Read Tales of the Taoist Immortals Online
Authors: Eva Wong
Tales of the Taoist Immortals (16 page)
C
HOU
T
IEN
helped Chu Yüan-chang end the Yüan dynasty (1271–1368
CE
) of the Mongols and establish the Ming dynasty (1368–1644
CE
).
30
Huang-shih Kung and Chang Liang
The emperor of Ch’in united China, built the Great Wall, and crushed all possible opposition. His empire was expected to last ten thousand years.
In a small village far from the capital, a common citizen named Liu Pang was on his way to the herb shop to buy medicine for his mother. At the marketplace, Pang ran into
an old man who looked at him and asked, “Why are you in a hurry? Your mother will not live to see nightfall.”
Instead of being angry, Liu Pang asked respectfully, “Honored teacher, can you tell me about my future?”
The old man replied, “On the mountain south of the village there is a slab of stone pointing up to the sky. In front of it is a pool as clear as a mirror. When your mother dies, you should bury her between the stone and the water.”
Liu Pang went home and stayed with his mother until she died that evening. As instructed by the old man, he took her coffin up the mountain, found the spot between the stone and the water, and buried her there.
In another village at sunrise, a young farmer was walking to his fields. As he approached the stone bridge at the edge of town, he heard someone call to him, “Young man, come here.” The farmer looked in the direction of the voice and saw an old man sitting by the bridge.
“I’ve dropped my sandal down the riverbank,” the old man said. “Can you pick it up for me?”
The farmer, whose name was Chang Liang, immediately went down the steep banks of the river and retrieved the shoe. He brought it to the old man who said, “Put it on for me. I can’t bend down to tie the laces.” Chang Liang fastened the sandal on the man’s foot and was about to continue on his way when he heard the stranger say, “You are worthy of being taught. Come back tomorrow at sunrise.”
Chang Liang arrived at the bridge the next morning at dawn. To his surprise, the old man was already sitting on the riverbank. As Liang approached him, the man got up and walked away. The next morning, Liang arrived at the bridge before sunrise but again the old man was already
there, and again he turned and left when Liang tried to greet him.
That evening, Chang Liang said to himself, “I will go to the bridge and sit there throughout the night.”
The next morning, when the old man saw Chang Liang waiting at the bridge, he said, “You are a worthy student. I will teach you everything you need to know to overthrow the cruel emperor.”
The old man gave Chang Liang two books, one on military strategy and one on divination, saying, “Study them well. When you meet a man named Liu Pang, you should help him defeat the emperor of Ch’in. Liu Pang is destined to be the founder of the next dynasty. The place where his mother is buried is a ‘kingmaker’ site.”
The old man continued, “There is one book that I won’t give you yet. When you have finished your tasks, look for a yellow rock on Mount Ku. That is my home, for my name is Huang-shih Kung, the Old Man of the Yellow Rock.”
Chang Liang spent several years studying the arts of military strategy and divination. He eventually met Liu Pang, became Pang’s chief adviser, and helped him defeat the emperor of Ch’in.
After Liu Pang ascended the throne, he summoned Chang Liang and told him, “Without you, I could not have become the son of heaven.”
The new emperor then graciously offered the diviner his choice of lands and titles, but Liang said, “My lord, I have no desire for either. However, I would be honored if you would give me the parcel of land where we first met. I would like to retire there with fond memories of our friendship.”
The small town where Chiang Liang had met Liu Pang was located in one of the poorest regions of the empire.
The land was barren; the soil was stony; and the towns and villages were small and scattered.
Chang Liang knew that Liu Pang would eventually become jealous and suspicious of those who had helped him overthrow the Ch’in dynasty. If Liang had refused a reward, he would have offended his emperor. On the other hand, if he had requested rich lands near the capital, he would be singled out as a competitor to the throne. Therefore, wisely and tactfully, Chang Liang asked for a poor region far from the capital, citing reasons that flattered the emperor.
After receiving his gift, Liang retired from the government. He left the capital, journeyed to Mount Ku, and found the large yellow rock that Huang-shih Kung had described. Next to the rock was a book titled
The Arts of Longevity and Immortality,
and inside the book was a note that said, “This is the other book that I told you about. You are ready for it now.”
Chang Liang took the book, went into the mountains, and was never seen again.
Toward the end of his life, Liu Pang did indeed come to fear that his ministers and military commanders would overthrow him and begin to murder his closest advisers. Of those who had helped the emperor gain the throne, only Chang Liang did not suffer a violent death.
H
UANG
-
SHIH
K
UNG
is a legendary figure from prehistoric China. He is the patron of diviners and feng-shui practitioners.
Chang Liang lived from the end of the Ch’in dynasty (221–207
BCE
) to the early part of the Han dynasty (206
BCE
–219
CE
). He was chief adviser to Liu Pang and played a considerable role in ending the Ch’in dynasty and establishing that of the Han.
31
Kuei-ku Tzu
Kuei-ku Tzu’s mother had always wanted a child, but her husband died before she could conceive. One night, she fell asleep by her husband’s grave and dreamed that he came to lie with her. The next morning, she discovered she was pregnant. When the child was born, she named him Kuei-ku Tzu, which means “son of the Seed of a Ghost.”
Kuei-ku Tzu was an extraordinary child. At sixteen, he had mastered the subjects of military strategy, divination, geography, and astronomy. He was also interested in the arts of longevity and immortality, and frequently went into
the mountains to gather herbs and plants that he made into elixirs.
Kuei-ku Tzu was over a hundred years old when he settled in a place called Kuei-ku (Ghost Valley). It was to Ghost Valley that Sun Pin, the grandson of the great military strategist Sun Tzu, went to study strategy, tactics, and diplomacy. Soon, others also flocked to Ghost Valley to learn from this legendary teacher.
Kuei-ku Tzu was not only adept at statecraft and military strategy; he could also see into the hearts of his students and predict their future. To Sun Pin, he said, “You will meet with many hardships before you find peace and contentment.”
Sun Pin became the military adviser of the lord of Ch’i until a jealous rival kidnapped and tortured him. Crippled and left to die in the wilderness, he finally realized that the political arena was fraught with dangers. Pin was lucky to be rescued by a woodcutter who nursed him back to health. After Sun Pin had regained his strength, he returned to Ghost Valley and lived out the rest of his days as a hermit. Of all the famous political and military advisers of the era, he was the only one who did not die a violent death.
To Pang Chüan, Kuei-ku Tzu said, “You have a ruthless nature. If you don’t tame it, you will come to a violent end.” Chüan was the jealous rival who tortured Sun Pin. Although he eventually became the top military adviser to the lord of Wei, he was killed on the battlefield.
Su Ch’in and Chang Yi were friends who journeyed together to Ghost Valley to learn from Kuei-ku Tzu. To them, he said, “You are friends now, but will you forsake your friendship when you serve different lords?”
When Su Ch’in and Chang Yi completed their studies, Kuei-ku Tzu gave them this advice: “You will both become famous statesmen. However, even the most beautiful flowers
of spring die in the autumn. Your desire for fame and prestige will be your downfall. If you don’t retreat when your work is done, your lives will be brief, and you will never experience true happiness.”
Su Ch’in became the chief adviser to the lord of Ch’i. His friend Chang Yi became adviser to the lord of Ch’in. In the war between the two states, the former friends became bitter enemies. When Ch’i was defeated by Ch’in, Su Ch’in was executed like the rest of the Ch’i ministers. The lord of Ch’in eventually crushed his rivals and united China. Chang Yi was deemed a dangerous competitor for the throne and was murdered soon after the lord of Ch’in became emperor of China.
K
UEI
-
KU
T
ZU
lived during the latter part of the Chou dynasty (1122–221
BCE
) in the era known as the Warring States (475–221
BCE
). His teachings on statecraft, military science, and divination are collected in a book titled
Kuei-ku Tzu
.
32
Kuo P’u
