《真诰》

Scripture Title and Author: Zhengao (Declarations of the Perfected) was compiled and edited by Tao Hongjing, a Daoist of the Liang dynasty during the Southern Dynasties. His sobriquet was Huayang Yinju, the Recluse of Huayang; he served as National Preceptor to Emperor Wu of Liang and was bestowed the title Zhenbai Zhenren. The work records the descents and revelations of immortals and the transmission of Daoist cultivation from the Eastern Jin Shangqing school, and it is an important scripture of the Shangqing school.

Yunxiang, Part One: This chapter records a poem given to Yang Quan—an Eastern Jin man referred to in the text as “Quan”—by the immortal maiden E Lü Hua. It is a record of his dealings with immortal Perfected beings.

Plain-Language Paraphrase of the Poem:

The divine mountain rises into the clouds; its soaring peaks are lush and verdant, reaching a thousand xun high. In the empty numinous valley, the jade-like forests and trees are deep green and flourishing. You are endowed with an elegant nature, and by around twenty your reputation was already pure and far-reaching. You set your heart on the Dao and on wisdom, transcending bodily form; among the noble and eminent you display your talents, yet inwardly you harbor aspirations beyond the mundane world.

You and I come from the same clan and share one source. The great lineage branched out into the Shangqing line, and now we belong to separate branches. The lan-jin bond is joined through mutual affinity of heart and mind, and as three-benefit friends we feel our friendship to be all the deeper. Calming my mind and reflecting, I rejoice in this meeting; our refined association has already lasted many years.

Who says the profound principle is difficult to comprehend? If only it is kept in the heart, it can be understood. Looking up, we imagine the world beyond the cage and fence; we both wish to be Dao-cultivating recluses dwelling among the cliffs. Do not let the high-flying wings be thrown into confusion by startling winds midway.

Although change and transformation are decided by people themselves, Yang Quan may not find it easy to follow. What I hope for is certainly not the flower that opens at dawn and fades by evening, but rather to be with you at the close of the year.

Explanatory Notes: Lan-jin comes from the Zhouyi: “When two people are of one mind, their sharpness can cut through metal”; it refers to a friendship of one heart. Three benefits comes from the Analects: “There are three kinds of beneficial friends”; it refers to beneficial friends. Cage and fence is a metaphor for the bonds of the mundane world.

Note: At the place in the original text where it says “this one character has been heavily blotted by ink,” the writing is blurred and illegible; therefore no explanation is given here.

This passage records the descent of the immortal maiden E’lühua to Yang Xi (Lord Yang), with later textual criticism of scribal errors appended at the end.

E’lühua called herself a person of Nanshan, though which specific mountain is unknown. About twenty years old and dressed entirely in blue-green, with exceptionally refined and proper features, she descended at night on the tenth day of the eleventh month in the third year of Shengping of the Eastern Jin (359 CE). Thereafter she came and went frequently, often six times within a month. She said her original surname was [two characters missing here in the original manuscript]; according to textual research, these should be “Yang Quan.” She presented a poem, a handkerchief made of huohuan cloth (a cloth that does not burn in fire, that is, asbestos), and a pair each of gold and jade bracelets (tiaotuo), the bracelets being especially exquisite.

She instructed: this character was originally the cursive form of “quan”; later people smeared it into “jian” and then inverted it. You must by no means disclose my affairs; if they are disclosed, both parties will incur guilt.

When asked about her background, she said she was Luo Yu, a woman who had attained the Dao in the Jiuyi Mountains. In a former life she had been a teacher’s wife and had poisoned her wet nurse to death; because the karmic offenses of her former life were not yet exhausted, in this life she was banished to a polluted place to repay that fault. The later “quan” was also written in cursive, so its form resembled the earlier one, but it had not been smeared out. She also said that the shijie elixir (the Daoist drug by which one sheds the bodily form and becomes immortal) was now at Xiangdong Mountain; it had originally hung in a one-cun space here. She was already nine hundred years old.

Textual criticism indicates that this should be the descent of Yang Quan. Yang Quan, courtesy name Daoyu, was the youngest son of Yang Chen; later he served as Gentleman of the Yellow Gate (Huangmen lang) under Emperor Jianwen of Jin, and was the grandfather of Yang Xin, which is why Yang Xin also cultivated the Dao and practiced ingestion of elixirs. These words were recorded for Lord Yang; because the name was homophonous with “Yang,” one could refer to him as “Yang Quan.” The original text answers accordingly and adds explanatory notes. Note that the third year of Shengping was a jiwei year, six years before the yichou year; there was no descent of the various Perfected.

The above three entries were written in cursive by Lord Yang on paper.

The Lady of the Southern Peak (Nanyue Furen) explains to her disciple Yang Jun—that is, Yang Xi, who refers to himself this way in the scripture—the ranks and titles of the assembled Perfected. In this list Lord Siming is placed first because the gathering was held in the Cave Palace, and as host Siming should naturally occupy the leading position. The Lady is explaining this sequence to Yang Jun; it was not fixed only at the moment when the spirits descended and the scriptures were transmitted. (The notes below are added for clarity.)

The first is Lord Siming, Upper Perfected Minister of the Eastern Peak: the upper perfected of Mount Tai, who governs human lifespan (Siming is the deity in charge of life, death, and longevity). Next is the Nine Subtle Perfected of the Eastern Palace, Upper Chancellor of the Golden Gate, Great Lord Qingtong: a Nine Subtle Perfected residing in the Eastern Palace and serving as Upper Chancellor of the Golden Gate (the palace where the Heavenly Emperor dwells), namely Great Lord Qingtong. Next is Jia Bao’an, Right Immortal Duke of Penglai: the Right Immortal Duke of the immortal mountain Penglai, named Jia Bao’an, a man of Zheng. Next is Wang Zideng, Heavenly King of the Qingxu Xiaoyou Heaven. Next is Wang Ziqiao, the Tongbai Perfected, Right Assistant King, Commander of the Five Peaks’ Offices and Attendant to the Emperor at Dawn. Next is Guo Shigan, the Qinggai Perfected and Attendant to the Emperor at Dawn, a man of Wei. Next is Fan Bohua, the Rongshan Perfected and Right Immortal Duke of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), a man of You.

The remaining persons follow in the same manner, such as Liu Qianshou, Perfected of Shaoshi (a man of Pei); Wang Daoning, Perfected of Panzhong (a man of Changshan); Zhang Shanggui, Marquis of Jiuyi Mountain (a man of Chu); Bao Yuanjie, Divine Marquis of Daizong (a man of Donghai); Qin Shuyin, Immortal Elder of Huashan (a man of Fengyi); and so on.

The text further explains specifically that all those listed afterward are the courtesy names (zi) of the Perfected, not their original names; their clans (native places) can also be checked in Daoist hagiographies circulating in the world. For a deity as supremely exalted as Lord Qingtong, they did not dare to call his zi directly, and therefore no zi or hao is appended; whereas the appellations “Qingxu” and “Master of the Southern Peak” retain courtesy and style names. Only the zi of Mao Siming is not recorded, and this too is difficult to examine in detail.

I. Male Perfected (Zhenren; seated facing west)

The Yangluo Perfected Ling Xigui, whose name was Fu Chunyu Taixuan, was from the Western Regions; the Qianshan Perfected Lord Zhao Zuyang, from Zhuo Commandery; the Gouqu Perfected, Dinglu Right Prohibitions Gentleman Mao Jiwei (“Right Prohibitions Gentleman” was a subordinate official title in the celestial realm); the Yujue Perfected Pei Xuanren; Zhu Jiaofu of the White Water Immortal Capital; Mao Sihe of the Three Officials’ Life-Preserving Office (“Three Officials’ Life-Preserving Office” was an immortal post overseeing the prolongation of life); and the Taihe Perfected Shan Shiyuan.

The above twenty-three Perfected were seated facing west, arranged in order from south to east. The commentator (Tao Hongjing) notes that according to ritual propriety the west should be honored, and since the female Perfected face east, their arrangement should properly begin from the south. Here, however, it begins from the north, probably because they are close to the high Perfected of superior rank, so an adjustment was made.

II. Female Perfected (seated facing east)

In order: the Supreme Perfected Left Lady of Taihe Lingpin; Lady Xuanqing of the Six Subtleties of the Northern Sea; the Right Lady of the Seven Spirits of Beihan; the Right Lady of Central Hua of Taiji; Lady Wang of the Left Palace of Ziwei; Lady Youying of Yunlin in Canglang; the Supreme Perfected Lady of the Southern Peak, Director of Destinies (that is, Lady Wei; because she recounts her own experiences, her surname is not used); Lady Jiang of the Western Peak, Dao-Mother of the Eight Spirits; the Supreme Perfected Lady Wei of the Eastern Palace; Lady Li of Zhaoling on the Fangzhang Terrace; Consort An of Ninefold Flower in the Upper Palace of Ziqing; Consort Guan, Upper Consort of the Beijue Terrace of Zhuling; the Supreme Perfected Lady Shan of the Northern Peak; the Lady of the Western Han; and Lady Du of Changling.

The commentary notes that Youying was the elder sister of Ziwei and should have been placed earlier, yet is now listed later, which shows that immortal ranks are subject to rise and fall.

Madam of the Western Han and Madam Du of Changling (The above are names of female immortals; all those listed are female Perfected.)

The fifteen female Perfected above sit facing east, arranged in order from north to south. Although this account does not record the month or day, nor is the exact year known, because the ranks and hierarchy of the Perfected are fixed, they are listed first. The phrase “said to be exalted,” placed before the names of the Perfected listed afterward, corresponds to today’s honorary titles and forms of address.

On the night of the twenty-first day of the sixth month, Dinglu (an immortal official in charge of records and the verification of immortal registers) descended and asked how Xu Changshi (that is, Xu Mi, an important transmitter of the Eastern Jin Shangqing tradition; Changshi was his official post) wished to seek the Great Dao. Xu Mi replied that he would cultivate diligently with wholehearted sincerity. Dinglu then said: formerly Zhao Shutai and Wang Shiqing also claimed to be resolute in aspiration and devoted to learning, but in the end they failed to satisfy expectations and were summoned away by Beiming Gongfu (a subordinate office in the Fengdu palace; Fengdu is the netherworld divine bureau). This was the sixth month of the yichou year (the third year of Xingning of the Eastern Jin, 365 CE). Before this, there is only a letter bestowed by Dinglu on Xu Changshi on the fifteenth day of the sixth month, discussing the Maoshan matter. Further back there is one more transmitted instruction, with no month or day recorded, preserved in Volume 4; beyond these there are no earlier records.

Beiming Gongfu is an office in the Fengdu palace. In former times the transmitter traveled to the Celestial Ford and gathered flowering herbs at the Red Mound; at that time his fame and numinous qi were both manifest, yet he was stained by dust—this is the origin of the Maoshan matter. What is said here should refer to the descent to Huaqiao (Huaqiao Mountain, a place of cultivation); the wording is brief, but it carries deep meaning. The cultivator shone in the beautiful mountains, and his lofty words reached the clouds. He believed that wherever the mysterious sound extended, nothing was blocked; bathing in numinous waves, he truly hoped to share glory with all things. Yet his enterprise could not yet proceed smoothly; he wandered among the mountain peaks and pursued leisurely interests. Only then did he awaken: where words meet, little of the mysterious Dao remains. Thus the Buddhist sound (here used for heterodox voices), before it could unfold, turned away and returned to silence.

The mysterious blade is impartial; it turns the bright mirror and withdraws into the real realm. If one takes the cloud wall as a path and advances straight ahead, imagining oneself rising above the crowd, then bows inward in self-reflection and becomes free and at ease, with movement and stillness both resonating with hidden recluses—this is what we jointly admire and sigh over. The circumstances seen in the past and the mutual understanding between us have always been deep and sincere.

Your letter says: “I have respectfully examined what the sage recorded: the deeds are profound and mysterious; golden slips and plain characters are inscribed thereon, and the green register is mysteriously fixed. Thus one transcends the dusty world and roams free in Ziyang (the Shangqing paradise). How serene and far-reaching, how subtle and truly precious! If this can be achieved, one is a person who has attained the Dao; please use this as an analogy.” It also says: “The ladder to attaining the Dao lies in sharpening the spirit, quietly disciplining oneself for two nights, and cleansing the sincere heart in order to seek the Dao. In this way, the Great Dao is already very near. Yet the questions and answers of deep night should be attended to with single-minded effort; afterward one can knot the Heavenly Net with the hands, tread the Numinous Net with the feet, let the mind roam in the Great Void, and see the Cavern Chamber (the inner vista chamber within the cultivator’s body) with the eyes—one need not wait long. If the five emotions churn like waves and the three hun-souls drift apart and escape, then the three Perfected will dance with swords, and the Yellow Gate will open of itself. In all this one must strive; how can one not do one’s utmost! How can one not do one’s utmost!”

Vernacular Interpretation

On the night of the twenty-second day of the sixth month, at the cock-crow hour, (Perfected Ziyang) descended in writing and transmitted [teachings]. This was the will of Perfected Ziyang.

The above two entries were recorded by the Changshi (Chief Clerk).

Perfected Qingling discoursed on the Baoshen Jing and other matters. The cultivation practices described here are transcribed in scroll three and are not repeated here.

Lady Ziwei descended in writing and transmitted [teachings]; this was the will of Perfected Ziyang.

The above two entries were recorded by the Changshi.

Perfected Qingling discoursed on the Baoshen Jing and other matters. The cultivation practices described here are transcribed in scroll three and are not repeated here.

Lady Ziwei descended in writing; the content is as follows (omitted). This matter is also seen in scroll three.

In the third year of the Xingning era, the year being Yichou, on the night of the twenty-third day of the sixth month, [the Perfected] descended in writing here. That same night, the assembled Perfected first spoke, saying: Many people in the world have dull ears and eyes and wish to request this method. That very night there were those who descended and at once manifested instructions. This is Lord Yang’s (Yang Xi’s) own account. The Changshi was already sixty years old, and his ears and eyes were gradually failing, so he came to inquire and request instruction; Yang Xi was unwilling to criticize him directly, and therefore attributed the words to “various people.”

They further announced: Among those who cultivate the Dao there are some with heavy ears (diminished hearing), and so on. This matter is also seen in scroll three.

The above entry was spoken by Perfected Qingling.

The Perfected announced: Combing the hair and cutting it should not be done too often. This matter is also seen in scroll three. “Those with heavy ears,” and so on—this matter is also seen in scroll three.

The above entry was spoken by Perfected Qingling.

The Perfected announced: Combing the hair and cutting it should not be done too often. This matter is also seen in scroll three.

The above entry was spoken by Lady Ziwei.

That night, the Perfected who first descended, just after entering the door and before taking a seat, said of his own accord that tonight the sound of the waves was like thunder. The disciple asked the reason, and he replied, “Just now I saw great waves in the Eastern Sea, that is all.” (Here “disciple” is Lord Yang’s self-reference.)

The above entry was spoken by the Lady of the Southern Peak.

They further announced: Do you loathe blood? The answer was: I truly loathe it. They asked again: If there is blood on the road, and you loathe it, how will you walk? The answer was: I would simply avoid it. They said again: Avoiding it is good, but it is best not to see it with the eyes at all.

The above entry was spoken by the Lady of the Southern Peak.

From this point on, the various Perfected merely conversed together.

Note: In the original, “yunyun” (“and so on”) is an ancient convention for omitting quoted content, indicating that specific details are omitted here; I have retained it as is and have not added anything on my own. In the original, “yushu” refers to texts transmitted by spirits through the descending brush; “Changshi” refers to Xu Mi (or the recorder at the time); “Lord Yang” is Yang Xi, the principal figure in the Zhengao’s records of the descent of the Perfected. The original is fragmentary or abridged in many places; this interpretation merely gives a plain paraphrase of the extant text.

There is also a statement: the Baoshen Jing was a book in the brocade satchel of Pei Qingling (Pei Qingling, a cultivator who received instruction from Lady Ziwei). Pei Qingling replied: one should simply avoid it. Another account says: it is best to avoid it, and so it is better that the eyes do not see it at all.

The above was spoken by the Lady of the Southern Peak (Wei Huacun, a female Perfected venerated by the Shangqing school of Daoism).

From this point on, the Perfected conversed directly with one another.

Another account says: the Baoshen Jing was a book in Pei Qingling’s brocade satchel, constantly carried on the person by attendants. Pei Qingling formerly received this book from Lady Ziwei; I also have a copy, and both were transcribed from the fixed edition in the Western Palace.

When asked where the Western Palace was, the reply was: it is the terrace pavilion above the northern altar of Xuanpu (a wonderland on Mount Kunlun) and the Western Yao; all the precious writings of the heavenly Perfected are stored there.

The above was spoken by the Lady of the Southern Peak.

The Perfected Pei also said: this book belongs to the same category as the Yinshu (Hidden Book); its contents are concise and can be used immediately for cultivation. It is also called the Qixuan Yinshu (Seven Mysteries Hidden Book). The above is what the two gentlemen completed transmitting and receiving on the second day.

The Lady of the Southern Peak told me: the Left Lady of Ziwei, surnamed Wang, taboo name Qing’e, courtesy name Yuyi, is the twentieth daughter of the Lady Mother (the Queen Mother of the West). She guards Mount Yuye Xuanlong and is chiefly responsible for instructing those who are to attain the rank of Perfected.

The preceding item was transmitted on the night before this. This item is precisely what Ziyang (Yang Xi) related on the night of the twenty-second. On that same night there was also supposed to be a great event of verification; the phrase in the later text, “sound and qi descend,” likewise refers to this night. Yang Xi later recorded the matter retrospectively in greater detail and placed it among the examples for the twenty-second day; hence the phrase “on the night before this.”

The above came from Qingling; there are twelve items in all, copied by the Chief Secretary (Changshi).

On the night of the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, Lady Wang of Ziwei descended. When she had come down to the ground, he asked: “Since true spirits descend into people of dust and turbidity, yet their hands and feet have never themselves written anything, is it probably because the realms are so far apart in high and low, and near and far differ, that they cannot be seen? I venture to ask; I hope you will instruct this ignorant person.” The Lady then had him sit down again and straightway imparted her teaching. Her reply is recorded as follows:

This was an account given by Yang Jun (Yang Xi, the principal medium of the revelations recorded in the Zhen’gao), and most similar cases are like this. That profound, remote, empty, and unfathomable realm has no path by which it can be sought; words issue from the void and have no solid object on which to depend. It drifts and wanders, changing and hiding in an instant, never lingering. Both states float and sink in the dark obscurity, shift and transform in stillness; thus they roam without support, let the wind stir them, and go forward as though lodged in an empty boat. Therefore, within the solid there is emptiness, within emptiness there is being, and within being there are formless images.

As for writing down shallow and proximate revelations, this is done by borrowing paper and bamboo slips, wielding the brush to give them shape; the patterns of the text are evident and coarsely attach to the outside. The mysterious brush-and-ink thereby shines forth, and the essential nature becomes visible through it, while the hidden literary luster remains concealed and unexposed. It is transmitted through dusty, turbid forms. If one rashly exposed a thing possessing a physical frame and had it come and go in dealings with the world, above it would defile the chanting of the realm of transcendent truth, and below it would impair the prohibition that keeps humans and spirits apart. This too is what we do not practice and what the spiritual law does not permit.

Now allow me to state the origin of writing. At the first creation of characters and formation of texts, it was exactly when the Five Colors first sprouted and the patterns of writing had just been delineated; civilization stood out brightly among the people, and Yin-Yang were thereby distinguished. Thereupon came writings such as the Sanyuan Bahui (Three Prime Eight Convocations), a mysterious ancient script of Daoist legend, the books of the flying heavens of the many directions, and bright-light chapters such as the Eight Dragons Cloud Seal, the divine seal script of Daoism.

Thereafter, in the age of the Two Sovereigns (Erhuang; referring to Fuxi, Shennong, and other ancient sage-kings), they elaborated the “Eight Conventions’ Script” (Bahui zhi wen; the eight ancient scripts used by the ancient immortals), created seal-script forms resembling dragons and phoenixes, further simplified the traces of Cloud Seal (Yunzhuan; the cloud-vapor seal script used in Fulu, talismans and registers), and imitated the forms of Brahmi script (Fanshu; Indian writing). Thereupon writing was divided in two: the true script was broken and simplicity was followed, and arrangements were made according to root and branch, forming sixty-four script styles that spread through the Thirty-Six Heavens and throughout the ten directions, above and below. Each place selected its own categories for use; although the sounds of the characters and the texts were broadly the same, the written traces had become separated and differed from one another.

Comparing and discussing them, the books of the Eight Conventions are the most true among writings and the ancestral source of literature; the Cloud Seal of Bright Light is that from which they fundamentally issue, and only with it did writing come to be. The present books of the Three Primes and Eight Conventions are the script used by the Highest Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) Perfected and the Pure Immortals; the chapters of the Cloud Seal of Bright Light are precisely the characters seen today on the talismanic writings of spirits and deities.

When the age of Hua Ji (the degenerate final age) arrived, there arose the invention of new forms that confounded the true; people vied in crafting clever falsehoods and pursued shortcuts. What they wrote were all vulgar, turbid, chaotic characters and lewd, aberrant graphs; abandoning the source and imitating forgeries, they became so foul as to approach the realm of death.

Why would true immortals abandon the fundamental script and with their own hands write lewd, inferior characters? Those who can become Perfected are able to realize the true in all that they do; how could it be that when the ills of the degenerate worldly age arose, they instead failed to hold fast to the original truth, were unwilling to change, and would not relinquish it?

When a person in the world is first one skilled in writing and capable in affairs, once he attains true immortality, the transformations of those outer scripts will also recede with him and naturally return to the original truth; the true matter is then right at hand and no longer discarded. Now, having first obtained the turbid scripts, one only afterward studies the higher texts and then comes to know the true script anew. The ghost path is likewise so, except that in the written characters there are some minor differences.

In taking up the brush this time, I originally did not dare to deliver directly into mortal hands the writings set down by the numinous brush and the true hand. Even if there were people then who had attained the Dao, so long as they had not yet transcended the dusty world, they too would not dare personally put brush to paper and copy them into a book, lest these true texts be exposed amid worldly writing. Those talismanic patterns and divine tracings (mysterious Fulu—talismans and registers—and diagrams), whether sought or worn, all arise spontaneously from the source. The reason is that people of the world are inherently unable to grasp their threads, and it is also not fitting for us to make them completely public; therefore their meaning is deliberately concealed, letting people fathom it for themselves in the obscure and hidden, so that inner and outer naturally corroborate each other.

There is also the Siji mingke (Four Poles Luminous Code), whose prohibitions concerning the “Gaoshang” (Most High) likewise do not wish us to write it as an ordinary worldly book.

Since I have already taken up the brush, you certainly cannot understand it all; where else will you go? Would repeated writing not be cumbersome? This matter, too, should be secretly weighed as to whether it is permissible. It is probably not worth rejecting; I think it may somewhat ease the breast, and from now on there will be no need to compose it by oneself as with ordinary books.

(Note: This passage is a record of scripture transmission in the Zhen'gao (Declarations of the Perfected). “Shangzhen” (Supreme Perfected) is an honorific for immortals and perfected beings; “Siming” (Director of Destinies) is the divine office in charge of records of human lifespan; the “Lady of Mount Nan” (Nanyue furen) refers to Wei Huacun, a female Daoist of the Eastern Jin, revered in Daoism as the Lady of Mount Nan. “The present writing is as follows” means “now copied according to the content below”; in ancient books, text was written vertically, so “left” refers to the lower part.)

If one lifts the body and flies upward, riding cloud-Qi across the great void, grasping with the hand the heavenly cords (the ropes of the celestial realm), treading upon the Jade Court (the palaces of heaven), and ascending bodily into the palace gates of the Heavenly Emperor. Unrolling the precious book and putting away the cyan bag, above one discusses the Nine Mysteries (Jiuxuan, the nine highest realms of heaven) and transcends worldly norms; below one records the great Dao by which the ten thousand things grow. Thereupon one’s expression becomes solemn, light and shadow flash like lightning, a thousand rosy clouds blaze, and the true words, like mysterious waves, are proclaimed aloud in the Jade Clarity realm (Yuqing, the highest realm revered by the Shangqing school). Then one stirs the vermilion lips, emits flowing clear sounds, circulates the Jing-Qi of the sun, and gives forth clear, resonant tones. Thereupon one breathes out light and flame, disperses the mist and smoke, sets the music of metal and stone playing, plucks the jade chimes; the calls of luan birds are harmonious, and the singing of phoenixes is wondrous.

If one merely accords with this scene, lowers the body and turns downward, returns again to the dusty world, mingles in polluted halls, moves about among markets and temple halls, and instructs disciples in order to bring “true talent” (the capacity for cultivating the Dao) to completion, then the lingering echoes of the jade chimes cease, and the clear bell tones are suppressed. The eyes are obscured by the Five Turbidities (the five pollutions of the dusty world), the body is sunk in the chamber of worldly faults, the spirit is worn out, foul stench fills the nostrils, and one can only hold one’s breath. Thus the orchid-like clear sounds are sealed within the primal Qi of the Central Plain, and the wondrous tones of metal and stone can only withdraw, giving out faint echoes.

The characteristic of Shen (spirit) is this: though words are subtle, they can convey over a thousand li; once the wondrous rhythm is resonated with, there is no obstruction. Therefore, once the true principle becomes clear, when one hears things from afar, the Dao appears high and remote, hard to attain. Uncut jade that is not polished does not reveal its luster; for this reason, only humble sorts of hearing arise.

Now your mental awakening has already reached a considerable level, yet you still give rise to doubtful thoughts: outwardly you observe the responses of conventional custom, inwardly you harbor hesitant understanding—why is this? If you did not take affairs as weighty, you would already have transcended this. What matters is to concentrate single-mindedly on cultivating the Dao and studying the mysterious and wondrous; once the wondrous Dao is obtained, high and low sounds will naturally become distinct and clear.

This is not what should be sought. You should reflect more, dispel these distracting thoughts, and be sure to be cautious.

The final note, “The three entries above are in Yang’s handwriting,” means that these several passages were recorded in Yang Xi’s own hand.

On the night of the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, the Lady of the Southern Marchmount (Nanyue Furen, the Daoist female immortal Wei Huacun) descended and bestowed scriptures, commanding me to transcribe this passage. Earlier, at dusk on the twenty-second, several people were in another room discussing the principles of the Dao. Lady Ziwei (Ziwei Furen, a Daoist female immortal) and the Lady of the Southern Marchmount had different voices and manners of speech, and those present could not understand the meaning in them. Today she deliberately bestowed this passage in order to resolve the doubts in the minds of those who had discussed the Dao together. When the Lady first came to bestow the scripture, her expression and vital energy were not yet calm; only after she had finished bestowing it did she return to normal. This disciple only felt that her expression was somewhat unsettled; apart from that, there is nothing else to say. This entry is also an account recorded by Lord Chang himself (Changjun; his life remains unknown).

That same night, the Lady of the Southern Marchmount said to the disciple: Tomorrow I will go to the Qingxu Palace on Wangwu Mountain (a famous Daoist mountain, located in the present-day Jiyuan area of Henan), so that you may know where I am going.

Later that same night she also said: The western end of Tongbai Mountain east of the sea (in the present-day Tongbai area of Henan) has just collapsed for more than two hundred zhang.

Lady Wang of Ziwei said: How can the thoughts of worldly people attain truth and completeness in every matter? It is not necessary to provide an answer to everything in order to satisfy their minds. The Lady of the Southern Marchmount said: This was merely a joke. I wanted to make their resolve firm and also to make matters clear and true.

In the third year of Xingning, the year being Yichou, on the night of the twenty-fifth day of the sixth month, this was the beginning of the descent of Anfei (Consort An). Because the recorded material forms a separate scroll, the year and month are set out anew here as the opening of the chapter.

(Note: The third year of Xingning is the Xingning reign period of Emperor Ai of the Eastern Jin, that is, 365 CE; Yichou is a year in the stem-branch cycle.)

Lady Wang of Ziwei manifested and descended, and at the same time a divine woman arrived together with her. This divine woman wore an upper garment made of cloud brocade, purple above and blue-green below, with bright and vivid patterns. Around her waist was tied an embroidered green sash, from which hung more than ten small bells, blue-green and yellow, arranged in alternating order. On her left she wore jade ornaments, similar in style to those worn in the human world, only somewhat smaller. Her garments drifted lightly, and their radiance illuminated the whole room, bright as mica seen in sunlight.

Her hair was black and thick, combed into perfect order, with a topknot coiled at the very center of her crown, while the remaining hair hung down to her waist. She wore gold rings on her fingers and white strings of beads wound around her arms. She looked about thirteen or fourteen years old.

To the left and right of the divine woman were two attendant maids. One was dressed in red, wore at her waist a blue-green seal pouch, and held in her hand a brocade bag about one chi and two or three cun long, used for holding scrolls. There were about ten or more scrolls, and the mouth of the brocade bag was fastened with a white jade tag; the tag was inscribed with the title The Jade Clarity Divine Tiger Inner Perfected Purple Prime Elixir Chapter (Yuqing Shenhu Neizhen Ziyuan Danzhang). The other attendant maid was dressed in blue-green and held a white box bound with crimson cords; it resembled a box made of ivory. The two attendants looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, and their clothing and grooming were very neat and refined.

The faces of the divine woman and her attendants were bright, beautiful, and pure, their skin lustrous as jade, and they gave off a rich fragrance, like the scent wafting from burning incense. The “xiangying” mentioned here is a kind of aromatic produced in foreign lands.

When the divine woman and the others first entered the door, they walked behind Lady Ziwei. As soon as the Lady entered the door, she told everyone, “Today an honored guest has come, to meet and discourse with you on the Dao.” Thereupon “Mou” immediately rose. The Lady said, “There is no need to rise; simply wait outside.” When the divine woman and the others first entered the door, they walked behind Lady Ziwei.

(Note: Lady Wang of Ziwei, namely Lady Ziwei, is a Shangqing female immortal recorded in Tao Hongjing’s Zhen’gao (Declarations of the Perfected); “Mou” refers to the recipient of the scriptures recorded by Tao Hongjing, a cultivator such as Xu Mi. The original uses “Mou” as a substitute name to observe taboo.)

When I had just entered the door, Lady Ziwei told me, “A distinguished guest is coming today; she wishes to meet you and form a bond with you.” I rose at once. The Lady said, “There is no need to rise. Let everyone be seated; simply exchange greetings.” The Lady sat facing south, and I first took my seat at the lower side of the chengchuang (a type of seating couch), facing west. The divine woman then appeared, came to the couch, and sat with me facing east; each of us saluted with the left hand. After the greetings, Lady Ziwei said, “She is the youngest daughter of Lady Li of the Golden Terrace, Supreme Perfected Primordial Lady of the Great Void (a high-ranking deity of the celestial realm). In early years, the Primordial Lady of the Great Void sent her to Guishan (Turtle Mountain, a legendary place of Daoist cultivation) to study the Shangqing Dao (the cultivation methods of the Shangqing tradition). After her Daoist work was accomplished, she received Daoist scriptures from Taishang (the Supreme Lord, referring to the highest deity) and was conferred the title Perfected Consort Jiuhua of the Purple Clarity Upper Palace.” She was then given the surname An, the name Yubin, and the courtesy name Lingxiao.

Lady Ziwei then asked me, “Have you ever seen such a person in the world?” I replied, “This venerable spirit is so pure, lofty, and beautiful that words cannot compare.” The Lady laughed when she heard this and asked, “What do you think of her?” I did not answer again. The Purple Clarity Perfected Consort sat for a long time without saying a word. In her hand she had been holding three jujubes; their color was like that of dried jujubes, but their shape was large. They had no pits inside and no jujube flavor; instead they tasted like pears. The Perfected Consort first gave one to me, then one to Lady Ziwei, and kept one for herself, and had each of us eat one. After we had finished and some time had passed, the Perfected Consort asked me my age and the month of my birth. I answered, “I am thirty-six years old, born in the ninth month of the gengyin year.” The Perfected Consort then said, “Your teacher, Lady Nanzhen, oversees the registers of human destiny. She holds authority in her hands, and her Daoist attainment is deep and complete; she is truly a model of excellent virtue. I have long heard of your fine reputation and never expected that today, through a fortuitous meeting of causes and conditions, I would be able to see you. I am very glad. I hope that in the hidden gatherings of destiny we may still form a bond like that of usnea twining around the pine (usnea is a plant that grows clinging to pine trees; here it figures a bond of affection).”

I answered by giving my name: I am mired in the dust of the world, my body defiled by worldly impurity; the immortal realm where you dwell is far removed from me, and I have no lot to serve you with reverence. I am favored by your condescending descent; I am overjoyed and at a loss what to do. I only hope you will grant instruction and teaching, dispel the darkness in my heart, and bring salvation to this multitude of beings—this is what I have hoped for day and night.

Zhenfei (the female immortal in the Zhen’gao, Declarations of the Perfected) said: You need not be excessively modest and ceremonious in your speech now; such polite and deferential words are really out of place.

After a long while, Zhenfei told me that she wished to write a piece to present to me, borrowing my brush to express her feelings—would that be acceptable? I agreed to comply. So I spread out paper and moistened the brush fully; Zhenfei dictated, and I recorded as she went. The poem was as follows:

The immortal palace in the clouds hangs high above the void, and jade terraces rise in tiers. The Ziwei Palace borrows the emerald-green light; within the numinous observatory immortal Qi is dense, and the towers are lofty. In chambers adorned with langgan jade and in vermilion rooms, the person of supreme De is radiantly illuminated by crimson clouds. Bending the head, one drinks immortal liquid from a cloud bottle; raising the head, one plucks jade-green nai blossoms. One washes one’s feet in the Jade Heaven Pool and rows a boat on the River of the Herd Boy. Then one drives the chariot of auspicious clouds, halts by the bank of the dark great river, and lays down the dragon reins. Shaking out one’s garments at the defiled places of the dusty world and lifting one’s lower garment, one walks among the turbid waves. I wish to form with you a bond like the communication between mountain and marsh, with hardness and softness complementing each other, harmonious and concordant. Hand in hand in the realm of Double Purity, we take the Dao of the Highest Perfected as our home and do not follow crooked paths. In the Ziwei Palace we deliberate together on good plans; reciting and chanting, receiving and accepting, the blessings enjoyed are many.

After I finished writing, I took it and looked it over. Zhenfei said: Today I present this to you to express my sincere heart; there is no need for more polite words. If there is anything you do not understand in your heart, there will naturally be subtle guidance.

The Lady of Purple Subtlety said, "I have come again because you wrote out a sheet of text—only to make good deeds manifest." I spread out paper once more and wet the brush with ink, whereupon the Lady transmitted a poem:

The two images of Yin-Yang divide within and without;
the mysterious Qi indeed separates into clear and turbid.
We meet in the unseen; no need to wait for carriage and team—
where one dwells is where the true Dao is.
The Southern Marchmount smelts the luminous gold;
gazing afar at the immortal realm, I overturn the book chest,
and the colored clouds, bearing auspicious vapors, cast their light,
so that I am stirred by the celestial immortals.

The Lady then transmitted another poem:

Riding the swift wind I come,
sleep beside you and bring crimson clouds.
I am moved by the meeting of Heaven and human;
within destiny there is naturally affinity.
If one cultivates the Dao with sincerity and without deviation,
the dust and defilement of the world will not cling.
What we see is the same scene;
loudly I sing, composed for you.

After it was written, the Lady of Purple Subtlety took it and read it, saying, "I give this to you. From now on you are the host of this karmic bond of ours and the master who harmonizes our hearts in response." She also said, "Tomorrow the Lady of the Southern Marchmount will return; the Perfected Consort and I will welcome her together at Yuntao. If she does not return tomorrow, it will have to be delayed a few more days."

After a long while, the Lady of Purple Subtlety said, "I must go now; tomorrow I will come with the Perfected Consort to visit you." When I awoke, I found that after she had gotten down from the bed she had already vanished. The Perfected Consort lingered a little behind and said, "The unseen bond of affection is not yet ended, and the heart has not forgotten it; I only want you to savor this bond as we do. I will come again tomorrow." With that she took my hand, got down from the bed herself, and before she had gone out the door, suddenly disappeared.

On the evening of the twenty-sixth day of the sixth month, the Perfected sent the following list of names: Lady Wang of Purple Subtlety; the Perfected Consort of Nine Radiances of the Purple Clarity Upper Palace; the Lady of the Southern Marchmount, Director of Destinies among the Supreme Perfected (that is, Wei Huacun; the "so-and-so" in "Master So-and-so" here is the scribe, in fact Yang Xi, whose name has been concealed); the Perfected of Purple Yang; Lord Mao the Middle (one of the three Lords of the Mao family); the Perfected of Pure Spirit; and Lord Mao the Younger (one of the three Lords of the Mao family).

(Note: "Lord Yang" in the text refers to Yang Xi, the principal figure who received the descending spirits and recorded the Zhen'gao (Declarations of the Perfected); here he conceals his own name out of modesty or taboo.)

There was a very young man whose appearance and bearing were extremely proper. He wore a lotus crown (the headpiece of a Daoist priest) and garments of vermilion, with white pearls sewn along the seams; a sword hung at his waist. I had never seen him before. After he arrived, he spoke at length about Jinting Mountain (one of the thirty-six Dongtian, or cave-heavens, of Daoism, in the present-day Shengzhou area of Zhejiang) and also conversed with the various Zhenren (Perfected). There was another person whose identity was difficult to ascertain, who bowed in salute to the three female Zhenren Ziwei, Ziqing, and Nanzhen. The others merely engaged in ordinary conversation. Some said he was Wang Ziqiao, the Zhenren of Tongbai Mountain (Wang Zijin, son of King Ling of Zhou, who according to legend had attained the Dao and become an immortal), but he did not speak with me. Previously, the Zhenren who had first come to pay their respects at the descent had also, at that time, simply not taken the initiative to speak with me.

Everyone sat in their places for a long while. The one believed to be Wang Ziqiao, the Zhenren of Tongbai Mountain, never spoke with me at all. In addition, the Zhenren who successively came at first to pay their respects at the descent also did not take the initiative to speak with me at the time.

The Purple Clarity Perfected Consort (Ziqing Zhenfei) said: “I should like to trouble the enlightened lord once more to take up his brush and record one matter—using words to convey the meaning and then forget the words; may I?” Thereupon I again spread out paper and awaited her command. The Perfected Consort then slowly dictated in a low voice:

“I am the youngest daughter of the Primordial Lady (Yuanjun), and the beloved daughter of Lady Li of the Great Void (Taixu; this refers to Lady Li, while Taixu is an honorific title for an immortal office such as Perfected One of the Great Void). In the beginning, at the Tortoise Terrace (a legendary place where immortals cultivate the Dao), I began to study the true Dao; in the High Above (the highest heaven) I received the Jade Chapters (immortal talismanic writings); at the Purple Emperor (a high deity of the heavens) I received the Tiger Register (a register of heavenly divine offices); before the Heavenly Emperor I held the Qiongtie (a precious immortal token); and from the Consort of Highest Perfection I received written instructions, and thereby was able to roam in Jade Clarity, one of the highest heavens of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing).

I often rested my hand upon the door, wore nine-fold gauze as my adornment, and trod the Mysterious Chamber (a deep dwelling in the immortal realm), my form transforming into numinous emptiness; raising my head, I drew in the Root of the Sun (the essence of the sun). Entering the Seven Gates of the banquet, when I came forth I drove a cloud chariot, commanding the Three Luminaries (sun, moon, and stars) to rise together, sending forth radiant clouds, and soaring on a flying carriage.

It is not that I could not choose a companion in the upper chambers, nor that I could not seek out the Purple Youths (heavenly youths); to seek a fine match in the royal palace, to form a paired companion with a being of high spirit, to make covenant with the mysterious and wondrous and draw them in as extraordinary friends, or to befriend the Emperor’s youth—all these too would have been possible. Only I follow the heavenly mechanism, grasp the timing and opportunity, and accord with the cycles and numbers of Heaven and Earth; looking down upon the turbidity of the dusty world, I take my place in the dragon carriage and descend into the human realm, summoning the heroes of the dark realm and seeking only a companion of matching Dao.

From the time a bond from a former life joined us together, there was the Ink Covenant (a covenant recorded in ink) to fix our names and status, and the Plain Covenant (a longstanding pact) reached mutual agreement in the Jade Land, so that together we govern the blessings of both realms. We brought geese as we proceeded, shared wine from gourd goblets, and as the libation smoke curled upward, we tied our garments in friendship, mindful of the merits of fellow Daoists, while inwardly concealing the true method.”

Continuing this practice onward, one’s name is registered and fixed in the Azure Register of the Upper Prime. Thus the discriminating mind that divides good from evil and fair from foul has already subsided, and one’s fondness for external conditions has been restrained. When one’s wishes are fulfilled, one may roam free and unfettered; even in joy one still accords with the intention of former times—is this not to be secretly in harmony with nature? What is spoken of here is the great principle of Yin-Yang, the two images; it is merely the respective duties that inner and outer each undertake, and is truly not meant for… (the original repeats here, with much the same meaning as above).

Condense passionate thoughts, render the blade’s edge empty, and with the spiritual knife cut away the seven kinds of entanglement; abandon worldly attachments and return to Taishu (the undifferentiated primordial Qi, vital energy), preserve the true nature, and open the Jade Chamber. This is what is called “Single Radiance, Eight Emptiness” (Danjing Bakong).

Shen (spirit) and Qi are clear, still, high, and far; breath rises into the flowing empyrean, causing the phoenix to cry on the cloud road and the dragon to sing while the tiger roars. The Heavenly Sovereign’s twin effulgences (the essences of sun and moon) ascend far to the Star Tower; flying stars scatter radiance, and sun and moon illumine the body. The mouth exhales subtle vapor, the eyes burst with lightning; above, one rests in the Jasper Chamber (the immortal chamber), circulates in Yuqing (Jade Purity, the upper immortal realm), grasps luminous clouds in hand, and sets foot in the Golden Court (the immortal realm).

If at this moment, right at the juncture of attaining the Dao (the Way), one is to make inner and outer both exhausted, firm as metal and stone, with affectionate thoughts entwined in the mutual fondness of the two parties—is it merely that minds unite within the curtain? Or must one embrace beneath the quilts, tightly join, with contact that is light or heavy, thereby defiling the seven spirits and making the grieving hun-soul and po-soul suffer?

I (this female immortal) seek to form a marriage bond with the enlightened lord, with no improper thoughts. Now that your aspirations have been fulfilled and your heart is sincere, and our feelings have already come into accord, it is right that we should become companions and drive a four-horse immortal carriage together to Yuxu (Jade Void: the jade-like immortal palace in heaven). Together we shall pick crimson fruits (jiangshi: red immortal fruits) in Yupu (Jade Garden: the immortal garden of Kunlun), gather danhua (cinnabar blossoms: cinnabar-colored numinous flowers of the immortal realm) in Langyuan (Lang Garden: the immortal park of Kunlun), share and drink immortal water in the Zichuan (Purple River: a river of the immortal realm), and bathe together on the banks of the Bihe (Jade River: an immortal river). Draped in a purple-flower feathered cloak (a feather robe woven from purple immortal flowers) and wearing a sun-diadem lotus crown (an immortal crown adorned with sunlight and made of lotus), we shall roam at ease in Shangqing (Highest Clarity: one of the highest Daoist heavens) and together pay homage to the Three Primes (Sanyuan: the qi of the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water). The Eight Effulgences (Bajing: the essences of celestial light such as the sun, moon, and stars) will appear, and the phoenix doors and cloud gates (the portals of the immortal realm, with phoenixes as doors and cloud qi as gates) will open. Looking up, we shall drink golden marrow (jinsui: the numinous liquid so called by immortals) and chant Yuxuan (Jade Mystery: the secret and wondrous poems of the immortals). We shall float and rest in the air; at the great assembly of Taichen (Great Dawn: a high celestial immortal realm), the Four Harmonies (Sijun: four kinds of immortal music) will sing out in unison, and the Incense Mother (Xiangmu: the deity in charge of incense in the immortal realm) will play music of mist and smoke. We shall put our heads together and gaze together, join hands and intertwine our skirts—is this not joyful? Is it not the fulfillment of aspiration? If the enlightened lord complies with heavenly destiny and follows this opportunity, I will certainly not decline. Moreover, I cannot turn away from the real and return to obscurity; I simply follow what my heart desires.

When the conferral of the book was finished, I took it and read it through once myself, and said: “Now I present this book to you, hoping it may slightly dispel the doubts lingering in your heart.” Having spoken, I smiled.

After a long while, Lady Ziwei (Lady Purple Subtlety: an immortal of the Shangqing tradition) said: “The True Consort’s words have been fully expressed, and her discussion of the bond of affection and love is already clear. You need not decline again; this is the arrangement of mysterious destiny in the unseen.

When Lady Nanyue (Lady of Mount Nan: Wei Huacun, founder of the Shangqing tradition) conferred the book, she said: “The hidden appointed time responds to destiny, and the mysterious course accords; you should come to make betrothal inquiries and newly form a bond of destiny. This is a beautiful matter that guides a Perfected person; generally it is but establishing the name of spouse and determining the duties within and without. You need not follow the corrupt and defiled customs of the world and perform lewd, turbid, and base acts. In connecting with the spirit consort and betrothing a noble and true maiden, in your close association there will also be great benefit for progress in cultivation, and no anxiety of harm or severance.”

The assembled gods may now let you attempt to view them, but they can no longer be described one by one. The Perfected Banner will surely be able to proceed, and Yungeng (the name of a carriage) will surely be able to ride with you. I previously conveyed this intention on your behalf through Lady Ziwei (the female immortal venerated in the Shangqing tradition, Wei Huacun), and now at last it has turned out as wished. I am very pleased; do not let doubt remain in your heart. Yesterday in the Qingxu Realm I saw Lady Li of the Golden Terrace. She said that you still have doubts and that your mind is not upright enough, and that your expression showed a slight look of resentful displeasure (the term liangliang describes a resentful, unhappy manner). If you go against this arrangement, you will greatly mislead others. The Shenhu Neizhen Danqing Yuwen (Divine Tiger Inner Perfection Cinnabar-Green Jade Text) kept by the Perfected Consort is not something people of your kind can possess; but since people of learning and talent come seeking to copy it, it should not be concealed. Today, as we join hands with one another, is it merely to discuss writings? You will surely ride the Jingxiao and depart. If there are still those who have not understood, you should make some inquiries and determine whether it is feasible. The Perfected Consort read Lady Li’s letter and said with a smile: “Hand in hand we ascend the Double Terrace, rejoicing and praising this wonderful gathering; the Jingping (a curtained carriage) shares the same mechanism and drives abreast; here we are all made equal.”

Note on the title: “Zhengao, Fascicle One, Concluded” indicates that the first fascicle ends here. “Zhengao, Fascicle Two” is the second fascicle; its attributed author is Tao Hongjing, National Preceptor of Liang, Perfected Person Zhenbai, Recluse of Huayang, and its chapter title is “Yunxiang, Part Two.”

The Qingxu Zhenren (Perfected of Pure Emptiness), transmitting the scriptures, said: The Huangchi Dao (Yellow-Red Way, a cultivation method centered on sexual union between men and women) and the method of blending Qi were a technique that Zhang Ling (Zhang Daoling, founder of the Tianshi Dao in the Eastern Han) received as teaching and used to spread the Dao and heal illness. They can only be counted as a minor method of the procreative kind, not something that Perfected beings ought to do. I have often seen practitioners of this method cut off their descendants, but I have never seen anyone gain vitality from it. Among a hundred people, almost all will receive punishment from the Three Officials (Sanguan, the Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water, who oversee human good and evil and record faults); among ten million, now and then one may luckily succeed in the practice, but that amounts only to prolonging life far enough to avoid death. Zhang Ling merely used this to teach and transform the people of the world; his own later transformation and ascent no longer involved practicing it. You must be careful in speech, and must not take the inferior methods of this turbid world as the higher Dao and practice them alongside it. To harbor lust in the heart, to visualize sexual forms in contemplation, and yet still wish to attend to the higher Dao—this precisely invites the examination and punishment of the Three Officials. It is like carrying fine jade into fire, or using a golden coffin to bury a dog: it is completely contrary to the right Dao. Visualization by means of sexual forms is called “Huangchi”; the higher Dao is called the “Yinshu” (Hidden Book). The people of the world find it hard to understand, and things have come to this point.

Lady Ziwei, transmitting the scriptures, said: Although the Huangshu Chijie (the secret art on which the Huangchi Dao relies) is a secret essential for long life, in reality it is only an inferior technique for obtaining vitality, not something that the high Perfected of the Upper Palace (the high Perfected of the Shangqing immortal realm), Liuping, Yanjing, and other immortal Perfected can discuss. This method lies only in nurturing and increasing the Qi of life; it is not the higher Dao. If one harbors lust and also practices the Hidden Book, one only makes oneself take up the Water Official’s brush and beat the Three Officials’ drum, bringing punishment upon oneself. The practitioner can neither serve Xuanting (a spirit of the immortal realm) nor hope for Xiexie (removal of faults and release from guilt). In sum, when the mind is upright and chaste, the spiritual immortals will descend; when the mind is single-minded, the spirits will obey one’s command.

When Perfected beings pair with immortal companions, what matters is that they match each other and feel mutual affection between two immortal spirits. Although they are called husband and wife, they do not carry out the reality of husband and wife; they merely borrow this empty name to show to people’s eyes and ears. If thoughts of Huangchi remain in the heart, the Perfected will not appear, and the immortal spirits will not connect with such a person; one only toils uselessly in practice and also brings trouble upon the Three Officials.

At cockcrow, the Lady of the Southern Peak, transmitting the scriptures, said: The cock has already crowed; the discussion of the affinity of immortal-Dao union also ends here.

Ziyang Zhenren (the immortal who descended to transmit scriptures) transmitted a written message: “To labor diligently at managing affairs is also to labor in service of the Three Officials (Sanguan: the Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water, who oversee human good and evil and grant pardon for sins).” At cockcrow, the Lady of Nanyue (the Daoist female immortal Wei Huacun) transmitted a message: “The cock has already crowed; to discuss the causes and conditions of cultivating the Dao shows how deep the affection is.”

Ziyang Zhenren transmitted a message: “Taixu (the Great Void, the vast boundless emptiness) is high and ethereal; the high and the low communicate and connect. To realize the Way of the worthy, one must comprehend it within the obscure transformations, cautiously binding the mind and spirit to the perplexing place between the Yellow and the Red.”

Mao Zhongjun (Mao Ying, one of the Three Mao Perfected of Maoshan) transmitted a message: “Mysterious marks arise when they encounter scenes; bending down, they respond to the cloud Qi of the dusty world. The sound of jade chimes breaks and resumes in the chamber; a pure breeze drifts far away. How could one not exert oneself?”

When the words were finished, the Perfected departed. The Perfected Consort (the Nine Hua Perfected Consort of the Purple Clarity Upper Palace, a female Perfected of the immortal realm) lingered slightly behind and said: “I must again trouble the enlightened lord to speak one more sentence.” Thereupon she transmitted a message:

“Forget the radiance of orchid and white silk; when the mind is unified, it is equal to the principle of concord. Repeatedly drawing near the devout and clear halls, virtue joins with flowing light and shadow. At the time suited for joyful meeting, the pattern naturally becomes manifest; comprehending excellence, one bows down in the realm of crossing into brightness. The noble person is lofty, illumined by spiritual light; even when there is some delay, one can forget what is base.” When she had finished speaking, taking [his] hand, she stepped down from the bed; before she reached the door, she suddenly vanished without a trace.

On the night of the twenty-sixth day of the sixth month, eight Perfected descended: first, Lady Zuo of Ziwei (a female immortal residing in the Ziwei Palace); second, the Nine Hua Perfected Consort of the Purple Clarity Upper Palace; third, the Lady of Nanyue, Director of Destinies among the Upper Perfected; fourth, Ziyang Zhenren; fifth, Qingling Zhenren; sixth, Mao Zhongjun; seventh, Mao Xiaojun (also a Mao Perfected).

There was another person, quite young, neatly dressed and capped, wearing a lotus crown (a hibiscus-shaped headdress), clothed in vermilion, and carrying a sword; I had never seen him before. I suspected he was Prince Ziqiao, the Perfected of Tongbai Mountain (Wang Zijin, crown prince of King Ling of Zhou; legend says he attained the Dao and became an immortal and resided at Tongbai Mountain). He spoke much about matters in Jinting Mountain (a Daoist grotto-heaven, in present-day Shengzhou, Zhejiang), and much of what he said was difficult to understand. He treated the Ziwei Upper Perfected Nine Hua Consort with respect; everyone exchanged salutations, and he called himself “lower official.”

This entry appears twice with slight differences: the earlier record is Yang Jun’s (Yang Xi’s) own account of the descent of Nine Hua; the part that was concealed and not narrated, from this point onward, is a more detailed account of the affair of the Chief Secretary (Xu Mi), intended for the Chief Secretary to see, and so this passage has two versions.

The Supreme Perfected (Shangzhen) said: Yesterday Shushen and I went together to the Palace of Pure Emptiness to review the gains and losses of the immortals and Perfected. In one recent review, forty-seven people were struck off, and only three were restored. I also looked at the register of you people, and for the moment the situation is still fairly good. A certain Xu (that is, the name of the Chief Secretary) is also listed among the “Bozha.” Lord Yang (Yang Xi) submitted a memorial, so his name is not recorded here.

At first I did not expect things to be like this; it is actually better. Those who have washed their minds clean and devote themselves single-mindedly to cultivation already understand the main purport and the commentaries, and their minds and elixir practices have been exerted to the utmost, as difficult as treading upon water and fire. If this continues for long, even the Perfected cannot escape it, nor can the immortal Dao remain concealed. One need only cut off thoughts of sexual desire, and then we shall be able to meet. You may present these words to him to read. The above was spoken by the Lady of the Southern Peak (i.e., Wei Huacun); it is precisely the matter she spoke of on the previous twenty-fourth day, that tomorrow she will go to Wangwu Mountain.

The Middle Lord (Zhongjun) said: Boju is here with this humble official; after the Great Lord Lao, he is still worth keeping in mind. In Jiangdong I have not yet seen anyone as diligent in cultivating the Dao as he. But do not rely on Boju’s attainments and forget to cultivate the Dao. Falsehood is a defect of De (Virtue/Power); ostentation and display are calamities for the body; procrastination and lingering are the beginnings of error; and a sense of shame is the key to cultivating the body. Only after removing these four maladies can one begin to ask about the Dao. Thereupon the spirit chariot rang and stirred, as if something were making itself manifest.

If in the heart there are thoughts of sexual misconduct, then do not go to cultivate; this is the requirement of the Dao of the Supreme Perfected. Yesterday I saw the Palace of Pure Emptiness striking the names of these people off, and they were also subjected to interrogation and punishment; their registers of deliverance have already been handed over to the Three Officials (Heaven, Earth, and Water, who oversee human sins and blessings) for examination. How can one not be cautious?

The above was spoken by the Lady of the Southern Peak.

Xu Changshi (Xu Mi) went to attend the funeral and offer condolences, and within the year an immortal gave Xu Xianhou such a warning. After Xiao Jun finished speaking, she immediately laughed aloud. The line in the text, “If baseness and shame are not removed, one’s name is not written in the register of life” (the wording of this sentence is difficult to understand), means that although Xu Changshi had already been temporarily removed from the register, he would still be erased again. This is the word of Qingling, saying that Dongqing Siming (the divine office in charge of the registers of human lifespan) knew well that Xu Changshi was benevolent and solemn. Xiaoyou Tianwang (Lord of the Xiaoyou Heaven, master of a Daoist grotto-heaven) once asked where this person was now and what Way he cultivated, and Dongqing replied, “He is a man of my home district.” The term “home district” means that Jurong and Mount Mao belong to the same region; it does not mean that he was originally from Xianyang.

This person was clear and pure within; although outwardly he mingled in worldly affairs, he was a rare talent, and now he cultivated the Way of the Highest Perfection. These words exactly matched his intention, and there was also a slight resemblance in appearance. The above was spoken by the Lady of the Southern Peak (Wei Huacun, a Daoist female immortal).

All the above, beginning with the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, comprises twenty-four entries, each with a record written by Yang Xi.

Xiao Miao possessed true talent; inwardly he was like a bright mirror, outwardly gentle and compliant. The four lines “Zeng Shen goes out to the field; the cinnabar heart is like cinnabar; the plain silk radical shifts three times; coming to shelter the square head” are a split-and-combine character riddle, covertly indicating Xu Changshi’s style name.

“Registering one’s name in Taiji, writing it in gold in the Eastern Province; lifting the skirts seven times; deeply concentrating in the Grotto Tower”: “lifting the skirts seven times” refers to the ritual method of bugang tadou (walking the guideline and treading the Dipper), the seven-step flight; the “Grotto Tower” is the Grotto Chamber, the place for cultivating inner vision. After inner entanglements are eliminated, the hun and po souls become gentle accordingly. If one holds to it without weariness and accumulates without stopping, when the five difficulties are eliminated, one may be enfeoffed as a bo (earl) and even as a hou (marquis).

The above is an analogy made by Lady Wang of Ziwei (a female immortal title, namely Wang Yuanhua) to instruct Xu Changshi.

The above entry was written in Xu Changshi’s own hand.

Lady Ziwei said in an analogy: “Draping beside the Floral Canopy…” For this matter, see Zhengao (Declarations of the Perfected), juan 3.

On the night of the twenty-seventh day of the sixth month, this text was written according to the analogy.

The above entry was written by Yang Xi.

This scripture records a set of divine revelations transmitted by Yang Xi, Xu Mi, and others of the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) school; its contents concern essential methods of cultivation and dealings with spirits and immortals.

On the night of the twenty-seventh day of the sixth month, Lady Ziwei (Ziwei Furen, a female immortal of the Shangqing school, namely Wei Huacun) announced: “At the side of the spreading Huagai (Floral Canopy)…” and so on. This matter is recorded in the third scroll.

Lady Ziwei also said: Accumulating Jing and Qi (jijing, the accumulation of essence) can resonate with the myriad things. If mysterious sincerity is not yet perfected, the radiance of the form (xinghua) cannot fully manifest. If the form’s radiance is not complete, it is difficult for the Cavern Chamber (dongfang, the divine chamber within the body, which Daoism regards as the core of the inner landscape) to become clear and bright.

Ziyang Zhenren (Perfected Ziyang) said: I formerly received this method and constantly practiced visualization (cunxiang, maintaining focused intention and contemplative visualization) toward the northwest. The northwest is the brightest direction between heaven and earth and is also the mysterious gateway for inward contemplation. Visualization directed to the northwest is relatively easy to bring to effect, and so it was clearly instructed in this way.

Twenty-seven days later, the assembled Perfected descended again and spoke of many matters, which are not recorded here.

Lord Pei and Lord Zhou each had six boy attendants. Lord Pei’s attendants held staffs with azure yak-tail feathers (ceremonial batons), and one of the boys carried an embroidered pouch; Lord Zhou’s attendants held staffs with yellow yak-tail feathers and had no embroidered pouch. The above two entries are in the handwriting of copyist A.

On the twenty-ninth day of the sixth month, the Jiuhua Zhenfei (Perfected Consort of Nine Splendors), a female immortal, transmitted a text. Its wording consists mostly of rhymed songs and verses, depicting clouds and rosy mists gathering and immortals joyfully assembling and roaming together among cloud-covered peaks and broad cliffs; it also speaks of the joy of leaving the dusty world and transcending beyond it.

The Perfected Consort also said: The sun is the body of the rosy clouds, and the rosy clouds are the essence of the sun. You have only studied the method of ingesting the sun’s substance (fu ri jing, ingesting solar essence), but you do not yet understand the essence of dining on rosy clouds (canxia, swallowing the sun’s rosy cloud essence). The scriptural instructions for dining on rosy clouds are extremely secret, but the method for summoning the rosy clouds is quite easy. This is called the method of “the body gives rise to jade light, and the rosy clouds illumine Shangqing”—that is, cultivating until jade light arises from one’s own body and the radiance of the rosy clouds shines upon the Shangqing paradise.

The eyes are the mirror of the body, and the ears are its windows. If one sees too much, the mirror grows dim; if one hears too many disparate things, the windows become blocked. I have the stone for polishing the mirror and the method for opening the windows, by which one can penetrate and discern all spiritual anomalies and subtly perceive sounds that ordinary ears and eyes cannot hear—would that be acceptable?

The face is the courtyard of the Shenming (divine brightness/spirits), and the hair is the efflorescence of the brain. When the heart is grieved, the complexion turns sallow; when the brain’s power wanes, the hair turns white. This is because Jingyuan (the fundamental Jing-essence of the body) is depleted within and Danjin (the saliva in the mouth, regarded in Daoism as a precious fluid) dries up. I have an art for restoring a youthful countenance and a method for turning white hair black again—would that be acceptable?

Jing is the Shen and Qi of the body, and Ming (clarity, referring to the brightness of eyesight and spirit) is the body’s treasure. With excessive exertion, Jing and Qi scatter and are lost; when Yingwei (the Qi and blood circulating in the body as nutritive and defensive forces) is exhausted, Ming fades away. Thus aging comes with the loss of Qi and blood, and the signs of old age are already near. I have a way of cultivation that increases Jing and Qi and a Jing (scripture) for prolonging the clarity of the eyes—would that be acceptable?

These four methods come from the internal scriptures of the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) school—an important Daoist tradition distinguished by inner cultivation and the transmission of scriptures through descending spirits—and are verified true chapters. I was just about to present them in order to assist your clear discernment and cultivation. When the transmission was completed, the scriptures were brought out and handed to me. Mou (referring to the scribe who recorded the descending brush, often Yang Xi in the Zhen’gao) answered aloud again and again, earnestly requesting the transmission.

On the night of the twenty-ninth day of the sixth month, Tongbai Zhenren (that is, Wang Bao, a transcendent immortal in Shangqing tradition) descended together, again gave instructions concerning the transmission, and commanded Mou to write down the record as follows:

Beyond the eight directions and the four extremes, the numinous peaks stretch far and wide. Wondrous words sprout like new seedlings, and jade-like tones ring out clear and resonant. Ascending at clear dawn and soaring beyond pure emptiness, the mysterious Qi rises straight to the clouds; the body transcends into the Jade Void (the heavenly paradise), while the mind forgets the world’s hardships and sharp edges, sinking beyond the vast net and gathering in harmony upon the surface of silent waves. One who can do this will surely circle through the Dark Han (the Heavenly River) and roam throughout the True Court (the courtyards of the immortals); the Three Primes (the Qi of the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water in Daoism) may be encountered, and the crimson name (a name recorded in the immortal register) may be established. But if the mind is still full of faults and waves, if the eyes cling to sounds and forms, if action is entangled in the net and stillness gives rise to thoughts of contention, then one is far from the immortal path and very far from the way of seeking life. You must be cautious.

After I finished writing this book, I fetched it and looked it over before handing it to you. What precedes are the words of Tongbai (the name of an immortal). Since it was all within a single night—after Consort An (the name of an immortal) finished transmitting, Tongbai continued—it is therefore called a second transmission. At first glance it still seems to have been transmitted by Consort An, and so this special note is made.

On the night of the thirtieth day of the sixth month, True Consort Jiuhua descended together with Lady Wang of Ziwei and the Lady of Nanyue. After the True Consort had sat for a long while, she ordered a maidservant to open the travel bag and take out two scrolls, which she handed to me. They are copied below, with titles as follows: the Shangqing Hidden Book of Inner Observation of Jade Rosy Clouds and Purple Radiance, and the Shangqing Scripture of the Central Mystery of Sunlight, Returning to Dawn and Returning the Child.

The titles of the two scrolls above: these titles originally belong to the books of the Three Primes and Eight Assemblies (important talismanic scriptures of the Daoist Shangqing (Highest Clarity) school). Lord Yang (Yang Xi, the recipient of this scripture) had already worked out and understood the true characters in them, and so ordered them to be rewritten in clerical script and made manifest, that is all.

On the night of the first day of the seventh month, Lady Wang of Ziwei, the Lady of Nanyue, and True Consort Jiuhua, together with the three Perfected Ones of Ziyang, Tongbai, and Qingxu, and the two Lords Mao, all descended together. After a good while, I myself addressed the assembled immortals, seeking the art of settling the body and establishing one’s fate, wishing to know the distinctions between noble and base, the conjunctions of annual destiny, and the fixed allotment of lifespan. The True Consort then smiled, and after another long while bestowed upon me the following text:

The sage sovereign’s mind-nature is empty, still, and detached; in the realm of Jade Radiance (Yulang) he carefully constructs an immortal dwelling. Like the clear currents of the Orchid Abyss rising high, its pure, penetrating sound carries up to the golden palace. He can treasure wondrous things; the hidden, profound true qi within blazes forth, making manifest numinous chapters, born in accord with the cycles of qi. His plain and simple virtue is lovely as a divine garden, recorded in the cinnabar register of Yuqing (one of the Three Pure Ones, Sanqing). He raises mist and clouds and supports the sun’s shadow; from afar comes the drumbeat of the dark realm.

There are surely three great officers attending at his side at dawn; the Heavenly Emperor himself assists him, and four auxiliary ministers receive his edicts. The sage lord governs life and death, determines good and evil, rewards and punishes ghosts and spirits, commands the thousand spirits, summons cloud qi, seals and stabilizes the mountains, oversees the harmony of the Yin-Yang qi, and is also sovereign of the ghosts and spirits throughout the Wu-Yue region.

I shall concentrate my spirit and observe in stillness. Born by reliance on resplendent cloud qi, my spiritual qi flies up to the nine heavens; immortal sounds come from the void, and according to the four perceptions in operation I correspond to the mysterious ladder. The purple title derives from the title of Taishang (Lord Lao); the pure and wondrous scripture illuminates the Eight Scenes (Bajing), and divine light reflects the western sunlight. My virtue is manifest, and inwardly I belong to the immortal register. Thereupon I receive the scriptures, ride and govern primal qi, and am appointed to the office of Perfected Consort (Zhenfei).

I shall also assist the sovereign in presiding over the Three Huo (three sacred mountains), command the ten thousand spirits, receive orders from the Northern Emperor, and establish edicts to govern Mount Feng (the Dark Capital). I should also join hands with you and enter the spirit chamber, ride the smoke up to the realm of the Seven Primes, rejoice together in a forest rare in this world, and inwardly walk according to causes and conditions.

Therefore the sovereign’s surname is Yang, and through him I attain stability. I spontaneously undertake mysterious cultivation and ascend through practice from the lower realm; the sovereign, meanwhile, receives scriptures in the Western Palace, plans the radiance from the north, rides a cake-shaped eastern carriage, holds hair and iron implements in his hands, and specifically restrains the various hordes (all kinds of ghosts and spirits). The Three Officials (Sanguan—Heaven, Earth, and Water) carry out his commands; rivers and mountains open their sources and streams; the Heavenly Ding offer their martial force, and the Four Armors guard and convey him. This is truly the glory of the enlightened sovereign’s supremacy and the grandest spectacle of the true immortals.

Among the Three Officials a proverb is often sung: “Great Lord Yang An, who governs the true and commands the spirits.” It refers precisely to people like us.

The carriage of the sage sovereign has traveled alongside this enlightened ruler, and twenty-eight years have passed until now. After another twenty-two years, the enlightened ruler will ride a dragon and drive the clouds, ascending to immortality in broad daylight. He will first go to the Western Palace of Shangqing (Highest Clarity), one of the highest Daoist paradises, and bow to the north before the Jade Emperor and the Three Officials (Sanyuan: the Officers of Heaven, Earth, and Water); only then will he be able to take up the duties of the Eastern Chariot (a lunar mansion, here an office in the immortal realm). This is because his virtue is luminous as fine jade and pure as Ziwei (Purple Microstar, the dwelling of the Heavenly Emperor, here a metaphor for exalted nobility). His voice is empty and still, yet able to command the myriad beings; he receives the commendation of Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate, the cosmic source revered in Daoism, here the supreme deity), and his mysterious De is able to ascend. He no longer needs diligent study and bitter practice, or to trek over mountains and rivers.

If others exert themselves diligently, they can only make themselves slightly clear and fresh; they cannot equal the enlightened ruler’s present attainment without labor. Worldly people are entangled in the net of dust; noble and base alike must plunge into worldly toil and stand at the threshold of gain and loss. These are not matters that Zhenren (True Persons) can manage; they can only face the world’s hardships and smooth passages with equanimity, and be content in times of adversity.

When I see the enlightened ruler at ease, I am truly glad; when I see him in distress, I am truly grieved. Both feelings show on my countenance, but they are not enough to make one travel far and remain long in sorrow and worry. As for the hidden depths of the heart, where one companions with one’s shadow, wholly returning to the goodness of the mysterious, easily conveying the clouds and mist of the dusty world, and mingling in worldly dwellings—how could I, because of a moment’s floating lowliness and lingering, impair or disgrace the true, stable substance?

Yin-Yang have their opposition; Pi and Tai alternate in operation. Once the two hexagrams are arranged, gain and loss interweave—these are merely paths of coming and going. Those today who dwell in wind and dust and enjoy great fame and wealth are mostly lowly ghosts heavy with sin, tokens hastening toward death. Only by being in the noisy dusty road without applying the mind can one preserve the true and uncarved nature; only by resting in the ordinary and looking inward is there the foundation for becoming a spiritual immortal.

Wealth, honor, and luxurious excess are axes and saws that break the bones, like boats and carts loaded with sin. Glory and splendor flaunted before the world, competition and display in one’s time, are just enough to invite fault and bring disgrace, becoming weapons that hew away life; they are not good things.

In ancient times, lofty masters saw through sins and calamities, which are difficult to guard against in advance, and knew that wealth and honor cannot be enjoyed forever. Therefore they withdrew into deep forests, dwelt beside famous mountains, chewed the harmonious Qi of heaven and earth, and washed body and mind in clear streams. They wished to keep far from such foul and turbid affairs, seek blessings for themselves, transcend the fetters of the world, and preserve the purest original nature. Why then must you rush anxiously over human high and low, and throw yourself into the marketplace of honor and disgrace?

Now is a time of weapons and war, and the Three Calamities—water, fire, and wind—appear unceasingly between heaven and earth. The divine wind is about to arrive, and a stench covers the sky. Bright metal rusts when it falls into mud; precious jade gathers dust when thrown into dung. Clothes are stained with blood, turbid Qi injures the true origin, and even the profound and penetrating state can only be kept at a distance. If at such a time you cannot endure the assault of wind, fire, smoke, and dust, and wish to preserve your true form in a secluded forest, then you may first practice the Way of “Unbinding the Sword” (Jiejian)—a Daoist art of using the sword’s discarded husk to escape the mortal world—and arrange beforehand the matters that lie behind you. Thereafter, whether you cultivate in silence or appear in the world, you may abide according to the moment; naturally there will be an enlightened ruler worthy of your trust.

The hidden heavenly destiny has its resonance, and so there is contact; between the numinous writ and the jade terrace there is sincere accord. Therefore I hold back somewhat in my words and pour out my heart only in writing. How could I be sighing for one person alone? This is probably to demonstrate a precedent concerning name and station. When the writing was finished, it was taken and handed to someone, with the words: “After you read this letter, you should be somewhat better, should you not?”

The above are records beginning from the twenty-ninth day of the sixth month, fourteen entries in all, together with the text personally written by Lord Yang (Yang Xi, an important transmitter of the Shangqing tradition in the Eastern Jin; many scriptures recorded in the Zhen’gao were transmitted through his records).

Lord Dongqing (Dongqing Dajun, a deity revered in the Shangqing tradition) first descended yesterday at the fourth watch. Seven attendants entered the gate: one held a purple yak-tail banner; one held an ornate banner called the “Tenfold Numinous Banner”; one carried a green petition pouch; and three carried ivory boxes.

Great Lord Dongqing (that is, Lord Dongqing of Destiny, one of the Daoist deities of destiny) descended to meet me just as the fourth watch began yesterday. Seven attendants entered the gate: one held a purple yak-tail banner-staff; one raised an ornate banner called the “Ten Absolutes Numinous Banner”; one carried on his back a green register bag; three bore ivory boxes; and one held a flowing-gold bell. Lord Dongqing was even younger in appearance than the two younger brothers. The two younger brothers had also come and stood leaning against each other yesterday, and only after Lord Dongqing told them to sit did they sit. They spoke for a long while, their exchange subtle and circuitous.

Previously, when the divine woman descended, I had thought she was the Queen Mother’s daughter; when she came again yesterday, I became certain of it. Nanzhen (the Perfected of the Southern Marchmount, the immortal Perfected who descended) said: “This is the thirteenth daughter of Amu (the Queen Mother of the West), Wang Meilan, courtesy name Shenlin. Her seat of governance is Canglang Mountain, and after receiving the heavenly writ she became Lady of the Cloud Forest.” The above two matters are brief notes from the night of the fifth day of the seventh month; they will be described in detail later. From this it may be known that Lady Youying (that is, Wei Huacun) had been descending night after night from the third and fourth days of the seventh month onward.

The above two entries contain Yang Xi’s own annotations.

On the night of the fourth day of the seventh month in the yichou year, the third year of Xingning of the Jin (365 CE), Lord Dongqing of Destiny descended. Seven attendants entered the gate. One held a purple yak-tail banner-staff; one held an ornate banner called the “Ten Absolutes Numinous Banner”; one carried a green register bag; three held white ivory boxes, which seemed to contain books; and one held a flowing-gold bell. The attendants all wore red clothing. Lord Dongqing’s appearance was even younger than that of the two younger brothers; he wore a blue-green brocade skirt with embroidery and a purple fur shawl and kerchief with a lotus crown. The two younger brothers came together and stood leaning against each other, and only after Lord Dongqing told them to sit did they sit. They spoke for a long while. On the night of the sixth day of the seventh month, Lord Dongqing descended again; after they had spoken for a long while, he wrote out a document, saying:

If one wishes to emulate the mysterious and wondrous images and uphold the virtue of purity and quietude, few in the world can do so. Thus they transcend the many subtle and hidden stages of cultivation, fold their wings, and dwell high beyond the dust. When there is an awakening in the heart, one can unite with the great Dao; the inner mind is deep and still as an abyss, firm as a mountain. Steeping the mind in the solitary and silent scriptures of the Jade Chapters, the spirit, precious as a jewel, naturally arises. Discarding worldly attachments, the mind becomes clear and empty, and images are transparent within the void. The principles of the Five Paths then become clear; form and appearance are cut off, and the waves of transformation no longer arise. Wishing to unite with the realm of plainness and detachment, they enter the distant path of Kongtong (a legendary immortal realm). With nothing seen and nothing heard, far from the dusty world, they equal the realm of Wondrous Truth. Mysterious awakening rises anew; inner De is complete, and outer numinous efficacy is fully present. Finally they can drive a cloud chariot and hasten to the high heavens, leaving their names in the cinnabar register of Siming (the deity who governs human lifespan and the ledgers of life and death).

If, however, the spirit scatters among myriad thoughts and cultivation cannot become firm, so that Qi follows the waves of the dusty world and the mind cannot truly unite with the Dao, then one only makes body and spirit endure hardship in vain among the mountains and forests (collation note: the character “lin” here should be “qu,” meaning steep rocky mountains). This truly misleads later students of the Dao. The great Dao is subtle and refined, easy to probe; yet truly attaining it is difficult and not easy.

These two entries were also copied by the Changshi and presented together to Xu Changshi (that is, Xu Mi, an important transmitter of the Shangqing tradition in the Eastern Jin).

Xu Changshi wished to retire into the mountains and forests. Those who cultivate the Dao value freedom from evil; those who dwell in the cultivation of truth take peaceful contentment and joy as their foundation. The realm of utmost stillness is not the main purport of expounding accord, nor is the realm of tranquility a method for instructing disciples; therefore one should realize it in the midst of complex affairs (the character here means “without”). The general meaning is: one need not change because of the succession of the four seasons. Qi is like breath; a thousand years are like a temporary lodging—Master Zhao need not worry about this. If one does not believe and is shaken, I fear one’s mind is already confused.

Lord Siming said to the Lady of the Southern Peak:

Those who cultivate the Dao always preserve deep stillness, tranquility, and detachment, dwelling alone; at all times they rest in and guard their spirit, roam leisurely and at ease, are content with food and drink and self-sufficient, and are not drawn by the scenes within the cage and fence (collation note: this character should be “qi,” meaning not to be tempted by external things). Then sorrow and joy can be permanently cast aside; from where could the gate of premature death come?

People’s innate dispositions and aspirations each have their own destination; their endowments and temperaments each have their own resonance. How could one take the crooked path of chasing external things and abandon the proper work of cultivation that is rightly one’s own?

Dongqing's Three Instructions (also seemingly the words of Dongqing)

Why not open your heart and pursue the highest reaches of the heavenly realms, attaining inner joy in seeking truth and awakening to the Dao (the Way)? Cultivate your nature in a quiet place so that your will becomes clear; settle what you rely on so that your mind has somewhere to rest. Retire to the Eastern Mountain (a byname for a place of secluded Daoist cultivation) and withdraw your traces; grasp the key to the mysterious principle and conceal your radiance as one guards the Sui Pearl (the pearl of the Marquis of Sui, a metaphor for the inner luminous original nature); dispel the five troubles in your breast (referring to the five obstacles on the path of cultivation; the original text does not specify them).

On the night of the fifteenth day of the seventh month, Madam Wang of Ziwei bestowed a writing

Diligent progress is the efficacious sign of savoring the mysterious; stabilizing the spirit (Shen) is the blanket that restrains the true nature. You diligently cleanse your crimson heart and strive to hasten toward the high peak; this may indeed be called the foundation of pursuing the Daoist endeavor, and your diligence has reached its utmost. Yet the nature of the Dao is gentle and yielding, and the true nature is empty and still; one should maintain detachment while in contact with external things and dwell quietly and freely; only then will the spirit become open and luminous. In brief, impetuousness and agitation are not in accord with principle, and those who go against it bring hardship upon themselves.

(The above was bestowed upon Xu Yufu.)

On the same night, the Perfected Man of Pure Spirit (Qingling Zhenren) bestowed a writing

Its general meaning is close to the end of the preceding passage: in contact with external things while maintaining detachment, and dwelling quietly and freely, only then will the spirit be open and luminous. In brief, impetuousness is not in accord with principle, and those who go against it bring hardship upon themselves.

(Likewise bestowed upon Xu Yufu.)

On the same night, the Perfected Man of Pure Spirit bestowed a poem

The poem expresses the hope that people may ascend; as if there is something felt, as if something accomplished. Awe-inspiring demeanor need not be sought within; the arrogant and pretentious are kept far away. “Three and four vertically and horizontally” refers to entering the court of the Heavenly Emperor. Passing through the years and establishing a name, one attains long life and will surely be radiant. The Yuanqing among the Four Bureaus will suddenly spread his wings and ultimately ascend to the Shangqing paradise. The final line makes clear that this is the great name of the Lihe Clerk (a poem-riddle formed by splitting and combining Chinese characters, i.e., the lihe form), named “Hui.”

(Bestowed upon Xu Yufu. That same night, the Lord Within again bestowed a writing upon Lord Xu, answering Lord Xu's wish to know about matters in the Grotto-Heavens; it is recorded in volume four.)

The Enigmatic Poem and the Name of the Chief Secretary

The eight characters “A phoenix nests in a tall tree; plain garments, unadorned” are an enigmatic riddle for the childhood name “Mu” of the Chief Secretary (an official title, here referring to Xu Mu). From the two lines “Walking in accord, thinking of the true; concentrating the mind on empty mystery,” take the two characters “Si” and “Xuan” together, and this is the courtesy name of the Chief Secretary.

(The content recorded in this passage has the same general meaning as the preceding text; it answers the Xu family's wish to know about matters of the Grotto-Heavens and is recorded in volume four.)

The following is a vernacular explanation:

“The phoenix perches on a tall tree, clothed in plain white garments.” These eight characters are a cryptic allusion to the childhood name “Mu” of the one who served as Chief Secretary. (Note: this is the manner in which Tao Hongjing’s Zhengao uses character riddles and hidden expressions to record personal names.)

Following the way of compliance and responsiveness, focusing on truth, one causes the mind and spirit to gather and return to the subtle, still, and mysterious realm. Taking the characters “si” and “xuan” from this, when combined they make the two characters “Changshi.”

Wugong Shiyu (a mineral-drug essence taken orally) is what this constitution is suited to; it should be taken quickly, and it can keep the face from aging. The number three-eight makes the spirit bright and clear; next, cultivate the method of “Xuanzhen” (Mysterious Perfection). Unharness the carriage and rest securely, and you may recite the Dongpian (Cavern Chapters). As for what “Qiongren” (Jade Blade) corresponds to in number: the two characters “Qiongren” here are the childhood name “Yufu” (Jade Axe) of the yuan (subordinate official), and their meaning agrees with that of the outer biography Qinglu; therefore it says “corresponds in number.”

Guard carefully the high handle (that is, the essentials of cultivating the Dao); remain hidden, silent, and still; keep the upright Qi from depletion; circulate Qi to disperse illness—this is what you should do. Next, take “□ rice,” while also including grain food; do not go against this. It can benefit the marrow, remove illness, and make the skin full and moist. After that, climb the mountain, recite the Dongjing (Cavern Scripture), and discuss the subtle principles.

“The yin beast with white teeth”: these four characters are “Yun Huya.” He too can act according to circumstances, and thus attains deathlessness. After passing the renchen year, rest safely, let the Qi of flourishing Wood operate, and savor and uphold the Zhoushu. These eight characters are a cryptic allusion to the two characters “Zuo Yang.” In Taiji a register is implanted; its golden name is “Xihua”; learn whether the practice of ingesting drugs is feasible. Naturally he too can act according to circumstances, and thus attains deathlessness. After passing the renchen year, rest safely, let the Qi of flourishing Wood operate, and savor and uphold the Zhoushu. These eight characters are a cryptic allusion to the two characters “Zuo Yang.” In Taiji a register is implanted; its golden name is “Xihua”; learn whether the practice of ingesting drugs is feasible. It naturally responds to the numinous tally; though the principles differ, their convergence is the same; the divine intelligences, penetrating deeply, can respond to one another.

The timely announcement in the Dinglu. The matter of Daoist drugs is a statement from the Dinglu.

These split-and-combined characters are analogies for the names of four people, each explaining what they ought to practice and ingest. Examining the wording and meaning closely, the beginning and end cohere with one another; I do not know why it was jointly narrated by two people.

Allegory must have its use; if it had no use, it would have no meaning—how then could it govern those elusive traces? Inquiring into the numinous and wondrous meaning within the void, the subtle sound truly has a profound purport; one should be cautious and must not take it lightly. If in every matter one complies with the wondrous mechanism, then you may be assured of seeing Great Peace.

“Youying intoned this on the right” (roughly meaning: the words intoned above).

What Mao Dinglu said is a good admonition and may be recorded. A person of immortal talent is not bent by turmoil in the heart, and therefore can attain the Dao. These are words for preserving life.

In the eighth month, that person will certainly pause to look and burn incense at the beautiful place in the east; this matter will surely be so. These were Baoming’s words when he was about to depart.

The above, from the yichou year onward, totals fifteen entries, all recorded in Yang’s handwriting.

Xu Xuan bowed twice in trepidation. The Changshi’s great name was Xu Mi, courtesy name Sixuan; even now, to address him directly as “Xuan” still feels improper to me. I went to visit Mr. Jia. This letter was written by the Changshi after he heard from Yang Xuan and Zhou Ziyang that Jia Xuandao and others were in charge of the work of examination and revision. Mr. Jia presented the letter to Siming (the deity in charge of the registers of immortals), and Siming later replied that Jia Sheng had recently come bringing precisely this letter. The matter that Zhou Ziyang spoke of is recorded in scroll four.

The above entry is the original in the Changshi’s own handwriting.

The Perfected Man Taiyuan showed me this letter and then had me copy it as follows:

If one can transcend the dust and vulgarity, value only oneself, and be rarely entangled by the disturbances of the outside world, then there is no place of death. Therefore those who sought the Way in ancient times grasped the mysterious fish trap and snare (a metaphor for the gate of cultivation), concealed their sharp points, hid amid tangled affairs, concentrated their spirits in courtyards among the rocks, and nurtured true Qi by the waters of secluded valleys. Thus they let their hair down and lived in seclusion in the high mountains, managing and protecting themselves, making their spirit shine brilliantly, inhaling the numinous Qi of the five directions, roaming through the ways of the ninefold heavens, ascending to the primordial realm, washing clean their bodily form, letting their thoughts transcend the void, so that human affairs no longer troubled them. They closed and stored the three Qi and delved into all kinds of subtle wonders; therefore they could reverse their declining years and return to youth.

If one is entangled in affairs and social obligations arrive in a rush, blocking the road, the problem lies only in one’s own insufficient firmness and inability to exert oneself—how then could the work of examination and revision be halted? All things are interconnected; touching what is of the same kind gives rise to misfortune. In the scrutiny of Heaven and humans, where could anything be missed? The supervisors’ reward lies in the achievement of cultivation, and what the examination looks for is whether one can make new progress day by day. Jia Sheng recently came with this letter; the intent with which he entrusted it was earnest and sincere, and one may call it affectionate. Yet “do not cross my dam” (adapted from “Gu Feng” in the “Bei Feng” section of the Book of Songs, meaning “do not come and disturb me”) already carries a note of polite refusal; to say this seems somewhat like guarding beforehand against the other party’s deceit.

On the sixteenth day of the seventh month, there was another entry in the yuanshu of the immortal officials (yuanshu: records transmitting documents from the immortal realm). All the matters you consulted about have been examined, and your application is deep. Facing the mountain ridges, Ziwang felt a distant yearning arise in his heart and joyfully reported his intention; I have often been able to appreciate this intention. One who cultivates the Dao (the Way) need only be single-minded and focused. If one has feeling and intention but is not diligent, one will accomplish nothing; if one is diligent but not single-minded, success is likewise difficult. Make the writing clear and legible, lest later copyists soil or damage it and make it unrecognizable. (The above is instruction from Lady Nanyue (Wei Huacun) to her disciples.)

“Now speech is what determines the wholeness or ruin of nature and life; trust is the bolt and bar of gain and loss.” Speech bears on the success or failure of nature and life; trustworthiness bears on the crux of gain and loss. Zhang Liang kept his appointments three times according to agreement; he may be called a model of firm faith in the Great Dao and clear-minded intention.

(This passage is still Lady Nanyue’s words to her disciples.)

Jiuhua Zhenfei (the name of a female immortal) said: Your disposition is magnanimous and benevolent, yet you are impatient to hear and too quick to respond to things, which instead contravenes the original purport. As for the matter of the fire-jujubes, it is not fitting to inquire into it; the discussion of the fire-jujube matter appears in the later text.

The above five entries came down from Taiyuan (the name of a heavenly realm), and all were transcribed by Yang Xi.

(Poem)

Driving the sun chariot, the light sinks into the Canglang waters; leaping, I cross the ford of the Clear Sea. Crimson mist coils around the sun; feather canopies hang high over the ninefold heaven. Cloud chariots drift through the empty void, suddenly skimming past wind and waves. I come to seek a friend in the dark realm; hand in hand we attend the Heavenly Emperor at dawn. Prince Jin (Wang Zijin) upholds bright virtue; with one accord we summon jade-like worthies. Looking down afar at the Ba’e Palace, I rest above on the summit of Xilin. I rinse my mouth and drink this nectar of purple jasper; only then do I know the dusty world’s turbid bitterness. Where is the fair one now? Only through diligent cultivation can one draw near.

On the evening of the eighteenth day of the seventh month, Lady Youying of Yunlin descended and presented a poem to Chief Secretary Xu Mi (Xu Zhangshi); it also touched on the affairs of his subordinate officials.

First Poem

Joyful at heart, I wish to transcend like a pure breeze passing through the forest and roam far into lands without boundary. Beyond the tangled appearances of the myriad things, being and nonbeing merge in the deep and hidden. Virtue and resonance harmonize and endure; the body drifts lightly into the great void. Freely I linger among the waves, shaking bells and letting their sound scatter into the wind. Looking inward, one may reflect the vision of the Seven Ways and thereby arrive at forgetting both self and things. Why exchange endless courtesies and immerse oneself in the verbal traffic of the world, waiting for conventional learning to come naturally? The mysterious mind awakens of itself; silent cultivation will surely reach the lofty realm.

Second Poem (on the evening of the twenty-sixth day of the seventh month, composed by Lady Ziwei, that is, Wei Huacun, and entrusted to Xu Zhangshi)

The gates of the red palace open onto the vast high sky; wrapped in cinnabar clouds, one ascends the hall lit by sunlight. Purple banners stream among the clouds; feathered people in the morning soothe the winds of the eight directions. Halting the canopy, I wash in the jade-green stream and gather the numinous excellence of Yuezhi Peak. I chew the blossoms of the Three Spirits and breathe the light of the Nine Gods. The cycles of cultivation are without end; accumulating together with sun and moon, they awaken the benighted. Hand in hand we enter the Hall of Mingzhen, gazing upward in expectation of the supreme deity. Among the Northern Jun, feathered people sing; the light of Yuxuan shines upon the many worthies. The waves of the cloud river join with the cosmos; let gain and loss come and go, without clinging. I lead the spirit-mind out from the clamorous courtyard and open my heart, intending to return turbidity to the realm of empty openness. People are accustomed to the world of honor and disgrace and rarely can step into the Palace of Xilin. To abide in single stillness is originally without suffering; one might as well try to look toward the Canglang realm beyond the dust.

The above three pieces were all shown by Lady Youying and transmitted from the place where she reined in the light; all were transcribed by the Chief Secretary.

Letter Section

In your early years you met with bereavement, and you became deeply immersed in matters of the grotto-heavens. Although your spiritual nature is sincere and profound, it has not yet fully unfolded. Bound by external causal conditions, you have not yet climbed the cloud ladder to the immortal Dao. Though you have the heart to advance, you have not yet deeply comprehended the highest principle. Your talents are indeed an inborn deftness, and your clear Qi resonance congeals into a lofty bearing. Your aspiration is to let your Shen dwell in Taixuan (the deepest mysterious realm of the Great Dao), hoping to tread the void in the Purple Court (the celestial immortal court). Your mind can pass through both soaring and obstruction; your literary thought is splendid and accords with Xuanming (the subtle realm in accord with the Great Dao).

Your comportment accords with rule and measure; dwelling in the same world, each has its own due measure. In silence it holds true flavor; between exhalation and inhalation, sound and rhyme arise of themselves. One may say your De is upright and transcendent, truly admirable. Yet defiled thoughts have not yet become clear, and vulgar miscellaneous thoughts and licentious notions have not yet been eliminated; the Numinous Pool (the clear water within the heart-mind) is not yet clear. Thus there has not yet been occasion to discuss with you in depth the Dao of inner and outer cultivation; there is only a slight coming and going between the alternations of the Two Luminaries (sun and moon).

For one who stumbles and misses the crucial moment, what matters is the ability to correct oneself. With mutual forbearance and a meeting of feelings, it is now no matter. Though external disturbances have temporarily ceased, harmony has thereby been attained. An interlinear note in the original text holds that the character tu in the earlier phrase qiantu should be you. Such cases are not limited to one; thoughts are numerous and threads are many, and one should at all times be vigilant and diligently guard and maintain. If the emotions and will deviate or scatter, one will lose them in accordance with circumstances, and the words of awakening will become faint. Then what will be used to restrain it, and what to dispel it?

The above is the letter admonition of Lady Wang Youying of Yunlin (a female immortal in the Shangqing tradition, namely Wang Yuanhua) on the night of the twenty-sixth day of the seventh month; the recipient need not reply. The above item was copied by the Chief Secretary.

Poetry Section

The fragrances of the world’s treasures intertwine;

The purport of the Great Dao meets the lofty mysterious empyrean.

Adjusting my robes, I seek the dark and hidden realm;

Amid wind and dust I turn my carriage and leave the dusty world.

Fair De reflects the radiance of the spirits;

A numinous root gathers splendid literary grace.

Secret words often carry unexpected blessings;

Empty and pure, one honors the preciousness of the true Dao.

All this should accord with the constant principle;

Carried and transcribed by the Chief Secretary.

(The following repeats the first eight lines of the preceding poem; its final two lines are:)

Hand in hand we walk together, belts and sashes joined, companions of one heart.

Why is it that within the human world, disasters arise each day?

Vernacular Interpretation of Selected Passages from the Zhengao

On the evening of the twenty-eighth day of the seventh month, Lady Wang of Youying transmitted this poem to be given to Xu Changshi. After the twelfth month, Changshi replied, saying: “The analogy of Xian and Heng” is precisely a response to this poem. Xian and Heng (from the Zhouyi) refer to the Xian and Heng hexagrams. The preceding piece was copied by Changshi.

Clear and resonant sounds disperse in the air; divine winds blow through the forest; the body rises beyond the dark road; the mind chants wondrous sounds—such a person is probably Renhou (the Benevolent Marquis, referring to Xi Yin). If one wishes to tell the Xi clan the whole story of Perfected Pei (Pei Jun, an immortal in Daoist legend), that is acceptable; he will certainly be able to understand. His disinclination to lead people toward goodness has also shown itself from within—what sort of person, then, is Perfected Pei? The Xi here is Xi Yin, whose childhood name was Fanghui. The Pei Zhenren Benmo is the Qingling Zhuan. Here mention is made of people who confess their faults and reform, and of scholars thoroughly versed in the Seven Classics, so they are asked to look at these contents.

On the evening of the seventh day of the eighth month, Lady Wang of Youying transmitted this document and had someone pass it to Xu Changshi.

The preceding entry was written by Yang Xi; after it there is another transcription by Changshi.

By guarding the Dao of the True One and cultivating single-mindedly for a full year, one can make the hair no longer turn white and bald hair grow again. The Lady transmitted writings successively and had someone pass them to Xu Changshi.

The preceding entry was written by Yang Xi; after it there is another transcription by Changshi.

By guarding the Dao of the True One and cultivating single-mindedly for a full year, one can make the hair no longer turn white and bald hair grow again. But if the mind is entangled by children and grandchildren, burdened by family estate, outwardly busy with public affairs, socializing with friends, with ears and eyes widely engaged and sounds confused, then the Dao is not single-minded, and cultivation will be of no benefit. People of genuine capacity mostly live in seclusion, dwelling in mountains and forests, far from worldly dust, embracing tranquility; then naturally their faces will not age and their temple hair will remain black.

Jade nectar (sweet immortal dew), golden syrup, jiao pears, and fire jujubes—these are immortal medicines that enable one to soar, and they are not the same as the Golden Elixir. Renhou’s body and mind are not yet truly upright; impure thoughts fill his breast. I fear these immortal substances will not come. If sincerity is not single-minded, the Dao will not pour itself into you either, so you should not attempt to inquire about them. The trees of fire jujubes and jiao pears have in fact already grown in your heart; it is only that thorns still intermingle in your heart, and so these two trees cannot be seen or clearly discerned. If you can cut away the thorns, the trees will appear and bear their own fruit—that would be excellent.

First passage

Although it is phrased as a question, the “tree of jujubes and pears” you seek—the numinous tree that bears immortal fruit in cultivation, with jujubes and pears symbolizing elixirs or the fruits of practice—has long since been growing in your heart. It is only that thorns and brambles, a metaphor for worldly distractions and attachments, are still mixed into your mind, so you cannot see this tree clearly. If you can cut away the thorns, the tree will bear fruit on its own; nothing could be better.

“Xi zhi jin” means wishing to draw near to it. Someone ought to ask on your behalf the person who presides over this matter. From today onward, let us consult one another within three years.

Second passage

This passage explains the method of cultivation: gather the mind and spirit, make the body empty and still, inwardly visualize the Dongfang (the inner spirit chamber) within the body, embrace the mysterious principle, focus on and guard the yuanshen (primordial spirit), and single-mindedly hold fast to Zhenyi (the True One, the root of the Dao). By doing so, the hair will not turn white, and even a bald person can regrow hair.

But if the mind is constantly entangled in thoughts, emotions rise and fall, cold and heat alternate, depleting the mind and spirit, and one is trapped by worldly affairs and sunk in the dust of the world, caring only for talk of good and bad fortune on the tongue, with body and mind wholly mundane, then even if one has a sincere heart, it is not firm enough. To know clearly that there is the Dao yet not practice it, to hold a treasure yet not use it, and still hope that white hair will naturally turn black—such a thing is seldom heard of.

“Yuli jinjiang” (jade nectar and golden syrup), “jiaosheng shenli” (the spirit pear born of union), “Fangzhang huozhao” (the fire jujube of Fangzhang), and “xuanguang lingzhi” (the dark-radiance numinous mushroom) are all metaphors for the spiritual medicines and states attained through cultivation. The author says that he ought to cultivate together with the Daoist Xu in the mountains and not casually tell others of these things. The “Changshi Xu” here—referring to the Eastern Jin Daoist Xu Mi, who held the office of changshi—is the person who received the scripture.

(The sentence “the bald person…,” where the character zhen should perhaps be qin, is literally difficult to understand; no forced interpretation is offered here.)

Signature and annotations

“On the night of the seventh day of the eighth month, Lady Wang of Purple Tenuity (Ziwei Wang Furen) transmitted the reply to Changshi Xu”: this means that this passage of scripture was orally transmitted on the night of the seventh day of the eighth month by Lady Wang of Purple Tenuity—a female immortal in the Zhen Gao (Declarations of the Perfected) who descends and reveals scriptural instructions—in answer to Changshi Xu’s questions. “The six items above were written by a subordinate official”: this means that the above six items were recorded and copied by a subordinate official (yuan).

Wherever the character fei is written in the text, it should be read with the sound pai; it is not fei as in a door leaf.

Verse

“Planning to drive to the man of Dongcen, halting the sun’s shadow to summon the recluse in quietness. The benevolent and virtuous come riding the waves; together they gather at Sanxiu Ridge.” The general meaning is: imagine the man of Dongcen arriving by carriage, causing the sun’s shadow to pause, and inviting the recluse in a secluded place. The benevolent and virtuous arrive riding the waves and gather together at Sanxiu Ridge.

“Numinous mushroom for seven days and nights” refers to taking numinous mushroom for seven days and nights.

“The numinous mushroom is truly fit to eat; it can make you endless and everlasting. Inhale the true and offer golden syrup; you need not wait for the hundred-zhang well.” The general meaning is: the numinous mushroom can indeed be consumed and can enable you to enjoy long life and lasting vision. Draw in true Qi and offer golden syrup; there is no need to wait to draw water from a well a hundred zhang deep.

Final passage

“On the evening of the sixteenth day of the eighth month, Qingling Zhenren transmitted it”: this means that this piece was transmitted on the evening of the sixteenth day of the eighth month by the Perfected of Pure Numen. “The single piece above was written by the Changshi”: this means that this piece was copied by the Changshi.

Emptiness and stillness can guard the vigorous, masculine side; desolation and pure quiet can guard the soft, feminine side. By “desolation” I mean walking alone, without entanglement in external things.

(The gist of the original note: the character jun here should be ju, meaning “how could,” as in “How could one look up and ascend, rising together with the sky?” The following text says, “Does it speak of the limit of the mysterious realm above?”)

The principles are easy to hear, but one worries that they cannot be put into genuine practice; scriptures are easy to obtain, but one worries that they cannot be carried out. If one can wholeheartedly follow them in this way, then throughout the heavenly realms all will be true immortals standing shoulder to shoulder. Nor will I have any fault because I myself cannot do so.

If the mind is unsettled yet one wants to copy texts, is this not wanting to take them to sell for money? If one’s intention is not focused yet one seeks the true Dao, it is like wanting to take it to the marketplace and hawk it. This is what I want to tell you.

On the night of the seventeenth day of the eighth month, Lady Wang of Youying (a female immortal venerated by the Shangqing school) transmitted this text and gave it to Xu Changshi (Xu Mi, a Daoist of the Eastern Jin who held the office of changshi, hence the title). This was in response to his heartfelt wish to seek “the true oneness of guarding the feminine” (shouci, the cultivation of maintaining softness, stillness, and single-minded devotion to the Dao).

The seventh-generation ancestor Xu Zhao (original note: “Tiaoweng” refers to the seventh-generation ancestor Xu Zhao) had virtue like flowers and trees taking root, so that his descendants flourished. The character dui should be zhui. To halt one’s steps and withdraw to rest may be done at any time, with no distinction of morning or evening. It is enough that the mind be firm, focused on the true Dao, and subtly preserve the mechanism of spiritual clarity.

As for dwelling in seclusion in high mountains and deep valleys, resting peacefully among secluded forests and marshes—even if worldly affairs are hard to disdain, to disperse the burdens of kinship and single-mindedly savor the divine Dao is indeed a fine choice. If the mind is not single-minded and faults and distracting thoughts fill the breast, then even if one climbs Lang Mountain (a legendary immortal mountain) to wander or reaches Yuanlong (the dark underworld) to pay homage, one will certainly fail. If you must seek emptiness and stillness, I myself will tell you when the time is ripe. It is not yet appropriate to discuss it now.

On the night of the seventeenth day of the eighth month, the Life-Preserving Immortal Lord Xiao Mao gave oral instructions and delivered it to Xu Changshi.

Harboring benevolence and compassion, upholding mercy, removing gloomy anxieties, being guided by a single-minded heart, and causing the Shen (spirit) to dwell securely in the mirror of spiritual clarity—such a person is Xu Changshi. It is a pity that he responds to external things too quickly and seeks the true Dao too urgently. A person must stand forth with vast uprightness and reflect in emptiness and stillness before he can guard the feminine. Since he has already made his request, he should be able to guard it; guarding it is actually not difficult, and I suppose there is nothing improper about it.

On the night of the eighteenth day of the eighth month, Lady Wang of Ziwei transmitted it and showed it to Xu Changshi.

The above four entries are in the handwriting of Yang Xi (a Daoist of the Eastern Jin; many of the scriptures recorded in the Zhengao were written by his hand).

Mu has received your message. You have repeatedly taken pains, and your care has been most thoughtful. Having received the moistening nourishment of your grace, my radiance has become more luminous. On opening and reading it, I am delighted and count myself fortunate, and my gratitude is boundless.

On the night of the eighteenth day of the eighth month, Lady Wang of Ziwei (Wei Huacun, a female Perfected of the Shangqing school, revered as Lady Ziwei) gave oral instruction and showed it to Changshi Xu (Xu Hui, an important transmitter of the Shangqing school). The above four items bear Yang Xi’s handwriting (“Yang’s writing”).

Mu is immersed in the dusty world; how would I dare forget your lifting me up? I have already made a vow in my heart to proceed step by step, to build a house at Dongshan (where Xie An once lived in seclusion; here it refers generally to a secluded place for Daoist cultivation), and to dwell in the mountains and forests. This resolve must be fulfilled; this undertaking must be carried out. Next, relying on the protection of the spirits, I shall ask the deities about the regulations for cultivating the Dao. I think you can also understand this intention of mine.

As for “Zhenyi zhi Ci” (the Female of True Unity), its principle is profound and mysterious, beyond ordinary secret instructions. Mu’s faults and defilements are not yet washed clean; the entanglements of the world are not yet released; my thoughts are turbid and confused, and my sincerity is shallow. I dare not presume on my own to take part in such profound learning. Nanzhen (the Perfected who transmitted the scriptures) took deep pity on me and last spring sent a scripture master to transmit the Way of Pacing the Guideline (Bugang) in the Fangzhu Cavern Chamber (a method of cultivation with stages and an outline). The Eight Purities (Basu) and Nine Perfected (Jiuzhen)—advanced Daoist cultivation methods—should be practiced in orderly sequence. I would not say that I am lazy; it is only that cultivation of the Nine Perfected requires quiet seclusion, while human affairs are complicated, and my failing lies in my inability to concentrate.

When the ancients studied the Dao, they sought teachers and visited friends, passing many years, traveling throughout the mountains, experiencing all dangers and hardships, fully tasting bitter toil, and only then obtaining the essential instructions. My virtue is shallow and my transgressions are heavy; I sit upright in a chamber of faults, yet I have been noticed, accepted, and enrolled by the assembled Perfected. Warnings and awakenings have come in succession, and more than once. The ancients said: “To know it is not difficult; to practice it is difficult.” The grace you have bestowed on me—I will naturally take my time; after the Changshi has moved here from Dongshan, I will transmit it in person. The coming of the Dao does not depend on whether it is slow or fast; the profundity of grace is not a matter of early or late. If you have any command, how would I dare not respond? I respectfully report this.

This is Changshi’s letter replying to the earlier discussion by Youying (Lady Youying) concerning the one matter of the “female.” The subordinate official (yuan) copied it into a book; later it was rewritten, and so this version has been preserved.

End-of-Scroll Colophon

The colophon at the end of this scroll states that the book was composed by the Right Minister of the Golden Citadel, the Director of Destinies, the Supervisor of Waterways of Penglai, and Zhenbai Zhenren, State Preceptor of Liang—that is, the Daoist Tao Hongjing. It was initially copied by scribes; later the original was confusedly emended and recopied, and only this version was preserved.

Yunxiang, Chapter Three

The daughter of Li Qingbin, the Daoist Lord of Middle Mystery of the Northern Origin (a divine immortal of the Middle Mystery realm in the north), was the younger sister of Li Lingfei, the Jade Gentleman and Grand Guardian (a title of an immortal official). She was appointed Lingzhao Furen (Lady of Spiritual Radiance) of the Eastern Palace and presided over the thirteenth Crimson Lodge on Fangzhang Terrace (the immortal terrace on the legendary immortal mountain Fangzhang).

The Lady wore purple brocade garments, carried the Divine Tiger Talisman, and held a flowing-gold bell. Beside her were two attendant maidens; one was about twenty years old, while the Lady was about thirteen or fourteen. The text mentions one maiden named Yinhui. The maidens both wore blue silk garments and each held a red jade box bound tightly with blue cords. On each box was a white jade label (jian, a sealing tag); one was inscribed “Taishang Chapter,” the other “Taishang Text.” (The original repeats this sentence, indicating that the inscriptions on the two boxes were the same.) The writing on these labels was identical to the Jiuhua scripture text described earlier.

At the Lady’s waist was tied a blue-jade-colored sash, shaped like the seal pouches worn by people in the world. The hidden seal (a secret mark) was about five zhang long and three or four chi wide. At parting, she gave down a poem on a sheet of paper and immediately chanted it:

The cloud-pool upholds the framework of heaven;
the seven Qi radiate divine light.
Jade fans open and ring out at dawn;
nine tones echo through the crimson pivot.

Purple mists rise before the vermilion gate;
incense smoke is born beside the emerald window.
With four divine carriages, the tiger guards dance;
blue-curtained immortal cars speed through the void.

The flower canopy tilts with the clouds;
descending phoenixes drive six dragons.
The chariot races past the slopes of the Five Peaks;
the Three Su (the primal Qi of heaven, earth, and humanity) look down upon the cultivator’s dwelling.

Suddenly I smell a stench of blood and filth;
ten thousand turbid Qi surge into my breast.
Filthy things taint the spirit;
the clamorous mortal world clashes and collides.

Even the bright kings have been broken and ruined—
how much more this body of abundant virtue.
I clasp my hands in farewell, grieved that it is too late;
sitting on the ground, worms naturally arise.

On the night of the twenty-second day of the eighth month, Lady Lingzhao (a female immortal in the Zhen'gao, recorded by Yang Xi) bestowed this poem. Its meaning is: impure Qi (vital energy) fumigates the Shen (spirit), and the clamor of the dusty world collides against itself. Even enlightened kings are ruined—how is it that only those of abundant De (Virtue/Power) can preserve themselves? If one does not early bow to the Dao (the Way), one will sit in the dust and breed filth, falling into hardship.

As the lady was about to depart, she sang: Let not the heart be disturbed; let not the Shen be enslaved by material desires. If the Dao is not followed, disasters will increase and become irreversible; once one forever loses the original truth, one will depart from me. She also asked: Will you be born into the Xu family again? I will come again; you need only cultivate diligently.

The above eight entries were transmitted from the Beiyuan edition and copied by the Chief Secretary (Changshi, a member of the Xu family who transcribed this text at the time).

Wang Zijin is Wang Ziqiao, crown prince of King Ling of Zhou; King Ling had thirty-eight sons in all. Ziqiao's sister Guanxiang, born to Song Ji, was his half-sister (same father, different mother). She learned from Ziqiao the Dao of "Fei Jie Tuo Wang" (Flying Liberation and Escape from the Net), by which she freed herself and withdrew into Mount Weizishi. Later she and Ziqiao together entered Luhun (a place name) and cultivated for thirty-nine years, attained the Dao, and was enfeoffed as Inner Transmitted Consort of the Purple Clarity Palace, commanding the Perfected Lady Zhonghou of the Eastern Palace—the so-called "Lady Wang of Zhonghou." Ziqiao's sibling group of seven also all attained the Dao—five men and two women. Meishou was Guanxiang's full brother and likewise attained the Dao. As for Meishou's deeds, the original book is no longer extant; in a manuscript copy there is a record of someone "dreaming of a person" who declared, "I am Wang Meishou's younger sister," which may correspond to this.

Song of Lady Yingwang: I drive the whirlwind and roam the eight directions of empty space, lingering and feasting among ornate dwellings. The Queen Mother of the West (A-mu) invites me to mount the curtained carriage and gaze; I give a clear, long whistle and rise on the numinous wind. Because I come with something on which I rely, I therefore cross the vast sea (Canglang).

Lady Ziwei's reply song: Riding the gale, I go up to the nine heavens and halt my carriage to rest at Sanxiu Ridge. One who has something to rely on will linger and look around; one who relies on nothing should be pure and at ease. What trouble is the water of Canglang? How can it compare with crossing the Xuanjing (the remote realm of cultivating the Dao)?

Song of the Perfected of Tongbai Mountain

I wrote this poem in the Jinting Hall (a place of Daoist cultivation of the Shangqing school), then drove my chariot away from the Sanxiu wonderland. At night I gathered and ate lingzhi; petals draped my body, and I chewed them to stave off hunger. Loudly I sang a long song, transcendent and free; rising in winter to sing because my heart held an expectation. In the empty chaos (Kongtong) I answered the spiritual tones—but if one clings to waiting, what then?

Song of the Qingling Perfected

At dawn I roamed Mount Yujue; at dusk I rested in the Gaohui Hall. Wielding my whip, I strolled among the numinous peaks, not approaching the turbid, worldly waters of Canglang. The mysterious well is three ren deep, yet my horse has no ford or bridge to cross. I soar high like the great Peng over ninety thousand li, gazing far across the eight directions. To have something on which to depend is not true non-dependence; thus the wondrous spiritual tidings suffer some loss.

(This passage repeats the later text and is not explained separately.)

Song of the Lady of Zhonghou

Dragon chariots dance in the Great Void, swiftly carrying me among the Five Peaks. Wherever I arrive, all is free and unfettered; when there is a resonance, I meditate and sing. Having nothing on which to depend, one can respond all the more; because of encounter, one can sing in harmony. How could the Canglang waters be considered far, or the mysterious well be reckoned deep? Mount Yujue can be found within a single step, and the four seas lie entirely within my grasp. How can this compare with the realm beyond the bright? There, only once in three kalpas does one pass through.

Song of Lady Li of Zhaoling

With an open heart I drank wine and surveyed the wisdom of the assembled immortals, then suddenly journeyed throughout the four quarters. I did not know why it was so; truly it was not a journey of dependence. When there is encounter, there is joy; when there is no encounter, there is no sorrow. My form roams freely in the mysterious void, for gathering and scattering are simply the natural order.

Song of Consort An of Nine Flowers

Suddenly the chariot set out from Xihua, and non-dependence and dependence questioned and answered each other. Some gaze afar at the peaks of the Five Peaks; some wash at the ford of the Heavenly River. Setting down the wheel, they seek a boat in the void, and everywhere they are intertwined. Though a mustard seed is tiny, it can suddenly contain ten thousand qing, and within it Mount Sumeru can also be held. Great and small are originally without difference; far and near arise from the same single cause and condition. They come with bodies of dependence; I meet them with a heart of non-dependence.

Song of Consort An of Nine Flowers (Final Section)

Non-dependence is within the Great Origin; dependence is at the bounds of the Great Existence. Great and small are like a single wave; far and near meet together, and at the summit of the mysterious heavens they pluck the strings and draw close.

I. Song of Taixu Nanyue Zhenren (the Perfected One of the Southern Peak in the Great Void)

In the Taiyuan (Great Origin) realm where there is nothing to rely on, things that rely on something have their own limits. Great and small are originally a single fluctuation; far and near also converge in one place. At the summit of Xuanxiao (the highest reaches of heaven), plucking the strings and giving a long cry, one sets in motion the qi of the eight directions. Why not freely drink the numinous liquid and let the eyes roam over the remote lands of the nine directions? If being and nonbeing can merge into mysterious transformation, then the two attachments of youdai (dependence on external things) are encompassed and dissolved.

II. Song of Lord Qingtong

Resting in silence in the immortal realm of Donghua (East Flower), he wields qi and circulates through the eight directions. Looking down at the hills and graves of the dusty world, one does not perceive the height of the Five Peaks. Numinous mountains and deep springs are equal; great and small follow one another. Long and short originally have no distinction of much and little; even the long-lived great chun tree ends in a mere instant. Why not entrust body and mind to the Dao of Heaven and let the spirit roam in Kongtong (the undifferentiated state before heaven and earth divided)?

III. Song of Lady Ziyuan of the Southern Pole

Driving the swift wind and fanning the Great Void, the qi of the Eight Scenes (Bajing) ascends into the heaven of high purity. Raising the body, one floats beyond Purple Dawn (Zichen) and looks down upon the sunken, cut-off dark underworld. The mysterious mind roams within Kongtong, going up and down, never resting. Between the two limits of wudai (freedom from dependence), those of youdai have nothing to seek. Taking nonbeing as substance, one can forget the body and escape the burden of life and death; taking being as substance, one can nurture life. The guests of the East sing aloud in unison: why must the two dependences, being and nonbeing, contend? I travel in the journey of wudai, and things of youdai then appear accordingly. In the lofty assembly the beautiful lady rests peacefully, while the two dependences of being and nonbeing argue with each other over right and wrong. Being and nonbeing originally have no fixed standard; all things of youdai ultimately return to their place.

Editorial Interpretation

The editor believes that these three songs seem to be words spoken when the spirits first descended, but many perfected ones sang aloud; Shangqing Tong, Ziyuan, and Taixu have no place of disordered descent, so it is likely that something was lost in transcription. The doctrine of youdai in the text all points to the matter of Youying, not Anfei. (Youying and Anfei are both personal names.)

I. Riding the Clouds and Ascending, Gazing Down on the Immortal Realm

Leaping up onto the immortal carriage amid the clouds, one looks down at the sky above the rosy clouds. The immortals’ carriages fly crisscross through the air; a purple canopy upholds the quarter where the spirits dwell. Vermilion smoke coils around the banners and pennants, while feather-adorned capes fan up a fragrant wind. Lightning roars like a fierce beast about to seize its prey; thunder rumbles like a dark dragon (black dragon) rising with vigor. Celestial music echoes through the divine court of Kunlun; golden sheng pipes sound, and sacred bells are hymned.

The text then turns to the life of gathering immortal herbs and dwelling on immortal mountains: gathering lingzhi mushrooms on the banks of Canglang, picking immortal flowers atop Bating Peak. The cultivator’s complexion grows ever more radiant, like an infant’s; dwelling quietly on East Mountain, nourishing the form and cultivating the spirit, one communicates with all the spirits. Yet the dusty world is full of worries and sorrows, making one’s temple hair gradually white and bringing on old age. The author laments having wasted time and regrets not having escaped the dusty world sooner to devote himself single-mindedly to cultivation.

II. Background to the Writing

On the evening of the third day of the ninth month, Lady Wang of Yunlin composed this poem and had it transmitted to Xu Changshi (Xu Mi, an Eastern Jin official and later an important believer recorded in the Zhen’gao).

III. Second Passage

The carriage halts; watching the moon move slowly, one turns one’s head and gazes up at the Canglang realm. Having failed to see the immortals and journey with them, one’s heart occasionally wonders when there will be peace and well-being. One can only wait for the season of youth, using it to dispel the longing and forgetfulness in one’s heart.

(The line “Youying chants this again and again” is a recorder’s note, meaning that this poem was recited repeatedly.)

IV. Third Passage

The turtle-shaped immortal gate towers high, and terraces and pavilions encircle it like moon pearls. The assembled immortals sit in the chambers of the Nine Spirits, striking jade chimes and intoning the Great Origin (the primal Qi at the beginning of heaven and earth). With jade flutes they answer the spirits; with golden sweet wine (immortal wine) they dispel my sorrow. Feasting within Donghua, they bring forth the sounds of a thousand kinds of harmonious music. Lord Qing (an immortal official) calls me to rise, and I bow in salute toward the forest courtyard. Feather capes fan out emerald light, and jade pendants jingle. Together we point toward the high places of morning and agree to meet in the hidden realm within images (a deep, mysterious place of the immortal world).

(The note “The above two pieces were sung by Ziwei”: the two pieces above were sung by Lady Ziwei.)

V. Final Passage

With light body I lift my steps and ascend to the crimson sky; a flying wind from the north blows toward Longting. The radiance of the immortal realm shines upon the immortal terrace, and the full moon tilts with the wind. Sunlight and moon essence reflect each other; immortals in the halls of Yunlin hold each other’s sleeves, speak together, and make pledges, able to make white hair black again and restore a childlike face. In the whistling wind I entrust myself to a place with no fixed dwelling—why should one bother with the right and wrong of the world? The rivalries of the dusty world are like battle arrays; turmoil arises of itself—how can one even speak of nourishing life?

(The note “The above was composed by Xuanlong; Lady Ziwei sang in response”: this piece was composed by Xuanlong, and Lady Ziwei sang in response.)

A Vernacular Reading of the Scripture Text of the Zhen Gao

First Passage (Title note: composed by Ziwei of the Right Mysterious Ridge)

Looking down in the early morning, purple cloud-qi floats in the air. It is said that when cultivation reaches this state, white hair can turn black and the old can return to childhood. Life in the dusty world is like lodging in a house without foundation; how can those quarrels over right and wrong be managed well? On the battlefield, disrupting one another and contending for supremacy—how can this be spoken of as nourishing life?

Second Passage (Composed by Ziwei of the Right Mysterious Ridge)

In the early morning I gaze at the purple cloud-qi, while immortal scenes of the eight directions swirl before my eyes. Immortal youths hold jade-cup-like nectar, and immortal maidens entertain with flowers like fine jade and precious jade paste. They arrange to meet by the White Water and to pick for me those fading, withered immortal pearls. Eastern clouds and rosy light shine upon the immortal chambers; purple immortal clouds float among crimson stars. Two immortals uphold the essentials of the Dao and guard the place where the Perfected dwell. The eight immortal terraces can be seen from afar; looking north, one can ascend to the realm of primal qi. Gazing far amid pure clouds, in the vast indistinctness I tread the sun’s shadow and move slowly. Exhaling and inhaling, I connect with numinous qi and hide my radiance in the Eastern Mountains. For long I have dwelt peacefully above the human world, with no leisure on any day. How could this compare with the essential nature of Yi Gong (the legendary Dao-attainer), able to return to this childlike countenance?

Third Passage (Evening of the sixth day of the ninth month; composed as an instruction by Yunlin, for Marquis Xu)

Above the Great Rosy Cloud Heaven I loosen the horse’s reins and gather them to go toward the purple hill. Holding in my hand the qi of the eight directions’ void, with one leap I float in the clouds. One glance reveals the vigorous qi of creation; a second look finds the high and distant fields (the immortal realm). Since the essentials of cultivating the Dao are already complete, a thousand worries can be released. Seeking the true Dao, I have met true fellow travelers and will not leave again; what else is there to seek?

Fourth Passage (Composed as an instruction by Lady Ziwei, shown to Chief Clerk Xu, and also given to fellow students)

Here “fellow students” refers to Xi Hui.

In the morning I arrive at the palaces of the Great Rosy Cloud Heaven; jade chambers rise clear and bright amid the sky. Taking in the grandeur of the Three Marvels (the wondrous phenomena of heaven and earth), my form floats and flies through the distant, vast void. Within the cinnabar clouds the Perfected are present; golden light shines and nurtures upright essential qi. The winds of the eight directions stir brocade-like cloud coverlets; emerald trees illuminate the four directional spirits (Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise). The ornate canopy resonates with orchid-like aurora; jade chambers rise clear and bright amid the sky. Taking in the grandeur of the Three Marvels, my form floats and flies through the distant, vast void. Within the cinnabar clouds the Perfected are present; golden light shines and nurtures upright essential qi. The winds of the eight directions stir brocade-like cloud coverlets; emerald trees illuminate the four directional spirits. The canopy corresponds with orchid radiance; holding purple reins, I drive an immortal carriage with green curtains. When a covenant of faith is formed, one can commune with the divine; understanding extends by analogy and accords with the sincere heart of the heavenly Dao. Why be pulled along by external forms? One should contemplate those immortal scenes like precious jade.

Fifth Passage (The ninth day of the ninth month; composed as an instruction by Lady Youying of Yunlin)

This is a title-like passage, recording that this poem was composed on the ninth day of the ninth month by Lady Youying of Yunlin through a descending revelation.

First Poem (Opening Poem of the Scripture)

The purple sky is bright and clear, and the palaces seem to encircle a crimson Milky Way. A multitude of immortals gathers in the halls of the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) paradise; cloud terraces rise high, radiant with light. Eight immortal carriages halt by the red pool, and feathered canopies rise above the trees of the clouds. The stirring pure wind turns the sun, moon, and stars, while golden bells scatter luster like jade. The seven reins of the immortal carriage draw the Nine Heavens; the immortals gaze far off at will, not confined to a single dwelling. I ask those who seek the Dao: why do you still sit trapped amid the waves of the dusty world? How can you grasp the refined Qi (vital energy) of the east, nurture the true origin, and gather the Qi of Great Harmony?

Note: On the ninth day of the ninth month, Lady Ziwei composed this poem and thereby showed it to Xi. Xi was Fanghui, the recipient at that time, and is called “Fanghui” by his style name.

Second Poem

Sunlight and the dark heaven reflect each other, their radiance illumining the eight directions. Red clouds float in the high morning sky, and I roam freely in the spirit wind. Beating my wings, I ride the white pure wind and gaze afar into the jade terrace. An emerald canopy blends with the dawn, and azure chariot curtains soar into the sky. Bowing with hands clasped to the right, I take leave of the Emperor of the Eastern Grove; looking upward, I pay homage to the Sovereign of the Great Void. Immortal guests split open phoenix-like brains and freely drink the nectar of the elixir of ascent. Celestial music in the clouds echoes through winding chambers; a thousand strains of sound are so clear and pleasing. Brocade banners summon fierce beasts, and ornate pennants rise and fall in the wind. The Fragrance Mother bends low and sings, while purple smoke fills the space among the hall’s beams. Holding the reins, I arrive at the High Clarity immortal palace and unharness my carriage in the chamber of the beautiful one. The qi of former times had just begun to stir; numinous transformations soar in accord with heavenly Qi. My mind is distant, sighing at the bounds of the mysterious; as years accumulate, I attain long life like the chun tree. Though the bodily form is content in turbidity, in movement and stillness it has already lost the clear original heart. My companion in the Dao is truly not like this: honor and disgrace were all forgotten yesterday.

Note: On the night of the eighteenth day of the ninth month, Lady Youying of Yunlin composed this poem and said, “My words end here.”

Third Poem (Composed by Lady Youying)

Crimson sunlight floats in the mysterious dawn; riding a purple cloud carriage, I travel far on rising smoke. Ascending beyond into the green immortal palace, I look down on cities like vermilion flame. The eastern clouds open a vast radiance, and wondrous light illumines the Seven Spirits. The three luminaries—sun, moon, and stars—reflect and flutter, flowing at will and merging into the dark mystery. Wind coils through the hollow cosmos; my words end here.

Opening Poem of the Scroll (Paraphrase)

Red radiance emerges in the mysterious dawn; the purple immortal carriage sets out on a distant journey, riding smoke and clouds. Looking up, the body transcends the emerald-green palace towers of the Heavenly Gate; looking down, below lies a city illumined by vermilion firelight. In the east the clouds part in vast radiance, and divine light illumines the seven spirits within the body (the seven deities in the human body that govern the Shen). The sunlight mirrors the Three Lights (generally the three radiances of sun, moon, and stars), and following the flowing Qi one naturally merges with the realm of Xuanming (Mysterious Darkness). Wind circles through the empty, deep grotto-heaven; fragrance and celestial music arise to the rhythm. The cultivator holds a ritual implement as if dancing the Weaving Maiden’s dance, while robe sleeves and the Gourd Star (a celestial star name) share the courtyard. Beside the carriage green feather banners flutter, and the canopy tilts with the cloud Qi. Resting peacefully on the outer verge of the Ninefold Heaven, the rights and wrongs of the world no longer entangle the mind. Embracing the true origin and dwelling in the realm of Great Stillness, the Qi of the Golden Elixir increasingly condenses, and the infant in Neidan (the spirit of embryonic breathing accomplished through cultivation) grows fuller day by day. How could this compare with being amid faults and defilements, bleak and sorrowful, utterly without joy in life?

Note to the First Passage

On the night of the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, it was revealed and recorded by Lady Yunlin Youying. Lady Yunlin Youying is Wei Huacun (a female immortal of the Eastern Jin, revered by the Shangqing school as Zixu Yuanjun), an important transmitter of the Shangqing revelations recorded in the Zhen’gao.

“Thrice I Grasped the Purple Carriage, Tilting the Clouds Toward the Eastern Forest’s Bend” (Paraphrase)

Repeatedly grasping the purple immortal carriage, the cloud Qi leaned toward the eastern forest. “A” is an exclamatory particle.

“Youying Intoned This Dao.”

Lady Youying intoned this Dao.

“The Above, Coming from ‘Leaping and Bounding,’ Totals Thirteen Chapters. All Have Yang Xi’s Handwritten Copies, and Some Are Intermingled with Transcriptions Based on Other Versions.”

The scriptures listed here, coming from “Leaping and Bounding,” total thirteen chapters. All have handwritten copies by Yang Xi, and some are intermingled with transcriptions based on other versions. Yang Xi was the principal recipient of the Shangqing scriptures.

“Dispelling Stagnation and Stinginess, Relying on the Exhaustive Practice of Virtue—Is This Not Excellent? What Is Feared Is Virtue’s ...” (Paraphrase)

To dispel stagnant and stingy thoughts and rely on exhaustively practicing virtue—is this not excellent? One only fears that virtue may not be repaid... “A” is a modal particle.

“Dispelling Stagnation and Stinginess, Relying on the Exhaustive Practice of Virtue—Is This Not Excellent? If One Worries That Virtue Will Not Be Repaid, What One Should Worry About Is Only That One Has Not Planted Enough Blessings. This Single Practice Seems to Be a Field of Blessing; All Other Matters Can Be Comprehended by Analogy.”

To dispel stagnation and stinginess and rely on the exhaustive practice of virtue—is this not excellent? If one worries that virtue will not be repaid, what one should truly worry about is that one has not planted enough blessings. This single line of scripture seems to be the principle of the “field of blessing” (the field in which blessings grow, a metaphor for how cultivation and good deeds bring blessings); all other matters can be inferred by analogy.

Note to the Final Passage

On the third day of the twelfth month, it was announced by Lady Yunlin Youying. This entry has a handwritten copy by Yang Xi; another version differs slightly in wording.

Xu Mu replied in trepidation: Your benevolence is truly profound, and you have even bestowed newly composed poems upon me. Their diction is as brilliant as colored clouds, their rhymes as clear as gold and jade—a rare and extraordinary work among the literary groves, magnificent as gorgeous brocade. Their principles are subtle and far-reaching. Having read them with reverence, I treasure them with a sincere heart and constantly receive, uphold, and recite them. My merit is shallow, yet the recompense in the unseen is already heavy; how dare I not encourage myself by the metaphor of the “field of blessing”? Through your fine and beautiful teachings, your affection is deep as mountains and seas. I have gained inspiration and awakening amid movement and stillness, and I hope you will look down with compassion and accept this reply. In trepidation, Xu Mu writes and presents this before the seat of Lady Yunlin Youying (that is, Wei Huacun, a Daoist female immortal and an important figure in the Shangqing tradition). This is the letter replying to the one on “dispelling stagnation and stinginess” (removing the stagnation and grudging attachment in the heart); the draft still survives to this day.

Qingtong Dajun (the Great Lord Azure Lad, the Azure Lad of Donghua, a Daoist deity) often chanted: If one wishes to cultivate the good roots of quiescent liberation, one should uproot the sprouts of birth and death. If one sinks into them, one will in the end fall beneath the Nine Springs, merely because one clings to this bodily form.

Taixu Zhenren (the Perfected Man of the Great Void) often chanted: When one contemplates spirit as bearing the bodily form, it is like a cart and horse relying on each other. When the cart is destroyed the horse flees; the two are temporarily joined, both merely transient supports. Alas, people of the world do not understand this principle and only cherish wind and fire (referring to the breath and heat of the body, that is, the continuation of life). Having planted karmic offenses beneath Heaven’s net, they must then suffer poison below in the hells.

Xicheng Zhenren, Lord Wang, often chanted: Spirit is the boat that crosses the bodily form; when it reaches the other shore it should depart. The bodily form is not spirit’s permanent dwelling, nor is spirit always carried within the bodily form. Lingering between birth and death, one vainly falls into distress, only because the mind hesitates and cannot decide.

Xiaoyou Zhenren, Lord Wang (Wang Bao), often chanted: Losing the Great Dao, one falls to the ford of death; the three hun souls become confused on the path of seeking life. Life gradually departs, while death gradually approaches. How sad—this suffering countenance, the radiance of the root has already been overturned. Rising, one hastens toward a dwindling life; how could one know that one is returning to withered old age?

These verses were chanted by the four Zhenren each on the day of the autumn equinox last year, at the great assembly at Yaotai, to match the strings of the celestial music Xuanjun and Guangshao.

Note: The main text records, “In the tenth month he announced ‘last month.’” If this refers to an announcement made in the tenth month, “last month” would seem to mean the ninth month; but in the south the autumn equinox should fall in the eighth month. Thus, if “last month” is understood according to the southern calendar, it makes sense.

The fifteenth day of the tenth month: Lady Youying dictated this text and had someone record it.

The above five items were written by the yuan (the subordinate clerk responsible for transcription).

First Poem

On all four sides banners shine against the clear void; vermilion carriages fly above the numinous mound. Jade canopies screen the radiance of the Seven Stars; beating their wings, they float above the cloud heights. Nine kinds of immortal music ring out clearly in the purple sky; the sound of jade chimes penetrates the Great Void. In the palaces of the Three Luminaries (sun, moon, and stars), we feast, drink, and chant; we raise long whistles and call to companions. Before we know it, the years—long as those of the great chun tree—have already passed; who would have thought that sun and moon have already turned? Though the beautiful one temporarily forgets worldly thoughts, she has not yet laid down all her sorrows. In the deep forest one can truly be pure and still; in rock caves there is joy of its own.

The seventeenth day of the tenth month: Lady Yunlin composed this poem and presented it to Lord Xu.

Second Poem

In my left hand I hold the Jade Flower (an immortal blossom); with flying radiance I tread the Seven Origins (the heaven of the seven stars). The Three Luminaries glow with purple radiance; gazing afar, I soothe Mingzhen (the luminous true Dao). Transformations and leapings occur in an instant; on every side all has become spirit. Spiritual Qi radiates without bound; earnestly I yearn for the Shangqing scriptures. I do not know why perverse and contrary stray thoughts arise, so that your mind cannot become single. Original note: This character should be “yinya,” describing the swiftness of transformation. Since you have departed from the calculating mind, you do not notice that the years have already flowed away.

The seventeenth day of the tenth month: Lady Yunlin again composed this poem. Its content is basically the same as the preceding one; only the final line differs.

The eighteenth day of the tenth month, composed by Lady Ziwei. The above two pieces are handwritten copies by Yang Xi.

Third Poem

Climbing north to the Xuanzhen Gate (an immortal palace), hand in hand with others I form a lofty assembly (an immortal gathering). Incense smoke spreads through the eight directions; a mysterious wind stirs crimson waves. Looking up, I transcend the measures of the Lang Garden; looking down, I see the cloud heights and ridges and mounds (hills). Jade flutes play above the clouds; phoenix cries resound through the nine distant reaches (the farthest places). Riding Qi, I float in the Great Void—why need tread mountains and cross rivers? With the golden tally I command the feathered spirits (immortals), summon divine troops, and subdue the ten thousand demons. Together we receive the radiance of sun and moon; the thousand-year great chun tree has only just sprouted. If one loses one’s true nature and throws oneself into the chamber of vigilance and restraint, one knows not what to do.

Fourth Poem (basically the same as the latter half of the third)

Looking up at the Taixia Palace, golden pavilions shine in the distant Purple Clarity. Riding Qi, I float in the Great Void—why need tread mountains and cross rivers? With the golden tally I command the feathered spirits, summon divine troops, and subdue the ten thousand demons. Together we receive the light of the two dawns (sun and moon); the thousand-year great chun tree has only just sprouted. If one loses one’s true nature and throws oneself into the chamber of vigilance and restraint, one knows not what to do.

Looking up at the Taixia Palace, golden towers and pavilions reflect the Purple Clarity Heaven. Splendid halls mirror the pure Qi of Great Simplicity, and windows on all four sides are adorned with vermilion jade. At the Kongtong Ford—a ford in the immortal realm—immortals turn their carriages and horses; immortals in green-curtained carriages wave their reins and dance. Jade Flower immortal carriages fly with cloud canopies, while attendant consorts of the Queen Mother of the West raise brocade banners and give direction.

Suddenly, from the dusty margins of the turbid world, they soar upward and lightly descend into the beautiful lady’s courtyard. When the response from former lives reaches its time, they descend; the one to be summoned is already in the hidden realm. Riding the wind, they make music in the morning clouds and together drink freely of the immortal realm’s Danlin wine. The lords and nobles of the world merely gaze up in vain from their smallness; how could they know the numinous marvels of the Zhenren (Perfected)?

Appendix note:

These two poems were bestowed and received on the twentieth day of the tenth month. They were probably also composed when Lady Youying (Wei Huacun, a female Zhen of the Shangqing tradition, titled “Lady Youying of Yunlin”) instructed Changshi Xu Mu.

Although carriages and horses are valuable, they are ignored by passersby; this is the arrangement of one’s lot and fate, and one need not weigh gain and loss. Though a cup is small, it was stolen by a servant boy, and for this I grieved. Now the divine powers have clearly discerned it and have caught the thief. This is meant to make people fear evil and incline toward good, and to distinguish good from evil. Though now silent, even petty people are sufficiently aware of the spirits’ response; there is a lesson in this, and it is not merely a trivial matter. If one cannot be at ease in such a small matter, then one’s cultivation is insufficient. Respectfully submitted to Lady Youying of Yulin.

The ninth day of the eleventh month. This is a reply to what Lady Youying bestowed; the relevant text is now no longer extant.

Xu Mu, in fear and trembling, speaks: I am sunk in vulgarity and adrift in the darkness of the dusty world; my sins grow with the years and my faults accumulate with the days. Fortunately I met with a mysterious time, and a spiritual impulse opened this opportunity; the mist was parted and I became clear and penetrating. The true numen is pure and refined, and has further granted me admonition and awakening. I have received your gift of words: the ornate phrases are like a forest, with the sound of gold and jade, and with orderly rules. My father and I are of ordinary and slight endowments and truly cannot bear it; rising early, I urge myself on and dare not be lax. I look up with admiration and pour out my feelings, yet my words cannot flow freely. Xu Mu, in fear and trembling, speaks. This too is a reply to a poem bestowed by Lady Youying; I do not know which one exactly, and it seems it is no longer extant.

The two entries above are from the autograph manuscript of Changshi Xu Mu.

First Poem

In the Numinous Valley the orchids grow thick; I dwell in seclusion within Qiyan Capital. I wear coarse cloth, yet it is as honored as the splendid robes of immortals; I bind my waist with rope, yet it rings clearly like jade pendants. My body spirals through the deep and distant immortal realm, while my spirit flies beyond to the Taixia Court (the celestial palaces). In heaven there are steps that lead to the worthy, and through the air come the voices of Zhenren (Perfected). I restrain my thought of ascending at dawn and halt this green carriage.

Looking down within the eight directions, I bow and sigh that the entanglements of the dusty world linger on. After liberation, casting off the waves of the dust, I ascend to this distant and pure realm. If through turmoil and fear the Three Fluids (saliva in the mouth, regarded in Daoist cultivation as essence) dry up, one will vainly exhaust one’s allotted lifespan.

Second Poem

On the night of the first day of the twelfth month, the Lady of Nanyue (Wei Huacun, a female Perfected of the Shangqing tradition, revered as Lady Wei of Nanyue) composed this poem and sent it to Xu Changshi (Xu Mi, an Eastern Jin Daoist who held the post of Changshi).

Driving a flying carriage, I ascend the high terrace at dawn; reins in hand, I drive toward the corner of the hidden realm. Holding the sleeve of the Purple Emperor (a title for the supreme celestial being), I gallop with the winds of the eight directions. The green curtains of Yuhua (a fairy maiden) unfurl in the wind, and blue skirts fan emerald lapels. Her crown rises high and dazzles with light; her ornaments are exquisite, bearing bright pearls like moonlight.

For a time I was forced into the dusty world and could only cover my nose to avoid the foul stench of those in the way. This foul Qi has sullied my Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy), yet now the hundred illnesses have all dissolved within my heart. Why not rise floating and stroll freely in the Taixu (the great void)?

Third Poem

On the night of the first day of the twelfth month, Lady Li Zhaoling of the Left Terrace of Fangzhang (one of the three divine mountains in the Eastern Sea), a female immortal, composed this poem and sent it to Xu Yufu (a person’s name).

At dawn I take leave of the crimson clouds, gather the immortal Qi, and ascend to roam above the sky. Lingering in the immortal carriage, I tread over winding waves, and thus personally experience the sorrows of the world. Words and purport rise in abundance, not stopping at the ridges of Sanxiu (the lingzhi, a divine herb). Why not roam through the Mysterious Land (the immortal realm) and play immortal music for your own delight? Your realm has its limits; I wish to reach non-being within being.

The above poem was composed by Ying (the name of an immortal). Riding sunlight, I wander with the worthy; I urge my reins below the Eastern Garden. Youying intones this Dao (the Way).

Fourth Passage

These mysterious phrases, when chewed over, yield a soft and fluent sound; the melody is fitting and the metaphors are clear. There is reason for reverently chanting them. Now that the profound purport is settled, I can perhaps grasp the principle within them.

Fifth Passage

On the fourteenth day of the twelfth month, Lady Yunlin (a female immortal) composed this poem and sent it to Changshi. It is a response to a poem by Changshi, but Changshi’s original is no longer extant.

The above five pieces were written by the hand of Yang Xi (an Eastern Jin Daoist and an important transmitter of the Shangqing tradition).

Lord Xu is clear and lofty, comprehending the profound and subtle Great Dao; he is a true cultivator of the Dao. He will manifest spiritual radiance upon the Square Mound (Fangqiu), leap among the clouds and rosy mists, fly bodily into the nine heavens, and become a model for immortals and perfected beings. He receives transmission from the Golden Palace (the celestial immortal palace) and nurtures those who have reached the utmost. His virtue is humane, generous, and harmonious; his teaching is disciplined yet peaceful. He may be called an outstanding talent between Heaven and Earth and a craftsman of norms for later generations.

At dawn he quietly cultivates, his radiance contained within, rising above the high heavens. He entrusts his mind and spirit to a mysterious dwelling, and his spirit-qi rests within the Spirit Mansion. His mind is like a silent sharp blade, cutting off worldly ties and returning to the source of the Great Beginning. He severs marital and kinship affections within and beyond, entrusting subtle union to secret visualization.

He himself wished to hide among layered mountains, his talent obscured amid the clouds, yet by this he turned away from his father. If his father were a foolish man, this could still be understood; but he should have been listed together in the numinous registers (the immortal roster) and entered into the cloud tablets. When fate and circumstance meet, how should this be expressed?

Formerly Xue Lü, courtesy name Jihe, went to the northern foot of Mount Zhong (present-day Purple Mountain in Nanjing) to study the true Dao, but failed to pass seven tests. He was the younger brother of Elder Xue of Changli. His failure came from indulgence in desire: he lost the correct position, and his mind-nature was like stone, unable to turn back, so he failed the tests. Yet this man was kind, harmonious, and sincere, and he also delighted in whistling songs, the sound of phoenix cries, and playing the mysterious zither. Therefore he often sang with an empty mind and listened intently with concentrated spirit; the sounds moved his heart and soul, so that his spirit-qi did not scatter. This was because he delighted in whistling and imitating the phoenix cry.

Master Changli was a man of Yan-Dai (around northern present-day Hebei) and a contemporary of King Wu of Zhou. The master once consulted Taishang (the Supreme Lord Laozi) about this matter, and Taishang then had Xue Lü continue cultivating the yin operation, causing him to eliminate subtle attachments as far as possible, release the obstructions of dust-stain, and let new radiance swiftly ascend into the transcendent realm of emptiness. This was precisely Lord Changli’s wish.

If this passage should use the word you (“still”), it means the waves of desire have not been stirred; if it uses yu (“more”), it means all the more outstanding. Even if he were made to undergo a hundred tests, would he still be the former Xue Lü? Master and disciple have an agreement: to brush away dust and ornament and cultivate to the fullest of their nature. If this can be done, I need not expend much effort. The actions of the worthy should afterward be examined in detail. The reason for this secret communication is the beginning of destiny; perhaps one should indeed gain some understanding.

The qi of Yan is hard within and soft without, quiet and at ease with its scenery. Therefore the people of Yan, hearing the north wind, feel sorrow; seeing the sunlight shine, feel at ease; longing for fine horses, they yearn to gallop; appreciating gentle compliance, their minds change. Was that man’s heart ever not like this? This is precisely the ethos of his native place, an instinctive response like the fox that dies with its head toward its mound. If you can believe this, your affair can succeed.

If this passage should use the word yong (“blockage”), then desires are stagnated, the cinnabar-red qi does not flow freely, so that the spiritual person joins hands and returns in vain, and the noble friend gathers his sleeves and withdraws at twilight; spirit-qi no longer circulates, the dwelling of his heart is silent and blocked, and he no longer opens his eyes. This is probably fate; it is truly lamentable. Changli’s younger brother was originally from Yan-Dai, so here it calls him “grain qi,” using this to figure Changli’s intention.

On the night of the sixteenth day of the twelfth month, Youying (the name of a divine immortal) descended and revealed scriptures. The two scriptures listed above are in the handwriting of Yang Xi (an Eastern Jin Daoist and the principal recorder of the Zhen'gao). There follow the names of the divine immortals: Taiyuan Zhenren, Lady Wang Youying of Yunlin, the Zixu Yuanjun of the Southern Marchmount, the Zhenfei of Nine Splendors, Qingling Zhenren, Ziyang Zhenren, Tongbai Zhenren, and Lady Li of Zhaoling—eight in all.

On the night of the seventeenth day of the twelfth month, in the Donghua upper chamber of the Fangzhu Palace (a palace in the legendary eastern immortal realm), the Lingfei sang a song:

Purple cassia trees are planted in a garden like the Jade Pool; red blossoms give forth a plaintive, clear sound. In the moon palace is a deep pool where immortal medicine grows; within the sun are pools of jade-like water. On the left, perfect and full spiritual radiance is raised up; on the right, the glow of cinnabar clouds is drawn along. Flowing golden light illumines the crimson courtyard; the radiance of the immortal scenes in the eight directions is utterly pure, and mist and smoke swirl without dispersing. Green canopies float; bright light shines far; holding the tally of command, one issues orders to Taiwei (a celestial constellation symbolizing the dwelling place of the Heavenly Emperor).