The Story of Deity Su

 

(Minghui.org) Suxian (Deity Su) Ridge is located by the Chenjiang River in Chenzhou, Hunan Province. Among the breathtaking rocks and green water in Suxian Ridge is the miracle of Deity Su, which rose into the sky 2000 years ago.

In the fourth year of Emperor Hui of West Han Dynasty, a girl named Pan from Dongyazitang Village, Chenzhou, was washing clothes on a big rock by Chenjiang River. Suddenly a very pretty duckweed plant appeared on the water and circled around the rock a few times. Pan watched the duckweed joyously and her heart began throbbing. She went home and later found that she was pregnant. Pan told her mother what happened, but she did not believe her. Ten months later, Pan gave birth to a baby boy. Her family was ashamed of her becoming pregnant and giving birth before marriage. To avoid people speaking ill of them, Pan's mother abandoned the baby in a peach blossom cave in the Niupi Mountain by the village. Before Pan's mother left the cave, she swore to heaven, “If he was suppose to grow up, he will be alive after seven days. If not, he will quickly die in seven days.” Seven days later, Pan, missing her child dearly, rushed to the peach blossom cave. She saw a beautiful white crane holding its wings open to keep the child warm and a healthy white doe feeding the child milk. Pan was so exhilarated that she quickly took the child home and raised him secretly. She swore that she would never get married.

The child was raised in a secret chamber for seven years. He did not know anyone but his mother and he did not have a name. One day the child told Pan, “I am now grown up, so please do not hide me any longer.” From then on, the boy went to Niupi Mountain every day to chop firewood for the family. The scenery on Niupi Mountain was extraordinary and deities and supernormal beings often visited there. One day the boy went to the mountain and met an old deity. The old deity learned that the boy did not have a name, and asked what he saw when he left home that morning. The boy said that while sleeping on the root of a tree, he saw a person hang a fish from the tree with lyme grass. The old deity said, “Lyme grass and fish make up the character 'Su.' Laying down on a tree makes up the character 'Dan.'” The deity then named the boy Su Dan. Then Su became the deity's disciple and learned Taoism from him.

Su progressed very quickly in his practice. One day while they were eating, Pan mentioned that she wanted to eat fried preserved fish, which was a special product of Bian County (today's Yongxing County). After hearing this from his mother, Su put down his chopsticks and bowl and left. Within a blink of an eye, Su returned with two preserved fish. Pan wondered whether the local market in Chenzhou also sold the preserved fish. Su had told her that he got it from Bian County. Another time Pan was ill and had no appetite. Su asked her what she wanted to eat and she told him that she wanted the fermented bean curd from Xiangtan, which was 700 miles away from Chenzhou. Shortly, Su brought his mother what she wanted. Pan was very happy to have the fermented bean curd, but she did not believe that Su really went to Xiangtan to get it. Two months later, Pan's brother came to see her and told her about seeing Su in Xiangtan. Pan was very shocked and now believed that Su did indeed go that far in such a short time.

On May 15th, in the third year of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty (177 B.C.), Su reached consummation in his practice. Earlier that morning, after Su took care of his mother, there was celestial music coming from the sky. Ten celestial cranes in a dense purple mist descended from the sky. Su gave his mother a stone box and told her, “You will get what you need from the box, but be careful.” Su also told her that a plague would hit the county and when it did, she could use the water from the well and the leaves of the tangerine tree in the front yard to save people. Su rode on the back of a crane and the crane flew into the sky. From then on, Niupi Mountain was named Suxian Ridge.

One year later, a plague broke out in Chenzhou. It was very contagious and spread very fast. Many died in a short time. Su's mother followed Su's directions and saved many's lives with the water and tangerine leaves from the front yard. The plague in Chenzhou eventually died out. From then on, the story spread far and wide.

As for the small stone box Su left Pan, when Pan needed anything, she just knocked on the box and what she needed would appear. With this box, Pan lived to 100 years old and died a natural death.

The story is from the book Tales of Immortals, by Ge Hong from the Jin Dynasty.