Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms: Volume 11 (Human Figures)

Page 7

Huang Chuping

original: "黃初平"

Huang Chuping was a native of Danxi Located in modern-day Lanxi, Zhejiang Province. during the Jin Dynasty A period of Chinese history (266–420 CE) marked by significant developments in Daoist thought and alchemy.. At the age of fifteen, while he was out herding sheep, he encountered a Daoist practitioner A seeker of the Way (Dao) who has mastered spiritual and physical cultivation. who was impressed by his spiritual potential. The Daoist led him to a stone chamber on Mount Jinhua Literally "Golden Flower Mountain," a site famous for its deep caverns and spiritual energy., where Chuping remained for more than forty years, hidden from the world.

His elder brother, Huang Chuqi, searched for him for many years without success. Eventually, Chuqi met a Daoist skilled in the art of divination The practice of using supernatural means to uncover hidden knowledge or future events. and asked him where his brother might be. The Daoist replied, "Within the heights of Mount Jinhua, there is a shepherd boy."

Chuqi immediately traveled to the mountain to find him. Upon their reunion, Chuqi asked, "Where are the sheep you were meant to tend?"

Chuping replied, "They are on the eastern side of the mountain."

Chuqi went to the location to look, but he saw nothing there except for a vast field of white boulders piled high. He returned to his brother, confused. Chuping then walked to the hillside and shouted at the rocks:

original: "叱石成羊" — Literally "Shouting at the stones to make them sheep," a phrase that has since become a famous Chinese idiom for miraculous transformation.

At his command, the white stones all transformed into living sheep. Witnessing this incredible power, Chuqi was moved to also abandon his wife and children to study the Way The Dao; the fundamental principle and path of spiritual harmony.. In time, he too achieved the state of immortality Xian: a transcendent being who has attained eternal life and supernatural abilities through spiritual refinement..