原文 Original Text

壶公者，不知其姓名。今世所有召军符、召鬼神治病玉府符，凡二十余卷，皆出于壶公，故总名为壶公符。汝南费长房为市掾时，忽见公从远方来，入市卖药。常悬一空壶于屋上，日入之后，公跳入壶中。人莫能见，唯长房楼上见之。长房知非常人也，乃日日扫除公座前地，及供馔物。公受不辞。如此积久，长房不懈。公知长房笃信，谓曰："至暮无人时更来。"长房如言。公曰："见我跳入壶中时，便可效我跳。"长房如其言，即随入壶中。既入之后，不觉是壶，唯见仙宫世界，楼台重门，侍者数十人。

Translation

The Master of the Gourd — no one knew his real name. The summoning talismans and spirit-healing charms that circulated in the world, some twenty-odd scrolls in all, all came from him, and so they were collectively called "Talismans of the Gourd Master."

In Runan, a young clerk named Fei Changfang was working at the market when he noticed an old man who had come from far away to sell medicine. The old man hung an empty gourd from the roof of his stall. Every evening, after the market closed, he would leap into the gourd. No one could see this — except Fei Changfang, who watched from his upstairs window.

Changfang knew this was no ordinary man. Each day he swept the ground before the old man's seat and brought him food and drink. The old man accepted without comment. This went on for a long time. Changfang never wavered.

At last the old man said: "Come see me tonight, when no one else is around." Changfang came. The Master said: "When you see me jump into the gourd, do the same." The Master leaped. Changfang followed.

Inside the gourd, he did not feel confined. He saw a world of immortal palaces — tiered pavilions, multiple gates, dozens of attendants. The gourd contained a universe.

🫙 壶中天: The Universe in a Gourd The "gourd world" (壶中天, huzhong tian) is one of the most important spatial metaphors in Daoist thought. It expresses the idea that the universe is infinitely nested — that a small container can hold an entire cosmos. This concept influenced Chinese architecture (the scholar's garden as a miniature landscape), painting (the mountain in a scroll), and religion (the Daoist priest's gourd as a portable sacred space). The phrase "壶中天地" (heaven and earth within a gourd) became a standard expression for a hidden, self-contained world of wonder.

Fei Changfang's Trials 费长房的考验

The story continues with Fei Changfang's apprenticeship. The Gourd Master tested him three times. First, he made Changfang sit alone in a room with a fierce tiger chained to the wall. Changfang did not flinch. Next, he had Changfang sit at the edge of a deep well with a massive stone balanced on a thread above his head. Changfang did not move. Finally, the Master sent Changfang to eat a room full of writhing serpents. Changfang ate them all.

"You have passed," the Master said. But he warned Changfang: "You have the talent for immortality, but not the temperament. I will teach you to command spirits and heal the sick — but you will age and die like other men." And so it was. Fei Changfang became the greatest healer of his generation, but he never achieved transcendence. His heart was too attached to the world.

📖 The Incomplete Disciple This is a recurring pattern in Daoist hagiography: the student who has the ability but not the will. Fei Changfang can face tigers, endure hunger, survive poison — but he cannot let go of his human attachments. The Gourd Master recognizes this and adjusts his teaching accordingly. It is a compassionate response: not everyone is destined for immortality, but that does not mean the path is closed entirely. Partial cultivation — command of spirits, healing, longevity — is also valuable.

Further Reading