☯Introduction to Song Xuanbai
In Taoism, there is an allusion called "Song Xiang's Sufficient Rain", which tells the story of Taoist Song Xuanbai. Song Xuanbai's native place is unknown. It is said that he was over seven feet tall, with delicate and regular features, as if he had stepped out of a painting. He was also fair and plump, and spoke in a gentle and elegant manner. Both those who knew him and those who met him for the first time liked him very much.
✨Mystical Abilities
Song Xuanbai had Taoist skills. In the hot summer, he wore cotton-padded clothes, while in the cold winter, he only wore thin clothes and slept in the snow. What was even more magical was that within a radius of more than a zhang (a unit of length, about 3.3 meters) around him, where heat was constantly rising, the snow could not condense at all.
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After coming down from Maoshan, Song Xuanbai traveled to Zhenjiang, Kuocang Mountain, and Xiandu Mountain, practicing the method of bigu (abstaining from grains) and absorbing qi along the way. However, he was addicted to alcohol and would eat five catties of pork every meal, dipped in mashed garlic. After eating the pork, he would drink two dou (a unit of volume) of wine and eat a white plum. Someone once asked him for a clove of garlic to eat. After eating, there was no garlic taste, but a strange fragrance remained between the teeth and tongue. Many people had eaten his garlic cloves, and these people had no illnesses for life. Those who lived a long life could live up to eighty or ninety years old.
☁The Drought in Yuezhou
Once, Song Xuanbai traveled to the territory of Yuezhou and happened to encounter a severe drought there. The common people were praying for rain. However, after more than ten days, not only did it not rain, but the drought in the area became even more serious. Seeing this situation, Song Xuanbai said: "When praying for rain, one must report to the Heavenly Lord. Without presenting a memorial, it is certainly impossible to obtain rain." So, Song Xuanbai stayed in the local Xuanzhen Temple, lit incense, and reported to the heavens. That night, heavy rain indeed fell here. The people of Yuezhou regarded him as a divine man, and thus the beautiful story of "Song Xiang's Sufficient Rain" spread far and wide.
☁The Miracle in Xinzhou
On this day, Song Xuanbai traveled to Xinzhou in Jiangxi, and coincidentally, he encountered another severe drought there, and people were struggling to pray for rain.
A Taoist, having heard of Song Xuanbai's legend of praying for rain by burning incense, immediately reported to the prefecture official, wanting to invite Song Xuanbai for help. Song Xuanbai did not refuse and immediately began to perform the ritual. In an instant, two nails flew into the air and were straightly nailed into the eyes of the City God's statue. Wei Delin, the governor of Xinzhou, seeing that Song Xuanbai had nailed the City God's eyes, secretly thought: This person is either a demon or a monster. So he ordered people to arrest Song Xuanbai. But when those people approached Song Xuanbai, their hands and feet could not move at all, and they fell to the ground one after another. Helpless, Wei Delin had to apologize to Song Xuanbai. Sure enough, it rained heavily not long after. The governor thanked Song Xuanbai with great courtesy and personally saw him off.
