南嶽總勝集 3.51

3.51

皇甫。名渙。字致遠。開封人也。賦性閑淡。有敏識卓見。修舉業之暇。尤妙於三玄。知命不負學作黃冠。在京東太一宮受業。舉止狀義而不明。政和初　朝廷興道學。先生向化。次年攻試。辟雍作魁　聖覽程文□金壇郎不就乞換自在公患野裝游歷尋訪於西洛。遇至人憑野人得其道要。後遊南岳。棲淩虛臺會真觀思真已　皇帝詔赴闕居太一宮高士寮。後乞還山居汝水而坐亡。又有蔣風子者。本邵陽之居民。賦性愚直。言無忌憚。人事不入。或有小疵。不拘貴賤面而伸之。周游南嶽。見中嶺陡峻出意修之。亦之知其宿食之所。忽日有樵者慎青巾。負薪而鬻之。曰千辛苦而食用不給。與子一粒藥。吞之力可倍矣。自此但飲酒水而已。衣衫盡棄。寒暑不問。眾謂之曰。風子常倒臥衢路。雖勢位不能屈。毒藥不能加。虎狼無所損。獨行自語。人莫之測。皆逆知人意。逮今見之三十餘年。浩然如故。

Huangfu, whose given name was Huan and courtesy name was Zhiyuan, was a native of Kaifeng. By nature tranquil and detached, he possessed keen insight and outstanding discernment. In his leisure from preparing for the civil examinations, he was especially adept in the Three Mysteries. Knowing his destiny and unwilling to pursue official study in vain, he became a Daoist priest. He received his training at the Dongtai'i Palace in the capital. His demeanor showed righteous conviction, though he was not widely celebrated. At the beginning of the Zhenghe era, the imperial court promoted Daoist learning. The master turned toward its transformative teaching. The following year he took the examinations and placed first at the Biyong Academy. When the Sovereign examined his examination essay, [he was appointed] Gentleman of the Golden Altar, but he declined it and begged to be a free gentleman instead. Suffering from illness, he packed simple travel gear and journeyed to visit and seek teachers in western Luoyang. There he encountered a perfected being through a rustic recluse and obtained the essentials of the Dao. Later he traveled to Nanyue, lodging at Lingxu Terrace, Huizhen Abbey, and Sizhen [Abbey]. Then an imperial edict summoned him to court, where he resided in the High Scholars' Quarters of the Tai'i Palace. Later he begged to return to the mountains, lived by the Ru River, and died while seated in meditation. There was also Jiang the Madman, originally a resident of Shaoyang. By nature simple and blunt, he spoke without fear or reservation. Human affairs did not concern him. If someone had a slight fault, regardless of whether they were noble or base, he would confront them directly with it. He traveled throughout Nanyue, and seeing the steep and precipitous nature of Zhongling, he took it upon himself to repair the path. No one knew where he lodged or ate. One day a woodcutter wearing a blue kerchief carrying firewood for sale suddenly said to him, 'You suffer a thousand hardships yet food and necessities are insufficient. I give you a single pill of medicine; swallow it and your strength will double.' From then on he only drank wine and water. He discarded all his clothes, indifferent to cold and heat. The multitude called him 'the Madman.' He often lay sprawled in the public roads. Even worldly power could not bend him, poison could not harm him, and tigers and wolves could not injure him. He walked alone and talked to himself, and no one could fathom him. Yet he always knew people's thoughts in advance. For more than thirty years up to the present, he has been seen vast and transcendent as before.