THE EIGHT IMMORTALS OF THE TAOIST RELIGIOX 6& 



♦ 



birth were as long as those of a three years old infant, and he 

 did not cry nor eat for seven days." When grown up, he 

 became a general, and soon rose high in the royal favour. 



Now it was a military campaign against one of the 

 Mongolian tribes ttfc |f which brought about his change of 

 official life to that of an ascetic. He was placed in command 

 of 500,000 troops and advanced to meet the invaders. It is 

 not necessary to recount the battles and details of the 

 campaign here. He was at first successful. While the 

 battle was raging, Li T'ieh-kuai happened to pass by, 

 mounted on the clouds. He mused to himself, "behold 

 there is Chung-li who by right ought to be transmigrated 

 now, and transcend the cosmos f§ /L But he is slow of 

 understanding, and is bent on acquiring honours, and fame. 

 Suppose he should be completely triumphant, he would be 

 raised to higher official ranks, and would be too much 

 absorbed in worldly lust, and thus prevented from attaining 

 to Tao. I will now turn the tide of victory, make him dis- 

 comfited, and take refuge in a lonely place, then he will 

 avoid folly, enter into understanding $ a$> A % and ascend 

 the realm of the genii. " 



He transformed himself therefore into an old man, and 

 alighted before the camp of the crestfallen, foreign general, 

 to whom he disclosed the strategem whereby he could rout 

 Chung's army, and the battle was resumed. 



In the struggle that followed, Chung was utterly de- 

 feated, and escaped with one horse. In his state of destitu- 

 tion in the wilderness, and in his desperation of spirit, he 

 met a foreign monk, to whom he addressed himself and asked 

 for direction. The monk led him several miles to the hamlet 

 belonging to ^ W ft &• 



Here, Chung-li met with the hospitality of this old man, 

 who advised him to relinquish ambitions. Chung-li, mean- 

 while, found him agreeable, and desired to be taught the 

 secret of life. 



Thenceforth, Chung-li learned to train his life in the 

 "three-peak mountain." There was at the time a great 

 famine and many were the victims. One of Chung-li's works 

 was to transmute the baser metals, copper and pewter, into 

 silver by amalgamating them with some mysterious drug. 

 This treasure he distributed among the poor, and thousands 

 of lives were thus saved. 



One day he was meditating alone at a place called 

 m ?K £ #£ i P9 It <& All of a sudden the stone wall 

 rent asunder, with a loud sound, and a jade casket was seen 

 in it. It was opened and found to contain secret information 

 as to how to become an Immortal. 



