《玄天上帝启圣录》

Records of the Sacred Awakening of the Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven: This work recounts the deeds through which the Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven attained sainthood, along with related stories of miracles. It is included in The Chinese Daoist Canon: Scriptures on Daoist Ritual and Practice.

The contents list five volumes. Volume One mainly recounts the Supreme Emperor’s birth, his departure from his parents in pursuit of the Dao, his receiving the Dao and being given a sword, his cultivation and awakening, his attainment of the Dao and ascent to Heaven, and his investiture, subjugation of demons, and return to the Celestial Palace. It also describes his cultivation on Mount Wudang and the fulfillment of prayers for rain. Volumes Two through Five record the days and rituals for worshipping the Supreme Emperor, manifestations of his sacred image, and stories about divine generals teaching ritual methods, summoning troops through talismans and registers, praying for clear skies, warding off disasters, and driving out evil spirits and demons.

“Ascending to Heaven in broad daylight” refers to the belief that a cultivator enters the celestial realm after attaining the Dao. “Kan Palace” is a Daoist term associated here with the Supreme Emperor’s divine office and celestial abode. “Talismans and registers” and “summoning troops” refer to ritual practices that use talismanic writing to summon divine generals for protection.

Chen’s Wife’s Soul Possesses Lady Wang, Who Conceives a Ghost Child

Scroll Six

Reporting Merits and Praying for Longevity; Giving Scriptures to Relieve Calamity; The True Method of Empowered Water and Soaking Coins: Registering merit by memorial to the court and praying for longevity; giving scriptures to relieve disasters; practicing the method of empowered water and soaking coins in ritual water.

Pacifying the River and Bringing Blessings; Appearing at Sea to Rescue Those in Danger; He Quan Meets Wu and They Are Joined in Marriage: Subduing the river’s dangers and bringing forth blessings; appearing at sea to save those in peril; He Quan meets Wu, and the two become joined in marriage.

Zou Suqi’s Manifestation After Making an Offering; Heaven Bestows Green Jujubes, Which Miraculously Transform and Reveal Red Tassels: Zou Suqi receives a manifestation after making an offering; Heaven bestows green jujubes, which undergo a miraculous transformation and reveal red tassels.

The Prince of Jing’s Two Beauties; Lady Jiao’s One Heir: The Prince of Jing has two beautiful consorts, while Lady Jiao bears one child.

Scroll Seven

A Boy Appears in Response to a Dream; A High Sage Descends to the Mortal World; Seven Followers Borrow Names, and Two Perfected Ones Manifest: A boy appears in response to a dream, and a high sage descends to the human world; seven followers borrow names, and two Perfected Ones manifest.

Demanding Twenty Thousand Coins and Exchanging Them for Four Thousand Paper Notes; Water and Clouds Guard the Book Case, While Wind and Mist Open the Casket: Twenty thousand coins are demanded in exchange for four thousand paper notes; water and clouds protect the book case, while wind and mist open the casket.

The Divination Verse Comes True; Physiognomy and the Tassel: The divination verse proves accurate, and matters concerning physiognomy and the “tassel” also come to pass. “Tassel” may refer to an object such as a red tassel.

The Prince of Jing’s Two Beauties; Lady Jiao’s One Heir

Scroll Seven

A Boy Appears in Response to a Dream; A High Sage Descends to the Mortal World; Seven Followers Borrow Names, and Two Perfected Ones Manifest: A boy appears in response to a dream, and a high sage descends to the human world; seven followers borrow names, and two Perfected Ones manifest.

Demanding Twenty Thousand Coins and Exchanging Them for Four Thousand Paper Notes; Water and Clouds Guard the Book Case, While Wind and Mist Open the Casket: Twenty thousand coins are demanded in exchange for four thousand paper notes; water and clouds protect the book case, while wind and mist open the casket.

The Divination Verse Comes True; Physiognomy Points the Way; Hu Qing Abandons His Trade, Zhong He Resigns from Office, and Liangsi Receives an Auspicious Sign: The divination verse proves accurate, and physiognomy guides people through uncertainty; Hu Qing gives up his former livelihood, Zhong He resigns from office, and Liangsi responds to an auspicious sign.

Scroll Eight

Yuan Yan Awakens to Transformation; Wang Gun Scorches a Turtle, the Hua Family Kills Fish, and Relics Appear for the Zhu Family: Yuan Yan awakens to the principles of transformation; Wang Gun scorches a turtle, the Hua family kills fish, and relics appear for the Zhu family. In Buddhism, such relics commonly refer to crystalline remains left after a practitioner’s body is cremated.

Lord Liang’s Cap and Hairpin; Heaven and Earth Bear Witness; Spirits Submit a Recommendation; A Sacred Well Reveals the Strange: Lord Liang’s cap and hairpin; Heaven and Earth observe and bear witness, spirits submit a recommendation, and a sacred well distinguishes the unusual.

Jiao Lake Brings Fitting Retribution; False Wealth Turns to Gravel, a Fake Candle Burns to Ash, and Merits Are Recounted Before a Title Is Bestowed: Jiao Lake reveals retribution for wrongdoing; false wealth turns to gravel, a fake candle burns to dust, and after the merits are recounted, a title is bestowed.

The Record of the Revelation of the Sagehood of the Supreme Lord of the Dark Heaven, Scroll One: The Golden Palace Incarnation.

According to the Golden Book of the Three Treasures, the One Qi—the original primordial energy—divided and gave rise to form. From it emerged numinous emptiness, the root of the Five Kalpas. The Three Pure Ones appeared, known as the Divine Radiance, and became the beginning from which the Nine Lights were generated. At the time of the Great Beginning, Heaven and Earth were murky and dark, mysterious and profound.

Within this was the Emperor of Emptiness, who set the Five Kalpas in order: Longhan, Chiming, Shanghuang, Yankang, and Kaihuang. At that time, the light of Heaven had not yet separated, and clear Qi and turbid Qi were still undifferentiated. From this we can understand that the Three Qi are the most honored foundation of Heaven and Earth, while the Nine Qi are the source of the many perfected spirits. Thus the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning manifested the image of the precelestial, opened the Three Radiances, and established the foundation of Heaven. The five kinds of talismanic script unfolded, giving life everywhere to the spirits.

Only after Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate) divided did Heaven and Earth begin to become distinct. The east received the blue-green Nine Qi, the south the cinnabar Three Qi, the west the white Seven Qi, the north the black Five Qi, and the center the yellow One Qi. These Qi of the five directions are called the Five Elders. They are the source from which the two Qi of the dark and yellow generate the forms of the myriad things. Each of the Five Elders gives life to spirits everywhere.

Only after Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate) divided did Heaven and Earth begin to become distinct. The east received the blue-green Nine Qi, the south the cinnabar Three Qi, the west the white Seven Qi, the north the black Five Qi, and the center the yellow One Qi. These Qi of the five directions are called the Five Elders. They are the source from which the two Qi of the dark and yellow generate the forms of the myriad things. Each of the Five Elders disperses the primordial Qi and generates the Four Divine Creatures to guard the four corners. They encircle the Six Directions—the four quarters above and below—within which the Two Principles of Yin-Yang move, setting the myriad things into motion and bringing them forth.

Tracing the origin of the Dark Emperor makes clear that he truly took form from the precelestial primordial Qi, the Five Numinous Dark Elders, and the Qi of the Great Yin and Heavenly Unity. The Red Writ of the Cavernous Origin records that the Dark Emperor is the precelestial primordial Qi, another form produced through the division of Taiji. During the era of the Three Sovereigns of the Upper Age, he descended as the Perfected One of Great Beginning; during the Three Sovereigns of the Middle Age, he descended as the Perfected One of Great Origin; and during the Three Sovereigns of the Lower Age, he descended as the Perfected One of Great Simplicity. In the time of the Yellow Emperor, he came down among humankind, received the essence of the sun, and entered the womb of Queen Shansheng of the King of the Pure Joy Kingdom. After fourteen months of gestation, he was born. This was one of the eighty-two transformations of the Most High. The Pure Joy Kingdom lay beneath the lunar mansions Kui and Lou. It was a land overseas and corresponded in Heaven to Longbian Fandu Heaven.

A Saint Born in the Royal Palace: He was born as a saint in the royal palace.

This occurred when Heaven was opening a new era and the first cycle of tribulation descended upon the human world. On the third day of the third month in the jiachen year, a wuchen day, at the hours of jiayin and gengwu, the Dark Emperor was about to be born from his mother’s left side. Auspicious clouds covered the land, celestial flowers drifted down in profusion, and a wondrous fragrance spread everywhere. Radiant light shone from the Dark Emperor, illuminating the entire kingdom. The earth and stones seemed to turn into gold and jade. There were too many such auspicious signs to record them all.

Silent Understanding of the Scriptures

The Dark Emperor was born with extraordinary gifts and intelligence, and his every gesture revealed something unusual. He was clever and could foresee distant events; he was perceptive and could discern the subtlest details. By the age of seven, he could understand a scripture after reading it just once. Whether observing the heavens above or examining worldly affairs below, there was nothing he did not understand. He devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Dao. His aspirations accorded with the Great Void, the boundless ground of the cosmos, and he wished to serve the Supreme Emperor and bestow blessings upon all the people.

Leaving His Parents to Seek the Dao

When the Dark Emperor grew up, he was brave and resolute. He had no wish to inherit the throne and devoted himself solely to cultivation. He vowed to assist the Jade Emperor, vanquish the demons of the world, and save and protect all living beings. Day and night in the royal palace, he made this vow, and even his royal father could not change his resolve. At the age of fifteen, he took leave of his parents and went to a remote mountain valley to cultivate the Original Truth within.

The Dark Emperor devoted himself wholeheartedly to cultivating the Dao and thus received a response from the Jade Pure Primordial Ancestress, the Purple Origin Lady (a revered deity of the Jade Pure Realm). The Purple Origin Lady taught him the Supreme Dao of Non-Being and told him, “You may cross the sea and travel east. Beneath the celestial region assigned to the Wings and Chariot constellations, there is a mountain whose ridges rise from the Qian and Dui directions and wind onward for fifty thousand li. Water flows out from the Zhen palace. This mountain has existed since the Supreme Ultimate first came into being, and it corresponds above to the Heavens of Manifest Stability, Extreme Wind, and Great Peace. Between the two Heavens of Imperial Cliffs are seventy-two peaks and thirty-six grottoes. You may enter this mountain and choose, among its many peaks, one that towers into the clouds and reaches straight toward the Purple Heavens, and make your home there.

“Five hundred years after you unite with Great Harmony and ascend, during the second calamity of the Dragon Han era (an ancient period in Daoist cycles of cosmic calamities), you will let your hair hang loose and walk barefoot, treading upon the true essence of Kan and Li (images of Water and Fire, and of Yin-Yang, in cultivation). You will return to the source and recover your rightful place. Above, you will assist the Three Heavens of the Realms, where the Three Pure Ones dwell; below, you will become a Great Sage of the Ten Directions. Your name will be celebrated through countless eons, and you will endure alongside Heaven, Earth, the sun, and the moon. This is the fulfillment of cultivation.” Having spoken, the Purple Origin Lady departed on a cloud.

The Celestial Emperor Bestows a Sword

Following his master’s words, the Dark Emperor crossed the sea and traveled east. He then received a response from the Great Celestial Emperor Fengqian. The emperor bestowed a precious sword upon him and said, “This sword is called the ‘Northern Black Galloping Fur-Cornered Demon-Slaying Heroic Sword.’ It is seven chi and two cun long, corresponding to the seventy-two pentads of the seasonal calendar. The three fittings on the sword correspond to the Three Terraces, a group of celestial stars. It weighs twenty-four jin, corresponding to the twenty-four solar terms, and is four cun and eight fen wide, corresponding to the four seasons and eight seasonal divisions. You may wear this sword as you dwell in the mountain and cultivate. Use it to subdue heterodox paths and destroy demons.” Having spoken, the emperor departed amid clouds.

After receiving the sword, the Dark Emperor passed beneath the celestial region assigned to the Wings and Chariot constellations and indeed saw the mountain. Water lay within it, and both its form and the course of its waters matched his master’s description. He entered the mountain, crossed its streams, chose a place, and settled there in seclusion to cultivate.

This mountain lies thirty li south of Junzhou. It was originally called Mount Taihe, and was also known as the Immortal Chamber and Great Mountain. After the Dark Emperor (Xuandi, the Supreme Lord of the Dark Heavens) attained the Dao and ascended to heaven, he said, “Only the Dark Warrior (Xuanwu, the deity of the north and another title of the Supreme Lord of the Dark Heavens) is worthy of this mountain.” It was therefore renamed Wudang. Its standing is so exalted that it ranks alongside the Five Great Mountains.

Mount Wudang extends for eight hundred li and has seventy-two peaks, thirty-six cliffs, twenty-four caves, as well as five terraces, five wells, three pools, three springs, four rocks, and three Heavenly Gates. It also contains three grotto-heavens and one blessed land—all celebrated places of scenic beauty in Daoist legend. The mountain has wind caves, thunder grottoes, herb gardens, and alchemical furnaces, along with towers and halls rising into the clouds, palace complexes like Dragon Kings’ palaces, and auspicious signs such as celebratory clouds and colored mists.

Fragrant wild orchids grow in secluded valleys, and the plants and trees are luxuriant. Unusual growths such as ge-ru and tianhua are found everywhere. On the rocks, dew glimmers like specks of gold and silver, while pine and lichen flourish among the trees. The leaves of Qianlin are said to cure illness, and the numinous-shou staff can support the elderly. Divine beasts appear as auspicious signs, and immortal birds sing like music. Imperial calligraphy is treasured here to uphold Daoism and guard the mountain. Black tigers patrol the corridors, and crows announce the dawn.

Mugwort is called “a thousand years old,” symbolizing the virtue of giving aid far and wide; pine trees are called “ten thousand years old,” proclaiming the noble virtue of repaying kindness. The mountain’s forests are dense and its groves of bamboo thick; it is a place where outstanding people and numinous landscapes come together. Those who attained the Dao and became immortals are too numerous to count, and the mountain’s sacred traces are too many to record one by one. Here, the numinous clouds and mists of all ages converge, as though the creative power of Heaven and Earth had gathered in one place.

The streams and ravines cut off the assembled officials.

The king missed the Crown Prince and could not bear to give him up. He therefore sent a minister with five hundred soldiers to search along the road and bring the prince back to court. Following the prince’s trail, they crossed mountain streams and entered the deep mountains. On the way, the water suddenly rose, preventing them from going on. The first eight times they tried to cross, the waters surged; only on the ninth attempt did they finally make it across.

They came to the foot of Zixiao Cliff and saw the prince, then conveyed the king’s command to him. After that, the soldiers’ feet suddenly stiffened, and they fell to the ground, unable to lift them. They said to one another, “Wherever the prince’s vow-power— the resolve and power born of cultivation—reaches, such a response appears.” Thinking of the long journey home, they all made a request together: “We wish to follow the prince and learn the Dao.” As soon as they had spoken, their steps returned to normal, and they withdrew into the mountains together. After the Dark Emperor attained the Dao and ascended to true immortality, they too completed their cultivation of the immortal Way. The five hundred spirit officers (divine generals who serve as guardians) spoken of today on Wudang Mountain are these very men. The mountain stream is called “Nine-Crossing Obstruction,” and its name carries this meaning.

Childhood Cultivation Within

After ascending the mountain, the Dark Emperor first lived and cultivated at Crown Prince Cliff. During his cultivation of the Dao, a numinous crow announced the dawn, while a black tiger guarded the cave. Whenever the Dark Emperor ate, he fed them as well. To this day, both animals are spiritually attuned and have become great deities, sometimes appearing and sometimes disappearing. The crow has a red beak, and those who see it receive good fortune. The black tiger drives away wickedness; those who oppose it will meet with calamity.

The Collected Record of the Complete Truth states: “The Great Deity of the Wudang Black Tiger was brought forth from the Qi of Heaven One in the north. He is charged with upholding Daoism and guarding its teachings. Those who see him receive good fortune. The black tiger drives away wickedness; those who oppose it will meet with calamity.”

The Zongzhen ji records that the Great Black Tiger Spirit of Wudang Mountain was brought forth from the Qi of Heaven One in the north. It protects Daoism and guards the mountains. Upright in nature, it appears awe-inspiring and takes many forms. At times it becomes a human figure dressed in golden armor and a black robe, like a general; at other times it reveals its true form, with a black mane and the shape of a lion. Sometimes it is as large as a xiezhi, sometimes as small as a leopard. At times it leaves tracks in the snow; at others, its traces appear in the earth. Those who see it will encounter misfortune, while those who dream of it will receive good fortune. It patrols at night through corridors and abandoned places, where its miraculous traces are clearly visible. When it encounters an ill-intentioned person, it drives them away at once.

The Dan jing says, “The tiger is born in water,” referring precisely to this. A secret method concerning it is passed down among the people. Today, beneath the Jiaqing Pavilion at Zhenqing Palace, there is a place called Black Tiger Rock. A numinous bird lives there, endowed with the north’s black Qi. It is a spirit of Wudang Mountain, able to foretell good and ill fortune; every sign it gives, whether gentle or fearsome, proves true. At dawn, flocks cry out to announce the morning. People and birds live peacefully alongside one another, and the birds are not at all startled or wary. In the morning and evening, two birds fly about in search of food. One of them, a red-beaked bird, appears and disappears; those who see it take this as an auspicious sign.

While the Dark Emperor was cultivating, he had not yet awakened to the Mysterious Origin, the source of the Great Dao. One day, he set out from the mountain. As he reached a ravine, he suddenly saw an old woman grinding an iron pestle against a stone. The Dark Emperor bowed to her and asked, “What are you grinding the iron pestle for?” She replied, “To grind it into a needle.” He said, “Wouldn’t that be very difficult?” The old woman answered, “When the effort is sufficient, success will come of its own accord.”

The Dark Emperor understood her words and immediately returned to his cave to devote himself to cultivating the Great Dao. The old woman was in fact the sage master Lady Ziyuan, who had manifested in the human world to guide him. The ravine was therefore named “Needle-Grinding Ravine.” The immortal Lei Mailu praised the story in a poem: “The deeper the effort of refinement, the further one advances in cultivation. The sage master summons me to ascend to Heaven. My resolve is not only as firm as stone, but firmer still; if a small object can be ground to completion, the Great Dao, too, will surely be attained.”

Plum Branch Entrusted to the Lang Tree

After understanding the lesson of grinding a needle, the Dark Emperor returned to his place of seclusion. On the way, he broke off a plum branch and placed it in a lang tree, then looked up to Heaven and vowed, “If I attain the Dao, this flower will bloom and bear fruit.” In time, his vow came true. The tree still stands today and is called “Plum of the Lang Tree.” Its fruit resembles a wooden plum, with a pit shaped like a peach stone. It tastes both sour and sweet and is said to cure many illnesses, though it is rarely found. Local people use its harvest to foretell the year: in years of abundance it bears fruit, but in years of famine it does not. An immortal elder guards the tree, and those who bow in reverence may receive its fruit.

The Perfected One of Jade Stream wrote in a poem: “Long ago, the lofty Perfected One studied the Dao in the mountains, and with his own hand broke off a plum branch to place in the lang tree. When cultivation is complete, one should ascend to Heaven; the blossoming and fruiting had already revealed the sign. The immortal elder guards this place, keeping every evil spirit away; the name of the sacred fruit will endure through the ages. Taking the fruit can prolong life and dispel madness; those who bow with sincerity will receive blessings.”

The Immortals of Penglai

When the Dark Emperor, one of Daoism’s revered deities, withdrew to the mountain cliffs to cultivate, nine beautiful female immortals came to visit him. They were dignified in appearance and graceful in their bearing, unlike ordinary people. They often went to the place where the Dark Emperor practiced, testing his resolve. Seeing that they were no ordinary beings but surely sages, he treated them with reverence and courtesy.

The nine female immortals said to him, “We are the female musicians of Penglai, immortal performers from the realm of the immortals. We have come especially to test you. The merit of your cultivation is already evident; you should devote yourself to it with even greater diligence, and soon you will ascend to immortality.” With that, they mounted cranes and rose into the sky. Later, people called them the “Nine Masters of Penglai,” and the cliff where the immortal musicians appeared came to be known by that name.

The Way Attained at Zixiao

While cultivating in the mountains, the Dark Emperor often explored his surroundings. Among the seventy-two peaks, he saw one that towered into the clouds. At its foot lay a cave facing the rising sun, quiet and secluded. He followed his immortal master’s counsel, naming the mountain Taihe, the peak Zixiao, and the cave Zixiao Cliff, and settled there to practice. This is where the Dark Emperor attained the Dao (the Way). Today, the Palace of Heavenly Unity and True Celebration stands at this site.

The sacred text says: “My mountain cannot match the grandeur of other famous mountains, yet those mountains cannot match the quiet seclusion of mine. Though winter is cold on my mountain, it does not feel bitterly cold; though summer is hot, it does not feel sweltering. Only those who have cultivated goodness as human beings for three lifetimes have the chance to come to my mountain; only those who have done so for five lifetimes have the chance to live in my abode; and only those who have done so for seven lifetimes have the chance to be buried within my domain.

“My mountain is still and secluded, its plants and trees lush. The sound of bells and drums can be heard, but not the crowing of chickens. If you are fated to live here, I will command the Six Jia—the six guardian deities spoken of in Daoism—to cut away the Three Corpses, the spirits believed to dwell in the human body and hinder cultivation. Its seventy-two peaks rise straight into the blue sky, and its twenty-four streams flow without end. In its thirty-six caves dwell many who cultivate the Dao. Buried in my mountain, even your bones will be purified. If you are fated to live here, I will command the Six Jia to cut away the Three Corpses.”

It also says: “To the south lies a place for subduing demons; to the north, the Golden Lock Pass. Those lacking courage will be seized by fear, and their ascent of the mountain will be blocked. When a cycle of calamity ends and begins anew, demons and evils will be cut down, a good name will be preserved, and it will be passed down through the ages.”

Perfected Lü Chunyang (Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals of Daoism) wrote:

“This rocky peak existed from the moment primordial chaos first divided, rising high above Mount Taihe. Before it stands the towering summit, a thousand zhang high; behind it wells up a pool of sweet spring water. The patterns in the rock resemble a flying phoenix spreading its wings, and the caves are shaped like green jade coils of hair. A numinous spring and immortal streams encircle it on three sides; ancient junipers and green pines shelter it all around. Raindrops fall like precious jade upon the stone steps, striking them with a ringing sound; wind passing through the pine-lined pass makes a sound like a jade flute. The crowing of roosters heralds dawn as the east gradually brightens; at dusk, immortal cranes return, and the Northern Dipper already hangs in the sky. Celestial birds often call out at the valley entrance, while divine beasts roam freely along the mountaintop. Here, one feels as though heaven and earth are vast and the sun and moon at ease. Since ancient times this has been a quiet place where cultivators practice; traces of human life remain here even now. Who knows how many immortals have come and gone, drawn by their love of this famous mountain? A stone stele stands here.”

Five Dragons Bearing the Sage

The Mysterious Emperor (the Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven) is within the rock, concealed in a realm of emptiness and stillness, serene and at ease. Here heaven and earth are vast, and the sun and moon at ease. Since ancient times it has been a place for quiet cultivation, and traces of those who practiced here remain to this day. Who knows how many immortals have come and gone, drawn by their love of this famous mountain? A stone stele stands here.

The Dark Emperor devoted himself to cultivation among the mountain crags, contemplating the subtle mysteries of emptiness and the principle of purity and undividedness. In silence, he met with many perfected immortals. After forty-two years, his cultivation was finally complete, and he attained the Great Dao.

On the ninth day of the ninth month in the gengzi year, the fifty-seventh year of the Yellow Emperor’s reign, at dawn on the bingyin day, auspicious clouds suddenly appeared. Celestial flowers drifted down from the sky and filled the valley, stretching three hundred li in every direction. The forests and mountain peaks shook, sounding like music sung by immortals. At that time, the Dark Emperor stood nine chi tall, with a face like the full moon, dragon-shaped eyebrows, phoenix eyes, jet-black hair, and a fine beard. His appearance was clear as ice. He wore a jade crown of nine Qi, robes woven from pine and vines, and no shoes. With hands clasped, he stood atop Purple Cloud Peak. Soon, five Dragon Lords supported him as he rose upon the clouds; they stopped only when they reached Great Summit Heavenly Pillar Peak. Five Perfected Ones and a host of immortals descended before him. Their attendants formed a grand procession, and the scene was extraordinary.

The Dark Emperor bowed and saluted, then respectfully welcomed them. The five Perfected Ones said, “We have come at the command of the Jade Emperor of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), with a grand procession of attendants leading the way. The scene is extraordinary.”

After the Dark Emperor bowed and welcomed them, the five Perfected Ones continued: “We have come at the command of the Jade Emperor of the Three Pure Ones. Your merit and practice are complete, and your work on the Dao is fulfilled. You will be elevated to the Golden Palace in the celestial court. Your sacred father and mother have also ascended to the ninth heaven.” The Dark Emperor bowed low and respectfully accepted.

The five Perfected Ones then read the decree aloud: “You are a sacred youth who studied the Dao and attained immortality, and a prince of the Kingdom of Pure Joy. You received the nurturing transformation of the Dark Origin Great Dao and hold the supreme rank of Heavenly Unity. You teach living beings without relying on words, and none can fathom your divine mystery. Through countless long kalpas you have endured without end, seeming to exist yet remaining difficult to grasp. You nourish the spirit with an empty heart, enrich your inner self, conceal your brilliance, and dwell among the ordinary. You open the workings of creation, allowing the uncarved nature to appear. Over six million years, you have been reborn in eighty-two lives. You follow life’s twists and turns to preserve yourself, dwell in lowliness and thereby become full, and renew yourself by casting off the old.”

The scripture goes on to relate that the Dark Emperor was commanded to descend into the Cavern of Darkness and subdue demons. With his hair loose and feet bare, clad in golden armor and a black robe, and carrying a dark banner, he led the Six Ding and Six Jia, the Five Thunder divine troops, and other forces down to the human realm. There he fought the Six Heavenly Demon Kings in the wilderness of the Cavern of Darkness. The Six Ding and Six Jia and the Five Thunder divine troops are Daoist divine generals and troops of the Thunder Ministry, often depicted as forces sent to protect the Dharma and subdue demons.

At that time, the Demon King wielded the two Qi of Kan and Li, symbolizing water and fire, the Yin and Yang energies. He transformed them into forms such as a blue tortoise, a giant serpent, a rainbow lion, venomous dragons, and fierce beasts, then descended to the human realm to fight the divine troops led by the Dark Emperor.

At that moment, the Demon King drew on the two kinds of Qi, Kan and Li, which symbolize water and fire, and transformed into a dark tortoise and a giant serpent. As soon as they appeared, the Dark Emperor displayed his divine power and subdued them beneath his feet.

The records say that Jiang County in Tongchuan Prefecture was anciently called Xuanwu County, and that a mountain there was named Mount Wuqu. According to legend, the Dark Emperor pursued the Demon King to this mountain and subdued the two true spirits of water and fire beneath his feet. The mountain took its name from this event, and local residents still call it that today. A Daoist temple stands on the mountain. During the Daguan era of the Song dynasty, Emperor Huizong bestowed on it a plaque reading “Temple of True Numina,” honoring this blessed place, where the Dark Emperor had once subdued the Celestial Pass and Earthly Pivot. The stones in the river before the temple, and the plants on the mountain, all resemble tortoises and serpents. People who fall ill can boil these stones or plants and drink the water to recover. The Tortoise City in Yizhou and the Serpent City in Zizhou are still regarded as traces left behind by these events.

Separating the Human and Ghost Realms

After the Dark Emperor came into the human world, he subdued and dealt with all the demons and monsters across the land in just seven days. The human and ghost realms were separated, wronged souls were released from their grievances, and the spirits of the dead were delivered and raised to heaven. All the ghosts were locked away in the Great Cavern of Fengdu, the legendary realm of the dead. Only then did the people find peace; Yin and Yang came into harmony, and the realm enjoyed peace and order.

Victorious Return to the Pure Capital

The Dark Emperor (Xuantian Shangdi) and the divine generals returned victorious to the Celestial Palace of Shangyuan in Qingdu and paid their respects to the Heavenly Venerable. They said, “Yesterday, we received your command to go into the human realm and subdue and destroy the demons. Thanks to the Heavenly Venerable’s compassionate power, in just seven days we completely cleared the world of evil spirits.”

The Heavenly Venerable asked, “You divine generals must have worked very hard.” He went on to say that before the primordial beginning of the precelestial realm, the Dark Emperor had been the Northern Elder of the Five Spirits. He had been transformed from the primordial Qi of the Great Yin Celestial One, the original vital energy of the cosmos, and was the root of all things and phenomena. Now, after fifteen hundred years, it was time for him to return to his own quarter and resume his proper position.

The Primordial Heavenly Venerable then ordered the Jade Emperor to issue a jade register, an investiture recording divine offices and titles, and confer on the Dark Emperor the title “True Warrior Who Guards Heaven at the Northern Pole.” He appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the Three Realms and placed him in charge of the You Sheng Bureau. In obedience to the Primordial Heavenly Venerable’s command, the Jade Emperor issued an edict instructing the Jade Hua Academy of the Golden Palace Hanlin to compose the jade register. The scripture then records its text.

The register said:

“You bear the auspicious Qi of primordial chaos; your Dao and De are complete, and your exalted rank is manifest. Your virtue is lofty, and your fame reaches among the immortals and perfected sages. It has been three thousand five hundred years since you came into the world, and your merit is equal to forty-two kalpas. During the cyclical reckonings of the sexagenary year and the review of divine appointments and promotions, you have ensured that the people suffered not the slightest loss.

“Now the time of calamity has arrived, and evil and righteousness are intermixed. Thus the Six Heavenly Demon Kings have arisen, harming the people across the Nine Earths. Without your true power, how could the world be at peace? The Three Pure Ones rely on your support, and the Nine Sages also depend on you. You have once more revived the Dao’s teachings and brought evil spirits back to righteousness. You hold the essences of Water and Fire in your hands and command the two generals Jia and Geng. Through these divine powers and transformations, you enable all things to flourish.

“Your merits surpass those of all the sages and cannot be fully praised in words. Now you should return to your source and restore your origin, returning to your rightful position as is proper. Yet without an illustrious title, how could your merit and virtue be made manifest? We therefore bestow this seal edict upon you; you need not decline. We specially invest you as Great General Dark Warrior Who Guards Heaven, Chief Administrator of the Three Origins, Envoy Who Ranges Through the Nine Heavens, Left Celestial Commander of the Northern Pole, and Commander-in-Chief of the Three Realms. You shall oversee the affairs of immortals and spirits, and judge the affairs of the You Sheng Bureau of the Dark Capital. You shall also retain your office as Supreme Dark Marshal and judge the affairs of the Yuanhe Bureau of Promotion and Review. When this register arrives, carry out its commands.”

Return to the Kan Palace

The Supreme Lord, the high deity of the celestial realm, commanded the Dark Emperor, the Supreme Lord of the Dark Heavens, saying: “You shall wear your hair loose and go barefoot, tread upon the tortoise and serpent, raise the great dark banner, and personally don the mirrored armor. Guard the Kan Palace, the celestial palace where the Water position of the north resides. Serve as marshal in the heavens, and be revered in the human world as a god of blessing. Each month, descend among the people to support the state and its altars, and bestow blessings far and wide upon all living beings. Through countless millions of kalpas, never grow weary; let your radiance renew itself day after day.”

The Dark Emperor respectfully accepted the decree and sighed, “When I was still mortal, I once entered Mount Taihe to cultivate the Dao. My teacher, the Venerable Purple Origin, earnestly instructed me: ‘Five hundred years after attaining the Dao and ascending to heaven, you must wear your hair loose and go barefoot, treading the Kan and Li palaces—the Kan associated with Water and the Li with Fire, symbolizing Yin-Yang—so that your true Jing returns to its root and its proper place. In this way, above you may become a minister who assists the celestial realm, and below you may become a great sage. Only then will your name shine through countless millions of kalpas and endure alongside Heaven, Earth, the sun, and the moon.’ Now my teacher’s words have come to pass, and I have returned to the Kan Palace. How could I not rejoice?”

From then on, the Dark Emperor manifested in countless forms and became a founding patriarch of the religious tradition. He sent his incarnations among the people to aid all things and guide living beings to salvation, accumulating merit without limit. His manifestations were witnessed throughout the sacred grotto-heavens and blessed lands where, according to Daoist tradition, immortals dwell; accounts of his responses to the faithful were too numerous to record in books. At times he took Li as his surname, at others he inherited the surname Guo, and at still others he used Pei. He has been revered through every age, and is revered to this day.

All living beings under heaven have received the Dark Emperor’s beneficence. His kindness is as vast as Heaven and Earth, beyond what words can fully express. He holds an honored place in the Golden Palace, the residence of the Celestial Emperor, and oversees the heavens’ most important affairs, nurturing and transforming the myriad beings. He assists the great sage True Lords of the celestial realm, regulates the seasons, sets Yin-Yang in motion, and brings forth the myriad things. His status is supremely exalted.

Through Dao and De, the Dark Emperor transforms living beings, bringing clarity and stability to Heaven and Earth and quietly accomplishing the work of instruction. He is constantly concerned for all beings and compassionate toward the human world. Whenever he foresees a calamity approaching, he first petitions the Golden Palace with a sincere wish to save the people, asking that their suffering be eased. Even when foreign peoples disturb the Central States and alter their teachings and names, he still guides living beings through instruction. Thus he may be called the supreme Dharma King, greatly compassionate and merciful, who saves all beings far and wide.

Long ago, on the fifth day of the fifth month in the third year of Heavenly True Transformation, the Celestial Lord of Primordial Beginning, the Celestial Lord of Highest Clarity, and the Celestial Lord of Great Clarity held a grand assembly at the Jade Radiance Hall on Mount Jade Capital in the Mysterious Metropolis. The Lords of the Nine Heavens, the perfected beings of the Ten Directions, and the gods and spirits of the Three Realms all gathered in the hall to review the merits and faults accumulated through the kalpas.

At that time, the Jade Emperor, Lord of the Vast Heavens, led the Great Emperor of the Celestial Sovereign of the Upper Purple Tenuity Palace, the Great Emperor of the North Pole of the Central Purple Tenuity Palace, the August Earth Empress, the Lords of the Thirty-Two Heavens, the Three Officials and Four Saints, and the gods of the sun, moon, and stars to pay their respects to the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing). They took their places and performed the rites according to court protocol. The Celestial Lord of Primordial Beginning ordered the attendant immortal Jade Gentleman to open the Jade Register, which recorded the merits and faults of the various heavens. He then commanded the divine officials Han Jun Zhangren, the Perfected Lord of Fate, the Perfected Lord of Records, the Perfected Lord of Merit, and the Perfected Lord of Faults to examine the record of each heavenly ruler from the time they attained the Dao and became perfected, taking their places in the Golden Palace.

The review showed that the Five Elders, the Eleven Luminaries, the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansions, and the Star Lords of the Five Directions and Five Dippers had governed the movement of Yin-Yang and the order of heaven and earth. Their achievements since high antiquity were so great that they merited standing alongside the Supreme Celestial Worthy. Since the creation of heaven and earth, the Three Officials and Four Saints—the deities responsible in Daoism for heaven, earth, water, and the related administration of blessings and misfortunes—had protected heaven and earth. Their merit equaled that of five hundred thousand kalpas, and their rank stood just below the Celestial Emperor. The heavens therefore nominated them unanimously. The Celestial Lord of Primordial Beginning issued the Jade Register and entrusted it to the Three Ministries of the Golden Palace for review. Their examination confirmed that the merits of the Three Officials and Four Saints equaled those of the Lords of the Thirty-Two Heavens. The Jade Emperor, Lord of the Vast Heavens, accordingly conferred on them the title of Imperial Perfected Ones.

On the first day of the first month in the fourth year of Heavenly True Transformation, the Three Ministries of the Golden Palace issued an edict summoning the Three Officials and Four Saints to the foot of the Three Heavens Gate. They were to reside temporarily in the Jade Pavilion, while two Hanlin Academicians were ordered to seal the Jade Radiance Court and compile the jade register. On the fifteenth day of the first month, the Shangyuan Festival, the Three Officials and Four Saints formally received their imperial titles. The edict was engraved on jade tablets in gold lettering, placed in a brocade pouch, set inside a fine jade casket, and sealed with a golden dragon key.

The substance of the edict for the Dark Emperor was as follows: On the fifteenth day of the first month in the fourth year of True Transformation, the Three Ministries of the Golden Palace respectfully submitted this report. The Great Dao is exalted and radiant. It opened heaven and earth and brought forth the myriad things, containing within itself the subtle pivot of transformation and revered by all the heavens. The Great Marshal of Supreme Mystery and General of the Dark Warrior who Quells Heaven, concurrently holding such offices as General Overseer of the Three Origins and Inspector of the Nine Heavens, commands the Three Realms and oversees the protection of the Mysterious Metropolis. He is the True Lord of Heaven One, the Supreme Purple Sovereign. His numinous power is mysterious and wondrous: above, he inherits the source of primordial chaos; below, he commands the stars of Xu and Wei. He steadies the earth and nourishes the celestial origin, governs the transformations of the four seasons and the order of the eight seasonal divisions, and can manifest in descending forms to bestow blessings throughout heaven and earth. His merit equals that of five hundred thousand kalpas. He stands alongside the Lords of the Thirty-Two Heavens, is relied upon by the Nine Heavens and the Ten Directions, and greatly benefits the people of the lower world. According to the achievements recorded in the Jade Register, he deserves a place among the Imperial Perfected Ones. To withhold an exalted title would fail to make his Virtue manifest.

The Golden Palace therefore dispatched an envoy bearing the jade register and golden edict, formally honoring the Dark Emperor with the title “Celestial Emperor of the Mysterious Heaven, Preceptor and Chancellor of Jade Void,” and appointing him “Inspector of the Nine Heavens.” The edict praised him in these words: The Dao gives rise to primordial Qi, and its power and Virtue nurture the Three Powers of heaven, earth, and humanity. The Dark Emperor’s true spirit is gathered in the realm of the Nine Heavens, and his radiance shines throughout the celestial realm. His Dao work is both profound and manifest, and his achievements cannot be measured; he rightly merits an exalted title. May he continue to assist the Great Dao, endure through the kalpas, protect the people, and let blessings flow on without end. May this sacred decree of investiture be kept forever in the Mysterious Metropolis.

At that time, the Xuan Emperor, together with the Celestial Official of the Upper Origin (the deity who presides over the Upper Origin Festival and grants blessings), the Earth Official of the Middle Origin (the deity who presides over the Middle Origin Festival and absolves sins), the Water Official of the Lower Origin (the deity who presides over the Lower Origin Festival and dispels calamities), Marshal Tianpeng, Marshal Tianyou, and the Perfected Lord Yisheng, all received imperial titles on the day of the Upper Origin Festival. The Supreme Venerable of the Vast Heaven personally presided over their investiture ceremony at the Seven-Treasure Jade Terrace. The ceremony closely resembled the rites by which earthly emperors appointed great generals and granted noble titles to founding families.

The Supreme Venerable of the Vast Heaven bestowed upon them the ceremonial regalia of emperors, including jade banners, precious tallies, and a jade chariot drawn by nine dragons. They wore crowns reaching to the heavens, from which hung twelve strings of beads, and dark ceremonial robes embroidered with the sun, moon, mountains, dragons, and other designs. Their garments were made in the same style as those worn by earthly emperors. They held dark jade tablets and wore red crow-patterned shoes. Today, when the assembled Perfected pay homage to the Supreme Venerable of the Vast Heaven, the Four Sages stand at the very front of the court procession.

Celestial Palace Celebrations

After the Xuan Emperor received from the Jade Void Master and Minister the honored title of Supreme Lord of the Dark Heavens, he posthumously ennobled his father as the Heavenly Lord of Pure Joy, the Great Emperor of Illuminating Perfection, and his mother as the Heavenly Empress of Victorious Goodness, the Transcendent Immortal of Jade Perfection. He also conferred upon the Gate of Heaven the title General of Dark Profundity, Fire Essence Containing Yin, Divine Venerable of Red Spirit, and upon the Axis of Earth the title General of Dark Profundity, Water Essence Nurturing Yang, Divine Venerable of Black Spirit. They all dwelt together in the Palace of True Celebration of Heaven One. For this reason, all beings of the Three Realms honor the Xuan Emperor as “the Xuan Emperor.”

The Traces of Yu at Zixiao

According to the Jiǔqiū Jīngwěi Tiāndì Lì (Classic of the Nine Regions: The Order of Heaven and Earth), after Yu the Great had quelled the floods and brought the land under control, he divided the realm into nine provinces, established the Five Sacred Peaks, and marked the boundaries of each region. The famous mountains and great rivers across the land were all governed by spirits.

A survey of the terrain shows that Wudang Mountain lies beneath the lunar lodges Yi and Zhen. It was originally called Mount Taihe. Its seventy-two peaks tower into the clouds, surpassing Mount Taihua in grandeur and corresponding to the seventy-two seasonal periods. Ancient tradition says that Xuanwu attained the Dao and ascended to heaven here. Mount Taihe is majestic and beautiful, its slopes facing the sun, with the full pattern of the Nine Palaces. If Xuanwu had not come here to receive offerings, who else could have been worthy of it? People therefore renamed Mount Taihe as Wudang Mountain and established a temple at Ganzi Xiaogong to honor the Dark Emperor and conduct incense offerings. From then on, more and more immortals chose to dwell in the mountains.

Rain in Response to Prayer

Records say that during the Zhenguan era of Emperor Taizong of the Tang, a severe drought struck. The court issued an order directing officials to pray at the famous mountains and great rivers throughout the realm. Yao Jian, military governor of Wudang, was commanded to go in person to Zixiao Palace on Wudang Mountain, perform a Zhaijiao (purification ritual), and build an altar to pray for rain. On the night the altar was built, five dignified and distinguished Confucian scholars came to visit Yao Jian. He invited them to sit, and they spoke at length.

The five men calmly told Yao Jian, “We are not ordinary Confucian scholars. We are the Dragon Lords of the Five Qi, and by the Dark Emperor’s command we have guarded this mountain for a long time. Because you are upright and free of worldly desire, and because your prayers are reverent and sincere, we have come to visit you.”

Before long, clouds and mist filled the air, obscuring everyone’s sight. Then sweet rain poured down, and the five visitors vanished. Tradition says that the Five Dragons flourished from that time onward, during the Tang dynasty.

At that time, withered plants and trees revived, and years of poor harvest turned to years of abundance. Everyone came to live in peace and stability, no longer fearing that people would die of hunger and cold in ditches and ravines. Yao Jian reported these miraculous events to the court. Emperor Taizong ordered the construction of the Five Dragons Abbey on Mount Wudang, to honor the sacred manifestations of the Dark Emperor.

From then on, Yao Jian devoted himself to the Dao, aspiring to quietude and emptiness. He practiced with reverence and never slackened, gradually forming the resolve to resign from office. Later, he took his family to live in seclusion on Mount Wudang, where he reverently made offerings to the Dark Emperor. In time, he received a heavenly appointment as the mountain’s deity and was honored with sacrifices throughout the Junyang region. Later generations called him the King of Majestic Valor.

I have often had the opportunity to consult the Jade Register, the celestial calendar, and thereby learn about the Source of the Mysterious Dao, the origin of the Dao as understood in Daoism. I have long believed that the Dark Emperor’s deeds date back to remote antiquity. The related written and illustrated records have been lost, and accounts circulating in the world contain many errors; his original source has never been fully traced. I once hoped to compile a truthful and reliable record and deposit it on a sacred mountain, but the time was not yet right, and I could not fulfill that wish.

Since the Song dynasty began its reign, the Dark Emperor has descended into the human world and blessed the state. Nearly four cycles of sixty years—about two hundred and forty years—have now passed. He has spread his teachings throughout the land and established the Altar of Purple Void and Numinosity to save all beings. I have again had the opportunity to serve at the numinous court and draw near to Heaven each day. So, in my leisure, I examined and continued the Three Caverns Jade Books, the name of the Daoist canon, and corrected and compiled this true record. I would not dare use my inadequate words to invent or distort the Dark Emperor’s great De. Everything I have written is drawn from relevant records.

I respectfully submit this book in the hope that it will be passed down for ten thousand generations, so that later people may know that the Dark Emperor of Mysterious Heaven came from before the empty void had been divided and was the ancestor of the Great Dao. How could he be compared with other divine beings? This also serves to clarify the origins and transmission of Daoism on Mount Wudang. Is that not a deeply satisfying and worthy achievement?

This text was written in the thirteenth year of the Opening of Transformation in the Supreme Great Luo Heaven, during the seventh kalpa of Heavenly Yan’kang. Its earthly date corresponds to the Jiazi year of the Shangyuan era of the Song dynasty, under the cyclical sign Jiachen, on the fifteenth day of the first month in the eleventh year of Chunxi. The author, Dong Suhuang, gave his titles as Left Upper Minister to the Great Perfected Queen Mother of the West; True Lord of Divine Response and Primordial Blessing, Director of the Celestial Pivot of Shangqing; Perfected One of Flying Rosy Clouds and Numinous Light; and Master of the Central Yellow.

A Vow Made at Wudang.

Wudang Mountain lies in the Nanyang region. When Zhenwu first came there to study and cultivate himself, he met the Great Heavenly Emperor Fengqian. The emperor bestowed on him a precious sword named “The Northern Black, Swift, Fur-Clad, Horned Demon-Cutting Mighty Sword.”

The sword was seven chi and two cun long, corresponding to the seventy-two pentads; it weighed twenty-four jin, corresponding to the twenty-four solar terms; and it was four cun and eight fen wide, corresponding to the four seasons and eight seasonal nodes. It could subdue ill omens and cut down evil spirits, turn the wicked toward the right path, and guard against the influence of deviant ways. Zhenwu often used it in the human world to quell disasters. He also led the divine officers Tiangang and Kui of the River, among others, to subdue the two water-and-fire demons, the Green Tortoise and the Red Snake, on Mount Exian. All demons and monsters that harmed the world temporarily went into hiding.

Zhenwu then asked the venerable Laozi—a Daoist deity, usually identified as the Most High Lord Lao—“I have been ordered to guard Wudang Mountain. If I can subdue all the demons and monsters in the world, will you confer a prophecy on me and attest that I have attained the true Dao? I have now subdued the water-and-fire demons and made all kinds of demons hide themselves. Master, please confer a prophecy on me.”

Laozi replied, “You have come seeking a prophecy. Have you considered what level of attainment you have reached?” Pointing one hand to the sky and the other to the earth, he said, “As long as Heaven and Earth remain, how could all the demons in the human world possibly be driven into hiding? Bring me King Yama, ruler of the underworld, and then I will confer a prophecy on you. If King Yama can come before me, it will mean that the world no longer has hell, good and evil, or any distinction between Heaven and Earth. Only then, when you dwell alongside me, will you have attained the supreme and true fruit of the Dao. You must continue cultivating yourself, clearing away deviant ways for all beings and accumulating merit.”

After this, Zhenwu returned to Wudang Mountain and took up residence among ordinary people, cultivating himself for twelve years. One day, he received the Jade Emperor’s Golden Register, a celestial appointment conferring divine office, and was assigned as Chief Judge of the Northern Pole You Sheng Court. He was charged with judging good and evil in the human world and overseeing records of life, death, and offenses. He was also appointed a divine general who dispelled calamities and brought blessings. From then on, he descended to the human world on set days each month, as well as on Gengshen and Jiazi days.

A vow text says, “I regard the good and evil of all beings as if they had happened to me. If I attain true realization, I will share with all beings the consequences of their actions.”

One year, a strange event occurred at Taiqing Tianqing Abbey on Mount Lu, in Nankang Army. On the third day of the third month in the first year of the Guangde era, Zhang Youzhi, the pacification commissioner for Jiangxi Circuit, went into the mountains to explore and came to a cave called “Valley Cliff.” He entered with his attendants. After walking more than twenty paces, he felt confused in both body and mind, so he came back out. His companions reported that He Quan, a military officer, had also entered the cave but could not be found. About two hours later, He Quan emerged.

He Quan said that he had walked more than twenty paces into the cave when he heard people inside checking the writing in registers. Following the sound for half a li, he came upon a towering palace. Three revered deities were feasting in the hall. Below them, several hundred judges and talisman clerks were tallying registers of good and evil deeds in the human world. Looking closely, He Quan saw a tortoise and a snake leaping playfully in front of him and recognized them as the Northern Perfected Warrior, Zhenwu, a revered Daoist deity also known as the Supreme Emperor of the Mysterious Heaven.

A man dressed in a ruler’s robes sat in the place of honor. Facing him sat a woman wearing a phoenix crown and cloud-patterned shoes. Zhenwu sat beside them. He Quan slipped quietly into the ranks of attendants and asked what was happening. A talisman clerk told him: “This is Valley Cliff, known in heaven as Jade of the Yao Realm. Today is Zhenwu’s birthday. Every year on this day, Zhenwu receives leave from the North Pole. He departs the north at the hour of Chou and arrives in the east at the hour of Yin, where he personally pays his respects to his master, the Most High Lord Lao. He then goes to the celestial palace at Mount Luofu to serve his parents. At the hour of Mao, he descends again from the directions of Shen and You to tour the human world, inspect its good and evil deeds, and, together with his parents, cultivate the fruits of the Dao in the human and celestial realms.”

On this day, even people whose evil deeds recorded during Zhenwu’s inspection were as weighty as Mount Sumeru could receive the compassionate grace of Zhenwu and his parents and be pardoned. If people understood the conditions and causes at work, they could observe pure precepts, perform a Zhaijiao purification ritual, present petitions, and sincerely pray for blessings on this day; the blessings they received would be especially great.

As He Quan was trying to see everything more clearly, he suddenly came to as if from a dream and found himself standing beneath the stone platform at the entrance to Valley Cliff. Zhang Youzhi recorded the account in detail and submitted it to the court. From then on, people learned that the third day of the third month was Zhenwu’s birthday, and that he would dispel calamities and bestow blessings upon the people. The emperor issued an order to Nankang Army, directing officials to go to Tianqing Abbey on Mount Lu and build a Hall of the Descent of the Perfected to enshrine Zhenwu and his parents. He also issued an official document exempting He Quan from labor service.

During the reign of Wu Zetian, Pei Tao, Vice Director of the Chancellery, submitted a memorial: “Some time ago, I, your servant Pei Tao, was ordered to take up the post of county magistrate in Xijiao. One night, I suddenly dreamed that the Most High Lord Lao, a revered deity of Daoism, descended and came to my bedroom. He told me, ‘Evil and disorder will arise in the Tang, and treacherous ministers will disrupt the government. If they cannot be rooted out, the state will suffer a great calamity. There is a northern divine general named Zhenwu, the Daoist guardian deity of the north. In accordance with his destined course, he will descend to the world, carry out the karmic work of his fourth heavenly journey, and be born into your household.’

“Later, my wife gave birth to a boy, whom we named Zhongfang. When the state campaigned against the two thousand rebel bandits of the Western Regions under Zhao Hong, they were captured and brought back. The treacherous court official He Quanlong and his five hundred followers were also exposed and executed, averting disaster and saving many people. For this reason, everyone said that Zhongfang was a divine general who had manifested in response to events.

“One day, while my wife and I were talking, Zhongfang sat before us and opened his hands. Each palm bore a cinnabar-colored mark, shaped like a seal script character. I examined them closely: the left palm bore the character ‘Zhen,’ and the right the character ‘Wu.’ He then clenched both fists and would not open them again. I prepared fragrant water for him to bathe in and gave him clean clothes. Zhongfang bade his parents farewell, saying that he was leaving to return to Heaven. His father asked on which day of each month he would descend to the human world, and where he would go. Zhongfang replied, ‘I descend once each month to relieve the sins of those who do good throughout the world. The dates on which I descend are: the seventh day of the first month, the eighth day of the second, the ninth day of the third, the fourth day of the fourth, the fifth day of the fifth, the seventh day of the sixth, the seventh day of the seventh, the thirteenth day of the eighth, the ninth day of the ninth, the twenty-first day of the tenth, the seventh day of the eleventh, and the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth. I depart from the earth and descend from Heaven.’ Here, ‘descend’ means that a deity comes to the human world on a set date.

“After saying this, Zhongfang sat with his hands clasped outside the woods, then departed.”

Pei Tao reported the matter to the court. The emperor issued an edict granting Daoist ceremonial regalia and ritual implements, and sent an envoy with incense to make an offering at Pei Tao’s home. By the time the envoy arrived, Zhongfang’s body had vanished. Only auspicious clouds hung down from the sky, bearing an immortal palanquin with a bronze coffin inside. Music drifted through the air and petals fell in showers, as if guiding him slowly toward Mount Wudang.

From the reign of Wu Zetian onward, people observed the monthly dates of Zhongfang’s descents and made offerings to him, honoring him as the “Numinous Lord Zhenwu, Who Transmits the Dao on Mount Wudang.”

When Chen Yuyan, a young jinshi from Langzhou, sat the examinations time and again, he failed three times. By chance, he met the Daoist Jiao Zhiwei at the Iron Pillar Temple on Mount Qingcheng in Yizhou. Jiao said, “You have literary talent, yet you never achieve what you hope for because of karmic ties from a previous life. Your name is not entered in the underworld’s register of those entitled to receive official stipends. Haven’t you heard that many people today revere Zhenwu, a revered deity of Daoism? If you devote yourself to his worship with sincerity, you will surely receive blessings and rise to prominence.”

Yuyan asked, “If I begin making offerings now, is it too late?” Jiao replied, “As long as you are sincere and steadfast, it makes no difference whether you begin early or late. From now on, make offerings on each day when the date of the month matches the day of the month.” Yuyan immediately painted an image of the sacred Zhenwu on clean silk, set it up at home, and observed the practice with care and sincerity.

On the fifth day of the fifth month, Yuyan remembered Jiao’s instruction to make offerings when the month and day numbers matched. That evening, at the hour of Xu, around seven to nine o’clock, he set out an offering table with incense and candles before his gate. Facing north in the open air, he bowed one hundred times and offered paper money. The next morning, Yuyan told his wife, Lady Liu, “I had a strange dream. I dreamed I wore a purple robe and a gold belt, and held in my hands a register of everyone’s names under Heaven. I think I will probably pass the examinations this time.” He packed his belongings and traveled west to the capital to sit the examinations. Ten years passed without any word from him.

Lady Liu submitted a petition to the prefectural authorities and followed the official channels all the way to the capital to search for her husband. Before the matter was settled, a runner suddenly delivered a leather tube marked “family letter,” addressed to the household of Judge Chen, who worshipped Zhenwu in Panshen Lane, Banzhou. As soon as the runner left the government office, he vanished. Officials sent people to search Panshen Lane, but found only the residence of the scholar Chen Yuyan. He had gone to the capital to sit the examinations ten years earlier. How could he now be Judge Chen?

At the time, Qian Yannian, the prefect of Langzhou, had read Lady Liu’s petition. He summoned her to ask what had happened, then gathered officials and her relatives. Together they burned incense and opened the leather tube. Inside was indeed a letter in Chen Yuyan’s own hand. He wrote that after leaving home for the capital, he had repeatedly failed the examinations. Overcome with shame, he had seemed to fall under the spell of spirits and gods and had mistakenly entered the Cave of Heavenly Longevity on Wuliang Mountain in Xijing. There he met two boys dressed in blue, who took him, bearing the Jade Emperor’s Golden Register—a document associated in Daoism with appointments and records in the celestial realm—to see the Emperor of the North Pole. He was then appointed deputy registrar of births, good and evil deeds, and the length of life at Zhenwu’s You sheng Institute. He was given a purple robe and gold belt and placed in charge of registers listing everyone’s name under Heaven.

Zhenwu also told him, “You are still a mortal, and your merit and practice are not yet complete.” After that, he was temporarily ordered to oversee affairs in the celestial palaces governed by the Seven Lords of the Northern Origin. He was to help verify which immortals belonged to each palace and handle their assignments, before returning to his post at the You sheng Institute. Yuyan therefore forgot to return home and sent no word. Later, while accompanying his principal deity on a descent through the world, he heard that resentment was rising in Langzhou. Zhenwu investigated and discovered that Yuyan’s wife and children were filled with grievance because they did not know whether he was alive or dead. After Yuyan pleaded with him, Zhenwu compassionately agreed to let him write a letter himself. He sent a spirit on duty that day, disguised as an ordinary person, to deliver it to the authorities in Langzhou. He also instructed Lady Liu to remain chaste, manage the household, keep the family’s original property, and raise the children. She was to continue honoring Zhenwu at the family altar and never deceive the gods.

The letter continued: “Though I have wished to serve my country, I have repeatedly failed to pass the examinations. I now hold office in the celestial administration, where I oversee registers. I often think of protecting the country, keeping the people safe, and aiding all beings, and I will also help in secret. Since you have been thinking of me, I have specially sent someone with this letter in my own hand.”

The authorities in Langzhou reported the matter to the imperial court. The court replied that Chen Yuyan had no karmic affinity for rank and stipend among the living, but was destined for office in the celestial realm. He also had the wish to serve his country and protect its people, and had already taken office among Zhenwu’s subordinates. Since the emperor had always revered Zhenwu and the people throughout the realm benefited from his grace, the court ordered a seven-day Zhaijiao ritual at Yu Jin Garden to give thanks to Zhenwu. Three hundred strings of cash were to be given to Judge Chen’s wife and children to cover the offerings and express their gratitude. A shrine to Chen, Lord of the Household, Deputy Judge of the You sheng Institute, was also to be established in a nearby Daoist temple.

The Secretariat-Chancellery, the Three Offices, and the Ministry of Rites jointly carried out the imperial order to investigate and collect accounts concerning the Great Emperor Zhenwu. These included cases in which people received blessings through worship, as well as occasions when they happened upon a miraculous response. The accounts were compiled into memorials, totaling 104 cases, each assigned its own category and specific cause.

The inner court has now built new halls and pavilions, arranged in five directions and divided into five gates, each with a different name. It is proposed that the central gate of the Zhenwu Household Hall bear the inscription “Mysterious Capital, Great Purification.” The upper gate on the left, belonging to the east, is to bear “Blessings Clear, Mysterious Truth”; the lower gate on the left, belonging to the south, “Winged Victory, Dragon’s Journey.” The upper gate on the right, belonging to the west, is to bear “Jade Compassion, Golden Longevity”; the lower gate on the right, belonging to the north, “Long Life, Vast Transformation.”

Each of the five gates oversees different categories of prayer memorials. The central gate oversees thirty-one cases concerning the glorification of the sage, protection of the state, prayers for miraculous aid, and thanks for answered prayers. The eastern gate oversees thirteen cases concerning the glorification of the sage, military campaigns, prayers for a response, and assistance in battle. The western gate oversees sixteen cases concerning the glorification of the sage, prayers for clear skies or rain, and the manifestation of miraculous responses. The southern gate oversees twenty-seven cases concerning the glorification of the sage, the bestowal of compassionate favor, aid to the people, and responses shown through recovery from illness. The northern gate oversees seventeen cases concerning the glorification of the sage, relief from floods, fires, epidemics, and other calamities, and timely responses acknowledged in return. Thirteen additional cases, along with accounts of the manifestation of the tortoise and serpent, are also included among the ritual categories of the five gates and recorded after the entries for each gate.

Since the halls and pavilions of the Zhenwu temple are not yet complete, we dare not draft and submit the memorial on our own initiative. Once construction is finished, we will await instructions and request the granting of rewards on the day of the great sacrifice. In future, on the monthly festivals marking Zhenwu’s descent, as well as on the first and fifteenth days of each month, offerings are to be made according to established practice, and the relevant prohibitions observed. The characters “beg” and “bandit” must not appear in the figures or records of this hall, whether in documents or registers. Plums are to be excluded from summer offerings of fruit, and pomegranates avoided in winter. Musk must not be mixed into the incense. Those who are not from official households but wish to make offerings according to the established practice may submit a formal petition, and proceed once approval has been granted by imperial decree.

We respectfully petition the Perfected Lord Zhenwu of the Upper Realm, a northern deity revered in Daoism, to govern the world today, protect the state, and keep its people safe. To repay the Lord’s grace, the court has established the Baoying Pavilion within the palace and gathered 104 accounts of earlier responses and manifestations. These accounts, together with records of meritorious deeds, are now being submitted to the pavilion. They are to be passed in turn to the Historiography Office for editing, revision, and transcription, and reports from each locality are to be presented to the throne. An offering ritual should be held at the Baoying Pavilion on the first day of every month.

According to the ritual document submitted by Zhang Zigao, abbot of Qingcheng Grotto at the Jade Clarity and Auspicious Response Palace on Mount Tai, and a Shangqing Daoist master, offerings to the Perfected Lord Zhenwu are to be made on six Gengshen days and six Jiazi days each year, on the Three Primordial Ones festivals and the Five La festivals, and on the first day of every month. Those who regularly pray for the Lord’s protection should, before dawn on these days, draw a bowl of fresh water from a well and place a willow branch in it. They should light an oil lamp or a clean candle, and offer one cup each of jujube broth and clear tea. Agarwood, frankincense, and sandalwood may be burned as appropriate, but Yinshi incense and other such ingredients must not be used, lest the scent of musk violate the taboo. Offer seasonal fruit and vegetarian food. In summer, do not offer plums, for these are taboo because the Lord once removed his hat and shoes. In winter, avoid pomegranates: before attaining the Dao, the Lord slew the ghost king who had brought calamity upon the world, then wandered to Mount Luofu; pomegranates are regarded as having caused his separation from his parents.

Also prepare a stalk of mao incense and offer it until the time when people have settled in for the night. Between the hours of the Dog and the Boar, burn another coil of incense and burn one mo of gold paper money, said to be worth five hundred strings of cash. Prepare one black cloud horse, without colored decoration, to avoid violating the taboo concerning ox glue. Write one petition stating the wishes, and place it in a round envelope; commoners must not call themselves “chen.” Decorate the inner layer with silk and colored flowers, and prepare one ye of gold paper money, said to be worth five strings of cash, along with one talisman horse. First burn these offerings in the open air.

The talisman officer on duty that day will convey the offerings, money, horses, and other items up to the Gate of Heaven, directly before the sacred procession of Zhenwu as he makes his rounds. After announcing their arrival, the officer will burn them. Do not use oiled paper to kindle paper money. Otherwise, the money will not be accepted by the Celestial Bureau, the Underworld, or the various offices governing Yin and Yang. Instead, it will turn into wax money and be sent to the offices in charge at the Bureau of the Sacred Mountain, where it will accumulate in heaps and be recorded and checked by the responsible officials. This ritual should therefore be carried out as prescribed.

This document was reviewed by the Secretariat and submitted to the throne. It was approved for inclusion in the Baoying Pavilion and bestowed upon members of the imperial house and civil and military officials at court who revere Zhenwu, so that they may observe it and follow its instructions for making offerings.

Lü Dafang, Academic of the Longtu Pavilion, was ordered to serve as an envoy to the Western Xia. On the way, as he passed through Linzhongchuan, he was suddenly caught in violent winds and torrential rain. The river surged, and the sky grew dark. Local people told him that Mount Qingluo lay to the north and belonged to the Great Song. On the mountain was a sacred realm called the “Grotto-Heaven.” Lights often appeared there, along with winds and mists, rain and snow, and hail. Residents from both sides of the border had once gathered firewood on the mountain and heard divine beings speaking across it. When they climbed to a high vantage point, they could just make out a divine figure more than thirty zhang tall, clad in golden armor with hair hanging loose, seated on a great rock. A tortoise and a snake were before him, banners behind him, and flags and canopies arrayed in front. People believed this was the numinous manifestation of the Dark Heaven Supreme Emperor, Zhenwu.

When Lü Dafang passed through the area on his mission, it was the Shangyuan Festival. He suspected that he had encountered Zhenwu’s descent, and that the wind, rain, and clouds were blocking his way. After the storm had passed, he prepared incense and offerings and went to Mount Qingluo. Facing the place where Zhenwu had manifested, he burned incense and prayed for his mission to go smoothly, for safe passage into the territory, and for an early return to court. He later met the Western Xia king Li Chengye, and the two sides reached an agreement on border affairs. The Western Xia had disputed with the Song over two thousand li of land around the Fan River. After Lü Dafang’s mission, Li Chengye expressed his wish to make peace with the Song and to follow the court’s instructions, no longer breaking their agreements.

Later, Zhang Yanzu and several Western Xia officials escorted Lü Dafang on his departure. After they had gone about fifteen li, five-colored petals drifted down from the sky. People caught them in vessels, but the petals all turned into sweet dew. It tasted like fragrant, sweet cream. After a while, the dew became a red glow and gradually faded away. Lü Dafang returned to Mount Qingluo and bowed to Zhenwu in gratitude. He saw that the mountain’s withered flowers and trees had suddenly blossomed across the slopes. When he picked the flowers, they vanished in his hands.

After returning to court, Lü Dafang reported these events to the throne. The court issued a special order for the Left and Right Street Offices to select Daoist priests and send them to Mount Qingluo to offer thanks and cast a golden dragon and jade tablet into the water—the former a metal dragon-shaped ritual object, the latter a jade document used in Daoist offerings. Thereafter, Mount Qingluo was established as a sacred site where Zhenwu had descended and manifested.

In the fifth month of the second year of Zhihe in the Song dynasty (1055), on the fifth day of the fifth month, the emperor established a Daoist ritual site for prayers, with a devout heart. He ordered the killing of livestock to cease and sentences and prison cases to be pardoned or reduced. For forty-nine consecutive days, the palace observed restrictions on certain clothing, and ritual offerings were performed morning and evening each day.

On the third day of the eighth month, wind and mist suddenly filled the front hall. The ministers accompanied the emperor to investigate, and saw golden armor and a skirt spread across the entire hall. As the clouds and mist gradually gathered together, a single foot appeared, moving toward the northwest corner. On the eighth day of the month, the ritual site was dismantled. The emperor believed that Zhenwu, the guardian deity of the north, had manifested by sending down a foot. His reverence deepened, and he decided to move the Xuanzhen Hall from the ancestral temple outside the palace and build a separate Hall of Gratitude to enshrine Zhenwu. After discussion, the court concluded that the ancestral temple’s original hall held a position of great honor, beyond the capacity of an ordinary official Daoist monastery. The Taiqing Lingdu Monastery in Bozhou was said to be where the Supreme Lord Laozi had descended at birth; since Laozi had also taught the Dao to Zhenwu, they chose this site to enshrine Zhenwu temporarily while a new hall was built. The emperor issued an order to select an auspicious day, when officials would accompany the incense offering and escort Xuanzhen Hall to Lingdu Monastery.

Later, Bozhou reported that the cypress trees before Lingdu Monastery’s hall, which had been withered and dead, had produced clusters of shoots resembling spring growth on the first day of the tenth month. The shoots were picked, sealed, and presented to the court. The emperor ordered them placed for veneration in the third hall of Jingling Palace. More than ten days later, the emperor began to feel unwell. That night, he dreamed of a warrior dressed in yellow, who identified himself as a talisman officer at Lingdu Monastery—a Daoist responsible for Fulu, or talismans and registers. He had come on Zhenwu’s command to deliver a message: the dead trees’ new shoots were an omen concerning the emperor’s lifespan. Now that the sign had appeared, why had the emperor shown no intention of praying for blessings and a longer life?

The next day, the ministers Pang Ji and others reported the matter. They believed that the emperor, whose health was impaired, should rest and recover, while praying sincerely to ward off disaster and asking that Heaven’s mandate be prolonged. The court therefore summoned Daoist priests from across the country to the capital. Hao Zhengyan, a Daoist from Mount Tai, performed rites, but they produced no clear response. Later, Wang Bochun, a Daoist from Mount Heng, was summoned to pray and petition the Great Emperor of the North Pole and Purple Tenuity for protection of the imperial throne. After officials from the Ministry of Rites and other offices had discussed the matter and submitted their recommendations, the emperor ordered that, following the precedent set during the Renzong emperor’s Huangyou era, he go to Jingling Palace to perform the rites on the fifth day of the fifth month.

After the rites, the emperor suddenly set off back to the palace and ordered his ministers to complete the sacrificial ceremony on his behalf. At the congratulatory audience after the rites, he explained why he had returned: upon arriving at Jingling Palace, he had looked up and seen the northern Gate of Heaven standing open. Among several shafts of red light, a golden armored skirt, with a single foot trailing from it, drifted across the sky. He recognized it as Zhenwu. A boy dressed in green also appeared, pointing at him. After the emperor returned to the palace, he learned the joyful news that the Princess of the State had been born at Huacheng Palace.

The emperor then ordered a shrine to Zhenwu built within the inner palace, as a place to pray for protection. Three nights later, the boy in green appeared again in the central courtyard. He said that after the emperor had left Jingling Palace, the princess was born at Huacheng Palace. At the time of her birth, the hour corresponded, in the father’s astrological destiny, to an adverse position associated with offspring. Heaven had therefore made the emperor avoid that hour, and Zhenwu had intervened to protect him from danger and alarm. Now, the boy had come on the Perfected Lord’s command to tell the emperor that the princess would remain in the human world for only twelve years, and would then return to the heavenly palace. The princess did indeed die at the age of thirteen.

Because Zhenwu had foretold the matter, Renzong brought out treasures from the imperial treasury and erected an inscribed stele at the place where the foot had appeared. He also built the Welcoming the Perfected Pavilion at Jingling Palace, commissioned a full statue of Zhenwu, and included him in the state sacrifices, granting him the title “Zhenwu, Who Descended to Bestow Blessings, Aid the Good, and Bring Enlightened Grace.” Thereafter, each year the court assigned a young Daoist novice to tend the incense and lamps.

During the Zhihe era, the ministers Fu Bi and others submitted a memorial saying: When Emperor Taizong was on the throne, he built the Northern Pole Temple of the Four Saints in the capital, a Daoist temple dedicated to the Four Saints of the Northern Pole. One night, Taizong saw a divine general in his bedchamber. The figure wore a crown and ceremonial robes, had a dignified expression, and held a tablet. He said that he was the fourth commander before the hall of the Great Emperor Ziwei of the Northern Pole. Since the emperor had built temples and palaces and offered incense to them, he had come to give thanks.

Taizong asked, “All four Saints receive my devout offerings. Why have you alone come to thank me?” Zhenwu replied, “The three divine generals Tianpeng, Tianyou, and Heisha are thanking you from among the clouds. They often ride dragons and tigers and are surrounded by many ghost soldiers. Fearing they might disturb your Majesty, I came alone.” Having said this, he took his leave. When Taizong awoke, he recorded the encounter. The next day, he went to the Temple of the Four Saints. Later, a hall dedicated to the Zhenwu deity was built within the palace and named the Hall of Mysterious Truth. More than fifty years have passed since then.

The Celestial Marshal Zhenwu once descended to the human world to assist Di Qing on campaign. He helped subdue two million enemy troops in the western borderlands, including those of Li Jiqian and Zhao Yuanhao, as well as the one hundred thousand mountain troops led by Nong Zhigao among the southern barbarians. After Di Qing received a face covering bestowed by the deity, his appearance came to resemble Zhenwu’s. The victories over the enemy, then and later, were all attributed to Zhenwu’s hidden assistance. After the court investigated and reported the matter, it pardoned Di Qing and those below him, and permitted them to proceed to the Jiade Guangzhen Hall.

When Zhenwu appeared, he was accompanied by a group of twenty-eight. Each wore a copper-yellow mask, had loose hair, a red band wrapped around the forehead, armor and a black outer garment, and a special form of foot covering called xianzu in the original account. They carried official swords and rode in formation. Most people below the rank of high court officials could not tell whether the apparition was real. Only Chancellor Han Qi and the emperor saw the figure on horseback: one of them was tall and radiant, while a blue turtle and a red snake leapt and played on the ground before his horse. After a short while, they vanished.

After leaving court, Di Qing changed his clothes and returned to offer thanks. The emperor sent someone to ask where he had been standing. Riding on horseback, Di Qing replied, “I was tenth in the right-hand rank, exactly where Your Majesty saw the radiant apparition.” The court then observed a fast and held a Zhaijiao purification ritual, praying for Zhenwu to descend. It scheduled the altar rites to begin on the fifth day of the fifth month in the second year of Zhihe.

On that day, a red snake appeared in the Hall of Mysterious Truth. It was two chi and four cun long, and would often come out through the hall doors, coiling and leaping about. Officials in the hall placed it in a covered dish and presented it to the emperor, who ordered that it be returned to the hall. Suddenly, a flash like lightning lit the interior, the building shook with a rumble, and everything turned into black mist. A single great peal of thunder sounded, and the red snake disappeared.

The Serpent Welcomes the Ground

The Four Sages Monastery in the Eastern Capital was originally the residence of the state’s Tianyuan Zu clan. After performing a sacrifice in the suburbs, the founding emperor donated the residence and had it converted into Jianlong Monastery, where the Four Sages were enshrined to protect the state.

Later, when the emperor visited the monastery to make a special offering to Tianpeng, Tianyou, Heisha, and Zhenwu, a turtle and a snake appeared on the ground beneath a painted wall. They came forward to greet him and coiled together inside a small hollow, as if they had made it their earthen nest. The court therefore bestowed a carved jade basin, which was placed in the hollow as a nest for the turtle and snake, and a jade floodgate doorway was opened at the ground-level entrance.

During the reigns of Taizong and Zhenzong, the turtle and snake also appeared inside the Jade Basin Gate, each time foreshadowing an auspicious event.

On the twenty-seventh day of the third month in the Kangding era, the emperor again visited the Four Sages Monastery and saw the turtle and snake emerge to welcome his imperial carriage, leaping and rejoicing. After the emperor offered incense, they withdrew; the whole episode lasted about half an hour. Suddenly, the military governor Xia Lian and others submitted a report saying that the court had sent troops to campaign against Zhao Yuanhao, who had surrendered. The report gave a detailed account praising the commander, Di Qing. The turtle and snake stopped and lay still, as though listening closely to the report. After the emperor had read it, they each returned to the Jade Basin Hollow and did not emerge again. The emperor ordered that further favors be bestowed and that incense offerings at this hall be increased.

The Sacred Image Leads the Way

During the Tianxi era, a northwestern vassal state sent the envoy He Sui to the court, bearing elephants, horses, gold, and felt rugs. At the time, the state’s armies and our dynasty’s forces were at war, and neither side had gained the upper hand. Suddenly, a guard strayed into the enemy camp and began selling a medicine for injuries to the sinews and bones. Soldiers from all the camps came to buy it. Three days later, more than thirty thousand soldiers who had taken the medicine found their arms and legs powerless and collapsed on the ground, unable to rise.

Later, it was learned that the camp of the commander-in-chief Cen Yuanyou was running short of provisions. A Daoist priest was also selling medicine there. After taking it, people and horses felt no hunger for three days. As a result, a saying spread through the vassal state: the Song dynasty often received the protection of the Perfected Lord Zhenwu of the Northern Pole.

The vassal state then investigated Zhenwu’s biography more closely and learned that he had originally been the Perfected One of the Golden Palace in the Great Clarity Heaven, an honorific title for a Daoist immortal. He had transformed into a heavenly general of the Northern Pole and extended his benevolence throughout the world. The Song dynasty received blessings, while the vassal state suffered calamity, because the latter had never obtained a sacred image of Zhenwu and did not know how to make offerings to him. The vassal state therefore carefully sent an envoy to submit a memorial, requesting a sacred image of Zhenwu, portraits of the attendant divine generals, and the rules for the offering rites, to be sent to their country so that they could honor him accordingly. From then on, the two states would be on friendly terms and would swear not to invade or plunder one another again.

After deliberation, the court judged that it was inappropriate to bestow every divine image worshipped by the state and its altars. It then ordered the Hanlin Academy to model a painting on the style of the ancestral shrine: a colored standing image of Zhenwu, but without a tortoise or serpent in the painting. The court also had the relevant rules for offering vessels and rites copied out, and sent them along with its reply to the envoy.

The vassal ruler of the Li clan did not understand why the image had no tortoise or serpent. The tortoise and serpent were, in fact, the vanguard divine generals of the Sacred Lord Zhenwu. After the court explained the reason, the ruler considered the matter fully clarified and issued an edict to worship Zhenwu, honoring him entirely according to Song ritual, and to wage no further campaigns. Thereafter, the ruler sent an envoy with tribute once every three years. All this came about through the manifestations of the True Sage and the blessings he bestowed.

Auspicious signs in the Pavilion of Numinosity.

Qian Yannian, Academician of the Duanming Hall, Prefect of Shanzhou, and concurrently Military Commissioner of the Circuit, reported:

The Tianqing Temple in this prefecture has more than a thousand Daoist priests. Its kitchen ordinarily needs provisions for about fifteen hundred people to support the community. Each day, the temple collects money from the numinous lots at the Sacred Pavilion of Zhenwu and from incense offerings in the halls to cover its daily expenses.

The Pavilion of Zhenwu was built during the Kaibao era. At that time, Emperor Taizu sent the envoy Tao Jue to Tong Pass. Tao Jue witnessed celestial signs at the numinous altar in Tianqing Temple. After the campaign south of the Yellow River failed to achieve victory, the army crossed the river again and, by night, brought two hundred thousand infantry and cavalry into the city. From then on, people understood that Zhenwu had protected the emperor from danger. They therefore built this pavilion to repay the deity’s grace and protect the imperial carriage.

Recently, incense offerings at the temple have dwindled, and the kitchen and storerooms have fallen into disrepair. No one has repaired the halls or the numinous Pavilion of Zhenwu. Qian Yannian asked the abbot, the Daoist priest Liu Yinzhen, about this. Liu said: “After Emperor Taizong campaigned in Hedong and returned to court, the court followed the testamentary edict left by Emperor Taizu—an order issued by the emperor before his death. It bestowed an honorific title on Zhenwu in the emperor’s own hand and, on the day Zhenwu descended, ordered additional sacrificial Zhaijiao (purification rites for worshipping deities). The court also allocated one hundred and twenty strings of cash from the military treasury. During Emperor Zhenzong’s reign, however, unrest among the Western Fan made military supplies at the borders urgent, so the court stopped this additional allocation. As a result, the Daoist community gradually left the temple to travel, fewer people came to the hall to draw lots, and the kitchen no longer had provisions.”

A few days ago, a tortoise and a snake appeared beneath the Pavilion of Zhenwu, winding between its platforms. They appeared and disappeared in turn. Those who knew of the matter said this was an auspicious sign and speculated that an official document might arrive at the temple. Qian Yannian had heard that Emperor Taizu valued Daoism, yet in less than thirty years Tianqing Temple had fallen into ruin. So, at the risk of punishment, he prepared a memorial asking that it be restored. Before the memorial was sent, an imperial edict suddenly arrived at the prefectural office, ordering the senior officials to investigate the condition of Tianqing Temple.

It was said that recently, during a birthday celebration at Zhaoying Palace, someone had chanced to see a Perfected One wearing a golden crown and purple robes. The figure identified himself as the presiding deity of Shanzhou’s Tianqing Temple. He said that the Daoist community there was dispersed, impoverished, and short of provisions because Your Majesty had failed to remember the precedent of the previous dynasty’s founding of Tianqing Temple. He asked that its support be restored as soon as possible, then departed. The edict ordered officials to investigate and verify the report, and then submit their findings.

Qian Yannian already knew the full circumstances and reported them truthfully. The emperor issued an order to provide funds and provisions according to the precedent set during Emperor Taizu’s reign, and summoned the Daoist priests who had held positions on the original authorized roster to return to the temple, cultivate the Dao, burn incense, and recite scriptures. A three-day-and-night Zhaijiao was also held to express gratitude to all the numinous beings, and to honor the compassion of the blessed spirit Zhenwu and the vast De and numinous power of the Daoist Patriarch.

Sun Hengfu of Yizhou, in the area of present-day Sichuan, excelled at painting sacred images of the Great Emperor Zhenwu in ink wash. His skill was so consummate that his work was considered unsurpassed. One day, five itinerant Daoist priests came to see him. They said they lived at Yuntai Abbey on Mount Hua and, having heard of his reputation, wished to commission a portrait of Zhenwu. They added that they would bring Zhenwu’s true appearance as a model.

Sun Hengfu said that his portraits of Zhenwu were already widely circulated and needed no further model. The priests replied that although he painted well, he had never seen the true sacred image. They left money for the silk and arranged to return on the seventh day of the next month. When the appointed day arrived, the five priests came again, but brought no scroll. They asked Sun Hengfu to prepare his brushes and ink, then said he could view the true appearance and paint it somewhere no one else could see.

The priests asked Sun Hengfu to turn his back before looking. Suddenly, he saw what seemed like flames swirling before him, and in an instant a great light blazed forth. The five priests each revealed their true forms among the clouds. One was surrounded by red radiance and an outer halo shaped like a dragon. Barefoot and with his hair hanging loose, he wore golden armor and a helmet over a dark robe, held a tasseled whip, and rode a white horse with a blue mane. This Great Emperor Zhenwu had a refined face, long eyes, straight brows, a high nose, well-shaped ears, a square mouth, and a chin like a cicada’s. A tortoise and serpent stood before him, and banners behind him. Sun Hengfu recognized this as Zhenwu’s true appearance when making a procession.

Of the other four, one held a banner and another a sword. Both wore official robes and headdresses, had stern faces, and looked like warriors. They were named Tiancheng and Hekui. A third, dressed in blue with a sash, was a young female attendant in charge of affairs. The fourth, dressed in crimson and wearing a cloth cap and sash, held a register in his arms and was a judge. After the five revealed their true forms, they suddenly vanished into the air.

Sun Hengfu painted a single portrait from memory. Once it had been mounted, a golden halo appeared on it of its own accord, and Zhenwu’s face seemed to shift faintly. Deeply alarmed, Sun Hengfu felt he should not keep the painting at home, so he reported what had happened to the prefectural authorities.

The prefect at the time, Su Yijian, recorded the events and sealed the portrait. He sent Liu Tong and Sun Hengfu together to the capital to present it. The emperor ordered the high officials to examine the painting and, approving it, kept it as the “National-Guardian Sacred Encounter Masterpiece.” It was enshrined in the palace hall as a treasured object for worship. Sun Hengfu was granted the official rank of Fengzhi of the Third Class and placed in the appointment process in accordance with the relevant procedures.

In the area around Zhenhai Army in Qingzhou, on the Eastern Capital Circuit, temples had been built by the ancestors, but none had a hall dedicated to Zhenwu, the Perfected Warrior of the Northern Pole. Before the military governor Zhang Cao went to sea, the Qingzhou authorities summoned Daoist priests to discuss the matter. One of them said, “The Northern Pole deity governs the length of people’s lives and their wealth or poverty. Zhenwu is the Northern Pole’s divine general. Each month he descends among humankind to inspect people’s good and evil deeds, and on that basis determines their punishments and blessings. When ordinary people make petitions, they must rely on Zhenwu. Given this, why have people still not built a hall for him?”

Zhang Cao then made a vow to raise donations and planned to build two halls at Tianqing Abbey. He led by contributing five hundred strings of cash, and officials and commoners alike gave willingly. Construction began, and before long the halls were finished and the divine images had been sculpted. But Qingzhou had no artisans skilled in sculpting and painting statues. One day, Zhang Cao burned incense and prayed to Heaven, hoping to find master craftsmen and bring the merit of the undertaking to completion.

Before ten days had passed, two men came forward to undertake the sacred statues for the two halls. They said they were from Hao. A little over a month later, the statues were finished. When Zhang Cao and the officials came to see them, they found that the deities and their attendants were all in place, but Zhenwu’s image had not yet had its eyes painted. The two artisans planned to paint one eye each, one on the left and one on the right. As soon as they touched the pupils with their brushes, Zhenwu’s image took on a formidable presence and an extraordinary look of joy. A ray of golden light shot from his eyes. The two artisans vanished within the light without a trace. People believed that this was a revelation of Zhenwu’s compassion as he descended among humankind and personally brought the merit of the two halls to completion.

Zhang Cao led the officials and commoners in performing a Zhaijiao purification ritual before the two halls of Zhenwu, the Perfected Warrior of the Northern Pole, and holding a fast to give thanks for the true deity’s descent. Afterward, the number of people coming to offer incense steadily increased.

Later, eye diseases spread throughout Qingzhou. Zhang Cao ordered the Daoist priest Tang Jianxian to consecrate water in the hall through spells and prayers, then distribute it for people to wash their eyes. Everyone’s eye ailments were cured. Zhang Cao reported the matter to the court, which sent an emissary to bestow incense, perform a Zhaijiao purification ritual, and name the hall the Hall of Auspicious Response. The court also ordered a stele to be erected to record the event.

Tang Xian was from Xuanzhou. There were four brothers in his family: Tang Zhong, Tang Yu, Tang Xian, and Tang Yuan. Tang Zhong and Tang Yuan worked at the prefectural office, Tang Yu practiced medicine, and Tang Xian remained at home. While their grandfather was alive, the family had always maintained an altar with an image of Zhenwu, a revered Daoist deity also known as the Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven. After their father died, the brothers gradually stopped tending the altar, but Tang Xian remained devout. He even pawned his wife’s dowry to buy incense, paper horses, and other offerings.

The brothers grew resentful of Tang Xian. They said he sat at home all day doing no work, yet lived at the family’s expense and used his service to the deity as an excuse to keep money for himself. Tang Xian said that since they wanted to divide the household, they could choose whatever property they wished; he asked only to keep the ancestral image of Zhenwu. Tang Zhong, Tang Yu, and Tang Yuan had no desire to continue making offerings, so they readily agreed. Each set up his own affairs and soon became prosperous. Tang Xian kept only the house, sold the rest of his property, and opened a small general store, barely making ends meet.

One day in rain and snow, a poor man arrived carrying a cloth sack and holding a bronze lampstand cast with an image of Zhenwu, standing on a tortoise and snake. Its workmanship was exceptionally fine, and he asked one string of cash for it. Tang Xian offered three strings, and the man agreed. The monk Xiangzuo served as the intermediary, Xie Zhen as guarantor, and Liu Tan drew up the contract. After receiving the money, the poor man told Tang Xian that he had left two strings and seven hundred cash unpaid and would return for it later.

Tang Xian respectfully set up the image at home and made offerings to it. On the day of Zhenwu’s Descent, a day when legend says the deity manifests and descends, Tang Xian washed the image with perfumed water. It seemed to grow heavier and heavier until he could barely lift it with both hands. After wiping it with clean silk, he carried it into the light and examined it closely. He noticed a faintly shimmering halo around it. Looking carefully, he realized that the image was made of pure gold and weighed about fifty taels. The man who had sold it never returned to collect the remaining money.

Tang Zhong and the other two brothers suspected that Tang Xian had hidden a golden image belonging to the family. Together they filed a complaint with the prefectural government, claiming that before the household division he had concealed a gold Zhenwu image weighing more than fifty taels and brought it out for worship only afterward. The prefectural authorities summoned Tang Xian. He explained that he had bought it from a poor man. The authorities then summoned the guarantor and intermediary and examined the original contract. Having confirmed that Tang Zhong and the others had made a false accusation, they punished them according to the law.

After that, Tang Zhong and the others often came to Tang Xian’s home to cause trouble. One night, Tang Xian and his wife bade farewell to the golden image. Early the next morning, he quietly handed it over to the prefectural government. Later, the court sent officials to inspect the local tribute of money and silk. In the prefectural treasury, they found the golden image of Zhenwu and saw that it glimmered faintly. Judging it a precious treasure, they reported it to the court. The court ordered Xuanzhou to send it to the capital as tribute. The emperor placed the image in the palace as a treasure to protect the realm and granted Tang Xian five hundred strings of cash as payment for the golden image.

Tang Xian became prosperous, and his descendants flourished. The fortunes of Tang Zhong and the other two brothers declined; they eventually died one after another, and their descendants gradually fell into decline as well. Tang Xian continued to support their households. He also funded the construction of Xuanzhou’s Taiji Abbey entirely on his own.

Lu Liang of Xizhou loved drinking and killing, and indulged in eating eel and swamp eel. His wife, Lady Zhu, repeatedly urged him to mend his ways, but he never listened. She quietly entrusted her jewelry and dowry to her parents, then hired a craftsman to paint an image of Zhenwu. She also asked the Daoist priest Qian Yingfang to recite scriptures and install the image for worship, and learned the rituals for venerating Zhenwu.

Qian Yingfang told her, “To worship a deity who brings blessings, you must first be sincere; you cannot treat the matter casually. On the days each month when Zhenwu descends, burn offerings such as spirit money and cloud horses. If your means allow, you may invite a Daoist priest to recite scriptures. Second, do not come home drunk, shouting and disturbing the deity. Refrain as well from eating dog, turtle, eel, swamp eel, garlic, chives, and similar foods. Show compassion to the poor, care for the elderly, and treat your family kindly. Whether handling public or private affairs, do not deceive or fawn on others. In speech and writing, avoid words that show disrespect toward the deity. Remain sincere at all times and never take the worship lightly. If you do these things, you can preserve good fortune; when faced with difficulties, sincere prayers will receive a response. The household will be protected by divine spirits, and blessings and prosperity will flourish. But if you grow negligent and disrespectful, you may lose years of life and good fortune; your affairs may go badly, your descendants may fail to prosper, and lawsuits may entangle you. Be sure to take care.”

Lady Zhu followed his instructions sincerely, but Lu Liang paid no attention. Although he stopped bringing eel and swamp eel home to eat, he cooked and ate them elsewhere, returning with their greasy smell still on him. Whatever hardships Lady Zhu faced, she continued her worship with even greater care.

Fifteen years later, Lu Liang fell ill. His illness lasted a year, and the family’s property was gradually depleted. As he lay in bed, one or two heaps of living creatures, curled like little snakes, appeared on his mat. Sores also formed on his head; when they burst, they festered and gave off a foul smell. In the pus and blood were pieces about three inches long, resembling chunks of eel flesh, writhing together. Lu Liang later died, before his children had married.

Lady Zhu continued to venerate Zhenwu faithfully at home, never letting the incense go out. Her family was destitute and had only enough to scrape by. One day, she suddenly noticed a patterned paving tile exposed in the floor of her main room. Thinking it was just an ordinary street paving stone, she paid it no mind. That night, the stone began to shine. She went to inspect it and found it unusually heavy, so she and her son carried it inside. After wiping away the moss, they saw that it was a piece of gold, gleaming with a purplish hue.

Astonished, Lady Zhu did not dare keep it for herself. She wrapped it in silk and took it to Jiang Tingjian, the prefect, explaining that her husband had died and the family was poor, and that she did not know where the gold had come from. Jiang Tingjian also believed it was gold bestowed by Heaven in return for Lady Zhu’s worship of Zhenwu. When weighed, the gold came to fourteen jin. Lady Zhu insisted that she would not claim it as her own, so the authorities planned to take half into the public treasury under the rules governing discovered treasure.

The authorities summoned goldsmiths and prepared to place the gold on an anvil to hammer and carve it. Suddenly, many small red snakes and green turtles appeared around the anvil. A somewhat larger snake coiled on the gold sheet, then disappeared after a while. When the gold was later picked up and examined, the faint image of a snake, thin as a thread, could still be seen within its surface. The prefectural authorities regarded this as a sign of divine efficacy and concluded that the gold should, by rights, be returned to Lady Zhu. But she again said she did not wish to keep it and left it to the authorities to receive. Prefect Jiang Tingjian and Vice Prefect Tian Kui jointly witnessed the matter, sealed the gold sheet in a box, and submitted a report to the court.

After investigating the case, the court concluded that Lu Liang had killed living creatures without restraint and behaved recklessly, and that his illness served as a warning to the world. His wife, Lady Zhu, had sincerely pursued goodness, and Zhenwu had manifested his power by bestowing gold. The piece was plainly a gift from Heaven, unmixed with other metals. The court therefore sent the gold to a workshop, where it was all cast into a sacred image of Zhenwu. The image was sent to the Upper Clarity Jade Immortal Abbey on Mount Wudang for worship, together with an imperial inscription in gold characters and provisions for its guardians. Thereafter, the court granted the abbey one ordination certificate each year, authorizing its holder to become a Daoist priest, for the purpose of maintaining the incense and religious practice. Lady Zhu was also specially granted an ordination certificate.

Xizhou sent 200 strings of cash and 200 bolts of silk as a reward. After receiving these goods, Lady Zhu set aside half of them to have images of Zhenwu (the Supreme Emperor of the Mysterious Heaven) printed, along with illustrated texts urging people to abstain from killing. She distributed them to the public to repay the kindness of the state and pray for blessings for her late husband, Lu Liang. After this, her children’s marriages proceeded smoothly, and the family continued to run its silk and cotton shop as before, with business thriving once more. Lady Zhu lived to the age of eighty-nine. One day, after bathing, she changed into new clothes and recited the honorific title of Zhenwu. She then passed away peacefully, without illness.

End of Records of the Sacred Revelations of the Supreme Emperor of the Mysterious Heaven, Volume Two.

Records of the Sacred Revelations of the Supreme Emperor of the Mysterious Heaven, Volume Three

The Manifestation of the Sacred One at Zaobei

In Yangzhou Prefecture’s Jiangdu County, he died.

End of Records of the Sacred Revelations of the Supreme Emperor of the Mysterious Heaven, Volume Two.

Records of the Sacred Revelations of the Supreme Emperor of the Mysterious Heaven, Volume Three

The Manifestation of the Sacred One at Zaobei

In Baisha Village, Jiangdu County, Yangzhou, there lived a wealthy man named Hao Yuansi, who was known for his generosity and kindness. Every autumn and winter, he invited spirit mediums to burn paper offerings and make sacrifices to the gods of the Three Realms. Yet among the offerings were the flesh and blood of living creatures, such as geese and ducks.

Tang Qingyu, a Daoist from Tianqing Abbey in Taizhou, came to Hao’s home to copy records of alms given for a purification ritual. By chance, he witnessed the ceremony and said, “How can you mix all kinds of offerings when making offerings to the saints of the Celestial Realm and the gods of the Middle and Lower Realms, and even sacrifice living creatures? This may offend the heavens. How could it bring blessings?” Hao Yuansi asked him how the Celestial Realm should be honored and requested his guidance.

Tang Qingyu presented a set of rites specifying that the offerings should consist only of fragrant incense, lamps and candles, wine, fruit, pure tea, vegetarian food and drink, ritual water sprinkled with willow branches, five-colored scattered flowers, and gold paper clouds and horses. Memorial petitions were to be written in regular script, and the offering table was to be arranged as a single altar, square on the outside and round within. No spirit tablets for gods of the Middle or Lower Realms were to be included. Tang Qingyu said that if Hao conducted the jiao sacrifice—Daoist rites of establishing an altar, praying, and making offerings to the gods—in this manner for seven consecutive years, he would see what spiritual efficacy came of it.

Beginning the following year, Hao changed his practice. He continued to have spirit mediums perform sacrifices to the gods of the Middle and Lower Realms according to the old custom, while Daoist priests versed in Fulu (talismans and registers) and Keyi (liturgy) presided over the jiao sacrifices to the Celestial Realm. Several years later, during one such ceremony, more than twenty itinerant mendicants suddenly arrived. Hao invited them to share a vegetarian meal. Afterward, he asked where they came from and what they did. One of them replied, “We live in the Heaven of No Interval and came by the Road of No Interval. Our daily work is done in the Place of No Interval, and when we leave, we take the Way of No Interval. Today we learned especially that a jiao ceremony was being held here to pray to the Celestial Realm, so we came to take part in the offerings.” As soon as he had spoken, all twenty or more vanished into clouds and mist.

One of them left behind on the back of a chair a short-sleeved robe of early gauze, embroidered with patterns and edged with gold thread. This was taken as a sign that perfected beings from the Celestial Realm had descended and left behind a heavenly garment to reveal their divine presence. Hao wrapped the robe in an embroidered silk cloth, placed it in a box, and treasured it as a family heirloom for veneration. On the days each month when the Great Emperor Zhenwu descended, the robe would give off a faint glow. Hao Yuansi’s descendants were all long-lived as well.

Later, the authorities in Yangzhou, acting on an imperial order, summoned elderly people to a banquet held for the emperor’s birthday. Most of Hao Yuansi’s descendants lived past eighty or ninety, and some lived beyond a hundred. Among eight brothers, Hao Wan lived past a hundred and still walked steadily, with his sight and hearing undiminished. When officials from the prefecture visited to offer their regards, the family said that in their father Hao Yuansi’s lifetime, the clan had lived together and shared its wealth, holding everything in common. They also explained why the jiao sacrifices had been performed and brought along the garment left by Zhenwu as proof. At the time, Grand Tutor Chen Shuping was stationed in Yangzhou. He recorded the matter in detail and submitted it to the throne. The court then issued an order granting the Hao family the right to establish a charitable clan gate, and appointed Hao Yuansi’s descendants as deputy chief officials of the prefecture. It also bestowed honors upon the family, placing two earthen platforms of righteousness and harmony before their gate and erecting ornamental pillars and crane pillars to commend their family traditions. The robe left by Zhenwu was also entered into the records as a sacred manifestation and a means of protecting the family home and displaying the gods’ miraculous presence; it was not to be destroyed.

At a Chan monastery called Shanji in the western capital, in the region of present-day Xi’an in Shaanxi, there was a novice monk named Yunfang. From childhood, he had studied under the abbot, Seng Yongqin, and served his master diligently. Several times Yunfang hoped to shave his head and become a monk, but one circumstance or another always kept him from doing so. Later, someone consulted an oracle for him and said that before he turned forty, he would certainly be ordained.

After that, Yunfang took charge of the monastery’s affairs. He was instructed to seek alms from the community and raise four hundred hand towels for the monks’ summer baths. One day, he went to the foot of Qufu Mountain by Xigou and saw a boy in blue washing his feet by a stream. When Yunfang approached, the boy turned and walked away. Yunfang followed him into a grove thick with branches and leaves, where he saw many demons of the Six Paths seated in a circle. The place where the boy stood was where the True Lord Zhenwu, a deity venerated in Daoism, had manifested. Seated on a rock, the True Lord judged good and evil, settled grievances, and sent the souls of the dead to Mount Dongyue for rebirth.

Yunfang dared not go closer and was about to turn back when the boy called to him: “The True Lord summons Yunfang.” Yunfang went forward and paid his respects. After asking about the towels he was collecting, the True Lord saw that Yunfang would have difficulty finding his way home. He therefore told the boy to give him a clean travel towel as a token of their bond. The True Lord warned him not to show the towel casually to others or to say that he had received it after meeting the True Lord there. If he revealed this heavenly secret, he would immediately suffer the punishment of losing his voice.

Yunfang thanked the True Lord and took the towel back to the monastery. He said only that he had received it while soliciting alms from an unknown household on Qufu Mountain. His master, Yongqin, examined it and found that it was eight feet long and made of an extraordinary material, with a texture like fine, closely woven tassel silk. It felt warm when touched in a cold place, yet cool when touched in a warm place. Its silk threads showed no seams, and both sides gleamed with golden light and gave off a strange fragrance.

Yongqin took the towel to visit the Grand Academician of the Zhaowen Hall and discussed the matter with Li Zhongfu, director of the Western Capital’s Retainer’s Office. Together they reported it to the court. The emperor then issued an edict summoning Yongqin and the novice Yunfang to court. In the hall, the emperor personally asked where the towel had come from. Yunfang replied that nothing like it could be found in the dragon palaces or ocean treasuries of any land, except among the treasures kept by the Celestial Immortals of the Sacred Court. The officials responsible for examining precious objects also said it seemed to be a treasure woven by the Jade Loom Celestial Maiden from the plumes and crests of heavenly rainbow dragons and white phoenixes. How could anything like it exist in the mortal world?

The ministers advised that if Yunfang was to tell the truth about the towel’s origin, he should first be granted ordination as a monk. The emperor approved their proposal. Moved by the emperor’s favor, Yunfang could no longer keep the secret and began to report the facts. Before he had finished, his tongue and mouth failed him and his voice choked. He gradually became mute, just as the True Lord had warned.

The court kept the towel and decreed that it be enshrined in the Inner Daoist Sanctuary, the palace space for venerating deities and performing Daoist rites. Yongqin was ordered to care for Yunfang and keep him in the capital, and he was granted a residence there.

After the founding of the Song dynasty, the Great Emperor Zhenwu descended and manifested divine signs. Later, more than fifty thousand strings of cash were seized in the area around Gaoyang Pass in Yingzhou, and the court set this money aside as a reward for the founding emperor, Taizu. Recalling the matter, Taizu made detailed inquiries about the foreign visitors in Yingzhou. He learned of a man named Yi Shouxian, one of seven brothers. Local people called Yi Shouxian “the temple-title of the foreign lands.” In fact, the seven brothers were numinous figures born as the Seven Luminaries, though the court had not yet determined that their surname was Yi.

Taizu then sent officials to Yingzhou to choose a site and build a shrine hall to the North Pole, the Seven Primordial Stars, and the Four Sages, enshrining these Daoist deities. Once the statues had been molded and painted and the murals completed, he sent a close attendant with imperial incense to make offerings.

One morning, during the hour of the Dragon (seven to nine o’clock), the officials accompanied Taizu up to the Hall of Bright Governance. Taizu was about to discuss the regional rulers who had yet to submit and the lands that remained to be unified when wind and clouds suddenly gathered, bringing hail and rain. The assembled officials scattered for shelter. Only the chancellor Zhao Pu and Taizu, guided by two young attendants, were led into the palace to the Hall of Filial Achievement.

Taizu sat in the hall for a long while. Then he suddenly saw a deity appear in the clouds before it. The figure wore a star-shaped crown and a sash decorated with gold thread and carved patterns, and held a court tablet. Bowing with hands clasped, he addressed Taizu: “The foundations and fortunes of the Great Song are about to open a new chapter. To bring about a flourishing age like those of Yao and Shun, you must rely on worthy ministers for support. Do not follow the example of later rulers who indulged in extravagance and, as soon as they gained power, appointed treacherous men, throwing the government into disorder.”

The deity identified himself as the True Lord Zhenwu of Numinous Response at the Northern Pole of the Celestial Capital. He thanked Taizu for building a shrine hall in Yingzhou and sending people to establish an altar and perform a Zhaijiao purification ritual in gratitude. He had been traveling through the region and had come to offer his thanks. He added that some regional rulers still held sway over their own territories without submitting. He had recently seen the Lord of Heaven’s decree with his own eyes: these lands would all be incorporated into the Song, unifying the realm and ensuring that the imperial foundations endured and prospered. Apart from the Huai-Han region, which had already been recovered, the remaining lands had a fixed order and timetable for their incorporation, to be completed within twelve years: first Hedong, then Southern Tang, Western Shu, Guangdong, Fujian, and finally the Two Zhejiangs.

Having spoken, Zhenwu took his leave and returned to the heavenly court. Taizu and Zhao Pu then went back into the hall and found the guards still waiting outside the Hall of Bright Governance. Overjoyed, Taizu chose a date to hold a purification ritual in the palace and express his gratitude to Zhenwu. In the years that followed, the regions were indeed incorporated in the order Zhenwu had described.

In Yangzhou, Huai dong, there lived a jinshi named Fu Hong. He observed the precepts with care and had worshipped Zhenwu, a revered Daoist deity, for more than thirty years. In his dealings with others, he was always ready to do good and help people, earning widespread praise. Worthies and officials often gave him poems, essays, paintings, and calligraphy, and visitors arrived at his door in a steady stream.

Fu Hong felt that these social obligations and visits were interfering with his cultivation of the Dao. He therefore left home to wander and came to Shangqing Taiping Palace on Mount Zhongnan in Shaanxi, where he asked to become a Daoist and devote himself to practice. Zhang Shouzhen, the palace’s abbot, saw that Fu Hong had a refined and unassuming bearing. He invited him to stay at the palace and set aside a separate room for him as a cultivator of the Dao. Fu Hong lived there for three years, practicing with sincere reverence and worshipping the Highest Ones, a respectful Daoist term for the revered deities.

One night, after everyone at the palace had retired, Zhang Shouzhen quietly went to Fu Hong’s room. He heard Fu Hong speaking as if to someone in a dream, and saw a stream of fire entering and leaving the room. The sight struck him as extraordinary. The next morning, he asked what had caused the firelight. Fu Hong replied, “My allotted years have run their course; they cannot be extended.” After speaking, he bathed, changed his clothes, and ascended to the Daoist hall to hear the words of Zhenwu, the Perfected Lord, as the deity descended into a person’s body to speak.

Zhenwu instructed him to convey the following twenty-eight characters to the emperor of the Song: “The peach blossoms of the first, third, and second months fill the sky; the true and wondrous auspicious sign shines for a moment. The mandate of the Golden Branch and treasured destiny is renewed; when the season comes, welcome the barefoot immortal.” After delivering these words, the Perfected Lord departed. Fu Hong seemed to wake from a dream, still unable to understand their meaning.

The next day, Fu Hong left quietly, and no one knew where he went. After receiving the Perfected Lord’s message, Zhang Shouzhen dared not keep it secret. He went to the Shaanxi Military Pacification Commission to meet Zhang Xigu, the senior commissioner, and asked him to submit a memorial to the throne. When the emperor read it, he was both astonished and delighted.

Later, indeed, on the xin-chou day of the xin-si month in the geng-xu year, the Celebrated Virtue Palace gave birth to the Crown Prince Qing, who would become Emperor Renzong. It was said that the Heavenly Lord of Jade City and the Barefoot Immortal had descended into the world, fulfilling Zhenwu’s prophecy. The court therefore proclaimed this a propitious sign announced in advance. By imperial order, officials in Fengxiang Prefecture were sent to search for Fu Hong, but they did not find him. The court later decreed that the Zhenwu Pavilion at Shangqing Taiping Palace be rebuilt and a shrine to Fu Hong be erected. Fu Hong was granted the title “Perfected One of Victorious Causes,” and his family was awarded one hundred taels each of silver and silk.

During the Mingdao era, Wang Ze led a rebellion in Beizhou. The court selected Wen Yanbo, Military Commissioner of Baoxin Army and Vice Minister of War, from the Privy Council, the institution responsible for military affairs, to put down the revolt. When Wen Yanbo returned to court, he reported that Wang Ze and all his rebels had been eliminated, but said this was not the achievement of a mere minister.

Wen Yanbo said that when he first arrived in Meizhou, he saw a ceremonial pillar east of the southern city gate bearing the inscription “Yuantong.” Inside the temple, a plaque stood above an image of Zhenwu, a revered Daoist deity. He went into the hall to pray and ask the god for help. After reaching Beizhou, he set up camp twenty li from the city and first sent generals to call Wang Ze and the others to account. In battle, the Fourth General, Ling Song, led his troops against the rebels and pursued Wang Ze until he retreated into Beizhou and shut the gates.

Wen Yanbo had initially intended to storm the city and search for the rebels, but Beizhou was a prefectural city under the court’s jurisdiction, and he did not wish to destroy it needlessly. So he continued the siege. After twenty days, a violent storm suddenly swept across the city walls, hurling sand, stones, and hail like arrows shot from bows and crossbows. The rebels seemed to fall from the sky to the foot of the walls: some were dead, others still alive. The city gates then flew open, and the army rushed inside. Apart from the residents, all rebels carrying weapons or wearing armor were killed. Wang Ze was captured in front of his horse and then beheaded. Wen Yanbo appointed officials to manage local affairs temporarily, reported the victory to the court, and returned.

He later went back to Yuantong Temple to thank Zhenwu, and held a Daoist purification ritual, or Zhaijiao (ritual of purification and prayer), to repay the deity’s grace. On close inspection of the attendant statue to the left of Zhenwu, he found that it wore armor and was called the Celestial Star General. An arrow was lodged in its left arm, embedded about three inches deep, and marked with the insignia of Wang Ze’s army. As soon as the arrow was pulled out, pus and blood flowed from the wound. The wound was repaired with incense-mixed clay, and the original arrow was kept to be presented to the court for examination by the Three Departments and the Ministry of Rites.

The court sent an envoy with incense offered by imperial decree to make a sacrifice, and ordered a hall to be built. It later bestowed an imperial calligraphic plaque for use in Zhaijiao rituals of gratitude. Because Beizhou had received the grace of divine protection, its name was specially changed to Enzhou.

During the Sui dynasty, the Taiqing Temple on Mount Lu in Nankang Commandery petitioned the court to build a Hall of the Descent of the Perfected, enshrining the Great Emperor Zhenwu, the Divine Father, and the Holy Mother. Afterward, the hall repeatedly manifested its numinous power.

At that time, Liezu, the ruler of Southern Tang, Li Bian, summoned his ministers to discuss how to bring Fujian into submission. They said that Fujian’s terrain was difficult to penetrate and its people hard to deal with, so the only way was to send troops to conquer it. Liezu then led an army on campaign.

As the army traveled, a fierce wind suddenly rose and dark mist filled the air. Venomous snakes and wild beasts blocked the road, and the troops could not advance. Liezu burned incense and prayed. He suddenly saw a divine being standing amid the clouds and mist. The being approached respectfully, bowed, and said, “I am the local earth god of Xianyuan Temple on Min Mountain in Fuzhou. By command of the Great Emperor Zhenwu of this temple, I have come especially to meet you at the border. I know that Your Majesty has raised an army to take Fujian. Fujian’s inherited destiny has not yet run its course. Heaven’s mandate was settled long ago for the gengwu year, when it is to belong to Liji; it should not be seized by Your Majesty. I have come especially to tell you this. If Your Majesty leads troops over the mountains and across the rivers, many people will surely be killed or wounded by the weapons of war.” Soon afterward, the divine being vanished, and the wind and mist dispersed at once.

Liezu therefore withdrew his army and returned to Mount Lu to make offerings at the Hall of the Descent of the Perfected. He saw an attendant official standing on the right side of the hall, holding a sword scabbard, and pointed to him, asking who he was. The Daoist priests replied, “This is Hekui, a Daoist deity.” Liezu exclaimed, “This is the very divine being who appeared on the road. His appearance is exactly the same.”

Later, Liezu returned to Shangqing Palace in the capital. Following the design of Taiqing Temple on Mount Lu, he built three treasure halls enshrining Zhenwu, the Divine Father, and the Holy Mother. He also ordered the local authorities to repair the halls and maintain the incense offerings.

When Fujian learned that King Li’s army was on its way but had suddenly turned back, its people feared an ambush and sent an envoy to Southern Tang to inquire. In his reply, Liezu gave a detailed account of meeting the divine being on the road: the being had identified himself as the local earth god of Xianyuan Temple and said he had come by command of the Great Emperor Zhenwu to deliver a message—that Fujian’s inherited destiny had not yet run its course, and that Heaven’s mandate had been set for the gengwu year, when it would pass to Liji, so Southern Tang should not seize the territory. After learning this, the people of Fujian no longer worried that King Li had laid an ambush.

When the Ma family learned that Xianyuan Temple’s power was indeed manifest and that it could protect the borders, they sent a letter saying that, although Heaven’s mandate was set to pass to Liji in the gengwu year, they still did not understand what “Liji” meant or where Fujian would belong at that time. They therefore chose a day to summon all the officials and go to Xianyuan Temple on Min Mountain to pray to Zhenwu, asking for a manifestation that would explain what it meant for Liji to receive the mandate in the gengwu year.

Zhenwu indeed sent a numinous response. Those present learned that “Liji” referred to the later rise of the Zhou dynasty, when the Zhao clan, whose surname came from Tianshui, would unify the realm and the various states would submit one after another. The Zhou dynasty’s Hall of the Dragon’s Rise was named “Liji” for this reason. King Fu of the Ma family then made peace with Southern Tang, and the two sides ceased to harass one another.

The King of Shu Submits

Chongming Temple, a Daoist temple in Cizhou, enshrined Zhenwu. Accounts of Zhenwu’s manifestations spread throughout places such as Zhending. Over more than twenty years, the deity bestowed grain in various regions, amounting to more than 150,000 shi, which was used to relieve the hungry. The proceeds from the grain received in Cizhou had already gone toward repairing Chongming Temple. The proceeds from grain in other prefectures also amounted to tens of thousands, and had not been diverted to other uses. The court submitted a memorial asking the emperor to decide how they should be handled.

The court then ordered the Hebei Transport Office, the agency responsible for moving the region’s revenue and goods, to allocate the proceeds from this millet to build the Four Saints Temple in the capital. It bestowed on the temple the name “Four Saints Purple Pole Temple,” and specially held a Universal Great Offering, a large Daoist purification ritual with an altar set up for prayers on behalf of all under Heaven. An amnesty was also proclaimed, with prayers that the appeal would reach the Four Saints above and all people below, inviting the deities to descend and look upon the world.

At that time, the court was preparing to send troops to seize Shu, and the campaign had not yet ended. One night, a fierce wind suddenly swept through the palace courtyard. By lamplight, Emperor Taizu saw a warrior dressed in yellow. The warrior identified himself as a talisman officer on duty in the hall of the Four Saints of the North Pole, responsible for transmitting talismanic commands. He said, “Unless the Four Saints manifest their power in the Western River region, it is unlikely to submit willingly. Now the land maps and geographical records of Shu have been presented and entrusted to the commissioners Hou Yuanzhi and others. They are preparing to return to the capital and report to you, so Your Majesty need not worry. I have come by order of Zhenwu to report: the three divine generals Tianpeng, Tianyou, and Heisha saw the King of Shu submit and have already ridden the clouds back. Only Zhenwu is concerned that matters in the west may still change, and remains on watch in the clouds. Please immediately send officials and soldiers to receive him, and have the military stores offices take charge of the borders of Shu.”

When the talisman officer finished speaking, he vanished. At the morning court the next day, urgent news arrived: the King of Shu had indeed submitted. Taizu therefore held another offering at the Four Saints Temple to express his gratitude to the Four Saints.

The Regional Commanders Make Peace

A battlefield office was established in Xiongzhou, Hebei; related matters were to be handled by the respective offices. After the military stores offices took charge of the borders of Shu, the talisman officer vanished. At the morning court the next day, urgent news arrived that the King of Shu had submitted. Taizu therefore held another purification ritual at the Four Saints Temple to express his gratitude to the Four Saints.

Harmony was restored among the regional military governors.

Xiongzhou in Hebei (an important prefectural city in what is now the Hebei region) had a training ground, a strategic transport hub and military pass. Besides the 200,000 cavalry and infantry troops stationed there, many fierce and battle-hardened commoners—warriors and fighters without official rank or military registration—had also gathered.