Zhang Guolao

Zhang Guolao’s given name was Guo; he was a historically attested Tang-dynasty Daoist adept who dwelled in seclusion on Zhongtiao Mountain. He claimed to have lived since the era of Emperor Yao, and though repeatedly summoned by Empress Wu Zetian and Emperor Xuanzong, he refused to appear—until finally invited to court by Emperor Xuanzong, who verified his many miraculous abilities and bestowed upon him the honorific title Master Tongxuan (‘Master of Profound Mysteries’). According to the Minghuang Zalu (Miscellaneous Records of Emperor Xuanzong), he excelled in embryonic breathing (taixi) and longevity techniques; his white donkey could travel tens of thousands of li in a single day, and when resting, could be folded flat like paper, then restored to its full form when ridden. Folklore recounts his habit of riding the donkey backwards—a tale often linked to a legend that he had secretly consumed an elixir soup and thus feared exposure to the sun and moon, prompting him to ride facing backward. Zhang Guolao wandered widely throughout the land, using yugu drumming and daoqing chanting to deliver cautionary, world-awakening verses. Revered as the most witty and sagacious among the Eight Immortals, Zhang Guolao Mountain in Xingtai is traditionally believed to be his site of cultivation and practice.