《云笈七签》Vol. 38

The Shiben says that the drum was first made by Wu Xian in the Yin dynasty. This account is incorrect. The Yellow Emperor ordered soldiers to blow horns, imitating the roar of dragons. He also had animal hides stretched over objects to make drums. When struck, their sound could carry as far as five hundred li. This was the origin of drums and horns.

Later, the Yellow Emperor ordered people to play cuju, an ancient sport played mainly by kicking a ball, to train warriors. The ball game played today is also a sport involving a ball. The Xijing Ji says that a ju field is a ball court.

The Yellow Emperor said, “When the sun reaches its zenith, you must dry things in the sun; when you hold a knife, you must strike while the moment is right.” Kuang Qu Shu heard this and said, “The Yellow Emperor speaks wisely.”

In the twenty-second year of the Yellow Emperor’s reign, Chiyou suddenly defied his commands. He was a forceful and violent leader among the feudal lords. He and his eighty brothers all had the bodies of beasts, yet could speak like humans. Their heads and foreheads were hard as bronze and iron. They ate no grain, but fed on “sand silkworm stones.” A commentary explains that Chiyou was the first to make armor and helmets. Since people at the time did not recognize this equipment, they called them “bronze heads and iron foreheads.” The phrase “devouring sand and swallowing stones” was also used as a metaphor for their eating foods such as wheat cakes and dried provisions.

Chiyou refused to obey the Yellow Emperor’s orders. He established five kinds of brutal punishment and oppressed the people. At Mount Gelu he mined metal and smelted it to make armor and swords. He also made knives, halberds, large crossbows, and other weapons. His power shook the realm, yet he still would not submit to the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor planned to attack him and gathered the feudal lords for battle, but after 150 days they had still not won. The Yellow Emperor decided that he should recruit worthy and capable people to assist him in defeating the unrighteous.

The Yellow Emperor then dreamed that a great wind swept away the dust and grime across the world. He also dreamed of a man drawing a crossbow weighing a thousand jun and driving tens of thousands of sheep. On waking, he reasoned that “wind” symbolized commands and those who governed, while “grime,” with the character for “earth” removed, could be read as “after.” He therefore inferred that there would be a man in the realm surnamed Feng, whose name was Fenghou. The thousand-jun crossbow signified great strength and long range; driving vast flocks of sheep suggested skill in governing and tending a multitude. He therefore inferred that there would also be a man surnamed Li, named Limu. The Yellow Emperor recorded these two dreams, along with an earlier omen in a dream concerning a dragon spirit, and ordered people to search for the two worthy men using the clues in his dreams.

Later, the Yellow Emperor found Fenghou by the sea and Limu in a great marsh. He appointed Fenghou to govern the people, first as an attendant and later as chancellor. He appointed Limu as a general. The Jing says this was the beginning of the system of generals and chancellors. The Yellow Emperor also had Dahong assist him in governing the realm, following the patterns that ordered the world, the principles of darkness and light, and the truths of life and death. For this reason, Dahong was called the Yellow Emperor’s strategist.

The Yellow Emperor asked Zhang Ruo how he should plan an attack on the enemy. Zhang Ruo replied, “I am not the equal of Li Mu. Li Mu is skilled in methods of astronomical and calendrical calculation, using celestial patterns and the calendar to determine dates, directions, and the like. He has also written thirteen chapters on the Art of War, which can be put to use.” Zhang Ruo therefore studied these military methods and became the Yellow Emperor’s minister responsible for military planning.

The Yellow Emperor drilled his troops and prepared to campaign against tribes that had failed to come to court. He began by establishing the offices of the Three Dukes, modeled on the Three Terrace stars in the sky. Feng Hou held the office corresponding to the Upper Terrace, Tian Lao that of the Middle Terrace, and the Five Sages that of the Lower Terrace. The Grand Duke’s Six Secret Teachings says that Feng Hou, Li Mu, and the Five Sages were collectively known as the “Seven Dukes,” which shows that the Five Sages were five people. The Yellow Emperor selected four people whose aims accorded with his own and assigned each to govern affairs in one of the four directions; this was why it was said that he “governed from all four sides.”

At the time, the Yellow Emperor obtained a precious tripod, observed the sun’s course, and calculated the calendar. He also appointed Feng Hu as a general. Feng Hu made five-toothed banners, used in the army for identification and command, along with signal fires and weapons of war, and wrote five chapters on the Art of War. The Yellow Emperor also appointed Shen Huang as a general and made the son of his consort Fei Xiu the crown prince.

The Yellow Emperor valued setting nets, using bows and arrows and military banners, and making use of signal fires and weapons of war. He appointed a senior general as Grand Marshal for Pacifying the Army, charged with commanding the troops and leading the vanguard. Zhang Ruo and Li Mu served respectively as the left and right marching adjutants, officials who accompanied and assisted the commander. He appointed Rong Guang as Grand Minister of War, in command of the Six Armies and responsible as well for the Nine Laws of the state, the nine principles for governing the realm. Rong Guang was also known as Chang Guang. The Yellow Emperor further established left and right chief inspectors to oversee the various feudal lords. His minister Long Yu, known for his courage and sense of duty, was also appointed as a general.

When the Yellow Emperor went to war, he stationed troops to guard him and serve as his escort. He also consulted with Yu Gang, and together they attacked Chiyou. The Yellow Emperor wielded weapons adorned with jade, wore a yellow ceremonial crown, and rode in an elephant chariot harnessed with six dragons in crossing pairs. Da Bing and Taiyi drove the chariot. It carried a banner embroidered with intertwined dragons, and five colored flags were raised to mark the directions: the eastern flag was blue-green, while each of the other directions had its corresponding color.

Whenever the Yellow Emperor traveled, clouds of five colors often accompanied him. Shaped like golden branches and jade leaves, they hovered above his head like flowers. He therefore ordered people to make a canopy modeled on them, an umbrella-like covering used in processions to shield the sun.

The Yellow Emperor fought Chiyou on the Plain of Zhuolu, said to lie in Shanggu Commandery, with the city of Zhuolu to its south. The Yellow Emperor could not gain the upper hand. Chiyou then created a thick fog that spread for a hundred li and lasted three days, causing the Yellow Emperor’s army to lose its way. The Yellow Emperor ordered Feng Hou to make a south-pointing chariot, using the movements of the Northern Dipper as a guide, so that it could distinguish the four directions. The text cites the Gu Jin Zhu, which says that the south-pointing chariot was invented by the Duke of Zhou. From this, the author infers that such chariots already existed at the time and that the Duke of Zhou later rebuilt one.

Still unable to win, the Yellow Emperor withdrew to the foot of Mount Tai. Worried, he fell asleep. In a dream, he saw the Queen Mother of the West send a Daoist master dressed in black fox fur. The master gave him a talisman and said, “Taiyi is in front, Tianyi behind. Whoever receives this talisman will prevail in battle.” When the Yellow Emperor awoke, he pondered the words again and again but could not understand them, so he summoned Feng Hou to ask for an explanation. Feng Hou said, “This is a revelation from Heaven. You will certainly prevail in battle!” The Yellow Emperor then set up an altar and prayed. Following Feng Hou’s instructions, he bowed twice, and indeed received a talisman. It was three inches wide and one foot long, blue-green in color, with words written on it in blood. The Yellow Emperor wore it on his person.

The Yellow Emperor looked up at the sky and lamented that he had still not won. As he concentrated on the matter, Heaven was moved to send down a dense fog that plunged everything into darkness for three days and three nights. Then a woman descended from the sky, with a human head and a bird’s body. The Yellow Emperor saw her, bowed twice, and prostrated himself. The woman said, “I am the Dark Lady, a goddess in Daoist legend. Ask me whatever you wish.” The Yellow Emperor replied, “Chiyou is harming the people and destroying all things. I want to win every battle.”

The Dark Lady then taught the Yellow Emperor the Secret Outline of the Three Palaces: The Five Tones, Strategies, and Yin-Yang Arts, which the text explains as her military methods and tactics. She also gave him the three-hundred-character Yinfu Jing. After studying it for ten days, he went forth to attack and subdue Chiyou. The Dark Lady also gave the Yellow Emperor the True Text of the Five Talismans of Lingbao and the Military Trust Talisman. Wearing these talismans, the Yellow Emperor finally destroyed Chiyou. Afterward, he ordered Feng Hou to work out a method based on the Hetu and use it to devise a divination board. Feng Hou established eighteen configurations, known as Dunjia, a method for using the board to determine directions, dates, and the fortunes of military campaigns. The author adds that by the time of the Duke of Zhou, the number of configurations had probably grown to seventy-two. The account of the tradition after Zhang Zifang in the Han dynasty, however, remains unfinished.

The Four Elders organized it into eighteen configurations. According to The Text on the Divine Dragon Bearing the Chart, the material associated with the character jia was concealed, hence the name Dunjia (“Concealing the Jia”). Today it is treated as a single configuration, and the form posted for public display is this type of configuration. It is a method for calculating which side will prevail in battle.

The Yellow Emperor also compiled The Calendar of the Sixteen Spirits to calculate methods such as Taiyi and Liuren. He also explained the Yin-Yang principles of the Six Jia, drew charts for judging victory and defeat and seizing the right moment for battle, and wrote three scrolls of The Essentials of Military Strategy: The Yellow Emperor’s Art of War. The Biography of Song Wu says this material was transmitted by a divine being. The Secret Formula for Deploying Troops in the Yellow River Chart states that the Yellow Emperor once received the Military Talisman of the Queen Mother of the West. Other works include one scroll each of The Supreme Commander’s Deployment and Determining Destiny by Year of Birth; one scroll of The Taiyi Military Calendar; twelve scrolls of The Yellow Emperor’s New Methods for Deploying Troops; and six scrolls of The Yellow Emperor’s Divination on Military Qi in the Xia Clan. The last work was revised again during the time of the Xia rulers.

The two-scroll Diagram of the Yellow Emperor’s Eighteen Formations is said to have later been revised by Zhuge Liang into the Eight Formations Diagram. Other works include three scrolls of The Yellow Emperor’s Questions on the Methods of the Mysterious Maiden; twenty scrolls of Fenghou’s Secrets of Solitary and Empty Positions; fourteen scrolls of Wuchengzi’s Divination on Mysterious Military Calamities and Omens; and three scrolls of Guiyuqu’s Art of War, with a separate scroll of diagrams. The name is also written Guiguqu. The text holds that military strategy began to take shape in the time of the Yellow Emperor and was continually expanded and revised by later generations.

The Yellow Emperor adopted a strategy based on the Five Tones to judge matters of attack and warfare. He then once again led the feudal lords in a campaign against Chiyou in Jizhou. Chiyou commanded the chimei wangliang, legendary spirits of mountains and forests, and summoned the Wind Lord and Rain Master. He unleashed a great wind from the heavens and ordered Yinglong to store up water, using it to attack the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor called upon the Wind Lord, the Rain Master, and the “Heavenly Maiden” (the divine being named in the original text) to stop the rain. The battlefield lay in the Eastern Wilderness, near the northern mountains. The Yellow Emperor’s Li-tu and Qiang troops drove Yinglong away and confined it in the far southern reaches. They killed Chiyou and Kuafu. From then on, Yinglong could no longer ascend to the heavens, so the places where it stayed suffered year-round drought and no rain.

Chiyou was defeated at Guquan and later killed in Zhongji. The place was therefore called the “Wilderness of Severed Reins”; it is said to have been in Guizhou. After capturing and killing Chiyou, the Yellow Emperor moved the benevolent among Chiyou’s people to the land of Zoutu, while confining the wicked in wooden stocks. He also ordered Chiyou’s image to be painted on banners to suppress evil spirits. These banners were therefore called “Chiyou Banners.”

Another account says that Chiyou was killed on Mount Lishan, in the northern part of the Eastern Wilderness. His shackles were thrown onto Mount Song in the Great Wilderness, where they later transformed into a grove of maple trees. The Classic of Mountains and Seas records that Mount Rongtian has a maple grove, said to have grown from the shackles—the restraints used on prisoners—that once bound Chiyou.

After Chiyou was killed, his body and head were separated. The Yellow Emperor took pity on him and ordered his head buried in Shouzhang County, an ancient county in Yunzhou. The tomb was seven feet high. Local people often made offerings there in the tenth month, when, it is said, a red vapor like deep crimson silk would appear. People called it the “Chiyou Banner.” Chiyou’s shoulder and back were buried in Shanyang County, an ancient county in Chuzhou; his thighs were buried in Julu County, in Xingzhou.

The Yellow Emperor also obtained one volume of Chiyou’s Secret Methods of Marching and Warfare and two volumes of Chiyou’s Art of War. The Yellow Emperor established his capital at Zhuolu City, in the area of Zhuozhou in Shanggu Commandery. The place was also called Dulu or Zhuolu; according to tradition, the different written forms arose through oral transmission.

The Yellow Emperor again contended for dominion over the realm with Yu Gang. Yu Gang relied on his descent from Emperor Shennong and therefore raised troops to fight. At first, the Yellow Emperor used the feathers of fierce birds such as the vulture, the kalij pheasant, the eagle, and the sparrowhawk to make banners. Some accounts say the banners were made with falcon feathers. The Liudian calls this kind of banner a “junyi banner.” The Yellow Emperor also sent fierce beasts such as bears, wild bears, “xi,” and tigers into the vanguard. He fought Yu Gang in the wilds of Banquan—a place in Shanggu Commandery, in what is now Guizhou—and won after three battles. He then drove the Xunyu Rong, that is, the Xiongnu, northward. Whenever any of the feudal lords refused to submit, the Yellow Emperor led troops to subdue them. He fought fifty-two campaigns in all before the realm was finally pacified.

For his success in quelling rebellions, the Yellow Emperor ordered Qibo to compose chariot music and music for drums and wind instruments. Called “Xiao and Nao Songs,” it was used to alert and protect the army. Pieces such as “Drumbeat,” “The Spirit Kui’s Roar,” “Eagles and Ospreys in Contest,” “Rock Falling from the Cliff,” “The Warrior’s Fury,” “Dark Clouds,” and “Red Egrets” displayed the army’s imposing virtue and were known as “victory songs.” The Liudian says that in the Han dynasty, Zhang Qian brought eight such pieces back from the Western Regions; they were surviving traces of the old military music. “Xiao” refers to instruments such as the xiao flute and the jia oboe. The “metal nao” was shaped like a bell, had no clapper, and was fitted with a handle. It could be held up as a signal to stop the drumming.

All the feudal lords honored Xuanyuan as Son of Heaven. Xuanyuan ascended the throne in the year Jiyou, succeeding the reign of Shennong. According to the Five Phases theory of generation, Fire generates Earth. He therefore governed the realm through the Virtue of Earth, and after becoming king took the title Yellow Emperor. He dwelt at the center and ruled over the four directions.

The Yellow Emperor cut paths through mountains and traveled far and wide, never settling in one place. He ordered Feng Hou to carry the Book of Longevity, which recorded matters concerning lifespan and immortality, and Bo Chang to carry a sword. At dawn they set out for the Flowing Sands and returned to Yinpu at dusk. They covered ten thousand li in a single breath, then returned to the vicinity of Mount Zhuolu. The Yellow Emperor also summoned the hundred spirits to test their abilities.

The Yellow Emperor asked Feng Hou, “I wish to know where the rivers have their source.” Feng Hou replied, “There are five rivers in all, and all originate in the Ruins of Kunlun, in the region of the Kunlun Mountains. The Yellow River flows out from the southeastern foothills of the Kunlun Mountains; it is one of the five.” The other four rivers are described in Dongfang Shuo’s Record of the Ten Continents.

The Yellow Emperor ordered Shuhai, a legendary figure skilled in measuring distances and traveling on foot, to walk from the eastern end of the world to the western end. He measured a distance of 501,098 steps; another account gives 200,033 steps. The north-south distance was 231,300 li. The Record of the Ten Continents also records this.

The Yellow Emperor ordered Shuhai, a legendary measurer, to walk from the eastern edge of the world to the western edge. He measured the distance from east to west as 519,808 bu (another account gives 230,003 li). The distance from north to south was 230,313 li (another account gives 220,000 li). Shuhai held counting rods in his left hand and pointed north of Qingqiu with his right. The east extended to Taiyuan and the west to the state of Bin; the distance from east to west was 28,000 li, and from north to south, 26,000 li.

The text explains that ten thousand li was called a xuan. In the age of Shennong, the distance from east to west was measured at ninety million li, and from north to south at eighty million li—far beyond the Four Seas. When Wei Zhao annotated the Book of Han, he rejected this account, arguing that the realm could not be larger than the lands beyond the seas. Chen Zan, drawing on Daoist books, explained that Shennong traveled far and wide on a dragon, reaching extremely distant places, while the Yellow Emperor rode a horse as he governed the realm and measured only the lands within the Four Seas. The Huainanzi says that the distance from the North Pole to the South Pole is 230,357 li. The Prince of Huainan had once studied the Dao, and this account of the vast distance, too, was based on Daoist books.

The Yellow Emperor began to establish boundaries and set up provinces and commanderies. When he ordered the officials of each commandery to put moral instruction into practice, they first laid ritual objects such as gui tablets and jade on a rush mat. They then had various treasures pounded into fragments and mixed with aloeswood and elm glue to make a paste. This was used to mark out land, distinguish ranks and degrees of status, and distinguish the Hua-Xia from the Rong peoples. This account comes from the Fengshan Record.

The Yellow Emperor traveled throughout the realm and acquired more than ten thousand territories, each about a hundred li across. These were later called counties and towns. “He first brought forth the myriad things, and all the states were at peace” means that when a wise and enlightened ruler appeared, all things under Heaven found their proper place, and every state enjoyed peace.

A man named Qingwuzi was skilled at reading the land. The Yellow Emperor asked him how to establish the relevant rules. He also questioned Dilaoye to learn the advantages and disadvantages of the five directions: east, south, west, north, and center.

At that time, a lucky herb called Quyi grew in the Yellow Emperor’s courtyard. Whenever a treacherous person entered, it pointed toward them, so such people dared not enter the court. A foreign land also presented a divine beast called Xiezhi, said to distinguish right from wrong and to gore those who acted unjustly. It looked like a deer and had a single horn. It was placed in the court, where it would butt with its horn any minister who behaved improperly. When the Yellow Emperor asked what it ate, he was told, “In spring and summer it lives beside marshes; in autumn and winter, among pine and bamboo.” The beast’s two eyes resembled a bear’s.

Rong Chengzi was proficient in Daoist arts and musical theory, and was a descendant of Nüwa. At first, he devised musical modes and a calendar for the Yellow Emperor, taking the xīn-mǎo year as the starting point. Later, he made the sheng, a mouth organ, to imitate the cry of the phoenix. Su Nü came from Guangdu to the Yellow Emperor and taught him to play the fifty-string se, a stringed instrument. The Kao of Ancient History argues that the instrument meant here was not the qin. The Yellow Emperor reduced the se’s strings to twenty-five and set its length at seven chi and two cun. Fuxi established the qin, which Nüwa later refined. The Yellow Emperor’s qin was called “Haozhong,” and he also composed a qin piece called “Qingjiao.”

The Yellow Emperor began to establish teachings concerning the seven emotions and the ten duties. The seven emotions are joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, fear, aversion, and desire. The ten duties are a ruler’s benevolence, a minister’s loyalty, a father’s loving care, a child’s filial devotion, an elder brother’s kindness, a younger sibling’s respect for elder siblings, a husband’s adherence to what is right, a wife’s obedience, an elder’s care for the young, and a younger person’s respect for elders. This was regarded as the beginning of the Yellow Emperor’s establishment of ritual propriety and creation of music.

The Book of the Yellow Emperor records that in the Eastern Sea stood Mount Dusuo, also called Mount Duoshuo. The author considers “Duoshuo” a corrupted form of the name, explaining that bamboo ropes had once been used to make a bridge through the mountain. Two spirits, Shentu and Yulei, lived on the mountain. They could repel evil ghosts and free the people from calamity. On this basis, the Yellow Emperor established the nuo exorcism rite. Nuo was an ancient ceremony for driving away plague demons and praying for peace, in which ritual performances symbolized the spirits expelling ghosts.

The Yellow Emperor appointed Rong Chengzi as his court musician and composed musical dances such as “Yunmen,” “Dajuan,” and “Xianchi.” He once performed music in the wilderness of Dongting. Beimen Cheng said that when the music sounded, Yin and Yang were brought into harmony, the sun and moon shone brightly, and customs could also be harmonized.

In the second year of the Zhide era of the Tang dynasty, someone digging by Dongting Lake uncovered an ancient bell inscribed with archaic seal script. It was said to be a musical instrument from the Yellow Emperor’s time. In the second year of the Yongtai era, Kang Tongzhong, the magistrate of Baling, found the herb gatherer Shi Jide. Shi Jide had also discovered an ancient bell bearing seal-script inscriptions while gathering herbs in Dongting Township. Li E, the governor of Yuezhou, presented it to the court. The author argues that these discoveries support the account in the Zhuangzi that the Yellow Emperor once performed music at Dongting, showing that it was not fiction.

The Yellow Emperor was going to meet the spirits on the Western Mountain. He rode in a chariot drawn by six dragons, with the bird Bifang accompanying it and the Chiyou banner leading the way. The Wind Earl, a deity who governs the wind, went ahead to clear the road, while the Rain Master, who governs the rain, sprinkled water to cleanse it. A phoenix circled above the chariot, shielding it. When the Yellow Emperor reached the mountain, he held a grand assembly with the ghosts and spirits.

The Yellow Emperor played the Clear Angle melody on the Haozhong zither. According to legend, Shi Kuang was skilled at playing the zither, and Duke Ping of Jin once forced him to perform the Clear Angle melody. Shi Kuang had no choice but to play it. Clouds rose in the northwest; when he played it a second time, a fierce wind sprang up and torrential rain fell. Duke Ping was so terrified that he became ill.

The Yellow Emperor declared Mount Kunlun a sacred place and held a lavish, solemn sacrifice there. He passed this rite down to later generations; it became the fengshan rite, the ceremony by which rulers sacrificed to Heaven and Earth. At that time, the divine being Queen Mother of the West lived on Jade Mountain, north of Mount Kunlun. The Queen Mother of the West was the essence of Great Yin—the quintessence of Yin Qi—and the daughter of the Celestial Emperor. She had a human body and a tiger’s head (the Classic of Mountains and Seas describes her as tiger-faced, though some accounts say she had tiger-colored fur), a leopard’s tail, and disheveled hair. She wore a sheng, a kind of ornament, had a head of white hair, and was skilled at giving long, piercing cries. She lived within a stone city on a golden terrace and dwelt on Mount Shaoguang. Three blue birds often gathered food for her. This was the divine being known as the Queen Mother of the West.

Admiring the Yellow Emperor’s De, the Queen Mother of the West rode a white deer to present him with a white jade ring. Another divine being came from the south, riding a white deer and offering chang, an aromatic wine used in sacrifices. The Yellow Emperor’s De moved Heaven and Earth, and dark millet chang, a sacrificial wine brewed from black millet, appeared as a result. The Yellow Emperor practiced music and dance to welcome the spirits, and in response, sixteen black cranes flew and danced around him. On the Western Mountain, the Yellow Emperor once tasted a fruit that was like a plum in flavor and like a crabapple in shape. It was red and had no pit, so he named it shatang. Anyone who ate it could enter water without drowning. On the Queen Mother of the West’s mountain, west of the state of Woren, the Yellow Emperor built a platform called Xuanyuan Terrace. Later, he rested at Mingshu Hill, in the foothills of Mount Kunlun.

The Yellow Emperor traveled to the Land of Huaxu, a country inhabited by immortals. Fuxi was born there, and Fuxi’s mother was also from that land. The Yellow Emperor later went to live in the Land of Tiandu, which was therefore also called the Land of Xuanyuan. Tiandu was later known as Tianzhu, twelve thousand li from Chang’an. The Examination of Ancient History says it lay overseas, but that is incorrect.

The Yellow Emperor then traveled west to the Land of Women at Qiong Mountain, and afterward journeyed north, visiting the area around Kunlun Palace and north of the Red River. Later, he looked southward and, on his return, lost the Dark Pearl, a jewel symbolizing the Dao (the Way). He sent the sharp-eyed Li Lou to search for it, but Li Lou could not find it. Then he sent Wangxiang, who did find it. Later, the woman Qixiang of the Meng clan stole the Dark Pearl, sank into the sea, and became a water deity. Here, the Dark Pearl is compared to the Dao, and the account says that Qixiang became a water deity after obtaining it.

The Yellow Emperor made inspection tours throughout the land. Traveling east, he reached the sea, climbed Mount Huan, and met the auspicious beast Baize on the shore. Baize could speak and understood the nature of all things. The Yellow Emperor asked it about the ghosts and spirits of the world. Since ancient times, there had been 11,520 kinds of beings formed from the gathering of vital essences, as well as beings transformed from wandering souls. Baize told the Yellow Emperor about them. The Yellow Emperor ordered these beings depicted in images and shown to the people throughout the land. He also had the Writing for Blessing and Exorcism composed, to pray for protection and drive away evil influences.

During the Yellow Emperor’s travels, his principal consort, Leizu, died along the way. He made offerings to her and honored her as the ancestral road deity, the spirit worshipped during journeys. He also ordered his secondary consort, Mumu, to tend the sacrifices along the route and make offerings at the proper times. He therefore appointed Mumu to the office of Fangxiang, responsible for escorting funerals and driving away evil influences. The name suggests “guarding in all four directions”; some also call the office “Fangsang,” or “Protector of Funerals.” Today, people set out food and wine to make offerings to the road before traveling; this is called “zu jian,” or farewell offerings. The word “zu” means to send someone off. Yan Shigu’s commentary on the Book of Han says that the Yellow Emperor’s son was a deity of roads, and Cui Shi’s Monthly Ordinances for the Four Classes of People offers a similar account. The text here considers both accounts mistaken because they did not carefully examine the relationship between the ancestral road deity and Leizu.

After the Yellow Emperor pacified the realm, auspicious signs appeared one after another. He therefore ascended Mount Tai to perform the Feng and Shan sacrifices, then went to Tingting Mountain, a small hill at the foot of Mount Tai, to perform the Shan sacrifice. He also performed a Shan sacrifice at Jijishan. On the lofty mountains he carved inscriptions commemorating his achievements, and he built the Lower Altar to sacrifice to the Flame Emperor.

The Yellow Emperor observed celestial phenomena and surveyed the land. He built palaces, established clothing, measured the seasonal nodes and musical pitches, and advanced various crafts. Heaven therefore bestowed on him ceremonial objects, including a carriage, garments, an axe and battle-axe, a canopy, and feathered insignia. At the Mound of the Heavenly Spirits, the Yellow Emperor composed “Inscription on the Xuan Carriage.”

After Huangdi had completed the affairs of governing the realm, he established musical pitches and assigned surnames to the various clans. Confucius and Jing Fang did similar things. Huangdi also corrected the standards for bells and pitch so that their sounds conformed to the proper measure.

Huangdi had four consorts: Leizu, Mumu, Feixiu, and Nüjie. They bore him twenty-five sons, twelve of whom—or thirteen, according to one account—each received a surname: Ji, You, Qi, Si, Teng, Zhen, Ren, Gou, Xi, Jie, Xuan, and Yi. The Records of the Grand Historian lists sixty-one surnames; only Li and Huan differ from those given here. It also says that Huangdi used Gongsun as his surname, and that this line lasted eighteen generations, or 1,005 years, while the twelve surnames lasted thirteen generations, or 1,072 years. The Records of the Grand Historian further claims that these twelve surnames were omitted because their bearers had little virtue. This, too, is mistaken, since the Ji, Qi, Teng, Ren, Xi, and Jie lineages all possessed virtue and renown.

Although the claim that Huangdi’s surname was Gongsun has been handed down in ancient histories, it makes no sense. Huangdi was born in Youxiong and grew up by the Ji River, so by rights his surname should have been Ji. King Wu of Zhou called himself Huangdi’s nineteenth-generation descendant and belonged to the Ji lineage, which likewise indicates that Huangdi’s surname was Ji, not Gongsun. Moreover, the Zhou dynasty established five ranks of nobility—Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, and Baron—and the descendants of feudal lords later commonly called themselves “Gongsun,” meaning “the duke’s descendants.” Thus, there were eighty-five branches of families bearing Gongsun as a surname, none of them dating from Huangdi’s time.

Each of Huangdi’s nine sons was enfeoffed in a state. Pan Yue mentions this in a poem, though the source for the claim is unclear. Huangdi’s primary consort, Leizu, bore Xuanyao and Changyi, neither of whom inherited the imperial throne. After attaining the Dao, Xuanyao became the northern water deity. Changyi married a woman of the Shushan clan, and their son was Zhuanxu. Zhuanxu succeeded to the throne and took the title Gaoyang; he was Huangdi’s legitimate grandson.

Zhi, styled Qingyang, later ascended the throne and took the title Jintian. He was Huangdi’s youngest son. Among the descendants of Shaohao were seven sons. During Zhuanxu’s reign, one of them was granted the surname Man for his virtue and achievements. Nothing is recorded about the others.

After the Yellow Emperor had brought order to the realm, all things in the world and every kind of implement were in place. He then began seeking out perfected beings and recluses, asking about the Great Dao and seeking methods of becoming an immortal, in the hope of attaining everlasting life. This was the approach of first bringing order to the world and then seeking ascent to immortality.

At that time, a man named Ningzi served as the Taozheng, an official responsible for pottery making. A divine being passed by and taught him a method of refining with fire. Ningzi refined five-colored vapors, which could rise and fall with him as he rode them. Later, having succeeded in cultivating the Dao, he became an immortal and departed. He arrived in the land of shifting sands and ate flying fish. He died once, then came back to life two hundred years later. He composed “Ode from the Sandbank,” which says: “Blue lotuses bloom in brilliant splendor, enduring a thousand years; even a life of ten thousand years may know a brief death. Eat flying fish, and afterward return to life.”

There was also a man named Wuguangzi, who stood eight chi and seven cun tall.

Among the immortals—that is, those who have attained the Dao and prolonged their lives—some took medicinal substances in summer, cultivated their temperament, and spent their days playing the zither. Through cultivating the Dao, they lived long lives. Chi Jiang Ziyu ate no grains, living only on the flowers of many plants, and so remained ageless for many years. It is said that in the time of Emperor Yao he worked as a carpenter and could ride the wind up and down. By then, he had lived for two thousand years.

Rong Chenggong was skilled in the arts of regulating and guiding the body—that is, practices of Daoyin and physical cultivation—and focused on preserving life and nurturing the breath. He held that the “Grain Spirit,” the Daoist name for the quiet, inexhaustible source of life, never perishes. Practicing this way of cultivating life could turn white hair black again and regrow lost teeth. The Yellow Emperor admired his arts and had five cities and twelve towers built, awaiting the immortals’ arrival.

The Yellow Emperor once went to Mount Hua and Mount Shou to seek the Dao, then traveled east to Mount Tai. Along the way, he repeatedly encountered strange beings and communicated with immortals. He welcomed divine beings at Penglai, and after returning, welcomed many spirits at Mingting, Jingzhao, Zhongshan, Ganquan, Hanmen, and Gukou. Gukou lies north of Chang’an, while Ganquan is in the area of Yunyang.

At the Round Mound, the Yellow Emperor made offerings to Heaven and prepared to seek the highest Dao. He then took Jiuyuanzi as his teacher. On the first Tiger day of the first month in the first year of the Earth Sovereign, he purified himself in preparation for Daoist practice at Mount Shou, which lies in Puban County, Hedong. Afterward, he continued his search for the true Dao in many places. He ordered Fangming to drive the carriage, with Changyu riding beside him. Zhang Ruo led the way, while Kunhun and Huaji traveled alongside the carriage.

They came to the outskirts of Xiangcheng, where the seven sages lost their way together and met a young horse herder. The Yellow Emperor asked him, “How can the world be governed?” The boy replied, “What difference is there between governing the world and tending horses? Just remove whatever harms the horses.” The Yellow Emperor honored him as a Celestial Master, then withdrew.

Farther on, they reached the Round Mound. There stood a tree of immortality; eating its fruit and leaves made one deathless. There was also the Spring of Red Hills, whose waters could prolong life. A giant snake there injured people, so the Yellow Emperor drove it away with realgar. After some time, the snake returned. The Record of Foreign Lands says it stayed away for nine years. The Yellow Emperor had three of his sons learn to take realgar; all three lived for three hundred years.

The Yellow Emperor traveled north to Hongdi and climbed Mount Juci, in the area of Yangdi. There he met Lord Dawei, the spirit of Mount Dawei in Mixian, and also encountered the Yellow-Covered Boy. He received seventy-two scrolls of the Diagram of Divine Mushrooms. Later, at Zhongdai, he met Zhonghuangzi and received the Method of the Nine Eggplants. Another account says that he met the Perfected Zhonghuang at Mount Kongtong and received the method there. The scripture also cites commentators who offer different locations for Mount Kongtong: some place it in Yuanzhou, others in Longyou. When Sima Biao annotated the Zhuangzi, he considered Mount Kongtong to be the mountain thirty li east of Yucheng in Liang.

The Yellow Emperor climbed Mount Kongtong and visited Guang Chengzi to ask about the highest Dao. Guang Chengzi gave no answer. After returning, the Yellow Emperor reduced his official duties, built a quiet chamber, spread white thatch inside, and lived there alone for three months. He then went back to ask about the way of cultivating himself. Guang Chengzi thereupon transmitted to him one scroll of the Classic of Naturalness.

The Yellow Emperor relinquished his imperial throne and took on the appearance of an animal such as a pig or dog. He ascended Chicken Mountain, then climbed Wangwu Mountain, opened a stone casket, and took out a jade case. There he obtained the Instructions and Methods for the Divine Elixirs of the Nine Cauldrons, a text describing how to refine divine elixirs in the nine cauldrons. He traveled south to the riverside and climbed Bear Mountain and Xiang Mountain. Bear Mountain lies in the area around Zhaoling and Changsha; Xiang Mountain is in Yiyang County, Changsha.

Later, the Yellow Emperor went to Tiantai Mountain and obtained the Divine Elixir of Golden Liquids, a text related to the alchemy of golden liquids. He then traveled east to Qingqiu Mountain, paid a visit to Master of the Purple Mansion, and obtained the Great Characters of the Inner Text of the Three Sovereigns, a legendary Daoist text of talismans. The Baopuzi says that it consists of twenty scrolls. He used it to summon and command the myriad spirits.

The Yellow Emperor traveled south to the Dark Ravine of the Five Mushrooms, climbed Yu longyin, and made observations at the Jianmu lookout, a legendary place where spirits ascended. All the hundred spirits came up there. He gathered a numinous mushroom called “Ruoqian,” though some say it was a flower, and drank water from Danluan. Next he went to Qingcheng Mountain and paid a visit to Elder Zhonghuang. He also took time to climb Yuntai Mountain, where he met Master Ning and obtained the Scripture of Cloud-Ascending Methods, which describes Daoist techniques such as riding clouds to ascend.

The Yellow Emperor asked about the Way of the True One, a method of holding fast to the True One and cultivating longevity. The Immortal replied, “You are already living in the human world, yet you still seek long life and immortality. Is that not too greedy?” The Yellow Emperor returned many times to seek instruction and eventually received the Way once again.

The Yellow Emperor also paid his respects to Perfected Zhonghuang, then traveled east past Mount Lu. The official rank of the envoy of Mount Lu was equivalent to that of an imperial censor. He oversaw the affairs of the immortal officials and also held a divine post inspecting the Five Sacred Peaks. The Yellow Emperor appointed Lord of Qian Mountain as the Commander of Destiny of the Nine Heavens, responsible for the registers of life and death.

The Yellow Emperor observed that each of the other four sacred peaks had a supporting mountain that assisted its mandate, while the Southern Sacred Peak stood alone without support. He therefore submitted a memorial to the Supreme Dao Lord of the Three Heavens, requesting that Huo Mountain be appointed its heir and Qian Mountain its deputy, so that the Southern Sacred Peak would have support and the two mountains could jointly take part in its affairs. The Yellow Emperor personally climbed the mountains and drew their forms, producing the Diagram of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks.

The Yellow Emperor once refined elixirs at Jinyun Hall. At the time, clouds appeared over the ground that were neither red nor purple. People called them “Jinyun,” and Jinyun Mountain took its name from them. Jinyun Mountain lies in Jinhua County, Wuzhou, though some accounts place it in Yongkang County.

The Yellow Emperor hid at Mount Miao charts recording the outcomes of military campaigns, along with books concerning the Six Jia and Yin-Yang. Yu the Great once convened the feudal lords there and assessed their achievements in controlling the floods, so the mountain was also called Mount Kuaiji. At Mount Fu, the Yellow Emperor gathered auspicious signs and thereby obtained the Way of long life. He served Taiyi Yuanjun, a deity revered in Daoism, received essential teachings, and learned methods of spiritual cultivation and health preservation.

The Yellow Emperor also learned sexual cultivation practices from Xuannü and Sùnǚ—ancient methods concerning sexual relations and health preservation—and was said to have been able to have intercourse with three hundred women. Xuannü also passed on to him the Divine Formula of Fulfillment, which he then stored at Mount Kongtong.

The Yellow Emperor was skilled in methods for calculating the movements of the heavens and the calendar. Shanjì and Lì Mù taught him the essentials of bodily diagnosis. He discussed divination by celestial signs and omens with Qí Bó and Léi Gōng, while Master Fēng Hòu taught him techniques for treating injuries and disabilities and joining metals. Thus, the Yellow Emperor mastered profound secrets and fathomed the true meaning of the Dao.

After receiving from Xuannü the essential teachings of the Yinfu Jing, the Yellow Emperor could inwardly align himself with the workings of the Way of Heaven and, in outward affairs, adapt to human circumstances. According to legend, when he governed the realm, its borders extended south to Jiaozhi.

When the Yellow Emperor governed the world, his territory extended south to Jiaozhi, north to Youling, west to the Flowing Sands, and east to Panmu. According to legend, the flat peaches grew on Mount Dusuo, as recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. The Yellow Emperor wished to relinquish his throne. “I have heard of letting all things in the world settle naturally,” he said, “but never of governing every matter in the world. I have made the people labor for a long time. Now I will go to rest at Xuanpu, the immortal realm on Mount Kunlun, and return to my original nature.”

After performing the Fengshan rites, ceremonies to honor Heaven and Earth, the Yellow Emperor gathered copper from Mount Shou and prepared to cast nine tripods at the foot of Mount Jing. They were to symbolize Taiyi, the Supreme Deity of Yongzhou. A stone inscription in Hucheng County, Guozhou, records that the Yellow Emperor once cast a tripod there. The area was formerly known as Hongnong Commandery in Dingzhou. The Treatise on Geography says Mount Jing lies south of Huaide County in Fengyi.

These tripods were wondrous beyond compare, finely made and beautifully patterned. They could foretell good and ill fortune, survival and destruction; grow lighter or heavier; and remain still or move. They boiled without fire and filled themselves without water being drawn. They could even produce the five flavors within themselves. They were treasures of extraordinary power. After the Yellow Emperor refined and completed the Nine Tripods Elixir and took it, he later passed the method on to Xuanzi. This Daoist method was extremely precious, and those who transmitted it swore an oath and were warned never to treat it lightly.

Following the account in the Central Scripture, the Yellow Emperor stored the book east of Mount Jiuyi, in a place called Weiyu. A piece of patterned jade was placed beneath it, and a great stone laid over it. Written in gold on jade, the book contained prophecies left by the Yellow Emperor. Legend says that Xia Yu obtained it and then became an immortal and departed. Another account says the book was hidden on Mount Fufu in Kuaiji.

The Yellow Emperor also inscribed the Writ of Five True Talismans of Lingbao, a classic of Lingbao Daoist talismans and registers that he carried with him, on gold tablets. He sealed one copy on Mount Zhong and hid the other on Mount Wanyi.

The Yellow Emperor once made objects out of gold. Each had a name, inscribed in ancient script.

The Yellow Emperor once used gold to cast vessels and named each one. He engraved them with ancient characters to record the years and months; some were also used in sacrifices. Later, a clear, gentle southerly wind arose, and divine beings gathered. The Yellow Emperor then conceived the wish to leave the world and ascend to immortality. He left his crown, sword, ornaments, and shoes on Kun Terrace, at the most precipitous point of Ding Lake, and built a hall below the mountain. Kun Terrace is Xuanyuan Terrace on Mount Kunlun.

At that time there was a man named Ma Shihuang, who excelled at treating horses and whose medical skill was so remarkable it seemed divine. A dragon came to his courtyard and lay on the ground, mouth open and eyes closed. Ma Shihuang looked at it and said, “This dragon is ill. It has come to ask me for treatment.” He then used needles to treat the upper and lower parts of the dragon’s mouth. He also boiled licorice in cow’s milk and poured it into the dragon’s mouth. When the dragon had recovered, Ma Shihuang rode it up to immortality.

When the Yellow Emperor heard of this, he chose a day and consulted the oracle about when he would ascend to immortality. The divination indicated the day of Wuwu. When that day came, a dragon indeed arrived, lowering its whiskers to receive him. The Yellow Emperor mounted the dragon and ascended to heaven with his friend Wuweizi and his officials, seventy-two people in all. The lesser officials who could not get aboard clung to the dragon’s whiskers, and the whiskers fell to the ground along with the Yellow Emperor’s bow. They embraced the whiskers and the bow and wept. Because of this, the Yellow Emperor’s bow was called the “Crow’s Cry,” and the place where the cauldron had been cast later came to be called Ding Lake. In the Zhou dynasty, the area was enfeoffed to Guoshu and was therefore called Haozhou; in ancient times it was also known as Dingzhou, and in the Han dynasty as Hucheng County.

Later, the minister Zuo Che carved a wooden image of the Yellow Emperor and led the feudal lords to pay homage and make offerings. The officials mourned the Yellow Emperor so deeply that they did not know how to express their grief. Some brought tables and staffs to establish a shrine and make offerings; others placed his clothing and crown in a tomb and watched over them. Thus the Yellow Emperor’s tomb was established on Mount Qiao, in Zhouyang County of Shanggu Commandery. In addition, Fushi County had four shrines to the Yellow Emperor, and Mount Qiao in Fangzhou had a tomb for him. Shrines were built wherever the Yellow Emperor had lived or traveled.

Five hundred years later, the tomb on Mount Qiao collapsed, leaving only a sword and a pair of red shoes. Later, these too disappeared in a single day. These events are recorded in the Records of Mount Jing and the Records of the Dragon’s Head.

The Yellow Emperor lived in the human world for a total of one hundred and eleven years and ruled for one hundred years. After ascending to immortality, he rose to heaven and became the Lord Taiyi, a revered deity of the heavenly realm. His spirit corresponded to the Xuanyuan star in the Southern Palace. The Xuanyuan star takes the form of a yellow dragon and belongs to Fire; it is associated with the star Xuanyuan in rites honoring the heavenly deities. Later generations included the Yellow Emperor among the Five Emperors and honored him as the ruler of the center, offering sacrifices to Heaven in his name. The Yellow Emperor embodied the virtue of Earth, dwelt at the center, and governed the four directions: the Azure Emperor Taihao in the east, the Red Emperor Shennong in the south, the White Emperor Shaohao in the west, and the Black Emperor Zhuanxu in the north. The Stabilizing Star—that is, Saturn—was regarded as the Yellow Emperor’s son and called the deity of the pivot. It assisted the Yellow Emperor in receiving sacrifices.

Changyi was the son of the Yellow Emperor and lived near the Ruoshui River. Changyi’s younger brother, Shaohao, was born to the Yellow Emperor’s consort Nüjie. The Yellow Emperor had a daughter who drowned in the Eastern Sea and later transformed into a bird called Jingwei. Jingwei would bring branches from the Western Mountains and stones in its beak, hoping to fill in the Eastern Sea.

Shaohao’s personal name was Zhi and his courtesy name was Qingyang. After succeeding to the throne, he was known as Jintian. He was the son of the Yellow Emperor. Zhuanxu, known as Gaoyang, was the Yellow Emperor’s grandson. Both possessed the enlightened virtue of sages. Zhuanxu ruled for seventy-eight years. His mother was of the Shushan clan, and he was born in Shangqiu.

Yuqiang of Puyang was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor but did not inherit the imperial throne. He attained the Dao together with Zhuanxu, lived in the north, and became a water deity. After Zhuanxu, emperors sometimes took as their title the name of the region they governed.

Emperor Ku, known as Gaoxin, was a grandson of the Yellow Emperor and the son of Jiaoji. Emperor Ku possessed divine virtue and used his own name as his title. He established his capital in the Yanshi area, near present-day Bozhou in Henan. He ruled for seventy years and lived to the age of one hundred and five.

Emperor Yao, known as Taotang, was the Yellow Emperor’s great-great-grandson. His surname was Yiqi and his personal name was Fangxun. He rose to prominence at Dingtao, where he had originally been a lord of Tang, before becoming emperor. Dingtao belonged to Jiyin; another account places it in Tang County, Dingzhou. He established his capital at Pingyang, near present-day Jinzhou, ruled for ninety-eight years, and lived to the age of one hundred and eighteen.

Shun, known as Youyu, was the Yellow Emperor’s eighth-generation descendant; Yu was the Yellow Emperor’s great-great-grandson. The Dunjia Kaishan Tu says that Yu was an immortal who had attained the Dao. In ancient times there was another Great Yu, the nineteenth-generation descendant of Nüwa. He lived for three hundred and sixty years, then entered the Jiuyi Mountains and ascended to immortality. Three thousand six hundred years later, Yao ruled the world. Floodwaters swept across the land, and the people suffered as they were inundated. This Great Yu took the people’s plight to heart and came into being at Shiniu Mountain. One evening, as the maiden Quandi was drawing water, she found a stone like a pearl. She liked it and swallowed it, then became pregnant and gave birth to Yu fourteen months later. When Yu grew up, he could identify the sources of springs. He took over from his father, Gun, in controlling the floods and succeeded after three years. Emperor Yao learned that Yu’s achievements resembled those of the ancient Great Yu and that he could also identify the sources of the waters, so he bestowed on him the title “Great Yu.” By this account, there can be little doubt that Yu was the Yellow Emperor’s great-great-grandson.

Yin Tang was the Yellow Emperor’s seventeenth-generation descendant. According to the genealogy given here, the Yellow Emperor’s son Shaohao fathered Jiaoji, who fathered Emperor Ku. After fourteen generations, Tianyi became the king of Yin—that is, Yin Tang.

The descendants of the Yellow Emperor formed different surnames according to the fiefs they received, the offices they held, and other distinctions. The surnames established by the Yellow Emperor according to the laws and ordinances numbered twelve; the details appear in Volume Two. Shaohao had a son surnamed Man. Zhuanxu was surnamed Ji because the Yellow Emperor lived near the Ji River; Houji, a son of Emperor Ku, was also surnamed Ji. Yao was surnamed Yiqi, Shun was surnamed Yao, Yu was surnamed Si, and Tang was surnamed Zi.

There were also the surnames Zhang, Deng, Xuan, Lu, Huang, Kou, Song, Li, Bai, Xue, Yu, Zi, Yi, Qi, Shen, Tu, Huanggong, and Tuoba. The origin of the Tuoba surname is as follows: Changyi, the Yellow Emperor’s youngest son, was enfeoffed in the north. The local people said that because the Yellow Emperor had shaped their customs through the virtue of Earth, “earth” became “tuo” and “ruler” became “ba”; they were therefore called the Tuoba clan. The Yellow Emperor had nine sons, each of whom was enfeoffed and established a state; details appear in Volume Two. These make thirty-three surnames in all, each descending from the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor’s line is said to have continued for 1,250 years, from the Yellow Emperor’s year of Jiyou up to the “present” referred to in this book.

Volume 101, “Biographies Section, Annals Two”

◎ Annals of the Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning

The Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning inherited the lineage of the natural Dao of Heaven. His form coalesced among the clouds and mists of the time before Heaven and Earth had separated. Among his descendants, thirteen surnames traced their origins to the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor’s line is said to have continued for 1,250 years, from the Yellow Emperor’s year of Jiyou up to the “present” referred to in this book.

Volume 101, “Biographies Section, Annals Two”

◎ Annals of the Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning

The Heavenly King of the Primordial Beginning was born from the natural Qi of Heaven and Earth. His body took shape when Chaos had not yet divided, and he dwelt in a womb born of the void, coming into being in a realm empty and without form. At that time, the wondrous and mysterious scene had not yet separated into parts; the light of Heaven was dim and distant, and the Great Void stretched vast and boundless. Only after more than seven thousand kalpas did Heaven and Earth become clear, as the two lights of the sun and moon shone upon one another. Dark clouds and a purple jeweled canopy cast their light above his head. Six kinds of primordial Qi became flashes of lightning, protecting and surrounding his true body.

Born at night, he carried light within himself, and divine radiance illuminated the room. His body gave off a wondrous, fragrant vapor. His mind and spirit rested among the clouds and rosy mists high in the sky, while he cultivated his body on the shore of Dongbo. Alone, he presided over the rites of the spiritual talismans and the ritual methods used to ward off the descent of the mysterious. Deep within, he gathered mysterious Qi and devoted himself to contemplating subtle principles. Suddenly, at ease, he wandered far away, his gaze roaming until he forgot to return.

He rode on wheels of fine jade and a jade carriage, drawn by a blue-green chariot and a dark dragon. His vital essence soared, clouds and mists flowed, and he flashed like lightning through palaces in the void. He traveled east to the realm of Boshui Haolin, then climbed to rest in the chamber of the Nine Bends of Blue Rosy Clouds. Later, he ascended the Golden Tower and was invested with the title “Lord of the Great Dao, Supreme Emperor of the Primordial, High One of the Jade Clarity and Purple Void.” He received golden slips and jade tablets—documents bestowed by the spirits—and his name was entered in the register of the Eastern Florescence, Fangzhu Green Palace.

At that time, he was charged with commanding countless bridges and crossings. Mysterious power sent down three thousand Jade Radiance maidens and three thousand Golden Dawn youths. Flying dragons, fierce beasts, and gigantic serpents a thousand fathoms long, claws spread as they leaped through the air, guarded the Jade Tower. The might of Heaven was on full display, with ceremonial escorts arrayed across the broad courtyard. Blue-green feathered canopies danced overhead, and purple phoenix emblems swirled about. The scriptures and talismanic implements known as Golden Truth and Jade Radiance, Unfolding the Seven Primordials, The High Talisman of the Divine Tiger, and Flowing Gold and Fire Bells were entered into the Primordial Emperor’s canon. He dwelt in Jade Clarity and governed the Perfected Ones of the High Sovereign and Supreme Emperor.

Chronicle of the Lord of the Dao

The Scripture of the Original Conduct of the Cavern Mystery says: The Lord of the Dao sat beneath the Seven-Treasure Qian Tree on Mount Fuluo, at Yuchashan in the Western Na Heaven. In the empty mountain, he observed purification and quiet contemplation, visualizing the divine Perfected Ones. He joined with the hidden pivots of the unseen, his spirit clear and responsive to nature. He surveyed the transformations of all things and bent down to bring harmony to living beings.

At this time, the great sages of the ten directions and the most exalted, purest spirits came before the seat. They burned incense, bowed, and reported to the Dao Lord: “May we ask in which kalpa the teachings of the Lingbao first came into the world? How many kalpas have mortals passed through up to the present, and how many times have they been utterly destroyed? Will this cycle continue to turn and repeat in the future? In which kalpa was the Celestial Worthy born, and when did he encounter the True Writ (the sacred scriptures of Daoism), attain his present exalted position as the Most High, and thereby find deliverance? What, precisely, are the causes and conditions behind all this? Your De is lofty and unfathomable. We earnestly ask you to bestow instruction: to explain the original events and causes and conditions, and to clarify their essential meaning, so that people in later generations may be enlightened.”

The Dao Lord said: “The primordial order of Heaven and Earth turns in cycles, and its destiny changes as the kalpas succeed one another. At times there is flourishing, at times decline; at times destruction, at times renewal. Though things may be destroyed, they are not thereby brought to a complete end. What is the reason for this? Your De is lofty and unfathomable. We earnestly ask you to bestow instruction: to explain the original events and causes and conditions, and to clarify their essential meaning, so that people in later generations may be enlightened.”

The Dao says: The cycles of Heaven and Earth turn with the succession of kalpas, the vast ages through which the cosmos passes, and the fortunes of the world change with them. There is success and failure, birth and death. Though things may be destroyed, they are never cut off completely; after darkness, they become manifest again. The Lingbao, a collective name for Daoist scriptures and teachings, circulates in keeping with the changes of the world in order to guide and save living beings.

From the Primordial Heavenly Worthy’s opening of the light until the first year of Chiming, nine hundred billion myriad kalpas passed. Those who were saved were as numerous as grains of sand and could not be counted. Before Chiming, in the deep and boundless expanse of Heaven and Earth, manifestations and acts of salvation arose in every kalpa, beyond what ordinary reasoning can imagine. After Chiming, until the first year of Shanghuang, the great ancestral model of the Dao was widely put into practice, and many people attained salvation. Even if one spoke for as long as Heaven and Earth endure, one could not tell it all. Now I can only give a broad account of the essentials of the true Great Dao and record the distant deeds of those who attained the Dao, so that later generations may grasp the profound meaning of the wondrous scriptures.

I inherit the fragrant legacy of Zichen, the auspicious immortal aura spoken of in Daoism, and am descended from the August One, the supreme sacred being. Through successive kalpas I have undergone birth and death, continuing from life to life without interruption, and have often appeared in the world alongside the Lingbao. After seven hundred billion kalpas, just as the Qingdi Kalpa—the cycle governed by the Azure Emperor—came to an end and the Nine Qi changed, I was conceived in the womb of a woman of the Hong family. My spirit gathered within the Palace of Jade Embryonic Formation, and I was carried for three thousand seven hundred years. When the Chiming era opened, in the year of the Wood Rat, I was born at Fudao. Fudao is where Mount Fuluo lies in the Jade Kingdom west of Heaven. I appeared in the world alongside the Lingbao once more, to save its people.

Because of the merit I had accumulated over many lives, the Primordial Heavenly Worthy bestowed on me the honorific title “Taishang” and invested me as the Heavenly Emperor Lord of Yuyue Nalin Changyu Terrace. He placed me among the High Sages and charged me with governing Xuandu Yujing, the sacred celestial realm of Daoism. All this came about because I honored the teachings of the Great Dao and ensured that the Lingbao True Writings were transmitted from age to age. With a compassionate heart, I passed through myriad kalpas, widely saving celestial beings and humans and rescuing living beings. My accumulated merit and renown have continued to shine through countless kalpas, and so I am now honored by the heavens.

The True Writings of the Great Numinous Treasure of the Supreme Jade Dawn, High Sage of the Upper Clarity has been handed down through the generations without interruption, bringing deliverance to beings in heaven and on earth far and wide. With a compassionate heart, he has passed through countless kalpas, offering universal aid to living beings. His merit is immeasurably vast, and his name has endured through hundreds of millions of kalpas; for this reason, he is now revered by the celestial worthies.

Account of the Great Dao Lord of the Supreme Jade Dawn, High Sage of the Upper Clarity

The Cavern of Truth: Great Cavern of the True Scripture records that the Great Dao Lord of the Supreme Jade Dawn, High Sage of the Upper Clarity, was formed from the vital essences of the sun and moon and the gathered auspicious purple mists of the nine heavens. Jade light shone brilliantly around his whole body, while golden radiance reflected and flowed about him. He took shape through transformation, containing within him the profound and wondrous Qi of the divine spirits.

He was conceived in his mother’s womb and developed into human form. His personal name was Lu, and his courtesy name was Shang Kaiyuan. After his mother had carried him for 3,700 years, he was born in a hollow of Mount Danxuan, on Mount Fuluo, at Mount Yucha in the Western Na Heaven. He then received an immortal register bestowed by the Purple Emperor and accepted a celestial text from Jade Void. Gazing up toward the immortal realm of Upper Clarity, he took his place among the high immortals and became the Great Dao Lord of the Supreme Jade Dawn, High Sage of the Upper Clarity.

The Great Dao Lord dwells in the Seven Radiances Purple Chamber of the Sun Gate Pavilion of Rui Pearl. Three hundred thousand jade youths and three hundred thousand jade maidens attend and protect him. Wielding his staff of the Seven Gardens, he soars through the blue sky of the nine empyrean heavens. He rides celestial banners and sunlight high above, speeding along on the wind. He travels among the clouds of the eight directions, circling along paths through the void. Above, he gathers the sun’s essence; below, he collects the moon’s pearls. He plucks the langgan fruit of the Crimson Grove and eats purple lotus flowers from the Dark River. Seated at ease in his numinous carriage, he oversees the documents of the Celestial Emperor. The myriad spirits come to pay their respects, while the gods of the Five Virtues hold their tallies. The Highest Perfected attend at his side, and the Celestial Emperor embraces the celestial chart.

He gazes up at the sky and says: “Those who wish to become immortals should visualize the divine lord within the sun: riding dragons and phoenixes, borne on celestial clouds, traveling east to the Mulberry Grove, and finally entering the gate of the Celestial Emperor. Those who wish to ascend to heaven should call to mind the lady within the moon: riding ten flying dragons, borne on my tinkling bell, traveling west to pay homage at the Six Ridges, and finally reaching the Celestial Emperor’s palace. Use the vital essences and focus the mind to pay homage above to the Jade Emperor. The clouds gather thickly and spread wide; Yuyi treads upon the sunlight as he advances. The radiance shines bright; Jie Lin sends its light up to the clouds. The two emperors of the sun and moon ride together in one carriage, enduring the transformations of the celestial Dao and remaining forever.”

Here, “visualization” refers to a Daoist cultivation practice in which one focuses the mind and envisions deities. Yuyi and Jie Lin are the names of deities associated with the sun and moon, respectively. “Great Existence” refers to the purple celestial palace among the nine heavens; “Lesser Existence” is the foremost grotto-heaven among the thirty-six heavens of Clear Emptiness.

Next, the Venerable High Supreme Lord of the Great Dao, a revered deity in Daoism, first rode the first Radiant Chariot, drawn by purple clouds of eight hues. He led the Faint and Subtle Azure Emperor, the Eastern Azure Emperor named Lufengzi, eastward to Yuyue Nalin Changyutai Heaven. There he paid a visit to the Jade Clarity Purple Way Emptiness Emperor Lord and received the “Hidden Talisman of the Nine Radiances and Great Dawn.”

Then the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao rode the second Radiant Chariot, drawn by crimson clouds of seven hues. He led the Midmost Subtle Vermilion Emperor, the Southern Vermilion Emperor named Dingwuyan, southward to Gaotao Lichong Longluo Heaven. There he paid a visit to the Jade Clarity Winged Sun Emptiness Emperor, the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao, and received the “Hidden Talisman for Contemplating the Numina of the Primal Dawn.”

Next, the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao rode the third Radiant Chariot, drawn by red clouds of six hues. He led the Greatly Subtle White Emperor, the Western White Emperor named Quyuanshi, westward to Biluokongge Yuli Heaven. There he paid a visit to the Jade Clarity Changyang Primordial Emptiness Emperor, the High Primordial Lord, and received the “Hidden Talisman that Unites the Nine Extremes of Dawn.”

After that, the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao rode the fourth Radiant Chariot, drawn by blue-green clouds of five hues. He led the Mysterious and Subtle Black Emperor, the Northern Black Emperor named Qiyuanxuan, northward to Koumo Tanlou Yuyi Heaven. There he paid a visit to the Jade Clarity Sevenfold Stillness, Life-Guiding High and Supreme Emptiness Emperor Lord and received the “Hidden Talisman of Treading the Radiant Roots.”

Finally, the Supreme Lord of the Great Dao rode the fifth Radiant Chariot, drawn by yellow clouds of four hues. He led the Beginning Subtle Supreme Emperor, named Jiekongzi, northeastward to Fudao Gaihua Fuluo Heaven. There he paid a visit to the Jade Clarity Great Brightness Emptiness Emperor, the Lord of Dongqing, and received the “Hidden Talisman of the Mysterious Radiance and Level Dawn.”

The Lord of the Great Dao, the Most High, rode different immortal carriages, each drawn by clouds of a different color. Leading the various Emperor Lords, he traveled to different heavenly realms, paid audience to the Emperors and sovereigns of the Jade Clarity, and received the corresponding hidden talismans—secret Daoist talismans transmitted within the tradition. On these occasions, the talismans he received were the Hidden Talisman of Harmonizing Radiance and Dawn Destiny, the Hidden Mystery Talisman of Equal Radiance and Dawn, the Hidden Talisman of the Lofty Dragon’s Smoke, and the Hidden Talisman of the Lord of the Dao Above, Lofty Clarity, Great Void, and Limitless.

On one occasion, the Lord of the Great Dao rode a carriage of seven radiances, drawn by two clouds of plain purple. Accompanied by the Emperor Lord of the Lower Realm of Subtle Proclamation, named Hongfuzi, he traveled southwest to Chongrong Yuyu Lisha Heaven. There he paid audience to the Jade Clarity’s Golden Numinous Lord, the Emptiness Emperor of the Seven Observatories, and received the Hidden Mystery Talisman of Equal Radiance and Dawn.

On another occasion, he rode a carriage of eight radiances, drawn by a single cloud of plain numinous light. Accompanied by the True Emperor of Subtle Insight, named Sichengshu, he traveled northwest to Danlü Cha Bao Wheel Dharma Heaven. There he paid audience to the Jade Clarity’s Lord of Still Radiance, the Emptiness Emperor of the Lofty Origin and Eight Observatories, and received the Hidden Talisman of the Lofty Dragon’s Smoke.

In the final account, he rode a jade carriage of cavernous radiance, drawn by the lights of Great Rosy Clouds, Purple Mists, and Dark Radiance. Leading the Emperor Lord within the Nine Subtleties, named Shenshengxian, together with the Supreme Sovereign, the Nine Mysteries, the Nine Heavens, and the True Immortal Kings, he ascended to the capital of Mifanluo Terrace, Xiaojue Liaoqiu, and Feiyuan Yungen. There, in the Upper Heaven of Jade Clarity, he paid audience to the Jade Clarity’s Lord of the Dao Above, the Supreme Jade Emperor of Purple Radiance and Lofty Clarity, and received the Hidden Talisman of the Lord of the Dao Above, Lofty Clarity, Great Void, and Limitless.

Chronicle of the Three Heavenly Lords

The Supreme Clarity Perfected One, Generalissimo of the Immortals and Master of the Longevity Method, presides over the Three Heavenly Lords. His surname is Baicheng, his personal name is Xusheng, and his courtesy name is Zhigao. He lived during the era of the Central Sovereign. He was born when Jupiter was in the Eastern Dimension, beneath a grove of cypress trees on Zhong Mountain in the Northern Waters.

A man named Xusheng was conceived after his mother received the essence of sunlight. At the age of nine, he began seeking the way to long life. At fourteen, he became a disciple of Master Huanggu together with the Young Lord of the Western Return and Boyin of Great Spirit. Master Huanggu had attained an undying body. He cultivated for a long time in a state of purity, stillness, and Wuwei (non-action), practicing no other arts. Instead, he nurtured his Jing and Qi, turned his gaze inward, settled his spirit in emptiness and stillness, yearned for the way of the perfected beings, and calmed the breath within his body. Through this, he attained long life and deathlessness.

Five hundred years later, Xusheng met the Golden Immortal Lord Shi, Master Ning, and the youth Huanye. He received the Central Record of Embryonic Essence and the Inner Scripture of Transformation in the Womb, learning superior methods for nurturing the spirit and key techniques for freeing body and mind from constraint. Later, he ascended to the Twin Jade Cavern in the grotto platform of Canglang Mountain, where he drank freely of the Purple-Bright Zhi elixir and met Master Wanshi of the Highest Clarity. Master Wanshi taught him the arts of mounting the air and traveling through the sky, methods for using the Eight Qi and the Dragon-Stride of Radiant Light—a footwork for ascending—and teachings on returning to the embryonic origin, guarding Jing and Qi, and transcending the mundane world.

Guangchengzi then taught him The Cinnabar and Azure Jade Furnace and The Scripture of Refining the Cloud Root into Soft Vajra, along with arts for making smoke rise, frost descend, snow sink and float, and the sun’s color turn vermilion. Later, Xusheng met the youth Shiyuan and the young attendant Fengche, receiving the Register of the Void Emperor—a celestial register or talismanic text in Daoism—as well as the immortals’ taboos, precepts for cultivating the Dao, methods of multiplying the One into the myriad, and arts of bodily dissolution and transformation.

Later, the cultivator met the immortal Duke Jinhui, the Eastern King of Wenshi in the Jade Clarity realm, known as the Second Dao Lord of the Jade Emperor. The duke taught him methods for fetal breathing and holding the breath, quieting the breath and guarding the spirit, calming the hundred deities within the body, opening the Cloud Chamber—the dwelling place of the body’s spirits—and steadfastly preserving the Three Perfected Ones. Later, he visited the two Jade Emperor Lords and asked them about the Way of the Cloud Chamber and the oral instructions of the Three Perfected Ones.

The two Jade Emperor Lords said, “The Three Perfected Ones are the sovereign lords who govern your entire person and the source of the hundred deities. When the attendant deities assist them, each keeping to its place with uprightness and impartiality, the Three Sovereigns can dwell securely within the body. This is the Way of the Cloud Chamber and the oral instruction of the Three Perfected Ones. The Great One, the deity who governs life, protects fetal breathing; the Five Elders support Jing and Qi. One dwells in the Dantian, the sea of Qi in the abdomen, and governs nature and life, protecting vitality. One dwells in the Crimson Palace, where the heart is located, nourishing the body with purple Qi. One dwells in the Grotto Chamber, the palace where the body’s spirits reside, bringing the three kinds of vital essence together in radiance. In this way, spirit and Qi can transform, gather, and disperse with the wondrous power of a Perfected One.

“The Cloud Palace of the Bright Hall, the Purple Gate and Jade Door, the Yellow Tower and Golden Chamber, the Cinnabar City and Vermilion Windows are all dwellings of the Sovereign One within the body, as well as treasure chambers of the Three Perfected Ones. In the Cloud Chamber, divine light appears, and spirit and person merge as one; above, it reaches Kunlun, and below, it overlooks the clear abyss. Cloud canopies rise high, while bamboo and trees flourish. The seven spirits revolve, and the seven gates lie deep and mysterious. Within the Golden Gate and Jade Chest are stored five volumes of talismanic registers. The young lords—the spirits within the body—keep to their inner dwelling while remaining connected to the outer world. Baiyuan, one of the body’s spirits, mingles with primordial Qi and takes form, able to summon Yang and call forth Yin. The Supreme Lord and the Controller of Destiny each protect life. This Way is subtle and difficult to express; only immortals transmit it to one another.”

He then asked how to practice summoning Yang and calling forth Yin, making Qi flow in and out without fixed bounds, and transforming Qi into spirit. The two Jade Emperor Lords said, “To summon Yang is to make the three Qi flow in and out; to call forth Yin is to set the Six Ding—the six Yin deities of Daoism—in motion. If you can grasp the generative mechanism of the three Qi and understand the principles behind the movement of the Six Ding, Yang Qi can transform into a dragon chariot, and Yin Qi can change into jade maidens. You can then soar and turn freely, circling and dancing in the high, distant sky. Wherever Qi moves, spirit comes into being; when spirit is present, Qi condenses; when spirit departs, Qi disperses. Qi is the vital, upright energy received by the twenty-four deities; it is also the twenty-four Qi. Qi can bring spirit into being, and spirit can bring Qi into being. When dispersed…”

Clouds and mists gather, taking on forms and images. Manifesting outward, they become immortal transformations; drawing inward, they return to Zhenyi (the true state of pure unity). They condense above into the Three Primordials—the upper, middle, and lower sources—and below into the myriad things. In stillness, they appear as the signs of the body; in motion, as the signs of the spirit. Thus the twenty-four inner deities of the body are constantly brought into accord, while the perfected beings associated with the numbers three and five undergo transformation. They merge into Zhengyi, unite as the Lord Emperor, and become one’s own original deity.

Human life is bestowed by the Heavenly Soul, while the embryo takes shape through the primordial spirit. The Heavenly Soul is the root of life; the primordial spirit is the root from which the embryo forms. They circulate and converge in Taiyi, the primordial Qi of the cosmos, reaching through and illuminating the Three Paths. Shen and Qi gather in the Jade Palace, while bodily fluids fill the Mysterious Chambers, the hidden apertures within the body. These fluids flow through the Earth Gate, the lower bodily aperture, and nourish the Grotto Chamber, the innermost divine chamber. The radiance of the sun and moon shines across the heavens, while the spirits of the Five Organs mingle with the Primordial Father. The Primordial Father governs Qi, dispersing and transforming it until it reaches the utmost pole of the Emperor; the Mysterious Mother governs Jing, transforming and bringing Jing and Qi together in the Hidden Origin. Then the Director of Destiny bears the talismanic command, stabilizing the body and supporting the spirit. The Young Lord guards the interior, and Taokang preserves the soul and its companion spirit. Wu Ying is carried on the left, and Bai Yuan is guided on the right. Qi moves like clouds and falling rain, spreading through all the body’s apertures.

Later, the Jade Emperor bestowed on Xusheng “The Way of the Returning Wind and the Union of the Imperial One,” one of the thirty-nine chapters of the Great Cavern Perfect Scripture. The transmission was sealed by breaking a ring, cutting blue silk, and swearing an oath. Whoever received it could be ranked among the Perfected of Highest Clarity and bear the title “Chief Immortal, Grand Marshal, Master of the Way of Long Life, Lord of the Three Heavens.” This office governed Great Mystery, resided at the Jade Terrace of Langfeng, oversaw the registers of those who studied the Way and became immortals, and administered the humans and spirits of the Three Heavens. The myriad immortals received their assignments at the Jade Terrace, while the Five Emperors faced the Sacred Pavilion to pay their respects.

Record of the Lord Who Began Old Age in the Azure Numinous Realm

The Scripture of the Original Conduct of the Cavern Mystery records: The Eastern Lord Emperor Who Began Old Age in the Azure Numinous Realm of the Peaceful Treasure Flower Forest first dwelt amid white Qi. During the Golden Kalpa, he presided over the unfolding of transformations and once temporarily manifested in the Era of the Forest of Yuyue, on the Cloud Terrace of Golden Radiance.

The Scripture of the Original Practice of the Cavern Mystery says: The Eastern Emperor, the Venerable Elder of the Beginning, Azure Spirit of the Forest of Precious Blossoms, once descended temporarily in the “white qi” during the Golden Kalpa. He dwelt in the Heaven of the Forest of Clouds, the Terrace of Golden Reflections, in the Western Tower’s Boundless Jade Kingdom, on the Vast and Luminous Mysterious Peak. His name was Yuanqing.

In the celestial realm, Yuanqing widely cultivated merit and virtue, remaining diligent and tireless. His reputation reached the heavenly court, and the Palace of Vermilion Mounds—the place where the names and records of Daoist immortals are kept—inscribed his name on a red register. His immortal Dao was nearly perfected, but his kingdom had many palace women, and Yuanqing became briefly infatuated with women. His mind and spirit grew scattered. The numinous demons sensed his impure thoughts, and the Vermilion Palace removed him from the register of immortals. After this decline, he passed through three kalpas. Later, when the Fire Kalpa came and the heavenly cycle changed, Yuanqing once again received qi and was born, taking up residence in the womb of the Hong family. Heaven judged that in his previous life he had been attached to beauty, and therefore caused him to be reborn as a woman.

In the first year of the Zhulíng era, a bingwu year, Natai was born in the Land of Elixir Radiance, within the Cavern of Luminous Clarity in the Heaven of the Dragon-Robe Guard of the Elixir Youths. She took the surname Hong and the name Natai. At fourteen, she revered and loved the Dao and devoted herself to longing for the immortals. She often bought incense paste, lit lamps to brighten dark places, and widely practiced acts of merit. The heavens praised her, and her name was entered in the register of Shangqing immortals.

The Primordial Lady of the Purple Void, the Highest Spirit of the Southern Pole—a high-ranking female immortal of the south—transformed herself into a servant and descended to the human world to teach and guide her. Seeing Natai’s chastity and uprightness, and her devotion to the highest Dao, she returned to the Land of Elixir Radiance and gave her a text, the Southern True Writing of the Numinous Treasure’s Red Script. Natai then cultivated the Dao with still greater diligence. Yet she believed that, as a woman living in the inner chambers, she might have no chance to attain the Dao in this lifetime. She therefore observed purification and continued to revere the highest Dao. The Primordial Lady of the Purple Void, the Highest Spirit of the Southern Pole, came once more to the Land of Elixir Radiance and gave her this text, the Southern True Writing of the Numinous Treasure’s Red Script.

Na Tai was exceptionally diligent in her cultivation of the Dao. Yet she believed that, because she had been born a woman and lived secluded in a deep inner chamber, she had no way to seek the Great Dao. She therefore fasted, observed the precepts, and focused her thoughts, hoping to be reborn as a man in her next life. Her resolve was utterly sincere and reached the world above, so the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, one of Daoism’s highest deities, descended. At that time, the Celestial Worthy was at the Stream of Langbi and the Hill of Fuyao, seated beneath a dead mulberry tree in a grove of tall trees, with the perfected immortals attending nearby.

One day, Na Tai saw five-colored violet light curling into the fasting hall. She sensed that something had stirred within her and felt that this sight was extraordinary. She left the house, climbed onto the wall, and gazed in every direction. Suddenly, she saw a dazzling radiance beneath the mulberry grove in the east, beyond all description. The place lay several hundred miles from her home, with Aiyang Valley and the vast sea in between. Though her heart leapt with joy and excitement, she had no way to reach it.

She clasped her hands and bowed from afar toward the source of the light, saying, “My name is Na Tai. Because my blessings and affinities from past lives were shallow, I was born a woman. I have set my heart on cultivating the Dao and aspire to become an immortal, but the Great Dao is mysterious and lofty, beyond my reach. Day and night I have longed to transcend life and death and be reborn as a man. For many years I have prayed without receiving a response, and I have often feared that I would be unable to escape the cycle of life and death. After waiting for so many years, today I have finally reached this moment. Yet the Heavenly River bars my way, and I cannot come before you to speak my wish. Now I will cast myself into the blue sea and give up my life, hoping that my body and spirit may soon be reborn, that I may again accumulate merit, and that across the long ages of the kalpas I may behold the true immortals of the Great Dao.”

When she had finished speaking, she leapt from the wall into the air and plunged toward the depths of the vast sea, but did not fall into the water. The Water Emperor and Divine King caught her on a five-colored flying dragon. In an instant, her female body transformed into a male one in midair. She then rode the dragon aloft and flew before the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning.

The Celestial Worthy immediately ordered the Immortal Metropolis to confer an imperial title upon him and appointed him to assist the Lingbao Azure Emperor Jade Text during the Fire Kalpa. Seven hundred years later, when the span of the Fire Kalpa came to an end and the Azure Qi began to circulate, he entered extinction together with the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. In the first year of the Kaiguang era, the Celestial Worthy again bestowed upon him the honorific title “Emperor Lord of Anbao Hualin, Azure Spirit, and Primordial Age” at the Terrace of Mifanluo, the Hill of Xiaojue Liao, the City at the Root of the Flying Primordial Clouds, and the Ruins of the Nine Clouds of Cangxia.

The Jing of the Original Conduct of the Cavern Mystery records that Fanbao Changyang Danling Zhenlaojun of the South was surnamed Zheng and styled Ren’an. A descendant of Dayan, he was born beneath the Red Radiance Heaven in the World of Chanli. At his birth, three-colored clouds wound around his body, and a vermilion bird spread its wings to shelter him. By the third day, he could speak and knew the events of his previous life. At twelve, with a face as beautiful as gold and jade, he left the secular world and roamed far into the mountains and forests.

At the Palace of the Cold Spirit Cavern, Ren’an met Master Xuanhe. The master transmitted to him the True Writ of the Dark Emperor of the Five Qi of the Red Book of Lingbao, the Supreme Teaching of Wisdom, and the Ten Precepts, then departed. Ren’an observed the precepts, fasted for a long time, and widely practiced good deeds. He gave precious treasures to those in need and shared food with birds. Thus, his merit and reputation reached the heavens.

Later, Ren’an encountered a catastrophic flood in the Kingdom of Xina. The people were scattered and swept away by the waters. He steered his boat across the raging waves, recited the Book of Precepts and the True Writ of the Dark Emperor, and cast the scriptures into the water. The flood then parted, opening a way for him. Across the vast waters, birds and beasts, muntjacs and deer, tigers and leopards, and lions all came to take refuge with him, unharmed.

At that time, a hundred members of the king’s household were trapped upstairs as the flood threatened to engulf them. They lamented that there was no way to escape. Seeing the king in peril, Ren’an steered his boat over and gave him the True Writ he carried at his side. The king reverently held the scripture, and the flood disaster immediately receded, allowing everyone to escape. After the king was saved, the True Writ flew into the clouds and vanished from sight.

Because Rén’ān lost the Zhenwen, the Daoist sacred texts, he was demoted by one rank among the immortals. His allotted lifespan was due to end, so he took up residence in the human world. He reached the end of his life and died in the mountains of the Northern Rong. His spiritual corpse lay exposed in the open for more than thirty years, yet his body did not decay. Its color remained bright and fresh, just as it had been in life. It rested beneath a long grove of trees in the Northern Rong.

Later, the king went out hunting and set fire to the mountain. The flames closed in from every direction, but could not burn within a hundred paces of the spiritual corpse. Wild animals—including muntjacs, deer, tigers, and leopards—gathered around it and nestled close. Astonished, the king went to investigate. Above the corpse he saw light in three colors, thick clouds and mist, and birds and beasts gathered around it. The king then had firewood cut and piled around the body, and set it alight.

At that moment, the spiritual corpse rose up within the flames and transformed into a person, seated upon green smoke. He gently pinched at empty space with his fingers, and five-colored radiance shone brilliantly from his body. More than three hundred attendants and immortal boys and jade maidens arrived in solemn splendor. All the birds and beasts that had gathered around the spiritual corpse were also delivered through the flames.

In the second year of Chiming (the Bingwu year), Rén’ān, at the mountain of Kōumótǎnlóu and Yìtiān Zhōngdòngliáo, changed his surname to Dòngfú and took the name Jíyán. He received the bestowed title “Southern Single Brahma Treasure, Prosperous Yang, Elixir Spirit, True Elder Emperor” and the honorific title Lord Elixir Spirit.

Chronicle of the Central Yellow Venerable Lord

The Central Scripture of the Nine Perfections of the Cavern of Truth records: The Central Yellow Venerable Lord was a disciple of the Supreme High Emperor of the Great Tenuity Heaven. He was born in the second year of the Primordial Sovereign. At seven years old, he already understood the essentials of long life and the methods of cultivation practiced by the celestial immortals. Devoted to the Supreme Dao, he respectfully received its profound truths. His mind and spirit were clear and still, abiding in the wondrous source; he freed himself from the constraints of literary forms and ritual rules, returning to a state of unadorned ease. The Supreme High One then bestowed upon him the Formula of the Nine Perfections and the Secret Words of the Eight Ways. He cultivated the Dao according to these formulas, attained success, received immortal scriptures, and became a Perfected Person of the Supreme Ultimate.

The Dongxuan Benxing Jing records that the Radiant and Numinous Sovereign Lord of the Golden Gate of the Seven Treasures in the West was originally the son of a numinous phoenix. The phoenix descended from Heluo Heaven and was born into the world of Weilu Heavenly Paradise, where the King of Weilu adopted it and raised it in his palace. The king had an eldest daughter named Peiying, who dearly loved the phoenix and often played with it. From time to time, it gently brushed her face with its wings.

Twelve years later, Peiying suddenly became pregnant, but even after three months she had not given birth. Thinking this strange, the king cut off the phoenix’s head and buried it at Changlin Mound. Later, Peiying gave birth to a girl. As soon as the child was born, she could speak. She declared, “I am the phoenix’s child, destined to become a Heavenly Consort.” The king therefore named her Imperial Consort.

Three days after the Imperial Consort’s birth, a flock of phoenixes came to offer congratulations, bringing auspicious gifts: Dark Nourishing Jade Frost, the winding waters of the Great Spring, and Eightfold Refined Zhiya. By the age of eight, she was upright in mind and strict in conduct, far surpassing ordinary people. Each morning she paid homage to the sun, and each evening she bowed to the moon. She lived deep within the palace. Though the king prepared meals for her, she found none of them to her taste.

Later, snow fell from heaven and did not melt for an entire year. It piled ten zhang deep, and birds and beasts froze and starved to death. Longing for the phoenix, the Imperial Consort traveled by carriage to Changlin Mound to visit it, singing:

“Numinous phoenix, remote and hidden, you have gone away for ages without end. My longing for you is boundless, yet my wish remains unfulfilled. Through countless kalpas there has been no sign of your return. When will you fly back?”

At that moment, the phoenix that the king had killed and buried suddenly came back to life. It lifted the Imperial Consort and flew straight up into the clouds with her. She now dwells in the lofty heavens, invested with the title of Lord of the Primordial Origin of the Southern Pole, a revered deity of the Southern Pole Heaven. She often rides a nine-colored phoenix. In her previous life, she upheld the Lingbao Jing through countless kalpas; thus she drew the numinous phoenix down to be born and received the title of Primordial Lord of the Southern Pole.

The imperial consort’s merit and virtue were profound, moving a Perfected One from Heaven to descend. At noon on the seventh day of the seventh month in the Gengshen year, during the Shangyuan era, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning sat beneath a Qianhua tree on Phoenix-and-Unicorn Mound in the kingdom of Weiluoyu, with the Perfected Ones attending him.

At that moment, a disk of sunlight, round as a bright mirror, suddenly appeared in the room where the imperial consort lived, suspended before her eyes. She saw the gods and Perfected Ones beneath a long grove within the mirror, and the whole room grew bright. She climbed the Tongyang Terrace and gazed westward. On Phoenix-and-Unicorn Mound, purple clouds billowed and divine light shone brilliantly, beyond the power of words to describe. The mound lay about five hundred paces from her residence, but as she was confined within the palace and could not move freely, she was unable to go there.

Before long, a divine phoenix flew in and alighted on the terrace. The imperial consort said to it, “In the west there is the Great Dao, which my heart longs for, but I have had no opportunity to go there. I wonder whether you might carry me there for a while?” The phoenix spread its wings, let her sit upon them, and carried her before the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. Pointing to the Queen Mother of the Golden Terrace, a title of the Queen Mother of the West, he said, “She is your teacher. You may bow to her.” The imperial consort kowtowed and petitioned, “I beg you, revered gods, to show me special compassion and let this withered body of mine be reborn.”

After she had spoken, the Golden Mother bestowed on her the title “Jade Consort of Western Numina” and ordered the Ninefold Radiance Spirit Lad to bring out the Lingbao Red Writing, True Text of the White Emperor, a scripture from the Lingbao canon, and give it to the imperial consort. Three hundred years after she received the title, the Blue Calamity brought a change of fortune, and only then was she reborn in the womb of the Li family. Three years later, she was born beneath a plum tree in the secluded valley of Golden Ridge, in the kingdom of Xina Yu. Manifesting as a man, she changed her surname to Shangjin and took the name Richang.

In the first year of the Kaiguang era, in the Shangjia year, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning bestowed on him the title “Venerable Sovereign of the Bright Numina of the Seven Treasures Golden Gate of the West.”

◎ Chronicle of the Fivefold Numina, Mysterious Elder Lord

The Scripture of the Original Conduct in the Cavern of Mystery says: The Lord of the Five Spirits, the Mysterious Elder of Northern Cavern Yin, Shuo-dan and Yu-jue, had the surname Hao and the courtesy name Fuming. This title was bestowed on him by the Celestial Worthy. His original title was “The August Elder of Bright Spirit at the Golden Gate of the Seven Treasures in the West.”

Chronicle of the Lord of the Five Spirits, the Mysterious Elder

The Scripture of the Original Conduct in the Cavern of Mystery says: The Lord of the Five Spirits, the Mysterious Elder of Northern Cavern Yin, Shuo-dan and Yu-jue, had the surname Hao and the courtesy name Fuming. He was a descendant of the Mysterious August Sovereign and a scion of the Great Clarity. He was born in the Primordial Blessing, Abandoned Worthies world, in the Heaven of Primordial Blue. At the age of twelve, he loved a quiet and secluded life, and his spirit and mind often dwelt among mountains and streams. He frequently stayed away from home, sometimes returning only once every ten days.

At that time, famine struck the world. People were dying of hunger everywhere, and nearly the entire population of one state perished. Beneath Mount Dijingshan, Fuming discovered a patch of giant sesame plants. He gathered them himself and gave them to the poor to stave off hunger, often making several trips in a single day. He saved thousands of people who were close to death. Each time the sesame was gathered, more grew back; for three years, the patch was never exhausted. Others went to search for it but could not find the place.

During this period, Fuming wore himself out day and night. His body gradually grew thin and wasted, and he had no time to care for himself. At last, exhausted, he collapsed and died at the foot of the mountain. The Nine Heavens recorded his merit in a golden register, entered his jade name in the celestial records of immortals, and guided his soul to the Palace of Vermilion Mound, a heavenly palace in Daoist tradition where departed souls are transformed and delivered.

Later, the Heavenly Emperor sent a golden-winged bird, which often spread its wings to shelter Fuming’s body, keeping it from decay for seven hundred years. When the Water Calamity changed the course of Heaven’s cycles, a great flood submerged his body and swept it into an endless abyss. When the waters receded, Fuming’s body drifted to the Northern Ridge, Dark Mound, in the land of Yudan in the Heaven of Beiwèi Xieyuan Chumo. There it remained undecayed for forty years. Afterward, a mountain fire raged and consumed his body. Refined in the blazing flames, he immediately rose to his feet and became a perfected immortal, with five-colored clouds covering him above.

In the first year of Kaiming, at the Northern Ridge, Dark Mound, he changed his surname to Jie and took the name Linghui. The Primordial Heavenly King bestowed on him the honorific title “Lord of the Five Spirits, the Mysterious Elder of Linghui Cavern Yin, Shuo-dan and Yu-jue.”

The Most High Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun), one of the supreme gods revered in Daoism, is the Emperor of Primordial Unity. He was born at the time before beginnings and arose from a realm without cause. He is the beginning of all things and all Ways, and the source of primordial Qi (vital energy). At that time there was no light or image, no sound, no sovereign originator, and no lineage. Heaven and Earth were dark and profound, yet within them lay a subtle, true essence. This essence pervaded everything and encompassed all, and so it was called the Great Dao (the Way).

The Great Dao is the most revered presence in nature. From the depths of emptiness, it gave rise to the hollow; here, “the hollow” refers to True Unity. True Unity can be said to be neither existent nor nonexistent. After the transformation of the One Qi, nine hundred and ninety-nine trillion, nine hundred and ninety thousand years passed before the hollow, that is, True Unity, came into being. True Unity belongs to neither being nor nonbeing.

Then the One Qi transformed and gave birth to the Upper Three Qi. Nine hundred and ninety-nine trillion, nine hundred and ninety thousand years passed between the arising of each of the three. The Three Qi joined together as De (Virtue/Power) and gave rise collectively to the Most High. After the Most High came into being, another nine hundred and ninety-nine trillion, nine hundred and ninety thousand years passed before the Middle Three Qi emerged; the same interval separated the arising of each of the three. The Three Qi joined together as De and gave rise collectively to the Mysterious Elder. After the Mysterious Elder came into being, a further nine hundred and ninety-nine trillion, nine hundred and ninety thousand years passed before the Lower Three Qi emerged, again with the same interval between each. The Three Qi joined together as De and gave rise collectively to the Most High Lord Lao.

After the birth of the Supreme One (Taishang), the title Daoism gives its highest deity, another 810,000,000,000,000 years passed before the One Qi (the primordial Qi of the Beginning) came into being. After the One Qi appeared, an equally immense span of time passed before the Three Qi came into being. Each of the Three Qi appeared 810,000,000,000,000 years apart. They later joined together to form its De, and together gave birth to Lord Lao (an honored Daoist deity). After Lord Lao was born, another 810,000,000,000,000 years passed before he transformed into the One Qi. After the One Qi appeared, an equally immense span of time passed before it transformed into the Later Three Qi. The Later Three Qi then brought forth the Mysterious Jade Maiden, a goddess of myth. After the Jade Maiden was born, another 810,000,000,000,000 years passed, and she gave birth to Lord Lao.

After his birth, Lord Lao again transformed into the One Qi. Once the One Qi appeared, it transformed into the Later Three Qi, which in turn brought forth the Mysterious Jade Maiden. After the Jade Maiden was born, 810,000,000,000,000 years passed. The Three Qi mingled within chaos, condensed and transformed into a five-colored, dark yellow pellet, as large as a projectile. It entered the Mysterious Jade Maiden’s mouth. Eighty-one years after she swallowed it, Laozi was born from beneath her left arm. His hair was already white at birth, so he was called Laozi, meaning “Old Master.”

Laozi is Lord Lao, the sacred title revered in Daoism. He is the embodiment of the Dao, the source of primordial Qi, and the foundation of Heaven and Earth. The Great Dao is wondrous and unfathomable, arising from nature. It is born in the realm of the unborn and precedes everything that might be called “first.” It stands firm amid emptiness and stillness, bringing Heaven and Earth into being. Thus it is called the “Supreme, True Dao,” the highest and most authentic Way. It is numinous and subtle, profound and difficult to fathom, beyond the reach of any name.

Thus it is said: “I was born before form appeared, beyond the time before the Great Beginning. I endure at the outset of the Great Origin and move within the source of Great Simplicity. I drift in the depths of the void and pass in and out of realms too remote and mysterious to fathom. I observed the time when chaos had not yet divided and the clear and turbid had not yet separated. I saw what seemed to be the first glimmer of light; I gazed upon distant, subtle sounds; I glimpsed forms blurred and indistinct; I beheld a boundless expanse. I wandered through the vast wilderness of the cosmos, surveying the kinds into which all things are divided.”

“Only my life stands apart from all others, independent and without equal. When dispersed, it becomes primordial Qi; when it gathers and takes form, it becomes a human being.”

The Lord Lao (a reverential Daoist title for the Supreme Venerable Lord) is the true nature of primordial Qi and the Great Dao, the natural source through which all things come into being and change. If one were forced to describe him in human form, he would be Laozi. He takes emptiness and nothingness as the Dao and nature as his fundamental quality. No force can make him be as he is, nor can any force make him otherwise; people cannot discern why he is so or why he is not. Thus, he is simply what he is by nature.

Even if the earth were made his chariot and the sky his canopy, and he raced across boundless expanses and soared beyond the eight directions, this would still not convey his vastness. Even if one probed the deepest and most hidden reaches, down to what can no longer be divided, or analyzed the finest fractions to their utmost limit, this would still not convey his subtlety. Even if one played every kind of string and bamboo instrument, performed all nine sections of the Shao music, and brought the notes of the gong and shang modes into harmony and the pitches into balance, this would still not convey his sound. Even if the colors of Heaven and Earth shone brilliantly, pigments gleamed, and splendor and ornamentation dazzled the eye, this would still not convey his radiance.

Even if light flashed forth and the spirit proved unfathomable, flowing like wind and swift as lightning, with thunderclaps resounding and sounds scattering far away, this would still not convey his speed. Even if roots reached down to the Nine Springs and sank into the Eight Seas, the waters congealed into marshes, the abysses grew still as pavilions, and the mountains stood firm as pillars, this would still not convey his stillness. Even if Yin-Yang transformations defied prediction and change had no fixed pattern, and he wandered freely in the realm of the Great Simplicity, taking emptiness and nothingness as his teacher and the true Dao as his companion, this would still not convey his mystery.

Even if his light illuminated darkness and discerned the formless, surveying the Taiji above and the netherworld below, this would still not convey his clarity. Even if shadows vanished and sounds ceased, clouds and mists dispersed entirely, and he became as impossible to find as fire sought by drilling ice or fish caught by searching a nest, this would still not convey his absence of form and trace. He can cleanse the cosmos of its dust and sweep the clouds from the celestial road; below lies a vastness without bottom, above an emptiness without bounds. He encompasses the Six Directions—Heaven, Earth, and the four quarters—and spans the Eight Directions that mark out the world. Yet even all this is not enough to convey the immensity of his emptiness.

The Dao has no form to begin with, so why give it a name? We can only use “emptiness and nothingness” to suggest its meaning and the name “Dao” to refer to it. Words cannot express the full depth of its meaning, so in the end it returns to nature. Nature is the culmination of principle and the Dao’s constant nature, and so all the sages revere it together. The Dao is honored and De is precious, yet no one has bestowed a rank upon them; they remain what they are by nature. This is what is meant by the Laozi.

Laojun is the purest presence within primordial Qi, and, when he takes visible form, the most numinous of the honored gods. In the beginning, within the void, he gathered primordial Qi and condensed it into a true body. Words can only imperfectly describe him: his body was vast beyond measure, his many features majestic and complete, and his noble presence arose spontaneously from nature. Above him was nothing to cling to, and beneath his feet nothing to tread upon. Suspended upright, he neither toppled nor fell. Clothed in radiance, he shone within the void, as though he contained the light of the sun and moon.

At times he appeared above clouds and rosy mists, his body golden, five kinds of light streaming from his face. Divine kings, strongmen, Azure Dragons, White Tigers, qilin, lions, and other beings would spontaneously manifest around him, arrayed before and behind. At times he sat upon a thousand-petaled lotus, radiant as the sun, wearing a crown of the Seven Luminaries, symbolizing the sun, moon, and five planets. He wore a robe of dawn essence and a nine-colored, light silk mantle, with a round halo behind his neck.

At times he rode the Jade Chariot of the Eight Radiances, drawn by divine dragons of five colors. He raised the Vermilion Standard of Flowing Clouds and the Imperial Heaven, an emblem of exalted rank in the celestial realm, while a crane canopy of ninefold radiance sheltered the carriage. Divine attendants held banners and followed alongside. Behind him came ninety thousand flying immortals; lions led the way, and phoenixes guarded the carriage.

At times he rode the Jade Balance Chariot, its wheels hard as diamond and drawn by nine dragons, accompanied by the Three Pure Flying Clouds, whose white, blue, and yellow hues symbolized the immortal realm. Its jeweled canopy blazed with light that spread across the Great Void, vast and boundless. Fragrant smoke curled upward, fresh flowers drifted down, and the carriage came soaring through the air. Music rang throughout the void, and the splendor defied description. At times he sat upright in a grand hall, where curtains of the seven treasures gleamed brightly and crimson-patterned silk nets hung above. Immortals and perfected beings stood in attendance; divine attendants guarded the carriage, while banners, ceremonial regalia, and every kind of mount filled the sky.

At times he appeared with a golden face and a jade-like form, dressed in yellow and wearing an embroidered mantle. Leaning on an armrest, he waved a whisk to brush the dust from all things. At times he wore a dark crown and white robes, riding a white horse with a red mane. Immortal children attended him on either side, and divine radiance illuminated the deep and mysterious realms. Lao Jun’s mysterious forms cannot be described in their entirety. Those who study the Great Dao should recognize his true form. It is unfathomable, yet merely holding these images in the mind is enough to make contact and commune with him.

If one studies without understanding the root, it is like an infant deprived of its mother. One must know the mother as well as the child she has borne. After knowing the child, one must return to the root and hold fast to the mother. One should recognize the true form. It is unfathomable, yet merely holding these images in the mind is enough to make contact and commune with him.

If learning does not begin with an understanding of the root, it is like an infant losing its mother. If one recognizes the mother, one can also recognize her children; having recognized the children, one must return to safeguard the mother. What is meant here by “mother”? It is “being” born from “nonbeing.” This is the Dao, the ultimate truth, the root of all things and the object of universal reverence.

The Dao manifests in response to resonance, and when it appears, it bears subtle signs. These signs are mysterious and hard to fathom, like faint images that appear and vanish in an instant. Through it, the wronged can find redress, those in darkness can find light, and the bewildered can return to it and become settled. Thus, the divine ruler—a being who appears in response to resonance and brings sacred instruction—takes on a visible form and a noble bearing. Every movement and gesture accords with the proper laws. He sets right what is perverse through the upright Way; wherever he goes, nothing obstructs him, and his saving of living beings is without end. For this reason, he is called a sage. At times he appears as a ruler, minister, teacher, or friend, meeting people according to their respective conditions and affinities. Those who encounter such a manifested being do so because their inner sincerity has resonated with the Dao and their Dao Qi has become mutually attuned. The Dao therefore appears in a fitting way, according to the time and the capacity of those it meets.

The Great Dao has no form, and ordinary people cannot see it directly. Yet it responds to resonance by taking form, and its mysterious appearances change from moment to moment. Sometimes it appears with a countenance like jade and a body like gold; sometimes it appears in a fleshly body. Sometimes it flies, sometimes it walks; sometimes it is exalted, sometimes humble. It may appear among the mountains or on level ground, and may take a form familiar to people in the lands of the Yi or the Xia. These transformations cannot be fathomed. Each time it manifests in response to resonance, it displays a wondrous form; once its response is complete, it vanishes again. When it comes, there is no way to trace it; when it departs, there is nowhere to find it. It runs through “being” and manifests in “nonbeing,” extending everywhere. Those who realize the Dao grasp the Great Dao in their hearts at once, beyond the measure of ordinary understanding; the deluded, by coming into contact with it, may stray from what is true. If one reveres and honors the Venerable Lord Lao, the Daoist title for the Most High Lord Lao, one can attain the true and upright Dao.

The treatise says: “The Dao cannot be seen with the eyes; whatever can be seen is not the Dao. Nor can the Dao be heard with the ears; whatever can be heard is not the Dao.” This explains that the essence of principle and teaching is empty, still, and unmoving. Yet the Dao can also enable those who could not see to see, and those who could not hear to hear. This shows how states of experience and wisdom awaken one another, and how people come to understand principle through resonance. Though understanding and stillness appear different, in the end they return to one. Thus it is said: “The Dao is constantly Wuwei (non-action), yet nothing is left undone.” From this we see that the key lies in the human heart.

There are broadly two ways to contemplate the Dao in the heart. One is to contemplate the Dharma Body, the manifested body of the Dao, endowed with seventy-two marks and eighty-one excellent features. It is perfect and subtle, and the most exalted presence in the Three Realms. The other is to contemplate the True Body, imagining it as like empty space: perfect and pure, neither arising nor perishing.

If these images are still difficult to grasp clearly, one may use an image to focus the mind, or have a statue cast in purple gold or paint the true form. Modeling it in clay, casting it in bronze, or painting it in color are all suitable, according to one’s means. Offerings such as halls, curtains, seats, banners, fresh flowers, lamps, and candles may also be arranged as one wishes, as if attending to the real body of the Dao. When contemplation is focused and one’s practice is complete, the merit gained is equal to that of personally making offerings to the real body. If one can deeply realize the “bodyless body” that transcends form, one will understand that images and the true form are no different in principle. Thus, revering the divine image and making offerings as one wishes brings blessings; the depth of those blessings depends on the heart. As long as one’s thoughts keep advancing, one will naturally attain the Dao. This is the meaning of the saying, “People can keep the Dao in mind, and the Dao can keep people in mind.”

Record of the Celestial Emperor of Taiwei.

The Scripture of the Purple Passage and Blazing Radiance, on the Divine Mystery and Transformation, says: The Great Lord, Emperor of Heaven in Taiwei (a revered deity of the celestial realm), was born at the edge of Primordial Azure and descended from the divine spirits of the Nine Luminaries. Before the mysterious Qi had yet congealed, he received a lineage of fragrant blood and formed his sacred body. Light shone all around him, illuminating a wondrous realm; purple clouds flashed like lightning, dark mists flowed, and vermilion radiance wound and intertwined. Subtle awakening quietly opened within his heart. He then received Heaven’s prompting, harmonized pure and balanced Qi, and breathed in and out the subtle fluids of the deep. At last, he was born as a numinous embryo and nourished by Hongquan and Quzhi.

At the age of fourteen, golden radiance appeared within him, while a jade-like glow shone outward. He was intelligent and perceptive, with keen spiritual awareness, and could clearly discern the realm of the void and the mysterious. He also began to administer the Emperor’s title and duties. What were these duties? To clear the clouds and rosy mists of the Nine Heavens; to soar forth and gaze toward the distant, pure source of the Cavern; to discern the hidden workings at the utmost depths of mystery; to govern the courses of ten million streams of fluid; and to gather resonant responses, joining with the nether realm so that wondrous principles might reveal themselves naturally.

Thus he was able to practice the Method of Purple Passage and Blazing Radiance: Returning the Spirit, Flying through the Heavens, and Ascending into the Void (a cultivation method for guiding the spirit and ascending through the Nine Heavens). Through cultivating this method, inner practice came into accord with the outer deities. He ultimately ascended to the exalted realm of Jade Clarity and transmitted the Daoist art he had cultivated to the Central Yellow Venerable Lord.

Chronicle of the Lord Emperor of Qingyao (a chapter recounting the Lord Emperor of Qingyao).

The Dongzhen Qingyao Zishu Jingen Zhongjing says that the Lord of Qingyao was a disciple of the Jade Emperor, Primordial Sovereign of the Nine Suns. He was born in the first year of the Central Emperor, in the year corresponding to the Eastern direction. At the first light of dawn, he came into the world in the kingdom of Xuanqiu, a remote place within the boundless heavenly realms, beneath the Seven-Treasure Jade Grove and at the farthest edge of the Nine Regions.

The Lord of Qingyao was born in accordance with Heaven’s mandate, and after three days he displayed wondrous signs. His surname was Yao, and his given name was Bokuai. Nine dragons spread their wings to protect him, while seven-colored jade phoenixes sheltered him. A divine qilin fed him lingzhi mushrooms, and celestial maidens nourished his innate nature with vital essence. Jade youths scattered fresh flowers to drive away impurity, while divine consorts spread fragrance to cleanse away dust. He nurtured body and mind through rinsing and embryonic breathing, a Daoist practice of regulating the breath to cultivate Qi. His nature was innately bright and refined.

By the age of twelve, his face shone with golden light and talismanic markings appeared on his body. He responded to change and moved with the turning of time, entrusting his mind and spirit to the immortal realm of Bright Rosy Clouds. He roamed the Jade Kingdom and, bearing the ritual ordinances of the Primordial Sovereign, descended to the Nine Regions. He wandered freely, observing in every direction; after passing through ten thousand kalpas, he later returned to his cloud chamber for quiet purification and abstinence.

His dwelling had purple clouds for its roof and blue mists for its walls, a hall of gold and a bed of white jade. The five primordial Qi interwove and gathered there; high terraces joined to roof ridges, jade steps were richly ornamented, and phoenix towers rose on all four sides. Golden youths stood in attendance, Jade Radiance maidens held towels, and celestial immortals formed a guard of more than five thousand.

At that time, the Jade Emperor, Primordial Sovereign of the Nine Suns, rode in a flying carriage drawn by nine phoenixes amid emerald clouds. Its wheels were carved from fine jade, and it bore a canopy of feathers. His retinue included a thousand perfected beings from the Mulberry Grove, along with many immortal attendants in carriages and on horseback. Thirty-six attendant immortals accompanied him at a banquet in the Court of the Firmament of the Clouds of Dawn. He descended to the Lord of Qingyao’s abode and ascended with him to the capital of the Immortal City of the Nine Elders, to the chamber of the Nine Bends. The Jade Emperor ordered the Mother of Turtles of the Western Terrace to open a purple brocade pouch patterned with cloud-phoenix designs and take out the Jade Scroll of the True Formula in the Purple Book to bestow upon the Lord of Qingyao.

Having completed his cultivation and perfected his Daoist merit, the Lord of Qingyao took his place among the Jade Clarity heavens. The Lord of the Great Dao, the Most High, bestowed upon him a flying-cloud feathered canopy, flowing purple phoenix insignia, and such books and treasures of the Dao as Golden Truth, Jade Radiance and The Seven Primordial Powers of the Opened and Fallen. He also granted him a golden divine tiger tally, a flowing-gold fire bell, a blue-jade seal, a nine-colored seamless insignia, and a plain blue feather skirt, enabling him to fly through the Highest Clarity heavens.

From then on, he could perform myriad transformations and travel among the heavenly realms of the five directions. Riding the Void, he could summon the moon and draw down the sun’s disk; he displayed the divine powers of gathering and dispersing, separation and reunion, and shared the numinous nature of the perfected beings. He could transform his body and conceal his traces, changing countless times in an instant. He ascended to the Three Primordial Heavens, paid court at the Jade Palace, roamed the boundless heavenly realms, and governed the Nine Heavens. He entered and left the gateways of the Grotto Heavens and consorted with Jade Immortals. Receiving the instructions of the Most High, Primordial Beginning, and the True Perfected One, he followed the course of Qi and Heaven’s mandate and held the office of Emperor Chen. His Daoist arts encompassed the myriad ways, and every immortal and perfected being was connected with him. He governed the ten directions of the lower heavenly realms; the spirits of mountains and rivers, the sources and channels of waterways, the Five Sacred Peaks, and the Four Seas all fell under his authority.

The Jing of the Seventy-Four Methods of Transformation of the Cavern of Truth records that the Lord of Long Life and Destiny of the Southern Pole, chief registrar of the perfected beings of the Highest Clarity, had the surname Wang, the given name Gaisheng, and the courtesy name Yidu. He was born in the first year of the Great Void. At that time, the Year Star was moving through the Western Lands. The month of Mengshang began a new cycle, and the qi of Vermilion Brightness was fading. The workings of Heaven were dim and hidden; the three lights of sun, moon, and stars grew dark, and the morning wind blew fiercely. At daybreak, only six suns shone in the sky.

The Lord was born in Changle Township, Guangchang City, in the Eastern Forest. At fourteen, he left the world of dust and turned his heart toward the way of the immortals. He met Master Hua of the Purple Palace and received methods for nurturing Yin-Yang, shortening the span of death and lengthening life, transforming and refining through the Three and Five, restoring the spirit through the Seven and Nine, mastering the way of harmony and balance, and cultivating embryonic breathing. By practicing these methods, he lived to the age of four hundred.

Later, he climbed to a ravine on Mount Xuanxi and withdrew into a cave in the cliffs. He visited Master Tu and learned how to refine the Golden Elixir, the root of cloud fungus, the Sang Vajra Scripture, methods for making flying mist rise and frost sink like snow, and practices for drawing in rosy clouds and swallowing essence. After taking the results of his cultivation for seven years, he joined with the light of the sun. As he traveled through the empty cavern mountain of the Divine Continent, he met Master Dai, the Perfected One of Great Unity, and received the Emperor Lord’s method of refining snow nine times, along with the way of drawing in rosy clouds and swallowing essence. After practicing for another seven years, he joined with the light of the sun. Later, he met Master Dai again and received the Emperor Lord’s ninefold refinement method.

The Dongxuan Benxing Jing says: The Lord of Primordial Numinous Power, Jade Treasure of the Central Heaven, was originally surnamed Huang and styled Xinran. He was descended from Dongyuan and belonged to the lineage of Zhonghe. He was born on the Mound of Flowing Life in the Azure Origin Heaven of the World of Good Endurance. For an entire kalpa after his birth, he remained silent, his mind in a state of undifferentiated stillness, free of thoughts, and he nourished himself on the breath of inhalation and exhalation. At that time, Heaven and Earth had not yet given forth light. In the Land Without Color, the Child of Impermanence taught Xinran the Numinous Treasure Red Writing, True Text of the Red Emperor. Only then did Xinran begin to speak.

At that time, he cultivated himself alone and had not yet begun to teach the celestial and human beings far and wide. Before his good deeds and merit were complete, Heaven and Earth were destroyed once more. He died in the Province of Flowing Life in the Azure Origin Heaven, and his spiritual body was buried beneath the mound. More than a hundred years passed, yet his corpse did not decay; yellow clouds often covered it. When the flood calamity came, the world was submerged. Mounds of earth rose high on every side, reaching the sky and blocking the paths along which clouds and waters flowed. Xinran adapted to the change and suddenly rose again, reborn as a human being. He took the surname Tongban and the given name Yuanshi.

After the floodwaters receded, Heaven and Earth once again shone with light. The Three Signs—the cosmic manifestations of Heaven, Earth, and humanity—revealed their mysterious radiance, while the Seven Primordials, sacred powers associated with the stars and primordial Qi, shone high above. In the first year of the Kaiguang era, the year of the Earth Ox, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning bestowed on Yuanshi the title “Lord of Primordial Numinous Power, Jade Treasure.”

◎Chronicle of the Red Luminous Heavenly Emperor

The Scripture of Profound Mystery and Original Conduct (Dongxuan Benxing Jing) records that long ago, in the world of Chanli, there was a king of the Dui people. His daughter was named Gua Yin, also written as “Ji Yin.” From birth, she could not speak. When she was fourteen, the king found this strange and abandoned her in Mount Akong, among the long mulberry trees of Nanfu.

With no food, Gua Yin often gazed up at the sun and drew in its breath. She also welcomed the moonlight and took in the moon’s essence. In this way, she naturally felt nourished, and her body suffered neither fatigue nor harm. She often walked through the mountains, exploring caves and rocky hollows. One day, beneath a stand of cypress trees at a dwelling in Danling, she suddenly encountered a divine being. The being took Gua Yin by the right hand and wrote on a red stone, saying, “Though you cannot speak, you can remember these words.”

Gua Yin was sorrowful. She felt she had been born unlucky: unable to speak, she had also been abandoned in the remote mountains. Inwardly, she vowed that if she could return to the human world, she would do good and accumulate De (Virtue/Power) without holding back. Even if she had to wait a hundred kalpas, she hoped her wish would come true.

Heaven responded to her sincerity and sent down the Vermilion Palace Spirit Youth, a celestial official, to teach her methods for nourishing body and mind and to pass on the pronunciation of the eight characters of the Red Writing. After that, Gua Yin was finally able to speak. From morning until night, she paid homage to the celestial script, the sacred writing of Heaven. Once she attained the Dao (the Way), she could foresee good and ill fortune, command the myriad spirits, and give orders in every direction. Later, she emerged from the mountains and returned to the kingdom.

At that time, a severe drought afflicted the land, and the people suffered terribly beneath the scorching sun. The king was deeply afraid and prayed to the gods. When Gua (a personal name) heard of this, he went to the king and said, “I have often heard that there is a girl in the mountains who cannot speak, yet can move Heaven. Does the king remember her?” Only then did the king recall that the girl was his own daughter, and he sent people to bring her back to the palace.

When the king saw that his daughter could now speak, shame showed on his face. She manifested the Daoist arts, threw back her head, and cried out toward the sky. Rain immediately poured down, and the floodwaters rose to a depth of ten feet. Then she transformed her form and vanished. Later, she entrusted her form once more to the womb of a woman of the Wang family. Since the time was not yet ripe for change, she was born again as a girl. Her father gave her the courtesy name Fuqing and named her Qiu Zeng.

When she reached the age for the ceremony marking adulthood, she developed great compassion and gave her possessions to the poor. She lived alone, apart from worldly affairs. In a quiet room, she lit lamps and burned incense, and observed fasting for a long time. Her sincerity steadily accumulated until at last it moved the Dao, and the Dao descended.

In the first year of Kaiguang, the great holy deities of the ten directions and the Perfected Ones of wondrous practice gathered in the Green Radiance Grove within the Three Origins Cave, near Mount Danhuo in the Southern Garden. The Perfected Ones sat in attendance, while incense and flowers were arranged all around. Songs, dances, and music began, and more than five thousand people assembled. The luminous patterns of the Lingbao shone brilliantly, their clear light illuminating both inside and out. The cloud formations blazed with splendor, like the bright moon among the stars; they could be seen for dozens of miles, even from the hills where Qiu Zeng lived.

At the time, Qiu Zeng was sixteen. Seeing her dwelling lit up, she thought the scene extraordinary, so she stepped outside and gazed southward. There she saw a Perfected One who had attained the Dao. Delighted, Qiu Zeng clasped her hands in salute and called out from afar: “Today I am fortunate to encounter the Celestial Worthy and behold you with my own eyes. This is a blessing I would not have dared to hope for, and I scarcely know how to express myself. I wish to submit my life to the heavens of the ten directions, and above all to the Celestial Worthy above those heavens. I beg you to discern my sincerity and grant me instruction. I am willing to pass through ten thousand kalpas and at last attain liberation; I hope to ascend and become an immortal.”

Seeing that Qiu Zeng had made a great vow and was firm in her resolve, a demon transformed into an old man representing the Five Emperors and went to tell her: “I have come on behalf of the honored deities of the ten directions to tell you this: the Way of Lingbao is now rising, and the Five Paths are about to begin their course. Those who cultivate the Dao should be benevolent and filial, respect their elders, and honor their parents. I hear that your father intends to marry you off and has already agreed to the match. Since you have accepted the other family’s proposal and your parents have given their orders, you cannot refuse to comply. You should first follow their arrangements and fulfill your human duties; later, you can seek another path. If you disobey your father’s teaching, you cannot become an immortal.”

Qiu Zeng replied: “In my previous life I was unfortunate: from an early age I lacked the circumstances for cultivating the Dao, and my merit and virtue were not yet complete. That is why I was reborn as a woman. Day and night I urge myself onward, vowing to devote myself wholly to the Dao. With a firm resolve, I will naturally come into accord with the Great Dao. My life was brought forth by my parents, but my destiny belongs to the heavens of the ten directions. If I disobey my father’s teaching, things will not be as you say.”

Seeing that Qiu Zeng’s resolve was firm and that she upheld the true path, the demon withdrew.

Qiu Zeng thought to herself: “The Great Dao is lofty and remote, and I have no chance to attain it.” She gathered firewood and set it alight, intending to burn her body so that her form would turn to flying ash, rise with the wind, and reach the place where the Great Dao resides. When the fire had caught, Qiu Zeng threw herself into it, yet she seemed to meet no resistance; her body was as if standing in midair. In an instant, she transformed into a man and stood before the Dao.

The Celestial Worthy Primordial Beginning appointed the deity of the Southern Pole as Qiu Zeng’s master and had him transmit the Ten Precepts and the “Luminous Patterns of Lingbao.” The Celestial Worthy Primordial Beginning then said to the deity of the Southern Pole: “In her previous lives, Qiu Zeng passed through ten thousand kalpas and consistently practiced the Way of Lingbao. Because her merit and virtue were not yet complete, she continued through cycles of rebirth. Now she has been born into the human world, and on seeing me transmit the teaching, she was able to transform her form. She must still guide and transform ninety-nine thousand people before she can become a Great God of Perfected Truth and serve as the Celestial Emperor of Dongyang Chiming.”

The Dongxuan Benxing Jing records: The Venerable Spirit of the Southern Pole was originally surnamed Huang and had the courtesy name Duming. She was the daughter of the king of Wan in the country of Yanfuli. She was born in the Red-Brilliance Heaven of the Chanli world and was noble by nature. Her father was king, and she lived in the palace, enjoying a golden bed, a jade couch, a seven-colored jeweled canopy, and a pair of bright-moon pearls whose light illuminated the palace inside and out. The king assigned her thousands of female singers and dancers, and the palace was filled with every kind of treasure.

Duming often wished to give away her possessions, perform good deeds widely, and accumulate merit. She longed for mountains and rivers and wanted to seek out the immortals. But strict palace rules barred her way out, making the journey impossible. Her heart grew heavy; she disliked life in the palace and was often sorrowful. The king felt compassion for her, comforted her in many ways, and asked what was troubling her. She never answered, but only wept as though in a downpour, showing no joy at all. The king therefore added more singers, dancers, and musicians, so that music filled the palace every day. Duming heard it as though she could not hear.

She lived alone in a secluded place, burning incense and cultivating herself in quiet. For a long time she observed fasts and precepts, eating only at midday each day. The king understood what she wanted and had earth piled up in the palace to make a mountain a hundred zhang high. He planted a bamboo grove on it and built a terrace, naming it the Jade Terrace for Seeking the Real. Duming left the palace, climbed up to live on the terrace, and sealed the path leading to it so that no one could come and go. She lived alone for twelve years, and her utmost sincerity in cultivation moved Heaven. The Celestial Emperor then sent twenty-four Maidens of the Vermilion Palace and Jade Hall (female immortals of the heavens), riding clouds and phoenixes, to descend and welcome Duming.

On the night she departed, a fierce wind rose in the sky, and torrential rain fell amid peals of thunder and flashes of lightning.

On the night of her departure, fierce winds swept across the sky, torrential rain fell, and thunder and lightning raged. The houses on the ground seemed to spin, and the whole kingdom was shaken. The king was terrified and did not know what to do. At dawn, as the light broke over the land, the high platform on the mountain had vanished, and the princess was nowhere to be seen.

The Celestial Emperor guided Du Ming to Mount Yangqiu. There stood the Upper Lodge of Cinnabar Mound, nestled among the Xiang trees. A vermilion phoenix stood guard beside it, a divine dragon protected the imperial carriage, and more than three hundred jade boys and jade girls attended her.

Later, when the great kalpa arrived and Heaven and Earth changed places, Du Ming too was due to join those cast aside. Moved by her remembrance of the South Above and her utmost sincerity, the Vermilion Palace entered her purple name in the register and caused her body and form to merge into the womb of the Beginningless. After one kalpa, she was born anew as a man. She lived in the Seven-Colored Jewel Grove of the Bright Pearl Upper Lodge in the Southern Cinnabar Dongyang Grotto. The Emperor Brahma, Baoyang, Yangdan, the True and Ancient Lord of the Cinnabar Spirit, then bestowed on Du Ming the honorific title “Supreme True One of the Southern Pole.”

“Preface to the Biography of the True Lord Who Assists the Sage and Preserves Virtue,” composed by Emperor Zhenzong of the Song

It is said that when Heaven looks with favor upon the human world, the state can flourish; when the spirits bestow their commands, the divine Way can aid and bring human affairs to completion. Examining the accounts in the texts, one finds that what has been said in ancient and modern times accords at its root. Moreover, our dynasty’s lineage had its beginnings in the Warring States period. As its foundation was first laid, there were already many accounts of communion with the spirits: sometimes a mountain spirit manifested in visible form; sometimes a spirit appeared in a dream within an imperial residence. Such events have a long history and are not false.

Among these figures was one who received the Three Unities and founded the dynasty, and who would later bring its affairs to prosperity. He ranked foremost among the hundred spirits, gathered blessings for the human world, and made the efficacy of the spirits manifest through striking signs. These deeds are all recorded in the biography of the True Lord Who Assists the Sage and Preserves Virtue. The True Lord guards a place called Tiaomei and is honored as the hidden sovereign of the “Turtle and Jade.”

When the Great Ancestor first received Heaven’s Mandate and governed all under Heaven, he observed the True Lord’s virtue but said nothing…

When the founding emperor ascended the throne, a new era began. He examined the virtue of the True Lord Who Aids the Sage and Protects Virtue, a deity revered in Daoism, but did not proclaim it. Emperor Taizong respectfully carried forward his predecessor’s plans and, in keeping with the times, was the first to honor the True Lord publicly.

The record of Jade Dawn’s precious favor, the account of the Northern Dipper Lords’ celestial ranks, the proclamation of the state’s enduring prosperity, and the disclosure of the mysteries of the True Immortals’ laws all reveal a mighty spiritual power that drives away demons and evil spirits. His earnest and wide-reaching teachings also spread throughout the human world, proclaiming Heaven’s blessings and the people’s peace and well-being. A sacred altar was therefore built for the True Lord, and he was honored with a lofty title. Incense, flowers, and offerings expressed the people’s reverence, as they looked to the enlightened spirit for protection. In this way, peace and protection reached every corner of the realm. Was it only the Three Qin region around the Guanzhong plain that rejoiced in gratitude?

Now, young and lacking in wisdom, I have inherited the foundation laid by my forebears. I admire the fine words passed down through the world and look up to the grace with which the Most Divine protects humankind.

I therefore consulted the important texts and respectfully added to the True Lord’s title. I regard this as the consistent will of the Lord on High and as the true sign that my late father’s spirit manifests in Heaven. How could this go unspoken and unrecorded? This account should be handed down to later generations and never allowed to fall into disuse. I therefore ordered the ministers who assist in governing to gather and compile the sacred teachings. After inquiries were made, the necessary materials were soon brought together in a book. The True Lord’s illustrious achievements seem to stand before my eyes; recalling his fame and virtue, I feel I can almost see him. These deeds truly deserve to be engraved on golden tablets and preserved in the Orchid Terrace, the palace library.

As I read through the memorials and saw how they attributed honor and praise to the True Lord, I wished to edit them and write a preface. In the quiet of the night, during a pause in my reading, I will briefly record when these events took place. I have therefore titled this work The Biography of the True Lord Who Aids the Sage and Protects Virtue.

The Biography of the True Lord Who Aids the Sage and Protects Virtue

Wang Qinruo, a high official of the Northern Song, compiled the following account:

In the early Jianlong era, Zhang Shouzhen, a local man from Zhuzhi County in Fengxiang Prefecture, was traveling in the Zhongnan Mountains when he suddenly heard someone calling to him from the sky. The voice was clear and carried far. Frightened, he looked all around but saw no one. He could only continue on in silence, straining to listen. After walking several miles, he heard the voice again: “Go ahead. I will follow shortly.” This continued for several days, and Zhang Shouzhen could never make sense of what was happening.

Later, after he had returned home, he heard someone speak from inside the house: “I have been ordered to descend into the human world. Why are you so stubborn and refuse to heed my words? Were it not for the great affairs of the Song dynasty, I would have shattered you long ago!” Both amazed and afraid, Zhang Shouzhen asked, “I still do not know which star deity you are, or why you have descended in this way. I am dull by nature and know nothing of serving the gods. Please, divine one, do not press me. I truly do not wish to serve you.”

The voice replied, “I am the Great Sage of the High Heavens, an aide to the Jade Emperor. I have been ordered to protect the age and have descended into the human world riding a dragon. Yet without someone truly virtuous, I cannot put my teachings into practice. Your bones and features are unlike those of ordinary people. You can sincerely accept my instructions in the Dao.” Zhang Shouzhen said, “I have heard that men who serve as mediums are called wu, and women are called xi. Though I am only an ordinary person, I do not wish to become one of them.”

The voice said again, “I am a god from Heaven, not a ghost or demon. I can command the spirits of the Five Peaks and Four Rivers—the sacred mountains and the four great rivers. If you turn your heart toward the Dao and diligently offer incense and other devotions, I will ensure that you are summoned by a great kingdom and receive the favor of its true ruler. How could you be like those mediums?” Zhang Shouzhen replied, “Since a divine being has instructed me in this way, how could I fail to serve you with reverence?” He then prepared wine and meat for the offering.

The divine being said again, “I am a god. Why do you profane me with polluting, fleshly offerings? You do not yet understand these things, so I will not blame you. From now on, offer only incense, tea, vegetarian food, and fresh fruit. Though I do not eat these things, I can receive your sincerity.” Zhang Shouzhen bowed and begged forgiveness.

The divine being said again, “I am your master in Heaven. In the human world, you have another master. You should seek out a worthy adept and ask him to transmit the Dao and guide you to salvation.”

Shouzhen respectfully invited Liang Quan, a master of the ancient Louguan tradition, to become his teacher. He received ordination and became a Daoist. Later, he found an open plot beside his home and withdrew there to cultivate the Dao. He also built a hall in the Northern Emperor’s Palace to honor the deities, making offerings with reverence morning and evening and practicing with great devotion.

The deity said to him, “I see the sincerity of your heart and commend your reverence for the teachings I have transmitted. You are steadfast and pure in conduct, and can drive away evil spirits.”

The Perfected Lord said to Shouzhen, “I see that your heart is sincere and that you are willing to follow my teaching. Those who are upright in conduct and keep themselves pure can drive away evil spirits. I will first teach you sword techniques, so you can rid the people of demons. Later, I will have you establish an altar and pray for the good fortune of the state.”

Shouzhen bowed again and said, “I am an ordinary, dull-witted person, and only naturally straightforward. Perhaps because I served the Dao and its teachings in a previous life, I have been able to take refuge in them in this life. With a heart of utter sincerity, may I honor the gods’ grace forever. I await your instruction with reverence on the altar rites and sword techniques.”

The Perfected Lord said, “There are three kinds of sword techniques. Forge a sharp sword from hard iron, and I need only look at it once before it can be used. When you encounter someone who is ill, have them wave the sword to drive away evil; the malign force will disperse, and the patient will not be harmed.

“When local earth spirits cause disturbances, water spirits spawn monsters, or calamities strike a region and bring worry to the state, use the upper sword to set things right. When monsters in mountains and marshes, or evil spirits among birds and beasts, disturb and harm the people, use the middle sword. When creatures such as chimei—ghosts of the mountains and forests—and kui, a legendary monster, use malign forces to cause trouble and injure people, use the lower sword.”

Shouzhen said, “I have received your instruction on the three sword techniques. Please also guide me in the rites for establishing an altar.”

The Perfected Lord said, “There are nine kinds of altar. The three highest are established for the state. The foremost is the Altar for Following Heaven and Prosperous Rule, with 3,600 star positions arranged for a Great Jiao Rite for All Heaven, a large Zhaijiao rite that offers worship to all the gods of the heavens. Banners, ritual swords, bows and arrows, and other ritual implements must all be displayed in order, and the altar’s gates and entrances follow a complete set of ritual rules. Next is the Altar for Extending the Mandate and Preserving Life, with 2,400 star positions arranged for a Circumferential-Heavens Great Jiao. Its implements and rites are one degree simpler than those of the first altar. The third is the Altar for Praying for Grain and Auspicious Seasons, with 1,200 star positions arranged for a Net of Heaven Great Jiao. Its implements and rites are another degree simpler than those of the middle altar.

“If the occasion is not one of the regularly scheduled large-scale prayers and sacrifices, and these three kinds of altar cannot be prepared, the prayer text should still be written with sincerity and purity. Prepare fragrant flowers and unusual fruits, beat the drum to summon the gods, and pray and make your petition with earnestness. The altar platform should stand nine chi above the ground.”