Tales of the Taoist Immortals (3 page)
Read Tales of the Taoist Immortals Online
Authors: Eva Wong
L
Ü
Y
EN
lived from the end of the T’ang dynasty (618–906
CE
) through the Five Dynasties (907–960
CE
) and into the early part of the Sung (960–1279
CE
). He was the teacher of Wang Ch’ungyang, the founder of the Northern Complete Reality School; Liu Hai-ch’an, the founder of the Southern Complete Reality School; and Chen Hsi-yi, the founder of the Earlier Heaven Limitless Way. His poetry and treatises on cultivating the Tao are collected in the
Lü Tsu ch’üan-shu (The Complete Works of Patriarch Lü).
2
Chungli Ch’uan
Chungli Ch’uan was the son of a high-ranking government official. His family had served the Han empire for several generations, and Ch’uan was expected to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors.
It was said that when Chungli Ch’uan was born, a dazzling light appeared outside his mother’s chamber. The light was so bright the guards in the household fell on their knees and covered their eyes. Ch’uan’s looks were extraordinary. He had a large forehead, long ears, and bright round eyes. His cheeks were rosy, his lips were the color of red
cinnabar, and his arms were long and thick. After he tumbled out of his mother’s womb, Ch’uan did not cry or fret. On the seventh day after he was born, he smiled, jumped to his feet, and surprised everyone by saying, “Today I’m going to the Purple Chamber of the immortals to play!”
Chungli Ch’uan grew up to be a strong and intelligent young man. The emperor was impressed with his demeanor and appointed him general.
Once, Ch’uan led a military excursion to the western borders of the Han empire, into a desert region called Turfan. His army was overcome by the fierce warriors of the desert, and, fleeing from his pursuers, Ch’uan was soon lost in a maze of canyons with steep walls. When night fell, he sat on a rock and pondered his fate.
“Am I destined to die here?” he asked himself.
“Not if you follow my advice,” responded a voice in the darkness.
Chungli Ch’uan turned and saw a man dressed in rags and animal skins. Eagle and hawk feathers hung from his hair, and around his neck was a string of lion teeth. Ch’uan was at first apprehensive, but the man said, “General, I can take you to a place where you can be safe from your pursuers.”
The stranger led Ch’uan through what seemed to be an endless labyrinth of deep valleys. Presently, they arrived at an oasis. The man stopped and said, “This is where the Celestial Lord of the East attained the Tao. You will be able to spend a night here in peace.” Then he disappeared.
Chungli Ch’uan walked into the oasis and found a mansion. Not wanting to disturb its occupants, he stood at the entrance and waited. Soon a voice came from the courtyard: “That shaman must have led you here.” The door opened, and the general saw an old man dressed in white deer hide
standing in front of him. Before Ch’uan could greet him, the old man said loudly, “You must be Chungli Ch’uan, the general of the Han empire. You are welcome to stay here.”
Chungli Ch’uan realized that the man was no ordinary mortal. He immediately fell to his knees and begged the old man to teach him the arts of immortality.
After three days, Ch’uan’s host said to him, “I have taught you enough to get you started on the road to immortality. When the time comes, other teachers will appear and guide you further.”
Thanking his teacher, Ch’uan left the mansion. At the mouth of the canyon, he turned to have a last look at the place that had changed his destiny. To his shock, both the mansion and the oasis had disappeared.
Chungli Ch’uan never returned to the capital. He traveled throughout the country and learned the arts of the Tao from hermits and wandering sages. Eventually, he mastered the arts of immortality and ascended to the celestial realm.
C
HUNGLI
C
H’UAN
lived during the Han dynasty (206
BCE
– 219
CE
) and was a general of the Han empire before he became a practitioner of the arts of immortality.
3
Ho Hsien-ku
In Kuangtung Province in southern China lived a well-to-do family by the name of Ho. This family had a daughter who was born with six golden hairs on her head.
When she was fourteen, Lady Ho dreamed that she met an immortal who told her, “If you eat the sands of the Cloud Mother River, your body will become light and you will live forever.” Because the dream was so vivid, Lady Ho followed the instructions immediately.
“I wish to remain single and devote the rest of my life to cultivating the Tao,” she told her parents. Her father was
not pleased when he heard this. He had planned to marry her off to a rich man and relented only when her mother reminded him, “Do you remember that our daughter was born with six strands of golden hair? She’s no ordinary woman and we should respect her wishes.”
Lady Ho continued to live with her parents, but often she would disappear into the mountains to gather herbs and minerals. Her gait was so swift that she could leave at sunrise, travel for hundreds of miles, and return home at sunset with fruit for her mother.
After her parents passed away, Lady Ho retreated into the mountains and abstained from grains completely. In winter she could sleep on ice and not be chilled; in summer she was not bothered by the heat. Scholars who came to challenge her understanding of Taoism were silenced and awed by her knowledge and breadth of learning.
Lady Ho’s reputation as an adept in the arts of longevity caught the attention of the T’ang empress.
“Find this Taoist woman and bring her back to the palace,” the empress told her personal guards. To herself, she said, “If I can master the arts of immortality, I’ll be able to sit on the throne and rule forever.”
The guards found Lady Ho and related the empress’s wishes to her. “The empress has heard of your abilities and desires to see an immortal,” they said.
But Lady Ho knew what was in the empress’s mind. “The arts of immortality are not meant to be abused by those who are selfish and power-hungry,” she said to herself. So one night, when the company was just a few days’ walk from the capital, she slipped away.
When the guards returned empty-handed, the empress flew into a rage and shouted, “You incompetent fools! Go
and put up posters offering a large reward to anyone who can give me information of Lady Ho’s whereabouts.”
One time, the empress received reports of Lady Ho flying up to the sky on the outskirts of the capital. When the imperial guards arrived, the immortal was nowhere to be seen.
Another time, the empress was told that Lady Ho was sitting on a shrine together with the female immortal Mah Ku. But when the soldiers got there, Lady Ho could not be found.
Yet another time, Lady Ho was reported to be in a small town in Kuangtung. The local magistrate quickly sent a message to the capital, but by the time the empress’s men arrived, Lady Ho had again disappeared.
H
O
H
SIEN-KU
lived during the T’ang dynasty (618–906
CE
) and is regarded by many as the patron of female Taoist practitioners.
4
Chang Kuo Lao
Chang Kuo was a master of magic and divination. Because he always appeared as an old man, he was called Chang Kuo Lao, meaning “Chang Kuo the Old Man.”
Kuo had a white mule, a magical animal that could travel thousands of miles a day. When he did not need the mule, he would command the animal to step onto a piece of paper. The mule would be transformed into a picture, and Chang Kuo would fold up the paper and put it in a small box. When he needed the mule, he would unfold the paper, and the animal would reappear, ready for him to ride.
The T’ang emperor heard about Kuo’s magical abilities
and asked the Taoist to become his adviser; Chang Kuo refused.
Later, Empress Wu tried to invite Kuo to serve her; he pretended to die. When the imperial messengers arrived at Kuo’s home, they found his body lying in the courtyard covered with maggots. After the envoys had left to report the Taoist’s death to the empress, Kuo got up and walked away.
Still another emperor tried to enlist Kuo’s services. Knowing that it would be difficult to persuade the Taoist to serve in his court, the emperor asked Fei Wu, a friend of Kuo’s, to be the emissary. When Fei Wu arrived with the emperor’s message, Chang Kuo stopped his breath and “died.” Wu fell to his knees, wept, and begged for forgiveness. Moved by his friend’s sincerity, Kuo sat up. Fei Wu apologized for intruding and returned to the capital.
