Shàngqīng zhòngjīng zhū zhēnshèng bì 上清眾經諸真聖祕
Secret Book of the Saints and Perfected of the Shàngqīng Scriptures
About the work
An eight-juàn systematic survey-pantheon of all the Shàngqīng 上清 spirits and deities, compiled from the writings of that school and presented in tabular form. Probably intended for ritual purposes.
Prefaces
No prefaces in the source proper. Each listing is preceded by the title of the work or method from which the deity-names derive — effectively a source-attribution apparatus.
Abstract
Dated by Robinet (Schipper & Verellen, Taoist Canon 1: 604–605, DZ 446) to the second half of the Táng at the earliest. The text at 8.12a cites Liángqiū zǐ’s 梁丘子 (Bái Lǚzhōng 白履忠) commentary on the Huángtíng jīng (preserved in DZ 263 Xiūzhēn shíshū 55–60; cf. DZ 402 = KR5b0086) — which was composed ca. 722–729 — establishing a firm terminus post quem within the Táng.
The pantheon is organised as a catalogue of names with corresponding talismans (fú 符) giving graphic form to the deities. Despite frequent cross-references intended to avoid repetition, certain names recur in several listings. Material from DZ 166 Yuánshǐ shàngzhēn zhòngxiānjì 元始上真眾仙記 is included at 5.3a–6b, and some Língbǎo divinities also figure (7.12a).
The text is an indispensable reference for the working out of the late-Táng Shàngqīng pantheon, and a major source for the systematic naming-apparatus of the later Daoist ritual tradition.
Translations and research
- Robinet, Isabelle. La révélation du Shangqing dans l’histoire du taoïsme, 2 vols.
- Kaltenmark, Max. “Ling-pao: Note sur un terme du taoïsme religieux.” (For the broader context.)
- Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, 1:604–605 (DZ 446).