The Seven ‘All True’ Greats

Born in Xianyang of Shanxi province (陜西咸陽) in 1113, Wang was a great Taoist master who set his home on fire and told neighbors who came to fight the fire not to do so because he was about to go away to Shandong to preach his gospel. He went to Ninghai (寧梅) in Shandong, where he met a very rich business tycoon.

Ma Yu (馬鈺), the rich merchant, dreamt a dream on the night before Wang arrived in Ninghai. In the dream, Ma saw a white crane rise out of the ground in the south garden of his estate. On the following morning, he went out to the market and met the Taoist master. Wang was invited to stay in the Ma estate because the merchant wanted to learn more about Taoism. A cottage was erected on the spot where Ma saw the white crane rise. It was named Quanzhen an (全真庵) or All True Cottage.

Of course, Wang thought Ma would be a good disciple who, after strenuous Taoist ascetic training, could be his apostle. Ma, however, could not take a vow of poverty out of love for his beautiful wife. One day, the master drew a picture of a skull and showed it to Ma. He meant to tell his would-be disciple that he as well as his wife would go the way of all flesh and what was important was to learn the Tao. Though deeply impressed, Ma could not make up his mind to follow the master.

Subsequently, Wang told Ma that he would shut himself up in the cottage for practicing Taoist, Confucian and Buddhist rules for 100 days and nights. “You should lock the cottage doors from outside and supply me with a meal a day,” the master said to the merchant. It was winter. It was extremely cold within the cottage, which was very drafty. Wang was all right, however. On the day when Ma was about to lock the cottage doors, Wang gave him a pear and told him to cut it into two halves ten days later. “You and your wife should each eat a half of the pear,” Wang said. Ma complied.

In the following 90 days, Wang appeared in the dreams of the couple almost every night to warn them against making love and urge them to practice Taoist rules. On the hundredth day after Wang had secluded himself, Ma and his wife Sun Bu-you (孫不又) decided to follow the master. Ma gave away all his wealth, and together with his wife took a vow of poverty. Ma was given the Taoist name of Danyang zi (丹陽子) or Red Sun. His wife received the name of Qingjing san-ren (清淨散人) or Serenity.

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