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| 1 | taishang zhongdao miaofa lianhua jing 太上中道妙法蓮華經 | Taishang zhongdao miaofa lianhua jing 太上中道妙法蓮華經 10 juan。1432 (fasc. 1058) “Scripture of the Lotus of the Marvelous Law of the Central Tao of the Most High.” This is a popular pastiche of the Buddhist Lotus sûtra, placed at the very beginning of the 1607 supplement of the Taoist canon. Its ten juan contain seventeen chapters ( pin 品) of very uneven length, some amounting to a single page, others covering a full juan. The pastiche superficially borrows a number of chapter titles, terms, and concepts from its Buddhist model. The text itself is, however, poorly written, with little or no development either in logic or in narrative. The work is probably the result of crude planchette writing. Kristofer Schipper |
| 2 | sisheng zhenjun lingqian 四聖真君靈籤 | Sisheng zhenjun lingqian 四聖真君靈籤 49 fols.。1298 (fasc. 1010) “Oracle Slips of the Four Saintly True Lords.” This is a collection of oracles used for divination by means of oracular slips (baoqian 寶籤). The names of the True Lords are mentioned in the introduction (1a). The oracles all issued from Northern Song religious movements, notably the Tianxin zhengfa 天心正法 (1227 Taishang zhuguo jiumin zongzhen biyao 3.10a). A temple was devoted to the True Lords in Luoyang (958 Xuantian shangdi qisheng lu 2.11b–13b). Divination through oracular stems was very common in the milieus that propagated their cult, and Zhenwu 真武 in particular usually presided over requests for oracles (1227 Zhuguo jiumin zongzhen biyao 2.14b–15a, 7.13a–14b). The present work can be considered as representative of the lingqian collections of the Song (960–1279) period. It is possible that it was the source of 1482 Xuantian shangdi baizi shenghao, clearly a later work, as it uses the Yuan (1279–1368) title Xuantian shangdi 玄天上帝. In any case, both collections spring from the same tradition, as is apparent in their introductions (compare 1a–b in the present text with 1482 Baizi shenghao 1b–2a) as well as in the number of oracles (forty-nine in both cases) and the text of some oracles. Each oracle provides its number, name, and auspicious or inauspicious nature; 1482 Baizi shenghao also adds the names of two of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper, according to an order that explains their total number of forty-nine. Each oracle then provides an oracular poem in twelve verses of seven characters, a Holy Advice (shengyi 聖意) in prose (in 1482 Baizi shenghao the Holy Advice is in four verses and included in the oracular poem), a prognostic passage (zhan 占) in rhythmic prose, and a final poem in four verses of five characters. Marc Kalinowski |
| 3 | xuanzhen lingying baoqian 玄真靈應寶籤 | Xuanzhen lingying baoqian 玄真靈應寶籤 3 juan。1299 (fasc. 1010–1011) “All-Powerful Oracle Slips of the True Mystery.” This is a collection of oracles used in divination by oracular slips (baoqian 寶籤). The preface is attributed to the god who governed the oracle or who dwelled in the temple where the divination took place (wumiao 吾廟; preface 1a). His name, Xuanzhen 玄真, refers to the Wenchang 文昌cult and the tradition of the Dadong xianjing 大洞仙經 as it appeared in Sichuan under the Southern Song (1127–1279; CGF 18). He is also said to have authored the preface to 5 Taishang wuji zongzhen Wenchang dadong xianjing (1.1a). The title appended to our preface as an edict (gao 誥; 1b–2a) is also included in that work, with some variants (2.8a–b, 2.15b–16a). The factual preface explains that this collection was compiled in answer to the growing popularity of divination by oracle slips in the area (Sichuan). It mentions several titles of oracle sets that were used for the present compilation. Divination must have started to supplant the oniromancy tradition linked to the 169 Qinghe neizhuan (1a). Indeed, the Yuan edition of that work in the Daozang opens with the interpretation of a dream (169 Qinghe neizhuan 1b–2a). It also reproduce the title appended to the preface of the present work (2b–3a), with more variants than in Dadong xianjing. The dating of the present work is thus linked to that of the Qinghe neizhuan. A Yuan (1279–1368) date can be considered as likely. The 365 oracles all conform to the same pattern: number, name, and auspicious or inauspicious verdict, an oracular poem in four verses of five characters, and finally a prose comment on the poem. Marc Kalinowski |
| 4 | daci haosheng jiutian weifang shengmu yuanjun lingying baoqian 大慈好生九天衛房聖母元君靈應寶籤 | Daci haosheng jiutian weifang shengmu yuanjun lingying baoqian大慈好生九天衛房聖母元君靈應寶籤 23 fols.。1300 (fasc. 1011) “All-Responding Oracle Slips of the Holy Mother Protecting the Bedchamber, from the Nine Heavens, Loving Life, and Greatly Compassionate.” This is a collection of oracles used in divination by oracle slips (baoqian 寶籤). The Holy Mother protecting the bedchamber belongs to the pantheon of the Yushu baojing 玉樞寶經. This text is mentioned in several places, in the introduction quoting the passage (99 Jiutian yingyuan leisheng puhua tianzun yushu baojing jizhu 2.2a–b) pertaining to the goddess as well as in the oracles (21a, 22a, 22b). The date of the present text must therefore be later than that of the Yushu baojing, pointing to the Southern Song (1127–1279) or Yuan (1279–1368) period. The Holy Mother is introduced as the deity governing requests for oracles. The collection contains ninety-nine oracles. Each of them has a number to match it with the slip drawn by the person seeking divination, the oracular poem in four verses of seven (sometimes five) characters, and a comment ( jie 解) in rhythmic prose. Marc Kalinowski |
| 5 | futian guangsheng ruyi lingqian 扶天廣聖如意靈籤 | Futian guangsheng ruyi lingqian 扶天廣聖如意靈籤 61 fols.。1303 (fasc. 1012) “Oracle Slips of the Assembly of Saints Assisting Heaven.” This is a collection of oracles used in divination by oracle slips (lingqian 靈籤). Nothing in the title nor in the contents of the work points to a precise date. Since the other oracle collections preserved in the Daozang were compiled between the Southern Song (1127–1279) and the Ming periods (1368–1644), this is likely to be the case also for the present text. The 120 oracles are all written according to the same model, giving their number and auspicious or inauspicious nature, an oracular text in rhymed prose, and a prognosis (zhan 占), including numbers, dates, and directions to be favored. Marc Kalinowski |
| 6 | ganzhou shengji miao lingji bei 贛州聖濟廟靈跡碑 huguo jiaji jiangdong wang lingqian 護國嘉濟江東王靈籤 | Ganzhou Shengji miao lingji bei 贛州聖濟廟靈跡碑 6 fols.。By Song Lian 宋濂; 1371 1304 (fasc. 1012) Huguo Jiaji Jiangdong wang lingqian 護國嘉濟江東王靈籤 41 fols.。By Fu Ye 傅燁; var. Fu Yu 傅煜; 1225–1227 1305 (fasc. 1012) “Miraculous Events at the Shengji Temple in Ganzhou.” Song Lian’s inscription concerning this title, dated 1371 (cf. the more comprehensive version in Song Wenxian gong quanji 宋文憲公全集 4), serves here as an introduction to the text of the wellknown divination series (lingqian 靈籤) of the god Prince East of the River (Jiangdong wang 江東王) and provides details about the historical development of the cult from which the oracle originated. Tradition had it that the local hero Shi Gu 石固 from Ganzhou 贛州 (southern Jiangxi) manifested his divine power for the first time in 196 b.c. by helping the general Guan Ying 灌嬰 to subdue Zhao Tuo 趙陀 under the Han. In a.d. 847, a certain Wen Liang 聞諒 (Song’s Quanji reads “Zhou Liang 周亮”; Jiajing Ganzhou fuzhi 6.30 has “Zhou Cheng 周成”) founded the historical temple east of the river Gong 貢江, from which the popular name for the deity, Jiangdong wang, was derived. As the cult grew during the following centuries, it received numerous official honors. Song mentions the renaming of the temple from Jiaji miao 嘉濟廟 to Shengji miao 聖濟廟 under the Song emperors (between 1056 and 1064, according to the Jiajing Ganzhou fuzhi) and the bestowal of the epithet huguo 護國 under the Yuan dynasty (Ganzhou fuzhi gives 1334 as the date). Between 1225 and 1227, a certain Fu Ye (the Quanji reads “Fu Yu”) from Putian 莆田 (Fujian), who held a military post in the subprefecture Gan 贛縣, wrote a series of a hundred divinatory verses ( yaoci 繇辭), which immensely increased the cult’s popularity. The assumption that the present lingqian (one hundred poems of four heptasyllabic lines each) are identical with Fu’s oracles seems justified on the grounds of the corresponding number of verses. The appended explanations ( jie 解) and exegesis of their “holy meaning” (shengyi 聖意)—the latter again being poems of eight lines of three characters each—are possibly of a later date. Song Lian’s inscription for the temple in Ganzhou was composed a few years after Ming Taizu (r. 1368–1398) had decreed that an official representative should attend the temple festivities on every eighth day of the first month (according to the Ganzhou fuzhi, the decree was issued in 1368). Ursula-Angelika Cedzich |
| 7 | daozang quejing mulu 道藏闕經目錄 | Daozang quejing mulu 道藏闕經目錄 2 juan。Compiled by the editors of the Da Ming Daozang jing; fifteenth century 1430 (fasc. 1056) “Catalogue of the Missing Books in the Daozang.” When the editors of the Zhengtong canon had finished their work, they drew up a list of titles included in previous Taoist canons but no longer extant. The catalogue comprised 794 titles (VDL 62). The editors made this list, according to a note placed under the title, on the basis of an old catalogue ( yu jiu mulu nei chaochu 於舊目錄內抄出). Which list or lists they may have used has been the subject of debate. The compilers did not reproduce the material at their disposal, as had been done in previous canons (see the present text 2.21a) and as was also regularly done in Buddhist canons. There is likely to have been a reason for this omission. Whatever it may be, the list of “lost works” is a most important source for the study of Taoist bibliography. Chen Yuan 陳垣 (Nan Song chu Hebei xin daojiao kao, 28) has argued that the editors of the Ming Daozang of 1445 based their listing of lost works solely on the comparison with the catalogue of the very last canon to be compiled before their own, that is, the Xuandu baozang 玄都寶藏 of 1244, compiled by the Quanzhen 全真 order under the direction of Song Defang (1183–1247). Chen’s argument is based on the following evidence: In an epitaph for the Quanzhen patriarch Qin Zhian 秦志安 (1188–1247), who, as a disciple of Song Defang had participated actively in the editing, the Yuan scholar Yuan Haowen 元好問 (1190–1257) wrote that at the very end of the canon, Qin added four historical works written by himself, the 173 Jinlian zhengzong ji 金蓮正宗記, the Yanxia lu 煙霞錄, the Yixian zhuan 繹仙傳, and the Wuxian zhuan 婺仙傳 (see Tongzhen zi muji ming 31.12a–13b). The present catalogue lists at the very end (2.21a) three of the above-named works that are not in the Ming Daozang. In support of Chen Yuan’s argument it could be said that on the same last page we have the titles of the lost catalogues of the former Song (960–1279) and Jurchen Jin (1115–1234) canons, while that of the Yuan (1279–1368) canon is not mentioned. Thus the editors of the Ming Daozang did have access to it, but did not reproduce it other than through this checklist of missing titles. Against Chen’s hypothesis, however, stands the fact that between the three Quanzhen historical works, the Quejing mulu inserts an altogether different title, that of a Wushan Huanglu dazhai jingyao 無山黃籙大齋精要 (wushan 無山 is an error for wushang 無上). This title probably does not come from the same Yuan canon catalogue, but must have been taken from another inventory. So the compilers of the Quejing mulu must at least have had two catalogues at their disposal. In his detailed discussion of the compilation of the Yuan canon of 1244 (which he calls a “reprint”) and its subsequent destruction by Kublai Khan in 1281, van der Loon argues that the editors had several catalogues, or fragments of catalogues, at their disposal, since the shelflist of the imperial library of 1441 contains a number of “Taoist Catologues.” One of these catalogues was of the Taoist books actually shelved in that library. Another was a single fascicle with “several lists of the Taoist canon.” Still another was a work in ten fascicles (VDL 61–62). It therefore is probable that the editors did indeed use several different catalogues, which may explain a number of inconsistencies and errors signaled by van der Loon. Still, it would seem that the main source used by the compilers of the Ming canon for their verification was the catalogue of the Yuan canon of 1244. We may be certain that they had it at their disposal, and it is tempting to suppose that the one large list in ten fascicles in the imperial library was that. This hypothesis is strengthened by the fact that, as an appendix to the Quejing mulu, we find the text of an inscription dated 1275 and named “Short Inventory of the Taoist Canons through the Ages” (Daozang zunjing lidai gangmu 道藏尊經歷代綱目), which must have been placed at the Yongle gong 永樂宮 temple in Shanxi where Song Defang was abbot and from where he directed the compilation of the 1244 canon. The inscription is very much to the glory of his enterprise and of his canon, the printing blocks of which were kept in the Yongle gong temple. It is logical that the text of such an inscription would have been added to the catalogue of the 1244 canon. The logic of the above hypothesis is important, inasmuch as the Quejing mulu does show a pattern in the way it lists the lost Taoist works. Indeed, it clearly follows the classification of the Three Caverns and Four Auxiliaries of the previous canons. Beginning on page 1a and numbering the titles in sequence, we find the following in juan 1: ● Numbers 1 through 32 (1a–2b5) are Dongzhen 洞真 texts. ● Numbers 33 through 45 (2b6–3a9) are Dongxuan洞玄 texts. ● Numbers 46 through 103 (3a10–6b2) are also Dongzhen texts. ● Numbers 104 through 109, on 6b, are miscellaneous entries (such as the Xiang’er zhu 想爾注 of the Laozi and catalogues such as the Sui Yuwei jingmu 玉緯經目 and the Tang Sandong qionggang 三洞瓊綱; see CGF 112–14). ● Numbers 110 through 229 (6b8–13a7) are again Dongxuan texts. ● Numbers 230 through 234 (13a–b) are miscellaneous texts on divination. ● Numbers 235 through 298 (13b4–16b6) are Dongshen 洞神 texts. ● Numbers 299 through 388 at the end of juan 1 (21a) are Taixuan bu 太玄部 texts, many beginning with Laozi’s Song-period canonical title Taishang hunyuan shangde huangdi 太上混元上德皇帝 (at the end of this part, we find many doctrinal and polemical works as well as hagiographies). Coming now to juan 2, we see that it continues with the listing of hagiographical texts, the last being a monograph on Qingcheng shan 青城山 (no. 404). This part of the Taixuan bu therefore covers more than a hundred titles (299 to 404). ● Number 405 is the Yiqie daojing yinyi 一切道經音義 (see 1123 Yiqie daojing yinyi miaomen youqi). ● Numbers 406 and 407 are Taiqing bu 太清部 works, standing wrongly just before 408 and 409. ● Numbers 408 and 409, the Taiping bu 太平部 scriptures. The Taiping jingitself is listed as lost (see 1101a Taiping jing) ● Numbers 410 through 500 are all Taiqing bu texts, some marked as such, others clearly related to alchemy, Tending Life, and so on, including Inner Alchemy texts inspired by the Cantong qi (e.g., 459, on page 4b2). ● Numbers 501 through 557 are texts from the Zhengyi bu 正一部. The remainder of the list is filled with titles of books that are mostly from later periods, comprising even some Southern Song (1127–1279) works, and listed without any apparent order. These may have been the works that had no direct relationship with the traditional Seven Divisions and were therefore placed at the end of the canons as a supplement. To conclude, although there are some manifest overlappings and irregularities and the use of at least two and probably more catalogues is evident, the Quejing mulu follows in general the subdivision of the Three Caverns and Four Auxiliaries, and large parts are composed of works of a single category. Within these, the Dongxuan division stands out as the largest, with 127 texts, followed by the Taixuan (105), the Taiqing (90), and the Dongzhen divisions (89). As always, the Dongshen division is small and the Taiping division amounts to almost nothing. As to the size of the Zhengyi division, as in the Ming canon, coming at the very end, it has been enlarged by many later additions. Although in some instances texts of a certain type are grouped together, such as hagiographies, rules of conduct, and “discussions” (lun 論), there is no trace of a subdivision in Twelve Categories (Shi’er lei 十二類) as we find in the Ming canon. The Quejing mulu does give us a key to the original organization of the Taoist canons, as they were organized and structured from the times of Wang Yan at the end of the fifth century until the Yuan canon of 1244. It is thus an invaluable and hitherto largely untapped source for the study of Taoist bibliography. Bibliography： Chen Yuan, Nan Song chu Hebei xin daojiao kao; Ozaki Masaharu, “Dôzô ketsukyô mokurokukanken.” Kristofer Schipper |
| 8 | xu daozang jing mulu 續道藏經目錄 | Xu Daozang jing mulu 續道藏經目錄 4 juan。1431 (fasc. 1057) “Table of Contents of the Taoist Canon of the Great Ming.” This listing stands at the very end of the Zhengtong canon of 1445, whereas that of the Wanli supplement of 1607 stands at the very beginning of the Xu Daozang 續道藏. There is no possibility of confusion between the two since the typography is strikingly different, in keeping with the graphic forms of the characters prevalent in the respective parts. The colophon at the end of the two tables of contents by the Fiftieth Heavenly Master, Zhang Guoxiang 張國祥, dated 1607, therefore applies to the contents of the supplement only. The table of contents of the Zhengtong canon is preceeded by a short text entitled “Origins of Taoism” (Daojiao zongyuan 道教宗源), an introduction to the genesis and structure of the Daoist canon. It can therefore be considered as the preface to the Daozang. It is followed by even shorter “instructions for use” ( fanli 凡例). The introduction makes the origin of the canon coequal with that of the universe: How remote! The beginning of the Family of the Tao (Daojia 道家)! It started from where there was nothing before; it manifested itself in response to stimulus; it was born from the Marvelous One. From this Marvelous One came the division into Three Principles. These Three Principles transformed into the Three Qi [energies], and these again transformed into the Three Kinds [Heaven, Earth, and Life]. The Three Kinds then began to give birth and the ten-thousand beings attained their fullness. The Three Principles . . . produced the Lord of Heavenly Treasure, the Lord of Marvelous Treasure, and the Lord of Divine Treasure. They reigned over the Three Pure Regions, which are Jade Purity, Supreme Purity and Most High Purity, also named the Three Heavens But as the [318] Jiutian shengshen zhangjingsays: “Although these names are different, their foundation is One. These Three Lords are also the chief teachers of the Three Caverns. They are the Dongzhen, the Dongxuan, and the Dongshen , each containing twelve divisions. From the Three Caverns sprang the Four Auxiliaries, Taixuan, Taiping, Taiqing, and Zhengyi. And so the canon came into being. The introduction then sets forth explanations of the division, of the works included in each of the Three Caverns, and into Twelve Categories (shi’er lei 十二類), going to great lengths to justify the need for each of them. The fanli does likewise, adding concrete examples. Bibliography： Ozaki Masaharu, “Dôzô mokuroku shôchû kanken.” Kristofer Schipper and Yuan Bingling |
| 9 | Bao Jing 鮑靚 | Bao Jing 鮑靚, zi Taixuan 太玄 (260–330?). According to legend, BaoJing was born in Chenliu 陳留, southeast of Kaifeng in Henan (some sources indicate Shangdang 上黨 or Donghai 東海). He is famous for having announced to his father, at age five, that he was the reincarnation of a son of the Li family of Quyang 曲陽 who had died when he was nine years old after falling into a well. Bao is also said to be a descendant of Bao Xuan 鮑宣 (d. a.d. 3), a well-known scholar at the time of the Han emperor Aidi (r. 7 b.c.–a.d. 1). Bao Jing was versed in Taoism, Confucianism, and astronomy. In 318, he met the immortal Yin Changsheng 陰長生, who recognized his aptitudes and passed on to him his techniques of immortality. Bao rose to be governor of Nanhai 南海 (modern Canton). He was a friend of the Eastern Jin official Xu Mi and master of the latter’s elder brother, the hermit Xu Mai. Ge Hong married Bao’s daughter. On Bao Jing’s alleged rediscovery of the Sanhuang wen 三皇文 texts, see the general introduction in volume 1, section E, “Lu Xiujing and the Canon of the Three Caverns.” Bao was buried in a place named Shizi gang 石子岡. Soon thereafter, his remains disappeared by means of “corpse liberation.” |
| 10 | Bo Yuchan 白玉蟾 | Bo Yuchan 白玉蟾, zi Ruhui 如晦, Ziqing 紫清, Bosou 白叟, hao Haiqiong 海瓊(1194–1229; traditional dates 1134–1229). Bo Yuchan was born Ge Changgeng 葛長庚, but he was adopted into the family of his mother’s second husband. His lack of family background contributed to his reputation as a genial, independent, freewheeling person: he is said to have spent most of his life roaming, as did his master, Chen Nan (1171?–1213). Bo’s reputation as a provocative Taoist did not preclude his integration within the Taoist establishment. During his formative years (1205–1214), Bo rapidly mastered the traditional Zhengyi 正一 liturgy, various Thunder rites, and neidan 內丹 techniques. He later lived in the Wuyi shan 武夷山 range in Fujian, but also settled for some time on Xishan 西山 (modern Jiangxi) where he promoted the Jingming zhongxiao 淨明忠孝 school. Bo had many disciples who formed the nucleus of the Southern school (Nanzong 南宗) and who edited his abundant works (99 Baojing jizhu, 757 Qingjing jing zhu, 914 Danjing bizhi, 1307 Bo zhenren yulu, 1308 Wendao ji, 1309 Chuandao ji, and parts of 263 Xiuzhen shishu; see also 1220 Daofa huiyuan). Several large anthologies of his prose and poetry were compiled during the Ming (1368–1644) and the Qing (1644–1911) periods. |
| 11 | Chen Jingyuan 陳景元 | Chen Jingyuan 陳景元, zi Taichu 太初, hao Zhenjing 真靖, Bixu 碧虛 (1025–1094). Chen was born into a family of literati in Nancheng 南城 (modern Jiangxi). He became a Taoist at age seventeen when he was orphaned. He benefited early from an excellent education and made a rapid ascent in the Taoist administration, mainly through his exceptional scholarly talents. According to his oldest extant biography (Xuanhe shubu 6.10a–12a), Chen was a disciple of Zhang Wumeng 張無夢 (952?– 1051) at Mount Tiantai 天台山 in Zhejiang. He later came to live in the Liquan guan 醴泉觀 temple at the capital. Historical sources also mention his accomplishments as a painter, and he belonged to a poetic circle that included the most famous politicians of the age. He retired in 1083 to devote himself entirely to recovering and editing ancient scriptures. The list of his works is impressive, and although many did not survive, eight are extant. They are mostly commentaries on Taoist classics. His interest in neidan 內丹 is not well reflected in this corpus, although it is possible that the alchemical treatise 241 Qinchuan zhizhi can be attributed to him. Chen died on Lushan 廬山 (Jiangxi) at the age of seventy. |
| 12 | Chen Nan 陳楠 | Chen Nan 陳楠, zi Nanmu 南木, hao Cuixu weng 翠虛翁, Niwan xiansheng 泥丸先生 (d. 1213). Chen Nan is recognized as one of the patriarchs of the Southern School (Nanzong 南宗), being the fourth successor to the alleged founder, Zhang Boduan. The lineage includes Shi Tai, author of 1091 Huanyuan pian and direct disciple of Zhang Boduan, and Xue Daoguang, the third patriarch in the Wuzhen pian 悟真篇 lineage. The tradition seems to have been formulated first by Bo Yuchan (see “Xie Zhang Ziyang shu 謝張紫陽書” in 263 Xiuzhen shishu 6.4a). Chen “Niwan” (nirvana) is supposed to have been the master of Bo Yuchan. His spiritual legacy is represented by his collected poems in 1090 Cuixu pian 翠虛篇, compiled by Wang Sicheng 王思誠, zi Zhenxi zi 真息子 (fl. 1217). Chen is said to have hailed from Huizhou 惠州 (in present Guangdong province) and to have been a cooper by trade. He won fame as a Thunder magic exorcist in the southern regions before he was called to the capital during the Zhenghe period (1111–1118) and appointed Taoist registrar by Emperor Huizong. After the fall of the Northern Song (960–1127), he returned to the south to live on Mount Luofu 羅浮山 near Canton. He traveled a great deal and visited the coastal cities of Chaozhou, Zhangzhou, and Fuzhou and also went inland as far as Changsha in present-day Hunan. He sought deliverance from the body, by drowning himself in Zhangzhou in the year 1213 (or perhaps 1211). He had said of himself that, having waited forty-three years before attaining the Tao, he would see four generations pass before leaving the world. |
| 13 | Chen Niwan 陳泥丸 | Chen Niwan 陳泥丸. See Chen Nan. |
| 14 | Chen Shaowei 陳少衛 | Chen Shaowei 陳少衛, zi Ziming 子明; hao Hengyue zhenren 衡嶽真人 (fl. 712– 734). Chen Shaowei was an important Taoist alchemist of the High Tang (618–907) period who can be ascertained to have been active during the early years of Xuanzong’s reign (after 712). The few facts we have concerning his life and work come from two works preserved in the Daozang (890 Xiufu lingsha miaojue, 891 Jiuhuan jindan miaojue) and the few words he devotes to himself in the preface to the first of these texts. He tells us that he left his residence at the sacred mountain of Hengshan 衡山 (in present Hunan) and went to Mount Huanglong (near modern Nanchang in Jiangxi province), where he met a holy person who transmitted to him the alchemical secrets of Xu Xun. According to Chen, Xu Xun had obtained those secrets from his master, Wu Meng 吳猛, who had received them from his own initiator, Ding Yi 丁義. Mount Huanglong is considered to be the place where Xu Xun practiced alchemy. The transmission of alchemical secrets to Wu Meng by a certain Ding Yi is also recorded in other hagiographies (compare 1110 Jingming zhongxiao quanshu 1.1b and 1.3b). The relationship between Chen Shaowei and Xu Xun’s Way of Filial Piety of the Tang period (618–907) can therefore be assumed. Chen’s presence at Hengshan is also attested. He is said to have initiated Jia Ziran 賈自然 (see LZTT 33.11b) and to have appeared in a dream to Sima Chengzhen (see 606 Nanyue zongzheng ji 18a). |
| 15 | Chen Tuan 陳摶 | Chen Tuan 陳摶, zi Tu’nan 圖南, hao Fuyao 扶搖, Boyun xiansheng 白雲先生, Xiyi xiansheng 希夷先生 (871?–989). The title Boyun xiansheng was bestowed on Chen Tuan by Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou (r. 954–959); the title Xiyi xiansheng by the Song emperor Taizong (r. 976–997). Chen, a native of Bozhou, was probably an unsuccessful examination candidate. He spent more than twenty years at Jiushi yan 九室岩, on Wudang shan 武當山, after which he settled for forty years at the Yuntai guan 雲臺觀 temple in the Huashan 華山 range. There he practiced the ascesis of Inner Alchemy. He is said to have been able to sleep a hundred days without waking. This detail is mentioned in his official biography, in the History of the Song (Song shi 457.13420). An ascetic Method of the Hibernating Dragon (Zhelong fa 螫龍法) is attributed to him. It is said that he received it from Lü Dongbin. Chen Tuan’s diagrams had a great influence on the Confucianists of the Northern Song (960–1127). His only surviving work now extant is a book on neidan 內丹, the 134 Huandan ge zhu. Chen died in 989, allegedly at the age of 118 sui. |
| 16 | Chen Xianwei 陳顯微 | Chen Xianwei 陳顯微, zi Zongdao 宗道, hao Baoyi zi 抱一子 (fl. 1223–1254). A native of Yangzhou, Chen Xianwei was active as a Southern school (Nanzong 南宗) daoshi at the Yousheng guan 佑聖觀 temple in Lin’an 臨安 (Hangzhou). In 1223, he is said to have had an encounter with a “superior person” who transmitted the “true alchemical method” to him. This later enabled him to gain special insights into the Cantong qi 參同契. He is best known for his teaching and commentary on that work (1007 Cantong qi jie). |
| 17 | Chen Zhixu 陳致虛 | Chen Zhixu 陳致虛, zi Guanwu 觀吾, hao Shangyang zi 上陽子 (b. 1290). Chen Zhixu was a native of Luling 廬陵 (Ji’an 吉安, Jiangxi) but was active in the Hunan and Hubei regions. In 1329, Chen became a disciple of the alchemist Zhao Youqin 趙有欽. In the course of his peregrinations in the Jiugong shan 九宮山 range in Hubei, Chen acquired many followers. The school he founded (see 1070 Jindan dayao xianpai) constituted a branch of the Quanzhen 全真 movement that traced its origin to Ma Danyang. Chen Zhixu also linked it to the syncretist movement “uniting the Three Teachings” (sanjiao wei yi 三教爲一). In his own writings, Southern school (Nanzong 南宗) Taoism and Chan teachings predominate. Chen is credited with numerous works in the Daozang that are mostly concerned with Inner Alchemy and self-cultivation. He is also the author of major commentaries on the Book of Salvation (91 Shangpin miaojing zhujie) and the “Essay on the Realization of Perfection” (see 142 Wuzhen pian sanzhu). |
| 18 | Cheng Xuanying 成玄英 | Cheng Xuanying 成玄英, zi Zishi 子實. Cheng Xuanying was an eminent philosopher and commentator who lived in the early Tang period (618–907). The little we know of his life comes from a short note in the bibliographical chapter of the Xin Tang shu (VDL 106). He hailed from Shanzhou 陝州 (present-day Shanxian 陝縣 in Henan province) and appears to have been trained as a classical scholar, as suggested by his zi. His Taoist career began in Donghai (eastern Shandong). In 631, he was invited to the court by Emperor Taizong, who honored him with the title Xihua fashi 西華法師 (Ritual Master of Western Luster), no doubt an allusion to the sacred mountain of Huashan 華山, the Western Peak. When Taizong died (649) and his successor Gaozong (r. 649–683) came to the throne, Cheng was banished to a place called Yuzhou 郁州. It was there that he wrote his famous commentaries to the Laozi 老子, the Zhuangzi 莊子, and the Duren jing 度人經. Of these, his interpretation of the Zhuangzi (see 745 Nanhua zhenjing zhushu) is the most important. Presented as a subcommentary to Guo Xiang’s celebrated glosses, Cheng in fact shows a superior understanding of the text, not only of its grammar and semantics, but also of its philosophical meaning. He therefore often, with great elegance, corrects Guo Xiang’s errors and misinterpretations, opening a new age of Zhuangzi studies, which flourished under the Song (960–1279). It is sometimes claimed that Cheng belonged to a Chongxuan 重玄 (Double Mystery) school, inspired by Mãdhyamika Buddhist thought. In fact there is no historical evidence of such a school. Cheng’s thought and his use of the term chongxuan are consistent with the epistemology of the Taoist thinkers of the Warring States period (475–221 b.c.) and were defined and defended as such by Cheng himself. |
| 19 | Deng Yougong 鄧有功 | Deng Yougong 鄧有功, zi Zida 子大, hao Yuechao 月巢 (1210–1279?). Deng Yougong was a scholar official of the Southern Song period (1127–1279) who practiced the Tianxin zhengfa methods of exorcism and edited several works of this school. Poetry attributed to Deng is reproduced from an unidentified source in Quan Song ci 4.2977, which is the source of his dates. A native of Nanfeng 南豐 (Jiangxi), he obtained the jinshi 進士 degree at an early age and became a local official, serving at one time at Jinhuo 金豁 in the prefecture of Fuzhou 撫州 (Jiangxi). The Daozang preserves two works edited by Deng: 566 Tianxin zhengfa and 461 Lingwen guilü, the second work being ascribed to one of the legendary founders of the school, Rao Dongtian (fl. 994). |
| 20 | Du Daojian 杜道堅 | Du Daojian 杜道堅, zi Chuyi 處逸, hao Nangu zi 南谷子, Fujiao dashi 輔教大師(1237–1318). A native of Dangtu 當塗 (Anhui), Du Daojian entered Taoist orders at age seventeen. He subsequently lived at Maoshan 茅山, where he received his ordination from the Shangqing patriarch Jiang Zongying 蔣宗瑛 (d. 1281). His initiation at Maoshan was followed by years of wandering in the area of Danyang 丹陽 and Yixing 義興 (also in modern Jiangsu). During the Xianchun period (1265– 1274), the Southern Song ruler Duzong bestowed the title Fujiao dashi and other imperial favors on Du and made him abbot of the Shengyuan baode guan 昇元報德觀 temple in Wuxing 吳興 (modern Huzhou 湖州, Zhejiang). After the Mongol conquest of southern China in 1279, Du was granted an audience by Kublai Khan (1215–1294) in Dadu, the Yuan capital. In 1303, Emperor Chengzong appointed Du Taoist registrar (daolu 道錄) of Hangzhou 杭州. The succeeding emperor, Renzong, bestowed further honors on him in 1312, including the title Longdao chongzhen chongzheng zhenren 隆道沖真崇正真人. After Du Daojian’s death in 1318, his disciple Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322) composed a stele inscription in his honor: Longdao chongzhen chongzheng zhenren Du gong bei 隆道沖真崇正真人杜公碑. It is preserved in Zhao’s collected works (Songxue zhai ji 松雪齋集 9). Du was the author of several commentaries on Taoist classics. After the fall of the Song dynasty (960–1279), he combined elements of Taoist and Confucian political and moral philosophy in an endeavor to create an ideological basis for a return to order and stability under the new regime. |