Myths and Legends of China by E. T. C. Werner

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Hung-chuen Lao-tsu, the master of these three genii, seeing his three
beloved disciples in the _melee_, resolved to make peace between
them. He assembled all three in a tent in Chiang Tzu-ya's camp, made
them kneel before him, then reproached T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu at length
for having taken the part of the tyrant Chou, and recommended them
in future to live in harmony. After finishing his speech, he produced
three pills, and ordered each of the genii to swallow one. When they
had done so, Hung-chuen Lao-tsu said to them: "I have given you these
pills to ensure an inviolable truce among you. Know that the first
who entertains a thought of discord in his heart will find that the
pill will explode in his stomach and cause his instant death."

Hung-chuen Lao-tsu then took T'ung-t'ien Chiao-chu away with him on
his cloud to Heaven.

Immortals, Heroes, Saints

An Immortal, according to Taoist lore, is a solitary man of the
mountains. He appears to die, but does not. After 'death' his body
retains all the qualities of the living. The body or corpse is for
him only a means of transition, a phase of metamorphosis--a cocoon
or chrysalis, the temporary abode of the butterfly.

To reach this state a hygienic regimen both of the body and mind must
be observed. All luxury, greed, and ambition must be avoided. But
negation is not enough. In the system of nourishment all the elements
which strengthen the essence of the constituent _yin_ and _yang_
principles must be found by means of medicine, chemistry, gymnastic
exercises, etc. When the maximum vital force has been acquired the
means of preserving it and keeping it from the attacks of death
and disease must be discovered; in a word, he must spiritualize
himself--render himself completely independent of matter. All
the experiments have for their object the storing in the pills of
immortality the elements necessary for the development of the vital
force and for the constitution of a new spiritual and super-humanized
being. In this ascending perfection there are several grades:

(1) The Immortal (_Hsien_). The first stage consists in bringing
about the birth of the superhuman in the ascetic's person, which
reaching perfection leaves the earthly body, like the grasshopper
its sheath. This first stage attained, the Immortal travels at will
throughout the universe, enjoys all the advantages of perfect health
without dreading disease or death, eats and drinks copiously--nothing
is wanting to complete his happiness.

(2) The Perfect Man, or Hero (_Chen-jen_). The second stage is a higher
one. The whole body is spiritualized. It has become so subtile, so
spiritual, that it can fly in the air. Borne on the wings of the wind,
seated on the clouds of Heaven, it travels from one world to another
and fixes its habitation in the stars. It is freed from all laws of
matter, but is, however, not completely changed into pure spirit.

(3) The Saint (_Sheng-jen_). The third stage is that of the superhuman
beings or saints. They are those who have attained to extraordinary
intelligence and virtue.

The God of the Immortals

Mu Kung or Tung Wang Kung, the God of the Immortals, was also called
I Chuen Ming and Yue Huang Chuen, the Prince Yue Huang.

The primitive vapour congealed, remained inactive for a time, and
then produced living beings, beginning with the formation of Mu Kung,
the purest substance of the Eastern Air, and sovereign of the active
male principle _yang_ and of all the countries of the East. His
palace is in the misty heavens, violet clouds form its dome, blue
clouds its walls. Hsien T'ung, 'the Immortal Youth,' and Yue Nue,
'the Jade Maiden,' are his servants. He keeps the register of all
the Immortals, male and female.

Hsi Wang Mu

Hsi Wang Mu was formed of the pure quintessence of the Western Air,
in the legendary continent of Shen Chou. She is often called the
Golden Mother of the Tortoise.

Her family name is variously given as Hou, Yang, and Ho. Her own name
was Hui, and first name Wan-chin. She had nine sons and twenty-four
daughters.

As Mu Kung, formed of the Eastern Air, is the active principle of
the male air and sovereign of the Eastern Air, so Hsi Wang Mu, born
of the Western Air, is the passive or female principle (_yin_) and
sovereign of the Western Air. These two principles, co-operating,
engender Heaven and earth and all the beings of the universe, and
thus become the two principles of life and of the subsistence of all
that exists. She is the head of the troop of genii dwelling on the
K'un-lun Mountains (the Taoist equivalent of the Buddhist Sumeru), and
from time to time holds intercourse with favoured imperial votaries.

The Feast of Peaches

Hsi Wang Mu's palace is situated in the high mountains of the snowy
K'un-lun. It is 1000 _li_ (about 333 miles) in circuit; a rampart of
massive gold surrounds its battlements of precious stones. Its right
wing rises on the edge of the Kingfishers' River. It is the usual
abode of the Immortals, who are divided into seven special categories
according to the colour of their garments--red, blue, black, violet,
yellow, green, and 'nature-colour.' There is a marvellous fountain
built of precious stones, where the periodical banquet of the
Immortals is held. This feast is called P'an-t'ao Hui, 'the Feast of
Peaches.' It takes place on the borders of the Yao Ch'ih, Lake of Gems,
and is attended by both male and female Immortals. Besides several
superfine meats, they are served with bears' paws, monkeys' lips,
dragons' liver, phoenix marrow, and peaches gathered in the orchard,
endowed with the mystic virtue of conferring longevity on all who
have the good luck to taste them. It was by these peaches that the
date of the banquet was fixed. The tree put forth leaves once every
three thousand years, and it required three thousand years after that
for the fruit to ripen. These were Hsi Wang Mu's birthdays, when all
the Immortals assembled for the great feast, "the occasion being more
festive than solemn, for there was music on invisible instruments,
and songs not from mortal tongues."

The First Taoist Pope

Chang Tao-ling, the first Taoist pope, was born in A.D. 35, in the
reign of the Emperor Kuang Wu Ti of the Han dynasty. His birthplace
is variously given as the T'ien-mu Shan, 'Eye of Heaven Mountain,'
in Lin-an Hsien, in Chekiang, and Feng-yang Fu, in Anhui. He devoted
himself wholly to study and meditation, declining all offers to enter
the service of the State. He preferred to take up his abode in the
mountains of Western China, where he persevered in the study of alchemy
and in cultivating the virtues of purity and mental abstraction. From
the hands of Lao Tzu he received supernaturally a mystic treatise,
by following the instructions in which he was successful in his search
for the elixir of life.

One day when he was engaged in experimenting with the 'Dragon-tiger
elixir' a spiritual being appeared to him and said: "On Po-sung
Mountain is a stone house in which are concealed the writings of the
Three Emperors of antiquity and a canonical work. By obtaining these
you may ascend to Heaven, if you undergo the course of discipline
they prescribe."

Chang Tao-ling found these works, and by means of them obtained
the power of flying, of hearing distant sounds, and of leaving
his body. After going through a thousand days of discipline, and
receiving instruction from a goddess, who taught him to walk about
among the stars, he proceeded to fight with the king of the demons,
to divide mountains and seas, and to command the wind and thunder. All
the demons fled before him. On account of the prodigious slaughter of
demons by this hero the wind and thunder were reduced to subjection,
and various divinities came with eager haste to acknowledge their
faults. In nine years he gained the power to ascend to Heaven.

The Founder of Modern Taoism

Chang Tao-ling may rightly be considered as the true founder of modern
Taoism. The recipes for the pills of immortality contained in the
mysterious books, and the invention of talismans for the cure of all
sorts of maladies, not only exalted him to the high position he has
since occupied in the minds of his numerous disciples, but enabled
them in turn to exploit successfully this new source of power and
wealth. From that time the Taoist sect began to specialize in the art
of healing. Protecting or curing talismans bearing the Master's seal
were purchased for enormous sums. It is thus seen that he was after
all a deceiver of the people, and unbelievers or rival partisans of
other sects have dubbed him a 'rice-thief'--which perhaps he was.

He is generally represented as clothed in richly decorated garments,
brandishing with his right hand his magic sword, holding in his
left a cup containing the draught of immortality, and riding a tiger
which in one paw grasps his magic seal and with the others tramples
down the five venomous creatures: lizard, snake, spider, toad,
and centipede. Pictures of him with these accessories are pasted
up in houses on the fifth day of the fifth moon to forfend calamity
and sickness.

The Peach-gathering

It is related of him that, not wishing to ascend to Heaven too soon,
he partook of only half of the pill of immortality, dividing the
other half among several of his admirers, and that he had at least two
selves or personalities, one of which used to disport itself in a boat
on a small lake in front of his house. The other self would receive
his visitors, entertaining them with food and drink and instructive
conversation. On one occasion this self said to them: "You are unable
to quit the world altogether as I can, but by imitating my example in
the matter of family relations you could procure a medicine which would
prolong your lives by several centuries. I have given the crucible
in which Huang Ti prepared the draught of immortality to my disciple
Wang Ch'ang. Later on, a man will come from the East, who also will
make use of it. He will arrive on the seventh day of the first moon."

Exactly on that day there arrived from the East a man named Chao
Sheng, who was the person indicated by Chang Tao-ling. He was
recognized by a manifestation of himself he had caused to appear
in advance of his coming. Chang then led all his disciples, to the
number of three hundred, to the highest peak of the Yuen-t'ai. Below
them they saw a peach-tree growing near a pointed rock, stretching
out its branches like arms above a fathomless abyss. It was a large
tree, covered with ripe fruit. Chang said to his disciples: "I will
communicate a spiritual formula to the one among you who will dare
to gather the fruit of that tree." They all leaned over to look,
but each declared the feat to be impossible. Chao Sheng alone had
the courage to rush out to the point of the rock and up the tree
stretching out into space. With firm foot he stood and gathered the
peaches, placing them in the folds of his cloak, as many as it would
hold, but when he wished to climb back up the precipitous slope,
his hands slipped on the smooth rock, and all his attempts were in
vain. Accordingly, he threw the peaches, three hundred and two in all,
one by one up to Chang Tao-ling, who distributed them. Each disciple
ate one, as also did Chang, who reserved the remaining one for Chao
Sheng, whom he helped to climb up again. To do this Chang extended
his arm to a length of thirty feet, all present marvelling at the
miracle. After Chao had eaten his peach Chang stood on the edge of
the precipice, and said with a laugh: "Chao Sheng was brave enough
to climb out to that tree and his foot never tripped. I too will make
the attempt. If I succeed I will have a big peach as a reward." Having
spoken thus, he leapt into space, and alighted in the branches of the
peach-tree. Wang Ch'ang and Chao Sheng also jumped into the tree and
stood one on each side of him. There Chang communicated to them the
mysterious formula. Three days later they returned to their homes;
then, having made final arrangements, they repaired once more to the
mountain peak, whence, in the presence of the other disciples, who
followed them with their eyes until they had completely disappeared
from view, all three ascended to Heaven in broad daylight.

Chang Tao-ling's Great Power

The name of Chang Tao-ling, the Heavenly Teacher, is a household
word in China. He is on earth the Vicegerent of the Pearly Emperor
in Heaven, and the Commander-in-Chief of the hosts of Taoism. He, the
chief of the wizards, the 'true [_i.e._ ideal] man,' as he is called,
wields an immense spiritual power throughout the land. The present
pope boasts of an unbroken line for three-score generations. His
family obtained possession of the Dragon-tiger Mountain in Kiangsi
about A.D. 1000. "This personage," says a pre-Republican writer,
"assumes a state which mimics the imperial. He confers buttons like
an emperor. Priests come to him from various cities and temples to
receive promotion, whom he invests with titles and presents with
seals of office."

Kings of Heaven

The Four Kings of Heaven, Ssu Ta T'ien-wang, reside on Mount Sumeru
(Hsue-mi Shan), the centre of the universe. It is 3,360,000 _li_--that
is, about a million miles--high. [19] Its eastern slope is of gold, its
western of silver, its south-eastern of crystal, and its north-eastern
of agate. The Four Kings appear to be the Taoist reflection of the
four _Chin-kang_ of Buddhism already noticed. Their names are Li,
Ma, Chao, and Wen. They are represented as holding a pagoda, sword,
two swords, and spiked club respectively. Their worship appears to
be due to their auspicious appearance and aid on various critical
occasions in the dynastic history of the T'ang and Sung Periods.

T'ai I

Temples are found in various parts dedicated to T'ai I, the Great
One, or Great Unity. When Emperor Wu Ti (140-86 B.C.) of the Han
dynasty was in search of the secret of immortality, and various
suggestions had proved unsatisfactory, a Taoist priest, Miao Chi,
told the Emperor that his want of success was due to his omission to
sacrifice to T'ai I, the first of the celestial spirits, quoting the
classical precedent of antiquity found in the _Book of History_. The
Emperor, believing his word, ordered the Grand Master of Sacrifices to
re-establish this worship at the capital. He followed carefully the
prescriptions of Miao Chi. This enraged the _literati_, who resolved
to ruin him. One day, when the Emperor was about to drink one of
his potions, one of the chief courtiers seized the cup and drank the
contents himself. The Emperor was about to have him slain, when he
said: "Your Majesty's order is unnecessary; if the potion confers
immortality, I cannot be killed; if, on the other hand, it does not,
your Majesty should recompense me for disproving the pretensions of
the Taoist priest." The Emperor, however, was not convinced.

One account represents T'ai I as having lived in the time of
Shen Nung, the Divine Husbandman, who visited him to consult with
him on the subjects of diseases and fortune. He was Hsien Yuean's
medical preceptor. His medical knowledge was handed down to future
generations. He was one of those who, with the Immortals, was invited
to the great Peach Assembly of the Western Royal Mother.

As the spirit of the star T'ai I he resides in the Eastern Palace,
listening for the cries of sufferers in order to save them. For this
purpose he assumes numberless forms in various regions. With a boat
of lotus-flowers of nine colours he ferries men over to the shore of
salvation. Holding in his hand a willow-branch, he scatters from it
the dew of the doctrine.

T'ai I is variously represented as the Ruler of the Five Celestial
Sovereigns, Cosmic Matter before it congealed into concrete shapes, the
Triune Spirit of Heaven, earth, and T'ai I as three separate entities,
an unknown Spirit, the Spirit of the Pole Star, etc., but practically
the Taoists confine their T'ai I to T'ai-i Chen-jen, in which Perfect
Man they personify the abstract philosophical notions. [20]

Goddess of the North Star

Tou Mu, the Bushel Mother, or Goddess of the North Star, worshipped
by both Buddhists and Taoists, is the Indian Maritchi, and was made a
stellar divinity by the Taoists. She is said to have been the mother
of the nine Jen Huang or Human Sovereigns of fabulous antiquity,
who succeeded the lines of Celestial and Terrestrial Sovereigns. She
occupies in the Taoist religion the same relative position as Kuan
Yin, who may be said to be the heart of Buddhism. Having attained to
a profound knowledge of celestial mysteries, she shone with heavenly
light, could cross the seas, and pass from the sun to the moon. She
also had a kind heart for the sufferings of humanity. The King of Chou
Yue, in the north, married her on hearing of her many virtues. They
had nine sons. Yuean-shih T'ien-tsun came to earth to invite her, her
husband, and nine sons to enjoy the delights of Heaven. He placed
her in the palace Tou Shu, the Pivot of the Pole, because all the
other stars revolve round it, and gave her the title of Queen of the
Doctrine of Primitive Heaven. Her nine sons have their palaces in
the neighbouring stars.

Tou Mu wears the Buddhist crown, is seated on a lotus throne, has
three eyes, eighteen arms, and holds various precious objects in her
numerous hands, such as a bow, spear, sword, flag, dragon's head,
pagoda, five chariots, sun's disk, moon's disk, etc. She has control
of the books of life and death, and all who wish to prolong their
days worship at her shrine. Her devotees abstain from animal food on
the third and twenty-seventh day of every month.

Of her sons, two are the Northern and Southern Bushels; the latter,
dressed in red, rules birth; the former, in white, rules death. "A
young Esau once found them on the South Mountain, under a tree,
playing chess, and by an offer of venison his lease of life was
extended from nineteen to ninety-nine years."

Snorter and Blower

At the time of the overthrow of the Shang and establishment of the Chou
dynasty in 1122 B.C. there lived two marshals, Cheng Lung and Ch'en
Ch'i. These were Heng and Ha, the Snorter and Blower respectively.

The former was the chief superintendent of supplies for the armies of
the tyrant emperor Chou, the Nero of China. The latter was in charge
of the victualling department of the same army.

From his master, Tu O, the celebrated Taoist magician of the K'un-lun
Mountains, Heng acquired a marvellous power. When he snorted, his
nostrils, with a sound like that of a bell, emitted two white columns
of light, which destroyed his enemies, body and soul. Thus through him
the Chou gained numerous victories. But one day he was captured, bound,
and taken to the general of Chou. His life was spared, and he was
made general superintendent of army stores as well as generalissimo
of five army corps. Later on he found himself face to face with the
Blower. The latter had learnt from the magician how to store in his
chest a supply of yellow gas which, when he blew it out, annihilated
anyone whom it struck. By this means he caused large gaps to be made
in the ranks of the enemy.

Being opposed to each other, the one snorting out great streaks of
white light, the other blowing streams of yellow gas, the combat
continued until the Blower was wounded in the shoulder by No-cha,
of the army of Chou, and pierced in the stomach with a spear by Huang
Fei-hu, Yellow Flying Tiger.

The Snorter in turn was slain in this fight by Marshal Chin Ta-sheng,
'Golden Big Pint,' who was an ox-spirit and endowed with the mysterious
power of producing in his entrails the celebrated _niu huang_,
ox-yellow, or bezoar. Facing the Snorter, he spat in his face, with
a noise like thunder, a piece of bezoar as large as a rice-bowl. It
struck him on the nose and split his nostrils. He fell to the earth,
and was immediately cut in two by a blow from his victor's sword.

After the Chou dynasty had been definitely established Chiang Tzu-ya
canonized the two marshals Heng and Ha, and conferred on them the
offices of guardians of the Buddhist temple gates, where their gigantic
images may be seen.

Blue Dragon and White Tiger

The functions discharged by Heng and Ha at the gates of Buddhist
temples are in Taoist temples discharged by Blue Dragon and White
Tiger.

The former, the Spirit of the Blue Dragon Star, was Teng Chiu-kung,
one of the chief generals of the last emperor of the Yin dynasty. He
had a son named Teng Hsiu, and a daughter named Ch'an-yue.

The army of Teng Chiu-kung was camped at San-shan Kuan, when he
received orders to proceed to the battle then taking place at Hsi
Ch'i. There, in standing up to No-cha and Huang Fei-hu, he had his
left arm broken by the former's magic bracelet, but, fortunately for
him, his subordinate, T'u Hsing-sun, a renowned magician, gave him
a remedy which quickly healed the fracture.

His daughter then came on the scene to avenge her father. She had a
magic weapon, the Five-fire Stone, which she hurled full in the face
of Yang Chien. But the Immortal was not wounded; on the other hand,
his celestial dog jumped at Ch'an-yue and bit her neck, so that she
was obliged to flee. T'u Hsing-sun, however, healed the wound.

After a banquet, Teng Chiu-kung promised his daughter in marriage to
T'u Hsing-sun if he would gain him the victory at Hsi Ch'i. Chiang
Tzu-ya then persuaded T'u's magic master, Chue Liu-sun, to call his
disciple over to his camp, where he asked him why he was fighting
against the new dynasty. "Because," he replied, "Chiu-kung has promised
me his daughter in marriage as a reward of success." Chiang Tzu-ya
thereupon promised to obtain the bride, and sent a force to seize
her. As a result of the fighting that ensued, Chiu-kung was beaten,
and retreated in confusion, leaving Ch'an-yue in the hands of the
victors. During the next few days the marriage was celebrated with
great ceremony in the victor's camp. According to custom, the bride
returned for some days to her father's house, and while there she
earnestly exhorted Chiu-kung to submit. Following her advice, he went
over to Chiang Tzu-ya's party.

In the ensuing battles he fought valiantly on the side of his former
enemy, and killed many famous warriors, but he was eventually attacked
by the Blower, from whose mouth a column of yellow gas struck him,
throwing him from his steed. He was made prisoner, and executed by
order of General Ch'iu Yin. Chiang Tzu-ya conferred on him the kingdom
of the Blue Dragon Star.

The Spirit of the White Tiger Star is Yin Ch'eng-hsiu. His father,
Yin P'o-pai, a high courtier of the tyrant Chou Wang, was sent to
negotiate peace with Chiang Tzu-ya, but was seized and put to death by
Marquis Chiang Wen-huan. His son, attempting to avenge his father's
murder, was pierced by a spear, and his head was cut off and carried
in triumph to Chiang Tzu-ya.

As compensation he was, though somewhat tardily, canonized as the
Spirit of the White Tiger Star.

Apotheosized Philosophers

The philosophers Lieh Tzu, Huai-nan Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Mo Tzu, etc.,
have also been apotheosized. Nothing very remarkable is related
of them. Most of them had several reincarnations and possessed
supernatural powers. The second, who was a king, when taken by
the Eight Immortals to the genii's Heaven forgot now and then to
address them as superiors, and but for their intercession with
Yue Ti, the Pearly Emperor, would have been reincarnated. In order
to humiliate himself, he thereafter called himself Huai-nan Tzu,
'the Sage of the South of the Huai.' The third, Chuang Tzu, Chuang
Sheng, or Chuang Chou, was a disciple of Lao Tzu. Chuang Tzu was in
the habit of sleeping during the day, and at night would transform
himself into a butterfly, which fluttered gaily over the flowers in
the garden. On waking, he would still feel the sensation of flying in
his shoulders. On asking Lao Tzu the reason for this, he was told:
"Formerly you were a white butterfly which, having partaken of the
quintessence of flowers and of the _yin_ and the _yang_, should have
been immortalized; but one day you stole some peaches and flowers in
Wang Mu Niang-niang's garden. The guardian of the garden slew you,
and that is how you came to be reincarnated." At this time he was
fifty years of age.

Fanning the Grave

One of the tales associated with him describes how he saw a young
woman in mourning vigorously fanning a newly made grave. On his asking
her the reason of this strange conduct, she replied: "I am doing this
because my husband begged me to wait until the earth on his tomb was
dry before I remarried!" Chuang Tzu offered to help her, and as soon
as he waved the fan once the earth was dry. The young widow thanked
him and departed.

On his return home, Chuang Sheng related this incident to his
wife. She expressed astonishment at such conduct on the part of a
wife. "There's nothing to be surprised at," rejoined the husband;
"that's how things go in this world." Seeing that he was poking fun
at her, she protested angrily. Some little time after this Chuang
Sheng died. His wife, much grieved, buried him.

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