《天皇至道太清玉册》Vol. 5

The first month was called Zou, the second Ru, the third Bing, the fourth Yu, the fifth Gao, the sixth Qie, the seventh Xiang, the eighth Zhuang, the ninth Xuan, the tenth Yang, the eleventh Gu, and the twelfth Tu. These were the ancient alternative names for the months.

The twelve zodiac animals, in order, are: Zi paired with the Rat, Chou with the Ox, Yin with the Tiger, Mao with the Rabbit, Chen with the Dragon, Si with the Snake, Wu with the Horse, Wei with the Goat, Shen with the Monkey, You with the Rooster, Xu with the Dog, and Hai with the Pig.

The “Twelve Month Generals” are a calendrical system that marks the months using the Earthly Branches: the first month is Jian Yin, the second Jian Mao, the third Jian Chen, the fourth Jian Si, the fifth Jian Wu, the sixth Jian Wei, the seventh Jian Shen, the eighth Jian You, the ninth Jian Xu, the tenth Jian Hai, the eleventh Jian Zi, and the twelfth Jian Chou.

The “Twelve Monthly Pitch-Pipes” are the names of the twelve ancient musical pitches, assigned in order to the months: the first month is Da Cu, the second Jia Zhong, the third Gu Xian, the fourth Zhong Lü, the fifth Rui Bin, the sixth Lin Zhong, the seventh Yi Ze, the eighth Nan Lü, the ninth Wu She, the tenth Ying Zhong, the eleventh Huang Zhong, and the twelfth Da Lü.

The “Twelve Monthly Hexagrams” pair the twelve months with the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang: the first month is the Tai hexagram, with three Yang lines emerging; the second is the Da Zhuang hexagram, with four Yang lines; the third is the Guai hexagram, with five Yang lines; the fourth is the Qian hexagram, with six Yang lines; the fifth is the Gou hexagram, with one Yin line emerging; the sixth is the Dun hexagram, with two Yin lines; the seventh is the Pi hexagram, with three Yin lines; the eighth is the Guan hexagram, with four Yin lines; the ninth is the Bo hexagram, with five Yin lines; the tenth is the Kun hexagram, with six Yin lines; the eleventh is the Fu hexagram, with one Yang line emerging; and the twelfth is the Lin hexagram, with two Yang lines.

The “Twelve Palaces” correspond the twelve Earthly Branches to the names of twelve zodiacal signs: Zi is Aquarius, Chou Capricorn, Yin Sagittarius, Mao Scorpio, Chen Libra, Si Virgo, Wu Leo, Wei Cancer, Shen Gemini, You Taurus, Xu Aries, and Hai Pisces.

The Twelve Lunar Stations are the positions where the Sun and Moon meet during each of the twelve months of the year. In sequence, they are: the Zi position, Xuanxiao; the Chou position, Xingji; the Yin position, Ximu; the Mao position, Muhuo; the Chen position, Shouxing; the Si position, Chunwei; the Wu position, Chunhuo; the Wei position, Chunshou; the Shen position, Shishen; the You position, Daliang; the Xu position, Jianglou; and the Hai position, Zuzi.

The Sixteen Positions are the sixteen places through which the Sun passes as it rises and sets. In sequence, they are: Yanggu, Xianchi, Fusang, Qu’a, Zengquan, Sangye, Hengyang, Kunwu, Wu Ci, Beigu, Nüji, Yuanyu, Lianshi, Beiquan, Yuyuan, and Mengjiu (also written Mengsi). These names were ancient geographical or symbolic place names used to describe the Sun’s course.

The Nineteen Numbers refer to nineteen essentials of the alchemical method. “Alchemical method” means the practice of Neidan (internal alchemy), and includes gathering the ingredients, forming the Elixir, cooking and refining, sealing and securing, strong firing, gentle firing, bathing, cinnabar, passing through the gates, dividing the embryo, warming and nourishing, guarding against danger, practice, copulation, the Great Return, the sacred embryo, the nine revolutions, changing the cauldron, and Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). Each term refers to a different stage, method, or state in the practice.

The Twenty-Four Governance Centers were all located in Shu and formed the early religious organization and parish system of the Celestial Masters’ Way. In sequence, they were: Yangping, Lutang, Heming, Liyuan, Gelei, Gengchu, Qinzhong, Zhendu, Changli, Lishang, Yongquan, Qiugeng, Beiping, Benzhu, Mengqin, Pinggai, Yuntai, Jinkou, Houcheng, Gongmu, Pinggang, Zhubu, Yusun, and Beiyu.

The Thirty-Six Numbers list some of the famous mountains among the Thirty-Six Grotto-Heavens. They include Mount Huotong in Ningde, Fujian; Mount Tai, the Eastern Peak, in Lu; Mount Heng, the Southern Peak, in Hengyang; Mount Hua, the Western Peak, in Huayin, Qin; and Mount Heng, the Northern Peak, in Zhao.

Mount Song, in the Central Peak range, is in Luoyang; Mount Emei is in Shu; Mount Lu is in Xunyang; Mount Siming is in Mingzhou, Yue; Mount Yangming is in Kuaiji, Yue; Mount Taibai is in Chang’an, Qin; Mount Zhongling is another name for Xialing in Yuzhang; Mount Taiwei is in Liling, Jing; Mount Qian is in Longshu, Wu; Mount Guigu is in Xinyang, Wu; Mount Wuyi is in Chong’an, Min; and Mount Yusun is in Qingjiang, Jiangyou.

Mount Huagai is in Yongjia, Zhejiang; Mount Gaizhu is in Huangyan, Tiantai; Mount Dujiao is in Puning; Mount Baishi and Mount Goulu are both in Rongzhou, Guang; Mount Jiuyi is in Daozhou, Jing; Mount Dongyang is in Changsha, Jing; Mount Mufu is in Ezhou, Chu; Mount Dayou is in Chenzhou, Jing; Mount Jinting is in Pingjiao, Yue; Mount Magu is in Jianchang, Jiangyou; Mount Xiandu is in Jinyun, Zhejiang; Mount Qingtian is in Qingtian, Zhejiang; Mount Zhong is in Jinling; Mount Liangchang is in Jurong, Jinling; Mount Zigai is in Dangyang, Chu; Mount Tianmu is in Yuhang, Zhejiang; Mount Taoyuan is in Taoyuan, Jing; and Mount Jinhua is in Jinhua, Zhejiang.

The mountains listed above number seventy-two in all. They are called the “Seventy-Two Blessed Lands,” places said in Daoism to be well suited to cultivation and endowed with a subtle, numinous vitality. Mount Difei is in Zhongnan, Qin; Mount Gaizhu is in Huangyan, Tiantai; Mount Qingyuan is in Huangyang, Guang; Mount Xiaoyao is another name for Xialing in Yuzhang; Mount Shike is in Tiantai, Zhejiang; Dongxianyuan is in Taizhou, Zhejiang; Mount Qingyu lies in the East Sea; Yumu Cave is in Xingan, Jiangyou; Mount Chishui is in the Kingdom of Xiliang; Mount Danxia is in Jianchang, Jiangyou; Mount Junshan is in Tiantai; and Dongxianyuan is also in Taizhou, Zhejiang.

Qingyu Mountain is in the Eastern Sea. Yumu Cave is in Xingan, Jiangyou. Chishui Mountain is in the Kingdom of Xiliang. Danxia Mountain is in Jianchang, Jiangyou. Jun Mountain is in Dongting Lake, Yueyang. Guiyuan is in Jianyang, Fujian. Lingxu Mountain is in Tiantai, Zhejiang. Wozhou Mountain, Tianmu Peak, and Ruoye Creek are all in Yuezhou. Jinting Mountain is in Mingzhou. Maling Mountain is in Liuzhou, Guangxi. Tianguang Altar is in Guangdi. Dongzhen Ruins is in Changsha, Chu. Qingtan Mountain is in Yueyang, Chu. Eyang Mountain is in Changsha, Chu. Taogong Mountain is in Qiongzhou, Nanhai. Dongzhen Mountain is in Chang’an, Qin. Dongling Spring is in Hengyang, Chu. The Three August Ones’ Well is in Rui’an, Zhejiang. Lanke Mountain is in Hengzhou. Qin Creek is in Jianyang, Fujian. Longhu Mountain and Ling Mountain are both in Xinyang, Jiangyou. Quanyuan Mountain is in Huiyang, Guangdi. Xishan Spring is in Tiantai, Zhejiang. Hezao Mountain is in Qingjiang, Jiangyou. Shifeng Mountain is in Jianjiang, Jiangyou. Jinjing Mountain is in Ningdu, Jiangyou. Dongbai Spring is in Hongdu. Bochi Mountain is in Chu. Lun Mountain is by the Danyang River in Jinling.

Shifeng Mountain is in Jianjiang, Jiangyou. Jinjing Mountain is in Ningdu, Jiangyou. Dongbai Spring is in Hongdu. Bochi Mountain is in Chu. Lun Mountain is in Danyang, Jinling. Mao Gong Altar is in Anwu. Jilong Mountain is in Liyang, Jinling. Tongbai Mountain and Pingdu Mountain are both in Zhongzhou, Shu. Lüluo Mountain is in Taoyuan, Jinghu. Zhangguan Mountain is in Liling, Chu. Nantian Mountain is on Shengzhou Island in the Eastern Sea. Damian Mountain is in Qingcheng, Shu. Huxi Mountain is in Xunyang, Jiangyou. Yuanchen Mountain is in Xingzhu, Jiangyou. Majì Mountain is in Dantu, Jinling. Shanjuan Cave is in Wuling, Chu. Yufeng is in Hezhong Prefecture. Lanshui is in Lantian, Qin. De Mountain is in Wuling, Jinghu.

Tianmu Mountain lies in Liyang in the Wu region; Shang Mountain lies in Shangzhou. Zhanggong Cave lies in Changzhou in the Wu region, Yuhu Cave in Mingzhou in the Yue region, and Zhongtiao Mountain in Hezhong Prefecture in the Jin region. Sima Haishan lies in Liyang in the Wu region; Shang Mountain lies in Shangzhou. Zhanggong Cave lies in Changzhou in the Wu region, Yuhu Cave in Mingzhou in the Yue region, and Zhongtiao Mountain in Hezhong in the Jin region. Sima Haishan lies north of Tiantai Mountain; Mianzhu Mountain lies by the Mian River in Shu, Gan Mountain in Jiyang, Gui Mountain in Hanyang, Jincheng Mountain in ancient Xiancheng, Yun Mountain in Wugang in Chu, Beibu Mountain in Luoyang, Wudang Mountain in Junzhou in Chu, Nüji Mountain in the Three Gorges of Shu, Shaoshi Mountain in Dengzhou, Luoyang, and Lushan in Xunyang, west of the Yangzi. Yumao Mountain connects with Penglai, while Baofu Mountain lies in Huangchuan in Guang. An Mountain lies in the distant, remote land of Yuechang. In the past, it was a Chinese prefecture and county, governed by an inspector, with its boundaries separately demarcated. When reported, it was listed as a blessed land and required no separate levy.

Chapter on Offerings for the Purification Ritual

According to the Essentials of the Arcane Art of Communing with Spirits, the names of the offerings presented during a purification ritual (a Daoist rite in which an altar is set up for prayer and sacrifice) are listed below:

Dried white magpie, paired with mushrooms and mulberry moths; dried monkey, paired with fragrant mushrooms; dried chicken, paired with wood ear mushrooms; dried white elephant, paired with lotus seeds; dried white horse, paired with coltsfoot flowers; dried dragon, paired with wheat cakes; dried deer, paired with burdock. Sea mushrooms are paired with mulberry moths; dried monkey, with fragrant mushrooms; dried chicken, with wood ear mushrooms; dried white elephant, with lotus seeds; dried white horse, with coltsfoot flowers; dried dragon, with wheat cakes; dried deer, with burdock. Dried sea eel is paired with rhubarb; dried mountain badger with water dropwort; dried “zhi-chang” with plantain seeds; dried forest horse marrow with sour jujubes; dried “ya-zhong” with mountain cherries; dried river fish with water lotus greens; dried cang-tai with lilies; dried white meat with camphor willow; dried earth meat with calamus; dried mountain deer with elk. There are also fine-scaled fish, oil-and-honey cakes, and an ox from the grand sacrifice.

A sacrificial sheep, accompanied by celestial wine and spring water.

Daigeng, or “great broth,” is meat juice. It is made without seasoning or plum paste. In ancient times, when people first began cooking raw meat, they drank only the meat juice, not yet knowing how to blend flavors. In later sacrificial rites, people continued to offer only meat juice out of respect for ancient ritual practice; hence the name “great broth.”

Xuanshui, or “mysterious water,” is clear water displayed in a wine vessel during a sacrifice. It is placed above the three kinds of sacrificial wine to show that people honor ancient rites by setting it first.

Yuzeng: The people of Zhou prized the libation rite. They combined fragrant turmeric plants with black millet to make aromatic wine for the rite. In a libation, wine is poured onto the ground as an offering to the spirits; performing the rite with a gui or zhang jade vessel expresses reverence through jade.

Caogou, or straw dogs—dog-shaped offerings made of bound straw—were used in rites to Heaven and to pray for rain, and had been in use since before the Three Dynasties. Most sacrificial offerings and foods were much like those of ordinary people. Zhi wine, tea, pepper-flower wine, Tusu wine, thousand-day wine, thousand-mile wine, and tofu, however, were all created by Daoist traditions.

The Inner Tradition of the Yellow Emperor says that the Queen Mother of the West once met the Yellow Emperor on Mount Song and gave him “wine that protects the spirit, nourishes Qi, and fills the flowing radiance,” as well as “wine that extends vast longevity and light.” This suggests that wine already existed in the time of the Yellow Emperor. It is impossible to determine exactly when Du Kang lived, though people throughout the ages have often called him the first maker of wine.

Tusu wine: The Bowu says that Tusu was the name of the hut where Sun Simiao lived. “Tu” means to drive away ghostly influences, and “su” means to rouse the soul. Tusu wine originated with the Perfected Sun. It is consumed in the same way as pepper-flower wine.

Pepper-flower wine: The Record of the Seasons says that pepper-flower wine should be presented on New Year’s Day. Pepper was thought to embody the vital essence of the Jade Balance star. Drinking it was believed to make the body light and the movements swift, and to prolong life. At the drinking, cups were presented in order of age, with the eldest honored first.

Thousand-day wine: Liu Xuanshi once bought thousand-day wine in Zhongshan. After drinking it, he remained drunk for a thousand days before waking.

Thousand-Mile Wine

Liu Yao of the Southern Liang dynasty said that Chenxiang in Guiyang produced a wine called “Thousand-Mile Wine.” After drinking it, a person would not feel its effects until reaching home, at which point they would fall down drunk. The wine took its name from the place where it was made.

Tea

In the time of King Zhao of Zhou, Laozi left through Hangu Pass. The pass official Yin Xi welcomed him into his home and was the first to offer him tea. It is said that tea originated at this moment. Laozi said, “Those who drink this tea are all disciples of your Daoist tradition.” Later, whenever guests arrived, ordinary households often offered tea first. This custom is said to have begun with that occasion as well.

“Ming” means tea. Tea also has other names: the first is “cha,” the second “jia,” the third “she,” the fourth “ming,” and the fifth “chuan.”

Tofu

The King of Huainan (Liu An) obtained the Way of ascending to immortality and undergoing transformation. He could refine five metals into treasures and dissolve eight kinds of minerals into water; he also understood how plants and trees transform one another. He therefore made tofu. At the time, a dou of soybeans cost a thousand coins in Chang’an. Today, people observing ritual abstinence and eating vegetarian food often use tofu. A related poem says, “The whole household learned the ways of Huainan.” It is said that people in later generations began eating tofu with the King of Huainan.

Tortoise Peaches

When the Yellow Emperor made offerings to Heaven, he used “mian” as tortoise peaches, symbolizing the offerings presented by immortals. Later, tortoise peaches were also used in Zhaijiao, Daoist purification and altar prayer rituals. This practice is said to have begun with the Yellow Emperor.

Birthday Celebrations

On Yao’s birthday, Qian Keng presented incense and a bowl of pheasant soup, then offered Yao a handkerchief and wished him a long life. Yao enfeoffed Qian Keng as the Lord of Pengcheng. It is said that the later custom of exchanging handkerchiefs on birthdays to celebrate longevity began with this event.