There are 92 immortals in He Yunzhong's "Guang Han Wei" series, and two of them are copies of Liexian Biography (Peng Zu and Guang Chengzi, the latter is Rongcheng Gong in Liexian Biography). Only by comparing the identities of the characters contained in the two books can we find that, as mentioned above, the immortals recorded in The Legend of Immortals are basically fictional; But fairy tales are basically true or disguised as real people: for example, Laozi and Mozi are the founders of Taoism and Mohism in a hundred schools of thought; Liu An, Kong Anguo, Sun Deng and Guo Pu. They are all famous figures in history, and Guo Pu was a person who arrived in the late Jin Dynasty. Zhang Daoling, Ge Xuan and Mao Jun (Ying) were the founders of Taoism. Li, Zuo Ci, Ji, Ling (Leng) Shouguang, Gong Song (Chong), Lu Guniang, Dong (Yannian) and Jiao Xian are all famous alchemists. Wei Boyang and monk Gong are Taoist scholars, and so on. Most of them are described in detail or slightly in handed down literature. This situation shows that in the further development of the Taoist "immortal movement", more real historical figures have been immortalized. In fact, this also reflects the concept that immortals are real people. This is related to two other concepts in the development of Taoism: first, people can become immortals through "self-reliance"; Moreover, immortals often wander in the secular world, and people who are active in this world may be immortals. From the perspective of literary creation, immortals can easily be described as "characters" in works. This, in turn, reflects the great evolution of the concept and belief of immortals: immortals have moved from "otherworldly" to human beings, and the celestial world is connected with human beings. A plot in the chapter "White" is quite meaningful: Peng Zu asked him, "Why don't you take medicine to ascend to heaven?" He replied, "Nothing in heaven is happy! But you can't die of old age. It is even more painful for people in the sky to serve each other. " "So Bai is a hidden fairy, and he is regarded as a fairy because he doesn't want to ascend to heaven, but he doesn't want Wen Da." (The following references to fairy tales are all based on the series of Guanghan Wei collected by series integration). In Peng Zu's chapter, Peng Zu answered the question of picking women more clearly and in detail. He said that "consciousness" and "immortality" are not immortality:

Immortals, or into the clouds, fly without wings. Or ride a dragon and a cloud to build day order. Or turn into birds and beasts and float in the clouds. Or sneak in rivers and seas and soar in famous mountains. Or eating vitality, or Ru Zhicao, or coming and going, you have no way of knowing, or hiding in the grass. Different bones on the face, strange hair on the body, deep love, not secular. However, although these people live a long life, they are far away from human feelings and glory. If there is a bird, it will turn into a clam, and if there is a pheasant, it will be distorted and stored. Foolish today, I don't want this. People should be sweet, light and beautiful, connecting yin and yang and rank. Smart eyes, strong joints and bright colors, when you are old, you have a long-term vision and a long life. You can't afford to be injured by cold, heat and rheumatism. Ghosts and gods dare not commit crimes. Five soldiers and hundreds of insects can't get close, and you are tired of worrying about happiness and reputation.

In other words, the value of immortals lies not only in immortality, but also in being able to transcend all the sufferings in the world and enjoy the "glory" of the world without losing human feelings.

Ge Hong's article Bao Puzi Jin Zidan talks about taking gold liquid to heaven, and there is a passage for reference:

If you want to ascend to heaven, you have to break the valley for a year first, which is also a service. Eat half a dose and you will live forever, and all kinds of harm will not harm; You can have a wife, you can be an official, you can do whatever you want, and there is nothing forbidden. If you want to ascend to heaven again, you can fast, eat one or two more and fly away.

This also clearly affirmed its value and superiority in the world. This affirmation of the world and life, this strong sense of life, is a powerful aspect of the new generation of immortal thoughts; From the perspective of faith, it also gives greater encouragement to people who practice fairy tales.

Compared with the brief description of the outline of The Legend of the Immortal, The Legend of the Immortal strongly praises the extraordinary immortals and the transcendence of the celestial world. For example, in the chapter "Liu An", Hachi came to the door of Liu An, "becoming a boy" and "becoming an old man", in his own words:

I can sit in the wind and rain, set up clouds, draw the land as a river and pinch the soil as a mountain; One person can collapse a mountain, plug a deep spring, collect tigers and leopards, recruit dragons and worship ghosts and gods; A person can be divided into deformed appearance, sit still and stand dead, hide six armies, and make the sky worse; A person can walk in the clouds, cross hail waves, get in and out unimpeded, and breathe Wan Li; A person can enter the fire without burning, enter the water without getting wet, lose the blade without freezing, be cold in winter and not sweat in summer; One person can be ever-changing, follow one's inclinations, animals and plants, everything is established, moving mountains and streams, moving palaces and changing houses; One person can fry mud into gold, coagulate lead into silver, refine eight stones with water, fly up and flow beads, drive dragons by clouds, and float above Taiqing. (According to the Guanghan Wei Series, Hu Shouwei has no chapter on "Liu An" in the school.)

Here, the mysterious and extraordinary abilities of the immortals are greatly exaggerated, and their shapes and magical powers far exceed the alchemy of the alchemists in the Qin and Han Dynasties. There is a typical idea about the description of heaven, that is, there is one day in heaven and one year on earth. The chapter "Gong Hu" tells the story of Gong Hu and Fei Changfang: Gong Hu sells medicine in the market and often hangs a pot on the house. After the sun went in, he jumped into the pot, and then Fei Changfang jumped into the pot. It turned out to be the "Fairy Palace World"; Fei Changfang yearns for the world and returns to the world. "It has been a year since I left for the first time, and I have been asking about the situation at home." -the immortal is therefore an absolute free existence that is not limited by time and space.

In order to express this idea, the story of Wang Yuan and Ma Gu coming to see Cai Jing's family written in the chapter of Wang Yuan is more tortuous and vivid. After arriving at a feather car, five dragons, banners and dignity in Wang Yuan, he invited Ma Gu again:

..... After a while, I was introduced to (Cai) by his parents and brothers because he sent someone to ask Ma Gu. I don't know what kind of god Magu is. He said, "Wang Zun News has been far away from the people for a long time, and it is here today. I wonder if you can come and talk for a while? " For a while, I replied to the letter, but I didn't see what I did after listening to it. Answer Yan: "Ma Gu said goodbye again. It's been more than 500 years, and we haven't seen each other again. She is methodical and respectful. She misses you. If you disdain to accept this letter, you will be dumped, but you will be remembered first. If you go to Penglai, go temporarily now. If there is, you can return it. I will also go to relatives' homes, hoping not to bring them. " So twice, when Ma Gu came, she heard the horse's voice first. Both to, from the official when half in Fang Ping also.

When Ma Gu arrived, Cai Jing saw it with her family. She is a good woman, maybe 18 or 19 years old. She made a bun on her head and the rest hung down to her waist. Its clothes have articles but not brocade, its glory but not glory, its name is indescribable, and there is nothing in the world. Worship Fang Ping. Fang Ping stepped forward. Sit down, order cooking, all gold and jade cups and plates, unlimited. Most of the dishes and meals are flowers and fruits, and the aroma is both inside and outside. Walk with a broken chest, such as pine and cypress, and the cloud is the forest. Ma Gu said to herself, "Since I took over, I have seen that the East China Sea is a mulberry field. When we get to Penglai, the water is shallower than before, and it will be a little half-ear. Will it be restored to the land? " Fang Ping said with a smile: "The words of the saints, the dust in the sea rises again." ……

The following also describes the "cunning change" of Magu and Wang Yuan. In this bold and interesting description, the story of the immortal swimming to Penglai at once and the idea of turning the sea into a mulberry field, in reality, people's situation is very sad and pitiful. Bo Fu Shan is also an interesting example:

Han sent messengers to the east of Hexi to see a woman and an old man. The old man's hair was gray and knee-length, and he received a stick. The messenger asked him strangely, and the woman said, "This is my son. In the past, Uncle Bo Fu Shan taught his concubine, but she refused to make her obey, which led to her aging and anger. " The messenger asked the woman and her son how old they were this year. The woman replied, "My concubine is 2 130 years old, and my son is 70 years old this year." The girl went to Huashan and died.

This woman took Bo Fu Shan's fairy medicine, which had such a magical effect. It is quite typical that the imagination is wonderful and complicated.

Ji Kang, before Ge Hong, made it clear that immortals were "specially influenced by exotic gases, and grasped nature, which was beyond the reach of accumulated learning" (On Health Preservation). Ge Hong pointed out many times in Bao Puzi's Inner Chapter that "immortals can learn", saying: "If a husband is immortal, he should take medicine to preserve his health and prolong his life with skills, so that internal diseases will not be born and foreign invasion will not enter. Although you don't die for a long time, you don't change your old style, and you have your own way. " ("Bao Puzi's inner chapter, anti-custom"). The two propositions are in sharp opposition, which highlights the development and change of the idea of wandering immortals in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Later, the Tang people wrote "The Theory of Immortality", which was the exertion of Ge Hong's immortal thought. The chapter "Wei Boyang" also describes that Wei Boyang led three disciples into the mountains to become gods, Dan Cheng, tried with dogs and died of eating:

..... Bo Yang Nai asked his disciple, "I'm afraid not. If Dan is finished, the dog will die after eating it. I'm afraid this is not in line with the wishes of the gods. I'm afraid to be a dog. What can I do? " The disciple said, "Sir, should you accept it? Bo Yang said, "I'm against the custom. I trust my family in the mountains. I can't become an immortal and I can't go home. I should obey death and life. "Boyang Fengdan, Dan died at the entrance. Disciple Gu Xiang said, "If you make Dan want to live forever, you will die if you serve him. What should you do? "Only one disciple said," My teacher is an extraordinary person, so it would be unintentional to serve Dan and die. "That is in Dan, is to die again. Her disciples said to each other, "Therefore, if you are an Dan, you want to live forever. If you take it now, you will die. Why use it? "! If you don't accept this, you can live in the world for decades. "Then refuses to accept, but * * * mountain. ...

As a result, the disciple who served Dan became immortal, and the two disciples who dared not serve Dan regretted it. Ge Hong once said: "The key to a husband's longevity and cultivation is ambition." The different performances of the three disciples can be used as an example of whether the ambition firmly determines the future of monasticism. In this way, personal "ambition" has become a prerequisite for becoming an immortal. In other words, the initiative to become immortal is in everyone's hands, not innate.

Ge Hong particularly emphasized the role of elixir in various cultivation methods. He said: "I have studied the Book of Mending Heaven and have collected many books for a long time. I have covered thousands of volumes, all about returning the elixir to the golden liquid. But these two things are in a hurry to cover the fairy road. Take this instead of becoming an immortal, and there are no immortals in ancient times. " ("Bao Puzi's wife, then") In "Fairy Biography", the man of god told Liu Genze:

There are those who ascend to heaven and climb the clouds, those who March on the five mountains, those who eat grains and die, and those who perform autopsies without dying. The key is to take medicine. There are ups and downs in taking medicine, so the fairy has several products. If you don't know what's going on in the room, you can't guide Qi or become a fairy. There are only nine turns of Dan and Taiyin gold solution on the medicine. If you take them immediately, you will ascend to heaven without accumulating the sun and the moon. Secondly, mica realgar can make people drive dragons by clouds, and can also serve ghosts and gods to become immortals. Plants and herbs can only cure diseases, replenish deficiency, turn white in years, break the grain and replenish qi, but they can't kill people. It can last for hundreds of years, and they only deserve it. It won't last long.

On the other hand, according to fairy tales, many immortals in fairy tales get their medicine through alchemy. Being persuaded, guided or having sex in the room are just inferior methods. This also shows that what kind of "technology" an individual masters plays a decisive role in making the possibility of becoming an immortal a reality.

Moreover, the immortal river in "Fairy Biography" "can't go to heaven, not tired, not staying. Why do people have it? " That is, it has surpassed the shackles of secular power. The chapter "Liu An" is about Liu An, the king of Huainan, who was taught by eight religions and ascended to heaven during the day. At the end, he quoted Zuo Wu Ji:

..... Ann didn't get heaven, meet XianBo. Shao Xi is noble, and is rarely used in the ceremony of modesty, sitting up irreverently, highlighting his voice, or calling me by mistake. Therefore, Master Xianbo disrespected an yun and should be sent away. Hachi thanked him for this, but he was forgiven and locked in the toilet for three years. Later, he became a scattered fairy and was not allowed to work, but he did not die. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty heard that Zuo Wu and others went to pay back the money with Wang Xian, so he wrote a letter to him and asked him personally why. Wu Ju was right, and the emperor was greatly disgusted, but sighed, "It is a great shame to make me the king of Huainan." So he gathered wise men, hoping to meet eight people, but he couldn't get them, but he was deceived by Gong Sunqing and Luan Da, still not satisfied and got the truth. You can't know there are immortals in the world until you distinguish them. When people spread the word "Bagong" and "Lin 'an", they put the residual medicine device in the atrium, and chickens and dogs licked it to make it ascend to heaven, so chickens crowed in the sky and dogs barked in the clouds.

Here, the authority of the world is strongly belittled: Liu An respects himself, but is punished for managing "all toilets"; However, Liang Wudi was extremely envious of being promoted to immortality with the Emperor's father. Wei Shuqing's story has the same meaning: Wei Shuqing took mica and became an immortal, and came to the place of Emperor Wu. "The emperor was surprised to ask who it was?" Said,' I'm Wei Shuqing from Zhongshan.' The emperor said,' Isn't Zhongshan my minister?' Uncle Qing probably won't, but he lost. "Wei Shuqing thought Liang Wudi was good at Taoism, so there was no courtesy. He was disappointed and went to Taihua Mountain. Emperor Wu sent his son to the mountains of the world to seek:

..... I saw his father playing on a stone with a few people. When he arrived, I saw my father covered with purple clouds, white jade as a bed, and several fairies with buildings standing behind him. Look at the world again, then worship. Uncle Qing said, "What are you doing here?" The official said that the Emperor regretted not talking to his father, so the emissary came with him. Uncle Qing said, "I was sent by my superiors before, trying to avoid the emperor's peril and the method of saving the city." The country can only continue, but the emperor was too arrogant to know the truth, but he wanted to serve me instead of telling me, so he abandoned it. Today is the time to be with Huang Zhongtai, and I can't go back. "

Wei Shuqing also warned Du to "not be a minister of the Han Dynasty", which clearly showed the concept of competing with and separating from the real ruling system. There is a similar idea in The Legend of the Immortal, but the spiritual essence is different. As an early fairy tale, The Legend of the Immortal embodies people's anti-system concept. The legend of immortals tries to affirm the absoluteness of immortals and shows the efforts of Taoist theocracy against secular regime.

In this way, from the perspective of the development of the history of thought, the biography of immortals shows the immortal form that has been fully developed after the formation of Taoism; From the perspective of religious history, Ge Hong's compilation of Biography of Immortals is intended to set up a model of immortality and point out the way of cultivation, which is a true Taoist classic. From the perspective of literary creation, The Legend of the Immortal is not only longer in each chapter, more complicated in plot and more fully described, but more importantly, it is a true and successful Taoist literary creation. However, to a certain extent, it has lost the original simple taste of The Legend of the Immortal.

Fairy biography as biographical literature

On the essence of fairy tales, Liu Cunren said:

It is a mixture of limited historical materials and more exaggerated narration, and it is regarded as the creation of literary works, or as an unprovable' holy book' ... (Is Zhang Han and Shi Tian a Historical Figure? and A Probe into Taoist Poetry)

This also points out the virtual characteristics of fairy tales and the duality of religious sacred books and literary works.

As mentioned above, from the literary point of view, Biography of Immortals and Biography of Immortals are the earliest creative achievements with immortals as the theme. Just as Greek mythology, as a creative achievement to express human childhood thoughts, has become an insurmountable peak for later generations, the later fairy tales are not as good as these two works in terms of ideological content and artistic level.

As far as the literary creation of these two fairy tales is concerned, there are many achievements. Give a great example:

Create the writing style of historical biography by virtual means;

The appearance of Historical Records and Hanshu marks the maturity of historical biography literature creation. Their main feature and advantage is realism, which is essentially to write history books, and their appreciation value as literary works is subsidiary. Fairy "biography" is a product of suspense and a pure "creation" that no one relies on. As a literary work, it can be called "The Book of Taoist Teaching Aids" together with Lu Xun's "The Book of Buddhist Teaching Aids", and this kind of work is a pioneering style as biographical literature writing. It directly influenced the creation of strange novels in the Six Dynasties. Zhang Hua's Natural History, Gan Bao's Search for Ji Shen, and Tao Qian's Postscript of Searching for God all show the contents of fairy tales. Ling Shouguang, Dong, Lu Girl and Harmony in Fairy Tales are more directly seen in natural history. There are various virtual biographies in Tang legends, such as the biography of Mao Ying written by Han Yu for the brush, the biography of slug written by Liu Zongyuan for the insect, the biography of Wang Chengfu, the biography of planting trees by Liu Zongyuan, and the biography of catalpa people.

The conception method of interweaving fantasy and reality;

This is what Liu Cunren said: writing fairy tales only relies on "limited historical materials" to "exaggerate", but in most cases there is no historical materials. Strange Tales of the Six Dynasties uses a real structural framework to write strange ideas about their own ideas, and fairy tales have begun this way of thinking. Wang Ziqiao, for example, has long been seen in travel and is one of the earliest legendary immortals. The legend of the immortals records:

Wang Ziqiao, King of Jin in Zhou Lingwang. Okay, blowing sheng, right? Travel between Iraq and Romania. Taoist Fushan Mountain is connected with Shangsongshan Mountain. More than 30 years later, I begged on the mountain and met him. I said, "Tell my family to wait for me at the top of Gou Mountain on July 7." At that time, Guo rode a white crane on the mountain. If you can't get it, raise your hand to thank others and leave in a few days. It also stands at the foot of Gou Mountain and the top of Songshan Mountain.

Here, Wang Ziqiao is written as a prince in real history, and his activities have a specific time and place. What blowing sheng did is also a realistic plot, but it is self-imagination to write a poetic story that he was taken to Songshan by Fushan Mountain and rode a crane to the top of the mountain to thank people thirty years later. This story, interwoven with reality and suspense, shows the spirit of transcending the world and soaring in the sky, arouses countless people in later generations and becomes a common anecdote in writing.

Moreover, this writing style of fantasy and realism has been more fully developed in the later biography of the immortals. If Luan Ba can catch ghosts, there is a trick in the temple of Zhang Yu County, which is harmful:

(Luan) Ba was arrested and chased by himself. If he is begged from time to time, he will not dare to travel around the world in the future, eating blood there and wasting his illness and good people. The responsibility of praying again is the next place to ask about mountains and rivers and look for ghosts. The ghost then went to Qixian, became a scholar, was good at talking about the Five Classics, and the satrap married his wife. I know where it is, so I asked the chief to arrest it, but the ghost couldn't come out. Ba said to the satrap, "The virtuous man is not human, but the old ghost deceives him as a temple god, so I have come to take it." The satrap shouted and couldn't get out. Ba said, "It's easy to get out." Please hit the case with ink and ink. Panai is a symbol. Fu Cheng, whistling, suddenly someone will walk in the air, and there is no human figure. I was surprised when I sat down. Scholar Fu Zhi cried to the woman, "If you go, you will die." In a short time, the scholar himself came to the court, and when he saw Pakistan, he was afraid to go forward. Bachid said, "Why can't an old ghost transform!" The answer became raccoons, kowtowing and begging for a living. Bashi killed it. Everyone saw the knife in the air and the raccoon's head fell to the ground. The satrap's daughter gave birth to a son and became a raccoon dog. Go to Ba and go back to the county, where there are ghosts everywhere. There are many ghosts and ghosts who are sick for the people. After Ba arrived, there was no such trouble, and the evil spirits were wiped out for a while.

This is to promote the mysterious effect of "Fu". Zuo Fu is an important spell of Taoism, which was used as early as Taiping Dao period. Luanba's activities are based on the real and concrete environment and characters, and the description of his immortal power is even more suspenseful: turning ghosts into scholars, cheating on satrap women and forcing his calligraphy to appear. The realistic background gives people a sense of reality, and the suspense description gives people a warning, thus achieving the educational effect. Later, there were many works of "Talking about Ghosts" (Pu Songling) in various styles, which generally adopted similar ideas.

The miraculous plot caused a strong drama:

Contradictions and conflicts written in fairy tales are often particularly sharp and dramatic. Ge Hong's grandfather, Ge Xuan, is the founder of Taoist "Gao Zhi" and has always been "legendary" in The Legend of Immortals. There is such a plot:

Fang Xuan and the guests are having dinner. Rinse your mouth after eating, and the rice in your mouth will become a big bee, hundreds of them, flying around silently. For a long time, bees still fly into their mouths. Xuan chews it, so it is a meal. Mysterious hands beat the bed, frogs, insects, birds, finches, fish and turtles make them dance, and they should all be like people. If you stop it, it will stop. In the middle of winter, you can buy melons as guests, and in the middle of summer, it can cause ice and snow. And you can take dozens of dollars and let people disperse into the well. Xuan slowly used the device to call money out, so he flew out of the well and entered the device. Xuanwei poured wine for the guests, and no one handed the cup. When the cup comes to people, it is still inexhaustible, and the cup is gone. Paddling is counter-current, ten Zhang Xu. At that time, there was a Taoist priest who could cure diseases. He came from China and lied that "I am several hundred years old." Xuanzhi knew about it, and then the congregation sat down. Xuanzhi said to his relatives, "Do you want to know this public year?" Dear: "Good." Suddenly, a man descended from the sky, raised his seat to attract people's attention, gathered for a long time, dressed in red, and entered the Taoist priest. He said, "The Emperor of Heaven asked the public how many years it will be, deceiving the people." The Taoist priest was frightened, got out of bed and knelt for a long time. He replied, "Nothing, it's seventy-three." Xuan suddenly lost his clothes because he clapped his hands and laughed. Taoist priests are ashamed and don't know what to do. (According to Guanghan Wei Series, Hu Benji is brief)

Describing the change of supernatural power in this way and imagining bold surprises are not found in China's traditional literary works. The plot of a fight between Mrs. Fan and her husband Liu Gang;

Mrs. Fan is also Liu Gang's wife. The word "Luan" is the official of Shangyu and Taoism, which can summon ghosts and gods and forbid changing lanes. I also sneaked into the secret book, and no one can know. The reason is still quiet and simple, and the people benefit from the implementation of government decrees. There is no harm from drought and drift, and there is no injury from service poisoning. It is prosperous and admired far and near. In my spare time, I compare skills with my wife and use them in the classroom. The procedure is to burn the guest house, starting from the east, and the lady wants to ban it, even if the fire goes out. There were two peaches in the imperial court, and the husband and wife each cursed one, so that they fought for a long time. There are countless curses in the outline, and several people walk out of the fence. Spit on the plate, you become a crucian carp, and your wife becomes an otter, eating its fish. Just now the couple entered Siming Mountain, and the road was worth the tiger. They fell to the ground and dared not look up. The lady tied the tiger with a rope and tied it to the foot of the bed. Draw the outline of every attempt, everything is invincible. Will ascend to heaven, there is a big pagoda tree on the edge of the county government, the outline rises several feet, and the strength flies. The lady sat on the bed, and Ran Ran, like a cloud, went to heaven with her.

It is worth noting that this kind of fighting plot is similar to the story of Sharif fighting with the Sixth Division in Buddhist scriptures, and the relationship between them is worth exploring.

In addition, fairy tales such as Fairy Tales and Fairy Tales have been created in many aspects, such as creative theme, theme, characters, events, plots, vocabulary and writing methods. It also provides a lot of reference resources for literary creation of various genres in later generations.

As for the significance and value of these two works as precious materials in many academic fields such as religious history, custom history and cultural history, it is another matter.

It is worth noting that there are obvious differences in content, style and writing between Legend of the Immortal and Legend of the Immortal. This difference is determined by their differences before and after the formation of Taoism. This involves the relationship between religious literature creation and religion itself. Taking these two books as religious literature works, the evaluation of their merits and demerits can be discussed. However, it is undeniable that as a true Taoist classic, The Biography of Immortals lacks the original innocence and innocence compared with the Biography of Immortals formed by Taoism. It can be considered in connection with another phenomenon-the writing of Laozi's biography in Taoism. Taoism respects Laozi as the leader. His earliest biography is the first part of Biography of Lao Zi Shen Han. There are legends in Sima Qian's stories, but what he wrote is basically the real character Lao Zi, Lao Zi with a hundred schools of thought contending. Later, Taoism preached to Laozi, the founder, with a clear purpose, that is, to establish idols and publicize Taoist teachings. For example, Tang Yin and Cao Wen's The Legend of Emperor Xuanyuan, Song Jiashan's Biography of Youlong, and Xie Shouhao's The Story of the Mixed Yuan are all absurd plots. If a real historical figure is used as a means to explain the doctrine, it is difficult to achieve good artistic results.

The so-called "religious literature" works are first of all literary creation; They are different from secular creation, because they want to draw creative inspiration, ideas, artistic techniques, ritual language and so on from religion. It can or should preach religion, or even be a religious classic at the same time, but it should maintain its basic character as a literary work and have independent artistic appreciation value.

According to this understanding, Biography of Immortals and Biography of Immortals are two typical works of Taoist literature, and they are the foundation works of Taoist literature in China.