Fenshen

''Fenshen'' 分身 (lit. "divide the body") or ''fenxing'' 分形 ("divide the physical form") was a legendary Daoist and ''fangshi'' Master of Esoterica technique for multilocation, that is, transforming or multiplying one's body into two or more identical versions. A famous story about ''fenshen'' concerns general Cao Cao ordering the execution of the alchemist Zuo Ci, who when taken into prison playfully divided himself into multiple Master Zuos, thus bamboozling the guards and escaping death.

Terminology

The Chinese word ''fēnshēn'' is a compound of ''fēn'' 分 "divide, separate, split, divert; differentiate, distinguish, discriminate, demarcate" and ''shēn'' 身 "torso of a man or animal, trunk of the body, the body below the neck; by synecdoche, general term for bodyKroll, Paul K. (2017), ''A Student's Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese'', rev. ed., Brill.".

The Chinese ''Hanyu Da Cidian'', which is lexicographically comparable to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', defines ''fenshen'' 分身 with four meanings and cites earliest usages.Penny, Benjamin David (1993),
Early Daoist Biography: A Study of ''Shenxian zhuan''
, PhD thesis, Australian National University.
# Transforming one's body into multiple bodies (), Hui Jiao 慧皎's c. 530 ''Memoirs of Eminent Monks'' biography of Shao Shuo 邵硕, on the same day that Shao was participating in a Chengdu procession while walking on all fours like a lion, "On that day, it was said that Shao was in Pidu District having assumed the form of a lion, and was conscious of his multiple bodies" ()
# A term for dealing with other matters (), Luo Guanzhong's 14th-century ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', Zhuge Liang tells Wang Ping, "even if you can be both wise and brave, you are only one person, can you divide yourself into two places? It would be yet more marvelous if you could be one general going together" ()
# As if cutting up the body (), c. 1478 Story of Hua Guan suo, Emperor Guangwu of Han "apprehended the traitorous usurper" Wang Mang "And in the Tower Bathed by Water hacked him to pieces" ().
# "Buddhist term, the Buddha's wish to teach all living beings in the worlds of all directions, using the power of upaya to physically manifest in each world as a mark of attaining Buddhahood, called ''fenshen''." (), Dharmarakṣa's c. 286 Chinese ''Lotus Sutra'' translation, "I divide myself into various Buddhas existing in the worlds of all directions in order to expound the dharma" ().

The near synonym ''fēnshén'' 分神 "transformation of the spirit", with ''shén'' 神 "god; deity; spirit; soul; mind" for ''shen'' "body", translates as "give some attention to; divert attention to; distraction", as used in ''fēnshénbùxiá'' 分神不暇 "unable to be in two places at the same time".
Compare the terms ''biànshén'' 變身 "transform the body" and ''biànshén'' 變神 "transform the spirit" referring to a meditator identifying with a specific deity or the entire cosmos.

The term ''fēnxíng'' 分形, with 形 "outward form, appearance, shape; physical form of human being, often contrasted with spiritual essence", was synonymous with ''fenshen'' in early Daoist texts.

The ''Hanyu Da Cidian'' defines ''fenxing'' 分形 with two meanings and cites their earliest usages
# Description of presenting all kinds of form/shapes (), Zhang Heng's c. 106 ''Xijing fu'' 西京賦 "Rhapsody on the Western Capital", "Amazing magicians, quicker than the eye, Changed appearance, sundered bodies. (), Swallowed knives, exhaled fire." (tr. Knechgtes 1982: 231).
# To separate (), Bao Zhao's early 5th-century poem "Presented to my old friend Ma Ziqiao" (), "Paired swords about to be parted, First cry out from inside their case. Mist and rain mixing as evening approaches, From this point on they separate their forms."().

Chinese Buddhist terminology uses ''fenshen'' 分身 "dividing the body" referring to the temporal ''huàshēn'' 化身 "transformation bodies; ''nirmāṇakāya''" of the Buddha, "with which he teaches and saves living beings, a Buddha's power to reproduce himself ad infinitum and anywhere"; and ''fenxing'' 分形 "varied manifestation" means "to manifest in different forms for different beings simultaneously" (''Digital Dictionary of Buddhism''). In general usage, ''huashen'' 化身 means "incarnation; embodiment; personification" (Bishop 2016).

In Sino-Japanese vocabulary, ''bunshin'' 分身 (borrowed from ''fenshen'') translates as "a branch; an offshoot; n self-referencethe other self; ''one's'' alter ego; uddhismincarnations of the Buddha", and is used in ''bunshin no jutsu'' 分身の術 (from ''fēnshēnshù'') "magic to create body-doubles".Watanabe Toshirō (渡邊敏郎), Edmund R. Skrzypczak, and Paul Snowden, eds. (2003), ''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'' (新和英大辞典), fifth edition, Kenkyusha.

Standard Chinese usage has semantically modernized both these ancient Daoist "body division" words: ''fenshen'' is Internet slang for sockpuppet and ''fenxing'' is mathematical jargon for fractal.

Translations

Translating Chinese ''fenshen'' and ''fenxing'' into English is problematic owing to numerous different stories about how Daoist and Buddhist masters could multiply themselves. The narratives describe body division as more of an ephemeral incarnation than a perpetual reincarnation, and involve elements of shapeshifting, body double, alter ego, doppelganger, avatar, personification, embodiment, and astral projection.

English translations of ancient ''fenshen'' and ''fenxing'' include:
*"multiplying the bodyWare, James R. (1966), ''Alchemy, Medicine and Religion in the China of A.D. 320: The'' Nei Pien ''of Ko Hung'', Dover."
*"divide the body", "ubiquity"Robinet, Isabelle (1979), "Metamorphosis and Deliverance from the Corpse in Taoism", ''History of Religions'' 19: 37-70.
*"create dual images of oneself", "body splitting" (Penny 1993)
*"body division", "dividing oneself", "divide one's formCampany, Robert Ford (2002), ''To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth: A Translation and Study of Ge Hong's Traditions of Divine Transcendents'', University of California Press."
*"create body-doubles"
*"multiplication of the body"
*"dividing oneself", "replicating oneself" (Bishop 2016)

In present-day usage, English translation equivalents for ''fenshen'' expressions include:
*''fēnshēn'' 分身 spare time from one's main work to attend to omethingelse
*''fēnshēnbùxiá'' 分身不暇 unable to be in two places at the same time; unable to disengage oneself
*''fēnshēnfǎ'' 分身法 means to divide oneself (for various tasks)
*''fēnshēnshù'' 分身术 magic of replicating oneself
*''fēnshēnfáshù'' 分身乏术 lack the art of dividing oneself; to find it hard to be in two places at once; unable to show up at all the places where one is needed; unable to do all the things one has to do

Textual examples

Chinese texts began to record ''fenshen'' and ''fenxing'' in the 3rd and 4th centuries CE.

Bowuzhi

Zhang Hua's c. 290 ''Bowuzhi'' "Records of Diverse Matters" names sixteen historical ''fangshi'' brought together by Cao Cao, a powerful general at the end of the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), including Zuo Ci who could ''biànxíng'' 變形 "change form; transform".

The names of the 'Master of Technic' whom Cao Cao assembled were Wang Zhen ��真from Shangdang, Feng Junda ��君達from Longxi, Gan Shi ��始from Ganling ��陵 Lu Nu Sheng ��女生 and Hua Tuo, styled Yuanhua, from the land of Qiao; Dongguo Yannian ��郭延年 Tang Yu ��霅 Leng Shou Guang ��壽光 Pu Shi ��式from Henan, Zhang Diao ��貂 Ji Zixun ��子訓 Fei Chang Fang ��長房from Runan, Xian Nu Gu ��奴辜 and Zhao Sheng Shi ��聖卿 the military official for the Wei, from Henan; Que Jian ��儉 styled Mengjie, from Yangcheng, and Zuo Ci, styled Yuanfang, from Lujiang.

The above sixteen, according to statements made by ao Cao's sonsemperor Wen of the Wei (i.e. Cao Pi), the king of Dong'e (i.e. Cao Zhi), and Zong Changtong ��長統 could all refrain from eating grains, make themselves invisible, and go in and out without passing over the threshold of the door. Zuo Ci could change his form ��变形 deceive people's vision and hearing, dispel evil spirits and the like. They were the sort of people whom the Record of the Rites of Zhou (Zhouli) calls 'mystifiers of the common folk' ��民and the Wangzhi hapter_of_the_Liji.html" ;"title="Liji.html" ;"title="hapter of the Liji">hapter of the Liji">Liji.html" ;"title="hapter of the Liji">hapter of the Lijirefers to as 'Holding to the Left path' [挾左道者].

Baopuzi

The earliest reliable descriptions of ''fenshen'' and ''fenxing'' are found in two c. 320 texts compiled by the Jin Dynasty (265–420), Jin Dynasty Daoist scholar Ge Hong (282-343), the '' Baopuzi'' or ''Master who Embraces Simplicity'' and the '' Shenxian Zhuan'' or ''Biographies of Divine Transcendents''.

Two ''Baopuzi'' Inner Chapters mention multiplying or dividing the body. "Truth on Earth" (18, 地真) uses ''fenxing'' 分形 "divide the body" twice, ''xingfen'' 形分 "body division" once, and ''shenfen'' 身分"body division" once. The context describes three meditation techniques, ''Shou xuanyi'' 守玄一 Guarding the Mysterious One, '' Shouyi'' 守一 Guarding the One, and '' Mingjing'' 明鏡 Bright Mirror.

Mystery-Unity is seen only in the sun. The search for It begins in the sun, and is described as "knowing white and preserving black" ��謂知白守黑or "unsuccessful in the desire for death" ��死不得者也 To begin with, you must purify yourself and fast for a hundred days. Only then may you go to a teacher and seek It, but then It can be obtained in not more than three or four days; once you possess It you will never lose It provided you take steps to preserve It. The preservation of Mystery-Unity consists in imagining yourself as being divided into three persons ��玄一並思其身分為三人 Once these three have become visible, you can continue to increase the number to several dozen, all like yourself ��人已見又轉益之可至數十人皆如己身 who may be concealed or revealed, and all of whom are automatically in possession of secret oral directions. This may be termed a process for multiplying the body ��所謂分形之道 Through this method uo Ci i Liao and my uncle e Xuancould be in several dozen places at one time. When guests were present they could be one host speaking the guests in the house, another host greeting guests beside the stream, and still another host making casts with his fishing line, but the guests were unable to distinguish which was he true one.

Robinet notes that Ge Xuan's mundane activities do not distract him from the "major occupation of all Taoists—dreaming alongside running water".

The context continues with Ge Hong quoting "my teacher", Zheng Yin 鄭隱 who was a disciple of Ge Xuan, about methods for body multiplication.

My teacher used to say that to preserve Unity was to practice jointly Bright Mirror ��一兼修明鏡 and that on becoming successful in the mirror procedure a man would be able to multiply his body to several dozen all with the same dress and facial expression ��分形為數十人衣服面貌皆如一也 My teacher also used to say that you should take the great medicines diligently if you wished to enjoy Fullness of Life ��長生當勤服大藥 and that you should use metal solutions and a multiplication of your person if you wished to communicate with the gods ��得通神當金水分形 By multiplying the body, the three Hun and the seven Po are automatically seen within the body ��分則自見其身中之三魂七魄 and in addition it becomes possible to meet and visit with the powers of heaven and the deities of earth and to have all the gods of the mountains and rivers in one's service.

This "metal solutions" translates ''jīnshuǐ'' 金水 Gold Water, referring to Gold Liquor, an alchemical elixir prepared from gold, mercury, saltpeter, and realgar.

"Looking Farther Afield" (19, 遐覽) uses ''huaxing'' 化形 "transform the body" and ''fenxing'' "divide the body" referring to a lost text, the ''Yunu yinwei'' 玉女隱微 Latency of the Jade Woman.

By its method people can change into flying birds or stalking animals ��形為飛禽走獸 Clouds are raised and rain brought for an area a hundred miles square by means of metal, wood, jade, or rock. Snow can be produced in the same fashion. By its method people cross large streams without a boat or weir. They split themselves into thousands of persons ��形為千人 They fly high on the winds; pass in and out of barriers; exhale breath of seven colors. While sitting still, they can see into all eight points of the compass and even to things underground. They emit light shining for thousands of feet; in a dark room, they are their own light. The book does indeed teach a great art.

The three ''xian'' transcendents Zuo Ci 左慈, Ge Xuan 葛玄, and Ji Liao 薊遼 or Li Zixun 薊子訓 mentioned as masters of ''fenxing'' are more fully described in Guo's other compilation below.

Shenxian zhuan

Five ''Shenxian zhuan'' hagiographies of Daoist ''xian'' describe ''fenxing'' 分形 or ''fenshen'' 分身 body division, usually resulting from the adept taking ''waidan'' alchemical elixirs.

First, Zhang Daoling (34-156 CE), first patriarch of the Way of the Celestial Masters, founded the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice movement in 142, and eventually controlled a prosperous theocratic state in present-day Sichuan.

On account of all this, Zhang Ling obtained much wealth, which he used to buy the necessary medicinal ingredients for synthesizing elixirs. When the elixirs were completed, he ingested only half the dosage, not wishing to ascend to Heaven immediately. As a result, he gained the ability to divide himself into several dozen persons ��分形化作數十人 Now, there was a pond outside the gate of Zhang's residence, on which he frequently went boating to amuse himself. Meanwhile, however, many Daoist guests would be going and coming in his courtyard. There would always be one Zhang Ling in the courtyard, conversing, eating, and drinking with these guests, while the real Zhang was out on the pond.

Second, Zuo Ci was a Daoist master who allegedly obtained the alchemical classics ''Scripture of Nine Elixirs'' and the ''Scripture of Gold Liquor'' from inside a cave on Mount Tianzhu, and mastering their techniques made him become "capable of transforming into a myriad different forms". Zuo uses his shapeshifting ability both to amuse and to taunt rulers. "Behind the amusing and the taunting lies a single lesson: transcendence-seeking adepts are of a superior order of being; rulers' appropriate response to them is respect and veneration, and any attempts to dominate or manipulate are futile.".

During the end of the Han dynasty (189-220 CE), the prominent general Cao Cao became Grand chancellor and founded what later became the state of Cao Wei

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