Zhang Sanfeng, this great figure, with his extraordinary life experience, has become a generation of grandmasters written by Jin Yong, a poor Taoist priest in the eyes of Ming and Qing scholars, and an idol in the hearts of the Ming Emperor.
His legendary life has undoubtedly left a valuable legacy for future generations.
The date of Zhang Sanfeng's birth is still disputed, some believe that he was from the time of Emperor Lizong of the Southern Song Dynasty, while others believe that he was born in the first year of the Yuan Dynasty. Because he acted casually and unrestrained, he got the name of "Zhang Sloppy".
It is rumored that Zhang Sanfeng died in the second year of Ming Shun (1458), and if calculated in this way, his life expectancy is about 200 years old. Although this claim is slightly unscientific, due to the lack of conclusive information, we can only accept it.
Zhang Sanfeng is a well-traveled person, and legend has it that he wears only one piece of clothing in spring, summer, autumn and winter, and can even go without eating or drinking for several days. But the most amazing thing is that he can see the future.
After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Sanfeng called himself the "Great Yuan Relic Elder", and his whereabouts were mysterious. Zhu Yuanzhang asked him twice to face the saint, but he ignored it. In the end, Zhang Sanfeng left Wudang Mountain and started a new journey.
In Yunnan, he met his old friend Shen Wansan, and the two were full of emotion and recalled the jokes of the year.
Zhu Di had a whim in the early years of Yongle and wanted to meet the legendary Zhang Sanfeng, so he sent Hu Guang, a scholar, to find him. Hu Guang went through a lot of hardships and visited all over the country, but he still did not find Zhang Sanfeng, let alone meet.
Even if they met, Zhang Sanfeng would not ignore Zhu Di. However, Zhu Di did not give up because of this. In the tenth year of Yongle, he built many Taoist temples and remembered Zhang Sanfeng again.
He found Hu Guang and asked him to try to find it again. This time, Hu Guang's luck was not much better than the last time, and he still failed to find Zhang Sanfeng. Zhu Di was very dissatisfied with this, and scolded Hu Guang in front of him for being a rice bucket.
Hu Guang was so frightened that he promised Zhu Di that he would definitely find Zhang Sanfeng, and the emperor opened up and let him make meritorious contributions. After Zhang Sanfeng learned of this, he couldn't bear to see Hu Guang being implicated because of him, and he expressed his gratitude to Hu Guang for his sincerity.
In the end, he still met Hu Guang and entrusted him with the health secrets he had personally written. Hu Guang finally had a satisfactory answer, because Zhu Di had no objection to Zhang Sanfeng's health secret, and he did not embarrass Hu Guang anymore.
Zhang Sanfeng died in the second year of Tianshun, and Ming Yingzong awarded him the title of "real person through microscopic manifestation". Emperor Xianzong believed in Taoism and named Zhang Sanfeng as "Taoguang Shangzhi True Immortal". Emperor Jiajing respected Zhang Sanfeng, regarded him as an immortal, and even legend has it that he got the blood meridian written by him himself before his death, so he named him "Qingxu Yuan Miao Zhenjun".
Many Ming emperors had a keen interest in immortality and spent their lives searching for this legendary Taoist priest, which is undoubtedly absurd.