Fei Changfang Learning the Tao
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there lived a strange old medicine seller in Runan City (present-day Runan, Henan). What made him strange? While others sold medicines either by placing them in the medicine boxes of their shops or setting up a stall to display them, he was different. All his medicines were kept in a large gourd, so people called him "Hugong" (Master Gourd). No one knew exactly what kind of miraculous elixirs Hugong sold, but his medicines worked like a charm—once administered, illnesses were cured instantly. Of course, Hugong's medicines were more expensive than others', and he refused to bargain. As a result, he earned tens of thousands of coins every day. However, apart from keeping 30 coins for himself, he donated all the remaining money to the poor. What was even more strange was that every evening, Hugong would disappear from people's sight, leaving only the large medicine-containing gourd hanging on the wall of his room.
His whereabouts had long been a mystery in Runan City, but it was eventually uncovered. There was a minor official in the city named Fei Changfang. One evening, a member of his family suddenly fell ill. He hurried to Hugong's place to buy medicine, but he was a step too late—the door was already closed, and no one answered when he knocked. Unwilling to give up, he pierced a hole in the window paper to peek inside. To his surprise, Fei Changfang discovered a shocking secret: Hugong leapt up and hid inside the large gourd hanging on the wall. Fei Changfang realized that Hugong was no ordinary person. He kept his composure but resolved to become Hugong's disciple. From then on, Fei Changfang cleaned the place where Hugong sold medicines every day and sent good wine and dishes to Hugong three times a day at regular intervals.
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After a long time, seeing that Fei Changfang never slacked off and made no requests, Hugong thought he was a sincere person and said to him, "Come see me here when it's dark and there's no one around." After dark, Fei Changfang took advantage of the absence of others and quietly went to Hugong's place to pay his respects. Hugong was already waiting for him in the room. Upon seeing Fei Changfang, Hugong said, "Now I'm going to jump into the gourd. Watch carefully and then jump in like I do."
Fei Changfang imitated Hugong's action and jumped. Suddenly, he felt himself entering the mouth of the gourd. Once inside, everything was bright. This was no ordinary gourd—it was nothing short of a fairyland! Inside, sunlight shone brightly, thin clouds lingered, a magnificent fairy palace stood tall with layers of pavilions, the corners of the terraces pointing toward the sky, and winding corridors coiling around. Dozens of guards were stationed outside the palace.
Hugong said, "I am originally an immortal from heaven. I was punished to descend to the human world because I was lazy for a while and delayed official duties. It is because you are a person with potential that you have been fortunate enough to meet me." Upon hearing this, Fei Changfang immediately knelt down, kowtowed, and swore to become Hugong's disciple, expressing his determination. Hugong nodded repeatedly in approval.
After another period of time, Hugong said to Fei Changfang, "In a few days, I will leave here. Will you come with me?" Fei Changfang replied, "I have long been determined to follow you, Master. But how should I explain to my family?" Hugong said, "That's easy." With that, he stretched out his hand, conjured a green bamboo cane, and handed it to Fei Changfang, saying, "When you get home, immediately pretend to be ill and lie down, then place this bamboo cane on the bed. Remember not to speak and come out at once." Fei Changfang did as he was told. When his family saw Fei Changfang "dead" on the bed, after a period of heartfelt grief and crying, they had to bury the "body".
Fei Changfang followed Hugong, not knowing where they were going. To test Fei Changfang, on the first day, Hugong put him among a group of tigers. As soon as the tigers saw Fei Changfang, they opened their bloodthirsty mouths, their sharp teeth clicking, and surrounded him. But he was not afraid at all.
On the second day, he was locked in a stone room. The stone room was freezing cold, and the most terrifying thing was a large boulder hanging overhead, tied to the roof with only a single straw rope. Many poisonous snakes crawled near the straw rope, sticking out their tongues to bite the rope on the boulder. It was obvious that the straw rope was about to be bitten through, and if the stone fell, it would surely crush a person to a pulp. Even so, Fei Changfang remained calm and composed. Seeing this, Hugong smiled and said, "Good, you are now worthy of cultivation."
Then he took out a large plate full of maggot-infested feces and said, "Eat this!" The overwhelming stench made Fei Changfang's stomach churn, and he felt nauseous, unable to help but vomit. Hugong sighed deeply, "What a pity! It seems you cannot become an immortal in heaven. You can only live for several hundred years and be the leader of the ghosts and gods on earth."
It turned out that Hugong had transformed the elixir of immortality into maggot-infested feces to test the firmness of his will. Fei Changfang failed this final test and had to bid farewell to Hugong in frustration.
Seeing that he was worried about how to get home, Hugong casually summoned a bamboo cane and said, "Ride this to go home." He mounted the bamboo cane and felt as if he were sleeping. When he woke up and opened his eyes, he was already at his doorstep. The bamboo cane fell into the grass in front of the door and transformed into a green dragon, soaring into the sky. When Fei Changfang entered his home, his family was scared half to death, thinking they were seeing a ghost in broad daylight. He quickly explained the whole story, but they were still half-believing. It was not until they dug up the grave, opened the coffin, and saw the green bamboo cane inside that they dared to believe that the Fei Changfang in front of them was alive.
Fei Changfang had followed Hugong to learn the Tao, and it seemed like only one day had passed, but he was surprised to see great changes in his home. When he asked his family, he found out that a year had already passed.
Although Fei Changfang did not become an immortal in heaven, his trip was not in vain. Hugong not only passed on to him a book of talismans that allowed him to summon gods and dispatch generals, relieve disasters, and cure illnesses but also taught him a set of the "shrinking the earth" technique, which could shrink a thousand miles into a single step and restore it to its original state when released.
