The Jiang Benshi 江本寔

Jiang Benshi was a native of Sichuan Province during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and his literary name was "Huosisiren" (the Living Dead Man).

His family had long been wealthy, but when the Ming Dynasty fell, he distributed his family fortune, abandoned his wife and children, and went to Zhongnan Mountain to become a Taoist Priest.

He studied immortal techniques for ten years and attained the Taoist Dao (the fundamental principle of Taoism). After that, he traveled across the four seas (i.e., traveled extensively across the country). Later, he settled at Miaogao Peak, built a thatched hut there, and refined the Golden Elixir (a core alchemical substance in Taoism believed to grant immortality or spiritual transcendence). After ten years, he succeeded in refining the Elixir, and more than a hundred disciples studied under him.

Details of his life story can be found in Liuxi Waizhuan (External Biographies from Liuxi).