《太平经合校》Vol. 6

(Heaven or the master of the scriptures says to the student of the Dao:) You are about to live well indeed. If you suddenly fail to attain great awakening, you will not be far from death. Be careful—my words must not be violated; those who violate them will perish in body. It is not I who kill you; your own conduct brings it upon you. Do you understand? “Yes, yes.”

I have set forth these six matters for you, and that is still far from one ten-thousandth of the whole. Worthy persons who obtain my Dao should think deeply and look far ahead. Do not turn back to slackness and self-belittlement, nor take lax indulgence as goodness. Strive to study the Dao. If you treat good as evil, you will in turn bring disaster upon others. Each must plan for himself: among these are six sins that surely lead to death, and six great goods; model your self-cultivation on them—practice good and you will surely receive good. Those who belittle themselves and follow evil will, in time, draw in evil offspring or bitter fruit. Nothing is worse than indulgence without self-exhortation and honest self-measurement. Think carefully and hold my words closely in mind. The wise heart must be opened with ease. Virtue, morality, and humaneness are entrusted to persons of virtue; what is vicious is left to those who refuse deep reflection. This is heaven’s fixed law: if all can take my scripture as their mirror and set themselves right, there will no longer be evil people under heaven. This is the ancient supreme Dao of the cavern, able to transform and guide the multitude; once people know it, all turn toward good and no longer revert to evil. Superior aspirants rejoice in life and may study the true Dao; great worthies may study its De (Virtue/Power); those who love giving may study its benevolence; the intelligent may study its wisdom; the capable may study their capacity; the strong may study the true Dao; great…

Note for readers of the original: The six matters / six deadly sins / six great goods are standard lists in the scripture; here only the names are mentioned, not spelled out in this fragment. Taking my scripture as mirror to set oneself right means using the Taiping jing (or the book in question) as the standard for correcting word and deed. Superior aspirants rejoice in life reflects the usual upper, middle, and lower ranks of aspirants; the upper rank emphasizes long life and the true Dao. The original breaks off after “great…,” so the explanation stops there without continuing the lost text.

Virtuous great sages can be learned from in character; those who delight in giving can be learned from in benevolence; the wise can be learned from in wisdom; the talented can be learned from in ability; the strong can be learned from in physical strength. If one fully learns and applies all of these, reflecting on them repeatedly until they are familiar in the heart, the person can keep far from evil. Heaven and earth will also cherish such a person, nurturing them from the six directions (above, below, and the four quarters), and the sovereign need not toil over every detail—they can long enjoy ease while governing the world. Do realized cultivators (zhenren, those who have attained the Dao) also understand this principle?

“The greatest peace and joy have arrived; I am deeply glad.”

“You may be called one who delights in goodness and is good at understanding. That is why the ancient sages and worthies never ceased teaching people: they saw clearly that the heavenly prohibitions (tianjin—the precepts and taboos ordained by Heaven) are explicit, and each person must plan for themselves. The words of sages and worthies spread throughout the world. Have you not felt this?”

“Excellent, excellent!”

“Therefore the ancient sages, worthies, and superior practitioners all studied with their utmost effort, diligently day and night without stopping—again because they saw clearly that Heaven’s instructions are explicit; they dared not, through self-contempt and rashness, do what was wrong, and dared not, through self-contempt and rashness, neglect diligent study. Thus they could long remain auspicious and free of calamity. These extraordinary persons had no innate wisdom from birth; they reached their level entirely through diligent learning. Those who are vicious and evil are so because they do not study diligently and treat themselves lightly and rashly. The Dao I transmit is the gateway of fortune and misfortune—do you also understand?”

“Yes, yes. So when you say ‘all are raised, both above and below,’ what does that mean?”

“Alas! How can you still not understand!”

“Seeing the Celestial Master (Tianshi) speak on and on, I am now more confused. I do not know what ‘above and below’ refers to or what it means.”

“Alas! How can you still not understand!”

“Seeing the Celestial Master speak on and on, I am now more confused. I do not know what counts as understanding and what counts as not understanding.”

“Now I will make the principle clear to you. Realized one: Heaven’s way of governing is to transform and guide people toward goodness.”

“From top to bottom, how many kinds of methods are there?”

“The gates of the method are myriad, each with a different intent. Yet even realized ones hold themselves upright in this way; ordinary people find it hard to awaken, and long immersion in delusion is just like this.”

“When there is fault, only the Celestial Master can point it out.”

Yes. In assisting an emperor to govern the realm, there are broadly ten approaches: first, governing by primordial Qi (yuanqi); second, governing by spontaneity (ziran); third, governing by the Dao; fourth, governing by De (virtue/power); fifth, governing by benevolence (ren); sixth, governing by righteousness (yi); seventh, governing by ritual propriety (li); eighth, governing by culture and refinement (wen); ninth, governing by law (fa); and tenth, governing by military force (wu). The ten methods end here—why? All things begin with primordial Qi and end with military force; military force means campaigning and killing, so it ranks last. Thus all things arise from the Grand Mystery (Tai Xuan), pass through the yang phase in the middle, and perish at the White Tiger (Baihu). So primordial Qi belongs in the north, while the White Tiger is in the west—that is the meaning.

Therefore Heaven sends primordial Qi to govern, letting wind and breath nurture the myriad things. Earth governs through spontaneity, so following what is good yields good, and following what is evil yields evil. Human beings should align with the central harmony of Heaven and Earth and govern by the Dao, actively walking the Way. All affairs interconnect and circulate; these three correspond to the portents of Heaven, Earth, and humanity. Below these three, De and benevolence are only clauses and phrases; below the level of benevolence, there is mostly harm and difficulty in matching intent.

So when I walk the Way I often find joy: above, I root myself in Heaven’s nature and its admonitions; in the middle, I set aside what has not yet reached full maturity in nature. Every thing’s growth has its constant pattern; only in the middle stage can it be fulfilled; at the end comes disorder—once disorder sets in it cannot be put right again, so one must begin from what is above (the root). Heaven always keeps to its root, Earth keeps to the middle—one turn; humanity keeps to what is below—three turns—so the sequence (shu) and the Dao fall out of order. Has the perfected person (zhenren) already understood this?

Yes, yes.

You now have doubts.

Following the teacher, I may speak; I dare not doubt.

Perfected one, step forward. Heaven will aid the emperor, because the sequence has fallen away from the Dao. Has the perfected person already understood this?

Yes, yes.

You now have doubts.

Following the teacher, I may speak; I dare not doubt.

Perfected one, step forward. Heaven will aid the emperor—what will serve as clear proof? How will benefit be extended to the people and ministers, and what will count as verification?

Only the celestial master (tianshi)—I am not yet equal to that understanding; I have spoken many times without hitting the mark and have much fault, so I dare not speak further.

“Well, do it just like that.”

“Yes, yes.”

Heaven is about to bless a virtuous emperor, entrusting him with precious scriptures so that he may govern the world; by applying these principles, transgression and disorder can be removed, harmony with the way of Yin and Yang can be achieved, and his ministers will also benefit. Heaven will further grant him worthy officials so the people gain advantage and can produce good descendants.

The True Person said: It is exactly so—what other strange doctrine could there be? The principle has been fully stated. Heaven only intends to raise up a virtuous sovereign, send down sacred events for him, and have him transmit the great meaning of Heaven and Earth and penetrate the intent of Heaven and Earth. Therefore the True Person comes to instruct him; these teachings should be handed to careful, good-hearted people to open their minds and set them to earnest reflection; then given to a sovereign of great virtue above, to make known to all the worthy so they understand together, and passed back to the people. When the people receive them, they follow one another in groups of fifteen, deliberating and governing together, linking up what is uneven and unjust—this is not only the business of Heaven and Earth and the sovereign. The root of fault lies with those in authority among the elders; the elder himself must bear heavy responsibility before August Heaven and Earth, for everything hangs on one person.

At that time there were also those who learned first and obtained the true Dao yet did not strive to guide and teach one another; there were also former sages who had already understood the meaning and then returned it to the people. When the people received it, likewise fifteen followed one another, deliberated and governed, and linked up what was uneven—again not only the affair of Heaven and Earth and the sovereign. The root of error still lay with the one who was chief among them; the elder must himself bear heavy responsibility before August Heaven and Earth, and all arose from this one person.

Those who are fortunate enough to understand De first do not, among themselves, influence one another through virtue; those who have wealth stored at home are unwilling to exert themselves in benevolence and righteousness; people are born with intelligence enough for study, yet refuse to apply themselves diligently to seek the true Dao and prolong life. They could use their capacity to learn De and transform themselves, yet will not apply themselves to self-transformation through De; they have strength yet will not use it fully to improve themselves, and instead fall into poverty and distress. There are six such great excesses in all, and for this reason Heaven and humanity have each accumulated burdens over long ages. Since Heaven and Earth were opened at the beginning, generation after generation has passed on mutual liability; those born in later ages suffer especially severely. The masses pile up into a great calamity, so that Heaven and Earth together lose the right course; emperors’ hearts are long troubled yet the realm is not governed, past and present are out of step, and Heaven is deeply aggrieved by this disease. Therefore I urgently transmit Heaven’s words: from utmost antiquity until now, Heaven and Earth have had afflictions, knotted and blocked so they cannot flow; ordinary people cannot know this—all of it is made known through the words of sacred and numinous persons. It is not I alone; do not wonder at this, perfected ones. Now I have already left the world; you must not vainly hope to see me again among the people, so I transmit the book and entrust it to the perfected one. Once the perfected one has received it, he too has already left the secular world and cannot again become a teacher for the people. Therefore the perfected one is to seek among good people one who can penetrate the meaning and entrust it to him. Now I urge you to go and deliver it to the ruler who possesses De. Whoever dares not go to deliver it, or who delays and obstructs, will be punished—how solemn this is! Today you must resolve the disease and secure the emperor, so that the ruler of moral power may make it clear to all the worthy, transform the people, and have each person reflect on faults, so as to resolve the crimes and punishments of ancestral cheng fu (inherited burden), and have every person take responsibility for his own person and not slacken—then later Heaven will greatly rejoice, the way of governance can be established, and the realm can be at peace. You may harbor doubts and think my words not fully trustworthy; my text is only to be tested for its truth. The reason is this: ancient texts number hundreds of millions of scrolls, yet their governance constantly fails to bring great peace. This makes worthy and clear-minded persons alone harbor doubts and say the book is not so. Would a brave man not be tested, and then know his bravery? Ancient texts number hundreds of millions of scrolls, yet their governance constantly fails to bring great peace. This makes worthy…

Plain-Language Interpretation

How can a warrior know his strength without being tested? How can anyone know that a scripture truly works if they only read it and never put it into practice or check the results? I carry Heaven’s mandate to speak Heaven’s words, to test who is truly real. From now on, every document you receive must be tried in actual use—you must not invent false teachings out of thin air.

Heaven hates this deeply; Earth is sorely troubled. It is treated as a grave sickness, full of wrongs and rage. Because of it, the ten thousand things cannot flourish; disasters multiply and people die young, never reaching the years they should live. Rulers worry, officials and common people fall into disorder and no longer govern one another. The root of great calamity lies here—this is the sixth kind of offense.

Those who have the Dao begrudge others’ Dao and will not teach the foolish with all their strength. Those who have De begrudge others’ De and will not guide the foolish with all their strength. Those who hoard wealth and goods are stingy and will not give—yet Heaven created people so they would share with one another. Heaven has awareness: some refuse to study the right path with effort and instead parade their own dead-end state for others to teach them, then mock those who teach; some who have ability refuse to use it fully so others can see and learn, and instead revile them; some who have strength refuse honest labor though they could prosper through diligence and act with benevolence, and instead slack into laziness. When they see parents learning the Dao and receiving instruction, they speak ill of it. Therefore Heaven has commanded the true person to read this text at once, so that all the worthy deeply consider the people and examine their own great faults—does the true person understand these orders?

“Yes, yes. Since the divine person now sets forth Heaven’s law for the world, why must we not only win people over but also spread it among the people and truly take both upper and lower into account?”

“Good, good. The supreme Great Peace qi is about to arrive; in all things one must follow the flow. That is why both upper and lower must be considered. If upper and lower are not both considered, that is contrary qi; when the realm is not governed in peace, much of it is because of contrary qi and failure to follow.”

“Does the true person wish to add anything more?”

“I dare not.”

“So you should take both upper and lower into account. Do not ask again in the same way.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Go. Act with care; each of you look to your own conduct. Here are six great faults. The Way of Heaven is utterly strict; you must not act recklessly. Heaven above watches over people.”

“Yes, yes.”

Someone wished to ask further: Once ordinary people have obtained the “essential Way” and “essential Virtue,” where should they be kept and how should they be applied?

Answer: They should be offered upward to the sovereign.

Question: Why must they be presented to the sovereign?

Answer: The essential Way is for stabilizing the sovereign; when used in governance it aligns with the heart of Heaven. The essential Virtue is for nurturing the sovereign; when used in governance it aligns with the intent of Earth. To know this clearly yet refuse to memorialize the sovereign is disrespect; the offense cannot be excused.

Question: Why is the offense so grave?

Answer: Judging from your words, you seem not to understand at all. As a son, to be unfilial; as a subject, to be disloyal and untrustworthy—the offenses are too many to count. Yet the Perfected One asks why all are equally counted as grave? What the Perfected One has learned—why does it grow shallower day by day instead of deeper?

Question: This dull person truly cannot see it clearly.

Answer: You still say you do not understand. Ordinary people hoard the essential Way and essential Virtue, and thereby leave the sovereign worried, ignorant, and benighted; the fault lies in the true Dao and De being blocked and unable to circulate. The essential Way is what accords with Heaven; the essential Virtue is what accords with Earth. Fools cut it off; Heaven detests it, Earth abhors it—the offense cannot be wiped away. The Perfected One alone receives Heaven’s special favor and attains long life; your study is not yet thorough, and you have already touched Heaven’s prohibition—what must be done should be undertaken with caution.

Answer: Yes, yes.

Right: Scripture on Heaven’s Teaching of Harmony, Enabling People to Remain Constantly Auspicious and Keep Far from Misfortune

(Taiping Jing Hejiao, juan 68, Ding bu zhi 17)

I am about to depart; the day is set. I especially admonish you six disciples: you must hold fast to what follows.

The Dao is whole and unobstructed: there is neither highest nor lowest, neither surface nor interior. Only by guarding harmonious qi can one be called spirit (shen). If you seek the Dao near at hand—from within yourselves—you will gain greatly; if you chase it far away and outward, you will lose.

In antiquity, rulers who governed well all began by cultivating themselves and taking the inner heart as their starting point. Those who truly wield the great Dao handle the realm with ease. In every move they do not violate measure and rule, and the myriad things each settle into their proper order—these principles lie close in the breast yet can spread to fill the four seas. The ancients called what the sages transmitted the essential Dao (yaodao).

In governing the realm, take joy in few affairs and wuwei (non-action); be exceedingly careful never to lose this root. This essential Dao is the standard by which the worthy (xianzhe) are measured and corrected. Today I admonish you again so that you may understand.

You six disciples have asked me day after day about the meaning in the scriptures. Though the Dao has branches and directions, you should uphold one thing together and return to unity. When the tongue can reach the six extremes (the utmost reaches above, below, and in the four directions), the kingly Dao is complete; in explaining the myriad things each has its emphasis, yet heaven and earth are thereby greatly settled and the ruler has no burdens.

My scriptures are meant to let people know the spirit-heart, and penetrate the six extremes and eight directions. (Spirit-intent) descends of itself and submits in obedience, all with good intent and no ill will. The key lies in drawing near and dwelling within—like the myriad things: the heart is inside, the branches outside. When inner qi flourishes, the outer aspect rises; when inner qi wanes, the outer aspect declines.

Thus in antiquity the royal way, emperors, and sages, to align and penetrate the six extremes and eight directions, first rectified what was within. Rectify the outer by the inner, and in tens of thousands of cases all respond—in hundreds of millions, none slip away; rectify the inner by the outer, and among the myriad you miss one in ten thousand. When the inner wanes, the outer wanes—the principle is the same as above.

Therefore the great sages of old taught people to think deeply and plan far: close the nine gates (the nine openings—eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and the rest), rest the four limbs, make oneself like primordial chaos, like a ring without end, like a child in the womb not yet charged with duties—only thus can one gain the principle. My Dao takes all of this as the great essentials.

Hence they still required each person to guard his or her own root.

Note: In the base text, the passage “In antiquity the sages named it the essential Dao… Today I admonish you again so that you may understand” appears to repeat; the translation above follows the scripture in order once. If a critical edition merges or deletes it, follow that edition.

Heaven, when it creates human beings, bestows upon them the true Dao (the real, fundamental Great Way) together with everything they need. Hence there must be a teacher to open the gate, guide the way, and instruct in learning, so that people may know all things; if that gate is not opened, even though one has received the heaven-given true Dao, one still knows nothing at all. It is like an infant at birth, placed in a room—unless someone teaches him to act and to recognize things, he understands nothing.

People differ from one another only because customs vary in the eight directions, so what is learned and known is not the same. If one person can thoroughly master and penetrate the learning of the Way, circulating through inner and outer aspects, then everything becomes clear.

I am about to travel elsewhere; on the way I will continue to transmit further teachings and cannot remain seated here watching over you disciples. You six must read my book carefully: from beginning to end it has a thread and knots in the weave; if for a time you do not grasp its meaning, examine the ancient source texts to clarify it—when inner and outer connect, you will naturally know it all.

Upward movement corresponds to knowledge of Xuanzhen (Mysterious Truth); downward movement to Shunzhen (Compliant Truth); east to Chuzhen (Initial Truth); south to Taizhen (Supreme Truth); west to Shaozhen (Lesser Truth); north to Youzhen (Hidden Truth).

The Way is largely the same while details differ slightly, so one can distinguish Yin and Yang, penetrate the Limitless (Wuji), and unfold fifteen thousand two hundred characters (here referring to the total measure of the scripture’s text or its ritual numerology). Central Harmony (Zhonghe) gathers all things under its sway—yet this is only a partial provision, not yet exhausting heaven-and-earth Yin-Yang or piercing through all that is without inner and outer. Therefore one examines only the “without,” raises up the main rope, and shows the beginning, so that people may memorize according to the ritual pattern.

Recording ancient and recording present—the essential purport may seem scattered, yet it springs from one source, as if noted by sages and spirits, still overlapping like paired compasses and squares—even across billions upon billions of years, it is as though speaking face to face. Thus this book may serve as the constant scripture of heaven and earth, establishing the divine way for Yin-Yang. Do not wonder that my book repeats itself often from front to back: repetition is lest anything be omitted and lost.

The Way of Heaven is utterly strict: having opened the mouth, one dares not fail to set forth everything completely; if learners do not penetrate it through and through, it is called jiandao (a shallow, truncated Way)—then the fault would be too grave.

I truly feel pity for you and for people everywhere. Though the same teaching is spoken again and again, it is like the sages of high antiquity, middle antiquity, and later antiquity: though they lived in different ages, their words follow one another, are restated and reinforced, and cross-check each other until the meaning grows clear—so that the Way of Heaven can be fully understood. That is what this means. Go now; I have urgent business. Be careful to guard the Tianbao (the teaching and secrets sent down from Heaven) and transmit them only to those who ought to receive them.

Chapter information (titles)

• Youjie liu dizi (Admonitions to the Six Disciples on the Right): admonitions in the right-hand column, instructing the six disciples.
• Tianchen zhigan xiangpei fa di yibai wushi (Method of Matching Heaven’s Omens with the Stem–Branch System, section 105): the 105th section, on how Tianchen (hidden signs and portents shown by Heaven) are matched and applied with the zhigan (Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches—the system used for reckoning time, calendrics, and divination in antiquity).
• Zhenren zai jie liu dizi (The Perfected One Again Admonishes the Six Disciples): the Zhenren (realized guide who has attained the Dao and communicates with the divine) once more warns the six disciples.

(Volume labels such as “Taiping jing hejiao juan liushi jiu” are bibliographic and collation headings for the scripture’s division into fascicles, not separate main text.)

Zhenren (Perfected Person) bowed again and said: “I am a foolish and lowly creature, yet because the Celestial Master (Tianshi) has always treated me with the affection one shows a newborn child, his kindness is profound, allowing me, even in my haste, to come before him morning and evening; the Celestial Master’s merit and virtue are so great that I cannot repay them. Now I wish to ask again about hidden essentials—these are Heaven’s secret matters—but I dare not speak them out rashly.” The Celestial Master said: “Speak them out with a calm mind. Since you ask about matters of Heaven, you should investigate them to the very end and not give up halfway.” Zhenren assented repeatedly and said: “I have seen that what the Celestial Master expounds is inexhaustible. Later we disciples all received Heaven’s awakening and knew that the Celestial Master profoundly and thoroughly comprehends the essence of Yin-Yang within and beyond Heaven and Earth. We disciples feared that once we leave our master, there will be no one else to whom we can put our difficulties, so we presumptuously and immodestly ask: Are there tuchen (prophetic charts foretelling auspicious and inauspicious fates) that can long stabilize the state, enable the ruler always to govern by letting his robes hang down and his hands be folded—through Wuwei (non-action)—and free him from further anxiety? So that the ruler may constantly play the qin and se, make music, and roam and dwell at ease, secure as Heaven and Earth, forever without danger—may such a teaching be heard?”

The Celestial Master said: “Excellent! Do all you Zhenren wish to make diligent progress? What you ask is truly profound and far-reaching! What you seek are tuchen writings that penetrate Heaven and Earth; a single phrase from them is immutable for ten thousand generations. The Heavenly Lord (Heaven above), distressed by manifold disasters and the sorrow of sentient beings, has surely caused you Zhenren to come and ask about your doubts?” Zhenren assented. The Celestial Master said: “I will explain in detail for you Zhenren the great essentials of Heaven’s norms, the secret writings, oral instructions, and commands; listen and record as you go.” Zhenren assented.

The Celestial Master said: “August Heaven takes the four seasons as its branches; thick Earth takes the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) as its body. The branches govern prosperity and decline; the body governs norms and rules. It deploys the Nine Spirits (the nine deities who preside over the movements of Heaven and Earth), who circulate throughout the world; above and below they penetrate to the utmost, and their transformations are difficult to glimpse. The Nine Spirits are Heaven and Earth’s precious treasure and the gateways of the many gods. They have their own fixed, constant Dao; they must not be recklessly offended. To accord with them is to conform to the norms. To deploy these Nine Spirits and cause them to circulate throughout the world—this is precisely the constant law that the order of Heaven and Earth ought to follow.”

This passage treats the stature and proper order of Tianxia (All Under Heaven) as a single overarching pattern.

Tianxia runs through what is above and what is below; its depth and the subtlety of its transformations are not something one can easily take in or fully grasp. It is both the supreme treasure on which Heaven and Earth rely, and the crucial gateway through which the myriad spirits pass and through which responsive communion is achieved. Within it there are constant principles that must not be violated at random: act in accord with them and lasting good fortune follows; persist in disorder and inversion, and you fall out of step with the Way of Heaven and Earth and find no lasting peace.

The assembled perfected ones answered together: We wish to hear you explain the inner meaning—can such truth be seen as plainly as ordinary things?

The reply: Your question is well put. What follows will set out the Dao in full for you; each of you should gather your mind, reflect carefully, sit upright and still, and take in what I say.

The assembly answered again: Yes—yes (in reverent acceptance of the teaching).

Opening

The correlative methods of the Heavenly Constant in apocryphal literature hold that the south holds primacy among the five directional phases and symbolizes the sovereign. Thus the sun in the south symbolizes the ruler, fire in the south symbolizes the ruler, and the solar disk in the south symbolizes the ruler; among the four seasons, high summer in the south is sovereign; among the five sacrificial offices, the stove god in the south is sovereign; among the five viscera, the heart in the south is sovereign. The ruler’s prescribed color is to wear crimson—this is the cycle of fire. Therefore when the sovereign meets calamities or strange omens, they should correspond to yang qi; one must not arbitrarily match them to other cyclical phases. Yang qi is brightest in the sun, chief among all light; hence heavenly apocrypha often read the sovereign’s rise and fall through solar images. Do the Realized Ones understand? “Yes, yes—we receive this and know it.”

The sovereign’s way is always to seek kinship with the benevolent and to govern through those who have heart-mind. Those who can govern together should always practice the Way and cherish life. Toward the young, one waits until they grow up to become worthy ministers and finished vessels; the ruler should nurture them and must not harm them. Hence the east favors birth and the south favors nurturing. One whose heart is not benevolent cannot long share in affairs; one who is not enlightened cannot serve as ruler and elder. Thus the east belongs to wood, governing benevolence and heart-mind; the south belongs to fire, governing clarity. Heavenly law stipulates: in governing all under heaven the emperor and kings should always take the Way and De as their model—the east is the Way, and the Way governs generation; the south is De, and De governs nurturing, so the south chiefly nurtures.

The governor should take heaven as model and transform through culture: hence the east is pattern-text (wen), with the image of a dragon bearing writing; the south is brilliance (zhang), hence correctness is taken as patterned display. Closing. Zhang means great brightness; thus writing is born in the east and shines forth in the south.

Celestial patterns correspond to crimson and fire. Benevolence and the sovereign’s movement both trend upward; the sun should be high and bright, setting the human norm. Hence wood and fire in movement trend upward—this is the image of the ruler. Thus the ruler dwells in the east, relying on benevolence to ascend; the one who governs should therefore be positioned in the south.

Opening

Hence the east is lesser yang—the sovereign’s first birth—so the sun rises in the east. The south is great yang—the sovereign’s full brilliance. Lesser yang is the sovereign’s household and parents; great yang is the sovereign’s person and the sovereign’s position. Lesser yang is the sovereign’s home—wood is fire’s parent; the ruler takes lesser yang as home, and fire is called wood’s child.

This passage uses Yin-Yang, the Five Phases, and the directions to align celestial patterns with the political order of ruler, ministers, and people—a typical “Heaven–human resonance” (tianren ganying) teaching in the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace).

Great Yang (Taiyang) corresponds to the ruler’s person and the ruler’s position.

Lesser Yang (Shaoyang) corresponds to the ruler’s “household”: in the Five Phases, Wood generates Fire; Wood is Fire’s “parent,” so the ruler takes Lesser Yang as his household, and Fire is called Wood’s “child.”

Do the perfected ones (zhenren) understand?

—Yes.

You already know. Lesser Yin (Shaoyin) corresponds to ministers: ministers bend and yield through righteous conduct (yi), submitting beneath Great Yang. Thus Metal bends and yields before Fire; in human affairs, ministers should likewise bend in righteousness and assist the ruler—hence Lesser Yin is called “minister.”

Understand?

—Yes.

Great Yin (Taiyin) corresponds to the people: the people move and do not stop. Thus Water moves without knowing rest. The people’s role is to sustain livelihood (zhisheng) for the state, kings, and lords. Therefore Water should follow along and nourish Wood. The east is the ruler’s household.

Understand?

—Yes.

Good—you already know.

Heaven’s ordained signs and laws (gece): Lesser Yang stands in awe of Lesser Yin. So ministers in turn keep the records of the state, kings, lords, and officials (ministers handle documents, personnel, and practical administration). Great Yang stands in awe of Great Yin. When the state has Dao and De (Virtue), ruler and ministers are worthy, and the people obey; when the state lacks Dao and De, the people rebel. Thus the great principle of governing a state: many people means wealth; few people means great poverty.

Do all perfected ones see this clearly?

—Yes.

Good—you are awakened.

Heaven’s allotted divisions (gefa): divided into six sections. The upper southeast belongs to the people—many people means wealth; few people means great poverty.

Do all perfected ones see this clearly?

—Yes.

Good—you are awakened.

The law ordained by Heaven divides heaven and earth into six domains for understanding.

The southeast and the upper realm belong to Heaven. That is why living things grow upward and creatures that crawl move outward—these all belong to the “Heaven” side. The emblematic colors of Heaven are outwardly tending toward green-blue, like Wood, and inwardly toward red, like Fire.

The west, the north, and the lower realm belong to Earth. That is why in autumn and winter all things fall and return to the soil; humans and reptiles likewise withdraw into caves to pass the winter. The emblematic colors of Earth are outwardly yellowish and whitish, like Earth and Metal; inwardly they hold Water and turn dark-black, matching the north and downward movement.

On Heaven’s rank in the scheme: The east and south sit higher and belong to Heaven; they govern and symbolize the sovereign, elders, and masters. The west and north sit lower and belong to Earth; they symbolize ministers, the inner court, and the common people. Among the Heavenly Stems, “Ji” is like the inner court of “Jia”; “Jia” stands for Heaven and the root seat of the king, so “Jia” also corresponds to the Heart lunar mansion. The Heart mansion belongs to Fire and symbolizes the king, which is why the east is also seen as the direction from which the king’s line first emerges. The Heart mansion belongs to Fire, yet its motion belongs to the south—like the sun rising in the east while (in this cosmology) its place of honor rests in the south.

The adept (the one receiving instruction) answered: “Yes, yes.”

(The master) said: “Good—you understand.”

The portents and measures revealed by Heaven are as follows: Bing belongs to Fire and stands at the head of the Fire virtue; its light is fullest, and it symbolizes the sovereign’s throne. Xin is subordinate to Bing; Xin is the position of Bing’s “inner palace” consort.

“Does the Perfect Person understand?” “Yes, yes.” “Good—you already know.”

“Now Yi is also the position of the empress, and Xin is also the position of the empress—what does this mean?” “Well asked; you have grasped the deep meaning of Heaven’s prophecy. Yi is paired with Jia—Jia is Bing’s father, so Yi symbolizes the palace where the Grand Empress Dowager resides. Xin is paired with Bing—Bing is Jia’s legitimate son, so Xin symbolizes the palace of the junior empress; Bing is Jia’s legitimate heir, receiving Heaven’s mandate as the Son of Heaven and sovereign. Does the Perfect Person understand?” “Yes, yes.” “Good—the Perfect Person has understood.”

Geng is subordinate to Yi and symbolizes the rank of feudal lords and princes within the realm. Ren is subordinate to Ding and symbolizes the rank of the emperor’s sisters and female sovereigns. Does the Perfect Person understand?” “Yes, yes.” “Good—the Perfect Person has understood.”

Again: Geng is subordinate to Yi—the rank of feudal lords and princes in the state. Ren is subordinate to Ding—the rank of the emperor’s younger sisters and female sovereigns. Gui is subordinate to Wu—the rank of the Grand Empress Dowager’s natal family and maternal kin by marriage.

The True Person has already understood.

“Now that the Ten Heavenly Stems have been explained and their correspondences set out, I wish to know how the Twelve Earthly Branches should be understood.”

“Well asked. In the law of Heaven, Yin and Yang run together, yet each has its own domain; it is not as if the whole household were tied to one place and stopped there. Heaven’s pairings are alike in principle, but the whole family does not follow one thing and halt together.

Jia takes Yin as its home, Yi takes Mao, Bing takes Wu, Ding takes Si, Wu takes Chen and Xu, Ji takes Chou and Wei, Geng takes Shen, Xin takes You, Ren takes Zi, and Gui takes Hai. Thus the Way of Heaven moves and governs in reverse; the Way of Earth is stopping and settling. Hence there is apportionment of territory, yet one may say in reverse that there is no apportionment of the people—there is land under rule but not the full title of a ‘state.’ Heaven and Earth themselves do not shift, yet Heaven in reverse turns through day and night in constant motion. Therefore the Twelve Branches each keep their own station and do not run together with the Ten Stems. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes.”

“The Way of Heaven and Earth, the four seasons and the Five Phases, mutually supplement and transform one another, circulating through the hidden and the dark without end—only the great sages of old could grasp this at every moment. To explain it all to you would cost wealth and pile up words until you were more confused, and the ruler of Earthly Virtue would be dazzled and not know where to turn; so we stop here for now. It is not that we begrudge telling you, but that there is no end to the telling. Does the True Person understand?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Good—you have begun to see a little. A ruler of virtue who governs according to the prognostic books sent down from Heaven by me will not fail. Therefore the Way of Heaven has fixed bounds: east and south are the image of the sovereign and belong to Heaven, so the ruler is called the Son of Heaven; west and north are the image of the inner palace, the people, and officials, and belong to Earth—so Earth symbolizes the inner palace. Does the True Person understand?”

“Yes, yes.”

This passage explains a principle from the celestial prognostications (tian chen)—the patterns Heaven reveals: since Heaven and Earth were opened, whenever a ruler relies on military strategy, raises Metal qi (in the Five Phases, the image of metal and weapons), and governs through force, he loses the harmonious qi proper to a sovereign. Fire virtue (the symbol of bright, upright rule) declines greatly, and the realm fills with disorder and bandits. From highest antiquity through middle and lower ages, all who cast aside Dao and De and depended solely on Metal qi and military methods found their rule ill-omened and their lands plagued by thieves. Therefore the sages of highest antiquity, knowing these celestial patterns well, did not dare govern by arms and martial force. If an emperor wishes lasting peace and good fortune, he should follow this prognostication: urgently halt Metal, armies, and martial preparedness, and urgently promote Dao and supreme De, aligning with Heaven’s law and the heart of August Heaven—only then can he long suppress treachery and ill omens, with effects seen at once. Do you understand, Perfected One?—Aye, aye.

The method of the celestial prognostications also states: though the sun symbolizes the monarch, it greatly fears the Great Yin (tai yin)—this is the law of the Water phase (yin and water). Among waters, the sweetest is wine. Wine is “king of water” and “chief of water”—this response is beyond doubt. Do you understand, Perfected One?—Aye, aye.

Again: the sun as ruler still greatly fears Great Yin and the Water phase; among waters, the sweet is wine. Wine is king and chief of water, and also the finest of fermented drinks; its qi belongs to the Kan position (in the Bagua, north, night, and water), and at night it governs theft and brigandage. Hence from wine comes the name “haozong” (indulgence in excess)—it is king and chief of water; when water is king, the sun declines. If the Perfected One wishes to know whether the celestial prognostication is true: from highest antiquity down through middle antiquity, rulers who indulged in wine never achieved Great Peace (taiping); instead rule turned chaotic, offices contended, and bandits swarmed—clear proof. Therefore when a Great Peace virtuous ruler rightly governs the age and fire essence should shine, one should not follow Great Yin, let Water virtue reign as king and harm that rule—hence one should abstain from wine.

Appendix

Wine is called the “king of water.” According to the logic of the Five Phases, when water’s influence grows too strong it overcomes fire; fire symbolizes the sovereign’s virtue (De), so wine must be banned as soon as possible in order to preserve the sovereign’s fire virtue.

Someone asked: “We wish to hear how the ban should work—exactly which wine is to be forbidden?” The answer: “It is enough to forbid wine sold in the markets.” They asked again: “On what basis does the Celestial Master (Tianshi) see and judge that the ban should target market wine in particular?”

The reply: “It is so. The market corresponds to the movement of the ‘water’ phase. People from all directions and every kind of goods gather there to buy and sell. The rivers and seas are likewise kings and chiefs among waters; the wealth that all streams collect also flows and gathers there. The water phase governs the north and corresponds to Xuanwu (the Dark Warrior of the north, associated with water); its nature is greedy and it often seizes people’s property. The market is also where people from the five directions meet, flock together, and chase profit in trade—thieves and cunning schemers often arise from the markets, because water is linked to the Kan trigram. Heaven’s way responds through kindred categories, near and far alike, so the market belongs to the water phase. If wine is indulged and supplied in large quantity, and wine is also called king of water, then when people in the market obtain wine they rejoice as well—this amounts to ‘two waters doubly enthroned as king,’ with six kinds of fault: it suppresses and weakens the yang qi of the sun/fire, causes the sovereign’s governance to decline, and instead nourishes treacherous ministers.”

They asked again: “Seeing the Celestial Master’s decision as you do, we still feel dazzled and unclear; we wish to hear the main points.” The answer: “Excellent—your question is apt. You True Persons (Zhenren) have come from afar to inquire on Heaven’s behalf, to lift from a virtuous ruler and emperor the harm of chengfu (sins accumulated by ancestors and shifted onto descendants); I hold nothing back. Please all sit at ease; I will explain separately for you True Persons and make the general meaning clear.” They replied: “Yes, yes.”

The laws foretold by Heaven say that Metal and Jade will hold sway. If people on earth greatly promote the “martial” branch (which belongs to Wood), Wood will cut off vital qi; Earth will then be called “king.” If Earth rises greatly, that corresponds to the palace of the Great Empress Dowager. Qi belongs to the northwest; when Taiyin (Great Yin) gains the position of great king, treacherous ministers arise, stirring disorder in the inner quarters, losing the proper path and leaping upward. When Earth is king, Metal appears in phase (Metal assists Earth), and both surge upward together; the qi of si and xin both gain kingship and rise on a grand scale. By Heaven’s pattern, many treacheries appear in the inner quarters—but this is not entirely the fault of the inner quarters; rather, governance is said to have missed the heavenly prognostication and lost the boundaries of the great divisions, so calamities return and cover one another. Since heaven and earth were opened at the beginning, the ancient masters, because the season and fate had not yet arrived, could not set out in detail the great divisions of Heaven. For this reason emperors lost Heaven’s way of rule, and these disasters and changes arose. Do the True Persons deeply understand this?—Yes, yes.

Heaven’s prognostication also says: indulgence in wine belongs to the category of Water. Marketplaces belong to the Water phase—they are where people and royal qi gather in great numbers. To indulge in wine in the markets is called the “Great King of Water and Wine.” When Water is king, Fire qi is scarce; when Fire qi is scarce it turns to ash, and when it turns to ash it becomes Earth—then it is said that the torch hands its qi over to Earth. Earth gains kingship and the land rises, together with Metal and Water in the northwest. Taiyin belongs to the people; ministers in turn gain kingship, and treacherous ministers follow; the si qi again stirs rebellion, offenses in the inner quarters, and movement that rises up—the disaster leads to theft and banditry with no end in sight. Each indulges Water (letting loose wine, lust, and Water-type affairs), injuring Yang virtue. Now, for the True Person, this is explained in detail: seeing you come to ask, we know that August Heaven wishes to protect the ruler who has virtue—therefore for the True Person the great divisions of heaven and earth and governance are clarified, what should be emulated; do not offend again; those who offend bring confusion and disorder once more. Do you understand?—Yes, yes. I wish to ask about one doubt.—Please speak.

Today the capital gathers people, wealth, and goods in one place—should the capital belong to the Water phase?—Alas, what the True Persons have studied—why is it clear at one moment and dim at the next? Not fully (explained). Yet how could everything be said in full? The capital ought to be the pivot of Earth at the center, a place where Fire can settle safely—not like the marketplace, which is only where wealth is gathered. The capital should gather together Dao and De (Virtue), benevolence and worthies…

This passage mainly argues that governing the realm requires gathering the worthy, not merely hoarding wealth. It uses the logic of sun and moon, yin and yang, and north–south day and night to show how cosmic qi waxes and wanes in turn, and how “stopping wine” relates to the waning qi of the Water and Metal phases in the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water).

Section 1 (On the capital and hoarding wealth)

(The scripture master asks:) “If we are to govern the realm together, why do some say the ruler in the capital need only amass goods and treasure? You are utterly confused! If you do not trust my words, I will explain clearly. From antiquity the capital has borne responsibility for governing the realm—how can it be said that its ruler need only gather treasure? You are utterly confused! If you still do not believe, I will say it again: from ancient capitals to the present, when those of virtue and talent are gathered, the realm finds its place and is well governed; when only jewels and wealth are piled up without the wise, the realm falls into great disorder. In the True Person’s (zhenren) view, can the capital be like a market, merely a place to collect wealth? Do you understand?”

(The disciple replies:) “Yes, yes.”

Section 2 (Sun and moon as ruler and minister, north and south, day and night)

“For all you True Persons I again clarify the criteria (gefa) of the heavenly portent (tianchen)—the law shown from above: the sun arises in Lesser Yang (shaoyang) and reaches fullness in Greater Yang (taiyang); the moon arises in Lesser Yin (shaoyin) and reaches fullness in Greater Yin (taiyin). The sun is the refined qi of Heaven and the brightness of yang, so the sun is ruler and holds the south; the moon is the refined qi of Earth and the brightness of yin, so the moon is minister and holds the north. The south governs day, the north governs night. Thus when the sun holds kingship and presides, the moon and night wane and shorten; when the moon holds kingship and presides, the sun and day wane and shorten. When northern qi is strong, southern qi weakens; when southern qi is strong, northern qi weakens. Therefore one must urgently stop the dominating qi of ‘wine’ (or the qi that wine represents), so as to cut off the waning qi of the Water and Metal lines. Do you True Persons understand clearly?”

(The disciple replies:) “Yes, yes.”

Section 3 (Heaven’s allotted divisions, restating the qi cycle)

“This is Heaven’s allotted division (gefen) and rule: yang stands in the shorter phase. Hence when northern qi is strong, southern qi weakens, and when southern qi is strong, northern qi weakens. Therefore one must urgently stop the ‘wine king’ (the dominating wine qi or the prosperity symbolized by wine), to sever the waning of Water and Metal. Do you True Persons know this deeply?”

(The disciple replies:) “Yes, yes.”

Notes for reading the original

• True Person (zhenren): In the scripture, one who has attained the Way and receives or delivers teaching; here it often means the assembly of listeners addressed as “True Persons.”
• Heavenly portent and criteria (tianchen gefa): In Taiping Jing tradition, the verifiable laws and standards shown from above.
• Lesser Yang / Greater Yang, Lesser Yin / Greater Yin: Stages of yin and yang from weak to strong, used to describe the waxing and waning of sun and moon.
• Sun as ruler, moon as minister; south day, north night: Political metaphor (ruler and minister) and spatial imagery (south and north) express how yin and yang take turns presiding and mutually decline.
• Stop the wine king, cut off waning Water and Metal: Connected to Five Phases and qi-cycle discourse elsewhere in the scripture; which phase or domain is meant must be read against other Taiping Jing chapters and commentaries. The vernacular above follows the surface logic of qi movement only and does not fix a single modern equivalent.

The pattern of Heaven’s classification runs like this: What belongs to yang stands for Heaven, the male, the ruler, the father, the elder, the teacher; what belongs to yin stands for Earth, the female, the minister, the child, the people, the mother. Thus the southeast is yang, and the northwest is yin.

If a true person (Zhenren) wishes to know whether a tianchan (heavenly omen or portent) is genuine, he must look back from the time Heaven and Earth were first opened: if someone lets armies move at will, gathers armed force, lets the ruler drink heavily, and lets the ruler heed nüzheng (governance through yin-softness, partiality, and similar ways)—going far in obeying such counsel, so that the ruler and matters tied to lesser yin, greater yin, and earthly qi all lean toward the northwest—whoever follows orders of that kind will afterward fall into disorder and meet misfortune.

Benevolence, virtue, worthiness, clarity, and sages all belong to the southeast, to yang, and to Heaven. Whoever follows that path will afterward attain good order. (The scripture repeats the point: if one still takes the former kind of command, disorder and calamity follow; if one follows the sages’ southeastern way, all is well ordered afterward.)

Question: I wish to hear why the worthy and sages belong to the southeast.

Answer: The essence of Fire (huo zhi jing) becomes the heart (xin); the heart governs sageliness (sheng). The essence of Wood (mu zhi jing) becomes benevolence (ren), so its image lies in the east. The southeast chiefly nourishes and grows the ten thousand things; the worthy and sages are soft and luminous (rouming), likewise nurturing the ten thousand things without harming them. Therefore the worthy and sages take softness and clarity as their nature: all are benevolent (ren) and luminous (ming)—benevolence images Wood, luminosity images Fire, hence both sit in the southeast.

The questioner: Excellent, excellent! Having heard the Celestial Master’s words, I understand fully.

The Master further explained the pattern of Heavenly Portents (tian chen)—the laws and omens shown by Heaven: southeast corresponds to the handle of the Heavenly Dipper (the direction indicated by the “handle” of the Northern Dipper); from this one derives the four seasons. Whoever can be called a true king receives mandate through this. Northwest belongs to Earth and is tied to the Dipper’s bowl (the “head” of the Northern Dipper); what it governs is qi of death and extinction. Thus when Lesser Yin, Great Yin, and Earth gain ascendancy and rule, if Yang is suppressed while Yin rises above, it is called reversal of Heaven and Earth (fan tiandi)—hence much disorder and calamity. Do the Realized Ones understand?

They answered: We understand. We foolish students, pitied by the Celestial Master, have been taught the essentials of Heavenly Portents. We wish to ask once more: today the south is inherently Yang, yet it easily receives Xun (the Wind trigram) in reverse—named reversal of Heaven and Earth—so chaos is frequent. Do the Realized Ones know this? (In the scripture this question links to what precedes; the sense is the same: a Yang position ought not receive a Yin trigram; when order is inverted, disorder follows.)

They answered again: We understand. Still favored by the Celestial Master’s teaching on Heavenly Portents, we wish to ask one thing more: The south is Yang, yet it easily receives Xun, Li, and Kun in reverse; the north is Yin, yet it easily receives Qian, Kan, and Gen in reverse.

The Celestial Master said: Excellent! Your question is difficult and to the point. The Yijing (Classic of Changes) takes its root from the subtle qi of Yin and Yang between Heaven and Earth, with primordial qi (yuanqi) as the beginning. Therefore at the southern extreme of Yang, Yin is born in reverse—so the Changes often records Yin images there; at the northern extreme of Yin, Yang is born in reverse—so it records Yang images. This subtle qi still cannot hold sway over affairs under Heaven. Hence Yijing · Qian, first nine says “Hidden dragon—do not act”: the dragon is still concealed and cannot yet hold sway over great affairs, so “do not act.” This speaks only of one strand at the origin of primordial qi.

They answered: Excellent, excellent!

The Celestial Master said: Enough—the Realized Ones have understood. What I now record of Heavenly Portents is the record of Heaven’s great portion—that which can hold sway over the qi of Heaven’s governance and serve as principles and norms for all under Heaven. Do the Realized Ones know this? They answered: Yes, yes.

The Celestial Master said: What I speak now is precisely the methods of governance that sovereigns under Heaven should follow; what you ask concerns the headwaters of upright qi. If the Realized Ones still doubt, I will explain in detail for you the eight realms of Heaven and Earth. They answered: Yes, yes.

The Celestial Master said: The realm of the sun—taking the sun’s rising at mao (east) and setting at you (west) as the measure: south is Yang, north is Yin. (By this one fixes the yin and yang of the directions and corrects the methods of governance.)

The Boundaries of the Heavenly Gate and Earthly Door, and the Eight Realms

The dividing lines of the “Heavenly Gate and Earthly Door” are drawn as follows: the Xun trigram corresponds to qi arising in the southeast corner, and the Qian trigram to qi arising in the northwest corner; taken as a whole, the northeast is yang and the southwest is yin. At such junctures as the ninth line on the first day of Zi and the sixth line on the first day of Wu, east is yang and west is yin. The qi of Start of Spring falls in the northeast corner, and that of Start of Autumn in the northwest corner, so the southeast is yang and the northwest is yin. Together these are called the Eight Realms of Heaven and Earth, used to mark where yin and yang respectively dwell.

(Ask) “Does the Zhenren (True Person) understand?” (Answer) “Yes, yes.”

(Continuing) Good—it has been made clear. Broadly speaking, the southeast is taken as heaven and the northwest as earth, and earth can comply with this arrangement. If it is reversed—if the sovereign must “submit to heaven” while heaven cannot follow its proper course—that is called reversal of heaven and earth, and is therefore inauspicious. If heaven can perform its role and the sovereign can duly submit to earth, each in its place, the outcome is auspicious.

When a Zhenren obtains this scripture, he should ponder it repeatedly and entrust it to a ruler of supreme De (Virtue) to put into practice; acting according to this text is no different from the divine, and heaven will protect and assist at the appropriate time.

(It is also said) First give a brief account of celestial prophecies and verification (tianchen); if one then expounds at length to the Zhenren on heaven above and earth below, the utmost depths and eight extremities, and the ordering of the stars—explaining every detail and tracing the subtlety of the Way of Heaven (tiandao)—some listeners will grow dizzy and lose their bearings, and in the end the true Dao will cease to be practiced and the doubts of the ancients will never be resolved.

(Opening section)

When calamity strikes, it again weighs on those in high office. For that reason, teachers only explain to disciples the portions of the great scriptures that are easy to grasp, so they can awaken. They therefore leave aside what is subtle and hard to understand—not because they begrudge sharing it.

(Question)

“Yes, yes. I would like to ask one thing: when the Celestial Master (Tianshi) explained to me Heaven’s ten Heavenly Stems, each had its pairing; Earth’s twelve Earthly Branches likewise divide into yin and yang, odd and even—so why is it said that only ‘Heaven’ has pairings?”

(Answer)

“Well asked! In raising this question, you have already touched the heart of the Dao. Earth, however, is set beside Heaven as pure yin and forms a whole on its own—yet within itself it too has yin and yang. The patterns of Heaven and Earth mirror each other above and below: Heaven has zi, and Earth has zi; Heaven has wu, and Earth has wu; Heaven has Kan, and Earth has Kan; Heaven has Li, and Earth has Li—such is their correspondence.

Thus chou and wei are the ‘inner palace’ after yin; shen follows mao as son-in-law to the marquis and king; hai pairs with chen, and mao with xu. Chen and xu are daughters-in-law in the Grand Empress’s household; you follows wu as the lesser empress; zi follows si, and si is son-in-law to the emperor’s sister. Do you understand, True Person?”

“Yes, yes.”

(Continued)

“So the Heavenly Stems stand as emperors, and the Earthly Branches stand as emperors too. Yin is the branch of jia, hence chou and wei are called the inner palace. Wu is the branch of bing, hence you as well. Do you understand, True Person?”

“Yes, yes.”

(Continued)

“So the Heavenly Stems stand as emperors, and the Earthly Branches stand as emperors too. Yin is the branch of jia, hence chou and wei are called the inner palace. Wu is the branch of bing, hence you are called the inner palace. Mao is the branch of yi, hence shen is called son-in-law to the marquis and king. Chen is the branch of wu, hence it is called the Grand Empress’s household. Hai is the branch of gui, hence it is called daughter-in-law in the Grand Empress’s household.”

In this system, “Zi” is the earthly branch paired with the heavenly stem Ren, so it is called the son-in-law of the emperor’s younger sister; “Si” is the branch paired with Ding, so it is called the emperor’s younger sister herself. This is the principle by which Heaven and Earth correspond to each other and harmonize.

The questioner said: Excellent, excellent! I would like to ask further: for the branches Chen and Xu, is it that only men gather together and only women marry out as a group? Why is that?

The answer said: What a subtle question! This is indeed hard to explain clearly. Heaven belongs to supreme Yang; Earth belongs to supreme Yin. Earth’s qi is manifold and is governed by the yin of the mundane world. Yin numbers usually take even values, so among the earthly branches there is a pattern of “paired” assignment.

The questioner asked: Wu and Ji both belong to Earth—why are they not paired together?

The answer said: Well asked! Wu and Ji are the Yang stems among the Five Stems that belong to Earth; their positions are even, so in a certain pairing scheme they are paired.

The questioner pressed again why Wu and Ji, though both Earth, are not paired—the scripture here repeats the question and answer.

The answer said again: Wu and Ji are among the Five Stems; they are “Yang of Earth,” yet their positions belong to Heaven, so they are not paired. Do you understand, true person?

The questioner said: Yes, yes.

The answer said: Good—you understand. What the true person doubted is exactly this point. The names of the Five Phases circulate in mutual generation and mutual supplementation, used to summarize all affairs under Heaven. When you obtain this book from me, you should ponder its deeper meaning by category; Heaven above, Earth below, and the six directions and eight quarters—the principles are fully set out. Hence the sage sees one thing and knows ten thousand; the great worthy sees one and knows a thousand. The fool relies only on brute strength and cannot connect things through insight, wandering in confusion alone and never obtaining the truth of the Dao. Therefore the Dao and De (the Way and Virtue) are entrusted to the true person—do you know this, true person?

The questioner said: Yes, yes.

The answer said: Good—you know. I wish to ask one more thing: Heaven has four seasons; Earth has the Five Phases (Wu Xing). All are said to pair with emperors, kings, marquises, and the inner palace households—as if the way of Heaven pairs only toward that side. Do common people and the myriad things then have no pairing doctrine at all?

The answer said: Well asked! This already touches the heart of the great Dao. In fact the logic of pairing is the same. Within the Five Phases, the highest position is that of emperor; next is the “minister” (xiang); below that is “subtle qi” (wei qi). The king or emperor holds the sovereign position; the minister holds the great minister’s position; subtle qi holds the petty official’s position.

This passage uses the waxing and waning of Qi (vital energy) to align celestial signs with human rank and status, teaching that heaven and humanity follow the same pattern and that flourishing and decline move in cycles.

After the “kingly Qi” comes “aged Qi,” which corresponds to the rank of kings and lords; after aged Qi comes “declining Qi,” which corresponds to the status of the imperial clan (consanguine nobility); after declining Qi comes “sick Qi,” symbolizing what befalls clan members who break the law and lose power; after sick Qi comes “imprisoned Qi,” symbolizing the common people; after imprisoned Qi comes “dead Qi,” symbolizing slaves and servants; after dead Qi comes “extinct Qi,” symbolizing the dead and their tombs.

Thus heaven sends down omens, and the four seasons and Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) turn in succession, each with its rise and each with its fall. People and the myriad things likewise take heaven’s law as their model, also rising in one phase and declining in another. Therefore the multitudes may all be said to be descendants of the hundred kings: when Qi is strong one may become ruler; when Qi wanes one becomes subject.

(The Perfected One asks:) “Does the Perfected One know this?”

(Answer:) “I know, I know.”

“You have understood.”

Right title (section heading): Using the law shown in celestial signs to keep the state stable for long ages, to govern treacherous ministers and cut off falsehood and fraud.

The Perfected One asked respectfully: “I also wish to compile the various writings my master composed before and after into one coherent set, so that students of the Way cannot speak carelessly at will—is that acceptable?”

The other replied: “Well asked! How is it that you grow more earnest day by day? My Dao method uses yang regulations to constrain what is outward and yin regulations to gather what is inward; outwardly it regulates conduct, inwardly it regulates mind and spirit; outwardly it governs the various scriptures, inwardly it governs the various tu jue (chart-and-formula materials); outwardly it is used to dispel disasters and remove misfortune, inwardly it is used to rectify oneself; outwardly it regulates the learning practiced at court and in the schools, inwardly it regulates the methods of ru shi (entering the chamber for deep cultivation). In all matters limits must be set, urging those who study seriously to act according to each person’s capacity; if one reverses this and violates the constant law—external study easily slides into empty display and lack of self-restraint; internal study takes a wrong path and instead falls into great heterodoxy (da xie).

Students of the Way often have serious faults without knowing it. Those who favor external study, when their learning goes too far, mostly sink into empty display, skewing the Great Way and lacking proper written teaching, yet calling it the true Dao and deceiving one another. Those who favor internal study, when their learning goes too far, mostly fall into great heterodoxy, imagining they have already attained the Dao, refusing to exchange with others, and instead losing discipline and spreading reckless speech. You now harbor doubts, so you ask again. I see your intent is sincere; do not worry excessively—I will establish regulations for you so that each matter has its limit and can be followed.”

This passage teaches that those who study the Way must not casually discuss it with others, lest they break the rules of transmission and spread false talk. Because you still harbor doubts, you ask again. Seeing your sincere intent, the text sets forth the rules once more, each with a clear boundary to observe.

Ancient and modern books are too many to count one by one. Whoever studies the Way and grasps the true meaning must not depart from the root; what is passed mouth-to-ear from the master must not be contradicted—this is the great point. Two great harms afflict students of the Way: one is to cling only to the outer chapters and phrases, growing shallower until it becomes flowery language and reckless talk; the other is to align with inner texts and chart prophecies without truly penetrating the essentials, and thus speak wrongly. Seeking long life while catering to showy fashion, people deceive one another; aligning with inner texts without getting the main point, they fall into great heterodoxy.

Because you ask again and again, the clauses and boundaries are given to you: what fits the rule counts as right, what does not counts as wrong—this is plain.

Any book called “heavenly discourse” must have all ten sentences in ten correspond correctly; nine in ten shows small heterodoxy, eight in ten small disorder; below that it is not true and cannot be used. That is disordering celestial patterns and geography, displeasing Yin-Yang, making the ten thousand things clash, and bringing great calamity upon the people.

For nourishing nature: inner observation that clearly sees one’s own bodily form is correct; outwardly chasing the myriad “spirits” of things is not. For learning all practices: constantly holding to the root text and then consulting worthy interpreters for one’s own peace is correct; holding only to many phrases while forgetting the root practice is not, and loses the original intent of the Way of Heaven.

Let the person’s body itself become spirit—that is correct. When the body has not yet attained the Way and cannot become spirit, yet one claims to command ghosts and spirits, that is not correct—at most one may borrow the methods of dispatch from ritual documents.

For “heavenly discourse” the criterion of ten-in-ten correspondence is about textual authenticity and alignment with cosmic order, not a modern statistical test—the translation keeps that sense.

This passage explains what counts as genuine cultivation and attainment of the Way, and what counts as going astray or self-deception. The overall principle: what is correct runs from root to branch in one line, inside and outside matching; what is wrong contradicts itself and fails to match name with reality.

On fasting and eating qi

Entering the chamber to practice, one begins by eating less, gradually nourishing the body with qi (vital energy), little by little understanding the principle, even reaching a state where “form is no longer seen”—this is the right path.

If one claims to have attained the Way yet no longer returns to ask, no longer checks with others, and when people ask still pretends to know—this is wrong.

On leaving and returning, and quiet-chamber practice

Whoever goes out to learn the Way should still come back, have teachers, ask questions, and keep in contact—only then is it right.

If one leaves and never again asks or learns, lets confusion run its course or even sits waiting for death—wrong.

Keeping quiet in the still chamber and truly completing the work—right.

If one says on the lips that the Way is attained and in conduct claims it, yet easily flies into rage and wounds with harsh words—wrong; such a person has lost jing (essence)—qi depleted, mind out of control.

On change after entering the path

After entering to cultivate the Way, day by day improving, surpassing one’s former self—this is how attainment looks.

After entering, day by day worse, unfaithful and untrustworthy—wrong; one has fallen into great heterodoxy.

On reading and lineage from a master

Reading and grasping the meaning of the text, yet also revering the master, seeking the oral formulas, asking for explanation—right.

Reading yet not following the master’s oral instructions, declaring alone “I understand deeply, I alone know”—wrong; one has lost the root meaning of the great Way.

On still revering the master after attainment

Having gained something from learning the Way, still serving all masters and worthies faithfully without slackening—right; this is the correct path of daily advance.

The ancient sages, having attained the Way, still served their masters like beginners, not daring to slacken; after leaving the master’s gate they still diligently read the classics—right.

Having learned a little, declaring alone “I have the essentials,” no longer striving to read the ancient sages’ writings, thinking it enough and no longer drawing near to the assembled sages and clarity—wrong; such a person is lowly foolish.

On “ultimate completion” and real faith

For ordinary people learning, what should be learned must be learned to the end, thoroughly—right.

The same for the ten thousand things: once born, all can live out their span, bear fruit, and be fulfilled—right.

Able only to be born yet unable to live out their span, with no real trustworthy achievement—wrong.

On doing good and inner versus outer

Doing good and obtaining the real, fitting what is appropriate—right.

Not obtaining the real and the fitting, only looking right outside while false inside—wrong.

On the method of reading the Taiping

Reading my book completely, not straying from the rule and measure (shengmo), and obtaining the real—right.

Reading only to chase marvels and show cleverness, yet missing the essentials and the real—wrong; this is inner denial (the heart not matching the scripture’s meaning).

Summary

The whole section repeats one standard: true cultivators grow more humble, more solid, more tied to lineage and classics as they practice; false cultivators claim attainment, rage and wound with words, worsen day by day, know alone without a master, good outside and empty inside. This is the typical “right/wrong” teaching style of the Taiping Jing.

If reading consists only in showing off cleverness while failing to grasp essentials and real circumstances, that is wrong. Heaven sends wind and rain and the myriad things grow in season—that is right; but when wind and rain instead harm the myriad things, that is wrong—that is “poison,” not proper rain. Following the scriptures and walking the Way so that one flourishes day by day is right; failing to advance daily and instead declining, practicing inwardly yet losing the original intent, is wrong.

Therefore the inherent nature of Heaven and Earth is this: when one does good, the full effect does not appear on oneself at once, but extends to later generations, making one’s conduct clear; when one does evil, the harm does not stop with oneself alone—it must reach later generations as well, and error is made equally plain. Thus good and evil will in the end be revealed. Doing good is like facing the rising sun—there is still brightness; doing evil is like facing the setting sun—there is still dimness. This is the natural disposition of Heaven and Earth, of Yin and Yang. Heaven generates the myriad things; each follows its own course and is displayed, not hidden. So the good rise upward; their fate belongs to Heaven, as the living belong to Heaven. The evil sink downward; their fate belongs to Earth, as the dead’s evil does—hence they descend to the Yellow Springs. That is the meaning.

Whoever receives my book should entrust it to a ruler of supreme De (Virtue/Power). That I possess this book—how could I block it and keep people from transmitting and reading it? The Way of Heaven governs Heaven; it cannot be fully known, and one must not trust a single person’s word alone. Therefore I now fix the writings of the ancient sages for you, and also extract what aligns with the overall strategy, so that the book’s earlier and later parts depend on each other and mutually confirm.

Since Heaven and Earth were opened and divided, worthies and sages, though born in different ages and far apart in time, hated and despised the same things; together they spoke Heaven’s discourse and saved the world from gain and loss. Their words resemble one another, as if double compasses and matching squares—mutually clarifying, and it could not be otherwise. Things of a kind gather and flourish; their methods all use comparison, likeness, and mutual summoning—this is clear effect. Because what was lost before is recovered later, examining and harmonizing differences and sameness completes the text.

To cite ancient principles in order to illuminate present affairs, and for all to deliberate and judge together—that is the first point. When one proceeds from the “inner text” (the inner purport and root aim of the teaching), one must use it to make clear the “outer text” (outward wording and concrete provisions); when one proceeds from the outer text, one must in turn check it against and tie it to the inner text, to see whether the two agree. Inner and outer must corroborate each other; they cannot each go its own way without meeting.

What is fixed in this way can be handed down for ten thousand generations, and one will no longer, as in the past, heap excessive burdens on Heaven, so that Heaven again and again bears a “heavy sorrow” it ought not to bear. The words of a single person cannot be followed as the sole standard; the realm’s great matters cannot be settled by listening to one school alone. When the many speak, one must plan deeply, draw on the sayings of ancient sages and worthies, and ensure that in root purport what is established is inwardly one with Heaven; then all jointly examine it and set it in place.

If the Son of Heaven grows day by day clearer in these essential formulas, the confusion, calamities, and evils of society will gradually be cleared away, and Heaven will not need to carry that kind of “repeatedly piled” heavy sorrow. Those who unite in this work and act accordingly will rise; those who resist and turn away will find that calamities are not removed.

The foregoing is the essential formula for how scholars gain and lose in study and in applying the scriptures.

Volume 71 · Opening of the Text Formula on Gain and Loss in the Nine Heads of True Dao (Section 177)

The Perfected One bowed again and asked: “I beg the Celestial Master to explain one matter.”

The Celestial Master answered: “Good—speak.”

The Perfected One asked: “As the Celestial Master now brings the qi of Great Peace down upon the world, transmitting morality and virtue to raise up supreme governance; with a sovereign above who cherishes moral virtue, and below extending even to the foolish and the lowly common people, grace penetrating the six directions and reaching to the eight extremities, nothing left out…”

(This passage opens the question-and-answer on gain and loss in the nine heads of true Dao; what follows should continue the Celestial Master’s detailed explanation.)

(Disciple) asked: “After receiving the master’s transmission, in the work of cultivating the Dao and refining one’s intent—what is the ultimate above, and what is the limit below?”

(Perfected One) answered: “Well asked! Your question as a perfected one is exquisitely vital. Do you wish to penetrate the utmost depth and understand how the spirits advance and withdraw?”

“I am indeed dull and blocked; my practice falls short. I only beg a teacher who clarifies heaven to record and show me.”

“Good.”

〈Begin〉 The Dao has nine degrees, each belonging to a different designation. I will now explain their meaning to you, perfected one, item by item—listen and note as you go, and do not omit anything.

“Yes, yes.”

“Good. The first matter is called primordial qi and wuwei (non-action); the second is called concentrated stillness and emptiness; the third is called number and measure, distinction, and what can be seen; the fourth is called Shen (spirit) wandering outward and returning—what is lost can also be recovered.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Good. The first matter is called primordial qi and wuwei; the second, concentrated stillness and emptiness; the third, number and measure, distinction, and what can be seen; the fourth, Shen wandering outward and returning; the fifth, the great Dao’s Shen aligned with the four seasons and the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water); the sixth, cì xǐ; the seventh, shè móu; the eighth, yáng shén; the ninth, jiā xiān.”

“Each matter is further divided into nine, nine times nine making eighty-one sections—wording, openings, and usages differ and are concealed. Taken together they form one great root: Shen as driver, the human person as gate and doorway.”

〈End〉

“Now, in pointing out the essentials for you item by item, it is still impossible to write out everything in advance. You must ponder the meaning yourself: the upper three nines (twenty-seven) can du shi—transcend the mundane world; the middle three nines (twenty-seven) can deploy true spirits and spirit officers; the lower three nines (twenty-seven)—their path is more mixed, and their spirit essence cannot be constantly employed. They easily unsettle the heart-mind; among them there are sometimes people who are not sufficiently pure, who mostly talk wildly and misspeak, as if losing qi.”

“The foolish student, hearing the master speak thus, grows dizzy before the eyes and loses east and west. I beg you to explain separately and make it clear for this dull student.”

First: Yuanqi Wuwei (Original Qi, Non-action)

In practice, fix attention only on yourself and do nothing superfluous. Imagine the whole body clear and white, as if qi has dispersed and the body has no fixed form. Take this as your constant standard. When the work is complete, you can do all things and know all things. Before obtaining the Dao, one is merely an ordinary person; after obtaining it, one transforms into an immortal—spirit ascends to Heaven and changes with Heaven. That is what “doing all things” means. (An editorial note in the received text about an uncertain phrase in that passage does not change the main sense.)

Second: Xuwu Ziran (Emptiness and Natural Spontaneity)

Guard the bodily form, keep the inner heart empty, and accord with the Dao spontaneously—do not chase clever tricks. Inner light shines through; above and below are like fine jade without flaw. Persevere over time; this too is one method of dushi (deliverance from the mortal round), the level just below the image of Yuanqi Wuwei.

Third: Shudu (Numerical Enumeration)

Gather refined qi and turn the gaze inward. Count from the hair down to the feet; count each finger in turn; inward and outward, leave nothing uncounted, while the heart knows the meaning. Hold this in mind constantly without the slightest error. This is also a lesser method of dushi, one step below the “Xuwu” level.

Fourth: Shenyou Waichu (Spirit Wandering Outward)

Fix thought on the spirits of the five viscera. By day observe their going out and coming in, see them move and wander, and speak with them. Intent follows the spirits back and forth; you can also see into yourself. From this you can know fortune and misfortune—below the Shudu level.

Fifth: Dadao Shen (Spirit of the Great Dao)

When human spirit leaves the body, it aligns with the Five Phases and the four seasons: green, red, white, yellow, and black—each in the same family as the stored spirits—coming and going. The spirit officers of the four seasons and Five Phases serve at your command; this is called “Jutao” (Embodying the Dao), and it can subdue all deviant forces.

Sixth: Cixi (Piercing-the-Earth Rite)

By piercing or striking the earth, the path spirits of each place have their own statutes and household rules; worship the spirits according to those rules so they come and wander. Half of this resembles the true Dao, half resembles heterodox methods; it often makes people fond of trickery and is not suitable for frequent practice—long practice brings worry and distress.

The seventh category is called “She mou” (shrine-and-altar scheming): It concerns heaven and earth, the four seasons, the altars of soil and grain, mountains and rivers, and rites that summon spirits. Such things attach to a person and make the mind dazed and confused; one boasts wildly about spirits, becomes violent and vengeful, arrogant and perverse—nothing to trifle with lightly.

The eighth category is called “Yang shen” (vast/spreading spirit): Its qi seems grand and mysteriously distant, yet there is no genuine Dao to rely on. It is the world’s refined qi attaching to a person, making one speak rashly—half like truth, half like deviance.

The ninth category is called “Jia xian” (ancestral spirits of the household): Household ancestors can only see ghosts; they have no true Dao. If someone “calls and summons,” what comes are entirely the ghosts of the dead. (Stop.) This is the lowest layer of the Dao, called the “lower adept” (xia shi). One who obtains the upper Dao can command and employ the lower ranks; one who obtains the lower Dao cannot command the upper ranks.

Question: “Why are there distinctions of upper, middle, and lower?”

Answer: “This comes from how people themselves practice. Those who guard the root attain ‘upper’; those who like to let the spirits within the body go in and out in wandering attain ‘middle’; fools who harm the root and cling to the branches, following other spirits in motion, attain ‘lower.’ Those who guard the root cannot command the upper ranks.” (Note: The original text repeats here; the sense is as above.)

Again asked: “Why upper, middle, and lower?”

Answer: “Still from human conduct. Those who guard the root can see fully; those who guard the middle see only half; those who cling to the branches cannot mirror themselves clearly. Therefore in learning the Dao one must have a clear master (ming shi); without a clear master one goes astray. Master to master in succession, firm as metal and stone—if one acts recklessly without transmission from a master, one invites disaster and deviance. The Perfected Person (Zhenren) must be doubly cautious!”

Answer: “Yes.”

“Therefore in antiquity those who sought the sages and worthies: with a clear master it is called ‘renewed birth’ (geng sheng); without a clear master it is called ‘confused scripture’ (luan jing). Worthies and sages all served masters to succeed; without a master the Dao cannot arise on its own.”

Answer: “Excellent! Excellent!”

“The Perfected Person wishes to know verification: it is like a person dwelling in the district of a great worthy—then people are drawn toward the great worthy; dwelling in the district of a middling worthy, they are drawn toward the middling worthy; dwelling in the district of the unworthy, they become unworthy and constantly fall short—that is the principle. Learning this Dao should be like this.”

Answer: “Excellent! Excellent!”

The Perfected One wanted people to understand this kind of efficacy: it is like when someone lives among great worthies, they are drawn toward becoming great worthies; when they live among middling worthies, they tend to become middling worthies; when they live among the unworthy, they tend to become unworthy and often fail to reach the standard of goodness—that is what this teaching means. Those who study this Way must examine it closely and reflect on it in detail; it is a vital path that Heaven values. Be cautious—again and again!

(Answer:) Yes, yes.

(Perfected One:) Go. The Way will attach itself to those who are fit, and this method is to be entrusted to the wise and worthy.

(Answer:) Yes, yes. This is a divinely transmitted secret formula—the essential Way.

Right column: Textual Instructions on Gain and Loss for the Nine True-Dao Sections

(This is the right-column heading: textual instructions on gain and loss for the nine sections of the True Way.)

Text No. 180: Promoting Good, Removing Evil, and Leading People to Receive the Precepts of the Way

(This is the title of the piece: the one hundred and eightieth document on fostering good conduct, dispelling wrongful thoughts, and enabling people to receive the precepts of the Way.)

The True Person asked the Spirit Person: “Having received the Great Dao, what should one take as one’s precept?” The Spirit Person said: “Upon the Dao there are great taboos; one cannot fail to be careful. When a person is about to attain the Dao and is near completion, they will mingle and align with the gods; the ‘spirit essence’ (the numinous powers and vital qi tied to one’s own person) will be like neighbors—going out and coming in they can meet one another, cherishing one another as father and son. The Dao is a matter of utmost weight. Sometimes, after transmitting the Dao, one may regret it or even wish to take it back; therefore one first tests the person to see whether they are firm. At the time of testing, there will be those who come together to deceive and tempt the person into false speech. Once such a pretext is obtained, one must hold fast to it and be careful not to spread it abroad; only then can one extend life and, in the long run, perhaps realize the true Dao. If one transmits what must not be transmitted, day by day one moves toward extinction.”

The True Person asked: “I wish to hear what ‘daily extinction’ means.” The Spirit Person said: “When spirit essence is extinguished, the body then dies. The Way of emptiness and absolute secrecy always requires people to cherish life and abhor killing, and to keep the mouth closed and not leak secrets—only then can one live for myriad myriad years.”

The True Person asked again: “I wish to hear the taboos against leaking.” The Spirit Person said: “Yes. If one of high rank leaks, they lose their rank; if one of middling standing leaks, their qi is cut off; if one of low rank leaks, their lineage and kind are destroyed. The reason is this: Heaven and Earth also rely on this to distinguish and esteem themselves—therefore they can become divine and hold it in especial regard.” The Spirit Person also said: “If Heaven and Earth did not deeply understand the Way of absolute secrecy, on what basis would they become divine? On what basis would they enjoy long life?” “Remember well: I tell you—toward what is essential you must hold it weighty and be cautious.” The True Person assented again and again, listening to the command and not daring to speak rashly.

The True Person bowed with forehead to the ground: “I wish to hear further: when the time comes to ruin a person, what will happen?”

The divine person said: “Yes. When evil thoughts arise in a person’s heart, great evil comes to deceive them. If a person can shut their ears and not listen to such talk, they will be fortunate; if they listen, they invite disaster.

When a ruler listens, they grow hostile toward their ministers, saying the ministers are disloyal and plotting rebellion. When ministers listen, they grow hostile toward the ruler; evil comes to mislead them, saying, ‘You ought now to become a sage, you ought to become ruler.’ When petty people listen, they are taught to boast and exalt themselves. When a father listens, he despises his son; when a son listens, he despises his father—all of this is twisted language that confuses people’s minds, speaking now of good and now of evil, disrupting government, swinging from joy to anger in an instant. This is great wicked evil, precisely what harms people. From ancient times to the present, those who study longevity have been unable to pass this test.”

The True Person asked: “What should be done?”

The divine person said: “Shut your ears and do not listen; keep your mouth closed and do not speak. That is merely wicked evil—there is nothing worth hearing in it. Once you listen, the true Dao departs; when it departs, you die. If you wish to live long, beware of these words. I have already corrected this for you beforehand—you have fallen into this great evil many times! I constantly rectify my own heart and no longer use this approach. Great evil accumulates steadily; it depends on whether a person is firm or not. Great cunning evil sometimes enters a person’s belly, stirs their heart, and makes them act recklessly. Constant swings between joy and anger, unable to restrain oneself—all of that comes from being misled and pushed by evil.”

This passage teaches that even those who have committed many faults and received stern admonitions must not let their resolve waver—and this applies not only to those who study the Way; when ordinary people swing between joy and anger, children must also take care. The True Person respectfully assented.

The True Person said: I myself once fell under “great evil” (a severe corrupting influence or enticement of evil), and delusions arose in my mind: I wanted to become a ruler among humans, and later to ascend and become an immortal. I believed those words and was overjoyed. Three months later I developed a manic disorder (spiritual derangement); only then did I meet a divine person and a Celestial Master who revealed: You had been struck by great evil, which is why you had delusions such as “becoming a ruler” and “ascending to heaven.” The True Person was glad again upon hearing this, but then recounted in his own words: This is exactly how I nearly fell into serious illness; later the manic disorder stopped by itself and I recovered, and I have lived for several thousand years. Now, by good fortune, I have again met a divine person, renewed my observance of the Way’s precepts, and seen the path of entry—I hope to serve long as an officer in heaven.

The divine person said: With resolve as firm as yours, need you fear not reaching the Nine Heavens or traveling through the twenty-five heavens? Those who can ascend are all inwardly secret in heart and firm in intent—they cannot deceive themselves. Those led astray by fine words often die early and cannot deliver the world. If you wish long life, treat this text as a weighty precept, a precept of life and death—do not treat it lightly. Thus the sages of old could deliver the world only by keeping this precept; those who study the Way yet fail to attain, and fail to attain long life, mostly do so because they heed heterodox teachings and treat the “thief” (the thieving heart, evil thoughts) as a treasure. The high offices of the great spirits of heaven are not for the heart-thief to occupy. Only when one turns back from this harm and restrains oneself is there no great blessing withheld; when one who should live instead dies, one becomes a “heaven-thief.” The books I now teach the True Person to write—if followed, all can gain great longevity, or may deliver the world; if one guards oneself carefully, is not harmed by this, and holds single-minded intent, one may obtain myriad myriad years. The True Person assented again and again. (The following text repeats the emphasis that the books teaching the True Person bring great longevity, deliverance of the world, and myriad myriad years through single-minded devotion—the same purport as above.)

The Perfected Person said respectfully: “I dare not do what I ought not; please let me receive the clear precepts.”

The divine being answered: “Because you cherish the Dao this way, the work can succeed and you can ascend the ladder to Heaven. When a Perfected Person asks about precepts, can these be all? There is more that goes deeper.”

The divine being continued: “Heaven’s precepts are fundamentally about strictly restraining people. For example: people conspire in words to deceive others, saying someone will gain high rank, and use this to test and control the heart so that one violates the prohibition and is put to death. Or they repeatedly send Jade Maidens (Yunu) to test people, enticing them to wander together—if anyone follows along and laughs at others as base, that in turn harms their own body and life. If one often keeps silent, holds to one’s lot without being moved by the outer world for myriad years, and guards oneself alone until life’s end, what harm is there? Between life and death, the crux lies here.”

The Perfected Person assented again and again. He asked again: “Why are evil spirits specially sent to test people?”

The divine being answered: “The Dao is supremely precious and not easily given to others; one’s holding fast must be firm and solid. Even if one dies, Heaven does not take away the resolve to guard one’s life willingly to the end—what harm is there? Those in Heaven who deliver the world do not covet rank and honor; they only seek to preserve life, and there is no other marvelous shortcut. Remember my precept: you … (text missing in the original) … my words must not be forgotten for ten thousand generations. Even if you ascend to the utmost limit and pervade the realm of Heaven where there is no censure, the precepts are still like this, with no other tricks.”

The Perfected Person assented again and again: “I dare not step outside the measuring cord and ink line.” The divine being said: “…” (The passage may continue; only the text available here is interpreted.)

Clearer vernacular version (merged repetitions for easier reading):

The Perfected Person said respectfully: “I dare not do wrong; please let me receive the clear precepts.”

The divine being said: “Because you cherish the Dao this way, the work can succeed and you can ascend the steps to Heaven. When a Perfected Person comes to ask about precepts, can these be all? There is more that goes deeper.” The divine being went on: “Heaven’s precepts lie in strictly restraining people. For example: conspiring in speech to deceive, saying someone will gain high rank, using this to discipline the heart so one violates the forbidden rule and is executed; or again and again testing people with Jade Maidens, luring them to roam together—if anyone follows and mocks others as lowly, that harms oneself instead. If one often keeps silent and holds one’s place, guarding oneself alone until life’s end, what harm is there? Between life and death, the key is here.”

The Perfected Person assented again and again. He asked again: “Why are evil spirits specially sent to test people?” The divine being said: “The Dao is utmost in weight and not easily entrusted; one must hold fast firmly. Even unto death, it does not take away one’s resolve to guard life to the end—what harm is there? Those who deliver the world in Heaven do not greed for rank; they only seek to live, and there is no marvelous path besides. Remember this precept of mine … (characters missing in original) … my words must not be forgotten for ten thousand generations; even ascending to the utmost round and reaching the Heaven where there is no blame, the precepts are all like this, with nothing else extraordinary.” The Perfected Person assented again and again: “I dare not leave the space between cord and ink line.” The divine being said: “…”

You are right—that is what it looks like when one has attained the Dao: those who walk the upright path improve day by day, while crooked affairs cease above them. When the heart can hold to this degree, it meets the requirements for becoming divine and keeping the precepts. When the work is accomplished, one can ride clouds and dragons and travel to the eight extremities. The great Dao is broad and open—you have already obtained it; life can also last long without limit.”

The Real Person said: “Yes, yes.”

The Divine Person said: “The Dao is originally vast, with no distinction between inner and outer; as long as one rides the dragon and roams the eight poles, the great Dao lies open and level—you have already obtained it, and life is long without end.” The Real Person again said: “Yes, yes.”

The Divine Person said: “The Dao is indeed vast, without inner or outer, but one must always fear harm from great perversity, so one must not heed any crooked teaching—then how could perversity defeat you? Thus ancient emperors who loved and studied the Dao, who did not listen to crooked words, could enjoy myriad years; those who heeded crooked speech ruined themselves. My Dao has ten thousand gates; one should know the benefit and harm in each.” The Real Person assented repeatedly.

“Now that you have received the Divine Person’s words, can you attain long life in a very short time?” The Divine Person said: “If one is not deeply cautious in keeping precepts, success will be dangerous and the Dao will not be achieved.” The Real Person said: “In this life do I have ordained fate and rank, or is it by chance that I meet the Divine Person?”

The Divine Person said: “Yes. The six kinds of human life each have their own destiny: first, Divine Person; second, Real Person; third, Transcendent Person; fourth, Dao Person; fifth, Sage; sixth, Worthy Person—these all assist Heaven in governance. The Divine Person presides over Heaven, the Real Person over Earth, the Transcendent Person over wind and rain, the Dao Person over teaching and fortune and misfortune, the Sage over governing the people, the Worthy Person assisting the Sage in ordering the registers of the myriad people and making up what the six directions lack. Therefore each human life has its destiny: those of noble destiny cannot become base, those of base destiny cannot become noble. You wish to know the truth: it is like fish that live in water yet cannot fly without relying on water’s breath; dragons also live in water yet must rely on water’s breath to ascend the azure clouds and become Heaven’s messengers—is it not so? Noble and base truly have destiny; only fools speak at random.

Ancient sage emperors—the finest among them—no longer recorded or questioned false speech, knowing that it was… (the original text is defective here) utterly impossible to achieve. This is like teaching a person without the Dao and commanding him to fly at once—could he fly in peace and safety? Only the Transcendent Person who has attained the Dao can fly. The people play at saying among themselves ‘I can fly,’ when in fact they cannot—such empty talk is exactly that.”

The Real Person said: “Excellent…” (here the text repeats the earlier idea: only the Transcendent Person who has attained the Dao can fly; when the people say they can fly they cannot—it is empty talk.)

The Real Person said: “Good—I am fully clear on this point.”

The Divine Person said: “…” (the final line in transmitted versions may connect with what precedes; the sense still stresses that empty words cannot become real and only one who has attained the Dao can act.)

Plain-Language Explanation

The Perfected Person asked: “If someone considers himself dull-witted, can he still force his way to obtain the mandate of Heaven?” The Divine Person answered: “He can. One who has the mandate of Heaven may study this Dao; if he studies it, he will surely attain great capacity. A person of middling worth who studies it can also gain long life. Even the lowest, dullest person who practices it can gain a modest span of years.” The Perfected Person asked: “How can one know these effects?” The Divine Person answered: “It is like ordinary people studying books: a great worthy who studies can become a high official; a middling worthy can become a middle-ranking official; a fool who studies can still become a petty clerk. A petty clerk still serves the common people, does he not? Seen this way, one ought all the more to encourage oneself to study.” The Perfected Person repeatedly assented: “I act accordingly and have never dared to slacken.” The Divine Person said again: “Correct—you must strive to keep faith with the Dao. Between Heaven and Earth, each person takes what he should take and uses what he should use; do not act recklessly.” The Perfected Person assented again: “I act accordingly and have never dared to slacken.” The Divine Person said once more: “Correct—you must strive to keep faith with the Dao. Between Heaven and Earth, each takes what is fitting; do not act in disorder.” The Perfected Person assented again: “Please let me honor Heaven and respect Earth, revere what is above and cherish what is below, follow the four seasons and the Five Phases in my conduct, and not dare to do what ought not to be done.” The Divine Person said: “Excellent! You have already grasped the meaning of the Dao; I need not teach you further.”

(Right-column heading) Provisions exhorting people toward goodness and away from evil, and enabling them to uphold the precepts of the Dao.

(Section title) From Taiping Jing Hejiao, juan 72, “Part Wu-4,” namely Taiping Jing juan 72, titled “Precepts, Purification, Contemplating the Spirit, and the Formula for Saving Life,” section 199.

The Six Directions True Scriptures (liufang zhenwen — authentic writs attributed to the six directions) bow again and ask for instruction:

“Previously we heard the Celestial Master (Tianshi — the honorific title for the head of the Zhang Daoling lineage) say: Taiping Qi (the vital breath of great peace and order) is about to descend; Yin and Yang must be harmonized, and one must unite with the spirits so each holds its proper place. We have pondered the Celestial Master’s words again and again: to attain inner and outer clarity and to illumine all things, many people must together accumulate De (virtue/power). How can this be done? Among all Daoist practitioners, those who can gather reflective light and, in emptiness and stillness, see the ten thousand things—can they truly do it?”

The other party exclaimed: “Excellent! Huangqi (imperial auspicious qi) from heaven is coming; the sovereign may rule with folded hands while the realm is untroubled. Therefore heaven has sent the Zhenren (perfected ones who transmit the Way) to inquire in detail into the essentials of the supreme Dao (zhidao)—so that a virtuous and enlightened ruler may thoroughly sweep away the chengfu (the burden of sin and misfortune accumulated from generation to generation) left by former kings, as well as the harm of malign qi between heaven and earth, ghosts and demons, violent corpses, and the like. The Zhenren therefore ask one by one about these keys to the supreme Dao; disciples, do you in fact already know the answer in your hearts?”

The disciples replied: “Suddenly we ourselves are no longer clear.”

“If you are unclear now, why have you come to ask?”

“We recall the Celestial Master’s instructions; where we do not understand, we now know we have not grasped it, so we have come together to ask: by what means can one gather those who dwell in stillness deep as an absolute cavern and can turn light back to reveal evil beings? That is why we have all come to seek instruction.”

“Very good! The Zhenren are diligent and know to raise doubts here. Heaven has sent you so that what can be made clear may be explained for the De Sovereign (the ruler of virtue).”

“We obey.”

“Now the essentials will be explained to the Zhenren point by point; please sit at ease and take careful notes.”

“Yes, yes.”

(Beginning) “Heaven and earth originally possess divine treasure (shenbao — sacred wealth and spiritual efficacy) and naturally have divine essential light (shenjing guang — light formed from the essence of the spirits), which takes the five colors according to the Five Phases (Wuxing — Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and waxes and wanes with the qi of the four seasons, serving as envoys of heaven and earth to bring people and the ten thousand things to completion. Between the Yin and Yang of heaven and earth, nothing fails to be generated and transformed by this virtuous influence.” (End)

“Whoever grasps the true meaning will at once see the essential light: it follows the Five Phases in color, follows the four seasons in rise and decline, is employed by heaven and earth, and completes the people and the ten thousand things. Between the Yin and Yang of heaven and earth, nothing is not born and transformed through this virtuous influence.”

Those who can truly grasp the essential meaning understand at once; those who miss the fundamental intent have no path and no way to know. Those who can open wide in great understanding and apply the method according to the law are greatly fortunate—they can remove the various illnesses and evils that afflict people between heaven and earth. Those who do not understand this great method will not receive random empty visitations from the spirits; one must not vainly seek to command them for nothing.

The questioner said: “I wish to hear its meaning, so that it may be transmitted through myriad generations without error.”

The answer said: “Excellent is your question. To await and obtain this art, there is a great method of its own: the qi of the four seasons and five phases entering the human belly becomes the spirit of the person’s five viscera; its colors correspond to the colors of the four seasons in heaven and earth. When painting the human form, you must make it ‘threefold combined’—the color of king qi on the outermost layer, the color of phase qi next, and subtle qi innermost, and let one see them through the leading qi. First keep purification fasts, dwell in a quiet and tranquil place, think and visualize, and make the portrait; length and size as you wish. Five people together paint on a five-foot plain silk scroll. Make the portrait show a good and benevolent bearing: if men, think of men; if women, think of women—the portrait should match this. Books and texts of this kind are already many; it is not a single universal method alone. Ponder the text from top to bottom as you work, transmitting by written documents and subtly clarifying the meaning. Though my scriptures are many, they have great categories of their own; books gather by category, characters clarify one another, and then you fully obtain the essential meaning.”

The questioner said: “Yes, yes.”

The answer continued: These spirits of the four seasons and five phases, when entering become the five viscera spirits of the person; when going out become the spirit-essence of the four seasons and five phases. Those near the person are called the spirits of the five powers (De), similar to the stored spirits of the person; those far from the person are called the “Yang Calendar,” with the designation of the four seasons’ army and horses—they can guard and drive off evil apparitions, and also act according to the waxing and waning of the four seasons’ qi. For the method you must prepare portraits for them: the person also wears three layers of garments—king qi outermost, phase qi next, subtle qi innermost—all wearing caps and headcloths, riding horses; the horses too are fully equipped in the colors of their respective five phases.

Plain-Language Reading of Taiping Jing (Collated Edition)

Portrait and the Riding Gods of the Five Directions

When practicing the method, first paint on a scroll two zhang long: use five plain silks, on which you lay out, with ample spacing, a design matching the Five Phases and Five Qi—the finest atmospheric signs go in the innermost part. All the gods wear caps and headcloths and ride horses; the horses’ colors are also assigned according to the Five Phases.

On the same two-zhang silk you must also depict twenty-five riders in full (five for each direction), and the painter must work with care. The riding god of the east holds a spear; the south, a halberd; the west, bow and crossbow and axe; the north, shield and blade; the center, sword and drum.

Order of Visualizing the Gods

In practice you first fix the mind, then visualize: as a rule you first see the inner gods, then the outer gods; some people first see the yang gods, then the inner gods—when they appear, take the right as the order. This is visualization without fixed images; you must receive oral transmission and heart-to-heart instruction from the master, and there are crucial passes beyond what is written; those who understand will say to each other, “This way it is easy to complete and easy to succeed.” It is best to stay far from crowds and work in a secluded place; if you are near many people, success is often hard.

Achieving the Dao, Gathering Crowds, and Numbers for Treating the Sick

When the Way is fulfilled and you reach a state like “bright great absolute reversal and penetrating void,” you may gather people to treat illness. Visible illness forms (manifest signs of disease) should not be too many: many illness forms are auspicious; few are inauspicious.

Someone asked: “If you cannot cure everyone or decisively heal them all, roughly how many people must you gather?”

Answer: “At the highest level, as many as ten thousand; in the middle, four or five thousand; at the lowest, still hundreds or tens, for example a hundred or several tens.”

They asked again: “Why so many?”

Answer: “Alas! True person, would you still be as dull as in the old days? Sit properly—I am about to tell you the main point.”

The Age of Chengfu and Dividing Labor among the Hundred Diseases

After chengfu (mutual debt between Heaven, Earth, and people; shifting of guilt), disasters in Heaven and Earth are many: ghost things, old essences, fierce calamities, corpse blights, and more; also wind-damp, sores and scabies, and the like. In late antiquity flowing calamities are extremely numerous—beyond counting. Sometimes one person has a hundred diseases, or one person dozens of kinds of illness.

If each person has one skill and can remove one kind of disease, together they barely suffice: for example, a divination master who knows from within can remove one plague-demon illness; a great physician skilled in formulas removes one; an acupuncturist skilled in piercing the meridians removes one; one skilled in moxibustion removes one… each specializes in one gate, each resolves one disease.

Some people excel at making carts and can remove one kind of illness; some excel at making boats and can remove one kind; some at woodworking, one kind; some at making clothes, one kind; some at raising silkworms and weaving, one kind; some at pottery, one kind; some at inquisition and investigation (examining and correcting wrongdoing), one kind; some at sacrifice, one kind; some at inviting spirits, self-guidance, and inspecting ghosts and anomalies, one kind. Thus seven people, each removing one illness, remove seven illnesses in all.

In the lower ancient age people’s illnesses were many. Sometimes one person had more than ten kinds, and some said they had a hundred—none lacking, all painful. Every sort of skilled artisan was summoned; each removed one illness, seven were removed, yet the rest remained and could not all be cleared. The seven artisans’ strength was exhausted; the remaining illnesses could not be removed and still tormented people together. In time they grew destitute, so many could not escape and died in ill fortune, unable to save themselves in disaster.

How many years does a person live in the world? How many illnesses will they meet? How often will decline, prosperity, advance, and retreat occur? This is heaven’s pattern, like the waxing and waning of the four seasons and Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). The eight trigrams (Bagua)—Qian and Kun as the root of heaven and earth—still have periods of rest, imprisonment, abandonment, extinction, and diminished qi; how much more so for human beings? People take heaven and earth as their model and move with the four seasons, Five Phases, six harmonies, and eight directions—rising and falling together, with no one who can escape. Therefore one must prepare in advance, rescue the root of fortune and misfortune, be secure yet not forget danger, preserve yet not forget loss, govern yet not forget disorder—only then can one endure.

Thus when the right path (zhengdao) governs what is deviant, the illnesses of those who practice the Dao (daoren) are not so many. If one person can remove one illness, ten remove ten, a hundred a hundred, a thousand a thousand, ten thousand ten thousand. How could one body harbor ten thousand kinds of illness? Therefore all can be fully healed, cut off at the root, and cured.

“Do you understand?” “Yes, yes.”

“Therefore they must be taught to make precepts in advance and gather those who have attained the Way.” “Yes, yes.”

“Good. You understand. Good—set it out clearly for the Perfected One (Zhenren). The healing spoken of here is against ghostly things and great deviance; they act together as robbers. If emperors and kings want peace under heaven, they must teach people to make precepts in advance and gather those who have attained the Way.” “Yes, yes.”

“Good. You understand.”

The Celestial Master (Tianshi) said: Very well—I will explain this clearly for the True Person (Zhenren). What is meant here by the objects of healing are ghostly beings, great heterodox forces, and the like, acting together as if they were bandits. When a sovereign wants peace and stability under heaven, he should always keep armies and strategists in readiness. The original purpose of troops is to guard against harm from outsiders; if they are used wrongly and lose the Way of righteousness, they become an unjust multitude no different from treacherous rebels. Hence the saying: Where one man dares to die, ten cannot stop him; where ten dare to die, a hundred cannot stop them; where a hundred dare, a thousand cannot; where a thousand dare, ten thousand cannot; where ten thousand dare, they can sweep in every direction. And because armies often suffer illness, wounds, and other losses, the strategist’s force is set at twelve thousand men to meet extraordinary crises. The extra two thousand are mainly for rest and recovery and to fill gaps in the ranks, so that the whole army can inspire trust and truly obey command. Do you understand, True Person?” “Yes, yes.” “Good—you know it now.”

On Not Relying on Grand Words Without Effective Methods (Section 110)

“I wish to ask the Celestial Master one thing: as the qi of Great Peace (Taiping) is about to descend, should heterodox qi also be deliberately stilled and removed?” “Yes—you are right, yet not entirely. When the qi of Great Peace arrives, heterodox qi ought to disperse on its own. It is just that Heaven does not grant empty talk, grand pronouncements, and methods that have no real effect (the 110th teaching on ineffectual grand formulas).”

Someone asked the Celestial Master (Tianshi): “Great Peace is almost upon the world—the qi of harmony and order is on its way. Shouldn’t the malign forces that have built up over the ages fade away on their own?”

The Master replied: “What you say is partly right and partly wrong. The qi of Great Peace will indeed arrive, and in principle those evil influences ought to dwindle little by little. But since heaven and earth were first opened, evil has piled up for so long and in such quantity, passed down from generation to generation, that even when the breath of Great Peace and good government comes, how could it all be wiped out at once? You must prepare beforehand. To wait until people are at their wit’s end and only then seek a lofty method—that is far too late.”

“In high antiquity, most people understood the true Dao on their own; evil was still scarce. From middle antiquity onward, people grew more foolish, loved empty show, and turned away from the true Way. Evil influences, wild spirits, and disasters multiplied, so many died before their natural span—all because their minds were dark and they did not know to guard against harm at the root.”

“Now a ruler of virtue governs above; heaven pities the people and does not wish them to remain as foolish and destitute as before. They should be allowed to fulfill their great virtue and share one heart with heaven. That is why heaven has sent the perfected ones to raise hard questions, so that I might set out clearly the methods for subduing evil spirits, ill omens, and demonic harm. I have already explained this in detail to the perfected ones. Yet they say evil will remove itself and no preparation is needed—that is wrong, a serious mistake, not what a worthy person should say, and not something to act on.”

The questioner asked: “Why do you say so?”

He answered: “After a great crisis has already broken, when you hunt for a remedy you often cannot find one in time, and people fall into ruin. So when the perfected ones say ‘no need to prepare—evil will clear itself,’ that is a grave error and must not be followed. It is like filling the granary with grain first so you can meet a famine. I am now explaining the principle carefully to the perfected ones so that ten thousand generations will not forget.”

They answered: “Yes, yes.”

He continued: “To teach someone to sow grain only after they are starving, and tell them to hoe and weed until the rice is ripe before they can light a fire and cook—how could that be in time? By then they would long since have starved. To expect the qi of Great Peace to arrive and evil to vanish by itself, without first establishing methods of precaution, is the same kind of mistake.”

Plain-Language Reading of the Scripture of Great Peace

First section (the late sowing)

Some people do not sow in spring; when winter comes and they are hungry and want to eat, they only then think of planting millet—but what is sown then will not grow, so how can it relieve hunger or keep anyone alive? They themselves fall into want, and the whole household may already have starved. This is the first great folly the perfected ones (zhenren) speak of: failing to prepare before trouble comes and not seeing consequences clearly.

Second section (the well)

The perfected ones give another example: people dig wells so that when they are thirsty in ordinary times they have water to drink; living near a water source is also for when thirst arises. If one waits until one is nearly dead from thirst before digging a well or seeking water, how can there still be time? The person is already at an dead end. From this the perfected ones ask again: this is the second kind of folly and blindness.

Third section (the house)

They add another case: in antiquity people lived in caves; later they built houses to guard against wind and rain. When there is no wind or rain, dwelling in the open is quite comfortable; but when dark clouds have already risen and wind and rain are about to arrive, one rushes to build a house—by then it is already raining and cold, and the person is already in distress. This is the third folly the perfected ones name.

Fourth section (walls and moats)

From highest antiquity and the middle ages, sages established county offices, built city walls and deep moats to guard against unexpected upheaval; in ordinary times when all is peaceful, such things are not needed. When upheaval truly comes—when petty men wish to rebel and stain the norms, and the noble-minded then order the people to build walls and dig moats—trying to do it then, how can one still meet the emergency? This is the effect of the utmost folly and utmost blindness of which the perfected ones speak.

Fifth section (weapons)

They add one more case: the weapons military officers use today are in origin inauspicious implements; the noble-minded ought not to prize possessing them, and common people dislike them as well. So they should stay in the scabbard, stored with care—not prized for ownership, not lightly drawn—only kept against the unforeseen. When real crisis comes, one then orders craftsmen to quarry stone, take iron from it, smelt it, and ask skilled workers to forge it again and again into swords like Moye, for battle and emergency. If one makes no preparation in ordinary times and only acts when the moment arrives, how can one cope?

Note: In transmitted text, the passage on “whether it can save the living when the matter comes” and the passage on sages making county offices, walls, and deep moats appear in places to repeat; the translation above follows the common structure of the “five follies,” in line with the scripture’s point: in all things one must prepare in normal times, and must not dig a well when already thirsty or build walls when rebellion has already broken out.

This passage is the master instructing the “Six True Persons,” using a chain of analogies to show that if you have not thought things through or acted according to rule, waiting until you are “already at the end of the road and your life is in others’ hands” to make amends is often too late.

On Faults and Remediation

When there is fault, it is not enough to confess casually. One must be like a skilled artisan who hammers again and again before a blade like Moye (a famed sword) becomes a usable tool for battle and urgent need—if you only think of remedy after you have utterly submitted and life and death are in another’s grip, are you not the greatest blockhead among the Six True Persons?

When there is fault, you must first weigh and test it carefully in the heart (repeatedly judging and reflecting), then speak and act; afterward do not speak rashly or at random.

Small Images for Great Principles: Comb and Fine Comb

The True Persons use small matters to explain great principles. In antiquity the sages invented the comb and the fine comb (bi), because when hair is disordered lice grow and it must be put in order.

If someone never combs in a lifetime until the hair is too tangled to manage and lice cannot be cleared or contained, only then going to the southern hills for good wood, ivory, and the like suitable for comb-making and asking a skilled artisan to work them—yet if the hair is already beyond saving and lice swarm the head and bite, the scalp covered in sores, then to obtain comb and fine comb is already too late.

Again from Small to Large: Gnats and Mosquitoes, Rivers and Seas

Rivers, seas, and the Five Lakes—where water is near, gnats and mosquitoes are many. If one does not beforehand prepare what can shield and defend against them, as soon as the gnats and mosquitoes hatch they fly up and bite people and cattle and horses together; cattle and horses can only toss their heads and kick their legs.

Whoever is under discussion can no longer eat normally; the person grows deeply distressed, even approaches death, with almost no room to catch breath in between. Once the illness has fully taken hold, seeking ways to “suppress or ward off” disaster is already a desperate last resort. The perfected one (Zhenren) asked: “Do you still not understand this principle?” The other replied: “Yes, yes.”

The perfected one continued: “Go—you have already gained some insight. Good medicine works against mites in scabies, and good clothing and lodging keep off fleas and lice, all because of prior preparation. Without advance readiness, once sickness or harm has struck and one hunts for something to remove it, the person is already poor and worried, and the disease severe. Do you understand?” Answer: “Yes, yes.”

“That concerns only the smallest, easiest goods and remedies in the world—what of things far greater and more urgent? Between heaven and earth, at every moment there are violent ghosts (baogui), malign entities (xiewu), inauspicious calamities (xiong yang), corpse-related afflictions (shijiu, harm from corpse qi and death pollution), and life-taking hostile agents (shakè, spirits that specialize in taking human life), and the like. When they attach to a person, it is like the poisoned arrow of blade or bow striking the body—the place they settle is unbearably painful; when they are especially fierce and intense, there is no time even to breathe or to lean and stand steady, and the whole person may suddenly lose sanity.

This is like someone stranded at a remote, neglected relay station (biruoxian ting)—too far from the court and from the county officers of the imperial domain (diwang zhi xianli)—appeals blocked, words not getting through, urgent reports of sudden disaster (bianshi) unable to reach superiors. At the worst, not even a single breath can be drawn…”

Even the dullest and slowest people all scramble to take part. As more join day by day, in time everyone, high and low alike, is transformed along with it. If all can be brought to participate, then pick out those with the greatest merit and put them in key roles: the greater the merit, the higher the office; the lesser the merit, the smaller the reward—and under heaven, who would not want to join? The only worry is that too many take part to record them all; who would fear too few? Why is the True Person so blind and muddled? Once a great matter is decided, you must not employ people who only talk big—they do no good for others. You should follow methods that have a steady record of success; only those who can do this have grasped the true meaning of the Way and deserve deep trust. If someone only knows how to talk at length yet shows no clear results, they have not got the true meaning of the Way and are spouting nonsense—they are great scheming flatterers, unfit for office, and will throw the right path into disorder. Does the True Person understand? “Yes, yes.” “Go, and be careful and wary. When you study my book, you must see the whole thread of the text through from start to finish—group like with like, cross-check and fill in each part—only then can you awaken fully and know where my Way is meant to lead.” “Yes, yes.”

Jue on What the Five Spirits Hold (Section 111)

The Perfected One asked: “I wish to ask about the overall pattern: why does the spirit of the East hold a spear?”

The Celestial Master said: “You may ask. A perfected person ought to be able to grasp this on their own.”

The Perfected One added: “I ask because the Celestial Master pities later generations and sets down norms for them; if no one asks, those to come will not know how Heaven’s intent and judgment work in this matter.”

The Celestial Master replied: “Correct. These are images of Heaven. Each thing returns to its kind. East stands for all things just sprouting and breaking through the soil; their sharpness is like a spear, so the spirit holds a spear. When spirit clerks of the East arrive, they take the spear as their fu-jie (token and credential). South is when the ten thousand things hang branches and spread leaves, shaped like a ji (halberd), so the spirit holds a halberd, and the clerks likewise use it as their tally. West corresponds to bow, crossbow, and axe—the West carries the image of killing and warfare; bow, crossbow, and axe are the long weapons that harm people most, so when the spirit comes, this is the fu-jie. North corresponds to shield and knife—the North governs hiding and concealment; the shield protects the body; the knife is often used by petty people, and also to avoid disaster or harm others—it is not what a person of lofty virtue and a gentleman esteems, yet when the spirit comes, this too is the fu-jie. Center corresponds to thunder, drum, and sword—the Center belongs to Earth and is master of the Five Phases; the drum is chief among the five weapons, and the sword is worn by gentlemen and those who cultivate virtue, also chief among the five weapons—when the spirit of the Center comes, this is the fu-jie.

All of these are Heaven-and-earth’s true fu-jie in nature. It is like a person who ought to have a head: when spirit clerks come to respond to affairs, they must hold their tally and match the credential; otherwise they are not the spirit who should act in that line. If the wrong spirit from another direction comes rashly, public affairs fall into disorder; in time governance and chaos cannot be settled, so the fu-jie must always be verified. Does the Perfected One understand?”

The Perfected One: “Yes, yes.”

The Celestial Master: “This teaching seems shallow on the surface yet runs deep; though it is not the full text of the utmost Way, it accords and harmonizes with the four seasons of Heaven and Earth and the qi of the Five Phases.”

The Perfected One: “Excellent, excellent!”

The Celestial Master: “Go—the Perfected One already knows.”

Excerpt from a Plain-Language Reading of the Taiping Jing (Book Wu)

Formula on Thoroughly Turning the Perverse toward the Dao to Save Life

This section explains the essentials of how to bring thoroughly perverse people fully onto the right path so that life may be preserved.

Untitled (Keeping Virtue and Accumulating Good Deeds)

Only by holding to moral virtue and doing much good can one connect and interact with the refined qi of Heaven, Earth, and spirits, with the people, with the myriad things, and with the qi of the four seasons and Five Phases. Then there is no one who does not know the benefit of this.

Untitled (General Introduction to the Ten Categories)

The following ten sections are the rules of the ancient sages and worthies: they encourage people toward goodness, keep people from harming one another, and aim to let everyone live out a full lifespan. They also work back to the root to block disorder, so that the qi of Great Peace may be seen.

First Category: Great Compassion and Filial Piety

Compassion and filial piety: They arise from within and flow outward; one need not study them specially to possess them naturally—this is the way of nature. Conduct aligns with the heart of Heaven; intention matches the intent of Earth. Above, they benefit the ruler; below, they serve as a model for the people, can draw down harmonious qi, and are the first rules people should follow. Their virtue is as clear as cinnabar and ink; hence they are listed first.

(Note: The latter part of this passage repeats in the original; the sense is given once.)

Second Category: Clarifying Virtue and Great Softness

Understanding the scriptures, keeping to moral virtue, and being a model for the people; loving to learn the Way and gathering much virtue—then bandits and thieves are not attracted. Above all they benefit royal teaching and are most truly auspicious.

Third Category: Filial Piety and Fraternal Duty at the First Steps of Learning to Turn toward Good

At the stage when one first wishes to do good: there is a slight turn of heart toward goodness, leaving the crooked for the straight, before humaneness is fully formed in conduct.

Fourth Category: the Diligent Tenant Farmer’s Son

The tenant farmer’s son who works with care: labor from dawn, rest at sunset, not fearing toil, saving a little each day; harmony in the household, thereby supporting parents, receiving the benefit of the land, following Heaven’s way, not daring to do wrong, and also benefiting the district magistrate.

Fifth Category: Greatly Unkind Sons, Unrighteous Youth Who Love Arms and Gather Villains

The unrighteous and unkind: they do not use reason, curse Heaven and strike the earth, do not support their parents; when they go out they carry weapons and use them to intimidate the neighborhood; frivolous young men who do not help Heaven and Earth in nurturing life but become a great harm. All should join in apprehending them and cast them into ditches and gullies—do not hide or bury them.

Sixth Category: Discord in the Household, Bullying the Old and Cheating the Young, Eating Together but Holding Property Apart

When a household is about to fall: kin are not in harmony, cannot admonish one another, pass idle gossip back and forth, flee from one another, turn their backs on the root and chase the branch—the disaster cannot be remedied.

Seventh Category: Repenting and Putting Away Arms

Born in a poor hamlet, little seen or heard, not knowing good from evil, faults worse than under Heaven, conduct not fitting Heaven—yet there is a clear ruler who lets me return to goodness. In youth I did not study; only in adulthood do I repent. If good and worthy people set a five-foot post (as a sign of the law) at the lane gate, and learners are examined on it, then in time all the people can turn toward goodness.

Eighth Category: Repenting and Again Aligning with Good

At home learning did not succeed and calamity arose everywhere—yet there is a clear ruler who knows my circumstances and lets me repent, so that I can in turn become a teacher for others.

Ninth Category: Great Evildoers, Perverse and Greedy, Ruined and Corrupt

Those who eat salary without work, the wicked and greedy thieves: great flatterers who deceive superiors and harm inferiors, called “official bandits”; human in form but with the appetite of greedy beasts, of no benefit to the yin and yang of Heaven and Earth, their guilt is deep and they should be exterminated.

Tenth Category: Removing Faults, Returning to the Correct, Repenting of Past Deeds

Repenting and changing conduct, changing the heart toward goodness; in youth there was no disposition to good and disasters arose again and again; fault in the morning corrected by evening—such a one is called a good person.

Conclusion

The ten categories above are the method of the ancient sages and worthies: delight in people doing good, keep them from robbing and injuring one another, and wish each to complete a full lifespan; they also turn back along the Way to cut off the root, so that the qi of Great Peace may be seen.

Shen (spirit) can only function effectively through one principle: zheng—uprightness, acting in accordance with what is right. Its foundation can be understood in four layers, each linked to the next.

The first root (the great strand) is tied to the emperor, to set aright the course of Heaven; the second root is tied to the empress, to accord with earth patterns and the logic of the land; the third root is tied to the sages, to harmonize Yin-Yang; the finest, most subtle root is tied to the common people, to order the affairs of the myriad things and the myriad folk.

(The scripture repeats this emphasis: the great strand binds the emperor to correct Heaven’s motion; the next root binds the empress to follow earthly geography; the middle root binds the sages to regulate Yin-Yang; the finest root binds the common people to govern the ten thousand things.)

When people practice Dao and De (the Way and Virtue), what they gain differs in degree: the great person who practices Dao and De obtains great zheng and great blessing; the middling person obtains middling zheng; the small person obtains small zheng—yet at every level, zheng is possible.

When the emperor practices Dao and De, the sun grows brighter and stronger; when he practices them less, the sun’s light wanes. When the empress practices Dao and De, the moon shines in full splendor; when she practices them less, moonlight fades. When the worthy sages practice Dao and De, the stars and the calendrical heavens blaze brightly; when they practice them less, the stars dim.

When all four roots practice Dao and De together, the realm is at peace, auspicious signs appear, and a great light shines far; gazing at the heavens from afar, wind and rain come in season and in harmony, the four border peoples submit in heart, and disasters vanish of themselves.

Today, having received the Dao and De scriptures transmitted by the Celestial Master (Tianshi), they were formerly entrusted to jinmin—people who are careful and keep the precepts—so that these careful people might in turn teach and transform others. Where there is above a greatly benevolent ruler who practices Dao and De, he can settle the principles of the realm and secure lasting peace for himself.

The emperor is the foremost noble son of the Upper August Heaven; the empress is the foremost noble daughter of Earth. Persons of utmost sanctity and honor ought by nature to dwell within the hundredfold precincts of the palace, yet they instead worry over lands ten thousand li beyond—because they bear Heaven’s mandate as sons (those who inherit the Mandate of Heaven); the empress bears Earth’s mandate as Earth’s foremost noble daughter. The most sacred and exalted, though their office keeps them deep in the inner palace, set their hearts on the whole realm.

They bear Heaven’s mandate as chief holders of the pattern for Yin-Yang, the six directions, and the eight regions; they occupy the honored place between Heaven and Earth, entrusted by the numinous powers; above and below they penetrate everywhere, and every creature, even those that crawl, none fails to turn its heart toward them. Hence was composed The Supreme Numinous Treasure Ye (a liturgical text in the Lingbao tradition).

Officials who know Heaven’s intent and understand the stars and calendrical order are called Grand Astrologers (Taishi); their direct duties must not be delayed; day and night in rotation they ascend to observe and watch: the waxing and waning of qi in the sky, the gains and losses of the Three Luminaries (sun, moon, and stars)—thus they rejoice to receive Heaven’s admonitions and commands, and so find security for themselves.

By the eleventh month, one must tune the Yellow Bell (the first of the twelve pitch pipes, aligned with earthly qi), and draw underground qi upward so that Sovereign Earth (the central virtue of earth) is settled and at ease.

At the solar position bingwu on the south (the center of the south, where yang qi is at its peak), build the Bright Hall (Mingtang), open eight windows and four passages, so that qi from the eight directions and four seasons can all flow in—matching the eight winds and seasonal qi—and take auspiciousness for self-assurance. Then clearly open the four gates so that extraordinary people, rare talents, precious stratagems, and uncommon things from under heaven can enter; the worthy and those of special ability can come forth, so that the realm may long be at peace and calamities and anomalies can be dispelled.

When ancient sages held the throne, they often strove to seek out reclusive and gentle worthies to govern the realm together. The four seasons each have their honored positions, while Sovereign Qi is the head of all qi—the place to which myriad qi attach—and what the honored ruler relies upon. Sovereign Qi can correspond to Heaven, the August One, the Emperor, the King, Grand Year (taisui), Month Establishment (yuejian), the Dipper’s ridge (dougang), Azure Dragon, Great Virtue, flourishing ascent, emperor and king, the king beyond kings, the lord of generation, and the like. Where Sovereign Qi resides, the ten thousand things do not fail to follow; wherever it dwells, there things rise up and become “kings”; wherever it is abandoned, there is much decline and death—all because of primordial qi (the fundamental qi of Heaven and Earth).

Thus where Sovereign Qi is in yang, yang becomes king; where it dwells in yin, yin becomes king; where it is in Heaven, Heaven is king; where it is on Earth, Earth is king. Wherever it resides, it chiefly governs generation and ascent; it receives Heaven’s mandate and holds authority. The ancient sage-kings: in spring they dwelt in the east, in summer in the south, in autumn in the west, in winter in the north; in the sixth month they dwelt in the center, completing a circuit of qi and then ascending to audience with High Heaven. When Sovereign Qi is honored, Heaven is king; when it dwells on Earth, Earth is king. Wherever it resides, it chiefly governs generation and ascent; it receives Heaven’s mandate and holds authority.