Wu Meng

Wu Meng was a celebrated Daoist master of the Eastern Jin dynasty, originally from Puyang (though some sources claim he was from Nanchang). He studied under the Daoist adept Ding Yi and mastered divine prescriptions and esoteric methods. Renowned for his filial piety, he features in the classical 'Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars' for the episode 'Allowing Mosquitoes to Feast on His Blood'. Legend holds that his Daoist arts were profoundly advanced: he cured illnesses with talisman-infused water, and once joined his disciple Yu Jian to subdue a destructive flood dragon, commanding deities through talismanic division—his fame thus spread widely. Xu Xun became his disciple, and later generations of the Jingming Dao tradition venerated Wu Meng as Xu Xun’s master, bestowing upon him the honorific title 'Lord Wu Zhenjun'; the two are jointly revered as 'Wu and Xu'. It is said that Wu Meng ascended to immortality astride a white deer during the reign of Emperor Mu of Jin. His image is enshrined as a secondary deity at Jingming Dao temples such as the Wanshou Gong on Xishan Mountain in Jiangxi, and in the Jiangyou region, local communities historically invoked Lord Wu Zhenjun’s talismans for protection against epidemics and flooding.