Cheng Daoren

Cheng Daoren, his name is hidden. He was from Licheng (one in the north of today's Xihe County, Gansu Province, and the other in the east of today's Ningjin County, Hebei Province, to be verified - Editor). According to the Qing Dynasty's "Continued Compilation of Junzhou Annals, Volume 16, Miscellaneous Chronicles", citing Wang Ruanting's "Occasional Talks in the North of the Pool", in the 27th year of the Kangxi reign (1688 AD), Jiang Kai (courtesy name Chenliu), the governor of Junzhou, visited Wudang. When he saw a person whose hair was curled up, he called out, "The Daoist who shrank his head." This Taoist has long, grizzled temples, a short beard and completely black hair at the back of his head. His hair is abundant and long. His teeth are fair and firm, his face looks like that of a seventy-year-old, and he eats and walks as if he were in his youth. He claimed his surname was Cheng and was from Licheng. From the 30th year of the Jiajing reign (1551 AD) to the early year of the Wanli reign (1573 AD), he practiced Taoism in Yunmeng Mountain for twenty-two years. During the Wanli reign, he once treated the back abscesses of Xiao Shu and Xiao Daheng from Jinan to Tai 'an Prefecture. Later, he roamed around. In the early Qing Dynasty, he arrived at Putuo Mountain and later moved to Zhongzhou, traveling between Huaiqing (now Qinyang County, Henan Province) and Nanyang. He came to Wudang during the Shunzhi reign (1652 AD) and later left. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, he returned to Wudang Mountain and built a thatched cottage beside the Seven-star Tree. According to the time Jiang Kai saw, Cheng Daoren was actually over 150 years old. The details of the funeral are unknown.