《洞渊集》

Your servant Li Sicong is a Daoist priest of the Dazhong Xiangfu Temple in Qianzhou. In my private view, the precious Daoist scriptures, the "jade-case and kingfisher-slip" texts (langhan cuizha) and the "jade-tablet purple writings" (yuji zishu, secret immortal canons), are vast in number and countless in their fascicles, and searching out and explaining their contents is a task of even broader scope. As for the profound scriptures of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing, the highest deities of Daoism), the resplendent Chart of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks, the ancient literature on the palaces and gardens of the immortal realms, and the present-day accounts of the Ten Continents of the immortals, there are indeed many.

The pure and tranquil tradition of the Dao is of long and distant origin, yet the histories record little of it, and learned men of past ages have rarely compiled such material. After finishing my morning and evening practice, and after the offerings at the hearth, I have often quietly explored the deep and subtle principles and arranged them one by one. Though the Cinnabar Terrace is remote and the Purple Palace is deep, by drawing them all into diagrams one may see them as clearly as if before one's own eyes, and point to them as if with one's own hand. In this way, those who revere the Dao may join in praising the state's civilizing influence, and those who comprehend its principles may pray to Heaven for the Emperor's long life.

I have been fortunate to live in an age of peace under Heaven, and so able to promote the pure and tranquil tradition. I have gathered widely the illustrated records of the immortal realms and, having compiled them, respectfully present them to Your Majesty. Your servant is fearful and uneasy, and kowtows twice in reverence.

I respectfully submit: Your Majesty, the Emperor who embodies Heaven and models the Dao, whose writing is reverent, whose martial skill is keen, and who is divine, sage, filial, and virtuous, received the auspicious mandate and governs the realm, holding a clear mirror by which to rule the people. Your virtue surpasses that of all previous sovereigns, and your grace will be passed down through the ages. Like Emperor Yao's bounty, it covers the four quarters and revives all things; like Emperor Shun's radiance, it illumines the world and brings harmony to the eight directions. Thus the peoples of the Eastern Yi and Southern Yue bow their heads and turn toward your benevolence, and the people of the northern Hu and western lands sincerely submit to your teaching. All who live in this enlightened age exhaust their sincerity and feel deep gratitude.

From my youth, your servant has devoted painstaking study to the Dao. Whenever I read the writings of earlier worthies and the marvelous tales of the Daoist community, I often felt that their contents were too broad and seldom traced matters to their roots. Day and night I have applied myself, investigating scriptures and Daoist documents, collecting related accounts and composing them into chapters. Over many years they have accumulated into a considerable number of volumes. They are now compiled as the Diagram of the Jade Purity Realm Without Limit (Yuqing zongji tu), the Diagram of the Grotto-Heavens and Five Sacred Peaks (Dongtian wuyue tu), the Diagram of the Penghu Palace Gardens (Penghu weiyuan tu), the Diagram of the Great Qi Numinous Waters (Daqi lingzi tu), the Diagram of Famous Mountains and Blessed Lands (Mingshan fudi tu), and the Diagram of the Golden Liquid and Returned Elixir (Jinye huandan tu).

Having been fortunate to meet an enlightened age, your servant dares not hide these books in a humble dwelling and wishes instead to present them to the court. If they might in some small way receive Your Majesty's imperial perusal, then the labors of my life will not have been in vain. I presume to submit them with this memorial, offending Your Majesty's dignity, with a heart trembling in fear and a reverence beyond all unease. Your servant, fearful, kowtows twice and respectfully presents this memorial.

In the twelfth month of the first year of the Huangyou era under Emperor Renzong of Song, Li Sicong, a Daoist priest of the Xiangfu Palace in Qianzhou, submitted a memorial requesting permission to present his Illustrations of the Grotto-Heavens, Seas, and Sacred Mountains.

Memorial of Li Sicong, Daoist priest of the Dazhong Xiangfu Palace in Qianzhou:

I, Li Sicong, am of humble origins, yet I was born in a flourishing age. For many years I have been nourished by the Song dynasty's teaching of Wuwei (non-action, 无为), and have been fortunate to live under a court that honors the Dao (the Way, 道). By nature I am dull, and I have not fully mastered the canons of the immortals; my talents are shallow, and I can scarcely fathom the vast and profound principles they contain.

Since the first year of the Mingdao era, I have gradually studied the secret texts of the Daoist tradition and the scriptures expounded by sages and perfected beings of past ages. I have probed their subtle depths and investigated their fine and wondrous roots, and from this I have compiled and painted the following scrolls:

Illustration of the Jade Void's Wandering to the Utmost, which describes the marvelous workings of the transformations of Qi (vital energy, 气) in the realm of emptiness and non-being; Illustration of the Grotto-Heavens and Five Peaks, which extols the numinous beauty of the immortal mountains of the Five Peaks; Illustration of the Enclosed Gardens of Penglai and Pot Mountain, which depicts the splendid realms of the island of Penglai and the Ten Continents; Illustration of the Numinous Waters of the Great Qi Sea, which recounts the mysteries of the dragon palaces and ocean realms; Illustration of Famous Mountains and Blessed Lands, which portrays the hidden scenes of such immortal realms as the Purple Palace and the Cinnabar Terrace; and Illustration of the Golden Liquid and Returned Elixir, which gathers together the methods of firing and timing used by the immortals in refining the elixir.

These scrolls are large in scale and inconvenient to consult. I have therefore also compiled a separate set, the Reclining Perusal Illustrations, in ten rolls, which is now complete.

I reflect that I gathered and arranged these records and labored over them for many years only in the hope of using them to praise the imperial court's governance of the Dao. How would I dare to seek the emperor's favor? Now that the Qianyuan Festival (the celebration of the emperor's birthday) draws near, I intend to copy each of the six illustrations in six copies and present them together with the ten rolls of the Reclining Perusal Illustrations. I respectfully submit this memorial and request permission to present them.

Note: The heading and closing of the original memorial contain repetitions, and certain words and phrases may contain scribal or transcription errors. The translation above has been arranged according to the sense of the text.

The above memorial has been presented as stated earlier. According to the statement of the Daoist Li Sicong, and in addition to the matters mentioned above, I, Liang Gong, together with the officials of this prefecture, have investigated and learned that Li Sicong has devoted himself to the study of Daoist arts and has long read the canonical writings of the immortals. Over many years his accomplishments have become evident. He has composed illustrated scrolls depicting the scenes of the cave-dwellings of Mount Penglai and what he witnessed while roaming the realm of Jade Purity (Yuqing), and has written poems and prefaces for these paintings. The language of his poems and prose is bright and clear, and their style is fresh and elegant, so they are suitable to be submitted for Your Majesty's viewing in order to promote the Daoist teaching. Moreover, at the time of the Qianyuan celebration, tribute from every region is being presented in great numbers. The excellence of these works springs from lofty immortals, and we hope they may also accord with the grand undertaking Your Majesty is planning. If they could be presented together with the tribute, so that Your Majesty might view them, we earnestly hope that this matter may reach the ear of the Throne.

The illustrated scrolls, including the Yuqing youji (Roaming the Limits of Jade Purity), each come with a poem and preface, and their wording and conception are indeed commendable. At present these scrolls are all held in custody by this prefecture, and we do not yet dare to present them on our own authority.

The illustrated scrolls, including the Yuqing youji, each come with a poem and preface, and their wording and conception are indeed commendable. At present these scrolls are all held in custody by this prefecture, and we do not yet dare to present them on our own authority. We hope they may accord with the grand undertaking Your Majesty is planning; if they could be presented together with the tribute, so that Your Majesty might view them, we earnestly hope that this matter may reach the ear of the Throne.

Zhongshu Liu Zi, transmitted to the Zhaoxin Army.

Qianzhou reports a document from Li Sicong, a Daoist of the Palace of Great Auspiciousness (Dazhongxiangfu Gong), which states: Since the first year of the Mingdao era, he has gradually gathered material from the secret canons of the Daoist tradition and from the Daoist discourses of sages and worthies through the ages, probing their profound and subtle contents and devoting himself to the fine and essential principles within them. He has composed the Yuqing youji tu (Illustration of Roaming the Limits of Jade Purity), which describes the scenes and transformations of spirit-wandering (Shen, spirit) in the realm of emptiness and nothingness; the Dongtian wuyue tu (Illustration of the Grotto-Heavens and Five Peaks), which praises the numinous realms of the immortal mountains of the Five Peaks; the Penghu yueyuan tu (Illustration of Viewing the Gardens of Penglai and Pot Mountain), which sings of the lovely scenery of the Isle of Penglai and the Ten Continents; the Daming lingdu tu (Illustration of the Numinous Readings of the Great Obscurity), which expounds the mysteries of the Dragon Palace and the hidden realms beneath the sea; the Mingshan fudi tu (Illustration of Famous Mountains and Blessed Lands), which chants the secret transmissions of such immortal realms as the Purple Mansion and the Cinnabar Terrace; and the Jinye huandan tu (Illustration of the Golden Liquid and Returned Elixir), which gathers the fire-timing principles by which immortals refine the elixir (Dan).

These pictures number six sheets in all, and there are in addition ten scrolls of Wopi tu (Illustrations for Reading in Repose). Li Sicong requests that they be presented to the court. The officials of this prefecture examined them and judged that they are indeed commendable. The pictures are currently held in custody by this prefecture and have not yet been sent up to the court; we respectfully await the imperial decision.

Note: The phrase "Zhongshu Liu Zi, transmitted to the Zhaoxin Army" in the original should be a document heading annotation; the passage after the Jinye huandan tu contains duplicated and disordered text, and the above has been arranged according to the sense.

The above is received by imperial decree: Qianzhou is ordered to submit this document through the relay procedure. It is now delivered to Qianzhou for handling, to be carried out accordingly. Twenty-seventh day of the third month, second year of the Huangyou era (1050).