Zhang Guolao

Zhang Guolao

Zhang Guo is one of the Eight Immortals in ancient Chinese mythology and legend, which has a wide influence among Chinese people. Zhang Guolao (Zhang Guo), whose surname is Zhang Mingguo and whose name is Mr. tongxuan, was recruited by Wu Zetian and Xuanzong and granted Wufeng mountain in Xingzhou (now Zhangguo mountain in Xingtai).

According to the records of Taiyuan Fu Zhi in Wanli of Ming Dynasty, Zhang Guo, an old man, was born in xiaonanxiang of Jiaocheng (Dongguan). Try riding a white donkey to (Jiaocheng) ASU mountain, with iron awl finger stone as a hole, lead the donkey into Yan, the donkey still exists in today's rock. He was born in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and his real name was Zhang Guo. Because he was very old, people put the word "old" on his name to show their respect for him. It is said that he has been hidden in Zhongtiao Mountain of Shanxi Province for a long time. Travel between Jin (Yang) and Fen (Zhou). Wu Zetian of Tang Dynasty was hundreds of years old. Zetian had sent an envoy to summon him, that is, feign death. Later generations saw that he lived in Hengzhou mountain. He often rode upside down on a white donkey and traveled tens of thousands of miles a day. When resting, fold the donkey and hide it in the towel box. He was once called to the capital by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty to perform various kinds of magic, and was granted the title of doctor Yinqing Guanglu and Mr. tongxuan. Later, he went back to Zhongtiao Mountain on the pretext of "old and sick". Because he often held a kind of talking and singing utensil made of bamboo in his hand, later generations regarded him as the ancestor of "Daoqing" (a traditional Chinese art of talking and singing). It is said that when gathering immortals in the Northern Song Dynasty, he was invited by Tieguai Li to list Eight Immortals in Shizhu mountain.

Profile

Zhang Guo is one of the eight immortals. He lived from the seventh century to the middle of the eighth century. His life is unknown. He is the author of miraculous medicine of immortality, formula of dansha and formula of dansha in Yudong. The origin, shape, and nature of the cinnabar are described in detail in Yudong great God cinnabar zhenyaojue, in which it is mentioned that the cinnabar is made of "one jin of mercury and three liang of sulfur", which is similar to Chen Shaowei's "nine return Jindan miajue". The weight ratio of mercury and sulfur is 100 ∶ 19. According to the composition of red sand (HGS), the weight ratio of mercury to sulfur is 100 ∶ 16. Chen and Zhang increased the amount of sulfur because it was easy to burn and suffered losses. This is very reasonable. It shows that they had accumulated rich experience in manufacturing cinnabar at that time.

Zhang Guo practiced both internal and external alchemy, but mainly internal alchemy. He divided Neidan into three grades and jiuzhuanda huandan as the top grade. And summed up the nine turn big also Dan has nine, according to this line, can get the way. This theory is interlinked with Sima Chengzhen's "sit and forget". In addition, he proposed the cultivation of both life and death, which is considered to be the pioneer of inner alchemy in song and Yuan Dynasties.

Character archetype

Zhang Guo, one of the eight immortals, is a well-known mythical figure in China. However, there is Zhang Guo in history. He is one of the only two famous figures in the eight immortals. Zhang Guo is an old myth. His story first appeared in the miscellaneous records of the Ming emperor, and his life can be found in volume 10 of the new sayings of the Tang Dynasty. The biography of Zhang Guo in the new book of the Tang Dynasty is based on this. It flourished in the Tang Dynasty, expanded and improved in the song and Yuan Dynasties. He lived from the seventh century to the middle of the eighth century. His life is unknown. There are many famous books, such as "Dan Sha Zhen Yao" and "Da Shen Yu". The origin, shape, and nature of the cinnabar are described in detail in Yudong great God cinnabar zhenyaojue, in which it is mentioned that the cinnabar is made of "one jin of mercury and three liang of sulfur", which is similar to Chen Shaowei's "nine return Jindan miajue". The weight ratio of mercury and sulfur is 100 ∶ 19. According to the composition of red sand (HGS), the weight ratio of mercury to sulfur is 100 ∶ 16. Chen and Zhang increased the amount of sulfur because it was easy to burn and suffered losses. This is very reasonable. It shows that they had accumulated rich experience in manufacturing cinnabar at that time.

Historical legend

There is dengzhen cave in lingguanxia, Liangdang County, Gansu Province, which is also called "stone drum cave". It is the place where Mr. Zhang Guo, the master of tongxuan, practiced Taoism and returned to the truth in the era of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty. Zhang Guo is one of the Eight Immortals in Taoism in China. The fairy tales about the eight immortals have been widely spread in China and Southeast Asia for hundreds of years. Zhang Guo is commonly known as Zhang Guolao. He was born in the time of Wu Zetian and Xuanzong in the Tang Dynasty. There are written records in the old and new books of the Tang Dynasty. A poem named "Ti Deng Zhen Dong" by Zhang Guo is included in the complete Tang poetry Volume 24, volume 860

If you are a man of gold and bone, you will return to the truth. The grass is beautiful along with the green mountains, and the idle flowers are new to the white clouds. The wind shakes the jade, and the water stirs the cinnabar away its scales. Since the gods have many variations, the trace of willing to teach covers the world of mortals.

A biography is attached to the poem: "Zhang Guo first hid in Zhongtiao Mountain, and then came and went up Zhendong in Zhuo mountain. The empress of the Ming Dynasty could not afford to be called, but the emperor of the Ming Dynasty sent him to the palace with courtesy. His husband was silver green and his name was Mr. tongxuan, and he returned to the mountain in a few days. According to the new Annals of Liangdang County, there is a "dengzhen cave" in Qiaozhuo mountain, 15 Li East of the city. It is said that Mr. Tang tongxuan, Zhang guoxiuzhen's cave is one foot high and one hundred feet deep. Water flows into the stone pool from the top, and there is a sound beside the stone. It is also known as shigu cave. According to the stele of Cui Xi, "in the east of Liangdang, there is Zhuo mountain, a cave embedded in deep water, and the water is cold. Mr. Zhang Guo of Tang lived in seclusion." This is a highlight of lingguanxia scenic spot.

Dengzhen cave is composed of three caves and one Pavilion. "Sanqing Pavilion", "Zhengdong" are Zhangguo laowoxiang Pavilion, "Wuliang zushi cave" and "shigu cave" are Zhangguo Laodong, which is exactly Baxian cave. Sanqing Pavilion: it is dedicated to the emperor. In Taoism, Sanqing Pavilion is known as the highest god's mansion, which is usually dedicated to the highest place. Zhengdong: Zhang Guolao is a kind-hearted old man with a childlike face. He is the originator and advocator of Taoist music. His Taoist songs have been developed into today's Daoqing in Longdong, fishing songs in Hubei and fishing songs in Shandong. According to historical records, there were two emperors who asked him to preach in the palace. One was Wu Zetian. She heard that Zhang Guo was an old Taoist who lived in seclusion. She was known as Zhang Guolao among the people. It was said that he had "long-term secret skills or immortal skills". In order to pray for longevity, he sent envoys to greet him many times, but Zhang Guolao politely refused. Another was Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. In the 21st year of Kaiyuan, he sent his minister Pei to meet him Please, see that he has lost teeth and hair, white head and humpback. Zhang Guolao pretended to be dead in front of Pei Huan. Pei Huan burned incense and asked him to show Xuanzong's sincerity of seeking Tao again and again. After hearing that, Zhang Guolao gradually woke up. Later, Xuanzong sent Xu Qiao, the scholar of Zhongshu, to greet him with nianshu and gave him the name of Mr. tongxuan. When Zhang Guolao went to Beijing to visit Xuanzong, he suddenly became black and white, which was better than his prime years. Seeing this, Xuanzong was very happy and wanted to marry Princess Yuzhen to him And Zhang Guo bowed his hand to thank him. Soon he gave up Xuanzong and returned to Zhuo mountain. He continued to live a fairyland life of feeding deer, raising cranes and riding donkeys. There are two boys around him, one is called white crane boy, the other is called plum blossom boy. The hole behind Zhang Guo is called "black Python hole". This Python is his messenger. The black Python hole leads to Dong Zhenyan in Dongshan immortal valley. In those years, Zhang Guo and Dong Zhenyan often argued together academically. According to the Scriptures, this Python went back and forth in the hole to send letters for them. Why is shigu cave called shigu cave? There is a spring deep in the cave. In the autumn with abundant rain, there will be surface water dripping from the top of the cave, making a drum like sound. Therefore, the image of the cave is called shigu cave, and the dripping water forms the spring water. Because there are eight immortals worshipped here, it is also called eight immortals cave. In the square of the cave, there are Zhang Guolao, LV Dongbin (his apprentice is Liu Shujing), Han Xiangzi (formerly known as Han Xiang, a great literary scholar of the Tang Dynasty and the nephew of Han Yu, the chief executive of the Ministry of punishment), LAN Caihe, he Xiangu, Cao Guojiu, tie Guai Li and Hanzhong Li. Wuliangzushi Cave: it is dedicated to wuliangzushi, surrounded by his 72 generals. The sculptures, such as the eight immortals gathering and Dong Zhenren's visit, are lifelike and vivid. It makes people feel like they are in Penglai Fairy Island. There is also a temple, namely Jixiu temple and woodcutter temple, which were destroyed in the war, and the ruins are still recognizable. In 1992, a large number of Tang Sancai and glazed building fragments were unearthed in zhangguodong, which are now in the county cultural center. After thousands of years of wind and rain, there are also inscriptions of various dynasties since the Tang and Song Dynasties about Zhang Guo's cultivation of immortality and enlightenment, building buildings and pavilions here, as well as poems inscribed by scholars for dengzhen cave. In the process of cleaning up and researching dengzhen cave, tiles, some facial fragments of three color Buddha statues and song coins were found in different soil layers since Tang and Song dynasties. The facial features of three color Buddha statues are purely the characteristics of Tang Dynasty Buddha statues, with wide forehead, abundant face and big ears, which are also rare in Tang and Song dynasties. There are many original stone steles in dengzhendong. In recent years, there are six remnant steles collected and preserved. Except for one stele that was rebuilt in the third year of the Southern Song Dynasty (1662), the rest are steles of famous poets. All these can show the importance of dengzhen cave in the history of Taoist culture. There are poems as proof

In the second year of Zhenghe (111 A.D.) of the Northern Song Dynasty, Qin Feng raised the Fu dengzhen cave.

At the end of the three thousand line full of Luan,

No matter when you lie idle in an empty mountain.

Yunsuo cave door, Qingkou jade,

The stone flows sweet and the liquid flows cold.

Green donkey steps on the world of mortals,

The white crane is in front of the jade pillar.

Take a look at Gao Zhen's hiding place,

There is a blue sky in it.

In the Ming Dynasty, Ma Zaitian's poems say:

At the mouth of the cave,

It's a deep hole.

Peach blossom falling in the stream,

The grass grows by itself.

When will the white donkey return,

A few stone drums.

Who passed on the art of longevity,

I want to ask you.

Mr. Tong Xuan said

According to Zhang Guolao, he was a servant in the period of Emperor Yao. By the early Tang Dynasty, he had lived for more than 3000 years. He often rides on a white donkey. Every time he rides backwards, he travels thousands of miles a day. When he has a rest, he folds the donkey like paper and puts it in a towel box. When he rides, he sprays it with water and becomes a real donkey again.

When Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong heard of his name, they did not go.

Chinese PinYin : Zhang Guo Lao