Ningfengzi was a person of the time of Huangdi, and is traditionally said to have been the potter official (taozheng) of Huangdi. Someone passed by him and served as his fire-keeper, able to produce smoke in five colors; after a long time, he taught it to Fengzi. Fengzi accumulated fire and burned himself, following the rising and falling of the smoke; observing his ashes, there were still traces of his bones. At that time, people jointly buried him in the mountains north of Ning. Therefore, he was called Ningfengzi.

How extraordinary is Fengzi, who wondrously received the essence of nature! His radiant body in the great furnace, his vital energy flowing as five-colored smoke. Left behind bones and ashes, he entrusted his tomb to Ning Mountain. People who see his traces cannot comprehend the mystery of it — the profound secret of cultivating the Tao through fire and transformation.