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A Chinese Biographical Dictionary/Fei Ch'ang-fang

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4450463A Chinese Biographical Dictionary — Fei Ch'ang-fangHerbert A. Giles

559 Fei Ch'ang-fang 費長房. A native of Ju-nan in Honan, who lived during the Han dynasty and studied the art of magic under Hu Kung. On taking leave of his master, the latter presented him with a bamboo rod upon which he could traverse immense distances in a few moments; also with a charm, consisting of two lines of verse relating to the magic rod. Fei, who thought that he had been absent from home for a few days only, found that some ten or fifteen years had in reality elapsed since his departure. On laying down his staff, he discovered that it was a dragon. From this time forward he had control over all the powers of darkness, and in the course of one day he was seen at places many thousands of leagues apart. Having subsequently lost the charm given him by his master, he was attacked and slain by assembled demons.