Tales of the Taoist Immortals (12 page)

When Tzu-ya looked in the direction where the imperial army was stranded, he saw broken flags and banners. Turning to his assistant he said, “Lead twenty strong men into the enemy camp and capture the commanders.

After Shang Ts’ou was defeated, Duke Chi founded a new dynasty. He named it Chou and was crowned Emperor Wen. Kiang Tzu-ya was given the title of duke and received rich gifts of land and gold from the new ruler.

Emperor Wen appointed Tzu-ya his chief minister. Tzu-ya helped him rebuild the country, and when the nation had recovered from the harsh rule of the last Shang emperor, the magician retired.

Kiang Tzu-ya lived out the rest of his life in the fief that Emperor Wen had given him. He mingled with the common citizens in the marketplace and visited the hermits in the mountains. When visiting dignitaries asked for an audience,
they were usually met by servants and told, “The master went out early in the morning with his fishing rod and a flask of wine and is not expected to return until sunset.”

K
IANG
T
ZU-YA
lived from the end of the Shang dynasty (1766–1122
BCE
) to the beginning of the Chou dynasty (1122–221
BCE
). He was Duke Chi’s principal adviser during the latter’s campaign against Shang Ts’ou and became the chief minister of the Chou dynasty when Chi was made emperor. Tzu-ya’s treatise on strategy and tactics,
Kiang T’ai-kung ping-fa (Master Kiang’s Art of War),
is considered one of the greatest classics of military strategy.

21

The Immortal in Sheep’s Clothing

Tso Chi

Tso Chi learned the magical arts on a mountain called the Celestial Pillar. He was especially adept at shape-shifting and could summon ghosts and spirits.

The chief minister of the Han empire, Ts’ao Ts’ao, heard about Tso Chi’s skills and wanted to meet him.

When Tso Chi arrived at court, the chief minister said, “Demonstrate to me some of your magical skills.”

“It would be my pleasure,” replied the magician.

After seeing some of the marvels Tso Chi could perform,
Ts’ao Ts’ao asked the magician if he could survive a year without food and water.

“Lock me in a cell and find out,” replied Tso Chi.

After a year, when Tso Chi was released, the magician still looked well-fed and healthy.

One time, Ts’ao Ts’ao threw a large banquet that was attended by many high-ranking officials and diplomats. When food was brought to the tables, the chief minister remarked, “I would love to have carp from the Pine River tonight.” Tso Chi took a bowl, threw a fishing line into it, and pulled out a carp. Everyone at the banquet was impressed.

Then Ts’ao Ts’ao said, “The carp won’t taste good if we do not steam it with ginger from Szechwan.”

“No problem,” said Tso Chi, who immediately pulled some fresh Szechwan ginger from his sleeves.

Another time, Ts’ao Ts’ao and his friends were touring the countryside. At midday, they were all hungry. Ts’ao Ts’ao was about to order the servants to go to the nearest town to buy food when Tso Chi took out a piece of meat and a flask of wine from a basket. He distributed the meat and wine to all those present, and everyone ate to their heart’s content.

After this incident, Ts’ao Ts’ao began to feel threatened by the Taoist magician. “He has so much power,” thought the minister. “What if he decides to support my enemies?” So he secretly plotted to kill Tso Chi. But when Ts’ao Ts’ao’s soldiers went to Tso Chi’s home, the magician immediately vanished into a wall.

The following week, Ts’ao Ts’ao’s spies reported seeing Tso Chi in the marketplace, but when the soldiers arrived, all the citizens there looked like Tso Chi. Not wanting to
arrest the wrong person and anger the people, Ts’ao Ts’ao ordered the soldiers back to their barracks.

A few days later, the minister’s spies again reported seeing Tso Chi, this time on a hillside near the city of Yang. Ts’ao Ts’ao immediately led his soldiers to kill the magician. When they arrived on the mountain, they saw Tso Chi disappear into a flock of sheep. Ts’ao Ts’ao now knew there was nothing he could do, so he told his men, “Forget about killing this man.”

Hearing that, one of the sheep stood up on its hind legs and asked, “Is this true?”

Ts’ao Ts’ao immediately shouted, “Shoot him!” But before the soldiers could pull their bows, all the sheep were standing on their hind legs demanding, “Is this true?”

After that, Ts’ao Ts’ao gave up trying to kill Tso Chi. For his part, Tso Chi had had his fill of entertaining government officials. He left the capital and disappeared into the mountains.

T
SO
C
HI
lived during the latter part of the Han dynasty (206
BCE
–219
CE
) when Ts’ao Ts’ao was the chief minister and the power behind the throne. Ts’ao Ts’ao’s son, Ts’ao Pei, eventually deposed the Han emperor and founded the Wei dynasty (220–265
CE
).

22

The Spirit Catcher

Ko Hsüan

Ko Hsüan learned his magic from Tso Chi. Hsüan could make stone statues walk; he could talk to butterflies and grasshoppers and get them to dance; and he could grow vegetables in winter and create ice in summer.

Once, when Ko Hsüan and his friends wanted to draw water from a well to quench their thirst, they could not find a container. Hsüan pointed at the well and cups of water flew into their hands.

One year there was a drought. When the emperor asked Ko Hsüan if he could make rain, the magician took his writing brush, drew a talisman, and fastened it on top of his house. Soon, dark clouds appeared and rain began to fall.

Ko Hsüan was also adept at capturing evil spirits. One time, he heard that a group of mischievous spirits had taken over a shrine in a nearby village. The spirits made the villagers send food and offerings every day, threatening that accidents and mishaps would occur if the gifts did not arrive.

Hsüan went to the village, strode into the shrine, and saw the spirits perching on the beams and rafters.

“Put your offerings on the altar,” demanded the spirits.

When Ko Hsüan did not respond, they whipped up gusts of wind and tried to blow him out of the shrine. When Hsüan continued to defy them, they pelted him with stones.

Eventually, Ko Hsüan said in a loud and authoritative voice, “Stop your mischief or I’ll trap you in a gourd.”

The spirits fluttered around the shrine and showed no signs of submission. Hsüan then drew a talisman in the air and said, “Capture!” The spirits were immediately sucked into the gourd.

Ko Hsüan stepped out of the shrine and was greeted by a crowd of villagers. He assured them, “I have captured the spirits. They won’t bother you again.” He then fastened a talisman on the door of the shrine and said, “This talisman will keep evil spirits away. Your village will be free from such mischief from now on.”

Another time, Ko Hsüan was walking on the north slopes of Mount Hua when he noticed a dark vapor hovering over a house. Sensing that there was an evil spirit inside, he transformed himself into a farmer and knocked on the door.

A scholar welcomed him in, and Ko Hsüan said, “I need someone to help me with the harvest today.”

“I will be glad to help you,” replied the scholar.

Ko Hsüan led the scholar away from the house and said, “There is an evil snake spirit in your house posing as your
wife. She has already eaten a lot of children in the village.” When the scholar refused to believe him, Ko Hsüan took the man into the woods and showed him a pit filled with skulls and bones.

The scholar shook with fear and said, “What should I do?”

Ko Hsüan said, “Tonight, you must occupy her attention so that I can capture her.”

The scholar went into the village and bought a bolt of cloth. That evening, he presented it to his wife and tried to get her to talk about the clothes that she would make. Meanwhile, Ko Hsüan set up an altar outside the house, drew his talismans, and chanted incantations. When the woman realized that she had been trapped, she transformed herself into a large python and tried to swallow the scholar. Seeing this, Ko Hsüan drew his sword, threw it at the snake, and impaled it against the wall. Stench filled the room, and scorpions and centipedes crawled out of cracks in the wall to dissolve into a puddle of dark liquid.

Ko Hsüan drew another talisman, burned it, and told the scholar to eat the ashes. After the scholar swallowed the burned talisman, he began to vomit a thick yellow liquid. Hsüan said to him, “You were poisoned by the snake spirit. If you didn’t have a spark of goodness in you, you would have become a vampire yourself.”

When Hsüan knew that it was time for him to leave the mortal realm, he built a hut in the mountains and set up a furnace and a cauldron to make the elixir of immortality.

One winter day, he was out in the woods gathering roots and minerals, barefoot and dressed in a sleeveless shirt. Two daughters of a woodcutter, who were helping their father carry firewood home, saw him digging in the snowy ground. Not knowing that Ko Hsüan was a Taoist adept,
the sisters said to each other, “This man doesn’t even have shoes and a warm coat. We should help him.”

One woman made a pair of shoes and the other made a wool shirt. They brought their gifts to Ko Hsüan’s home and called to him, “Old man, we have brought you shoes and a coat.”

When there was no answer, the sisters opened the door of the hut and walked in. Inside, they found a furnace with smoldering ashes, a cauldron, and a note that said, “I thank you for your gifts. If you open the cauldron, you will find two halves of a pill. These are my gifts to both of you.”

The sisters found the pill and swallowed it. From that day on, the women stopped aging. They maintained their youth and vigor all their lives and lived for over a hundred years.