Compare the given name of Sun Wukong 孙悟空, the central character in Journey to the West, which literally means "Awaken to Emptiness".
After passing the Imperial examination, he began a career as a civil servant, but was banished to the frontier in Lingnan, where he served as a military commissioner.
Zhang was later transferred to Guilin and Chengdu, where in 1069 he allegedly experienced sudden realization from a Taoist master who instructed him in Neidan internal alchemy.
Zhang wrote the Wuzhen pian, its appendices, and a few other texts, including the Jindan sibai zi (Chinese: 金丹四百字; lit.
Biographical sources agree that Zhang Boduan died in 1082 CE during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song, but disagree whether he was born in 983, 984, or 987.
In the 13th century, Zhang Boduan posthumously became the second of the Five Southern Patriarchs in the so-called Nanzong (南宗; 'Southern Lineage'), which Boltz refers to as "ex post facto".
[11] In Shaanxi, Hong Kong, and Singapore, there are Zhenren Gong (真人宮; 'Real/Perfected Person Temples') dedicated to Zhang Boduan.
Zhang later appended the Wuzhen pian text with 12 alchemical ci (i.e., lyrics) that numerologically correspond to the 12 months, and 5 verses related with the wuxing.
Baldrian-Hussein describes the text: The verses of the Wuzhen pian are a work of literary craftsmanship and were probably intended to be sung or chanted.
The Taoist Canon includes a dozen commentaries (zhu 主) and sub-commentaries (shu 疏) to the Wuzhen pian.
Tenney L. Davis and Chao Yün-ts’ung, who collaborated on several groundbreaking studies of Taoist alchemy, published the first English version.
I desire to send wu ssu 戊巳 as a matchmaker to make them husband and wife and to bring them into a union from which real happiness will arise.
JUST WAIT FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT TO BE COMPLETED TO PAY COURT TO THE NORTH PALACE GATE; IN THE LIGHT OF NINEFOLD MIST YOU RIDE A FLYING PHOENIX.
As it turns out, the Chinese text has the characters wu 戊 and ji 己, the fifth and sixth of the ten Celestial Stems (tiangan 天干), respectively.
], the emotions (qing) and innate nature (xing) are joined; The Five Phases (wuxing) completely settle, Tiger and Dragon entwine.
[21]Komjathy concludes, "Although Cleary’s translation has certain deficiencies, he seems intent on staying close to the text and rendering it in a way that generally respects the work’s complexity.
[23] For translating the thorny wuji expression, Crowe notes, "Wu 戊 and ji 己 refer to the fifth and sixth of the ten celestial stems (tiangan 天干) which, in combination, correspond to the earth phase which occupies the central position."
At their Origin they rely on the Soil, There as Go-between, Enabling Husband and Wife To protect their happy home together, Awaiting only the Task's completion - Dawn at the Northern Gate, Nine Times layered clouds with Red Rays of light,
The tender dusk; the beautiful dawn; an unfolding flower; the soaking mist; a snowfall; the moon rise, all is evidently unique.
In his notes, Pregadio remarks that the imagery of the final four verses is similar to the one found in a passage of the Zhouyi cantong qi (see also the French Wikipedia page): With the Way completed and Virtue fulfilled, withdraw, stay concealed, and wait for your time.