Who is He Shanggong 河上公 He Shang Zhangren

He Shanggong, also known as "He Shang Zhangren" (Venerable He Shang) or "He Shang Zhenren" (True Person He Shang), was the founding master of the Huang-Lao Daoist tradition and a revered immortal in Taoism. He annotated Laozi's Tao Te Ching with He Shanggong Zhangju (He Shanggong's Annotations), a work that appeared early, spread widely, and exerted great influence. However, his real name and birthplace remain unknown. Shenxian Zhuan (Biographies of Immortals) records: "As for He Shanggong, no one knows his name."

He Shanggong attained immortality and enlightenment at Tiantai Mountain in Langya (present-day Rizhao, Shandong). In this regard, Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin Dynasty wrote in Ji Zhongsan Guguan Yu Shen (Ji Kang Meets a Divine Being in the Solitary Lodge): "The chronicle states: 'Beyond the Eastern Sea, there is a mountain called Tiantai, with a ladder to heaven and a platform for ascending to immortality, where feathered immortals reside. Tiantai is a mountain carried on the back of a divine turtle, floating in the sea for countless years. It was only after Nüwa cut off the turtle's legs to set up the four poles that, seeing the immortal mountain had no foundation, she moved it to the shores of Langya. Later, the Venerable He Shanggong ascended the mountain to attain the Dao, taught disciples, and helped them achieve immortality, thus spreading the way of immortality. There was Ji Kang, who followed Huang-Lao thought, advocated metaphysics, excelled in playing the flute and qin, had a good command of temperament, and admired immortals and deities. In that year, he once visited Tiantai, watched the sunrise over the Eastern Sea, admired the scenic beauty of the immortal mountain, visited the former residence of Tai Gong, and paid homage to the traces left by immortal ancestors. He saw that the stone house of Anqi Sheng still existed, and the sitting marks of He Shanggong remained.'"

Zhang Xingjian, the top scholar from Rizhao, also recorded in his writings: "I think of my hometown Rizhao, although it is secluded by the sea, it enjoys the fame of Langya and the beauty of Tiantai. Backed by the Taiyi and Yishan mountains, facing the Eastern Sea, with misty immortal mountains and crisscrossing rivers, it has been a place for worshipping the Sun God and a land where Huang-Lao practitioners achieved immortality since ancient times. He Shanggong, Anqi Sheng, Yu Ji, Ge Xuan, and others attained the Dao and taught disciples here; Emperors Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi came here to seek immortals and visit the Dao, which can be said to have been extremely prosperous for a time."

He Shanggong's most famous disciple was Anqi Sheng, the True Person of the North Pole. The Grand Historian's comment in Records of the Grand Historian·Biography of Yue Yi states: "Yue Chenggong studied Huangdi and Laozi; his original teacher was called He Shang Zhangren, but no one knows where he came from. He Shang Zhangren taught Anqi Sheng, Anqi Sheng taught Mao Xigong, Mao Xigong taught Yue Xiagong, Yue Xiagong taught Yue Chenggong, and Yue Chenggong taught Gai Gong, who taught in Gaomi and Jiaoxi in Qi and was the teacher of Prime Minister Cao."