The Hu Huichao 胡惠超

Hu Huichao lived during the reigns of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty.

He was a Taoist priest from Xishan in Hongzhou (present-day Xishan Mountain in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province) and lived in seclusion on Xishan in Yuzhang (an ancient name for the Hongzhou region). As recorded in Volume 6 of Records of the Pure and Bright Sect of the Supreme Numinous Treasure (a classic text of the Taoist Jingming Sect): He was born with handsome facial hair (beard and eyebrows), had a tall and sturdy physique, and often wandered with a walking stick. People called him "Immortal Hu the Tall."

He claimed to have learned the "Way of Prolonging Life, Refining Transformation, and Transcending the Three Realms and Nine Epochs" from True Lord Xu (Xu Xun, a revered Taoist immortal) and Wu Meng (a famous Taoist practitioner). He was capable of summoning deities and spirits via formal Taoist notices, as well as controlling thunderstorms. He also participated in Tao Hongjing’s (a prominent Southern Dynasties Taoist scholar) collation of the seventy volumes of Taiqing Scriptures (a core collection of Taoist texts) stored in the Huayang Grotto on Maoshan Mountain.

During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Hu Huichao went to the imperial capital. The emperor issued an edict ordering him to expel the fox demon haunting Shouchun Palace, and his efforts proved highly effective. In recognition, the emperor bestowed upon him the title "Mr. Dongzhen" (meaning "True Man of the Grotto").

Later, he returned to seclusion at Xumu Jingguan (a Taoist temple on Xishan Mountain). In the third year of the Chang’an era (703), he passed away at Youwei Guan (another Taoist temple on Xishan Mountain).

He authored Inner Biographies of the Twelve True Lords of Xishan in Hongzhou of the Jin Dynasty (a work documenting the lives of twelve revered Taoist figures associated with Xishan Mountain).