Note: The abbreviation "CT" stands for the numbers of texts in the Daoist canon, following the concordance by Kristofer Schipper.

zi Tu'nan, hao Fuyaozi, was an important Daoist master, thinker, fortune-teller, and legitimizing saint of the Song dynasty. Historically he appears first in 937, when he left an inscription at the Tianqing guan in Qiongzhou, Sichuan, praising the qi-methods of the local masters. It is likely that he was born in this area, although most sources claim that he came from Henan. In the 940's, he settled on Mount Hua, restoring the Yuntai guan and Yuquan yuan, which are still closely associated with him today. In the 950's he composed the Fengjian, a manual of physiognomy, which caused him to beylater associated with the key handbook Shenxiang quanbian.
In terms of official links, Chen Tuan met with Emperor Shizong of the Northern Zhou in 956, answering his questions on alchemy by giving spiritual advice. In 984, he mets Song Taizong and was given the title Xiyi xiansheng together with various material gifts. He then became the legitimizing saint of the new dynasty. In 989, he died on Mount Hua. Legend has it that he was 118 years old, which would place his birth in the 870s. Given the other data, a birthdate of around 920 is more likely. In addition, in the 960s-980s Chen Tuan met several high Song officials (Qian Ruoshui, Zhang Yong, Chong Fang) to read their fortunes and give them career advice. At the same time he also became known for his Yijing studies which influenced Zhou Dunyi's Taiji tu and Neo-Confucian thought.
Surrounding these historical facts, there are many legends about Chen Tuan, telling of his wondrous encounter with a star lady as a child and his special memory power; mentioning a failed imperial examination at the capital, a period of Daoist training on Mount Wudang, a magical transfer by dragon to Mount Hua; stressing his wonderful ability to enter a deep trance, often for months, known as "sleep" and detailing various chance encounters with the future Song emperors whose imperial quality he recognized and other successful physiognomic examinations. They are found in Zhao Daoyi's Lishi zhenxian tidao tongjian (CTy296), and in the Taihua xiyi zhi (CT 306).
In Yuan drama, Chen Tuan stars in Sanxing zhao, Bieyou tian, Pantao hui, and Chen Tuan gao wo. In the Ming dynasty, he appears as a master of inner alchemical meditation, a technique known as "sleep," described in the Chifeng sui. In Japan, finally, he is known as the planchette spirit who appeared in the Chan community on Mount Huangbo and inspired its leader Ingen to travel to Japan in the seventeenth century. Definitely identified as Chen Tuan, he is then known as Chen Bo, zi Wuyan
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