Tàishàng dòngxuán língbǎo wǔdì jiàojì zhāozhēn yùjué 太上洞玄靈寶五帝醮祭招真玉訣
Jade Instructions for the Sacrifice to the Five Emperors and for Summoning the Perfected, of the Most High Cavern-Mystery Numinous Treasure edited by 張承先 (編)
About the work
A seven-folio Táng ritual manual for the jiàojì 醮祭 offering to the Five Emperors and the summoning (zhāo 招) of the heavenly zhēnrén. Transmitted in the Dàozàng in a composite juàn with DZ 410 (KR5b0094).
Prefaces
No author preface proper; the text ends with a closing remark by the Táng master Zhāng Chéngxiān 張承先 (cf. DZ 508 Wúshàng huánglù dàzhāi lìchéng yí 20.9b–11b), in which he states that he extracted the present ritual from its parent work (DZ 352 Tàishàng dòngxuán língbǎo chìshū yùjué miàojīng, section 2.20a–28b = KR5b0036) and edited it as an independent ceremony.
Abstract
Dated to the Táng by Schmidt (Schipper & Verellen, Taoist Canon 2: 578–579, DZ 411). The text is a direct extract of DZ 352 Chìshū yùjué miàojīng 2.20a–28b, edited by Zhāng Chéngxiān for use as a stand-alone ceremony. On the day of transmission of the two registers of the Língbǎo wǔlǎo chìshū 靈寶五老赤書 and of the staff for commanding the Eight Daunters (cf. DZ 528 Tàishàng dòngxuán língbǎo shòudù yí), this sacrifice is to be held in order to summon the heavenly zhēnrén. After the first performance, the ceremony is to be repeated three times at intervals of three years.
The text is a precious specimen of Táng liturgical re-editing: a stand-alone rite excerpted and adapted from a parent Language Treasure scripture, supplied with a brief editorial colophon identifying the editor and the purpose of the extraction.
Translations and research
- Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, 2:578–579 (DZ 411).