The Wu Shouyi 吴守一

Wu Shouyi was a native of Lanling in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), which corresponds to present-day Cangshan County, Shandong Province.

As recorded in Gazetteer of Shandong Province (Shandong Tongzhi): He became a Taoist monk at an early age. Later, he studied under Liu Yuanran, who taught him the esoteric techniques of "liandu" (a Taoist ritual practice focused on delivering souls from suffering and refining spiritual energy, often associated with Taoist ceremonies for the deceased or spiritual purification).

Subsequently, he lived in seclusion on Shenfeng Mountain in the Langya area to pursue Taoist cultivation.

He possessed profound Taoist magical arts and was capable of "bigu" (a Taoist practice of abstaining from regular grain-based food, believed to help purify the body, conserve vital energy, and achieve longevity by relying on alternative sources of nourishment like qi, medicinal herbs, or dew). When he was over ninety years old, he still had white hair like a crane’s plumage and a youthful complexion—an appearance often described in traditional Chinese culture as a sign of longevity and successful spiritual cultivation.