Doctors, diviners, and magicians of ancient China: biographies of fang-shih

Doctors, Diviners, and Magicians of Ancient China Translations from the Oriental Classics Doctors, Diviners, \\ and M...

Author: Kenneth J. DeWoskin

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Doctors, Diviners, and Magicians of Ancient China

Translations from the Oriental Classics

Doctors, Diviners, \\ and Magicians of Ancient China: Biographies of Fang-shih Translated by Kenneth

J.

DeWoskin

Columbia University Press New York / / / 1983

Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Horace H. Rackham Publication Fund of the University of Michigan.

Clothbound editions of Columbia University Press books are Smyth-sewn and printed on permanent and durable acid-free

"1

\.

Copyright © 1983 ColumbIeiU'hiversity Press All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America

Columbia University Press New York Guildford, Surrey

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: Doctors, diviners, and magicians of ancient China. (Translations from the Oriental Classics) 1. A1chemists-China-Biography. 1. DeWoskin, Kenneth J. II. Series. QD24.A2D631983 540'.1'12 [B] 83-5303 ISBN 0-231-05596-X ISBN 0-231-05597-8 (pbk.)

To My Parents

Translations from the Oriental Classics Editorial Board Wm. Theodore de Bary, Chairman C. T. Hsia Barbara Stoler Miller Burton Watson

Donald Keene Edward Seidensticker Philip B. Yampolsky

Contents Preface Introduction

IX

1

Biographies from the History of the Later Han Biographies from the Records of the Three Kingdoms

91

Notes

155 167

Bibliography

199

Index

211

Biography from the History of the Chin

Preface I FIRST became acquainted with fang-shih when I was doing research on a remarkable collection of material from fourth-century China, Kan Pao's In Search of the Supernatural (Sou-shen-chi). Kan Pao's work has traditionally been described by scholars of early Chinese fiction as the most notable collection of the chih-kuai (recording anomalies) genre, a type of short narrative that evolved into the mature fiction in the classical language that was continuously written from the T'ang Dynasty until modern times. Chih-kuai collections were not simply compilations of short stories. The texts as we have them now, corrupt to a degree but representative of what they originally were, include stories, brief notices of events, and statements of natural philosophy that served to put into context the narrative materials that were the heart of the collections. The longer and better-articulated narratives were biographical accounts, borrowing their formats and conventions of style from the dynastic histories, which, by the time, had already developed a mature type of biographical narrative. The interest shown by chih-kuai compilers in dynastic histories was not limited to formal features of the narrative. They shared an interest in certain types of character as well, not the emperors, the imperial families, or the upper crust of officialdom, but characters on the fringe of the official world, the fang-shih and the recluses. These were men with whom the official historians had an ambivalent relationship, but for whom the chih-kuai compilers could demonstrate enthusiasm and devotion. Thus, although the chihkuai compilers argued in their prefaces that they were charged with the preservation of materials the official historians were wont to reject, in fact biographies of fang-shih are found in both dynastic histories and chih-kuai, although the editorial perspective can differ dramatically between the two contexts.

x

PREFACE

The study of early narrative in China involves the study of both historical writing and fictional writing. At least until the T'ang Dynasty, these two poles of narrative develop in conjunction with each other, with the tenets of each being refined in dialectic interaction with the other. In my ongoing research into the evolution of early narrative, this interaction has been a primary concern. I have sought to understand the forces shaping historical texts between the narratives of pre-Han China and the Records of the Grand Historian up through the histories of the T'ang. At the same time I have sought to understand the forces shaping the evolution of fictional narratives, from the pre-Han philosophies and early chih-kuai collections up through the mature ch'uan-ch'i stories of the T'ang. From both sides of this research problem, my attention was repeatedly drawn to the fang~shih. Here was a character found in both worlds, at times celebrated and exploited by both, at times rejected by both. I believed that in the study of fang-shih texts, especially their biographies in the dynastic histories, information could be found to illuminate the evolution of both history and fiction. Even as the histories became more sober and more stereotypic in their approach to biography, their lives of fang-shih remained a trove of enchanting descriptions of remarkable characters, who seemed to exist in a textual world of their own. As I undertook work on the texts I found myself confronted with a number of problems that one typically confronts in the dynastic histories. But in the study of fang-shih lives they were uniquely formidable. First, the three dynastic histories from which these biographies come have not been widely translated, unlike the two earlier histories, and there is a dearth of textual annotation and commentary, especially on technological and scientific problems in the text. The help to be gotten from Japanese studies of early dynastic histories declines dramatically after the research done on the works of Ssu-ma Ch'ien and Pan Ku. A number of Chinese scholars have studied specific aspects of the fang-shih, his geographic origins, his relations to Confucian Ju-ists at court, and his role in the evolution of fiction. In Western scholarship, the fang-shih has been discussed several times in passing, in studies of Han religion, society, and- science. But only one previous attempt has been made at a book-length study of fang-shih, Ngo Van Xuyet's (1976) monograph on the History of the Later Han and divination. One problem is dealing with the technologies that the fang-shih possessed and promoted as their contribution to the world. In the last two decades, significant progress has been made in the understanding of ancient

PREFACE

Xl

Chinese medical theory, astrology, astronomy, and other facets of early science. Less progress can be reported in the study of early nonastrological divination, the spiritualism of the wu medium, and the sundry hygienic arts of the immortal. For help in all these areas I turned to a group of excellent publications by colleagues in the study of ancient China. Where the publications would not suffice, I turned unabashedly to my colleagues themselves. I am particularly grateful to Nathan Sivin of the University of Pennsylvania for his reading of early drafts of the biographies and invaluable suggestions and criticisms in both medical and astrological areas. I am grateful to Wolfram Eberhard of the University of California for his early interest and support of my research and his bibliographic help, to Edward Schafer of the University of California for his reading of the biography of Tai Yang and his suggestions and criticisms on both astrological problems and general translation problems, to my colleagues at the University of Michigan, C. S. Chang for sharing his vast knowledge of the Han and his insights into puzzling sections of the texts, and James 1. Crump for his generosity in reading drafts of my translation and identifying infelicitous renderings and places where the content did not survive the journey between the two languages. I am grateful to David Keightley of the University of California for his help in matters of Shang calendrics and divination and to Kominami Ichir6 of the Kyoto University Institute for Humanistic Sciences for his ongoing instruction and his work in the evolution of early history and fiction. The learning these colleagues have shared with me has saved me from many errors. Those that remain are entirely my own. I owe a dept of gratitude to my colleagues in Chinese studies at Michigan for the many times I brought my texts to lunch and gained illumination from their readings and suggestions. In the early stages of my work, I conducted ,a directed reading with two talented graduate students, Jerilyn Cunningham Creutz and William Hennessey, with whose assistance the map of fang-shih texts was roughly sketched out and the technical biographies of Hua T'o and Tai Yang were first attempted. Another gifted student, Anne Behnke, served as an able assistant in the final months of this project, laboring in the preparation and checking of the manuscript. I wish to express my appreciation to the National Endowment for the Humanities for a research grant that provided the time during which the background research for this study was completed and the majority of the primary texts were translated. Finally, I have deep appreciation for the patience and support of my

Xll

PREFACE

wife Judith and our children, Jacob, Rachel, and Aaron. For many years they observed my engagement with this project, with no other reward than witnessing the pleasure I took in the work. Kenneth J. DeWoskin Ann Arbor

The human understanding is of its own nature prone to suppose the existence of more order and regularity in the world than it finds. And though there be many things in nature which are singular and unmatched, yet it devises for them parallels and conjugates and relatives which do not exist. Francis Bacon, Novum Organum, "Aphorisms"

A dog starved at his Master's Gate, Predicts the ruin of the State. William Blake, "Auguries of Innocence"

Introduction THESE BIOGRAPHIES focus on a group of men who made their imprint on early Chinese history with technical skills in medicine, divination, and magic combined with talent for storytelling and political persuasion. From our present-day perspective, their personalities and lives were diverse, as were their partic~lar arts and techniques. But in their own times, from the third century B. c. to the fourth or fifth cent;;~Y--A~D:~--Hley-were h~fd--a--si~~re.~p.~·.·.~~'de~.··-~~~.~?~l1'l~.~ ·.r~.bri~ . Za~8~shih',.' arid'" 'it' DeCame,·'tne \ p;~~ti~~ o{dynastic histories from the History of the Later Han on to present a s~l~c:ti()I1offang-shihliv~s in a collected biography.! The notion of a common fang-shih type persisted long after their arts and techniques evolved into obviously distinct specialties, among which were medicine, astronomy, geomancy, and music. But the term fang-shih itself, shaped in time by the influence of contending factions at court, came to apply only to the less esteemed or less recognized practitioners in each field. The origin of the name is subject to various interpretations. Its first known occurrence relevant to our present subject is in the 9.h()ll~li (Programs of Chou),2 where an official of the "Offices of Summer" (hsia-kuan) known as the fang-hsiang-shih is assigned the responsibility for performing exorcisms. The brief text describes the fang-hsiang-shih dancing in a foureyed bearskin mask, which has led scholars to link his courtly responsibilities to wu (medi urn) ritual. By the end of the Later Chou, there are several occurrences of the word "fang" in two new binomes, fang-shu and fangshuo, literally, "fang books" and "fang theories." The word "fang" in its various common contexts meant "efficacious," "formulaic," "parallel," "correlative," "comparative," "medicinal," "spiritual," or "esoteric." Throughout archaic times, the word also occurs commonly in the compound ssu-fang, meaning four outlying areas, and hence refers to people,

\'--

•

2

INTRODUCTION

places, and cultures removed from the central court. Each of these meanings is potentially a factor in the etymology of the term Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145-90 B.C.) introduced to the dynastic histories. Fang-shih were involved in exorcism, the practice of medicine, and divination through heaven-manearth parallels; they were virtually all from outlying areas and their practices were distinct in most areas from court orthodoxies. But in addition to any substantive meaning of fang in relation to the content of fang-shih knowledge, writing, and practice, there is a social dimension to the word that reflects both intellectual and material differences between the fang-shih and the guardians of orthodoxy at the Han imperial court. 3 During the flourishing days of the fang-shih, the Han and early Six Dynasties (second century B.C. to fourth century A.D.), fang-shih influence was significant in many areas of culture. Some people identified as fangshih were deeply involved in scientific thinking and technological activities, especially in the applied areas of calendrics, metallurgy, meteorology, pharmacology, geography, and biology. During periods of substantial imperial patronage, some fang-shih achieved personal wealth and eminence in officialdom. Imperial favor was won by means of three promised contributions to the throne: maintenance of the emperor's -y~-~th vItality; correction

ancl

and maintenance ofth~~s_t~~_411_~~~9Li!~e}:Qi:~R~c:e,()f~~ighJL,!~_~ __ gLEi!c.~; and perception and interpretation of omens foretelling the future, illuminatin~bs~-~~iti~~ortl1ep·resenf,~~dguidingt he policies -()ffhe government toward those that would gain the favor of heaven. The sum of these contributions aided the emperor's successful administration of the empire and secured continuation of the vital patronage. Fang-shih who achieved a measure of status in the world of letters were esteemed for their "broad learning," which encompassed much outside the tradition of classical learning, includin~t~n9wledge of remote places and peoples, knowledge of immortals and spirits, and understanding of certain esoteric arts and technologies that were perceived as keys to the maze of life's intricate and interwoven web of influences. Their books and books they studied reflect this expansive interest-Shih-chou-chi (Account of Ten Continents), Po-wu-chih (Records of Widely Diverse Things), and the like. Perhaps more than any other factor, the fang-shih claims to broad learning brought them into positions of eminence, first in the capacity of court erudite, either officially or informally. But in time, the same breadth became the subject of criticism by the guardwho were called Ju-ists and emerged as keepers--of ians of court

INTRODUCTION

3

the state-sanctioned Confucian traditions, 4 because fang-shih dealt most persistently with areas Confucius refused to discuss, namely, strange events, spirits, and fate. Fang-shih knowledge was the stuff of early hagiography, remote-land geography, and miracle lore, and this put fang-shih at the center of important developments in early fiction. They introduced varieties of magic and conjury into court social life, entertaining at the dinner parties of the rich and powerful with feats of "Guessing the Contents" and "Shrinking the World." 5 Their versatility was the key to their survival in the constantly changing social and political worlds of their era. During the early Han (221 B.C.-A.D. 6), fang-shih were agents of a dramatic diffusion of nontraditional knowledge and interests into the highly centralized, literate, and essentially conservative court mainstream. Though politically and intellectually the Han in its early years was by no means monolithic, the support of fang.. shih in large numbers by a number of major Han emperors furthered a process of change in the court along two fronts. Unassimilated cultures from remote areas, notably Yen and Ch'i (Shan_tung), the I regions (Szechwan), and Ch'u (Yangtze River valley), were introduced and promoted, and practices associated with lower social strata, notably exorcistic andoth~r mediumistic practices performed by priests among the populace, were elevated into court use. The fang-shih were eclectic, and their influence was likewise diverse. The Han was the first dynasty to unify China and to endure more than a generation. There were factors that encouraged the court toward an increasingly uniform culture. The fang-shih were contrary factors. When their political influence was at its height, during the reign of Han Emperor Wu (140-86 B.C.), the ways in which they differed from the Ju-ists were their gr~~~~t;~set~in gaining recognition and support. But after they achieved that zenith they suffered a rapid decline, and the same differences marked them for exclusion from the centers of wealth and power. The study of fang-shih is checked by formidable problems. The primary historical sources for the study of the earliest fang-shih are the dynastic histories, accounts which are neither abundant nor unbiased. During the periods of their greatest political prestige and influence, the fang-shih were fervently detested by the Ju-ists who dominated the offices responsible for compiling official historical records. Beginning with Ssu-ma Ch'ien, the Grand Historian, the compilers' jaundiced views of fang-shih and their methods colored the biographical accounts. There is, for example, persistent

4

INTRODUCTION

understatement of their impact on events and a critical attitude in evaluating their presence at court, an attitude that had become a matter of convention by the first century A. D. Disapprobation of the fang-shih is pronounced in the prefaces that begin their collected biographies and the postscriptural eulogies that typically summarize the virtues of a subject. Historians of China include both positive and negative examples in their biographies; hence, we find chapters on harsh officials, traitors to the emperor, and the like. But the fang-shih as a group are too diverse, and their treatment too inconsistent, for us to regard them simply as negative exemplars. There is no complementary group to the fang-shih-the equivalent of virtuous officials or loyal generals-that a negative example might illuminate. In the face of this explicit disesteem by the court historians, the mere inclusion of fang-shih in the histories argues for their importance at court, their visibility in elite social circles, and their influence among petty officialdom and the common people. For these reasons, and other reasons discussed below, biographies of fang-shih were unavoidable for the court historians. The difficulty contemporary scholars have in the study of fang-shih arts and techniques is a result, in part, of poor documentation in reliable primary sources. It is apparent that the officials compiling the dynastic histories had varying degrees of insight, often minimal, into the arts and techniques about which they wrote. The inadequate understanding of fang-shih arts in the court relates to a general sentiment that is pervasive in Han learning, namely, that much of the past-its texts and the significance of those textswas lost. This was largely blamed on the Ch'in emperor's burning of books and oppression of scholars, policies that interrupted the continuity of the classical traditions. Scholars during the Han were affected by a nostalgia for the lost past, an eagerness to possess books that transmit true doctrine, and a determination to eliminate discrepancies, ambiguities, and lacunae in their knowledge of the past and present. In the preface to the fang-shih biographies in the History of the Later Han, the inaccessibility of the fundamental fang-shih texts is lamented: We note that the theories of yin and yang and astrology and calendrics are mentioned often in the memorial classics. 6 Yet the works themselves, the marvelous tablets of jade slips and gold thread bindings, are secluded in the archives of the luminous divine, secured on altars of jade. There is no way for us to see them. 7

INTRODUCTION

5

Many fang-shih, by virtue of their distinct rhetoric or technique, can be related to known Han textual traditions. Some manuals of divination techniques of putative Han and even pre-Han authorship are still extant, but their ancestry is virtually always debatable and the interpretation of their contents problematic. Already by the early Han, a scholarly interest had developed in the history of divination and the proliferation of divination techniques. The chapter on turtle-shell and milfoil-stalk divination in the Records of the Grand Historian, though not by Ssu-ma Ch'ien, is widely believed to have been written within a few decades of his life. It traces the mythical origin of divination practices and reviews the general metaphysical basis. It continues with a discussion of regional variations of divination types that had already been observed by the Han, and then details the numerous kinds of turtles and the processes for selection and preparation of their shells. There is little technical detail about the actual divination act, and no discussion of the theoretical basis for the practice. Also, this chapter reflects interest in technologies that were already passe; the study was of practices already detached from the contemporary practices of the early Han court. Most of the textual materials we have in the received textual tradition (those works that have come down to the present in a process of uninterrupted transmission, as opposed to materials recovered in archeological finds) that deal with fang-shih or divination are narratives that focus on social interaction, not technical description. Although he did not include a collected biography of fang-shih in his Records of the Grand Historian of China, Ssu-ma Ch'ien introduced biographies of fang-shih to the dynastic history tradition with his "Treatise on the Feng and Shan Sacrifice." The chapter focused on several prominent fangshih and impressed a number of features on the historical stereotype as it was passed down to subsequent dynastic histories. Sung Wu-chi, Cheng-po Ch'iao, Ch'ung Shang, Hsien-men Kao, and Tsui Hou were all men of Yen who practiced magic and followed the way of the immortals, discarding their mortal forms and changing into spiritual beings by means of supernatural aid. Tsou Yen won fame among the feudal lords for his theories of the yin and the yang and the succession of the five elements, but the magicians who lived along the seacoast of Ch'i and Yen, though they claimed to transmit his teachings, were unable to understand them. Thus from time to

6

INTRODUCTION time there appeared a host of men, too numerous to mention, who expounded all sorts of weird and fantastic theories and went to any lengths to flatter the rulers of the day and ingratiate themselves with them. s

Outside this treatise, there is considerable space given to Tsou Yen, a speculative thinker of the late Chou period, in the "Biography of Mencius and Hsiin-tzu." 9 There is no other information about Tsou Yen except titles ascribed to him in the Han bibliography, titles classified among the yinyang thinkers. Tsou Yen is imputed to have refined the interpretation of omens by means of five-phases correlations, and that terminology is favored by certain diviners of later times, but his ultimate relation to the fang-shih who emerged centuries later is extremely unclear. Ssu-ma Ch'ien's prominent mention of Tsou Yen in connection with fang-shih fixed the notion that he was the father of their thought and that latter-day practitioners were errant disciples of his school; but a careful study of the one-hundred-odd fang-shih mentioned in the Han histories demonstrates that Tsou Yen and his thought shape only one of many facets of a complex intellectual ancestry, and only a small minority of the fang-shih came from the regions of Yen and Ch'i. Tsou Yen's putative contributions to theory are discussed below. In this same passage, Ssu-ma Ch'ien expressed skepticism about the fang-shih's ultimate value to society. This skepticism becomes de rigueur for the dynastic historian when commenting on fang-shih. The chapter as a whole, however, is full of lively and novel stories that attest to the fangshih's appeal as subjects for the historians. .

Background It is possible to group the antecedents of fang-shih thought and technology into three distinct areas: }!~!glQgy._'!mLf---·

.. /

1. Jen Wen-kung Jen Wen-kung was a native of Lang-chung prefecture in Pa commandery.15 His father, Wen-sun, was enlightened in the arcane essentials of Celestial Offices and Wind Angles divination techniques. Wen-kung practiced his father's arts from an early age and was appointed to the post of attendant in the provincial offices. During the reign of Emperor Ai [6-1 B. c.], it was rumored that the grand protector of Yiieh-sui 16 was going to rise in rebellion. The governor was alarmed at this and sent Wen-kung with four attendants on an inspection tour of the border garrisons, charging them to inquire discreetly into the validity of these rumors. The group stopped at a relay post as a great

FROM;vHE HISTORY OF THE LATER HAN

47

storm rapidly gathered. Wen-kung quickly explained to his fellow attendants that they should depart at once, saying that an adverse current was on the rise and harm would be coming to them. He rose promptly and raced away as fast as he could go, while the rest of his group hesitated. As a result they were unable to escape before troops sent from the border garrison arrived and killed them. Wen-kung alone escaped. Later when Wen-kung was serving as a governor's attendant, a relentless drought gripped the empire. Nonetheless, Wen-kung made this claim . to the governor: "On the first day of the fifth month, there will be a tremendous flood. The change of conditions has already occurred. When it comes, nothing can be done to stop it, so it will be best to have the people prepared well in advance." But the governor paid no heed. Wen-kung went himself and built a large boat. Many of the people around who saw him doing this followed his example and did the same. When the day of the predicted flood arrived, the sun was burning as fiercely as ever. Wen-kung was busy urging everyone to hurry with the loading and dispatched a messenger to urge the governor too. The governor's response was to laugh derisively. But as noon approached, the northern skies filled with dark clouds, and in no time a powerful rain began. The downpour lasted until late afternoon, causing the waters of the Chien River to swell up over one hundred feet. The flow totally leveled the houses and thousands of people were killed. In this way Wen-kung earned his reputation as a diviner. He was selected for the post of imperial grand clerk. But when Emperor P'ing [1 B.C.A.D. 5] ascended the throne, Wen-kung pleaded failing health and returned home. After Wang Mang usurped control of the empire, Wen-kung made his calculations and learned that a sustained period of unrest was upon them. He set for all the members of his household the daily regimen of running around and around the house, with weights of up to fifty pounds on their backs. This went on for several weeks, and no one had a glimmer of insight into his reasons. Then suddenly soldiers and bandits arose on all sides. Of all the residents who tried to flee, very few made it. But in Wen-kung's household everyone, big and little alike, was by then capable of running quickly and carrying provisions as well. Hence Wen-kung's family all avoided harm. They finally made their way to Mount Tzu-kung, 17 where they were spared the ravages of military actions for over ten years.

48

FROM THE HISTORY OF THE LATER HAN

When Kung-sun Shu 18 was active, boulders on Wu-tan Mountain in the region of Shu split asunder. 19 Wen-kung announced, "A wise man of Hsi-chou will soon pass away. That is surely I." From that moment, he was always in the company of his sons and grandsons, feasting with them on food and drink. Three months later, as he had predicted, he died. So throughout the province of 1,20 the saying could be heard, "Wen-kung had wisdom beyond any other."

2. Kuo Hsien Kuo Hsien, styled Tzu-heng, was a native of Sung in Ju-nan. 21 As a youngster he studied with Wang Chung-tzu of Tung-hai. 22 At that time, Wang Mang was the infantry commandant, and he summoned Chung-tzu. Chung-tzu planned to go, but Hsien appealed to him, saying, "Propriety demands that the student come to study, not that the teacher go to teach! 23 Now you, sir, will cheapen the Way, being thus fearful of the rich and powerful. I cannot concur in this course." Chung-tzu replied, "Duke Wang is most powerful; I dare not disobey him." Hsien then requested, "If this is the case, it is just now time for your lecture. Please conclude your discussions for us. " Chung-tzu complied; so it was near sunset before he departed. Wang Mang asked him, "Why are you arriving so late?" Chung-tzu reported to him the entirety of Kuo Hsien's reprimand. Though he showed no sign of it, Wang Mang was surprised by this. Sometime later, after Wang Mang had usurped the throne, he appointed Kuo Hsien as a palace gentleman and bestowed robes upon him. Hsien incinerated the robes and departed for the Tung-hai seacoast. Wang Mang was furious, and he struck out for vengeance, but he could never find Hsien. Years later when Kuang-wu ascended the throne [A. D. 25], he sent a call throughout the empire for Masters of the Way. Kuo Hsien was ordered to come to court as an Erudite. 24 Hsien advanced in rank, and by the seventh year of the Chien-wu reign [A.D. 31], he had taken over the post from Chang K'an as superintendent of the imperial household. He accompanied the emperor on a ritual excursion to the southern suburbs. Duri~g the rites,


49

while Hsien stood in his place he abruptly whirled about to face the northeast and thereupon spat out three mouthfuls of wine. The master of rites submitted to the throne that this was a disrespectful act, and the emperor in turn asked Hsien to explain the reasons for his behavior. Hsien replied, "The state of Ch'i is suffering with a massive fire. I did that to extinguish it." Later, Ch'i indeed reported such a disaster, the time of which coincided with the trip to the suburbs. 25 In the eighth year [32], the emperor was headed on a campaign west to punish Wei Hsiao. 26 Hsien censored the throne, saying, "The empire has just been brought to peace. Your Majesty's chariots must not yet move out again." Hsien placed himself before the emperor's chariot, drew a knife from his belt, and cut the reins. But the emperor would not listen, and proceeded to embark on his campaign in the direction of Lung. 27 Soon after the emperor's departure, the troops of Ying-ch'uan 28 rose in rebellion, forcing Kuang-wu to make an about-face and return. His Majesty sighed, "Would that I had listened to the cautions of Kuo Hsien!" At the time, the emperor was gravely concerned about repeated attacks mounted by the Hsiung-nu 29 against the border outposts. He called together his top officials to discuss the matter. Kuo Hsien argued that the empire was in a state of exhaustion, and it would not be appropriate to mobilize troops. But argue as he might, Hsien could not get the emperor's agreement. Without warning he fell to the ground crying that he felt dizzy and faint. And then he said nothing more at all. The emperor had two attendants help Hsien get up and leave, which he did without paying his respects to the throne. The emperor was moved to say, "I have often heard him called, 'The Staunchly Upright Kuo Tzu-heng of Kuan-tung.' That turns out to be far from an empty name!" Hsien subsequently used his illness as an excuse to retire from his official duties, and he died in his home.

3. Hso Yang Hsii Yang, styled Wei Chiin, was a native of P'ing-yii in Ju-nan. 30 As a youth, he loved the esoteric arts. During the period Wang Mang was regent [prior to A. D. 8], Yang was summoned to be a scribe but was soon

50


transferred to the post of commander of Chiu-ch'iian. 31 When Wang Mang usurped the throne, Yang fled incognito to another region, changing his name and becoming a shaman doctor. Only after Wang Mang's defeat did he return to his home province. In ]u-nan, there was the Hung-hsi dam that dated back to ancient times. During the reign of Emperor Ch'eng [32-6 B.C.], Prime Minister Chai Fang-chin submitted a memorial that resulted in the dam's being destroyed. 32 But during the Chien-wu reign [A.D. 25-56], the grand protector of ]u-nan, Teng Ch'en, wanted to restore the dam and regain its benefits. He had heard word of Yang's understanding of water circuitry and summoned him to a meeting. Yang reported to him: Emperor Ch'eng followed the advice of Chai Fang-chin. Shortly thereafter I dreamed that I ascended to the heavens and the Heavenly Emperor angrily questioned me: "Why did they destroy my Dragon Bathing Pool?" After this, the benefits of the dam were lost to the people, and hunger became a widespread problem. A folk song of that period went, "Chai Tzu-wei [Fang-chin], wrecker of our dam, feast on these poor mealy beans, savor these coarse roots. Down is up and up is down. Our dam you should put up again." In ancient times, the Great Yii opened the banks of the Yangtze River and spread the waters of the Yellow River to benefit the empire. Now Your Honor should take steps to restore this enterprise laid waste. It will bring wealth to the state and peace to the people, just as was claimed in the words of the folk song. And your servant is willing to spend his life's blood at this work. Very pleased, Ch'en appointed Yang as aide to the director of waterways and had him administer the project. Yang carefully followed the ups and downs of the natural topography and erected an embankment over four hundred Ii 33 long, which stood secure for many years. The people derived the benefits from this, with plentiful harvests year after year. In the beginning of the project, because of the vast labor involved in building the dam, local aristocrats and powerful families vied to get positions for profiteering. Yang refused to listen to a single one of them; so they banded together and accused him of accepting bribes. As a result of this accusation, Ch'en had Yang arrested and thrown into prison. But when the chains were clamped on, they instantly unlocked themselves. The jailors were frightened and immediately reported this to Ch'en. Ch'en said with


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surprise, "Indeed, we went too far, I have heard it said that the loyal and faithful can move the spirits, and here we have proof of that." As soon as night began to fall, Yang was released and sent on his way home. Just at that moment, the skies grew very dark, but there seemed to be a torch-like light illuminating Yang as he traveled along the road. The onlookers were astonished. Mterwards, Yang fell ill and died. Ch'en built a shrine for him in the capital and decorated it with his portrait. The people all remembered his vast accomplishments and made sacrifices to him.

4. Kao Hoo Kao Huo, styled Ching-kung, was a native of Hsin-hsi in Ju-nan. His head had the unique Ni-ch'iu Mountain shape,34 and his face was broad and square. As a youth he traveled to the capital to study, and his acquaintance with Emperor Kuang-wu went back to that time. He served as disciple to the grand minister over the masses, Ou-yang Hsi. 3s When Hsi was thrown into prison and faced execution, Huo put on an iron crown, belted an executioner's ax to himself, and went before the palace gates to beg a pardon for Hsi. Although the emperor would not grant the pardon, he did have Huo brought in for an audience. He said, "Ching-kung, I would like to employ you as a clerk, but you ought to correct your basic nature!" Huo replied, "Your humble servant received his basic nature from his parents; it is not something I can change for Your Majesty." Then, making his apologies, Huo departed. The three dukes 36 contended to employ him, but Huo would not respond. Some time later, the grand protector Pao Yii invited Huo for an audience. As soon as Huo reached the gates, the grand protector ordered the master of records to go out to the gates and receive him. But the master of records passed this responsibility to a cavalry officer, having him go meet Huo. When Huo got word of this, he promptly departed. Yii sent someone after him to extend the invitation again, but Huo simply turned around and said, "If His Honor can be deceived by one no more lofty than a master of records, it is not worth conversing with him." Thus he refused to stay.

FROM THE HISTORY OF THE LATER HAN At that time there was a great drought in the commandery. Huo had always been skilled .in astrology and versed in the arts of Evading Stems; so he could command the services of ghosts and spirits. Yii visited Huo personally to ask what he might do to cause rain. Huo told him, "Suspend immediately your assistant supervisor in the third sector and go in person to the north. When you reach the guard house at thirty Ii, the rains will come." Yii followed this instruction, and indeed the commandery enjoyed a huge downpour. Thereafter, whenever Yii went on tour of the prefectures, he would pay his respects before the gate of Huo's village. Huo later vanished into a remote region south of the Yangtze and died in Shih-ch'eng. 37 The people of Shih-ch'eng remembered him and joined in building a shrine in his honor.

5.

Ch'iao

Wang Ch'iao was a native of Ho-tung,38 and during the Hsien-tsung reign of Emperor Ming [58-75], he served as the prefectural head for Yeh. 39 Ch'iao had divine powers. Every month at the turnings of the moon, he would leave his prefectural post to pay a visit to the capital. The emperor was surprised by the frequency of these visits and by the fact that he never saw a chariot or a mount. So the emperor secretly ordered the grand astrologer to maintain a watch for Wang Ch'iao in advance of his expected arrival. The grand astrologer reported that when Ch'iao was due to arrive, a pair of wild ducks flew in from the southeast. He waited for the ducks to alight and then he trapped them with an outstretched net. But all he ended up with was one plain shoe. The emperor ordered the master of technology to examine it, and it turned out to be a shoe of the type that had been bestowed upon officials of the secretariat some four years earlier. 40 Whenever Ch'iao was about to make his appearance at court, a drum below the prefectural office gate in Yeh would sound of its own accord with a roll so loud it could be heard in the capital. In his later years, a jade coffin descended from the sky in front of the provincial office. The clerks pushed and tugged at it, but they could not even rock it. Ch'iao said, "Is this not a summons for me from the Heavenly


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Emperor?" He proceeded to bathe, change his robes and adornments, and lie down to sleep in the coffin. The cover immediately closed tightly. That evening the coffin was buried east of the city, and the earth appeared to form a burial mound of its own accord. However, that same evening all the oxen in the city were sweating and panting, but no one took note of it. 41 The people built a shrine there, calling it the Shrine of the Yeh Master. Whenever a new official was transferred to the region, he would first pay his respects at the shrine, and whenever clerks prayed to it, their prayers were always heard. Disaster would swiftly befall anyone who broke the sanctity of the shrine. The emperor sent for the drum and had it placed beneath a pavilion in the city, but it rarely sounded again after that. Some people claimed that this Wang Ch'iao was the ancient sage Wang Tzu-ch'iao. 42

6. Hsieh I-wu Hsieh I-wu, styled Yao-ch'ing, was a native of Shan-yin in K'uaichi. 43 As a youth he served as a clerk in the commandery offices and studied Wind Angles and Meteorognostics. The grand protector, Ti-wu Lun,44 promoted him to the post of circuit deputy. At the time, the head of Wu-ch'ang 45 was abusing his authority to confiscate property. Lun dispatched I-wu to collect evidence of this crime. I-wu arrived at the prefecture, but he did not examine anything at all. Rather he gazed at the official's building, fell to the ground crying, and then returned to the capital. Everyone in the prefecture was astonished and did not understand the reason for this behavior. When I-wu arrived back at the capital, he reported to Lun, "By prognostication of the general conditions I learned that the head would die, in thirty days at the soonest, sixty at the latest. His will be a violent death, such that our punishments could add nothing. Thus I chose not to arrest him." Lun listened to him, and, in a little more than a month's time, a courier arrived with the head's seal of office and a report of his violent end. From this point on, Lun treated I-wu with even greater respect and gave his advice even more credence. At the beginning of the Yung-p'ing era [58-76] I-wu was promoted to

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the rank of Filial and Incorruptible and made prefect of Shou-ch'ang. 46 Soon he was promoted to governor of Ching-chou 47 and then to grand protector of Chi.i-Iu. 48 Wherever he served, he loved and nurtured the people and the land, and he accumulated a good record. When Lun was promoted to be minister of rites, he had Pan Ku write the following recommendation for I-wu: I have heard that when Yao employed Chi and Hsieh, all under the administration prospered and great peace prevailed. When Shun employed Kao T'ao, all under the administration attained to a state of great glory. Although, the Shang and Chou had rulers like Kao-tsung, Ch'ang, and Fa, only as a result of the planning of such ministers as Fu Yi.ieh and Li.i Wang did they bring honor unconquerable to their dynasties and achieve total accord with the ultimate standards of rule. 49 Now, I have met the grand protector of Chi.i-Iu, one Hsieh I-wu of K'uai-chi. Above the miry soil of the eastern provinces, he is a heroic form towering alone, a unique greatness flowering forth. His talents encompass all fields of study, and his conduct embraces the nine virtues. He has compassion sufficient to be an aid in these times and knowledge that encompasses myriad things. To this add the fact that from his youth he has embraced the Confucian refinements and is armed with learning of the Six Classics. He can project and compute the motion of the stars and correlate all manner of charts and records. His reach extends to the darkest corner of the sages' esoterica, and he can observe and follow the very markers of time. He can apprehend the signs of heaven and knows those of earth, and he enjoys a close bond with the spirits. With his Way and his powers, he could well handle the affairs of a king. Formerly, he served a supporting role and worked with me. I-wu held steadfastly to a posture of loyalty and respect for principle. Embodying the probity of Shih Yi.i,50 he guided me onward when I was strict and disciplined, but he also encouraged me to go forward when my own will became weak and frail. By truly relying on his merits, I was able to avoid all calamities. When he responded to the call of high office for himself, his benevolence blanketed those around for hundreds of Ii and an extraordinary shower of good fortune descended upon us all. His transforming influence may be likened to that of a spirit, and it culminated in his governance of Ching-chou, from which service he inspired awe throughout the lands. He practiced administra-


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tion and upheld the law in a style reminiscent of the sage dukes Chou and Shao. 51 He lived in frugality and trod a path of restraint, recalling the discipline of the sage-minister Kung I. 52 In his ability to seek the meritorious and select the capable, he set a standard for all governors. In listening to what he heard and examining into the truth of matters, he was the crowning eminence of the lords of all our lands. When I-wu served as the grand protector of Chii-lu, the government knew only accord and the times were prosperous. In the virtuous balancing of judicious administrative plans, his tenure may be compared to I Yin, Lii Wang, Kuan Chung, and Yen P'ing. 53 His illuminating explications of the darkest corners of the Way rank with those of Shih Su and Ching Fang. 54 Though deep in esoterica, he makes no public show of it, and though he is physically present in service to the state, his heart is still that of a recluse. He neither has the desire to promote his own name in search of fame nor does he dart about here and there in quest of imperial favor. He cherishes thoughts of a quiet seclusion and would achieve his ambition to become a Mount Chi recluse. 55 If one stood him next to the ancient sages, he would in truth be of their stature. But measured against the men of today, he towers beyond their common bounds. He is truly a treasure like the divine turtle in our national shrines, an upright pillar supporting the great Han Dynasty. It would be fitting to select him for an eminent ducal post. Such an appointment would, in the heavens, cause the luminaries to track smoothly in their time-marking rounds. On earth it would guide all ranks of men into an era of excellence. It would be an act certain to bring about the blessings of good fortune and prosperity, far beyond the mere filling of a vacant post according to the rules. Now, your humble minister is aging, and my capacity cannot be considered of his class. I am but a corpse drawing pay, and am carried where I should bear. Though I have the timidity of one in the twilight of his life, I am willing to plead with all my heart that this rank be conferred on I-wu. Above he will lend brilliance to the seven celestial lights [Celestial Rulers], and below he will bring satisfaction to the aspirations of our land. I beg that you forgive your humble servant for this boldness. Sometime later, I-wu was riding in an open firewood cart with only two followers in attendance. The governor of Chi-chou 56 memorialized the

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throne charging that I-wu disgraced the dignity and decorum of his post and brought harm to the code of the state. As a result he was demoted to be prefect of Hsia-p'i. 57 I-wu predicted in detail the day of his death, and indeed died on the very day he said. He admonished his son, saying, "At the end of the Han Dynasty, there will be terrible chaos. There will be disasters so severe that tombs will be torn open and bones exposed. I would like my casket to be lowered into a deep grave and the grave be left with no mound to mark it." During the same period, another Erudite by the name of ~uo Feng of Po-hai 58 was also skilled at Charts and Tallies. He could skillfully explain disasters and anomalies, the waning and waxing of fortune, and the prediction of responses. He too knew in advance the date of his death, and hence in advance he had his offspring buy a coffin, mourning clothes, and other funeral needs. He died when the predicted day arrived.

7. Yang Yu Yang Yu, styled Ai-hou, was a native of Ch'eng-tu in Shu. 59 As a youth, he studied the Book of Changes and augmented that with knowledge of the Celestial Rulers, Primal Pneuma, Wind and Clouds, and Meteorognostics. He served as an official of scholarship at the commandery level. A flock of wild magpies used to assemble night after night atop the armory tower. The grand protector, Lien Fan, asked Yu about this. Yu· explained, "This portends a minor military action, but it will not result in any harm." Slightly more than twenty days later, the Man-i barbarians of Kuang-jou prefecture 60 rebelled, killing the prefectural head and his officials. The commandery sent out a force to punish them. Later, there arose a wind strong enough to blow sticks around. The grand protector asked Yu about it. Yu explained, "Very soon, someone will present a gift of tree-borne fruit, the color of which will be red-yellow." It was not long after that an official-at-Iarge made a gift to Lien Fan of several bundles of tangerines. Once Yu was drinking with some companions. He cautioned his driver, "After the third round of drinking, we ought to prepare the chariot to de-


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part." And as soon as that moment arrived, he rushed away. Later that night, in the host's quarters, a fight broke out that resulted in a murder. Someone asked Yang Yu how he had anticipated this, and he explained, "Pigeons were squabbling in the tree facing the local altar to the soil god. This is the representation of an armed crime." Yang Yu's predictions were largely verified. He wrote a book of more than ten chapters called the Ch'ip'ing [The Balanced]. He died in his home.

8. Li Nan Li Nan, styled Hsiao-shan, was a native of Chii-jung prefecture in Tan-yang commandery.61 As a youth, his studies were wide ranging, and he was enlightened in the arts of Wind Angles. During the Yung-yiian reign of Emperor Ho [89-105], the grand protector of Tan-yang, Ma Ling, was charged in an incident of collusion with local bandits. When Ling was about to go before the circuit magistrate, all the clerks and people who worked under him were terribly upset. But Nan, unlike the others, arranged for a special audience with the grand protector and offered his congratulations. Ma Ling was very irate at this and said, "I have failed in virtue and am about to be tried for a crime, but you come and congratulate me. What do you think you are doing?" Nan explained, "There was an auspicious wind this morning at dawn, and by noon tomorrow there ought to be a favorable report. Hence 1 expressed my congratulations." From early the next morning, Ma Ling waited impatiently, but as the day wore on and the sun passed the meridian, he concluded that Nan had missed the mark. Later in the afternoon, however, a mounted messenger rushed up with an imperial edict forgiving Ma Ling for his crime and halting the prosecution. Nan asked the messenger for an explanation of his tardiness. "When 1 was about to go through the Pu-li-k'ang crossing in Yiian-ling,"62 replied the messenger, "my horse twisted his foot, and 1 was then unable to make good time." After this, Ma Ling showed great respect for Nan's skills. Later, having been designated a Master of the Way,63 Li Nan was nominated for a ducal post, but he declined because of failing health and returned home to die.

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Nan's daughter also understood the esoteric arts in her family's possession. She married a man of Yu-chiian prefecture. 64 One morning, just as she walked into the kitchen, a strong wind very suddenly blew up. The girl immediately ran back into the main house and appealed to her mother-inlaw to allow her to return to her parents' home. When her mother-in-law refused, she knelt and wept. "My family has passed on secret arts from generation to generation. When a strong wind blows up quickly, blasts through the kitchen, and then soon reaches the well, it foretells disaster for the woman who manages the kitchen. It is, in fact, a sign that I shall soon perish." She then revealed to them the day on which she would die. Immediately her appeal was heeded and she was allowed to return home. The girl died as she had predicted.

9. Li Ko Li Ko, styled Meng-chieh, was a native of Han-cheng prefecture in Han-chung commandery.65 His father, Chieh, was renowned for his Confucian studies, and during his career he rose to the rank of Erudite. Ko carried on his father's endeavors and went away to study at the most advanced academy, becoming thoroughly versed in the Five Classics. He was highly skilled in the divinational use of the Yellow River Chart, the Lo River Script, the winds, and the stars. However, because of Ko's unprepossessing appearance, nobody recognized his extraordinary talents. He was summoned by the provincial governor to be keeper of the official gates. When Emperor Ho ascended the throne [A. D. 89], he dispatched emissaries in every direction, all of whom went in humble clothes and without retinue. Their mission was to observe and collect local folk songs and airs in every province and prefecture. 66 Two of the emissaries en route to the I region stopped for the night at a post under the supervision of Li Ko. It was summer at the time, and evenings were spent sitting outdoors. Ko had the opportunity to see them and asked, "When you two left the capital, did that coincide with the dispatch of two emissaries by the imperial court?" The two men kept silent for a moment, then looked at Ko in surprise and said, "We have not heard about that." They then asked Ko where he had gotten


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the information, and he replied, pointing to the stars, "Because two emissary stars are fanning out toward the regions corresponding to I, I knew of this." Three years later, one of these very emissaries was given the post of grand protector of Han-chung. Ko was still a clerk there, but the new grand protector, admiring Ko's hidden powers, promoted him to be provincial recorder. At that time, the Great General Tou Hsien was taking a wife, and all the commanderies and states prepared to send gifts and offer their congratulations. Ko's commandery as well was to send an emissary, but Ko went in and admonished the grand protector: "Though General Tou is a relative of the empress,67 he does not maintain the rites nor behave with virtue. Rather, he exercises his power arbitrarily and with great arrogance. He now stands tiptoe on the brink of disaster and doom, so I urge Your Honor to fix your mind wholly on the interests of the emperor and avoid all contact with General Tou." The grand protector remained committed to sending an emissary, however, and failing to dissuade him, Ko requested that he himself be the one chosen to go. The grand protector consented to this. Ko departed on his mission, but he tarried at every stop along the way, hoping to see how the situation developed. He had gone as far as Fu-fang 68 when Tou Hsien was ordered to return to his fiefdom to commit suicide. All the members of his clique were summarily executed, and even those who merely had contact with him were discharged from their official posts. The grand protector of Han-chung was the only one not implicated. Within the year, Ko was elevated to the rank of Filial and Incorruptible and promoted five times. He reached the post of gentleman of the secretariat and eventually grand master of ceremonies. During the fourth year of the Yuan-ch'u era [117], he replaced Yuan Shang as minister of works. He regularly laid out with clarity the courses of successful action as against those doomed to fail, and possessed all the virtues of a loyal flinister. However, after four years in the post, he was implicated in a corruption case and excused from office. When Emperor An died [125], [his grandson] the marquis of Pei-hsiang, ascended the throne. Ko was returned to his position as minister of works. The marquis of Pei-hsiang, however, became seriously ill, so Ko secretly worked with the junior tutor, T'ao Fan of Ho-nan, and the infantry colonel, Chao Chih, to establish Emperor Shun on the throne. It happened that his

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effort coincided with that 'of Sun Ch'eng and others. Their plan came to fruition first, so Kp's merits in this undertaking did not come to light. The following year, plagues raged among the people, and natural disasters and anomalies piled up. The emperor fixed the blame for this on his ministers, and again Ko was forced to resign. The minister of works, Chai p'u, praised Ko to the throne, however, revealing that it was he who had secretly devised a grand plan for placing the emperor on the throne in the first place and bringing tranquillity to the land. As a result, Ko was rewarded for his hitherto unknown merit and offered enfeoffment as marquis of She-tu. But being over eighty years of age at this point, Ko refused the offer, returned home, and died. Ko's follower, Feng Chou of Shang-tang, maintained by himself a threeyear vigilance of "inner mourning" for KO.69 This was considered remarkable by the local people at the time. Chou, styled Shih-wei, was a descendant of Former Han General Feng Feng-shih. 70 He had always admired the way Chou Po-k'uang and Min Chung-shu 71 chose to live, so he too retired to a life of seclusion in the mountains and marshes, responding to no calls to public office. Ko also had a son, Ku, who has been mentioned in a previous biography.72 He also had a nephew, named Li Li and styled Chi-tzu, who was pure and virtuous, erudite and diplomatic. He was closely allied with Cheng Hsuan and Ch'en Chi. 73 When Li served as head of Hsin-ch'eng,74 nonaction was his most valued administrative policy. Also skilled in esoteric arts, Li was able to cause rain to fall in his own administrative area while the remainder of the empire suffered a terrible drought. He rose eventually to the post of commander of the imperial carriages.

10. Tuan Yi Tuan Yi, styled Yuan-chang, was a native of Hsin-tu in Kuang-han. 75 He practiced the arts of the Book of Changes and understood clearly the techniques of Wind Angles. Often when students were on their way to take up study with him, he would know about them and even know their names before they arrived.


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Once he said to the ford guard, "On a certain day, two students will appear. They will be carrying baggage and they will ask for my residence. I would be grateful if you would tell them how to find me." Later, events transpired exactly as he had predicted. In another instance, a student came to study with Yi, but after several years declared that he had already grasped enough of the essential techniques. He excused himself to return home. Yi prepared a special ointment for him and packed it with brief instructions inside a small bamboo tube. He told the student, "If you have an emergency, open this and look inside." The student reached Chia-meng Ford 76 and got involved in a wrangle with a local clerk about crossing. The ford guard struck the student's companion, injuring his head. The student opened the tube and took out the note, which said, "When you arrive at Chia-meng, spread this ointment on the head of the one injured in the fight with the guard." The student followed the instructions and the wound healed instantly. Then he sighed in submission and returned to Tuan Yi to complete his course of study. Later Tuan Yi went into reclusion, completely covering his tracks. He died at home.

11. Liao Fu Liao Fu, styled Wen-ch'i, was a native of P'ing-yu in Ju-nan. He was practiced in the Book of Odes: Commentary of Mao, and the Book of Documents: Commentary of Ou-yang. He had also instructed several hundred students. His father was grand protector of Pei-ti. 77 At the beginning of the Yungch'u reign [A.D. 107, Emperor An], Fu's father was implicated for collusion with the Chiang barbarian tribes. He lost his office, was thrown in prison, and died. Fu felt the loss of his father deeply and mourned for him in full accord with the rites. These events instilled in him a deep fear of official life, and when the period of mourning had been completed, he said with a sigh, "Lao-tzu asked the question, 'Which is more dear, fame or health?' How could I choose fame?" So he put aside his ambitions for a career and went into seclusion.

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He was especially well versed in the classical canon and had a lucid understanding of the arts of Heavenly Patterns, Charts and Tallies, Wind Angles, and Astral Influences (T'ui-pu). Fu was invited to serve officials at every level of administration, but he turned them all away. Even when they came simply to ask him about disasters and anomalies, he would not answer their questions. Once Fu had foreknowledge that the coming harvest would be devastatingly poor, so he stored up several thousand bushels (hu) of grain. He distributed all of it to his own extended family and to his in-laws. He also tended to the interment of those who perished in the epidemics when their own kin could not look after the burials. Fu would often be by the side of his own ancestors' graves, and he would never go into the city. When Grand Protector Yeh Huan was a student, he studied under Fu. After he received his appointment but prior to taking up his new post, he sent an assistant to pay homage to Fu as his teacher. He also expressed a desire to employ some of the younger generation in Fu's family, but they refused the offer adamantly. At that time Fu was given the sobriquet "Scholar of the Northern Suburbs." At the age of eighty, he died in his home. His two sons, Meng-chii and Wei-chii, were also well known.

12. Che Hsiang Che Hsiang, styled Po-shih, was a native of Lo in Kuang-han. 78 An ancestor by the name of Chang Chiang was enfeoffed. as the marquis of Che, and his grandson Kuo became grand protector of Yii-lin and moved to Kuang-han. As a result, his descendants were enfeoffed there. Kuo was the father of Hsiang. Kuo had wealth totaling over 200 million cash and had over eight hundred people in his household employ. When Hsiang was quite young, he showed such compassion that he was unwilling even to kill an insect or break off a sprout. He was capable of mastering the Book of Changes: Commentary of Ching Fang, and was fond of the tenets of the Huang-lao Taoists. 79 When his father Kuo died, he pondered the significance of Laotzu's words, "He who has accumulated much can lose heavily,"80 and dis-


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tributed all his gold, possessions, and property, passing the wealth around to close kin and to strangers alike. Someone upbraided Hsiang, saying, "Sir, you have three sons and two daughters. Your progeny will be numerous, so you ought to add to your store of surplus wealth. Why are you proceeding with this policy of intentionally exhausting what you have?" Hsiang replied, "In ancient times, a man named Tou Tzu-wen was quoted as saying, 'I am running from disaster, not running from wealth!"'81 My family has accumulated wealth for a very long time. Baneful hoarding without bounds is something that Lao-tzu abhorred. At present, the world faces decline, and \my offspring are lacking in talents. To have great wealth but lack compassion is a very unfortunate thing. When a wall with fractures is of towering height, its collapse will be swift." Knowledgeable people who heard this explanation had to agree with it. Hsiang was able to predict the date of his own death. He assembled guests from all the branches of his family, feasted with them, and said his parting words. Then in no time, it was over. He died at the age of eightyfour. His family had no wealth remaining at all, and his offspring, just as Hsiang had predicted, weakened and declined.

13. Fan Ying Fan Ying, styled Chi-ch'i, was a native of Lu-yang in Nan-yang. 82 As a youth, he was educated through the offices of the capital districts where he became skilled in the Book of Changes: Commentary of Ching Fang and thoroughly versed in the Five Classics. He was also adept in Wind Angles, Stellar Calculations, Yellow River Charts and Lo River Scripts, the Seven Apocrypha, and inductive interpretations of disasters and anomalies. He went into reclusion on the south face of Mount HU,83 where students came to see him from every direction. Officials of all levels lined up, one behind another, to pay respects, beg instruction, and enlist his services. Ying, however, would never accept their offers. Though the highest lords accorded him the rank of Sage and Upright and the rank of Master of the Way, he still would not go to them. Once a stormy wind blew up from the west and Ying told his disciples,

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"A fire in the city of Ch'eng-tu is raging fiercely." So he took a mouthful of water and spit it out toward the west, making a note of the day and time. Later a traveler arrived from the Shu capital [Ch'eng-tu] and reported, "On that day, there was indeed a great blaze. But unexpectedly, heavy clouds arose from the east, and in no time there was a downpouring of rain so great that the fire was quickly put out." After this event, the entire empire spoke of Ying's esoteric skills. At the beginning of Emperor An's reign [107], Ying was called to court as an Erudite. At the opening of the Chien-kuang period [121], another summons was issued. This time an official courier presented the actual document, all in an effort to draft the services of Fan Ying and five othersK'ung Ch'iao and Li Ping from the same commandery; Lang Tsung from Pei-hai; Yang Lun from Ch'en-liu; and Wang Fu of Tung-p'ing. Only Lang Tsung and Yang Lun were willing to travel to Lo-yang. Ying and the other three did not go. In the second year of the Yung-chien period [127], Emperor Shun issued an order to pay Ying the greatest respects, to increase vastly the rewards offered to him, and to bring him into imperial service. But again Ying refused, claiming that an illness he had was worsening. The emperor then issued a severe reprimand for the entire prefecture and commandery and dispatched carriages to bring Ying back by force. Ying could not resist, but when he arrived at the capital, he claimed illness and would not get up. He was forcibly carried into the palace, but even then refused to pay his respects to the emperor. Emperor Shun raged at Ying, "I can keep you alive or kill you! I can make you a noble or make you a commoner! I can make you wealthy or make you impoverished! How dare you evade my orders?" Ying made the following reply: Your servant received his lot from heaven. If I live to complete a full measure of life, it is heaven's doing. If I die before then, it is also heaven's doing. In what way can Your Majesty keep me alive or kill me? In my eyes, a tyrannical lord is no different from an adversary. If I stand in his court against my will, how does this make me noble? I come from the ranks of plain cotton dress and live under the shelter of an old wall. The tranquillity and satisfaction of my life is something I would not exchange for the prestigious rank of a lord of ten -thousand chariots. Having this satisfaction, can one be base? If it were not appropriate, even if you offered me a salary of ten thousand bushels, I


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would not accept. If will is free to extend where it may, I do not at all resent subsisting on the poorest meal. So how can Your Ma jesty make me wealthy? How can you make me poor? Unable to bend Ying's will, the emperor was obliged to pay him the respects his reputation demanded. So he sent Ying to his grand physician to regain his health and had a monthly stipend of wine and meat sent to him. In the third month of the fourth year [129], the emperor went so far as to have a seat of honor made for Ying. He then went personally, in a procession led by the prefect of imperial carriages, to see him. The emperor approached, and, with the assistance of the secretary of the letters, made the ritual presentation of a cane and a stool to venerate an elder. Thus honoring Ying with the ceremony due a teacher, the emperor ventured to ask of future successes and failures. Ying could no longer avoid service and was appointed leader of the gentlemen of the household. However, Ying soon claimed that his illness was worsening. In response the emperor made him imperial household grandee and granted him permission to return home. Each year to the people of his prefecture Ying presented one thousand bushels of grain, and in the eighth month he gave them an ox and three kegs of wine. Should Ying die from some misfortune, the emperor would sacrifice calves and lambs on his behalf. Still Ying resigned and refused to accept the offer of a higher post; the emperor issued an edict refusing the resignation. At Ying's first call to service by imperial edict, everyone assumed that he would refuse it, since he would have to abandon his desire to live in reclusion. On the later occasion, when he did respond to the emperor's call, he apparently had no particularly marvelous plans or profound strategies. Those who discussed this simply took it to mean Ying had lost his original vision. Chang K'ai of Ho-nan was called at the same time as Ying on an earlier occasion, and said to him: "There are two paths one may take in life, Either come forth and serve the emperor or retire and stay a recluse." 84 Originally, I thought that your willingness to come forth was because you hoped to serve this lord and give succor to the people. But early on you enraged our lord who rules over ten thousand chariots, claiming you yourself had remained beyond taint. You too came to enjoy the privileges and gains of high office, and still we have not heard of any secret arts by which you might provide effective aid to the empire. It is as if what you choose to do and what you choose not to do are without any basis.

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Still, Ying was in fact skilled in the esoteric arts. Whenever the court experienced a disaster or an anomaly and the edict came down asking for suggestions on what might effect the corrective changes, Ying's explanations most frequently proved to be accurate. Early in life, Ying wrote Comments on the Changes, which were popularly called the "Theories of Mr. Fan." His instructions were based on the charts and apocrypha. Ch'en Shih of Ying-ch'uan 85 as a youth studied with Ying. Once when Ying was ill, Ying's wife had her personal maidservant enter and make a courtesy call. Ying climbed out of his sickbed and ceremoniously greeted the maid. Shih thought this was very strange and asked for an explanation. Ying explained, "The word for 'wife' is a homonym for the word 'together.' In the ritual sacrifices the husband and wife are brought together. It would be a breach of rites not to greet my wife's servant in this way." This example is typical of Ying's meticulous observance of the rites. At the age of seventy, he died in his home. During the reign of Emperor Ling [168-188], Ying's grandson Ling was called to serve the court eunuchs as minister of rites. Hsi Hsiin of Ch'en commandery 86 studied and transmitted Ying's techniques. Hsiin himself reached the post of palace attendant.

Postscript to Part I The legendary style of these famous scholars of the Han is something with which we all are familiar. However, some were tighter, some looser, some more forward and others more retiring, and often they were not entirely flawless in the strict checking of their emotions and the maintenance of an easy external demeanor. They relied on Taoist magical arts in order to attain their reputations and rewards. They were not men who were capable of penetrating the cosmos and its beings or elaborating cogently on current affairs. For example, look at Fan Ying and Yang Hou. At court they were treated like deities, but in the final analysis they were nothing special at all. Ying's reputation was most eminent and hence his ultimate disgrace the most abysmal. Li Ku, Chu Mu, and men of their ilk presented them-


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selves as recluses, beyond worldly matters, and drummed up a reputation that way. There was nothing to be gained by employing them; so in fact they were not called. But later, their very oddness in this regard made them famous. And then the rulers paid them great respect in order to win the hearts of the people. So what was originally a uselessness became very useful, but that use in the final analysis reverted to being useless. What do I mean by this? The fact is, even those who are brilliant in their literary efforts are sometimes of questionable use. Even those who are deeply schooled in the rites and music in the end may deviate from the standard. When it came to these men reshaping themselves into gentry and cultivating their minds and natures, it was simply a case of following a pattern but not really understanding it. Does this not belittle the Way by making an external show of such things, and contradict the weight of the evidence? Now, if one suddenly happens upon untrammeled ground, something might be gained in the virtues of the useless. But here it is an insult to the arcane arts and a depreciation of an important resource of our society, the talent of the true recluse. They would believe that crafty argumentation is enough to rescue those drowning in misery, that words and regulations are sufficient to attain peace and security, that their knowledge could exhaust all manner of things to be fathomed and investigated, and that their Way was ample as a source of laws and regulations. Finally, even if what they offered might have benefits for ten thousand generations, it is still much like the expediencies of the Yi and Ti barbarians. Mencius had an expression which goes, "One uses Chinese culture to transform the barbarians. It is unheard of to use barbarian culture to transform the Chinese." 87 Could there possibly be any benefit in so doing?

14. T'ang T'an T'ang T'an, styled Tzu-ch'an, was a native of Nan-ch'ang in Yiichang. 88 As a youth he traveled to the imperial university and studied the Book of Changes: Commentary of Ching Fang, the Book of Odes: Nonstandard Commentary of Han (Han-shih wai-chuan), and the Spring and Au-

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tumn Annals of Mr. Yen (Yen-shih ch'un-ch'iu), and he showed a particular fondness for omenology and astrology. Later when he returned to his home province, there were at anyone time over a hundred disciples under his instruction. In the seventh y~ar of the Yuan-ch'u period [120], a marvelous chih plant 89 was discovered growing in the commandery. Grand Protector Liu Chih wanted to present it to the throne, so he asked T'an about it. T'an replied to him, "Just at this point the empress' family is rising in strength, and the Yang powers are waning. Is there any way to interpret this as an auspicious sign?" Chih desisted from making the presentation. In the first year ofYung-ning [120], a woman in Nan-ch'ang gave birth to quadruplets. Chih again went to T'an and asked him what was foretold by this strange happening. T'an interpreted it to mean that the capital troops would see military action and that disaster would come from those who appeared to maintain respect for the throne. In fact, in the fourth year of the Yuankuang period [125], a palace attendant within the Yellow Gate,90 one Sun Ch'eng, gathered up troops in the palace district and executed the empress' elder brother, cavalry commandant Yen Hsien, and others of his clique. Hence the King of Chi-yin was established as the emperor. All the events transpired exactly as T'an had predicted. 91 In the fifth year of Yung-chien [130], T'an was elevated to the rank of Filial and Incorruptible and made a gentleman of the palace. At that time a white rainbow was seen crossing the sun. As a result, T'an prepared a memorial to the throne, observing what the emperor ought to do with respect to the heavens, the earth, and mankind and expounding on this inauspicious sign. After he submitted this document, he resigned his office and left. T'ang T'an authored a book of twenty-eight chapters called the T'angtsu. He died at home.

15. Kung-sha Mu Kung-sha Mu, styled Wen-i, was a native of Chiao-tung in Pei-hai. 92 When he was a young man, he did not have any interest in playing and joking. As he matured, he studied the Book of Odes: Nonstandard Commen-


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tary of Han and the Spring and Autumn Annals: Commentary by Kung Yang. He was particularly astute in his contemplation of the Yellow River Charts and Lo River Scripts and in Astral Influences. He lived without any companionship in the Chien-ch'eng Mountains,93 where among the woods in a pass he made a hovel. On one occasion, during a storm of violent winds and ground-shaking thunder, a voice from outside called Mu's name three times. Mu did not reply, and in a short while the caller came in through an opening. It was a very strange creature, in both sound and appearance. Mu maintained his composure and intoned the classics; so in the end no demon-wrought problems resulted. The people of his time all thought Mu was extraordinary. Later he lived as a hermit on Mount Tung-Iai,94 and disciples from distant places gathered around him. There was a wealthy man named Wang Chung who sent a gift of one thousand coins to Mu and then said to him, "In the world of today, it is with material wealth that one advances oneself. I would be willing to offer millions to you to serve as your capital. May I?" Mu replied, "I appreciate the generous impulse that brought you here, but in fact the determinants of true wealth and nobility reside in heaven. They are ours as a matter of fate. I could not bear to take this money and with it seek to enhance my position." Later Mu was promoted to the rank of Filial and Incorruptible. By virtue of his outstanding examination record, he was made an administrator and then transferred to the post of minister in residence in the Tseng Kingdom. 95 The lord of Tseng at that time, one Liu Ch'ang, was a descendant of King Kung of Tung-hai and had a penchant for illegal acts. 96 For example, he disinherited his legitimate son and established a concubine's son as his heir. Liu Ch'ang was arrogant and licentious. Shortly after arriving at his post, M u reproached Ch'ang, saying: When I was first dispatched to this post, all the officers in the capital expressed their regrets to me, saying, "Tseng has a wicked lord." Now, how is it that Your Majesty has acquired so unattractive a reputation? You have the good fortune to stand on- your ancestors' shoulders and in turn carry the burden of their hereditary lands. Yet, without the slightest trepidation, you violate the limits of the law. For this reason, the imperial court has sent me to assist you. We will try to reform the past and cultivate your rule for the fut,ure, so that you may seek the path of greatest fortune.

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He then confiscated the land that Ch'ang had expropriated from the ministers and people; he disinherited the concubine's son and reestablished the legitimate heir. In every case where one of Ch'ang's henchmen had committed a crime, Mu had him arrested and interrogated. It was with the most critical words that he reproached Ch'ang. Ch'ang responded by sobbing his apologies and, for the most part, followed the rules laid out by Mu. At the time Mu was transferred to be prefect of Hung-nung, 97 the crops were being devoured by caterpillars. Mu built an altar and appealed to heaven. "The people have transgressed, but their crimes originate with mel I myself am the offering for this prayer." Immediately there was a violent cloudburst, and as soon as the clouds cleared, the pests vanished of their own accord. All the people called Mu a spirit. In the first year of the Yung-shou period [155], torrential rai ns caused widespread flooding. No area east of the capital was spared the waters, but Mu had a clear grasp of Meteorognostics and gave advance warning to the people of his area to evacuate their homes and find higher ground. As a result of these forewarnings, the people of Hung-nung alone were spared disaster. Mu was promoted to the post of chief commandant of the states under Liao-tung commandery,98 where he proved skillful in winning the loyal support of his subordinates. At the age of sixty-six, while still in office, he died. All six of his sons became well known.

16. Hsii Man Hsii Man was a native of P'ing-yii in Ju-nan. His grandfather Chiin, styled Chi-shan, was skilled in crack-reading divination. So numerous were Chiin's correct predictions that the people of his time compared him to Ching Fang 99 of an earlier era. By his own account, as a youth he was afflicted with a terrible disease that for three years showed no improvement. He traveled to Mount T'ai, 100 therefore, to beg for his life. On the way he ran into the Taoist Master Chang Chii-chiin, from whom he learned esoteric arts. Hsii Chiin's book, Forest of Changes,101 is still in circulation today.


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From the time he was little, Man carried on the teachings he inherited from Chlin. During the reign of Emperor Heng [146-167], the grand protector of Lung-hsi, 102 Feng Kun, opened the case of his official seal on the occasion of taking up the duties of his new post. Two serpents rushed out, one heading to the north and one to the south. Kun had Man divide the divining stalks about this event. When the graphs were completed, Man explained, "Three years from now, you, sir, will become a general at the border. The post has the word 'east' in its name, and you will travel to the northeast some three thousand Ii. In another five years, you will become a great general and conduct campaigns south." In the first year of the Yen-hsi period [158], Kun went out to be the Grand Protector of Liao-tung [lit. Liao-east], where he punished the Hsienpei tribes. 103 After five years, he was promoted to general of the cavalry and attacked the Man barbarian bandits of Wu-ling. 104 All these things fulfilled Man's predictions, and many of Man's other prognostications worked out as well.

17. Chao Yen Chao Yen was a native\ of Lang-yeh, 105 and as a youth he studied the esoteric arts. In the third year of the Yen-hsi period [160], a bandit from Lang-yeh named Lao Ping and a bandit from Mount T'ai named Shu-sun Wu-chi joined forces and murdered the chief commandant, overran the prefectures under Lang-yeh's jurisdiction, and massacred all the government workers. The imperial court appointed Tsung Tse of Nan-yang 106 as the special colonel for suppressing the bandits. With staff and battle ax in hand, Tse led his troops, supervising the soldiers of several commanderies in a collective assault on Wu-chi. Yen developed a plan of action that was expanded from the Orphans and Voids. The bandits were headquartered in Chi.i. 107 In the vicinity of Chli were five places with "yang" in their names; hence it was appropriate to call up troops from five commanderies that also had "yang" in their names. In this way they would prevail by enlisting the "orphans" to attack the "voids." Tse presented the entire plan in writing to the throne, and the edict came

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down dispatching troops from the five "yang" commanderies to the region. Yen then computed with Evading Stems techniques and instructed Tse at what hour to advance his troops. In a single battle the bandits were entirely wiped out and their headquarter fortress was burned to the ground. Thus in no time at all the two provinces of Hsii and Yen were pacified.

18. Fan Chih-chang Fan Chih-chang was a man of Nan-cheng in Han-chung. His broad learning extended into numerous areas, and he chose to live as a recluse and shun officialdom. Once he was traveling in Lung-hsi. At the time General Tuan Chiung, master of warfare against the Chiang barbarians, was embarking on a campaign against the Chiang in the west. He asked to see Chih-chang. That very night, Chiung's troops were besieged by the Chiang armies, which surrounded his camp several lines deep. Chih-chang was trapped with the troops and could not get out for three days. At night he told Chiung, "To the southeast there are not many Chiang soldiers, so you should take advantage of that gap and pull your troops through. Regroup one hundred Ii from here, then turn your troops around and counterattack. Total victory will be yours!" General Tuan followed the plan, and indeed was able to wipe out the bandits. Subsequently, the general made a written report of this to the throne. He commended Chih-chang as having the knowledge of Tzu Shen, Ch'iao Yen-shou, and Tung Chung-shu 108 and recommended him as counsel to the imperial court, particularly on consultations involving bizarre and anomalous events. As a result of this report, an edict was issued as a special summons for Chih-chang to assume a post, but in a very short time, he fell ill and died.

19. Tan Yang Tan Yang, styled Wu-hsiian, was a native of Hu-Iu in Shan-yang. 109 Having been an orphan, he virtually reared himself and lived a life of ex-


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treme austerity and hardship. He was especially perspicacious about Celestial Offices and other computational arts. Elevated to the rank of Filial and Incorruptible, he gradually advanced his career, first as prefect grand clerk and then as palace attendant. Afterward he left the capital to become grand protector of Han-chung. He lost that post over an official matter, but he was later appointed to be an officer of the secretariat. He died in office. Earlier, at the end of the Hsi-p'ing period [172-177], a yellow dragon appeared in Ch'iao commandery.110 The grandee of the imperial household, Ch'iao Hsiian, asked Yang, "What does this portend?" Yang explained, "An emperor will arise from that land. Within fifty years, the dragon should reappear to correspond with this appearance." A man named Yin Teng of the Wei commandery 111 secretly noted this down. Then in the spring of the twenty-fifth year of the Chien-an period [220], the yellow dragon appeared again in Ch'iao, and the following winter the throne was ceded to the Wei family. lIZ

20. Han Yiieh Han Yiieh, styled Shu-ju, was a native of Shan-yin in K'uai-chi. 113 He had vast learning in the Five Classics and was particularly adept at the study of Charts and Apocrypha. Yiieh was elevated to the rank of Filial and Incorruptible and was a close friend of the gentleman consultant, Ts'ai Yung. 114 On many occasions he explained the import of disastrous events. He also submitted rhyme-prose and linked topic verse for the emperor's pleasure. In the tenth month of the first year of the Kuang-ho period [179], Yiieh told the emperor there would be an eclipse of the evening sun. He begged the emperor to have officials don their most formal regalia. The emperor followed these instructions, and events transpired exactly as Yiieh had predicted. During the second month of the second year of Chung-p'ing [186], he again brought a matter to the attention of the throne, marking the calendar for a disaster that was to occur within the palace. On the predicted day, a great fire broke out in the southern palaces. Yiieh was then promoted to be grand protector of Chiang-hsia, 115 but he was dismissed over an official matter. At age seventy, he died at home.

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21. Tung Fu Tung Fu, styled Mao-an, was a native of Mien-chu in Kung-han. 116 As a youth he traveled to the imperial university for study and there established a reputation the equal of his fellow countryman, Jen An. Both of them apprenticed themselves to Yang Hou, 117 who also came from Kuanghan, and both studied Charts and Chants. Tung Fu returned home and started teaching, drawing disciples from distant places. He was called to serve in a ministerial post no less than ten times, and on three occasions imperial chariots came forth to draft him into service. He was accorded the ranks of Sagely and Upright, Erudite, and Master of the Way, but he responded to every summons with the excuse of failing health and would not accept a post. During the reign of Emperor Ling [168-188], the great general Ho Chin recommended Fu, who was finally successfully appointed to be palace attendant. His talents were highly regarded. Once Fu privately confided in the grand master of ceremony, Liu Yen, the following: "The capital troops will soon be thrown into chaos. Within the borders of I province an imperial pneuma is on the rise." Yen trusted this prophecy and asked to be sent out as the governor of I-province. Fu also was assigned to that area, as the chief commandant of all the lands under Shu commandery. The two men traveled to Shu together. One year later the emperor died, and the whole empire was thrown into chaos. Fu abandoned his post and returned home, where he died at the age of eighty-two. AftelWards, Liu Pei proclaimed himself emperor in Shu, just as Fu had predicted. The prime minister of Shu, Chu-ko Liang, asked Ch'in Mi of Kuang-han whether Tung Fu or Jen An was the better man. Mi replied, "Tung Fu would praise a virtue as fine as autumn down and censure the most minute example of evil. Jen An would remember the virtues of other men and put their faults out of mind."

22. Kuo Yii Kuo Yii was a native of Lo in Kuang-han. No one knew his origins nor where his father came from. Because Yii's father was always fishing in


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the P'ei River, the people gave him the nickname Old Man p'ei. Though his father mostly begged for his food, sometimes when he happened across a sick person he would perform acupuncture. When he did, it was always an effective treatment. He authored two books, the Classic of Acupuncture (Chen-ching) and Method of Examining Pulse (Chen-mai-fa),118 both of which still circulate today. A disciple named Ch'eng Kao sought the old man's instruction for many years and was finally accepted. Kao too chose the life of a recl use. Yii during his youth took Kao as his master, studying techniques for measuring and examining the six visceral functions and arts of the subtle side of yin and yang pulses. During the reign of Emperor Ho [89-105], he served as assistant to the grand physician. His therapies proved to be highly effective. The emperor's curiosity was piqued by Yii, and he wanted to put Yii's skills to the test. So he selected a catamite with very delicate hands and wrists and placed him behind a curtain alongside a girl, so that each put out one arm. He then had Yii examine the pulse of both arms and asked him to identify the ailment of the "patient." Yii said, "The left arm is yang and the right arm is ying. A pulse is distinctly male or female. But this case would seem to be something different and your servant is puzzled as to why." The emperor sighed in admiration and praised his skill. Yii was compassionate and loving, and he was never arrogant. Even for a patient as poor as the poorest peasant, Yii would exhaust his heart and soul. On the other hand, sometimes when treating a noble he was unable to effect a cure. On one occasion, the emperor ordered an ailing aristocrat to put on shabby clothes and move outside the palace. Kuo Yii was able to cure him with a single needle. The emperor summoned Yii and asked him to explain this. Yii replied: The word "medicine" (i) embodies the idea of "attention" (i). 119 The regions of the skin are very finely divided. Following the flow of energy requires consummate skill. When inserting needles, an error of a hair's breadth will mean failure. A kind of spirit connects the physician's heart with his hand, and that is something I can know but cannot explain. Now, when it comes to the nobles, they look down at me from the heights of their distinguished place, and I am filled with anxiety that I might not please them. Curing nobles presents four difficulties. First, they do as they please and not as I advise. Second, they are not

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FROM THE HISTORY OF THE LATER HAN at all careful in caring for their own health. Third, their bones are frail, so they cannot bear strong medicine. Fourth, they love a life of ease and hate labor. Though the acupuncture needles demand precise measure, with them I am often in error. I am burdened with a heart full of trepidation compounded by a will reduced in strength. Thus attention is not fully there. Consider what influence this has on treating the disorder! This is the reason I cannot bring about a cure.

The emperor was pleased with this answer. Kuo Yii died at an advanced age, still at his post.

23. Hna T' 0

[See #4 in the next chapter.]120

24. Hsii Teng Hsii Teng was a native of Min-chung. 121 Originally he was a woman, but he transformed himself into a man. His skills were in the arts of the medium. Another person named Chao Ping, styled Kung-ah, was a native of Tung-yang,122 and he was able to work the spells of the Yiieh tribes. Once, during a period of widespread warfare and pestilence, the two men met on the banks of the Wu-shang River. 123 They swore a bond with each other, vowing to use their arts to cure illness. They said to one another, "Now that we have joined our wills today, we must test each other's capabilities." Teng cast his spells on the waters of the river, and the river ceased to flow. Ping followed by casting his spells on a dead tree, and the tree immediately sent forth new buds. The two looked at each other and laughed, then took off together, walkipg a single Way. Teng was the elder, so Ping treated him as the master. They venerated purity and frugality. When they performed rites to the spirits, they used only the east-flowing water as a libation and bark peeled from the mulberry to serve as the meat. Though their treatments employed nothing more than chants and spells, they always effectively overcame the illness. Later, when Teng passed away, Ping traveled east to Ch'ang-an, 124


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where the people did not recognize him. Ping deliberately climbed atop a thatched-roof building, set up a cauldron, and began cooking his meal right on the roof. The owner watched this with shock and panic, but Ping merely smiled and paid him no heed. His food did in fact cook thoroughly, but the roof was not harmed in the slightest. On another occasion, he was seeking passage across a river, but the boat man would not take him. Ping spread out a cloth and sat in the middle of it. Then with a long whistle he stirred up winds and whipped up wild currents which carried him across. After that, the common people worshipped him like a spirit, and his following grew and grew. The prefect of Ch'ang-an resented the way he enchanted the people, and so he arrested him and had him executed. The common people built a shrine for him in Yung-k'ang,125 which to this day is not violated, even by gnats.

25. Fei Ch'ang-fang Fei Ch'ang-fang was a native of Ju-nan. At one time, he served as a guard in the marketplace. There was an old man there who sold medicine at a stand with a large gourd hanging in front. When the market closed each day, the old man would promptly leap into the gourd. No one in the marketplace was able to see this, but Ch'ang-fang, from his second-story vantage point, could. Thinking this very curious, Ch'ang-fang went to pay a visit to the old man with gifts of wine and dried beef. Now, the old man knew that Ch'ang-fang had an interest in his spiritual powers, so he told him, "You may come again tomorrow." Early the following morning, Ch'ang-fang appeared again. This time the old man took Ch'ang-fang with him into the gourd. Everywhere Ch'ang-fang looked there were jade halls of awesome beauty and fine wines and rare delicacies overflowing. The two had a drink together and then came out again. The old man extracted a promise from Ch'ang-fang that he would not discuss this event with anyone else. Sometime later, the old man climbed up to Ch'ang-fang's guard post to talk with him. "I am a spirit immortal, in exile as punishment for a

Fei Ch'ang-fang and the old man in the gourd. (From the Ming illustrated encyclopedia San-ts'ai t'u-hui [Collection of Illustrations from the Three Realms].)


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transgression I committed. But today my sentence ends, and I must be leaving. Would you like to be able to come with me? In any case, downstairs I have a little wine to give you as a parting gift." Ch'ang-fang sent a man down to pick up the wine, but he could not. So Ch'ang-fang sent ten men down to hoist it up, but they could not budge it either. When the old man heard this he laughed and went down himself. He returned carrying the wine with a single finger. The container appeared to be slightly more than a cup, but the two men drank from it all day and could not exhaust its contents. Ch'ang-fang developed a desire to seek the Way with the old man, but he feared his family would worry about him if he simply wandered off. The old man took a fresh bamboo stick and cut it off to the same height as Ch'ang-fang's body. He had this hung behind the house, and when the family saw it, it appeared to them to be Ch'ang-fang himself. They thought he had hung himself, and young and old alike wailed in shock and dismay. The body was quickly shrouded and interred. During all of this, Ch'angfang stood to the side watching, but no one was able to see him. With his funeral over, Ch'ang-fang followed the old man deep into the mountains. Hiking over thick brambles, they eventually entered into the midst of a pack of tigers. The old man left Ch'ang-fang alone there, but Ch'ang-fang was not afraid. The old man then had him lie down in an open chamber with a ten-ton boulder over his heart, suspended by nothing more than a rotten piece of rope. A swarm of snakes crawled over each other for a chance to gnaw the rope in half, but Ch'ang-fang did not so much as flinch. The old man returned and patted him. "You can indeed be taught." But he tested him a third time by having him eat a pile of feces, foul with the worms of decay. The stench and filth were particularly loatbsome, and deep inside Ch'ang-fang felt disgust at this. The old man then told him, "You came so close to getting the Way. How regrettable that you should fail at this point. Alas, that's too bad!" So Ch'ang-fang said goodbye and was about to leave for home when the old man gave him a staff and said, "Ride this back to your home province so that you will be able to find your way alone. As soon as you arrive, take the staff and toss it into the Ko-pei Lake." 126 He also made a charm for Ch'ang-fang. "Take this and you will be master of terrestrial ghosts and spirits." So Ch'ang-fang rode upon the staff and arrived home in no time at all. By his estimate, he had been away from his family for about ten days,

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but in reality it had been over ten years. As soon as he had tossed the staff into the lake, he could see it was a dragon. Now, the members of Ch'angfang's family protested that he had been long dead and they refused to believe he was himself. Ch'ang-fang explained to them, "What you buried so long ago was nothing more than a bamboo stick." Thereupon they dug up the grave, hacked open the coffin, and found the stick still there. From that time on, Ch'ang-fang was capable of curing all manner of illnesses. He could exorcise a hundred demons and was master of the deities of the local soil god altars. Once when he was sitting with a group of people, he suddenly showed signs of a great rage. Asked about this, he explained, "1 was reprimanding some demons for breaking rules." Year after year in the commandery of Iu-nan, there appeared a demon dressed in the robes of the grand protector and impersonating him. He would visit the district office and pound on the alarm drums. Everyone in the commandery feared this demon. The time the demon was due just happened to coincide with a visit Fei Ch'ang-fang himself was making to the grand protector. The demon was so terrified at this encounter he could not even retreat. He came forward, removed his false robes, and kowtowed, begging for his life. Ch'ang-fang commanded him sternly, "Go to the courtyard and return to your original form!" He immediately transformed himself into an old tortoise, big as a wagon wheel, with a neck stretching some ten feet. Ch'ang-fang then ordered the demon to approach the grand protector and beg forgiveness. Finally, he gave him a citation of warning to deliver to the Master of Ko-pei Lake. The tortoise kowtowed and wept bitterly. He carried off the wooden slip, and by the side of the lake stuck it end up in the ground. Then he wrapped his neck around the slip and died. At a later time, the Master of Tung-hai paid a visit to the Master of Ko-pei Lake. During the visit, the Master of Tung-hai had illicit relations with Ko-pei's wife; so Ch'ang-fang punished him with three years of confinement. As a consequence of this, a great drought beset the entire Tunghai region. When Ch'ang-fang visited that coast, he witnessed the people there pleading for rain, and so he explained to them, "Your Master of Tunghai committed a crime, and 1 sentenced him to three years of confinement in Ko-pei. 1 will let him go now and have him make rain for you." Rain began to fall immediately. Once when Ch'ang-fang was traveling with some others, the group came upon a student riding bareback and wearing a yellow turban. As soon as


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they met, the student leaped down from the horse and began to kowtow. Ch'ang-fang said to him, "Return the horse and I will pardon you for this capital crime!" When his friends asked what had transpired, Ch'ang-fang explained, "This is a raccoon demon who stole the horse from the spirit of the local soil god altar." And once when sitting with dinner guests, Ch'ang-fang decided to go all the way to Yiian 127 to buy salted fish. He went and returned in an instant, and the guests all were able to eat the fish. In other instances, Ch'ang-fang was seen in several places, thousands of Ii apart within a single day's time. 128 Later, he lost the charm that gave him his power and was murdered by a swarm of ghosts.

26. Chi Tzu-hsiinn It is not known where Chi Tzu-hsiinn 129 hailed from. During the Chien-an period [196-219], he took up residence in Yiian-chii prefecture in Chi-yin. 130 Tzu-hsiinn was in possession of an extraordinary spiritual Way. On one occasion, he was holding a neighbor's newborn child and deliberately dropped it. The baby fell to the floor and died. The parents cried bitterly at suffering this painful loss, but Tzu-hsiinn only apologized for the slip. He had nothing more to say, and the baby's body was duly interred in its grave. A little more than a month later, Tzu-hsiinn appeared carrying the infant. The parents, frightened at this sight, said, "The living and the dead travel separate roads. Though we miss our baby terribly, please do not show this to us again!" But when the baby recognized his parents, he chortled and smiled with delight. The baby wanted to go to them, and unconsciously the mother reached out, took it in her arms, and discovered that it was indeed real. Although the parents' hearts were filled with joy, they still felt uncertain about the child, ,so they secretly went to the grave and opened it up to see what was there. When they found nothing but the clothing and quilts, they were convinced of what Tzu-hsiinn had done. As a result his fame spread, reaching those of high rank in the capital. Great ministers rushed in like the wind to express their admiration of him.

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At a later date, Tzu-hsiinn was riding on a donkey cart traveling in the company of his students on a journey to the area of Hsii. 131 On the way they passed through Ying-yang l32 and stopped there at an inn. Unexpectedly, the donkey that had been pulling them fell over, dead as a board, and maggots began swarming all over the corpse. The innkeeper rushed in to report this to Tzu-hsiinn. But Tzu-hsiinn merely responded, "Is that so?" and continued to sit peacefully eating his dinner. When the meal was finished, he leisurely walked outside, picked up a stick, and tapped it. Responding to the sound, the donkey leaped up and started walking round as if nothing had happened, and they were soon on the road again. The crowds of people following to see this remarkable man numbered in the thousands. Upon his arrival in the capital, several hundred officials, from ducal ministers on down, were waiting to greet him. So vast were the gifts of wine and meat that even with feasting all day, they could not be consumed entirely. Later, Tzu-hsiinn slipped away again, and nobody knew where he went. On the day of his departure, nothing was seen but a white cloud rising up. This sight lasted from dawn to dusk and was visible from a number of places. There was a centenarian around then who claimed that as an adolescent he had seen Tzu-hsiinn selling medicines in the market of K'uai-chi, and Tzuhsiinn's appearance had not changed one bit. He was seen again sometime later in Pa-ch'eng 133 east of Ch'ang-an city, standing with an old man and polishing a bronze figure. Tzu-hsiinn said to his companion, "Since the day I watched this being cast, nearly five hundred years have gone by." 134 When he turned he became aware of someone watching him, so he went off, riding what appeared to be the same donkey cart he had had long before. The onlooker called to him, "Master Chi. Wait a momentl" and tried to follow along with him. Tzu-hsiinn's cart seemed to be moving at a casual pace, but in fact, a racehorse could not keep up with it. This was the last anyone heard of Chi Tzu-hsiinn.

27. Lin Ken Liu Ken was a native of Ying-ch'uan. He lived in reclusion on top of Mount Sung,135 and those who sought to study with him would travel from


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very distant places to learn the Way. The local grand protector, Shih Ch'i, thought Ken was demonic, so he had him put under arrest and brought to the commandery office for interrogation. He repeatedly asked Ken, "What magical arts do you possess that you can so bewitch the people? If you really have spiritual powers, then demonstrate them for us by making something happen. If you cannot prove yourself, I will sentence you to die." Ken replied, "The ability I have developed most is to make people see ghosts. Otherwise, I can actually do nothing remarkable." Ch'i said, "Then quickly summon some here so that I may see them with my own eyes. That would be the clearest proof." Ken thereupon turned to the left and whistled. In an instant, Shih Ch'i's deceased father, grandfather, and several dozen close relatives appeared before them, all with their hands bound behind their backs. They faced Ken, kowtowed, and said, "Our descendant has treated you in a disgraceful fashion. He should suffer ten thousand punishments!" Then they turned and upbraided Ch'i: "You are our kin, and yet you do nothing to benefit your ancestors. On the contrary, you pile injury upon our departed souls. You must kowtow as an expression of apology to us!" Shocked and dismayed, Ch'i banged his head on the floor until it bled and begged to be punished for his crimes. Ken stood silently, heeding him not at all. Then suddenly all the ghosts and Ken himself simply vanished to who knows where.

28. Tso Tz'u Tso Tz'u, styled Yuan-fang, was a native of Lu-chiang. 136 When he was young, it was apparent that he possessed a spiritual Way. There was an occasion on which he was a guest at a banquet given by the imperial grand clerk Ts'ao Ts'ao. 137 Ts'ao casually turned to his guests at one point and remarked, "This is a distinguished assembly, for which fine and rare delicacies have been prepared. All that is missing is river perch from the Sung River in the Wu region. 138 Tso Tz'u, from his seat among the less honored guests, responded, "That can be gotten!" He called for a brass basin filled to the brim with water. Then he took a bamboo pole, baited a hook, and began fishing in the basin. Before long, he pulled out a perch. Ts'ao smiled

Tso T z'u . (From the San- ts'ai t'u-hui.)


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and applauded enthusiastically, while the guests all stood astonished. Then Ts'ao said, "But one fish will not make the rounds of these tables. Can you get more?" Tso Tz'u baited his line again, dropped it in, and in a little while he pulled out another fish. Both were over three feet long, and both were absolutely fresh and delicious. Ts'ao had the fish minced before the very eyes of the guests and immediately passed around for everyone to enjoy. Then Ts'ao said, "Well, now that we have the fish, it is too bad that we do not have any fresh ginger from Shu." Tz'u replied, "That too can be gotten." Suspecting that there was someplace nearby where Tz'u could get the ginger, Ts'ao added to the test, "Sometime ago I dispatched a man to Shu to buy embroidered cloth. If you should happen to run into him, please tell him to increase the order by two bolts." He had hardly finished his instructions when Tz'u returned with the ginger in hand. He also reported success in passing on the new instruction to Ts'ao's messenger. Much later, when that man returned from Shu, he was questioned about how he came to know to increase the order. His report coincided with what the guests had seen, down to the very hour of the very day. On a later occasion, Ts'ao was traveling outside the city in the company of over one hundred officials. For provisions, Tz'u carried along only a single cup of wine and one slab of dried meat. He personally did the serving and pouring, and not a single person among the hundred failed to get drunk and completely filled. Ts'ao thought this was very strange and sent out people to investigate the matter. Upon visiting all the wine shops in the area, the investigators discovered that their stocks of wine and meat had been totally depleted. 139 Ts'ao was naturally quite unhappy to hear this, so he had Tso Tz'u charged and arrested, and he planned to execute him. But Tz'u simply walked right through the wall and disappeared without a trace. Then someone spied him in the marketplace and placed him under arrest. That same instant, however, every person in the marketplace changed into an exact image of Tz'u, and it became impossible to determine who was the real one. After that, someone came across him on Yang-ch'eng Mountain. 140 Ts'ao Ts'ao pursued him there, chasing Tz'u into a flock of goats. Knowing that he could not simply grab him, Ts'ao ordered his troops to go into the flock and announce, "Ts'ao is no longer trying to kill you. It was originally nothing more than a test of your arts." Suddenly an old ram stood up like a man, his two front legs dangling down, and said, "What a sudden change!" All Ts'ao's soldiers rushed forward to subdue the ram, but

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then the entire flock of several hundred changed into mirror images of the old ram, standing up like men, with their two front legs dangling down, and saying, "What a sudden change!" Once again, there was no way to determine which one to capture.

29. Chi Tzu-hsiin Nobody knows where Chi Tzu-hsiin came from, but popular opinion had it that he was over one hundred years old. He lived among ordinary people. One morning he suddenly announced that he would die that day at midday. The owner of the house in which he lived brought him linen clothes to wear. Tzu-hsiin put them on, carefully lay down in bed, and at noon did indeed die.

30. Shang Ch'eng-kung Shang Ch'eng-kung was a native of Mi prefecture. His story begins when he left home and did not return for a very long time. When he finally did come back, he explained to his family, "I have already attained immortality." These were his parting words, and he began to walk away. His family watched as each time he lifted his foot he ascended higher and higher. Both Ch'en Shih and Han Shao witnessed this event. 141

31. Chieh Nu-ku, Chang Tiao, and Shou Kuang-hou Chieh Nu-ku and Chang Tiao are both men whose origins are unknown. Both were capable of making themselves invisible, and both could


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go in and out of buildings without availing themselves of doors or windows. Nu-ku was able to transform himself and make people see all manner of fanciful things. Also, in Ho-nan there was a man named Chii Sheng-ch'ing. He was skillful at writing vermilion amulets to control and allay ghosts and spirits or to make them do his bidding. Pien Man-i also communicated with ghostly beings. Earlier, during the reign of Emperor Chang [76-88], a man named Shou Kuang-hou was able to exorcise the hundred ghosts and myriad demons. He could force them to restrain themselves and to reveal their original forms. In his vicinity, there was a woman made ill by demonic possession. Hou exorcised the demon, driving out a serpent dozens of feet long that slithered out and died outside the door. There was also a possessed tree. Anyone who stopped near it would die, and birds flying over it would tumble from the sky. Hou exorcised the demon. Though in the height of its summer foliage, the tree withered and fell over. A serpent seventy or eighty feet long was revealed, hanging dead inside. When the emperor heard about Hou, he summoned him to court and put him to the test. "Often after midnight, within my palace walls, a number of people appear and march about. They are dressed in red, with disheveled hair, and carry torches in their hands. Can you exorcise them?" Hou replied, "This is a trivial abnormality, easy to eliminate." Then the emperor had three people dress up in the manner he had described. Hou proceeded with the exorcism, and the three fell to the ground lifeless. In alarm the emperor said, "But these were not demons! I was only testing you!" So Hou broke the spell, and the men came back to life.

32. Kan Shih, Tung-kuo Yen-nien, and Feng Chiin-ta Kan Shih, Tung-kuo Yen-nien, and Feng Chiin-ta were all fang-shih. They were practitioners of Master Jung-ch'eng's arts of sexual regimen; they sometimes drank urine and sometimes suspended themselves upside down. They coveted every drop of seminal energy and were cautious neither to overexert their vision nor speak with exaggeration. Kan Shih, Yiian-fang

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[Tso Tz'u], and Yen-nien were all patronized by Ts'ao Ts'ao. He asked them about their arts and followed their regimens. Chiin-ta was called "Master Blue Ox." 142 All these men lived from one to two hundred years of age.

33. Wang Chen and Ho Meng-chieh Wang Chen and Ho Meng-chieh were both natives of Shang-tang. Though Wang Chen was nearly one hundred years old, looking at his complexion one could see a glowing sheen, and he appeared to be ress than fifty. Chen claimed, "I have traveled about and climbed the Five Sacred Mountains. 143 I am in full control of the methods of fetal breathing and fetal eating. 144 I express the liquids from their source beneath my tongue and swallow them. And I do not abstain from sexual intercourse." Meng-chieh was able to hold a date pit in his mouth and abstain from eating for five to ten years. He could also hold his breath without a trace of aspiration, hold his body still without a quiver, and appear to be absolutely dead. This he could sustain for one hundred days to half a year. He had a family, was very staid and reserved around others, and definitely was .not given to wild bragging. Meng-chieh was very much a gentleman, and Ts'ao Ts'ao. made him the head of all his fang-shih.

34. Wang Ho-p'ing Wang Ho-p'ing of Pei-hai was born with a natural love for the arts of the Way and decided to make himself an immortal. Sun Yung of Chinan 145 was a youthful disciple of Ho-p'ing and followed him to the capital. When Ho-p'ing grew ill and died, Yung buried him in Tung-t'ao. 146 He had over one hundred rolls of medical texts and numerous bags of medicines that Yung sent along with his master. Later a disciple named Jung claimed that his master had separated from his corpse. 14'-7 This made Yung


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very annoyed that he had not kept the precious texts and immortal medicines.

Postscript Spiritual matters that come from the dark side are rarely well attested. Esoteric calculations when done in the light of day are difficult to corroborate. Without probing into both seminal and remote things, how is one to judge the efficacy of these spiritual arts? Should someone distort or misrepresent, that would indeed debase the genuine dark mysteries.

Biographies from the Records of the Three Kingdoms 1. Kuan Lu KVAN LV, styled Kung-ming, was a native of P'ing-yiian. 1 His physical appearance was coarse and ugly, and he seemed to have no sense of decorum whatsoever. He would drink heavily, eat like a glutton, and always banter and joke. Since he paid no heed to avoiding improprieties, people developed a fondness for him but lacked respect. The Separate Biography of Kuan Lu says: 2 When Lu was only eight or nine years old he had already demonstrated a fondness for gazing up at the sky's traveling lights. Whenever he found someone who knew the skies, he would quiz him about the stars' names, and at night Lu was seldom willing to go to sleep. His parents forbade this stargazing, but ultimately they could not stop him. Lu himself would say, "Though I am young, it is a feast for my eyes to look upon the sky's patterns." He often argued, "If creatures no nobler than barnyard chickens and wild geese can recognize times, is it not obvious that humans could?" 3 Whenever Lu was playing on a dirt field with his neighborhood friends, he would draw maps of the celestial star fields on the ground, and add the sun, moon, and planets. He was able to answer any and all questions asked of him and expound at length on astrological events. What he said was so extraordinary that even the experts of the village, some of whom had made long study of the skies, could not take issue with the young Lu. It was for these reasons that everyone recognized his highly unusual talent for such things. When Lu came of age,

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