Hóng’ēn Língjì zhēnjūn qíxiè shèjiào yí 洪恩靈濟真君祈謝設醮儀
The Petitioning-and-Thanksgiving Offering Liturgy of the Vast-Beneficence Numinously-Salvific Perfected Lords
About the work
The sixth of the nine-text Yǒnglè-era liturgical cycle of the Hóng’ēn Língjì zhēnjūn cult (KR5b0152–KR5b0160). The qíxiè shèjiào 祈謝設醮 is the petitioning-and-thanksgiving offering liturgy — the climactic jiào 醮 rite proper, in which the patron formally presents petitions for benefit (qí 祈) and gives thanks for benefits received (xiè 謝). The opening hymn (Wǔxīng lièzhào 五星列照) invokes the Five Planets in their apotropaic function: Mercury averts disaster, Jupiter brings prosperity, Mars dispels misfortune, Venus repels weapons, Saturn anchors the family.
Abstract
This is the central jiào offering of the Língjì cult, performed at the conclusion of the jífú cycle or as a standalone rite for thanksgiving (xièēn 謝恩) and petition (qífú 祈福). Schipper & Verellen (Taoist Canon 2: 1220–1221) describe the qíxiè genre as central to the Yǒnglè-era Língjìgōng programme — the very rite in which the Yǒnglè emperor and later imperial patrons gave thanks to the Two Lords for healing and protection.
The text supplies the biǎo 表 and zhuàng 狀 templates for the patron’s formal petitions, the xiànjiǔ 獻酒 three-fold libation procedure, the huàcái 化財 (burning of paper money), the huíxiàng dedication of merit, and the sòngshèng dismissal. The diction is solemn and direct; the rite is the visible meeting-point of imperial state, Daoist clergy, and the cult deities.
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: 1220–1221 (DZ 473, entry by Vincent Goossaert).
- Lagerwey, John. Taoist Ritual in Chinese Society and History. New York: Macmillan, 1987.