《道教靈驗記》Vol. 13

This passage recounts two miraculous stories about sacred Daoist ritual objects.

The first story took place at Qingxi Temple in Qingtian County, Chuzhou. The temple originally possessed an ancient bronze bell engraved with the characters "Qingtian," which went missing after the Yuan Chao rebellion. Later, people heard bell sounds emanating from the waters near Wenzhou's Daoyu Mountain and spotted what appeared to be half of a bell surfacing intermittently. Local monks and Daoist priests attempted to retrieve it by boat, setting up altars to summon it, but the bell would appear and disappear unpredictably. A Daoist from Qingxi Temple prayed sincerely, saying, "Our temple has been without a bell for many years. If this bell possesses spiritual power, may it return on its own to the stream before our temple." Over ten days later, the thousand-jin bell miraculously appeared in the pool before the temple, still clearly bearing the "Qingtian" inscription, confirming it was the same lost bell. Later, the bell would occasionally fly away on its own, only to return after some time. Eventually, it was secured with a heavy lock to prevent further disappearances.

The second story concerns an ancient bronze bell at Zongxuan Temple on Mount Qingcheng. This exquisitely crafted bell, weighing over three thousand jin, was adorned with carvings of celestial beings and ritual banners. When Liu Pi occupied Chengdu and ordered the confiscation of bronze statues and large bells to forge weapons and coins, this bell was spared due to its immense weight—requiring the mobilization of an entire county's labor force to move it.

Both stories illustrate how Daoist ritual implements possess spiritual agency, capable of choosing their own destiny and protecting themselves in times of peril. The Qingxi Temple bell, in particular, not only responded to the Daoist's heartfelt prayer by returning on its own but also retained its inscription despite years submerged in water, demonstrating the extraordinary power of sacred Daoist objects.

The Daoist Records of Spiritual Efficacy contains several miraculous accounts concerning bronze bells in Daoist temples:

At Taiping Temple in Wenjiang County, the Venerable Master Ren (an honorific for senior Daoist priests) would collect just one coin each day through alms in the marketplace. After decades of this practice, he finally accumulated enough to cast a ten-thousand-pound bronze bell. By its completion, Master Ren was over eighty years old. After conducting a grand zhaijiao (purification ritual), he struck the bell hundreds of times to bid farewell before departing. Years later, when official Liu Tong in Sichuan's western region ordered all temple bells to be inscribed with Buddhist dhāraṇī (esoteric mantras), Master Ren suddenly reappeared. He instructed craftsmen to add the inscription: "A Daoist temple's bell should not bear arbitrary Buddhist incantations." Witnesses noted his appearance had become remarkably youthful compared to his earlier years, confirming their belief he had attained immortality through the Dao.

At Pengshan Temple in Meizhou, a thousand-pound bronze bell originally resonated across twenty miles, reaching the prefectural city. A Buddhist monk deceitfully claimed the Daoist temple had been abandoned and forcibly relocated the bell to a Buddhist monastery. During reinstallation, the bell crushed a craftsman's foot—an event widely interpreted as a spiritual warning. Subsequent attempts to move the bell resulted in repeated injuries until it was eventually sold to a Jiazhou monastery, where it remains unrecovered.

Another record from the Kaiyuan era mentions Ai Chimu near Jade Mountain hearing subterranean bell sounds. When afflicted with severe sores, he dreamt of a azure-robed youth who instructed him to bathe in "bell water" for healing. This legend appears alongside supernatural events involving ancient bells from Zhouzhi, Nanping, and Qianzhong, collectively demonstrating the transcendent power of Daoist ritual implements.

These narratives reveal the sacred nature of Daoist ritual objects through their miraculous interventions, illustrating both their protective role for temples and the complex historical relationship between Daoist and Buddhist traditions. The accounts emphasize how these bronze bells—imbued with Daoist spiritual power (De)—actively resisted inappropriate appropriation while manifesting their efficacy for devotees.

This text records several ancient bells with miraculous properties. The first bell was discovered buried several feet underground, its top adorned with a lion-shaped suspension loop and its body covered in exquisite patterns that appeared beyond ordinary casting techniques. When people used water that had soaked this bell to wash wounds, the injuries healed within a day. At night, the bell would emit light and sometimes ring spontaneously. The local villagers, awed by its wonders, dared not keep it privately and presented it to the imperial court. It was later placed in Jinglong Temple.

Another ancient bell unearthed in Zhouwu County weighed over a hundred jin, with a crouching tiger-shaped loop. This bell similarly emitted light at night and occasionally rose into the air on its own, producing clear, melodious sounds. It too was offered to the court, first kept in Xuanzhen Temple before being moved to the inner palace halls.

Daochang Temple in Nanping County, Yuzhou, also possessed an ancient bell with a suspension loop shaped like two coiled dragons. The bell's body tapered in three tiers, each decorated with intricate patterns. Most remarkably, a golden vein ran through its middle, shining like a string of pearls. Legend claims this bell was originally gifted by Prince Xiangdong to the renowned Daoist master Tao Hongjing (courtesy name Zhenbai), but was lost during wartime turmoil.

A uniquely shaped bell was also discovered in a salt well in southern Qian, measuring three to four chi in length—thinner in the middle and thicker at both ends. When struck, it produced an unusually resonant and peculiar sound. Despite prolonged immersion in the brine, the bell remained lustrous without corrosion, its surface often shimmering with golden light. Local military governor Xi Gong stored it in his treasury.

These ancient bells share common traits: healing properties, nocturnal luminescence, spontaneous ringing, and exquisite decorations featuring mythical beasts. Daoist tradition holds that such artifacts contain the vital energy (Qi) of heaven and earth, often connected to spiritual cultivation or extraordinary origins.

On Mount Tiantai's Jade Firmament Palace (Yuxiao Gong) stood an ancient bell, approximately two feet tall and weighing over a hundred jin. The bell's robust form resembled an ancient duo musical instrument, its surface adorned with thirty-six nipple-shaped protrusions crafted with exquisite artistry. Legend claims it was cast either by Yu the Great of Xia dynasty or as a musical instrument during King Goujian of Yue's reign.

For years, this bell would mysteriously toll in midair at night, its chimes audible to all. Later it suddenly fell into Yu's Temple and was stored in government warehouses. For seventy to eighty years, numerous eminent monks sought to retrieve it to showcase its miraculous nature, but officials consistently refused.

During the Xiantong era of Tang dynasty, when Left Regular Attendant Li Wan served as Zhedong Surveillance Commissioner, he invited Venerable Master Ye (an honorific for Daoist priests) from Jade Firmament Peak to conduct rituals at his official residence. Authorities brought out this bell for the ceremony. Later, Vice Director of the Water Ministry Liu Tao procured from the capital a three-to-four-foot tall lacquered statue of Lord Lao (Laojun) made with ramie cloth and lacquer—a solemn and extraordinary sacred image. They crafted a precious canopy for its veneration, along with silver incense burners, incense turtles, and other ritual implements that remained at the altar.

After the ceremony, Li Wan commissioned an inscription documenting these events to be carved onto the bell, which was then returned to Jade Firmament Palace along with the Laozi statue. The carved characters gleamed with golden brilliance. When monks from Yu's Footprint Temple repeatedly failed to claim the bell and learned of its return to Mount Tiantai, they spread rumors: "The ancient bell Jade Firmament Palace obtained is pure gold! The craftsmen's carving produced several liang of gold shavings—imagine how much gold the entire bell contains! Those incense vessels are also worth cities."

Subsequently, a dozen rogue monks and local ruffians infiltrated Jade Firmament Palace at night, hiding beneath the pavilion. At midnight, they scaled railings into the ritual area, stuffing silver incense burners, incense turtles, golden dragons and other implements into sacks while carrying the bell on their backs. Discovering the theft, Venerable Master Ye prevented his disciples from pursuit. After fleeing thirty li, the thieves rested beneath a large tree at dawn—only to find themselves still by the palace pillars. When examined, the bell-bearing monk had died rigidly while others were delirious, yet all ritual objects remained intact.

After Venerable Master Ye performed incantations and sprinkled consecrated water, the monks gradually revived. The thieves vowed repentance and begged to avoid official prosecution. The Daoist master released them all, only arranging transport for the ailing monk.

In Kaizhou's Longxing Temple, there stands a massive bell weighing seven or eight thousand jin. Without a proper bell tower, it hangs directly in the main hall. Locals tell a remarkable tale: whenever someone suffers from stolen property, an unresolved lawsuit, or unredressed grievances, burning incense and bowing before this bell brings immediate, visible results. Even prisoners who refuse to confess under interrogation find their innocence miraculously revealed if they sincerely request the bell to be rung.

During my stay at this temple, I witnessed officials escorting a prisoner to the bell. After offering incense and prayers, just as they raised the mallet to strike, someone intervened, demanding the case be re-examined. This happened several times without the bell ever being rung—yet the case resolved itself. Upon inquiry, I learned that in the past, many unresolved cases were brought before the bell as a witness. Within a month of ringing, those who had falsely accused others would inevitably die of sudden illness, while those who aided in deception met misfortune within a year. The wrongfully accused, however, remained unharmed. Since then, no one in the region dared falsify legal matters, treating the bell's efficacy as absolute. A similar legend surrounds the bell at Yun'an's White Crane Temple, renowned far and wide.

In Shizhou's Qingjiang Prefecture, the Kaiyuan Temple houses another ancient bell of peculiar design. Its handle is shaped like a qilin's head, suspended from a frame resembling a giant gourd. When struck, its tone begins crisp and melodious before abruptly swelling into a deep resonance that carries for miles. Yet no one knows from which dynasty it originates.

Originally, a villager herding cattle in the southern fields heard strange sounds from underground. Terrified, he and other cowherds fled. Later, the villager suffered a high fever for days and dreamed of a man in a short blue jacket urging, "Move me to Kaiyuan Temple at once!" Still confused, he returned to the field and heard the same noise. After marking the spot, he reported it to the prefect, who rebuked him: "Nonsense! How dare you trouble me with such trivialities!" That night, the blue-clad figure reappeared in his dream, warning, "I've lain buried for years. If you don't dig me up soon, disaster will strike."

In Hongzhou (present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi), there existed a sacred bell left behind by Perfected Lord Xu (Xu Xun, one of the Four Great Celestial Masters of Daoism) for cultivation purposes. Slightly smaller than the imperial bells bestowed upon Daoist temples, this bell had been preserved for generations in the Perfected Lord Hall. At that time, the military governor Yan Xuan wielded considerable power. The abbot he supported coveted this bell and sent officials to seize it by force, while the Daoist priests dared not intervene.

On the day the bell was taken, sudden thunderstorms erupted with violent winds and torrential rain. The ceremonial tents were overturned, and floodwaters rose several feet deep. When struck, the bell produced no sound, as if it were made of wood. The abbot told Yan Xuan, "These Daoists must be practicing sorcery—they’ve enchanted the bell to silence it." Enraged, Yan Xuan arrested the priests and imprisoned them, intending to punish them. Fearing his authority, none of the officials dared to protest.

Yan Xuan then fell into a deep, drowsy state and dreamed of Perfected Lord Xu arriving with two attendants, who warned him: "You have seized my bell by force and now seek to harm these Daoists. If you do not return the bell to the temple and repent before the Great Dao, my attendant will behead you!" As the attendant raised his sword to strike, Yan Xuan awoke in terror, drenched in cold sweat. In his dazed state, he still saw the sword-wielding attendant standing before him. Hastily, he released the priests and returned the bell to the temple, personally offering incense in repentance at Youwei Temple. On his way back, he again encountered the attendant, who declared: "Your wicked deeds have provoked Heaven’s wrath—the punishment of beheading will not be escaped." With that, the figure vanished. Not long after, Yan Xuan was sentenced to death by the imperial court for failing in a river-dredging project.

Another account tells of the Five Ritual Swords of Celestial Master Zhang (Zhang Daoling, founder of Daoism). These swords appeared to be cast from unrefined bronze, with five interlocking rings on their hilts. They bore esoteric talismanic inscriptions (Fulu) and patterns of the sun, moon, and stars, each weighing exactly eighty-one taels.

This scripture recounts the miraculous stories of sacred ritual objects passed down through generations of Celestial Masters (Tianshi), the high-ranking Daoist clergy.

The first passage describes the ancestral sword and Dugong Seal (a Daoist ritual implement) inherited by the Celestial Master lineage. When the first Celestial Master ascended to heaven, he left behind his sword and seal for his descendants, vowing that each generation would pass them to only one son and never to outsiders. This Celestial Master bore a distinctive mark—a cluster of a dozen red hairs on his head. By the twenty-first generation, the sword often emitted strange glows and occasionally roared, appearing and disappearing mysteriously, demonstrating its divine potency. During the sixteenth generation, the Celestial Master frequently used this sacred sword to heal illnesses and dispel calamities for the people. Once, when a family faced a life-threatening difficult childbirth, they borrowed the sword, and suddenly a divine light illuminated the delivery room. Unfortunately, the sword was later accidentally broken.

The second passage tells the story of the eighteenth-generation Celestial Master, Huiqin, who was gentle and uncontentious by nature. One day, a stranger claiming to be a copper craftsman arrived at the Daoist temple (the Immortal Abode Temple on Mount Yunjin). The Celestial Master asked him to repair the broken sword. The man requested charcoal fire and a secluded chamber, where the sound of his hammering made the temple disciples fear the sword might be shattered. Yet soon after, he emerged with the sword fully restored, leaving only a hair-thin black mark at the welded joint. After the Celestial Master paid him, the man donated the money to the statue of Laozi and departed. Some speculated that he might have been the Celestial Master himself descending in disguise to repair his own sword—otherwise, how could an ordinary blacksmith restore such a precious blade so perfectly?

The third passage recounts the verification of Zhang Rang’s acquisition of the Huang Shen Yuezhang Seal (another Daoist ritual object). Zhang Rang, a native of Guizhou, fell ill with a heart ailment during his travels through Hunan and Hubei, developing symptoms of forgetfulness—he would forget to walk while moving and forget to sit while indoors, sinking into a state of utter confusion.

This passage records two stories demonstrating the efficacy of Daoist ritual seals.

The first story recounts Yuan Guizhen's use of the Huang Shen Yuezhang Seal (a Daoist ritual implement). A certain man had long suffered from mental confusion, unable to distinguish day from night or discern directions. After several months, he grew increasingly agitated and violent, cursing deities and spirits, behaving erratically without restraint—even running about naked, unafraid of injury from treading through fire or water or touching blades. Daoist priest Yuan Guizhen had just finished carving the Huang Shen Yuezhang Seal and, after completing the sacrificial rites, decided to test its healing power. Following ritual protocol, he burned incense and stamped the seal on the patient's chest and back. The man immediately fell into a deep sleep and awoke suddenly cured. A creature resembling a hawk or falcon flew out of his mouth, and when it landed, everyone saw it was a large bat, its back still bearing the imprint of the seal. From then on, Yuan carried this seal everywhere to treat illnesses, with remarkably effective results.

The second story tells of Fan Xiyue using the Tianpeng Seal to pray for rain. Fan Xiyue, a native of Chengdu, was well-versed in the cultivation methods of Beidi (an important Daoist deity) and carved the Tianpeng Seal to perform rituals. During the great drought of the Guangming era's Gengzi year, he took the seal to Wansui Pond to pray for rain. At dusk, he cast the seal into the pond, whereupon a sudden dark wind arose. By nightfall, heavy rain fell until dawn, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The downpour ended the drought and even drowned the locusts. The following year, when the emperor fled to Chengdu, he summoned Fan Xiyue to inquire about suppressing the rebellion and had him perform rituals in the inner palace. That night, the emperor dreamed of a divine being foretelling an auspicious omen for quelling the rebels—a prophecy that later came true. As a result, Fan was granted an official post. He also mentioned that when he first lived in Zhujiao Lane, he had just finished carving the seal when barbarian invaders attacked. He hid the seal beneath the roof tiles, and though the surrounding houses burned down, the spot where he concealed the seal remained unharmed.

Outside the walls of Shangyu County in Yuezhou (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang), there was a several-acre vacant plot where people often heard bell sounds emanating from underground. During the Xiantong era of the Tang Dynasty (860-874 CE), the local magistrate Xia Houpo, a devout Daoist practitioner, noticed the county lacked a proper Daoist temple. He purchased this land to establish one. While excavating the foundation, workers unexpectedly unearthed an ancient bell weighing over a hundred jin (approximately 50 kg), inscribed with the characters "Zhengguan" (Righteous Observation). That winter coincided with the emperor's birthday celebrations, and the imperial court issued an edict naming the newly built temple "Yanqing Guan" (Temple of Prolonged Blessings) in honor of the occasion.

This account from the thirteenth volume of Records of Daoist Miracles documents the supernatural phenomena surrounding the temple's founding—the spontaneous bell sounds from the empty plot before construction, followed by the miraculous discovery of the ancient bell, all interpreted as signs of Daoist spiritual efficacy. The "Zhengguan" inscription likely references an earlier reign period (627-649 CE, Emperor Taizong's era), suggesting this site had longstanding Daoist connections. The imperial naming ceremony demonstrates the court's supportive stance toward Daoism during this period.