Zuo Ci

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Zuo Ci (左慈) is a semi-legendary personage of the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. As described in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms he was a Taoist known under the name of Master Black Horn who was allied with no one. He wielded amazing Taoist power and was described as psychic. He studied on the Mount Emei in Sichuan, where he found The Book of Concealing Method or Book of Magic from which he learned to ascend to the clouds astride the wind, to sail up into the great void itself; and how to to pass through mountains and penetrate rocks; from the third, to float light as vapor, over the seas, to become invisible at will or change my shape, to fling swords and project daggers so as to decapitate a man from a distance.

Zuo offered Lord Cao Cao of Wei the books if Cao Cao himself became a disciple of Taoism. Cao Cao responded "Oft have I reflected upon this course and struggled against my fate, but what can I do? There is no one to maintain the government," when Zuo Ci suggested Liu Bei, Cao Cao accused Zuo Ci of being one of Liu Bei's agents, and threatened him. Zuo Ci openly mocked Cao Cao in court and Lord Cao had him arrested; the guards beat Zuo Ci cruelly, but the Taoist then fell asleep and slept soundly through the night. This enraged Cao Cao who ordered Zuo Ci to be starved of food, this also failed as Zuo Ci quite happily went seven days without food or water. After this Cao Cao could think of nothing else to punish Zuo Ci. When Zuo Ci appeared at Cao Cao's banquet, Cao Cao tested him by asking to get among other things a dragon's liver, a peony and perch from the River Song. Zuo accomplished everything, which drew further suspicion from Cao Cao. Zuo then offered a cup of wine to Cao Cao, who said that Zuo should taste first. Zuo took a stick and divided the wine in half, and drank one half. Cao was then enraged.

As a result, Cao Cao ordered Zuo Ci to be executed, but Zuo Ci had disappeared. Hundreds of men matching the exact description of Zuo Ci were found, and Cao Cao ordered them all executed. When they were all executed black vapor rose from their necks where they joined to form another image of Zuo Ci who predicted the death of Cao Cao, and this prediction came true when in the year 220 Cao Cao died of a suspected brain tumour (see also Hua Tuo).

Zuo Ci was added to the popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms video game series Dynasty Warriors due to popular demand, despite the fact he never took part in actual combat. In the game he appears as an old man, wielding a magic deck of cards capable of conjuring different elements as his weapon and morphs into a white crane at the end of his "Musou" campaign. He is also statistically the best character in the game (second being Lu Bu, third being Ma Chao, fourth being Guan Yu and fifth being Zhou Tai)