Speaking of the word "immortal", everyone is familiar with it. The "immortals" satisfies people's various worship and reverie, and integrates the people's expectations for "good and evil will eventually be rewarded" and the royal nobles' desire for immortality.
"Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" as one of the famous mythological stories in China, in which the storyline can be described as unknown to everyone and everyone. In fact, before the Ming Dynasty, there were many theories about the members of the Eight Immortals. Later, Wu Yuantai of the Ming Dynasty defined the "Eight Immortals" as the "Eight Immortals" in the Journey to the East: Tie Quan Li, Han Zhongli, Zhang Guolao, Lü Dongbin, He Xianggu, Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi, and Cao Guo's uncle. So far, this statement has been passed down to this day.
In books, periodicals or film and television works, the Eight Immortals are high-ranking and benevolent people with great supernatural powers, saving lives and helping the injured, and are deeply loved by the people. Today, we will take a closer look at one of the eight immortals, Cao Guo's uncle.
For the sake of officials, they are unkind, and they harm the innocent
The only immortal among the Eight Immortals who held important official positions and heavy powers was this Uncle Cao Guo. According to legend, Cao Guo's uncle was originally named Cao Jingxiu, his father was Cao Bin, the chancellor of the dynasty, and his sister was Cao Shi, the empress dowager of Emperor Renzong of Song at that time, as a relative of the emperor, he later sat firmly as an uncle. However, such an uncle of a high status is a clumsy disciple who does not distinguish between right and wrong, and is not kind to officials. It is even more infamous that it is almost saved from being put on the spot, which can be described as infamous.
According to legend, Cao Guo's uncle had a younger brother who regarded himself as a relative of the emperor and the state, and it was common for him to forcibly commit evil, rob and oppress the people. One day, a person who went to Beijing to take the exam Xiucai and his wife went to Beijing to take the exam, and Cao Guo's uncle's brother coveted xiucai's wife's beauty and wanted to take her for himself, so he managed to kill Xiucai. Later, the Qing official Bao Zheng dreamed that Xiu Caituo dreamed of complaining about the grievances, and when he woke up, he decided to grant a thorough investigation at this time. When Uncle Cao Guo found out, he hurriedly informed his brother that he must cut the grass and remove the roots and kill Xiucai's wife as soon as possible.
So The second uncle threw Xiucai's wife into the well, but did not want to be escaped by her, Xiucai's wife later mistook Cao Guo's uncle for Bao Zheng and complained to Cao Guo's uncle, who ordered xiucai's wife to be quietly killed and threw her body into the distance. But fortunately, Xiucai's wife did not die, she found Bao Gong to face to face to complain about the injustice, Bao Gong asked the truth and managed to imprison Cao Guo's uncle.
He also tricked the uncle of the second country into giving the woman the opportunity to appeal her grievances in person. Later, he sent The Second Uncle to prison. After Empress Cao heard this, she asked Emperor Renzong of Song to personally persuade Bao Zheng to absolve the two younger brothers of their guilt, but Bao Zheng refused. In a hurry, Song Renzong had no choice but to use amnesty for the world as an excuse, and Bao Gong released Cao Guo's uncle.
Escape from death and go into the mountains to practice
After Cao Guo's uncle was released, he spent all day introspecting himself and finally realized something, so he decided to go into the mountains to practice. One day, Uncle Cao Guo went to the outskirts to travel in the spring, because the scenery in front of him was very good, which made him feel particularly comfortable, just at this moment, from not far away came a miserable cry, which became louder and louder, causing him to feel pity. He rode away on horseback and saw an old woman not far away, ragged and disheveled, crouching at the head of the grave and crying loudly, still muttering something in her mouth from time to time.
After some inquiry. It turned out that the old woman was a dead son, and she was a son who was dying in pain. However, her son did not die of illness, but was killed. Uncle Cao Guo was very angry when he heard this: "It is really hateful that there are such lawless gangsters who kill other people's lives in the world!" Then, the old woman came to the horse and said sadly, "It was the inferior uncle Cao Guo who killed my son and robbed my daughter-in-law."
When the old woman learned from the mouth of the next person that it was Cao Guo's uncle who was sitting immediately, her face was pale, her eyes were full of resentment, and while insulting Cao Guo's uncle, she tried to use all her strength to try to die with the murderer in front of her and avenge her son.
In the course of the struggle between the two sides, the horse was enraged, raised its head and let go of its hooves and galloped, at which point the old woman desperately tugged at the horse's tail. The horse raised its hind hooves and hoofed the old woman's foot, and in an instant the old woman fell to the ground and quickly swallowed her breath. Seeing this scene, Uncle Cao Guo's face turned miserable and he sighed desperately: "Alas! To do such a lawless thing and to maim innocent people is really a deep sin, and it is a vain uncle of a country! The crowd was very confused when they heard this, and thought to themselves, why would Uncle Cao Guo admit that he was the son of the old woman he killed?
It turned out that this incident was because cao Guo's uncle's younger brother, who had always been a bully, and by virtue of his prominent status, he had no king's law and did evil deeds. Uncle Cao Guo had repeatedly advised his brother to do less evil and do more good, and to kill himself if he did more unrighteousness, but his brother never paid attention to it. Uncle Cao Guo was very sad and angry about this, so he decided to immediately enlighten Song Renzong and arrest his brother and bring him to justice. Unfortunately, when he returned to the palace, he heard that his brother had absconded in fear of his crime.
Abandoning officials and hiding in disguise, they are incarnated as immortals
Uncle Cao Guo was deeply ashamed of his brother and what he had done, he felt bitter, he was tired of the officialdom and the world, and only wanted to cultivate hard, and the poor people who were in the depths of the water to help them get out of the sea of suffering and thus achieve happiness. So he decided to use all his family wealth for public welfare and charity to help the poor and helpless people. In the end, he decided to say goodbye to his family and friends, take off his official clothes and hats, get rid of the shackles of fame and fortune, retire to the world, return to the mountains and forests, and concentrate on his cultivation. A few years later, he had reached the state of mind and tao.
One day, Uncle Cao Guo accidentally met two immortals, Zhong Liquan and Lü Dongbin, and when he met the immortals for the first time, he was very excited and rushed forward to greet them. Then, the two immortals asked him, "What are you cultivating now?" Uncle Cao Guo said, "I am raising the Tao." The Second Immortal asked, "Where is the Tao?" At this time, Uncle Cao Guo thought about it a little and gestured with his finger to the sky. The two asked, "Then, where is the heavens?" Uncle Cao Pointed his finger at his heart. The two immortals smiled and replied, "The heart is heaven, and heaven is the Tao." Very good, it seems that you have already had an epiphany!" So he decided to teach him the secret art, and after painstaking cultivation, the two immortals successfully induced Cao Guo's uncle to become a fairy and became one of the eight immortals of Taoism.
epilogue:
In reality, everyone will make mistakes, which can be said to be inevitable, but we must learn to have an epiphany in time, turn around early, and not continue to cling to enlightenment. As one of the five major religions in China, Taoism has a profound and long-term impact on the economic and social development of ancient china and even now, so the wisdom of Taoism is very worthy of in-depth study.
As one of the Eight Immortals, Uncle Cao Guo was also notorious, but because he realized it in time and actively practiced good deeds and self-cultivation, he could also become an immortal. This is Taoism admonishing people that it is not terrible to make mistakes, as long as they reflect in time, the prodigal son turns back and acts toward good, he can redeem himself and achieve himself.
References: "Zuo Chuan, XuanGong 2nd Year", "Journey to the East"