Is there really a person like Zuo Ci in history?

There really was a person like Zuo Ci in history.

Zuo Ci (156?--289?), named Yuanfang, was from Lujiang, Han nationality, and his Taoist name was Mr. Wujiao. He was a famous alchemist in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He lived in Tianzhu Mountain for a long time and studied the art of alchemy. He learned the Five Classics, understood the stars and latitudes, learned Taoism, and learned Liujia. It is said that he can command ghosts and gods, and he can cook while sitting.

Zuo Ci was proficient in the Five Classics, knew the magic of the house, and also knew astrology. From the astrology, he predicted that the Han Dynasty would be exhausted, the country would decline, and the world would be in chaos. He sighed and said: "In these troubled times, Among them, those with high official positions are more difficult to protect themselves, and those with more money are more likely to die. Therefore, you must not covet the glory and wealth in the world!"

So Zuo Ci began to learn Taoism and became proficient in "Qi Men Dun Jia". , can drive ghosts and gods to conjure delicious food while sitting. Zuo Ci practiced Taoism hard in Tianzhu Mountain, and got a copy of the "Nine Pills and Golden Liquid Sutra" ("Dunjia Tianshu" in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms) in a cave, and learned the magic of fasting to make himself changeable. , there are so many spells that I can’t even remember them.

The "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" says that he rarely had the divine way. Ge Hong's "Baopuzi Jindan Chapter" records that Zuo Ci was Ge Xuan's teacher. There are three volumes of "Tai Qing Dan Jing", one volume each of "Jiuding Dan Jing" and "Jin Ye Dan Jing". Cao Zhi's "Bian Dao Lun" said that he was good at Fangzhongshu. According to relevant historical records, after sixty or seventy years of practice, he became an immortal after his death. Ge Hong's "The Legend of Immortals" also said that he can control ghosts and gods (understanding the heavenly stems and earthly branches), and can change and resist grain.

Extended information

After Cao Cao heard about Zuo Ci in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, he summoned Zuo Ci and locked him in a stone house. He sent people to monitor him and did not give him food for a year. After a year, he was released and found that he was still the same as before. Cao Cao believed that there was no reason for people in the world not to eat. Zuo Ci had not eaten for a year, so he must be a heretic and wanted to kill him.

Zuo Ci knew about Cao Cao's idea of ​​killing Zuo Ci together, and asked Cao Cao to spare his life and let him go home. Cao Cao said: "Why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Zuo Ci said: "You want to kill me, so I ask you to let me go." Cao Cao said: "No, no, how could I kill you? Since you have noble I won't force you to stay."

Cao Cao hosted a banquet for Zuo Ci. Zuo Ci said, "I am about to leave, and I would like to share a drink with you." Cao Cao agreed. It was very cold at that time, and the wine was soaking in the fire. Zuo Ci took off the hairpin from his head and stirred the wine. In a moment, the hairpin dissolved into the wine, just like ink dissolves into water when grinding ink.

At first, when Cao Cao saw Zuo Ci asking for a "shared cup of wine", he thought he drank half the cup first and then gave Zuo Ci the remaining half cup. Unexpectedly, Zuo Ci first used the Dao hairpin to handle the wine. I scratched my wine glass, and it split into two halves. There was wine in both halves, but they were several inches apart. Zuo Ci drank half of the cup first and gave the other half to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was not very happy and did not drink it immediately, so Zuo Ci asked Cao Cao for it and drank it himself. After drinking, he threw the cup onto the beam. The cup swayed in the air like a bird about to swoop down to the ground. It was about to fall but not fall. All the guests at the banquet looked up at the wine glass. For a long time, the cup It just fell down, but Zuo Ci was also missing. When I inquired about it, I learned that Zuo Ci had returned to his own residence.

When the Tang Dynasty writer Li Han collected various ancient and modern allusions to compile "Mengqiu", he also deliberately included the allusion of "Zuo Ci throwing a cup".

Baidu Encyclopedia-Zuo Ci (Taoist figure of Eastern Han Dynasty)