 In one of his transformations, Laojun (Lord Lao) appeared—in 142 CE, according to the traditional date—to Zhang Daoling and established with him the Covenant with the Powers of Orthodox Unity (zhengyi mengwei). Zhang Daoling, who may have been a healer, was named Celestial Master (tianshi), and he in turn pledged to establish a community that would follow Daoist principles. His grandson and third Celestial Master, Zhang Lu, created and presided over a politically and economically autonomous “theocracy” in Hanzhong (in present-day Sichuan), subdivided into 24 zhi (“administrations”, sometimes rendered as “parishes” by scholars who see analogies with the early Christian Church).