Who is Mu Bing 沐并

Mu Bing，A Taoist of the Wei State during the Three Kingdoms period. His courtesy name was Dexin, and he was from Hejian (southeast of present-day Xian County, Hebei Province). He lost his parents at a young age and lived a hard life. In his early years, he served as an official in the area controlled by Yuan Shao and his son. During the reign of Emperor Wen of Wei, he was the magistrate of Chenggao. During the reign of Cao Fang, the Prince of Qi, he served as a senior official in the Three Ministries and the governor of Jiyin.

In philosophy, he adhered to Taoist views, especially Zhuangzi's theory of the equality of all things, denying the qualitative determination of things. He said: "If one can trace the origin and examine the end, regarding heaven and earth as a single region and all things as straw dogs, comprehensively understanding the profound and penetrating principles, seeking the origin of forms and shadows, equating the essence of fortune and misfortune, and unifying the destiny of life and death, then I have admiration for the Dao." He advocated, in accordance with the Taoist worldview, merging all things in heaven and earth, including fortune and misfortune, life and death, into one. Adhering to the Daoist theory of Laozi and Zhuangzi, he believed that from the perspective of the "Dao", longevity and premature death were not worth taking seriously. He said: "The Dao, as a thing, is vague and indistinct. Longevity is like a false soul, premature death is like a wild duck diving underwater. The body fades into existence and non-existence, growing and declining with the spirit. It delights in Yin and Yang, and enjoys dreaming of the Great Ultimate." This means that longevity is nothing but preserving a false body ("false soul") and is not precious; premature death (death) is like a water horse diving into the water, full of joy.

Viewing the funeral system of his time from the Taoist worldview and perspective on life and death, he believed that coffins and shrouds were restraints on the deceased, contradicting human nature. He said: "Why treat the coffin as a prison and the shrouds as bindings? The corpse is tied underground, imprisoned in eternal darkness. Is this not sorrowful!" He criticized the trend of elaborate burials such as "burying with pearl scales, jade beds and elephant covers, and killing people to accompany the dead". His deeds and remarks can be found in the annotations to Biography of Chang Lin in Volume 23 of Records of the Three Kingdoms.