Now let us return to Liu Qi, who had heard that Wang Shenzhi, the ruler of Min, had died. When Wang Shenzhi’s eldest son, Yanshu, did not receive the emperor’s appointment, he declared himself king of Min.¹ As for his bureaucracy, he imitated the rituals and institutions of the Son of Heaven, seized and destroyed people’s houses to build palaces, and everywhere collected young women for carnal pleasure, thinking that their yin could nourish his yang.

When Lady Chen heard about this, she urged her husband to resign his office, and Liu Qi submitted a memorial to resign. Yanshu approved it, and appointed the sheriff of Luoyuan to take his place. Liu Qi prepared men and horses, and chose a day to set out. Since the three sworn sisters Li, Lin, and Ou couldn’t bear to be separated, they preferred to return to Gutian with Lady Chen. She was very happy with this decision, and instructed them to ask their parents’ permission. All were willing, and thereupon all three sisters went to Gutian.

In Linshui Grotto they built a great hall, a project carried out on a huge scale. In a few months it was complete. It was a realm of peace and quiet, in which Lady Chen and her three sisters expounded the Law from dawn to dusk in Linshui Grotto.

Now let us first discuss the tyranny of Yanshu. Gathering the commoner women of Fuzhou had not been enough. He also promulgated a decree to go to Zhang[zhou], Quan[zhou], Xing[zhou], Yan[zhou], Men[zhou], and Shao[zhou], and ordered the civil and military officials there to select women between the ages of sixteen and twenty. At that time the prefect of Quanzhou was Wang Yanbin, the younger brother of the ruler of Min, Yanshu.² He had heard that his elder brother was tyrannical, everywhere seizing commoner women, his licentiousness intolerable. Yet Yanshu continued to proclaim that every place had to select women and send them up, and decreed that any delay was unacceptable.

The prefect of Jianzhou, Wang Yanbing, who was Shenzhi’s eldest adopted son, had a nature like a raging fire.³ He heard that the tyrannical ruler of Min had proclaimed that his subordinates were to select commoner women to present to him. When he saw the proclamation, he was extremely angry, and that night wrote a letter to sharply remonstrate with Yanshu, sending a subordinate, Zhang Ren, as his messenger.

At the time that Zhang Ren took the letter to Fuzhou, Court Calligrapher Wu Zui, having seen that Yanshu was tyrannical, was staying at home on the pretext of illness. Regional Military Commissioner of Gongchen Cheng Bin and Regional Military Commissioner of Yanhe Meng Wei, among others, had gone to the palace to sternly remonstrate. In a fit of rage, Yanshu had imprisoned them both. None of the remaining officials dared to again remonstrate until Zhang Ren presented Yanbing’s letter of admonishment.

When Yanshu saw the letter he was enraged. He wanted to cut off the messenger’s head and destroy the letter, but recalled Yanbing’s hotheaded nature. If Yanbing heard that he had killed his messenger and destroyed his letter, he certainly would not give in. Then he thought of a plan. He ordered the palace censor, Libationer of the Directorate of Education Wen, to go to Gao’an Peak in the western outskirts to prepare a feast as a farewell send-off [for the messenger], and ordered that the wine be poisoned in order to kill Zhang Ren. Yanshu hoped thereby to dispel his resentment over the letter that Zhang Ren had brought.

Having accepted the order to prepare wine for the farewell dinner, Libationer Wen went to Gao’an Peak in the western outskirts to wait. He thought of how much the former ruler, Wang Shenzhi, had loved the people when he was alive, and how his benevolence and virtue had spread everywhere. Now with Yanshu on the throne, it was tyranny like this. Wen said to himself, “He ordered me to poison the wine to kill the messenger so as to avoid the calamity of war. If I don’t poison Zhang Ren, it will be impossible to report to my superior that the assigned mission is accomplished. Both courses are perilous.” He continued, “It would be better for me to take the poison myself, in order to avoid the extreme of fratricidal war.”

His mind made up, he drank the poisoned wine and died on Gao’an Peak. When Zhang Ren arrived, Libationer Wen had already breathed his last. Only then did Zhang Ren know that it was poisoned wine and that because Wen was unwilling to harm him, he had drunk it himself and died. He was deeply moved, and set out that very day to return to Jianzhou. There he had an audience with Yanbing and told him the whole story about the ruler of Min’s rage, how he had ordered Libationer Wen to prepare wine for the farewell banquet and put poison in it to kill the messenger, and that because Wen was not willing to do this, he had taken the poison himself, dying on Gao’an Peak in the western outskirts.

When Yanbing heard this he was furious. He drilled his troops, selected generals, and joined forces with the prefect of Quanzhou, Yanbin, to dispatch troops and together send a punitive expedition against Yanshu. He raised an army of three thousand soldiers in Jianzhou and twenty-four brave generals. They set out for Fuzhou by night, and on the way they did not cause the slightest trouble to the people, going straight to the checkpoint outside Fuzhou, where they set up artillery and bivouacked the troops.

In the morning a scout reported that the ruler of Min had gone into his palace, and gathered together all the civil and military officials to discuss the strategy for sending out troops.⁴ The Vice Minister of the Military Bureau, Zhou Yuan, stepped forward from the ranks and reported, “Yanbing of Jianzhou’s true temperament is unyielding and courageous; his soldiers are outstanding and his provisions are sufficient. You should issue a decree to release Cheng Bin and Meng Wei from prison to lead two thousand soldiers against the enemy.” Yanshu immediately gave the order to release the two generals to lead the troops and to open the city gate to engage the enemy in battle.

When Yanbing saw the troops arrive, he personally led his soldiers to advance, shouting, “Kill!” Cheng Bin and Meng Wei, having been in prison, had no will to fight. After fighting only a few engagements, they fled defeated into the city, with Yanbing’s soldiers in pursuit. Seeing that the city gates were tightly closed, Yanbing ordered the use of scaling ladders to climb the walls. His soldiers killed and dispersed the troops guarding the walls, opened the gates wide, and with a great clamor entered the palace.

When Yanshu heard that his army had been defeated and the walls breached, he panicked. Frightened out of his wits, he hid at the base of the wall, where he was captured by the soldiers, who tied him up and presented him to Yanbing. They then proclaimed his ten evil crimes: (1) violating the previous ruler’s teaching of loving the people; (2) not accepting the emperor’s enlightened decree and declaring himself ruler of great Min; (3) destroying the people’s houses to build palaces; (4) ordering the officials to create and perform imperial rites and institutions; (5) taxing the people heavily; (6) everywhere selecting young women from among the common people for his wanton pleasure; (7) driving out the wet nurses; (8) not heeding sincere remonstrances and going against his elder brother’s words; (9) using poisoned wine to kill the messenger; (10) and not using older servants in the palace and newly selecting commoner women, harming them by separating them from their families. Then he had Yanshu’s head cut off in the marketplace and a placard with his crimes posted at the four gates.⁵

When it was reported that Yanbin had arrived, Yanbing welcomed him, saying, “Because Yanshu was licentious, he could not be the ruler of the people. He committed ten wicked crimes, and has already been decapitated. But a state cannot be without a ruler for even a single day, so your arrival, younger brother, is fortunate. You can inherit the position.” Only after first declining did Yanbin ascend the throne.⁶

Yanbing said, “Since you have inherited the throne, younger brother, you must follow the correct path. Don’t make me come again.” When he finished speaking, he led his soldiers back to Jianzhou.

When Wang Yanbin inherited the throne, he released the imprisoned officials, restored them to their original posts, and appointed an official to fill the vacant post of prefect in Quanzhou. Then he wrote a memorial to the court that he had inherited the position of king.

Now we will take up the story of Chen Jinfeng, who had been kept by the Hong family as a companion to Yaoqin. Jinfeng longed for Gui Lang but wasn’t able to meet him. She was devoted to him heart and soul but, fortunately, she was with Yaoqin from dawn to dusk, so she could get through the day. Gui Lang longed for Jinfeng, his longing such that he neglected sleeping and eating. When from time to time he came to see his mother, he would always go to the garden of the Hongs and gaze longingly for a time, before going into the Chens’ house to see his mother. When he made the return trip, it was the same.

Now we will speak of Madame Yan at the Chen house. Although Gui Lang came and went morning and evening, her mind was at rest. One day, hearing that Yanshu had been put to death and Yanbin had inherited the throne, she was jubilant! She had been his wet nurse, as well. Now that she heard he had ascended the throne, she called Gui Lang to come discuss returning to the palace. When Jinfeng heard that Miss Yan wanted to return to the palace, she couldn’t stop crying. Miss Yan said, “Daughter, there’s no need to cry so bitterly. You can stay with the Hongs for a time, and after I enter the palace, I will send someone to fetch you.”

Jinfeng dried her tears and went back to the Hong residence to keep Yaoqin company. After waiting for two days, when her son still had not come, Madame Yan ordered a sedan chair. She said goodbye to Miss Li and consoled Jinfeng. Then she got into the sedan chair and went to the king’s palace, where she had an audience with Yanbin, the ruler of Min, who was delighted and kept her in the palace. Madame Yan then recommended Gui Lang and Jinfeng. Yanbin gave his consent, sent someone to summon them, and Gui Lang entered the palace. Yanbin also ordered the court astronomer to select a day to go fetch Jinfeng. Madame Yan thanked him for his favor.

Now we will return to the White Snake, who formerly at Linshui Grotto in Gutian had called herself the Great Queen. Lady Chen had rescued her husband from the White Snake and destroyed the grotto. The White Snake had thought that she would like to pit her magic against the Lady, so she had spewed out poison vapor, but how could she have known that the Lady had already used strong alcoholic spirits mixed with realgar to counter snake poison? The smell had penetrated deep into the grotto, a smell that the White Snake could not bear. She had resumed her original form and was about to be decapitated, but luckily for her there was a hole in the back of the grotto through which she had escaped. By chance, she had met up with Ravine Demon Zhang, and the two of them had fled to the old grotto at Great Ravine Mountain at Nantai in Fuzhou, where they had hidden themselves.

The Ravine Demon’s mountain was near Gaogai Mountain. As before, he was the White Snake’s slave. From time to time the White Snake would order him to search everywhere for human victims to eat.

One day Gui Lang was going to Gaogai Mountain to see his mother. He had not yet entered the Chens’ house, because the person on his mind was at the Hongs’. For this reason, when gazing from outside the wall, he ran into the Ravine Demon carrying out the order to search everywhere for young victims. The Ravine Demon saw that Gui Lang was very handsome, and promptly went to work; he couldn’t have been happier! He approached Gui Lang, bewitched him, and dragged him into Great Ravine Grotto. When the White Snake saw him, she was delighted. She transformed the grotto into a splendid room and herself into a beautiful woman, while the Ravine Demon turned into a servant. When everything was ready, she sprayed water on Gui Lang to revive him.

When Gui Lang regained consciousness, he opened his eyes, looked around, and said, “How did I get here?” He saw a beautiful woman standing over him, with a servant at her side. He stood up, silently pondering.

The Ravine Demon demanded, “Who are you? How dare you come peeping into my younger sister’s house! You are certainly a thief!”

Gui Lang said, “My surname is Gui, my given name is Lang, and my style name is Shouming. I am a resident of the city. I came with my elder sister to Minister of Education Hong’s house at Gaogai Mountain to visit relatives. Because they had gone out for a stroll, I unwittingly entered your house. I hope you won’t blame me.”

The White Snake said, “So, you are my cousin,” and ordered the Ravine Demon to apologize.

Gui Lang said, “No apology is necessary. Please tell me your name, young lady. Where are you from?”

The White Snake said, “My surname is White. I am related to Minister of Education Hong, since his wife is my cousin. My father and elder brother are away on business, and only a servant and I are at home. My father’s disposition is very strange. He keeps us apart from any dealings with our relatives, so we are not acquainted.” When Gui Lang heard this he was very happy. The White Snake then ordered the Ravine Demon to prepare wine and set out a feast in the inner chamber for them to drink together, to talk about old times, and to chat about the present.

While they feasted, Miss White sent endearing messages with her bewitching eyes, and Gui Lang’s lascivious thoughts were aroused. They drank till midnight, by which time they were already seven- or eight-tenths drunk. Gui Lang teased her, saying, “Earlier I offended you, but fortunately, you forgave me. Now we are close relatives, indeed, cousins. But your style name, would you be willing to change it together with me to ‘cousin’? If you are willing to change it, even if my skeleton were burned to ashes, I would not be able to repay you.”

When the White Snake heard this, her lustful thoughts were aroused. She thought to herself, “This person’s social skills are not very good, but I wonder about his learning. If he has both talent and looks, then we could be husband and wife permanently, and I would never hurt him. But if his learning is crude, I will first satisfy my sexual desire, and then eat him out of disappointment. Now I will test him to find out if he is good or bad.”

She said to Gui Lang, “The two of us have been drinking wine to dispel our boredom. I have one line of a couplet. Could I trouble you, cousin, to complete it?”

Gui Lang said, “Please produce your line.” The White Snake recited, “I am not your equal.”

Gui Lang replied, “You are my little wife.” When he had finished speaking, he went to her and embraced her. The White Snake half pushed him away and half yielded. Then they went to bed and had sex, amusing themselves all day long. Without realizing it, he stayed for several days, and in the end he forgot his lover at Gaogai Mountain.

One day, the White Snake ordered the Ravine Demon to again prepare cups and dishes to drink to her heart’s content with Gui Lang. And when they looked in the dish, the fish was not a yellow fish. All day they ate without stopping. Without being aware of it, his old emotions were aroused by the sight. He recited two lines of Du Fu’s poem:

Every family raises black turtles;

At every meal they eat yellow fish.⁷

During this time the Ravine Demon was at their side waiting on them, and, hearing these lines, he became angry. He had cooked the fish they been eating all day, so when he heard Gui Lang recite these two lines he thought Gui Lang was making fun of him. He went inside and hid in an inner room; one moment Gui Lang saw the servant, and the next moment he had disappeared.

“Where has the servant gone?” he asked. Miss White smiled and said, “The reckless fellow thought you were making fun of him. Cousin, don’t laugh. Wait for me to continue the next two lines.” She composed a verse, which she recited:

Don’t say that there’s no extraordinary flavor;

The flavor is in the writing in the belly.

When Gui Lang heard this, he pounded on the table and exclaimed that this was unsurpassable! The White Snake was smug and self-satisfied. She called to the Ravine Demon, “ ‘Eating yellow fish at every meal,’ that would be really tedious. You can kill several of the birds in the cage for us to eat.”

The Ravine Demon had no alternative but to go back in, where he pretended to make the sound of sharpening a knife. Gui Lang heard the sound of knife-sharpening, and, since killing without reason was a very great sin, he rushed inside. Seeing a large cage of live birds, and the Ravine Demon holding them to kill them, Gui Lang lunged to seize the knife. He was already nine-tenths drunk, his eyes wide with anger. To the White Snake he said, “In former times Yang Bao rescued a titmouse. Later he became one of the three highest-ranking officials.⁸ I urge you not to indulge in rashly killing living souls to satisfy your cravings. If you capture and release them, there will be a karmic reward.”

The White Snake turned her face, waved her hand, and said, “Don’t praise Yang Bao saving the titmouse.”

Gui Lang was very angry. Taking the knife, he pounded on the table saying, “If you don’t praise Yang Bao saving the titmouse, I will imitate Liu Bang cutting the white snake in half.”⁹ When the White Snake heard this, she was very alarmed. Furthermore she saw that Gui Lang looked extremely angry and was holding a sharp knife, which frightened her. She had already changed into her original form, and hastened inside, the splendid room once again a cave.

When Gui Lang saw this, he, too, was greatly alarmed. Half running and half stumbling he rushed out of the cave, finding his way to the Chens’ house at Gaogai Mountain. Only then did he calm down. He thought to himself, “What good luck! I first said ‘black turtle,’ infuriating the servant.¹⁰ If Heaven hadn’t made her produce the line about the titmouse, how could I, with my inferior skill, have matched it with ‘cutting the white snake in half’? That is what frightened her into resuming her original form. I was lucky to escape with my life! If it had gone on for a few more days, I would have been nothing but bones, unable to do anything.” The more he thought, the more horrible it seemed.

He asked Miss Li, “Where has my mother gone?”

Miss Li replied, “The court has a new ruler. Your mother waited for you, but since you didn’t come, three days ago she took a sedan chair to the court.”

Gui Lang further inquired, “What about Jinfeng?”

Miss Li said, “She’s still at the Hongs’.” When Gui Lang heard this, he took his leave of Miss Li and hurried back to the city. When he got to Minister Li’s residence, he asked for news of his mother. He was told that Madame Yan had entered the court, had an audience with the new ruler, and was staying at the palace, so Gui Lang immediately went to the court to see her. He also prostrated himself before Yanbin, the ruler of Min, who sent him to Gaogai Mountain to bring Jinfeng back to the palace. When Jinfeng saw Gui Lang with the decree coming to fetch her, she was very happy. She thanked Minister of Education Hong and his wife, and said goodbye to Yaoqin. Each felt that it was hard to part.

Now we will speak of Jinfeng, who traveled by sedan chair to the palace. There she and Madame Yan were reunited. Madame Yan then took Jinfeng to have an audience with the ruler of Min, who was delighted with her and accepted her as a concubine.¹¹ She was favored without rival.

Now we will turn to Emperor Mingzong of the Tang.¹² He sent a decree to Min making Yanbin ruler of the kingdom, enfeoffing him as military commissioner of Kaiming, and making Wang Jiyao prefect of Fuzhou. Later, in the eighth month of the fourth year of the Tiancheng reign period of the Tang dynasty, the principal wife of Wang Yanbin, the ruler of Min, was the wicked woman Madame Liu.¹³ She had two sons, whose names were Jipeng and Jitao. From the time that Jinfeng entered the palace, Madame Liu fell out of favor. Yanbin saw that Jinfeng was elegant and captivatingly beautiful, everything he desired in a woman. Moreover, Jinfeng had a keen ear for music, and, from the time she entered the palace, the servants taught her joyous dancing. All day there was feasting and music, and Yanbin was completely satisfied.

In the city there was a Dingyuan Bridge (now called Tieban Bridge). Cao Zhi had later made a channel from the North Water Gate through to West Lake. Along its bank there were more than one hundred buildings, which together were called Water Crystal Palace. Yanbin sometimes took Jinfeng and the palace concubines from the rear gate on excursions to enjoy West Lake. Colorfully festooned boats carried them to the lake.¹⁴ The ruler of Min and Jinfeng would sit in the Water Crystal Palace feasting, while in rows to the left and right the palace concubines danced and sang and played musical instruments. Only when it was late would they return home.

One day the ruler of Min asked Jinfeng, “What other members are there in your family?”

When Jinfeng was asked this question, she wept and said, “My fate is bitter. Early I lost my parents. Moreover, I have no brothers. From the time I was small, I was brought up in the house of my fellow clansman Chen Kuangsheng and my paternal male third cousin, Shousi. There is also my aunt Miss Li. I have no other relatives.” When the ruler of Min heard this, he sent a messenger to summon Kuangsheng and Shousi to the ruler’s residence, and enfeoffed them as palace commanders.

Now we will speak of the ruler of Min, who, because he was often sick, turned the affairs of court over to Jinfeng to decide and manage. When the State Military Commissioner Yanbing heard that the ruler of Min was entrusting Jinfeng to manage all the matters large and small while he himself dissolutely feasted all day, he was extremely angry, and wrote a letter sternly admonishing him. He ordered a messenger to take the letter to Fuzhou to present to him. The ruler of Min was furious, took the letter of admonishment, tore it to shreds, and had the messenger decapitated in the marketplace.

When Yanbing heard this, he ordered the prefect of Jianzhou, Wang Jixiong, to lead three thousand crack troops and several brave generals, while Yanbing himself led one thousand crack troops. They joined together and came to Fuzhou.¹⁵ Already a scout had reported back to the king’s residence, and the ruler of Min gathered the civil and military officials to deliberate. Minister of War Zou Zhun stepped out of the ranks to memorialize, saying, “Yanbing is courageous, but he has no strategy. We should use a clever plan to triumph by means of strategy, since we cannot match him in strength. We should order Turreted Boat Commander Wang Renda to go out of the city and pretend to surrender, so that in the middle of things he can act decisively. Only in this way can we succeed.”

The ruler of Min approved the memorial. Then he secretly announced that Wang Renda should come up to the palace. Having received the plan, Wang Renda left to lead the men and horses under his command to camp outside the city. Through surveillance he learned that Wang Jixiong had arrived leading his soldiers, and led his own soldiers to surrender. Since Jixiong had not put men on guard, as he stood by his horse Renda cut his head off with a knife.

Yanbing’s troops were thrown into confusion. Renda again urged his soldiers to attack. Yanbing hurried forward to meet the enemy, and fought more than forty engagements with Renda. Yanbing’s strength exhausted, he fled in defeat. Renda pursued the troops for several li. Yanbing again deployed his horses and fought a great battle with Renda, in which they clashed more than thirty times. No longer having the will to fight, the Jianzhou troops fled in all directions. Renda then surrounded Yanbing, and again engaged him in battle. He reviled him, saying, “Traitor, for no reason your troops have attacked Min Province, but now you are surrounded. What do you have to say in your defense?”

Yanbing reviled him in return. “You traitorous dog! Your ruler has fallen into licentiousness and tyranny. He did not heed my admonishment. On the contrary, he killed the messenger, and you dare assist a tyrant to carry out his cruelty! In the natural course of things, you will be decapitated first.” When he finished speaking, he brandished his sword and flung himself straight at Renda. Again they fought ferociously. Renda then ordered his officers and men to surround Yanbing. From early morning until afternoon they battled, but he couldn’t fight his way out. Suddenly, Yanbing’s horse broke a hoof and fell, throwing him off, whereupon he was seized by the soldiers and bound tightly. Renda then assembled his soldiers to return to the city, and imprisoned Yanbing in the palace.

Yanbin visited the captured Yanbing. He said, “As I said the other day, I have indeed troubled you, elder brother, to come here again.”

When Yanbing heard this he gnashed his teeth and swore, saying, “You’re a beast who violates his father’s teachings and is infatuated with wine and women. Acting in this way, it’s difficult to avoid impending calamity.”

Yanbin also swore at him, declaring, “Formerly you monopolized power and acted recklessly. Without waiting for me to come, you arbitrarily killed our elder brother. Now, again, you abuse me. Your troops attacked Min City, and you have been captured by me; what do you have to say for yourself? Now I will revenge our elder brother.” Then he ordered his officers and men to take him out and decapitate him.

When the people of Min heard that Yanbing had been decapitated, they grieved without end. Since Yanbin had killed Yanbing, he promoted Wang Renda to be a full general and invited him to dine with him. He generously rewarded the troops, as well as the meritorious officers. He also sent his younger brother Yanzheng to fill the post of Commissioner of the Wei Wu Army of Jianzhou.¹⁶

From this time on Yanbin was completely without restraint. He wallowed in luxury, and worshipped gods and buddhas, altogether ordaining and supporting more than twenty thousand monks. For this reason, the temples and convents of Min Province increased in number by the day. He chose Daoist master Chen Shouyuan of Xiadu, south of the [Min] River, to be the Daoist official. Chen Shouyuan became famous everywhere. Both inside and outside the city, all said that his voice was clear and resonant and his diction precise. He could perform shamanic arts and summon gods, who spoke through his mouth. He was able to determine what was auspicious and inauspicious, calamitous or fortunate for people, and was never wrong.

One day Chen Shouyuan memorialized the throne, saying, “In Fuzhou there are multicolored clouds and vapor signaling the appearance of a Son of Heaven. This means you should obtain the position of emperor.” He therefore requested that the ruler construct the Baohuang Palace at Nine Immortals Mountain in order to welcome the auspicious vapors and clouds.¹⁷ The ruler of Min read the memorial. He summoned Shouyuan and asked, “By what means do you know that there are the vapors and clouds of an emperor in Fuzhou?”

Shouyuan reported, “I heard what the Celestial Master said, but I did not dare not report it.”

The ruler of Min asked, “In what dynasty did this Celestial Master appear? What was his name? What Daoist art did he have that he was able to recognize that this place would have the vapor and clouds of a Son of Heaven?”

Shouyuan reported, “The Celestial Master was an eighth-generation descendent of Marquis Liu of the Han dynasty, whose name was Zhang Liang, and whose style name was Zifang. The Celestial Master’s name was Zhang Daoling, and he was born at Eye of Heaven Mountain. He learned the arts of longevity and lived a retired life on Dragon Tiger Mountain in Guixi County in Guangxin Prefecture in Jiangxi.¹⁸ In the Han dynasty the two emperors Zhang and He summoned him.¹⁹ Each time he did not come. He traveled all around visiting famous mountains, and when he arrived at Yunjin Grotto, inside which was an immortal rock, he refined cinnabar. In just under three years, he had a green dragon and a white tiger.²⁰ They stood guard to the left and right of the mountain. The cinnabar became his nourishment. At that time, though he was sixty years old, his vigor increased and he looked more youthful. He attained supernatural powers and the ability to work transformations, expelling wicked ghosts and demon spirits. Later he lived in Call of the Cranes Mountain in Sichuan, where he refined cinnabar and cultivated the Way, and mastered the secret writings of Laozi. He took on disciples Zhao Sheng and Wang Zhang, who came to the Cloud Terrace. Later he again refined cinnabar, and ingested it.”

Shouyuan continued, “In the reign period of Yongshou of the Han dynasty, his efforts were successful and his Way complete.²¹ He raised his body halfway up the cliff, leaped into the middle wall of the cliff, and emerged from the top. Following on this, he opened up two lofty cliffs. Each was half of the immortal grotto. On the ninth day of the ninth month of that year, he took the various esoteric records, the demon-decapitating sword, as well as the Jade Records and Jade Seal, and handed them over to his eldest son, Heng. He and his wife, Madame Yong, together ascended Cloud Terrace Peak, and in broad daylight they ascended to Heaven. In that year he was 122 years old. Later, his fourth-generation descendant Zhang Sheng dwelled on Dragon Tiger Mountain. Generation by generation the teachings were transmitted, right down to the present. His descendants are as long-lived as heaven and earth. We all cultivate their Daoist arts.

“For this reason the other day when I ran into the Celestial Master, and he said that in Fuzhou there were the vapor and clouds of a Son of Heaven, which emerge as auspicious omens, I did not dare conceal it. I could only present a memorial to the ruler of Min that he should construct the Baohuang Palace on Nine Immortals Mountain. In this way I would not turn my back on the Celestial Master’s words.”

Yanbin inquired further, “Since you had already encountered the Celestial Master, why didn’t you memorialize the throne earlier? You waited until I had received you into the palace in order to request from you the arts of long life.”

Shouyuan again reported, “I encountered the Celestial Master in a spot in the wilds of the mountain. Once he finished speaking, he departed. The kings of the previous dynasties often summoned him, but he did not come. How could he be willing to enter the palace and teach the arts of longevity?”

When the ruler of Min heard this memorial he felt very pleased. In accordance with what Shouyuan had said, he set out to build the Baohuang Palace. He ordered Shouyuan to draw a chart of it aligned with the directions and, according to the model, erect it. Within a few days the Baohuang Palace was completed. Then he ordered that a statue of the Jade Emperor be carved and placed on top of the central building. On the four sides were Daoist buildings, and in front was the Palace of the Altar of the Three Pure Ones. On either side were Palaces of the Divine Creation, and to the rear the Galloping Horse building, outlined with green stones. Railings penetrated into the inner palace, with flying red cinnabar and flowing green jade soaring up to the sky. It was the ultimate in magnificence. (This is the present-day Jade Emperor Pavilion at Nine Immortals Mountain.) When construction was completed, Ministry of Works Service Officer Huang Qian went to the court to report it. When the ruler of Min heard that the Baohuang Palace was finished, he was delighted, and ordered Chen Shouyuan to take up residence there.

The ruler of Min had been deluded by Shouyuan, so that he believed in the arts of the spirits and immortals. The Baohuang Palace was filled with incense smoke and lighted candles. Coincidentally, behind the North Pass, a dragon soared out of a well in the house of Censor Aide Zhen Feng. When Shouyuan heard this he immediately reported it to the emperor and congratulated him, saying, “The hibernating dragon has ascended to Heaven. Ascending to Heaven is an auspicious omen, which directly corresponds to our ruler ascending to a great position. In addition, I observed heavenly signs: the Purple Tenuity, the sun, and stars shining over Fuzhou.²² It stands to reason that it corresponds to your immediately ascending to the position of emperor in order to establish the great plan for the myriad people.”

When Yanbin, the ruler of Min, heard what Shouyuan said, he beamed. He said to Shouyuan, “Really, has the hibernating dragon soared up to Heaven? And the sun shines and the stars shimmer?”

Shouyuan replied, “How would I dare to report irresponsibly? If you, my ruler, do not believe me, you could decree that Censor Zhen should come to the palace and you could question him. Then you would know that it is true.”

The ruler of Min sent a messenger to order Censor Zhen to enter the palace, and in a short time he arrived. When the rituals of greeting were completed, the ruler of Min questioned him, “I heard that a hibernating dragon soared out of your well. Did this really happen?”

The censor replied, “This matter is indeed true. But I don’t know what this omen presages.”

Shouyuan at his side directly stated, “The Honorable Zhen doesn’t know that yesterday morning on top of the Baohuang Palace I carefully observed the heavenly signs. I saw the stars of the Purple Tenuity and the sun shining on Fuzhou City. This presages your ascending to be emperor, and is truly a case of ‘responding to Heaven and according with the Human.’ How can there be any doubt?”

Censor Zhen said, “Since the sun is shining on Fuzhou and the dragon has ascended to Heaven, truly it is an auspicious omen for the state. Our ruler ought to answer Heaven, and should ascend to the imperial position.” When the ruler of Min heard this, he was delighted. He ordered the two men to withdraw temporarily, went into the palace, and then came out. Truly it was:

A snake’s bite and a bee’s sting are poisonous;

Flowery language and cunning words are as sharp as a knife.²³

In the end, to know what the ruler of Min did after that, read the next chapter.