《上清高上玉真众道综监宝讳》

This Jing (scripture) lists a group of names and taboo names of Daoist deities. “Hui” refers to the special names of the deities, which hold particular significance in Daoist belief and ritual; “Jun” is an honorific title for these deities. The scripture mainly enumerates the names without explaining their respective duties or origins.

The taboo name of the Six Jia Lord is “Ying,” and that of the Yuanbai Lord is “Que.”

The Southern Peak Lord is “Bei,” and the Yellow Book Lord is “Qiao”; the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) Lord is “Yao,” and the Ten Thousand Blessings Lord is “Tui.”

The Red Realm Lord is “Hegui,” and the Azure Youth Lord is “Qi”; the True Dipper Lord is “Ji,” and the Great Salvation Lord is “Qin.”

The Reverse Binding Lord is “Bi,” and the Cutting Off Death Lord is “Tui”; the Xingsheng Lord is “Qiang,” and the Red-White Lord is “Xu.”

The Surging White Lord is “Maoguai”; thereafter there is a section of garbled text that cannot be deciphered. The taboo name of the next lord is “Zhuo,” and the Penglai Lord is “Polai.”

The Xiali Huanggong Lord is “Tu,” and the Brain Replenishing Lord is “Zheng”; the Returning Jing (essence) Lord is “Tong,” and the Three Lives Lord is “Qian.”

The Three Qi (vital energy) Lord is “Shuang,” and the Muran Lord is “Yi”; the Eastern Peak Lord is “Kai,” and the Central Peak Lord is “Que.”

The Western Peak Lord is “Zun,” and the Northern Peak Lord is “Ai”; the Kunlun Lord is “Ming,” and the Five Colors Lord is “Song.”

The Upper One Lord is “Yan,” and the Mysterious Clouds Lord is “Kun”; the Central Yellow Lord is “Tang,” and the North Star Lord is “Qian.”

The following text repeats the listing of the names of the Central Peak, Western Peak, Northern Peak, Kunlun, Five Colors, Upper One, Mysterious Clouds, Central Yellow, and North Star lords. It then lists: the Ten Thousand Salvations Lord, whose taboo name is “Hui”; the Ten Thousand Lives Lord, whose taboo name is “Lian”; the Saving Dao Lord, whose taboo name is “Zhong”; and the Hundred Blessings Lord, whose taboo name is “Lian.”

The Opening Transformation Lord’s taboo name is “Jian,” and the Decisive Brightness Lord is “Lan”; the Transcending Dao Lord is “Sheng,” and the Five Colors Lord is “Mian”; the Eight Lives Lord is “Qing,” and the Kun Qi Lord is “Lan.”

At the end it again lists names such as the Lower One Lord, Central One Lord, and Upper One Lord, but there are many places with garbled text that cannot be reliably deciphered. The taboo names of the last two “True One Lords” appear in the base text as “I” and “Dao” respectively; of these, “I” is suspected to be garbled, and the original character cannot be confirmed.

The taboo name of Heling Jun is “Bu,” and the taboo name of Shangse Jun is “Pu.”

The next lord-deity’s taboo name is “Gai.” The characters of the following taboo name are damaged and cannot be identified.

The taboo name of Jiehuán Jun is “Chi”; the taboo name of Jieshi Jun is damaged. The taboo name of Cishi Jun is “Fang”; the taboo name of Zhongtai Jun is damaged.

The taboo name of Zhenyi Lüxing Jun is “Zhen”; the taboo name of Taiyi Zhenjun is “Zong.”

The characters of the taboo name of Tianyiji Jun are damaged, and the true name of Jinqi is likewise damaged. The taboo name of Suquan Jun is damaged, as is the true name within the Suquan embryo.

The taboo names of Zhenyi Jun and Daoji Jun are both damaged; the taboo name of Daoji Zhenjun is “Zong.” The text then repeats the relevant titles of Tianyiji Jun, the true name of Jinqi, Suquan Jun, the true name within the Suquan embryo, Zhenyi Jun, and Daoji Jun.

The taboo name of Zhenyi Jun is damaged; records state that he belongs to the Qi of Taihao and dwells in the Qinglü Palace of the Limitless.

The true name of Zhen Sheng Wo Fu is “Wei”; the true name of Zhen Sheng Wo Mu is “He Furen.”

The true taboo name of Taiyuan Jun is damaged; he is called the Envoy Who Delivers from Calamity. The true name of Dushi Zhulu is damaged; the taboo name of Changsheng Siming is “Zhi.” The taboo name of Taiyuan Yi Jun is damaged; later passages refer to him as “Muyao.”

The characters of the true taboo name of the Yang Sanhun are damaged. The true taboo name of Shanghuang Ren is damaged; the true taboo name of the Yin Sanhun is “Hui.” The true taboo name of the Yin Shisi Po is damaged; the taboo name of Zhonghuang Furen is damaged.

The taboo name of Tianyi Zhenren is “Guanzhi”; the taboo name of Santian Zhenjun is damaged; the taboo name of Diyi Zhenren is “Chaozhi.”

The taboo name of Xian Zhenren is damaged, followed by “Shengwu Sheng.” The taboo names of Tian Zhenjun, Dixian Jun, and Feixian Jun are respectively damaged, “Tianshi,” and “Shuijin.” The taboo name of Shangyi Jun Furen is damaged; the taboo name of Zhongyi Jun is “Lütai”; the taboo name of Xiayi Jun Furen is damaged.

The taboo name of Sanhun Furen is damaged; the taboo name of Taiqing Jun is “Xiang”; the taboo name of Taixuandu Jun is “Dang.”

The foregoing are the precious taboo names (the secret names of deities and perfected beings to be recited in cultivation or ritual). Recite the Red Writings (sacred graphs inscribed in vermilion) several times, then successively recite the Eight-Majesty Register Texts, knock the teeth thirty-six times, and offer this prayer:

“Red Writings and jade characters, orthodox text of the Nine Heavens, writing that attaches the numinous.”

The taboo name of Taixuandu Jun is “Dang.”

The foregoing are the precious taboo names. Recite the Red Writings several times, then successively recite the Eight-Majesty Register Texts, knock the teeth thirty-six times, and offer the prayer. The original text ends here.

The original contains numerous garbled or lacunose passages; unidentifiable taboo names have been marked as “damaged.” The expression “jidu” is understood as “recite several times.”

The Red Script Jade Characters (sacred writings inscribed in vermilion) are the orthodox celestial writings of the Nine Heavens. Inscribed upon the Lingce (spirit registers used by divine beings), they command ghosts and spirits and summon deities. Those to be subdued arrive at once; those to be punished are entirely eliminated. When performing rites while ascending mountains one must likewise prepare the spirit registers. Should any evil influence dare to block the way, this talisman is used to suppress it.

So-and-so now seals the talismanic emblems of Yuanshi Tianzun (the Primordial Heavenly Worthy), causing the seven ancestors to ascend and be reborn in the heavenly realms and enabling oneself to fly aloft and become an immortal. When the Demon King sees the Lingce he is blinded and perishes. Swiftly obey the ordinances of Xuandu (the Mysterious Capital).

After the recitation is finished, knock the teeth thirty-two times and swallow the saliva thirty-two times. This is a bodily ritual commonly employed in Daoist visualization and the performance of rites.

The following is a passage of Fulu (talismans and registers) writing known as the “Written Formula and Talismanic Script after the Purple Phoenix Register.” The wording consists largely of secretly transmitted talismanic formulas whose characters are strung together in a manner that makes ordinary sentence-by-sentence interpretation difficult. Recurring terms such as “Golden Youths,” “Thousand Essences,” “Fengyuan,” “Jade Floriate,” and “Jade Scenery” refer to spirits, heavenly realms, or ritual terminology. At the end appears the additional note: “The character ‘chao’ refers to the rise of a new royal sovereign; it does not denote one born prior to Heaven.”

The text on the right is the written formula and talismanic script appended after the Purple Phoenix Register.

This talisman is written in cinnabar. It is ingested once a day for seven consecutive days, or alternatively three times a day for seven days. Write another talisman and place it behind the bed, and write a further one to paste upon the doorway; it is said this can bring about recovery from illness. Then offer the following prayer:

“White, O white; red, O red. The Mysterious Mandate (the profound heavenly command) is already present in the courtyard. Report upward to the Heavenly Emperor: take the fate of the dead and determine the fate of the living; prolong the lifespan and add years so that life endures as long as Heaven and Earth. Let the Director of Destinies (the divine official who oversees lifespan and the registers of names) record the name in the registers, so that it does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Northern Star (the stellar deity associated with death and the ledgers of lifespan). Swiftly obey the ordinances.”

The three kinds of talismans described above are said to have been used in succession and proven effective in the Great Characters of the Celestial Writings of the Three Sovereigns and in the seventy-fifth chapter of the Golden Light Jing (scripture). They must be believed and they must be revered.

On the first day of a certain month in a certain year, Disciple So-and-so of the Dongxuan Natural Unsurpassed Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen), from such-and-such township and county, received the Gaoshang Yuzhen Zhongdao Zongjian Baohui (Precious Names of the High Jade Perfected Overseeing All Dao) from Ritual Master So-and-so, a master who practices the methods of the Three Caverns. The text was graciously bestowed and is to be worn upon the person. Now Ritual Master So-and-so transmits this Gaoshang Yuzhen Zhongdao Zongjian Baohui to So-and-so of such-and-such township, county, and commandery. So-and-so, aged so many years, taking the ritual tokens as proof, vows to seek and receive this scripture with single-minded devotion.

After receiving the Precious Names, So-and-so must not casually speak of them or leak them. So-and-so further takes the names of deceased parents as witnesses to the covenant, guaranteeing neither to disclose them nor to treat them with negligence. Should the oath be broken, So-and-so and their parents, whether living or dead, will together suffer punishment in hell, and So-and-so will also undergo the torment of the wind-knives. So-and-so signs as proof; the oath is as binding as the ordinances of Taishang Laojun (the Most High Lord Lao).

The above is the transmission covenant for the Gaoshang Yuzhen Zhongdao Zongjian Baohui.

When receiving the Precious Instructions of the Supreme God, one must prepare the following nine kinds of tokens of faith: twelve liang of Highest Perfected gold, one hundred chi of brocade, ninety chi of purple-patterned silk, eighty chi of crimson-patterned silk, sixty chi of white-patterned silk, fifty chi of black silk, one hundred twenty chi of yellow silk, ten nine-cun mirrors, and one seven-chi long sword. The recipient must smear blood and swear a blood oath, make a covenant facing Heaven, and only then may the transmission proceed; moreover, a suitable person must be selected and the secret strictly kept.

Note: The original text’s second listing of items has obvious lacunae, and the contents given there are not entirely identical with those of the earlier list; the above has been arranged according to the preceding inventory of “nine kinds.”