Shàngqīng chángshēng bǎojiàn tú 上清長生寶鑑圖
Shàngqīng Illustrations of the Precious Mirrors of Long Life
About the work
A four-folio Táng Shàngqīng compilation of seven illustrations of magic mirrors adorned with various symbols and talismanic signs.
Prefaces
No prefaces in the source. The text opens directly with a jìng míng 鑑銘 (mirror inscription) and then proceeds to the illustrations.
Abstract
Dated to the Táng (before the Sòng) by Koffler (Schipper & Verellen, Taoist Canon 2: 684, DZ 429). The title uses the character jiàn 鑑 for “mirror” in deference to the Sòng taboo on the character jìng 鏡 (see Chén Yuán 陳垣, Shǐhuì jǔlì 史諱舉例, 154); however, within the body of the text the original jìng 鏡 still appears at 1a and 2b, confirming that the text itself predates the Sòng.
The seven illustrated mirrors each combine geometric and stellar symbolism — a nine-inch diameter, emblems of the beasts of the four directions, the seven luminaries (qīyào 七曜), symbolic inscriptions of the “binding demons” class — that characterise mature Táng-period Daoist magical-mirror iconography.
Translations and research
- Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, 2:684 (DZ 429).
- Kohn, Livia. “Mirror of Auras: Shi Jian’s Ming jing tuzan.” Taoist Resources 5.2 (1994): 39–57 (comparative: Táng Daoist magic-mirror iconography).