Xīyí zhǐmí lùn 析疑指迷論
Discussions for Resolving Doubts and Pointing Out Errors
by 牛道淳 (撰, hào Shénfēng Xiāoyáo dàshī 神峰逍遙大師); colophon by 劉道真 (跋) dated 1298; preface by 王道恒 (序) dated 1299
About the work
A one-juan Yuán-period Quánzhēn 全真 doctrinal treatise in question-and-answer form, in two parts. Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng 正統道藏 (DZ 0276 / CT 276 = TC 276), 洞真部 眾術類. Niú Dàochún 牛道淳 (Shénfēng Xiāoyáo dàshī 神峰逍遙大師, “Free-and-easy Master of Spirit Peak”), author also of [[KR5c0116|DZ 727 Wén shǐ zhēn jīng zhù 文始真經注]] (preface 1296), here explains to his disciple Lǐ Zhìhéng 李志恒 the principles of the Quánzhēn 全真 (“Complete Reality”) school, the secret of the True Way, the meaning of xìngmìng 性命 (inborn nature and life-mandate), and the methods of self-cultivation; in the second part (8a ff.) he stages dialogues between two probably fictitious figures, Guǎngmò xiānshēng 廣漠先生 and Zhàorán zǐ 昭然子, on technical terminology and practice.
Prefaces
The text carries (in order) a colophon (跋) by Liú Dàozhēn 劉道真 (Chóngxuán zǐ 重玄子) of Rǔnán 汝南, dated the wùxū year of Dàdé 大德 (1298), praising Niú’s “lofty discussion in two installments” and his “untangling of doubts and disclosing of mysteries”; followed by a preface by Wáng Dàohéng 王道恒 dated 1299, which (according to Floriàn C. Reiter’s Taoist Canon notice) explains that Niú continues the Quánzhēn tradition of Mǎ Dānyáng 馬丹陽, Tán Chùduān 譚處端, Liú Chùxuán 劉處玄, and Qiū Chùjī 丘處機; then Niú Dàochún’s own preface dated Yuánzhēn 2nd year, first lunar month, shàngyuán day (1296): “I, Shénfēng Xiāoyáo zǐ, dwelling in retirement in a quiet chamber, leaning against the railing in solitary repose at my low desk forgetful of mind, was approached by Wùzhēn zǐ 悟真子 Lǐ Zhìhéng who, rising from his seat respectfully and standing upright, brought paper, made his salutation, and said: ‘May I ask the master to expound and resolve doubts about the marvellous principle of quánzhēn, the subtle essence of the supreme Way, the meaning of xìngmìng, and the order of progression in cultivation?’ I answered: ‘The supreme Way is subtle and fine, without form and without name; difficult to expound, difficult to put in words; not such as may be grasped by accepting or rejecting. Hence the mind is troubled and cannot know it; the mouth shrinks and cannot speak it; in the empty house of a man, he must awaken to it himself.’ But he insisted, his earnestness only growing, and so I had no choice but to comply, and I composed this treatise, calling it Xīyí zhǐmí, that it might serve as material for the gradual awakening of the beginning student. Inscribed shàngyuán day, first month, Yuánzhēn 2 (1296).”
Abstract
Floriàn C. Reiter, in Schipper & Verellen eds., The Taoist Canon (2004) 2:1178 (§3.B.9, The Quánzhēn Order), identifies the work as a Quánzhēn doctrinal text in dialogue form. Niú Dàochún emphasizes “sudden enlightenment” and the recovery of the “original face” (běnláimiàn mù 本來面目); his programmatic stance — “actually there is nothing to say and nothing to transmit” (15b) — is characteristic of mature Quánzhēn discourse. The dialogues between the two fictitious figures Guǎngmò xiānshēng 廣漠先生 (“Master of the Vast Desert”) and Zhàorán zǐ 昭然子 (“Master of Clear Brightness”) in the second part list and reject various heterodox self-cultivation methods (12b–13a), allowing Niú to draw a sharp boundary between authentic Quánzhēn practice and popular variants. The frontmatter brackets composition between Niú’s own preface (1296) and the appended Wáng Dàohéng preface (1299) under which the present recension was finalised.
Translations and research
No full translation. Standard scholarly entry: Floriàn C. Reiter, “Xiyi zhimi,” in Schipper & Verellen eds., The Taoist Canon (2004), Vol. 2 §3.B.9, 1178. On Yuán Quánzhēn doctrine: Vincent Goossaert, La création du taoïsme moderne (EHESS dissertation 1997); Pierre Marsone, Wang Chongyang et la fondation du Quanzhen (Paris 2010).
Links
- Kanseki Repository KR5a0288
- Schipper & Verellen, The Taoist Canon (2004), Vol. 2 §3.B.9, 1178.