Occurrences in early Chinese histories, such as the (91 BCE) Shiji "Records of the Grand Historian" and (82 CE) Hanshu "Book of Han", predominantly refers to the "Mushroom of Immortality; elixir of life".

They record that fangshi "masters of esoterica; alchemists; magicians", supposedly followers of Zou Yan (305–240 BCE), claimed to know secret locations like Mount Penglai where the magic Zhi mushroom grew.

[12] The Jin dynasty Daoist scholar Ge Hong's c. 320 CE Baopuzi (Master Who Embraces Simplicity) is the earliest surviving source of information about zhi excrescences.

Rouzhi include some exceedingly rare creatures, such as a 10,000-year-old horned toad, a 1,000-year-old white bat (which when eaten will extend one's lifespan to 40,000 or 1,000 years, respectively), and a 7-inch tall humanoid figure riding in a miniature horse-drawn carriage (which grants immediate xian-hood when consumed).

[16] At one point in Baopuzi, Ge Hong mentions nine excrescences which are apparently especially important to the diet of the immortal xian (also known as "genies)": "Those that have acquired geniehood [transcendence] often mount to Paradise; or soar in the purple firmament; or travel to Dark Isle; or nest a while in Pan-t’ung.

[18] Ge Hong also gives detailed Daoist purification and ritual instructions for gathering zhi excrescences, such as an adept walking with Yu's Pace when approaching, and using a bone knife to harvest them.

[2] Kristofer Schipper says that for Ge Hong, zhi mushrooms had "immortalizing properties" because they are produced from the sublimation of waidan alchemical minerals lying under the ground, notably gold and the divine cinnabar (cf.

[18][22] The second earliest reliable source of zhi information is the Maojun wuzhong zhirong fang (茅君五種芝茸方; "The Method of Lord Mao's Five Kinds of Mushroom Growths") section of the 4th or 5th century Daoist Shangqing School waidan classic Taiji zhenren jiuzhuan huandan jing yaojue (太極真人九轉還丹經要訣; "Essential Instructions on the Scripture of the Reverted Elixir in Nine Cycles, by the Perfected of the Great Ultimate").

[25] The Daoist scholar and alchemist Tao Hongjing (456–536), who compiled the Shangqing canon, recorded that the hidden mushrooms Lord Mao planted on Maoshan were still found during his lifetime.

[26] The Maojun wuzhong zhirong fang describes Lord Mao's five types of zhi fungi, recommends searching for them in the third or ninth month, gives instructions for consumption, and accounts their expected benefits.

[27] Concerning the Jiuzhuan huandan jing yaojue uniting two sections about waidan alchemical elixirs with one about zhi excrescences, Strickmann says the "juxtaposition of alchemy and occult horticulture is very suggestive", and provides two other parallels for the Daoist fusion of plants and minerals.

[29] Tao Hongjing's disciple Zhou Ziliang (周子良, 497–516) was commanded by Shangqing deities to commit ritual suicide with an elixir of poisonous mushrooms and cinnabar, which in one sense, indicated the "mortal-immortal's comprehensive power over the elements".

[26] The lethal ingredients in Zhou's jiuzhen yuli dan (九真玉瀝丹; "Ninefold Perfected Jade-liquor Elixir") were langgezhi (琅葛芝; "the nine-stalked purple fungus") and jade-infused vermillion.

[30] The third earliest source is the c. 7th or 8th century Laozi yuxia zhongzhi jing shenxian bishi (老子玉匣中種芝經神仙秘事; "Scripture on Growing Mushrooms from Laozi's Jade Casket: The Secret of Divine Immortals") is the last section of the Mingjian yaojing (明鑒要經; "Scripture on the Essentials of the Bright Mirror [Method["), and shares passages with another Shangqing text, the Zhong zhicao fa (種芝草法; "Methods for Planting the Zhi Plants"), probably dating from the late Six Dynasties (222–589) or Southern dynasties (420–589) periods.

[32] The text begins with a passage contrasting three kinds of plant-based medicinal and spiritual substances: longevity drugs, naturally growing zhi excrescences, and artificially cultivated ones.

Traditional Chinese medicines, such as asparagus root (tianmen dong 天門冬), or atractylis (shanji 山蓟), can be effective in improving health and extending lifespan, but only if properly consumed every day.

The varieties of numinous zhi mushrooms that grow on trees or mountains can bestow full immortality, however most need to be ingested gradually over many years before the adept achieves transcendence.

The reason why these mushrooms can immediately make people become immortals is because, by receiving the perfect essence [zhijing 至精] of those four substances, they incorporate the harmonious breath [heqi 和氣] of Heaven and Earth and Yin and Yang along with its fragrant fluids; and by means of this they accomplish generative transformation.

"layered blue"), the first of the four alchemical minerals, as an example of the Laozi yuxia zhongzhi jing shenxian bishi's detailed instructions for cultivating supernatural zhi.

On a yinmao day following sunset, make an offering of three feet of blue silk, while grasping a bone knife, perform the Pace of Yu and cut out the mushroom.

[35]Several of these particular ritual elements for cultivating a malachite zhi are found in the Baopuzi passage on mushroom junzhi, including the exorcistic Pace of Yu, the bone knife, and the specifics of drying and processing.

These instructions are essentially a more intricate version of what is found in the Baopuzi, a source that "set the standard for texts on numinous mushrooms and was still used as a template over five hundred years after it was written".

[39] The c. 10th- or 11th-century Bianshi sanshiliu zhong zhicao bianxing zhang (辯識三十六種芝草變形章; "Chapter on the Explanation and Discernment of the Thirty-Six Varieties of Mushroom Plants' Transformations of Form") is part of a larger section on mountain survival in the Sanhuang neibi wen (三皇內祕文; "Esoteric Secret Writ of the Three Sovereigns").

A 1598 Ming dynasty reprint includes woodblock pictures (see below), whose aesthetic appeal typifies the pu (譜, "catalogs; manuals") of uncommon objects compiled by Song and later literati.

Twenty-five of these zhi terms correspond with the Five Phases theory of jin (金, Metal), mu (木, Wood), shui (水, Water), huo (火, Fire), and tu (土, Earth).

It was likely compiled as a throwback to the lost illustrated mycological inventories mentioned in the Baopuzi, and in faithfully emulating these early sources, the text "established itself an enduring paragon of the genre".

According to George Ashur Stuart and Frederick Porter Smith, "[The 石耳] is edible, and has all of the good qualities of the 芝 ([Zhi]), it is also being used in the treatment of gravel, and said to benefit virility.

The historian of Chinese science Joseph Needham discussed a lost illustrated text from the Liang dynasty (502–587) called Zhong Shenzhi (種神芝, "On the Planting and Cultivation of Magic Mushrooms").

"[47] Pharmaceutical substances categorized as hallucinogens typically tend to induce an altered state of consciousness with well-known qualities, such as sensations of flying, images of visiting places with fantastic features and inhabitants, dissolution of person and merging with a cosmic all, and other transcendent experiences of self, space, and time -- along with various culturally-specific facets.