Background
The details of the life of the historical figure Zhang Ling are obscure; most of our information about him comes from later scripture and hagiography. According to these, Zhang traced his ancestral home to Feng County, Jiangsu, and was said to be a descendant of Zhang Liang. He was born in the tenth year of the Jianwu era during the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han. He started reading the Tao Te Ching at a young age and studied in the Taixue (Imperial Academy) before. He served as a magistrate in Jiangzhou, Ba Commandery (present-day Chongqing) during the reign of Emperor Ming of Han.
Zhang later retired and led a reclusive life at Mount Beimang, where he practiced ways of achieving longevity.
Zhang is said to have died on Mount Qingcheng in 156 during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han at the age of 123. However, it is also said that Zhang did not die but learned the arcana of Taoism to ascend in broad daylight (Xiandao). Instead, his body became like luminous ether, disappearing from eyesight and became an immortal.