《三洞神符记》

The Great Discourse on the Gate of the Dao (the Way; Daomen dalun) says that when Yin-Yang first separated, there arose the Qi (vital energy) of the Three Primordials (Sanyuan), the Five De (Wude; Virtue/Power), and the Eight Convergences (Bahui). From these were formed the writings of the flying heavens, which were later compiled as the Chapters of Brilliant Light in the Eight Dragons’ Cloud Seal Script (Balong yunzhuan mingguang zhi zhang).

Master Lu explains that the Three Powers (Sancai)—Heaven, Earth, and humanity—are called the Three Primordials. Once the Three Primordials were established, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) were likewise complete. Taking the Five Phases as five positions, the union of three and five is called the Eight Convergences, and these are the foundation of every kind of writing.

There is also the Chapters of Brilliant Light in the Eight Dragons’ Cloud Seal Script. This is the naturally generated Qi of flying mystery, which condenses in the void and becomes written characters, each character one zhang square (a zhang being a traditional measure of roughly ten feet). Originating among the various heavens, it brings forth and establishes the myriad things.

Consulting the Declarations of the Perfected (Zhen’gao), one finds the Lady of Purple Tenuity (Ziwei furen) saying that the writings of the Three Primordials and Eight Convergences are the ancestral source of literary composition, while the Eight Dragons’ cloud seal script is the root of written characters and the beginning of writing.

Another view holds that the Eight Convergences refer to the Three Powers and the Five Phases, and that they become manifest only after Heaven and Earth have been divided. The scriptures further say that the Five Chapters of the Perfected Writ of the Numinous Treasure in Red Script (Lingbao chishu wupian zhenwen) appeared before the Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi). Seen in this light, the Three Primordials are probably not the Three Powers, nor are the Five De the Five Phases; the Three Primordials ought rather to be the three kinds of primordial Qi of the Elder of the Three Treasures (Sanbao zhangren). These three kinds of primordial Qi are naturally distinct from the Five De.

Hence the Stanzas of the Generation of Shen (spirit) in the Nine Heavens (Jiutian shengshen zhang) says: “None of the transformations between Heaven and Earth can come into being unless gestated by the Three Primordials and guided by the Nine Qi.” It also says: “The Three Qi are the revered lords of Heaven and Earth, and the Nine Qi are the root of the myriad things.” From this one knows that the Three Primordials spoken of here exist before Heaven and Earth had yet opened and before the Three Powers had yet taken form.

Ritual Master Song explains that the Eight Convergences are the Three Qi and the Five De. The Three Primordials are as follows: the first is the Qi of the Exalted Jade Sovereign of the Primordial of Chaotic Cavern and Great Non-Being; the second is the Qi of the Unsurpassed Jade Clarity of the Primordial of Scarlet Chaos and Great Non-Being; the third is the Qi of the Unsurpassed Jade Void of the Primordial of Dark Stillness and Mysterious Penetration. The Five De are the convergence of the three and the five contained within the Three Primordials: within Yin there are Lesser Yin and Greater Yin, within Yang there are Lesser Yang and Greater Yang, and added to these is the “Harmony” formed by the union of Yin and Yang. Together these are called the Five De.

The word zhuan (“seal script”) carries the sense of compiling and gathering; cloud writings gathered together are called cloud seal script. Thus the writings of the Three Primordials and Eight Convergences, and the chapters of the Eight Dragons’ cloud seal script, are all celestial books. The class of the Three Primordials and Eight Convergences is one kind among them, while the cloud seal script of brilliant light may be illustrated by such examples as the Five Talismans and the Five Conquests.

The original text of the Eight Convergences comprises one thousand one hundred and nine characters in all; the perfected writs of its chapters total six hundred and sixty-eight characters. They are the root of the Three Powers, able to generate and establish Heaven and Earth and to open and transform human beings and Shen, and they are also the cause from which the myriad things arise. Therefore what are called the Dao of Heaven, the Dao of Earth, the Dao of Shen, and the Dao of humanity refer precisely to these.

The Jade Instructions (Yujue) says that, when one cultivates and applies this method, the five chapters are counted separately by number of characters, and each has four items… (The original text is unfinished at this point.)

The first category of divine talismans is used chiefly to summon the Emperors of the Nine Heavens, to verify the charts and name-registers of immortals and deities, and to seek methods of attaining immortality and reaching the state of a Perfected Person (zhenren). The second is used to summon the stellar lodges and palace offices of heaven, to correct the degree-divisions of the heavenly bodies in their courses, and to defend the state and bring peace to the people. The third is used to subdue and control the Yin Qi (vital energy) of the Six Heavens of Fengdu, the unseen underworld of Daoist belief. The fourth is used, under orders, to dispatch the Water Emperor, so as to overpower and summon the spirits of dragons and of birds.

The “Inner Sounds” (neiyin) of the various heavens are phonetic texts secretly transmitted in the celestial realm: each heaven has eight characters, and the thirty-two heavens together total two hundred fifty-six characters. These graphs recount the degrees of the heavens’ movements and the seasons of their conjunctions. They also concern the methods by which sagely immortals pacify the people, the names and titles of immortals and deities, the offices under their charge and the palace-cities where they reside, the transformations of immortals, the grades of their ascent and descent, the various classes of demons, and the cycle of birth and death and the causes and conditions of all living beings and ghosts. Thirteen of these characters are the name-titles of the primordial Jing (essence) of the Five Directions. It is said that by cultivating according to this material, one may practice ingestion and nourishing refinement, seek immortality, refine the Shen (spirit) and transform the bodily form, and ascend into the sky in broad daylight. The original explanations of the pronunciation and meaning of the remaining one hundred twenty-two characters have been lost.

The second category of writing develops the graphs of the Eight Convergences into the forms of dragons and phoenixes, and is called “Dragon Script” (longshu). The scripts discussed below were all recorded by the Mysterious Sages and used to depict the patterns of heaven.

The third category of writing: according to legend, in the time of the Yellow Emperor, Cangjie, the traditional inventor of writing, took the forms of dragons and phoenixes as his model and the tracks left by birds and beasts as his basis, and created the ancient script in place of recording events by knotted cords. This is the ancient style of writing.

The fourth category of writing: Shi Zhou, historian of the Zhou dynasty, recast the ancient script as Great Seal script.

The fifth category of writing: Cheng Miao of the Qin dynasty recast Great Seal script as Small Seal script.

The sixth category of writing: after the Qin dynasty, Xuyang recast Small Seal script as clerical script. Another account holds that in the Han dynasty clerical script was called “assistant script”; still others say that it was devised by Cheng Miao while he was in prison, and that it was named “clerical script” because it derived from the writing used by convict laborers. This is what is known as the “Six Scripts.”

Cloud Seal Script (yunzhuan)

At this point the text goes on to mention “Cloud Seal Script” and the “Chapter of Brilliant Light.” The original then repeats the account of the origin of clerical script, and the heading “Cloud Seal Script” appears once more; the passage may contain misplaced slips or duplication.

In addition, there is the “Chapter of Cloud Seal Script and Brilliant Light,” a kind of Brahma script written by following the transformations of form. Writing of this sort is divided into sixty-four kinds and is distributed throughout the Thirty-Six Heavens. The scriptures (Jing) that have come down to the present all use clerical-script characters to explain the celestial script, so celestial script and clerical characters are used together in mixed fashion.

The Eight Scripts, the Six Styles, and the Six Principles

The Eight Scripts are the large seal script, the small seal script, the carved-tally script, the insect script, the imprint script, the title script, the halberd script, and the clerical script.

In the time of Wang Mang, Zhen Feng, the Minister over the Masses, was commissioned to collate the writing system and further set out the Six Styles. The first is the ancient script, that is, the characters discovered in the wall of Confucius’s residence. The second is the rare script, that is, ancient characters whose forms differ from those in common use. The third is seal script. The fourth is assistant script, which is clerical script. The fifth is convoluted seal script, used for making seals. The sixth is bird seal script, also called “fanyan.”

When Cangjie created writing, there must already have been brushes. The Classic of Poetry (Shijing) mentions the “vermilion tube,” and this too was a brush. Later people say that Meng Tian invented the brush, perhaps because Meng Tian, as a general of Qin, remained famous across several generations; he improved the method of making brushes and pared them with exquisite skill, and so he alone received the credit for inventing them. Only in the time of Emperor He of the Han did Cai Lun begin to make paper. Before that, people wrote only on bamboo slips and wooden tablets. The tablet was used to record events and speech; the slip was for recording matters briefly, without writing at length.

We know only that these things ultimately derive from the celestial script and the golden slips. As for the written characters circulating in the human world, together with the Eight Scripts, the Six Styles, and the rest, all evolved from the celestial script; other matters scholars may investigate further. As for when this scripture was written onto paper and made up into scrolls, that too cannot be known.

Some hold that brushes already existed at the beginning of the kalpa—the first opening of heaven and earth—and that the celestial script written by Taizhen was likewise so; how, then, can one say that there were no brushes at that time? As for the Eight Scripts, the Six Styles, and the rest, they are the various principles already present when the Celestial Worthy brought the myriad things into being. People of later ages continued to use these forms of writing, and so there is naturally a distinction of earlier and later.

The Six Principles are as follows. The first is called pictographic, as in “sun” and “moon.” The second is called indicative, as in “above” and “below.” The third is called form-and-sound, as in “river” and “sea.” The fourth is called combined meaning, as in “martial” and “trust.” The fifth is called reciprocal glossing, as in “deceased father” and “old.” The sixth is called phonetic loan, as in “command” and “chief.”

All things take Jing-Qi—Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy)—as the root of their operation. Thus Jing-Qi circulates between Heaven and Earth and among the sun, moon, and stars; and once the myriad things have come into being, Jing-Qi moves within them as well. The Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and every kind of thing contain Jing-Qi, without exception.

When the Jing-Qi of the Dao (the Way) is set down on bamboo slips and in ink, it can resonate with the Jing-Qi of the myriad things. It serves to drive out deviance and falsehood, uphold the orthodox Dao, summon the host of spirits, regulate life and death, sustain the jieyun (the great transformations through which Heaven and Earth pass), and pacify and garrison the five directions.

The basis of the fu (talisman) lies in talismanic forms that coalesce in the void. Taizhen (a venerable deity spoken of in Daoism) looked upward and copied the writing of Heaven, then arranged it according to the directions, distinguishing the various images from the talismanic texts. A fu takes the configurations of cloud-Qi, the myriad things, and the stars; writing sets forth, each in its turn, the sounds of the characters, the phrasing, and the meaning; a diagram depicts the forms of numinous and wondrous transformation. Yet a fu also contains written characters, and its shape resembles an image, while writing may likewise contain diagrams and convey meaning through both form and sound. Thus there came to be the “eight styles and six scripts,” which make one another clear and work in concert.

Eight Manifestations

The “Eight Manifestations” (Baxian) are of eight kinds. The first is the celestial script, that is, the Bahui (Eight Assemblies). The second is the divine script, that is, the yunzhuan (cloud seal script). The third is the terrestrial script, whose forms resemble dragons and phoenixes. The fourth is the inner script, said to have been disgorged by turtles, dragons, fish, and birds. The fifth is the outer script, inscribed upon scales, shells, and feathers. The sixth is the ghost script, whose forms are disordered and obscure, beyond human understanding. The seventh is the script of Zhongxia, the central lands, namely cursive writing, cloud seal script, and characters of that kind. The eighth is the script of the Rong and Yi, whose shapes resemble insects.

Of these six kinds of writing and eight styles of script, some ancient graphs are the same as modern ones, and some modern graphs are the same as ancient ones. The patterns of the talismans interlace and combine, together forming a single standard, and they take effect when joined. For this reason there is no fixed boundary between their similarities and their differences.

The account above follows the explanation of Ritual Master Song; the author had not seen the relevant original text. Talismans in the scriptures (jing) of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) sometimes bear written characters—for example, certain ancient graphs in the Ancient Script Shangshu (Book of Documents) are the same as the characters used today.

Taishang Daojun, the Supreme Lord of the Dao (the Way), atop Nandan Dongyang, imparted to the scholar Wang Long this secret teaching on the numinous writs and jade characters. As for which generation composed the commentary, this cannot yet be determined; scholars may continue to investigate.

The scripture also discusses methods of cultivation, of arranging Fulu (talismans and registers) and Zhaijiao (purification ritual), of visualizing the five directions, and of averting and resolving calamities. These passages in fact explain the writing of the Eight Assemblies (Bahui wen, the celestial script of which Daoism speaks). While setting forth the meaning of the scripture, they further clarify the principles within it—just as, when the perfected writs are explained, the principle of resonance and intercommunication is also brought out. The Dingzhi Jing (Scripture on Stabilizing the Will) likewise says that these contents arise from the meaning of “contemplating the subtle.” The particulars may be further examined by scholars.

At times, while treating one matter, the text also turns to another matter bound up with it. The Yujue (Jade Instructions), for example, not only explain the scripture but also set out the ritual rules for transmitting the classics and for the covenant and the conferral. Even so, the explanatory writings in the various scriptures may all be referred to collectively as the Yujue.

The Imperial Writings of the August Thearch

The Sanhuang Jing (Scripture of the Three Sovereigns) says: the imperial writings of the August Thearch (sacred characters of Daoist legend) all come forth from spontaneous emptiness and non-being. In the void they condense Qi (vital energy) and thereby form characters. They have neither ancestor nor beginning, nor do they have exhaustion or end. As the course of the age changes they are now hidden and now revealed, yet they continue without interruption and exist throughout.

Celestial Writs

The Zhutian Neiyin Jing (Scripture of the Inner Sounds of the Various Heavens) says: suddenly a celestial writ appeared, its characters as large as a zhang, manifest in the sky. The patterns and colors on the celestial writ were vivid and resplendent, and light rayed forth from its eight angles. The glare of its Jing (essence) was piercing, so that one could not see it clearly.

The Tianzhen Huangren (a sacred figure of Daoist legend) says: this writing is exalted and mysterious, and cannot be compared with ordinary things. It opens the beginning of Dayou (Great Possession) and veils the manifestation of heavenly light; by treasuring and concealing its Dao, it displays the nobility of the characters. The forms of its graphs are profound and subtle, not the manner of writing in the mortal world. What is precious in them lies in their mysterious images; the highest reality, on the contrary, remains hidden and is not shown.

Dragon Script (Longzhang)

The Lingbao Jing (Lingbao Scripture) says: In the Chiming era, the celestial realm opened the scripture charts, and heaven and earth moved and transformed of their own accord. The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning settled heaven and earth and transmitted the five-section scriptures. Written in vermilion upon jade, their characters took the form of dragons and possessed eight kinds of fierce divine power. They can uphold heaven and earth, arrest the cycles of kalpic disaster, and allow the celestial realm to endure for ages. This is what is called the “dragon script.”

Phoenix Script

The Purple Phoenix Red-Script Scripture says: The ancient text of this scripture was originally stored in the Purple Chamber of the Six Harmonies of the Most High. Beside the walls of the repository, six lion-like great beasts stand guard, while jade lads and jade maidens attend the phoenix script at its side.

Jade Tablets and Golden Writing

The scriptures transmitted by the Three Origins—the upper, middle, and lower origins of which Daoism speaks—are all inscribed upon books of the Golden Elixir (Jindan), placed in pouches of natural cloud-brocade, sealed with the seals of the precious deities of the Three Origins, and kept in the Palace of Great Existence above the Nine Heavens. Such scriptures are called “jade tablets and golden writing.”

Another account holds that the jade tablets and golden writing are made into slips of purple jade, with the characters written in raw gold, then bound with gold thread and wrapped with blue-green silk. The Code of the Supreme Perfected says that the jade tablets and golden writing are fashioned into slips of the seven treasures and are also called “purple slips.”

Stone Characters

The Benxing Jing says: The Dao (the Way) told how, long ago in the world of Chanli, King Dui had a daughter named Guayin, who was unable to speak from birth. When she was fourteen, King Dui thought this strange and abandoned her in the empty mountains of Nanfu Changsang. As Guayin wandered about the mountains, she suddenly met a divine being beneath the cypress grove of Shebo at Danling. The divine being took Guayin’s right hand, inscribed characters on a red stone, and said to her, “Although you cannot speak, you may commit these characters to memory.” Moved by what had befallen her and pitying her affliction, Heaven sent down the Numinous Lad of the Vermilion Palace (a numinous child of the celestial realm) to teach Guayin methods of nurturing the body and to transmit to her the Eight Characters of the Red Script (a kind of Daoist talismanic writing executed in red). From then on, Guayin was able to speak.

The Lingbao Yujue Jing says: The Dao told Aqiu Zeng, “In a former life you were together with the Venerable Deity of the Southern Pole in the world of Chanli, and beneath the cypress grove of Shebo at Danling the two of you jointly aroused the aspiration to seek the Dao. At that time the Venerable Deity of the Southern Pole bore the surname Huang and the name Duming. He held your right hand, and together you inscribed characters on the red stone, thereby recording your names. The Southern Palace set down your handwriting on the Southern Gallery, where it remains to this day, and the characters on the stone are still preserved as well. Do you still remember?” Qiu Zeng was suddenly awakened within. He raised his eyes and saw the realm presided over by the Venerable Deity of the Southern Pole. On the southern wall were carved the words: “On the first day of the seventh month of the year Taijia, King Huang Duming and Aqiu Zeng together made a vow beneath the cypress grove of Danling.” Twenty-three characters in all, the writing perfectly clear.

Inscribing on Plain Silk

The Scripture of the Five Talismans says: The Five Talismans (five kinds of Fulu [talismans and registers]) are written on the “silk of Nanhe”; “Nanhe” refers to red silk. They are then enclosed in a case made of golden essence, stamped with the seal of the Mysterious Capital (the seal of Xuandu), and delivered to the Lord of Dongxuan of the Zhen Waters, Dongxuan being one of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen).

The Scripture of the Immortal Lord’s Questions says: The Upper and Lower Scriptures of the Dao and of De (Virtue/Power), the Mysterious Scripture of Dongzhen, the Celestial Writs of the Three Sovereigns, the various hymns of Shangqing (Highest Clarity), and other such texts were all canonical works composed by the Most High. They were once written on the silk of Nanhe, and for this reason are called “inscriptions on plain silk.”

Jade Characters

The Scripture of Inner Sounds and Jade Characters (Neiyin Yuzi Jing) states that chapters such as “Odes of the Many Pieces of Heavenly Perfected Imperial Clarity” were all composed by the Most High and written on Nanhe silk—a silk fabric known as “Nanhe”—and are therefore called “inscribed on plain silk.”

On the jade characters, the same scripture records the Heavenly Perfected Imperial Person as saying that the spontaneous jade characters of the inner sounds of the various heavens each measure one zhang square. They appear of themselves above the void mystery, casting light from all eight corners in a dazzling radiance. These numinous writings are formed by a confluence of eight kinds; their graphs have no fixed shape, and their meanings are profound and winding, difficult to investigate fully. They are all secret utterances used by the Great Brahma—the lofty and vast celestial realms—among the various heavens, condensed from flying-mystery Qi (vital energy) and joined with the sounds of the five directions. Born above the Primordial Beginning, they emerge within the hollow void and become manifest as the heavenly cycles turn, so as to accomplish everywhere the work of heaven and earth in their operation.

The Celestial Worthy commanded the Heavenly Perfected Imperial Person to annotate the correct pronunciations of these characters, so that the imperial Dao (the Way) might be clear and unobstructed and its grace extend through the ten directions. The Imperial Person dared not disobey. Taking up the brush, he wrote: “Although my form and my Shen (spirit) have both perished, I can only rely on what I have seen and heard, and tentatively annotate the meaning of the ‘five conjunctions’ among them. These principles are sufficient to enlighten and to save both the heavens and the human world.”

The measureless sounds of the five directions harmonize together to form the inner sounds of the various heavens, and are therefore called the “meaning of the five conjunctions.”

On writing born in the east, the Scripture of Great Peace says that writing is born in the east and grows bright and flourishing in the south. Celestial patterns therefore arise from the northeast, celestial books likewise appear from the northeast, and Heaven then displays its signs. The tiger has markings, and the tiger’s position is Yin, the northeast; the dragon has markings, and the dragon’s position is Chen, just south of due east. Writing is born in the east and flourishes in the south; from this one may know that the true script first appeared in the northeast.

On the jade registers, the Hidden Writings of Jade Clarity record the imperial slips in golden script and the registers of mysterious jade, which may be used to transmit the Jade Scripture of Mysterious Plumes. The text further says that unless one holds the imperial charts and the jade registers, one cannot hear or see the secretly treasured books of the Supreme Sovereign’s Jade Wisdom and of Jade Clarity, nor the plume scriptures of Golden Mystery and Hidden Mystery.

Jade chapters.

The Preface to the Various Chapters says: The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning ordered Taizhen to take up the brush, and the Jade Consort arranged the mats and desk. Slips and volumes were cast in gold, and the scripture (Jing) was engraved on jade tablets. The Five Elders were charged with keeping the records and secretly stored them in the Palace of the Nine-Numina Immortal Capital. The scripture was harbored there like cloud-Qi (vital energy), and was later transmitted to Lord Immortal Ge.

Jade Tablets

The Golden Root Scripture says: The Most High Lord of the Great Dao (the Way) entrusted the Scripture of the Great Cavern to the Supreme Minister, the Azure Lad, ordering him to keep the records in the Azure Palace of Eastern Florescence and to transmit them to those of later generations who are qualified to become Perfected. These golden slips and jade tablets come from the Palace of the Numinous Capital of the Most High; they are scriptures carved on jade.

Cinnabar Writings and Ink Registers

The Code of the Supreme Perfected says: Cinnabar slips are scriptures written in vermilion lacquer upon the slips. Vermilion corresponds to fire and symbolizes Yang (Yin-Yang). Ink registers are documents written in ink. Ink corresponds to water and symbolizes Yin. Those who study the Dao and follow these scriptures can seek long life and remain free from death. They are therefore called “cinnabar slips and ink registers,” and are kept in secret, not to be transmitted at will.

Jade Mandates

The Heavenly Sovereign holds the Jade Mandate of the Flying Immortals; the Human Sovereign holds the Jade Mandate of the Supreme Sovereign for Preserving Life; the Earthly Sovereign holds the Jade Mandate of the Primordial Sovereign for Fixing the Registers. “Jade mandate” refers to a canon or a talismanic charge made of jade.

The Book of Linked Blessings

The Scripture of Thirty-Nine Chapters says: The Most High has the Gate of Jasper Plumes. Taking “Heyan” as the embryo, it is called “Wangxuan.” The “One” is the most revered of the three Qi, and the Primordial Elder is the guest of the Supreme Thearch. These honored spirits together protect the body and mind of those who cultivate the Dao, and inscribe their names on the slips of linked blessings.

The scripture further says: The golden slips and jade tablets of the Most High are the Book of Linked Blessings.

Jasper Writings in Tadpole Script

The Scripture of Flight on Feathers says: Writings in gold and registers of jade are the jasper texts in tadpole script.

Fascicles of White Silver

The Scripture of the Golden Chamber for Delivering Life (Jinfang Duming Jing) says that in the metropolitan palace of the Numinous Spirits of Grand Constancy there is preserved the “Golden Chamber Formula for Delivering Life and Restoring the Years” (a ritual formula for praying for long life and a turn of fortune). These writings are all cast and engraved on golden slips, strung together with binding cords made of white silver, and written with a purple brush.

Red Writs

The Scripture of the Jade Instructions (Yujue Jing) says that the five chapters of true writs in red script of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning were set in place by the Heavenly Emperors of the Five Directions. Guided by the Qi (vital energy) of Yin-Yang, they turn the pivot of the Nine Heavens, so that the radiance of the Five Stars moves and becomes manifest.

True Writs Refined by Fire

The Scripture of Original Forms (Benxiang Jing) says that long ago, in the first year of the Chiming era, I and the Most High Great Sage, the Jade Emperor, refined the true writs in this place, using fire to make the forms of the characters appear and stand clear. At that time the fiery Qi that leaked out as the true writs were refined scattered to other places and turned into a grove of the Seven Treasures. The branches and leaves in the grove became purple books, ground of gold, ornaments carved in silver, and characters of jade. The dragons, flying birds, fierce beasts, and all kinds of divine insects in the grove constantly fed on the dew among the trees; once the true Qi entered their bodies, their lives were all prolonged. When their lifespans of thirty million kalpas came to an end, they were all transformed into flying immortals, continued to cultivate the Dao (the Way), and in the end realized the orthodox and true Dao of Wuwei (non-action).

Characters from the Ink of the Golden Pot

The Sagely Annals (Shengji) say that the kingdom of Futi (a land of legend) once presented two men skilled in writing. They appeared now old, now young; when they concealed their bodies, only their shadows remained, and when their voices were heard, their forms were hidden. They often brought out a golden pot four inches high, fastened with a clasp shaped like five dragons and sealed with blue clay. The pot held ink as thick as lacquer. When the ink was sprinkled on wood or stone, seal script, clerical script, or tadpole script (ancient characters shaped like tadpoles) would appear, recording the origins of all things in heaven and earth and of human relations. When Lord Lao composed the Daoist scriptures, nearly one hundred thousand characters in length, they were all written on jade tablets, bound together with golden cords, and then placed in a jade case. Later, when the ink in the golden pot was used up, the two men from Futi even wished to cut open their hearts and drain their blood to take the place of ink.

Jasper Slips

The Hidden Book of Jade Clarity: The Golden Tiger Talisman (Yuqing Yinshu Jinhu Fu) says: The Red Script of Yuyi (Yuyi chiwen, the red numinous writing associated with the sun) can summon the sun, so that one rides in the same chariot with it; the Yellow Stanzas of Jielin (Jielin huangzhang, the yellow numinous writing associated with the moon) can summon the moon, so that one abides together with it.

The Shangqing Scripture on Dispelling Demons (Shangqing Xiaomo Jing) says: Open the cavern gate in Xilin, seek numinous traces in the Cinnabar Cave, open the vermilion casket of the Primordial Heaven, and behold the jade documents of Shangqing (Highest Clarity). Mysterious talismanic writings are engraved on jade tablets, and the crimson name-registers of the immortals begin to be recorded at the Numinous Towers (the palaces where transcendent beings dwell). The practitioner meets the Three Primordials (Sanyuan—the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water, or the Qi [vital energy] of the Three Primordials) four times in the Mysterious Palace, and pays homage to the Five Elders (Wulao, venerated Daoist deities) six times in the Numinous Chamber. This passage occurs twice in the scripture and is combined here in a single rendering.

Purple Characters

The Scripture of the Eight Purities (Basu Jing) says: The mysterious characters of the True Scripture of the Eight Purities arose within the Great Void and appeared on the Mountain of the Western Turtle, atop the Mysterious Garden, and on the northern side of Mount Jishi.

The Lofty Mysterious Feathered Stanzas of the Eight Purities (Basu Gaoxuan Yuzhang) say: Numinous characters appear in abundance at the summit of the Cavern Heaven, and purple characters gleam among the jade-like groves. Divine light streams across the Nine Primordials (Jiuyuan, the celestial realm of the Golden Towers); sounds clear as metal and stone echo far through the Purple Heaven, and the majestic power of the writing shines forth brilliantly. Numinous Qi fills the Purple Court; the assembled perfected immortals bow in calm reverence and together offer congratulations to Shangqing (a Daoist celestial realm).

Characters of Spontaneity

The Mysterious Record of the Jade Emperor and the Seven Sages says: This scripture is a writing of Return to Heaven through the Nine Empyreans (the successive lofty heights of the celestial realm). It is recorded on white slips and azure registers (white bamboo documents and blue-green ledgers), and was received by the Supreme Sage and Imperial Lord in the Nine Voids (the remote heights of heaven). The characters were naturally condensed from the purple Qi (vital energy) of Flying Mystery, and they record the titles by which later students of the Dao (the Way) attain the Dao. Its numinous and wondrous rhymes accord with one another, and Jade Radiance (the clear, bright Qi of the Jade Clarity realm) receives the true Dao. At times it is expressed through the forms of characters, and at times through sounds held in reserve. Above and below join with the four directions, and all that appears are mysterious titles and images of beings transformed into existence in the void, inscribed in the Hall of Vast Numinosity.

The scriptures of former times contained one hundred thousand sentences of jade words. Their written forms belonged to no fixed class, and their rhymes followed no fixed reading; unless one were a supreme sage, one could not grasp their meaning. Only after seven thousand years, in the Chamber of Kunlun and at the source of the Northern Cavern, did these characters appear: each was one zhang square, their patterns bright and resplendent, the four sides meeting and radiance hanging down. They glimmered forth in the empty void, seeming at once present and absent. Purple Qi flowed and brushed the defilement from the writing; a radiance like gold smelted the characters until they were crystalline. After many kalpas had passed, the forms of the characters at last became clear and distinct.

On the seventeenth day of the ninth month in the first year of Zhonghuang, the Seven Sages together observed purification and abstinence in Lingqing Qichang Palace. By a covenant of gold and azure they announced themselves to Heaven, solemnly swore an oath, reported to the divinities, and reverently received the numinous writ. The Exalted Ones (deities of high station) unraveled for them what was tortuous and hard to understand in the text. The Seven Sages then comprehended its mysterious sounds and compiled them as the Chapter on Attaining the Dao by Returning to Heaven through the Nine Empyreans. The scripture was engraved on slips of white silver, bound together with flying-azure script (numinous azure writing that flies and transforms), stored in a pouch of cloud brocade, sealed with the Seal of Opening Destiny, and entrusted to the Left Immortal Duke of the Immortal Metropolis of the Five Elders, to be kept in the Jasper Palace.

Characters Formed by the Meeting of the Four Directions

The Mysterious Record of the Jade Emperor and the Seven Sages says: The scripture of the Mysterious Record of the Seven Sages is stored in a pouch of cloud brocade, sealed with the Seal of Opening Destiny, entrusted to the Left Immortal Duke of the Immortal Metropolis of the Five Elders, and kept in the Jasper Palace.

The four directions come together and form written characters.

The Mysterious Record of the Seven Sages of the Jade Emperor (Yudi qisheng xuanji) says: the “Mysterious Record of the Seven Sages” is writing of heaven. Some of it is combined according to rhyme; some is cross-referenced according to the categories of the twelve earthly branches; some joins the graphs of above and below and of the four directions to form the sounds of characters; some marks the formal taboo-names of the divinities; and some pairs single characters with compound characters. All these writings come from the mysterious void of remote antiquity. They were compiled and gathered by the high perfected (gaozhen—the exalted perfected immortals, as Daoism calls them) in order to display efficacious documents. If a cultivator of later ages possesses a mysterious name (xuanming—a title entered in the register of immortals), that person can see these writings. The name is registered in the Azure Void, kept by the Four Offices (sisi—the divine offices of heaven charged with documents and records of examination), and recorded by the Five Emperors.

Jade Slips and Stamen Writings

The Scripture of the Eight Purities (Basu jing) says: The Palace of Western Florescence holds the langjian ruishu (precious numinous writings of the immortal realm). Only one who will in the future become a perfected person may obtain this scripture.

The Stone Gong

The Pearl Satchel of the Three Caverns (Sandong zhunang) says: In the seventh month of the first year of the Supreme Sovereign, the Queen Mother of the West issued a teaching command in the Cavern Chamber of Southern Floating and bestowed the langjian ruishu upon Lord Wang, the Perfected of Pure Vacuity. Lord Wang in turn transmitted it to Yu of Xia, and Yu of Xia sealed this document inside a stone in the Cavern Chamber of Southern Floating.

This stone is written in some sources as “shi□” and in others as “shigong.” The Five Talismans (Wufu) says: “The numinous writing of the Nine Heavens remains sealed within the shigong.” This refers to the same matter. If one now consults the various dictionaries, the character gong (碽) cannot be found. The Jade Instructions (Yujue) further says: “The true writs of the Five Elders are sealed and titled within a jade gong.” This is a similar usage.

Kong Lingfu’s Record of Kuaiji (Kuaiji ji) records: South of Mount Kuaiji is Mount Wanwei. At its summit is a stone that the people call the “stone basket” (shikui). The cliff towers into the clouds, and ladders must be raised tier upon tier before one can ascend. Tradition holds that when Yu of Xia was regulating the waters and the work was not yet finished, he once undertook purification and abstinence on this mountain. He opened the stone basket and obtained golden slips inscribed with writing. From these he came to understand the configuration of the mountains and rivers, and he then dredged the hundred streams so that each river was brought under control according to the terrain.

Instructions for Writing Talismans

Gather the gaze and do not look outward; draw in hearing and thought, and concentrate with sincere reverence. Let the mind be as empty and luminous as the Great Void, pure and upright both within and without. Yuanshi—one of the highest deities venerated in Daoism—is myself, and I am Yuanshi. Wherever intention reaches, the brush moves and writes, and the One Qi (vital energy), the primordial breath of which Daoism speaks, condenses into a Fulu (talismans and registers).

If the dots and strokes within the talisman differ slightly, one need not insist that every stroke match exactly. What matters is to write in keeping with the momentum of the brush and to grasp its mystery in the heart. In the Qingwei school’s method of “wiping the brush” when drawing talismans, however, the water method and the fire method must be distinguished. Prayers for rain or snow, the performance of water refinement, and the treatment of yang illnesses all use the water brush; prayers for clear skies, the summoning of lightning and thunder, the expulsion of epidemics, the performance of fire refinement, and the treatment of yin syndromes all use the fire brush. If the Santian hui—a kind of secret taboo-name in Daoism—or the Wudi hui—secret taboo-names associated with the celestial emperors of the five directions—are used, the wiping of the brush must likewise distinguish water from fire: for prayers for rain or snow, water refinement, and the treatment of yang illnesses, use the water brush; for prayers for clear weather, the summoning of thunder and lightning, the driving out of plague, fire refinement, and the treatment of yin syndromes, use the fire brush. The Santian hui or the Wudi hui may be chosen according to actual need.

The Five Chapters Set Forth by the Most High

Jade Chapter of the Azure Essence (Jing) and Flying Clouds of the East

The Wood Duke, a deity of the East, is the Azure Sovereign Lord of Fusang, and Baiyuan Taiyi is Left Wuying. Taokang preserves life and nurtures the root of the body; entering and leaving the Flowery Chamber, he mingles with the host of spirits.

The Great Sovereign within the Mystery opens the eight gates, revolves the Five Constants in their cycle, and sets the wheel of the Law in motion. Amid the kalpic courses of chaos and cavernous emptiness, endless and without appointed term, the returning wind gathers and disperses, nurturing the spirits. Transformation and birth from the ancestral kalpa make manifest the three luminaries—sun, moon, and stars; among all the heavens, only the Dao (the Way) is my very self.

The wondrous Brahma-qi of Yuluo Dayou, the nine qi joined in harmony and the ten directions intermingling, shines upon the Primal Azure. It universally saves and delivers the beings of heaven and humankind and opens the five portals of flight and ascent; transformation comes of itself, and one rises into the realm of Shangqing, Highest Clarity. The Azure Emperor protects the hun and po souls; though without form and without shadow, he is infinite and inexhaustible, and brings one to step into the realm of mystery.

Whistling and chanting amid the cavern-scenes, one rides the Great Aurora; the Golden Perfected sends forth flowing tones that illuminate the palaces among the clouds. Drawing in the breath, gathering clouds and mist, and holding the Fulu, one causes dead souls to live again and bodies to be formed anew, and brings them to the realm of Ultimate Perfection. Commanding the flying clouds and nurturing the nine qi, one looks down to examine the wisdom of cavernous illumination and manifests the divine marvel of spontaneity.

Jade Chapter of Cinnabar Script, Mysterious Essence, and Congealed Stanzas of the South

In Zhuling-Nanchang there is the Imperial Perfected, a deity of the South. The Imperial Perfected commands the earth deities—the gods of the earth—as attendants charged with welcoming and escorting.

The scripture (Jing) states that, after the deceased undergo refinement and deliverance through the methods of the Dao (the Way), they can regain life, emerge from the “Five Portals” (the gates of generation and transformation spoken of in Daoism), leave the realm of ghosts forever, and attain the immortal Dao.

The deceased are delivered from among the ghostly kind, and the registers of their sins are thereupon erased. Even if they pass through kalpas and cycle through successive rebirths, the root of evil karma can be destroyed. The Han Office (the divine bureau in charge of recording registers and of protecting the deliverance of the dead) keeps its record according to the circumstances of those who have been saved. The deities of the various heavens examine them with strict care and guard the bodily forms and the hun and po souls of the deceased.

Through distant kalpic revolutions, the Daluo Heaven (the lofty celestial realm venerated in Daoism) turns without cease, and the White Stone Assembly of Jade Mountain opens a way to the heavens. Lord Han Who Cherishes Life lengthens the lifespan of the deceased and removes calamity, so that withered remains rise again and dead bodies recover their vitality. At the proper time the deceased are promoted, transcend the Three Realms, pay homage to the Jade Emperor, and from then on roam free and at ease.

Within the empty void of spontaneous nature, the deceased unite with Fanqi (pure and exalted primordial Qi, vital energy). Their hun-souls and Shen (spirit) grow clear and upright, and their bodies give forth light. Living and dead alike are thereby saved, and ancestors through hundreds of millions of generations suffer no more. The deceased change their forms, wander the great void, and, after receiving instruction, are reborn as persons of honor.

The Red Emperor nurtures the primordial Qi of the deceased, so that blood, Qi, and the channels flow freely and they reach a state of neither birth nor extinction, enduring for a long time. The Three Qi surge upward and cast forth fire-bells; crimson characters of the Fulu (talismans and registers) congeal into a text, causing primordial Jing (essence) to gather. When one has fully awakened to the principle and has also forgotten attachment to bodily form, one can realize the Dao of Dongzhen (the Cavern of Perfection, one of the Three Caverns), ascend alone in flight, and feast at ease in the Jade Capital Heaven (the celestial capital spoken of in Daoism).

From The Jade Chapter of the Western Flow of Essence and Divine Radiance onward, the text further says: The flying celestial spirits blaze with intense radiance and accord with the Dao of Heaven; the Prime Elder of Brilliant Light commands the yellow hosts. The myriad emperors set forth rites, the various heavens chant with one voice, rivers and seas grow still, and mountains and peaks withdraw into the clouds. Sun and moon halt their courses and unite with the Three Luminaries (the luminous images of the sun, moon, stars, and the like spoken of in Daoism); the stars of the Xuanji likewise correspond to the Eight Classics.

Hordes of demons and ghostly essences are destroyed, corpses rise again, and the bones of the dead are transformed once more into complete human bodies. One who comprehends the mysterious principle and searches out its finest points can understand all that the scripture says. Wondrous radiance responds and arrives, and the heroic Qi of remote and hidden spirits appears with it. The myriad ways take the Dao of the Great Vehicle as their ancestral source, and a De (Virtue/Power) as profound and lovely as blossoms of precious jade is beyond compare.

The Golden Portal and the Jade Capital are the place where Yin-Yang meet. The precious terraces of Yuluo Xiaoren shine with brilliant light. Through shijie (corpse-liberation, the Daoist teaching of shedding the old form and transforming so as to ascend as an immortal), the deceased recover their bodies, exhaust the wonders of creative transformation, penetrate the Nine Palaces, and draw in the Qi of golden fluid. Within and without, body and mind display lights of blue-green, yellow, and white; form, breath, and spirit all merge into the profound realm of the Dao.

The White Emperor upholds the hun and po souls and makes them firm and stable. In the Biluo Heaven a numinous pearl hangs suspended, guiding the deceased toward wondrous truth. Dragon and tiger are bound by talismanic restraint, and their solemn bearing appears like auspicious clouds. In an instant all is silent, and the deceased are thereby delivered and ascend to heaven. All who encounter and cultivate the methods of this scripture receive aid without exception, preserve the lifespan allotted by Heaven, and keep goodness in their hearts.

Forever it delivers beings from the Three Paths (the three evil destinies of the hells, hungry ghosts, and animals) and from the Five Sufferings (every kind of affliction). When the passes and barriers of the many heavens are traversed, the demon kings likewise bow in submission.

Neither inspection nor recommendation is bound by the regulations of the Heavenly Gate. The Five Emperors of the Three Realms all proclaim this to be the method of Shangqing (Supreme Clarity).

The Jade Chapter of the Purple Register of Xuanming of the North

The Qi (vital energy) of primordial subtlety shows forth its radiance once more, yet it has no fixed form. It gathers the myriad Qi and fills the vast, deep realm of Taixuan (the Great Mystery).

Divine beings bear white light upon the nape and manifest nine forms. The Qi of Primal Azure (Shiqing) opens the work of generation and nurture, remote and without limit.

The Prince of Xuanming

The Jade Chapter of the Purple Register of Xuanming of the North

The Qi of primordial subtlety shows forth its radiance once more, yet it has no fixed form. It gathers the myriad Qi and fills the vast, deep realm of Taixuan (the Great Mystery).

Divine beings bear white light upon the nape and manifest nine forms. The Qi of Primal Azure opens the work of generation and nurture, remote and without limit.

The Prince of Xuanming puts into practice the true talisman of deliverance and transformation, while the Taiyi Yuanjun (Primal Lord of Great Unity) presides over the ranks of immortals. Crimson radiance and auspicious signs shine upon one another, and the Embryonic Immortal dances with light grace. The carriages of the immortals speed on their way, and jade-colored splendor illuminates the fields where lingzhi, the numinous mushrooms, grow.

Nine dragons raise their heads together and spew forth pearls of fire. The dark tortoise jets blazing flame and brings forth a golden lotus.

The realm is at peace and the people are prosperous, gladly enjoying an age of great peace. The earth turns to green jade, as though it reached all the way to the Northern Dipper.

Sun, moon, and stars revolve about the Jade Balance. The divine wind subsides into silence, and the mist among the mountains disperses.

Flying celestial spirits descend to the human world, giving forth a sound like jade chimes. The wisdom of the dark unseen joins with the nature of celestial innocence, in accord with the spontaneous course of things.

Divine beings travel through the Three Realms and enter the Golden Gate. They revolve in endless cycle and are not extinguished, and calamity cannot encroach upon them.

The Black Emperor makes the blood and the bodily fluids flow freely, regulating the Five Qi within the body so that they course through the hundred streams. Following the measure of the thirty-five divisions, he harmonizes the Five Constants. The guiding order of Yuanshi (the Primordial Beginning) turns and transforms, and the stellar lodges Ji and Dou move in response.

Passing through such heavens as Wind Marsh and the Vajra Heaven, this guiding order brings the myriad things to growth and the myriad Qi to completion. When the nine kinds of harmonious union and the conjunction of the ten directions are achieved, transformation can take place. Feichen pays homage to the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Chapter of Flying Blossoms and All-Gathering Clouds of the Center

Jing (essence) and Qi congeal, and the flying blossoms display an eight-cornered radiance. Dense and abundant breath fills the Great Void, making the scene bright and resplendent.

The hundred demons withdraw into the rhythm, and the Qi of Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) parts and joins of itself.

When the nine kinds of harmonious union and the conjunction of the ten directions are achieved, transformation can take place. Feichen pays homage to the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Chapter of Flying Blossoms and All-Gathering Clouds of the Center

Jing and Qi congeal, and the flying blossoms display an eight-cornered radiance. Dense and abundant breath fills the Great Void, making the scene bright and resplendent.

The hundred demons withdraw into the rhythm, and the Qi of Lingbao parts and joins of itself, nourishing Yin-Yang.

The unsurpassed true Dao (the Way) is the root of heaven and earth. Remote and profound, it seems to exist and yet seems not to exist. Vast Brahma-Qi pervades the ten directions, and its inexhaustible mystery is difficult to explain in full.

The Supreme Elder who gathers and commands the numinous Qi holds the Five Dippers in his hand. He strictly governs Beifeng (the dark realm of the north) and sweeps away all that is inauspicious.

The Primordial Qi (vital energy), still undivided in chaos and vast without bound, drives the turning of the age of Chiming. Across the broad expanse of heaven and earth, ancient kalpas such as Longhan and Yankang unfold one after another.

The Thirty-Two Heavens revolve according to their proper measures, and for this reason these five Jing (scriptures) were composed, to secure and protect the sovereign.

The scriptures hold sway over the myriad heavens, and their power reaches all eight directions. They can restore the dying to life, sustain and guard life, and enable a person to attain the realm of supreme Yang.

The purple mists of the Three Su—the three subtle breaths of which Daoism speaks—circulate above and below. The Yellow Emperor, as the central lord, calls back the Jing (essence) and Qi that have scattered.

The Niwan (the divine residence in the head) unites with the Crimson Palace (the divine residence in the heart), so that the various Shen (spirits) return to their stations. The hun and po are gathered in, and one is spared calamity.

The overseer of the host of spirits holds authority over the Great Kui of the Northern Dipper. From the Biluo (the blue heavens) comes an ethereal song in praise of the King of the Dharma.

The great sages of the heavens together proclaim it good, so that people may preserve the full span of their allotted years and remain unharmed.

The scriptures can save those at the point of death whose life is about to be cut off, and restore them to life. They can also pass beyond the Formless Realm and merge into the realm of Taihuang, the Great Sovereign.

The myriad immortals assist in accomplishing the supreme Dao (the Way). Only when a practitioner’s destined lot and causal conditions are complete may one undertake this realm.