The Wei Huacun 魏华存

Wei Huacun (252-334), styled Xian'an, was a native of Rencheng (now part of Jining County, Shandong Province) during the Western Jin Dynasty. She was the daughter of Wei Shu, the Situ (a high-ranking official) of the Jin Dynasty.

From a young age, she was fond of Taoism and extensively read Laozi and Zhuangzi. She often practiced qi (vital energy) absorption and fasting, focusing on nurturing life and cultivating tranquility. At the age of 24, she married Liu Wen from Nanyang, who served as a subordinate official of the Taibao (Grand Protector), and they had two sons.

Her heart yearned for seclusion; she sought more divine books and secret texts, observed fasting in a separate chamber, and diligently practiced Taoist methods. Legend has it that Wang Bao, the True Person of Purity and Emptiness, imparted to her Shangqing Taoist scriptures such as The Supreme Precious Text, The Scripture of the Great Cavern, and The Feathered Mystery of High Immortals. Additionally, the True Person of Jinglin descended to teach her The Yellow Court Scripture. She once served as a female official and 祭酒 of the Tianshi Dao (Celestial Master Taoism), practicing its teachings such as The Manifested Majesty Memorials and The Formulas for Retaining and Invoking Official Soldiers with Talismans.

Later, she instructed her eldest son Liu Pu to pass on the Taoist methods to Yang Xi, Xu Mu, and Xu Hui. She was later revered as the Lady of Nanyue and the first patriarch of the Shangqing School. (Sources: Zhengao [True Declarations], Sandong Qunxian Lu [Records of Immortals of the Three Caverns], Xianyuan Bianzhu [Pearl Anthology of the Immortal Garden], Qingwei Xianpu [Records of Immortals of the Clear and Subtle School])