The Taoist Priest Jia Shifang Executed by Emperor Yongzheng

Jia Shifang was a Taoist priest at the White Cloud Temple. It is generally said that Jia Shifang once engaged in spiritual deception, was discovered by Yongzheng, and consequently executed. This account is actually inconsistent with history. The true reason is that Yongzheng first acknowledged that Jia Shifang's treatments were effective, but on the other hand, he suspected that Jia Shifang was attempting to control him through these medical interventions, which led to Jia Shifang's execution.

Let us first look at the folk legend of Jia Shifang. Yuan Mei's Zi Bu Yu records:

Jia Shifang was from Henan and appeared foolish in his youth. His brother, who was studying, ordered Jia Shifang to farm. Jia Shifang often thought about wanting to travel to the heavens. One day, a Taoist priest asked him, "Do you wish to go to the sky?" Jia replied, "Yes." The priest said, "You may close your eyes and follow me." They then rose into the void, with only the sound of wind and waves heard by his ears. After a short while, he was told to open his eyes and saw magnificent palaces. The priest said to Jia Shifang, "Wait here for a moment; I will return shortly." After a long time, the priest returned and asked, "Are you hungry?" He offered a cup of wine. Jia drank half and stopped; the priest did not force him, saying, "This is not a place for you to stay long." He again instructed Jia to close his eyes, and they traveled as before, with the sound of wind and waves.

After a short while, he opened his eyes and was back at the original location. He walked to his brother's residence. His brother was startled and asked, "Are you human or a ghost?" Jia replied, "I am human, why would I be a ghost?" His brother asked, "You have not returned for several years; where were you before?" Jia said, "I went to the heavens with someone; the round trip took less than half a day, how can it be several years?" His brother thought him foolish and ignored him, continuing to explain the I Ching to his students. Jia Shifang sat nearby, heard the explanation, stood up, and shook his hand saying, "Brother, you are mistaken! In this hexagram, the nine at the fifth line (yang and strong) corresponds with the six at the second line (yin and soft). The yin and yang virtues combine, occupying the correct positions and seizing the right moment, with water and fire assisting each other, transforming into the hexagram of the first month. Beyond this, the strong gradually rise, and the soft gradually descend. At the top nine, numbers cannot reach their extreme; if they do, there will be regret. Regret implies hiding and waiting for the opportunity of decline and return." His brother was greatly alarmed, saying, "You have not studied books, how can you analyze the principles of the I Ching so profoundly!" He believed Jia had indeed encountered an extraordinary person. People from near and far flocked to admire him, asking about fortune and misfortune, and all responses were accurate. Grand Secretary Tian memorialized this, and Jia was summoned for an audience. Ultimately, he was executed for unlawful conduct.

Some say the Taoist priest Jia encountered was surnamed Wang, named Zizhen, who possessed even greater supernatural powers. He once brewed tea and invited Jia to watch, pointing out, "When initially brewing, the tea leaves float chaotically, clear and turbid mixed; this is the image of chaos. After a short while, the water is above and the leaves below, which is the image of creation. Twelve thousand years are but like this fleeting moment."

When Ji Wenmin served as the Governor-General of the Rivers and Canals, Jia was often in the office, and many people revered him. Those who did not show respect, Jia would inevitably pull them to a secluded place and recount their hidden life secrets unknown even to their wives, until they felt ashamed and submitted. He often asked people, "Do you fear ghosts?" If they said they did, it was fine; if they said they did not, then strange and ugly figures would enter his room that night to cause trouble.

From this, it can be seen that although the Taoist priest Jia Shifang was quite miraculous in folk tales, his moral character was not entirely sound. This personality trait was also the reason that later brought disaster upon him.

Before Yongzheng became emperor, when he was still named Yin Zhen, Dai Duo had recommended the Taoist priest Jia Shifang to calculate his fortune. Jia Shifang said that Yin Zhen had "a destiny shaped like the character 'Wan' (ten thousand)." Yin Zhen was very pleased to hear this at the time. After becoming Emperor Yongzheng, when his health was failing, Yun Xiang, not knowing from where, dug up Jia Shifang again and recommended him to Yongzheng.

In the Qing Palace archives, there is an edict modified in Yongzheng's own handwriting, inferred to be issued in September of the 8th year of Yongzheng. In this edict, Yongzheng stated that Jia Shifang's "massage techniques" and "secret incantations" were indeed "effective and successful." However, "over the course of a month, although my body has greatly recovered, in matters of daily life, eating, and sleeping, if he desired me to be comfortable, I was comfortable; if he desired me to be uncomfortable, I indeed felt unwell." "Regarding the treatment of my body, whether comfortable or not, he seemed to want to hold the reins, as if unable to escape his sphere of influence." Yongzheng further reprimanded Jia Shifang for "openly using demonic and absurd skills, claiming they could be applied before me." Although Jia Shifang's head was cut off, Yongzheng did not lose his trust in Taoist priests because of this. According to Qing Palace archives, from the illness in the 8th year of Yongzheng until his death five years later, Emperor Yongzheng participated in Taoist activities very frequently. Within the palace, besides the Qinyan Hall specifically designated for Taoist activities, Yongzheng also had Taoist priests place Taoist spirit talisman boards in major halls such as the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the Palace of Heavenly Purity. In his sleeping quarters, the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he set up a Big Dipper altar to seek the protection of Taoist deities. For performing rituals, Yongzheng also ordered silk satin ritual robes for Taoist priests to be made in Suzhou, sixty pieces at a time. The Beijing Palace Museum today still preserves portraits of Yongzheng wearing Taoist attire from that era.