In the blink of an eye, it was already the 8th of December, a traditional festival when people ate Eight Treasures Porridge. It was called the Laba Festival, which originated in Buddhism to celebrate Buddha’s enlightenment.0

After Buddhism and Daoism merged, Daoists retained this festival. However, after the two big religions turned against each other, the Daoist community celebrated the festival as the transcendence of the Primordial Daoist Ancestor instead of Buddha’s enlightenment.0

Every Laba Festival, the Dazhen Mansion would make a pot of Eight Treasures Porridge and invite friends and relatives to celebrate the festival together. It could be regarded as a year-end party. However, not all relatives were invited. The criteria for getting an invitation were strict. One must be a third-rank Youyi Daoist master, a direct descendant from the main branch of the Zhang family, or someone specially invited by the Heavenly Preceptor.2

Of course, the Eight Treasures Porridge in the Dazhen Mansion was not an ordinary porridge that commoners ate. Traditional Eight Treasures Porridge contained red dates, lotus seeds, barley,...0