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

Page 12

...occurred. Continuing from the previous page's account of Mayizi. The local officials sought his aid, and as soon as Mayizi performed his ritual, a torrential rain fell, saturating the parched earth. It is said that he eventually transcended the physical world and ascended to the heavens in broad daylight during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Song dynasty.

The Immortal Magu

original: 麻姑仙人 (Magu Xianren). Magu, or the "Hemp Lady," is a legendary Daoist immortal associated with the elixir of life and longevity. She is a popular figure in art, often depicted offering peaches or wine for birthday celebrations.

Magu was the younger sister of the immortal Wang Fangping. During the reign of Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, Wang Fangping descended to the home of a man named Cai Jing. He said to Cai:

"You are destined to transcend the mortal world. However, your vital breath original: 氣 (qi) is currently sparse and your physical flesh is too abundant. You cannot yet ascend directly to the heavens. Instead, you must undergo the process of corpse-liberation." Corpse-liberation (shijie): A Daoist method of attaining immortality where a practitioner appears to die, but their spirit leaves behind a physical "shell" (like a wooden staff or a robe) while they ascend to a higher realm.

Wang then imparted the essential instructions to him and departed. Afterward, Cai Jing’s body suddenly became hot like fire. For three days, his flesh wasted away until he was nothing but skin and bone. He entered a private room and covered himself with a blanket. Suddenly, he vanished from that place. When his family looked inside the blanket, they found only a hollow shell, resembling a shed snake skin. The text uses the metaphor of "snake sloughing" (she tui) to describe the physical remains of the corpse-liberation process.

More than ten years later, Cai Jing suddenly returned home. He spoke to his family, saying: "On the seventh day of the seventh month, Lord Wang shall return. You must prepare several hundred measures original: 斛 (hu), a large unit of volume. of wine to await him."

On that appointed day, Fangping indeed arrived. He then sent a messenger to invite Magu to join them. She appeared to be a young woman of about eighteen years. Once she was seated, she brought out her own traveling kitchen to serve the guests. Among the delicacies was shredded unicorn jerky. Unicorn jerky (linpu): A mythical food of the immortals, often cited in Daoist hagiographies as a sign of divine status. All the serving vessels were crafted from pure gold and jade.

Cai Jing noticed that Magu’s hands resembled bird claws. Magu is famously depicted with long, talon-like fingernails. He thought privately to himself: "If my back ever had an itch, it would be wonderful to have those claws to scratch it!"

Wang Fangping, sensing the man's disrespectful thoughts, immediately had Cai Jing whipped across the back. He scolded him, saying: "Magu is a divine personage! How dare you imagine her claws could be used to scratch your itchy back?"

After the banquet was finished, Fangping departed, and Magu likewise took her leave.