"Are Taoist Sorcerers able to teleport, as in disappear and then re-appear almost instantly at another place, with the help of spirits?"
Teleportation is the transfer of matter from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them.
Nowadays, no stories news about Taoist Sorcerers doing Teleportation on themselves or even if they do, they do it secretly. However, Taoist Sorcerers are still seen performing teleportation on other matters, with the help of their ghost servants, for the purpose of entertainment shows - Street Magick Shows.
Stories about Teleportation was recorded in ancient Chinese Texts before modern science discuss about Quantum Physics. One of the text about Teleportation is found in the Book "The Baopuzi" (抱朴子 Master Who Embraces Simplicity), written by the Jin Dynasty scholar Ge Hong 葛洪 (283-343).
Ge Hong wrote:"There were five types of strange magical skills, including invisibility. (e.g., a man was seen when sitting there, but vanished as he stood up). But if he shows off his ability to do so in this mortal world, it might cause some unfavorable consequences. Since the skills cannot benefit his health, he should not conduct them casually except in order to avoid disaster in critical situations or during the chaos of war.
According to ancient Taoist Texts, Teleportation is divided into 2 categories:
1) True Teleportation
After many years of meditation and training, a sorcerer's physical matter can eventually transformed into energy and then be transported as vibrating light particles to a new location.
2) Assistance-Based Teleportation
Assistance-Based Teleportation is accomplished through invoking the magical power of various spiritual beings, deities or ghosts. In this type of magical skill, it is the summoned spirit entity's power that provides assistance for the sorcerer to teleport. Taoist Sorcerers in these modern days can only perform Assistance-Based Teleportation of matters (not on themselves) , as their personal spiritual cultivation is not high enough to do True Teleportation.
Real Accounts of Teleportation of Gold Fishes, seen with my own eyes:
A Taoist Sorcery Master ( 七星剑仙大法师 Seven Stars Swords Master) in Singapore used to perform very often on one of his magical skills by placing gold fish in-between his lips and then blew it into a coconut husk, through a tiny hole (about the diameter of a straw) , created from digging one of the 3 "eyes" of the coconut husk.
5 gold fishes, about 10 times bigger size than the hole on the coconut husk, were blown into the coconut one by one in few seconds.
When he cracked open the coconut husk , all 5 gold fishes were found inside the coconut husk. He claimed that he was only able to do that with the support of his 2 child ghost servants.
Other than Teleportation, which is disappearing from one location and then appear at another location, there is also a magical skill, known as Bilocation.
Bilocation is the magical skill in which a sorcerer can choose to appear at two location at the same time. In ancient time, sorcerers who were able to perform Bilocation were regarded as immortals. In Bilocation, the spirit body is projected to a second location. It then materializes, become dense, and can interact with the physical world and be seen by others. The magical phenomenon that happens during Bilocation occurs due to the spirit body's ability to be trained to exit the physical body.
In order to perform the magical skill of Bilocation, it is essential for the sorcerer to have cultivated enough Qi and Shen to sustain two life forces.
In the five volumes of the Mohist Records of the Five Agents ( 《墨子五行記 》 Mozi Wuxing Ji ) , there was a volume of the Hidden Subtlety of the Jade Maiden ( 《玉女隱微》 Yunü Yinwei ) which recorded that the man with such a skill could give himself the appearance of birds or animals, and the appearance of gold, wood, or jade. He could arouse the clouds, the thunder, and the rain over hundreds of miles as well. Furthermore, he could cross rivers without using a boat or a bridge, and could separate himself into different parts and turn up at thousands of places simultaneously.
Story of Teleportation in Ancient China
Zuo Ci is a legendary personage of the late Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms periods of Chinese history. Though he is known as a local of Lujiang, the years of his birth and death are unknown. It is believed that he had existed before the collapse of the Han Dynasty, and it is claimed that he lived until the age of 300. He learned his magics and path to longevity from the Taoist sage Feng Heng (封衡), and eventually passed his arts to Ge Xuan.
Zuo Ci studied atop Mount Tianzhu, practiced medicinal alchemy and nourished his vital essence by controlled breathing and Taoist sexual practices. It is said that he could live for long periods without eating. He was also learned in the Confucian classics and in astrology.
At some time before 200, the local warlord Sun Ce, who was a strict Confucian, wanted to kill Zuo Ci and chased him on horseback. Zuo Ci, unmounted, still managed to escape by seemingly walking slowly.
Later, Zuo Ci went to Cao Cao, who granted him a pension to do his magics. Cao Cao may have shown an interest in the Taoist approach to longevity by doing this, but his son Cao Zhi wrote that the pensions are only intended to keep the magicians and their wild teachings under control. Zuo Ci performed a number of magic acts in Cao Cao's court, such as catching an exotic fish from an empty copper pan, and teleporting far away to buy ginger. Zuo Ci once fed a whole court assembly with food and wine, but Cao Cao soon found out that Zuo Ci had emptied every wine shop in the region with his magic for this purpose. Cao Cao tried to execute Zuo Ci, but he escaped by walking through walls.
When someone reported that Zuo Ci had been sighted in the market, everyone in the market became identical to Zuo's appearance. Another report said Zuo Ci went to the mountaintop, so Cao Cao and his men went, and realized Zuo was concealed among a flock of sheep. Knowing he could not find him, Cao Cao announced to the flock of sheep that he was merely trying to test Zuo Ci's skill, and had no intention to kill him.
At the moment, a goat stood on its hind legs and spoke. Cao Cao's men rushed to the goat, only to find the rest of the flock also turned into goats and started standing and speaking like humans. Zuo Ci was never found by Cao Cao's men again.
Zuo Ci eventually retired from the world to practice his arts in the mountains.
