Tales of the Taoist Immortals (15 page)

After Hsü Ta’s death, most of Chu Yüan-chang’s original supporters were either murdered or executed for treason. Chang Chung had managed to escape with his life only because he had noticed that during the last years of Yüan-chang’s reign, the emperor’s eyes had become aggressive, and a dark cloud of death had always hung over his forehead.

Chang Chung never returned to China. He left the lands controlled by Yüan-chang, wandered west, and lived out the rest of his days far from the empire he had once helped to create.

C
HANG
C
HUNG
lived from the end of the Yüan dynasty (1271–1368
CE
) to the early Ming (1368–1644
CE
). He helped Chu Yüan-chang defeat the Mongols and establish the Ming dynasty.

28

The Crane Immortal

Ch’ing Wu

Ch’ing Wu learned the Taoist arts from P’eng Tsu (P’eng the Ancient One), who was rumored to have discovered an elixir of immortality and to have lived for over a thousand years.

After he completed his apprenticeship, Ch’ing Wu built a hut on a rocky ledge on Mount Hua and lived in the company of the cranes and eagles that soared among the craggy peaks. The northern part of the mountains, where Ch’ing Wu had made his home, resembled a great dragon—the north peak was the head, the ridges were the spine, and the craggy spurs were the legs and talons. Clouds and mist
swirled around the peaks and rocky escarpments, making the land seem elusive, mysterious, and ephemeral.

Living on Mount Hua, Ch’ing Wu saw that clouds and mists gathered only in certain places. He also noticed that some parts of the mountain were frequented by animals and birds more than others. One day, following the flight path of a crane, he climbed through a cleft in the rock and found a secluded valley. At the mouth of the valley was a round boulder, and in a pool sheltered by the boulder was a group of cranes.

As Ch’ing Wu approached them, the birds changed into human form. The crane that Ch’ing Wu had followed came toward him and said, “We are crane immortals, and we have waited for you for a long time. The lords of heaven have chosen you to be the keeper of the knowledge of the land and its power. Therefore, we will teach you how to recognize the flow of energy in the land and how to select grave sites that will make kings and sages out of the descendants of those who are buried there.”

Ch’ing Wu bowed and replied, “I am honored to accept this responsibility, and I will promise that this knowledge will only be used for the purposes of good.” He stayed with the crane immortals until he had learned everything they could teach him.

At that time, in a village in southeast China, lived a man named Sun Chung who grew and sold melons for a living. One hot summer day, while harvesting his melons, Chung saw three men walking down the road near his house. Being a kind and generous man, Sun Chung called to the strangers, saying, “It’s too hot to travel when the sun is high. Come and have some watermelons. It will cool you down.”

The three men thanked the farmer for his kindness and spent the afternoon resting in Chung’s house. As the sun
began to dip below the mountaintops, the men said, “We should be on our way, but before we leave, we would like to give you a gift. Follow us into the mountains and we’ll show you a burial site.”

Sun Chung followed them up the mountain path. The sun had set and a soft mist was beginning to gather in the valleys. The three mysterious strangers led Chung to a hidden spring on the side of the mountain and said, “When your mother dies, you should bury her here.” Sun Chung gathered some rocks and built a cairn to mark the spot. When he tried to thank the three men, they changed into white cranes and flew away.

Sun Chung returned home. The years went by, but he did not forget his encounter with the crane immortals. One day, his mother called him to her room and said, “I do not have long to live. I will feel better leaving you if I know that you will continue the family line.” Being a faithful son, Sun Chung understood her wish. Several months later, he introduced a plain-looking young woman, the daughter of a farmer, to his mother. A marriage agreement was made between the two families, and on a warm spring day before the rainy season, Sun Chung brought his bride home.

A year later, Chung’s mother died. Remembering what the crane immortals had told him, he buried her in the spot marked by the rock cairn. Not long afterward, his wife conceived a child. When his son was born, Sun Chung named him Chien.

Sun Chien became a general of the Han empire, and when the ruling house became weak and corrupt, he took over the southeastern region of China and proclaimed himself king of the state of Wu. His descendants Sun T’se and Sun Ch’uan expanded the territories of Wu and fought the
rulers of the kingdoms of Wei and Shu for the title of emperor of China.

The site where Sun Chung had buried his mother was a “kingmaker” site, and the crane immortals who had visited Chung were emanations from Ch’ing Wu.

C
H
’
ING
W
U
lived during the early Han dynasty (206
BCE
–219
CE
) and is considered by many to be the father of the art of k’anyu (or feng-shui).

Sun Chung lived during the late Han dynasty. His son Sun Chien is regarded as the founder of the Wu dynasty in the era of the Three Kingdoms (220–265
CE
). The Three Kingdoms were Wei, founded by Ts’ao Ts’ao’s son Ts’ao Pei; Shu, founded by Lui Pei; and Wu, founded by Sun Chien.

29

The Mad Beggar

Chou Tien

Chou Tien was born into a poor family. At fourteen, he became seriously ill; when he recovered, he had lost his memory and became a beggar. Wandering around the marketplace, he would shout, “Peace will come to the nation.” Whenever a new government official took office, Chou Tien would pay him a visit and say, “I bring news of good times.”

At that time, the Mongols were the rulers of China. Afraid that their Han-Chinese subjects would rebel and overthrow them, the Mongols enforced martial law throughout the country. Possession of weapons became a major crime, and several families had to share one kitchen
knife. Thus, when the people heard Chou Tien’s ravings, they shook their heads and muttered, “This man is insane. How can he say that good times are coming when things are getting worse each day.”

The Mongols’ harsh rule began to stir up discontent. Eventually, rebellions broke out. One of the leaders of a peasant revolt was a man named Chu Yüan-chang. When Yüan-chang arrived in the town where Chou Tien was begging, Tien ran to meet him and shouted, “I bring news of good times.” Yüan-chang was at first amused, but when Chou Tien continued to prophesy that peace and prosperity would come to the nation, he invited the mad beggar to accompany him on his military campaigns.

On the eve of a battle with a rival rebel leader named Chang Shih-ch’eng, Yüan-chang asked Chou Tien, “What are my chances of winning?”

Tien replied, “Your rival is not destined to become an emperor.”

The next day, Yüan-chang went into battle with confidence and defeated Shih-ch’eng.

After Chu Yüan-chang became the new emperor of China, Chou Tien went to court to congratulate him. When Yüan-chang saw Tien, he said to himself, “If this man can help me win my throne, he can also help others take it from me. I must kill him before it’s too late.”

Chou Tien divined this and said, “Don’t waste your time and effort trying to kill me. I cannot be harmed by fire, water, or weapons.”

The emperor did not believe him. “Tie up the madman’s hands and feet and throw him into the cauldron,” Yüan-chang instructed his guards. “And make sure the fire underneath is hot.”

After an hour or so, Chou Tien stood up inside the pot
and smiled; he was neither burned nor scalded. Yüan-chang then ordered his men to cover the cauldron with a heavy lid. “This will kill him for sure,” said the emperor. “No one can survive being cooked for several hours.”

The hours passed. There was no movement or noise inside the pot, so Chu Yüan-chang thought the diviner was finally dead. He opened the cauldron, looked inside, and saw Chou Tien sleeping like an infant. The emperor dropped the lid in shock. Chou Tien woke up, yawned, and said, “What was that noise that disturbed my sleep?”

After this incident, Chu Yüan-chang knew that he could not kill Tien. So he put him in a Buddhist monastery and told the monks to monitor the diviner’s activities.

One day, the abbot of the monastery went to the emperor and exclaimed, “Chou Tien has been quarreling with the monks and has refused to eat for almost a month. He has also wreaked havoc throughout the monastery.”

The emperor knew that Chou Tien was up to his old tricks. “I will see what I can do,” he told the abbot.

When Chu Yüan-chang arrived at the monastery, Chou Tien greeted him at the gate and said, “The monks here are bored. I thought I’d liven them up with some entertainment.”

Yüan-chang realized that it would be impossible to confine Tien or control his actions. So that evening, he invited his former adviser to a feast and said, “You have served me well. Name a gift and you shall have it.”

Chou Tien replied seriously, “My lord emperor, I ask only that I may continue to enjoy myself in this world.”

Chu Yüan-chang understood this request and formally released him from the monastery. “The man has no political ambitions,” thought the emperor. “I don’t think he’ll be a
threat to me after all.” Chou Tien left the kingdom and disappeared into the forests of Mount Lu.

Toward the end of his reign, Chu Yüan-chang began to murder his former supporters, fearing they would overthrow him. Chou Tien was one of the few who escaped this purge.