《太上混元老子史略》

From the Longhan and Yankang periods through the time of Pangu and Taiji, Lord Lao descended into the human world many times. Records of the primordial age are difficult to verify in detail. Setting aside the materials that survive for now, we will begin with the Heavenly Sovereign.

The descendants of the Heavenly Sovereign succeeded one another through the generations and governed the world for a total of 10,800 years. The descendants of the Earthly Sovereign and the Human Sovereign each governed the world for 10,800 years as well.

The Five Dragon Era had five family names, whose rulers governed the world for a total of 73,000 years. The Sheti Era had seventy-two family names, whose rulers governed for 691,500 years. The Hexiong Era also had seventy-two family names, whose rulers governed for 3,020 years. The Lianyao Era had six family names, whose rulers governed for 6,435 years. The Six-Surname Era had four family names, whose rulers governed for 14,000 years.

During the Six-Surname Era, Lord Lao descended into the world under the title Master of the Mysterious Center. He was also called the Great Master of Antiquity and Master Pangu, and he transmitted the Dao and taught people in keeping with the circumstances of each age.

Fuxi embodied the Wood virtue. He first established a calendar, taking the year Jiayin as the starting point for reckoning time. His descendants succeeded one another through the generations for a total of 45,600 years. During this period, Lord Lao descended under the name Yuhuazi.

Zhurong embodied the Fire virtue. His line began in the year Bingchen, and his descendants succeeded one another through the generations for a total of 530 years. Lord Lao descended under the name Guangshouzi.

Shennong was a descendant of Zhurong. He began teaching the people to cultivate the various grains, and for this reason was called Shennong. During this period, Lord Lao was known as Dachengzi.

Huangdi possessed the Virtue of Earth. His reign began in the year Yiyou, and his descendants succeeded him from generation to generation for a total of 1,520 years. Lao Jun descended into the human world under the name Guangchengzi and lived on Kongtong Mountain. Huangdi renounced his position as ruler of All Under Heaven, went to him on his knees, and sought the Dao. Later, Huangdi ascended to Heaven on a dragon, and Guangchengzi transmitted the Yinfu Jing to him.

Shaohào possessed the Virtue of Metal. His descendants succeeded him from generation to generation for a total of 400 years. Lao Jun descended into the human world under the name Suiyingzi and transmitted the Zhuangjing Jing.

Zhuanxu possessed the Virtue of Water and ruled for seventy-eight years. Lao Jun was known as Chijingzi.

Gaoxin possessed the Virtue of Wood and ruled for seventy years. Lao Jun was known as Lutuzi and transmitted the Huangting Jing.

Tang Yao possessed the Virtue of Fire and ruled for seventy years. Lao Jun was known as Wuchengzi and transmitted the Dao De Jing.

Yu Shun possessed the Virtue of Earth. He governed on behalf of his predecessor for thirty years, then formally ruled for fifty years. Lao Jun was known as Yinshouzi.

Xia Yu possessed the Virtue of Metal. He began the year with the month of Yin, making Yin the first month. His descendants succeeded him from generation to generation for a total of 463 years. Lao Jun was known as Zhenxingzi and transmitted the Lingbao Wufu, the authentic writings used to control floods.

Shun possessed the Virtue of Earth. He governed on behalf of his predecessor for thirty years, then formally ruled for fifty years. Lao Jun was known as Yinshouzi.

Xia Yu possessed the Virtue of Metal. He began the year with the month of Yin, making Yin the first month. His descendants succeeded him from generation to generation for a total of 463 years. Lao Jun was known as Zhenxingzi and transmitted the Lingbao Wufu, the authentic writings used to control floods.

Tang of Shang possessed the Virtue of Water. His first year of rule was the year Gengxu, and he began the year with the month of Chou, making Chou the first month. Lao Jun was known as Xizezi and transmitted the Changsheng Jing.

The accounts above appear in the Dixi Pu, Lidai Jiyun Tu, Dongshen Dayou Jing, Yuli Jing, Chusai Ji, and Yin’s Xuanzhong Ji, as well as in the Dili Zhi by Cui Shan. Lao Jun repeatedly manifested in different forms and descended into the human world, establishing teachings suited to each age. Once his work was done, he would withdraw, leaving no clear record of his birth.

From Tang of Shang to Yangjia, eighteen generations passed, and their reigns totaled thirty years. Yangjia’s first year was Jiachen, and his seventeenth year was Gengshen. Lao Jun divided off a divine manifestation from the Great Clarity Realm, the Daoist realm of pure and wondrous heights. It took a black form and was conceived in the womb of the Mysterious Jade Maiden. This account appears in the Shengji and the Xianzhuan.

Pangeng ruled for twenty-nine years, Xiaoxin for eighteen years, and Xiaoyi for eleven years.

Wu Ding, known by the title “High Ancestor,” reigned for fifty-nine years. His first year was the year Ren-Shen, and his ninth year was the year Geng-Chen. In his twenty-ninth year, Xiao Xin was on the throne for eighteen years, and Xiao Yi for eleven years. During Wu Ding’s reign, the year began with the month of Yin. This was called the “Earthly Calendar,” a calendrical system used in the Shang dynasty.

The Record of Qingyang Palace states that, during the reign of Shang High Ancestor, when King Wen of Zhou began to develop the Classic of Changes (Yijing), a divine radiance flowed into a fetus like fine jade, and auspicious light congealed into golden bones. This account was written by the Tang-dynasty Hanlin Academician-in-Attendance Le Penggui at imperial command, and engraved on a stone stele in Chengdu Prefecture.

In the Analects, Confucius says, “I privately compare myself to Lao Peng.” Traditional commentaries hold that Lao Peng was a virtuous minister of the Shang dynasty. Explanatory notes say that “Lao” refers to Lao Dan (Laozi), while “Peng” refers to Peng Zu. The Generations of the World records that Laozi served in the Shang dynasty as Keeper of the Archives, an official who managed texts, and in the Zhou dynasty as the Pillar-Base Archivist, an official in charge of documents and books. At that time, King Wen had not yet received his title or submitted to the Shang court, so he cannot be called “King Wen of Zhou.”

Zu Jia reigned for ten years.

Zu Geng reigned for six years.

Zhi Jia reigned for three years.

Geng Ding reigned for one year.

Wu Yi reigned for two years.

Tai Ding reigned for two years.

Emperor Yi reigned for eight years.

The tyrant Zhou reigned for twenty-seven years. The sixth year of his reign was the year Yi-Wei, and the twenty-first was the year Ding-Mao. The scripture records that in this year the Lord Lao—the Daoist honorific for Laozi—descended for the second time to the south of Mount Qi and was known as “Xieyi Zi.” Qisheng Palace in Fengxiang Prefecture today is said to stand at the place of his descent. At that time, King Wen of Zhou served as the Earl of the West and summoned the Lord Lao to serve as Keeper of the Archives. Later, when the tyrant Zhou ruled without the Dao, King Wu raised an army and overthrew the Shang. The Shang dynasty ruled the realm for a total of six hundred and twenty years.

King Wu of Zhou embodied the Wood phase and began the year in the month of Jianzi, the Zi month (which the Zhou dynasty treated as the first month). On the fifteenth day, Guichou, he destroyed Shang Zhòu and brought down the Shang dynasty. He ascended the throne as Son of Heaven and appointed the Old Lord to serve as the archivist beneath the pillars, a historian in charge of state records and documents.

During the Sui dynasty, the Grand Scribe Xue Daoheng was commissioned to compose “An Ode to the Ancestral Temple.” Its preface says: From Fuxi through the Zhou dynasty, the events of each generation were recorded in an unbroken succession. The Old Lord appeared in different forms and used different names. In the time of Kings Wen and Wu, he served as the archivist in charge of the classics. Dynasties and worldly affairs changed repeatedly, yet his appearance never changed.

King Cheng of Zhou reigned for forty-seven years. His first year was the year Wuyin. The Old Lord served as archivist beneath the pillars.

King Kang of Zhou reigned for twenty-six years. His first year was the year Yichou. The Old Lord continued to serve as archivist beneath the pillars.

King Zhao of the Zhou dynasty reigned for forty-nine years. In the first year of his reign, the Yimao year, Lao Jun resigned from office and returned to the land of Bo. In the twenty-third year, the Guichou year, Lao Jun traveled west through Hangu Pass and taught Yin Xi, the pass commandant.

The Biography of Immortals records that Lao Jun’s driver, Xu Jia, had agreed to receive one hundred coins each day. By then, his accumulated wages amounted to 7.3 million coins. Seeing that Lao Jun was about to travel far away, Xu Jia hurried to demand his pay. Lao Jun said, “I intend to have you drive my carriage and escort me to the Western Sea, Daqin, Kucha, Anxi, and other lands. When we return, I will pay you in gold.” Xu Jia then dropped the matter.

When they reached Hangu Pass, Xu Jia wanted to stay behind, so he accused Laozi of owing him money. Lao Jun said to him, “You have followed me for more than two hundred years. You should have died long ago. I gave you the Great Mystery Life-Extending Talisman, a Daoist talisman that prolongs life, and that is why you are still alive today. Why do you give no thought to this, and instead accuse me of owing you money?” As soon as he had spoken, the life-extending talisman flew out of Xu Jia’s mouth, and Xu Jia died on the spot. Yin Xi pleaded on Xu Jia’s behalf, and Lao Jun cast the talisman back to him. Xu Jia immediately came back to life. Xu Jia had lived from the ninth year of King Gaozong of the Shang dynasty to the twenty-third year of King Zhao of the Zhou dynasty, a total of two hundred and ten years.

In the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao’s reign, the Jiayin year, Lao Jun taught Yin Xi the Daoist teachings and then ascended to Heaven. In the twenty-fifth year, the Yimao year, Lao Jun again manifested in another form and was born into the family of Li Taiguan in Shu. In the twenty-seventh year, the Dingsi year, Lao Jun met Yin Xi at Qingyang Market, the place said to be where Lao Jun descended into the world. For this reason, Tang dynasty records identify Qingyang Market as the place where the Great Emperor of Primordial Unity, Taishang, was born for a second time.

By then, the Daoist fortune of the Shang dynasty had waned, and the Zhou dynasty’s virtuous rule was also in decline. Lao Jun had once served as an archivist, moving among ordinary people. Later, he left the Zhou court and lived in seclusion on the frontier, traveling west through Hangu Pass. Through divination, Yin Xi learned that the Daoist sovereign was certain to arrive. He secretly transmitted the wondrous instructions and entrusted him with subtle teachings, then arranged to meet him again after a thousand days.

As Lao Jun was about to leave Shu, he intended to travel far away to teach the customs of the Hu peoples, venture deep into the shifting sands, transform the fierce and uncultivated ways of the region, and visit the lands of Shendu, Kucha, and others. He taught King Fantu Azhu, bringing eighty peoples under the clear influence of his teachings. He also transformed the benighted customs of the fierce inhabitants of two thousand kingdoms.

The Praise of Lord Lao, composed by Emperor Ming of Wei, says: Lord Lao deeply pitied the people of later generations, so he appeared in embodied form in the land of Chen and served as the archivist beneath the pillars during the Zhou dynasty. After nine hundred years—an immeasurably long span—he took leave of the Central Plains and traveled to Kunlun. He then went to the lands inhabited by the Hu people and taught them; afterward, he transmitted the Daoist teachings to Lipin, an ancient kingdom in the Western Regions, and then to Tianzhu, ancient India. Later, Lord Lao moved elsewhere, but the scriptures he left behind were passed down through later generations and never disappeared.

The Treatise on the Western Regions in the History of the Northern Dynasties records: The kingdom of Khotan lay more than two hundred li north of the Congling Mountains and 9,800 li from Dai Commandery to the north. Its territory extended a thousand li in every direction, surrounded by mountains and dotted with connected towns. The capital’s surrounding area measured nine hundred li. Within the kingdom were five large cities and dozens of smaller ones. The local people generally followed the Buddhist teachings, and there were many monasteries, stupas, monks, and nuns. Five hundred li southwest of Khotan stood Kunmo Monastery, said to be where Laozi appeared in embodied form and taught the Hu people. Local customs showed little regard for ritual and right conduct, and theft and sexual misconduct were common; other customs were the same as those of Kucha. Related accounts also appear in the Treatise on the Western Rong in the Weilüe and in the Hanshu shu.

King Mu of Zhou reigned for fifty-five years, beginning in the xinsi year. According to legend, after completing his mission to teach the Hu people, Lord Lao returned to the Central Plains. He traveled east to Fusang, the legendary eastern divine tree or eastern land, met the Great Emperor, and collated and compiled the books of the immortals of the grasses. When King Mu of Zhou heard that the Perfected Yin had attained the Dao and ascended to Heaven, he built the Louguan and appointed seven Daoist priests to conduct the sacrifices. Related accounts appear in the Inner Biography of King Mu and the Record of the Louguan.

King Gong of Zhou reigned for twelve years, beginning in the bingzi year.

King Xiao of Zhou reigned for fifteen years, beginning in the guichou year.

King Yi of Zhou reigned for twenty-five years, beginning in the wuzi year.

King Yi of Zhou reigned for sixteen years, beginning in the wuchen year.

King Li of Zhou reigned for thirty-seven years, beginning in the jiashen year.

The joint rule of the Dukes of Zhou and Shao lasted fourteen years.

King Xuan of Zhou reigned for forty-six years; his first year was the year of the Wood Dog. At that time, a woodcutter was walking along and singing, and no one recognized him. The people went to ask the Old Lord, who said, “He is a man who can bring a state to life, and is practicing the supreme, true, and perfect Dao—the highest and purest way of cultivation.”

King You of Zhou reigned for eleven years; his first year was the year of the Metal Monkey. In the second year, the year of the Metal Rooster, an earthquake shook the regions around the Jing, Wei, and Luo Rivers. The Old Lord said, “The Zhou dynasty is about to fall.” Later, Zhou was indeed destroyed by the Quanrong, a people of the ancient northwest. This account appears in the Records of the Grand Historian.

King Ping of Zhou moved the capital east to Luoyi, in the area of present-day Luoyang, and reigned for fifty-two years; his first year was the year of the Metal Goat. In the twelfth month of his thirty-third year, the year of the Wood Hare, the Old Lord set out once more from Sanguan, an ancient mountain pass, to teach the state of Su. He then traveled to the isles of Xiliu and Lin, where he assessed the cultivation achievements of the grass immortals—immortals who had attained transcendence through practice—and appointed them to new official posts. When this was done, the Old Lord returned to the Central Plains. This account appears in the Record of the Western Ascension. In the twenty-fifth year of King Ping’s reign, the year of the Wood Snake, the Old Lord descended to the residence of the Daoist priest Zhu Lun and transmitted to him the Elixir Talisman of the Six Jia and Plain Memorials for Spiritual Flight and the Scripture of the Central Vision and Communion with the True.

King Wei of Zhou reigned for twenty-three years; his first year was the year of the Water Dog.

King Zhuang reigned for fifteen years, beginning in the Yiyou year. In the fourth month of his third year, the Dinghai year, Duke Wei of Lu died in Qi, and Duke Zhuang succeeded him. It was not until the following spring and autumn that the state of Lu began dating events by the new ruler’s reign. The seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu was the tenth year of King Zhuang of Zhou.

In the fourth month of the Jiawu year, the tenth year of King Zhuang of Zhou, on the seventh night of the second month according to the Zhou calendar, Shakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born. The Sutra of Auspicious Responses says he was born at midnight on the eighth day of the fourth month, using the Zhou calendar. The Sutra of Past and Present says he was born on the eighth day of the second month, using the Xia calendar. Another account also records that Shakyamuni Buddha was born on the night of the seventh day of the second month according to the Xia calendar. The Sutra of Auspicious Responses says he was born at midnight on the eighth day of the fourth month, using the Zhou calendar. The Sutra of Past and Present again says he was born on the eighth day of the second month, using the Xia calendar.

The History of the Northern Dynasties, in its “Account of the Western Regions,” records that the kingdoms of Yanqi and the Brahmins, an ancient Indian religious community, both followed the Buddha’s teachings. They attached particular importance to the eighth day of the second month, observing abstinence and practicing the teachings. The Zuo Tradition says: “At night the stars often disappeared, yet the sky grew bright; the stars fell like rain between the steps of the two palace halls.” For this reason, Wang Zhong, an administrative aide during the Qi of the Southern Dynasties, wrote in his “Stele Inscription for Tantuo Temple”: “King Zhuang of Zhou and Duke Zhuang of Lu both witnessed strange celestial signs at night; Emperor Ming of Han and Emperor Ming of Jin also recorded the related events.” The stele is in Ezhou. The commentary to the Wen Xuan says that the Buddha was born during the reign of King Zhuang of Zhou, and that Buddhism entered China during the reign of Emperor Ming of Han and flourished by the time of Emperor Ming of Jin.

King Xi reigned for five years.

King Hui reigned for twenty-five years, beginning in the Yisi year.

King Xiang reigned for thirty-three years, beginning in the Gengxu year.

King Qing reigned for six years, beginning in the Guimao year.

King Kuang reigned for six years, beginning in the Jiyou year. In his fourth year, the Renzi year, the Buddha entered Nirvana, the complete cessation described in Buddhism, at the age of seven. The first year was the Yisi year.

King Xiang reigned for thirty-three years, beginning in the Gengxu year.

King Qing reigned for six years, beginning in the Guimao year.

King Kuang reigned for six years, beginning in the Jiyou year. In his fourth year, the Renzi year, the Buddha entered Nirvana at the age of seventy-nine. The Buddhist Golden Light Sutra says that his lifespan was relatively short, about eighty years; this account probably gives a rounded figure.

King Ding reigned for twenty-one years; his first year was the year Yimao. King Ding asked Laozi whether immortals existed in the world. Laozi replied that on Mount Song there was a gentleman of very great age—and that it was the king himself. Later, Laozi set out for Wangci. This account comes from Zhang Sengjian’s Xunyang Record.

King Jian reigned for fourteen years; his first year was the year Bingzi.

King Ling reigned for twenty-seven years; his first year was the year Gengyin. In the tenth month of King Ling’s twenty-first year, the year Gengxu, on the twenty-first day, Confucius was born.

King Jing reigned for twenty-five years; his first year was the year Ding Si.

King Dao reigned for five months.

King Jing reigned for forty-three years; his first year was the year Renwu. In the seventeenth year of King Jing, the year Wuxu, Confucius visited Laozi and asked him about the Dao. Accounts of this meeting appear in the Book of Rites and the Zhuangzi. Some believe the meeting took place earlier. Although the Book of Rites mentions it, neither the Family Sayings of Confucius nor the Records of the Grand Historian gives a date, so its timing cannot be determined. In the forty-first year of King Jing, the year Renxu, Confucius died at the age of seventy-three.

King Yuan reigned for eight years; his first year was the year Yichou.

King Zhengding reigned for twenty-eight years; his first year was the year Guichou.

King Ai reigned for three months.

King Si reigned for five months.

King Kao reigned for fifteen years; his first year was the year Xinchou.

King Weilie reigned for twenty-four years; his first year was the year Bingchen.

King An reigned for twenty-six years; his first year was the year Gengchen. In the eighteenth year of King An, the year Dingyou, Duke Xian of Qin ascended the throne.

King Yilie reigned for seven years; his first year was the year Bingwu. In the second year of King Yilie, the year Dingwei, the Lord Lao met Duke Xian of Qin. The duke arranged lodging for him, treated him with courtesy, and asked him about the calendar. Afterward, Laozi left through San Pass. This account comes from the Records of the Grand Historian.

King Xian of Zhou reigned for forty-eight years, beginning with the year guichou. In the eighth year of his reign, gengshen, Duke Xiao of Qin took the throne. After traveling east, the Old Lord returned to Chicheng and Mengshan, then visited Fusang again—the legendary home of the eastern divine tree. There he gathered with the herb immortals, then concealed his whereabouts and traveled around the Jing Tai and Shaoshi region. This account appears in Records of Things Left Unrecorded.

King Shenjing of Zhou reigned for six years, beginning with the year xinchou. King Nan of Zhou moved the capital to Western Zhou and then reigned for fifty-nine years, beginning with the year dingwei. In the ninth year of King Nan’s reign, yimao, during the time of King Zhao of Qin, Laozi and the immortals traveled west to places including Nüji, Jitou, and Tianzhu. They then left through the pass at Sanguan, crossed the Flowing Sands, climbed Kunlun Mountain, and finally returned to the Upper Palace of Purple Tenuity, a celestial palace. When King Zhao of Qin heard of this, he established towns at places the Old Lord had passed through, to commemorate the traces left by the sage. Thus he built Laoting Post Station and Yinxicheng.

In the fifty-ninth year of King Nan’s reign, Western Zhou fell. From the Old Lord’s birth in the ninth year of King Wuding of Shang, gengchen, until his return to the Celestial Gate in the ninth year of King Nan, yimao, he was born into the world, withdrew from it, and appeared again, spanning a total of 936 years. For this reason, Emperor Ming of Wei wrote in an encomium that the Old Lord served as the Keeper of the Pillar under the Zhou, living through nine hundred years. Wu Yanghao, a Tang dynasty professor at the Imperial Academy, also wrote that the Old Lord’s transformations were without limit and his efficacy beyond measure; born in the Shang dynasty and serving in the Zhou, he spanned a thousand years when reckoned from beginning to end. These accounts give only a general outline.

In the first year of Qin Shi Huang’s reign, yimao, and the twenty-sixth year, gengchen, the Qin state was divided into thirty-six commanderies. In the twenty-eighth year, renwu, Qin Shi Huang performed the Fengshan sacrifices. He built a shrine to Laozi south of Louguan and went there in person to offer sacrifices. Laozi appeared and bestowed on Qin Shi Huang the Scripture of the Ghost Forest and talismanic instructions for commanding ghosts and spirits.

In the first year of Emperor Wen of the Former Han, renxu, and the seventh year, wuxu, Laozi appeared on the banks of the Shan River. People called him the Lord on the River, an immortal who lived beside its waters. Emperor Wen went to visit him in person, and the Lord on the River bestowed on him the Scripture of the Ghost Forest and talismanic instructions for commanding ghosts and spirits.

In the first year of Emperor Wen of the Former Han (renxu), the seventh year after his accession, wuchen, Laozi appeared on the banks of the Shan River. People called him the Lord on the River, meaning an immortal who lived by the river. Emperor Wen went to visit him in person, and Laozi passed on the Dao De Jing (Classic of the Dao and De). The Lord on the River Temple north of Shan Prefecture and Emperor Wen’s Terrace for Gazing at Immortals are said to mark the sites of these events.

In the first year of Emperor Cheng of the Han, Heping (guisi), and the following year, jiawu, Lord Lao appeared at the Deep Pool of Quyang in Langya Commandery and taught Gan Ji the 170 volumes of the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace).

During the reign of Emperor Ming of the Later Han, Buddhism first began to enter China. In the first year of Emperor Zhang’s Yuanji era (jiashen) and the following year, yiyou, Laozi appeared and again taught Gan Ji 180 precepts. In the first year of Emperor An’s Yongchu era (dingwei) and its third year, jiyou, Lord Lao appeared and bestowed the New Statutes of Transgression and Blessing upon Liu Tu of Jiangxia. The work describes the retribution brought about by good and evil deeds.

After the first year of Emperor Shun’s Yongjian era (bingyin), the reign title was changed four times. In the first year of Han’an (renwu), Lord Lao appeared at Heming Mountain in Shu and taught the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, founder of the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) school of Daoism, the Secret Register of the Zhengyi Covenant and Authority. In the fifth month, Lord Lao appeared again and bestowed the 930 volumes of the Taishang Central Scripture and 72 volumes of talismanic texts. In the first year of Jiankang, Lord Lao appeared once more at Yuntai Mountain in Weizhou and taught Zhang Daoling the Secret Register of the Zhengyi Covenant and Authority. In the fifth month, he again bestowed the 930 volumes of the Taishang Central Scripture and 72 volumes of talismanic texts. In the first year of Jiankang, Lord Lao appeared again at Yuntai Mountain and taught the scriptures of the Three Caverns, the Daoist system for classifying scriptures, as well as methods for delivering the nine generations of ancestors.

After the first year of Emperor Huan’s Jianhe era (dinghai), the reign title was changed once more. In the first year of Yongshou (yiwei), Lord Lao appeared in Chengdu and taught the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling documents for erasing names from the registers of the dead. The present-day Yujuhua is said to be the site of this event. Lord Lao also appeared at Ludang Mountain and taught documents for subduing the spirits and demons of the Six Heavens.

After the first year of Emperor Ling’s Jianning era (wushen), the reign title was changed three times. In the second year of Guanghe (jiwei), Lord Lao appeared at Tiantai Mountain and taught the immortal Ge Xuan the scriptures of the Shangqing, Lingbao, and Great Cavern traditions, along with the Three Registers and Nine Grades methods of Zhai purification rites, the Admonitions, the Method of the Spirit, Entering Samadhi, and other scriptures.

In the first year of the Long’an era, the year dingyou (397), under Emperor An of Jin, the era name was changed once more afterward. In the first year of the Yuanxing era, the year renyin (402)—the fifth year of the Hongshi era under Yao Qin—the Old Lord descended to the human world to inspect the mountains. He urged the immortal Cheng Gongxing to move to Mount Song and bestowed an elixir upon him. These events are recorded in historical biographies, the Record of Grotto-Heavens and Blessed Lands, and the geographical gazetteers of various commanderies.

The fifth year after Emperor Ming of the Northern Wei ascended the throne was the first year of the Yongxing era. The era name was changed three times after this. In the second year of the Shenrui era, the year yimao, corresponding to the eleventh year of the Yixi era under Emperor An of Jin (415), the Old Lord descended upon Mount Song and gave the Daoist Kou Qianzhi the New Regulations and Precepts for Chanting in the Clouds (a text on Daoist precepts and liturgical rites for reciting scriptures). In the second year of the Taichang era, the year dingsi (417), the Old Lord descended again and bestowed seventy scrolls of Fulu (talismans and registers, along with related ritual texts and methods) upon him.

In the first year of the Daye era under Emperor Yang of Sui, the year yichou (605), and again in the thirteenth year of that era, the year dingchou (617), the Old Lord descended upon Mount Zhongnan and told Li Chunfeng of signs that the Duke of Tang was destined to receive the Mandate. This is recorded in the Golden Lock and Flowing Pearl.

In the first and second years of the Wude era under Emperor Gaozu of Tang, the years wuxu (618) and jimao (619), the Old Lord descended upon Mount Yangjiao and told Ji Shanxing to report to the court: “I am the emperor’s ancestor. I have now received a talismanic mandate signifying a reign of sage-like brightness.” This is recorded in the Golden Lock and Flowing Pearl. During the Wude era, the Old Lord also said that this talismanic mandate foretold the continued survival of the state. In the fifth year of the Wude era, the year renwu (622), he descended once more and revealed the date on which the rebellion would be suppressed. This is recorded in the History of the Tang.

In the first year of the Yonghui era under Emperor Gaozong of the Tang (gengxu), the second year of the Longxiang era (renxu), the emperor went to the palace at Luoyang. At the Beiyuzhi shrine, he had a Clear Temple built for the worship of Laozi and held a Zhaijiao (purification ritual) to celebrate its completion. The Old Lord descended into the hall, attended by two Perfected Ones. His radiance lit the steps and altar, and everyone looked up in reverence. The Director of the Palace Chambers, Quan Dali, and others reported the event to the emperor, who ordered artists to paint an auspicious image based on what had been seen. This account appears in the Luozhou Records and in a memorial by Yang Hushi.

In the second year of the Qianfeng era (bingyin), the emperor performed the Fengshan rites on Mount Dai (Mount Tai). On his way, he visited Laozi’s shrine in Bozhou and personally composed an investiture text, honoring Laozi as the “Mysterious Origin Emperor” and his mother as the “Primordial Great Sage Empress.”

In the fourth year of the Yifeng era, someone urged that a Zhaijiao be held at the Clear Temple in Luoyang. Laozi descended onto the altar, and auspicious light shone all around. He rode a white horse with a red mane, and hoofprints were left on every altar stone he crossed. Everyone witnessed the event and immediately reported it to the court. For this reason, the congratulatory memorial said: “His golden form and jade-colored rays shine more brightly than the night pearl; the hoofprints left by the white horse with its red mane are passed down in the court of the Celestial Steed.” This account appears in a memorial by Sun Rui, a Court Gentleman for Audience.

In the first year of the Wenming era under Empress Wu (jiashen), the Old Lord descended at Huangtianyuan in Haozhou and instructed Hao Yuanzong to tell Empress Wu that she must not replace the dynasty. This account comes from the Tang-dynasty Sacred Record.

In the first year of the Kaiyuan era (713) of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, it is said that in the seventeenth year of Kaiyuan (729), the Old Lord (a Daoist honorific for Laozi) descended at Xinxing Temple in Shuzhou. He entered the Buddhist hall and appeared on a pillar, his form resembling a carving. After the pillar’s surface was washed and smoothed, the image became clearer. Local civil and military officials, Daoist priests, Buddhist monks, and Buddhist nuns jointly submitted a report about the event. Some passages in the memorial are unclear from repeated copying, but its general meaning is that the Old Lord appeared on a hall pillar, causing people to wonder whether he had appeared in the year when histories were compiled; it also mentions a Buddhist temple and the day of “transforming the barbarians.” The event is recorded in a memorial by Zhang Jingzhong, governor of Yizhou.

In the twenty-ninth year of Kaiyuan (741), it is said that the Old Lord descended outside Danfeng Gate and said to Tian Tongxiu: “Before I once entered the shifting sands, I hid a numinous talisman in a golden coffer—a potent Fulu sealed inside it—in Yin Xi’s former residence. You may report this to the emperor and ask him to retrieve it.” The emperor sent an envoy to search the former site of Hangu Pass, and the talisman was indeed found. The event is recorded in the History of the Tang.

In the eighth year of Tianbao (749), the emperor bestowed on the Old Lord the honorific title “Supreme Mysterious Origin Emperor.” In the ninth year of Tianbao (750), it is said that the Old Lord descended on Mount Taibai and said to the hermit Wang Xuanyi: “In Treasure Immortal Cave there is a wondrous numinous talisman. You may report this to the emperor and ask him to retrieve it.” The emperor ordered Zhang Jun, Minister of Punishments, and others to go and obtain the talisman, and it was indeed found. The event is recorded in the History of the Tang.

In the thirteenth year of Tianbao (754), the emperor went to pay homage at the Taiqing Palace and bestowed on the Old Lord the further honorific title “Great Sage, High Supreme, Great Dao, Golden Palace, Mysterious Origin, Heavenly Emperor.” The event is recorded in the histories.

In the second year of the Zhide era (757) of Emperor Suzong of Tang, it is said that the Old Lord descended at Yunlong Cliff in Tonghua Commandery, appearing between Heaven and Earth in radiant and unmistakable form. The emperor issued an edict ordering an image of him to be painted and personally wrote an inscription in praise: “In broad daylight, an extraordinary form appeared; auspicious radiance emerged in the sky. People of the Daoist and Buddhist traditions, along with all kinds of beings among the gods and humans, bowed, gazed upon him, and paid homage. The image was therefore carefully painted and distributed throughout the commanderies and kingdoms.” The event is recorded in Emperor Xuanzong of Tang’s Preface to the Praise of the Auspicious Image.

In the tenth year of the Xiantong era under Emperor Yizong of Tang, in the year jichou (869), Pang Xun led more than three thousand men in an attempt to seize the Taiqing Palace. At the time, more than a thousand households of commoners and scholars had taken refuge inside the government offices. They all saw the Old Lord rise into the air. Before long, dark mist spread all around. The rebels lost their way and trampled one another, and Pang Xun drowned. This account appears in a memorial submitted by Li Wei, military governor of Bianzhou.

In the seventh year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era under Emperor Zhenzong of Song, in the year jiayin (1014), the emperor came to Bozhou to pay his respects at the Taiqing Palace. He personally presented an investiture document and treasures, honoring the Old Lord as “Emperor Supreme Lord Lao, the Mixed-Origin One of Highest Virtue.” This event is recorded in Accounts of the Song Dynasty.

In the second year of the Zhenghe era under Emperor Huizong of Song, in the year renchen (1112), the Old Lord rode a white horse amid auspicious clouds and descended upon the Yuchen Abbey. There he transmitted to Master Liang the Wondrous Scripture of the Child of Heaven Who Protects Life, with Added Verses. This event is recorded elsewhere.

Accounts of other descents and manifestations are omitted when no date is given. As for radiating light, displaying auspicious signs, offering guidance through dreams, delivering messages, and other miraculous responses, they are likewise left unrecorded unless they involve a manifested descent in embodied form.

Outline History of the Most High Lord Lao of the Primordial Origin, Part One

Outline History of the Most High Lord Lao of the Primordial Origin, Part Two

Compiled by Xie Shoubin, Daoist of the Qingxu Hermitage on Mount Lu

The Most High Lord Lao is the source of primordial Qi, the sovereign of the myriad Dao, the foundation of Heaven and Earth, and the dwelling place of their vital essence.

The Most High Lord Lao is the source of primordial Qi, the root of the myriad Dao, and the foundation and essential origin of all things between Heaven and Earth. In the formless state of primordial chaos, he gathered the true Qi of nature and took shape as himself. Boundless in scope, he manifests transformations that are difficult to fathom. He belongs to neither Yin nor Yang; he can be both hidden and subtle, and visible and manifest. He is not constrained by past or present, nor does he fall into existence or extinction. At the beginning of immeasurable cosmic cycles, before the Great Beginning and the Great Change, he brought forth and distributed the three Qi of Mystery, Primordiality, and Beginning, from which the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) arose.

The Taiji divided into the three powers of Heaven, Earth, and humanity. At the end of a cosmic cycle, all things in the six directions—above, below, and the four quarters—disperse together and return to chaos as one. Then they divide anew: light, clear Qi condenses into Heaven, while heavy, turbid Qi gathers into Earth. The essence of Yang Qi forms the sun, the essence of Yin Qi forms the moon, and the essences of the sun and moon form the stars. The four seasons and eight seasonal divisions begin their courses, and famous mountains and great rivers settle into place. When Yin and Yang Qi meet, the many kinds of plants and animals reproduce and transform without end.

All things first arise when the One Qi produces three Qi; together, these three produce nine Qi, which are the Nine Heavens. A commentary explains that the Qi of nature gives rise to Yudan Heaven, Chanshan Heaven, and Xuyan Heaven; these are born from the Qi of Clear Subtlety. The Qi of Yuyu Heaven gives rise to Doushu Tian, Bu Jiaole Heaven, and Dongyuan Heaven. The Qi of Great Redness gives rise to Fanfan Heaven, Qingming Heaven, and Wuxiang Heaven. The three Qi of Mystery, Primordiality, and Beginning each generate three heavens below them, making nine in all. Below each of these are a further three heavens, making thirty-six altogether. Beyond the Nine Heavens are many Brahma Heavens, all under the authority of the lords of the Nine Heavens.

Next arise the four heavens of the people, also called the seed heavens, because at the beginning of a cosmic cycle the human race descended into them. Buddhism calls them the Four Dhyana Heavens. The scripture says that, counting downward from the Supreme Clarity realm above, there are three levels, each three million yis of black in extent. Further below arise the Eight Brahma Heavens, with five thousand five hundred and fifty-five wan of black. Each unit of black equals three thousand li. These heavens lie beyond the Three Realms and outside the reach of Yin-Yang transformations. They therefore have no limit to their lifespans and cannot be destroyed by the three calamities of water, fire, and wind.

Next come the Three Realms: the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm. Above them are arranged the eight tiers of the Brahma Heavens: the Beginning Azure Heaven, the Azure Origin Heaven, the Beginning Cinnabar Heaven, the Great Cinnabar Heaven, the Maiden Plain Heaven, the Great Plain Heaven, the Beginning Mystery Heaven, and the Great Mystery Heaven.

Below these lies the human world, comprising the Pure and Tranquil World in the north, the Everlasting Peace World in the northeast, the World of Receiving Goodness in the east, the World of Employing the Worthy in the southeast, the World of Abandoning the Worthy in the south, the World of Benevolence and Tranquility in the southwest, the World of Pure Practice in the west, and the World of Extending the Worthy in the northwest. Beneath the human world are nine layers of earth: the First Layer, Earth of Moist Color; the Second Layer, Earth of Firm Color; the Third Layer, Earth of Fat Color; the Fourth Layer, Earth of Moisture; the Fifth Layer, Earth of Golden Millet; the Sixth Layer, Earth of Golden Vajra Marsh; the Seventh Layer, Earth of Water’s Restraint; the Eighth Layer, Earth of Wind and Marsh; and the Ninth Layer, Earth of the Abyssal Cavern, the Framework of Formlessness.

Above each layer of earth is another tier. Water is the tier above, then wind above that, rising tier by tier. When a Great Calamity—a cycle of immense destruction and transformation in Heaven and Earth—arrives, the Three Calamities strike everything from the nine earths up through the Formless Realm, and the forms of all things vanish. Only the seed people, those who survive the calamity, remain untouched. Primordial Qi gathers again, and the cycle of calamity returns to chaos. When the period of calamity has passed, Heaven and Earth are opened anew. The people of the heavens are then commanded to descend and become the seeds of humanity. They go among the human world to teach and transform living beings, serve as rulers or ministers, establish laws, and instruct one another, just as when Heaven and Earth were first opened at the beginning of that cycle.

This process repeats through countless, endless Great Calamities. The outer form of Heaven and Earth is like an egg, with Primordial Qi encircling it like a halo around the sun. For related details, see works such as Diagram of the Unified Realm of Primordial Chaos, Classic of the Opening of Heaven, and Treatise on the Armillary Sphere.

Therefore, Heaven and Earth each have five hundred and fifty-five billion and fifty-five thousand layers. Within each layer of Heaven and Earth are the patterns of the heavens and the features of the land; Yin-Yang and the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) operate, the gods and spirits are arranged, and the myriad things are brought forth. Each layer holds the authority to generate all things and guards the source of creation and transformation. Thus, in the celestial realm, the Most High Lord Lao is the supreme one revered by all the sages; in the human world, he is the patriarch of all teachings. He began teaching before the calamities of the world’s cycles, and has endured through the ages, forever abiding. The Great Dao operates and governs the world, opening a wondrous realm of profound insight. Hence he is honored as “the Most High Lord Lao, the Supreme Three Heavens, the Mysterious Origin, the Primordial Beginning, the Threefold Black.”

Laozi is the manifested form through which the Most High Lord Lao responds to the world. Since he has appeared in many forms, he has countless names: some accounts give thirty-six titles, others seventy-two. His titles include the Supreme Sovereign of the Nine Heavens, the Lord Di Yi of the Cavern of Truth, the High Jade Emperor, the Supreme Lord Taiyi of Wonderful Black, True and Upright Peace, the Emperor of the Nine Mysteries, the Dharma King of the Great Thousand Worlds, the Old Master of the Nine Spirits, the High Left Mysterious Perfected One, the Great Master of the Wondrous Scripture of the Golden Palace of Highest Clarity, the High Great Dharma King, Mysterious One of True and Settled Light, the Later Sage Lord of the Golden Palace, the Lord of the Upper Scene of Great Peace, the Father of Wuwei (non-action), and the Mother of the Myriad Things.

At his birth, the heavenly gods of the ten directions praised him from the sky, honoring him with titles such as Most High Lord Lao, High Laozi, Great Emperor of Heaven, Great Master of the Law within Mystery, Ancient Great Teacher, Emperor Lord of the Golden Palace, Most High Sovereign, and Great Perfected One of Emptiness and Nonbeing. Other honorific titles included Utmost Truth, the Limitless, the Great Dao, Naturalness, Primordial Beginning, Most High, Heavenly Venerable, Lord of the Dao, Supreme One, Heavenly Perfected One, Primordial Elder, Celestial Master, Yellow Elder, Teacher of the World, Mysterious Ancestor, Spirit Being, Perfected One, Immortal, Utmost Being, Great Being, Daoist, and Sage of the Dao. Most of these titles consist of two characters.

After Laozi descended into the human world, he was said to have had nine names: Er, styled Boyang; Ya, styled Bozong; Zhi, styled Boguang; Shi, styled Menggong; Zhong, styled Zifu; Ding, styled Yuanyang; Yuan, styled Boshi; Xian, styled Yuansheng; and De, styled Bowen. Some also called him “Boyangfu.” “Lao” is a term of respect for someone advanced in age and of high standing.

The Old Lord once descended into the world in the first year of Shanghe, in the celestial calendar, under the cyclical sign Gengyin, on the jiazi day of the ninth month, at the hour of the Rabbit. He was born among the Li ravines of Gangling Mirror Mountain, in the Northern Xuanyin Heaven of Yudanshang, within the Ninefold Chamber of the Supreme Mysterious Numinous Mother. He therefore took “Valley” as his surname and “People” as his given name, with the courtesy name “Vast Nine” and another name, “Mysterious Water.” He once said, “My surname and names are exceedingly remote and profound. They have continued from one kalpa to the next, and cannot all be recorded.”

A commentator says: Shanghe is a celestial era name, like Chiming, Zhuling, Qinghan, Tianhan, Kaihuang, and Shanghuang. Ordinary people know only that the sexagenary cycle of jiazi began with Danao, and that era names began with Emperor Wu of the Han. So they regard celestial era names such as Shanghe as false, unaware that Heaven has kept its own calendar since countless kalpas ago, though people have no way of knowing it. Guiguzi, Beiguozi, the Celestial Master of the Han, and Ge the Immortal Elder, among others, cited celestial era names to align them with periods in the human world. Otherwise, how could the immortals, learned in the past and present and skilled in probing what is hidden and subtle, have failed to know that there were no human era names before the Qin and Han? Moreover, the laws established when Heaven and Earth first opened, and the changes through successive generations, were all arranged in advance by Heaven. From time to time, celestial perfected beings were sent down to teach the human world. It was not possible for people to create the workings of transformation ahead of Heaven’s intent. Those who cultivate the Dao should reflect carefully on this.

The Old Lord penetrated the sacred realm and attained the utmost perfection, gathering within himself the transformations of all things. Thus he could change his names, assume humble identities, and manifest in the human world. The laws established when Heaven and Earth first opened, and the changes through successive generations, were all arranged in advance by Heaven. From time to time, celestial perfected beings were sent down to teach the human world. It was not possible for people to create the workings of transformation ahead of Heaven’s intent. Those who cultivate the Dao should reflect carefully on this.

The Old Lord (Laojun) penetrates the utmost truth of the sacred and wondrous, and governs the transformations of all things in the world. He can therefore change his titles, humble his exalted position, take on forms, and descend among humanity. He travels throughout the regions, supporting the way of the world and establishing teachings. At times he serves as a ruler, at others as a teacher or friend. He receives questions and resolves difficulties, clarifying the principles through exchanges of questions and answers. He reveals wondrous texts that arise naturally, explains the essentials of Wuwei (non-action), and, in response to the needs of each age, puts forth teachings in the form of scriptures, diagrams, registers, and precepts.

He can enter and leave the underworld and the void; there is nowhere he cannot visit. He also travels among the various kingdoms to proclaim his teachings and subdue demons that bring drought. At times he attends the Primordial Celestial Worthy at court and pays homage to revered gods in Yuchen, the palaces of the celestial realm. He also examines the Nine Palaces and commands the gods, perfected beings, immortals, and sages. Above, he governs the divine officials and ghost functionaries who inspect and assess the Three Realms, as well as the offices in immortal palaces and numinous grottoes that oversee blessings, emoluments, and offerings. The underworld and the visible world alike fall under his authority.

At times he descends to govern the ten directions of the celestial realms and bring peace to all beings. Then he dwells in celestial palaces such as Taiwei, Gouchen, and Zifang, and is called the Great Emperor of Heaven. He is also the star among the six stars of Gouchen that symbolizes the imperial throne.

He also appears in different forms as the seasons change. In spring, he transforms into Lord Shangjing, nine thousand zhang tall, wearing a crown adorned with the Seven Essences and precious blossoms, a black-and-yellow robe, and a flying skirt of blue brocade. He holds a tiger tally and sits upon seven-colored clouds. In summer, he takes the form of an old man, wearing a flying-dragon crown, a black patterned robe, and a yellow feather skirt. Holding a golden branch, he stands upon purple clouds. In autumn, he transforms into a child dressed in five-colored robes, sometimes riding a lion and sometimes seated upon blue clouds. In winter, he becomes rays of light in three colors—blue-green, dark, and azure—shining in a vast, indistinct radiance and intertwining with one another. This signifies his mastery of the dark and mysterious realm of the Golden Gate, and his receiving the power to refine and nourish the wondrous essence of the dawn.

The Old Lord’s spiritual powers are free and unrestrained, so he can appear in every kind of state: white or black, square or round, bent or straight, strong or weak, light or heavy, short or long, old or young, high or deep. He transforms in every direction and can do anything. At times he manifests as twelve hundred Laozi, appearing throughout the heavens; at others he transforms into one hundred and eighty Dao Lords, guiding ordinary people into the realm of the Dao. He disperses his numinous light, which reaches everywhere in an instant, while his true and unified form—his original, undivided true body—remains ever pure and still, dwelling perpetually in the Palace of Great Clarity and Supreme Ultimate.

Laozi, whom Daoists honor as the Most High Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun), appears throughout the many heavens. At times he transforms into 180 Dao Lords, guiding people of the world, dividing himself into numinous forms and manifesting radiant scenes, so that in an instant he is present everywhere. Yet his true and unified form remains clear and still, dwelling eternally in the Taiqing Taiji Palace.

In the age of the Three Sovereigns at the beginning of time, Laozi was titled the Great Master of the Mysterious Center. He descended to the world to teach, and after nine thousand hundred-million years, as one cosmic cycle gave way to another, he established a new era. By then the Longhan and Yankang kalpas had ended. Texts from before the Yankang kalpa are difficult to verify; only after the beginning of the Chiming kalpa were there scriptures that could be examined. The middle period of the Three Sovereigns fell in the Chiming era. Laozi was then titled the Ancient Great Master and transmitted the Inner Texts of the Three Sovereigns. After nine thousand nine hundred hundred-million years, another cosmic cycle came to an end.

The later period of the Three Sovereigns was the age of the Celestial Sovereign, the Terrestrial Sovereign, and the Human Sovereign. It was also called the years of the Absent Sovereigns and dated according to the Sheti cycle. Laozi established order in Heaven and Earth, matched the Four Seas with the Four Spirits and the Five Phases with the Five Emperors, and transmitted the Five True Texts of the Five Spirits, Five Elders, and Lingbao. He descended to teach for ten thousand eight hundred years. Later, in the age of Xuān Xī, the people’s customs gradually lost their simplicity, and laws and institutions had not yet been established. Laozi therefore came among the people under the name Yuhua Zi and transmitted the Inner Texts of the Celestial Sovereign. He also passed down the writings of the divine tortoise, the Yellow River Chart, and the Eight Trigrams (Bagua).

In the period of Zhurong, Laozi descended to Mount Heng and took the name Guangshou Zi. He transmitted the Inner Texts of the Human Sovereign, taught people to settle their minds, and showed them how to make pottery and vessels to improve their lives. In the period of Shennong, he descended to Jiyin under the name Dacheng Zi and transmitted the Inner Texts of the Terrestrial Sovereign. He taught people to cherish life, to grow grain and fruit trees instead of slaughtering livestock, and to prepare medicines for treating illness and preserving health.

The text cites differing accounts of whether Zhurong came before or after Shennong: records in works such as the Book of Rites do not agree with the commentators’ explanations. Here, following the main text of the classics, the author places Zhurong before Shennong. In later accounts, Zhurong was also said to have held the office responsible for fire.

In the age of the Yellow Emperor, Laozi descended to Mount Kongtong under the name Guangcheng Zi.

In the twenty-ninth year of his reign, the Yellow Emperor worried that he was governing the world poorly. He went to visit Guangcheng Zi and asked how to draw the vital essences of Heaven and Earth to nourish the grain and feed the people, and how to observe the changes of Yin-Yang so as to respond to drought. Guangcheng Zi replied that the Yellow Emperor was asking only about the outward forms of things, and wanted to observe only the signs of their decay. Since the Yellow Emperor had taken charge of the world, clouds had brought rain before they gathered, plants had withered before their leaves turned yellow, and the light of the sun and moon had grown dim. How, then, could clever and eloquent people speak of the Dao at its utmost?

After leaving, the Yellow Emperor gave up governing the world. He built a quiet chamber, spread white thatch on the floor, and crawled on his knees along the path Guangcheng Zi had taken. Bowing before him, he asked how he might cultivate his body and live a long life. Guangcheng Zi rose and said, “You have asked well. The subtlety of the utmost Dao is deep and obscure; its ultimate state is still and silent. Do not look, do not listen. Guard your spirit and remain quiet, and your body will naturally become upright. Be sure to stay calm and clear. Do not strain your body or dissipate your vital energy. With few thoughts and few desires, you can extend your years. If the eyes do not crave looking, the ears do not crave listening, and the mind does not make false distinctions, the spirit will remain within the body and a person can live long. Guard your inner mind carefully and restrain your outward conduct. Seeking too much knowledge will bring harm.

“I will take you to the source of utmost yang, above the Great Brightness; then I will lead you through the gate of darkness, to the source of utmost yin. There is a principle of illumination in Heaven and Earth, and a hidden mechanism in Yin-Yang. Guard yourself carefully, and all things will grow of themselves. I hold fast to that single root and dwell in harmony between yin and yang. Thus I have cultivated my body for twelve hundred years, and it has never grown old.”

The Yellow Emperor bowed again and said, “What you have described is indeed the Way of Heaven.” Guangcheng Zi continued, “All things are without limit, yet people think they must come to an end. All things are unfathomable, yet people think they must have a boundary. One who attains the Dao may be sovereign above or king below. One who loses the Dao sees brightness while rising, but in the end returns to dust. Every kind of creature grows from the earth and eventually returns to it. I am leaving you now, entering the gate of the boundless and roaming the fields of the limitless. I will shine with the sun and moon and endure as long as Heaven and Earth.” He then transmitted the Yin-Yang Scripture to the Yellow Emperor.

The scriptures Laozi taught in the later period of the Three Sovereigns are known to the world as the “Books of the Three Mounds.” Their complete texts have long been lost. Many scriptures passed down through the ages are kept in jade terraces and jade caskets, or hidden away in dragon palaces beneath the sea, guarded by immortals and difficult for ordinary people to see. What survives today is only a tiny portion.

Laozi also instructed the Queen Mother of the West to give the Yellow Emperor a jade image of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. The Yellow Emperor placed it on a high platform. In ancient times, a platform from which one could climb up, look far into the distance, and survey the four quarters was called a “guan.” It is said that the name Daoist temple comes from this word.

Laozi further instructed the Yellow Emperor to go to Mount Wangwu, open a stone coffer, and take out a jade casket. Inside he found the Nine Tripods, divine elixirs, and the methods for controlling the furnace fire used in alchemy. The Yellow Emperor then went to Mount Jingshan, cast a tripod, refined an elixir, and swallowed it. A cloud dragon arrived to welcome him, and the Yellow Emperor mounted it and ascended to Heaven. Seventy-two ministers and attendants ascended with him. Those who could not climb onto the dragon in time scrambled to seize its whiskers, but fell back down. The Yellow Emperor’s bow and tripod also fell to the ground. People embraced them and wept; the bow was called the “Crow’s Cry Bow.” Unable to follow the Yellow Emperor, the people gathered his remaining belongings and buried them at Mount Ba, calling the tomb Baling. They also built a tomb for his clothes and headgear at Mount Qiao. The place where the tripod fell was called Dinghu.

The Jade Latitude Scripture says that the Three Sovereigns were also called the Nine Sovereigns. The Great Being Scripture of the Cavern Spirit says that each of the Three Sovereigns ruled for three thousand six hundred years; the Lesser Being Scripture gives ten thousand eight hundred years for each. The author considers these accounts to refer to different spans of time: the Great Being Scripture gives the years for one generation of Three Sovereigns, with each ruler lasting three thousand six hundred years; the Lesser Being Scripture gives the years for three generations, with each ruler lasting ten thousand eight hundred years. In total, the three generations of nine sovereigns would span thirty-two thousand four hundred years. Another account gives eighteen thousand years, which the author thinks may result from “hundred” being mistakenly written as “thousand.” The Inner Transmission of Laozi supports these accounts and can be read alongside the Great Being and Lesser Being scriptures. The claim that the early and middle Three Sovereigns each lasted nine thousand nine hundred hundred-million years refers to the total duration of a cosmic cycle, not simply to the personal lifespans of the Three Sovereigns. Later accounts also differ over who the Three Sovereigns were: some name the Celestial, Terrestrial, and Human Sovereigns; some name Fuxi, Nüwa, and Shennong; others name Xuān Xī, Zhurong, and Shennong; still others name Fuxi, Shennong, and Suiren, or Youchao, Suiren, and Yiqi.

In the period of Shaohao, Laozi was titled Suiying Zi. He expounded the Scripture of Solemn Reverence, teaching people to act in accord with the seasons. In the period of Zhuanxu, he descended to Mount Heng under the name Chijing Zi and expounded the Scripture of Subtle Sayings, teaching people to follow the principle of adapting to all things. In the period of Emperor Ku, he was titled Lutu Zi and transmitted the Yellow Court Scripture, teaching people to remain quiet and even-tempered. In the period of Emperor Shun, he descended to Heyang under the name Yinshou Zi and transmitted the Scripture of the Dao and Its De (Daode Jing), teaching governance through Wuwei (non-action). In the period of Xia Yu, he descended to Mount Shang under the name Zhenxing Zi. He taught diligence and frugality and transmitted the Numinous Book of the Nine Categories, the Five Lingbao Talismans, the true text on flood control, and methods for summoning spirits through astral pacing and written proclamations. Traces of these teachings are said to remain in the mountain’s grotto-heaven today. In the period of Tang of Shang, he descended to Mount Qian under the name Xize Zi and expounded the Scripture of Long Life, teaching reverence and benevolence. The former site of the Dragon Hall there is said to be a place he left behind.

When Ge Hong wrote the Biographies of the Immortals, he placed Laozi at the head of those who taught and transformed successive emperors, yet he doubted the claim that Laozi had served as the teacher of emperors in every age. He considered these claims to come from scattered writings rather than authoritative biographies of immortals. Moreover, Laozi, he argued, should not have abandoned high status for low, left stillness for defilement, or given up his office among the celestial officials to accept a human title. Ge Hong also said that cultivators of the Dao had existed in every generation since Heaven and Earth began; it was not necessarily the same Laozi each time. Such claims, he said, came from later people with shallow understanding and a taste for the extraordinary. Yin Wencao, the Tang dynasty abbot of Haotian Temple, held instead that Ge Hong wrote the Biographies of the Immortals precisely to highlight and pass down these accounts.

The Account of Lord Lao was completed to instruct later generations and encourage them to devote themselves to cultivation. How, then, can anyone claim that Laozi was always just an ordinary old man? Such a claim comes only from later scholars of shallow understanding who delight in the strange. Yin Wencao, abbot of Haotian Monastery in the Tang dynasty, commented that Ge Hong compiled a biography of Laozi in order to highlight and record his deeds.

Once the Account of Lord Lao was completed, it was to be used to instruct later generations and spur them to cultivate diligently. Drawing on accounts from successive dynasties, the book lists instances in which Laozi served as a teacher to emperors. It cites the Great Mystery Scripture, the Scripture of Orthodox Unity, the Scripture of Great Clarity, the Scripture of the Jade Calendar, the Scripture of the Primordial Darkness, the Record of Departing through the Pass, Yin’s Record of the Hidden Mystery, and Cui Shan’s Gazetteer of the Lands. These are Daoist scriptures and reliable histories. How can they all be dismissed as trivial miscellaneous writings?

Ge Hong also says that if people regard Laozi as someone who cultivated the Dao and attained it, they will strive to cultivate themselves; but if they regard Laozi as a divine being, they will think his state impossible to attain. This is merely Ge Hong’s personal opinion. He did not consider that, at the beginning of the creation of Heaven and Earth, those who attained the Dao through study must first have had a sage born of Nature descend as their teacher, teaching each person according to their capacity. This is beyond the reach of ordinary people. The Scripture on Settling the Will says: “In ancient times, the Celestial Worthy brought all things into being in accord with Nature, subtly in harmony with the Great Dao, and so understanding arose naturally.” These profound and mysterious words were gathered together as a scripture. In light of this, what is there to doubt about Lord Lao having been in harmony with the Dao from the beginning and serving, age after age, as teacher to all living beings? As a revered figure of compassion and Wuwei (non-action), why would he need to abandon his exalted status, lower himself to enter the defiled human world, and conceal his radiance?

Lord Lao once said to Yin Xi: “Since high antiquity, the ages I have passed through have been as countless as grains of sand. Each time Heaven and Earth turn and the cycles of calamity change, it is recorded. When I recall the hardships involved, I see that I have truly endured much.” The Great Mystery Scripture also says: “Laozi accumulated cultivation without cease, advancing through successive transformations until he attained the rank of a highest sage. He manifested in response to circumstances, without a fixed form, and cannot be described fully. In one manifestation in recent times, he was born at the end of the Yin dynasty.” Thus, Wenshi, Guigu, Zhang Zhen, Ge Xian, and others all say that Lord Lao was born before the Great Nonbeing—the original state before Heaven and Earth were divided and before the myriad things took form—and had passed through many worlds, too many for any record to recount one by one. These accounts were set forth from the scriptures by perfected immortals of earlier generations who had attained the Dao. Can they too be dismissed as fabrications by later scholars of shallow understanding?

In trying to forcefully prove his own view, Ge Hong ended up unwittingly slandering the Patriarch of the Dao and the true scriptures. Even a learned person may be subject to such bias, so this account should not be accepted as reliable evidence.

Although the Lord Lao (the Most High Lord Lao, one of the supreme deities revered in Daoism) manifested many times in different ages, earlier records did not clearly state how he was born. To accord with the human world and establish his teachings, he first sent the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden down to earth, where she became the daughter of the Yin family of Tianshui. The Yin woman was an incarnation of the Supreme Primordial Goddess, later honored in the Tang dynasty as the Primordial Celestial Goddess. Her name was Yishou, and she married the immortal Li Lingfei.

Li Lingfei was a descendant of Li Jutao. The men of the Li family passed the Way of cultivating the True from father to son. Li Lingfei’s father, Li Qingbin, was over a hundred years old, yet still looked young, and often traveled among the famous mountains of the Five Sacred Peaks. One day a cloud dragon descended to welcome him, and he ascended to heaven in broad daylight. Moved by his father’s ascent, Li Lingfei gradually withdrew from worldly life, sought no official career, and devoted himself to cultivating the Great Dao. He too lived for more than a hundred years, and ascended to heaven before the Lord Lao was born.

In the seventeenth year of the reign of Yang Jia, the eighteenth ruler of the Shang dynasty—that is, the gengshen year—the Lord Lao divided himself from the Realm of Great Clarity and manifested. Riding the essence of the sun and borne by nine dragons, he took the form of a five-colored flowing pearl and entered the mouth of the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden, making her pregnant. At the time, the Yin woman had fallen asleep by day. She dreamed that the sky split open for several dozen feet and many immortals appeared, carrying the sun. After a long while, the sun gradually shrank, fell from the sky, and turned into a five-colored pearl the size of a small pellet. She lifted the pearl and swallowed it. When she awoke, she was pregnant. It is said that traces of a meteor’s fall can still be seen at the Temple of Heavenly Stillness in Bozhou.

After she conceived, the Yin woman’s appearance grew ever younger, and her expression became serene. The room where she lived remained temperate throughout the four seasons, with mild weather: winters were not bitterly cold and summers were not oppressively hot. Auspicious light filled the room, spiritual energy filled the courtyard, evil beings could not intrude, and the spirits came to guard her. Though she carried the child for eighty-one years, she never felt that time was dragging.

In the ninth year of the reign of Wuding, the twenty-second ruler of the Shang dynasty—that is, the gengchen year—on the fifteenth day of the second month, at the mao hour, the Holy Mother clung to a plum tree, and the Lord Lao suddenly descended from beneath her left arm. By the Shang calendar, which counted months according to the jianchou system, the second month corresponded to the first month of the Xia calendar. At that moment, the sunlight grew twice as bright, auspicious clouds filled the courtyard, flocks of cranes flew overhead, and the Four Sacred Creatures stood guard. Jade Maidens knelt and held the child, while nine dragons spouted water to bathe the holy infant. Nine wells formed where the dragons appeared, and all are said to be at the Taiqing Palace in Bozhou. When water is drawn from any one of them, all nine wells tremble together.

After his birth, the Lord Lao took nine steps, and a lotus flower sprang up with each step. He pointed to a plum tree and said that his surname was Li.

The commentators say: Before the primordial cosmic aeons, the Lord Lao was born among the Li valleys in the Northern Mysterious Jade Kingdom, and so his surname was Li. Now he was born once more into the Li family and beneath a plum tree. Knowing his surname from birth, he pointed to the tree to show it to others; he did not take the surname Li only at that time.

Old records say that after his birth the Lord Lao took nine steps, looked in all four directions, pointed to the sky with his left hand and to the ground with his right, and said, “Above the heavens and below the earth, I alone am supreme.” The author considers this account untrustworthy. Though the Lord Lao is supreme among the Three Realms, in teaching people he made humility, compassion, and gentleness his foundation. He would not have acted arrogantly or boasted of his greatness. Moreover, if a child spoke such impertinent words at birth, a ruler might well think he did not understand the rites governing ruler and subject, father and son, and would be even harder to discipline as he grew up; the child might even be killed or abandoned. The author therefore concludes that the Lord Lao could not have said this and omits the passage.

The Lord Lao’s posthumous title was Dan. His ears lay flat, his crown was broad and substantial, and his face was firm. He had pendant lobes below his ears and three lines within each ear. His appearance differed from that of ordinary people, and this gave rise to his name. Writing the name as “Yan” is a copying error; writing it as “Dan” is a phonetic error. Some say he spoke with his tongue protruding and was therefore called “Chi,” but this too is a mistake arising from hearsay.

The Lord Lao lived in Qurenli, Laixiang, in Ku County of Chen, on the north bank of the Wo River. Some say the place belonged to Chu because it bordered Chu territory; it was also where Xiong Yi first received his fief. Others call the place Xiang or Qiao, perhaps because Bozhou lies near Tongcheng to the north, while Qiao City is forty li east of the Lai River. The name Laixiang is also connected with the Lai River. Chen was the old territory of Taihao, near Wanchiu, within the basin of the Leyu River mentioned in the “Tribute of Yu.” King Wu of Zhou granted Chen to Hu Gongman, a descendant of Shun, and it was therefore called the state of Chen. During the reign of Emperor Zhang of the Later Han, it was renamed Chen Commandery. Today it is Bozhou, once the old capital of King Tang of Shang. In the Tang dynasty, in the first year of the Fengyuan era, Ku County was renamed Zhenyuan County; today it is Weizhen County.

Nine days after his birth, the Lord Lao manifested nine different forms. The first was six chi and six cun tall, wore a magpie-fish crown, and was dressed in yellow and purple robes woven in eight colors and patterned with phoenixes and beasts. The second was seven chi and seven cun tall, wore a layered crown, and was dressed in white with red collar and cuffs. The third was eight chi and eight cun tall, wore a crown reaching to the heavens, and was dressed in five-colored robes. The fourth was nine chi and nine cun tall, wore a crown that warded off evil, and was dressed in gauze robes. The fifth was one zhang and three cun tall, wore a dragon-and-serpent crown, and was dressed in vermilion. The sixth was one zhang and five cun tall, wore a crown of the Infinite, and was dressed in robes of vermilion jade. The seventh was one zhang and seven cun tall, wore a crown of the Void, and was dressed in dark, patterned robes. The eighth was one zhang and one chi tall, wore a great crown that warded off evil, and was dressed in dragon-and-serpent robes. The ninth was one zhang and two chi tall, wore a crown of natural infinity that could transform a hundred times in an instant, and was dressed in natural feathered robes. All these crowns and garments appeared on him spontaneously.

The Lord Lao also possessed seventy-two distinctive physical marks and eighty-one auspicious features. The scriptures describe his head as round like the heavens, his face bright as the sun, and his hair white as a crane’s, more than seven chi long. Between his brows was a green, jade-colored pattern of the Northern Dipper. His beard resembled a tiger’s whiskers and a dragon’s mane, white as silk. Pearls hung from his earlobes; his eyes were bright, with square pupils traced by green lines. His nose was high, his mouth square, and his lips red. His breath was purple and carried the fragrance of orchids. His teeth were even and white; his tongue was long and broad; his voice rang clear like jade and resounded like metal. His forehead rose high, his cheeks and chin each bore unusual marks, and three lines appeared on his neck. His arms hung below his knees, his fingers were long and slender, and cloud patterns marked his fingernails. Green hair grew on his body, and his chest, back, abdomen, heart area, and eyes each bore unusual patterns. He stood one zhang and two chi tall, was fragrant from head to toe, and had a sturdy physique. He walked like a tiger and moved like a dragon. A Green Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise guarded his sides; purple clouds hung above his head, lotus flowers lay beneath his feet, and light radiated from his body, illuminating the nine heavens. These marks and wonders together were called the eighty-one auspicious features.

The Lord Lao was formed in his mother’s womb for eighty-one years, reaching the utmost number in the sun’s cycle. At birth his hair was already completely white, so he was called “Old.” In ancient times, men were called “zi,” or “Master,” and thus he was called “Laozi,” the Old Master. Another explanation is that “old” refers to advanced age, while “zi” refers to youth: when the Lord Lao was born, he was both a newborn child and already white-haired. These two meanings were joined in the name “Laozi.”

Yin Wencao of the Tang dynasty wrote that Laozi was the embodiment of the Dao, and that his forms and titles changed in response to different circumstances. His inner titles included the Utmost One, the True One, the Mysterious One, the August One, the Primordial One, the Sovereign One, the Great One, the Heavenly One, and the Orthodox One. “Utmost One” signifies subtlety without physical form; “True One” signifies purity and clarity; “Mysterious One” signifies spiritual freedom without obstruction; “August One” signifies supreme radiance; “Primordial One” signifies being foremost among the myriad ways; “Sovereign One” signifies being revered above the hundred spirits; “Most High” signifies the lord of long life; “Heavenly One” signifies the ruler who governs Yin energy; and “Orthodox One” signifies the king of the covenantal power. These titles have different meanings, but all point in truth to the same wondrous Dao, and so each bears the name “One.”

Laozi’s outer titles included Yuhua, Dacheng, Guangshou, Guangcheng, Suiying, Chijing, Lutu, Wucheng, Yinshou, Zhenxing, Xize, Xieyi, Yucheng, Jingcheng, and Guoshu. They signify, respectively, the flourishing of transformation through the Dao; the broad dispensation of mysterious De; nurturing the spirit and extending life; profound skill in preserving life; free and far-reaching responsiveness; manifest spiritual efficacy; accord with heavenly signs and mandates; success in all undertakings; fairness and good health; purity of spirit; benevolence and kindness exercised with discernment; changing customs through instruction; skillful governance and nurture; enduring and complete instruction; and clarity across generations. These were titles the Lord Lao received in response to different teachings and deeds. He once descended to the human world and served as a teacher to rulers, and so people called him “zi,” or “Master.”

After giving birth to the Dao-body in which Lord Lao (Laojun, the Daoist honorific for Laozi) had taken form, the Holy Mother (the mother goddess revered in Daoism) would return to the Heavenly Palace and resume her position as Primordial Sovereign. To help people understand that cultivating the Dao requires transmission from a teacher, she told Lord Lao:

People are born between Heaven and Earth and receive Qi (vital energy) that may be pure or turbid. Those who receive pure Qi are intelligent, compassionate, and kind; those who receive turbid Qi are foolish and deluded, fierce and violent. The enlightened cultivate their nature through practice; the benighted indulge their desires and damage their lives. Nature is the root of the body, while life is the foundation of nature.

Thus, practitioners should refine the body through the “Nine Elixirs” (nine methods of refinement and cultivation), untangle the knots of the “Five Spirits” (spirits associated with the five organs), guide dark Qi back to its origin, and remove the root knots in the “Three Passes” (three points of passage in cultivation). After nine rounds of refinement and ten transformations, the body’s hundred joints will become clear and unobstructed. Once the knots formed in the womb have been severed, one can recognize one’s true nature and attain the rank of a high immortal. Without cultivation, evil influences will invade the body, bringing all kinds of illness and an early death. One will be unable to live out the full span of one’s allotted years—a sorrow beyond words.

Immortality is attained through inner cultivation. Only with sincerity of heart and intention can one become an immortal. The Dao is precious because it is sought within: when the heart is still and quiet, the Dao will arrive. If you can settle the mind and spirit, unite with the true Dao, and accumulate emptiness and stillness until you commune with the spirits, you will be close to becoming an immortal. But if your mind and spirit are strained and exhausted, your body restless and unable to focus, and your movements dissipate your vital essence, then your eyes and ears may seem keen but will only scatter your attention in vain. Though you seek the Great Dao for many years, it will only grow more distant.

People dwell between Heaven and Earth for only a brief time. If you can gather your Qi, focus your spirit, cultivate diligently, and hold fast to what is true, then in time you will understand the Great Dao and dwell with Heaven and Earth within the boundless expanse of emptiness. If you can see into stillness and emptiness, and experience the formless, you will reach a state in which nothing can be seen or heard, and unite with the Dao in truth.

Laozi asked, “Now that I live in the world, can I endure forever without dying and follow the ways of the world to transform people?”

The Primordial Sovereign replied, “I possess a secret treasure that cannot be transmitted to anyone who is not a sage. Whoever can cultivate it may endure forever.”

Laozi said, “I wish to hear its essential teaching.”

The Primordial Sovereign said, “The Supreme Dao is profound and obscure, difficult to investigate and understand. It is neither being nor nonbeing; it has neither sound nor form. Look for it and it cannot be seen; reach for it and it cannot be touched. It encompasses Heaven and Earth and is boundless, yet it is also close at hand among all things. No one can fathom it. To understand its principles is called ‘Mysterious De’ (profound and subtle virtue).”

Laozi asked, “Is there a definite method by which the Dao can be cultivated?” The Primordial Lady replied, “The Dao is the supremely real state of emptiness, stillness, and openness. ‘Wei’ is the art of wondrous transformation. By means of this art, one may save and guide people; through cultivation, one may experience the Great Dao, whose transformations are without limit. The essential principle of the Great Dao is Wuwei (non-action), following things as they are. The mysteries of the art lie in talismans and black medicine. Talismans are numinous writings of the sun, moon, and stars, tokens bestowed by Heaven. Medicine is the essence of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), the vital fluid of the Earth. ‘Black’ refers to the essence of medicine formed through the harmony of Yin-Yang. Even after a person has attained the Dao, cultivation is not yet complete. Only with talismans and medicine can one bring one’s work in the Dao to perfection. These are my secret treasures. If you cultivate both, you can endure forever and save people far and wide.”

Laozi asked, “The body is a vessel that carries the Dao, and black medicine is the foundation for prolonging life. When the root is pulled out, life ends; when the vessel is damaged, the Dao departs. I wish to cultivate so that life becomes secure and my work in the Dao flourishes. Will you tell me how?”

The Primordial Lady said, “A person receives a body of flesh and blood just as a potter shapes clay. Unfired clay is easily damaged; a body that has not been refined and nourished will have a short life. This is the natural order. Even someone of outstanding virtue whose spirit communicates with the mysterious Dao may still be unable to escape aging and death. Why? Because this is the way change works, and it cannot be avoided. Only medicine can refine and nourish the body; only talismans can summon spirits. When the spirits return to the body, the mind becomes clear and the nature at ease. The body grows firm, Qi (vital energy) is thereby replenished, and life can be preserved. Then, by transforming black medicine into vital essence and entering deeply into the realm of formlessness, one can fly through empty space, move freely between being and nonbeing, and ultimately endure forever. Those who attain the Dao are untouched even by calamities or the collapse of Heaven and Earth. This is why talismans and medicine are precious.”

The Lord Lao asked, “Is longevity from taking divine elixirs the result of spiritual protection, or of the medicine’s own power?”

The Primordial Lady replied, “The power to prolong life comes from the elixir, but its refinement cannot be accomplished without the spirits. So before refining an elixir, one must set one’s body and mind aright and commit no wrongdoing. Then the spirits will offer their protection, and the elixir will be successfully refined. Once it has been refined and taken, life will have no end. Heaven and Earth see all things clearly, and in the end the Dao belongs to those who are humane and virtuous. The masses bustle about like insects; they are called ‘walking corpses.’ They do not believe that longevity can be cultivated, and dismiss it as delusion. From dawn to dusk they do only what brings about their own death. How could they live forever? They indulge their desires and die in an instant. What use is it to spend a thousand gold pieces on their funeral? When the Dao of the divine elixir has been cultivated, it brings not only longevity but also the greatest treasure in the world. Those who know this Dao have no need to covet the world. Someone might offer an entire state in exchange for my art, but I will not pass it on to anyone unfit to receive it.”

Laozi bowed until his forehead touched the ground and said, “I beg you to tell me its essential principles.”

The Primordial Lady raised her head to the sky and gave a long cry. In an instant, purple clouds descended, filled with radiance in five colors. The immortal Juanzi attended her. The Primordial Lady brought out a sacred diagram and precious registers, along with methods for refining elixirs, returning elixirs, controlling fire, working with mercury, and making the Golden Elixir, amounting to seventy-two chapters in all. She transmitted them to Laozi. Some say these scriptures have now been lost, and that the versions circulating in the world were mostly transmitted without a teacher, mixing the genuine with the false. The Immortal Scripture says, “To steal the Dao’s methods without a teacher is like growing wings but being unable to fly.”

The text then gives a verse on refining elixirs: “Take dark and white as the foundation, and form the Golden Lord. The Sun’s flowing pearl enters the Flower Pool. Within one catty are five ounces of patterned wēiluó. Red salt and white snow are matched as female and male. From the Five Talismans and Nine Elixirs, one may ascend and become perfected. The Dao is right here, yet people do not know it.”

The Five Talismans are Dark and White, Golden Essence, Flying Talisman, Golden Flower, and the Three-Five Azure Dragon Essence. The Nine Elixirs are the Ninefold-Reverted Elixir of White Snow, the Ninefold-Reverted Elixir of Female and Male, the Ninefold-Reverted Elixir of Yellow Flower, the Ninefold-Reverted Elixir of White Flower, the Ninefold-Reverted Elixir of Cinnabar Flower, the Ninefold-Reverted Elixir of Five Colors, the Ninefold-Reverted Elixir of Mud and Mercury, the Ninefold-Reverted Elixir of Golden Essence, and the Ninefold-Reverted Elixir of the Nine Tripods and Supreme Radiance. Attaining any one of these nine elixirs is enough to live forever; there is no need to refine them all. Every divine elixir undergoes three changes and five transformations, reaching its culmination at nine. Those who succeed in taking it attain a state equal to the Primordial Lady.

Herbal medicines buried in earth rot; when boiled, they become mush; when burned, they shrivel and char. They cannot grow of their own accord, so how could they make a person live forever? The Golden Elixir is different. It does not decay when processed, turn to mush when boiled, or char when burned. The more finely it is refined, the more remarkable its effects, and so it can make people live forever. From this we know that the path to becoming an immortal does not lie in making offerings and praying to ghosts and spirits, in guiding and stretching the body, in lengthy incantations, or in straining the mind and tormenting oneself. The key to longevity is the divine elixir. It is easy to explain but difficult to accomplish. If you can cultivate it, you can live forever. This path enables people to attain the Dao and become immortals. I myself cultivated it; I did not come by it naturally from birth.

The Primordial Lady added, “People of superior capacity who take it can rise to the rank of immortal officials. Those of middling capacity can dwell in the immortal realm of Kunlun. Even those of lesser capacity who take it can remain in the human world and live long lives. You need only cultivate diligently. Everything I have told you is true.”

Laozi bowed again and said, “I have received your instruction in the Dao of the Nine Elixirs. I have heard that anyone who seeks immortality but does not obtain the Golden Liquor merely suffers in vain. Please show me the essential method for the Golden Liquor.”

The Primordial Lady said, “That is a good question. The Nine Elixirs and the Golden Liquor are both paths to ascending to Heaven, but the Golden Liquor is the highest among the Nine Elixirs. Those who take the Nine Elixirs do not become immortals according to any fixed schedule. It may take three years, two years, one year, six months, one hundred days, or sixty days. At the appointed time, immortal officials and cloud dragons will come to welcome them. Those who take the Golden Elixir, however, must already possess immortal bones and have an immortal’s name recorded in Heaven. Once the Golden Liquor enters the mouth, the body takes on a purple-gold color, wings appear at once, and the person ascends to Heaven as an immortal official. Before taking it, one must observe purification and fasting for a long time and abstain from grain for a year in order to ascend. Those whose names are not entered in the Register of the Mysterious Realm and who do not bear the name of the deathless will never hear of the Dao of the Nine Elixirs and the Golden Liquor. To prepare it, follow the steps described earlier: once the Golden Elixir has been refined, transform it into liquid, and the method is complete. This is my secret treasure, comprising twelve hundred instructions. Before countless cycles of tribulation had passed, before Heaven and Earth had even taken shape, I received this method from the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. Only after reporting it and putting it into practice did I attain my position as the Supreme Primordial Lady. In the past, I transformed the Golden Elixir into liquid and completed this method. I once transmitted this secret treasure to the Supreme Great Sage of Perfect Truth, the August Emperor, the Supreme Sovereign, the Primordial Lady of Taiwei and Taiyi. Now I transmit it to you. You must cultivate it diligently.”

After receiving her teaching, the Lord Lao asked, “The masses are continually moving toward death. If we are to use this Dao to save people far and wide, what should we do?”

The Primordial Lady said, “People are lost in worldly glory and covetous of desire. After death, they are like stones thrown into a river: they sink and never return. It is truly sorrowful. But the Great Dao is not to be passed on lightly; it must be transmitted to perfected people. This method is lofty and wondrous, hidden in a secret realm deep within the Nine Heavens, like a jade terrace rising high among the clouds. It is practiced only once in ten thousand years and reserved for those whose names are recorded among the immortals. Unless a person’s destiny and bone structure both accord with the immortal Dao, they cannot hear of it. The ignorant have committed many offenses. How could one violate Heaven’s laws and casually reveal the Dao to them? My teaching ends here. I am leaving, and later I will send the Primordial Lady of Great Harmony to instruct you.”

As soon as she had finished speaking, a thousand chariots and ten thousand riders arrived to welcome her. The Five Emperors and perfected beings gathered around the jade carriage of the Eight Radiances, and the Primordial Lady ascended to Heaven in broad daylight. The method for refining elixirs in the Scripture of the Divine Elixir of Great Clarity is said to come from the Supreme Primordial Lady. The scripture says that her divine powers can harmonize Yin-Yang, command wind and rain, direct the Five Paths, govern cold and heat, and ride with Nine Dragons and twelve White Tigers; all the immortals beneath Heaven are under her command. She also governs human life and death. The scripture cites this to explain the effects of taking the elixir.

The Lord Lao then traveled far through mountains and marshlands, seeking the Dao of refining the spirit and becoming immortal. When he passed Mount Lao, he did indeed meet the Primordial Lord of Great Unity, riding a five-colored, dappled qilin with several dozen attendants at his side. The Lord Lao asked him for instruction. The Primordial Lord said, “The essential methods of the Dao are the Reverted Elixir and the Golden Liquor.” He then transmitted all the secrets to him. Later, the Lord Lao met the Primordial Lord of Great Unity again on Mount Li and thanked him for the formula of the divine elixir. The Primordial Lord said, “You are a venerable master who governs the immortal Dao and the lord of the myriad ways. These mysterious, numinous arts were already yours by destiny. Why thank me? In a little over a hundred years, you should go to the Golden Palace to take up your office.”

The Lord Lao said, “The people are ignorant, and many die. Whenever I think of it, I am moved to tears. Could we divide the divine medicine among them so that everyone might live forever?”

The Primordial Lord replied, “That is not permitted. The Dao of longevity is precious and must be passed on to worthy and virtuous people, and to those who are filial, sincere, and trustworthy. In creating the myriad things, Heaven made both good and evil: the good are suited to life, while the evil ought to be removed. One should not give the medicine to everyone and let everyone live. You already know this. Do not reveal this Dao lightly.”

Laojun said to the Divine Primordial Lady, “No. The Way to long life is of the utmost importance. It must be transmitted to people of great De (Virtue), and to those who are filial, loyal, trustworthy, and steadfast. Heaven brings forth all things, among which are the good and the evil: the good are fit to endure, while the evil should be removed. We cannot simply grant everyone long life by giving them an elixir. You have already understood this principle; you must not disclose it lightly.”

Laojun believed that the Way to become an immortal required cultivation. He hoped to pass down its methods to encourage later generations, so he took and wore talismanic seals and refined divine elixirs. Today, an alchemy well still stands at the Taiwei Palace in Bozhou. The place where practitioners cultivated “true black”—a practice named in the original text—is now called the Hall of Emptiness within the palace. It was where they took “black.” Afterward, they also had to practice methods such as the steps of the Dipper: cultivation techniques performed through prescribed steps and rituals. Only then could they ride the air and soar through the void. At that point, celestial generals and divine kings would naturally attend and guard them. They could summon and command the principal gods, call forth the assembled spirits, subdue demons, determine life and death, pass through water and fire, and perform all manner of transformations. At times they could also divide themselves and travel in multiple forms, move between existence and nonexistence, and exercise their powers freely.

One day, Laojun rode a white deer onto the crown of a cypress tree in the courtyard and ascended to Heaven. Beside the Taiqing Palace in Bozhou, a place called “The Ascending Deer and Cypress” still stands today.

The “Eulogy to the Sacred Annals” says:

Laojun’s original nature is vast and still; his De rests upon the subtle “being.” He attained the Way across countless kalpas and transformed the myriad heavens. All this came about naturally, not through accumulated study. Laojun descended to establish teachings in the age of the Nine Sovereigns, and later became the teacher of successive emperors. He stood alone within the Purple Pure Palace.

The “Eulogy to the Sacred Annals” also says:

Laojun’s original nature is vast and still; his De rests upon the subtle “being.” He attained the Way across countless kalpas and transformed the myriad heavens. All this came about naturally, not through accumulated study. Laojun descended to establish teachings in the age of the Nine Sovereigns, and later became the teacher of successive emperors. He stood alone in the realm of Purple Purity. Who could stand beside him as his equal?

Yet now Laojun draws near to the Holy Mother and, under the pretext of seeking instruction, asks the Primordial Lady about the Way. This serves to reveal the mystery of the true Way: without learning, one cannot attain it. The realm of the immortals may be lofty and wondrous, yet it can be reached through cultivation. Practitioners should therefore honor their teachers and elders, cherish De, and uphold the Way of gentleness, stillness, humility, and yielding. In this way they reveal the numinous principles of the Most Holy and leave later generations an example of cultivation. Laojun taught in accordance with people’s differing capacities, encouraging good conduct and correcting delusion. Wenshi and Baopu recorded these events earlier; they are now praised again here.

An Outline History of the Most High Primordial Lord Laozi, juan 2 and 3

Compiled by Xie Shoubin, a Daoist of Qingxu Hermitage on Mount Lu.

At the beginning, Lord Lao (Laozi) wished to establish teachings in the world. He therefore revealed methods for cultivation and attaining the Dao, along with the rules for transmission between master and disciple. In the first year of the Shanghuang era, on the second day of the first month, he traveled to the Western River to survey the eight directions.

At that time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning rode in a jade carriage adorned with eight radiant scenes, escorted by nine-colored dark dragons and three-hued flying clouds. Immortals of the grasses accompanied him, each carrying an ornate banner. Lions and white cranes called out and sang as the Celestial Worthy came through the air and met Lord Lao above the Western River.

Lord Lao performed the kowtow of respect and asked, “In the past, you kindly transmitted to me the twenty-four diagrams of the Heavenly Books and Jade Characters. Though I received the texts, I have not yet seen the images, and so have found it difficult to grasp their subtle principles fully. Now that I have had the good fortune to meet the compassionate Worthy, I ask you to guide me and bring this matter to completion.” The Celestial Worthy then breathed from his mouth the Jade Talisman of Inner Contemplation from the Cavern of Mystery and bestowed it on Lord Lao.

Lord Lao performed the proper rites and received the teaching. In accordance with celestial ritual, he observed a long period of fasting and took Fulu (talismans and registers). Afterward, the spirits of the Three Divisions and Eight Radiant Scenes—the system of deities within the human body—all manifested within him. The twenty-four diagrams of golden books and jade characters also appeared in the air, their meanings profound and inexhaustible, interwoven and revealed of themselves. Lord Lao then ordered the high immortals in charge of diagrams and registers to draw what had appeared, render it in golden script and purple characters, and compile it in cinnabar slips and jade chapters. The true writings transmitted by the Lady of the Great True King of the Nine Lights of the Southern Pole and Upper Origin, the Two Huashan Mountains of the east and west, the True Lords of the north and south, the immortals of the Five Sacred Peaks, and the Perfected Ones of Clear Emptiness were likewise passed down through Laozi. These diagrams are divided into upper, middle, and lower grades.

The upper grade includes: first, the Diagram of the Immortals’ Bathing and Bound Wells; second, the Diagram of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks; third, the Diagram of the Eighth Registers for the Art of Communing with Spirits and Refining Essence; fourth, the Diagram of the Six Jia’s Communion with Spirits and the Diagram of the Nine Palaces of the King’s Purple Chamber; sixth, the Diagram of Primordial Beginning and Great Clarity; seventh, the Diagram of the True Dao, Formed from the Undifferentiated; and eighth, the Diagram from the Precious Record of the Western Ascent.

The middle grade includes Chart of the Subtle Transformation of Immortals, Chart of the Nine Spirits Who Gather the Void, Chart of the Nine Transformations of Heaven, Chart of Constant Presence, Chart of the Five Guardings and One-Nurturing Method for Cultivating the Body, Chart of Guarding the Spirit and Uniting with the Radiance, Chart of Silent Cultivation of the True and Guarding the Will, and Chart of the Zhi Herb’s Essence and the Jade Maiden.

The lower grade includes Chart of the Six Yin Jade Maidens, Chart of the Ninety-Nine Dao Immortals, Chart of Daoyin, Chart of the Great Treasure of the Cavern of Truth, Chart of Transformation and Hidden Subtlety, Chart of Gathering Zhi Herbs and Opening the Mountain, Chart of the Bright Mirror, and Chart of the Non-Ultimate Great One.

These chart titles are listed under different grades, and their contents concern cultivation methods such as visualization, guarding the spirit, nurturing the body, and Daoyin. Here, “chart” usually refers to a cultivation text accompanied by images or explanatory diagrams. “All are likewise generated through the transformation of the Qi of the Mysterious, the Origin, and the Beginning” means that they are all connected with the generative transformation of the Qi of the Mysterious, the Origin, and the Beginning. “Qi” here refers to the transforming vital energy spoken of in Daoism.

Laojun once served as the Lord of the Great Dao of Jade Dawn. He was in charge of the Chart of the Divine Immortals’ Tiger Talisman, the Plain Scripture of Wisdom, and the talismans and treasure registers in the Perfect Scripture of the Great Cavern of Highest Clarity used to summon spirits and dispel demonic obstacles. He registered and safeguarded all of them. These scriptures were formed from the naturally arising Qi of Flying Mystery. Their principles are profound and subtle; they are the most honored of all scriptures, governing the myriad Perfected and commanding the grass immortals. They were secretly stored in the Palace of Great Being above the Nine Heavens. Their numinous writings were inscribed on slips cast from gold, and their chapters marked in cinnabar texts fashioned from jade.

At times, the scriptures were kept in the jade palaces and chambers of the Numinous Capital of Great Tenuity, guarded by enormous beasts, white dragons, and seven thousand divine tigers. Three thousand Golden Dawn Jade Youths and three thousand Plain Spirit Jade Maidens stood watch over the numinous writings. The assembled Perfected bowed there, and the myriad sages came to pay court.

The Lord of the Dao Most High said to Laojun, “When a great kalpa comes to an end, suitable people should be chosen to receive the scriptures. If no such person can be found, they must not be transmitted, even after many kalpas. Later generations who study the Way do not understand its source. They merely engage in vain visualization, thereby harming their bodies and spirits. To seek the root, one must return to its source. If one loses the root and still hopes to attain the fullness of life, it can never be done. The ancient scriptures must be entrusted to chosen people, and the methods kept secret; they must not be disclosed lightly. They should be received and practiced in accordance with clear precepts.”

Laojun then examined the source, gathered the numinous writings, and compiled three hundred volumes of treasure scriptures, seventy chapters of talismanic charts, and nine thousand jade instructions. The Great Lord of the Eastern Sea’s Azure Youth, who dwelt in the Azure Palace at Fangzhu and oversaw the transmission of immortal methods, repeatedly bowed and pleaded with him. Taking pity on the youth, Laojun ordered him to undertake purification and vows before receiving the scriptures. The youth was to transmit them to later generations of those who studied the Way and preside over the summoning and assembly of the Perfected Immortals. After receiving the scriptures, the Azure Youth was ranked among the High Ministers, attended by three thousand Golden Flower Jade Maidens and three thousand Purple Dawn Jade Youths. He bore the credentials of numinous talismans and held the numinous banner that commanded demons. He traveled between the Abode of Purple Void and the Chamber of Azure Radiance, suppressing the demonic obstacles of the Six Heavens in advance and cutting down the host of demons. He guided later students to the Golden Portal, checked the immortal registers of Fangzhu, welcomed the various Emperors, and expounded the treasure instructions.

He established the rules for purification and the cultivation of the Perfected, administered the transformations of the four quarters, and governed the Nine Heavens and Nine Earths, as well as the famous mountains of the Five Marchmounts. Myriad millions of numinous Perfected were under his authority, and the registers of life and death were also in his keeping. Later students who wished to receive the scriptures or undertake cultivation should first serve the Golden Portal in the Azure Palace and offer jade and silk in Highest Clarity, the upper celestial realm in Daoism. The Jade Bureau maintained the registers and secretly examined people’s sincerity and diligence. Only those who truly practiced with dedication could receive instruction in the mysterious methods.

Laojun also transmitted the scriptures to the Perfected of Great Emptiness, the Red Lord of Southern Marchmount, instructing him to pass them to students of the Way who had long been destined for immortality, whose names were recorded in the immortal registers, and who were destined to become Perfected. He also transmitted them to the Celestial Perfected Sovereign and the Great Perfected King, among others. Some scriptures were sealed away in the Western Mystery Mountains and Mount Wangwu; others were engraved on golden pillars and jade walls in the northern chamber of the Bureau of Penglai. Slips made from five-colored jade were sealed inside stone shoots on each of the Five Marchmounts. They were to be brought out only on a day of the Renchen cycle, at the assembly heralding the arrival of the Later Sage Lord, and then handed on to transmitters of later generations and taught to those endowed with the capacity for supreme perfection.

All who seek immortality should search for the scriptures and understand their source. Only then may their cultivation of the Dao succeed. Those who do not know where the Daoist methods were transmitted from or where the treasure instructions originated are like people groping in the dark. Without a teacher and a source of transmission, students of the Way cannot receive its methods or truly practice them.

Laojun said, “The treasure scriptures of the Three Caverns are the Great Dao above the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing). Long ago, I received the scriptures from the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, and by now seven hundred million kalpas have passed. Heaven and earth have undergone formation and dissolution, and all things have continually been born and perished, yet I alone remain supreme. Even now I continue to study these scriptures above the Auspicious Clouds. I once entrusted the Jade-Clear Mystery Slips to the True Lord at the Heaven of Immeasurable Life, and also to the Great Lord of the Azure Youth at Fangzhu. According to the ranks and regulations of the Nine Heavens, the scriptures are transmitted only once every ten thousand kalpas. Since the Kaihuang era, they have been passed on to later people worthy of becoming Perfected Immortals. Usually, permission is granted to transmit them to three people only once every nine thousand years; if suitable people appear within a span of nine years, the entire transmission may be made at once. Those who wish to receive my scriptures must observe the precepts and vows of the Clear Regulations of the Four Poles, go to their master to receive the transmission, carry the scriptures with them, and cultivate in stillness. They must never pass them on carelessly.”

Those who practice the highest methods should first undertake the High Cavernous Perfected Three-Origin Purification, a rite conducted for the upper, middle, and lower origins, so that the three origins may unite with the Perfected and correspond above to the Nine Mysteries. Those who wish to receive the Thirty-Nine Chapters of the Great Cavernous Perfected Scripture and the Jade Register of the Feminine One and Treasure Scripture of the Five Emperors; wear the Divine Tiger Golden Tiger Talisman and the Brilliant Seven-Origin Flowing-Gold Bell; practice the spells for dispelling demons and concealment, subduing the myriad spirits, stepping through the Five Stars, visualizing and attending to the Seven Origins, or contemplating the Perfected and practicing the Way; or seek heavenly immortality and the combined ingestion of divine elixirs and flying spirit pills, should undertake the Upper-Origin Purification for nine days and nine nights, observing pure abstinence and concentrating their thoughts on the spirits. On the day before it begins, they should bathe with five kinds of incense and prepare by gathering and settling body and mind. The participants should number no fewer than three and no more than nine, and both officiants and participants must be diligent in every respect.

The Middle-Origin Purification lasts six days and six nights. Its purpose is to dissolve the accumulated transgressions of one’s life and confess them before the Celestial Perfected and the Three Origins. Once past transgressions have been dispelled, the High Perfected descend and record one’s name in the Mysterious Pavilion, enabling one to attain the rank of High Immortal. To study a method without observing its rules is only to waste one’s effort; it cannot bring one into communion with the natural order.

The Lower-Origin Purification lasts three days and three nights. It is performed to deliver seven generations of ancestors, allowing the souls of the dead to be reborn, escape the Three Paths of suffering, and ascend to the Southern Palace. It also releases grievances and impediments and severs evil causes. Once the seven generations have been delivered, the practitioner may attain immortality as well. These methods are profound and subtle and must not be transmitted to anyone who is not truly suitable.

Only after completing the purification rites may one cultivate and serve the Great Dao. One should bathe regularly, observe pure abstinence, wear clean ritual robes, and cleanse the mouth and stomach so that both inside and out are pure: no mixed flavors in the mouth, no turbid Qi in the stomach, no grime in the eyes, and no dust on the body. Maintain simplicity and stillness, and devote body and mind wholly to the Dao before undertaking cultivation.

Those who study the highest Great Dao but do not uphold the three hundred major precepts, yet wish to receive scriptures, perform rites, wear talismans, contemplate spirits, combine elixirs and take medicines, or withdraw to the mountains in search of immortality, will find it difficult to achieve their aims. If they can keep the precepts intact within and conduct themselves peacefully and with restraint in the world, they may hope to have their names entered in the immortal registers. Practicing the Dao is not difficult; what is difficult is carrying out its methods. If you uphold the precepts in full, the Most High will protect you on your ascent to immortality.

If one receives the treasure scriptures, wears the great talismans, and follows their teachings, yet still cannot attain immortality, then there is no path to deathlessness in the world. I often lament that many people in the world seek the Way, but true Perfected Ones are hard to find. To have scriptures without precepts is like trying to cross the sea without an oar, or having a mouth without a tongue. How could one save oneself? The essential point of the Daoist methods is to observe their clearly stated rules and accumulate good deeds. Only by doing so can one enter the realm of the Great Dao. Those who cannot do this will ultimately waste their efforts amid worldly toil, without gaining anything in the length of their lives.

The Old Lord also taught Lord Blue Lad the twenty-four methods of cultivation from the Scripture of Numinous Writings in Purple Script, a Daoist manual of secret practices. Their main points are as follows:

The methods of gathering and ingesting “flying root” and swallowing the sun’s dark Qi, together with taking the “Illuminating Talisman,” are common cultivation practices. During practice, one continually visualizes the sun just as it rises. After knocking the teeth together, one recites the formula and invokes the names of the sun’s soul and the Five Emperors within the sun. One then visualizes five-colored rosy clouds streaming out of the sun and coming to rest around oneself. Reciting and swallowing Qi in the prescribed manner makes the body feel moist and lustrous as jade, with a radiance appearing on the face.

Next comes the practice of gathering and ingesting the moon’s radiance and swallowing its vital essence. First, one takes the “Great Mystery Yin-Birth Talisman” and continually visualizes the moon just as it rises. After knocking the teeth together, one recites the formula and invokes the name of the moon’s spirit and the names of the five ladies within the moon. One then visualizes five-colored vital Qi streaming out of the moon and coming to rest around oneself. Reciting and swallowing Qi in the prescribed manner makes three kinds of light appear within the body, while light seems to flow in the eyes.

Next, one binds the three souls. The scripture says that the three souls can leave the body and wander; other spirits may detain them, or essences and demons may seize them. A rite must therefore bind them and keep them from scattering. The method is to continually visualize red Qi in the heart gradually expanding until it covers the whole body, then transforming into flames that illuminate the body within and without. After knocking the teeth together as prescribed, one can bind the three souls.

Next, one refines the seven Po. The scripture says that the seven Po wander in unclean places, where they may consort with ghosts and demons, come into contact with blood offerings, or become entangled with corpses. They may also lead people into wrongdoing and ruin; all these are considered afflictions of the Po. On the last day of the lunar month, the first day, the first or last quarter, the full moon, and the Gengshen day, one visualizes black and white Qi appearing at the tip of the nose, gradually expanding until it covers the body in nine layers. One then visualizes it transforming into the divine beasts of the Four Emblems, which circle the body. After reciting the prescribed formula, one can refine the seven Po.

The human body also contains the Three Yuan Palaces: the upper, middle, and lower Dantian palaces. The upper Yuan Dantian is in the Niwan Palace, in the head. Its deity is called Red Child, with the courtesy name Primordial First, and is also known as Imperial Lord. The middle Yuan Dantian is in the Crimson Palace, in the heart. Its deity is the Perfected One, with the courtesy name Cinnabar Child, and is also known as Bright Firm. The lower Yuan Dantian is in the Palace of the Gate of Destiny, in the lower abdomen. Its deity is the Infant, with the courtesy name Primordial Yang, and is also known as Mysterious Valley. These three deities, though one in essence, each resemble an infant: the deity of the upper palace wears purple, the middle red, and the lower yellow. To bind the souls, one should first call the appropriate deity by name and clearly visualize the color of each one’s clothing.

There is another great lord in the Palace of the Gate of Destiny, named Peach Well, with the courtesy name Joined Extension. He wears vermilion robes and a hibiscus crown, with the three souls attending him. When lying down to sleep at night, the practitioner should often visualize this lord. After maintaining the practice according to its rules for eighteen years, the lord can direct the Three Fields, govern the three Qi, and summon the six Yang Jiǎ and six Yin Dīng to come and serve the practitioner.

One must also practice the Way of Yu Yi, Jie Lin, and Ben Chen; take the Six Jia Yin-Yang Numinous Talismans of Flight; and wear talismanic emblems such as the Divine Tiger, Golden Tiger, Demon-Extinguisher, Clear-Fallen, and Flowing Gold. One should summon the three divisions, eight radiances, and twenty-four deities from the Great Cavern Perfect Scripture, and ingest such numinous substances as Langya Flower Elixir, Embrace-Yellow Water, moon radiance, Returning Water, jade essence, and ringed steel. The scripture says that by this stage, seven-colored Qi will arise above the head. The practitioner will be able to multiply and transform their form, ride in many carriages with horses, and ascend to Heaven in broad daylight.

These are all important secret methods for learning the Dao and cultivating immortality. The scripture says that the Supreme Subtlety Heavenly Emperor, the Purple Tenuity Perfected One Above, the Heavenly Emperor, and the Jade Clarity Lord formally transmitted these instructions. They were inscribed in green gold on tablets made of purple jade. The Mother of Tortoises held the brush, the Perfected Lad arranged the mats, the Heavenly Consort attended to the incense, and the Jade Lad compiled the text, which was titled the Scripture of Numinous Writings in Purple Script. The book was entrusted to the Chief Minister, the Great Lord Blue Lad, who was to transmit it to people in the Mysterious Palace whose names were inscribed in jade and who had been recognized as Perfected Ones. Accordingly, the Great Lord Blue Lad fasted for a thousand days, bowed with his forehead to the ground, advanced on his knees, and held the scripture facing north as he solemnly transmitted it according to the prescribed rites. He then returned to the Azure Palace at Fangzhu. Later, he passed the scripture on to Lord Wang of the Western Citadel, instructing him to transmit it to those whose innate physical signs suited the cultivation of the Dao.

Seeing that King Zhou of Shang was debauched and cruel, and that the people had fallen into hardship, the Old Lord took pity on them and prepared to descend into the world to help. In the first month of the twenty-first year of King Zhou, a Dingmao year, the Old Lord went to pay his respects to the Most High Jade Dawn Great Dao Lord and said, “King Zhou of Shang is disorderly and has abandoned the Dao. The fortunes of Shang are nearly spent, while signs of prosperity have appeared in the Earl of the West. I can go and assist him.” After receiving the command, on the twelfth day of that month, a Bingwu day, the Old Lord produced an emanation of himself. He rode in a carriage made of flying maple wood, with the Wind Master leading the way and Peng Zu driving. He descended at the southern foot of Mount Qi and called himself “Master Xieyi.” King Wen of Zhou, the Earl of the West, appointed him Keeper of the Archives, an official in charge of the state’s books and records. The Old Lord composed the Red Essence Scripture and taught King Wen to practice benevolence and keep faith.

In the time of King Wu of Zhou, the Old Lord was known as Master Yucheng and was promoted to Palace Pillar Historian, an official responsible for documents and historical records. He composed the Scripture of the Jade Pivot. Under King Cheng of Zhou, he was known as Master Jingcheng, expounded the Scripture of Broad Transformation, and then withdrew from public life. Under King Kang of Zhou, he was known as Master Guoshu. He again served as Palace Pillar Historian, living quietly in a low position in order to stabilize Zhou’s political affairs.

By the time of King Zhao of Zhou, the Old Lord feared that the Zhou dynasty was about to decline. He therefore gave King Zhao the “Hidden Writings of the Eight Heavens,” secret celestial texts transmitted by Daoism, and instructed him to use them to safeguard the state’s destiny. King Zhao believed that he was sustained by the natural course of Heaven’s fortunes. He gradually relaxed his duty to preserve the realm and turned instead to a passion for traveling, no longer honoring the celestial patterns. Knowing that King Zhao would not meet a good end, the Old Lord retrieved the secret celestial writings, resigned from office, and returned to his homeland.

The Old Lord lived in Zhou for many years, yet always made a practice of concealing his name and identity. In his dealings with the world, he did not show off his abilities; inwardly, he remained calm and pure, never allowing his reputation or status to shine forth. Bian Shao of the Eastern Han composed an inscription in his honor, praising his profound virtue and his commitment to emptiness and purity. He was content with a low position and sought neither power nor salary. He dealt with affairs uprightly and wisely, held fast to singleness of purpose, and never lost his true nature. He valued honesty and substance rather than display, scorned gold and jade, cast aside cravings and desires, and returned to simplicity. For many years, no one could truly understand his intentions. Through Wuwei (non-action), he brought transformation, and his teaching reached throughout the world. His conduct and comings and goings did not follow convention, yet he always upheld the right path. Outwardly he seemed dull, but inwardly he was full and never complacent. His state could not be understood by ordinary people, and the many ranks and titles of the world were not enough to entangle him.

The commentators say: A review of the scriptures and historical records shows that accounts differ about the Old Lord’s birth and the periods in which he served in Zhou. This was probably because Qin Shi Huang burned the books of earlier times. When scattered texts were collected in the early Han, some accounts relied on the stories of elders, while others filled gaps using fragmentary historical sources. They preserved the broad outline but lacked detailed records; some noted minor details while omitting the essentials. Later, historical writing revived and Daoist scriptures began to appear in succession, but the texts that came to light were often kept hidden and not transmitted, making it difficult for later students to grasp their original meaning.

According to the present account, the Old Lord’s Record and the Record of Louguan both say that the Old Lord was born on the fifteenth day of the second month in the Gengchen year of King Wu Ding of Yin. On the twelfth day of the first month in the Dingmao year of King Zhou of Shang, he descended from the Golden Palace and appeared at the southern foot of Mount Qi, becoming King Wen’s teacher. These texts also say that he served as Keeper of the Archives under King Wen and as Palace Pillar Historian under Kings Wu, Cheng, and Kang. These accounts are credible. The claim that the Old Lord later entrusted his spirit to Lady Li refers to his birth in the household of Li Daguan at the Green Ram Market in Shu. If he had been born only in the Zhou period, how could he have served as Keeper of the Archives under King Wen?

Liu Xiang’s Biographies of Immortals says that the Old Lord was born in the Shang period, but Liu Xiang reverses the order of his appointments, placing Palace Pillar Historian before Keeper of the Archives. The Palace Pillar Historian managed documents and historical records submitted from across the realm. At that time, King Wen was still a vassal of Shang; how could he have had an official in charge of documents from the four quarters? In those days, there was only a Keeper of the Archives, who preserved ritual and musical texts. Huangfu Mi, Ji Kang, and others followed Liu Xiang’s account, placing Palace Pillar Historian first. Xue Daoheng of the Sui dynasty, in his Inscription for the Shrine of the Old Lord, says instead that the Old Lord served as Keeper of the Archives and Palace Historian under Kings Wen and Wu. This is a more reasonable account.

In the first year of the Limitless era, the Most High Dao Lord again commanded the Old Lord to travel to the Western Regions and teach the people. This was the twenty-third year of King Zhao of Zhou, a Guichou year. On a Renwu day at the end of the fifth month, the Old Lord rode in a carriage drawn by a blue ox, topped with a curved canopy of thin boards and driven by Xu Jia. Master Wuji, Master Guigu, and Master Beiguo accompanied him. They were preparing to travel west through Hangu Pass.

Yin Xi admired the arts of the Dao. His courtesy name was Gongwen. He had served as a grandee under King Kang and was later summoned to become a guest and companion in the Eastern Palace. As a young man, he enjoyed reading the Three Mounds and Eight Cords, legendary ancient books. He was well versed in astronomy and divination by celestial signs, so he built a tall tower above his thatched hut, observing the heavens and devoting himself to seeking the Dao. For this reason, the place was called “Louguan” (“Tower Observatory”). It is said that the thatched tower, altar, and shrine at Wenxianli, Shenlong Township, Zhengan County, on Mount Zhongnan, were his former residence. King Mu of Zhou later repaired the site and invited recluses who cultivated the Dao to live there. From then on, the Dao lineage was passed down from generation to generation and continues to this day.

At that time, Yin Xi saw dark purple clouds moving westward from the east, and auspicious signs appeared in the heavens. He knew that a sage was about to pass through the pass on his way west. He therefore requested the post of Hangu Pass commander. Hangu Pass was in Taolin County, Shanzhou, and its old site still remains. The Zhou king granted his request.

According to the Biographies of the Earlier Masters of Louguan and the Record of Louguan, King Kang of Zhou heard that Yin Xi aspired to become an immortal and save people from the world, and appointed him a grandee. Under King Zhao, Yin Xi met the Old Lord, attained the Dao, and rode with him westward on clouds. Later, King Mu of Zhou revered the traces Yin Xi had left behind and built a shrine and observatory there. An inscription says, “Louguan was established by Yin Xi, a grandee of King Kang of Zhou and commander of Hangu Pass. Because he built a tower there, it was called Louguan.” It also says that when King Mu traveled west and Qin Shi Huang traveled east, both passed through and paid respect to Daoism; Qin Shi Huang built a temple south of Louguan, and Emperor Wu of Han built a palace to its north. Documents recording visits and offerings from the Jin and Song dynasties still survive, and the families who supported the shrine and observatory in the Qin and Han periods never ceased to do so. In the second year of the Zhenguan era of the Tang, Louguan was renamed Zongsheng Monastery. From this, it appears that the Old Lord passed through Hangu Pass under King Zhao. Some say it happened during the Eastern Zhou, because later writers knew that Confucius had met Laozi and inferred this date. They did not know that after Laozi transformed the people of the Hu regions, he returned to the Central Plain and lived in seclusion, which is why Confucius still had the opportunity to seek his instruction.

At the pass, Yin Xi said, “The number nine is the limit of the Yang numbers, and the stars are now aligned with Venus. The year and month are also at the height of their flourishing. According to the celestial signs, within ninety days a great sage will pass through the capital region.” At that time the Zhou capital, Haojing, lay west of Hangu Pass. Yin Xi first warned the gate officer, Sun Jing, “If someone with an unusual appearance and strange carriage or clothing arrives, do not let him pass.” Yin Xi also purified himself in advance, ordered the road to be swept for forty li, and had incense burned along the roadside as he awaited the sage’s arrival.

On the twelfth day of the seventh month, a Jiazi day, a white-haired old man indeed arrived in a white carriage drawn by a blue ox. The gate officer went up to him and said, “The pass commander has ordered me to ask you to wait here for a moment.” He then went inside to report. Yin Xi said, “The Dao has arrived. I can meet the sage!” He immediately put on his court robes, went out to welcome the old man, knelt and bowed, and respectfully asked him to stay.

The Old Lord declined, saying, “I am a poor old man who lives east of the pass, and my fields are west of it. I am only going to gather firewood. Why stop me? Please let me pass.” This was the first test.

Yin Xi bowed again and said, “How could you be someone going to gather firewood? I have long heard that a great sage would travel west. You have endured hardship on the road, exposed to wind and sun. Please rest for a while.” The Old Lord said, “I have heard that in Great Qin there is an ancient master who follows the way of Wuwei. I want to go and see him, which is why I set out by carriage and passed this way. Why must you insist on keeping me here?” This was the second test.

Yin Xi said again, “Now that I have seen your extraordinary and transcendent presence, I know you are the Most High of Heaven. What is there worth seeing in a remote land? Please do not refuse. Have pity on me and let me keep you here.” The Old Lord said, “How do you know who I am?” This was the third test.

Yin Xi replied, “Last October, the four stars of Tianli passed westward over Xudi. Since the first day of this month, the Rong wind has risen three times, and a band of purple qi appeared in the east, shaped like a dragon or serpent, and crossed the pass westward. These are all signs that a great sage is about to appear. In my youth I loved reading ancient books, the Book of Changes, and secret astronomical writings. I have long observed the heavens and studied the earth, and my observations have often proved accurate. That is why I knew a sage would pass through the pass. I have thought about this day and night without letting up. Now it seems that fate has brought us together, and I have indeed met your immortal carriage. I beg you, in your compassion, to instruct and save those who are lost.”

Seeing that Yin Xi had passed all three tests, the Old Lord smiled calmly and said, “Good. You truly know who I am. I also know that you have insight into the divine and will one day attain the Dao and save people from the world.”

Mr. Jueli of the Four Elders commented, “When we look at Laozi’s dealings with Yin Xi, the Keeper of the Pass, was he not warning and guiding him, so that he might understand the Way in advance? Laozi continued to decline with such humility in order to transform the people of the world.”

Yin Xi then arranged a seat in the official residence and provided for Laozi. He brought him washing things and performed the rites of a disciple. Laozi’s charioteer, Xu Jia, had been hired by Laozi when he was young, with an agreement that he would be paid one hundred coins each day. By the time Laozi was about to pass through the gate, the wages owed had totaled seven million three hundred thousand coins. Seeing that Laozi was about to travel far, Xu Jia hurried to demand payment. Laozi told him, “I intend to go to the Western Sea, Daqin, Kumbhaja, Tianzhu, and Anxi. You have driven my chariot; I will repay your wages in gold, as agreed.” Xu Jia accepted.

When they reached the pass, Laozi had the green ox adorned and put out in the wilderness, intending to test Xu Jia. He transformed an auspicious plant into a beautiful woman and had her approach the place where the ox was grazing, where she repeatedly spoke to tempt Xu Jia. Bewitched, Xu Jia wanted to stay and so broke his earlier agreement. He went before the Keeper of the Pass to accuse Laozi and demand his wages.

Laozi said to him, “You have followed me for more than two hundred years, and should have died long ago. My rank is low and my household poor, and I had nothing with which to employ you. So I gave you a Great Mystery Life-Sustaining Talisman, a Fulu that prolongs life, and that is why you have lived until now. Why do you not remember this, but instead come to accuse me?” As soon as he had spoken, the talisman flew out of Xu Jia’s mouth, its vermilion writing still looking as fresh as if it had just been written. Xu Jia immediately turned into a heap of white bones.

Yin Xi took pity on Xu Jia, who had died for breaking his agreement. He bowed and pleaded on Xu Jia’s behalf, asking Laozi to pardon his offense and restore him to life. Yin Xi also offered to pay the wages in full. Laozi valued Yin Xi’s compassion and generosity and said, “Very well.” He then placed the Great Mystery Life-Sustaining Talisman back into Xu Jia, who was immediately restored to life.

Laozi said, “I have not wronged you. You broke the original agreement, and the Dao left you; that is why you died. Now I will repay your wages.” Yin Xi at once handed the money to Xu Jia and, following proper rites, saw him off. Xu Jia asked to stay, but Laozi refused. Xu Jia prostrated himself and said, “I have received the sage’s kindness, my offense has been pardoned, and my withered bones have been given life again. I will remember this in my heart and wish to follow your chariot.” Laozi still would not agree.

Laozi remained at the pass for Yin Xi for more than a hundred days. Yin Xi fasted and bowed, then knelt and made his request twice over: “I am merely an ordinary person of the mortal world. I have been fortunate enough to meet a sage, and wish to entrust myself to you, asking only to hear the Great Dao.” Laozi said, “Your question goes deep. The Dao lies in preserving the true. It has three grades, takes ‘One’ as its principle, and makes uprightness its virtue.”

Yin Xi asked, “The Dao has three grades. Is it possible to attain immortality?” Laozi said, “If you can understand ‘preserving the One,’ then all things will have a foundation. To cut off desires, enter a quiet chamber for cultivation, refine gold, and consume Qi—this is the highest grade of practice. If you understand its principles, hold fast to them and do not lose them.”

Yin Xi was delighted. He bowed and asked, “How should gold be refined?” Laozi said, “This is a wondrous art. Since the Most True Lord of Heaven, no one has attained the Dao without the Golden Elixir. Through it one enters the deep and mysterious realm, travels up and down through emptiness, and ascends together by the power of the spirits.”

Yin Xi bowed again and asked Laozi to explain the essential method. Laozi said, “Red lead and black mercury are the foundation of the Great Elixir. Turning from red to black is true cultivation. Extract essence from the black and marrow from the red; refine the red-and-black medicine, and nothing can surpass it. Use red to enter black, and long life can be preserved; use black to enter red, and one can become a Celestial Immortal.”

Yin Xi said, “The Great Dao is indeed sublime. I have not yet grasped it fully, and ask you to guide me further.” Laozi said, “First is lead, and lead is the sovereign; second is mercury, and mercury is the minister. If the lead is not true, the mercury cannot unite with it; if the lead unites, the ministers will not scatter. The Azure-Waisted Envoy and the Red-and-Black Generals bring two different natures together, like people of different lands dwelling in one body. Make white mercury the chest and yellow sprout the root; turn lead into powder and refine mercury into fine dust. Yin occupies the position of Yang, and the number of Yang is matched with Yin. The full moon turns to wane; cold and heat each have their appointed divisions. Set up the vessels according to the prescribed method, and the principles of elixir refinement will appear clearly. This Dao of mine alone can endure as long as Heaven and Earth.”

Yin Xi bowed in thanks and said, “I have respectfully heard the essential method for the medicines. What should be the form of the furnace and vessel—the equipment used for refining the elixir—and how should water, fire, and the timing of the heat be managed?” Laozi then chanted:

“The vessel should accord with the numbers three and five; its measures are one inch and one fen. The furnace mouth is four inches and eight fen, with its two lips equal in thickness; it is two feet long, with even walls. Its belly has three navel-like places; when set in position, it hangs low and remains warm. Yin is above, while Yang moves below. Use strong fire at the beginning and end, and gentle fire in the middle. Begin with seventy and finish with three tens; inside, there are two hundred, blended evenly. Yin fire is white; the yellow sprout is like silver. It turns back and forth, yet never leaves the furnace mouth. The medicine gradually grows and becomes pure in nature, until it finally returns to One and comes back to its origin. When refining a cycle, be especially diligent: watch it closely and do not become confused. The way is distant, deep, and mysterious. If you can master it, you can unite Heaven and Earth, harmonize Zi and Wu, purify the hun and po souls, gain longevity, and enter the realm of the immortals. Those who love the Great Dao should seek out these words and ponder them carefully; there is no need for many words.”

Laozi chanted again:

“The sun and moon are the essence of Qian and Kun. The trigrams cycle and change, clearly revealing their principles. Three and five in front, three and five behind; five times six makes thirty, and after the cycle it comes forth anew. Twelve cycles make twenty-four divisions. The twenty-four solar terms shift and transform in turn, containing every subtle change among the myriad things. The substance called mercury divides in two; Yin and Yang transform to form the hexagrams Ji Ji and Wei Ji. When Ji Ji and Wei Ji are then joined with the Yin and Yang consorts, one knows that within the pot there is Heaven and Earth.”

He chanted again:

“The Golden Liquid Elixir Reverted is like an immortal flower in motion, soaring high among the clouds and ascending to the celestial mound. The red-and-yellow substance forms in an instant; male and female pearls and jades mingle in profusion. It can transform and leap, reaching the traveling kitchen. Spirit boys and jade maidens travel with me; they come and go without hindrance, in accord with Heaven and Earth. Its essence congeals like frost, neither sinking nor floating. If you are respectful and cautious, you will surely come here to travel with me.”

Laozi said, “The essential method of the Golden Liquid is all contained here. Once the elixir is complete, it can be made into gold vessels and used for eating; one can also attain long life. But first you must try refining gold, and then take it. That is why it is said, ‘Gold can be refined, and the people of the world can also be delivered.’” He then taught Yin Xi the Jing of the Eight Talismans of Great Clarity, the Jing of Observing Heaven of Great Clarity, the Jing of the Nine Capitals, the Jing of the Divine Elixir, and the Jing of the Golden Liquid, along with the methods of the Eight Refinements, the Nine Verses, the Elixir Reverted, the Hidden Sequence, and others.

Laozi also said to Yin Xi, “If you truly wish to seek immortality, you must first take the Golden Liquid Elixir Reverted. If you do not take it…”