《清河内传》

I was originally a man of the Wu and Kuaiji region, born in the early years of the Zhou dynasty. Thereafter I passed through seventy-three reincarnations, and in every lifetime I served as a scholar-official. I never harmed the common people or treated those under me harshly. My nature was firm and upright, and my conduct strict and impartial, like autumn frost and the bright sun, so that none dared give offense.

In the closing years of the Western Jin I was born again between the two commanderies west of Yue and south of Jun. It was the dingwei year, a jiazi day, the xinhai month, the third day of the second month. When I was born, auspicious light filled the doorway, and yellow clouds covered the fields. Our home stood near the seashore, and the villagers called my father the “Old Man of Qinghe.” Someone said to him, “You are sixty years old now, and yet you have obtained a noble son.”

As a child I had no taste for play. I often yearned for mountains, forests, lakes, and marshes, and my words at times seemed to conceal some profound mystery. I read and recited the books of every school. At night I kept apart from my companions, laughed to myself alone, and light issued from my body. When the villagers offered prayers, I often mocked them and said aloud, “Images of the gods, made of clay and wood—by what right do they wear the clothes that people wear and eat the food that people eat? Make offerings to them and there is a response; speak ill of them and disaster follows. I am a human being myself; am I, of all beings, without spiritual power?”

After that I often had strange dreams at night. Sometimes I dreamed that I had turned into a dragon, sometimes that I had become a sovereign, and I also dreamed of official posts among the celestial talismans and in the Water Bureau. I thought these dreams very strange, yet I did not really believe they were auspicious signs.

Then, for three years in a row, the heavens were dry, and the rains could not moisten the crops. People prayed to the gods at the places of sacrifice for rain, but there was never any response. I thought, “At night I dreamed that I governed the Water Bureau. The drought has gone on so long; perhaps the time has come for the dream to be fulfilled.” So at night I went to the water’s edge, meaning to submit a document to the River Earl in accordance with the office I had held in the dream. But I was alarmed and afraid, and ashamed at heart, and for a moment I did not know what to do.

Suddenly black clouds closed in from every side, and wind and thunder rose with great force. An official came before me, paid his respects, and said, “Have you been ordered to a new appointment, and are you moving to a new residence?” I answered, “It is not I. I am the son of Old Zhang Hu, and my name is Ya. Later, by the fortune of the Water Bureau, I came to prominence, and so my courtesy name is Peifu.” The official said, “I have been commanded to come and summon you.” I asked, “What is to become of my family?” The official said, “Go first to the place of your post.”

I was fearful and ill at ease. The official bowed to me with clasped hands, and I mounted a white donkey and departed. He looked down upon the village; amid the sound of wind and rain, in an instant I could no longer see my native place.

We came to a mountain whose ranges ran on like Sword Ridge, thrusting straight up into the heights as though they held up the palaces of the stars; the constellations themselves seemed like a phoenix lying prone upon them. In the mountain there was an ancient deep pool, which drew me into a vast cavern. At the cavern’s mouth stood several stalagmites. The official said, “When the common people pray, if they address their invocations to these stones they receive a response. This place is called the Thunder Pillars.”

I set my clothing in order and was just about to enter the cavern when the official asked, “Do you still remember that under the Zhou you lived as a human being for seventy-three lifetimes, accumulating hidden virtue from generation to generation down to the present day?” Only then did I understand in a flash, as though waking from a dream. The official said, “On the registers of Heaven your name is entered among the ranks of the immortals, though few in the world know of it. The Jin will soon show signs of a restoration. You may seek out the esoteric arts and manifest numinous powers among humankind.” I said, “I thank the celestial officer for coming to bring word.”

Once I had entered the cavern, I seemed to fall into a gorge a thousand zhang deep; yet even as I neared the ground I had still not landed, as if my body were soaring through the void. Within there stood a sovereign’s palace and its guards, and I went inside. There, as it turned out, was my whole family.

Later I changed my guise to that of a Confucian scholar, went to Xianyang, and told the story of Yao Chang.

When you burn incense and recite this Inner Biography of Qinghe, hold these things firmly in mind.

Heaven-Bestowed Sacred Titles

Grand Minister of the Upper Rank and Acting Grand Preceptor of the Golden Portal (the honorific of one who serves at the Golden Portal as Upper Minister and Acting Grand Preceptor); Left Chancellor of the Golden Portal of the Nine Phoenixes; Office of the Grand Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Steward who inwardly assists the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) within the Primordial Origin; commander of the yin troops of the Three Realms, empowered to dispose of affairs as expediency requires; in charge of the judicial business of the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Water; holder of the true-form tiger tallies and dragon warrants of the Five Marchmounts and the Four Waterways (the famed mountains of the Five Marchmounts and the great rivers of the four directions); general overseer of the stellar luminaries of all the heavens; Supreme Immortal and Primordial Sovereign Perfected One, who determines the registers of cassia emoluments and of descendants’ names; Perfected Lord of the Bureau of Emoluments (in charge of blessings and official rank) who supervises the recommendation of examination candidates; Celestial Worthy who compiles the separate registers of flying immortals (drawing up the name-rolls of flying immortals), presides over the creative transformations and cycles of rebirth of the Primordial Origin, and saves from suffering and delivers from distress; Pure Perfected of the Dao (the Way) in the inner realm of Jade Clarity; Great Commander-in-Chief of Great Benevolence, Great Filial Piety, Great Sagacity, and Great Compassion, who manifests at Purple Cloud Crag, holds the ruyi staff, commands the myriad spirits, and universally relieves the sufferings of all; Teaching Lord of the Myriad Heavens who, with a sincere heart merged with Heaven, receives all beings; Celestial Worthy of Numinous Response According to One’s Wish; Sovereign of Lasting Joy who, throughout the Nine Heavens, settles the primordial, preserves life, upholds the teaching, and opens transformation; Great Emperor of Aqueous Aid, Heroic Manifestation, and Numinous Response; Tathagata of Kashyapa-Shakya Brahma Orthodoxy who has realized the fruit as the Bodhisattva King of Concentration and Wisdom; Clear and True Right Contemplation That Inscribes Emoluments and Fixes the Registers; Celestial Worthy of Precious Radiance and Compassionate Response, Savior from Kalpic Calamity, of Great Compassion, Who Renews Life and Bestows Enduring Destiny; Celestial Worthy of Numinous Response According to One’s Wish; Heavenly Emperor Who Is Without Arrogance and Delights in Nurturing.

Imperial Enfeoffment of the Song

The imperial edict states: We hold that if a person’s filial piety and fraternal duty (revering one’s parents and loving one’s brothers) reach their utmost, they can move and communicate with the gods and spirits. Thus one who in life is a filial son becomes after death a deity who manifests in numinous power and protects—and this is indeed the case. The King of Divine Culture and Sagely Martial Might, of Pacifying Blessing, Loyalty, and Benevolence was already renowned in his early years for filial conduct. He manifested his numinous power in western Shu, warding off calamities and rescuing the people. The fame of Mount Qiqu spread throughout the world, and scholars who sat for the civil examinations and sought official rank and reputation all went there to offer worship. He possessed both filial conduct and virtuous character, and the fine title bestowed on him was truly well deserved. The local people requested that the former enfeoffment title be restored, and this ought to be granted. We reverently accept this auspicious mandate, and wish that he broadly shelter the people. In accordance with the old regulations, he may be enfeoffed as “King of Divine Culture and Sagely Martial Might, of Filial Virtue, Loyalty, and Benevolence.”

In the fifth year of Jingding, because he possessed filial conduct and virtuous character, the fine title conferred on him was truly well deserved; the local people made a request, and the former enfeoffment title ought to be restored. We reverently accept the auspicious mandate, and wish that he broadly shelter the people. In accordance with the old regulations, he may be enfeoffed as “King of Divine Culture and Sagely Martial Might, of Filial Virtue, Loyalty, and Benevolence.”

The twenty-ninth day of the third month of the fifth year of Jingding.

Note: “Jingding” is the reign title of Emperor Lizong of the Southern Song; the fifth year of Jingding corresponds to 1264 CE. In the original text of “Heaven-Bestowed Sacred Titles,” one honorific appears twice; the translation retains it in accordance with the original.

Edict on the Additional Enfeoffment of the Divine Father and Divine Mother

By imperial command: The ancient books say that sacrifice has ten meanings, from which one may discern the principle of serving ghosts and spirits and also the ethical bond between father and son. Today, when offerings are made to a deity, the deity’s parents are sacrificed to as well. This carries on the ancient practice.

The father of the deity of Lingying Temple held the title King of Manifest Felicity, Compassionate Protection, and Benevolent Abundance (Xianqing Ciyou Renyu Wang); the mother held the title Consort of Illustrious Virtue, Accumulated Blessings, and Kind Gentleness (Zhaode Jiqing Cishu Fei). Their profound virtue nurtured the holy son, who became the head of the lineage and a figure who instructed the people. The holy son came from Fengling in Jianzhou to Longshan in Zheng Prefecture to enshrine the divine spirit. The responsible officials (those in charge of sacrifices and related affairs), tracing the origins of the matter, earnestly petitioned the court for commendation. Sacrificial grace is now conferred and fine titles bestowed, so as to make plain the former kings’ intent in teaching people to honor and respect their parents. The divine father is specially advanced in title to King of Manifest Felicity, Compassionate Protection, Benevolent Abundance, and Excellent Virtue (Xianqing Ciyou Renyu Lingde Wang), and the divine mother to Consort of Illustrious Virtue, Accumulated Blessings, Kind Gentleness, and Respectful Wisdom (Zhaode Jiqing Cishu Gonghui Fei).

Fifth month of the fifth year of Xianchun.

Edict on the Additional Enfeoffment of the Divine Consort

By imperial command: The land of Shu lies in the southwest. From ancient times it has esteemed good conduct and revered the gods and spirits. The state likewise maintains a consistent ritual order, ordinarily enfeoffing a wife according to her husband’s rank. Now, on the occasion of the favors proclaimed after the suburban sacrifice, honor is granted once more.

The divine consort of Lingying Temple formerly held the title Consort Who Assists Compliance and Joins in Response, of Virtuous Wisdom and Illustrious Excellence (Zhushun Xieying Dehui Zhaoyi Fei). Her bearing was dignified and composed; she uprightly assisted the deity, shared in the sacrifices at Longshan, and brought the auspicious signs of the Phoenix Pavilion. Splendid brocade sashes once conferred upon her the highest honor, and the court has repeatedly issued gracious edicts, adding fair titles so that they may forever match her virtue. Manifesting hidden virtue—good deeds quietly performed—through her bright virtue, she is specially advanced in title to Consort of Respectful Compliance and Virtuous Response, of Virtuous Wisdom and Illustrious Excellence (Gongshun Shuying Dehui Zhaoyi Fei).

Edict on the Additional Enfeoffment of the Divine Son

Edict: The deity’s eldest son, the King of Succeeding De (Virtue/Power), Side Wang, his second son, the King of Flourishing De, Changde Wang, and the others were formerly the two sons of the prefect of Shu. Because they rendered merit in supplying water from wells and springs, their deeds were all entered in the sacrificial records. From this it is clear that inheriting the merit and De of one’s forebears and benefiting the people is a practice of long standing. You receive sacrifice in the west and carry De on through the generations. These records set down the deity’s efficacious responses and also manifest the radiance of the divine spirit. Now that the suburban place of sacrifice has been completed, fine titles are additionally conferred upon you together. Filial piety is the foundation, and this also accords with the wishes of the people. May you peacefully receive and enjoy the offerings and accept Our command: the deity’s eldest son, Side Wang, is specially advanced to the King of Practiced Filial Piety, Lüxiao Wang, and the second son, Changde Wang, to the King of Established Filial Piety, Lixiao Wang.

Edict of Additional Enfeoffment for the Deity’s Daughters-in-Law

Edict: The deity’s eldest daughter-in-law, the Lady of Good Assistance and Manifest Excellence, Shanzhu Xianyi Furen, her second daughter-in-law, the Lady of Compliant Assistance and Wise Excellence, Shunzhu Huiyi Furen, and the others—the order of senior and junior within the family of the spirits is recorded in the ritual classic (Jing), and the deeds of the spirits’ successive appearances are also recorded in the histories. Sheltered by the deity’s protection, you enjoy sacrifice in your own region; your influence extends from the west to the east, and the favor you bestow is very wide. Fine titles are now additionally conferred upon you together, so as to display your worthy gentleness and numinous De. The eldest daughter-in-law is specially advanced as the Lady of Good Assistance, Manifest Excellence, and Following Filial Piety, Shanzhu Xianyi Xunxiao Furen, and the second daughter-in-law as the Lady of Compliant Assistance, Wise Excellence, and Fulfilled Filial Piety, Shunzhu Huiyi Kexiao Furen.

Edict of First Enfeoffment for the Deity’s Daughter

Edict: Princess of Virtuous Truth and Wondrous Stillness, Shuzhen Miaojing Gongzhu—We conduct solemn sacrifice according to ritual and reverently worship the bright deity. As for the order of fathers and sons, seniors and juniors, in the divine family, noble ranks and rewards have already been granted to each in turn. The deity has yet another daughter, the younger sister of this princess, who constantly attends at the deity’s side. Marking out a fief for her and providing a bath-town estate (a fief that supplies a stipend) begins from this day. Still guided by the wish to accord with what is reasonable and to heed the people’s feelings, We specially enfeoff the deity’s daughter as the Lady of Exemplary Filial Piety, Yixiao Furen, and the deity’s son-in-law as the Reverent Marquis, Gonglie Hou.

Edict of Additional Enfeoffment for the Deity’s Grandsons

By imperial decree: Shaoying, the eldest grandson of the god, is enfeoffed as Marquis of Manifest Numinosity (Zhaoling Hou); Chengying, the second grandson of the god, is enfeoffed as Marquis of Proclaimed Numinosity (Xuanling Hou); Shuying, wife of the eldest grandson, is enfeoffed as Lady; Huiying, wife of the second grandson, is enfeoffed as Lady; and others likewise. We hold that Phoenix Ridge in Jianzhou and Dragon Mountain in Kuizhou are both places where numinous Qi (vital energy) gathers and outstanding persons are nurtured, and the same would hold anywhere else. Your ancestors and your father all established meritorious service for the people; as for the grandsons and their wives, how could We be so sparing of noble rank as to withhold it? We specially confer further titles: Shaoying, eldest grandson of the god, as Marquis of Utmost Filial Piety (Zhixiao Hou); Chengying, the second grandson, as Marquis of Compliant Filial Piety (Shunxiao Hou); Shuying, wife of the eldest grandson, as Lady Who Continues Filial Piety (Shaoxiao Furen); and Huiying, wife of the second grandson, as Lady Who Embodies Filial Piety (Tixiao Furen).

Edict of Additional Enfeoffment of the Yuan Dynasty

Bearing the mandate of Heaven above, the emperor issues this imperial decree. In the human world there are rites, music, and moral instruction; in the unseen realm there are ghosts and spirits. Their subtle manifestations and verifying signs have always been connected as one continuous principle. In Heaven they appear as stars and constellations; on Earth they appear as mountains and rivers, each taking part, through form and function, in the workings between Heaven and Earth. How much more so when a deity can secretly assist the great course of governance: such a one ought naturally to be honored by a solemn ceremony of corresponding weight.

The Imperial Lord of Zitong (Zitong Dijun), the Wenchang official of Qiqu Mountain in the land of Shu—the Wenchang deity venerated in Daoism, the god who presides over literary fortune and success in rank and fame—sends forth a radiance portioned in reflection of the Zhang lunar mansion, and sings in harmony with the poems of the Zhou. He assists Our flourishing age, transforming the people through the way of loyalty and filial piety, and he also administers literary education and the civil examinations, selecting and cultivating a great many talented men. Whenever disaster strikes, he is able to come to the rescue; and in encouraging good and punishing evil, he likewise makes sympathetic response plain. When the court once more promulgated the statutes for recommendation and examination, he had long beforehand already fixed the register for examining talent. Although words of commendation already appear in the edicts, the honorific title that We acknowledge in Our heart has not yet been fully expressed.

Ah! We hope that men of talent will emerge one after another, and you will then greatly display the numinous qi of the lands between the Jiang and the Han. We hope that civil governance will be carried far and wide, and you will then open the store of literary fortune symbolized by the Kui and Bi lunar mansions. May fine auspicious signs be brought forth thereby, in answer to the honor with which We exalt you. We specially confer upon you the further title “Imperial Lord Who Assists the Primordial, Opens Transformation, Superintends Emoluments as Wenchang, and Is Vast in Benevolence” (Fuyuan Kaihua Wenchang Silu Hongren Dijun). The officials concerned shall carry this out accordingly.

The seventh month of the third year of Yanyou.

Additional Conferral of a Temple Name-Plaque in the Yuan Dynasty

The Central Secretariat (Zhongshu Sheng), meeting together with the Taichang Court of Rites (Taichang Liyi Yuan), deliberated and resolved that the deity of the Lingying Temple on Mount Qiqu, the Imperial Lord Wenchang Silu, might be further enfeoffed as “Imperial Lord Wenchang Silu of Assisting the Origin, Opening Transformation, and Vast Benevolence” (Fuyuan Kaihua Wenchang Silu Hongren Dijun), the matter to be carried out by the officials concerned.

A certain day in the seventh month of the third year of Yanyou.

The Yuan Dynasty’s Additional Conferral of a Temple Name

The Central Secretariat, meeting together with the Taichang Court of Rites, deliberated and resolved as follows. The deity of the Lingying Temple on Mount Qiqu bears the honorific “King of Literary Sagacity, Martial Prowess, Filial Piety, Virtue, Loyalty, and Benevolence.” His responses are uncanny and extraordinary; he is upright and impartial; and the scholar-officials all revere and worship him together. That the court should add to its favor and bestow a title is likewise in keeping with ritual propriety.

The highest noble rank conferred upon a deity, however, does not exceed “king,” and no laudatory designation is more exalted than “Shen” (spirit). The honorific “Literary Sagacity, Martial Prowess, Filial Piety, Virtue, Loyalty, and Benevolence” the deity already possesses, and it may be said to have reached its utmost. Once rank has attained its height, no further enfeoffment is possible; once a title is already supremely exalted, there is no need to alter it. If one consults the earlier records and retains the name “Assisting Literature and Perfecting Transformation” (Youwen Chenghua), bestowing it as the temple plaque, this will suffice to make the deity illustrious, to proclaim the spirit of a flourishing age, to complete the language of ritual, and to display it without end.

Proclamation Twenty — Directorate of Literature

It is said that the Dao (the Way) of Heaven has opened an age of stable and lucid government, and the mandate of the Emperor Wenchang is revered by all. The hundred spirits gather in virtue, and grace is indeed spread widely through the imperial edicts. The way of emperors and kings has already been made plain, the political order of the state is settled, and year after year the grain harvests are abundant, manifesting auspicious signs without end.

(At the end of the original text, “Proclamation Twenty — Directorate of Literature” appears once more; the sentence here seems to contain omissions or errors. “Wenchang Silu” is the divine title of the Imperial Lord Wenchang, who presides over literary fortune and official emolument; “conferring a temple plaque name” refers to the designation bestowed by the court upon a temple.)

The heavens are clear and serene, and the realm is well governed; the many officials all honor the commands of the Lord of Wenchang (Wenchang Dijun). The virtue (De) of the myriad deities has gathered together, and moral instruction spreads far and wide. The imperial Way has been made manifest and the political order is stable. Harvests come year after year, and war and turmoil have long been quelled. One might say this follows in the footsteps of the well-ordered ages of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.

Long ago I received the mandate to descend to the human world, to assist the enlightened court, to shine like the Dong Bi constellation in the east, and to bring the Way (Dao) and its arts to flourishing. I have been fortunate to bear the name of filial piety and brotherly devotion, yet I was also charged with surveying and governing the lower realm. I have constantly feared failing the trust of the Supreme Emperor, and have always felt unequal to the weighty duties of a divine office. Recently I received commendation and was granted an official rank. The Twenty-One Bureaus under my authority each have their own responsibilities. How could I fail to look after the wishes of countless millions of people? Formerly, I carried out governance in the realm of the shadows, overlooking nothing near or far. Now I am to issue commands in a resplendent court. Let all my subordinates take up their posts openly, with caps and robes in order and demeanor solemn. Hear my orders, ministers, and let there be no clamor.

Now, as I reflect, only a few worthy and capable people share with me the work of governing in this court. If no one strives to reverse the decline of the age's customs, then even a hundred thousand subjects could not accomplish anything. You, my officers, are learned in matters ancient and modern, clear-minded and perceptive, with talents surpassing the heroes of the world. Your loyalty and filial devotion reach up to heaven like pines and cypresses that do not wither through winter. You are accomplished in both letters and arms, able to assist in governing the state, like the salt and plum that harmonize a hundred flavors. You have long borne extraordinary responsibilities and are truly the pillars of the state. Since your merits deserve commendation, how can the granting of rewards be delayed? Though you are my deputies, your appointments in truth come from Heaven. You are intelligent and upright, and no further words are needed to prove it.

I now assign nine offices to the Shentai (the divine bureau), responsible for strict supervision and censure, and I appoint six ministers in the Northern Office, devoted solely to recommending worthy talents. Anyone without a good reputation and broad acclaim, who does not personally practice virtue, and who does not accumulate the words and deeds of earlier sages to cultivate their own character, has no basis on which to assist me in continuing to spread moral instruction and accomplish meritorious work. Such a person cannot be placed among the ranks that assist the Primary Bureau and administer stipends.

All who bestow blessings and encourage goodness should reward fairly and thoroughly; those who punish evil and correct deceit should likewise mete out punishment according to law, without evasion. The Golden Register (the ledger recording blessings and emoluments) must record stipends and bestow favors according to actual merit. The Spring Source (the office governing blessings of offspring) must examine a person's original intention before deciding on rewards. Those responsible for recommendations should give priority to reporting to the Governor-General those with outstanding accumulated virtue and filial conduct, and officials who benefit the people through their virtue should be ranked in the highest class.

Those who oversee farmland and sericulture must not do wrong; those who manage finances and taxes must not act out of partiality; those who command troops must follow the same standard in handling matters of the shadowy and human realms alike; those who govern rain, drought, and the abundance or scarcity of harvests must act with caution; those who supervise commerce must discern merit and fault clearly; and those who administer the affairs of Daoism and Buddhism must distinguish good from evil. Every matter should be arranged in good order, and audits and records should be clear and accurate. The divine offices conferred by Heaven's mandate truly govern the life and death of humankind, and the moral instruction spread by the Feiluan (the spirit-messengers who convey divine commands and propagate teachings) also bears upon the rise and fall of the age's fortunes. Those in charge of the hundred crafts and skills must record even small matters; those who oversee miscellaneous affairs must handle every matter with care.

Clear the grievances of those wronged, so that the people may have justice upheld. Pursue and denounce spirits, demons, and bandits, so that the realm may be at peace. The Wenchang Office of Spiritual Response is responsible for submitting memorials to the court and ensuring that messages revealed in dreams are accurate and free of error. The Grand Governor-General's Office is responsible for receiving and sending documents and for overall coordination and decision-making, exercising the corresponding authority. Each office shall bear its own duties and have its own plans: above, to answer the commands of the Nine Heavens; below, to make the myriad states revere and submit.

The worthy ministers of former times who rendered meritorious service in assistance were long ago entered in the registers for their conspicuous achievements. Now let them continue to serve in the auxiliary offices and receive sacrificial offerings in the newly established halls. Here they hold the strategic territory along the Yangtze River, Mount Min, and Mount Emei. Let them enter the court ranks and take up posts, so as to raise their honor still further. Only by devoting your whole heart to your duties can matters be accomplished.

At this hour the silver moon is bright and the water clock drips slowly; all around is stillness, and no sound is heard in the courtyard. All regions are at peace, and the clamor of the mortal world has faded away. The ceremonial escort stands ready and the sacrificial rites have been performed. The sacred patents of appointment and tokens of authority further display the grandeur of this commendation. Receive this fine appointment with reverence, reverse the thinning and decay of customs, carry out your duties with care and diligence, and let the pure and simple ways of high antiquity return. Go forth and keep to your posts, and do not betray the favor of the Supreme Emperor. Exhaust your loyalty, and receive with gratitude the splendid appointment of the Son of Heaven.

This text records the origins of the Wenchang Shrine in Chengdu, a temple dedicated to Lord Wenchang (Wenchang Dijun), and the course of its construction.

Lord Wenchang was born of gathered numinous qi, and tradition holds that the origin of his constellation is linked to the Zhang asterism. His surname was Zhang, his given name Zhong, and his courtesy name Xiaoyou. He assisted King Xuan of Zhou in achieving a restoration of the dynasty. After his death he became a deity, and every dynasty has credited him with remarkable merit, above all for loyalty to the ruler, filial devotion to parents, upholding ritual teaching, and refining the people's hearts. His old title was "King of Divine Culture, Sacred Martial Power, Filial Virtue, Loyalty and Benevolence."

Emperor Renzong of the Yuan dynasty established the civil service examinations. In the spring of the third year of the Yanyou era (1316), the Secretariat adopted a ruling of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and revised the names of the shrines, styling his temple the "Shrine That Aids Culture and Perfects Transformation." That autumn the court issued a further edict conferring on him the title "Lord Wenchang, Assistant to the Primal Source, Opener of Transformation, Overseer of Emoluments and Vast Benevolence." The edict states that the radiance of the Zhang asterism descended, and that Zhang Zhong, with the virtue of brotherly affection, chanted the poems of the Zhou. With loyalty and filial piety he supported the fortunes of the state and protected the people, and he also presides over literature, moral teaching, and the selection of men through examination. The court hoped that talent would emerge ceaselessly and that civil governance would flourish, and so relied on the Lord to manifest the numinous power of the Yangtze and Han rivers and to open the literary fortune stored in the Kui and Bi constellations. Thus people came to believe all the more that the deity's origins and his merit in safeguarding ritual teaching are true and manifest, and fit to be listed among the state sacrifices. People revere the deity, change their conduct, and turn toward virtue, like a hundred rivers flowing together, a movement hard to halt.

The text says that the Lord once dwelt around Jianmen and treated the land of Shu as a place to tour and watch over, bestowing great favor on western Shu. Yet the temples in Chengdu were then not sufficiently solemn. There were several shrines in the east and west of the city, but they could not fully express the reverence of the local people. In the first year of the Tianli era (1328), when the Kui stars converged, the author, Zhao Yanzhi, came from Guyu (the area of present-day Chongqing) to Chengdu with attendants. While traveling and staying there, the author saw the condition of the old temples and was moved all the more deeply. Shu produced many talents, and in the author's view this was connected with the Lord Zhang's unseen protection and manifest efficacy, for outstanding men in the examinations of successive dynasties had appeared one after another. The locals had also long valued sincerity in serving the deities, and officials and scholars wished to enlarge the shrine but had never managed to accomplish it. The author therefore followed the wishes of the people and quietly helped bring the matter about, striving for an appropriate scale that would neither disturb the people nor become a lavish, extravagant undertaking.

In the second year of the Houzhiyuan era (1336), Zhao Shiyan, former Grand Academician of the Kuizhang Pavilion and Hanlin Academician Chengzhi, retired and returned to Chengdu, still mindful of the Lord Zhang's former virtue. Upon arriving at the residence, Zhao Shiyan first called on the author and discussed building the shrine. The author said that this had been a long-held wish never fulfilled, and that if the deity's help could now be obtained, the author would venture to speak freely of that wish. On the jiayin day of the sixth month, they selected a site for the shrine, going through the city and its outskirts, and finally chose a place in the southwest of the city with an excellent position and a fitting layout.

Zhao Shiyan personally wrote a fundraising appeal to collect funds for the construction. In the first month of the fourth year of Houzhiyuan (1338), Zhao Chengqing, former Participating Administrator of the Sichuan Branch Secretariat, also wished to advance the plan and complete the great work of building the shrine. In the third month, Wan Jialü, Vice Minister of the Board of Revenue, arrived in Shu. Taking advantage of a break in official business, the author explained to Wan the legend of Lord Zhang's manifestations, the Lord's role in protecting culture and the examinations, and the plan to build the shrine. Wan gladly agreed and said that the officials of the Shu provincial government should organize it together. Three days later the officials discussed the matter, and all were willing to take part. On the first day of the sixth month, the author had people help prepare the fundraising. In less than a month, more than one hundred twenty officials, secretaries, and functionaries of all ranks of the provincial government had donated from their salaries, raising over five hundred min of cash (a min was a unit for counting coins at that time).

On an auspicious day in the tenth month of winter, they invited Marquis Jing Yuanheng, a Commander of a Thousand Households, and others to contribute five hundred min to buy an existing residence, and the shrine was thus established. The shrine grounds were seventy-three zhang deep, with the width extending and turning along the left and right sides. Craftsmen then repaired the interior and exterior, burned away the obstructing scrub timber, and whitewashed the walls, building an outer gate at a distance and setting up a small inner gate. On the twenty-fifth day, food and music and dance were prepared, and Wan Jialü and the Participating Administrator led the officials in welcoming the statue of the Lord into the shrine.

On the first day of the eleventh month, they further repaired the main hall and hung the plaque, inscribed "Shrine That Aids Culture and Perfects Transformation." They also built corridors and side halls to house the tablets of the subsidiary deities who assist the Lord, arranging their positions and the ritual order of entry and exit according to rank, and added the Hall of Gathered Virtue and a place for presenting sacrificial offerings. The new shrine was complete in its buildings and imposing in its bearing, neither shabby nor empty, of moderate scale and well arranged, and it could not be compared with the several small shrines that had stood before.

The text closes with a reflection that the rise and decline of the temples in which the deities dwell may follow their own timing. The key figure who brought this about was Zhao Shiyan, and the one who pushed the plan forward swiftly was Wan Jialü. The one who labored morning and evening, arranged personnel, and saw the work through to the end was Yang Shiren, who accompanied the author in handling affairs. Wang Jun, Wang Shouyong, and He Shanqing also spared no effort, running back and forth to assist.

In the second month of spring of the fifth year, Shi Tu was responsible for planning and arrangements, and the vice-director was Yang Shiren. Morning and evening he toiled with diligence, leading the laborers in their work. Wang Jun, Wang Shouyong, and He Shanqing did not shrink from hardship, hurrying back and forth and rendering service throughout the project.

In the second month of spring of the fifth year, local worthies and kind-hearted villagers joined in sponsoring the work and filled out the ranks of the attendants. Thirteen people took part and together brought the matter to completion. All of them vied to exert themselves and were glad to see it accomplished. Today the Surveillance Commissioner Zhao Chengqing, clad in solemn official robes, stands in the center and receives the assembly, who stand in attendance with hands clasped in respect.

From ancient times to the present, from Jianmen to the various prefectures and counties, temples have for the most part been built for sacrifice to Lord Zhang; in the capital and in the Shaanxi region as well, there are places where he is worshipped. People all revere Lord Zhang’s achievements, yet never has the cult flourished as it does now. The Imperial Lord is the master of Wenchang, the deity who presides over literary fortune and cultural teaching. Whose power is it that holds together the hearts of the people and the lifeblood of the state, and causes cultural tradition to be handed down through all ages and to become the guiding norm of the world? The deeds of Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, King Wen, and King Wu gradually waned, and the sincere and simple customs declined along with them; Heaven, it would seem, has used precisely this to nourish and enlighten the people of the world. Never has the Imperial Lord’s making manifest the achievements of sovereigns been more flourishing than it is today.

The Imperial Lord is the master of Wenchang. Whose power is it that holds together the hearts of the people and the lifeblood of the state, causing cultural tradition to endure through all ages and become the guiding norm of the world? The deeds of Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, King Wen, and King Wu gradually declined, and the sincere and simple customs declined with them; Heaven, it would seem, has used precisely this to nourish and enlighten the people of the world. The Imperial Lord elucidates the great Dao (the Way) and promotes moral transformation; his radiance is brilliant and manifest, like the sun, the moon, and the stars. Henceforth, if dukes, marquises, and worthy scholars know how to revere the Imperial Lord’s shrine, they will also know how to honor the Dao and the teaching that the Imperial Lord represents. If people cultivate their virtue, apply themselves diligently to their affairs, find peace and harmony in the civilizing influence of rites and music, and take delight in being shaped and nurtured, then above they will not fail their sovereign and their parents, and below they will not fail what they have learned. Those who enter office can become worthy ministers and chancellors; those who put their talents to use can accomplish great undertakings; and at that time men of ability will emerge one after another. Why, then, should one merely take up the brush and write essays, competing to flaunt ornate phrases and treating this as a ladder for currying favor and seeking rank, fame, and profit?

The Classic of Poetry says: “Those who understand me say that my heart is grieved; those who do not understand me ask what it is that I seek.” I set these words down because something stirs within me, and I truly cannot leave it unsaid. As for the Imperial Lord’s serving as a model for the court, bestowing blessings on the people, bringing abundant harvests year after year, dispersing epidemics, gathering harmonious Qi (vital energy), calling down auspicious signs, and multiplying the talents of the realm—all of this is what the Imperial Lord of Vast Benevolence, Wenchang, who assists the Origin, opens transformation, and oversees emoluments, hopes to see.

The shrine was begun in the wuchen year of Tianli and completed in the jimao year of Zhiyuan. Although the towers and galleries have not yet been refurbished, many worthies through successive ages have carried this work forward. Drawing on the relevant records, I have selected materials and written this stele inscription. Having both acceded to the request of the many scholars and been moved by Lord Zhang’s longstanding sincere and steadfast devotion, I have recorded the general circumstances, the names of those who presided over the building of the shrine, and the year and month of its founding together with its later history, so that those who come after may consult them.

The first year of Zhizheng, the year xinsi, an auspicious day in the fifth month of summer.

The path by which a scholar enters official service and wins examination honors begins with reverence for paper that bears writing. In the Song dynasty, whenever the father of Wang Yigong saw a sheet of written paper lying on the ground, he would pick it up, wash it clean with fragrant water, and then burn it. One night he dreamed that Xuan Sheng (Confucius) laid a hand on his back and said, “I am deeply gratified that you are so diligent in revering paper inscribed with my writing. It is a pity that you are already advanced in years and can scarcely achieve much yourself. In time to come I shall have Zeng Shen, a disciple of Confucius, be reborn into your household, so that your family may rise to prominence.” Not long afterward he did indeed have a son, and he named the child Zeng. This child later placed first in the imperial examinations as zhuangyuan. Though the episode lies far in the past, it may still serve as evidence.

I privately find it strange that some people today who call themselves scholars do not cherish books. They regard Buddhist and Daoist scriptures as exceedingly precious, yet treat the words of the Confucian Six Classics as lighter than a goose feather. Some use paper that has been written on to paper walls, pad their backs, wrap bedding, and paste over windows, and even tread it underfoot or wipe away filth with it. To act in this way is scarcely different from using it to cover a jar of sauce. Why do they so esteem Buddhist and Daoist scriptures while slighting the Confucian classics? Is it not because they fail to understand that the Three Teachings are fundamentally of one accord, and insist on forcing a distinction of high and low?

What is more, our own Confucian school also has divine offices charged with good and evil. They examine people’s conduct and mete out retribution, so as to warn those who show no respect for written paper. Some study arduously all their lives, yet when the civil examinations come they are rejected by the examiners for an incorrect rhyme or a mistaken character, and never succeed in having their names inscribed on the Dragon-and-Tiger List, the roster of those who pass. The text holds that such people have been stripped by the spirits of the ability to discern literary quality, thereby making plain the retribution brought on by their habitual disrespect for written paper.

Some scholars are willing to bear this retribution and remain placidly unaware of it, even bringing it about that their descendants cannot read, so that the whole family suffers. There is no need to dwell on distant cases; let us first cite recent ones. Yang Baihang of Luzhou once sat upon a scripture, and his entire family contracted leprosy. Xianyu Kun of Changjun destroyed the Mencius, and his whole family perished. These requitals are said to have appeared clearly before people’s eyes. Yang Quanshan, the elder brother of Yang Baihang, buried written paper, and for five generations his descendants all passed the examinations and obtained degrees. Li Zicai, too, became a high-ranking official because he buried written paper. Since treasuring written paper can bring the reward of good fortune, how can one fail to revere it and hold it in awe?

This essay, “Admonition to Scholars,” is a piece meant to exhort those who study. It says:

Those who are intelligent and upright, and who act according to the principle of Heaven, need not depend on others in every matter. Only those who are generous, loyal, and trustworthy, and who delight in doing what is right, can pass good customs on from one generation to the next. Drawing on the idea of sympathetic response with the gods, I use these words to instruct everyone, and I ask you to listen with care.

A person’s wealth and rank are sometimes shaped by Heaven’s mandate and the fortune of the times. Those who understand this can rest content with what is natural and do not force what does not belong to them. Those who do not understand set their hearts on grasping and go about praying and petitioning. Some think that if only human beings and the spirits are of one mind, meet in dreams, or receive rich offerings, the spirits will descend. Others build great palaces and towers, lay splendid tiled roofs, and ornament steps and corridors, all to display their pomp. All of this pursues only the surface and instead loses what is fundamental.

A person’s advance or retreat, gain or loss, and path in office are not wholly decided by one’s own calculations. The text says that these matters are each governed by deities and the offices in their charge, and cannot be won by reckoning or by currying favor. Yet allotted fate does not bid a person abandon self-cultivation. Those who diligently cultivate themselves and strive to do good may receive much blessing in return; those who turn against the right Dao (the Way) and ruin their De (Virtue/Power) will have their share of blessing taken away by the gods. Fortune and misfortune are sometimes hard to see clearly. Allotted fate and human conduct are bound together, and the good or ill fortune before one’s eyes may also change. The creative work of Heaven and Earth has a side on which fortune and misfortune depend on each other, and the gods likewise increase or diminish a person’s blessings and emoluments accordingly.

Scholars ought to revere and keep the teachings. Do not deceive Heaven and Earth, and do not suppose that the gods dwell in darkness where no one sees. Do not think that wrong may be done when one is alone, nor fear what people say only when many eyes are watching. Do not oppress orphans and widows, and do not fail in respect for the elderly. Do not take unrighteous wealth, and do not covet desires that are not your own. Do not treat outsiders generously while keeping your own kin at a distance, nor swear brotherhood with those of other surnames while living in discord with your brothers at home. Do not rely on your own strengths while picking only at the faults of others, and do not crave ease and pleasure or indulge in roaming and hunting. Do not bully others on the strength of literary fame or official rank. Do not honor only the Dao of the immortals and the Buddha’s teaching while neglecting your parents, and do not revere ghosts and spirits while slighting your teachers.

If these admonitions are violated, one cannot in the end escape the chastisement of the Heavenly Dao. Some are outstanding in talent yet repeatedly trapped in the examination halls; others have long been diligent and clear-sighted, yet suddenly pass the provincial examination. Each of these outcomes has its own causes and conditions; none is a moment’s luck. In the world some slander in secret and harbor resentment, and some praise to a person’s face while maligning that person behind the back, wishing only to deceive those close to them. How could those who preside over the examinations decide acceptance or rejection by private feeling? The offices that keep the registers of official salary and name have their own impartial arrangements. Among the many scholars there may be Heaven’s scrutiny; truly outstanding achievement I too acknowledge. These words should be proclaimed everywhere, so that all may know them.

The standards by which the examinations select talent are not of only one kind. What matters is choosing those who can meet the hopes of the many. First one looks to good deeds and filial conduct accumulated in secret, and next to whether a person is modest and mild. Those who study with hard toil should receive the return due their labor; those of outstanding talent should have the chance to fulfill their aims; the arrogant and indolent can hardly avoid being passed over; and the frivolous and harsh should also receive admonition and punishment. Essays are used to judge whether candidates stay or go, while the gods preside over fair selection. Scholars ought to examine themselves.

People often say that if a scholar lacks talent, diligent study still counts as a kind of ability, and that if a household is poor, how could it be wealthy? Winning an examination degree is another kind of wealth. Scholars are not divided into noble and humble; what matters is diligence. In each year of the great triennial examination—the regular great examination of the civil service—the chief examiner first looks into the candidates’ character and learning, and only then judges the quality of their essays. One should not, therefore, plead that fate is already fixed and refuse to apply oneself, nor take the karmic conditions of past lives as a reason to neglect self-cultivation. To be a scholar in name yet possess not a trace of a scholar’s De, and to wear the robe of a Confucian while having only the outward appearance, will not do.

Those who do not revere Heaven and Earth, do not trust the gods, make sport of the elderly, slight their seniors, defy their parents, crave pleasure all day long, neglect their teachers, and indulge without restraint—if the examination does not go well, they blame the chief examiner for unfairness; once the list is posted, they say that mediocre people have passed by luck. They know only how to reproach others, not themselves. When they criticize others, they are in fact also resenting the Heavenly Dao.

Some rely on their own opinions to suppress the abilities of others; some flaunt their strengths and attack the shortcomings of others; some boast of their learning and look down on the world; and some, knowing only a little, despise the many. If they do not stand upright, they take greed and shady dealing as ability; if their intentions are crooked, they take cunning and deceit as skill. They do not judge strengths and weaknesses by what is fair, but favor one side and press down the other, heedless of what others say. They flatter to a person’s face and vilify that person behind the back, seeking only to please. Their mouths speak fair words, while their hearts harbor other designs. Outwardly they seem kind, yet inwardly they are cruel and violent, fond of harming people in secret and laying plots.

They do not choose upright friends, but instead associate with the unrighteous. They disregard their own households and wives, yet covet the companions of others. They leave their own fields uncultivated and instead tend the fields of others; the faults they commit are truly too many. To do what brings no benefit, and thereby harm what does bring benefit—what could be more serious than this?

Those who have already secured recommendation for the provincial examination often grow smug and cease to improve themselves. Those who enter the examination halls of the provincial capital for the metropolitan examination think the degree is already in hand, as if it could be taken with a lift of the hand. They grow arrogant in their talent, bully the weak, constantly fawn on the powerful and climb through connections, and boast that they surpass their peers. On the strength of two sentences or a single short essay, they look down on other scholars. When trading in the marketplace they collude in partnerships, seeking only greater profit; when they reach the offices of prefecture and county they contend in lawsuits, wishing only to satisfy their own demands. They are neither loyal nor filial, willingly break the law, and delight in conduct that violates propriety. They are neither humane nor upright, and act willfully without regard for the consequences. They hunt and gamble without restraint, drown themselves in drink until they injure their spirit, and swagger with power until they ruin their De. Such people are repeatedly stuck in the examination halls—how can they hope for glory, wealth, and rank?

In ordinary times they have done none of the work of bending over the desk in hard study, yet they suddenly hope to pass the examinations. At the slightest failure they lay everything at the door of fate; so long as they have a little money in hand, they busy themselves only with prayers to obtain rank and degree. They do not know that the chastisement of the Heavenly Dao is hard to escape, and that such conduct only leaves the human heart more confused. In a person’s advance and retreat, movement and stillness, speech and silence, Heaven is watching. Selection and rejection in the examinations are also in the charge of the gods—how could these be gained by luck? Such things cannot be endlessly calculated and forced. So long as one truly has conduct and learning worthy of praise, why worry that one cannot achieve something?

Of late, some families that rose through trade have seen their descendants gain reputation one after another, while in some households that have studied for generations the younger members have instead failed the lists. Perhaps this is because the sons of merchant families study within their station and do not show off, whereas the descendants of scholarly households rely on their family standing and easily grow proud and self-satisfied. The gods’ impartial choosing is meant precisely to spur the frivolous and reward the plain and sincere.

If one can awaken because of this, one should draw in one’s sharp edges and not display oneself. If one wishes to achieve something, one must apply oneself with a single mind, set one’s resolve through hard work, do one’s utmost to accumulate hidden merit—yin De—and always keep a heart of loyalty and filial piety. Restore the plain and sincere customs of ancient times, and do not take on the frivolous, cunning habits of a declining age. In this way the teachings of the Odes, the Documents, and ritual propriety can be transmitted within the family, and success in the examinations may also recover its former flourishing; a manner of treating others with modesty and mildness can likewise return to what it once was. The Heavenly Dao does not fail people; people, all the more, ought to study with effort. All who are scholars should take this as a warning.

According to the record of Yan Gong, the Gentleman of Cultivating Literature, on the day Lord Lao was born, the Jade Emperor was in the Hall of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate).

The complete text of the Inner Biography of Qinghe ends here.