Zhang Guo is always one of the Eight Immortals in ancient Chinese myths and legends, and has extensive influence among the people. The following China story net editor has brought you relevant content to share with you.
Zhang Guo, whose old name is Zhang Guo, is a real person in history. He was probably a Taoist and alchemist in the Tang Dynasty, and later he was attached to the society as an immortal. His life is unknown. It is said that he has written Taoist classics, such as the book of miraculous medicine for immortals to attain Taoism, the Dan Sha Jue, the true secret of the great God of the jade cave, and so on.
The myth of Zhang Guolao first appeared in the miscellaneous records of the Ming emperor, and it is also recorded in the new language of the Tang Dynasty. The book of the new Tang Dynasty ยท biography of Zhang Guolao is basically based on this. In the song and Yuan Dynasties, his story was further expanded and improved, becoming one of the “Eight Immortals”.
It is said that Zhang Guo is from Guangzong, Xingzhou. He lives in seclusion in Xiangyang Tiaoshan and often travels between Xingming. When Wu Zetian arrived, some people said that he was hundreds of years old. But according to Zhang Guo, he was a servant in the Emperor Yao’s time. By the early years of the Tang Dynasty, he had lived for more than 3000 years. He often rode on a white donkey, and he rode backwards. The donkey could travel thousands of miles a day. At rest, he folded the donkey like paper and put it in a box. When he wanted to ride, the paper donkey became a real donkey again with a spray of water.
Both Emperor Taizong and Emperor Gaozong wanted to summon Zhang Guo, but he didn’t go. Later, Wu Zetian sent someone to invite him. He followed the envoy on the road. When he came to a place called “jealous women’s temple”, she pretended to be dead and fell straight on the road. Soon, even the body decayed. The envoy had to go back and report to Wu Zetian.
In the 23rd year of Kaiyuan (735), Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty heard that Zhang Guolao was not dead, so he sent his envoy Peiwu to Zhongtiao Mountain to invite him. Pei Mei saw that Zhang Guo’s old teeth were white and he was very humble. He looked down on him. Old Zhang Guo fell to the ground and died again. Pei Wu was so scared that he quickly burned incense and prayed. Old Zhang Guo slowly woke up, but he still refused to go to the palace to see the emperor. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty thought Pei Wu was incompetent, so he sent Xuqiao, the Buddhist monk of the middle school, to invite Zhang Guolao with his seal.
This time, Zhang Guolao followed the emissary into the palace. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty asked him, “Sir, those who have attained the Tao also do so. Why do your teeth decay so?” Zhangguolao replied, “I got it when my teeth fell and my hair was thin, so I had to look like this. Now your majesty sees the question, it would be better to send all his teeth away.” Then he pulled out all his hair and knocked out all his teeth. Emperor Xuanzong hurriedly said, “why is this so, sir? Let’s go and have a rest.” After a while, Zhang Guolao came out, and his face changed greatly. “Green temples and white teeth, more mature”, Tang Xuanzong was very surprised.
Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty still had doubts about Zhang Guolao’s Taoism, so he asked xinghepu, who was good at calculating people’s lifespan, to give him fortune telling. Xinghepu calculated for a long time, but could not calculate Zhang Guo’s age at all. There was also a Taoist named “night light”. He was good at seeing ghosts. Xuanzong asked him to see Zhang Guo. He asked, “where is Zhang Guo?” Face to face but not see. Xuanzong asked the magician yefashan about the origin of Zhang Guo. Yefashan said, “I dare not say it. I will die if I say it.” Xuanzong insisted that he say that ye FA was good at saying, “Zhang Guo was a white bat spirit at the beginning of chaos.” Then he fell to the ground and died. Xuanzong pleaded with Zhang Guo, who saved him.
Another time, Xuanzong hunted and caught a big deer. As soon as the chef was about to kill the deer, Zhang Guolao saw it and stopped it. He said, “this is a fairy deer. It is over a thousand years old. When Emperor Hanwu hunted, I followed behind. Although Emperor Hanwu captured the deer, he later released it.” Xuanzong said, “there are so many deer in the world. After so long, how do you know this is the one you said?” Zhang Guolao said, “when Emperor Wu set him free, he marked it with a bronze medal at the bottom of his left corner.” Xuanzong asked people to check. There was indeed a two inch bronze medal, but the handwriting was blurred. Xuanzong asked, “how many years has it been since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty hunting?” “It has been 852 years now,” said Zhang Guolao Xuanzong asked someone to check it. It’s not bad at all.
Xuanzong admired Zhang Guolao very much, so he was given the official position of “doctor Yinqing Guanglu” and the title of “Mr. tongxuan”. Xuanzong had a younger sister, Princess Yuzhen, who also liked Taoism. Xuanzong wanted to marry her to Zhang Guolao. Unexpectedly, Zhang Guolao resolutely refused to accept it, and sang: “marry a woman and get a princess, and ten places will be promoted to the government. People think it’s pleasant, but I think it’s terrible.” After singing, he laughed, then took out the paper donkey and rode away upside down.
Later, some people saw Zhang Guo wandering around, beating the fishing drum Jian ban, preaching Daoism and persuading the world. As a result, people said that Zhang Guolao was a Taoist priest.
In ancient times, someone wrote a poem to praise Zhang Guolao:
There are no more people in the world than this old man.
Instead of riding a donkey upside down, look back.
In the story of zhangguolao, the image of him riding a donkey upside down is the most impressive and widely spread among the people. It is said that one day when Zhang Guolao came to the Zhaozhou Bridge, he asked the local people, “can my donkey cross the bridge?” People laughed and said, “this bridge is extremely strong. I don’t know how many horses and carriages it has passed. Even elephants can pass, not to mention you, little donkey.” Zhangguolao rode his donkey to the bridge. The bridge began to shake. After a few more steps, the bridge almost fell apart. It is said that until now, the footprints of donkey’s hooves on the bridge are still there. Disclaimer: the above content originates from the Internet, and the copyright belongs to the original author. Please inform us if your original copyright is infringed, and we will delete the relevant content as soon as possible.