《玉清无极总真文昌大洞仙经注》

Commentary on the Jade Purity (Yuqing) Wuji Zongzhen Wenchang Dadong Immortal Scripture: Preface and Diagrams, Volume One—Memorial Presenting the Scripture

The nature endowed in humans by Heaven is received wholly from primordial Qi, and from this the myriad things are born. The Dao endows the myriad things with form, and all kinds of living beings correspond to the Five Wefts in Heaven (the five planets: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth).

Your servant Wei Qi respectfully submits: Your Majesty’s virtue communicates with the Heavenly Dao, and your wisdom accords with divine intelligence. Your Majesty admires and emulates the simple and unadorned customs of remote antiquity and continues the long and grand orthodox tradition of the Dao. Precious classics have all been read and honored by Your Majesty, and those who cultivate the Dao while dwelling in mountains and forests or taking shelter in wild fields have likewise received promotion. Therefore I, a rustic person, am deeply stirred, and relying on Your Majesty’s generous grace, I do not fear the danger of the cauldron (an ancient instrument for boiling people, here meaning severe punishment), and respectfully present the Wenchang Dadong Scripture. I wish Your Majesty boundless longevity; may Your Majesty’s benevolence, like that of Emperor Yao, spread throughout the world, and the beauty of civil governance be bestowed on all quarters; may Your Majesty’s filial piety, like that of Emperor Shun, be made manifest, causing the flourishing fortunes of the state to shine forth even more.

Your Majesty attunes...

This is a memorial submitted to the Empress Dowager by the Yuan-dynasty Daoist priest Wei Qi. Its general meaning is as follows:

Your subject Wei Qi respectfully states: Since ancient times, the moral transformation of rulers has always begun with the virtue of empresses and consorts; therefore the classics record Tai Ren and Tai Si (the mother and principal wife of King Wen of Zhou, both renowned for their virtue), and the customs and mores of the people arose from this as well. Now the court reveres the land of Yousong (an ancient tribal name), and from here a new worthy woman has been born. Reverently considering Her Highness the Empress Dowager: your demeanor is gentle, your bearing compliant and refined. Your mind is calm and still, already in accord with the Dao of Heaven; your virtue is upright and sincere, conforming to the Dao of Earth. You inspire the people through moral transformation, causing them to feel reverence, and you enable all distant regions in the four directions to enter a state of longevity and peace.

Your subject Wei Qi is one who lives in seclusion at Penglai (the legendary immortal mountain in the sea, often used by Daoists to refer to a place of cultivation), and my background is as lowly as floating duckweed and a broken reed. Knowing well that the Wen Mother (referring to the Empress Dowager, compared to Tai Si, mother of King Wen of Zhou) has received excellent blessings, I therefore venture to present the scripture of Wenchang (the Wenchang Emperor, who presides over literary fortune) and use it to offer blessings.

I humbly pray that your radiance be as brilliant as moonlight, that you emulate the celestial patterns and govern the Six Palaces; that your yin and gentle teaching spread brightly and widely, that you embody and model the primal Qi of the earth and transform and nurture the myriad things. May the common people and subjects all receive the shelter of your loving kindness, and may the Central Plains and the border peoples of the four directions all universally receive your special grace.

Your subject Wei Qi has rashly offended the majesty of the Merciful Sage; my heart is overcome with extreme fear. Looking up to your grace, I knock my head and bow twice, and respectfully state this.

In the ninth month of the third year of the Zhida era (1310), your subject Wei Qi submits this memorial.

An Interpretive Reading of the Preface to the Commentary on the Jade Clarity Limitless Totally True Wenchang Great Cavern Immortal Scripture

Scripture (Jing) is the outline of the great Dao (the Way). The Dao is originally difficult to exhaust in words; the sages of antiquity used speech to form writings and used writing to expound teachings, thereby ordering the world and regulating human relations. Therefore all scriptures contain profound subtleties that are hard to convey in words. Scholars of recent times mostly comment sentence by sentence and annotate chapter by chapter; among them, those who can grasp the meaning of “expounding scripture between Heaven and humanity”—the Dadong Jing (Great Cavern Scripture), an important Daoist classic traditionally attributed to Yuanshi Tianzun (the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning), belongs to this category. The Dadong Jing comes from the Primordial Beginning; its words can bring about mysterious communion and comprehensively gather spiritual workings, transcend the true realm, and pass through ten thousand kalpas—truly profound and wondrous to the utmost.

Now Mr. Wei of Zhongyang has been able to bring forth new ideas of his own and compose a commentary on it, printing it for circulation in the world. He came to the capital, asked me to write a preface for it, and had me look it over. Its contents are deep and broad, with no visible limit; truly not something ordinary people can fathom. I have also heard that the essential purport of expounding a scripture may extend to ten thousand repetitions, but only one whose principles are complete can savor it deeply. You have probably already gained something in this. If one can grasp the meaning beyond the words, then from repeated recitation to returning to wordlessness, the path that expounds the Dao of the Primordial Beginning is inherently the same Dao.

In the fifth month of summer in the renzi year of the Huangqing era (1312), Zhang Yucai, Duke of Liu—conferred as Taishu Ningshen Guangdao Mingde Dazhenren, the hereditary thirty-eighth Celestial Master (Tianshi) of the Han, that is, one of the successive Celestial Masters of the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) tradition, and Grand Master of Splendid Happiness with Golden Seal and Purple Ribbon—wrote the preface.

The Dadong Xianjing (Great Cavern Immortal Scripture) probably originated in the region of western Shu, and was never seen in the Central Plains. Mr. Wei of Zhongyang came from the immortal mountain of Penglai to the capital, brought out a volume to show me, and asked me to write a preface. I read it carefully and found that what it records are all teachings of the world beyond the mundane. Zhang Yucai, Duke of Liu, wrote the preface.

The Dadong Xianjing (Great Cavern Immortal Scripture) is probably a text from the Western Shu region; it has never been seen in the Central Plains. Mr. Wei of Zhongyang came from Pengshan (the legendary immortal mountain in the sea, here referring to a place of Daoist cultivation) to the capital, showed me a book, and asked me to write a preface for it. After reading it carefully, I found that what the book discusses are all principles beyond the mundane world. Mr. Wei said that the book contains annotations by sages of the Three Teachings—Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism—and that its purport is profound and far-reaching; unless one thoroughly understands the classics of the Three Teachings, it is very difficult to understand.

Only the line “the male and female mingle in the jade chamber”—the annotation explains it in terms of the union of Yin-Yang, quite explicitly, and touches on concrete physical forms. Could it be that Master Zhongyang annotated it this way to accommodate current customs? I fear these words cannot be told to ignorant people; that would be like telling a dream to a fool.

The Buddha once said: “From the first turning of the wheel of Dharma in the Deer Park until my nirvana by the Ajitavati River, I did not speak a single word in between.” Confucius also said: “Has Heaven ever spoken? The four seasons proceed as usual, and the myriad things grow as usual.” Laozi also said: “Much speech leads to exhaustion; it is better to hold fast within emptiness and stillness.” From this we see that written and spoken words are merely tools the sages were compelled to use to make the Great Dao manifest. If one has truly attained the Dao, why cling to words and language? I have written down these observations; I do not know what Master Zhongyang will think of them.

The inscription is dated the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the fourth year of the Zhida era (1311), respectfully inscribed by Zhang Zhongshou, Hanlin Academician and Chengzhi, Grand Master of Zishan, Drafter of Edicts and concurrently Compiler of the National History.

The second paragraph is a fragment; it only mentions that before the “Tu Shu” (referring to the Hetu and Luoshu; the “turtle and horse” are the turtle of the Luoshu and the horse of the Hetu) appeared, the “Five Writs” had already begun to manifest. This point has already been seen in the inscription by Chengzhi Zhang Zhongshou.

Before the appearance of the Hetu and Luoshu (the Yellow River Chart and the Luo River Writ—legend tells of the dragon-horse bearing the chart and the divine turtle presenting the writing), the “Five Patterns” (wuwen, the five kinds of patterned brilliance between Heaven and Earth) had already begun to display their civilizing power, as recorded in the Lingbao scriptures. The flourishing radiance of the Dao of Heaven is like skillfully nurturing primordial Qi: the flood-like Qi endures alone; the more turbid it becomes, the clearer it appears, and the more obscure it becomes, the more brightly it shines. It is unbroken and knows no distinction between existence and extinction; the fire of kalpas cannot burn it away, nor can the changes of the world shake it.

That which dwells on high and stands in dark azure—if it lacked an intrinsic nature of vigorous strength, centrality and uprightness, purity and refined oneness, its operation would cease. What causes form and nature to revolve without cease is the so-called “Lord,” namely Di (the Sovereign). The Old Immortal of Seven Bends (Qiqu Laoxian), a legendary immortal accomplished through cultivation, cultivated himself through meritorious practice and moral virtue and expounded the warp-and-weft writings, making them wondrous and luminous. Great indeed is the power of Di! It upholds these scriptures and registers (jinglu), universally awakening sentient beings; it is the pivot of creation and the source of nature and life, and the Sovereign is within it. Before the myriad things had taken form, and out to the boundless beyond the four quarters, all was empty, vast, and remote. All the myriad differences emerge from one root; a thousand kalpas of transformation follow a single path. Observed with the Dharma-eye (the eye of wisdom transcending the mundane), everything is perfectly transparent, without the slightest obstruction.

What I call Taiyi, Taichu, Taishi, Taisu, and Taiji are precisely the Wenchang Dadong transmitted by Yuanshi Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy of Original Beginning). Master Zhongyang, Mr. Wei (the author of the scripture commentary), delved deeply into the profound and mysterious principles, explaining sentence by sentence and glossing word by word. Taking Daoist learning and the study of nature and principle as his foundation, and integrating Neidan formulas (the secrets of internal alchemy cultivation) with Chan insights, he thoroughly reveals the mind-method of the sages and worthies through the ages, leaving nothing out. Its meaning is vast and overflowing, filling above and below; it is as though a spirit presides over it, and readers must by no means neglect it.

This preface was written on the first day of mid-summer in the xinhai year of the Zhida era (1311), respectfully inscribed by Zhao Bian, Old Man of Shu, Jixian Daizhi (Auxiliary Academician of the Jixian Institute) and Fengzhi Dafu (Grand Master for Fostering Directness).

I have heard that the fine jade of Xuanpu (the legendary fairyland on Mount Kunlun), the refined gold of Kunwu (an ancient land that produced fine metal), pearls that illumine carriages (pearls able to light up a carriage), and jade disks worth a chain of cities (jade worth fifteen cities)—some come from Hepu (a pearl-producing region), some are produced at Kungang (the jade mountains of the Kunlun region)—all bear the name “Bright Moon” and the title “Clothed in Light.” The uncut jade embraced by Bian He and the bright pearl kept by the Marquis of Sui: though people have only heard of them, none fail to feel admiration and reverence and to wish to see them with their own eyes. How much more so the Mysterious Pearl (the divine pearl lost by the Yellow Emperor), the millet-grain pearl (a pearl the size of a millet grain), and the Canghu Jiemo mani pearl (the name of a precious pearl, broadly referring to rare and wondrous jewels)—all these are treasures prized by gods and humans. The Wenchang Dadong of today is precisely such a supreme treasure.

Everyone originally possesses it, yet they cannot see it for themselves and do not value it; instead they treat it as something base and cast it aside. Therefore the sage expounds this principle to awaken sentient beings, using symbolic forms as analogies. This Dao originally has no fixed form or trace; when it issues radiant Qi, this becomes sound, and it does not depend on written words. The ultimate Dao is without speech; the ultimate truth is without image. Since the first division of primordial chaos, when the principles of the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and Humanity—became unobstructed, the body engendered by primal Qi has returned to the One. People do not know that I am Dao and Dao is I. Later, when the Five Phases became disordered and Qi movements shifted, the root of sentient existence came under external domination. Thereupon the Lord of the Three Treasures (Sanbao Jun) clarified anew the original cause and revealed to gods and humans: the bodies of all sentient beings are my Qi, and the Shen (spirit) of all sentient beings is my true essence. If everyone could know this and see it fully, they would return to me, no longer constrained by Qi movements, and attain natural accomplishment while sitting upright.

Therefore Yuanshi (Primordial Beginning) again expounded the secret of thirty-six chapters, totaling 3,188 words, and delivered it to the Dao Lord Yuchen; he also narrated its beginning and end and causes, totaling 908 words, and delivered it to the Dao Father Taixuan. The dharma words of the two sages total 4,096 words.

The supreme true Dao (the Way) originally has no form, yet it becomes more manifest through the traces of sages; the true Sovereign does not speak, yet the mysterious scriptures grow ever richer. It encompasses heaven and earth and brings the myriad things to completion; truly it is the supreme treasure, as the Yijing (Book of Changes) says: “Qian, in its beginning, can benefit all under heaven with beautiful benefit.”

This scripture uses thirty-six chapters to correspond to the “four-nine” Metal number (four times nine) and points to the Way of the Golden Elixir (the Daoist method of using alchemical refinement as a metaphor for Neidan (internal alchemy) cultivation). The upper scroll has ten chapters, the middle scroll ten chapters, and the lower scroll sixteen chapters; all three scrolls use five-character lines, totaling thirty-six chapters. Before each chapter there is additionally a “Dadong Dizun” chapter in four-character lines; its format differs from that of the other chapters and it governs the entire scripture. Each of the three scrolls has a preface, and at the end of the lower scroll there is also a concluding scripture; all are expounded by Yuchen Daojun (one of the honored deities of Daoism), so that the beginning and end of the whole scripture can be clearly seen.

In the early years of the Zhou dynasty, the Heavenly Emperor commanded three Perfected Ones to transmit this scripture to Master Zhang Tongzhen of Haohui; such is the origin of this scripture. Reckoning from that time, more than two thousand five hundred years have already passed. Previously, the version transmitted by Lady Wei Yuanjun of Maoshan (that is, Wei Huacun, patriarch of the Shangqing school) was titled Shangqing Dadong Yujing (Upper Clarity Great Cavern Jade Scripture). It is said to have been transmitted by Lingbao Tianzun (Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure), and it has two fewer chapters and eighty more characters than this scripture. In addition, the Daoist Lu Xiujing during the reign of Emperor Ming of the Liu Song dynasty in the Southern Dynasties inserted the text of the three scriptures Diyi, Ciyi, and Xiongyi, in three- or four-character lines and in lines of varying length, between the chapters; therefore there are more chapters and lines, but the content of the main scripture is the same.

An examination of various biographies records that during the Tang dynasty, the Perfected Wang Baohe of Zizhou (around present-day Santai, Sichuan), by command of the emperor…

During the Tang dynasty, Wang Baohe Zhenren (Perfected) of Zizhou (present-day Santai area in Sichuan), by imperial command, collated the Thirty-Nine-Chapter Great Cavern Scripture (Dadong Jing) and transmitted it to the Sishi (the presiding master who transmits Daoist teachings). During the reign of Song Zhenzong, Guanmiao Xiansheng Zhu Ziying wrote a commentary on this scripture. In the first year of Zhenghe under Song Huizong, Zhang Shangying submitted a memorial to the throne whose contents were largely the same. This scripture originally consisted of one hundred and twenty volumes; Yuchen Daojun and Taixuan Daofu Master Niu Zi extracted its essentials, ordered its chapters and sentences, and compiled it into thirty-six chapters in three volumes for ease of cultivation.

Upward, this scripture can stabilize the thirty-six heavens; downward, it can govern the thirty-six earthly domains; and in the middle, it penetrates the Shen and Qi of the thirty-six palaces within the human body (the energy centers of Jing, Qi, and Shen in the body). This is what is meant by “thirty-six in heaven, thirty-six on earth.” Its mystery is boundless; the Great Cavern Scripture is truly wondrous.

What the scripture records is mostly the inner names and secret appellations of Tianzhen (heavenly true deities). These resonate with the Shen and Qi within the human body, and therefore its status stands above that of the Duren Jing, the Shengshen Jing, and the Huangting Jing. Thus inner and outer manifest each other, and above and below interweave; this is because it takes the human body, a microcosm, as its model. If a person can cultivate and preserve his own Shen and Qi and chant the precious stanzas in the scripture, the Tianzhen will descend and merge with the Shen and Qi in the body as one—this is the so-called “Huifeng Hunhe” (Returning Wind and Merging). When form and spirit are both wondrous, one can unite with the Dao in truth.

The way of longevity obtained from this enables one to lift and control heaven and earth, grasp Yin-Yang, drive wind and thunder, command spirits and ghosts, rest peacefully in the chariot of flowing rosy clouds, and gaze afar from the Wenchang Terrace.

People in the world only know that those who recite scriptures die and those who do not recite scriptures also die—how could there be a principle of longevity? They do not know that those who recite scriptures can shed the illusory body and return to the true body; this is called “Shijie” (corpse liberation: leaving behind the false shell to attain the Dao and become immortal). Those who do not recite scriptures have both illusory body and true body perish together. Those of superior capacity understand without words; dull people, even when repeatedly instructed face to face, remain utterly unaware of the principle. Moreover, the words and meanings of the chapters and sentences in the scripture are deep and subtle; unless one is a heavenly being reborn, who could truly understand them?

Author Wei Qi’s self-account: From childhood he read broadly among the various masters and schools, and there was none he did not investigate deeply. In the jimao year of the Zhiyuan era (1279), when he was about twenty, he began reciting this Jing (scripture/classic); at that time someone earnestly urged him about it, but he was utterly puzzled. The chapters, sentences, and meanings of characters in the scripture are profound and obscure; unless one were a heavenly being reborn into the world, who could truly understand them?

Thereafter, for thirty years, he regretted only that the text had been copied and recopied with many errors, nine out of ten copies being wrong, with no way to correct them. He recalled that in childhood he had read the Buddhist and Daoist Tripitakas and retained a phrase or two, but he did not dare revise them on his own. Moreover, the world’s scriptures and teachings, after passing through a great upheaval like a smelting furnace—the “Great Smelting and Transforming Furnace” (Daye Huahu)—were no longer transmitted.

In recent years, while serving as a minor official in the southwest, he often used this scripture to exhort people, and every household came to recite it; but he felt he was passing on errors and was uneasy at heart. Later, while wandering the rivers and lakes and sitting quietly in an inn, he suddenly had an insight, and so he reorganized his old commentary drafts, consulting the scriptures of the three teachings—Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism—that he had noted in ordinary times; wherever the meaning coincided, he explained them sentence by sentence.

He also appended thirteen diagrams at the beginning of the book, including the Wuji (Limitless) spoken of in the Yijing (Classic of Changes), the Hetu and Luoshu (Yellow River Chart and Luo River Writing), the images of the pre-heaven and post-heaven Bagua (Eight Trigrams), as well as cultivation and doctrinal content such as the Golden Elixir fire phases, Canghu Tanchi, and the Emperor Venerable’s mysterious Qi, so that readers could understand at a glance. (The exact referent of “Canghu Tanchi” is unclear; the original text is rather brief here.) He humbly described his own knowledge as shallow and limited, and fearing that he might contravene the Dao of Heaven and be laughed at by the discerning, he respectfully requested the Zhusheng Zhenjun (Perfected Lord Who Registers Birth) and the Caifang Shizhe Minggan (an official in charge of divine posts) to grant seal and certification; only then did he dare make it public to fellow practitioners. He said this was not to praise the great scripture, but only in the hope that a person of small capacity like himself could also draw some inspiration from it and make some modest discoveries.

The colophon reads: In the jiyou year of the Zhida era (1309), Wei Qi, Zhongyangzi, of Penglai Mountain in eastern Shu, bows his head and respectfully writes this preface.

Wuji Diagram: The first of the thirteen diagrams in the book; it uses the “Wuji” diagram to show the source state before heaven and earth were divided and before the ten thousand transformations, connecting with the subsequent Hetu-Luoshu, Bagua, and other diagrams.

Wuji (Non-Ultimate) and Taiji (Supreme Ultimate): A Vernacular Reading of the Commentary on the Jade Clarity Wuji Zongzhen Wenchang Dadong Immortal Scripture

The author says that Zhou Dunyi composed the Taiji Tushuo (Explanation of the Taiji Diagram) to summarize the Zhouyi, whereas I elaborate the principle of Wuji to encompass the Dadong scripture. Taiji is the state in which form and Qi are already present; Wuji, by contrast, has no sound, no odor, no shape, and no name—it is simply pure principle. Zhou Dunyi also speaks of “Wuji and then Taiji”: when Wuji moves once, it transforms into Yang and produces mysterious Qi, which belongs to Water, and so it is called Taiyi (Great Change); it produces mysterious light, and in stillness transforms into Yin and produces original Qi, which belongs to Fire, and so it is called Yuanming (Original Destiny); from this Taichu (Great Inception) arises; when stillness reaches its extreme, it turns again to movement, transforms into Yang, and produces incipient Qi, which belongs to Wood, and so it is called Taishi (Great Beginning). When the three Qi are complete—that is, when the mysterious, original, and incipient Qi are all present—Qi and form-quality are fully endowed but have not yet separated; this is called Taisu (Great Simplicity). In stillness it becomes Yin and belongs to Metal, so it is called the stage after Taisu; the three Qi become the root of Heaven and Earth, and the myriad things each reach their proper place—this is called Taiji. In movement it becomes Yang, belongs to Earth, and governs the Four Images; hence “Taiji” is spoken of. The Five Numinous powers blend in harmony, one movement and one stillness mutually serve as root; therefore the Five Greats and the Five Phases are called the Five Elders. What the Wufu Yujing (Five Talismans Jade Scripture) says—“born before the Primordial Beginning”—is exactly this meaning.

The Heavenly King further elaborates the mysterious Qi of Taiyi, condensing it into a precious pearl shaped like “○.” This means that the Five Phases are simply one Yin-Yang, Yin-Yang is simply one Taiji, and Taiji is originally Wuji. Hence it is called “Wuji Zongzhen Wenchang Dadong.”

The author says: I use the light of this “○” treasure to condense the myriad Qi and generate the various heavens; I further disperse its light into hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, and hundred millions of rays, forming the Dadong Immortal Scripture. What the Jade Scripture calls “giving birth to Heaven and establishing Earth, opening and transforming the Shen and luminous deities,” and “the five Qi coalesce into the ten directions, the myriad Qi give birth to the myriad Shen,” is precisely the principle by which the Five Phases are distributed in order and generate the various heavens; the movement of the four seasons also comes from this. The five kinds of script in the Duren Jing (Scripture of Salvation) unfold and spread widely, planted universally among the spirits; not one character fails to emit light, being identical with the myriad Shen, myriad Qi, and assembled immortals. This is the true nature of Wuji, the Jing of the two and five—the essence of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases. The two Qi interact and transform to give birth to the myriad things; therefore Wenchang is the ancestor of Heaven and Earth and the mother of the myriad things. Thus every person possesses a Wenchang, and every thing possesses a Taiji.

If a person can carefully cultivate, cleanse, and temper the Dao of Wenchang Dadong, they will ultimately return into Wuji and attain the realm of empty nothingness and naturalness. Humans come from nothing into being, and in old age return again to nothing.

Looking at the Wuji Diagram, one can understand the sequential generation of the two Qi (Yin Qi and Yang Qi) and the Five Phases. The two Qi are Yin-Yang; the Five Phases are Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, and Earth. Being arises from Non-being; when Qi moves it generates pattern/principle, and when Qi completes it manifests wen (pattern)—here “wen” refers to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.

Yang movement generates Renzi, number one, belonging to Yang Water; Yin stillness generates Dingsi, number two, belonging to Yin Fire; further movement generates Jiayin, number three, belonging to Yang Wood; again stillness generates Xinyou, number four, belonging to Yin Metal; movement generates Wuchen and Wuxu, number five, belonging to Yang Earth; stillness completes Guihai, number six, belonging to Yin Water; movement completes Bingwu, number seven, belonging to Yang Fire; stillness completes Yimao, number eight, belonging to Yin Wood; movement completes Gengshen, number nine, belonging to Yang Metal; stillness completes Jichou and Jiwei, number ten, belonging to Yin Earth.

Among the Heavenly Stems, Jia, Bing, Wu, Geng, and Ren are Yang stems; when they meet movement they form wen. Yi, Ding, Ji, Xin, and Gui are Yin stems; when they meet stillness they form wen. Among the Earthly Branches, Zi, Wu, Yin, Shen, Chen, and Xu are Yang branches; Si, Hai, Mao, You, Chou, and Wei are Yin branches. After the five kinds of wen-patterns are completed, they are called the “Five Tai” (Tai refers to the primordial Qi at the initial separation of Heaven and Earth). The Jing also speaks of “Five Tai,” which together make “Ten Tai”; this is not a contradiction. If one views them merely as five mutually independent groups, it is difficult to explain, because each of the Five Phases contains the two Qi; Yang Qi promotes their arising, Yin Qi promotes their completion, and only when the two interact and mutually transform are the patterns of Heaven and Earth formed. The Jing’s statements “The True Wen initiates and generates clarity; kindling fire generates the True Wen; the True Wen of the Ten Virtues is proclaimed; the Horizontal Wen has the Emperor’s son as guest; the human Wen of the Ten Qian is knotted” all mean that the five Wen unfold from this and the myriad things grow from this.

Someone asks: the Yellow Emperor ordered Danao to investigate the subtleties of the Five Phases and create the Jiazi sexagenary cycle; would not Jiazi then have existed only after Heaven and Earth? In fact, Jiazi existed before Heaven and Earth; the Yellow Emperor merely revealed it through human affairs. The stems and branches established by Tianhuangshi were first reckoned from Yin (Sheti), as recorded in the Erya. Later Fuxi changed the reckoning to begin from Jia, because Jia in the East belongs to Wood; it is the time when the myriad things first arise and the De of Wood is at its height, so Jia is taken as the head of the ten stems. The two Qi transform and generate the stems and branches; in Heaven they become celestial patterns, on Earth they become terrestrial patterns. By looking up and examining down, exploring the hidden and subtle, and tracing to the source, one can know that the sixty Jiazi correspond to sixty stars in Heaven, while the Bagua transformed from the Qi of the Five Phases guard the eight directions. Now the sixty Jiazi and sixty-four hexagrams are separately arranged in the Dongzhang (Cavern Chapters), and all accord with the great Dao.

The Generation of the Five Phases and the "Tai" Stages

This passage of scripture describes the process by which the cosmos moves from the formless to the formed and the Five Phases (Wuxing) are generated step by step. Each stage is matched with a ganzhi pair—a heavenly stem and earthly branch combination, such as Renzi or Guihai—used to mark that stage's temporal position and attributes.

Generative Numbers and Completion Numbers

The scripture divides the generation of the Five Phases into two sets. "Heaven-One generates Water, Earth-Two generates Fire, Heaven-Three generates Wood, Earth-Four generates Metal, and Heaven-Five generates Earth": these are the generative numbers (shengshu) of the Five Phases, meaning that their substance is present first. "Earth-Six completes Water, Heaven-Seven completes Fire, Earth-Eight completes Wood, Heaven-Nine completes Metal, and Earth-Ten completes the Earth phase": these are the completion numbers (chengshu), meaning that their forms are completed on the basis of the generative numbers. Heavenly numbers are odd—1, 3, 5, 7, 9—and belong to Yang; earthly numbers are even—2, 4, 6, 8, 10—and belong to Yin.

The Five "Tai" Stages of Generation

Taiyi (Great Change): the true Qi (zhenqi) of the Nine August High Perfected—the pure primordial Qi of the highest level—transforms to generate the Water of Heaven-One; this is the beginning before the myriad things have revealed any trace of form. Taichu (Great Beginning): the true Qi of the Heavenly August High Perfected generates the Fire of Earth-Two, and the Qi mechanism begins to stir. Taishi (Great Commencement): the Upper Origin Qi of the Supreme Unity (Taiyi) generates the Wood of Heaven-Three, and the myriad things begin to grow. Taisu (Great Simplicity): at the beginning of Taisu's Fanxing (pure conduct), the Metal of Earth-Four is first generated, and substance begins to consolidate and become plain. Taiji (Supreme Ultimate): the Five Numinous Qi (Wuling) of Taiji surges forth and generates the Earth of Heaven-Five, becoming the root of the transformation and generation of the myriad things.

The Five "Completion" Stages

The corresponding five completion stages indicate how each Qi is completed after its generative number: Taizhong (Great Center), in which Earth-Six completes Water; Taihe (Great Harmony), in which Heaven-Seven completes Fire; Taiqing (Great Clarity), in which Earth-Eight completes Wood; Taizhen (Great Perfected), in which Heaven-Nine completes Metal; and Taixuan (Great Mystery), in which Earth-Ten completes the Earth phase. Among these, Taixuan is the final stage and marks the complete conclusion of the generation and completion of the Five Phases.

Explanation of Several Terms

True Qi: in Daoism, the pre-heaven primordial Qi, pure and undifferentiated. Fanxing: here a borrowed Buddhist term meaning pure conduct; in this scripture it describes the pure state of Qi. Wuling: the numinous Qi of the five directions, correlated with the Five Phases.

Overall, the scripture follows the order of "first generation, then completion" to depict an evolutionary sequence from primordial Qi to the Five Phases and from the formless to the formed; it is one expression of Daoist cosmogony.

Vernacular Explanation:

The Jing is the substance of number; number is the function of the Jing. Anyone who cultivates the Dao of Wenchang must not fail to understand "number." Heaven and Earth revolve by means of number; the myriad things are generated by means of number. What is called "number" is the movement and stillness of Yin-Yang within Taiji. The Yijing says: "Heaven's number is five, Earth's number is five; the five positions mutually obtain and each has its pairing; Heaven's number is twenty-five, Earth's number is thirty; the numbers of Heaven and Earth together total fifty-five." The alchemical Jing also says: "East three and South two together make five; North one and West four share it; Wu and Ji likewise generate their number from Wood; the three families meet and form the infant." These presumably speak of the principle of Wenchang.

Dao is Jing; Jing is Yi; Yi is number; number is image. The Jing says: "With the Qi of Xuanyi (Mysterious Oneness) and the single sound of Taixuan, it propagates the true Dao of Diyi (Emperor Oneness)." It also says: "From the Dao's wondrous Oneness, skillfully lending, roots are generated; conceiving the mysterious and dividing the primordial, giving birth to beginnings and transmitting the true, transforming and generating the various heavens. Tracing their causes, all come from the number one." The general meaning is: when the mysterious primordial Qi moves, Water is born; then Earth and Wood are born; when it is still, Metal and Fire are born. "From one to five, the Five Phases are spread in order"; the Five Phases are arranged successively and circulate. Then six paired with one forms Water; seven paired with two forms Fire; eight paired with three forms Wood; nine paired with four forms Metal; ten paired with five forms Earth. Only thus can the transformations of the myriad things be completed and the functions of ghosts and spirits be set in operation.

Before Taiji had differentiated, these numbers were chaotically contained within Wuji. Therefore the formation of Heaven, Earth, humans, and things depends on number, and their decay also depends on number; yet the common people use it every day without knowing. When Fuxi appeared, basing himself on the diagram carried by the dragon-horse from the River (the Hetu), he followed it and drew the Bagua. If one can understand these numbers, the Dao of nature and life is contained therein, and the essential meaning of Wenchang is fully present. Hence the lower scroll discusses the Five Tai, the Five Phases, the Five Elders, and the Five Talismans—how Heaven is generated and Earth established, and how humans and things are transformed and nurtured—all of which come from the Nine Palaces and Bagua. The images of the Nine Palaces and hexagrams issue from the two Qi and the Five Phases, and the two Qi and the Five Phases in turn originate from Taiji and Wuji.

Fuxi was a great sage. He carefully pondered the ultimate Dao, mysteriously resonated with Heaven, traced the origin of Heaven and Earth, followed the principles of transformation and nurture after Pangu's opening of the world, and took as his model his own bodily form and skin, thereby establishing the hexagram images.

Notes:

Wenchang is the name of a Daoist deity in charge of literary fortune and official success; it is also often used by cultivators to refer to the path of inner cultivation.

Taiji and Wuji are Daoist terms for the source state before cosmic differentiation; Taiji is the initial state before Yin-Yang separate, while Wuji is more primordial.

Qi is the Daoist term for primal life energy; the specialized graph used for it emphasizes its subtle, energetic nature.

The Hetu is the legend that in Fuxi's time a dragon-horse emerged from the Yellow River bearing a diagram with numbers, from which later generations elaborated the Bagua.

Danjing refers to Daoist texts that discuss Neidan cultivation.

Wu and Ji are Earth among the Five Phases; Wu is yang Earth and Ji is yin Earth. "The three families meet" refers to Wood, Fire, and Earth (or the Three Treasures) converging; "forming the infant" is a Neidan term for the achievement of the sacred embryo.

Jizi composed the Hongfan (Great Plan) and set forth the “five blessings” of the ninth category: first, long life; second, wealth and sufficiency; third, health and peace; fourth, good character and being loved by others (you hao de); and fifth, a good end (kao zhong ming). What people in the world seek is nothing more than these five blessings, yet they do not know that they must be sought through cultivation. The Dao (the Way) of cultivation should begin with the Luoshu (Luo River Diagram). The Luoshu is a legendary numerical diagram obtained from the back of a divine turtle in the Luo River and arranged into the Nine Palaces (jiugong). Its Nine Palaces are the “use of nine” (yong jiu) in the Yi (Classic of Changes) and the principle of “nine” revealed in the Wenchang Jing. If one can apply the mind to comprehend this, one will spontaneously accord with the pure Qian of the Yi and the pure Yang of Wenchang. Thus the Yi says, “The noble person is vigilant and diligent all day long, strengthening himself without cease,” and Laozi says, “Continuous, as if present.” This is what is meant by “seeking blessings without deviation”—seeking blessings by the upright path, not by crooked ways.

The Luoshu arrangement is: nine above and one below, three to the left and seven to the right, two and four as the shoulders, six and eight as the feet. According to the forward and reverse sequence of the solar terms, it moves through the Nine Palaces; whether horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, the sum of the numbers in each line is fifteen. It interweaves and coordinates with the Hetu, together constituting the Dao of the Three Powers (Sancai) of heaven, earth, and humanity—precisely the numerical principle of “weaving the heavens and ordering the earth.”

When primordial chaos first divided, the myriad things relied on this to arise. In the time of Yu the Great, the Luo turtle emerged bearing the diagram on its back, and the study of images and numbers began to be manifest. Yu the Great used it to control the floods and set out the Nine Categories (nine great categories of statecraft); Jizi used it to compose the Hongfan; King Wen of Zhou used it to change the orientations of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams). All of these embody the numbers of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). Therefore Wenchang says: “To reveal the method of the Nine Unities and transmit the talismans of the Nine Radiances—all take nine as their application.” Nine is the number of pure Yang; hence this scripture is divided into thirty-six chapters, just as Qian Yuan takes nine as its application; the principle is no different. This is the root of nature and life within the Three Powers of heaven, earth, and humanity—that is, the “Dao of ease and simplicity” spoken of by Taiyi (the Great Change). Yet many people in the world do not understand it, and some regard it merely as the arts of Yin-Yang and fengshui.

To obtain the five blessings spoken of in the Hongfan, one should deeply investigate the nine numbers of Wenchang. Heaven has Nine Heavens, and the human head also has Nine Palaces corresponding to them; earth has Nine Provinces, and the human body has nine orifices corresponding to them; the Northern Dipper has Nine Origins, and the human heart has nine openings corresponding to them; the waters have Nine Rivers, and the human intestines have nine bends corresponding to them. Nine belongs to the Yang numbers; if a person lacks Yang Qi (vital energy), he cannot live. Yu the Great grieved because his father Gun was executed after failing to control the floods; he concentrated his thoughts and meditated deeply, resonating with the formless, wishing to complete the great task of flood control. Therefore Heaven bestowed upon him the method of controlling the waters. All of this accords with the substance and function of the great transformation of heaven and earth.

The Hetu (Yellow River Diagram) appeared several thousand years before the Luoshu (Luo River Writing). Fuxi was thus beset by adversity; he pondered deeply and communed with Heaven’s will, wishing to establish great merit once again, and so Heaven bestowed on him the principles of water control. These principles all accord with the substance and function of the great transformation of Heaven and Earth.

Because the Hetu appeared before the Luoshu, Fuxi was able to draw the Pre-Heaven Bagua (Eight Trigrams). The numbers used in the Pre-Heaven Bagua are contained within the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), namely the fifty-five numbers of the Hetu (the sum from one to ten). The ancients held that the Hetu and Luoshu were diagrams of the numbers of Heaven and Earth carried forth on the back of a dragon-horse; previously many mistakenly took the nine numbers of the Luoshu as the Hetu. Liu Mu consequently transmitted this erroneous view, and it still circulates today. The author, based on inquiry into the Wenchang Jing (scripture), holds that ten numbers should be taken as the Hetu and nine as the Luoshu, and that the sequence should be arranged accordingly.

Within Wuji (Limitless) these diagrams were already fully present, but their mystery had not yet been revealed. In Fuxi’s time, a dragon-horse emerged bearing the Hetu, and Fuxi drew the trigrams accordingly. The yang numbers formed by the odd numbers one, three, five, and seven (belonging to Yang, light and clear) were arranged above as Qian Heaven; the yin numbers formed by the even numbers two, four, six, eight, and ten (belonging to Yin, heavy and turbid) were arranged below as Kun Earth. This is “Heaven and Earth set their positions,” which is the Taiji giving birth to the Two Modes (Liangyi).

Then, by matching the number five with one, two, three, and four, Old Yin, Old Yang, Lesser Yin, and Lesser Yang are distinguished; this is the Two Modes giving birth to the Four Images (Sixiang). Then six, seven, eight, nine, and ten are mutually combined to form the Bagua: one Qian, two Dui, three Li, four Zhen, five Xun, six Kan, seven Gen, eight Kun. The Bagua take their images in opposing pairs—for example, thunder and wind are mutually stimulating, mountains and marshes communicate their Qi (vital energy), and water and fire do not oppose each other—and vertically and horizontally they all sum to nine; this is the Four Images giving birth to the Bagua.

Therefore, the human body also corresponds to the Bagua: the round head resembles Qian Heaven, the square feet resemble Kun Earth, the body resembles Gen Mountain, fluids resemble Dui Marsh, the voice resembles Zhen Thunder, breath resembles Xun Wind, blood resembles Kan Water, and defensive Qi resembles Li Fire. Are not the principles of the Bagua all already present in my own body?

Thus, here the intent of the Zhouyi Cantong Qi is used for comparative explanation. The essential purport of the Wenchang and Dadong is extremely profound and subtle; people often find it difficult to understand and therefore are unwilling to accept and recite it. So here relatively easy-to-understand statements from various scriptures are selected as corroboration, in the hope that faithful men and women, whether wise or foolish, may gain some awakening.

Before Heaven and Earth divided, the form was like an egg, within which was chaotic Qi. The clear became Heaven, and the turbid became Earth. The chaos grew one zhang each day, and Heaven and Earth opened one zhang each day. The eyes transformed into the sun and moon, the body into mountains, the hair into grasses and trees, and the fluids into rivers and seas—this was Pangu.

Scripture

After the Luoshu (Luo River Chart) and Hetu (Yellow River Chart) appeared, several thousand more years passed before Yu the Great was able to bring the floods under control. These principles are precisely the mysteries of the Five Phases within the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). Each day heaven and earth separated by one zhang; his eyes became the sun and moon, his body became the mountains, his hair became grasses and trees, his fluids became rivers and streams. This deity was named Pangu.

Commentary

The commentator asks: Were the Charts only meant for drawing trigrams and controlling floods? The answer is: Not so. The Charts in fact reveal the substance and function of the principle of human nature and life. The pre-heaven (xiantian) and post-heaven (houtian) principles, without the Charts, could not manifest their substance; and the Dayi (the Great Changes, namely the Zhouyi) and the Wenchang Jing (Scripture of Wenchang), without the pre-heaven and post-heaven principles, could not manifest their function. Thus substance and function contain each other, and nature and life illuminate each other; neither can be omitted. I write this down for fellow practitioners of the Dao to consult.

The scripture says, “The Eight Sovereigns move through the Nine Heavens”; this refers to the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) and the Nine Palaces (Jiugong). The numbers of the Bagua and the order of the Nine Palaces are inner and outer to each other; therefore the Hetu and Luoshu serve as warp and weft to each other. The learning of the pre-heaven existed before the formation of heaven and earth. King Wen of Zhou therefore took up the Hetu and Luoshu, carefully elaborated them, and adjusted the positions of the Bagua. He moved Qian and Kun, the old yang and old yin trigrams, to the northwest and southwest respectively, because they already possessed the trigram images of the three sons and three daughters and should retire to positions of non-use. Kan and Li, in which yin and yang properly intersect, occupy the central palace and stand at the due positions of Zi and Wu. Zhen is the beginning of the union of yang qi, so it is placed in the east; Dui is the beginning of the union of yin qi, so it is established due west. Gen and Xun, whose yin and yang are mixed and disordered and lack mutual resonance, are therefore placed off in a corner.

Afterward, the post-heaven Bagua revolves among the Nine Palaces; Five dwells in the center while lodging its position in Two—this is “Two and Five share the same function.” The Changes says: “The Lord comes forth in Zhen; in Xun he orders all things; in Li they appear to one another; in Kun he labors to nurture them; in Dui he rejoices and speaks; in Qian he contends; in Kan he toils; in Gen he completes his words.” From this the four seasons proceed, the myriad things grow, and the Dao of Changes thus operates between heaven and earth.

Does Wenchang have no relation to the Changes? The human body is originally a small heaven-and-earth, and the Dao of Wenchang also runs vertically and horizontally within the body. If one can make body and mind pure and complete and return to this, then one does not fail the sages’ grace of transforming and nurturing the myriad things, and this scripture is not empty talk.

The Nine Radiance Talisman (Jiuguang Fu) is a talismanic script formed by the condensation of the nine-yang brahma Qi contained in the red celestial script within the Hundong—the pure-yang, clear, and tranquil prenatal original Qi. In sequence, with the light-Qi of Shiqing, Qing Heaven is initiated, and Taixiao Palace condenses in the northeast; with the light-Qi of Taiqing, Taiqing Heaven is opened, and Qingxiao Palace condenses in the east; with the light-Qi of Shidan, Dan Heaven is initiated, and Bixiao Palace condenses in the southeast; with the light-Qi of Taidan, Taidan Heaven is opened, and Jiangxiao Palace condenses in the south; with the light-Qi of Shisu, Su Heaven is initiated, and Jingxiao Palace condenses in the southwest; with the light-Qi of Taisu, Taisu Heaven is opened, and Yuxiao Palace condenses in the west; with the light-Qi of Shixuan, Xuan Heaven is initiated, and Langxiao Palace condenses in the northwest; with the light-Qi of Taixuan, Taixuan Heaven is opened, and Zixiao Palace condenses in the north; finally, with the light-Qi of Taifan, Taifan Heaven is opened, and Shenxiao Palace condenses in the center.

“Nine Unifications” (Jiutong) means that a single great emperor governs all affairs of the heavenly realms. Therefore the scripture says that the method of the Nine Unifications is to be displayed so that humans may meet the Lord Emperor, and the Nine Radiance Talisman is transmitted to gather Shen and Qi.

At the beginning of life, humans receive the Qi of the Nine Heavens, and only then are form and Shen complete. When a practitioner’s efforts reach fulfillment after nine months and the sacred embryo is accomplished in the tenth month, only then may he begin to warm and nourish it. The Upper Perfected (those Zhenren residing in the upper realms in Daoism) condense the nine Qi into script, called the Nine Radiance Talisman, which is used to deliver humans and the heavenly realms; this is recorded in detail in the Dharma registers.

Here Shenxiao is taken as the palace that generates Shen; above it governs the stars of the thirty-six heavens, below it governs the thirty-six rampart Earth Sovereigns, and in the middle it governs the thirty-six palaces of the human body. The thirty-six palaces are all places where Heaven sends down true Qi and pours it into each palace chamber, and only then is the human body formed. The Xiaojinku Jing says, “Also take the Qi of Heaven to govern the hun-souls of the Nine Heavens,” which means exactly this. The contents of the thirty-six heavens and thirty-six earths are detailed in the respective chapters. Here the thirty-six palaces of the human body will be described in three parts: upper, middle, and lower.

Those who cultivate and recite this scripture should clarify the mind and sit quietly, visualizing the thirty-six palaces within their heart as radiant and brilliant. In each palace there is a Zhenren, emitting five-colored radiance that connects above to the thirty-six heavens and below to the thirty-six earths; Shen and Qi coalesce, and above and below communicate. This is what the scripture means by “the method of the Nine Unifications to meet the Emperor, the Nine Radiance Talisman to gather Shen.” After the light-Qi has stabilized, harmonize the voice and breath, settle the Qi, and chant the Cavern Stanzas, taking nine recitations as one round. After each recitation, dedicate the merit to the Upper Perfected, to ghosts and spirits of the middle and lower realms, and to the soul-consciousness of one’s own ancestors, so that each may receive according to their wishes. Then sit for a while, wait until Shen and Qi have slightly dispersed, and only then slowly leave the seat. Do not be hurried, lest you disturb the divine radiance and invite reproach from ghosts and spirits. Do not speak while reciting the scripture.

The Golden Elixir (Jindan) refers to that single point of true-yang Qi (vital energy) within the human body. It is generated together with heaven and earth and is as luminous as the sun and moon. When it leaks outward and dissipates, a person grows and takes form; when it is gathered without dispersing, it congeals into the elixir. The Jing (scripture/classic) speaks of the “mother of the elixir” (danmu), meaning the preservation of true yang. True yang is “lead” (a metaphor for the raw material of primordial yang), produced in the Kun position and belonging to earth.

The line “Xuanxuan Shuhuo Wang: the seed of mercury lies in Qian” means that the seed of mercury (a metaphor for the Jing (essence) of true yin) is in the Qian position, and Qian is heaven. Therefore, the cultivator can seize the creative transformation of heaven and earth as the furnace and cauldron (the vessel for elixir making, a metaphor for one’s own body). “Carrying and lifting the king within the sun and joining with the dawn within the moon” means being able to gather the Jing of the sun and moon as medicinal ingredients. “Hidden transformation blends Li and Kan; male and female blend in the Jade Chamber” means using the Yellow Dame (a metaphor for the harmonizing function of intention) as the medium to make the water and fire of heart and kidneys intersect, like Lord Wood (yang) and Metal Mother (yin) joining in delight, the husband singing and the wife following. “Purple Splendor leads the embryo immortal” refers to the sacred embryo reaching full completion after ten months. “The infant is the newborn babe” refers to the yang spirit suddenly manifesting a bodily form.

“Mixing and uniting in the Three-Five Palace” means gathering the two Qi into the Yellow Path (the central palace) and converging the three natures in the primordial palace. “The five Qi congeal in the ten directions, gathering the Five Phases (Wuxing)” means the five Qi condense throughout the ten directions and assemble the Five Phases. “Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) governs the Four True Ones” means harmonizing the Four Images (sixiang). “The Yellow Court reaches the Northern Origin” means true yang rushes upward to the heart mansion (the Yellow Court, which is the central palace within the body). “Nine times returning and reverting to seven” uses the advance and retreat, withdrawal and addition of the Yijing hexagrams as an analogy for the fire timing of the celestial circuit (the cycle of breath and intention). “The body’s treasure, the round pearl, reflects and leads the dark-blue and hoary pearl” describes how the Golden Elixir can be established in an instant. “Licking and refining the five-sprout pearl” means that by ingesting this elixir one can attain the highest fruition of the Great Cavern Heaven and become the “One Venerable Emperor.”

At the end of the scripture it says that “center” is the center within the center, not a direction such as above, below, left, or right. The Buddhists say, “When one does not think of good and does not think of evil, at precisely such a moment one sees one’s original face.” The Confucians say, “Silent and unmoving.” The Daoists say, “It is the thought.” It cannot be sought through sound or smell, nor can it be grasped by clinging to physical form or appearance; it is always empty, numinous, and undarkened. If one becomes attached to or forces interpretations within it, this aperture will no longer be clear.

Formerly, when Xue Youqi annotated the Lingbao Jing, it happened that the immortals Shuangzi and Mr. Banbai came to visit. In their conversation they mentioned the profound mystery of the “Five True Wandering Spirits” (Wuzhen youshen), and this is probably what is meant here. The five spirits may be in heaven, in humans, or in things; all of them govern birth and transformation. If these spirits do not preside over the unceasing operation of life-generation, the vital impulse would cease. Thus the Duren Jing says: “Holding the Fulu (talismans and registers), protecting life and establishing its roots, coming and going within the Huafang and the eight dark regions, within the subtle and minute, below they guard the human body’s Niwan and Jianggong.” (Niwan and Jianggong are the loci where, according to Daoism, the spirits within the human body reside; Niwan is in the head and Jianggong in the heart.) The Wenchang, Lingbao, Huangting, Shengsheng, and other scriptures all discuss this in detail. The five spirits disperse and become myriad spirits; gathered together, they return to a single infant. The names of the myriad spirits cannot be recorded one by one; here I only set out the essentials for the reader’s reference. If the practitioner performs refined contemplation and meditation in the mind, these spirits will naturally respond and manifest within one’s own body; they are listed in order below.

The human body is formed by the coagulation of myriad Qi; only when the myriad spirits are complete does a person begin to grow. After birth it is called the “infant,” pure, harmonious, and utterly refined, with heavenly principle as an undifferentiated whole; this is the original substance of Dadong Dizun. If one practices the method of the Wenchang, causing a person to return to the state of the infant, this is called “both form and spirit are wondrous” (xingshen ju miao), meaning that both body and spirit attain a mysterious and wondrous state.

After the infant has grown to completion, it transforms into mysterious Qi (xuanqi); this is called “ascending into the formless,” becoming true through union with the Dao, and returning again into the Wuji. Only from this can one understand that the root of the myriad things arises from here and also ends here. The Datong Jing says: “True emptiness is without marks; clear and perfectly complete.”

Here “Yuqing Wuji Zongzhen Wenchang Dadong Xianjing Xutu, Scroll One” is the scroll title, indicating that this passage comes from the first scroll of the preface-illustration section of that scripture. The two collation notes at the end: the first points out that the character li in the original is suspected to be the character shi; the second says that, according to the context, the phrase si shu should be si shu ye.

Scripture Title: "Yuqing (Jade Purity)"

Yuqing is one of the highest celestial realms in Daoism. It existed before heaven and earth were separated. Taiyi, Taichu, Taishi, and Taisu are the four stages described by Daoists for the universe's progression from nothingness to existence and gradual formation. At this time, the original Qi (the most primordial Qi) had not yet separated in form and substance from its source, and thus generated various Qi such as Gaoshang, Hundong, Taiwu, Yuantian, and Baoyuhuang, from which Yuanshi (the Primordial Beginning) was transformed and born. It was then called the "Gaoshang Dayou Yuqing Palace." Therefore, "Dadong" (Great Cave) is Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate). This was precisely the time of the upper kalpa of Longhan, and also the period when the Wenchang scripture was revealed.

"Wuji (the Limitless)"

"Wuji gives rise to Taiji, and Taiji is fundamentally Wuji." Taiji is originally Wuji. Before the five stages of Taiyi, Taichu, Taishi, Taisu, and so on, there was a vast emptiness and boundlessness, without any trace or form, indescribable in words, and thus it is called "Wuji."

"Zongzhen (Total Truth)"

"Zong" means to encompass, including heaven, earth, sages, humans, spirits, as well as Jing (essence), Hun (soul), the Six Wefts (various weft orders between heaven and earth), and all existences. Wherever there is form, there must be its Qi; where there is Qi, there must be its principle. This principle is the heavenly principle, pure and undefiled, honest and without delusion. Buddhism calls it "reality," Daoism calls it "truth," Confucianism calls it "sincerity." The names differ, but the substance is the same. "Sincerity" is the Dao of Heaven, and Zisi and Mencius have expounded it thoroughly. Since there is this principle of sincerity, there must be something that governs it, which is what Zhou Dunyi called "the truth of Wuji" and "the essence of the Two and Five" (the essential Qi of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases). Daoist scriptures call it "the essence of the obscure and dark," saying it is extremely real, and also say "within truth there is Shen (spirit)." Therefore, the Three Powers of heaven, earth, and humanity each possess this principle and this Shen and are thus generated. Zhuangzi said: "Heaven and earth were born together with me, and all things are one with me." This scripture encompasses heaven and earth, includes the Three Powers, and there is nowhere that is not true, so it is called "Zongzhen."

Wenchang—this is what the Master meant when he said: “Heaven and Earth arise together with me; the myriad things and I are one body.” This scripture encompasses Heaven and Earth and includes the Three Talents of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity; there is no place where it is not true, and so it is called “Zongzhen” (Total Truth).

Wenchang

“Wen” means order and pattern, like the grain in wood, running crosswise and lengthwise with an order that can be followed. When Cangjie created characters in ancient times, he depicted them according to the forms of the various things. “Chang” means flourishing and vast, saying that the patterns of Heaven and Earth are exceedingly flourishing and vast. It is like Fuxi drawing the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) according to the patterns on the He Tu (River Chart), thereby establishing the Dao of the Three Ultimates—Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.

This scripture is used to investigate the patterns and the nature-and-life within the Three Talents; these all arise from the two Qi (Yin-Yang Qi) and the Five Phases. Therefore the Wenchang star is transformed and generated from earth Qi. The Kun hexagram’s statement says, “Yellow lower garment, supremely auspicious; the pattern is within it.” The Gen hexagram’s statement says, “Nothing is more abundant than Gen in generating the myriad things; nothing is more ultimate than Gen in completing the myriad things.” Thus Zhou Dunyi’s statement, “Yang transforms and Yin joins, and so the Five Phases are generated,” is connected to this. The Duren Jing says, “The Five Writs open out broadly, universally planting divine beings,” and the patterned brilliance in the southern sky is radiant and glowing. Therefore chapter fourteen says, “Nanchang emits jade flowers.” This is the Nanchang Palace of the Southern Pole Long-Life Vermilion Mound Thearch (the deity of the south), the place governed by the Perfected Ones undergoing refinement. In it can be seen the eight-cornered jade seal bestowed by the Thearch on the True Lord Who Inscribes Life, which is what is meant by “the Southern Dipper inscribes life.” The scripture does not say “Wenchang” but says “Nanchang,” probably because the Cinnabar Heaven world (the southern heaven) is a land of civilization and brightness, formed by the transformation of Brahma Qi, and is the Nanchang Upper Palace. It is the Vermilion Mound Grotto-Heaven of Mount Heng, the Southern Marchmount, and above it corresponds to the Kui and Zhen lunar mansions in the heavens.

In the beginning, the Kui and Bi lunar mansions emitted light, and the Heavenly Thearch thereupon ordered them to oversee writing and records. Bi is located in the Hai direction and specifically governs books and charts; Kui is located in the Xu direction and specifically governs writing. The Kui mansion has literary brilliance, and the Bi mansion can store books. In ancient times, after the Ying Qin burned the books, people obtained ancient texts from within the walls of houses; thus the Bi mansion also has merit with respect to culture. Therefore in the Wenchang Palace there is the Eastern Wall Library. In the Taiwei Enclosure there is the fifth star of the Southern Dipper, the Wenchang True Lord Who Refines the Soul; there is also the Taishang Nine-Qi Wenchang Palace, as well as the stars Wenchang Upper Minister, Secondary Minister, and Upper General. There is also the Wenchang Diagram, which transforms and generates patterns and things as it revolves. Therefore among the principles of generation and transformation between Heaven and Earth, none is greater than this; hence it is said, “Opening and illuminating the Three Scenes, this is the root of Heaven.” Statements such as “without wen there is no light, no brightness, no establishment, no completion, no crossing over, no birth,” all take this as their basis.

The Yi says, “Things are mixed together, and so it is called wen.” Therefore the veins of the Wenchang scripture interpenetrate one another, just as the Xi Ci of the Yi says, “Movement and change do not abide; they flow through the six voids; above and below are without constancy; only change is what they accord with.” It also says, “Three and five bring about change; the numbers are intricately interwoven; penetrating their changes, one thereby completes the patterns of Heaven and Earth.” This is also the same meaning. Therefore Wenchang’s function in the world is the fundamental source of teaching and transformation.

Dadong (Great Cavern)

“Great” means that it is so great that even the greatness of heaven and earth cannot surpass it. “Cavern” means penetrating without obstruction. The myriad things are all pervaded by the same principle; this is Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate, the primordial root-state of the universe, the undifferentiated whole before Yin-Yang divided). Once Taiji is differentiated, the Three Powers (Sancai)—heaven, earth, and human—each take their place; this is what is meant by “each thing possesses a Taiji.” Thus, taking it all together, it is called Dadong. This is the same in meaning as the principle expounded by Shao Yong (Master Shao) of the Northern Song and the Way of Huangji (Imperial Ultimate) in the Hongfan, which Jizi set forth to King Wu of Zhou. The fundamental norms of Jinglu (Daoist scriptures and Fulu [talismans and registers]) also take this as their highest standard. Daoist Jinglu are divided into the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen), and Dadong occupies the highest place.

The Immortal Scriptures

“Jing” means “that by which [all things proceed]”; it refers to the correct Way jointly followed by the myriad things. The Confucian classics—Poetry, Documents, Changes, Rites, Analects, Mencius, and Spring and Autumn Annals—are all called jing. When the Way of cultivation is articulated in words, it is called “teaching,” and so they are called “immortal scriptures.” Yuanshi (Yuanshi Tianzun, a high Daoist deity), according to the natural endowment that people receive—each person possessing this principle—thereupon clarified ritual norms and standards as the root of teaching, enabling ghosts, spirits, and humans to return to the source and to cultivate diligently in what they have each received, taking this as a shortcut for learning the Dao and seeking immortality. If a person can trace the beginning and exhaust the end, and seek it within himself, then the principles of heaven, earth, and the myriad things are all complete in me.

Wenchang and the Standard of the Changes

The word order of the title Wuji Zongzhen Wenchang Dadong seems inverted; it should be understood as Wuji Wenchang Zongzhen Dadong. “Wuji” (the Limitless) is the state in which “all things are complete in me.” (Wenchang is Wenchang Dijun, the Daoist deity who presides over literary fortune and official success.)

Interpretation of the Title of the Commentary on the Jade Clarity Wuji Zongzhen Wenchang Dadong Immortal Scripture

This passage first explains the title of the scripture. The original title was “Wuji Zongzhen Wenchang Dadong,” but the commentator holds that this order seems reversed and that it should be changed to “Wuji Wenchang Zongzhen Dadong.”

The meanings of the terms are as follows: Wuji (the Limitless; the undifferentiated source state before the cosmos divided) is simply the principle of Yin-Yang movement and stillness within the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). Wenchang here refers to the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), the basic elements that constitute all things. Zongzhen refers to the Dao of Qian forming males and the Dao of Kun forming females—that is, the way of heaven and earth producing the two sexes. Dadong refers to the transformation and generation of all things, from which the entire cosmos arises. The scripture says that “ten thousand Qi generate ten thousand Shen,” meaning that all vital Qi gives rise to all the deities.

The commentator continues that the Taiji diagram expounds the whole Zhouyi, while the Wuji diagram expounds the whole Wenchang Dadong, a point already explained in the diagram. However, because the diagram has circulated for a long time and is difficult to change, and for fear of confusing readers, he therefore still follows the old title.

The commentator also holds that this scripture resonates with the Yijing. In the Yi, the two hexagrams Qian and Kun serve as the gateways; in this scripture, the great earth is the root. Here “gate” refers to function, while “master” refers to substance or essence.

Next, borrowing the phrase “looking up to observe the patterns of heaven and looking down to examine the patterns of earth,” the commentator distinguishes three kinds of “pattern.” Heavenly pattern refers to the sixty Jiazi combined with the sun, moon, and stars and arranged across the thirty-two heavens. Earthly pattern refers to the sixty-four hexagrams matched to the thirty-six lei, the terrestrial regions described in Daoist cosmology. Human pattern refers to the Shen and Qi concentrated within the thirty-six palaces and the three hundred sixty bone joints.

The thirty-two heavens mentioned in the scripture include the Miluo Heaven, Qingwei Heaven, Yuyu Heaven, and Dachi Heaven, among others, as spoken of in the Duren Jing. The thirty-six earths are the Nine Lei Earth Sovereigns; each lei is divided into four earth sovereigns, making thirty-six earth sovereigns in all, who govern the terrestrial world.

Finally, the commentator uses numbers to explain the yarrow-stalk calculations of the Yi: the stalk count of Qian is two hundred sixteen, and that of Kun is one hundred forty-four; the two together make three hundred sixty, corresponding to the three hundred sixty degrees of the sun’s circuit through heaven. Each yang yao (a single-line hexagram line) is counted as thirty-six, corresponding to “four nines”—the Metal number thirty-six.

This commentary explains the structure of the Jade Purity Wuji Zongzhen Wenchang Dadong Immortal Scripture (abbreviated as the Wenchang Dadong Jing), arguing that the scripture’s word counts and chapter arrangements secretly correspond to the numerology of the Zhouyi (Book of Changes). The opening chapter at the beginning of the scripture consists of four-character lines, twenty-two lines in total and eighty-eight characters, set separately at the very front and symbolizing Wuji (the undifferentiated primordial state). The main text consists of five-character lines, thirty-six chapters, and six hundred twenty lines. The commentator holds that these numbers all echo astronomy and Yi numerology: the stalk numbers of the two sections add up to three hundred sixty, corresponding to the degrees of the sun’s full circuit through the heavens; the number of yang yao is thirty-six, corresponding to the Metal number “four-nine” (four times nine).

Among the six hundred twenty lines of the main text, each line corresponds to one yao in the sixty-four hexagrams of the Zhouyi. The sixty-four hexagrams have three hundred eighty-four yao in total, so three hundred eighty-four lines are selected to match them. Among these, the four hexagrams Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li together have twenty-four yao. The ancients usually placed them in the four cardinal directions, but the commentator considers this incorrect: Qian and Kun are the “great parents” and can generate the six child hexagrams; Kan and Li are the parents of the myriad things and the root of ceaseless generation, so they should be placed at Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate, the center). The remaining sixty hexagrams’ three hundred sixty yao are then distributed across the twelve months of the year, corresponding to the fire timing of the celestial circuit (the rhythm governing yin-yang fire phasing in Neidan, internal alchemy, cultivation).

Of the remaining two hundred thirty-six lines, two hundred are allocated to the four cardinal directions, corresponding to the Four Images. The four stages Taiyi, Taichu, Taishi, and Taisu (the four stages in Daoist cosmology describing the cosmos from nonbeing to being, from the “Tianrui” chapter of the Liezi) receive fifty lines for each direction; together they form eight six-line hexagrams, that is, forty-eight yao, and then two more lines are taken to distinguish odd and even, yin and yang, so that the Four Images are complete. Finally, another thirty-six lines are placed in the center, corresponding to the six hexagrams generated by Taiji (six times six is thirty-six).

“Gold enters the earth cauldron, and the elixir tripod is perfectly completed” is a Neidan term, a metaphor for the successful completion of cultivation.

The entire scripture contains four thousand ninety-six characters, exactly matching the number of mutual transformations among the sixty-four hexagrams of the Zhouyi (64 × 64 = 4096). From this the commentator concludes that the Wenchang Dadong Jing is in fact a classic structured on the framework of the Zhouyi.

The Yi (Book of Changes) contains four kinds of the sage’s Dao; the Jing (scripture/classic) contains five. Those who would investigate the origin of Heaven and Earth should venerate Wuji (the Limitless); those who would preserve the orthodox way of nature and life should venerate Zongzhen; those who would exhaust the principles of Yin-Yang should venerate Wenchang; those who would comprehend the secrets of wondrous transformation should venerate Dadong; those who would savor the profound meaning of words should venerate the Xianjing (Immortal Scripture). If Heaven and Earth were destroyed, there would be no way to see the Yi; if Yin and Yang were severed, there would be no way to see Wenchang. The Jing is likewise the Dao of simplicity and ease.

What the noble person dwells securely in is the order of the Jing; what he delights in reciting is the wording of each chapter. Is this not wonderful? The remaining content may be extended and elaborated according to category, to await later people. What the noble person dwells securely in is the order of the Jing; what he delights in reciting is the wording of each chapter. Is this not wonderful? The remaining content may be extended and elaborated according to category, to await later people. Qi bows respectfully to you.

The Patriarch Taixuan Daofu, Master Niu Zi (a respectful title for a teacher in Daoism; Niu Zi is his name), raised questions, earnestly requested exposition, and assembled the scriptures; the Patriarch Jiutian Kaihua Yuanhuang Dijun revised the Xuanqi (a scripture title) and wrote its preface; the Patriarch Wenchang Huangren Xuansheng Daojun (a Daoist deity of the Wenchang lineage) presided over the Wenchang Tu (Wenchang Diagram) and oversaw the transmission of the scriptures.

The Wenchang Dadong Jing takes Taixuan Daofu as its founding patriarch, the teacher in heaven who assembles the scriptures. Next is Yuanhuang Dijun, the inaugurator who first brought this scripture into the world and transmitted it among humans. Next is Wenchang Huangren, the patriarch who governs the movements of heaven and earth, transforms and generates primal Qi, presides over classical texts and culture, and assists rulers in governing by the Dao.

According to the Di Jun Neiwai Zhuan, the Huashu, and the preface to the scripture, Dijun was born in the yi-si year of King Wu of Zhou in Wuhui, which is present-day Pingjiang (around modern Suzhou). He once received the Wenchang Dadong Jing from three Zhenren; later, because he diligently recited it, he repeatedly obtained responses and received a golden image and Falu (Daoist talismans and registers conferred in transmission). His cultivation and acts of rescue were highly efficacious, and so he attained the holy fruit of the wondrous practice of the Great Cavern.

He therefore wrote a preface and a Xuanqi (a Daoist covenant document) to instruct the world. Within the four seas this scripture originally existed everywhere, but after repeated wars and fires, in some places the scripture was cut off and could not continue to be transmitted. Today this scripture circulates in the Shu region, and the people of Shu believe in it without doubt, because Dijun is honored there as a great god. From the Tang dynasty to the present, successive courts have revered and promoted it, and established a temple for sacrifices in the time of Wang Jian (founder of Former Shu). Therefore Dijun specifically uses this scripture to cultivate, teach, and save the world, and no small number of people have attained the Dao through it.

In sum, this scripture has circulated among humans since the time of King Wu of Zhou and is now more than two thousand years old; it is not surprising that there are a few textual errors. Fortunately, people who attained the Dao in successive generations have collated it, and the scripture now has an order. Reciters need not doubt this or be confused by that; if only they are utterly sincere and single-minded, even cultivating a single sentence can make them become an upper immortal.

Some say this scripture differs from the Shangqing Dadong. The author Qi says: today the Three Mountains (referring to the major Daoist transmission lineages) each have their own scriptures and registers, and their ritual methods differ as well; moreover, this scripture is the Yuqing Wenchang Dadong. Those who are perceptive all return to the same Dao; only those of shallow insight give rise to divergence.

Wenchang Shenghui: a title, roughly referring to a great assembly or extraordinary Dharma gathering themed on Emperor Wenchang.

At the Wenchang ritual assembly there were Chan Master Tongwu, Chan Master Bolun, and various Chan masters of Shu, all regarded as manifestations of Guanyin Bodhisattva. The court granted them ritual sites known as the Xinzhu Assembly (Heart Pearl Assembly), with Wenchang Dijun (Emperor Lord Wenchang) still as the principal deity. Each year, on the birthdays of the Chan masters, the monastic community held grand Dharma assemblies, extensively urged people to offer incense, and celebrated and praised them; officials, scholars, and commoners all admired and revered them. Consequently, most of the scriptural and repentance liturgies of the Daoist and Buddhist traditions were blended together and used interchangeably.

There were also the Baoguang Tianzun and Yuantong ritual centers, where seats were set up, Dharma bells shaken, and Sanskrit mantras recited, with rituals performed over nine successive sessions (jiuchao xingdao); there were also Water and Land Dharma Assemblies—grand Buddhist assemblies for liberating the lonely spirits of water and land—and so on. Some people could not understand this and said that the wording and meaning were not orthodox. In fact, they are not unorthodox. The word Dao: as long as it accords with principle, wherever principle is, Dao is there; they are originally the same, so why divide them into two teachings? It is only because people cannot investigate principle to the very end that divergent views arise, and so they become doubtful and cannot make their minds firm. If the mind cannot even be firm, how can they seek the pure, undivided principle?

Moreover, Wenchang Dijun was known in the world as a great Confucian and devoted himself to studying the classics. During the Taikang era of Emperor Wu of Jin, his whole family ascended at Fengdong (Wind Cave), a legendary immortal realm. Successive dynasties revered him and honored him as the Sovereign of Culture, the leader of the literati. He first encountered Taishang Laojun, who bestowed elixir pills upon him, and he attained the fruit of Dao; later he received a prediction from Shakyamuni and realized the Mahayana, the supreme path of Buddhism. Thus, within the three teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, he supports the orthodox Dharma. The present Yuan dynasty has repeatedly issued edicts praising and honoring him, changing the Lingying Temple into the Shrine of Honoring Culture and Opening Civilization. A ci is a state-sponsored sacrifice, different from the title of an ordinary temple. He was further ennobled as Fuyuan Kaihua Wenchang Silu Hongren Dijun, Emperor Lord Wenchang Who Aids the Origin, Opens Civilization, Oversees Emoluments, and Is Vastly Benevolent. Very few among the gods are granted an imperial title. The Emperor Lord was born in Shu; the shrines in Shu are not described one by one here. I have traveled throughout the mountains and seas, and wherever I went I visited his spiritual traces. They are found everywhere, and among them Mount Hao is the most extraordinary. From this one can see the flourishing state of his incense worship and the truly immeasurable merit of the Emperor Lord in protecting the state and benefiting both the living and the dead. One can also know that the subordinate officials of the Wenchang Palace are well ordered. I now set out the Emperor Lord’s sacred name and birthday here; those who offer incense to Wenchang should know them.

The Name Taboos of Wenchang Dadi: Wenchang Dadi (referring to Wenchang Dijun, the Daoist deity who presides over literary fortune and official success) used in successive generations the names Shanxun, Zhongsi, Xiaozhong, Ruyi, Xun, and Jun; the characters in these names do not need to be avoided as taboos. In ancient times his name was Ezi; later, two characters were removed, so that only the character Ya needed to be avoided as a taboo, and his courtesy name was Xianfu. In all writing of official documents, prose, and verse, care should be taken to avoid it. Wenchang Dadi was born on the third day of the second lunar month.

The Left Bureau, Lady Dugu: Dugu is her surname. She was born on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month and was a later incarnation of Xu Jingyang (that is, Xu Xun, a Daoist figure of the Eastern Jin). Because she slew the shen monster of Qiongzhou (a legendary giant clam spirit) and established merit, successive dynasties enfeoffed her as the “Eight-Character King.” Today she presides over the Left Rank of Wenchang and commands 1,200 subordinate officials; her title is Guangyou Jiaying Changze Fuhui Wang (King of Broad Protection, Auspicious Response, Prosperous Grace, and Sincere Benefit).

The Right Bureau, Li Fu: He was born on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Because he defeated Fu Jian (ruler of the Former Qin) and established merit, successive dynasties bestowed on him the title “Eight-Character King.” Today he presides over the Right Rank of Wenchang and commands 1,200 subordinate officials; his title is Yinghui Zhonglie Yiji Zhengyou Wang (King of Heroic Benevolence, Loyal Ardor, Supportive Relief, and Righteous Protection).

Note: In the original text the entry “Right Bureau, Li Fu” appears twice; the title in the first occurrence is identical to that of the Left Bureau, which should be a scribal duplication. The title from the latter occurrence is followed here.

This scripture lists numerous deities in the Wenchang belief system, which may be roughly divided by celestial region and office into several categories.

The Wenchang star-official system includes the Wenchang Star Lords of Generals and Ministers of the Ziwei Enclosure (the star-official region in the central northern sky), the Wenchang Star Lords of the Inner Seats of the Three Dukes of the Taiwei Enclosure (another celestial star-official region), and the Wenchang Star Lords of Retired Scholars and Erudites of the Shaowei Enclosure; these are responsible for official rank, literary fortune, and office. King Wenxian of Zhou in the Wenchang Upper Palace, the Great Accomplished Ultimate Sage King of Cultural Propagation (that is, Confucius, a title honored by successive dynasties), as well as the Nine-Qi Wenchang Lord of Taiqing (one of the highest Daoist realms) and the Master Lord of the Purple Canopy Office, all likewise belong to the honored deities of the Wenchang system.

The deities of records and executive affairs include Lord Qingming of the Eastern Well, the Qingming Clerk of Final Decisions, the Lord of the Five Classics and Kong Qi of the Nine Marvels Palace, and the Six Immortals of the Inner Attendance of Wenchang, as well as the Four Ruyi Generals of the outer halls such as White Crane, Penglai, Longevity, Osmanthus, Chrysanthemum, and Osmanthus Fragrance; they respectively oversee matters of recording, adjudication, and guard service. The Four Golden Cities of the left, right, front, and rear are divine generals who guard the Wenchang North Office.

The Wenchang North Office and auxiliary officials include the two Chancellors of the Left and Right, the two Grand Historians of the Left and Right, the two Zhenren (Perfected) Su and Huang, Censor Lü Zhenren, Chief Secretary Zhang Zhenren, and Sihou Zhenren, who is in charge of the Heavenly Registers of Appointment (recording conferrals and appointments); Zhenren Yao, who responds to stimuli according to circumstances; and Zhenren Qin, who hastens to respond to opportunities. The Hunyi Yuanhuang Lord and Duke Wujing, Commander of the North Office, oversee all.

The military generals and guards include General Hao, Left Jinwu Commissioner, and General Di, Right Jinwu Commissioner; General Liu, who holds the Ruyi; the Seven Sages General, who is in charge of military registers; and generals such as Wooden Horse, Beacon Fire, Kuaili, Patrol and Hunt, and Carved Tiger. Each performs his office and maintains the security of the office complex.

The office complex and peripheral deities include the one hundred and twenty great generals of the Phoenix Office and Provincial Terrace, the various spirit officials of the thirty bureaus, the Generals Supervising the True Residence, Supervising Thunder Dispatch, and Supervising the Frontier, the Left and Right Transmission and Guidance Judges of the Wenchang Office, the Investigation and Patrol Commissioners, and the True Earth Official of Phoenix Mountain Who Answers Dreams. They are respectively responsible for office affairs, transmission and guidance, frontier patrol, and land protection.

The officiant—humble minister so-and-so (the Daoist priest’s self-designation, meaning “a subject who unworthily occupies this position,” referring to the priest himself who presides over the rite)—respectfully burns the incense of heartfelt intention, reverently sets out offerings, and pays homage and petitions the following holy ones: the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing)—Yuqing, Shangqing, and Taiqing, the three highest deities—the Daluo high perfected of the Three Realms, the sages above the Three Treasures (Dao, Jing—scripture/classic, and Shi—teacher), and the Jade Emperor, Haotian Supreme Sovereign, above the Golden Portal; the Patriarch of the Dadong lineage, Xuantian Shangdi, Mr. Niu Zi, Dao-Father of the Great Mystery; the Patriarch, Yuanhuang Shangdi, Lord of Opening Transformation in the Nine Heavens; the Patriarchs Perfected Xuanyi Yu Luoqiao, Perfected Xuan’er Zhen Dingguang, and Perfected Xuansan Guang Miaoyin; the Patriarch Lord Qingtong of Fangzhu, Great Spirit of Donghua (residing at Yanggu on Mount Fusang and serving as the divine king of the East); the Patriarch Taizu Sanyuan Jun; the Perfected Lord Chufu Dingming, Nine Heavens Zhangren and Patriarch of Qingcheng Mountain, and the Perfected Lord Yingyuan Baoyun, Envoy of the Nine Heavens’ Investigation at Mount Lu; the Patriarchs Perfected Taiji An Duming and Xu Laile; Wang Yuanfu of Mount Huo, Du Chong of Haojing, and Shen Taizhi; Wang Yuan, Lord of Total Perfection of Xicheng (courtesy name Fangping); Wang Bao, Perfected of Taizu Qingxu and Heavenly King of Xiaoyou (courtesy name Zideng); Lady Superintendent of Destinies of Nanshan, Primordial Lady of Purple Void Wei Huacun; the female Daoist master Xu Lianshi, Princess Wumu of Zhou, and Perfected Zhou Huibian; Perfected Baohe Wang Changyun, Left Minister of the Three Heavens; Wang Daoyuan, Inheriting Master of Dadong; Perfected Tang Ruoshan, Governor of Runzhou; Perfected Zhang Ruzhen of Quanzhen (Complete Perfection), who has reached the Dao, and Perfected Zhang Tanyao of Baoguang Xiqing; Patriarch Yang Daming; Liu Yuanjing, Grand Scholar of the Chongxuan Hall and Mr. Guangcheng; Patriarch Deng Yuzhi; Perfected Shi Cun of Chonghe Jianxu; Patriarchs Yang Taichu, Nie Shaoyuan, and Gao Yunju; Perfected Liu Gen; Perfected Celestial Masters (Tianshi) Xue Jichang and Xue Youqi; Perfected Wei Baoyuan of Qiongyao (courtesy name Guizhi); Patriarch Huang Luzi; Wang Sanyi of Mount Lu; the two Perfected Peng and Cai of the Southern Sacred Peak, Xie Xiutong, and Perfected Nie Shidao; Patriarchs Gong Changqing, Xiang Ziwen, Tian Xuying, Yu Linggui, Chen Yuming, Xiao Linghu, and Xiao Weiyi, and Perfected Mr. Chen; as well as the successive generations of patriarchs and perfected of Longhu Mountain, Maoshan, and Gezao Mountain, and the successive generations of patriarchs and perfected who transmitted the scriptures (Jing), transmitted the registers (Fulu—talismans and registers), and transmitted the Dao.

I respectfully hope that all you compassionate perfected ones will not withhold your compassion, but descend to the scripture seat (the ritual seat for preaching and reciting scriptures) to witness and protect this recitation. In my heart I cherish a sincere vow that I wish to declare to the high perfected; I humbly pray that you will send forth light and seal your acknowledgment of this recitation. I, humble minister so-and-so, with a reverent heart, trembling and uneasy, bow twice and make this report.

This is a method of “Pingzuo Cunxiang” (level-sitting visualization), a form of seated Daoist cultivation involving Cunsi (visualization) and contemplative visualization. “Pingzuo” means sitting upright and steadily; “cunxiang” means concentrating the mind and visualizing in the mind’s eye the various deities and the internal organs of the body.

At the beginning there is a memorial petition presented upward. The cultivator calls himself “your servant so-and-so” (“so-and-so” standing for the cultivator’s own name), gathers the true Qi of the head, face, body, and the five viscera and six bowels, and states his case to the Supreme Perfected (the highest true immortals of the heavenly realm), earnestly requesting that the Supreme Perfected send down light to confirm and accept his practice. “Unbearably trembling, I bow again and make this known” is a humble phrase used by ancient officials when submitting memorials to the throne; it means that, filled with awe and extreme trepidation, one performs another bow and makes the report. In the original text, “six kun” should be an error for “six fu” (the six bowels).

Next comes invocation and stabilization. The cultivator unites the true Qi of the whole body with the “Shengqi Shenren” (the divine person of generative Qi, a deity who nurtures primordial Qi), condenses it within himself, and settles it in the “Golden Chamber and Jade Room” (a Daoist metaphor for the cultivation sites within the body where deities reside, such as the heart and brain), not allowing it to become scattered. “Swiftly, swiftly, as by statute and command” is a common concluding phrase in Daoist talismans and incantations; it means to carry out the order swiftly, and carries the sense of summoning deities and commanding spirits.

The third section invokes in order the deities of the head and face: the hair deity Canghua Taiyuan Jun; the brain deity Jinggen Niwan Jun (“Niwan” refers to the brain, the dwelling place of deities in Daoist teaching); the eye deity Mingyao Yingxuan Jun; the nose deity Yulong Lingjian Jun; the ear deity Kongxian Youtian Jun; the tongue deity Tongming Zhenglun Jun; and the tooth deity Efeng Luoqian Jun. Together these deities guard the face and can gather and hold the hun and po souls so that they do not scatter or become lost, and so that there is never any downfall.

The final section discusses the deities of the internal organs and the way of long life. The heart deity Danyuan Shouling Jun, the lung deity Haohua Xuling Jun, the liver deity Longyan Hanming Jun, the gallbladder deity Longyao Yingming Jun, the kidney deity Xuanming Yuying Jun, and the spleen deity Changzai Hunting Jun each guard their proper position; the “Twelve Perfected Ones of the Chonglou (Repeated Towers)” refers to twelve perfected beings (deities) stacked layer upon layer within the body. The general meaning is: the five viscera and six bowels, together with the essence of the body, all accord with the heavenly scripture chanted in the heart; by visualizing them day and night, one may attain long life.

This passage of scripture is a register of body deities. Daoism holds that deities reside in each of the body’s organs and regions. This section lists their locations one by one and gives honorific titles (such as “Perfected,” “Lord,” and “Primordial Lord”) and Daoist names (that is, “zi,” similar to the courtesy names of the ancients).

The opening “Nine Spirits, Most Wondrous, White Jade Turtle Terrace, Golden Perfection, Mother of Myriad Qi, Primordial Lord” is the supreme deity who governs the whole body and is called the “grandmother” of the gods. After this it lists in order: in the heart is the “One Perfected” Heavenly Essence-Fluid Lord; the stomach cavity (the mouth of the stomach) has the “Two Perfected”; Jing (essence) and blood, the liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, gallbladder, and other organs each have one Perfected Lord, each provided with a lordly title and a style name.

The scripture also mentions several important locations: Niwan (Mud Pill), a key point inside the top of the head, often regarded as the upper Dantian, that is, the brain; Jianggong (Crimson Palace), the region of the heart, often called the middle Dantian; Huangting (Yellow Court), a central key position in the body, which different schools locate differently, often below the navel or in the spleen-stomach region; Mingmen (Gate of Life), in the lower back along the spine, between the two kidneys; and the Youths of the Two Eyes, with the left and right eyes each having a presiding deity.

In addition, divine names such as Siming (Director of Destinies), the Three Ones (Sanyi), and Dizhen (Imperial Perfected) also appear, reflecting the Daoist idea that “deities exist within the body”: the human body is not merely a body of flesh and blood but also the dwelling place of many deities.

In cultivation, such texts generally serve the method of cunsi (visualization/contemplation). Practitioners sit quietly and observe inwardly, visualizing one by one the deities’ forms, colors, and locations, thereby stabilizing the mind and spirit, regulating the breath and Qi, and bringing body and mind into harmony.

The latter half contains a large number of parallel divine names. When reading, they can be regarded as a listing of deities of the same kind; there is no need to scrutinize each word in depth.

This passage of scripture is an invocation and vow made before visualization (cunsi) practice; it is not a complete set of cultivation steps.

First paragraph: The spirits of generative Qi in the Thirty-six Palaces attain peace according to the operation of the Eight Scenes; within the Broad Mist the divine spirits descend and infuse; simply visualize this, and no further elaboration is needed. (Thirty-six Palaces: the thirty-six divine palaces within the human body; Eight Scenes: the scenes of celestial movement, or the scenes of Qi circulation within the body.)

Second paragraph: The practitioner calls himself “your servant, so-and-so” and visualizes one by one the various spirits and parts of the body, including the five viscera and six bowels, the nine apertures, the bone joints, as well as the Three Hun on the left and the Seven Po on the right; all have divine spirits dwelling and guarding them. (Three Hun and Seven Po: in Daoism, the hun and po souls believed to dwell and guard within the human body.)

Third paragraph: The practitioner calls himself a son of Taishang and a grandson of Yuanhuang, and protects his body with the Four Symbols: wearing the Vermilion Bird on his head, treading on the Dark Warrior beneath his feet, with the Azure Dragon on the left and the White Tiger on the right. He prays that his heart may not receive evil, his liver not be stained by illness, his lungs not be invaded by wickedness, his kidneys not encounter death, his gallbladder not give rise to fear, and his stomach not be touched by impurity, so that his whole body is pure and clean, all evils cannot intrude, and divine officials guide him while the Five Spirits stand in attendance. The concluding phrase “Swiftly, swiftly, as the statutes and ordinances command” is a command formula commonly used in Daoist Fulu (talismans and registers); it means to carry out the order swiftly.

“Method of Refined Contemplation”: This is a subheading indicating that the following text will explain the specific method of refined contemplation (jingsi); the content of this paragraph is only this heading.

To recite and uphold the Wenchang Dadong Jing (Great Cavern Scripture of Wenchang), one should, in the early morning before attending to daily affairs, bathe in fragrant water, put on fresh clothes, observe ritual fast and purification, and enter a pure chamber. Light twenty candles and incense, stand facing north, recite spells and sprinkle purifying water, burn incense, and announce to the deities the intention to recite the scripture, reverently inviting the spirits. Offer nine portions of tea, and fruit offerings may be arranged as one wishes; if there is no tea, offering only nine cups of pure water is also acceptable. The essential point is utmost sincerity; one need not be rigidly bound to outward forms.

Then sit upright facing east, draw in the living Qi of the early morning—Qi here means qi, the primordial Qi of heaven and earth—still the breath and quiet the mind, settle the thoughts, and do not allow scattered or deluded thoughts. With both eyes turned inward, visualize the Huangting (Yellow Court), the divine palace in the middle of the body where the Dantian is located, so that the mind is empty and luminous, without any object; one must remain quiet and single-minded. After some time, visualize the green Qi in the liver transforming into the Azure Dragon, standing within the left lung; the white Qi transforming into the White Tiger, standing within the right heart; the red Qi transforming into the Vermilion Bird, standing before the kidneys; and the black Qi transforming into the Dark Warrior, standing behind. Visualize yourself seated on a nine-colored lotus throne, supported beneath by nine lions, with the Three Primordial Generals (Sanyuan Jiangjun) and Four Sage Marshals (Sisheng Yuanshuai) standing in attendance to left and right.

Next, imagine the Sanbao Jiuxiao Shengshen Shangdi—the Spirit-Generating God Most High of the Three Treasures and Nine Heavens—in the heaven above your head, emitting nine rays of light that illuminate the nine palaces of the head and the nine apertures (nine gates) of the body. Then visualize the Thirty-Two Heavenly Thearchs and the natal star officers of the sixty Jiazi cycle, each sending down light that illumines the five viscera and six bowels and the thirty-six palaces within the body, reaching downward to the Earth Sovereign Lords of the Thirty-Six Earths and the Yongquan (Bubbling Spring) point, and upward to the Niwan (Mud Pill) Palace, penetrating heaven and earth, empty, luminous, and transparent, every part clearly distinct.

Then visualize: the green Qi in the liver transforms into Wuying; the white Qi in the lungs transforms into Baiyuan; the red Qi in the heart transforms into Siming; the black Qi in the kidneys transforms into Taokang; and the Taiyi deity dwells above the head. These five spirits are the root of the ten thousand spirits, and so they must be visualized first. They are like Daoist priests worshipping Yuanshi: each according to direction wears Daoist robes of a different color and stands in attendance, arranged to left and right, front and back.

Then visualize the ten thousand Qi and ten thousand spirits, reciting spells one by one according to the method, settling the spirit and mind, visualizing in the mind and reciting with the mouth. Only after the recitation is finished should one softly voice the scripture aloud; there is no need to use coarse, heavy breath to bellow or shout loudly—refined visualization alone suffices. This is the method by which ancient immortals recited and upheld the scriptures of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen). There are the Five Emperors who attend the scripture and Jade Boys and Jade Girls who protect the Dharma; awe-inspiring deities accompany the scripture as guardians, and this must not be treated lightly.

The various efficacious signs recorded in the book are quite complete; one may calmly and silently examine them and repeatedly experience them. Perhaps celestial perfected beings descend; perhaps earth deities come to observe; perhaps one’s own spiritual consciousness manifests—as when Xiao Weiyi saw the four beasts appear in form—all of this is due to refined and detailed visualization. Those who love the Dao should each practice in accordance with this.

I was born in the Haohui area and worked in the fields in ordinary days. Once, under my hoe, I dug out a golden statue. After asking the elders of the village, I learned that it was an image of Yuanshi Tianwang (a revered Daoist deity, referring to Yuanshi Tianzun, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning). Legend has it that when Yu the Great controlled the waters, he cast gold into statues to guard the mountains of the four directions. I reverently offered incense and worship without ever slackening. Later, great winds and waves arose on the sea, and human strength could not avert them, so I threw the golden statue into the surging waves, and the wind and waves subsided; the people of the region were thus spared disaster.

I thought of the golden statue for a long time. One night, light on the beach shot straight up to the sky, and after digging, the golden statue was unexpectedly recovered. I then returned and built a temple complex to enshrine and worship it, and together with my neighbors I revered it; over many years its efficacies were beyond count.

Later, my parents unfortunately died in a plague. I kept mourning and built a hut beside the grave, and I had completed piling up earth and repairing the tomb. Just then three divine persons, wearing kudzu-cloth headscarves and feathered coarse robes (the coarse garments of recluses or Daoists), with straw sandals, came to visit. They gave me one copy of the Dadong Immortal Scripture (Dadong Xianjing; that is, the Yuqing Wuji Zongzhen Wenchang Dadong Xianjing, a Daoist classic), saying: “Recite it morning and evening, and you will surely obtain good fruit. Among the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, above it can assist the souls of parents and ancestors to escape gloomy suffering; in the middle it can eliminate disasters, extinguish offenses, and prolong life; below it can protect the family, relieve others, and together obtain preservation. You may give up gold and treasures to thank us three, and we will convey it on your behalf.” That very day I followed their words, set up a ritual vegetarian feast, presented gold and silk, and reverently received the scripture. Thereafter I recited and upheld it morning and evening without interruption, and repeatedly obtained efficacies.

Later, in midsummer, floods came and submerged my parents’ grave. I worshipped the golden statue and recited the Dadong Scripture, making a vow to recite a full thousand scrolls to keep the tomb unharmed. The following autumn, rain fell continuously, streams swelled sharply, and several watercourses merged into one. I became even more worried that it would harm the grave. When the waters receded and I looked, the stream valley before the grave had unexpectedly become solid high ridges, more than a li wide. From then on, the pines, catalpas, and other trees before the grave suffered no further damage.

I once thought of how my parents had died in a plague, and I hated the plague demons for their cruelty with a hatred that penetrated to the bone, vowing to be their enemy. But the paths of the Yin and Yang realms are different, and I had no power to take revenge. So morning and evening I diligently recited the Great Cavern Immortal Scripture (Dadong Xianjing, a Daoist scripture), devoutly praying before the golden statue (the enshrined deity image), hoping that the deity would grant me power with which to subdue the plague demons.

Another three years passed, and I suddenly dreamed that the golden statue said to me: “You have already memorized the Great Cavern Immortal Scripture, but you have not yet seen the Great Cavern Fulu (Dadong Falu, the Daoist secret talismans and methods). Now it should be transmitted to you, to use against evil demons. This will not only fulfill your original wish, but also assist the teaching of the Heavenly Dao, aid the state, and relieve the people.” The golden statue took two books from its sleeve and handed them to me; I bowed, received them, and woke. One was titled the Great Cavern Register (Dadong Lu), the other the Great Cavern Method (Dadong Fa), and they lay beside my pillow. I therefore established an altar and observed ritual abstinence, placed the books in a casket, and stored them away. I chose an auspicious day to take them out and read. When I came to the line “Ten thousand Zoujiazu (attendant armored soldiers led by divine generals) of the Great Cavern Heaven descend to bring salvation,” suddenly wind and thunder rose violently, and daylight turned dark. Countless divine soldiers clad in golden armor and bound with crimson sashes lined up before me, bowing to await orders. One of them, holding a red flag, stood before the others and said: “We wish to obey your command.”

While I was still in a daze, I involuntarily shouted in a stern voice: “I want you to go and deal with the plague demons. In the household of Zhang Tunshi in this village, the whole family has been infected by plague—drive them out for me.” As soon as the words left my mouth, the flag-bearing divine general led more than a hundred men into his house. In a short while they escorted out five ghosts: one draped in a tiger skin, one wearing a rooster’s comb, one shaped like a human, one with a crow’s head, and one with a donkey’s head. In their hands they held various instruments of punishment—water, fire, feathers, axes, chisels, and the like. I flew into a great rage, rebuked them, and prepared to destroy their bodily forms.

According to their account, Yuan Bo and the other plague gods act according to what is generated by the yearly movement and formed by the annual qi; each has the direction in which it roams and the people it sickens. Those whose hidden sins and retribution are heavy receive their calamity, and those whose heavenly mandate of life is already severed are brought to death. This is not something Yuan Bo and the others dare to decide privately: first the Three Officials (Sanguan: Heaven, Earth, and Water) and the Five Peaks jointly memorialize the Jade Emperor, reporting the crimes of the human world; the imperial command is then issued to the Three Officials and the Five Peaks, ordering them to inflict illness. The Year King (Nianwang, the deity in charge of annual registers) assigns them according to the registers, issues official writs, and dispatches Yuan Bo and the others to act one by one according to the fixed registers. If they receive leniency from True Officials (Zhen Guan, divine officials who have attained the Dao), they agree thereafter to abide by the restrictions, and wherever they see that a True Official’s Fulu (talismans and registers) is present, they will not dare to go.

Thereupon, in accordance with the scriptural method, I bestowed on them instructions and edicts and caused them to leave. For people in the villages afflicted by plague, I gave talismanic methods, and all were able to preserve their lives. Thus I used this set of Dharma registers to treat people’s illnesses; many were saved, my reputation spread to distant places, and scholars, commoners, and officials came to my door seeking treatment in countless numbers. The mysterious merit and wondrous conduct I accumulated all came from upholding and reciting this Great Cavern Immortal Scripture, and thereby obtaining the Great Cavern Dharma Registers; therefore I could fully exercise divine power, uphold the right and remove evil, save and deliver beings through life and death, avert disasters, and prolong life.

Afterward, in the unseen, powerful ghosts and spirits and the numinous spirits of local shrines (the efficacious souls of local deities) came to ask me to recite scriptures. When they returned to report, they all came to thank me, saying that by the power of the True Official’s scripture their awe-inspiring virtue had been enhanced and their spirit-souls had been transferred into the register of good. There were also the dead—sunken souls and stagnant spirits—unable to be reborn, who came in dreams or by possessing bodies to ask me to recite scriptures for their merit and deliverance; they likewise gave thanks, saying that through the power of the True Official’s scripture they had escaped the miserable destinies and all had been able to obtain rebirth.

If a heaven-sent epidemic (tianxing shiyi) occurs and the pathogenic evil spreads contagiously without cease, one need only recite this Jing (scripture) and, according to the method, write the Plague-Dispatching Talisman, Plague-Eradicating Talisman, and Plague-Halting Talisman within a Fulu (talismans and registers). One may then command heavenly mounted escorts (Tianzou), armored divine soldiers (Jiazu), and other divine officers: the Plague-Devouring Officers, Poison-Devouring Officers, Evil-Devouring Officers, and others who collect plague, poison, evil, Qi (vital energy; here, unhealthy Qi), ghosts, calamities, and Jing (essences; here, malignant essences), as well as the Divine Physician Officers who heal illness and the Talisman-Punishing Officers who demolish shrines and punish illicit talismans. There are also the nine ranks of mighty generals of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity)—the divine generals of the Zhengyi school—leading nine divisions of armored soldiers; the heavenly officers of the Northern Black Cavalry (divine cavalry commanders of the North), with five hundred million riders; and Canglao, Magu (a legendary female immortal), Vajra spirit guardians, and others, all coming together to seize the plague evils.

When performing the ritual, first submit official documents to the King of the Year (the deity governing the year’s fortunes), then report upward to Daiyue (the god of Mount Tai), and then dispatch the City Gods (Chenghuang) and local earth deities (Sheling) to issue official notices and send away the plague envoys. Only if the plague evils do not obey the covenant and refuse to withdraw are they reported to the heavenly court to be destroyed.

The general meaning of the second passage is: the Great Dao (the Way) values compassion and love; Taiqing (Great Clarity), the highest realm of the heavens, constantly harbors good intentions; the Supreme Lord delights in nurturing life, promotes benevolence and virtue, and halts killing. Practitioners who uphold the scripture, its methods, and Fulu must not act out of personal favoritism or practice harsh cruelty, lest they incur heavenly censure; they should send the plague evils away with ritual propriety. Those that withdraw in accordance with the scripture need not be executed and destroyed; only those that stubbornly resist and refuse to leave are reported and eliminated.

The Great Dao (the Way) values compassionate love; Taiqing (the purest realm of the heavens) constantly harbors good intentions; Shangdi (the Supreme Lord) delights in giving life and nurturing the myriad things, exalts benevolent virtue, and halts killing. Those who cultivate the Jing, ritual methods, and Fulu (scriptures, ritual methods, and talismans and registers) must not act from personal favoritism or commit harsh and violent deeds, lest they incur heavenly censure. They should send off malevolent influences with ritual propriety, respectfully invoke the deities with scriptures, overawe with Fulu, and transform others through good works—this is also an expedient shortcut in cultivation. Those who practice this scripture, its rituals, and Fulu should deliberate carefully so as to accomplish mysterious and wondrous merit.

This scripture can dissolve entanglements of enmity and resentment, stop heavenly censure and tribunal retribution, remove the Koudong curse (characters uncertain), and release one from calamities caused by violating taboos. It can stabilize graves and dwellings, bring peace to military garrisons, quell wars, halt epidemics, pray for favorable wind and rain, bring down auspicious omens, and promote abundant sericulture and mulberry harvests and bountiful harvests of the five grains. It protects life and body, blesses the family, relieves villages and localities, pacifies frontiers, drives away harm from insects and tigers, calms disasters of drought and flood, eliminates monsters and anomalies, stops baleful and evil influences, removes the effects of dark luminaries and evil stars (inauspicious stars that disrupt human fortune), pacifies and enshrines the deities honored in sacrifices, liberates the soul-consciousness of ancestors, and relieves wandering souls and lingering spirits who are displaced and without support. These are the twenty-four excellent merits of the Wenchang Jing, corresponding to the twenty-four solar terms of the year; one may establish a fast, recite the scripture, and perform rites to avert misfortune and give thanks.

Among the other methods for healing illness and neutralizing poison are the divine prescriptions of the Heavenly Physician of the Purple Court (prescriptions bestowed by the celestial physician who governs medicine in Daoism). These are blessings left by Yu the Great (Yu, a sage ruler venerated in Daoism) and the Golden Empress (Jin Hou), benefiting ten thousand generations and sparing people from the injuries of untimely and premature death, as well as from the afflictions of epidemic disease. Those who follow the teaching should seek a teacher’s transmission, study, receive, and uphold them in order to attain mysterious merit.

The author states that he has attained a fruition rank, with the honorific title “Taishang Bujiao Leyu Tiandi Chengzhen Zhengguan Baoguang Ciying Gengsheng Yongming Tianzun” (the Supreme, Non-Arrogant, Joyously Nurturing Emperor of Heaven, Heavenly Worthy of Clear Truth, Correct Contemplation, Precious Radiance, Compassionate Response, Renewal of Life, and Eternal Destiny). He says that it was through diligent recitation of this scripture that he was able to reach the realm of Shangqing (Highest Clarity). All who obtain this scripture and receive, uphold, and recite it should strive to practice it; he vows to ascend together with all who belong to the same Wenchang Dharma assembly to the realm of wondrous practice. Respectfully recorded.

Yuan Imperial Edict (Zhigao) (a genre of imperial decree from the Yuan dynasty)

This passage is the opening of a decree by which Heaven conferred mandate on the emperor; its general meaning is: in the visible realm there are rites, music, and moral transformation; in the hidden realm there are ghosts and spirits; the mysterious principle pervades both the manifest and the subtle.

Vernacular Interpretation

Heaven has sent down a sacred edict and bestowed it upon the emperor: In the world there are rites, music, and moral instruction, while in the unseen realm ghosts and spirits also preside. The refined and subtle principle penetrates all as a single whole; in heaven it becomes the stars, on earth it becomes the rivers and mountains, and its operations extend throughout heaven and earth. How much more, then, is this merit hidden within the Great Dao—there must surely be corresponding statutes and institutions to make it manifest.

The Zitong Dijun of Wenchang Palace on Qiqu Mountain in the Shu region—Wenchang Dijun, the Daoist deity in charge of literary fortune and examination success—has a radiance that corresponds to the Zhang mansion star, and he is benevolent toward people as celebrated in the poems of Zhou. He assists the flourishing destiny of the present age and protects the people through the way of loyalty and filial piety; through examination honors he makes literary education manifest, selecting and cultivating many scholars. Whenever disaster occurs, he comes to rescue; his responsive manifestations encourage good and punish evil. The court has once again promulgated examination regulations, and the registers of assessment are also fixed in advance. Although many honors and glorious titles have already been bestowed, the fine reputation of his honorific title still does not fully accord with Our mind.

Alas! We wish literary talents to emerge in abundance, so that your numinous excellence shines as brightly as the Jiang and Han rivers; We wish civil governance to flourish, so that you may open the profound wisdom hidden in the star palaces of Kui and Bi. Thus perhaps a beautiful honorific title may be obtained, to repay the court’s grace and glory. We now confer upon him the title “Fuyuan Kaihua Wenchang Silu Hongren Dijun” (the Emperor Lord Who Assists the Origin, Opens Transformation, Governs Wenchang, Oversees Emoluments, and Embodies Great Benevolence). Let the officials in charge act accordingly.

Promulgated here in the seventh month of the third year of the Yanyou era.

The Sacred Title of Qiqu

The honorific title of Wenchang Dijun of Qiqu Mountain is “Fuyuan Kaihua Wenchang Silu Hongren Dijun.”

The Grand Preceptor of the Golden Citadel and Haotian, the Grand Governor’s Office of the Primordial Chaos, Inner Assistant to the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and Supreme Minister—the highest office in the Daoist celestial bureaucracy assisting the Three Pure Ones—commands the yin soldiers of the Three Realms, decides expedient policies for action, oversees penal prisons in the Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and Water, keeps in custody the true-form charts of the Five Sacred Peaks (the five holy mountains) and the Four Great Rivers (the four great waterways), holds the tiger tallies for deploying troops and the dragon bonds of covenant, commands all celestial luminaries, and adjudicates matters of Gui stipends (ranks of emolument in the immortal registers) and succession registers (lists of immortal-lineage heirs).

This deity is the Supreme Immortal Yuanhuang Zhenren, the Tiantai Zhangren (Elder of the Heavenly Terrace), and the Lord of the Five Qi (master of the five qi); he is also the Zhenjun Who Oversees Stipends, Tributes, and Recommendations, the Compiler of Registers of Flying Immortals, the Master of the Creative Transformation of Huntian, and the Lundong Jiuku Tianzun (Heavenly Worthy Who Relieves Suffering in the Caverns).

Every event in the world is recorded by his brush; he divides his body to save every common person. The merit of his ninety-five transformations (the legendary ninety-five incarnations of Laozi) shines like sun and moon; through millions of kalpas he has saved the people. He perfects the fundamental human relation of loyalty and filial piety and sets the standard for ministers.

What follows is a series of honorific titles praising his virtue and functions one by one: Sovereign in Awesome Radiance and Freedom; Dao and De in Wuwei (non-action); True King of Long Life of the Southern Pole; Lord Who Stabilizes the Origin of the Nine Heavens, Protects Life, Supports the Teaching, Opens Transformation, and Saves Humanity; the Ever-Joyful and Eternally Protecting Compassionate Worthy, Perfect in the Ten Titles; Inspector of Fortune and Misfortune in the Three Realms; Bodhisattva King of Realized Fruition and Stabilized Wisdom; Jiashi Fanzheng Tathagata; Heavenly Emperor of the Most High, Free from Pride and Joyfully Nurturing; Daoist Perfection of Purity and Stillness in the Inner Realm of Yuqing (Jade Purity); his body manifests at Ziwei Cliff; he holds a ruyi staff; he universally relieves all sufferings; he governs all spirits; he commands Huntian; with a sincere mind he receives all beings and is the Teaching Lord of Myriad Heavens; compassionately manifests responses according to people’s wishes; he is the deity of great sagehood, great compassion, great benevolence, and great filial piety; boundless and immeasurable, supremely wondrous and supremely mysterious; he is the Right Chancellor of the Nine Phoenix Palace and the Emperor Lord of Great Benevolence, Wenchang, Overseer of Stipends, Assisting the Origin and Opening Transformation, newly enfeoffed by the Yuanhuang Supreme Emperor—that is, the Patriarch, Tianzun of Clear Truth, True Contemplation, and Precious Radiance.

The gist of the closing verse is: Heaven confers titles and grace, and this deity was raised to true spirit at the Primordial Beginning. When the scripture’s text reaches three hundred characters, its merit equals that of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen) scriptures. True immortals transmit it among themselves, and it is revered together with the Yinfu Jing (Scripture of the Hidden Talisman). If anyone holds and recites this scripture, generation after generation will enjoy prosperity in fortune and emolument.

I. General Praise at the End of the Scripture

The honored titles of the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) of Clear Truth and True Contemplation, Baotian Feng, and others have all received conferral and veneration. Yuanshi (Yuanshi Tianzun, one of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the most revered deities in Daoism) ascended into the true realm; the text of this scripture now totals three hundred characters, and its merit can be compared with the classics of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen, the basic classification of the Daoist Canon). The true immortals transmit and recite it to one another; the phrase “Yin Fu is established in the capital” means that this scripture is also honored in the capital. If anyone upholds, recites, and chants it, they will enjoy prosperity and glory for generations.

II. The Ten Perfect Honored Titles

The Heavenly Worthy of Clear Truth and True Contemplation, the Heavenly Worthy of Precious Light and Compassionate Relief, the Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Response and Compassionate Answer, the Heavenly Worthy Who Inscribes Blessings and Fixes Registers, the Heavenly Worthy Who Eliminates Demons and Protects the State, the Heavenly Worthy of Compassionate Response, the Heavenly Worthy Who Saves from the Suffering of Revolving in the Cycles, the Heavenly Worthy Who Eliminates Calamities and Performs Transformations, the Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Response According to Vows, and the Heavenly Worthy of Renewed Life and Perpetual Destiny.

These are ten perfect honored titles, each highlighting one of the deity’s virtues and powers. For example, “Eliminating Demons and Protecting the State” means removing demonic obstacles and safeguarding the nation; “Saving from the Suffering of Revolving in the Cycles” means rescuing sentient beings trapped in suffering within the cycles of rebirth; “Renewed Life and Perpetual Destiny” means enabling people to regain new life and extend their lifespan. “Heavenly Worthy” is the general title Daoism uses for the highest deities.

III. The Holy Title of the Xuan Emperor

This is an extremely long honorific for the Xuan Emperor (Xuandi, that is, Zhenwu Dadi, the Great Emperor of True Martiality of the North), praising his virtues and powers in successive layers: he is said to dwell in the Heaven of Great Mystery, Profound Stillness, and Deep Serenity in the North; he is an embodiment of the Dao-body and can manifest trillions of bodies, appearing universally throughout the ten directions. He is honored as the True Ancestor of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), the Dao-Father of the Great Mystery, and the Ancestor of the Golden Palace of Dongshen (the Cavern Spirit). He wields the Imperial Heart Seal of the Cavernous Abyss and upholds the Yinming Dipper Pole Talisman, commanding such offices as Xuanwu (Dark Warrior) and Youbi (Right Assistant). With a great and vast compassionate vow, he swears to sever demons and monsters, rescue and protect all living beings, support and sustain the cycles of calamity, and safeguard the state and its people. It concludes with “the Purple Pole Primordial Sovereign, Teacher-Minister of the Jade Void, Primordial Sage of the Mysterious Heaven, Benevolent and Awe-Inspiring Supreme Emperor, Heavenly Worthy of the Golden Palace’s Transformations.”

IV. Holy Title of Wenchang Huangren

The Supreme Perfected of Taiji, Lord of Jiuyi, Wenchang Huangren, Mysterious Sage Dao-Lord; the Perfected Lord of Guang Sang Mountain in the Eastern Sea; the Great Emperor Who Elucidates Plans; the Heavenly Worthy Who Flourishes Confucianism in a Prosperous Age.

Wenchang Huangren is the deity in Daoism who governs literary fortune and the imperial examinations. Calling him “Lord of Jiuyi” means that he presides over Mount Jiuyi; “Perfected Lord of Guang Sang Mountain in the Eastern Sea” refers to the immortal mountain where he resides; “Great Emperor Who Elucidates Plans” and “Heavenly Worthy Who Flourishes Confucianism in a Prosperous Age” praise his merits in promoting culture and education and revitalizing Confucianism.

V. Praise of the Dadong Jing by the Perfected Zheng Yuansou

This is a praise composed by the Perfected Zheng Yuansou. “Praising the Precious Scripture, First of the Jia Series” is the title of the first poem among them, meaning praise of this precious scripture. “Heavenly Worthy of the Great Cavern’s Truth” is a phrase of praise; afterward the holy title of Wenchang Huangren is invoked again, to show joint reverence for this scripture and the god Wenchang.

Honorific Titles of Wenchang Dijun: The opening lists several honorific titles of Wenchang Dijun, such as “Supreme Perfected of Taiji,” “Sovereign of Jiuyi” (Jiuyi Mountain being the place he governs), “Perfected Lord of Guangshang Mountain in the Eastern Sea” (Guangshang Mountain being his immortal dwelling), “Great Emperor Who Expounds the Plan,” and “Heavenly Worthy Who Causes Confucianism to Flourish in a Prosperous Age.”

Zhenren Zheng Yuansou’s Encomium on the Dadong Zhenjing

Praising the Precious Scripture: The Dadong Zhenjing (Great Cavern Perfected Scripture) belongs to the Mahayana gate; its meaning is profound, distant, and deeply mysterious. Immortals and sages of the ten directions and three times cultivate this scripture and accomplish their merits, thereby realizing entry into Shiqing Heaven (one of the highest Daoist heavens).

Fully Proclaiming the Mysterious Wonder: Although the scriptures of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen) are vast as smoke and sea, the words spoken by Xuhuang (the Void Sovereign, identified here with Yuanshi Tianzun, the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning) are exquisite and flawless. All scriptures and myriad methods take this as their foundation; after awakening to it, one may ascend to immortal realms through endless kalpas.

Exhorting the Present Age: Emperors, chief ministers, dukes and marquises, provincial governors, and the hundred officials, down to common people—wealth, honor, and glory are not sufficient to rely on for long. Only by studying the Zongzhen Dadong (All-Perfected Great Cavern) scripture can one exhaustively fathom the mysterious Dao.

Sincere Admonition to the Three Teachings: Although the paths of Daoism and Buddhism (zi, here referring to monks) differ, Confucians likewise may recite the Rites and the Odes. People of all Three Teachings may recite the true Dadong scripture, because its meaning returns to the realm of empty nothingness prior to Heaven and Earth.

Guiding and Exhorting: Ordinary Dao learners and common people practice myriad methods and a thousand gates but waste their effort. If they can recite the Dadong immortal scripture ten thousand times, Xuhuang Laozi will himself know their intention.

Good Men and Women of Faith: Whether civil or military officials, prostitutes, or ordinary townfolk, all may single-mindedly recite the Dadong scripture; the roots of sin are cut away, and the spirit wanders in immortal realms.

Definitive Realization of Fruition: The true exposition of the Dadong surpasses other scriptures; it can cause people to ascend as immortals and enter sagehood, and to meet Xuanzhen (the Mysterious Perfected). Even after eighty thousand dust kalpas, one can realize the unsurpassed right fruition shown by Xuhuang.

Lamenting the Foolish and Vulgar: How could stupid and benighted people recognize the preciousness of Fuli (a glass-like treasure) and the millet-grain pearl? The Dadong scripture can liberate all beings; since they are fundamentally one body, one may easily reach Xuandu (the Daoist immortal capital) at a level pace.

Expedient Encouragement: If you wish to cultivate to the highest vehicle, why not focus on studying several chapters of the Dadong scripture? Exhaust your mind and nature, and cultivate the body with method; once awakened, you may ascend to the Court of Great Existence (an immortal realm).

Causal Encounters (Gui Ten)

Because my disciples have printed and circulated this scripture, I composed verses to praise and extol it. The merits of this scripture are towering, like an inexhaustible treasury; the wondrous Dao of Xuhuang (the Void Sovereign, an incarnation of the Dao) originally has no concrete form.

Praise of the Dadong Jing (Great Cavern Scripture) of the Great Heavenly Emperor Yuanhuang

Origin and Causes

This scripture arose from mysterious sounds and condensed into cloud-seal script (Yunzhuan), a distinctive Daoist Fulu (talismans and registers) writing, in order to deliver celestial beings and humans. Taixuan Daofu (the Great Mystery Dao-Father, the supreme honored one who attained the Dao, that is, the Father of the Dao) personally sought and obtained the transmission; only then did this scripture come down to the lower realms, enabling the mortal world to hear the Dadong Jing.

Cultivating Perfection and Learning the Dao (Lichun, 1)

Ordinary people who cultivate the Dao and awaken to the truth find the source of the immortal way distant and difficult to seek. If they wish to find a shortcut free of detours, they should recite it with the mouth and uphold it in the heart—the Dadong Jing.

Praying for Rank, Office, and Protection of Heirs (Yushui, 2)

When the good karma accumulated in former lives is scant, official fame, emoluments, and descendants in this life are all rather difficult. If one wishes to obtain one’s desires, nothing is better than diligently reciting the Dadong Jing.

Eliminating Calamities and Anomalies (Jingzhe, 3)

When the sun and moon lose their brightness and the stars move in disorder, to eliminate heavenly calamities and bring peace to the people, it is necessary for people who possess the Dao to jointly expound the Dadong Jing.

Praying for Wind and Rain and Bringing Silkworm and Grain Harvests (Chunfen, 4)

The drought demon (Hanba, a ghost-spirit that causes drought) brings harm; rain is as precious as gold; pests and floods leave the five grains without harvest. If one wishes to bring abundant harvests everywhere and avert famine, it all depends on reciting scriptures and praying.

Guiding and Transforming Ordinary Folk (Qingming, 5)

Craftsmen, merchants, farmers, and people of all trades, through greedy seeking, unknowingly become entangled in karmic obstacles. Amid their busyness they should draw out leisure and mental effort to learn and recite the Wenchang Dadong Jing (Wenchang is the deity in charge of official rank and cultural education).

Pacifying Military Commands and Halting Arms (Guyu, 6)

When government treasuries are full, weapons of war cease forever, and the world is peaceful and joyous. The common people praise the great Dao and seek lasting stability; to repay the state, one should diligently read the Dadong Jing.

Enshrining the Qi dian Rites for Ghosts and Spirits (Lixia)

To enshrine ritual protocols and offer sacrifices to ghosts and spirits, during the Beginning of Summer one should also practice reciting the Wenchang Dadong Jing. (The term “Qi dian” is uncertain; it may be a scribal error for something like “ceremonial rites.”)

Note: The solar-term headings (Lichun, Yushui, Jingzhe, Chunfen, and so on) are recitation seasons arranged according to the twenty-four solar terms, indicating that one recites this scripture at the corresponding time in order to seek efficacy.

Vernacular Explanation of the Scripture Text of the Commentary on the Jade Clarity Limitless Totally True Wenchang Dadong Xianjing

Establishing Sacrificial Rites: Ghosts and Spirits at Lixia (Beginning of Summer)

This section says that if the deities and myriad spirits of the various community shrines wish to receive promotion and advancement but have no avenue by which to seek it, they need only transfer the names of the deceased into the register of good (the ledger recording good people), causing their power to increase; morning and evening they must listen to the recitation of the Dadong Jing (Great Cavern Scripture). (Dadong Jing: that is, the Wenchang Dadong Xianjing, a scripture used by the Daoist community to deliver deceased souls and eliminate disasters and adversity.)

Supporting and Delivering Ancestors: Souls and Consciousness at Xiaoman (Grain Buds)

This section says that if the deceased souls of family members, clan relatives, and parents remain long detained in the underworld, they cannot ascend beyond. If one wishes to extricate and guide them but lacks the power to do so, one should observe fasting and purification and diligently uphold and recite the Dadong Jing. (Zijian: through ritual practice, praying for blessings and deliverance for the dead.)

Eliminating Grave Litigation and Cutting Off Summons: Mangzhong (Grain in Ear)

This section says that litigation over graves and summons from the underworld will implicate descendants and also draw censure from the heavenly court. To resolve and eliminate disasters and guilt accumulated over generations, one should uphold and recite the Dadong Jing. (Zhong song: disputes related to graves; qian gao: divine questioning and punishment.)

Resolving Offenses and Pacifying Graves and Dwellings: Xiazhi (Summer Solstice)

This section says that when people build or repair graves, commencing work and breaking ground, they offend fierce deities, so that their dwellings suffer many calamities. To eliminate these disasters, one should uphold and recite the Dadong Jing.

Eliminating Plague: Xiaoshu (Minor Heat)

This section says that in years when epidemics prevail, the Five Plague Spirits command pestilence, which spreads through the prefectures and villages, harming the common people. To protect neighborhoods from infection, one should maintain strict purity and cleanliness and collectively recite the Dadong Jing. (Five Plagues: the five deities in Daoism who preside over plague.)

Saving from Illness: Dashu (Major Heat)

This section is largely the same as the previous one. It describes years of misfortune, when the Five Plagues infect the body, spread throughout the prefectures and villages, and harm the common people. If serious illness does not heal, and seeking doctors, divination, and prayers to the spirits everywhere is ineffective, with nowhere else to appeal, one can only entrust one’s life to the Dadong Jing. (Guīyī: turning the heart toward, relying on, and believing in.)

Rescuing Destitute Souls and Stagnant Spirits: Liqiu (Beginning of Autumn)

This section says that the deceased souls of six kinds of karmic creditors and enemies wander in dark obscurity. If one universally performs deliverance and refining so that they ascend to the heavens, one should constantly recite the Dadong Jing.

Resolving Enmity and Knots: Chushu (End of Heat)

This section says that enemies within the Six Paths harbor deep accumulated resentment, and revenge answers revenge without cease. To make all parties joyful, there is no way but to hear the Dadong Jing. (Six Paths: the six destinations through which sentient beings transmigrate—heaven, human, asura, hell, hungry ghost, and animal.)

Reciting the Oral Eastern Spell: Bailu (White Dew)

The original text is defective here; only the general meaning can be discerned: someone, because of a dispute over property or out of anger, in a moment of rage calls upon the gods and forms ghostly litigation that has no end. To resolve these knots of resentment, there is ultimately no other recourse than the Dadong Jing.

Strife and Anger

Some people fight over money and property; others, because of anger, in a moment of rage call upon the gods to witness their cause. They form grudges and invite litigation from ghosts and spirits—when will it ever end? To dissolve such knots of resentment, there is no better method than reciting The Jade Purity Wuji Zongzhen Wenchang Dadong Immortal Jing (abbreviated as the Dadong Jing, a Daoist classic).

Quelling the Multitude of Evils (Autumn Equinox · Sixteenth)

Illness and death do not leave one's side; disasters from lawsuits and harms from robbers come without cease. Wealth disperses like ice and snow. To obtain protection, one should uphold and recite the Dadong Jing.

Destroying Monsters and Anomalies (Cold Dew · Seventeenth)

Spirits of wood and stone, and anomalous creatures such as foxes, monkeys, and dogs, throw bricks and set fires, transform into human form, and make trouble. They flaunt their power, do evil to seek blessings, and accept improper sacrifices. To destroy them, one should recite the Dadong Jing.

Restraining Insects and Tigers (Frost Descent · Eighteenth)

When living in mountain forests or traveling alone, insects and snakes, wolves and tigers often injure people. If one hears a sound and avoids them in time, one will not suffer harm; in daily life one should also attentively uphold and recite the Dadong Jing.

Opening the Mind and Will (Start of Winter · Nineteenth)

Students whose minds are blocked as if by thatch, and even child prodigies in repartee, may seem insufficiently clever. If one wishes to write as though aided by spirits, one should first take delight in and constantly recite the Dadong Jing.

Preserving Form and Spirit (Minor Snow · Twentieth)

The human body is like an illusion, like a bubble, brief and impermanent. One should cultivate Qi (vital energy), Jing (essence), and Shen (spirit), keep them guarded within, and earnestly cultivate the truth. If one preserves bodily life, one may share the longevity of Heaven and Earth; one should thoroughly read and savor the Wenchang Dadong Jing.

Admonishing Wealthy Households (Major Snow · Twenty-first)

Do not rely on a family's great wealth or hoarded gold in the thousands; the celestial administration (the deities in charge of registers of fortune and emolument) may take away one's blessings and emoluments, for wealth and honor are easily overturned. One should take the opportunity to cultivate merit and accumulate virtue, give up one's own wealth, and print and circulate the Dadong Jing.

Ancient Cases of Efficacy (Winter Solstice · Twenty-second)

With only a single sincere heart, one can reach Shangqing (Highest Clarity, one of the Three Pure Ones' [Sanqing] realms) and, through resonance, receive transmission from the Three Spirits (San Shen). This very body can realize the fruit of the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun); the reason lies simply in diligently reading the Dadong Jing.

Universally Encouraging the Good and Faithful (Minor Cold · Twenty-third)

This is only a heading; its meaning is to universally encourage good men and faithful women—that is, those who cultivate the Dao (the Way).

Listen as I again proclaim the Dadong Jing (Great Cavern Scripture); this text is profound and mysterious, truly difficult to name.

This Dadong Jing is deep and wondrous in meaning and principle, hard to exhaust in words.

Its boundless merit is beyond thought and speech; I universally urge ordinary people not to take it lightly.

Its merit is boundless and inconceivable. The scripture universally exhorts people not to treat it with contempt.

Collecting Causes and Concluding Fruits: Great Cold Twenty-Four

A chapter title, meaning to take cultivation as the cause and reap good fruit. “Great Cold Twenty-Four” may be a section number; the original gives no explanation.

Yuanshi Tianwang proclaims the Great Vehicle; only those with karmic affinity encounter this revered scripture.

Yuanshi Tianwang is Yuanshi Tianzun, one of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), who proclaims the wondrous Great Vehicle Dharma. Only those with karmic affinity can encounter this noble scripture.

If one can diligently cultivate and recite from beginning to end, together we shall become people of one Wenchang assembly.

If one can diligently cultivate and recite from start to finish, one may join Wenchang—the deity presiding over culture, fortune, and official success—in one assembly and become a fellow traveler on the Dao.

Hymn of Reverent Address

A hymn of devout address to the Three Pure Ones. The Three Pure Ones are Yuqing, Shangqing, and Taiqing; the realms of the Three Pure Ones are the highest celestial realms. The Great Dharma King of Primordial Beginning and the Great Compassionate True Teaching Lord are Yuanshi Tianzun. Daluo Heaven is the highest heaven in Daoism, and the Xuanqiong Lord is its sovereign.

The hymn recounts the origin of the Dadong Jing: the scripture was compiled by assembled immortals, and the wondrous Dao is profound and unfathomable. The Primordial Worthy Spirit, out of compassion, revealed it, manifesting as three divine beings and bestowing a Ge robe and golden treasures; again in a dream he conferred two books, transmitted register methods, and manifested as Wenchang, answering every prayer.

Practitioners vow to purify the three karmas of body, speech, and mind and to cut off the roots of blood offerings and the corpse worms within the body. They uphold Fulu (talismans and registers), enter the Jade Capital immortal city, bow at the Golden Gate, single-mindedly worship the Great Dharma King of Primordial Beginning, and pray that compassion may grant their requests. May practitioners silently visualize and maintain recollection, align their tally with the Heavenly Emperor, transcend the immortal realm of Huangting (Yellow Court), ascend beyond Taimo, cause seven generations of ancestors to dissolve accumulated obstructive karmic offenses, and receive the Heavenly King’s register decree. When reciting the scripture, a hundred spirits gather; the sound penetrates ten thousand heavens and its echoes reach the Nine Earths; all vows are fulfilled; practicing according to the scripture, one advances step by step, finally attains the Dao-fruit and serves the sages.

Hymn of Reverent Invitation

In the scripture assembly, filial and fraternal fellow practitioners, with an initial resolve firm as metal and stone, at each bow and each invocation of the honored name, take refuge… (this sentence is incomplete in the original, so no arbitrary interpretation is offered). The general meaning that follows is the same as the preceding vow: may reciting the scripture gather a hundred spirits, fulfill one’s wishes, lead to practice in due order, and finally attain the Dao.

Scripture Title: The Annotated Great Cavern Immortal Scripture of Wenchang, the Totally True and Limitless of Jade Clarity (Yuqing Wuji Zongzhen Wenchang Dadong Xianjing Zhu). This is a classic annotated edition of Daoist Wenchang devotion, often used for vows and worship before and after scripture recitation.

Vowing While Reciting the Scripture

The filial and affectionate fellow cultivators gathered at the scripture assembly, with an initial resolve firm as metal and stone, each time they make a bow and each time they recite the honored name, take refuge in the Lord of Qiqu (Qiqu zhu, i.e., Wenchang Dijun, so named because his cult centers on Qiqu Mountain in Sichuan). In their minds they visualize the Heaven of Primordial Azure (Shiqing tian), one of the highest heavens in Daoism; they visualize the Pre-Heaven Mother of Longevity; and they visualize Purple Cloud Cliff (Ziyun Yan), a legendary immortal realm. The true pure land of Wenchang is the immortal realm manifested by the compassionate parent of the Post-Heaven (referring to Wenchang Dijun), who manifests the Cassia Fragrance Palace (Guixiang Gong), an honorific name for the Wenchang Palace. Filial sons and loving grandsons stand in attendance before the compassionate countenance, wishing to receive the rite of true faith, to emit wish-fulfilling radiance, to respond according to the mind and manifest according to thought, so that sons and grandsons may enjoy blessings and emoluments and together accumulate auspiciousness.

May I serve my compassionate kin and for generations enjoy honored longevity, with crane-white hair and a childlike face. May I meet a sage and enlightened age and receive grace at every step. May I dwell in a peaceful and happy land, live in abundance, and have treasures in plenty. As my mind emits wish-fulfilling light, wherever I may be, may I set foot in the realm of longevity.

May my karmic conditions mature, so that I cultivate the Great Dao and attain immortalhood. May all karmic hindrances and defilements be completely removed; may my mind be pure, for this mind itself is the pure land. Universally I vow that all beings in heaven and the human world may together escape the cage of all sufferings, advance gradually in cultivation, and, according to the conditions each has cultivated, realize the corresponding fruit. With a single true heart firm as metal and stone, I turn toward Qiqu, pay homage to all Buddhas and heavenly worthies, and with the incense of the mind praise and pray in unison. May I, together with all who recite the scripture, single-mindedly take refuge, pay homage, and worship.

Taking Refuge and Paying Homage to Yuqing Yuanshi Tianzun

“With utmost sincerity, I take refuge and pay homage”: with a sincere heart, I take refuge and worship.

In the holy realm of Yuqing (Jade Clarity), the Qingwei Heavenly Palace, located within the Yuluo Xiaotai and above the clear waters where all phenomena are arrayed, there appears a sacred form with visible shape, endowed with limitless spiritual powers. It can expound the profound and wondrous truth, breaking attachments to and obstacles from existence, nonexistence, form, and emptiness; it can save and guide all beings, erasing the distinction of higher and lower between the wise and the foolish. Its wondrous function is hard to fathom; its spiritual workings cannot be conjectured. This is Yuanshi Tianzun (the Primordial Lord of Heaven), who saves countless beings through great compassion, great vows, great sageliness, and great loving-kindness. This passage is repeated once in the original with the same meaning.

Taking Refuge and Paying Homage to the Northern Xuanwu

In the northern realm, at the station where Xuanwu dwells, Xuanwu first descended as an incarnation from the Golden Palace and ultimately assisted the Jade Emperor and cut off evil karma. He cultivated the true Dao and, after forty-two years, achieved success; he saved the world and converted beings, and his grace extends through countless kalpas. Whatever is prayed for is invariably answered; whatever is wished for is invariably fulfilled. His awe-inspiring virtue fills heaven and earth, and the depth and breadth of his vow-power are like the sea and mountains. Merit and fault are always clearly examined; rewards and punishments are just and impartial.

With great compassion, great vows, great sageliness, and great loving-kindness, I pay homage to Xuanwu Zhushun Lingying Zhenjun (the Perfected Lord of Assistance, Compliance, and Numinous Response, an honorific title of the northern Xuanwu), to Yuxu Shixiang Xuantian Yuansheng Renwei Shangdi (the Master-Minister of Jade Emptiness, the Dark Heaven’s Primordial Sage, Benevolent and Awe-inspiring Supreme Emperor, an honorific title of the Dark Heaven Supreme Emperor), and to the Heavenly Worthy Who Relieves Suffering at the Final Kalpa.

With Wholehearted Sincerity, I Take Refuge and Pay Homage (sincerely taking refuge and bowing in worship)

In the Shiqing Heaven above (Heaven of Primordial Azure), at the primordial beginning of creation, the one Qi (primordial Qi) had not yet dispersed; within it was contained the essence of the true origin of Qiqu. The Nine Heavens began from this, encompassing the entire essence of the Three Lights—sun, moon, and stars. The subtle workings of creation are formless and traceless; one can only reluctantly give them a name. Its De (Virtue/Power) is pure and lofty; gazing up to it is like looking at a crane—so high and distant that no one can discuss it. It is the loving mother before Heaven and Earth, with a gentle countenance transcending past and present. As Yang Qi returns, on the fifth day of the tenth month—a time of spring—it established the root of the Three Bonds (ruler–minister, father–son, husband–wife) and the Five Constants (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness). Its lifespan is long; with a formless body, it bestows form and appearance on the ten thousand things. The postscript to the Benxing Ji records its deeds, yet the realm of realizing the Dao in Shiqing Heaven remains difficult to fathom.

The Qiqu [deity] of Great Compassion, Great Vows, Great Sage, and Great Mercy (another name for Wenchang Dijun, originating from Qiqu Mountain in Sichuan) took form in the first kalpa as the Prenatal Long-Life Mother Taiji Yuanjun and was born on the fifth day of the tenth month.

With Wholehearted Sincerity, I Take Refuge and Pay Homage

In the Wenchang Upper Palace within the Inner Hall of Osmanthus Fragrance, the Dao-body is naturally complete and contains ninety-five transformations. The true origin has not yet emerged, yet it stores thirty-six thousand Jing (essences). It opened the postnatal, ageless phoenix writings (heavenly texts obtained through planchette spirit-writing), whose source is as profoundly remote and unfathomable as the azure sky. The bear dream (in ancient times, dreaming of a bear was a sign of the birth of a son, as recorded in the Book of Songs) symbolizes the descent of auspiciousness. It is the sacred, greatly compassionate father, the highest good among the perfected; it nourishes the root of the Three Bonds and Five Constants, and its heart embraces the substance of all conduct and ten thousand virtues. The mind of refuge is inexhaustible; how could praise and adoration ever be forgotten?

Reverently we pay homage to the Great Compassion, Great Vows, Great Sage, Great Mercy Holy Father of Qiqu; the Manifestly Responsive, Compassionately Protective, Benevolent and Abundant, Virtue-Commanding King; the Bodhisattva of Attained Fruition, the Longevity King; the Heavenly Worthy Who Stores the True and Diffuses Blessings (original name Longzu). The Heavenly Worthy’s birthday is the eleventh day of the second month.

Background note: In Daoist Keyi (liturgy), after each section of praise, “With Wholehearted Sincerity, I Take Refuge and Pay Homage” is recited, expressing the practitioner’s sincere taking of refuge and full prostration in worship. In Daoism, Wenchang Dijun governs literary fortune and official renown; this scripture belongs among the immortal biographical classics of Wenchang faith.

This scripture passage is a hymn of praise in Wenchang devotion. “Cassia Fragrance Inner Hall, Wenchang Upper Palace” refers to the immortal palace of Wenchang Dijun. Wenchang Dijun’s mother, Lady Qi, was virtuous, beautiful, and gentle in disposition, and she embodied the Qi of Tai Zhen. Her pure radiance was as limpid as autumn water and as luminous as the starlight of Qixi. She held the dragon-elephant Qi within before it dispersed and concealed the wondrous workings of the luan bird in the unmanifest. She is honored as the Great Compassionate Mother of Sword Spring and the Supreme Good Person of Penglai; she established the cardinal moral norms for ten thousand generations and set up moral teaching for the Nine Heavens. The world takes refuge in her inexhaustible grace, and her merits are beyond all praise. “Holy Mother of Qiqu” refers to the mother goddess venerated at Qiqu Mountain, the Wenchang devotional center in the Zitong region; her titles include Zhaode Jiqing Ciyi Gonghui Fei, Zhengguo Baoguang Pusa, and Siqing Chuxiang Yuanjun. Her birthday is the seventh day of the seventh month.

The next passage praises Wenchang Dijun. Across many incarnations he sowed good fruits in the garden of poetry and books and cultivated cassia roots in the field of hidden virtue. From his numinous origin at Fengshan to the auspicious Ruyi store at Aoxiu, he remains linked to the human world. In guiding human hearts, he first relies on filial piety toward parents; in upholding the nation’s destiny, he first takes loyalty to the ruler as the root. He responds to dreams to protect sentient beings and takes compassion on the world’s suffering. “Yinzhi” means virtue accumulated in secret, and “Aoxiu” refers to the legendary immortal mountain in the sea. The Dijun’s honorific titles are very long and include “Xince Fuyuan Kaihua Wenchang Silu Hongren Dijun” and “Chengzhen Zhengguan Baoguang Ciji Tianzun”; his personal name is Ya, that is, Zhang Yazi, and his birthday is the third day of the second month.

“Zhixin guiming li” means sincerely taking refuge and bowing in homage; it is a phrase of worship in Daoist scripture-chanting rituals.

This Empress resided in the Cassia Fragrance Inner Hall and the Wenchang Inner Palace. Her virtue was dignified and pure, bright as the moon fetched from the ninth heaven; her benevolent heart was warm as spring, and she carried forward the family tradition handed down through generations at Qiqu (where the Wenchang star is located). She gently served her parents and was loving, virtuous, and worthy, a model of motherhood, bringing harmony to the whole household high and low and making it a place of peace and joy for countless generations past and present. She once dreamed that a deity bestowed auspiciousness and, through spiritual response, conceived; all this arose from the sincerity of her heart. She is the Empress of Great Benevolence, Great Filial Piety, Great Sageliness, and Great Compassion, of Reverent Compliance and Gentle Responsiveness, of Virtuous Kindness and Radiant Excellence; the Yuanjun (Primordial Lady) of Attained Fruition and Fixed Response, the Bodhisattva of Harmonious Balance and Penetrating Subtlety. Her original surname was Zhong and her given name Zhizheng; she was born on the third day of the fifth month and was afterward associated with Princess Li of the Tang. (The meaning of the two characters “Hou Xing” is not very clear; here they are translated literally.)

This son is the lord of the Wenchang Auxiliary Palace, of sagely virtue and compassionate kindness. In a single thought he can carry on the family reputation; his spiritual powers are manifest, bringing comfort even to his father, the Heavenly Emperor. Among the cloud crags he amused his parents in colorful garments (a reference to children delighting their parents with colored clothes), and at the moon cave he inquired after their well-being; he expounded the meaning of ritual and music that is without form or sound, and carried on a family legacy that has rules and standards to follow. He enabled households of benevolence and filial piety to enjoy the Five Blessings, and caused the sons of hereditary houses of poetry and learning to attain the glory of the Three Primes. He established his teachings on this basis and likewise had dream omens foretelling auspiciousness. He is the Saintly Eldest Son of Perfect Benevolence, Perfect Filial Piety, Perfect Sageliness, and Perfect Compassion; the Prince of Inheriting Virtue and Practicing Filial Piety; the Wenchang Yanqing Zhenjun (Perfected Lord Who Spreads Blessings), named Ranming, born on the second day of the third month. (Here one character in the original, “□●,” is illegible and therefore left untranslated.)

This daughter-in-law was gentle in nature as spring; in serving her elders her demeanor was soft and compliant, her heart pure as jade, her bearing dignified and refined. She and the eldest son complemented each other, silently following the family’s rules of ritual and propriety; her transformative teaching spread widely, bringing harmony and concord, and she too had dream omens and spiritual responses, with blessings descending upon her. She is the Saintly Eldest Daughter-in-Law of Perfect Benevolence, Perfect Filial Piety, Perfect Sageliness, and Perfect Compassion; the Lady of Good Assistance, Manifest Excellence, and Filial Compliance; the Wenchang Jingying Tianjun (Heavenly Lord of Quiet Response) of the Wei clan, born on the first day of the eighth month.

The Guixiang Inner Hall of Wenchang Palace is the palace that assists Emperor Wenchang. Here the father and son and the whole family all fully practice filial piety and loving-kindness; between ruler and minister, this has been transmitted through a thousand autumns, and all have attained benevolence and respect. They set an example for the human world, establish teachings through the cardinal relationships and ethical constants (the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues), and lay down standards for the ways of the world. These teachings are rooted in the family transmission of the Poems and the Rites (an allusion to Confucius’s son Kong Li “hurrying across the courtyard to receive instruction”), and can also connect with the Dao of Heaven through yinzhi (secretly accumulated good virtue); with a humble and harmonious heart, one harvests blessings in the garden of cultivated arts. All this comes from the resonant unfolding of the original mind; there are omens in dreams, and from this auspiciousness gathers.

The supremely benevolent, supremely filial, supremely sage, and supremely compassionate holy second son—namely the Prince of Flourishing De and Establishing Filial Piety, the Wenchang Silu Zhenjun (True Lord of Wenchang Who Oversees Emoluments), named Maoyang—was born on the first day of the first lunar month.

With utmost sincerity, I take refuge and pay homage: to take refuge and pay homage with utmost sincerity is a common opening formula in Daoist Keyi (liturgy).

In the Wenchang Auxiliary Palace of the Guixiang Inner Hall, there is also a woman of filial virtue, humility, and gentleness. She received the pure essence of the primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth; her mind is chaste and tranquil, her disposition gentle and compliant, and her bearing dignified like a refined lady in her boudoir. She practiced the etiquette of greeting and inquiring after elders at Wufu Ridge (a place name), and she was like the clear source of accumulating blessings upstream at Sanchao Waters (a place name). Likewise, through dream resonance and the unfolding of the original mind, she too experienced the fulfillment of auspicious omens.

The supremely benevolent, supremely filial, supremely sage, and supremely compassionate holy second daughter-in-law—namely the Lady of Assisting Compliance, Kind Beneficence, and Capable Filial Piety, the Wenchang Siqing Tianjun (Heavenly Lord of Wenchang Who Continues Blessings), surnamed Wei—was born on the eighteenth day of the second lunar month.

With utmost sincerity, I take refuge and pay homage.

In the Wenchang Inner Palace of the Guixiang Inner Hall, the bright moon gathers auspiciousness, rooted in the loving-kindness of Father Heaven; a phoenix-like disposition gathers blessings, tempered by the gentle and gracious De of the mother. Her character is pure and cool as frost and snow, transcending the ten thousand things and not enslaved by them; and like the spring breeze and autumn moon, her embrace is free and at ease, naturally so in accord with the Dao of Heaven. She inwardly contemplates all realms as empty and illusory, and thus realizes the Dao of the Nine Heavens. Her mind is clear and pure, beyond speech; her virtue is gentle and compliant, beyond description.

The supremely benevolent, supremely filial, supremely sage, and supremely compassionate Princess of Pure Truth, Wondrous Tranquility, and Excellent Filial Piety—namely the Wenchang Wanshou Tianjun (Heavenly Lord of Wenchang of Ten Thousand Longevities)—was born on the sixteenth day of the fourth lunar month.

With utmost sincerity, I take refuge and pay homage.

The fragrance of osmanthus fills the inner hall, within the inner chamber of Wenchang Palace. The immortal’s divine bearing is majestic and awe-inspiring; his family tradition is pure and upright, enough to display the beauty of the household’s style. His upright and resolute character and benevolent reputation spread in all directions, renewing moral transformation. His majesty is like thunder, yet it issues on mild spring days, enabling everyone to awaken. Rain and dew spread throughout heaven and earth, and all things grow because of them. Auspicious signs descend in response to his thoughts, and numinous omens also appear in dreams.

The sagely eldest grandson—supremely benevolent, supremely filial, supremely sage, and supremely compassionate—named He, known as Shaoying Zhaoling Zhixiao Hou and Wenchang Jiqing Zhenren (a Perfected Person who has attained the Dao through successful cultivation and accumulated merit), was born on the third day of the seventh month.

With a heart of utmost sincerity, take refuge and bow in homage.

The fragrance of osmanthus fills the inner hall, within the inner chamber of Wenchang Palace. The sage’s qualities and heaven-endowed countenance are as pure as the spring breeze that embraces all things and brings them to life; the immortal’s exemplary bearing and the norms of the Dao are clear and luminous, as if an autumn moon has been split open. Four generations live together under one roof; within the household there is harmony, and ritual propriety is graceful and solemn. All manner of good deeds and countless virtuous undertakings cause the family to accumulate blessings and felicity day by day, meticulously and completely. They are borne out in dreams, and numinous radiance shines forth. The closing sentence echoes earlier expressions such as “embrace,” “immortal bearing and Daoist norms,” and “split open the autumn moon,” with the intent of continuing the praise of his virtue and numinous efficacy.