The bamboo stick transforms into a dragon, which means a metaphor for attaining the Tao and becoming an immortal, and also refers to a person who attains the Tao of immortals.
Origin of the idiom
The idiom comes from "The Legend of Immortals" by Ge Hong of Jin Dynasty: "Worried about not being able to get home, the Duke gave it a bamboo branch and said: 'But riding on this, I can get home.' The bamboo stick he was riding in the room was gone, and he suddenly arrived home... The bamboo stick he was riding on was abandoned in Gepi, and he looked at it as a green dragon ear. The dragon story happened in Gepi Lake, Runan County, Eastern Han Dynasty, which is now Xianwengmiao Village, Donghedian Town, Pingyu County, Henan Province (called Gepi Village in ancient times, because the Xianweng Temple to commemorate Fei Changfang was built at the west end of the village, and was later named after it). Mingxian Wengmiao Village).
Jin Gehong's "Biography of Immortals·Hu Gong" Fei Changfang of the Han Dynasty learned immortality from Hu Gong and said goodbye. "Worried that he would not be able to get home, the Duke gave him a bamboo stick and said: 'But riding on this will get you home. Ear. "The bamboo stick left by the house suddenly seemed to be sleeping, and it was already home... The bamboo stick it was riding on was abandoned in Gebei, and it turned out to be a green dragon ear."
There are many legends about wearing the stick to become a dragon. . According to the "Biography of Immortals" in Hanzhong Quexia, Huzi Xian lived for more than a hundred years. "At night, an immortal arrived holding two bamboo poles. Huzi Xian rode on it, which was a dragon, and went up to Huayin Mountain." "The Legend of Immortals" also records that "the 'Susheng Bamboo' held by Su Xiangong is definitely a dragon." Deng Deming's "Nankang Ji" has Chen Lin, a Han craftsman, who tried to ride a dragon back home at night. "When the dragon arrived home, it turned into a green bamboo stick." "wait.
Ge Hong
Ge Hong (about 283 years to about 363 years), whose courtesy name was Zhichuan, also known as Baopuzi, was known as Xiaoxianweng in the world. Jiangsu) people. Taoist priests, Taoist scholars, alchemists, medical scientists, and scientists during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Ge Hong was born into a wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River. He lost his father at the age of 13 and his family fell into decline. Since the age of 16, he has read extensively in classics, history, and hundreds of schools of thought, and is famous for his Confucianism. Later he learned Taoism from the alchemist Zheng Yin. In the second year of Tai'an in the Western Jin Dynasty (303), Zhang Chang and Shi Bing rebelled in Yangzhou. The governor-general Gu Mi appointed Ge Hong as the commander-in-chief of the generals. Because of his merits in breaking the ice, he was promoted to General Fubo. After the uprising was put down, he abandoned his army and released his armor.
In the first year of Yongxing (304), he went to Luoyang to search for strange books to expand his knowledge. At that time, the Eight Kings were in chaos, and they were displaced in the Xu and Henan states. They suffered from the war, so they became passive and cynical, and then began to think of living in the mountains and forests, taking food and nourishing their bodies. He returned to his hometown in the fourth year of Jianxing (316 years). After the founding of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, in memory of his old merits, he was given the title of Marquis of Guannei.
At the beginning of Xianhe (326-334), Situ Wang Dao summoned Ge Hong to serve as the governor of Buzhou, transferred him to Situ Peng, and moved to consult to join the army. Ge Hong heard that Jiaozhi produced cinnabar, so he asked to be appointed as the magistrate. When he was passing through Guangzhou on his way to his appointment, the governor Deng Yue expressed his willingness to provide his raw materials to make elixirs in Luofu Mountain. Ge Hong then decided to stop his trip to take office and lived in seclusion in Luofu Mountain.
Ge Hong built Nan Nunnery in front of Zhuming Cave, where he practiced alchemy, wrote books and lectured. As the number of scholars increased, he built three more nunneries in the east, west and north. He later died in the first year of Xingning in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (363).
Ge Hong wrote one hundred volumes of "Yuhan Prescriptions" (lost) and three volumes of "Emergency Prescriptions". There are 86 chapters in the "Emergency Prescriptions". Although it was supplemented by Tao Hongjing of the Liang Dynasty and Yang Yongdao of the Jin Dynasty, there are only 68 chapters in the existing "Zhengtong Dao Zang". In addition, there are twenty volumes of "Baopuzi Neipian" and other works. He sorted out various alchemy techniques that were popular at the time, wrote books on alchemy, and became a figure who connected the past and the future in the history of alchemy.
It had a profound influence on the development of alchemy in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. His works provided precious historical materials for the study of the history of alchemy and ancient chemistry in China.