Li Chengyu

Li Chengyu, today the Yuxu Palace on Wudang Mountain is located on Miaokun Road. Li Chengyu was born on the 26th day of the sixth lunar month in the 22nd year of the Guangxu reign (1896 AD), in a poor peasant family on Shi 'an Street, Yunyang Prefecture, Hubei Province (now Yun County). My father made a living by doing odd jobs for the rich families in the city all year round. Due to her poor family circumstances, Li Chengyu was given away as a child bride at the age of six. My husband's family is surnamed Yang and they live in Longtanwan, Yunyang. They are also a poor family. After the Yang family grew up, Li Chengyu made a living by working outside cooking. Due to overwork, he fell ill and had no money for medical treatment. So he went to Wudang Mountain with his fellow villagers to offer incense and pray that the Taoist priests in the temple would remain extremely cautious. Master Zhang was highly skilled in medicine. After his meticulous treatment, Li Chengyu's tuberculosis was finally cured. So, Li Chengyu resolutely left his home and entered the Taoist path, going to the Golden Flower Tree (also known as the Chongxu Nunnery, which was mostly inhabited by the Kundao), and was admitted as the 24th generation disciple of the Longmen Sect of Wudang. After Li Chengyu entered the Tao, he was content with a simple and unassuming life, devoted himself to cultivation, did not reveal any tricks, and widely performed good deeds. She is proficient in internal alchemy and has learned Wudang Wenquan. Although uneducated, he has an extremely high level of comprehension. All the classics of the Quanzhen School can be thoroughly understood and memorized after being taught by his master. Since the 1950s, she has been living in seclusion in the Yuxu Palace. Whenever an old Taoist priest in any temple fell ill, she would personally go to offer her support, mending and washing, sparing no effort. During the decades I lived in the Yuxu Palace, all the donations I raised were used for the restoration of the palace, receiving fellow Taoists from all directions, hosting believers and helping the poor. Up to now, Li Chengyu is still alive at the age of 98. With her meager income, she has been taking in more than ten disciples of the Gu family who are devoted to her master up to now. Several years ago, Master Li accidentally broke his pelvis while working. Since then, he has been practicing meditation on his couch. Although she is already ninety-eight years old, she still has no hearing loss, no blurred vision, no missing teeth and a sharp mind. Master Li is extremely talkative. In recent years, when I have interviewed her several times, she has always been willing to answer any questions raised. Moreover, she is very particular about monastic life, laypeople, society, and life. Insights such as suffering and joy, poverty and wealth, the alchemy and the human way, etc., all have their unique aspects and are highly respected by people today. Master Li also has a very convincing predictive function. In 1994, the author interviewed Master Li again. She showed the pen the skin on her hand: it was bright and shiny, as clean as jade. Even more astonishingly, in recent years she has been constantly growing new black hair. He can be regarded as an extraordinary figure of his generation in Wudang.