Friday, May 24, 2024

249 Li Shaojun

A12.5|6

At that time, there was a Li Shaojun who was said that he could achieve immortality by offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God and not eating nor excreting, and only then was he able to meet the emperor. And the emperor had deep respect for him. Li Shaojun was the former servant in charge of medicinal materials in the mansion of Marquis Shen Ze. He concealed his age and birthplace, often saying that he was seventy years old and could control ghosts and spirits to prevent himself from aging. He traveled all over the world under the pretext of seeking spiritual enlightenment, and had no wife or children. When people heard that he could control ghosts and spirits and that he would never die, they offered him gifts, so he often received plenty of money, silk, clothing, and delicious food. People thought that he could be very rich without running a business, and they didn't know where he came from, so they trusted him even more and vied to serve him. Li Shaojun was naturally fond of alchemy and was good at taking advantage of opportunities to make inferences and guesses, which could then be confirmed. He once attended a banquet with Marquis Wu'an Tian Fen. Among the guests was an old man in his nineties. Li Shaojun talked about the hunting and shooting spots that he and the old man's grandfather had visited. The old man knew what the place he described was like because he had been there with his grandfather when he was a child. All the guests present were shocked. Once, Li Shaojun paid a visit to the emperor. The emperor happened to have obtained an ancient bronze ware, so he asked Li Shaojun about the age of the bronze ware. Li Shaojun said: "This bronze vessel was displayed on the Baiqin Terrace in the tenth year of Duke Huan of Qi." The emperor immediately checked the words on the bronze ware and found that it was indeed a bronze ware from the time of Duke Huan of Qi. Everyone in the palace was shocked and thought that Li Shaojun was truly a god and had lived for hundreds of years. 

Li Shaojun said to the emperor: "Sacrificing to the Kitchen God can summon the gods, and summoning the gods can refine cinnabar into gold, and then use the gold to make utensils for eating and drinking. Using these utensils can increase life span. After the life span is increased, you can see the immortals on Penglai Island in the East China Sea. After seeing the Penglai immortals and starting the Fengshan ceremony, you can achieve immortality. This is how Huangdi achieved immortality. I once traveled on the sea and met An Qisheng by chance. He made me eat a huge date, which was about the size of a melon. An Qisheng is an immortal who often communicates with other immortals on Penglai Island. If he thinks he is compatible with you, he will appear to meet you; if he thinks he is not compatible with you, he will disappear. So the emperor began to worship the Kitchen God himself, and sent alchemists to the East China Sea to look for people like Anqisheng and the immortals on Penglai Island. He also tried to mix cinnabar with various other medicines to refine it into gold.

是时而李少君亦以祠灶、谷道、卻老方见上,上尊之。少君者,故深泽侯入以主方。匿其年及所生长,常自谓七十,能使物,卻老。其游以方遍诸侯。无妻子。人闻其能使物及不死,更馈遗之,常余金钱帛衣食。人皆以为不治产业而饶给,又不知其何所人,愈信,争事之。少君资好方,善为巧发奇中。尝从武安侯饮,坐中有年九十余老人,少君乃言与其大父游射处,老人为儿时从其大父行,识其处,一坐尽惊。少君见上,上有故铜器,问少君。少君曰:“此器齐桓公十年陈于柏寝。”已而案其刻,果齐桓公器。一宫尽骇,以少君为神,数百岁人也。

少君言于上曰:“祠灶则致物,致物而丹沙可化为黄金,黄金成以为饮食器则益寿,益寿而海中蓬莱仙者可见,见之以封禅则不死,黄帝是也。臣尝游海上,见安期生,食臣枣,大如瓜。安期生仙者,通蓬莱中,合则见人,不合则隐。”于是天子始亲祠灶,而遣方士入海求蓬莱安期生之属,而事化丹沙诸药齐为黄金矣。

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