《張三丰先生全集》Vol. 13

The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng · Origins of the Perfected Zhang Sanfeng (Vernacular Interpretation)

The Perfected (Zhenren, an honorific in Daoism for an accomplished adept) was a native of Yizhou in Liaodong. His surname was Zhang, given name Junshi, courtesy name Yuanyuan, and sobriquet Sanfengzi; he was also called Kunyang. Others say his surname was Zhang, given name Yu, courtesy name Junbao, and sobriquet Yuanyuanzi. He was a man of the late Song dynasty.

He was extraordinary in appearance from birth: his body was like a tortoise and his bone structure like a crane; he had large ears and round eyes and stood over seven chi tall. His long beard was thick, his hair was tied in a topknot, and he often wore a crescent-moon crown, a bamboo hat, and a patchwork robe, which he did not change in winter or summer and whose edges he did not trim, so that he looked slovenly; people therefore called him “Zhang Lata” (“Sloppy Zhang”). He had an enormous appetite and could eat more than a sheng of grain at one meal; sometimes for months he practiced bigu (grain avoidance), yet his expression remained as usual.

During the Yanyou era, when he was sixty-seven, he went south of Mount Song and encountered Lü Chunyang (Lü Dongbin) and Zheng Huolong, from whom he received the essential teachings of the Golden Elixir (Neidan cultivation), and through cultivation he attained the Dao. Another account says that he entered Mount Zhongnan and received transmission from the Perfected Huolong, thereby attaining the Dao.

Shen Wanshan, also known as Wansan, a fisherman of the Qinhuai area, delighted in goodness and was generous in charity, but his family was poor and he lacked the means to carry out his intentions. The Perfected transmitted to him the art of “turning stone into gold” (a metaphor in folk legend for a technique that transforms poverty and lowliness into wealth and sufficiency), helping him fulfill his wish. Wansan styled himself the Daoist of the Three Mountains, and in his elixir chamber there was a couplet: “Eight hundred fire-oxen plow the moonlit night; three thousand beauties smile in the spring breeze.” People called his residence the “Treasure Bowl” (Jubaopen); Sanshan Street in the southwest of the city is his former home.

At the end of the Yuan, the Perfected lived at Jintai Abbey in Baoji. On the twentieth day of the ninth month in the Bingwu year of the Zhizheng era, he said he was going to leave the world and left a hymn as his farewell. The local notable Yang Guishan prepared a coffin and encoffined him; just as he was about to be buried, he came back to life, claiming at the time to be one hundred and thirty years old. After that he entered Shu and went to Mount Taihe (that is, the Wudang Mountain area), where he built a thatched dwelling at Yuxu Hermitage. Before the hermitage were five ancient trees, beneath which he often rested; fierce beasts did not harm him and birds of prey did not attack him, and everyone found this strange. When people asked him about immortal arts, he refused to answer; when asked about the scriptures and classics, he would talk tirelessly. He once told the people of Wudang, “This mountain will one day become greatly renowned.” Later, during the Yongle era, the emperor ordered the construction of Wudang, and it indeed came true.

During the construction, the Perfected mingled among the craftsmen and worked, laboring diligently and enduring hardship; no one recognized him, and only the Perfected Sun Biyun knew deeply of his extraordinary nature. At that time Biyun served as abbot of Wudang Mountain and had frequent dealings with the Perfected, often receiving his instruction and benefit. The Perfected’s fame reached the court, and the Yongle Emperor repeatedly sent envoys to summon him, but he would not go. He only entrusted poems and verses to Biyun to present to the throne. Later he transmitted Daoist arts to the Daoist Qiu Yuanjing, and thereafter no one knew where he ended up.

The above content is based on what is recorded in the Xianjian (Mirror of Immortals).

The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng: A Vernacular Interpretation

1. The Emperor Respectfully Offers a Letter

To the Immortal Venerable Zhang Sanfeng, Zhenren (Perfected Being):

I have long admired the great name of the Immortal Venerable and longed to receive your teachings in person. I once sent envoys to burn incense and deliver a letter, searching all famous mountains, earnestly requesting that the Immortal Venerable descend. Your De (Virtue/Power) is exalted, transcending all things; you are united with the Dao, wondrous and unfathomable. My natural capacity is coarse and ordinary, and my moral conduct is slight, yet my sincere heart seeking an audience with you is never forgotten day or night. Now I again send envoys, respectfully presenting incense offerings and a letter, earnestly requesting that you honor me with your presence, so as to comfort my sincere admiration. Respectfully offered.

2. Zhang Sanfeng Entrusts Sun Biyun to Transmit a Memorial

The secret formulas transmitted orally by the Holy Teacher have circulated in the world for ten thousand ages; how many people truly understand them?

When clothing is torn, cloth is used to patch it; when a tree declines, earth is used to nourish it. If the human body is damaged, what then should be used to repair it? This is the profound mechanism of Yin-Yang creation and transformation. Draw out the treasure within the Kan trigram (metal within water), like a single branch of golden flower revealed. Auspicious clouds open at the horizon; auspicious light fills the foundation of death. Returning, one becomes dim and silent, as if drunk and as if foolish. The Great Elixir is as tiny as a millet grain; after shedding its shell, one realizes Wuwei (non-action). Roaming freely through the vastness of heaven and earth, the ten thousand phenomena are like a pearl in the palm. If a person can take this medicine, their lifespan will equal that of heaven and earth. If it does not prolong life, then all my words are false.

3. Oral Instructions on the Golden Elixir

The Golden Elixir weighs one jin (a metaphor for a complete elixir); close the eyes and quietly preserve the Shen (spirit) and mind. Take it only within one’s own home (seek inwardly); why seek it outside? Refine the mercury of the Li maiden; swallow completely the essence of the Kan male. The Golden Elixir together with the fire timing: mouth to mouth, it is the primordial sound (a metaphor for the secret of breathing and exhalation/inhalation).

Note: This text is a document in which Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang (or a later emperor) sent envoys to seek the immortal and Zhang Sanfeng entrusted his disciple Sun Biyun to transmit a memorial. The first half is the emperor’s letter of reverence; the second half is the essential instructions on Neidan (internal alchemy) cultivation transmitted by Zhang Sanfeng. Terms such as “the treasure within Kan,” “the mercury of the Li maiden,” and “the essence of the Kan male” metaphorically describe the methods of internal refinement, emphasizing inward seeking, preserving Shen (spirit), and fire timing, and stating that taking this can prolong life.