Qin Gao was a native of Zhao. He served as a sheren (attendant) to King Kang of Song, playing the guqin for him. He practiced the methods of Juan Peng and traveled freely between Jizhou and Zhuo Jun for more than two hundred years. Later, he bid farewell and went into the Zhuo River to fetch a dragon’s offspring, setting an appointment with his disciples: “All of you must purify yourselves and wait by the riverbank.” After they set up a shrine, as expected, he rode on a red carp to arrive and sat in the middle of the shrine. Each day, ten thousand people came to watch him. He stayed for more than a month and then returned into the water and left.

Qin Gao’s instruction to his disciples to purify themselves before his return reflects the Taoist understanding of ritual preparation as a form of inner alignment — the same principle of wu wei that teaches the sage to empty the self before acting, so that the Dao may move through without obstruction.

His two centuries of wandering recall the extraordinary longevity of Peng Zu, who sustained life across hundreds of years through breath and inner cultivation — both figures demonstrating that time itself bends for those who have truly aligned with the Dao. Like Jie Zitui, Qin Gao ultimately vanished back into the natural world, leaving behind only the memory of his presence.

Qin Gao, composed and calm, served as the music official in the Song palace. He left the mortal world to live a solitary life, rising and falling within the Zhuo River. Emerging with crimson scales in leap, he dived into the clear waters among the aquatic plants. Thus, entrusting himself to water for transcendence, his joy was boundless.

This eulogy places Qin Gao among the great water-dwelling immortals of the Lie Xian Zhuan. His joy “without limit” echoes the teaching of Laozi that the highest good is like water — nourishing all things without striving. The Yellow Emperor similarly sought the Dao through mastery of both the inner and outer worlds, recognizing that true sovereignty begins with the cultivation of the self.