting (Yellow Court).
Daode Tianwang (Heavenly King of the Dao and De) said: The essence of the ultimate Dao is not in profuse words; shut out external conditions and focus the spirit on the Dantian (energy center). As the human mind is gradually forgotten, heavenly breathing becomes continuous, coming and going in the inner courtyard and following that naturalness—sometimes long, sometimes short; sometimes behind, sometimes ahead. The generative qi is vast and abundant, like a turning wheel. When practice becomes pure and familiar, one can become an immortal.
When the instructions of all the heavens were finished, the envoy of Haotian came again and bestowed another chapter of the jade book. He also granted a precious jade gui tablet, a precious seal, a precious sword, a precious register, the Nine Virtues Crescent-Moon Crown, the Seven Stars Ruyi Hairpin, a cape of white silk and patterned rosy clouds, a purple silk splendid robe, a feather-trimmed crimson skirt, the Eight-Treasure light garment, Yuanguang jade shoes, a flying-cloud golden chariot, and a feather canopy with jade wheels. Bearing the nine-light tally and given the Ten Absolutes banners, with a pair of phoenixes stationed in front and eight luan birds following behind, a thousand chariots and ten thousand riders brilliantly illumined the pure void. Gazing toward the palace gate, he thanked the grace and turned back upon himself in boundless gratitude. The Emperor Lord then bowed and took his leave.
The sages of all the heavens received the teaching and put it into practice.
The Dongxuan Emperor Lord descended to the Pavilion of Moving Clouds and opened the ship for ferrying the world to salvation. (The ship for ferrying the world is none other than the great vessel of the Dao that saves the people of the world.) At that time the sky leaked with prolonged rain, and the summer months were frozen with cold.
This scripture expounds the core principles of Daoist cultivation and the importance of accumulating virtue (De) through good deeds. Lord Wenchang (the Daoist deity overseeing scholarly success) reveals that although the supreme Dao is subtle and unfathomable, its truth can be comprehended through scriptures. These sacred texts serve both as guidelines for spiritual practice and manifestations of the Dao—they are neither fixed forms nor abstract concepts, but are embodied in daily conduct and human relationships.
The cosmic law governing heaven and earth is simple: good deeds invite blessings while wickedness attracts misfortune. True self-cultivation requires attaining the state of "ultimate goodness," where the mind remains tranquil and undisturbed by external influences. When one achieves purity of the six senses (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind free from temptation), eliminates the Three Corpses (the three malevolent spirits residing in the human body according to Daoism), and overcomes the Five Thieves (the desires arising from sensory perceptions), misfortunes naturally cannot approach. The method to dispel calamities is inherently present in performing good deeds—it's not that rewards come after virtuous actions, but that one distances themselves from retribution the moment they eradicate evil.
The "Three Saints' Canon" mentioned refers to the scriptures of Daoism's three supreme deities (typically the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, the Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure, and the Celestial Worthy of Dao and its Virtue). These texts contain immeasurable virtuous power and karmic conditions for universal salvation. Lord Wenchang exhorts practitioners to diligently follow these scriptural teachings.
Regarding cultivation methods, the text provides concrete guidance: on auspicious days, one should offer incense and pay respects, or study scriptures in purified spaces. Three great vows should be made: praying for the ruler's benevolence and the people's wellbeing; praying for parents' health and family prosperity; and praying for the liberation of departed souls from suffering. Cultivation should be performed with selfless detachment—when one doesn't deliberately seek blessings, they arrive naturally; when one doesn't consciously avoid misfortune, calamities dissipate of their own accord.
Finally, the scripture emphasizes that reverence is paramount when reciting texts—utmost sincerity can commune with divine beings. True understanding of scriptures doesn't lie in superficial formalities, but in implementing their teachings through action, achieving unity of knowledge and practice.
One must maintain a reverent heart and must not be slighting or careless; offerings of water and land should consist of rare and precious things, and the vessels for the ritual feast should be solemn and proper. The heart should be pure and still, the room quiet, the Qi (vital energy) gathered, with incense smoke curling around. It is as if one sees all the holy venerables—the Three Primes (Sanyuan), the Five Peaks, the cave-heavens and blessed lands, and all the spirits of islands, seas, and mountain continents—descending above one’s head; one takes refuge in each, joins palms, and bows in reverence.
With single-minded devotion, bow in worship (recite one holy name and perform one prostration):
Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) of the Holy Realm of Jade Clarity;
Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure (Lingbao Tianzun) of the Holy Realm of Highest Clarity;
Celestial Worthy of the Way and Its Virtue (Daode Tianzun) of the Holy Realm of Great Clarity;
Great Celestial Worthy Jade Emperor, High God of the Mysterious Vault;
Celestial Worthy of Universal Transformation through the Thunderclap, Responder to Origins of the Nine Heavens;
Daoist Lord of Mysterious Sage, Plain King of the North Pole;
Great Emperor of Red Essence and Long Life of the South Pole;
Great Emperor of Azure Yang, Wood Lord of Eastern Florescence;
Supreme God of Primordial Sovereign, Golden Mother of Western Florescence;
Supreme God of Primordial Sovereign, Yellow Old One of the Center;
Celestial Worthy Father of the Dipper, King of Zhouyu;
Primordial Honored One, Mother of the Dipper, Marici;
Great Emperors, Holy Fathers, and Honored Ones of All Heavens and Realms;
Primordial Sovereigns, Holy Mothers, and Honored Ones of All Heavens and Realms;
Imperial Lord of the Sun Palace, Great Yang;
Sovereign Lord of the Moon Palace, Great Yin;
Great Emperors of the Three Officials of the Three Primes and Three Ranks;
Great Emperors of the Five Directions and Five Peaks;
All Honored Emperors of the Thirty-Six Heavens;
Daoist Lord of Primordial Sovereign Wenchang, Opener of Transformation of the Nine Heavens;
Buddha King Shakyamuni, Opener of Transformation from the West;
King Guanyin of Numinous Response, Manifesting on Mount Putuo;
Ancient Buddha Dipankara, Great Emperor of the Jade Void and Luminous Sovereign;
Great Emperor of True Martial, Mysterious Heaven, Benevolence and Majesty of the North Pole;
Imperial Lord of Destinies, Protecting the Holy;
Imperial Lord of Protecting Virtue, Assisting the Holy;
Imperial Lord Guan, Chief Minister of Jade Clarity;
Imperial Lord Wuhou, High Minister of the Celestial Pivot;
Imperial Lord Qiyang, Iron Ancestor of the Mysterious Primordiality of the Great Beginning;
Imperial Lord Zhengyang, Ancestor Zhong, High Minister of the Golden Palace;
Imperial Lord Fuyou, Ancestor Lü, Inner Minister of Jade Clarity;
Imperial Lord Hengyang, Ancestor Han, Attendant of Jade Clarity;
Imperial Lord Feiyang, Ancestor Zhang, Mysterious Awakening of Universal Transformation;
Imperial Lord Hongyang, Ancestor Cao, High Minister of Great Clarity;
Imperial Lord Yiyang, Ancestor He, Pure Wondrous of Western Florescence;
Imperial Lord Yangsu, Ancestor Lan, True Minister of Highest Clarity;
◎ Perfected Lord of the All-Embracing Vast Dao, Expounded by the Eight Perfected;
Imperial Lord Haichan, Ancestor Liu, Right Minister of Great Clarity.
Relevant Names in the Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng (Plain-Language Explanation)
The following names belong to eminent Daoist immortals, ancestral masters, and deities who protect the state, revered across successive generations. They are arranged by category.
Right Minister of the Upper Purity, Imperial Lord Chongyang
Perfected Lord Qiu of Fuyang
Perfected Lord Zhang of Ziyang
◎ Perfected Lords of the Southern and Northern Schools (revered perfected lords in lineages such as the Southern and Northern branches of Quanzhen)
Upholder of the Orthodox Rites of Longhu, Assister of the Origin and Expounder of the Teachings, First Ancestor of Zhengyi
◎ Immortal Masters Who Transmitted the Longhu Ritual Tradition Through the Generations (immortal masters who transmitted the Longhu Mountain ritual lineage of Zhengyi)
Rescuer and Transformer of Taibai, Master Qinglian, Perfected Lord of Wondrous Wen of the Jade Purity
Duke Su Wenzhong, Master Dongpo, Perfected Lord Who Upholds Wen and Assists the Dao
Duke Su Wending, Master Yingbin, Perfected Lord Who Upholds Wen and Supports the Dao
◎ Perfected Lords Who Attained the Dao Among the Literati and Confucian Scholars of Every Age (literati and Confucian scholars of past generations who attained the Dao and became perfected)
Chief Minister of the Upper Purity, Hidden Immortal Manifesting in the World, Second Ancestor of the Dragon-Like Lineage, Master Wenshi
True Chancellor of the Upper Purity, Hidden Immortal Manifesting in the World, Third Ancestor of the Dragon-Like Lineage, Master Mayi
Quiet Chancellor of the Great Purity, Hidden Immortal Manifesting in the World, Fourth Ancestor of the Dragon-Like Lineage, Master Xiyi
Right Minister of the Upper Purity, Hidden Immortal Manifesting in the World, Fifth Ancestor of the Dragon-Like Lineage, Master Huolong
Right Minister of the Jade Void, Celestial Master Who Participated in the Rites, Sixth Ancestor of the Dragon-Like Lineage, Master Kunyang
Perfected Lord Shen of the Great Vow
Perfected One Wang of the Universal Vow
◎ All Perfected Ones Who Continued the Lineages of the Ancestral Masters (all perfected ones transmitted within the lineages of the various ancestral masters)
All Eminent Perfected Ones of the Three Islands in the Eastern Sea (the immortal mountains of Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou, among others)
All Eminent Perfected Ones of the Ten Continents Within the Seas
All Eminent Perfected Ones of the Ten Great Grotto-Heavens (eminent perfected ones dwelling in the ten great grotto-heavens of Daoism)
All Eminent Perfected Ones of the Four Great Kongtong Mountains
All Eminent Perfected Ones of the Four Great Sacred Mountains
All Eminent Perfected Ones of the Four Great Continents
Eminent Perfected Ones of the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens
Eminent Perfected Ones of the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands (sacred sites within the Daoist system of grotto-heavens and blessed lands)
Eminent Perfected Ones of the Forty Great Mountains
Perfected Lord Zhao of Qingyuan, Wondrously Accomplished in the Dao
◎ Deities Who Exorcised Evil and Protected the State Through the Generations (protective deities and deities who guarded the state through the ages)
Deities of Great Loyalty and Righteousness Through the Generations
Deities of Great Filial Piety and Chastity Through the Generations
Healer and Supreme Transformer Who Aids Life, Perfected Lord Sun, the Medicine King
Healer and Universal Transformer Who Aids Life, Perfected Lord Xu, the Medicine King
◎ All Perfected Lords Who Aided Life Through the Generations (perfected lords who healed the sick, saved lives, and delivered beings)
Immortal Masters of the Earthly Immortals Through the Generations
Immortal Masters of the Sword Immortals Through the Generations
The Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions in the Clouds and Heavens, Star Lords of the Myriad Forms
The Star Lords of the Sixty-Year Cycle and Its Stems and Branches
The Deities of the Twelve Palaces and the Star Lords of Their Celestial Regions
The Star Lord of the Current Year’s Birth Destiny
The Three Hundred and Sixty Responsive and Compassionate Heavenly Worthies
Commander of Fate of the Nine Heavens, Lord of the Eastern Kitchen Who Determines Fortune (lords who govern fate, the kitchen, and related offices)
Merit Officers and Investigating Immortal Officials Who Serve by Day in Heaven and on Earth (immortal officials who record good and bad deeds and conduct assessments)
These names of the revered immortals and arrayed sages chiefly appear in Zhaijiao purification rituals, court liturgies, and collected works. They are used for visualization, invocation, and dedicating merit; the specific liturgy depends on the transmission of the relevant school.
Vernacular Explanation
Related Passage from The Complete Works of Mr. Zhang Sanfeng
The Huoluo Great General, who oversees daily duty and inspection throughout heaven and earth; the Twelve Heavenly Lords, guardian generals of the Thunder Gate; the Five Hundred Lingguan (Daoist protector deities); and all responsive heavenly lords; the honored Chenghuang (city gods) of this prefecture and county; the Lord of the Tongtian Capital Bureau who governs pestilence, together with the various deities who spread pestilence in the lower realm; the local Tudi and Sheling (earth and community deities); the deities who fly talismans, transmit messages, and deliver memorials; and all greatly compassionate deities of the ten directions—auspicious clouds fill the void. I, the disciple, now bow in reverence, wishing to establish the three great vows and pour them universally into every person. May all evils created by this disciple in this life and in former lives be eliminated, and may I forever give rise to a virtuous mind. With wholehearted devotion, I take refuge and pay homage.
The Immortal Master Who Transmits the Scriptures, the Dongxuan Supreme Emperor Lord. After three invocations and three bows.
At that time, the Heavenly Worthies and Supreme Emperors all gathered in Qingwei Heaven and arrived at the Xuming Hall. The Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) took the upper seats, and the assembled saints divided among them. A high perfected being, the Fuyou Emperor Lord—often identified with Lü Dongbin and other scripture-transmitting emperor lords—stepped from the ranks, bowed his head, and said to the Heavenly Worthies: “Disciple observes that good affinities in the lower realm are rising in the southwest; the Dongxuan has greatly opened the scriptures and saves countless people. Receiving the teaching to promote and apply it, illuminating virtue and renewing the people, heavenly grace is inexhaustible. I wish to proclaim praise of the Dongxuan Jing:
Those who practice the Dongxuan Jing will surely give rise to an upright heart;
those who practice the Dongxuan Jing will surely give rise to a kind and compassionate heart;
those who practice the Dongxuan Jing will surely give rise to a pure and quiet heart;
those who practice the Dongxuan Jing will surely give rise to a heart of wisdom;
those who practice the Dongxuan Jing will surely give rise to a heart of transcendent awakening;
those who practice the Dongxuan Jing will surely give rise to the heart of immortals and buddhas.
Now then: the Dongxuan Jing is the precious instruction of the Heavenly Worthies, the source to which the auspicious light of the four continents is tied. Wherever this scripture is, all deities protect it; wherever this scripture is, all immortals assist it. Thereupon he proclaimed the Dongxuan Great Repentance, bowing in gratitude for heavenly grace:
Those who revere the Dongxuan Repentance can be freed from the adversity of illness and suffering;
those who revere the Dongxuan Repentance can be freed from the adversity of disputes and right and wrong;
those who revere the Dongxuan Repentance can be freed from the adversity of weapons and war;
those who revere the Dongxuan Repentance can be freed from the adversity of water and fire;
those who revere the Dongxuan Repentance can be freed from the adversity of evil demons.
Note: The first half of the above is the invocation and vow-making in the repentance ritual, with the names and praises of the deities; the second half is a common “heavenly realm discourse” scene in ritual—the saints assemble, the Emperor Lord praises the scripture, and explains the merit of practicing the scripture and revering the repentance. It belongs to Qingwei Dongxuan repentance ritual literature and is related to the contents compiled in The Complete Works of Zhang Sanfeng.
All who bow in worship to the Dongxuan Repentance (the repentance ritual performed before the Dongxuan Emperor Lord) can be released from the disasters of being ensnared in nets, from disasters brought by pestilence and miasma, from disasters within disasters, and from disasters beyond disasters.
After the Fuyou Emperor Lord finished this praise, he prayed reverently and sincerely. The Dongxuan Emperor Lord opened the jade casket within the Golden Citadel; a sound like thunder issued forth, awakening all people in the world, and all true immortals and sages came to listen.
Thereupon the Dongxuan Emperor Lord unfolded the precious instructions of Haotian Shangdi and proclaimed to the people: "Compassion, benevolence, and purity are the heart of cultivating the Dao; humility, peace, sincerity, and stillness are the conduct of cultivating the Dao; loftiness, clarity, breadth, and depth are the gateway of cultivating the Dao; nurturing and refining the spirit of the Three Marvels is the root of cultivating the Dao. Cultivating the Dao values understanding death; only then can one understand life. It also values understanding both life and death; only then can one reach the true Wuji. Death returns to Taiji; birth arises from Taiji. Jing and Qi are limpid and pure; the breath is wholly integrated; Shen is empty, still, and silent; the Dao-body is complete. If people can comprehend these, they can fly up to Bilu (the azure sky, the immortal realm)."
The Daode Heavenly King said: "The Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism) share one source. This scripture can be transmitted for ten thousand ages, assisting me in promoting the Mysterious Wind and proclaiming the true Dao. All you immortals, why not praise it together?" Then all the saints and realized ones joined their palms and sang in unison, and afterward withdrew.
Next, the Xuantian Great Emperor paid homage at the Yuxu throne, came to the hall of the Golden Citadel, reverently presented the jade casket, and earnestly requested the bestowal of a precious edict (a divine decree and words of praise).
The edict said: "High Minister of Yuxu, High Perfected of the Golden Citadel, your virtuous blessings reach through the human and divine realms; your scriptural teachings open the domains of Jing and Gui. You have amassed three thousand meritorious practices and awakened billions of deluded people. In the past you cultivated to become a Perfected One from Yuanyue; now you inherit the Dao of Xuantian and expound its teachings. You support the orthodox teaching without partiality; you repel heterodox paths and evil arts, and your fame is renowned. You eliminate the fangshi who disturb heaven and earth and restore the ancestral tradition of Dao and De. You guide people to perceive the Dao of Former Heaven, as if gazing at the moon; you draw later cultivators to mount the clouds and ascend as immortals. The wondrous Dao has no fixed form; its mystery and subtlety are difficult to fathom. Supremely numinous, supremely sagely, supremely great, supremely venerable, your being accords with nature, and your Shen is concentrated in prajna (the wisdom that penetrates all dharmas). You are the true sovereign of the Three Teachings, weighing all things with the one Qi; you are identified with titles such as Dharma Celestial Master, Dongxuan Emperor Lord, the Sixth Patriarch 'Like a Dragon,' and Hidden Immortal; you hide your body and transform, universally saving living beings. You are the Heavenly Worthy of Universal Salvation in Subtle Emptiness."
After the Dongxuan Emperor Lord bowed and received the precious edict, the deities of the heavens each returned to their celestial palaces. Auspicious clouds were seen rising slowly, and the bright sun shone brilliantly. The Emperor Lord then returned to his original altar, expounded this scripture, and said to the people of the world: "May this merit be extended and spread throughout all ages."
May all sentient beings together attain the unsurpassed Dao.
With single-minded devotion, I bow in reverence.
The Immeasurable Scripture of the Heavens for Saving Humanity (recite three times, then withdraw).
The Dongxuan Jing is a boat for crossing beyond the dusty world. What is set forth in the scripture is entirely the instructions and dharma words handed down by the heavens. I, Master Sanfeng, expounded it in accordance with the scripture, clearly penetrating its profound mysteries and thoroughly comprehending its subtle depths; therefore I was enfeoffed as the Dongxuan Emperor Lord, and so I proclaimed this True Dongxuan Scripture. Those who have the karmic affinity to encounter this precious scripture should treasure it. (Disciple Xiyue respectfully records this.)
Reprinted Edition of the Daozang Jiyao
The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
Recompiled by Li Xiyue, the Changyi Mountain Man of Hanjia; written by Zhang Daoyuan, styled Zishen.
Respectfully printed by Zhu Daosheng, styled Wanchengzi, of Langzhong.
Nephew Ying Chuncheng; Zhu Zan Suyuan jointly collated the text; son Huang Panxi.
The Bodhi Yuanmiao Jing
A gatha says:
Expounding the scripture, unfolding the wondrous, transcending the dust; three beats of the cloud drum, seated on the Dharma platform. The sun climbs above the peak, then turns west again; its red glow should still arrive, coming from another mountain.
Bodhi said: In former years, in the Taihe Hermitage, I earnestly cultivated the Mysterious Teaching, inwardly embracing Zhenru (Suchness). Whether hidden or manifest, I saved people, appearing in various forms and employing various skillful means, diligently establishing meritorious deeds in order to await the heavenly tally. Dust and grime filled my clothes, yet I always delighted in my stillness. Daily I sat beneath the Bodhi tree together with my disciple Yuanqing and the assembly of bhiksus. Yuanqing, observe this wondrous seed of Bodhi: it has no fragrance, yet it is fragrant, and its fragrance is smelled everywhere; it has no light, yet it is luminous, and its light illumines everywhere. Fragrance and light pervade all, and altogether they belong to no-mind. Thus I reflect that my Buddha’s supreme vehicle is complete in original nature, with compassion universally covering all; naturally still and illumined, it too is not with intentional mind—this is called Bodhi. The excellent name Bodhi truly begins here.
Formerly I journeyed in spirit to the Western Heaven, paid homage to the World-Honored One, inquired into the purport of Śākyamuni, and silently harmonized with the Chan school. The World-Honored One was greatly pleased, commanded that it be praised and proclaimed, and said to the great assembly:
Divine light brightly illumines; the sea of nature is clear and pure. In the dust yet beyond the dust, hidden in the world yet saving the world. Manifesting a healer’s body, he supports the endangered and rescues the distressed; leading the great assembly, he expounds the Dao and transmits the scriptures. In fruition he proves to be a Daluo Golden Immortal; in the Dao he equals the Venerable Bodhidharma. Great in benevolence and great in vows, great in compassion and great in mercy, the Xuanxuan Ancestor, the Heavenly Worthy Who Saves from Distress, Lata Jingguang Buddha, Bodhisattva Mahasattva.
A Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Mr. Zhang Sanfeng
The next day he went to Potalaka (Putuo) in the South Sea to pay homage to the Venerable One. The tide roared mightily; the Buddha-Dharma is boundless. He invoked the Buddha’s intention and thereby attained both the Shi (Release) and Buddha traditions: thereupon he recited the Wondrous Sutra of Bodhi, praised the compassionate Guanyin, the Awakened King, and with sweet dew established a Zhaijiao (purification ritual) and made secret incantations to assist in accomplishing merit. Twice he paid homage toward the southwest; fragrance and light flourished together, the Dharma pervaded the sand-grain worlds, and the essence of nature was perfectly full. The Mahayana of Shi and Buddha both accord with my Dao; now, entrusted to the Brahma drum, he recites Bodhi aloud.
Question: Why is it named “Shi”?
The World-Honored One said: I am fond of “Shi”; therefore I use Shi to open the teaching, taking “Shi” to mean untying all conditions.
Question: Why is it also “Buddha”?
Cihang said: I am fond of Buddha; therefore I embody Buddha to establish the teaching, taking it to mean awakening sentient beings.
Thus have I heard: the Shi Lord transcends the world; thus have I heard: the Buddha Lord awakens the world. Within Shi there is Buddha; not waiting for fragrance and light, it naturally has fragrance and light, like Bodhi. Within Buddha there is Shi; originally there is no such thing as fragrance and light, and this too is like Bodhi. The Shi scriptures and Buddhist sutras are nothing other than transcending dust and defilement and awakening those sunk in delusion. Therefore the World-Honored One is pure, and Cihang also attains purity; the World-Honored One gathers purity into himself, while Cihang makes purity universal.
This purity is not gained through clinging, not lost through destruction, not concealed through stinginess; even “no purity” and “non-purity”—and “non-purity” is also purity—this is great purity, full purity.
If people can chant Bodhi, they will surely attain a pure mind and a Prajna mind. But having attained Prajna, one at once forgets Prajna; if one does not forget Prajna, then it is not Prajna; since it is not Prajna, it is not called Prajna; only “not-not-Prajna” is truly Prajna.
One who attains Prajna is called Shi: one may become Shi, there is Shi, Shi is Shi—not “there is a Shi,” for Shi originally is Shi of itself. Shi is also Buddha: one may become Buddha, there is Buddha, Buddha is Buddha—not “there is a Buddha,” for Buddha originally is Buddha of itself.
The World-Honored One is thus, Cihang is thus, and shramanas and bhikshus are also thus. If it is “not thus,” can one become Shi? No. Can one become Buddha? Also no.
Why? Shi is precisely Shi; what is not Shi is not Shi. Buddha is precisely Buddha; what is not Buddha is not Buddha. Why again? Outside Shi there is no Shi; one only takes Shi as Shi. Outside Buddha there is no Buddha; one only takes Buddha as Buddha.
Vernacular Explanation of Relevant Passages from The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
I. Explaining Meaning and Buddha-Recollection
To explain “meaning” layer by layer until, in the end, there is actually no “meaning” left to explain—only then has one truly penetrated “meaning.” To recite “Buddha” layer by layer until, in the end, there is actually no deliberate “thought of Buddha”—that is true Buddha-recollection.
To make people understand without deliberately interpreting is the superior vehicle; not clinging to the form of Buddha while the essence itself is Buddha is the Great Vehicle. The Buddha and the scriptural canon of Buddhism become the canon precisely by elucidating Buddhist principle; this is called the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye (Zhengfa Yanzang), the essential transmission of Chan.
II. The Bodhisattva’s Teaching and the Transmission of the Bodhi Sutra
After the Bodhisattva finished speaking these words, at that time blue luan birds and white phoenixes sang in harmony, displaying auspicious signs of perfection. All the bhikshus and disciples were delighted, marveled at the wonder, bowed in homage, and departed, reciting the Cihang Mantra (the mantra for guiding beings), saying:
Puti di, puti jiedi, jie puti di, di jie puti, di puti, saduo di, puti samahe…
The Bodhi Sutra was obtained from Venerable Ruzhan of Cijing Temple by West Lake. Ruzhan was a dharma-grandson of Master Yinxu, an eminent monk of Jiangnan. Yinxu was skilled in Chan and devoted to the Great Vehicle; in his later years he presided over Cijing Temple and attached great importance to this sutra. After the master passed into nirvana, Ruzhan treasured it for more than twenty years. In the early years of the Daoguang reign, he traveled to Emei, where he met the compilers of the complete works and got along with them very well. Ruzhan showed them this text and said: “Within the Xuan teaching there is also this Bodhi dharma-gate, but most people do not recognize it.” At that time, Messrs. Liu and Yang and others were compiling the complete works; they obtained this text and respectfully copied and preserved it.
III. As Transmitted by Lata Jingguang Buddha: The Potala Great Compassionate Mind-Illuminating Spirit Mantra
Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva Mahasattva (that is, Guanyin Bodhisattva), contemplating from samadhi, looked down upon the sea of suffering. With Akshobhya (the vajra intent of the Immovable Buddha, symbolizing the power to destroy evil), he swept away all unwholesome paths and made the universal vow that all people in the three-thousand great-thousand world, however many, might turn their minds toward goodness. With the power of Narayana (symbolizing indestructible vajra and great strength), he caused all people in the three-thousand great-thousand world—whatever kind of Pindola (god of merit) or Bharadvaja (name of a good deity)—to attain Paramita (reaching the other shore), and all to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi (supreme perfect enlightenment).
Thereupon he spoke the dharani true words:
Om nian nian nian nian nian nian A-bi-ba-zhi ru-ru-ye mo-he pu-ti pu-ti sa-duo qian-tuo-he-ti pu-ti sa-mo-he.
IV. Bell Gatha (Used in Temples of the Hidden Immortal Lineage)
Homage to Avalokiteshvara,
Who personally bestowed the Great Compassion Mantra.
May this merit
Awaken countless beings.
(Recite first) Namo Great Compassionate Honored One, Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva Mahasattva (three times).
The above follows the order of the original and translates its meaning; the mantras and gatha lines are retained in transliteration for ease of recitation and comparison.
The worlds of the ten directions return to stillness; bells and stone chimes sound, proclaiming the numinous text of universal salvation for all living beings and expounding the wondrous scripture of purity and emptiness. Devoutly we pray that the ruler be benevolent, virtuous, sage, and enlightened, and that all nations be at peace; that parents be healthy and peaceful and a thousand families harmonious; that all who have been loyal, chaste, faithful, and steadfast since ancient times each win renown, and that from now on all who suffer pain and hardship each receive blessings.
May the beings of the Nine Dark Regions, the Six Realms, and the four modes of birth return to the primordial and revert to the source; may the wandering souls in ancient tombs and desolate wilds, in cold coffins and lonely burials, all have their hun and po souls delivered and transcended. May those who died by weapons, water and fire, miasma and pestilence, or premature death receive broad pardon and each escape mournful lamentation; and may widowers, widows, orphans, the childless, travelers, and the displaced all return to favorable circumstances. Harmonize Yin-Yang to complete nature and life, dissolve the stains of sin in the mortal world, and, relying on virtuous conduct, establish Heaven and Earth, so that one may stand before the high heavens and the vast earth.
Whether one follows Confucianism or Buddhism, long life may be hoped for; aspiring to sagehood and true perfection, one does not fall onto heterodox paths. Sweep away sorrow, fear, love and desire, greed and anger; subdue the horse-like intentions and monkey-like mind, the tiger’s passions and dragon’s nature. With blessings and prosperity complete, one becomes a celestial immortal in heaven, is guided to the mountain gate, purifies the human realm, and the Dao (the Way) of Qi (vital energy) endures forever.
The following are the names of the honored deities invoked with sincere devotion.
With sincere mind I bow to the Pre-Heaven One Qi and the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the Daoist Ancestral Heavenly Worths; with sincere mind I bow to the Haotian Golden Citadel, the Most High Jade Emperor Heavenly Worthy; with sincere mind I bow to the Nine Heavens’ Responder to Origins, the Thunder-Sound Universally Transforming Heavenly Worthy; with sincere mind I bow to Taiyi, the Deliverer from Suffering, the Heavenly Worthy Who Hears Cries and Responds; with sincere mind I bow to the supreme sagely ancestral masters who transmitted the Dao through the ages; with sincere mind I bow to the supreme sagely immortal teachers who have presided over the Dao through successive kalpas; with sincere mind I bow to the deities of all heavens and earths, mountains and rivers; with sincere mind I bow to the Star Lords of the Northern Dipper, the Southern Dipper, and all constellations; with sincere mind I bow to all responsive and numinous deities throughout the realm of emptiness; with sincere mind I bow to the Jing (Scripture) of Limitless Deliverance from Adversity; with sincere mind I bow to the Jing (Scripture) of Limitless Salvation of Humanity.
Vernacular Interpretation
Master Zhang said: People often say, “ten years of reading and ten years of nurturing Qi (vital energy),” splitting reading and nurturing Qi into two separate stages. This is not the learning of sages and worthies. Reading is for investigating moral principles, while nurturing Qi is for refining temperament. The cultivation of nature and principle is completed precisely when reading and nurturing Qi proceed together without hindering each other. Confucius said, “To learn and constantly practice it”—this refers to this kind of unceasing effort of sustained inquiry and of refining and nurturing nature and principle with single-minded devotion.
Master Zhang said: Tao Yuanming lay at ease beneath the north window and called himself “a man from the age of Emperor Xi (Fuxi) and before.” That was the bearing of his pure and lofty integrity and his resolve to keep faith with the former dynasty; it was only that his words were too lofty and subtle, and ordinary people did not perceive it.
Master Zhang said: This Daoist hopes that scholars will bring their dreams of fame and office to an early conclusion; when human affairs have been fulfilled, they should let go in good time. To withdraw bravely after success is what is called “knowing the time.” What is to be feared is drowning in the field of fame and rank, clinging reluctantly—that is the fool.
Master Zhang said: Within self-cultivation there is great learning; only in peace and composure is there true temperament. If all of you can tolerate what others cannot tolerate and endure what others cannot endure, your minds will become ever calmer and your natures ever purer.
Master Zhang said: Whether fame and rank be great or small, one must always know how to advance and withdraw in good time. How does one know “the time”? Amid the pursuit of fame and rank, calmly ask yourself one question: my fame and rank have probably reached their limit here—stopping right at this point is what it means to know the time. There may still be something unfinished, but it is better to fall short than to go too far. Han Xin was not the equal of Zhang Liang, and Yuan Zhen was not the equal of Bai Juyi; in both cases the thought “I still want to take one step further” blinded their eyes. If Zhang Liang and Bai Juyi had also single-mindedly sought advancement, it would not have been difficult for Zhang Liang to be ranked again among the highest ministers, and Bai Juyi might also have risen to chancellor; but who could guarantee that in the end they would not have met the same bad ends as Han Xin and Yuan Zhen? Therefore only those who can advance and withdraw deserve to be called wise.
Master Zhang sighed with deep feeling: Through the vast years, people drift along with the passing scene. I have seen those in the world who seek fame and gain: those who in the twinkling of an eye hold the blue and purple ribbons of office in hand, or who for a few years sit upon abundant wealth—among hundreds and thousands there are scarcely a few. Even if there are such people, high position and great power cannot overawe Yama; gold and white jade cannot buy exemption from the arrival of impermanence. Or again, some may be rich and long-lived, noble and secure, but in the end they must still go down beneath the white poplars of the grave, where the autumn wind sighs and its chill is desolate.
Vernacular Interpretation
If one’s descendants are good-for-nothing and the family estate falls into desolation in the blink of an eye, what use is it? Moreover, people of great wealth and high rank, who become suddenly rich or noble, mostly fear others’ reckless conduct: arbitrary bullying, verbal abuse, and fault-finding. If they themselves do no good and are cursed by others, some wither away under the curse, some fall into poverty under it—while onlookers feel gratified for a moment and each is satisfied. In truth, the retribution of heavenly principle is clear; it is not shifted by a few words. If one can see through things and let them go, one naturally does not envy others’ wealth or rank, but only seeks the principle of accepting one’s fate and keeps to my Dao of cultivating truth. Others contend and clamor; I alone remain silent. Others are troubled; I alone am cool and clear. Why need one inquire whether others are successful or poor, only to feel aggrieved as an onlooker?
Master Zhang Sanfeng said: In the matter of human lifespan, the superior and inferior have fixed numbers, while the middling have none. Middling people have few good deeds and few evils; if Heaven wishes to lengthen their years, none can hinder it, and if Heaven wishes to shorten them, none can hinder it. Therefore they are left to live and die on their own: within this, those who can preserve themselves live, and those who cannot die. Thus cultivating the body is still important; to cultivate the body and also accumulate merit and practice conduct, seeking long life and enduring vision, is even more important. If lower people have many faults and much evil, even if they cultivate the body they will rarely attain long life; the Jing and Qi in their bodies are pared away, and this is merely the punishment of death. Superior people are not like this: cultivating long life on a superior foundation, long life can be realized; even if they do not wish to cultivate long life, their righteous Qi supports Heaven, and they may also join the ranks of the divine way; otherwise, when reborn in the human world, they will surely be born into a benevolent and good family. Such is heavenly principle—what is hard to understand?
Master Zhang Sanfeng said: Since ancient times, in times of loyalty, chastity, integrity, and sacrificing life to complete benevolence, there has been the image of the “Seven-Return Elixir.” When the mind is unmoved and the resolve undivided, noble Qi stands within and gives rise to rectitude; let blades, saws, cauldrons, and boiling pots be regarded as demons testing me, and one does not waver in the least. One simply gathers righteous Qi, collecting it without scattering, condensing it to utmost firmness—when the fire timing (huohou) reaches this, heroic Qi endures for ten thousand years without extinction. When the immortal adept enters the chamber and approaches the furnace, he must have this kind of method.
Master Zhang Sanfeng said: When one’s parents are alive, one should fulfill filial piety in good time; otherwise, once the parents’ countenances are gone, one can only recall them in memory.
Some feelings of grief cannot be put into words. Today it is autumn, and in the mountains and forests a person observing mourning is listening to me expound the Dao. He also recited a poem: “Again it is autumn’s Shang note, and dew fills the forest; beyond the blue-clouded sky, a heart gazes toward parents; yellow reeds and white grass grow old in the frost; tears fall upon the grave, several feet deep.” If one recites this poem, how can one not be grief-stricken?
Master Zhang said: In the way of filial piety, everyone should do his own part and hold fast to heavenly conscience; practices need not be the same, but all must come to rest on the single word “filial piety.” If you wish to spare your family the anxiety of waiting in hope, you should return home to support your parents; if you wish to seek fame and make your name illustrious, you should set your resolve on an official career; if you wish to make preserving yourself an expression of filial piety, you should purify your heart and reduce your desires. Empty talk is of no benefit.
All of you disciples: if you cannot yet achieve fame and honor, and opportunities to return home and support your parents are few, then it is better to purify your hearts, reduce your desires, and follow the teachings of Zengzi and Mencius by doing good. If you do not purify your hearts and reduce your desires, but merely vainly dream of fame while fame does not come, vainly dream of profit while profit is not attained, vainly dream of everything while everything remains unobtainable, then body and spirit grow haggard; your parents’ faces are not yet old, yet as a son you already show signs of age—then even if you speak of filial piety, that filial piety cannot last long. Instead, you make your parents worry only about your illnesses and suffer much anxiety over your distant travels; if unfortunately the son dies first, he instead adds to his parents’ grief and makes them handle his funeral. Reflecting on this, where is filial piety? Would you not become a lifelong sinner? Our Dao takes purifying the heart and reducing desires as its foundation; this is truly a method of preserving oneself. Add to it a gentle countenance and respectful sincerity, and you will attain something in filial piety.
Master Zhang said: After Confucian scholars pass the xiucai examination, many go to serve as resident tutors and teach. You should know that taking a teaching post and receiving a salary in order to support one’s parents is also an expedient within Confucianism. But when Confucius and Mencius left the classics to later generations, their original intent was not to teach people to seek profit; only in later ages did the matter of xiujin (salary) arise. Using this to support one’s parents is precisely what is called “small use, small effect.” But one must not be greedy and insatiable, seeking ease and leisure for one’s descendants and making the classics a den of profit; then one is unworthy to be called a disciple of the sages.
Master Zhang said: If a person wishes to fulfill loyalty and filial piety and to establish great moral integrity, he must first purify his heart and nourish Qi (vital energy). Without a true heart and true Qi, he certainly cannot fulfill loyalty and filial piety or establish great moral integrity. For loyalty and filial piety are rooted in the true heart, and great moral integrity arises from true Qi.
Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
Qi and the True Mind and True Qi
For Qi (vital energy) to attain “the true,” both the mind and Qi must be centered on stillness; only then can one preserve the true mind and nourish true Qi.
Inner Joy and Outer Joy
Master Zhang (Zhang Sanfeng) said: People should seek the joy within the heart and not merely chase joy outside. What Confucius called “joy within it” is inner joy. If one single-mindedly envies fame, profit, music, and sensual beauty outside the body, that is chasing outer joy and instead adds vexation.
Confucian Scholars’ Frequent Loss of Jing and Preserving the Body
Master Zhang said: Many among scholars suffer from the ailment of loss of Jing (essence). To be sure, this is related to impure heart-fire, but it often also comes from talking and laughing all night and reading late into the night, exhausting the Qi of the Dantian (energy center) in speech, so that the Jing loses its companion and this illness arises. Those skilled in preserving the body should talk and laugh less and read in moderation (do not excessively consume Shen (spirit) and Qi).
Moving Stones and Cutting Grass to Treat Languor
A young man contracted the illness of languor (fatigue and listlessness). Master Zhang said: Take advantage of clear winter days to move small stones and build a small enclosure, use a mountain hoe to cut withered grass, and stop before becoming hungry or tired. Do this every day, exercising leisurely like a gardener; then Qi and blood throughout the body will become lively and not stagnant.
Heroes Doing Good and Blessings and Retribution
Master Zhang said: Heroes being good people and doing good deeds seek only peace of mind and do not harbor the thought of “doing good to invite blessings.” Shangdi (God on High) uses blessings for goodness and calamity for licentiousness toward ordinary people, but toward heroes He is not only like this. Heroes are magnificent and vigorous; their good deeds and good actions remain between heaven and earth, undecayed for a thousand years, and in the obscure and silent realms they also enjoy fragrant offerings—how is this not Heaven’s reward to heroes? But from ancient times, loyal ministers, filial sons, righteous knights, and humane people—amid early death and hardship—make people sigh with emotion and suddenly understand: blessings and retribution do not necessarily appear in the physical body in this present world.
Reading to Establish Character, Preserving the Body, and Cultivating the True
Master Zhang said: Reading books and establishing character are urgent tasks for Confucians, and the way of preserving the body can include establishing character within it—preserving the body necessarily requires removing arrogance, extravagance, lust, and idleness and sweeping away evil conduct, so preserving the body can encompass establishing character. The preservation of the body was transmitted from Zengzi to Mencius, who greatly expanded it: nourishing the mind and having few desires, holding fast to the will and guarding Qi—these are the standard (guideline) for preserving the body; the way of cultivating the true also takes this as the orthodox method. But people’s minds are obscured: when they hear of preserving the body, they consider it commonplace; when they hear of cultivating the true, they consider it strange. Those who wish to seek and know the cultivation of the true and realization of the Dao are already rare.
Summary of the Passage
The whole passage opens with quietly nurturing the true mind and true Qi, and discusses how inner joy surpasses outer joy; it criticizes scholars whose excessive talk, laughter, and reading lead to loss of Jing; it uses the clear winter days of moving stones and cutting grass to treat languor; it discusses how heroes do good without seeking blessings, yet Heaven has its own reward, and it also contains a lament that loyal and righteous people die young; finally, it unites Zengzi’s and Mencius’s preservation of the body with cultivating the true, and laments that worldly people take body preservation lightly and regard cultivating the true as strange, so those who realize the Dao are few.
Vernacular Interpretation
Zhang Sanfeng said: If for even one day the world were without the learning of Confucius and Mencius, then for that day there would be no good people; if for even one day it were without the learning of Zhuangzi and Laozi, heroes would have nowhere to retreat.
Layman Wang said that eating vegetarian food should be regarded as “removing hun” (the pungent). Zhang Sanfeng said: Hun and su are not the same matter. What Daoists prohibit is the “five hun.” Medical formularies mention scallion, leek, xie (small garlic), garlic, and yuntai (xie is small garlic; yuntai is a kind of rapeseed). These five, being pungent and foul, scatter Qi (vital energy); hence the character hun has the grass radical above and jun (“army”) below, like soldiers among plants and trees, all governing restraint and draining away. Those who nourish Qi should avoid them. Buddhism values vegetarianism because it prohibits killing and promotes releasing life; it does not eat the flesh of any livestock. People in the world eat vegetarian only on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, while ordinarily still craving fatty and sweet foods—that cannot yet count as true vegetarianism. For the sake of those who “eat vegetarian to remove hun,” I would say: a good mouth is not as good as a good heart; just appreciate the gentleman’s meaning in “keeping far from the kitchen.” Nourishing Qi can nourish the belly; just observe the perfected person’s precept of “bland flavors.”
Zhang Sanfeng spoke of “enduring insult” and “receiving insult.” Two Daoist priests asked about this. He said: When people manage things outwardly, they must also manage things inwardly; if inner cultivation becomes mellow and substantial, outer blessings will follow. If amid busyness one steals a bit of leisure, one gains a bit of recuperation; if in quiet one reads for a day, one gains a day’s benefit. If one only rushes outward, the original source is increasingly eroded, and one appears more and more thin.
Zhang Sanfeng said to Zhuo’an: In protecting the body, the main thing is calming the heart and nourishing the kidneys. If the heart can be calmed, then Li fire will not flare outward; if the kidneys can be nourished, then Kan water will not leak outward. If fire does not flare outward, there will certainly be no illness of Shen (spirit) agitation, and the heart will become calmer; if water does not leak outward, there will certainly be no affliction of Jing (essence) leakage, and the kidneys will become clearer. When the kidneys are clear, the fire of life will not rush upward; when the heart is calm, the fire of Shen can shine downward. Jing and Shen intertwine and congeal, forming embryonic breathing (taixi); this can ward off illness and prolong life.
On the third day of the third month, the disciples in the mountains bathed by the Jin River, cooled off beneath the green forest, and listened to the zigui (cuckoo) calling. Suddenly a tree leaf fell to the ground, folded like a letter case. When opened, it looked as though fish-roe orchid was wrapped inside. They asked the local people, who said it was a “Duyu pearl”; asked what use it had, they said they did not know. Just then Zhang Sanfeng came wandering in freely, wearing a bamboo hat, and said to the disciples: Do you want to know the reason for the Duyu pearl? After the King of Shu entered the mountains, the people of Shu missed him; the king ordered the zigui to bestow pearls upon the people of Shu. The “zigui”—“return, my child”—is the bird envoy of the King of Shu; its original name was Xie.
A Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
The Leopard King said: “Return to our country and comfort my people.” Therefore the leopard is also called Xiebao. Du Yu ordered it to give thanks.
It is said that there is a precious pearl, sometimes red, sometimes yellow, sometimes green, sometimes purple—its five colors are not fixed—and it can ward off evil. When one encounters ghosts or malign influences, one secretly raises this pearl and throws it toward them, and they immediately scatter and vanish. But one must not let others notice; one silently recites: “King of Shu, King of Shu; Pearl Light, Pearl Light; cast at ghosts, ghosts depart; kill ghosts, ghosts perish; I hold the numinous pearl; it gleams and emits radiance; no yin is not exhausted; when yin is exhausted, return to yang; I receive the command of the Prime Master of the Nine Heavens; swiftly, swiftly, as by statute and edict.” It is also said that by the number of precious pearls one can divine whether the year’s harvest will be good or bad, and this is very efficacious.
Master Zhang said: People should calm the mind and cultivate the body, keep to their proper station, and be at ease wherever they find themselves. Only then can the mind-nature be peaceful and Shen and Qi be serene and bland.
When Master Zhang discussed suffering humiliation, he said: When you teach a child, you must strictly restrain him; otherwise, once his temperament is spoiled, when he grows up you will resent him. This is to love oneself while abandoning the child.
Master Zhang was traveling with Yunshi, Zhuo’an, and others. In the depths of winter they passed through wild mountains and encountered the chirping voices of ghosts. When they asked the local earth god, they learned that these were all the ancestral spirits of people. The paternal spirits were gloomy and austere; the graves were desolate, the coffins ruined, and the burial garments and bones all exposed to the cold. How could a person of compassionate thought not shudder to the bone and feel heartache? This is why the ancients had the customs of visiting graves and sending winter clothing.
Master Zhang said to the mountain people: In summer one should rise early and apply effort in practice. After sunrise, find a slightly cool place, gather the mind, and sit quietly. Never go to sleep when the sun is blazing. If one sleeps without sinking into torpor, that is still acceptable; but if one sleeps and becomes torpid, then Jing and Qi turn into sweat and drain away—truly a pity, truly a pity.
Master Zhang sighed and said: People rush about morning and night, always saying, “I have no choice.” But really, what is unavoidable? It is only because there is “no choice” in their hearts that their mouths constantly say “no choice.” Moreover, if today it is “no choice,” in the future they will surely already be old.
Yesterday Master Zhang was wandering at Liangjie Mountain when he saw an old woman sitting on a cliff. She laughed and then wept, and he was startled, thinking she was a demon. Soon she fell from the cliff and died. Master Zhang went forward to look and saw that she had been struck by lightning. She had originally been a thousand-year-old wildcat demon. Not knowing why, he asked Huoche Lingguan (a Daoist protector deity) and learned that she had once eaten people, and so had been struck by lightning. Even Liangjie Mountain is a place of blue sky and bright sun, and yet such a creature was there—how much more so in deep, remote, desolate cliffs?
Master Zhang sighed and said: People rush about morning and night, always saying, “I have no choice.” But really, what is unavoidable? It is only because there is “no choice” in their hearts that their mouths constantly say “no choice.” Moreover, if today it is “no choice,” in the future they will surely already be old.
Vernacular Interpretation
(Fragment from the preceding text)
... When one dies, one dies; this is what is meant by “that is all.” What is there that is “unavoidable”? If among you there are those who understand things and can perceive the subtle incipient signs, let them begin here.
Zhang Sanfeng said to those treating consumptive exhaustion (chronic deficiency disease):
In treating illness, one must keep the mind quiet, calm, and unhurried, and must not crave quick results. If after taking medicine the condition does not worsen, that is already a quick result. Then if on the first day there is slight improvement, on the second day slight improvement, and on the third day gradual improvement—although this seems slow, compared with daily worsening and dying in the blink of an eye, it is no less than the difference between heaven and an abyss.
When Zhang Sanfeng roamed above the mountain clouds and stopped at the Pavilion of Chanting Wind, he said to his students:
Today the mountains are clear and people are quiet; the heart is far away and the place is remote—truly a rare scene. Let each of you compose a new poem, and then have Hanxuzi play the qin once and again to enhance your poetic inspiration. Would that not be delightful? Even if a person cannot play the qin, they must learn well how to listen to it, so as to dissolve all filthy, turbid selfish desires and all muddled, confused delusions. Listening quietly to the qin, one seems to roam in remote antiquity; all sounds and natural pipes are hushed; expansive distant thoughts arise, transcendent and cut off from the vulgar, cool and excellent, deep and unhurried—I too, amid the playing of the qin, forget dusty affairs, meet Yu and Zhou, see Confucius and Mencius, while Bo Ya and Ziqi come after them. This is the way of recluses of the highest order; otherwise, vulgar and shallow people—how are they worth living with?
I deeply love the air of this golden autumn: utterly clear and utterly solemn. How could I get to carry a pot of wine, a qin, and a flute, climb to the summit of a high peak, and laughingly enjoy the mountains and rivers of the great earth—mist hazy, clouds pale, gazing at the dimly lit villages under the sun and the vast, rippling expanse of the long river. At that time the flute sound rises from the forest tips, the qin sound issues from the stones, the aroma of wine flows through the red springs and green peaks; mountain birds sing of themselves, and the empty greenness spills down—truly joyful! I wonder whether you all have such a mood as well.
Zhang Sanfeng said to the elderly Daoist priests:
You have reached your present age; you must settle your minds and devote yourselves wholeheartedly to practice. In worldly matters, take the three words “do not mind it” as the main principle, and then ten thousand thoughts will melt away like ice. In every human body there are apertures, and within the apertures there is generative Qi (vital energy); if there were no generative Qi, how could the physical form be protected? It is simply that Qi arises, but people do not know it.
Master Zhang (Zhang Sanfeng) now shares eight simple truths with you, to serve as morning and evening reminders like temple bells. One must understand grasping the essence, recognizing opportune moments, maintaining vigilance, and cultivating composure. Thus can one think profoundly, see clearly, accomplish tasks successfully, and establish oneself in life. These are spontaneous words of truth, precisely the principles you should study wholeheartedly. The key lies in calming the heart and stabilizing the Shen (spirit). If the heart cannot find stillness, even knowing where the essence lies, how can one seize the moment?
Master Zhang told his mountain-dwelling disciples: Master Hui (referring to Lü Dongbin) guides people in Dao cultivation with boundless compassion. People often worry about difficulties in attainment—this has been the common ailment of truth-seekers since ancient times. But with soaring aspiration, the Great Dao bars no true hero. What one should fear is weakness and lack of resolve; with awakened spirit, the Patriarchs will surely offer unseen assistance.
To mountain hermits, Master Zhang said: Those dwelling in mountains are called recluses, but one must understand mountain pleasures. The joy of mountains lies not in the landscape itself, but in those who can appreciate its beauty. Only such people find mountains enhancing their happiness. Live in harmony with the peaks—dwelling serenely in that realm of ethereal stillness, refined elegance and tranquil simplicity—then may one truly understand mountain delights.
Master Zhang said: Those who can instantly set aside worldly affairs and embrace leisure are genuine masters. Those who say "Wait, let me finish these matters first, then slowly study the Dao"—this is the speech of mediocrity, the thinking of fools.
To Disciple Yuanyang, Master Zhang said: Having severed worldly attachments and transcended the red dust, today your lifelong destination is confirmed. Henceforth, your mind will remain peaceful and expansive, forever free from peril. What joy to reach this state in life! Fine weather, exquisite landscapes, elegant pavilions, worthy friends, and beautiful scenery—from this day forth you may fully savor and comprehend them all.
Master Zhang said: When immortals choose dwelling places, they comprehend through alchemical principles. Consider Yuanyang's Cloud-Harmony Mountain Villa—nestled between two peaks, neither protruding nor sunken, half-open and half-enclosed, employing the fengshui method of "leaning adhesion" to create an abode of peace. Truly this represents the ideal position below the Huangting (Dantian) and above the Guanyuan acupoint. How many can perceive such celestial mechanics?
Master Zhang said: Mountain stillness perfectly suits discussion of supreme Dao; when the mind becomes crystal-clear, precious incense burns most fragrant. This is the wondrous realm before us. These lines came to me spontaneously—let Yuanyang develop them further.
Vernacular Interpretation
Master Zhang Sanfeng said to the Daoist priests: Only when a person can be at home as though having left home, live in the dusty world as though transcending it, act without clinging to action, and come into contact with external things without coveting them, is he a seed of the Daoist path. One need not rigidly adhere to “having no affairs,” nor cling to “empty imaginings.”
Master Zhang Sanfeng, wearing a cool-leaf cloak, wandered freely beyond the clouds. One day he heard a song sung to the rhythm of tramping feet come from amid the mist and haze. Hearing it, his disciples knew it was lamenting that the great Dao is difficult to transmit and that Daoist priests muddle through their days while the sun and moon turn emptily. The song went:
Time rushes by, yet learning the Dao comes late; by flowing water and empty mountains, I walk alone in thought. I only fear that the scene before my eyes may, in an instant, have the breath cut off in my throat, leaving me utterly unknowing, as in a dream. In life one is utterly unknowing, as in a dream; after waking there is still that walking corpse. What I fear is only that when impermanence arrives, cold bones will be a pitiful sight. Then, through kalpa after kalpa of samsara, I will know nothing at all. Rain beats the flowering branches.
Master Zhang Sanfeng used Immortal Han’s fishing drum to convey feeling in rhythm and sang a song of the desolation of the mortal world:
The Flying Dragon Child roams in heaven; when he opens his mouth, it is never apart from loyalty and filial piety; all who come and go are from Yingzhou. He wishes to transmit the Dao and seeks people, but sighs that causes and conditions never match anywhere. He sighs that few in human life turn back; a candle before the wind, a boat on the water: easily extinguished, drifting downstream. Whose house of power and profit lasts long? Children and grandchildren once close all become enemies; in a blink they fall into the hand of impermanence, and wild smoke and creeping grass bury their skulls. Woodcutters come and go felling trees; herd boys wear away the stone steles. Ask a rustic: whose family grave is this? He answers a few words: “I do not know, I do not know.” Ghost tears wail and chirp. Ah, the crane-riding immortal has gone home to rest.
Master Zhang Sanfeng left the Qingwei (Pure Subtlety) Heaven realm and entered Danyuan Mountain, where several disciples boiled spring water to entertain him. The Master said: “Today I shall playfully present the Hunyuan (Primordial Chaos) Immortal Song to the beings of Yuanyang; sing it for me, to add a fine tale of the woods and springs.”
Thereupon Li the Woodcutter tapped the turtle-calling bamboo, Layman Yang struck the phoenix-summoning qin, and Liu the Rustic kept time on the cloud-walking clappers; then they sang for the Master:
The Daoist of Yuanyang truly makes a game of it; seeking the Dao, he cast off office like a worn-out sandal. For eight years bereft of a spouse, he dreams of dwelling alone; on cool nights, an iron pillow and a cold mandarin-duck quilt. Looking at his face, beard and whiskers have turned white; judging by his years, there is still vitality left in him. I urge you to seek the Yellow Matron (Huangpo) early and marry a lovely wife: with the man below and the woman above, invert Kan and Li; let the male take the female role and harmonize.
Note: In the text, “Huangpo” refers to the “Yellow Matron” in Neidan cultivation (the one who mediates Yin-Yang); “Kan and Li” and “inversion” are Neidan terms, symbolizing the harmonization of Yin-Yang and the mutual completion of water and fire. The Daoist of Yuanyang, Li the Woodcutter, Layman Yang, Liu the Rustic, and others may be disciples or fellow practitioners and friends; the Hunyuan Immortal Song, the Qingwei Heaven realm, Danyuan Mountain, and so on are images of Daoist cultivation and immortal realms.
Part One (Daoqing Lyrics)
Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy) conjoin, like the Tiantai fairy and her gentle son-in-law; Jing (essence) and Shen unite, like the charm of Zhang Guolao’s handsome wife. In the “bridal chamber” (here a metaphor for the place within the body where Yin-Yang meet, not a worldly boudoir), one is utterly self-forgetful, unaware of heaven and earth; nature and feeling resonate, the roots of life are aligned, and all is one undifferentiated chaos. Only then do you see your true “heart”—indistinct and elusive; only then do you see your true “intent.” This “Daoqing” is the first step and stairway by which you set foot on the immortal path. Laughing heartily, I transmit it to you—written in flowing brush by Sanfeng Daoren. When the song ends, the moonlight before the pavilion is bright and pure, the sky beyond the tower clear and blue; sitting in a circle around the stone altar, we look at one another and smile.
Discourse on Poetry
Master Zhang Sanfeng said: The books write that “poetry expresses intent,” and the commentary says, “What is in the heart is intent; issued in speech, it is poetry.” From this we know that “intent” is that point of spirituality in the human heart, and “poetry” is the speech in which this spirituality naturally flows forth. In immortal cultivation, the seven returns and nine reversions cultivate precisely this empty, numinous, wondrous nature, so as to accomplish the eternally deathless “Valley Spirit” (the Daoist term for the empty, numinous, deathless spirit, as in Laozi’s “the Valley Spirit does not die”). Beyond the essence and Qi of the sun and moon, it has a form that can be sensed; hidden within the essence and Qi of the sun and moon, it is without form or image. Where Shen reaches, it issues as poetry; because each person’s spiritual nature is different, the poems are also different. I often associate with immortals in the wilds and appear and disappear amid mist and rosy clouds; whenever I see the wondrous lines of the assembled immortals, I record them in my heart and write them down with my hand, gathering them into books such as Water and Stone Idle Talks.
The poems of Master Lü Chunyang (Lü Dongbin): when he lifts his brush, the style is lofty; when he chants, the sound is the clearest; his works of travel are too beautiful to exhaust. I record several here to show that the master’s spiritual nature is truly different from that of ordinary people.
Visiting the Yuyun Immortal Monastery on the Double Seventh:
The banquet at Mount Gou had just dispersed,
and again I came to roam this ancient monastery.
A light breeze passed through the wutong courtyard;
fine rain soaked the bean flowers with autumn.
Clouds on the distant mountains had just withdrawn;
mist across the vast sky suddenly scattered.
The new cool is so pleasant—
leaning on the high tower, I play the jade flute.
Passing the Tower of Wuchang City:
The walls of Wuchang remain as before;
the households of Chu land lie near the water.
Beyond the railing the great river rushes and washes day and night;
in the pavilion a long sword leans toward the clouded sky.
The poet at the South Tower howls long to the moon;
the fisherman at Xisai sings in the mist.
The old man playing the flute feels still more leisurely;
loudly chanting a tune, he resounds through a thousand years.
Roaming Mount Lu with Han Qingfu, six quatrains:
Beyond the clouds, Mount Lu’s nine folds of green—
opening the window to face the peaks, I read the Huangting (Yellow Court Classic), a Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) scripture.
Who recognizes the scene within it?
Throwing down the scroll, I turn my body and go straight into the emerald screen.
After rain, new bamboo’s green soaks into a person;
the path hastens into the depths to avoid the red dust.
Han’s sheng and Lü’s flute pass together;
one immortal music, two incarnations.
Blissfully, where is there no freedom?
(The final line continues the preceding, meaning that one may be free and at ease everywhere.)
The following is a vernacular interpretation of this passage of scripture, explaining its general meaning and background in the order of the original text.
Poetic Realm and Wandering Traces
On the ground he was joyfully content, yet the feeling of free wandering was as if he were in the celestial realm; the waterfall seemed to flow backward for three hundred zhang, and for a time clear Qi filled the cliffs. Singing whatever came to his mouth and inscribing poems as his hand moved, he carved and wrote on the uneven patches of lingering moss and green. Suddenly he heard the sound of Brahma drums coming from beyond the mist; the trees were lush, and he had already passed Tiger Creek. Once a poem was made, character upon character seemed to fly; at the sky's edge a yellow crane carried me home. Before the altar, guests found it hard to keep me back; my heart, like an idle cloud, drifted into the green mountain colors. I called the sleeping dragon awake to leave the sea gate, and in an instant rain at the sky's edge poured down like an overturned basin; a sword in the vast sky flew off again—just look at the dim yellow tree shadows in the southeast. These lines are all clear, bright, and delightful.
Those Close in Temperament to Huihweng: Han Qingfu
In temperament and spiritual resonance, none came closer to Huihweng (Elder Hui, referring to Lü Dongbin and other immortals honored as Hui Daoren) than Mr. Han Qingfu. He has a poem, “Idle Chant”:
Quietly embracing a qin without strings, softly blowing a flute without holes; one pluck and heaven and earth are clear, one blow and heaven and earth are vast; one blow and then another pluck—all are songs of the immortals.
Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) has a poem that says: Tigers before the gate, cranes in the hut; the jade sheng turns melodiously, and the flute harmonizes; I do not come as a guest of cloud and mountain; the flowing Xiang River writes in twists and turns. The language is all grand and expansive.
Lan Caihe
Lan Caihe called himself Mr. Long Howl. He has a quatrain answering someone's question about the dwelling of immortals: When the Tata song fades, I straightway ascend; on Mount Yue the ancient master gives a long howl; if you ask where I have dwelt lately—the immortals in heaven live in the Jade Capital.
Linked Lines in a Stamping Song
I once saw Han, Lan, Cao, and He (several immortals of the Guanzhong region) join lines in a stamping song: Heaven and earth are so vast, like a jade flask; clapping the clappers, I idly chant—a single man; wind and rain in Chang'an, spring is already late; fallen flowers fill the ground, and I walk at ease. It truly gives one the joy of taking sleeves in free wandering and singing a line with repeated sighs.
Kunlun Magu
Kunlun Magu called herself the Bicheng Fairy; her poems win by their rich charm. Someone inscribed three quatrains at Yueyun Altar:
Straddling a phoenix and yoking luan-birds, I descend from Bicheng; smiling, I watch the clear moonlight beyond the clouds; the sky wind of Kunlun, ten thousand li, escorts me; swaying are the sounds of jade rings and jade pendants.
Treading blue clouds with my feet, I cross seas and mountains; with a jade sheng in hand, my mood is leisurely; amid the clouds appears a shawl of golden rosy glow; all along the way I chant clearly to this place.
At Yueyun Altar I visit Huihweng, with two or three generations of disciples; the wind sound of the Daoist tube ripples and drifts, the cloud sound is fine; in the towers and pavilions, bright lamps shine red through the night.
There are also three Buxu poems: I was originally a female wandering immortal of Kunlun; I once watched the seawater turn into mulberry fields; my spiritual powers play idly through the eight extremes; the sound of my rings and pendants shakes the blue-sky heavens.
(The latter two Buxu poems may have missing lines in transmitted editions; their general meaning is still the female immortal's visiting Mount Yue, calling at the altar, and chanting.)
Notes (to aid reading the original text): Buxu refers to rhymed verses chanted to specific melodies in Daoist ritual, often used for audience with the perfected and for attending the altar. Yueyun Altar likely refers to a cloud-altar ritual site on the Southern Marchmount or associated with Mount Yue; in the text it is linked with visiting Huihweng, disciples, the Daoist tube, and the night scene of towers and lamps. “Pulling sleeves” means tugging at the sleeve, describing intimate companionship in travel. “Yuyu” describes walking with ease and contentment.
Vernacular interpretation:
“By my temples golden blossoms are pinned high; I take leave of the Western Pool, the Queen Mother’s home. Soft heavenly winds blow my sleeves and ribbons; walking through the void, I rely entirely on the purple-cloud carriage. Brewing the wine of longevity is not difficult—only rely on the elixir in my hand. I am originally a heavenly immortal maiden; drunkenly I lodge with Chang’e in Guanghan.”
A transcendent being had golden ornaments set high at the temples and took leave of the Western Pool, the Queen Mother’s home. Soft heavenly winds stirred sleeves and ribbons; walking through the void depended entirely on the purple-cloud carriage. Brewing the wine of longevity was not hard—one needed only the elixir in hand. I was originally a heavenly immortal maiden; after drinking, I lodged with Chang’e in Guanghan Palace, the moon palace.
The Bicheng Immortal Maiden regularly took the Miaogu Divine Being as her teacher. One day the teacher descended by void-walking at the Jinjiang Pavilion. The divine being inscribed a verse, saying:
“Watching the river tide’s force, vast and dim, it shakes the mountain clouds into pale drifting. Across the river lantern shadows waver between presence and absence; a new lyric comes onto the brush. My thoughts linger; opening the window and gazing out, this pavilion is most refreshing.”
Watching the river tide’s momentum, vast and boundless, it shook the mountain mist and clouds into gentle drifting. Across the river lantern shadows appeared and vanished; a new lyric was completed with the brush. The mind lingered; pushing open the window and gazing afar, this pavilion was very refreshing.
The immortal maiden harmonized, saying:
“Water vast, mountains wild; before the mountain-water pavilion all is boundless. After rain, frog drums clamor grandly; along the way tide sounds, the moon first rises. Coming from within the moon, gazing from the cloud’s edge, the evening wind is cool and refreshing.”
Water was vast, mountains wild; before the Mountain-Water Pavilion all was expansive. After the rain frogs drummed loudly; along the way tide sounds rose, and the moon had just risen. Coming from the moon, gazing from the clouds’ edge, the evening wind brought coolness, fresh and pleasant.
The Qingyi Immortal, known in the Tang as a master among poets, of free and transcendent spirit, once descended into the world. On the Xiuxi Festival he descended at the Shuangqing Pavilion and said:
“In reading I surpass a thousand ages; with sword in hand I sought out the feudal lords. Petty matters did not suit my mind; greatly drunk, I hid in a mound of lees.”
In reading he surpassed a thousand ages; carrying a sword, he sought audience with the feudal lords. Trivial matters did not suit his mind; after getting very drunk, he retired to a heap of wine lees.
“The age of Huangdi and Tang Yao is not really far; Qin and Han are like a rushing torrent. Things before my eyes flit past; I am utterly without sorrow. Chanting as I walk in the green hills, I grow old; I am quite fond of Xie Tiao’s tower. I inscribe a hundred thousand poems and leave them to heaven and earth.”
The times of the Yellow Emperor and Tang Yao were originally not far off; Qin and Han were like a swift current. The affairs before his eyes hurried past, and he was wholly free of care. Growing old chanting amid the green mountains, he was rather fond of Xie Tiao’s Xie Gong Tower at Xuancheng. He inscribed a hundred thousand poems and entrusted them to heaven and earth to preserve.
“I have my own true sovereign; vast and boundless, I return to Yingzhou. Today as we speak of the Xiuxi rites, the boundless past is consigned to a single cup.”
I myself possess the true sovereign; with vast resolve I return to Yingzhou, the immortal isle. Today, discussing the Xiuxi rites, the vast and hazy past is given over to one cup of wine.
“A sea immortal holding a tablet summons; riding the wind, I pass the ten lands. Traveling east, three immortals; all the perfected roam together. One drink of five thousand gallons; filling my belly, words flow.”
A sea immortal held a tablet and summoned him; riding the wind, he flew past the ten lands. Traveling east were three immortals; the assembled perfected roamed together. In one draught, five thousand gallons of wine; his belly full, his writing flowed like a stream.
“To the land of Nothing-Whatsoever, with a long whistle I go. Singing in the grotto-heaven at the sea’s edge, I seek the spirit-elixir in the cloud-sea mountains. The spirit-elixir is not sought from sea or mountain: heaven and earth turn like a bellows, but the bellows is not the leather sleeve of heaven and earth.”
He went with a long whistle to the land of “Nothing-Whatsoever,” the realm of emptiness. Singing in the grotto-heaven by the sea, he sought the spirit-elixir in the cloud-sea mountains. The spirit-elixir is not to be sought from the sea or mountains; heaven and earth operate like a bellows, but the bellows is not the leather bellows-sleeve of heaven and earth.
“The Golden Elixir is originally a thing of my own house; immortals all must be made by heroes.”
The Golden Elixir, the cultivation of Neidan, was originally a possession of my own family; immortals and transcendent beings must all be made by heroes.
“Last night I drank before the Queen Mother and said: the peaches of immortality are now ripe. Taibai gives a long whistle; Anqi sings. For a time none of the assembled immortals can do anything to me; I shall straddle a hornless dragon and roam the six directions.”
At night he drank before the Queen Mother and said, “The peaches of immortality are now ripe.” Taibai, the planet Venus, gave a long whistle; Anqi, the ancient immortal Anqi Sheng, sang. For a time none of the assembled immortals could do anything to him; he would straddle a hornless dragon and roam the six directions—heaven, earth, and the four quarters.
“The void is empty and still, without a trace of snow; a great wind comes from the north, blowing up cold clouds in layer upon layer and opening them.”
The void was empty and silent without a trace of snow; a great wind came from the north, blowing up layer upon layer of cold clouds and scattering them apart.
“How can I get wine like rain, to drink from the void and never exhaust it? How can I get wine like a spring, to sit on the ground and drink with my eyes toward heaven?”
How could he get wine like rain, to drink from the sky and take from it without end? How could he get wine like a spring, to sit on the ground and drink while gazing at the blue heaven?
“Wildly chanting, clapping my hands, shrugging my square shoulders—ask who I am: Li Qinglian.”
Wildly chanting and clapping his hands, shrugging his square shoulders, he asked, “Who am I? Li Qinglian”—Li Bai.
Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng: A Plain-Language Reading
Mr. Dongpo and His Poems
Mr. Su Dongpo possessed an immortal’s gifts, standing alongside Li Bai. He rode the wind and sang to the moon, his spiritual nature enduring through time.
His poem “Sending Autumn off in Jiangnan” reads:
Autumn clouds drift away, one after another;
Autumn waters stretch vast and far.
Beyond green hills and red trees,
Wild geese cross the passes and rivers.
In the north, the cold grows ever sharper;
In Jiangnan, the air has already turned mild.
Early spring has just arrived,
As autumn departs and spring comes to greet it.
On a portrait of Han Qingfu, he wrote:
An incense-bearing attendant at the imperial court,
Born into a family of officials of the Ministry of Personnel;
At ease, he forgot wealth and rank,
And from his boyhood delighted in mist and rosy clouds.
In his alms bowl, he planted the fruit of long life;
In his garden, he raised flowers that never age.
May he share a long life with the Eight Immortals,
And hold cinnabar in his arms through ten thousand ages.
His first bow was to the horse at Blue Pass;
Within his breast he kept the red fire crow.
For a thousand autumns, uncle and nephew are worthy men;
The Confucian and Daoist paths both stretch without end.
On his own “Portrait in Hat and Clogs,” he wrote:
The mountain recluse’s old manner was always that of a wild youth;
Drunk, I sketched a hat-and-clogs scene in the fields.
A fine line may sometimes be worthy of a painting;
At leisure, there is no day I do not lift the wine pot.
On the tower, I admire the moon and invite a Chan guest;
At the valley entrance, I brave the mist to visit a fisherman.
Coming and going as I please, content in my freedom,
I give a long cry and enter the forest’s heart.
“Passing Dong Peak” reads:
I have not been to Dong Peak for a long time;
The rivers and mountains still look as before.
Fallen banana leaves cover the ground;
The wintry mood is well suited to Chan contemplation.
“Verses Improvised While Boating on the Lake” reads:
Thin veils of mist, ripples whispering;
Beyond the pavilion at the water’s heart, painted boats abound.
Whose boat is that, with jade flutes sounding for ten miles?
I hear Hong’er singing a rowing song.
Slanting wind, fine rain, a light hemp jacket;
Two or three silver fish flash as they rise from the water.
I love the unceasing fragrance of lotus and water caltrop;
In the depths of Zhuxi, someone walks.
“On the Knife-Sharpening Rain” reads:
Rain spreads across Jingzhou, rich as ointment,
As though it were sharpening a hero’s precious blade.
Most of all, the waters beneath Wuchang’s walls
Have sobbed through a thousand autumns, rolling like thunderous waves.
“On Chinese Cabbage” reads:
Clearer than melted snow, whiter than frost,
This winter garden vegetable keeps its fragrance.
I laugh at the mountain monks who live on greens:
Cooked with fat, it is still something they cannot taste.
“To Myself” reads:
All my life, I have done nothing to furrow my brow;
Today, in Dongpo, I become a wandering immortal.
I know how to leave beautiful traces in rivers and mountains,
And let my name hang among clouds and mists for all time.
His six-character poem “Visiting the Qingdao Heart Mountain Retreat” reads:
Qi is bright, Shen clear; the Dao abides in the mountain.
In emptiness, a person sits quietly; the zither is secluded.
Tea smoke curls above a single couch;
A trace of wine carries on, unhurried.
His “A Few Words” reads:
Clear shade winds around falling blossoms;
Outside the window, birds call softly.
The birds call softly;
A slender bamboo branch leans beautifully to one side,
While green-feathered birds chirp and sing until dawn.
After a brief sleep, the brush remains as clear and graceful as ever. Such spiritual gifts are beyond anyone but a true immortal.
Brief Notes on Proper Names and Terms
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Mr. Dongpo | Su Shi (1037–1101), also known as the Lay Buddhist of Dongpo, a great Song dynasty writer. In Daoist traditions and tales of immortals, he is often regarded as someone with an affinity for immortality. |
| Taibai | Li Bai, a Tang dynasty poet, often regarded in Daoist legend as an immortal banished to the human world. |
| Boyhood topknot | A hairstyle worn by children in ancient times; here it refers to youthful interests or those held before a life of reclusion. |
| Cinnabar | The mineral used in alchemy, symbolizing Daoist cultivation and longevity. |
| The horse at Blue Pass | An allusion to Han Yu’s exile and passage through Blue Pass, or to the tribulations of a Confucian scholar. Here it relates to the portrait of Han Qingfu. |
| Red fire crow | An image associated with Daoist fire crows, Neidan, or Fulu; it suggests something mysterious kept within the breast. |
| Hat and clogs | A bamboo hat and wooden clogs, the attire of a country dweller or mountain recluse. Su Shi has a tradition of inscriptions and poems on “Portraits in Hat and Clogs.” |
| Early spring | The tenth lunar month, when the weather in Jiangnan sometimes turns briefly warm; this spell is called “early spring.” |
| Qingdao Heart Mountain Retreat | The name of a Daoist temple or mountain dwelling, whose precise location depends on the original book. Heart Mountain and Dao Mountain refer to places of cultivation. |
| Six-character verse | A poem in which each line has six characters. |
| True immortal | One who has attained the Dao and become an immortal. The final line praises Dongpo—or the person being described—for a clear and graceful poetic spirit said to be possible only for a true immortal. |
Note: The pieces above are a sequence of inscriptions, improvised verses, and short poems within the same volume. They often draw on Su Dongpo—or someone writing under his name—and use landscapes, Chan practice, fishing, a vegetable diet, and the self-image of a wandering immortal to develop their themes. The poem on the portrait of Han Qingfu combines the Confucian world of officials and Blue Pass with Daoist arts, including the fruit of long life, cinnabar, and the Eight Immortals. Readers may consult the original book’s table of contents to distinguish Zhang Sanfeng’s own writings from poems by earlier writers included in the collection.
A Plain-Language Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
This text records several Daoist or immortality-cultivation figures and collects their poems and anecdotes.
Shao Yaofu (the Northern Song philosopher Shao Yong, courtesy name Yaofu, called a “Confucian Immortal” in the text) was once seen by scholars in a manifestation. He wrote “On Observing the Changes”: “Fuxi, the great sage, drew the trigrams and handed them down through ten thousand ages; the pivot of Yin-Yang transformation—Qian and Kun are the ancestors of the Changes. I hide in the Anle Nest; Heaven and Earth are my companions. Having pierced through the minds of sages and worthies, I am tranquil and at ease in my place. Vast and boundless, placed within the Jirang collection, it remains no different.”
Bai Yuchan was a talented man of the immortal gate, and many inscriptions and poems by him are found on famous mountains. Whenever he met eminent persons or recluses, he would present them with poems. Inscribing “Juyi Hall,” he wrote: “Under the grove the wind rustles; before the window bamboo grows thick. How rare to find a pure-hearted person to converse with on a new autumn evening. Cup in hand, drunk in the thatched hall; burning incense, reading the Zhouyi. Qiongshan has come here; host and guest have boundless delight.” He also presented a poem to the mountain recluse Yuanyang: “Returning to the mountain and hiding my traces, I speak of long life; day by day I follow the idle clouds, walking at ease. Everywhere I turn the light back to illuminate within; morning after morning, facing circumstances, I must forget feelings. Sweep away the dusty dreams that weary people; awaken the name of a carefree guest of Heaven and Earth. Do not say that secluded dwelling and refining are bitter; when the mind roams in the dark and boundless, it is naturally empty and clear.”
Zhang Ziqiong was from Raozhou and attained the Dao in the early Yuan. His poems are mostly elegant and vigorous. In a six-character-line self-gift he wrote: “Heart like the sound of a bell on a snowy night; appearance like the character of plum blossoms under a frosty sky. Walking idly deep in white clouds—how could one recognize the transcendence of the immortal household?” On embryonic breathing (taixi) he wrote: “Neither assisting nor forgetting—the wondrous inhaling and exhaling; in cultivation one must understand this skill. Harmonize the two Qi to produce embryonic breathing; then establish the cauldron and furnace (dinglu) in the center.” (Embryonic breathing and establishing the cauldron and furnace are both terms from Neidan (internal alchemy), referring to regulating the breath and forming the elixir.)
Qiu Changchun (that is, Qiu Chuji of Quanzhen (Complete Perfection), known as Changchun Zhenren) wrote “Passing Yueyun Tower in Clear Autumn”: “The vast heavenly wind blows through the tower; cloud vapor from the peaks surges over forested hills. Where the rain sounds, eaves bells mingle; the abbot’s quarters stand quiet—a courtyard full of autumn.” It has an abundance of refined, unrestrained charm.
Zhang Ziyang (Zhang Boduan of the Southern School of Neidan, known as Ziyang Zhenren) wrote in a self-longevity poem: “With sea-tallies I reckon the fair seasons through all antiquity; since attaining the Dao, eight hundred springs have passed. I send off a child riding a crane; when empty space is shattered, the whole body appears.” Only a supreme Perfected could do this.
Xiyi Laozu (Chen Tuan, styled Xiyizi) had a primordial Qi that was whole and undifferentiated. He had a five-character quatrain answering someone who asked his surname: “One Qi fashions past and present; Yin-Yang’s creation is wondrous. Ask my name and surname: the sleeping man, old Xiyi.”
My teacher Mr. Huolong did not much enjoy writing poetry, because he was indifferent to fame. I now record a quatrain he once casually intoned: “My Daoist name happens to be the same as Zheng Huolong’s; my name and surname are hidden within the Great Void. Ever since I ferried Sanfeng to attainment, I have returned to Penglai, east of the Weak Water.”
Note: In the text, “Jirang Pian” refers to Shao Yong’s Jirang Ji; “Qiongshan” may refer to Bai Yuchan’s sobriquet Haiqiongzi; “Sanfeng” is Zhang Sanfeng himself. The master-disciple relationship between Mr. Huolong and Zhang Sanfeng is recorded by the compiler of the complete works.
Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
Feixia Xianzi
Feixia Xianzi was originally the daughter of Yu Shishe. After taking a divine elixir she could fly through the air. She once descended at the Zixiao Abbey in Yunnan, left a quatrain inscribed there, signed it “Feixia,” and departed. The poem says:
Long I dwelt in the Jasper Tower by the Jade Pond;
Suddenly I rode a colored crane down to the Numinous Mound.
If people in the world wish to ask Feixia’s surname,
I once embraced the Golden Elixir and attended upon Mu Hou.
Lu Qianxu
Lu Qianxu was a native of Huaihai. During the Jiajing era he encountered Patriarch Lü and attained the Dao. He wrote many works in his lifetime, including two fascicles of A Fundamental Survey of Laozi, one fascicle of A Critical Commentary on the Yinfu Jing, one fascicle of A Critical Commentary on the Cantong qi, one fascicle of On Seeking the Correct Golden Elixir, one fascicle of A Critical Commentary on Ziyang’s Four Hundred Characters, eight fascicles of Outer History of Fanghu, and eight fascicles of Supplementary Ink on Nanhua, among others.
Recently among the fellow students there was a certain Baibaizi who annotated the Daodejing under the title Donglai Zhengyi. Qianxu inscribed a poem:
A single annotation can open the Dao’s profound mystery;
Again I see the purple qi coming from the east.
Playing the qin and blowing the flute, a true scholar of repute;
Expounding the Dharma and discussing scripture, a man of great eloquence.
I sit in Fanghu and contemplate the vast sea;
You climb Yuanqiao and press down upon Penglai.
Today we sit together in the pavilion by the river,
Reciting Nanhua aloud and laughing at our own foolishness.
This was because Baibaizi also wrote such works as Outer History of Yuanqiao, Discourse on the Cavity of the Dao, and Miscellaneous Explanations of Wuzhen and Cantong.
On Spirit-Writing
Someone asked: The art of spirit-writing is originally a minor technique. Why are there so many enthusiasts, and why do those who discuss it make such a great display? Where did this method actually come from? Is everything it says credible?
Master Zhang replied: In former years Huiweng wished to clarify this subtlety together with the various masters of Hansan, but in the end he could not finish explaining it. Now I will explain it clearly.
The character ji, meaning spirit-writing, takes its meaning from another ji, meaning to examine and verify. The Shuowen says: “Divination is to ask about doubts.” Therefore its side radical is zhan, “to divine,” and its main component is yin, meaning “hidden”; this is the ancient form of the character for “hidden.” The Erya, in the Shiyan chapter, says: “Yin means zhan.” The commentary says: “Yin means to estimate.” The subcommentary says: “To divine is to inspect the omens in order to verify good and bad fortune; one must first estimate inwardly.”
In my view, once the divinatory words have been produced, if one still must estimate inwardly, then it is no different from not divining at all. Why divine? Yet there is a principle in it.
Heavenly immortals and spirit immortals do not like to speak directly with people about misfortune and fortune; they only urge people to cultivate themselves and await their fate. Therefore, when they speak of admonitions they conceal nothing, and when they speak of the Dao of the elixir they conceal nothing; if they save people by prescribing remedies, they also conceal nothing. Apart from these, whenever asked about good or bad fortune, success or failure, they always conceal something. What is called “concealing” is still a kind of evasion; they simply do not wish to speak directly.
Vernacular Explanation
In this way, people are plainly pointing out that blessings and disasters are about to come true: those who ought to obtain blessings treat this as cause for delight and become arrogant, and as a result turn blessing into disaster; those who ought to encounter disaster treat it as terrifying and torment themselves, and instead, fearing disaster, go to “invite blessings.” In reality, how could blessings be forcibly invited? Only by doing good can one attract auspiciousness. The hidden language spoken here means that, without explicit explanation, one understands as soon as one hears it. Yet the meaning behind the hidden language does not stop there.
After immortals attain the Dao, they can tread on the sun and moon without casting a shadow, pass through metal and stone without making a sound, and are invisible to ordinary people. Therefore they write cursive script like dragons and snakes on the planchette sand, with infinite transformations, to show that the Dharma body is imperishable. However, spirit-writing (ji) is originally a technical art; since ancient times, Perfected have often condemned it as the work of method masters (fangshi). Why are they willing to take up the brush today? Only because it has recently become a trend, and nobles, ministers, scholars, and commoners mostly believe in this art. Immortals take saving people and awakening the world as urgent, so they borrow the form of spirit-writing to silently assist the world—causing people thereby to awaken to the true through the provisional. But those who practice planchette sand fall into two grades, one successful and one failed: the superior grade succeeds through virtue, succeeds through sincere resonance, and succeeds through karmic conditions. Even if they are not skilled in spirit-writing, immortals still wish to save and transform them—how much more so if they understand spirit-writing? They then use the planchette to lead and guide them; without using talismans and sealed petitions, high Perfected naturally descend into their chambers. The inferior grade fails through viciousness, fails through deception, and fails through greed and desire. Even if such people are skilled at spirit-writing, immortals do not draw near them—how much less if they are blasphemous? They are simply played with through their own planchette; recklessly using talismans and incantations, they instead invite ghosts into their rooms.
Since we leaped out of the Five Phases, Heaven and Earth cannot constrain us, and Yin-Yang cannot mold us. If one wishes to invite our descent, it must be done with ritual propriety—what use are talismans and incantations? Ha ha—this is precisely why method masters deceive the foolish and why immortals detest method masters. Today I use the planchette to speak about the planchette, and take this as instruction concerning the planchette.
Someone else asks: The way of inviting the planchette should indeed rely on virtue, sincere resonance, and karmic conditions, not on talismans and incantations. Yet the immortal way of the Southern Palace (Nangong) also has those who use talismans and incantations to command spiritual beings—why is this? The answer: Although the Southern Palace lineage uses talismans and incantations, these were transmitted by high Perfected to save the world from misfortune and remove harm. Such secret records are not found in the pear-and-jujube woodblock editions of the human world (ordinary printed editions). Even if one obtains them, one must still extend one’s heart to benefit beings; only then are one’s merits and practices profound. If one harbors a selfish heart…
Reckless Use of Heavenly Emperor Talismans and Incantations and Nangong Talismans and Incantations
Reckless use of Heavenly Emperor talismans and incantations will also invite thunderbolts, causing loss of life and the stripping away of one’s techniques. Therefore, even with Nangong (Southern Palace) talismans and incantations, a reverent and sincere heart is required for them to be efficacious; using talismans and incantations in the manner of a jitong (spirit-medium) cannot be mentioned in the same breath, let alone using them without reverence and sincerity. You should be able to understand this for yourselves.
Fortune and Misfortune Depend on People; There Is No Need to Seek Outside
Mr. Zhang Sanfeng said: Heaven originally has no intention to “bless the good and bring calamity to the wicked”; auspiciousness and misfortune are brought about by people themselves. If one says that Heaven truly has a mind to send down blessings and disasters according to good and evil, then the causes of auspiciousness and disaster are also known to people themselves. To consistently do good and thereby obtain blessings is a matter of inevitable principle; even if there is misfortune for a time, it is only temporary. To consistently do evil and thereby meet with misfortune is a matter of inevitable consequence; even if there is blessing for a time, it is only temporary. Why abandon oneself and seek outward? Yet I see ignorant common people: when they pray to gods, they draw lots and consult hexagrams; when they pray to immortals, they practice spirit-writing and invoke the planchette, as if immortals and gods must know fortune and misfortune. If afterward it proves accurate, they believe; if it does not, they doubt. Between doubt and belief, they remain in their old foolish state. Immortals and gods certainly know fortune and misfortune, but why should they repeat matters that the human heart already understands? There is also a reason why seeking from immortals and gods sometimes proves accurate: when good people ask about blessings, blessings arrive; when wicked people fear disaster, disaster comes. It seems as though something accords with them, but it is not that the lots, hexagrams, planchette, or oracle themselves are efficacious. There is also a reason why seeking sometimes does not prove accurate: when good people ask about disaster, there is no disaster to add to them; when wicked people ask about blessings, there is no blessing to bestow on them. It seems as though something runs contrary to them, but it is not that the lots, hexagrams, planchette, or oracle are ineffective. All tortoise-shell and yarrow divination and numerological calculation in the world are like this. Why can people not know themselves? In my life I have never liked people drawing lots, consulting hexagrams, practicing spirit-writing, or invoking the planchette; I only wish that everyone would cultivate virtue and constantly reflect within.
Several Purposes for Which Immortals and Gods Borrow the Planchette Brush
Zhang Sanfeng also said: Immortals and gods have the vow to save people, and some borrow the planchette brush to expound the Dao and discuss the mysterious. Some have a heart of love for people and borrow the planchette brush to encourage good and punish evil. Some have a heart to save people and borrow the planchette brush to prescribe remedies and treat illnesses. If one says they specialize in judging fortune and misfortune, then good and evil are right before people themselves; there is no need to rely on the planchette brush to determine auspiciousness and inauspiciousness.
The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng: A Vernacular Explanation
Main Text, Continued
The main point of this chapter has already been made clear and will not be repeated. One further point needs separate explanation: throughout the world one often hears of people setting up a spirit-writing planchette (fuji, inviting deities to write), asking about fengshui and geography, or asking the planchette deity to discuss things like the “Heavenly Mind.” These are all old habits of the fangshi (ancient masters of methods and divination). The orthodox deities of the higher realms can see through their fraud; no one can escape heavenly punishment.
Inscriptions and Gifts Past and Present
Ming, Yongle Reign, Emperor Chengzu Wen
Letter to Zhang Sanfeng
The Emperor respectfully writes to the True Immortal Master Zhang Sanfeng:
We have long admired the True Immortal and thirst to receive your bearing and model in person. We have sent envoys with incense and letters, searching all famous mountains, earnestly inviting the True Immortal. Your Dao and De are lofty, surpassing all beings; your body harmonizes with Nature, divinely wondrous and unfathomable. Our endowments are coarse and ordinary, Our practice of the Dao is shallow, yet Our sincere wish to see you is forgotten neither morning nor night. Now We again send envoys, respectfully presenting incense and a letter, earnestly asking you to favor us with your presence; we respectfully await your thunder chariot and phoenix carriage, hoping you will graciously come to match Our earnest admiring feelings. Respectfully written.
In addition, among Our poems there are lines sent to him: “True Immortal Zhang, possessor of the Dao, tell him I stand waiting in long longing” (see Record of Manifest Marvels; the complete poem is not recorded).
Prince Xian of Shu, Chun
Prince Xian of Shu, Chun, was the eleventh son of Emperor Gao. He was enfeoffed in the eleventh year of Hongwu, proceeded to his fief in Chengdu in the twenty-third year, and died late in the Yongle era. He left the Xianyuan Collection.
To Master Zhang Sanfeng
I remember the spring of Penglai and Langyuan;
Before joy’s echoes faded, the seas rose into dust.
Grand enterprises have few to sustain them;
Of scattered kin and friends, how many remain?
The frontier old man who lost his horse knew it was a blessing;
The ox-herding immortal admires Quanzhen.
My master has deeply mastered the arts of the Marquis of Liu,
And skillfully nourishes the Dantian to guard the Valley Spirit.
Seeing Off Zhang Sanfeng on His Wandering
Once I viewed the Taiji diagram:
Yin-Yang has its reversals;
Primordial Qi rests in Kun,
And the Heavenly Mind returns again.
Our emperor shook his war robes;
Hosts of immortals came forth to aid the mandate.
Zhou Dian the Immortal with his painted bucket,
Leng, Assistant Master of Music, blowing the sheng.
The Zhang clan is especially rich in talent;
Each bears a heroic, numinous frame.
At Linshan there is Iron Crown;
Pingyang produces gold foil.
With these three, the Master
Has an even loftier character.
All others have their ambitions;
The old man is utterly without desire.
Tang and Yu are here and now;
Chao and You alone are happy.
How I wish for your method of governing the mind,
And to obtain your life-extending medicine.
Wandering ten thousand li over sea and sky,
May cause and conditions allow a later meeting.
Prince Xian of Xiang, Bai
Prince Xian of Xiang, Bai, was the twelfth son of Emperor Gao. He was enfeoffed in the eleventh year of Hongwu and proceeded to his fief in Jingzhou. The prince was adept in the Dao and fond of the way of immortals.
(The inscription-and-gift section at the end concludes here; if the original book still contains the full poem by Prince Xian of Xiang, it may be translated into vernacular in the same manner.)
Vernacular Explanation
It is recorded in the Jiayan (Family Sayings) that he (Zhang Sanfeng) once called himself Zixuzi (Master of Purple Emptiness), and that he died in the early years of the Jianwen reign.
“Seeking Zhang Sanfeng’s Former Residence on Taihe Mountain” (by Zhu Quan, Prince Xian of Ning)
Zhu Quan, Prince Xian of Ning: the sixteenth son of Ming Taizu. In the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu he was enfeoffed as Prince of Ning; in the second year of Yongle his title was changed to Prince Xian, and he moved to Nanchang. He was learned and devoted to antiquity, versed in both Buddhism and Daoism, and aspired to ascend and become an immortal. He called himself Quxian (the Lean Immortal), and may roughly be counted among figures like the Eight Gentlemen of Huainan.
Zhang Sanfeng, the recluse of Taihe Mountain, did not come when the emperor summoned him—truly like a hidden dragon. In his later years he attained the Dao and was a grand master in the lineage of the Mysterious Gate; long-lived and enduring, he was like Qiao and Song. From ancient times I have rarely followed the immortals; only you could carry on the soaring traces of the immortal path. Yet the lofty one does not show himself beyond the world, leaving his heart-nature as if sealed off by dust and custom. The mountain clouds of Kuanglu are misty; mist and rosy clouds cleanse my heart and breast all day long. If you, sir, would come and teach me, I would follow your iron staff into the jade peaks. Alas, I think of him but do not see him; across the weak waters, the road to Penglai lies ten thousandfold.
Zhu Yougai, Prince Ding of Shu, composed “Song of the Recluse of Taihe: Cherishing Immortal Feng.”
Zhu Yougai, Prince Ding of Shu: grandson of Zhu Chun, Prince Xian of Shu, and son of Heir Apparent Daozhuang. He was fond of learning and observant of ritual, skilled in poetry and rhapsody, and excellent at cursive script. He was the author of the ten-juan Dingyuan Collection.
“Inscribing Xuantian Abbey: Remembering Immortal Feng” (by Zhu Shenjian, Prince Hui of Shu)
Zhu Shenjian, Prince Hui of Shu: great-grandson of Zhu Chun, Prince Xian of Shu. He was the author of the Huiyuan Collection.
I am glad to return to this blessed land; how delightful it is to climb and gaze. Penglai and Fanghu join the island seas; the cloud cavern is separated from the dust. The feathered adept has gone riding a luan; the immortal returns driving a phoenix. Discussing the Mysterious, we sit at leisure for long; about to leave, I still linger.
“Inscription and Eulogy on the Immortal Portrait of Sanfeng” (by Zhu Shenjian, Prince Hui of Shu)
As if there were a man, oh, extraordinary and transcending the world; formerly he moved from the central lands to the northern region. His extraordinary bones stand forth; his fine beard bristles like halberds. Not far from Chongyang, he treads in the lingering fragrance of Xujing (one of the patriarchs revered in Daoism). Drifting and floating with the qi of an immortal, bright and pure with a heart of ice and snow. Then he sought masters and inquired after the Dao; for a whole month he was hurried and restless. Having received the secret formula from a wandering saint, he further continued the lineage of the Southern School.
This passage records anecdotes of several Ming dynasty figures' interactions with Zhang Sanfeng, including three inscribed poems and biographical sketches.
Hu Ying (courtesy name Yuanjie), Minister of Rites during the Ming dynasty, wrote the line "Alone paying homage to white clouds in the mountains" after failing to meet Zhang Sanfeng at Xiangfu Temple. The poem depicts the tranquil mountain scenery while expressing yearning for the hermit's life. Daoist imagery like "dragons bringing rain" and "deer carrying flowers" subtly suggests Zhang Sanfeng's elusive, immortal-like presence.
Shen Yuanxiu (also known as Shen Wansan), the fabulously wealthy merchant of early Ming Jiangnan, left two alchemical poems recording esoteric techniques transmitted by Zhang Sanfeng. Lines like "Casting the cauldron and refining elixirs with crimson flames" and "Eight hundred fire oxen plowing the night moon" vividly portray Daoist alchemical practices. Terms like "yellow sprout" (huangya) and "white snow" (baixue) are Neidan (internal alchemy) terminology representing lead and mercury ingredients, while "ninefold mysterious process" refers to the cyclical refinement process. The second poem mentions "earthly origin secret methods," indicating Zhang Sanfeng taught Waidan (external alchemy) techniques of the earthly realm.
The final poem "Inscription on Chaoyang Temple Wall" recounts the legend of an old fisherman who, after receiving Daoist teachings from Zhang Sanfeng, "rode a luan bird into the sea and sky." The luan—a mythical Daoist phoenix—symbolizes his ascension to immortality. Parenthetical notes provide historical context about the Shen family's financial support of Emperor Hongwu and subsequent exile.
These poetic exchanges present vivid snapshots of Ming scholar-officials interacting with Daoist masters, blending authentic historical accounts with the mystical dimensions of Daoist cultivation culture.
Zha Shenxing
On Fuquan Mountain (Guizhou), Zhang Sanfeng’s Libu Pavilion—the pavilion for sacrifices to the Lord of the Northern Dipper—still stands today.
The clear pool reflects shadows; the tree shadows are sparse and bright (in front of the pavilion are the Yushi Pool and the Longevity Osmanthus). In broad daylight the corridor is quiet, making one long to hear the Buxu (Daoist chanting). Having seen all the world, after people come and the chess game disperses; the clouds are pale as one leaves the mountain, at the first clearing after rain. The dusty world rolls on, yet the lonely pavilion remains; through vast calamity, after a hundred battles. The immortal crane returning to the huabiao (stone pillar inscribed with records of merit) should have tears; the old city walls are half mounds and ruins.
Wang Xiling
Courtesy name Mengjiu, sobriquet Yuantong; his life is recorded in this collection.
On West Lake in a Boat, Moved by the Flying Dragon Master’s Descending Revelation of the Formula for Guiding the Spirit, I Write My Feelings on the Spot and Have My Son Simin Record Them
Heroic bone like an iron pillar in fire; a Daoist heart like plum blossom in snow. The ice mountain piercing the Milky Way—one knows it means to press down (referring to a certain governor); over the whole lake the misty waters invite leisurely chanting. I shall join Beiguo to watch the rosy clouds rise; I am too lazy to sing of “land sinking” toward the east. All depends on the master’s clear instruction. Even the Marquis of Liu (Zhang Liang), though he died of illness, was silent.
Chen Zheng
Courtesy name Qizhi, a great merchant of Qinhuai; he styled himself the Hermit of the Huai River.
Written after Reading the “Biographies of Technical Experts” in the History of the Ming
For ten years he did not see Emperor Chengzu; such lofty purity is rarely seen. The Ming History mistakenly places him among the “Biographies of Technical Experts”; who would know that on Taihua (Mount Hua) there is Xiyi (Chen Tuan, sobriquet Xiyi Zi, an important Daoist figure).
Qian Chenqun
Courtesy name Jizhai, a native of Jiaxing, Zhejiang. He became a jinshi in the sixtieth year of the Kangxi reign and rose to vice minister and minister of the Ministry of Justice. He retired and returned to the countryside; his posthumous title was Wenduan. He is the author of the Xiangshu Studio Poetry Collection.
Respectfully Harmonizing with the Original Rhyme of the Imperial Composition “Viewing Lanterns at Wangxin Village on Yanjiu Day”
The farmhouse spring wine is very strong; precisely to welcome the imperial carriage, the atmosphere is even warmer. The drums for thanking the earth god follow the drums for praying to the earth god as they fall; the lantern wind joins the wind of testing lanterns. The immortal leads the slovenly one into the empty blue (Zhang Lata and Chuji sought the Dao at the same time; both later departed as immortals); people stand on the swings and sing “Bi Hong.” In the village shrine the poetry tradition of Mao Chang remains; to this day who can share the goose tracks? (When I was education commissioner in the capital region, I once discussed the Dao and poetry with students here on a snowy night.)
Zhao Yi
Courtesy name Yunsong, sobriquet Oubei, also Oubai; a native of Yanghu (Changzhou, Jiangsu). He placed third in the palace examination in the twenty-sixth year of the Qianlong reign and rose to the post of Guixi Circuit.
Zhang Sanfeng’s Libu Pavilion (behind Gaozhen Abbey in Pingyue)
(In the original text this poem has only a title; the body is not recorded in the supplied passage.)
Gaozhen Ancient Temple and Hu Ying’s Poem on Visiting Zhang Sanfeng (Surviving Lines of the Original Poem)
At the Gaozhen Ancient Temple the vegetation is lush, and people still recount the deeds of the immortal elder (Zhang Sanfeng); the old traces can no longer be found, and things like the immortal crane on the ornamental pillar are gone as well. Some, borrowing the tale of the immortal’s name, once linked the search with the “Dinghu dragon”—(Note: Hu Ying’s search for Zhang Sanfeng also involved the search for Emperor Jianwen.)
Deep in the mountains, it is sometimes said that cinnabar grains drift down; now that I am old, I think only of accompanying immortals in cultivation like Chisongzi (Master Red Pine). I have retired and live at leisure, hoping to study the Dao; perhaps somewhere ahead I may still meet you once.
Li Diaoyuan
Style name Yucun, a native of Mianzhou. He placed second in the palace examination in the guiwei year of the Qianlong reign (1763), the bangyan (second-place laureate), and entered the Hanlin Academy. He once served as education commissioner in Guangdong and rose to the office of Tongyun River Intendant.
Reading at Xiangfu Temple the Ming Stele of Hu Ying’s Poem on Visiting Zhang Sanfeng, and Matching Its Rhyme, with a Preface
On the east side of the temple hall there is a poem stele carved in the ninth year of Jiajing of the Ming (1530) by Wang Rubin, bearing “Visiting Zhang Sanfeng in the Fourth Year of Chenghua,” composed by Hu Ying, Minister of Rites. Checking Ming dynasty records: in the dinghai year, the fifth year of Yongle (1407), Hu Ying, supervising secretary in the Office of Scrutiny for Revenue, was ordered to take Daoist priests and travel throughout the realm to seek the immortal Zhang Sanfeng; he returned only after ten years. Some also say that at the same time he was investigating the whereabouts of Lord Jianwen (Emperor Jianwen). The stele’s writing of “the fourth year of Chenghua” and “Minister of Rites” are both erroneous.
(The gist of the matching poem:) Master Hu’s poetic inspiration is truly extraordinary; who could have thought that the qi he observed was the omen of purple clouds? He need not go to Wu to watch the color of the sun; from Shu he should recognize the stellar field. After the Celestial Master (Tianshi) departed, the divine spirits protected the place; when the Daoist priest arrived, there were reports of ghosts weeping. It was an affair of the Yongle reign; who mistakenly wrote it as Chenghua? The carved stele merely makes one laugh at Zhang Wujun (perhaps a joking designation for the stele carver).
Chen Guangwen Brings Wine for Another Visit to the Thatched Cottage (Excerpt)
Where can one carry wine? Only to the Thatched Cottage Temple. At dawn I went to the appointment made last night; friends arrived one after another. A narrow path plunged into secluded bamboo, winding along to reveal fine views. The portrait left behind is in the central hall; gazing up at it, one feels its solemnity. One inscription was carved by the He family from a secret copy kept in their own household; another stele is carved somewhat smaller, from Military Commissioner Ding. There are also several large steles, whose brushwork flies like dragons and snakes. Among them, Tang poems in cursive script are interspersed, and talismanic seal-script characters dazzle the eye. On the steles, “Sanfeng” and “Shanfeng” are both mentioned; one cannot determine whether they are the same or different. Sitting facing today’s white-haired monk, who day after day pounds at the stone—did not Old Du say: “Writing is a matter for the ages”?
(Note: The stele inscription writes “Sanfeng” as “Shanfeng.” In my humble opinion, this stele must have been written before “Sanfeng” was changed to “Shanfeng.”)
Zhang Wen’an
Style name Jimen, a native of Suining. He was examined as a candidate and, after serving as an instructor, became a school official. He authored Haibai Shicao (Poetic Drafts of Haibai).
This passage records the travels of Zhang Junrui (styled Jiwu, sobriquet Fengzhou), Dong Chengxi (styled Baoguang, sobriquet Huyuan), and others to renowned Daoist sacred sites.
Zhang Junrui describes his visits to the Thatched Cottage, Qingyang Temple (a famous Daoist monastery in Chengdu), and Erxian Hermitage. He writes of seeing the statue of Laozi at Qingyang Temple that seemed to smile at him with transcendent grace, and the legendary divine ram (the temple's treasure) with its majestic horns - said to have been brought from the capital in ancient times, possessing the miraculous power to strengthen limbs, which pilgrims eagerly touch. Behind the temple, bamboo groves reach skyward, while the hermitage maintains perfect serenity. He notes the dense shade of osmanthus trees at the Two Immortals Shrine, and vivid scenes of golden fish playing in ponds and startled dogs rustling through flowers. Particularly memorable was the calligraphic work left on the wall by Zhang Lata (Zhang Sanfeng), about which he later shared wine and animated discussions with friends.
Dong Chengxi's poetic account describes his experience at Gaobiao Mountain (a celebrated Daoist peak), mentioning towering pavilions and radiant mountain light. He specifically records Zhang Sanfeng's inscribed verse "Spring slumber unaware of dawn" preserved on Gaobiao Hall's walls - the vigorous brushstrokes resembling coiling dragons and snakes remaining perfectly intact despite weathering centuries. The poem reflects how emperors once dispatched envoys seeking immortals, while now these precious inscriptions are enshrined beneath green silk canopies, the entire structure enveloped in auspicious purple vapors.
Li Jiaxiu's brief verse captures Gaobiao Mountain's spring scenery concisely: lofty towers overlooking the city walls, mountains bathed in luminous beauty. Since the immortal left his calligraphic legacy, the site has enjoyed perpetual birdsong, floral fragrance, and vibrant spring energy.
Note: Zhang Lata refers to Zhang Sanfeng, the Ming Dynasty Daoist master and founder of Taiji boxing; Qingyang Temple ranks among Chengdu's oldest surviving Daoist monasteries; Gaobiao Mountain in Leshan, Sichuan is a sacred Daoist site. These accounts reflect Qing Dynasty literati's reverence for Daoist culture and their refined interest in tracing immortal footprints.
Recalling the Past at Jintai Temple, Baoji
Brushing the dust of travel from my clothes, I climbed the verdant summit and paid my respects in Jintai Temple to the Golden Immortal (the statue). Stone inscriptions of two imperial edicts from former dynasties still survive, while across the bank three mountain peaks thrust far into the clouds. At Fengkou the elixir furnace cooks the sun and moon; a single vine staff stands upright amid clouds and smoke. I know not where he rides the crane in his wanderings; surely he roams free, not counting the years.
Another Poem
After seven years in the Zhongshu (Secretariat), my official career has come to nothing; on the way home I am still fortunate to call on the Master. In lingering spring I am about to wake from the yellow millet dream; the ancient cave is like roaming in the White Jade Capital. Even the Son of Heaven finds it hard to behold his Daoist countenance; why should a petty official wear himself out in the dust of travel? Descending the mountain at dusk, I turn back again and again, as if I see a flying dragon ascend to Taiqing (Great Clarity).
—Zhang Qixiang (sobriquet Songting, a native of Leshan County, a county-school student)
Recalling the Past at Sanfeng Tower
I once read the “Biographies of Arts and Techniques” in the History of the Ming: Master Feng’s immortal traces are full of wondrous marvels. Careless of appearance and wholly natural, he wore one patched robe and one straw cape and never changed them. His wanderings occasionally lodged him at Jintai; he himself said he would soon pass away and escape the dusty world. When the coffin was closed, a sound came forth; it opened and he revived, then carefree and unhurried came to western Shu. He did not meet Hongwu before, nor Yongle afterward; why then did he alone visit Prince Xian of Shu? The scholar’s wondrous encounter added luster. (In the Hongwu period Prince Xian was called “Shu Xiucai.”) On the wall of the Two Immortals Hermitage he left ink traces, dragons and snakes coiled backward, their spirit and likeness vivid. A pure wind blew into Hanjia; his lofty mark of the flung brush is even more wondrous. Playing in the human world, now hidden now visible, how could the head and tail of a divine dragon be seen at once? Moreover, he traveled more than a thousand li a day; who could chase after him and attend to his daily life? Supervising Secretary Hu and Palace Attendant Zhu vainly carried imperial letters and incense and silk offerings; they searched all the remote borderlands but never met him. Who could know that his immortal traces remain everywhere? Scholars revered him and delighted in hidden cultivation. Approachable and familiar, he often met people; he did not go to the Xuanshi Hall to ask that his mat be moved forward. To this day his left-behind portrait stands solemn in the tower: large ears, round eyes, full beard on his lower chin, whiskers like halberds, spirit like a mirror; he lets people pray, and his voice answers like an echo. A petal of heart-incense I offer before the patriarch: when will he personally point out the primordial within the Dao?
—Wang Yun (style name Zhujin, a native of Leshan County)
Stone Carving of Zhang Sanfeng’s Self-Painted Portrait on Fuquan Mountain
Immortal bearing and Daoist bone appear in the painting; the fly whisk drifts, the atmosphere clear and bright. A tea bowl and incense burner forever attend at his side; with the Three Flowers gathered at the crown, one sees the Master. (The portrait has immortal flowers on his head, hence the saying.)
—Dong Jiang
Xing Fan, styled Xifan Jushi, was from Zhejiang. Besides being skilled in qin songs, he was also accomplished in calligraphy and painting. He once copied a portrait of Master Zhang Sanfeng, placing a threefold jade qin and a jade flute in the picture to evoke from afar the master’s otherworldly bearing.
Sanfeng’s Place for Watching the Tides lies above the Wu River in Zunyi Prefecture.
The great sea has surged for ages beyond counting, yet travelers still tell tales of immortals. Here the rivers and hills seem free of worldly grime; deep woods and hidden valleys feel bound to this place by old affinity, inviting one to dwell long. Across the shore, through drifting mist, a bell just crosses the ridge; before the gate, white breakers seem ready to lift the high sky. One imagines Zhang Sanfeng sitting in stillness watching the tide—a sight that surpasses reading the “Autumn Floods” chapter of the Zhuangzi.
Yang Zhongtao, courtesy name Chunping, styled Fucheng, was from Leshan County and had been a shangsheng (a senior grade of student at the Imperial Academy).
The Giving Official Hu Visits Zhang Sanfeng
A figure light as a crane seems to come from between heaven and earth; bearing the emperor’s command, he treads cloud and water to seek the immortal’s trace. He passes through a realm empty, bright, and pure, chanting in flight upon mist-wrapped peaks. One shoulder seems to carry sun and moon; two eyes pick out towering pines. With bamboo hat and wooden clogs he does not shrink from a thousand li; through layered mist and rosy clouds he goes. Along the way he visits Daoist abodes and famous mountains, passes jade-green palace gates, and leaves traces in stone caves and grottoes. After ten years of wind and dust he returns, yet the lingering resonance remains; the lineage of the Way continues to flow, truly as deep as the legendary “Youlong”—Laozi himself.
Li Chaohua, styled Qinfeng, was from Leshan County and had been a waisheng (a junior grade of Academy student).
The Giving Official Hu Visits Zhang Sanfeng
An imperial edict comes from the palace halls; the immortal envoy enters the carriage amid purple clouds. On this journey Giving Official Hu toiled—where indeed did he go to find the true immortal? Zhang Sanfeng’s line is honored as the dragon-and-tiger vein; though he hides in the marketplace, his name still shines. His lofty deeds command reverence; his transforming traces outshine the legends of Zhou Dianxian. In wind and snow the envoy’s road is cold; years change the rivers and mountains as he crosses Qin and Shu, treading between water and cloud. At last the sword-bearing, tablet-holding messenger returns to court after ten years of frost. Emperor Jianwen too once sought Zhang Sanfeng; now the immortal rides the crane away, his form ever more elusive in the air.
Li Chaoba, styled Cuìyán, was from Leshan County.
The Giving Official Hu Visits Zhang Sanfeng
He reaches a realm misty and void, seeking the crane’s trace all the way. The envoy willingly spends years in the search; the emperor too looks up to Zhang Sanfeng. The poem shows him in coarse cloth and long sash, round eyes and large ears— a high man of mist and rosy clouds, an immortal who shares long life with heaven and earth. The envoy prepares gifts, letters, and betrothal offerings and goes among mountains, waters, pines, and rocks. Some say he once rode a tiger—yet where he went remains as untraceable as a soaring dragon. The envoy crosses a thousand li of cloud paths and ten thousand folds of mountain road, then returns to court to tell the strange tale of seeking the immortal; that memory still lifts the mind toward the jade peaks where the immortal dwells.
Liu Guangze, courtesy name Jisan, styled Huifeng Jushi, was from Qianwei County.
Recalling the Past at Tiangu Cave: reflecting on old times at Tiangu Cave.
Vernacular Interpretation
(I) On Heming Mountain and the Traces of Immortal Zhang
The single aperture opened at the first dawn of primordial chaos communicates with the way of long life in this place. When Immortal Zhang (Zhang Sanfeng) arrived, the stone crane also cried out. On the sheer and perilous cliff wall runs a “path of immortal guests” straight to the sky; amid clouds pierced and rocks split, the sound of a cave flute echoes. In the dark depths one seems to glimpse the shadow of jade doors; in this pure realm there are no worldly desires. To refine the “returned elixir” (huandan), one must be in this place—who could compare with Du Dongying? (The Tang Daoist Du Guangting once refined elixirs here.)
(II) Zhang Shenghong
Zhang Shenghong, courtesy name Ziyuan, sobriquet Heting, was a native of Leshan County.
Inscription on The Painting of Immortal Feng Sleeping on Taihe Mountain
The painting brings out a mood like the Huaxu paradise, richly conveying the flavor of an immortal in deep sleep. The primordial Qi of Taihe, Great Harmony, accords with this, as he lies high in the depths of white clouds. If he has a companion, it is the crane sleeping beside him; if there is no sound, it is the hidden dragon. Let people call him slovenly; the snow on the pines is already deep—an image of one lying high and forgetting all worldly mechanisms.
(III) Li Yuanzhi
Li Yuanzhi, courtesy name Pingquan, was a native of Leshan County, an Inner Hall student, and author of Drafts from Changyi Mountain Studio.
Song of Longing for the Immortal at Heming Mountain
Immortals all ride cranes, but this crane was obtained by Mr. Zhang alone. When Perfected Xujing first came, the crane flew up to heaven (see the immortal biographies; an old poem also says, “One after another, crane calls flew up to heaven”); when Zhang Sanfeng passed by again, crane calls resounded through the cliffs and ravines—it would not call unless it met a high Perfected one, and once it called, a fragrant wind arose. More than five hundred years have now passed, and the sleeping crane in the forest is silent. Perhaps its master is still in “feminine concealment”: hidden away, practicing embryonic breathing (taixi), lying in the cloud valley; when he gives a long whistle and enters the mountain, the crane will still answer and come forth, as it did at the beginning.
The recluse of Pingquan refines cinnabar, carrying his lute and wine as he treads mist and rosy clouds. The cold stream murmurs and splashes, clamoring day and night; the deep cliffs are secluded and hide the immortal’s home—exactly the resting place of a recluse. Surrounding green cliffs exhale clouds and mist. Strolling slowly before the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) Pavilion, climbing tier upon tier up to the Welcoming Immortals Pavilion—one imagines the master saluting the white clouds, with a single gourd and a single robe, far from the dust of the world. Three summonses did not bring him; he scorned Hongwu. For ten years he was sought in vain; he surpassed Jianwen. His transformations have no fixed pattern—who can recognize his face? Last night I saw him in a dream: a Daoist in a feathered robe came fluttering, waking the sleepy fellow at the immortal altar.
(IV) Zhang Sanfeng, “Bagua Pavilion” (at Heming Mountain)
The hidden immortal forever sets himself free in the watery-cloud hollow; within the Bagua Pavilion all phenomena are encompassed. He directly takes the prenatal to order the Qi and the seasons; alone he seeks a remote place to play with Fuxi’s lines, the Eight Trigrams. The hundred-span great trees were once planted by his own hand; a single opening, the “Primordial Gate” (yuanguan), may be knocked upon together. If you would comprehend Yin-Yang and investigate creation, visitor, you had best nest together with the crane.
Note: Terms such as “returned elixir” (huandan), “embryonic breathing” (taixi), “Primordial Gate” (yuanguan), and the “three summonses” belong to the vocabulary of Neidan (internal alchemy) and of traditions beyond the worldly realm. Du Guangting was a Tang Daoist and author of Daoist texts; Xujing refers to the Song Daoist Perfected Xujing; Hongwu and Jianwen are early Ming reign titles, and there are many legends that Zhang Sanfeng refused service to the Ming court and that his whereabouts were unfathomable.
On the Opening Inscription
His courtesy name was Bu Ba, and his sobriquet was Tie Gen. He was from Leshan County and had once been an outer-dormitory student—a student who studied at a prefectural or provincial school during the Song dynasty but had not yet entered the Imperial Academy.
Reading the Collected Poems of Clouds and Waters
The heavenly wind blows fiercely, and the sea seems to rise upright in surging waves. Clouds race for ten thousand miles, merging with the blue sky. A flying dragon soars aloft. Laozi, the founder of Daoism, delighted in soaring chants; their lingering resonance still penetrates stone and metal to this day. Wearing a square cap and a tattered monk’s robe, I travel to the ends of the earth, making my home wherever waters are strange and mountains wondrous. In a deep, ancient cave, I sleep beside a white deer.
The great furnace—the transformations of Heaven and Earth, and the cultivation of Neidan—fashions cinnabar, the fruit of internal alchemy. What could the fief and honors of a marquis be worth by comparison? Amid pines and rocks covering the mountains, who else would I keep company with? The noble aspirations of a great man are lofty and pure. How could he grow old amid the dust of fame and profit?
The Master once sailed the sea of officialdom, but after his parents passed away, he retired in accordance with propriety. In the prime of life, he left his family and set off to wander among scenic places in every direction. How could marriage be put off any longer? Even at the top of a hundred-foot pole, one must advance further. When a master revealed the path reaching to Heaven, he recognized the true master he had known before birth. Even on streets lined with flowers and willows, he did not stray from the right path. This destiny was rooted from the beginning in Bi Weng, a name often referring to Laozi or a sage of the highest order.
A guest in Jiangnan admired the mysterious arts: eight hundred fiery oxen plowed beneath the night moon, while three thousand beauties laughed in the spring breeze. This alludes to Shen Wansan, setting an illusory vision of wealth and privilege against the cultivation of the mysterious Dao. Heroes of Baixia, present-day Nanjing, gladly offered their aid, providing support for the refining of golden flowers. Looking back, he met Fire Dragon at Zhongnan Mountain, a master in the Neidan lineage. Though his purse was empty, he often stood by the water, welcoming the wind in moments of contentment. In Jinling, all was peaceful, and he wandered at an unhurried pace. One day, he gathered the moon of the Geng direction—a metaphor for the West, the Geng day, and the timing of internal cultivation—and seemed just like a Kunpeng leaping into the celestial lake.
When the Elixir was complete, he brushed his sleeves and departed for the lakes and mountains, leaving others to their dragon-coiling and tiger-crouching strongholds. Holding a coconut ladle, he drank at taverns throughout the land, nourishing within himself the noble Qi of Heaven and Earth. He wandered freely within his flask, through spring and autumn, seeking no fame among the lords. Secret edicts went out searching even beyond the remote frontiers, yet his lofty integrity and pure spirit were those of Chao and You—Chao Fu and Xu You, recluses of ancient times.
North of the mountains and south of them, he strode along, singing; clad in a straw cape and bamboo hat, he lay upon clouds and rocks. He transformed into a phoenix, a crane, a fisherman, or a woodcutter. Where could he go without meeting an immortal? Lata, the “unkempt Daoist,” as Zhang Sanfeng was often called, had a nature broad and harmonious, filling the vast cosmos. His compassionate clouds again spread shade over the skies of Jiannan. He wished to complete what remained unfinished in his heart: Shen the Immortal had just been brought across, and then came Wang the Immortal…
The Inspector of Jiannan, the guest of Penglai, had possessed an inspired nature from a previous life. While praying for rain on Mount Emei, he suddenly encountered a master. De Fu drifted serenely back to Huangu Valley. Having shed his mortal form in Yangzhou, he returned to emptiness and purity. The master’s hand and heart transmitted the teachings, which were preserved in the Elixir chamber. The secrets of Langhuan, the celestial emperor’s library, were guarded by spirits and gods. What alchemist could ever have dreamed of finding this book? For six hundred years, its vital current has passed from one generation to the next, like pearls joined to jade. Its radiance contends with the sun and moon, shining throughout Heaven and Earth. Its influence stirs the forests and springs, drawing in heroes. Its Dao and De are lofty; its wonders defy description. The pure night essence pours down in abundance like sweet dew.
In the poem, “Fire Dragon,” “golden flowers,” and “the moon of the Geng direction” are among the terms used in Neidan cultivation. They have been clarified in plain language according to their literal meanings and common usage in Daoist texts, without asserting any definitive secret interpretation.
A Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
I. The Cloud-Water Collection: One Ought to Bow Before the Master
Li Dailin (courtesy name Yunshi, sobriquet Guipu, a native of Hongya, student of the Imperial College)
The Nine Chambers Cliff of Mount Taihe in Yuanyue was the place where Master Sanfeng lived in lofty seclusion.
The peaks of Yuanyue rise towering for ten thousand xun; the Perfected One once lay in the depths of white clouds. A thousand ancient trees shade the crimson cliffs; a belt of cold mist guards the jade-green peaks. At the cave mouth the wind is clear—idly playing the flute; among the pines the moon is white—shining as he plucks the qin. Now, among the thirty-six crags, one still imagines the Master’s gold-and-jade tones.
II. Liu Yuanzhuo’s Hidden Mirror Chronology
Wang Mengjiu said: Many have heard that the Master was a true immortal; few deeply know that he was a recluse. In his leisure after official duties, with a quiet mind, it happened that Prefect Jin Shixun came to visit; they burned incense and spoke of the Master’s wondrous traces. The prefect said, “Why do you not write of the hidden one as a mirror, and bring to light the Master’s great integrity?” Xiling said, “Yes.” Thereupon, imitating the Gangmu format, he titled the record Hidden Mirror Chronology, esteeming evidence and truth. From then on, the Master’s hidden traces and his chronological biography were both here. May like-minded people of later ages continue it.
III. Chronological Entries
[Outline] In the summer of the jiazi year, the seventeenth year of Hongwu (1384), an edict sought the retired elder of the former Yuan, the 137-year-old recluse of Mount Wudang, Zhang Sanfeng; he was not found.
[Details] Zhang Sanfeng was a native of Yizhou. He was born in the second year of Yuan Dingzong. During the Zhiyuan era he retired from his post as magistrate of Boling and sought the Dao between Zhongnan and Taibai, receiving the orthodox transmission of Xiyi. His teaching took loyalty, filial piety, kindness, and reverence as its substance and the Hetu-Luoshu and Yi imagery as its application. By the twenty-seventh year of Zhizheng (dingwei), Sanfeng was already 120 years old. In the intercalary seventh month of wushen, the Yuan mandate had ended, and Ming Taizu received Heaven’s command; Sanfeng then hid his traces deep in the mountains. In the seventeenth year, when the emperor greatly enfeoffed meritorious officials and Chinese and non-Chinese all submitted, an edict sought men of high virtue and honored age. Hearing that Zhang Sanfeng, a man of the former Yuan, was hiding on Mount Wudang, over a hundred years old, the court summoned him; he was not seen.
[Elucidation] The record’s writing “retired elder of the former Yuan” specially marks his constancy; its writing “137-year-old elder” specially honors his longevity; its writing “recluse of Mount Wudang” shows a lofty integrity and pure wind that make him a teacher for a hundred generations.
Plain-Language Interpretation
Outline: Spring of the eighteenth year of Hongwu (1385)
The court ordered Shen Wansan and Qiu Yuanjing to go again to Wudang Mountain to seek out the recluse Zhang Sanfeng, but he still could not be found.
Details
Shen Wansan was a native of Nanjing, and Qiu Yuanjing was a native of Wudang; both were disciples of Zhang Sanfeng. Taizu (Zhu Yuanzhang) issued an edict ordering them to go and search, the original intention being that if the disciples came forward, perhaps they could persuade their master to leave the mountains. In the end, he still could not be invited.
Jin’s Commentary: In terms of narrative technique, the direct record that Shen Wansan and Qiu Yuanjing sought Zhang Sanfeng shows Taizu’s wish to win over high-minded recluses of the mountains and forests. Who would have thought that a man who kept his integrity could not be moved even by his disciples’ persuasion. Sought again and still unseen, the tighter the imperial edicts, the more he concealed his traces.
Outline: Summer of the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu (1391)
Again Zhang Yuchu was sent to Wudang Mountain to seek the recluse Zhang Sanfeng, but in the end he did not see him.
Details
Zhang Yuchu was a Daoist of Dragon-Tiger Mountain, a descendant of the Celestial Master (Tianshi), and inherited the sword and seal; he was styled Zhenren (Perfected) and belonged to the same lineage as Zhang Sanfeng (both within the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) branch of Daoism). At this point, sending someone from the same lineage to invite him again, he still could not be invited.
Jin’s Commentary: Using Zhang Yuchu to seek Zhang Sanfeng was using a member of the same lineage to seek a member of the same lineage, and it also followed the earlier method. Three times seeking an audience, three times not seen—how could this compare with those who take the “Zhongnan shortcut” and use the name of reclusion to fish for fame?
Outline: Dinghai year, the fifth year of Yongle (1407)
Hu Ying was ordered to seek out the recluse Zhang Sanfeng; for ten years he did not see him.
Details
Hu Ying, a supervising secretary of the Revenue Office, had known Zhang Sanfeng in earlier years. Emperor Chengzu (Zhu Di) admired Zhang Sanfeng’s character and integrity, so he ordered Hu Ying to search for him, traveling throughout the realm, and also to investigate the whereabouts of the Jianwen Emperor. He returned only after ten years.
Jin’s Commentary: Historical works say that the search for Zhang Sanfeng was to find where Jianwen was; in fact, this was not entirely so. The recluse’s fame had already shaken the realm in the previous reign, and Chengzu had heard of him while still at his princely residence. How could he not admire his lofty virtue and venerable longevity and urgently wish to bring him into court, as delighted as Emperor Taizong of Song was to meet Chen Xiyi? The phrase here, “also investigating Jianwen’s whereabouts,” was most likely a roundabout way of catering to Chengzu’s wishes.
Outline: Third month of the tenth year of Yongle (1412)
Sun Yuanxu (courtesy name Biyun) was ordered to wait in advance for the recluse Zhang Sanfeng at Wudang Mountain; Zhang Sanfeng still did not arrive.
Details
Previously, Hu Ying and others had already been searching for Zhang Sanfeng for five years, and Chengzu never forgot his desire to see him.
Note: The whole text consists of an outline of historical events plus commentary, with no cultivation ritual; Celestial Master (Tianshi) refers to the leader of the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoist tradition at Dragon-Tiger Mountain; the Jianwen Emperor was Zhu Yunwen, Emperor Hui of Ming, whose whereabouts after the Jingnan campaign became a mystery, and so Chengzu often used the pretext of seeking recluses in famous mountains also to investigate his traces.
Vernacular Interpretation
Jin's Commentary:
Judging from Chengzu's order to Sun Yuanxu to go to Wudang to "await him in advance," the emperor's sincerity in wanting to see Zhang Sanfeng had always been fixed on this recluse and had reached its utmost—could it really be that he wanted to see him only on account of the Jianwen Emperor (the missing emperor of the previous reign)?
[Outline] First month of the fourteenth year of Yongle
The emperor ordered men to use an Anche (a comfortable carriage used for ceremonial invitations) to go to Wudang Mountain and invite the recluse Zhang Sanfeng to leave his mountain retreat. Zhang Sanfeng did not come.
[Details]
The year before last, Sun Yuanxu had been ordered to build palaces at Wudang Mountain and respectfully await him. Only in the winter of last year did Zhang Sanfeng return to Wudang. Yuanxu was overjoyed and sent a man by fast messenger to report to the court. This spring the emperor again ordered an Anche to welcome and invite him, but Zhang Sanfeng had wandered off like a cloud to another place. The emperor was rather depressed.
[Outline] Fifth month of the fourteenth year of Yongle
The 168-year-old recluse of Wudang Mountain, Zhang Sanfeng, came to court.
[Details]
The emperor's desire to see him was urgent, yet it was always difficult to fulfill. He therefore ordered Hu Guang to go to Wudang Mountain and pray with tears. When Zhang Sanfeng heard of this, he first hid himself in a cave, then drew forth the "Yangshen" (the pure-yang spirit in Daoist internal cultivation, able to leave the body and manifest). It transformed into a recluse wearing a bamboo crown and a deer-fur cloak, flew into the golden hall, and kowtowed before the steps. At that time the emperor was holding court. At first sight he felt it strange and asked his origins; only then did he learn that it was Zhang Sanfeng. The emperor then asked about the way of longevity. Sanfeng said: fewer desires, a clear and pure mind, a settled spirit, and freedom from distracting thoughts—this is the path by which Your Majesty may seek longevity. The emperor asked: Sir, you have repeatedly refused to see Us; why have you now come so lightly? Sanfeng said: This subject is originally a man of the mountains and wilds, of no use to the world and its times, and so I have been able to practice Bigu (grain avoidance) and refine the Niwan (the Mud Pill Palace at the crown of the head; a Neidan term for the place where spirit and intention gather). Today the one who sees Your Majesty is my Yangshen, not my fleshly body. In those days Taizu, the High Emperor, could not drown Zhou Dian in the river or keep Leng Qian before the military banner—those were all Fashen (Dharma-bodies, manifestations beyond flesh and blood), not Sheshen (ordinary physical bodies). My showing myself once today is only to answer Your Majesty's painstaking heart in seeking me. After speaking, he vanished. The emperor bestowed on him the title "Mr. Flying Dragon." When the officials Hu Ying, Hu Guang, and others returned to court and heard that Zhang Sanfeng had come to court, they went again, but Sanfeng had already left.
Jin's Commentary:
To make such a great point of recording "the 168-year-old recluse" is well founded—among the mountains and forests, in a thousand ages there has been only this one man. He also said, "Today the one who sees Your Majesty is my Yangshen." From this we know that he could ascend in broad daylight and show himself to people as his Yangshen. The gentleman truly deserves to be called "like a dragon" (elusive and unpredictable, like the divine dragon by which Laozi was described).
Note: The terms "gang" and "mu" in the text are historiographical conventions (major-event outline and detailed entries). Zhou Dian and Leng Qian were famous Daoist priests of the early Ming; legend has it that Taizu once wished to harm them but could not. This is used here to show that the "Fashen" cannot be constrained by ordinary flesh. The date is understood as "the fourteenth year of Yongle," approximately 1416 CE.
Related Records in The Complete Works of Mr. Zhang Sanfeng (Vernacular Interpretation)
Outline In the spring of the third year of Tianshun, Zhang Sanfeng, known as the “Hidden Immortal,” entered the capital to have an audience with the emperor.
Details The emperor had always respected people of moral virtue. Zhang Sanfeng, perceiving the court’s sincerity, manifested his complete Dharma body and came to pay his respects: his face was a solemn purplish red, his long beard was like halberds, his topknot hung behind his head, and his bearing was like that of Xuanwu (the Daoist guardian deity of the north, often depicted as a turtle and snake conjoined); with a great belly, thick shoulders, a belt around his waist, and a conical bamboo hat on his head, he came forward. He kowtowed and said, “Your subject Zhang Sanfeng wishes Your Majesty to cultivate the self so as to bring peace to the people, reject heterodox doctrines, and uphold the orthodox Dao.” As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly vanished from sight. The emperor personally composed a document of commendation and conferred on him the title “Great True Man Who Penetrates the Subtle and Manifests Transformation.” Jin, the commentator, said: To call a recluse a “Hidden Immortal” is to show that the elevated man did not truly die; one audience and one conferral are both clearly documented in the historical records and can be verified—would the ancients have deceived people? From then on, the name “immortal” has been celebrated from generation to generation, and it is by no means false.
Outline In the spring of the twenty-second year of Chenghua, an edict specially conferred on Zhang Sanfeng, former recluse of Taihe Mountain in Wudang, the title “True Immortal Who Conceals His Light and Upholds His Aspiration” (and at the same time conferred on Zhou Dian the title “True Immortal Who Spreads Plans and Assists Transformation”).
Details At that time, people in both the Buddhist and Daoist clergy had recklessly obtained honorary titles; they were greedy, self-indulgent, and did not observe the precepts, and the emperor grew weary of this. After the censorate and remonstrance officials (examination-trained remonstrance officials) submitted memorials, the indiscriminately granted titles such as “State Preceptor” and “True Man” among monks and Daoists were stripped away, and Zhang Sanfeng alone was conferred the title “True Immortal Who Conceals His Light and Upholds His Aspiration,” while Zhou Dian was conferred the title “True Immortal Who Spreads Plans and Assists Transformation.”
Commentary The wording “former recluse of Taihe Mountain” highlights his noble character, different from the base and sordid ways of fangshi (alchemical technicians); conferring the title “True Immortal” and suppressing the way of impostors—such was the intent.
Outline In the autumn of the forty-second year of Jiajing, Zhang Sanfeng was conferred the title “True Lord of Pure Emptiness and Primordial Mystery.”
Details In his later years the emperor was quite fond of esoteric studies. Hearing that Sanfeng had once manifested in Nanjing, he searched everywhere for his writings and obtained the Xuan Yao Pian; after reading it he sighed, “He is a true immortal of our dynasty.” Thereupon he conferred on him the title “True Lord of Pure Emptiness and Primordial Mystery” and ordered the construction of the Qingxu Abbey at Sanfeng’s former residence to offer sacrifices to him.
Commentary “Pure” means not stained by external things; “empty” means being one body with the Great Void. These two characters are well chosen.
Outline In the autumn of the third year of Tianqi, Zhang Sanfeng’s spirit appeared in the imperial palace, and he was advanced in title to “True Lord Who Flies as a Dragon, Manifests Transformations, Shows Vast Benevolence, and Saves the World.”
Details Because affairs of state were beset with difficulties, the emperor set up a planchette in the palace (fuji, spirit-writing to invoke deities) and sought the immortals. Suddenly red light enveloped the seat, and within the light...
Plain-Language Commentary
Manifestation and Honorific Title
At that time, Zhang Sanfeng appeared in his true form. The emperor bowed and said, “True Immortal, teach me; True Immortal, protect me.” The revealed words came in great abundance. A short while later, the figure vanished.
Moved by this event, the emperor followed the precedent of the earlier manifestation of the perfected person known as “Master Flying Dragon” and elevated Zhang Sanfeng’s title to True Lord Flying Dragon, Manifesting Power, Vast in Benevolence, and Saving the World.
A Prophetic Dream
Meng Jiushi said: “The Master’s pure, bright radiance illuminates the Ming dynasty. His purpose has been fulfilled.”
Period of Birth (Various Accounts)
A Person of the Early Yuan (Correct)
The Master’s biography states that he was born at midnight on the ninth day of the fourth month in the Dingwei year of Emperor Dingzong of the Yuan (1247). This is the correct account.
A Person of the Jin (Incorrect)
The History of the Ming says that he may have lived during the Jin. According to the History of the Yuan, in the ninth year of Taizong Genghis Khan’s reign, the jiaxu year, the Yuan army launched a southern campaign against the Jin in the fifth month. It attacked Yizhou, where Gao Tongshan, the military commissioner, was killed in battle; Liaozhou then came under Yuan control. From this, we can determine that by the time the Master was born, Liaozhou had long been Yuan territory. Clearly, he was not a person of the Jin.
A Person of the Late Yuan (Incorrect)
An anonymous biography says that he came from the late Yuan. Its error is self-evident.
A Person of the Early Ming (Incorrect)
This account also appears in another biography.
Place of Origin (Various Accounts)
A Native of Yizhou, Liaoyang (Correct)
All the biographies agree. According to the History of the Yuan, early in the Yuan dynasty Liaoyang was made the Eastern Capital. During the Zhiyuan era of Emperor Shizu, the Liaoyang Branch Secretariat was established to govern seven circuits. One of these was Liaoyang Circuit, which initially administered one prefecture, Posuo. That prefecture was later abolished, leaving two directly administered prefectures: Liaoyang and Gaizhou, as well as Yizhou. According to the History of the Ming, Yizhou was 1,700 li from the capital. The Ming renamed Liaoyang Prefecture Dingliao Guard; it was later restored as a prefecture, and its counties came under the Liaodong Regional Military Commission.
A Native of Mount Tianmu (Incorrect)
The Sichuan Gazetteer gives Mount Tianmu as his place of origin, perhaps because he once lived there. The Collected Songs of Clouds and Waters, First Series includes a “Song of Mount Tianmu.”
A Native of Jizhou (Incorrect)
A Native of Yizhou (Incorrect)
A Native of Yizhou (Incorrect)
Ancestors
Among his ancestors was Zhang Zifang, also known as Zhang Liang, the Marquis of Liu during the Han dynasty. His family had lived for generations in Fengyi, Pei Commandery. In the ninth generation, his descendant Celestial Master Daoling (Zhang Daoling, founder of the Celestial Masters school of Daoism) settled at Mount Longhu in Xinzhou, Jiangxi, and made Daoism the family tradition. His descendant Yuxian lived during the Song dynasty. Near the end of the Southern Song, he moved to Liaodong, where his son Chang was born; Chang was the father of Sanfeng. (See the Genealogy of the Zifang Family and Zhang Sanfeng’s biography.)
Vernacular Interpretation
Errors in Common Editions
Common popular editions write all three regions as northern lands; because “Ji” and “Yi” are close in pronunciation, a mistaken transcription arose.
The Tomb of the Sage’s Parents
The tomb of Master Zhang Sanfeng’s parents is at Jicui Mountain in Liaoyang, Liaodong.
The Yunshui Qianji (Former Collection of Clouds and Water) records that in a poem replying to Liu Zhonghui the master said: “Changbai has a dragon vein stretching for thousands of li; from childhood I have hidden myself in this dragon vein to cultivate.”
Jiuyangzi’s Liaodong Jixing (Travel Record of Liaodong) says: Changbai is sixty li south of the old Huining Prefecture, stretching a thousand li across and rising two hundred li high. On its ridge is a pool with a circumference of eighty li and unfathomable depth, known as Tianchi (Heavenly Pool). Its southern outflow forms the Yalu River; its northern outflow forms the Huntong River. Between the south and north of the river, a great dragon vein winds within, and another small dragon vein reaches Jicui Mountain in Liaoyang—the ancestral tomb of Master Zhang Sanfeng is located exactly here. The nearby city has Dashan Palace and Xiaoshan Gate, as well as an Immortal Bridge; this accords with my intention and is indeed no falsehood.
Names and Sobriquets
The master once said of himself: “Many of my names and sobriquets coincide with those of people ancient and modern. When I learn of it I change them, and only then is my mind at ease; therefore my names and sobriquets have often been unsettled.”
One name was Tong, the same as that of the son of Duke Gao, a remote ancestor of this branch (see the “House of the Marquis of Liu”). One name was Jin, the same as that of a remote ancestor of another branch, a Grand Marshal of Han. One name was Silian, the same as the courtesy name of Yuan Yusheng. One name was Xuansu, the same as that of a remonstrance official in the time of Emperor Taizong of Tang. One name was Xuanhua, the same as that of a disciple of Ge Xuan.
Thereupon he took one character from two of these names and styled himself Xuanxuanzi, but this again coincided with the sacred title of Taishang, so he changed it once more.
He also styled himself Sanfeng, which coincided with the name of Puyangzi, so he changed it again to Yi. Sanfeng also coincided with the name of a practitioner of caizhan (sexual cultivation), which was rather laughable. Yet the two characters “Sanfeng” had been in circulation for so long that he did not wish to change them again. Recalling that the unbroken lines of Qian and the broken lines of Kun are not sufficient to restore pure Qian, he planted in the earth of Kun a root of flood-like Qi to repair what was broken and make whole the One. From now on he would change his name to Quanyi, and his names and sobriquets were thereby fully settled.
In addition, his appearance was rough and rustic, and he did not trim his edges, so people called him Zhang Lata (Sloppy Zhang). This was a singular marvel through the ages, a unique and peerless appellation. Heh heh. (Dongtian Ji)
The name Tong is given in Lu Ziyuan’s Yutang Manbi (Casual Notes from the Jade Hall); the name Jin, in the Kuifu Zhi (Gazetteer of Kuizhou Prefecture).
The earlier two names, the Master (Zhang Sanfeng) says, follow the same tradition as those of his remote ancestors. According to “The Hereditary House of the Marquis of Liu” (the historical account of Zhang Liang’s family, whose founding member served the Han dynasty), Zhang Buyi inherited the marquisate and had two sons, named Zhang Dian and Zhang Gao. Zhang Dian’s son was Zhang Momo, who rose to become Grand Marshal. Zhang Momo’s son was Zhang Jin, whose son was Zhang Qianqiu, Marquis of Yangling. Zhang Qianqiu’s son was Zhang Song, and Zhang Song’s son was Zhang Zhuang. The historical records often mention these men for their notable achievements.
Zhang Gao’s son was Zhang Tong; Zhang Tong’s son was Zhang Wuwang; Zhang Wuwang’s son was Zhang Liren; Zhang Liren’s son was Zhang Hao; Zhang Hao’s son was Zhang Gang; and Zhang Gang’s son was Zhang Yi. Zhang Yi once lived as a guest on Mount Tianmu, in the land of Wu (a famous mountain near present-day Lin’an, Zhejiang). His wife, Lady Lin, gave birth to Daoling—that is, Zhang Daoling, revered in Daoism as the Ancestral Celestial Master (Tianshi), and regarded as the founder of the Celestial Masters tradition and Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity). Zhang Yi later returned to Pei Commandery and then settled in the land of Xinzhou, on Mount Longhu (near present-day Yingtan, Jiangxi), later regarded by Daoists as the seat of the Celestial Masters’ residence.
One of the names was Silian, as recorded in the Old Gazetteer of Kuizhou Prefecture.
The Master says that this name is the same as that of “Yusi Sheng.” According to the History of the Yuan, the poet Zhang Xian of Shanyin, Kuaiji, was known as Yusi Sheng and had the courtesy name Silian. Gifted and full of talent, he went to the capital to discuss affairs of state but was not given a position. He then withdrew to Mount Fuchun (in the area of present-day Fuyang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang), where he lived freely among monks and Daoists. When Zhang Shicheng controlled the Wu region, he invited Zhang Xian to serve as an administrative officer. After Wu fell, Zhang Xian changed his name and family name and lived in seclusion in Hangzhou. He is the poet “Tiemen,” praised by Yang Weizhen for his skill in poetry.
There was also Zhang Silian, a native of Suichang who lived in Shouguang and served as a Daoist priest at a temple. After gaining insight while reciting the Taishang Duren Jing (the Most High Scripture for Delivering People, a Lingbao scripture often used to liberate the dead), he stopped speaking and at times stopped eating. More than forty years later, he became an immortal and departed.
The names Xuansu and Xuanhua appear in the preface to the Xuan Yao Pian and in its “Song of Returning the Elixir.” The Master says these names are the same as those of the renowned physician Zhang Jiegule Lao of Yizhou under the Jin dynasty (Zhang Jiegu, also called Xuansu, who failed the metropolitan examination and became known through medicine), and are also names belonging to disciples in the lineage of Ge Yuan (also known as Ge Xuan and associated with the Daoist immortal tradition).
As for the courtesy name Xuanxuan, the Master says it is the same as the sacred title of the Most High. According to the Book of Tang, Laozi was honored as “Emperor Xuanyuan.” Bai Juyi’s poem also has the line “The profound Dao and De in five thousand words,” referring to the five thousand words of the Dao De Jing.
As for the courtesy names Shanfeng and Sanfeng, the Master says they are the same as that of Puyangzi, one of the titles used in the Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) tradition, and also the same as a name used by advocates of “bedchamber arts” (a line of sexual cultivation distinct from orthodox Neidan). The Zheng E section in this collection has already clarified the matter, so it will not be repeated here.
The Biographies often give Junshi as a personal name, but the accounts in Ziyuan Manbi and this biography, which give it as a courtesy name, should be followed.
There are also the courtesy names Xuanyi, Quanyi, and Sanfeng.
His titles, including Kunyang, are all recorded in the biographies in this collection.
In the Dongtian Ji, the Master says of himself: “From this point onward, I changed my name to Quanyi and took Sanfeng as my courtesy name.” His names and titles were thereby settled.
Reading note: The passage is chiefly a comparison of sources concerning personal names, courtesy names, and titles, drawing on family histories, local gazetteers, the History of the Yuan, and other writings in this collection. It does not describe methods of cultivation. Readers interested in Neidan or martial arts should consult other sections of the same book, such as the elixir formulas in the Xuan Yao Pian.
Related Records from The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng (Vernacular Interpretation)
Names and Biography
Changyi’s note: Master Zhang Sanfeng’s names and styles changed many times, but essentially he was the same person. Later biographers should take this statement as authoritative.
Remains and Legends
Fuquan Mountain lies several li south of the prefectural city. The General Gazetteer records that this was where the immortal Zhang Sanfeng cultivated the Dao. In early years a Gaozhen Abbey was built there, and later a Lidou Pavilion. In front of the pavilion was the Yuxian Pool, which in summer did not overflow and in winter did not dry up; legend says it could cure illness. According to the Pingyue Prefectural Gazetteer.
The Chess-Playing Stone is on Fuquan Mountain south of the prefectural city. Later generations say that Zhang Sanfeng played chess here with Marquis Longping Zhang Xin. Ibid.
The Lidou Pavilion was inside Gaozhen Abbey south of the prefectural city. Legend says that in the early Ming the immortal Zhang Sanfeng often performed the Dipper ritual here, bowing to and facing the Dipper. Ibid.
The Stele of the Song of Sitting in Meditation is inside Gaozhen Abbey on Fuquan Mountain. Its inscription was composed by the immortal Zhang Sanfeng and discusses the uses of Daoist cultivation. Ibid.
Pingyue Prefecture and the Gaozhen Abbey Area
Passing from the south gate of Pingyue Prefecture over the stone bridge and along South Street, beside the road is Gaozhen Abbey, the ritual ground of the immortal master Zhang Sanfeng.
Going from north to southwest, one passes Zhuobi Mountain; turning slightly west and climbing the high slope, one reaches Daoma Slope. At the midpoint of the slope, a stone cliff across the mountain can be seen like a screen, a precipice of a thousand ren. On the cliff there seems to be an image of the immortal master: wearing a Huayang crown, turned sideways and leaning on a staff as he walks, with clear outlines. Beside it are carved four characters, “The Spirit Remains in the Universe,” said to have been left as a record by the immortal master and regarded throughout the realm as a numinous trace.
The Sanfeng Shrine is in Pingyue Prefecture city and contains the Lidou Pavilion; the stone pool in front of the pavilion is called Yuxian, about four or five chi deep, never drying up in winter or summer. Beside the pool was a cassia tree that had long since died; a Daoist came to bathe in the pool and hung his torn robe, a worn monk’s garment, on the tree, and the tree came back to life. In the summer of the first year of Tianqi, Li Ruonan, stationed at Xintian as judicial administrator, invited the phoenix for planchette writing and obtained a lyric:
Lidou Pavilion, Lidou Pavilion,
Zhang the immortal used this place to cultivate the truth.
Sun and moon hang above the head;
wind and clouds pass as dust before the eyes.
Moli Yuanjun, Heaven-Supporting Sage,
people in that year once responded to my sincere devotion.
Today I am ranked among the immortals,
manifesting transformations and communicating with the numinous—
how dare I forget the mysterious ford where I lodged my traces?
By chance I heard my parents ask for my name;
for now I borrow rustic words as a mirror for speech.
A stone stele is now preserved in the shrine.
Zunyi and the Wu River
The Guizhou General Gazetteer records that at the Wu River in Zunyi Prefecture there is a place where Zhang Sanfeng watched the tide; green hills are across the bank and white water is before the gate, and a stone image still survives there.
Note: The above consists mostly of remains, legends, and associations found in Ming and Qing local gazetteers and prefectural records. They may be read in comparison with the image of Zhang Sanfeng in official histories and Neidan (internal alchemy) literature, but they should not all be taken as historical fact.
Classic: The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
Text:
Two li east of Baoji County, spring water spreads out from the foot of the mountain and is called Poluo Spring. The spring comes from the summit. The immortal Zhang Sanfeng of Jinbi Abbey once lived here, and his earthen cave still survives today. (According to Record of the Cloud-Plank Route.)
Immortal Elder Sanfeng often enjoyed writing out Tang poems. His calligraphy was like dragons and snakes in flight, and those who obtained it often carved it into stone, regarding it as a treasure of the world. The old gazetteer of Chizhou records: in Qingniu Palace there is a stone inscription of one poem, whose calligraphy differs from that of ordinary people; people call it immortal brushwork. The poem says:
In the immortal realm I idly seek the herb-gathering old man;
In the thatched hut we lingered in conversation together this night.
Just look where the clouds lie deep below the mountain—
Truly there are places where the roads of the human world do not reach.
The spring draws lotus blossoms to the cave mouth;
The moon carries pine shadows across the east of the stream.
With a heart still set on fame, idleness is hard to dismiss;
Tomorrow, horse hooves will be in the dust.
This is a Tang poem. During the Jiajing era, Censor-in-Chief Liu Damo wrote in a colophon: “This inscription is like thunder, lightning, and spirits and gods, changing unpredictably, yet it does not lose the norms of the Six Scripts. Truly, none but an extraordinary person could have done it. The Master of the Nine Dragons should take extra care of it; if it were allowed to be borne away by swift carriages and feathered-wheeled carts, would that not be a great pity?” (According to Record of the Grotto-Heavens.)
The Immortal Feng’s calligraphy of the poem “Idly Seeking in the Immortal Realm” is signed “Written by Taihezi, Daoist Elder of the Jade Emperor.” It is noted that Immortal Zhang once lived in seclusion on Mount Taihe of Yuanyue, and so called himself Taihezi. Popular tradition says it is the handwriting of Chen Xiyi; this is incorrect. This is exactly what Caoqiao meant: “This calligraphy was done by a curious man who never held office.” It begins “Idly seeking in the immortal realm” and ends “the heart set on fame”—would an immortal still say such things? Those who do not understand Taihezi fail to realize that he simply loved famous Tang works and borrowed them to give free rein to his immortal brush. Today the Erxian Nunnery in Chengdu Prefecture, Sichuan, also has this stele; it is probably a recutting from a rubbing. I have also seen at Emei a stone inscription with the two lines “In spring wind, leaning on the oar at Helü City; the emperor’s child far takes leave of the Crimson Phoenix Palace”—every character has the posture of dragons and snakes twisting backward, and the brushwork is even more wondrous; it is signed “Inscribed by Immortal Zhang.” Yet these too are transcribed Tang lines. If judged as poetry, one would again have to say, “The blue robe has now delayed the scholar”—this is not the speech of an immortal. (Ibid.)
On the wall of Xiangfu Temple there are four characters in Zhang Sanfeng’s ink calligraphy, “Xiangfu Chan Yuan,” writing the xiang meaning “soaring” in place of the xiang meaning “auspicious”; the coiling and flying movement is brought to the utmost. This is what Tong Shan’s poem refers to: “Beside it are four characters as large as bushels; the large characters, they say, are from Sanfeng’s hand.” (According to Miscellany of Mianzhou.)
A Vernacular Reading of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
Relics on Bayue Mountain
On Bayue Mountain, fifteen li south of Ba County (present-day Tongliang, Chongqing), there survive a fan, an inkstone, and a bamboo staff—one of each—used by Zhang Sanfeng. To this day the monks in the temple still regard them as treasures. (According to the Sichuan Provincial Gazetteer.)
Calligraphy in the Zhuo Family of Chengdu
The immortal elder Zhang Sanfeng left a six-character-per-line poem in his own hand; the calligraphy is on silk and preserved in the Zhuo family home in Chengdu. The poem reads:
Vast Qi surges through the universe,
towering and clear, with nothing else.
The white-jade maned lion—
it was always only in my own house.
The strokes carry the momentum of heaven’s wind and ocean waves, and should be a late-Ming hand. (According to The Letters of Tongjun.)
Poem Inscribed at the Main Hall of Gaobiao Mountain
On the left wall outside the main hall on Gaobiao Mountain is written Meng Haoran’s poem in twenty characters: “Spring sleep—unaware of dawn; / everywhere I hear birds crying. / Last night came the sound of wind and rain; / how many flowers have fallen?” The brushwork extends and contracts, dances and flies, fully expressing its spirit. Most of the hall’s walls have decayed and been repainted; only this wall has not been painted over, and its colors look new. People say it is the immortal brush of Sanfeng. (According to the Leshan County Gazetteer.)
The “Dharma-Preaching Ball” at Jiuding Mountain in Jiazhou
On Zhanyun Peak of Jiuding Mountain east of Jiazhou city, three characters—“Shuofa Qiu,” the “Dharma-Preaching Ball”—handwritten by the immortal elder Sanfeng are carved into the cliff face. Above it is Qinghui Pavilion, the place where the immortal elder expounded the Dao with Inspector Wang. (Ibid.)
Stele of the Immortal’s Portrait at Lingyun Temple
Lingyun Temple lies between the two peaks of Qiluan and Jifeng. In it is an ancient stele engraved with an image of the immortal Feng seated on a rock and reading a book. Above it is inscribed in twenty-one characters, all in clerical script: “By Imperial Conferral, the Holy Image of Mr. Zhang Sanfeng—Flying Dragon Who Saves the World, Perfected Who Penetrates the Subtle and Manifests Transformations, Heavenly Worthy.” (According to the Lingyun Gazetteer.)
Sanfeng Tower in Jiannan Circuit
The old administrative office of Jiannan Circuit is now within the examination hall of Jiading Prefecture. Formerly, when Lord Wang served as observation commissioner of Jiannan, Mr. Zhang Sanfeng manifested in his office; thereupon he built a pavilion at the foot of Gaobiao Mountain to offer sacrifices to him, and the scholars and common people called it “Sanfeng Tower.” In front of the tower were several quiet chambers, with winding corridors, curved railings, a wind pavilion, and a flower terrace—these were Lord Wang’s places for calming the mind. Each evening he would open the rear gate from within the office, climb the steps up the mountain, and from the old site of Anle Garden push through clouds and brush past trees as he ascended. When he reached the tower he would always offer incense and bow in worship, to express a heart of purity and compassion. The immortal elder, looking down and perceiving his sincerity, would manifest his Dharma body to show him, and would discuss scriptures and histories with him, write calligraphy, and recite poetry; the secrets transmitted cannot be fully described. (According to Ruan Youtong’s Wenjian Caoshu, Draft Records of Things Seen and Heard.)
Note: The above entries are compilations from local gazetteers and notebooks concerning Zhang Sanfeng’s relics, handwriting, and legends of his manifestations. They are not works by Zhang Sanfeng himself, but later records of his whereabouts and miraculous traces.
In the river southeast of Jiazhou (present-day Leshan, Sichuan) there is a solitary islet, adjacent to Wuyou Mountain and Ma’an Mountain. Old gazetteers call it “Qingyi Separate Isle.” Mr. Zhang Sanfeng once manifested his traces there, and local scholars and common people built pavilions and terraces to offer sacrifices to him. Among these are the Shixian Yuan, Chunyang Gong, Xuanran Tai, Tingchao Xuan, and Zhubao Zhai, as well as two small pools, Yinyue and Hanyi; the gentleman composed inscriptions and poems for them all, which is likewise a fine affair. (Dongtian Ji)
At the foot of Yingxian Ge on Heming Mountain in Dayi County, there is a cypress planted by Zhang Sanfeng himself; its girth is about fifty arm-spans. It is now old and only a withered stump remains; within the stump a new cypress has grown, also nearly ten arm-spans in girth. (Sichuan Old Gazetteer)
Outside Yingxian Ge on Heming Mountain there is a stele bearing Hu Ying’s poem on his search for Zhang Sanfeng. Eroded by moss and lichen, only lines such as “His open spirit is like jade concealed” remain; the text before and after is blurred, yet it is already worthy of being treasured. The signature “Jishi Ying” still survives. (Qiongzhou Old Gazetteer)
In Heming Mountain there is a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) Pavilion, traditionally said to be the place where Mr. Zhang Sanfeng contemplated the Yi. Its diagram places Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) in the center and wraps the trigram positions of Fuxi around the outside; the meaning is to explain the principle of the waxing and waning of Yin-Yang, so as to clarify the advance and retreat of elixir fire. (Dongtian Ji)
Emperor Hui (the Jianwen Emperor) died in the fire, or some say he fled, and many of his old ministers followed him. Emperor Chengzu suspected this, and in the fifth year sent Hu Ying to distribute imperially composed books and to seek the immortal Zhang Lata (Zhang Sanfeng), searching all the prefectures, counties, towns, and villages of the realm and secretly investigating where the Jianwen Emperor might be. He did not return until the fourteenth year. (Ming History, “Biography of Hu Ying”)
Emperor Taizu ordered the Zhenren (Perfected One) Zhang Yuchu to seek Zhang Sanfeng; there is now a memorial by the Zhenren recorded in the Wudang stele inscriptions. Emperor Chengzu ordered the Jishi (Supervising Secretary) Hu Ying to search the whole realm for him; a handwritten letter and poem are recorded in the Shuanghuai Suichao. (Qixiu Xiaozhu)
During the Ming, the Minister Hu Zhongduan was repeatedly ordered in Emperor Chengzu’s reign to seek the Zhenren Zhang Sanfeng; therefore a saying in my hometown goes, “Old Minister Hu chases Zhang Lata.” (Piling Jianwen Lu)
Old gazetteers record that Guiguzi, Yan Junping, Bai Yuchan, and Zhang Sanfeng were all at Emei. I once saw in the Shenxian Zhengao that Guigu is the Taixuan Master and governs Qingcheng Mountain; Yan Junping is still at Emei, though it is not recorded what rank he holds.
Vernacular Interpretation
In the early Ming, Zhang Sanfeng once took leave of the monk Guanghaishan of Kaiyuan Temple in Kuifu (present-day Chongqing area). At parting he left behind a poem, a pair of straw sandals, and three pieces of agarwood, and then departed. From this it can be known that when Sanfeng traveled in Shu he must have visited Mount Emei; there is no doubt about it.
A search through the complete works of Bai Juyi finds no occurrence of the name Emei. Only thirty li south of present-day Emei County is Yuchan Bay (Jade Toad Bay), which one must ascend by following the cliff and stepping up the stepped path; above it is Yuchan Cave, able to hold a thousand people. The stone of the cave walls is colored like mica, and one faintly seems to see the shape of a silk cord (garment belt) between shoulders and back; tradition says this is the place where Yuchan underwent shijie (corpse liberation: a Daoist term for a cultivator abandoning the body and transforming, the corpse departing as if molted). See Jiang Huchen’s Emei Zhi Yu.
Within the commandery city of Pingyue are old traces of the cultivation of “Zhang Lata” (Sloppy Zhang), that is, Zhang Sanfeng, behind Gaozhen Abbey. During the Hongwu era he wandered here, built a thatched pavilion, closed the door, and sat in quietude. He was on friendly terms with a certain Commander Zhang, and once drank and played games with him. Sanfeng once pointed to the land around Yueshan Temple south of the city and said: “If buried in this place, one may be enfeoffed as a marquis.” Commander Zhang followed his advice, and later indeed was enfeoffed as Marquis of Longping for military merit. In front of the pavilion is a pool that does not dry up in winter or summer; beside it is a cassia tree, also planted by his own hand. Five li south of the prefectural city is Wusheng Pass; across the stream, on the sheer cliff, is a portrait left by Sanfeng: wearing a Huayang scarf, turned sideways and leaning on a staff as he walks, exactly as in a painting. Beside it are four large characters, “The Spirit Remains in the Universe,” written by the Ming governor Guo Qingluo; below are the “Golden Bridge of Night Drips,” where even on clear nights several drops fall like rain, and the “Evening Glow and Setting Sun,” where whether clear or rainy there is always slanting radiance. See Chen Ding of Jiangyin’s Record of Travels.
Huang Gongwang, style name Zijiu, was over ninety years old, with blue-green eyes and ruddy cheeks. One day at Hupao Temple in Wuling, while standing on a rock with four guests, clouds and mist suddenly surged from the mountains on all sides, and within moments he was gone; everyone thought Zijiu had ascended as an immortal. I had always suspected this was an embellishment by people devoted to painting; now, reading the Daozang scripture Yuwen Jinji Jing, I find that Gongwang took part in compiling and recording it in more than one place. His teacher was Jin Pengtou; among his friends were Mo Yueding, Leng Qijing, and Zhang Sanfeng. From this one knows that this old man originally came from the Ten Continents (legendary sea islands where immortals dwell), and that painting was no more than one facet of his cunning play. See Zitao Xuan Zazhui.
Note: Gongwang’s painting fame topped his age, and Patriarch Zhang (Sanfeng) and Leng Qian were also famous throughout the world as painters of the Northern School; their ink traces are mostly stored in the homes of famous literati, and so people transmit tales of their relics and the like.
(Editor) Supplemented the lacunae according to time and place.
(Original annotation) A man of Min—(there must be an error here).
A Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
Recorded in the Dian-Qian Travel Records
The Dian-Qian Travel Records state: Sanfeng was a native of Fujian. During the Hongwu era, because of military household registration, he served as a garrison soldier in Pingyue Commandery; disheveled and barefoot, he begged in the markets, and people called him "Old Slob."
Some, because the Patriarch was from Fujian, say that he once resided in Fujian; but as for saying that he was garrisoned in Pingyue Commandery under military registration, that is hard to understand—could it be that when Shen Wansan was exiled to the frontier, the Patriarch was also sent to Guiyang for garrison duty? Yet during the Hongwu era Taizu once sought out the Patriarch; how is that to be explained?
(Note: saying that the Patriarch was a native of Baoji is a mistaken transmission.)
Ming Dynasty Du Mu's Record of Traveling to Wangwu Mountain
The Ming man Du Mu's Record of Traveling to Wangwu Mountain states: The Daoist priest Chen Xingchang originally lived at Ziran Hermitage on Wudang Mountain. He was seventy-eight this year, with a clear and vigorous spirit, like one who had attained the Dao. He had moved to this mountain for twenty years. What he had learned was the orthodox transmission of the immortal Zhang Sanfeng. He told me: Sanfeng's given name was Junbao, his sobriquet Yuanyuan; he was from Liaoyang and called himself Sanfeng Xunsou, the Modest Old Man of Three Peaks; few in the world knew his original name. He was still alive during the Zhengtong era; where he went afterward is unknown.
I asked him: The world transmits that he was a native of Baoji in Shaanxi; why?
Xingchang replied: He often resided in Baoji, but was not born there.
Record of the Daoist Altar
The altar is named after "Dao" in order to exalt the root. Immortals and spirits emerge from the Dao; those who inquire by the Dao will surely have them descend by the Dao.
In setting up altars to invite immortals, scholars and officials are often curious about this matter, but among such practices some are credible and some are not: if the spirit-writing medium is upright, it may be credible; if depraved and perverse, it is hard to believe. If sincere, it may be credible; if hypocritical, it is hard to believe. If pure and refined, it may be credible; if turbid and vulgar, it is hard to believe. Moreover, immortal talent and an immortal brush must utter words different from ordinary people; if the poetry and prose are base and shallow, the principles coarse and sparse, with ox-demons and snake-spirits deceiving the people and deluding the world, how could these be the words of immortals? Alas, ah, I know it.
The Master Discusses the Daoist Altar
The Master said: What those people do can be set aside and left undiscussed. When I discuss wondrous principles with you few and uphold purity and loftiness, and when inspiration comes the brush follows, then the Hetu and Luoshu, the trigrams and lines, the Way and virtue, loyalty and filial piety, the normative discourses of earlier Confucians, the essential teachings of Laozi, Zhuangzi, Yin Xi, and Liezi, and the purport of the Cantong qi and Wuzhen pian—using these to enrich our learning and give free rein to our words, is that not delightful?
He also said: People seek liberation through immortals by asking about auspicious and inauspicious outcomes, compliance and opposition; if it proves efficacious they believe, if not they disbelieve—you few need not imitate this foolish sentiment. Auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are fixed by Heaven; what benefit is there in knowing them? What loss is there in not knowing? Where principle is present, Qi is present; where Qi is present, the fixed number is present; the mastery lies in me.
Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng
First Paragraph
(The Master once said:) “Principle” is the underlying reason and the root; what circulates is Qi (vital energy); generating and overcoming belong to number—the numerical patterns of fate and circumstance. So long as one seeks only peace of mind and congruence with principle, then even if Qi and fate rise and fall, one will not truly deviate from the right path. The lay devotees present suddenly understood and said: These words are too grand! The Master’s teaching to us has already reached the utmost. Thereupon they recorded the events at the Daoist altar, using several factual accounts to show that such a person truly existed, hoping that those who love cultivating the Dao might thereby envision the Master’s demeanor.
Second Paragraph
The Master invited his disciples to bring wine and gather in the Lingyun area. They set up an altar on Dongpo Tower, where he expounded several chapters of the Daode Jing, and each of them listened and received his teaching. Afterward he had the person carrying the qin place it on the table, lit fine incense, and opened an old painting; then everyone went downstairs in turn. At that time, those who had come along were tasting tea in the front pavilion, with four or five mountain monks nearby, laughing before the rivers and mountains. Suddenly they heard qin music coming from upstairs, faintly serene and pure like “Spring Dawn in a Cave Heaven,” and again vast and boundless like “Clouds and Water over the Xiao and Xiang”—yet there was clearly no one upstairs. That day all the disciples heard the Master’s qin music with their own ears.
Third Paragraph
It was the severe cold of early winter, and after a snowy dawn the sky had just cleared slightly. The Master came into the mountains to expound the Dao to his disciples and drive away the cold, and said: Today I wish to walk in the snow and chant. Is there anyone willing to accompany me? Before long he heard a novice monk say that at the gate there was a Daoist priest in a straw cape moving very fast; Hanxu Sheng chased him but could not catch up, and so wrote a poem to record the matter. Its gist was: While the Master lived in the world, few recognized him; I recognize the Master, yet my steps are slow. Snow on the stream bridge shows no footprints; clouds return to the seas and mountains, leaving one’s thoughts lingering. Once the immortal wind departs, it should be a thousand li away; when the crane carriage comes again, who knows what time. It was harder than pursuing Han Yu; on the way back, treading the moonlight, I still think of his graceful bearing.
Fourth Paragraph
The Master and his disciples entered Mount Qingcheng, seeking a place to build thatched huts for quiet cultivation, and lingered there unwilling to leave. One day he inscribed words on Feixian Rock (Flying Immortal Rock), whose gist was: I now manifest my body and contemplate together with you all. After walking to Shangqing Palace, they suddenly saw a boy acting frightened and hiding inside a large rock. At first the disciples did not take it seriously and, leaning along steep cliffs and following narrow paths, wound down through the void to the Celestial Master (Tianshi) Cave; they saw nothing there and returned to Shangqing. One disciple said: The boy today must be the Master’s transformation body; his hiding in the rock was to teach the principle of “withdrawing and hiding in secrecy” (retracting and concealing oneself).
Fifth Paragraph
The Master kept his disciples in Mount Qingcheng for several days, viewing the wondrous scenery of Damian Mountain, where the empty emerald green pierced the sky; they pledged a refined bond of shared aspiration, and a pure white emptiness arose in the courtyard. One day he said to everyone: Let us go back; General Yao (the local person in charge) is about to come down.
The mountain was sealed off by heavy snow, so the group hurriedly packed their baggage and set out. Passing through Qiongzhou and arriving at Taiping Market, they looked back at Mingshan, and saw only dense reddish clouds over the ridge, with the whole sky bearing the look of impending snow.
The Master said to Panshanzi: When a scholar cannot carry out his aspirations at court, he should withdraw to the mountains and forests. To serve one’s elders above and support one’s family below, so that the whole household is harmonious; to cultivate the Dao while also farming—this too is the kind of learning of Yan Hui and Min Sun. Rather than rushing about and socializing in the city, exhausting mind and strength, it is better to be as leisurely and free as a mulberry picker.
When Panshanzi heard this, he immediately moved his family into Pangu. He cultivated his person and nurtured his nature, and his household livelihood became secure. Only then did he believe that the Master’s exposition of principle worked as surely as a drum responding to a strike.
In the summer of the Jiawu year, the Luoyi came out from Dabu, burning and plundering villages. There was a woman of the Ding surname who was captured together with her younger brother. The bandits took pity on her, untied her ropes, and wanted to force her to submit. She cursed them loudly and would not yield; seizing an opportunity, she threw herself into the river and died. When the bandits came, her father crossed the river; her mother drowned; the woman came out of the water holding her mother’s corpse. Her younger brother was captured; three years later he escaped back to Lengqi garrison and tearfully told the story. Lord Xu of the Zongfu (named Zhiyuan) had the literati make the matter known, and the disciples in the mountains asked the Master to write an inscription. The Master wrote at once: The eldest daughter of the Ding family, a woman of heroic chastity; when the bandits came from Dabu, they raided and plundered the village; the woman held to her resolve and would not be disgraced; she threw herself into the river and died; even in death she still held her mother’s corpse out of the water. After finishing, he said: This woman will surely share eternal fame with the chaste and martyred.
Another five years passed. In Jiazhou there was a woman of the Wei family who had married into the Li family and kept chastity after her husband died. Her mother-in-law passed away in turn, and her father-in-law was poor and unable to support himself. She returned to the Wei family and depended on her father’s spinning and weaving, while also supporting her father-in-law, intending to become a Daoist nun only after fulfilling both chastity and filial piety. Her father, old and seriously ill, feared he would soon die and that his daughter would be left with no one to depend on, so he asked a matchmaker to arrange her remarriage into a family of the Song surname. When Lady Li heard this, tears flowed silently, and with difficulty she said to her father: Tomorrow I will go to Master Li’s grave to offer a farewell sacrifice. The Wei family believed her. At dawn the next day she took a sedan chair out through the west suburb; halfway there she deceived the chair bearers, saying: I am going to visit relatives behind the mountain; here is a hairpin, take it to my home and exchange it for the sedan-chair fare. When she saw the bearers go far away, she ran to Guanyin Beach and leaped into the river to preserve her chastity. At that time Magistrate Mao of Le County (personal name Huifeng), upon hearing the news, immediately prayed to the river god to protect her intact body. The next day, her corpse was recovered at the Daoist temple, her face as if alive.
(Continued from above) After her death she was buried together with the son of the Li family; later people petitioned for an imperial commendation and built a shrine, allowing Ding Lienü (the Chaste Woman Ding) to receive sacrificial offerings there. Only then did the disciples of the Cloud Altar believe that what the Master had written when he presented an inscription to the Ding woman years before was indeed no empty claim.
Prefatory Biographies and Outer Records
Biography of Master Sanfeng
(The author’s name is missing.)
Master Sanfeng was a native of Yizhou in Liaoyang, north of Youzhou. His surname was Zhang, his given name Junshi, his courtesy name Xuanxuan, and his sobriquet Sanfeng; the imperial court bestowed on him the title “Zhenren (Perfected Person) Who Penetrates the Subtle and Manifests Transformation.” He was born in the late Yuan dynasty. The Zhenren’s father was named Chang, also called Zi’an; Sanfeng was the fifth son in the family.
In childhood he contracted an eye disease, and every kind of medicine proved ineffective. He therefore left home to enter the Dao and was sent to Bile Palace, where he took Zhang Yun’an as his teacher and studied the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) orthodox teaching. When Zhang Yun’an first saw him, he immediately felt that the boy’s endowments were unlike those of ordinary people: his body was like a turtle, his bone structure like a crane, he had large ears and round eyes, and his beard and whiskers stood up like halberds. On his head he wore a topknot, sometimes covered by a crescent-moon cap; he carried a bamboo staff, one conical hat, and one patched robe, and was the same in cold and heat, caring nothing for neatness. People called him “Sloppy Zhang” (Zhang Lata).
It was said that he could travel a thousand li in a day; when in quiet retreat he would close his eyes and sit in meditation, eating nothing for ten days at a stretch; sometimes in a single morning he could eat a sheng or dou of grain, and at other times he would abstain from grains for several days while his expression remained as usual. He sincerely cultivated in secret, sat upright and untainted by worldly affairs, and devoted his whole heart to the Great Dao, yet for a long time he did not attain success. He then traveled throughout the lakes and seas, and once resided at Jintai Abbey in Baoji, Shaanxi.
Suddenly one day he took leave of the dusty world, left a verse, and departed (manifested his passing). His neighbor Yang Guishan prepared his body and laid it in a coffin; at the burial, a roar like thunder came from the coffin. The people were terrified and opened it, and saw that his complexion was as if alive; before long he revived. After this he endured every hardship, journeying over famous mountains and great marshes. By chance in the Zhongnan Mountains of Yong he met Master Huolong, who orally transmitted the formulas and imparted secret subtleties to him, and ordered him to go forth into the world, “to harmonize his radiance and become one with the dust,” to seek cultivation companions in Wu and Yue, and to seek lead in the depths of obscurity (the foundation of Neidan [internal alchemy] and Waidan [external alchemy]); only then did the methods of inner and outer alchemy attain completion.
He then traveled through famous sites, cultivated his nature on Mount Wudang in Chu, and built a hut among the ancient trees and forested mounds before the Yuxu Palace. When the nine-times refined Golden Elixir (Jindan) was completed, his Dao was full and perfect: fierce beasts did not disturb him, birds of prey did not seize him, and people always felt he was extraordinary. He once said to the villagers, “This mountain will certainly become greatly renowned on another day.” After dwelling on the mountain for twenty-three years, he shook out his sleeves and departed to wander among the clouds.
He once entered Shu; wherever famous mountains he passed, traces of the immortal remain. He was skilled in calligraphy, especially the “dragon-and-snake” cursive script, and to this day the people of Shu still treasure his ink traces.
In the tenth year of Yongle, the emperor issued an edict …
Vernacular Interpretation
The Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoist priest Sun Biyun built a palace on Wudang Mountain and paid homage to the patriarch. During the Tianshun era, the imperial court posthumously conferred on Zhang Sanfeng the title Tongwei Xianhua Zhenren (Perfected Being Who Penetrates the Subtle and Manifests Transformation).
After this, Zhang Sanfeng’s whereabouts were unpredictable; he converted countless people, and no one knows his final destination. His own works, such as the Jieyao Pian, Zhegutian, and other ci poems, circulated in the world. They discuss the methods of Daoist cultivation and the attainment of perfection; the Neidan (internal alchemy) and Waidan (external alchemy) scriptures and the poetic compositions are all exquisite. Since ancient times, Wei Boyang’s Cantong qi, Cui Gong’s Ruyao jing, Patriarch Lü’s Qiaoyao, and others have all been models for entering sagehood and transcending the ordinary, but their wording and meaning are subtle and obscure; even after reading ten thousand scrolls, it is hard to glimpse their entirety. Only Ziyang Zhenren’s Wuzhen pian explains things more clearly; the patriarchs’ surviving scriptures are also numerous, yet they still cannot be understood at a single reading. Only Zhang Sanfeng’s Jieyao Pian is clear and reliable, with oral instructions plainly revealed, enabling later learners to awaken at first sight. It expounds the correct path of “returning to the root and restoring one’s destiny,” serves as a ladder and boat for continuing the Mysterious Gate, clarifies the principles of the dual cultivation of nature and life and the conjunction of Yin-Yang, saves the deluded multitudes, and universally benefits sentient beings. It ensures that the Dao of the Supreme is transmitted forever and does not fall away from “the mystery of mysteries, the gate of all wonders,” and shines anew today. He also vigorously refutes heterodox side paths and outer ways, dismisses the false and honors the orthodox, so that those who resolve to cultivate diligently will not stumble onto wrong paths and may hope for rapid results—such is the Zhenren’s compassionate merit, inconceivable.
Preface to Wu Zhen’s (Xiangyun Dongtian) Engraved Edition of the Xuanyao Pian
This book was transmitted from the patriarch Zhang Sanfeng. It extracts the profound wonders of the Dao and searches out the essence of the Dao; it is truly a secret that had not been transmitted for myriad ages and the proper goal for studying the Dao. If people in the world take it as the art of cai zhan (sexual absorption, a heterodox side path such as sexual union to absorb Yin and supplement Yang), the slander is too great; yet one cannot entirely blame later generations for reckless talk. During the Liu Song there was a Zhang Shanfeng who transmitted the art of sexual absorption by bedding women. Listeners did not distinguish, and so falsely transmitted that Shanfeng was Sanfeng, using cai zhan theories to defame Sanfeng. In the end this is carelessness and a fondness for debate, without carefully savoring the purport of the whole book. Does the Jindan lun in the book not say: “If one takes this book as sexual absorption by bedding women, it is like wrapping oneself in hemp to fight a fire, or a moth flying into a lamp”? By this comparison, one naturally knows that reckless accusations are unfounded. Lingji and Lingmi have labored for years, exhaustively investigating and pondering. Although they dare not claim to have peeked into its deepest recesses, they have grasped two or three tenths of its roots and sequence. As it is said, being able to pass the outer barrier, they dare not allow themselves leisure or idleness; they must be earnest and humble, seeking instruction from many quarters…
Related Prefaces and Postscripts to The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng (Vernacular Interpretation)
(On the Origins of Printing the Book: A Note by Zhang Lingji and Deng Lingmi)
What is discussed here is the essential secret of Waidan (external alchemy, the method of making elixirs from medicinal substances and the like). For a long time this book had not been carved and printed for circulation; it survived only in hand-copied form. We feared that many copyists would make errors in the characters—the so-called “boar and pig” corruptions, in which characters are miscopied into graphically similar variants—and that in time the paper copies would rot and the writing blur. Therefore we have specially arranged for blocks to be cut and the work printed, so that this Dharma-gate may be transmitted for a long time, enabling those who aspire to learn the Dao to understand where to apply their efforts, and also to approximate somewhat Patriarch Ziyang’s—usually referring to the great Neidan (internal alchemy) master Zhang Boduan, author of the Wuzhen Pian (Awakening to Reality)—wish of “ten thousand people, one character”: his wish that ten thousand people together uphold one true word and together return to the one Dao. Though we dare not claim to fulfill that wish completely, perhaps we can accomplish one ten-thousandth of it. The Patriarch’s spirit in heaven should silently watch over us. Disciples of the Dao, Zhang Lingji and Deng Lingmi, washed their hands and respectfully inscribed this note.
Preface to the Yueyun Altar by Zhang Ziqiong
Master Kunyang (an honorific associated with the Zhang Sanfeng lineage) took compassion and universal salvation as his aspiration: when he met Confucians he spoke of Confucianism; when he met Buddhists he spoke of Buddhism; when he met Daoists he spoke of Daoism. As for his Daoist teaching methods: to those of great spiritual capacity he taught the way of the Heavenly Immortals; to those of middling capacity, the Earthly Immortals; to those of lesser capacity, the Human Immortals. As for how he taught people: to those of superior capacity he spoke of Daoist practice and virtue (actual cultivation and moral conduct); to those of middling capacity, of cause and effect; to those of inferior capacity, of retribution. He taught without adhering to a single fixed pattern, applying his efforts according to each person’s talents and capacity, single-mindedly intending that all living beings within the seas should each attain something. Having inherited the Patriarch’s Dharma-lineage, to be able on his own to establish such a great vow is truly admirable and moving.
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