The Xu Mi 许谧

A native of Jurong in Danyang (now part of Jiangsu Province) during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

Also known by the given name Mu and the courtesy name Sixuan, he was the fifth younger brother of Xu Mai.

He gained fame at a young age—well-educated, gifted in literary composition, refined in manner, and modest in conduct. He associated closely with many virtuous and prominent figures of his time.

In his early years, he served as a chief secretary and administrative official in his native county. Later, he was selected to fill the position of Doctor of the Imperial Academy, then appointed as the magistrate of Yuyao County. Subsequently, he took on the role of a Gentleman of the Ministry of Rites, and eventually rose to the rank of Cavalier-in-Attendance (a high-ranking imperial advisor). Though he outwardly engaged in secular official duties, he inwardly cultivated true Taoist learning and practiced the profound Dao. In his later years, he withdrew from public life to live in seclusion on Maoshan Mountain (a sacred site in Taoism).

He passed away in the first year of the Taiyuan era (376) at the age of seventy-two.

Emperor Gaozu of the Liang Dynasty had a special shrine called "Ci Zhen Guan" (Shrine of True Perfection) built in his honor, and his former residence was converted into "Zongyang Guan" (Zongyang Taoist Temple), which was later renamed "Ziyang Guan" (Ziyang Taoist Temple). During the Xuanhe era of the Song Dynasty (1119–1125), he was posthumously conferred the title "Taiyuan Guangde Zhenren" (True Person of Great Primordial and Vast Virtue) by imperial decree.

In Taoism, he is revered as "Shangqing Zhenren" (True Person of the Highest Clarity) and recognized as the third patriarch of the Shangqing School (a major Taoist tradition focusing on revealed scriptures and inner cultivation).

(Sources: Zhen Gao (Declarations of the True), Xuanpin Lu (Record of Mysterious Ranks), Lishi Zhenxian Tidao Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror of Real Immortals and the Dao Through the Ages), Volume 21)