《太上说玄天大圣真武本传神咒妙经注》

In the term “Taishang,” “tai” means revered, while “shang” means supreme. Here, “Taishang” refers to the patriarchs who established the Great Dao in primordial antiquity: the Supreme Dharma King Yuanshi Shangdi of the Jade Clarity Sacred Realm, the Divine Healer of the Three Realms Lingbao Shangdi of the Highest Clarity True Realm, and the Teacher of the Ten Directions Hunyuan Shangdi of the Great Clarity Immortal Realm. The source Qi of the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and humanity all comes from the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing).

The Huainanzi says, “The Dao of the Taishang gives life to the myriad things without claiming them as its own; it brings all forms to completion without ruling over them.” It also says, “The highest state is to nurture all things and let them transform and flourish naturally; next comes governing through proper laws.” Thus, rulers throughout the ages honored the Three Pure Ones and bestowed on them the title “Taishang.”

“Shuo” means to explain and expound. In proclaiming the various scriptures and methods, the Most High (Taishang, a Daoist title for the supreme or most exalted deity) leads people step by step into the mysterious gate. The Laozi says, “The highest is to establish De; next is to accomplish great deeds.” According to this passage, this scripture was proclaimed by the Great Emperor Ziwei of the Northern Pole Palace at the Most High’s command, thus carrying out the decree to “accomplish great deeds.”

Tradition holds that in the first year of the Dragon-Han Four-Kalpa era—that is, the first year of Eternal Longevity in the Three Heavens of Great Luo—the Primordial Heavenly Lord descended on the Upper Primordial day to the Beginning Azure Heaven of the Eight Radiances in the Great Empyrean. There he expounded the method of the Numinous Treasure for Delivering People through the Highest Dao, intending to guide the Heavenly Lords of the thirty-six heavens and the many True Rulers. Suddenly, the Gate of Heaven shook open, revealing the scene in the lower realm. At that time, the cycle of the Three Kalpas of Kaihuang was nearing its end, and baleful forces surged upward.

According to the Records of the True Lord Dong, King Zhou of Shang in the lower realm was debauched and had strayed from the Dao; in his arrogance, he offended Heaven. This brought forth the revolt of the Six Heavens’ Demon Kings, who harmed the people of the Nine Earths. The Primordial Heavenly Lord therefore commanded the Vast-Heaven Most High, the Great Heavenly Emperor of the Jade Court, who Opens Heaven, Holds the Tally, Governs the Calendar, Unites with the True, and Embodies the Dao—that is, the Jade Emperor—to issue an edict for the Northern Pole Bureau to carry out. In the world of the living, it was to assist King Wu of Zhou in attacking King Zhou and bringing peace to the realm; in the underworld, it was to dispatch the Great General of the Great Mystery to subdue the demon host and distinguish humans from ghosts. Both the affairs of Yin and Yang were to be settled within seven days, restoring clarity and stillness to Heaven and Earth.

In “Mysterious Heaven,” “mysterious” refers to the One, while “heaven” means the high sky. In the north lies a celestial realm called Purple Empyrean, Great Mysterious Heaven. It arose from the Qi of Heavenly One, and the Dark Emperor now resides there. In the fifty-seventh year of the Yellow Emperor’s reign, the Dark Emperor received Heaven’s mandate to ascend from the human world; his official residence was also established here. This is where the waters were first brought into being, and it is foremost among the Nine Empyreans.

From the Nonbeing of Vacuous Oneness arose the Scenery Empyrean, Primordial Simplicity Heaven, in the southwest, known as the Second Scenery. From the Qi of Pure Oneness arose the Azure Empyrean, Azure Origin Heaven, in the east, known as the Third Scenery. From the Qi of Numinous Oneness arose the Jade Empyrean, Primordial Division Heaven, in the southeast, known as the Fourth Scenery. From the Realm of Vacuous Brahma arose the Fifth Scenery: the Jade Emperor’s palace in Divine Empyrean, Vast Ultimate Heaven. From the Qi of Utmost Oneness arose the Lapis Empyrean, Primordial Mystery Heaven, in the northwest, known as the Sixth Scenery. From the Qi of Mysterious Oneness arose the Jade Empyrean, Great Simplicity Heaven, in the west, known as the Seventh Scenery. From the Nonbeing of Great Oneness arose the Great Empyrean, Primordial Azure Heaven, in the northeast, known as the Eighth Scenery. These heavens cover Southern Yan and Dongfu. According to legend, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning once descended there to save living beings. From the Qi of Primordial Brahma arose the Crimson Empyrean, Great Elixir Heaven, in the south, known as the Ninth Scenery.

Thus, the Nine Empyreans contain various heavens, and the years of the Five Kalpas record the origin of the celestial eras. The Three Heavens of the Great Luo are responsible for safeguarding and establishing era names. When the Dark Emperor was fifteen, he met the Purple Primordial Lady. She told him, “You are joined with Great Harmony, and will surely be able to ascend.”

In the title “Great Sage,” “great” means nurturing and transformation, while “sage” means giving life and sustenance. The Dark Emperor’s master once told him: “After ascending to Heaven, you will serve as an assistant minister in the Three Realms above, and become a Great Sage of the Ten Directions below.” After two thousand five hundred years, just as foretold, he ascended in the gengyin year of the Yellow Emperor.

According to the chronology of successive rulers recorded in the Outline, the twenty-third year of King Zhou of Shang, the jisi year, came exactly two thousand five hundred years later. The Comprehensive Mirror dates this year as the year King Wen of Zhou received his Mandate. The first year of King Wu of Zhou, the jimao year, fell exactly ten years after the date given in the prediction by the Purple Origin Lady.

“Heaven governs Kan and Li” means that the Dao of Heaven directs the Kan and Li trigrams. Kan and Li represent water and fire, and also refer to the two Yin-Yang essences contained in the Dark Warrior. King Zhou of Shang was unjust and ultimately fell to King Wu of Zhou.

Zhenwu: “Zhen” means upright, and “Wu” means divine. He was originally called Xuanwu, but his name was changed by imperial decree to Zhenwu to avoid a taboo on the temple name of a Song emperor. Moreover, when he led troops into battle, he strictly forbade the taking of life. The Jade Emperor appointed him to guard the north. When he subdued the six demons of the age of King Zhou, the Celestial Emperor commanded him to wear his hair loose and go barefoot, and bestowed on him a military banner and a dark-colored flag. He donned his armor himself. After completing his mission, he took command of the gods and returned to the Celestial Court with the turtle and serpent beneath his feet. The Celestial Court called him Marshal, while people in the world called him a god of good fortune. That day, the Dark Emperor looked up at the sky and sighed, “Now my master’s words have indeed come true.”

The Veritable Record of Perfected Lord Dong states: In the second year of Jiayou (Dingyou year) under Emperor Renzong of the Great Song (1057), corresponding to the third year of True Transformation in the Great Luo Heaven, on the fifth day of the fifth month, the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and the High Gods ascended together to the Jade-Cosmic Hall. They ordered the Marshal of the Nine Heavens to open the registers and examine the merits and faults of the gods across the heavens, as well as to determine the ranks of the Three Officials and Four Sages. Since the opening of the Great Void, divine beings had been born to protect Heaven and Earth and nurture all living things. On the first day of the first month in the fourth year, the carving of the jade register at the Jade Flower Court was completed. A proclamation was then issued to the Three Officials and Four Sages, ordering them to go together to the Seven-Treasure Jade Terrace at the Shangyuan Festival. At the investiture ceremony, the Venerable Jade Lord Haofu presided in person, conferring on Zhenwu the titles “Perfected One of the Supreme Purple Emperor, Heavenly Unity” and “Mysterious Celestial Emperor, Mentor and Minister of the Jade Void.” He appointed him Envoy of the Nine Heavens, charged with investigation, and bestowed titles on the two generals who attended him, the Turtle and the Serpent.

In the title Basic Account, “basic” refers to the source, and “account” to its transmission: it is a historical record compiled by the Golden Palace Bureau of Calendars. Emperors of successive dynasties each held ceremonies related to these events. Emperor Huizong of Song also issued an edict praising the awe-inspiring protection and responsive manifestations of the Great Emperor Zhenwu. The celestial Investigations Bureau of the True Realm excerpted each account, copied it out, and submitted it to Xuandu, where it was entered in the Golden Register and Jade Calendar, the celestial ledgers recording merit, fault, and divine affairs.

Whenever the Celestial Emperor ordered an assessment of merit, the Great God Han Jun Zhangren, Sima of the Golden Palace Attendant Bureau, together with the Perfected One Ke Han of the Bureau of Destiny, the True Lord Dingming of the Bureau of Records, the True Lord of the Nine Heavens’ Investigations of the Bureau of Merit, and the True Lord of the Nine Heavens’ Storehouse of Blessings of the Bureau of Faults, would make recommendations based on the facts and continue compiling them into a book. This is the Basic Account.

Now another book, the Veritable Record of the Dark Emperor, has descended from the celestial realm to the human world. It was brought out by Zhang Mingdao, leader of the assembly at the Zixu Altar in Xiangyang, and given to Jiang Renyu to have printed and circulated. From this we can see that the sacred deeds of the Dark Emperor are truly difficult to know in their entirety.

The book was compiled by Dong Suhuang. His celestial titles include Left Senior Minister of the Grand Perfected Queen Mother of the West, Director of the Celestial Pivot of Shangqing, True Lord of Divine Response and Primordial Grace, Perfected One of Flying Rosy Clouds and Numinous Radiance, and Master of the Central Yellow. Zhang Ya, the Jade Hall Academician in charge of registers in the Nine Heavens of the Upper Origin, and Commissioner of Transport and Supervisor of Judicial Affairs over the Nine Lands in the Water Palace of the Lower Origin, the Primordial August Lord among the Immortals Above, was his uncle.

At the end of the book, it is recorded that the celestial era was the seventh kalpa of Yan Kang, the thirteenth year of the opening and transformation of the Unexcelled Great Luo Heaven. Its corresponding date in the human realm was the eleventh year of Chunxi under Emperor Xiaozong of the Great Song, the jiachen year in the Upper Origin’s sexagenary cycle beginning with jiazi. The first day of the first month was xinmao, and the fifteenth was yisi. The two Perfected Ones also gave this instruction: all who read this book should cleanse body and mind, kneel, and recite it.

In “divine incantation,” “divine” refers to the gods, while “incantation” means a pledge or solemn vow. The Lord established this incantation to create a firm and trustworthy covenant. The Fumo Jing says that divine incantations are words that soar and transform, subtle and difficult to express; they are also the key by which the Great Dao opens its pivotal mechanisms. When the gods hear one, a single invocation can summon true gods and spirit officials, and none fail to answer.

In practice, one may cross-step and tread the Dipper and celestial measures, or stir the earth’s Qi and point toward the celestial stars to support the Celestial Gate ritual. By knocking the teeth and burning incense at the center of the altar, making a vow in accordance with one’s intent, and reciting with focused attention, one can use sincerity to reach the Great Sage, the Dark Emperor (the Great Emperor of the Dark Warrior). It is said that his numinous power runs through the warp and weft of Heaven and Earth and extends in every direction. He arrives swiftly, without needing to travel on foot, and every spirit summoned answers the call. When practiced in this way, all manner of auspicious responses bring good fortune. Is this the rule and discipline for upholding and serving this method?

In “wondrous scripture,” “wondrous” means to penetrate and understand, while “scripture” means a road or path. The incantation in the Xuandi Benshi says: “Heaven thereby moves with vigor, Earth thereby rests in peace, and the people thereby receive nurture.” Thus, the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and humanity—and all things depend on the Dao’s original primordial Qi and change by following its movement.

At that time, the Perfected of Wondrous Practice, one of the revered deities of Daoism, came with a sincere wish to save and guide the people. The Great Emperor then manifested his radiance and spoke of the method for nurturing the One. He opened the turning point by which ignorance becomes understanding and indicated the proper times for daily cultivation. These were methods that the Dark Emperor practiced and personally transmitted. In Heaven, the Dao gathers into primordial Qi; deep within Earth, it quietly governs the forms of all things; and it also fills human intention and original awareness of the mind. Those who can understand this original awareness can grasp the scripture’s profound meaning and cultivate in accordance with it.

The Perfected Emperor Xuan (the Great Emperor Zhenwu) descended and proclaimed: This scripture can bring blessings, grant people health and longevity, and preserve the lifespan endowed by Heaven. If someone is full of righteous Qi, pure of heart, loyal and conscientious in duty, and fully devoted to filial piety, their name will be entered on a jade register—the Daoist record of the names of immortals—and they will be recommended for ascension to immortality. When reciting and upholding this scripture, one should offer a cup of pure water, burn plenty of incense, and pray with sincerity and earnestness. The scripture says: “Bow your head and pray; no wish will go unanswered.”

At that time, the exiled immortal Zhang Tianshi (the Celestial Master who encountered the descent of the Most High to teach and transform the world on three occasions) received a thousand scrolls of scriptures in accordance with the Scripture of the Southern Dipper. All contained essential methods of cultivation. The Most High would transmit these scriptures to people who possessed the Dao, so that they could be saved in this very life and endure for a long time. This scripture was among those thousand scrolls.

Ah, this book bears the Great Dao and reveals how the Mysterious Heaven opens many gates of access. The Dao must be put into practice by people themselves: only then can they reach the realm of the Most High and follow the path to immortality. The Laozi says: “A tree too great to be embraced grows from a tiny shoot; a nine-story terrace is built up basket by basket of earth; a journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one’s feet.” It also says: “If you are as careful at the end as at the beginning, you will not spoil things.” The Mencius says: “The Dao is like a great road—is it really hard to understand? The trouble is only that people do not seek it.”

At that time

“At that time” means “then,” and also conveys “thus was it heard.” This account of events is said to derive from the precious statutes and golden regulations determined and compiled by the True Officials of the Office of Scripture Revision in the Vast Heavens, the celestial officials responsible for editing and compiling scriptures. The opening words “at that time” introduce, refine, and arrange the text, bringing forth the scripture’s hidden and profound meaning.

The Great Emperor of Ziwei

The Great Emperor of Ziwei (the Great Emperor Ziwei of the Northern Pole, a celestial sovereign revered in Daoism) assists those at the Golden Palace and serves as the Director of Ziwei. He oversees the great affairs of the three realms of Heaven, Earth, and Water, makes final judgments on the registers of destinies, and exercises authority over the powers of life and death. His honored title is “Celestial Official of Bestowed Blessings, First Rank of the Upper Origin, Nine Qi, Great Emperor Ziwei of the Northern Pole.”

On the day of the Middle Origin in the Longhan Era

After the celestial realms were opened and transformed, five cycles of tribulation passed in succession, called Longhan, Chiming, Shanghuang, Yankang, and Kaihuang. When the five cycles are complete, they begin again from the start. The date mentioned here falls on the day of the Middle Origin in the Longhan cycle.

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the first year of the Longhan era,

Heaven began the work of creation and instruction, opening and establishing the five kalpas, or stages of cosmic cycles. They were called Longhan, Chiming, Shanghuang, Yankang, and Kaihuang. Once the five kalpas had run their course, the cycle began again from the start. At that time, the fourth kalpa, Longhan, was in its first year. This was also the first year of Eternal Longevity in the Unsurpassed Great Luo Heaven, corresponding to the first year of King Wu of Zhou in the human realm: the ji-mao year, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the renshen day. On this day, the Heavenly Treasury held its assembly to inspect and organize its registers.

In the Northern Pole Palace above the Taiqing realm,

The Central Heaven Northern Pole Palace was the name displayed on the office plaque of the Purple Tenuity Command. It belonged to the Golden Tower Taiqing realm and was responsible for directing the affairs of the myriad spirits.

Before the Purple Tenuity Hall,

“Purple Tenuity Hall” was the name of the council chamber of the Northern Pole Office in the Golden Tower. It contained offices on the left and right, which governed the various affairs. This was where the sun, moon, and stars were set in motion, and the opening and closing of Yin and Yang were administered. The Treatise on Astronomy records that the Purple Tenuity Enclosure, the celestial region of the northern sky, has fifteen stars: seven in the western wall and eight in the eastern wall. Located north of the Northern Dipper, it is also known as the seat of the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity. The celestial officials and stars of the heavens shine brightly and can be observed from the human realm.

Arrayed before the supreme sages of the heavens,

In general, the officials of every rank within and around the Purple Tenuity Enclosure each carried out their duties under the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity. The Enclosure had 118 chief record keepers, overseeing a total of 782 stars. They administered the affairs of the celestial bodies and formed one of the most important offices in the Three Realms.

Their ranks included six divisions of officials: the Northern and Southern Dippers; the Eastern and Western Bureaus; the five directions and five stars; the six palaces and six luminaries; the twenty-eight lunar lodges; and the spirits of the twelve palaces. These officials served like aides to the Six Ministries. The Flying Heavenly Spirit Kings served as censorial inspectors, supervising the offices of the various inner and outer platforms, as well as the countless immortals. Guided by the workings of Heaven, they examined irregularities along the borders in all eight directions. In accordance with the laws, every office followed the regulations of the Northern Pole Purple Tenuity Command on the Three Primordial days—the Upper, Middle, and Lower Primordial days—inspecting the registers and entering names into the official records.

The Northern and Southern Dippers,

The Southern Dipper governs the registers of noble rank, official grade, stipends, and the like. The Northern Dipper oversees the registers of life and death, and of right and wrong in human conduct. According to the Southern Dipper Scripture, the six offices of the Southern Dipper and the seven governors of the Northern Dipper each have their own duties. Together, they govern the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, the Six Directions, the Eight Trigrams, and the Nine Palaces, and oversee all kinds of offices in Heaven and on Earth. They are celestial administrative bureaus located in the Purple Tenuity and Supreme Tenuity heavens.

Above, they govern the twelve celestial sectors—the divisions of the sky—and the numinous spirits of Heaven. Below, they govern the twelve terrestrial regions, corresponding to those celestial sectors, and the earth deities. The Four Rivers and Five Sacred Peaks, the Nine Provinces and Eight Directions, famous mountains and great rivers, city gods, and local shrines all fall under their authority. The people of the human world, all kinds of living beings, and the myriad things are also recorded in the registers under their care.

The honorific titles of the perfected lords of the Southern Dipper’s six offices are: Perfected Lord of the Heavenly Treasury, Director of Fate and Chief Minister, Who Guards the Nation; Perfected Lord of the Heavenly Minister, Keeper of Records and Chief Minister, Who Guards the Sacred Peak; Perfected Lord of the Heavenly Beam, Who Extends Longevity and Preserves Life; Perfected Lord of the Heavenly Companion, Who Increases the Count of Years and Protects Life; Perfected Lord of the Heavenly Pivot, Who Relieves Calamity, Is the Literary Luminary, and Refines the Soul; and Perfected Lord of the Heavenly Mechanism, Who Governs Birth, Oversees the Registers, and Upholds Justice.

The honorific titles of the star lords of the Northern Dipper’s seven governors are: Heavenly Jade, Greedy Wolf, Great Star Lord; Earthly Pivot, Great Gate, Origin Star Lord; Human Mechanism, Store of Emolument, True Star Lord; Authority of the Seasons, Literary Song, Pivot Star Lord; Jade Measure, Health and Integrity, Guiding Star Lord; Open Brightness, Martial Song, Record Star Lord; and Shaking Light, Army Breaker, Barrier Star Lord.

On the third and seventh day of each month—the “Three-Seven Days”—the star lords of the Southern and Northern Dippers send luminous star attendants down to inspect the human world. They examine people’s observance of precepts and conduct, as well as matters concerning life and death, offenses, and blessings.

The Eastern and Western Bureaus…

The Eastern Dipper governs the registers of human lifespans and examines people’s virtue and their good and evil deeds. The Western Dipper records the names of all beings, reviews their lives, and carries out commands concerning the deliverance of the dead, the removal of calamities, and the allotment of years of life and death.

The Eastern Dipper Scripture says that the Sovereign Lord of the Eastern Dipper governs people’s lifespans. He can extend life, bring about rebirth in a future life, and help beings escape calamities such as the Three Paths, the Five Sufferings, and the Eight Hardships. He can also spare those about to die from the fate of death and restore their vitality.

The Western Dipper Scripture says that the Sovereign Lord of the Profound Origin and Supreme Clarity, Great Accomplishment, holds authority in the celestial realm. He commands the prison of awe-inspiring might, subdues demons, restrains spirits, oversees campaigns and executions within and beyond the realm, and investigates concealed, deviant conduct. He also records people in the lower realm: good deeds are always entered, and evil deeds are likewise entered. Every being has a distinct name, and each has a fixed allotment of life and death. The causes of good and evil are intertwined like cords, plainly revealed and impossible to conceal.

The titles of the five stars of the Eastern Dipper are: Perfect Lord of Azure Spirit and Prolonged Life; Perfect Lord of Divine Light and Protection of Life; Perfect Lord of Opening Heaven, Great Guard, and Gathering Blessings; Perfect Lord of Great Brightness, Harmonious Yang, and Preservation of Harmony; and Perfect Lord of the Ultimate Tail, Chief Inspector. The titles of the four stars of the Western Dipper are: Sovereign Lord of the White Standard; Perfect Lord of Lofty Origin; Perfect Lord of the Curved Sovereign Spirit; and Perfect Lord of the Mighty General.

The Perfect Officials of the Eastern and Western Dipper offices descend to the human realm according to a set schedule. The Eastern Dipper descends on the first, fifth, and ninth days of each month; the Western Dipper descends on the seventh, ninth, and fifteenth. The following text refers to the five stars of the five directions.

Geng and Xin, Jia and Yi, Ren and Gui, Bing and Ding, and Wu and Ji correspond respectively to the five directions and to Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. They are the physical manifestations of the Qi of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), and correspond to the five constant virtues. The Scripture of the Divine Mantra of the Seven Stars says: “Heaven and Earth established the directions above, below, and around; afterward, they established the Five Phases. The Qi of the Five Phases circulates throughout the world, observing states that have strayed from the Way and people afflicted by calamities. All living beings between Heaven and Earth, plants and animals alike, depend on Heaven for their life.”

The Essentials Compiled from the Scripture of Primordial Unity says: “In the east, the Year Star (Jupiter) governs benevolence and generates the Qi of Jia and Yi. It brings forth plants and trees, governs spring, and presides over creatures that transform and reproduce, including crawling and flying insects. It completes one circuit of the heavens every twelve years. In the west, the Great White (Venus) governs righteousness and generates the Qi of Geng and Xin. It brings forth metals and stones, governs autumn, and presides over viviparous beasts, with or without horns. It completes one circuit of the heavens each year. In the south, the Blazing Deluder (Mars) governs ritual propriety and generates the Qi of Bing and Ding. It brings forth smoke and fire, governs summer, and presides over oviparous birds and fowl, covered in fine hair or bearing feathers. It completes one circuit of the heavens every two years. In the north, the Morning Star (Mercury) governs wisdom and generates the Qi of Ren and Gui. It brings forth springs and streams, governs winter, and presides over aquatic creatures, shelled or without scales. It completes one circuit of the heavens each year. At the center, the Quelling Star (Saturn) governs trustworthiness and generates the Qi of Wu and Ji. It brings forth dust and earth, governs the four seasons, and presides over all kinds of people, from sages and worthies to the foolish. It completes one circuit of the heavens every twenty-nine years.”

If a ruler can reform customs, be wise and respectful, upright and frugal, humble and virtuous, and establish sound principles for governing the state, the Five Planets will naturally send down auspicious signs, bringing blessings to the realm. The Essentials of the Great Pattern for All Under Heaven says: “When the ruler’s bearing is respectful and solemn, the Year Star responds. When conduct accords with the nature of Wood, which can bend and extend, timely rain follows. When speech is truthful, the Great White responds. When one’s actions accord with the nature of Metal, which can transform, clear weather comes at the proper time. When one’s gaze is discerning and wise, the Blazing Deluder responds. When one’s hearing is keen and one is skilled in planning, the Morning Star responds. When one’s thought is perceptive and sagely, the Quelling Star responds. When each of the Five Phases follows its nature, wind and rain, cold and warmth are harmonized in their proper seasons. This is the ruler’s virtue in accord with Heaven and Earth: the Five Blessings descend evenly and benefit all the people.”

If these virtues are abandoned, the stars will encroach upon one another. Comets and broom stars will collide with the sun, moon, or other stars, and war, floods, droughts, and displacement may follow, ultimately bringing calamity and death upon the people. The Book of Fate says: “The Five Planets travel through the heavens in different phases: direct motion, pausing, retrograde motion, and concealment. Their positions at the time a man or woman is born affect the Four Pillars of birth—the cyclical signs of the year, month, day, and hour. When the stars move smoothly, it is auspicious; when they move in reverse, it is inauspicious.”

This also includes the Six Luminaries among the Six Palaces.

The Six Palaces referred to here are the palaces governed by the Sun, the Moon, Tianyi, Taiyi, the Yellow Banner, and the Leopard’s Tail. They respectively preside over six movements: day, night, darkness, brightness, wind, and rain. They can move forward, remain in place, move backward, or lie hidden. When they shine upon the Four Pillars of a man’s or woman’s birth, forward movement is auspicious and backward movement inauspicious.

This also includes the Six Luminaries among the Six Palaces.

The Six Luminaries referred to here are the Luminary of the Sun, the Luminary of the Moon, the Luminary of Wood, the Luminary of Water, the Luminary of Fire, and the Luminary of Earth. They move through the heavens in sequence and also follow the arrangement of the Ziwei star region, at varying speeds. The Scripture on Dispelling Calamities says that people in the Desire Realm—the realm inhabited by beings with desires and sensory needs—pursue wealth and status, neglect the right path, and do not know that the movements of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water) and the influence of the Eleven Luminaries may be connected to calamity and good fortune. When Mars or Saturn stays in place or lies hidden, when Venus and Jupiter encroach upon one another, when Rahu or Ketu moves backward, or when the Sun and Moon are eclipsed, these events may presage upheaval and migration in prefectures and counties, calamities among the people, or floods, fires, insect plagues, and the ravages of war.

The Treatise on Astronomy says that when the affairs of state are mishandled and governance is poor, the Sun and Moon send warnings. Abnormal changes in the heavens admonish the ruler, urging him to reflect and correct his errors. The Sun is the source of all Yang and corresponds to the ruler. It governs birth and growth and completes one circuit of the heavens each year. A solar eclipse indicates that the ruler’s government is poor, his authority weak, his spirit confused, and the foundations of the state fragile. A solar eclipse is therefore regarded as a warning that Yin has grown too strong. The Moon is the source of all Yin and corresponds to the empress and the ministers. It governs punishments and completes one circuit of the heavens each month. A lunar eclipse indicates that orders are not being carried out, boldness has become reckless, and the people are treated with contempt and left to suffer. A lunar eclipse is therefore regarded as a warning that Yang has grown too strong.

The Luminary of Wood, also called the Purple Boundary Successor Luminary of Wood, corresponds to the Five Blessings, governs learning, and completes one circuit of the heavens in twenty-eight years. It governs people’s bearing. If people behave disrespectfully, indulge arrogant thoughts, or neglect the seasons for farming, calamity will follow. The unusual weather it brings, such as hail, is regarded as a warning that rainfall has become irregular. The Luminary of Water, also called the Lunar Obscuration Successor Luminary of Water, corresponds to the ancestral temples and governs sacrifices. It completes one circuit of the heavens in nine years. When it appears, it resembles a comet with a hairy tail. If people refuse advice, give free rein to impatience, or act against the seasons, they will fall into poverty. The calamities it brings are regarded as a warning that cold has become irregular.

The Luminary of Fire, also called the Rahu Successor Luminary of Fire, corresponds to assistance in one’s undertakings and governs Yang virtue. It completes one circuit of the heavens in eighteen years. When it appears, it obscures the Sun and Moon. If people’s vision is clouded, their intentions are perverse, or they violate the laws, they will suffer illness, fires, and bloodshed. The Luminary of Earth, also called the Ketu Successor Luminary of Earth, corresponds to farming and governs Yin virtue. It too completes one circuit of the heavens in eighteen years. Its appearance is said to cause mountains and rivers to collapse. If people think wrongly, deceive themselves without cause, or show contempt for their parents, they will bring calamity, famine, and exile upon themselves. The calamities it brings are regarded as a warning that wind has become irregular.

In an age of peace and prosperity, the Sun and Moon are not eclipsed and the stars move without disorder; this is considered a sign that virtuous government has reached its height. Men and women in the world take the place of the Sun as their Palace of Destiny and the place of the Moon as their Palace of the Body. Tianyi governs the Five Blessings of human life, while Taiyi governs premature death and sudden calamity. The hidden luminaries, including Rahu, Ketu, the Obscuring Star, and the Purple Luminary, are said to guide people toward goodness. When they punish the wicked, they shine forth.

The twenty-eight lunar mansions are distributed among the four directions, encircling the heavens and corresponding in total to more than 365 degrees. They belong to the Seven Governors: the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets—Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. The mansions mark the regions through which these celestial bodies travel. In ancient times, people used the twenty-eight mansions to regulate the years and months, the cycle of day and night, and the directions.

The scripture also assigns the twenty-eight mansions among the Seven Governors: Xu, Mao, Xing, and Fang are assigned to the Sun; Wei, Bi, Zhang, and Xin to the Moon; Bi, Shen, Ji, and Zhen to Mercury; Shi, Zui, Yi, and Wei to Mars; Dou, Kui, Bing, and Jiao to Jupiter; Niu, Lou, Gui, and Kang to Venus; and Nu, Wei, Liu, and Di to Saturn. As they move through the years, months, days, and hours, they help complete the annual cycle. They are also matched with the sixty combinations of the sexagenary cycle and are called the fetal stars of male and female. Each mansion takes charge of duties according to the solar terms and oversees matters concerning the underworld prisons in the twenty-four administrative centers (Daoist sites of governance).

According to the “Treatise on Astronomy,” the twenty-eight mansions govern the institutions of the Son of Heaven, the heir apparent, the empresses and consorts, the ancestral temples, and civil and military officials, as well as serving as symbols for all things under Heaven. The duties overseen by each Star Lord, together with the associated solar term and administrative center, are broadly as follows:

The Star Lord Doumu Wenchang governs ranks and stipends, and inspects Duozhi on the day of the winter solstice. The Star Lord Niu Jin Dawu governs sacrificial livestock and inspects Changli on Lesser Cold. The Star Lord Nü Tu Tianxu governs cutting and tailoring, and inspects Bitang Qia on Greater Cold. The Star Lord Xu Ri Tianren governs burials and inspects Yongquan on the Beginning of Spring. The Star Lord Wei Yue Tianyi governs the five grains and inspects Beiping on Rain Water. The Star Lord Shi Huo Tianshe governs the building of houses and oversees military provisions, granaries, and government offices. The Star Lord Bi Shui Yunde governs books and inspects Chougeng on Awakening of Insects. The Star Lord Kui Mu Guishi governs the suppression of disorder and inspects Zhubu on the Spring Equinox. The Star Lord Lou Jin Yiwu governs sacrifice and inspects Mengqin on Pure Brightness. The Star Lord Wei Tu Tianbo governs kitchens and storage and inspects Pinggai on Grain Rain. The Star Lord Mao Ri Tian’er governs military affairs on the borders and inspects Yunkui on the Beginning of Summer. The Star Lord Bi Yue Lingdu governs hunting and inspects Jinkou on Grain Full. The Purple Fire Star Lord Tiancang governs the protection of travelers, the storing of the harvest, and related matters. The Star Lord Shen Shui Wenming governs city walls and inspects Gongmu on Grain in Ear. The Star Lord Jing Mu Tianqi governs laws and ordinances and inspects Yuju on the summer solstice. The Star Lord Gui Jin Tianmu governs punishment and execution and inspects Pinggang Qia on Lesser Heat. The Star Lord Liu Tu Tianfu governs plants and trees and inspects Beifang on Greater Heat. The Star Lord Xing Ri Tianbu governs clothing and appointments, and inspects Gegou on the Beginning of Autumn. The Star Lord Zhang Yue Tianshou governs scales and balances and inspects Houcheng on Limit of Heat. The Star Lord Yi Huo Tianxu governs music and dance and inspects Benzhu on White Dew. The Star Lord Zhen Shui Wenzhang governs chariots and horses and inspects Qinzhong on the Autumn Equinox. The Star Lord Jiao Mu Huagai governs the heavenly court and oversees matters of spiritual longevity, auspicious agriculture, and worthy people. The Star Lord Kang Jin Taiji governs public temples and inspects Yangping on Cold Dew. The Star Lord Di Tu Yuguan governs relations between ruler and ministers and inspects Heming on Frost Descent. The Star Lord Fang Ri Tianjiao governs the Hall of Brightness, the issuing of decrees, the roads in the four directions, and the order of court assemblies. The Star Lord Xin Yue Tianyuan governs marriage and inspects Liyuan on the Beginning of Winter. The Star Lord Wei Huo Jiangwei governs the succession of descendants and inspects Gengchu on Lesser Snow. The Star Lord Ji Shui Tanshe governs the empresses and consorts and inspects Lishang on Greater Snow.

According to the Essentials of Zhengyi, the mountain administrative centers under the jurisdiction of the twenty-eight mansions are their earthly seats of governance. Once a blessed sanctuary has been established, the mansions collect records of people’s good and evil deeds: the Left Secretary, a Qi immortal official, records good deeds, while the Right Secretary, a Qi ghost official, records evil deeds. Whenever the heavenly officials assemble, the two offices belonging to each mansion copy their records and submit them, compiling them into an annual register.

The Twelve Palace Gods, divine lords who govern the Twelve Earthly Branches, the zodiac animals, and related affairs, are also called the Twelve Officials Beyond the Celestial Circuit. In order, they correspond to the twelve directions of Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai. They oversee the zodiac signs and names of men and women in the lower realm: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Each palace is ruled by one divine lord and has five Wuwu Generals, who administer the Yin and Yang scribes and officers, as well as the many people belonging to the corresponding zodiac sign. They inspect affairs associated with the twelve celestial divisions, covering the many matters of daily life among all beings under Heaven.

The Zi position belongs to the Aquarius Palace and is governed by the Divine Lord Xuanxiao. It corresponds to the Qi region and the celestial division of Qingzhou. The five generals Jiazi, Bingzi, Wuzi, Gengzi, and Renzi serve under this lord and oversee the allotments of fate and blessings of men and women born in the Year of the Rat. The Chou position belongs to the Capricorn Palace and is governed by the Divine Lord Xingji. It corresponds to the Wu-Yue region and the celestial division of Yangzhou. The five generals Yichou, Dingchou, Jichou, Xinchou, and Guichou serve under this lord and oversee the allotments of fate and blessings of men and women born in the Year of the Ox.

The Yin position belongs to the Sagittarius Palace and is governed by the Divine Lord Ximu. It corresponds to the Yan region and the celestial division of Youzhou. The five generals Bingyin, Wuyin, Gengyin, Renyin, and Jiayin serve under this lord and oversee the allotments of fate and blessings of men and women born in the Year of the Tiger. The Mao position belongs to the Scorpio Palace and is governed by the Divine Lord Dahuo. It corresponds to the Song region and the celestial division of Yuzhou. The five generals Dingmao, Jimao, Xinmao, Guimao, and Yimao serve under this lord and oversee the allotments of fate and blessings of men and women born in the Year of the Rabbit.

The Chen position belongs to the Libra Palace and is governed by the Divine Lord Shouxing. It corresponds to the Zheng region and the celestial division of Yanzhou. The five generals Wuchen, Gengchen, Renchen, Jiachen, and Bingchen serve under this lord and oversee the allotments of fate and blessings of men and women born in the Year of the Dragon. The Si position belongs to the Virgo Palace and is governed by the Divine Lord Chuwei. It corresponds to the Chu region and the celestial division of Jingzhou. The five generals Jisi, Xinsi, Guisi, Yisi, and Dingsi serve under this lord and oversee the allotments of fate and blessings of men and women born in the Year of the Snake.

The Wu position belongs to the Leo Palace and is governed by the Divine Lord Chuhuo. It corresponds to the Zhou region and the Three Rivers division. The five generals Gengwu, Renwu, Jiawu, Bingwu, and Wuwu serve under this lord and oversee the allotments of fate and blessings of men and women born in the Year of the Horse. The Wei position belongs to the Cancer Palace and is governed by the Divine Lord Chushou. It corresponds to the Qin region and the celestial division of Yongzhou. The five generals Xinwei, Guiwei, Yiwei, Dingwei, and Jiwei serve under this lord and oversee the allotments of fate and blessings of men and women born in the Year of the Goat.

The Shen position belongs to the Yin-Yang Palace and is governed by the Divine Lord Shikuang. It corresponds to the Wei region and the celestial division of Yizhou. The five generals Renshen, Jiashen, Bingshen, Wushen, and Gengshen serve under this lord and oversee the allotments of fate and blessings of men and women born in the Year of the Monkey. The You position belongs to the Taurus Palace and is governed by the Divine Lord Daliang. It corresponds to the Zhao region and the celestial division of Jizhou. The five generals Guiyou, Yiyou, Dingyou, Jiyou, and Xinyou serve under this lord and oversee the allotments of fate and blessings of men and women born in the Year of the Rooster.

The Xu position belongs to the Aries Palace and is governed by the Divine Lord Jianglou. It corresponds to the Lu region and the celestial division of Xuzhou. The five generals Jiaxu, Bingxu, Wuxu, Gengxu, and Renxu serve under this lord and oversee the allotments of fate and blessings of men and women born in the Year of the Dog. The Hai position belongs to the Pisces Palace and is governed by the Divine Lord Shezi. It corresponds to the Wei region and the celestial division of Bingzhou. The five generals Yihai, Dinghai, Jihai, Xinhai, and Guihai serve under this lord and oversee the allotments of fate and blessings of men and women born in the Year of the Pig.

Each of these palace gods and generals carries out a separate office. According to the appointed times of the year, month, and day, they record the good and evil deeds of people in the world. They await the days of the Three Origins’ inspection and assembly, when Daoist deities’ offices and the merits and faults of the human world are periodically reviewed according to the Upper, Middle, and Lower Origins. They then submit their records through the proper ranks to the Bureau of Purple Tenuity. The names of the sixty subordinate generals are given in the later section titled “Jiazi.”

The Flying Heavenly Kings are celestial envoys responsible for inspecting the world and recording people’s merits and transgressions. They are also known as the Lord Lao of the Eastern Hu, the Lord Lao of the Western Shi, the Lord Lao of the Southern Yue, the Lord Lao of the Northern Qiang, and the Lord Lao of the Central Cang. Each resides in one of the five directions. They are the chief sovereigns of the gods and command a host of twelve million four hundred thousand, including flying clerks, jade boys and jade maidens, and perfected beings of wondrous practice. They travel through the heavens and, on each of the five La days, examine the state of the world and determine whether people’s fortunes and misfortunes will increase or diminish.

The first day of the first lunar month is the Heavenly La Festival. The Lord Lao of the Eastern Hu summons the other elders to gather at the Azure Dragon Gate of the Nine Qi, a celestial palace gate in the eastern heavens. Together they assess people’s spirit and Qi, the length of their lives, and their prayers for children, among other matters. They then report to the Mysterious Ancestor, a revered celestial deity in Daoism.

The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is the Earthly La Festival. The Lord Lao of the Southern Yue summons the other elders to gather at the Cinnabar Terrace Gate of the Three Qi, where they assess people’s official rank and emoluments, their auspicious countenances, and the prosperity or decline of their families, among other matters.

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the La Festival of Dao and De. The Lord Lao of the Western Shi summons the other elders to gather at the Pure-Spirit Gate of the Seven Qi, where they assess people’s physical strength or frailty, the ease or difficulty of their studies and careers, and their reputation, among other matters.

The first day of the tenth lunar month is the La Festival of the People’s Year. The Lord Lao of the Northern Qiang summons the other elders to gather at the Pure-Spirit Gate of the Five Qi, where they assess changes in people’s stipends, losses in food and drink, the rise and fall of official rank and title, life expectancy, and the severity of illness, among other matters.

The La day in the twelfth lunar month is the La Festival of Kings and Lords. It falls on the third Mo day after the winter solstice. The Lord Lao of the Central Cang summons the other elders to gather at the Gate of Wu and Ji of the One Qi, where they assess people’s calamities, strange dreams, the smooth or troubled course of their fortunes, auspicious and inauspicious days, and the strength or decline of the post horse—a destiny spirit governing travel and relocation—and the places associated with life and death, among other matters.

The five Lords Lao compile the records from these five assemblies. At the Three Primordial Festivals—the Upper, Middle, and Lower Primordial Festivals—they personally go to the Purple Tenuity Imperial Court above the heavens to present their report.

Among the Immortals of the Limitless Realm, each serves a distinct divine office. The light of the sun, moon, and stars follows its course through the regions of the sky, illuminating the human world. Their reach extends 356,971 li—is this the vast expanse known as the Eight Horizons, stretching to the eight extremes in the four directions? Beyond the Eight Boundaries, still farther from the North Pole, lies the Realm of the Sun’s Limitlessness. The Immortal officials who serve in the Limitless Realm likewise each have their own duties.

According to the Jing of Karmic Affinities, the Great High One once commanded the emperors of the heavens to summon the divine kings of the Five Emperors. They dispatched the Nine Offices, the Four Departments, the Seven Star Youths, the Ten Heavenly Generals, the Eight Divine Youths, the Perfected Ones of Wondrous Practice, the Heavenly Immortals and Flying Immortals, the Investigating Officials and Soldiers, and others—a total of nine hundred million beings—to manage affairs in every quarter. They could transform into clouds, rain, wind, and dew, or take the forms of birds and beasts. Their bodies could be large or small, short or tall; their movements could be visible or concealed, and their transformations were without end. Carrying registers and holding brushes, they investigated and judged affairs in the human world, recording people’s merits and faults without pause, day or night. On the appointed assessment days of the Three Origins—the periodic days when Heaven examines and evaluates its charges—they returned to their respective offices to review and confirm their records.

All these Immortals personally appeared before the imperial throne. With reverent solemnity, they clasped their hands and bowed, awed by the majesty of the Heavenly Emperor.

“Gathering in homage” means that everyone came to pay court. At that time, officials of the star bureaus of the Six Departments, the divine kings charged with inspection and inquiry, and the immortals who had attained success in cultivation all came before the imperial throne to pay their respects. They stood solemnly and reverently, hands clasped in salute; amid the stately atmosphere of the Purple Tenuity Court, each attended to their duties with due respect.

The Office is organized into three prefectures and thirty-six bureaus. Each bureau has one examining official and 1,200 record keepers. They oversee registers and records, conduct themselves with solemn dignity, and take their places to carry out their duties in the Purple Tenuity Court. According to the Scripture of the Three Primordial Periods on Grades and Precepts, the Purple Tenuity Court governs three prefectures: the Left Prefecture administers the registers of the living and is examined by the official in charge of solar fire; the Right Prefecture administers the registers of the dead and is examined by the official in charge of lunar water; and the Central Prefecture oversees the registers of life and death, offenses and blessings, and is examined by the official in charge of wind and blades. The three prefectures are governed by the Lady of the Upper Primordial, Taixuan Nüqing, who arranges the systems of the various bureaus and audits their registers and records.

The names of the bureaus of the Upper Primordial are recorded as follows: the Upper Primordial Bureau of Bright Truth, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Supervision and Rectification, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Brahma Conduct, the Upper Primordial Bureau of the Numinous Gate, the Upper Primordial Bureau for Restraining Spirits, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Universal Illumination, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Righteous Spirits, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Opening Illumination, the Upper Primordial Bureau of the Jade Capital, the Upper Primordial Southern Upper Bureau, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Primordial Merit, the Upper Primordial Bureau of the Three Numinous Ones, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Bright Brahma, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Majestic Numinous Power, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Great Clarity, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Proclaiming Authority, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Bright Capital, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Great Constancy, the Upper Primordial Bureau of the Numinous Capital, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Great Ceremonies, the Upper Primordial Southern Upper Bureau, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Primordial Merit, the Upper Primordial Bureau of the Three Numinous Ones, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Bright Brahma, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Majestic Numinous Power, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Great Clarity, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Proclaiming Authority, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Bright Capital, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Great Constancy, the Upper Primordial Bureau of the Numinous Capital, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Great Ceremonies, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Covenant Law, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Examination and Rectification, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Bright Authority, the Upper Primordial Bureau of the Nine Capitals, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Spirit Mediums, the Upper Primordial Bureau of the Four Illuminations, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Heavenly Supervision, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Spirit Slaying, the Upper Primordial Bureau of the Heavenly Covenant, the Upper Primordial Bureau of the Nether Capital, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Ceremonial Authority, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Great Yin, the Upper Primordial Bureau of the Lower Primordial, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Supervision, the Upper Primordial Bureau of Great Brightness, and the Upper Primordial Bureau of Numinous Supervision. Whenever the assembled immortals and perfected beings gather in audience at the Purple Tenuity Hall, the officials of each bureau take charge of their respective affairs.

He governs the titles of all perfected immortals in the celestial realms, their ranks and order of precedence, their rites, and their merits and faults. He also governs the rites, merits, and faults involved when the perfected immortals and holy assemblies pay homage or make their rounds, as well as the rites, merits, and faults of the Great Sages when they gather for banquets or accompany the imperial procession.

He also oversees the registers of life and death, the records of destinies, and the measure of the merits and faults of all living beings. He governs the service duties of ghosts and spirits, karmic retribution through the cycle of rebirth, confinement and punishment in the underworld, and the terms and merits or faults associated with release and salvation. He oversees the ascent of ghosts and spirits, the rebirth of departed souls, and the records and merits or faults involved when, after refinement, departed souls are granted new life. He also governs the pure realms attained by immortals after realizing the Dao, along with their ranks, merits, and faults. He commands the myriad demons and examines their merits and faults, including their songs of praise. In sum, throughout the Three Realms, the Nine Provinces, and the ten directions and myriad lands, all who have attained the Dao—as well as gods, ghosts, and humans—are subject to the examination and verification of precepts.

At this time there was a Jade Attendant, a retainer who conveyed the Jade Emperor’s instructions. In this hall, the Jade Attendant held an office comparable to that of officials such as the Shizhong or Cheng in the human world.

The Jade Attendant conveyed the Great Emperor’s command: the Northern General, the Dark Warrior General, was to receive the Jade Emperor’s sacred mandate. “Receive” here means to accept and take up. “Great Mystery” could be conferred upon him as the title Dark Warrior. The Zǐwēi Secretariat of the Northern Pole carried out the final command of the August Emperor of Heaven. Whenever an edict was issued, the Seal of Proclamation served as its token of authority. The Great Emperor then ordered the Northern Marshal of the Great Mystery to go in person to this hall and receive the proclamation beneath the Third Gate of Heaven. At that time, all the gods who oversaw the affairs of the true Dao saw the Seal of Proclamation bestowed and heard the Jade Attendant read the edict aloud.

The proclamation was drafted and composed in accordance with the mandate by the Esoteric Studies Academician and Great Elixir Perfected of the Jade Radiance Institute of the Golden Gate Hanlin Academy. When the Jade Emperor issued a command, the seal of the one who received the mandate was to be used. The Record of Ritual Prescriptions calls it the “Jade Tally.” The proclamation seal bears the words: “To you, by imperial decree of Hunhuang…”

The passage first explains the origin of the edict: it was drafted by an Academician of the Mysteries and a Great Elixir Perfected One at the Jade Radiance Court of the Golden Palace, under imperial command, then issued by the Jade Emperor with a seal. The Record of Methods calls this kind of seal “Jade Talisman.”

The edict praises Zhenwu: You received the auspicious blessing of the primordial Qi of Chaos and support the exalted position of the Nine Suns. Your De stands high among the ranks of immortals, and your mighty name resounds among the spirits. It has been two thousand five hundred years since you emerged into the world, and your merit is equal to that accumulated over forty-two kalpas. You inspect and set right all things in the human realm according to the sixty-year cycle, without the slightest error. Now a great calamity is upon us: the righteous and the wicked are mixed together, and the Six Heavenly Demon Kings have been born, bringing harm to the people of the Nine Lands. Without true divine power, how could the realm be at peace? The Three Pure Ones therefore rely on your aid, and the Nine Saints have a protector. You have once more renewed the Dao, bringing demons and wicked spirits back to the righteous path.

The edict also says that Zhenwu commands the two essences of Water and Fire and leads the divine generals Jia and Geng. The “two essences of Water and Fire,” along with the Jia and Geng generals, are deities within the Daoist system of divine commanders. Through these spiritual powers, he transforms and instructs all things, enabling living beings to flourish. His achievements are so great that even the assembled sages cannot fully praise them. He should therefore be permitted to return to his source, restore his original state, and resume his rightful position. Without an illustrious title, his merit could not be properly acknowledged. The edict thus confers on him the titles “Great General Zhen Tian Xuanwu, Chief Commissioner of the Three Origins, Envoy of the Nine Heavens on Patrol, Left Celestial Commander of the Northern Pole, and Great Commander of Divine, Immortal, and Spirit Affairs in the Three Realms,” and orders that the edict be carried out. A note at the end states that this record was written at the behest of Perfected Lord Dong.

The text then prescribes three inspections each month, on the sixth, sixteenth, and twenty-sixth days. Zhenwu leads the divine troops and personally visits the various heavens on patrol. Whenever he encounters baleful Qi, or finds anomalous stars moving against their proper course or behaving irregularly, he must swiftly cut them down and destroy them.

The palaces of the stars in the heavens all lie above the Nine Heavens’ Brahma Qi—the primordial energy of the high heavens. This is called the “Correct Qi of the Celestial Patterns.” It covers the Three Realms and assists the workings of Heaven and Earth.

The Record of the Star Charts of Gan and Shi says that there are roughly 283 star officials, comprising 1,464 stars, which establish the regular order of celestial phenomena. These star officials govern the offices, categories of things, and everyday objects in the human world. Thus, the forms of all things arise from the Earth, while their Jing and Qi resonate with the patterns of the stars above. The Appended Statements to the Book of Changes says, “Heaven and Earth establish their positions, while the breaths of mountains and marshes flow into one another.” What is called Qi is the spirit of Heaven and Earth. The Zhuangzi says that Heaven has six Qi: Yin, Yang, darkness, brightness, wind, and rain. They move in their proper seasons and are called primordial Qi. They bring forth the myriad things and enable the transforming and nurturing work of Heaven and Earth to reach completion.

When a state’s virtue is corrupt, calamities follow one another, and ominous stars and baleful Qi appear in the heavens. The Records of the Grand Historian describes unusual clouds seen in different regions, each with a distinct shape: in Wei they resembled dogs, in Zhao oxen, in Chu the sun, in Zhou chariot wheels, in Yue hornless dragons, in Qin people walking, in Lu horses, in Song chariots, in Han cloth, in Zheng people wearing crimson robes, in Wei mice, in Shu chariots, and in Han mountains split apart. When such clouds descend over a military camp, they are called “Camp-Head Stars.”

The Book of the Celestial Mirror of the Duke of Yellow Stone says that some celestial phenomena look like stars but are not stars. They appear in sixty-four forms, collectively called “inauspicious comets.” One is called “National Yellow”: it resembles Canopus, with scattered, reddish rays, and portends robbers and warfare that will be difficult to resist. Another shines brightly but has no rays, blue above and white below; warfare often occurs where it appears. One called “Ugly Remnant” resembles Mercury, its light seeming about to go out. It usually appears due east and portends misfortune. Another, called “Robber Star,” has several red rays and flickering light and usually appears due south. One called “Mother in Danger” resembles Venus but has no rays; it usually appears due west and portends misfortune. Another, called “Prison River,” has three comet-like streaks of light beneath it, blue within and red without, and usually appears due north. The scripture says that these are not all recorded here in detail.

The Treatise on the Five Phases in the Jin History holds that an emperor’s virtue should accord with Heaven and Earth and follow Yin-Yang. The emperor’s decrees and actions affect both the hidden and visible worlds. Accordingly, signs of good and ill fortune appear in response; in general, they concern whether people’s hearts accord with Heaven’s intent. When disorder accumulates, unusual solar and lunar phenomena appear in the sky, including halos, inner rings, lateral bands, and luminous arcs. Red birds may also fly across the sun, or two suns or two moons may appear faintly between the clouds. These are all grave ill omens. A ruler’s corrupt virtue brings about the overthrow of the regime, which is also an expression of Heaven’s intent. Heaven often first warns and rebukes through calamities and anomalies. If the ruler still fails to reflect and cultivate virtue, baleful Qi, ominous stars, and other strange phenomena descend again to inspire fear and vigilance. In this way, one may discern Heaven’s intent, follow the Supreme One’s purpose of cherishing life, and thereby command the Dark Emperor—one of the deities revered in Daoism—to pacify and guard, and to attack and subdue what is inauspicious, so that all under Heaven may return to harmony and the righteous Dao, and Heaven and Earth and the ruler may be supported.

The Three Yuan Festival comes once again.

The Three Yuan Festival is the day when the three offices of Heaven, Earth, and Water assemble their sacred hosts. It is observed on the fifteenth day of each year, according to calendrical dates such as Yin, Shen, and Hai. The Jing of the Nine Offices records that the Upper Yuan Purple Tenuity Palace has three offices: the Sun Office on the left, the Moon Office on the right, and the Wind and Blades Office in the center. The Middle Yuan Pure Void Palace also has three: the Grotto Yang Office on the left, the Northern Capital Office on the right, and the Pure Void Office in the center. The Lower Yuan Azure Florescence Palace has three: the Clear Source Office on the left, the Cold Night Office on the right, and the Clear Spirit Office in the center. Beneath these nine offices are 120 bureaus, responsible for examining and recording affairs.

The Upper Yuan offices examine registers of the promotion and demotion of celestial gods and immortals; records of the rise and fall of the human kingdoms illuminated by the constellations; and the appointed periods for the transformations of gods and humans. The Middle Yuan offices examine the lifespans of rulers, empresses and consorts, princes, crown princes, officials, and common people throughout the vast world, as well as all deeds of good and evil, merit and fault. Those who enjoy great good fortune in this life are examined once every three years; those who enjoy moderate good fortune, once every nine years; and those who enjoy lesser good fortune, once every twenty-four years. On this basis, the offices deliberate over increases and reductions in lifespan, alter prosperity and decline, decide whether good fortune is to be bestowed or taken away, and determine the years and months allotted to each person. Thus, guilt and blessing alike come to fruition, and merit and fault receive their due consequences.

The Lower Yuan offices examine the periods of service assigned to ghosts and spirits throughout the Three Realms; determine when fish and dragons will transform, and the years and months in which birds, beasts, and other living beings will change form; and judge the registers of crimes and grievances in the Nine Depths, the netherworld. They record where beings are to be reborn and the years and kalpas for which they are to be confined. These matters never cease, and each is examined and settled in turn.

According to the Jing of Causes and Conditions, on the fifteenth day of the first month, the Upper Yuan Palace’s presiding deity, the First-Rank, Nine-Qi Heavenly Official Who Bestows Blessings, the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity, dispatches countless sacred hosts to descend together among humanity. They include numinous officials from the ten directions, divine and immortal troops, exalted sages and perfected ones, and realized adepts of wondrous practice. They determine people’s faults and blessings.

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, the Middle Yuan Palace’s presiding deity, the Second-Rank, Seven-Qi Earth Official Who Pardons Sins, the Great Emperor of Pure Void, dispatches numinous officials of the Nine Earths, divine and immortal troops, and countless sacred hosts from famous mountains and grotto heavens to come among humanity. They investigate and adjudicate guilt and blessing.

On the fifteenth day of the tenth month, the Lower Yuan Palace’s presiding deity, the Third-Rank, Five-Qi Water Official Who Relieves Calamities, the Great Emperor Fu Duo, dispatches the Water Emperors of the Nine Rivers, the gods of the twelve river sources, the Great God of the Han Valley, the Divine King of Yang Valley, and the numinous officials of the Water Office to come among humanity. They investigate and adjudicate guilt and blessing.

The Dark Emperor is appointed commander-in-chief of the troops of the Three Yuan. He leads and oversees countless troops as they investigate the conduct of people in the world.

The “Eight Seasonal Nodes” are the eight points in the year that mark the seasonal divisions. On each of these days, the celestial realm dispatches the deities of Yin-Yang and the Eight Trigrams anew to take over their duties. Each Trigram deity is charged with overseeing affairs of the North Pole, issuing commands, and governing the opening and closing of Yin and Yang, as well as the growth and decline of all things.

Other scriptures attributed to the Perfected Ones record that the heavens obey the proclamations of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. On the days of the Eight Seasonal Nodes, they dispatch the High Sages and Perfected Ones, the Three Plain Ladies, and the Lady of the Nine Numinous Powers to the Nine Heavens to carry out the Dao and bestow immortal methods. They also send the Celestial Worthies Who Rescue from Suffering in the Ten Directions, along with jade boys and jade maidens, down to the human realm to deliver suffering souls from the dark night of the Nine Hells. At the same time, the Trigram deities patrol, inspect, and regulate the world, setting thunder in motion, dispersing the winds, moistening the earth with rain, shining down sunlight, and nourishing all things with water vapor, thereby driving the growth and transformation of everything in the world.

On the day of the Beginning of Spring, the Lord of the Primordial Azure Heaven, the General of Merit and Registers, and the Great Deity of the Gen Trigram, Ji Sheti, patrol the human realm. They oversee the gradual rise of the gentle Tiao wind, which prompts all things to sprout and grow. On the day of the Spring Equinox, the Azure Spirit Emperor, the General Taichong, and the Great Deity of the Zhen Trigram, Tongshi, patrol the human realm. They oversee the Ming Shu wind, which promotes the flourishing and sprouting of all things.

On the day of the Beginning of Summer, the Lord of the Primordial Cinnabar Heaven, the General Taiyi, and the Great Deity of the Xun Trigram, Chifenruo, patrol the human realm. They oversee the Clear and Bright wind, which makes all things flourish and grow strong. On the day of the Summer Solstice, the Cinnabar Spirit Emperor, the General Shengxian, and the Great Deity of the Li Trigram patrol the human realm. They oversee the Jing wind, stirring all things to grow and fully manifest.

On the day of the Beginning of Autumn, the Lord of the Primordial White Heaven, the General Fusong, and the Great Deity of the Kun Trigram, Zhubi, patrol the human realm. They oversee the freezing wind, which gives all things their flavor. On the day of the Autumn Equinox, the Bright Spirit Emperor, the General Congkui, and the Great Deity of the Dui Trigram, Gaoji, patrol the human realm. They oversee the Yanhe wind, which brings all things to maturity and draws them inward.

On the day of the Beginning of Winter, the Lord of the Primordial Dark Heaven, the General Dengming, and the Great Deity of the Qian Trigram, Qiangyu, patrol the human realm. They oversee the seasonal winter winds, under which all things follow the order of storage. On the day of the Winter Solstice, the Emperor of the Five Numinous Powers, the General Shenhou, and the Great Deity of the Kan Trigram, Qiongqi, patrol the human realm. They oversee the Guangmo wind, which drives all things deep into hiding.

Year after year, the Eight Trigram deities are dispatched in turn to govern the world. Each deity serves for three Qi, a total of forty-five days. Other duties are handled by lower-ranking clerks acting in their place, including matters such as people’s livelihoods and farming. The Dark Emperor, or Zhenwu the Great Emperor, governs the North Pole, holds the power of the Celestial Dipper, commands the Eight Trigrams, harmonizes cold and heat, and molds all things, bringing their essences together into formed bodies.

The Jiazi day is governed by the Central Terrace of Taiyi, the hub within the Celestial Palace of the North Pole. The Great Envoy, here referring to the Great Emperor Ziwei, oversees the passes, summons the generals of the Six Jia Yuanchen, reports to the Marshal of the Nine Heavens, and then orders the attendants to enter names in the registers. Following the governing principles of the Eight Trigrams, they determine which matters of human affairs to accept or reject, regulate cold and heat, and refine and transform the subtle things between Heaven and Earth.

The Jiazi day is likewise governed by the Central Terrace of Taiyi. The Great Envoy oversees the passes, summons the generals of the Six Jia Yuanchen, reports to the Marshal of the Nine Heavens, and orders the attendants to record the sex of human infants before birth, as well as to decide in advance the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of their birth time and related matters. The Central Terrace of Taiyi is the hub of the Celestial Palace of the North Pole. The Great Envoy refers to the Great Emperor Ziwei. The Scripture for Protecting the Fetus says that the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning often sends the Generals of the Six Jia Talisman Bearers, Jade Boys and Jade Maidens, and their accompanying officials into the human world, carrying talismans and staffs of authority, to protect fetuses and living beings and keep their souls settled.

The names of the Six Jia Yuanchen generals are as follows: Jiazi General Wang Wenqing, Bingzi General Xing Sunqing, Wuzi General Le Shiyang, Gengzi General Yang Zhongsheng, Renzi General Su Shangqing; Yichou General Long Jiqing, Dingchou General Zhao Ziyu, Jichou General Fan Zhongyang, Xinchou General Lin Weiqing, Guichou General Jiang Hanqing; Jiayin General Ming Wenzhang, Bingyin General Zhang Zhongqing, Wuyin General Yu Zizhang, Gengyin General Chu Jinqing, Renyin General Qiu Mengqing; Yimao General Dai Gongyang, Dingmao General Sima Qing, Jimao General Shi Wenyang, Xinmao General Guo Ziliang, Guimao General Su Tajia; Jiachen General Meng Feiqing, Bingchen General Huo Shuying, Wuchen General Chu Jiqing, Gengchen General Yin Jiaqing, Renchen General Wu Zhiqing; Yisi General Tang Wenqing, Dingsi General Cui Juqing, Jisi General He Wenchang.

General Yang Zhonggong of the Xinsi year; General Shi Gongsong of the Guisi year; General Wei Shangqing of the Jiawu year; General Wei Wengong of the Bingwu year;

General Cong Yuanguang of the Wuwu year; General Feng Zhongqing of the Gengwu year; General Ma Ziming of the Renwu year; General Du Zhongyang of the Yiwei year;

General Shi Shutong of the Dingwei year; General Shi Tongqing of the Jiwei year; General Wang Wenzhang of the Xinwei year; General Lü Weiming of the Guiwei year;

General Hu Wenchang of the Jiashen year; General Zhu Bozhong of the Bingshen year; General Fan Boyang of the Wushen year; General Hua Wenyang of the Gengshen year;

General Hou Boqing of the Renshen year; General Kong Ligong of the Yiyou year; General Zang Wengong of the Dingyou year; General Cheng Wenchang of the Jiyou year;

General Na Yuanyu of the Xinyou year; General Sun Zhongfang of the Guiyou year; General Jiang Zizhan of the Jiaxu year; General Che Yuansheng of the Bingxu year;

General Fan Shaoqing of the Wuxu year; General Shi Ziren of the Gengxu year; General Le Jinqing of the Renxu year; General Pang Mingxin of the Yihai year;

General Zhang Wentong of the Dinghai year; General Feng Duqing of the Jihai year; General Zuo Zixing of the Xinhai year; General Zuo Shisong of the Guihai year.

Whenever these generals ascend to the Central Terrace—the celestial bureau responsible for appointing, transferring, and assessing divine officials—to undergo evaluation and receive new appointments, they must first report to the Office of the Nine Heavens’ Itinerant Inspector, the celestial bureau that conducts inspections and relays orders. Only then do they depart the human realm together. The Dark Emperor (the Great Emperor Zhenwu) commands the Office of Yuanhe for Transfers and Assessments. Following the documents issued by that office, he assists and supports the transformation and nurturing of all things in the human realm.

Gengshen.

This day is under the jurisdiction of the Upper Palace of Great Mystery, which is responsible for subduing the Three Corpses within people’s bodies.

The scripture says that as soon as ordinary people acquire a body and physical form, spirits guard and observe every part of them, inside and out, watching all their actions. Among these spirits, the Three Corpses preside over the others and continually report what people do.

“Great Mystery” is the name of the northern celestial region; the “Upper Palace” is the Purple Tenuity Upper Prime Palace, a celestial palace.

According to the Scripture on the Generation of Spirits, the Highest One said: “I set the Qi of the Dao in motion and transformation, taking Heaven and Earth and Yin-Yang as my models. I joined the two breaths to form human beings. Their consciousness then transformed, and each spirit was placed in a different part of the body, assigned a distinct duty and given its own name.” The scripture goes on to list the spirits distributed throughout the body: the brain spirit, the Numinous Pellet spirit, and the spirits of the crown of the head, forehead, brows and eyes, nose and mouth, teeth, tongue and lips, neck and shoulders, arms, chest and back, spine and abdomen, organs, waist and thighs, knees and shins, hands and feet, and other parts. It also names “Inner Ding” as the bone spirit, “Guarding Wrong” as the flesh spirit, and “Encompassing All” as the skin spirit. These spirits were believed to each keep their appointed place and sustain the body’s workings. Some names and body parts appear more than once in the text.

The Treatise on the Dao’s Metaphors calls these bodily spirits the “Hundred Demons.” The Central Yellow Scripture says that the Three Corpses are, respectively, Peng Ju, the upper corpse who dwells in the brain; Peng Zhi, the middle corpse who dwells in the Hall of Light, a divine chamber in the head; and Peng Jiao, the lower corpse who dwells in the stomach and bowels. Each of the Three Corpses is seven inches long and formed from condensed Qi. They resemble infants, move and change along with the body’s circulation of Qi and blood, and correspond with Heaven and Earth.

On each Gengshen day, the Three Corpses leave the body and go to the offices of the Three Administrations of Great Mystery, where they report people’s good and evil deeds to the Thirty-Six Offices, the celestial bureaucracy. The Dark Emperor commands the Marshal of Great Mystery to investigate and suppress the Hundred Demons below, preventing them from entering or leaving human bodies at will.

He then patrols the human realm, recording good deeds and punishing evil ones. The Dark Emperor (the Great Emperor Zhenwu) commands the Supreme Darkness Marshal, who is charged with patrolling the lower realm and suppressing all manner of evil spirits so they cannot enter or leave the human body at will.

On the first day of each lunar month, the Dark Emperor descends to the human realm.

He also assists people in cultivating the Dao on the Three Yuan festivals and Eight Seasonal Festivals, on Jiazi and Gengshen days, and on such dates as the third and sixth days of each month. In addition, according to a set schedule, he descends twelve times each year to exercise his authority over the Three Realms. Following the monthly arrangement for descents on the first day, he travels throughout the world, protecting the state and its altars of state and soil deities, and bestowing blessings on all things between Heaven and Earth. The specific dates of his descents are recorded later in this scripture, in the section titled “Patrols Across the Ten Caverns.”

The merit the Dark Emperor accumulates through patrolling the human realm extends throughout the world, and its efficacy is widely evident. Many have received his blessings, and many have praised him; their accounts are recorded in the classics. The relevant passages are therefore annotated here.

Human beings attract the consequences of their good and evil through the three kinds of karma of body, speech, and mind: actions, words, and thoughts. In the end, each receives a fitting recompense. The Dark Emperor, the Great Emperor Zhenwu, oversees the examination of good and evil, often using reward and punishment to warn the world.

The Record of the Sage’s Manifestation recounts that in the early years of the Xiangfu era under Emperor Zhenzong of the Song, a merchant named Cheng Sichang lived in the Xinghua Army of Fuzhou. He usually preferred a plain diet. While traveling in Mizhou and staying at Jiaoqiao Town, he saw hunters cruelly killing birds. Many innocent lives perished, and he could not bear to watch. He thought of printing the illustrated texts on abstaining from killing that he had kept at home, to urge people to give up killing. He hired craftsmen to carve the woodblocks. As it happened, the seventh day of the eleventh month was the day the Great Emperor Zhenwu descended. Cheng burned incense, bowed, and prayed for the holy spirit’s protection, so that the local people would be instructed by the illustrations and texts and change their ways for the better.

On the day the illustrations and texts were distributed, Peng Jing, the tax collector, was the first to take a copy and hang it on his wall. But as soon as his wife, Hua Sanniang, heard what it said, she grew angry, tore it to pieces, and threw it into a filthy place. She then bought a black carp and raised a knife to kill it herself. The fish’s tail thrashed and injured one of her eyes. Blood covered the ground. She groaned in agony, and the blood from her wound turned into worms. Neither doctors nor spirit mediums could cure her. Peng Jing sought out Cheng Sichang and cursed him. Cheng had only just managed to get away when he left behind a hymn and died peacefully, seated.

Not long afterward, someone saw Cheng Sichang standing with both feet suspended in the air in front of the town garrison hall. Xuan Dan, the patrol inspector, thought this was strange and burned incense to ask about it. The figure suddenly replied, “I am Zhenwu of the Central Heaven. I have observed that the people here, for generations, have cruelly killed living creatures and indulged their appetites at will. Their sins are grave, yet their recompense has not yet appeared. So Hua Sanniang was first punished for destroying Cheng Sichang’s words encouraging goodness. She was fated to die a cruel death and could not escape it. The other residents’ offenses will be dealt with separately.” Having spoken, the figure disappeared.

At that time, Xiang Guo, an Assistant Director in the Bureau of Imperial Pasturage, had been ordered to inspect matters concerning the mountains, forests, rivers, and marshes. Passing through the area, he heard what had happened and was astonished. He asked Xuan Dan to verify the story. Xuan Dan showed him the hymn written in Cheng Sichang’s own hand. It said: “I do not harm living beings; Heaven grants me a good name. If people still do not believe, the recompense will make itself clear.” After reading it, Xiang Guo carefully put it away, returned to court, and reported the matter to Emperor Zhenzong. The emperor praised the event, bestowed honors and a posthumous title, and ordered that accounts of Zhenwu’s miraculous responses be recorded and published, and included in the ritual canon as evidence.

From this we can understand that the Dark Emperor recorded the good deed of Cheng Sichang, a single person, to encourage everyone to do good; and punished the evil deed of Hua Sanniang, a single person, to warn everyone against wrongdoing. The Scripture on Response and Retribution says that even someone who has done wrong can later repent and change. If they stop doing evil and strive to do good from then on, in time they will surely receive good fortune—that is, turn misfortune into blessing.

Support the righteous path and eliminate evil.

The ruler stands as a model for the people. If that model is upright, what in the realm cannot be set right? If one is skilled at following the righteous path and persists in it over time, good fortune and blessings will surely follow. This is what it means to turn calamity into good fortune.

Support the righteous path and eliminate evil.

The ruler is a model for all the people. If that model is upright, the realm can be set right. The foundation of government lies in loyal and conscientious service. Ministers who assist the ruler should enable the people to follow their nature and live in peace. For this reason, the Dark Emperor has long protected the state’s government in secret, often dividing his true form and taking on mortal identities to assist the rightful dynasty. How could those who usurp titles and engage in depraved, demonic practices threaten the state for long?

The Record of the Sage’s Revelation relates that after Emperor Gaozong of Tang died, Prince Yu, Li Dan, took the throne before the coffin. At the time, Empress Wu held power and had the emperor moved to Fangzhou. She promoted her nephew He Quanlong to the posts of Supervisor of the Region and Palace Front Inspector. He Quanlong devoted himself to demonic arts, falsely claiming that they were the “orthodox state-protecting rites of the Seven Primordials of the North Pole.” Empress Wu thought highly of him, and he used her favor to seize power, slandering and pushing aside court officials.

Not long afterward, an urgent report arrived from the Taichuan Route: the western border had been invaded by the demonic troops of Zhao Hong, king of the wicked spirits. They were aided by serpents, tigers, smoke and fire, and all manner of monstrous beings. The imperial army could make no headway. After the ministers conferred, they proposed sending He Quanlong to meet the enemy with his Seven Primordials method. Empress Wu then ordered the Privy Council Commissioner Cui Cha to give him a talisman and seal of authority, and assigned him three thousand troops. He Quanlong led the army into battle, but it lost more than half its men, and two thirds of his household attendants were killed or wounded. At a loss, he could do nothing as the border situation grew more desperate, and could only ask to withdraw.

The court officials conferred again and recommended Pei Zhongfang, the sixteen-year-old son of Pei Tao, an Attendant Gentleman of the Palace Gate who had not yet entered official service. His appearance and talent were extraordinary, and everyone believed he could defeat Zhao Hong’s demonic forces. Empress Wu summoned him, appointed him Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, and assigned him five hundred imperial guards. She also excused him from the customary audience to take leave before departing. Pei Zhongfang returned home to bid farewell to his parents, took up his sword, and led the troops straight to the enemy lines. He charged into battle with his sword. Zhao Hong’s weapon was knocked aside and he fell from his horse; the enemy troops fell, and the demonic forces scattered. In the end they were all captured and escorted back to the capital.

Pei Zhongfang went to court to pay his respects to Empress Wu, who allowed him to sit in the hall. She asked him, “I wonder whether you are a heavenly deity or a mortal.” Pei Zhongfang then exposed He Quanlong, saying that he had conspired with the fox woman Yuan Gang to practice demonic arts and corrupt the court’s moral order.

Empress Wu still wished to protect He Quanlong, so she ordered him to enter the palace with several hundred household attendants and demonstrate the Seven Primordials method in the hall. He Quanlong gritted his teeth, recited an incantation, and breathed water into mist. His attendants rose into the air, and he conjured fierce winds, sudden snow, and hail. Pei Zhongfang swung his sword and summoned them down, one by one, drawing them into its sheath. He then recited an incantation and called forth true fire, which burned them up. The ministers celebrated the restoration of peace throughout the realm, and the court proclaimed a general amnesty. This took place in the ninth month of the first year of Tongtian; afterward, the era name was changed to the first year of Shengong.

Afterward, Pei Zhongfang bid farewell to his parents and said, “I came from Heaven; now I must return north.” With that, he bowed and passed away. His body rose into the clouds as celestial music sounded, and gradually flew northward. When the matter was reported to the court, he was posthumously given the title “General of Divine Response.” Pei Tao resigned from office and asked to convert his residence into a Daoist temple. Empress Wu granted his request, bestowed on Pei Tao the title “Lay Daoist of Divine Response and Pure Blessing,” and named the temple after him. In this way, the fortunes of the Tang dynasty were restored.

This is the Dark Emperor’s warning to ministers of later generations: do not become treacherous, sycophantic men who abuse their power and disrupt government. Those who commit such offenses will in the end be cast out. A person who keeps righteous thoughts in mind will surely draw near to the Great Dao; one who harbors evil thoughts will bring down retribution at once, even before carrying out the deed.

“Rescuing and aiding the beings of Heaven and the human world” means helping living beings in both the celestial and human realms.

Water, fire, wood, metal, earth, and grain—the six kinds of necessities—grow from the land and are nurtured by Heaven and Earth. People rely on them to sustain life and use them to bury the dead. Thus, the ruler is the foundation on which the people depend, while food is the foundation that sustains life. The people rely on the ruler to live in security, and the ruler, in turn, depends on the people to maintain his position. Yet famine and failed harvests may still occur; these, too, result from the workings of Heaven and Earth. Only a virtuous ruler can dispel calamities and transform misfortune, turning ill omens into good fortune and providing relief to the people.

According to the Record of the Sage’s Revelation, in 954, the first year of the Xiande reign of the Later Zhou, Emperor Taizu of Song set out to campaign in the region of Yingzhou and met a Daoist on the way. The Daoist secretly told him that he would ascend to the supreme throne and receive the protection of the Great Emperor Zhenwu. Then the Daoist vanished in a flash of light. Taizu sincerely believed these words and held a zhangjiao ceremony, a Daoist rite in which an altar is set up to pray and make offerings to the gods, asking that calamity be turned to good fortune and the people be saved. Later, he accepted the Later Zhou emperor’s abdication, founded the Song dynasty, adopted the reign title Jianlong, and granted rewards to the armies throughout the realm.

At that time, supplies were scarce in the region of Yingzhou. Chen Chou submitted a memorial requesting that 50,000 strings of cash deposited by foreign merchants in the treasury be borrowed to reward the border troops. The court approved his request and ordered Zheng Duzhi of Gaoyang Pass to disburse the funds. Later, the foreign merchants Yi Shouxian and others came to the government office and told Chen Chou that Zhao Wang had once encountered the planet Venus and received a divine message. He had then burned the coins as an offering to his patron, Zhenwu. After reading the prayer document, Zhenwu had given them the remaining 50,000 strings of cash to exchange and use. As soon as they had finished speaking, the merchants disappeared. Chen Chou reported the matter truthfully, and Taizu was greatly pleased and relieved when he read the report.

On the first day of the third month in 955, the second year of the Xiande reign, the officials accompanied the emperor to the Duanming Hall. They discussed how regional princes held the mountains and rivers under their control, and how repeated campaigns had failed to bring them into submission. Suddenly, dark clouds gathered before the hall, and the surroundings grew so dim that people could not see their hands in front of them. Chancellor Zhao Pu alone asked the emperor to ascend the Xiaocheng Hall. As soon as the emperor sat down, he saw a divine being in the clouds bow respectfully to him and then descend, saying, “The imperial house’s foundation and the fortunes of the state are entering a time of new growth and prosperity. To accomplish the kind of work done by Yao and Shun, you must rely on the worthy and capable. Do not be like extravagant and immoral rulers of later ages, who, having just gained the throne, ruin the state through the disorder brought by treacherous men.”

Taizu asked the divine being in person what office he held. The being replied, “I am not a local Earth God. My office belongs to the Right Victory Prefecture of the Celestial Capital. I was on my way to the land of Yan when I heard Your Majesty’s concerns from afar, so I stopped especially to make my report. I am about to take up an appointment in the Three Heavens, the celestial realms spoken of in Daoism. I have heard that the Song dynasty’s imperial rule will last no more than one ji, a period of twenty years, so I have come to warn you.” Zhao Pu personally thanked the divine being. As they spoke, Zhenwu took his leave and ascended to Heaven.

In the autumn of 958, the two circuits of Hebei reported that years of drought had left soldiers and civilians short of food, and the situation was dire. The officials could think of no solution. At dawn on the seventh day of the seventh month, piles of millet and wheat suddenly appeared in twenty military prefectures. The grain sacks bore stitched markings and attached labels made of black paper printed with cloud horses. The goods had no known owner, and no one had transported them. After inspecting the grain, each prefecture reported the matter to the court. Acting on imperial orders, the Three Offices, the government body responsible for finance, investigated. The court concluded that the grain could not have appeared without cause: the state’s virtue had moved Zhenwu, who had sent millet and wheat from the celestial granaries to relieve the two circuits of Hebei. The total was estimated at 150,000 shi. The court ordered the grain sold at low prices, saving the soldiers and civilians and restoring their means of livelihood.

When Taizu heard what had happened, he said with joy, “This kindness is beyond measure. How could I fail to repay it?” From then on, whenever Zhenwu descended, Taizu went in person to the Xuandu Hall to offer incense and pay his respects.

According to the record written through the hand of Perfected Lord Dong, in which a divine being writes by means of a human hand, the Dark Emperor teaches living beings through Dao and De. His reach is as vast and profound as Heaven and Earth, and he silently brings about acts of deliverance. He is constantly mindful of living beings and ever compassionate toward the human world. Whenever he learns that a calamity is approaching, he first presents a plea for relief to the Golden Palace, the dwelling of the Celestial Emperor, and seeks ways to lessen the disaster. He teaches and transforms people even amid the disturbances caused by foreign peoples in the Central Plain. For this reason, he may be called the supreme Dharma King, whose boundless compassion delivers living beings everywhere.

Banish demons and evil influences; restrain poison and harm.

Places troubled by demons, poison, and calamities are often beset by human wrongdoing and karmic retribution. In general, Heaven favors no one; it supports only those who possess De (Virtue/Power). When a noble person sets the heart aright, they can naturally resonate with the might of the Emperor Above, dispelling, warding off, and subduing every kind of ill omen.

The Record of the Sage’s Revelations relates that Shi Guangzu, a native of Zhao Prefecture, once served as deputy staff officer in the Right Victory Command. By imperial command, he descended to the mortal world and assisted the Song dynasty for more than thirty years. In the early years of the Taiping Xingguo era, he was appointed Grand Academician of the Guanwen Hall and Right Admonisher. After his death, he returned to his post in the Northern Pole. His cousin Shi Guangsi served as a reader in the Ministry of Rites, then became the regional governor of Hongzhou, with responsibility for local affairs. His jurisdiction also included Tan, Ding, Heng, E, and Jing, extending as far as the remote lands of the southern tribes.

The region was plagued by the seventy-two Chang spirits. Evil influences spread unchecked, poison and harm ran rampant, and people were killed unjustly. The local people had little contact with orthodox teachings and knew nothing of medicine. They trusted only heterodox arts and worshipped the Southern Deity. These exorcistic rites were widespread and called “Vajra Rituals.” Practitioners used burning oil and blades, claiming they could command frenzied ghosts and bring peace to households. In truth, they merely deluded people with illusions to extort money. Shi Guangsi banned the rites and forbade them from being performed. He then commissioned Tan Jumo, a Daoist priest from Luofu Grotto, to conduct a petition rite and Zhaijiao (a Daoist purification ritual to pray to the gods and avert calamity), sincerely seeking aid from Zhenwu. He also arranged for tablets bearing the sacred titles to be set up and taught the people to worship according to the rites. On the day of Zhenwu’s descent, he had them recite scriptures and incantations. Over time, the followers of heterodox practices, the Chang spirits, and the evil influences all gradually withdrew and faded away.

Chen Gongchen, a provincial graduate from Huaiyang Army, received a small turtle when he was young. It looked unlike an ordinary turtle, so he took it home and raised it, feeding it only dates. In the year Chen passed the civil service examinations, the turtle suddenly grew large. One night soon afterward, a red snake coiled around its back. Chen took this as an auspicious sign and had an image of Zhenwu painted. He enshrined it in his hall, where it remained for many years, and his prayers were invariably answered.

Later, Chen was appointed military adjutant at Xinyang. The transport commissioner Fei Xiang suddenly assigned him to supervise the construction of the city wall and manage the laborers. It was winter, and an epidemic was spreading. Soldiers and civilians alike fell ill, and the project stalled for a long time. Chen sat there in distress and, in a daze, saw the turtle open its mouth and speak: “I heard that the laborers under your command have been struck by an epidemic, so I have come to offer an incantation to drive it away: ‘Heavenly Dipper, Heavenly Chief, at once disperse the thunder, lightning, and mists. Unleash my hidden power, and let the rampant evil swiftly retreat.’ Recite these words three times in one breath, face northwest and draw in the breath, then blow it into a bowl of water. Dip a willow branch in the water and sprinkle it over the sick; they will recover. This is a small repayment for the kindness you showed in raising me. Now I must return to my post in the Northern Pole.”

When the turtle had finished speaking, Chen woke up. He did as it had instructed, and the method worked at once. Suddenly, a letter arrived from home, reporting that the turtle he had raised had disappeared at the very time he had dreamed. After the wall was completed, Chen reported the incantation to the transport commissioner. Fei Xiang verified the account in detail and submitted it to the court. An imperial edict ordered the construction of temples to the Water and Fire Deities within Xinyang city. The incantation was carved into stone as a lasting means of helping the people.

Later, the court posthumously ennobled the two deities and bestowed titles upon them. The divine turtle was titled “Assistant General of the Left, Great General of the Left of the Supreme Heaven, Cloud Cavalry Guardian of the State, Protector of Peace, Aide in Order, Manifest in the Great Dao, Eminent and Bright, Martial, Beneficent in Yin, Winged Sage, Who Shares Virtue, Aids Principle, and Brings the Utmost Response.” The sacred snake was titled “Assistant General of the Right, Great General of the Right of the Supreme Heaven, Cloud Cavalry Guardian of the State, Protector of Tranquility, Aide in Order, Abiding in the Mysterious, Great Supreme Heaven, Who Shares Virtue, Aids Principle, Brings the Utmost Blessing, Is Sincere and Reverent, Powerful and Compassionate, Universally Beneficent, Skilled in Yin, and Martial Sage.”

This is to carry out the will of the authority above; it must be handled without delay.

“Carry out the will above and handle this without delay.” With these words, the Jade Youth read the command aloud to General Xuanwu, making clear that he would obey the decree. Xuanwu resigned from the office he had been given, left the Northern Palace, and went that very day to the Right Victory Office to attend to the official business entrusted to him.

The Supreme Scripture on the Wondrous Mantra of the Original Transmission of the Great Sage Zhenwu of the Mysterious Heavens, Scroll One, ends.

The Supreme Scripture on the Wondrous Mantra of the Original Transmission of the Great Sage Zhenwu of the Mysterious Heavens, Scroll Two.

Compiled and annotated by Chen Tong, a townsman of Fangtianzi, holder of the Register of the Inner Teachings of Ascendant Mystery.

At that time there was a perfected person named Miaoxing. He stepped out from the ranks of the assembled court officials, bowed reverently before the Celestial Emperor, and said, “Your servant has long had the karmic affinity to hear the wondrous principles of the Dao. General Xuanwu, the great general of the north, patrols the celestial realm and the human world, recording good deeds and punishing evil ones. Your servant does not understand why this general manifested in response to the occasion. What spiritual powers does he possess that enable him to subdue ghosts and spirits?”

At every court assembly, the registers and records in the hall were checked and compiled, without pause even for a moment. Only after the entire court ritual had been completed were questions about such causes and conditions allowed.

“I humbly ask the supreme Lord of Creation to offer a little guidance to your servant’s limited understanding.”

True Beings of the ten directions—the perfected adepts who have attained the Dao—each bear titles such as “Wondrous Conduct.” Among them, the True Being of the Eastern Pole Palace holds the highest rank and leads the assembly. The Zhuangzi says, “First there were True Beings, and only afterward came true understanding.” The scripture invokes this passage to explain that the deeds of True Beings lie beyond ordinary people’s comprehension. The Venerable Sovereign of Emptiness says, “When one meets the constant Dao, there is no form that can be revealed. How, then, could this be called Wondrous Conduct?”

At that time, all those gathered carefully observed their respective places in the assembly. Only the True Being of Wondrous Conduct from the Eastern Pole Palace stepped out of rank, prostrated himself, and addressed the Ziwei Emperor, the sovereign who dwells in the Ziwei Heavenly Palace. He explained that he had ties with Xuanwu from past lives and had heard of the profound principles behind Xuanwu. He then vowed to ask for guidance: may he be allowed to clarify the great meaning of the Dao’s transforming influence, and so fulfill his sincere wish to resolve his doubts somewhat and deepen his understanding. The Dao is called “great” because of its vastness; creation and transformation are called “making” because they bring forth life and change. One who reveres the Dao’s vastness and the marvels of creation and transformation is called a sage. A sage possesses wondrous wisdom and the six supernatural powers, and can command and control ghosts and spirits.

Then the Great Emperor set aside his exalted status and spoke in an ordinary tone: “Wonderful, True Being! You have asked on behalf of living beings in the human world. Yet the causes and conditions of Xuanwu’s responsive manifestations—its appearing in forms and manifesting as incarnations—are deep and unfathomable, subtle and remote, beyond all investigation.”

“Concealing the ordinary” means hiding and restraining one’s worldly nature. Hearing the questions from the assembly, the Great Emperor of Ziwei leaned over the table and addressed everyone. He praised the sincere question asked by the Perfected One of Wondrous Practice, saying it was a good one.

The supernatural transformations of Xuanwu and the great deeds he performed were described by the Perfected One of Wondrous Practice so that even ordinary people could understand them. He hoped that worldly people would know that Xuanwu is a deity in Heaven, and understand that through cultivation, ordinary people too can attain the six supernatural powers and discern the merits and faults of beings throughout the Three Realms.

“Vast and elusive, impossible to exhaust” means that supernatural transformations have no fixed trace and can enter anywhere, so they cannot be fully fathomed. “Subtle and ineffable, impossible to investigate” means that wondrous transformations are difficult to measure and can encompass all things, so they are difficult to explore.

The scripture cites the Register of Attaining the Six Powers through the Supreme Teaching of Lingbao Wisdom to explain the six supernatural powers:

• The supernatural power of the heavenly eye: Sight is keen and perceptive, gathering the radiance of the five colors and penetrating all things without obstruction. From above to below, in every direction, there is nowhere that cannot be seen or understood clearly.
• The supernatural power of the earthly ear: Hearing is acute and far-reaching, able to distinguish the five kinds of sound. It can hear the Nine Heavens above and listen into the Nine Earths below; nothing is unknown or beyond its investigation.
• The supernatural power of the eastern nose: Breath through the nose is pure and wondrous, able to gather the five Qi and move between Yin and Yang, coming and going without being hindered by doors or gates.
• The supernatural power of the western mouth: The mouth is empty, still, and wondrous, able to gather the five flavors and communicate with wondrous Qi; it can even contain things that are void.
• The supernatural power of the southern heart: The mind is clear and luminous, able to gather the functions of the five spirits, perceive what is hidden and subtle, and put refined radiance to use in arranging affairs in every direction. It can arrive swiftly without haste and reach its destination without walking.
• The supernatural power of the northern hand: The hand’s function is subtle and far-reaching. It governs human affairs in accord with the cycles of the four seasons, perceives the mysterious order, and grasps the beginnings of life. It responds above to the gates of Heaven and can also discern fortune and misfortune in secret.

Thus, the Dark Emperor upheld the weighty precepts. Though living among ordinary people, he restrained the pull of worldly desires upon his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, heart, and hands. In this way he gained the power to save the world and endowed his divine nature with all six modes of spiritual perception. Thereafter, his authority was powerful enough to move spirits and ghosts. Hearing his name, outsiders and inauspicious beings were all so alarmed that they…

O Dark Emperor (Great Emperor Zhenwu)!

The Dark Emperor is a manifested form through which the Sacred Ancestor Xuanyuan—the supreme ancestral deity revered in Daoism—protects and guides heavenly beings and people of the world. He embodies the wondrous workings of the divine.

The Sacred Ancestor, the Dark Emperor, is the Ancestral Qi, the primordial energy that is the source of all things, and is one of the Three Treasures’ venerable deities. When the Lord of the Heavenly Treasure manifests through the Beginning Qi and transmits the scriptures, he resides in the Jade Purity Palace of High Grandeur. When the Lord of the Numinous Treasure transmits the scriptures and guides people to salvation through the Origin Qi, he resides in the Seven-Treasure Purple Tenuity Palace of the Jade Capital, the Mysterious City of Highest Purity. When the Lord of the Divine Treasure transmits the scriptures through the Profound Qi, he resides in the Palace of Great Purity and Supreme Ultimate in the Cavern of the Three Sovereigns. All three venerable deities transmit the Golden Books of High Grandeur. The Lord of the Heavenly Treasure brings light to the opening of Heaven and Earth; the Lord of the Numinous Treasure saves departed souls from the endless night of the Ninefold Depths; and the Lord of the Divine Treasure governs the affairs of the myriad spirits. From this we can understand that the benevolence with which the Most High protects and guides all beings accompanies heavenly beings at every moment, leading each onward in stages toward complete realization according to their individual capacities. To preserve the spirit means to visualize the divine and thereby aid its spiritual transformations; to see the light means to teach people to discern the principles of things clearly and bring about their transformation.

The Scripture of the Central Dipper says: “The Great Dao has no form and abides eternally in profound stillness. It is the sage among sages, the numinous among numinous; it encompasses all without limit and nurtures all beings.”

Since the Dao is formless, it cannot be described through things that have form. Its transformations are countless; it is empty, subtle, and profound, beyond measure.

Primordial Qi is the source of all things; it is not nothingness or nonexistence. From it, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning brought Heaven and Earth into being. The Scripture of Clarity and Purity says, “The Great Dao has no form, yet it gives life to Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things.” The Scripture of Responding to the Times says, “The Great Void originally had no image. Primordial Qi dispersed and transformed, giving rise to humanity. The sun, moon, and stars were arrayed in Heaven; on Earth, Qi congealed into mountains, rivers, seas, and peaks. Human beings received the essence of the Five Phases and Yin-Yang. All things inherit their beginning from ancestral Qi. How, then, could one say that it has a fixed form?” The Xunzi says, “Heaven does not speak, yet people infer its height and distance; Earth does not speak, yet people infer its vast depth.” Heaven and Earth are immense, but unless people respond to them with sincere hearts, they cannot bring the myriad things to life and nurture them. Thus the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning carried out a teaching without words, and reluctantly gave it the name “Dao.”

The transformations of the Dao number in the tens of millions; this refers to their quantity. Ten thousand is ten thousands, a zhao is a hundred thousand, and an yi is a thousand thousand; a thousand thousand is called a Great Chiliocosm. The workings of Heaven and Earth unfold within nothingness: the Dao extends throughout and governs all the heavens, administers the myriad realms, distinguishes and makes clear the myriad things, transmits the myriad methods, commands the myriad spirits, gathers and summons the myriad Qi, sets all things in motion and transformation, and drives away the hosts of demons, yet clings to no existence. These wondrous principles are profound and difficult to fathom.

The Sacred Ancestor of the Mysterious Origin manifested as the Lord Lao eighty-one times. The Great Cavern Heavenly Treasure Lord, whose inner honorific title was “Ancestor of the Sacred Mysterious Origin,” divided the One into Two, opened the three heavens of the Great Luo realm, and manifested under the title Primordial Beginning. The Cavern of Mystery Numinous Treasure Lord, whose inner honorific title was “Jade Dawn, Empty August One,” took as his model the clear, bright light layered three times; he opened the ninefold heavens and manifested under the title Lord of the Great Dao. The Cavern of Spirit Divine Treasure Lord, whose inner honorific title was “Mysterious Origin, Later Sage,” took as his model the eighty-one Qi formed by nine times nine; he arrayed the eighty-one Yang Heavens and manifested under the title Lord Lao. The Scripture of the Primordial Origin says that Lord Lao had the appearance of an infant, yet at birth his hair and beard were entirely white; his inner honorific title in the heavenly realm was Laozi. The Scripture on the Teachings of the Sages says that the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning commanded Laozi to take incarnate form in the human world. He might be born in the lands of the Yi peoples or in China, and, changing his name from age to age, he proclaimed precepts and admonitions, teaching and saving all beings who engaged in purposeful action.

According to the Comprehensive Guide to the Daoist Canon, in the era of the Three Sovereigns of High Antiquity, Lord Lao was called “Mysterious Master of the Myriad Heavens” and taught the world the great methods within the Mysterious. In the era of the Three Sovereigns of Middle Antiquity, he was called “Ancient Sir” and transmitted the Scripture of Great Simplicity. In the era of the Three Sovereigns of Later Antiquity, he was called “Perfected One of the Golden Gate,” transmitted the Secret Scripture of the Golden Gate, and taught the people the way of peace and Wuwei (non-action). In the time of Fuxi in High Antiquity, he was called “Master Luxian,” transmitted the Scripture of Primordial Yang, and taught people to follow the natural course of nature and life. In the time of Shennong, he was called “Master Dacheng,” transmitted the Scripture of Great Unity and Primordial Essence, and taught people to cherish life. In the time of the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, he was called “Master Guangcheng,” transmitted the Scripture of Daoist Admonitions, and taught people the practice of soaring through the air.

When Lord Lao traveled through the Kingdom of Pure Joy, he was called “Lord Ziyuan.” He transmitted to the Dark Emperor (the Great Emperor Zhenwu) the formulas of Great Harmony and Jade Void, along with the supreme wisdom’s great precepts, and taught the way of returning to the root and restoring one’s life. In the Middle Ages, people called him “Master Hongmeng” in the time of Shaohao, “Master Chijing” in the time of Zhuanxu, and “Master Yinshou” in the time of Emperor Yao. In the time of Shun, he was called “Master Lutu” or “Master Wucheng”; in the time of Xia Yu, “Master Zhencheng”; and in the time of Shang Tang, “Master Xize.” In the time of King Wen of Zhou, he was called Lao Pin and served as Historian Beneath the Pillar, transmitting the Classic of the Dao and the Classic of De to the world. At that time, Yin Xi, Guardian of the Pass, sought instruction from him. Yin Xi was later posthumously enfeoffed as Grand Preceptor of the Sacred Realm of Great Luo and Jade Clarity, and placed in charge of the Celestial Pivot Court. The Zhuangzi says, “Guanyin and Lao Pin were ancient Perfected Ones of great breadth and depth: silent, formless, and ever-changing.” The immortal master Ge Hong said, “Laozi is the spirit of Heaven and Earth; there is no age in which he has not appeared.”

Xuanwu appeared in his eighty-second incarnation.

The title “Xuanwu” took shape in later times. According to the Veritable Record of Revelations through the Writing Brush, Xuanwu was originally an incarnation of the Mysterious Elder of the Five Spirits within the primordial Qi of the precelestial state—the original vital energy of the cosmos. He was an incarnation of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, differentiated from the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), and appeared in every era.

During the period of the Upper Three Sovereigns, Xuanwu descended as the Perfected One of Great Beginning. In his commentary on the Laozi, Kong Yingda says that the “One” in “The Dao gives birth to One” is the Taiji, from which the Two Modes then arise. During the period of the Middle Three Sovereigns, Xuanwu descended as the Perfected One of the Grand Primordial. The sun and moon held their radiance concealed in the time of Great Change; only in the time of the Grand Primordial did they begin to shine. During the period of the Lower Three Sovereigns, Xuanwu descended as the Perfected One of Great Simplicity. The Baihu tong records that when the signs of physical form had taken shape, this was called “Great Simplicity.” At that time, the Sui Sovereign established the ethical way of marriage between men and women.

In the time of the Yellow Emperor, Xuanwu was born in the Kingdom of Pure Joy as a prince, with the Daoist title Master Hidden Cloud. For his merit in cultivating the Dao, the Jade Emperor rewarded him and first bestowed upon him the title Dark Emperor. In the tradition of the Great Dao, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning had first invested him as the Mysterious Elder of the Five Spirits, Opener of the North and Summoner of Water, and Master Hidden Cloud. For his merit in cultivating the Dao, the Jade Emperor rewarded him again, granting him the title Dark Emperor.

The Great Dao invested him as the Mysterious Elder of the Five Spirits and opened the North, summoning the Qi of water. He was the root from which the primordial yellow Qi—the original energy of Heaven and Earth—gave rise to the forms of all things. Thereafter, Qi gradually divided and formed myriad shapes. It first transformed into the One, an official of the Supreme Emperor. The scripture then lists Xuanwu’s successive incarnations: one as the Great Beginning Heavenly One; twenty-nine as the Grand Primordial, Great Yin, the Star of the Year, the Lunar Eclipse Star, and the stellar mansions Dipper, Ox, Girl, Emptiness, Danger, Roof, and Wall; eighteen as the Six Jia and Ren and Gui; seven as Great Simplicity, the Northern Peak, Hai, Zi, and Chou, and Qian and Kan; fifteen as Wind, Thunder, Rain, Lightning, and Thunderclap; and ten as the Old Qiang, the Eight Baleful Spirits, and the Human Star. He finally transformed into the Dark Emperor, his eighty-second incarnation.

From this we can see that Xuanwu is an incarnation of Lord Lao, appearing through transformation, and also the manifestation of the Martial Star.

Another title of Lord Lao is the Supreme Emperor of Primordial Unity, which is precisely the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) spoken of in “The Changes Have the Taiji.” The Scripture on the Great Beginning Arising from Taiji says that Lord Lao is a body manifested through transformation. Because the Great Emperor (the Great Emperor Zhenwu) was a brother of the Lord of the Military Star, and the Military Star once manifested its numinous efficacy, some people have discussed the two together. This is because the merits and virtues of the two sacred perfected ones share many similarities.

According to the Scripture on the Northern Dipper’s Origin, during the first calamity of the Longhan era, in the age of remote antiquity, there was a Lady of Purple Radiance in the Kingdom of Zhou Shangyu. One spring day, while strolling by the Warm Jade Pool, she took off her clothes to bathe and suddenly felt a numinous response from a lotus blossom. Its nine petals opened all at once, and nine children came forth from within. The lady carried them back to the palace and raised them, wishing that they would all become sages and worthies who could assist Heaven and Earth. When the nine children grew up, each pursued cultivation. Once their practice was complete, they ascended in broad daylight and together received exalted celestial offices bestowed by the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing).

The Great Emperor of Heaven was the eldest son. He assisted the Upper Palace of Ziwei, overseeing the myriad transformations and the host of stars. The Great Emperor was the Great Emperor Zhenwu, the second son. He assisted the Central Palace of the North Pole, governing the lower realm from the Bright Hall. The remaining seven sons corresponded respectively to the seven stars of the Northern Dipper: Tanlang was aligned with Heaven and governed the growth and prolongation of life among all things; Jumen was aligned with Earth and governed the life and longevity of all things; Lucun was aligned with the Sun and governed blessings and emoluments, while preserving life; Wenqu was aligned with the Moon, governed water, and increased the tally of years; Lianzhen was aligned with Earth and governed official rank and the dispelling of calamities; Wuqu was aligned with Water and governed rivers, longevity, and the lifting of misfortune; and Pojun was aligned with Metal and governed the oceans and the welfare of wives and children, while aiding the frail.

According to the sixth chapter of Commentary on the Northern Dipper Scripture in the Dongzhen Cavern, the sacred jade taboo name of Wuqu’s assisting star is “Chang Shangyuan Chu.” Practitioners who follow the Great Dharma of the Northern Pole’s Celestial Heart, making the relief of living beings and the benefit of life their vocation, bear the Daoist title “Taichezi” and the virtue title “Perfected Lord Ding.” Before long, he completed his cultivation and merits, ascended by the Mandate of Heaven, and was invested as Grand Regular of the Ziwei Enclosure. Within the Dipper, he took charge of the jade registers and resided in the Kaiyang Palace of the Bright and Perfect Emperor, located in the middle of the Room and Dipper constellations. He was responsible for the administration of water, kept the registers of the River Origin, and oversaw the promotion and advancement of immortals.

In his office, he governed the perfected ones of the nine heavens above, the flying immortals of the Five Sacred Peaks at the middle level, and, below, recorded the practice and merits of those cultivating the Dao. He coordinated the arrangements for all whose cultivation and merits qualified them to advance to a higher rank, and entered them in the Jade Calendar. He also managed the passage of the seasons in the lower realm, the growth of its natural products, the distribution of goods, and the comings and goings of supplies in the celestial granaries and treasuries.

Since Xuánwu, the title of the deity of the north, took up residence in the mortal world, he has continued to serve in celestial office from the first calamity of the Kaihuang era onward, despite practicing cultivation across different ages. When duties arose, he worked in concert with the other gods, kept the people in his heart, and bestowed numinous efficacy and grace upon many. Thus, the manifestations and responses of the two truly sacred ones, Ziwei and Huizan, can be said to have arisen for the same reason.

Xu and Wei are two of the seven lodges of the Black Tortoise in the north. Here, the essences of Water and Fire converge.

The northern region of the heavens is called the Palace of Mysterious Qi. Xu and Wei occupy the twenty-sixth degree and twenty-five and a half minutes of the celestial sphere. They are lodges along the Sun’s and Moon’s paths, and correspond to the offices of the Solar Emperor and Lunar Sovereign, governing the Qi of Water and Fire.

According to tradition, on the first day of the first month in the Guisi year of the Yan Emperor, at dawn on the Wuwu day during the Jiayin hour, the Sun and Moon joined in brilliance. Their two Qi merged in the Xu and Wei lodges, and divine light streamed down to the Pure Joy Kingdom, where the Kui and Lou lodges were located. Empress Shansheng happened to fall asleep in the palace. Her consciousness left her body and wandered; she saw a round sphere of light, like the Sun, enter her mouth. After swallowing it, she awoke and found herself pregnant.

At the end of that year, the Yan Emperor’s state fell at Banquan, and the Yellow Emperor, having received the Mandate of Heaven, established his capital at Youxiong. In the Jiawu year, the Lord of Pure Joy gave birth to a sacred child. This child was formed from the wondrous essence of the Xu and Wei lodges, a confluence of the finest essences of Water and Fire. As he grew up, he studied under a master and received instruction in the Way of Xuanyuan.

The Essentials and Meaning of the Dharma says: “Within Great Harmony, Jade Void, and the Upper Capital of Purple Tenuity, the Qi of the Five Constants circulates, while the tones of the Six Pitch Standards give rise to words and writings. What is clear and luminous becomes Qi; what is profound, mysterious, and numinous then appears. The Sovereign puts wondrous methods into practice, and the ruler sends down the supreme charts of the Dharma. Their forms extend throughout the Brahma realms, setting the wondrous abodes in motion. The many skillful means are vast and boundless, and the numerous wondrous teachings are originally without difference. There is no truth that cannot be revealed, no Great Dao that cannot be reached. Respond to change and leave the crooked paths behind; the Way of Heaven joins the ten directions, and the Way of Earth connects with all realms. Moving in and out between purity and chaos, act in accordance with change, and always return to the right path. At its ultimate reach, this realm is called the Great Mysterious Capital.”

The Veritable Record states that after the Purple Origin Lord had finished transmitting the essentials of the Dao, he instructed: “At the time of the Four Kalpas of Longhan, you should let your hair hang loose and walk barefoot. Gather the true essences of Kan and Li (Water and Fire), restore them to their roots and proper places, and return them to their origin between the Xu and Wei lodges.”

At times he wears armor with a robe over it; at times he wears boots; at times he is barefoot. His deep blue-black hair is often loose, and he always carries a divine weapon, a keen blade, in his hand.

Perfected Dong said: “When the Dark Emperor was commanded to descend to the lower world and subdue demons and monsters, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning issued an edict directing him to travel in this attire. The Zhuangzi says, ‘Heaven gave him his form, and the Dao gave him his appearance.’ Surely this describes just such a case.”

His awe-inspiring might shakes the Nine Heavens.

The Dark Emperor was appointed in succession as Envoy for Patrol and Maneuvers of the Nine Heavens and Envoy for Inspection of the Nine Heavens, charged with overseeing merit and transgression and managing the affairs of the realm of the immortals. Given this, how could the Dark Emperor’s might fail to shake the Brahma Heavens above the Nine Heavens?

His authority extends throughout the Four Regions.

The Dark Emperor alone holds the great authority to govern the Three Realms, and each month he inspects the affairs of ghosts and spirits across the Four Great Continents. In the east, his jurisdiction reaches the region of the Buddha who Spreads the Root; in the west, it extends as far as the Sandy Expanse of Godaniya; in the south, as far as Jambudvipa at Jiaozhi; and in the north, as far as the far northern lands of Youling and Uttarakuru. The City Gods, guardian deities, armed and armored divine generals, and their troops in every place all heed his command. With the Dark Emperor’s illustrious name and vast authority, how could the spirits of the Four Regions dare neglect their duties?

Among the divine hosts who support the Dark Emperor, black banners and dark mists rise above their heads. As he travels, a great blue-green tortoise and a giant serpent accompany him.

The Celestial Worthy of Jade Clarity bestowed the black banner on the Upper Primordial Festival of the first year of the Water Cycle. When it was raised, dark mists seemed to billow upward, a sign that his authority had manifested. Then a billion warriors saw the banner, united in faith, and together received the command to proceed to Great Mystery. The Water Essence Tortoise of the Earth’s Axis and the Fire Essence Sacred Serpent of the Heavenly Pass protect the Dark Emperor at his feet and oversee his journeys and campaigns. All the fiercest unrighteous forces of demonic Qi in Heaven and on Earth are subdued by the Heavenly Pass, the Earth’s Axis, and the banner’s host of divine followers.

There are five hundred thousand divine soldiers and generals who follow the Dark Emperor. The Jade Youths and Jade Maidens who attend him are arranged in twenty-four ranks each.

“Xing” means to arrange in order or list separately. The Right Victory Office is a body of attendants serving the Northern Divine Official. The Jade Boys and Jade Maidens are assigned to it in turn; they oversee ceremonial processions and protocol, and keep records of good and evil deeds and merits and faults across the Three Realms—heaven, earth, and the human world.

The Supplementary Records of Immortals (Xianchuan Shiyi) relates that after Zhang Liang, a Han-dynasty chancellor, withdrew from the world to cultivate the Dao and ascended to become an immortal, he was given the title “Boy of Great Mystery.”

The Record of the Opening of the Sage (Qisheng Ji) says that Yiyang County in Xinzhou had a shrine to a filial daughter, to which the court bestowed the plaque “Silent Illumination.” The filial daughter enshrined there had originally been the Jade Maiden of Green Rosy Clouds, who managed the registers of the Right Victory Office. Lu Zhongdao and his wife, Lady Zhang, had always worshipped Zhenwu, the northern deity, with devotion, asking only for a child. In their old age, Lady Zhang dreamed that she swallowed a red tassel and became pregnant. She gave birth to a daughter of extraordinary beauty who could not speak.

When the girl was thirteen, she suddenly spoke to her parents to bid them farewell. “I was originally the Jade Maiden of Green Rosy Clouds in the Palace of the Twin Maidens in heaven. My parents previously prayed to Zhenwu in the north for a child. Zhenwu consulted the registers of your blessings and good fortune and found no record that you were destined to have children. Seeing that you treated others with fairness and sincerity, Zhenwu petitioned the Three Heavens on your behalf and received permission to send me down in the form of a red tassel, to be born as your daughter and live in the human world for twelve years. Now that the term has ended, I must return to heaven.

“When I left the Heavenly Court, I received Zhenwu’s compassionate instruction: once in the human world, I must not speak. Now I have heard that the Song dynasty’s Directorate of Astronomy has calculated that the celestial field corresponding to the State of Chen lies over Yiyang County, where a person of unusual status, bearing immortal bones, will appear to seek my reincarnation. If I remain here, I fear I may disclose Heaven’s secrets. Moreover, my allotted lifespan has ended. I should return to the Northern Pole’s Right Victory Office and serve as an assistant judge, awaiting assignments for seven years. When that term is complete, I will return to the Palace of the Twin Maidens.”

Having said this, she died. When the matter was reported to the court, the emperor issued an edict granting her the title “Filial Daughter of Silent Illumination.” The story is cited to show that the Right Victory Office indeed had established posts and duties for Jade Boys and Jade Maidens.

The Dark Emperor received the Northern Emperor’s (the revered deity of the north) sacred talisman and register tablet. The Han Official Ceremonies says that a sash marked the receipt of a mandate, distinguished rank, and displayed virtue. When the Dark Emperor ascended, the Golden Tower bestowed on him the Northern Emperor’s sacred talisman and register tablet. The tablet had a hole through which it was attached and worn with gold thread, a flying-cloud design, and purple-and-white ribbons. Such a ribbon was called a “sash.”

The Dark Emperor wore the Treasure Seal of Qianyuan. Citing the White Tiger’s Comprehensive Discussions, the scripture explains the meaning of wearing jade. It says that when the Dark Emperor ascended, the Golden Tower bestowed on him a jade seal with a twisted handle, as proof of his authority to carry out a mandate. This seal was called the “Treasure Seal of Qianyuan.” The form and inscriptions of talismans and seals were said to have been made in accordance with the commands of the celestial realm, with the radiance of celestial patterns congealing into seal script. Their precise dimensions, designs, and seal-script characters have never been known or passed down in the human world.

When the Dark Emperor traveled, the Thunder Lord and the Lightning Mother served as his attendants, while the Wind Earl and the Rain Master guarded him.

The North Pole Right Victory Bureau oversees the suppression of ghosts and demons and the punishment of evil. Marshal Tianpeng also administers the affairs of the Five Thunders Office and holds the rank of Great Thunder Lord of the Celestial Capital. He commands the envoys of wind, clouds, lightning, and rain, along with flying dragon mounted officers, the troops on his left and right, strongmen of the Water Bureau, and officials and soldiers of the River Lords, numbering three hundred thousand in all. They operate day and night, shaping and nurturing the transformations of creation so that the myriad beings under Heaven may come into being. When ordered by the Right Victory Bureau to suppress ghosts, demons, and baleful spirits, these divine generals assemble and set out according to military orders, displaying their might and assisting in the punishment of evil.

According to the Book of Hidden Methods of the Highest Clarity, the ranks, duties, and names of the great saints are set out below. The male official in the first hall of the Five Thunders Office is General Wu Tian’an, who administers the Thunder Court, serves as chief commander of thunderbolts, travels through Heaven and Earth, manifests in changing forms, and hunts down and captures offenders. The male official in the second hall is named the Five Officers Who Raise the Chariot of Thunderbolts, Roam the Nine Heavens, and Punish the Treacherous. The male official in the third hall is General Wang Ming, who directs the commands of the Thunder Court, sends star-fire speeding through the sky, investigates offenses, and supervises souls, binding spirits. The female official in the fourth hall is General Wang Tian’an, who serves the Thunder Court by slaying baleful spirits and capturing dragons. The female official in the fifth hall is General Wu Tianming, who serves the Thunder Court by destroying shrines and slaying corpses.

The Chief Envoy of the Lightning Mother is the North Pole Right Controller, a female official who dispels evil and governs the lightning flashes of the Thunder Court throughout the four seasons. She is General Tian Shouming, the Great Immortal Mother who seeks out the treacherous. The male official who shares in administering the court is General Tian Shouzhen, who serves the Thunder Court by hastening lightning and unleashing thunderbolts, sending the fire of thunderbolts through Heaven and Earth to search out treachery and swiftly seize offenders.

The Great Lord of Wind is the Deputy Wind Minister of the North Pole Right Victory Court. He is responsible for setting the wind in motion according to the order of the Eight Trigrams and investigating unlawful and uncanny occurrences, as well as abnormal changes in the wind. He is named General Jin San. The Chief Registrar of the Five Thunders Office records the registers of the various departments of thunder and decides matters of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning in the punishment of demonic forces. He is named Judge Xin Hanchen.

The Rain Master, Dragon of the Nine Heavens, is the Opener of Transformation and Keeper of Registers, the Sovereign, and also serves as Commissioner of the Lower Prime Water Bureau. He inspects the affairs of rainmaking in the various caverns and bears the title Emperor of the Primordial Sovereign’s Numinous Response, Zhang Ya. He commands the rainmaking Dragon Lords of the Five Lakes and Four Seas, the Nine Rivers and Eight Streams, the Seven Marshes, and the Twelve Han Valleys, as well as the cavern dragons who bring rain in different regions, one hundred and seventy titles in all. Their names are recorded in the Peacock Scripture.

The Five Thunders, Six Jia, and Eight Baleful Ones are all born from and divided out of the Qi of the Five Numinous Elders—the wondrous primal energy spoken of in Daoism. Their corresponding divine names manifest only when ordinary people make offerings and cultivate their practice according to the rites. The Huainanzi says, “When thunder and lightning do not arise, wind and rain do not come.” Thus, only when the Five Thunders issue their commands, lightning-fire punishes the treacherous, wind moves according to the Eight Trigrams, and rain bestows favor and instruction in accordance with the Way of Heaven can a harmonious Qi descend to nurture the myriad beings. Otherwise, thunderous roars and crashing bolts, scorching lightning-fire, howling gales, and torrential rain mingled with hail are not signs of harmony, beauty, or auspiciousness, but the execution of Heaven’s punishment. The Classic of Poetry says, “Revere Heaven’s anger; dare not play or give yourself over to wantonness.”

The Divine Warrior Zhenwu is guarded before and behind by the Eight Baleful Generals, with the Six Jia Divine Generals attending at his sides.

The Eight Great Baleful Generals belong to the Right Victory Prefecture of the Dark Metropolis. They are charged with guarding the awe-inspiring northern region. Their eight camps are stationed in front of Mount Canopy in the Fengdu underworld. The eight generals are, in order: General of the Heavenly Baleful Force Zhang Zishu; General of the Earthly Baleful Force Chen Ziqing; General of the Solar Baleful Force Li Zide; General of the Lunar Baleful Force Fan Zizhang; General of the Water Baleful Force Du Zizhen; General of the Fire Baleful Force Liu Zida; General of the Metal Baleful Force Wang Ziyan; and General of the Stone Baleful Force Jia Ziyuan.

The Six Great Jia Divine Generals assist in guarding the south. They are stationed in six separate camps, arranged beneath the Canopy Star in the Taiwei Enclosure, a region of the celestial sky. In order, they are: Jiazi, the Water General Li Wensi; Jiaxu, the Earth General Li Shoutong; Jiashen, the Metal General Li Shouquan; Jiawu, the Fire General Li Shouzuo; Jiachen, the Wind General Li Shoujin; and Jiayin, the Wood General Li Shouqian.

According to the Lingbao Jing (Scripture of Numinous Treasure), the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning once expounded the scripture in the Beginning Green Heaven, saving people through its teachings. Whenever violent disorder or disaster arose in the northeastern part of the human world, the Divine Lord was commissioned to sweep away the inauspicious forces. At that time, the Six Jia Divine Generals guarded the Golden Pass, the Seven Regulators—the sun, moon, and planets of the Five Phases—guarded the numinous altar, the Eight Might Divine Generals raced like lightning, and the sacred Nine-Phoenix birds drove away evil forces. Together, they obeyed the Dark Emperor’s command to subdue and punish them. The Eight Baleful Generals guarded before and behind, while the Six Jia assisted at the sides. The scripture further says that they wielded golden axes, executing great evildoers in front and punishing malevolent spirits behind. This command has been passed down to the present day. The Kaihuang Chapter says, “The assembled demons submit in reverence, and all the nations beneath Heaven are thereby safe and at peace.” This is what it means.

The Celestial Dipper and Taiyi lead the assembled gods, awaiting their orders.

“Shuai” means to submit and pledge allegiance; “yu” means to serve and attend upon. Tiangang and Taiyi also belong to the Lords of the Five Virtues. They are responsible for securing submission and providing attendance, serve as subordinate officials of Taixuan, and stand ready at all times to receive orders and carry out commands.

The scripture says that Xuantian Shangdi is protected by a black standard—a large black banner—and dark mist, while the Azure Tortoise and the Great Serpent attend at his feet. Right Tiangang commands the black standard and is named Jianbing, the Right General of the Seven Fiends of the White Tiger. Lower Taiyi bears the sacred feet and is named Zh iming; he is originally the Rear General of the Five Fiends of the Black Tortoise.

The might of Xuantian Shangdi reaches throughout the divine realm. His ranks include the position of Left Tiangang of the Northern Pole. At the center of the black standard is the Northern Dipper, symbolizing nobility and the power to nurture and transform the myriad things. He also serves as the Great Commander of the Black Tortoise’s Three Realms, charged with guarding the heavens. When the Supreme Emperor carries out Heaven’s punishment and attacks the wicked, he uses divine might to subdue evil without killing indiscriminately. Right Tiangang and Lower Taiyi, in turn, are specifically charged with warfare and execution.

The Yuce says that by gathering the essences of Water and Fire into one’s grasp, one can bring together the powers of the numbers three and five: three refers to the Sacred Serpent, and five to the Divine Tortoise. Through the guiding order of command, the generals Jia and Geng are brought under control, aligning the numbers seven and nine. Seven represents taming the Azure Dragon; nine represents driving the dark divine steed. This shows that these commanders are the ones best able to direct divine generals, cut down evil transformations, and preserve and stabilize the order of things.

The Sheling, spirits who govern a locality and its altar, and the Chenghuang, spirits who protect a city, are all under the command of Xuantian Shangdi.

“Fully obedient” means complying with every command; “arrangements” refers to the system of offices and their assignments. The local gods known as the sheling and the City God each oversee a place’s land or its city walls. They are stationed throughout the various territories, prefectures, military districts, counties, garrison towns, and villages, with each responsible for a particular duty. They oversee the troops and officials of the underworld and supervise local affairs, all under the command and direction of the Great Mystery.

Long ago, the people of Chaocheng committed many evil deeds. When the Dark Emperor planned to level the place, the local City God and sheling had already been ordered to move elsewhere. The Dark Emperor therefore took the form of a Daoist and went there to investigate. Jiao Po was appointed the local Earth God and placed under his command.

The Record of the Sage’s Revelation says: Long ago, the people of Chaozhou were violent and had accumulated evil deeds over many years. They killed living creatures, slaughtering them at will to satisfy their appetites. Even monks and Daoist priests imitated ordinary people, killing living beings day after day. The foul stench of blood rose straight to Heaven, offending the sun, moon, and stars and even obscuring the stars’ radiance.

At that time, the Investigator of the Nine Heavens submitted a report to the heavenly court. The Jade Emperor of Vast Heaven, ruler of the celestial realm, came to the Three Heavenly Gates to inspect the matter. He found that in Chaozhou, in the land of Wu, customs were depraved and people were violent. He then ordered the Celestial Official, the Great Emperor Ziwei, together with the Earth Official and Water Official, to investigate the true situation under the jurisdiction of the Mountain Office and in the northern pole region. He also issued an edict commanding the deputy marshal of the Right Victory Office to level the place, sink the city, and turn it into a water-covered island, restoring lasting purity.

Zhenwu received the summons to court and, with a sigh, submitted this memorial: “I have heard that within a thousand li, not everyone must necessarily be caught up in calamity. I fear this would deepen the grievances and enmities. Please allow me first to find out the true situation among the local earth spirits.” The Great Emperor replied, “The City God and sheling of this prefecture have already received the Jade Emperor’s edict and moved elsewhere.” Zhenwu then complied with the edict and sent his subordinate, Right Tiangang, to investigate first.

Right Tiangang descended to the world and transformed into a giant turtle. After it died, its body floated on the water. When officials and commoners heard of it, they hurried to cut it up and eat it; no one refused. Zhenwu witnessed these evil acts with his own eyes, then transformed into an ordinary Daoist and went from house to house to investigate, asking for water as a pretext to see what people were like. Only Jiao Po’s household showed kindness by refraining from killing living creatures, and the water they gave him was clean. Zhenwu said to Jiao Po, “This city will soon become a lake. Hurry to live on Mount Shengnü. In the future, you will be the Earth God of the lake and mountain.” With that, he vanished.

Jiao Po took her family and daughter-in-law up Mount Shengnü. When they arrived and looked back, they saw black winds, torrential rain, thunder, and lightning. Floodwaters submerged the city’s foundations in an instant, and the place became a vast expanse of water. Jiao Po raised her hand to shade her brow and look out. Suddenly she saw a spirit in the sky whose appearance resembled the Daoist who had earlier asked for water. The spirit spoke down to her, saying, “This body of water is now under your jurisdiction.” Then the Daoist ascended into the sky. The neighboring prefecture beside the mountain also lost its city foundations in an instant and became a body of water.