Fan Changsheng (died 318) was a Taoist hermit who was instrumental in the establishment of the Cheng Han

Cheng Han

The Cheng Han was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It represented two states, the Cheng state proclaimed in 304 by Li Xiong and the Han state in 338 by Li Shou...

 state during the Sixteen Kingdoms

Sixteen Kingdoms

The Sixteen Kingdoms, or less commonly the Sixteen States, were a collection of numerous short-lived sovereign states in China proper and its neighboring areas from 304 to 439 AD after the retreat of the Jin Dynasty to South China and before the establishment of the Northern Dynasties...

 era in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. He led a Taoist community of over one thousand families on Mount Qingcheng

Mount Qingcheng

Mount Qingcheng is a mountain in Dujiangyan, Sichuan, China. It is amongst the most important centres of Taoism in China. In Taoism mythology, it was the site of the Yellow Emperor's studies with Ning Fengzhi. As a centre of the Daoist religion it became host to many temples. The mountain has 36...

, Sichuan

Sichuan

' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

. During a critical famine, Fan Changsheng provided Li Xiong

Li Xiong

Li Xiong , courtesy name Zhongjuan , formally Emperor Wu of Cheng , was the first emperor of the Chinese/Ba-Di state Cheng Han and commonly regarded as its founder...

's army with food from his community's bounty. With Fan's help, Li Xiong achieved victory over Luo Shang's army during Li Xiong's siege of Chengdu

Chengdu

Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...

.

After Li Xiong's victory, he offered Fan the throne. Fan declined, claiming that the year 304 would be an auspicious date (jiazi) for someone from the Li family

Li (surname)

Li is a common transliteration of several Chinese family names, including 李 , the most common Chinese family name, and the Korean family name Lee...

 to take the throne. Fan Changsheng then served as the Chancellor of Cheng Han under Li Xiong

Li Xiong

Li Xiong , courtesy name Zhongjuan , formally Emperor Wu of Cheng , was the first emperor of the Chinese/Ba-Di state Cheng Han and commonly regarded as its founder...

. Fan later helped to persuade Li Xiong

Li Xiong

Li Xiong , courtesy name Zhongjuan , formally Emperor Wu of Cheng , was the first emperor of the Chinese/Ba-Di state Cheng Han and commonly regarded as its founder...

 to take the title of emperor. After Fan's death, his son Fan Ben succeeded him as the Chancellor of Cheng Han.

Fan was the author of the lost work, Shucai (蜀才), a ten volume commentary on the I Ching

I Ching

The I Ching or "Yì Jīng" , also known as the Classic of Changes, Book of Changes and Zhouyi, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts...

. He was later considered to be one of the Eight Immortals from Sichuan

Eight Immortals from Sichuan

Eight Immortals from Sichuan are eight Sichuanese who supposedly became xian . The term is first used by Qiao Xiu in Record of Shu written in Jin Dynasty.They are:...

.