An Qisheng was a legendary immortal during the Qin and Han dynasties, surnamed Zheng (鄭) and An Qisheng (安期). Taoism regards An Qisheng as a divine being who values personal cultivation. He was worshipped as one of the Eight Truths of Shangqing.
The earliest record of him is found in the Historical Records. Sima Qian wrote in “The Records of the Grand Historian – Le Yi Lie Zhuan” when commenting on the system of teachers of Huang and Lao in the early Han Dynasty: “Le Chen Gong learned from Huang Di and Laozi, whose original teacher was called He Shang Zhanren, but I do not know where he came from. He Shang zhangren taught An Qisheng, An Qisheng taught Mao Xi Gong, ……”. In the “Historical Records – Xiaowu Benji” in the Fang Shi Li Shaojun had told Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said: “I tried to swim in the sea, see An Shisheng, eating giant dates, as big as a melon. An Qisheng immortal, through the Penglai in, together then see people, not then hidden.” Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai has a poem as evidence: “I used to East China Sea, Laoshan meal purple haze. I personally saw the An period of life, eating dates as big as a melon.” The “Legend of the Immortals – Mr. An period” said An period of life for the Langya Fuxiang (now in Shandong) people, selling medicine in the seaside, people at the time called him “a thousand years old. When Qin Shi Huang traveled east, he talked with him for three days and nights and gave him tens of millions of gold and jade. After Qin Shi Huang left, he discarded the gold treasure and left a letter to Shi Huang: “After a few years, I will be asked to come to Mount Penglai” (“a few years” is “a thousand years” in “The Seven Signs of the Book of Clouds” and “The Book of Immortals”). When the first emperor got the letter, he sent his messengers Xu Shi (pronounced Fu), Lu Sheng and hundreds of others into the sea. Before they reached Mount Penglai, they turned back due to the wind and waves.
An Qisheng had left traces of immortality in many famous mountains. In is located in the southeast of Zhoushan Islands, and Putuo Mountain, Zhujiajian with water as neighbors, the ancient name of Baiyun Mountain, also known as Peach Blossom Mountain Peach Blossom Island on the rumor that “An Qisheng splashed ink into peach blossoms”. It is said that a long time ago, Peach Blossom Island was just a deserted island. Around the Qin Dynasty, An Qisheng drifted to this island alone to avoid the Qin tyranny. He went ashore and saw that the island was deserted, but the climate was pleasant and the scenery was beautiful, as if it was a paradise, a good place to set up a furnace and collect medicine and alchemy. So he began to live in seclusion in a natural stone cave in the Anji Peak monastic alchemy. It took more than ten years. At that time, more people came to settle on the island. An Shisheng, who by nature liked solitude and good purity, decided to leave the place and find another good place. At the ferry, An Zhisheng set up the four literary treasures, hoping to leave the beauty of Peach Blossom Island with paintings, but did not want to, the boatman’s yell broke his mood, so he poured that ink on the rocks. Soon the mountain rocks appeared on the strange shape of the peach blossom pattern, like natural general, people more take it as a treasure. This is how the mountain got its name – Peach Blossom.
Although there is an account of An Zhisheng’s life in the history, there is no record of how An Zhisheng attained ascension. However, the legend of “An Shisheng became an immortal” has been circulating around Guangzhou, telling how An Shisheng ascended to heaven.
An Zhisheng later came south to Yangcheng and settled in Baiyun Mountain, which is a mountain of clouds and smoke. He often carried a gourd on his back and offered help to the poor villagers around Baiyun Mountain. People said that when they met Zheng Anqi, only the poor and sick could live.
One day, a crying child came and said that his father was seriously ill, and on hearing this, An Shisheng immediately carried the gourd to the patient’s home. The patient was already unconscious, his body was burning like a fire, and he had a poisonous sore at his throat, and he had not taken a drop of water or rice for three days and nights. An Zhisheng concluded that the patient was suffering from heat poisoning heart attack, must use nine calamus can be cured. But where to find this valuable medicinal herbs ah!
An period of medical practice for many years, did not see nine sections of calamus, only know that nine sections of calamus born with nine sections, is a rare treasure, ordinary people can eat to prolong life, patients eat to get rid of disease. Medicine book says: Luofu Mountain East stream, Baiyun Mountain Pu stream in which to grow on the cliff wall does not touch the sand, an inch nine sections, purple flowers is good. So he decided to go to Baiyun Mountain Pu Jian to look for nine calamus.
He ran through the jungle, mountain after mountain, to the Pu Jian, looking for a place after a place, finally, in a mountain stream, there is a strange fragrance wafting over. He knew that there must be a foreign grass nearby. Follow the aroma to find, it is the nine sections of calamus, nine sections, green jade, three flowers, purple velvet, strange fragrance. He rushed to pick a few branches, put out the fire.
An Qisheng will be fresh nine calamus pounded, with the juice squeezed into the mouth of the dying patient, less than half an hour, the patient woke up, and then some medicine, the patient has been able to sit up. The next day, the patient basically recovered.
This story soon spread all over the city of Yang, and later on, the more divine the story became, the further it spread, and finally it reached Qin Shi Huang in Kyoto. When Qin Shi Huang heard that he had found the elixir of immortality, he issued an imperial edict ordering him to pay tribute as soon as possible. An Qisheng still said the same old thing: “Meet me at Mount Penglai in a thousand years”. The first emperor was furious: “I can live to be a thousand years old, I don’t need immortality medicine! If he refuses, take his head to see me!”
An Zhisheng had to go back to Pu Jian. He really did not want to give this rare treasure to the tyrant. At the edge of the cliff, he carelessly put a branch of nine-jointed calamus into his mouth, chewed gently, a strange aroma refreshing, and suddenly feel refreshed. When he went back to pick the second, all the nine calamus all gone. He was wondering, an old man came to him, said: “You are not An Qisheng? You want to tribute the nine-section calamus to Qin Shi Huang? Ha ha ……” An Qisheng was astonished, did not wait for his answer, the old man said: “You will not be so kind that even the good and bad people do not distinguish, right?” After saying that, the old man disappeared.
An Zhisheng suddenly came to his senses: how can I go for a tyrant to pick what the medicine of immortality? I would rather die than do such a thing that is indistinguishable from right and wrong. So, he jumped off the cliff. He only felt the wind whistling in his ears, but his body floated up. It turned out that a huge white crane suddenly flew out from halfway up the mountain and flew over like an arrow, using its wings to gently lift An Shisheng up and fly straight to the sky.
The day of An Qisheng’s ascension was the 25th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and later the people of Guangzhou took this day as the “Zheng Xian Festival”. Every year around the 25th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar, Guangzhou people will travel to Baiyun Mountain in pairs, gradually becoming a traditional custom. Later people called his ascension for the ascension platform, and in its practice to build the calamus view. The Calamus View has been changed into a Buddhist temple, and Su Dongpo has a poem: In the past, the Calamus Buddhist house, later the eaves Portuguese ancestor Zen. Located at the foot of Baiyun Mountain, and built a “Zheng Xian Temple. It can be seen that this immortal “rather for the jade, not for the tile” is loved by people.
References
1、The Records of History
2、The Legend of the Immortals
3、Chinese Immortal Stories
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