Zhang Boduan (984 - 1082), styled Pingshu, also known as Immortal Ziyang, was a native of Tiantai, Zhejiang. He was a renowned Taoist priest in the Northern Song Dynasty and the founding ancestor of the Southern Sect of the Taoist Internal Alchemy School.
Born into a scholarly family, Zhang Boduan was intelligent and eager to learn from an early age, dabbling in the classics of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Due to his failure in the imperial examinations, he later took up a position as a clerk in the Taizhou Prefecture (with its administrative seat in present - day Linhai, Zhejiang).
Zhang Boduan was fond of eating fish. Once, his family sent him some fish, and a colleague intentionally hid it on the beam. Zhang Boduan mistakenly thought that a maid had stolen the fish, so he beat her severely, which led to the maid hanging herself in grievance. Later, when the fish fell from the beam, he felt deeply remorseful and sighed at the countless unjust cases in the world. So he picked up a brush and wrote a poem: "Carrying the pen and ink for forty years, there are innumerable right and wrong. One family's well - being is built on a thousand families' resentment; half a lifetime of fame brings a hundred lifetimes of guilt. The purple ribbon and golden seal are now things of the past; I'll wander freely in straw sandals and with a bamboo staff. If someone asks me the way to Penglai, the clouds are on the green mountains and the moon is in the sky." It can be seen from the poem that Zhang Boduan had seen through this unfair world and set his heart on things beyond the mundane. Later, he burned all the case files and was exiled to Lingnan.
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Subsequently, Zhang Boduan served under Lu Shen, the commander of the garrison in Guilin, in charge of confidential matters. In the second year of Xining in the Song Dynasty (1069), he met the extraordinary person Liu Haichan at Tianhui Temple in Chengdu, obtained the secret of the golden elixir's firing process, and finally fulfilled his long - cherished wish. From then on, he changed his name to Yongcheng. In the same year, Lu Shen passed away, and Zhang Boduan returned to Tiantai Mountain to practice Taoism.
Later, Zhang Boduan moved around the Qinlong area (present - day Shaanxi and Gansu). Because he offended the local prefect in Fengzhou (present - day Feng County, Shaanxi), he was exiled again. Fortunately, he was rescued by his good friend Shi Tai, to whom he then taught the way of the golden elixir. Then Zhang Boduan planned to take refuge under Ma Mo, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Transport Commissioner. Before leaving, he entrusted his work Wu Zhen Pian (Awakening to Truth) to Shi Tai, saying that all he had learned in his life was contained in it, and hoped that his friend would publish the book to benefit future generations.
After that, Zhang Boduan once went to Hanyin Mountain in Jinghu, and then returned to his hometown to practice in Tongbai Palace. In the hot summer of the fifth year of Yuanfeng in the Song Dynasty (1082), Zhang Boduan bathed and purified himself in Baibu Stream in Tiantai (present - day Linhai), sat cross - legged and passed away. When his fourth - generation disciple Bai Yuchan came, a religious group was formed, and later generations respected him as the ancestor of the Southern Sect of Taoism. Tongbai Palace thus became the ancestral court of the Southern Sect.
Key Life Events & Contributions
1. From Bureaucrat to Hermit: The Fish and the Poem
- Born into a literati family, Zhang Boduan excelled in the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism) but failed the imperial exams. He later served as a Taizhou clerk, where a tragic incident altered his path:
- A maid was falsely accused of stealing fish; she hanged herself. When the fish later fell from the beam, Zhang wrote:
"Forty years with pen and ink,
A thousand wrongs, a thousand rights.
One family’s warmth, a thousand families’怨气.
Half a lifetime’s fame, a hundred lifetimes’罪愆." - He resigned, burned his records, and was exiled to Lingnan—a turning point he called "trading chains for clouds."
- A maid was falsely accused of stealing fish; she hanged herself. When the fish later fell from the beam, Zhang wrote:
2. The Alchemical Awakening: Liu Haichan’s Fire
In 1069 CE (Xining Era), while serving under military governor Lu Shui in Chengdu, Zhang encountered Liu Haichan (one of the Eight Immortals). Liu transmitted the secrets of:
- "Golden Elixir Fire Phases" (Jindan Huohou): Timing in alchemy, mirroring cosmic cycles.
- "Sexual Yoga" (Shuangxiu): Harmonizing yin and yang energies.
Zhang later wrote:
"Liu’s fire melted my worldly chains;
Now I walk the path of gold."
3. Legacy: The Wujin Pian and Southern Alchemy
Master Zhang’s masterwork, Wujin Pian (Essentials of Uncarved Wood), reshaped Daoism:
- "Three Treasures": Jing (essence), Qi (energy), Shen (spirit) as the alchemical triad.
- "Reverse Cultivation": "Start with the post-heaven (body); return to the pre-heaven (source)."
- "Karma and Elixir": "Sin is lead; repentance is fire; the elixir is gold."
He passed away in 1082 CE while bathing in Tiantai’s Baibu Creek, leaving a legacy as the "First Patriarch of Southern Alchemy."
Table: Master Zhang’s Milestones
| Year | Event | Philosophy |
|---|---|---|
| 1069 | Met Liu Haichan in Chengdu; received alchemical secrets. | "Fire phases are the Tao’s heartbeat—learn to dance with them." |
| 1070–1082 | Wrote Wujin Pian; taught Shi Tai, Bai Yuchan. | "The elixir is not in mountains—it flows in the stillness between breaths." |
| 1082 | Died meditating in Tiantai’s Baibu Creek. | "Death is not an end—it is the final fire phase." |
III. Intellectual Legacy: Fire, Ink, and the Tao
1. Wujin Pian: The Alchemist’s Bible
Master Zhang’s text argued that true alchemy required:
- Inner Fire: Meditating on cosmic cycles (e.g., the sun’s path = yang; the moon’s = yin).
- Ethical Purity: "Greed poisons the elixir; humility purifies it."
- Sexual Balance: "The union of man and woman is not lust—it is the dance of creation."
He taught that the body was a microcosm:
"The organs are stars; the blood is rivers.
Purify the body, and the cosmos follows."
2. Poetry as Spiritual Practice
His verses, like "Clouds Over Taihang," merged landscape and spirit:
"The peaks pierce heaven; my breath pierces clouds.
Why ask where the Tao goes? It goes where the wind goes."
These poems became manuals for Daoist hermits, teaching that "the poem is the map; the mountain, the territory."
3. Influence on Later Thought
- Southern Alchemy School: His Wujin Pian became the foundation, influencing Bai Yuchan and Zhang Yuchu.
- Japanese Daoism: Preserved through war, inspiring Shinto-Daoist syncretism.
- Modern: His blend of poetry and alchemy inspires mindfulness and holistic health.
IV. Circle of Influence: From Southern Patriarchs to Today
1. Notable Disciples
| Name | Role | Famous Quote |
|---|---|---|
| Shi Tai (石泰) | First disciple | "Zhang Boduan’s Wujin Pian is the ladder to the Tao." |
| Bai Yuchan (白玉蟾) | Fourth-gen disciple | "His alchemy turns lead into gold—but only in the heart." |
2. Impact on Later Thought
- Alchemy: His "three treasures"理论 became central to Southern Alchemy.
- Poetry: Inspired the "Daoist landscape" genre, where nature mirrors the soul.
- Ethics: His "karma and elixir"理念 linked moral purity to spiritual success.
V. Final Reflection: Why Master Zhang Matters Today
- For alchemists: His Wujin Pian is a roadmap to balancing fire and essence.
- For poets: His verses reveal the Tao’s voice in nature.
- For all: His life proves that true transformation begins with repentance.
A Parable from Master Zhang:
"A traveler asked, ‘What is the elixir?’
The master pointed to a river.
‘It flows, yet never leaves its source.
It bends, yet never breaks.
Be the river.’"
