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

Page 11

Mayizi original: 麻衣子. Literally "The Hemp-robed Master." He is a celebrated figure in Daoist hagiography, often associated with the art of physiognomy (reading faces) and credited with mentoring other famous immortals like Chen Tuan.

Mayizi had the surname Li and the given name He. At his birth, he possessed deep violet-tinted hair original: 紺髪 (ganfa). This blue-black or violet hair color is a traditional "auspicious sign" in both Buddhist and Daoist texts, signifying a person of high spiritual potential. and a beautiful countenance. As he grew older, he became disgusted with the filth and corruption of the worldly life and subsequently entered the Zhongnan Mountains A mountain range in Shaanxi province, long considered a sacred destination for hermits and seekers of the Dao..

There, he suddenly encountered a Daoist Master who imparted secret teachings to him, offering this warning: "In the region of Nanyang, on the northern bank of the Tuan River, there is a grotto at the Lingshan Hall Lingshan Tang. A site in modern-day Henan province known for its spiritual history. cliff. It is there that the spirits shall open your destiny; if you cultivate your nature there, you may gather your spirit within the vast, primordial mists."

Mayizi went to seek the place. He met a woodcutter who directed him to the site, and he lived within the cave for nineteen years. During the Yixi era of the Jin Dynasty 405–418 CE., a great drought occurred. A local resident named Zhang Yi led a crowd to the cave to plead for rain. Mayizi replied that he possessed no magical arts to help them, yet the petitioners refused to leave.

That evening, twelve young men appeared to Mayizi and said, "If they ask again, simply grant it to them."

Mayizi found this strange but gave his word. The following day, a great rain indeed fell. The twelve men returned and bowed to him, saying: "We are dragons In Chinese mythology, dragons are the primary deities responsible for water and weather.. The Supreme Deity, recognizing that your Daoist cultivation is complete, has ordered us to assist you in your work of transformation."

In the early years of the Daming era of the Liu Song Dynasty Circa 457 CE., at the age of one hundred and one, Mayizi sat in a dignified posture and achieved corpse liberation corpse liberation: (shijie) A high-level Daoist transition to immortality where the practitioner appears to die, but their spirit departs while the "corpse" left behind is merely a transformed object like a bamboo pole or sword..