Lìdài chóngdào jì 歷代崇道記
Record of the Veneration of the Way through the Ages by 杜光庭 (撰, 885)
About the work
A single-juǎn dynastic survey of imperial patronage of Daoism, compiled by 杜光庭 (Dù Guāngtíng, 850–933) in 885. The work is one of Dù’s earliest known compositions, written before his definitive move to Shǔ, and is the principal Daoist contribution to the Tang-era chóngdào (venerate-the-Way) genre.
Abstract
The text opens with the reign of Mùwáng 穆王 (the early-Zhōu monarch of the Mu-tianzi 穆天子 tradition): “Mùwáng pǔ Kūnlúnshān, Wángwūshān, Sōngshān, Huáshān, Tàishān, Héngshān, Héngshān (the other), Zhōngnánshān, Huìjīshān, Qīngchéngshān, Tiāntāishān, Luófúshān, Kōngtóngshān, zhì Wángmǔ guānqián, hòu dù dàoshì wǔqiān yú rén.” 穆王朴崑崙山、王屋山、嵩山、華山、泰山、衡山、恒山、終南山、會稽山、青城山、天台山、羅浮山、崆峒山，致王母觀前，後度道士五千餘人 (“King Mu of Zhōu visited [thirteen sacred mountains], travelled to the Queen Mother of the West, and ordained more than five thousand Daoists”). The narrative proceeds through Qín Shǐhuángdì, who unified the Six States, summoned the fāngshì 方士, and sought the elixir of immortality at Pénglái; built more than one hundred Daoist temples and ordained Daoists. The narrative continues through Hàn, Wèi, Jìn, Northern-and-Southern dynasties, Suí, and the early-Táng emperors, with particular attention to the great Daoist patrons (Hàn Wǔdì, Liáng Wǔdì, Táng Gāozōng, Xuánzōng).
The work is one of the earliest specifically Daoist works of dynastic-historical scope and contains valuable concrete data on Daoist ordinations and temple-building under successive dynasties — though the figures must be treated with the customary caution due to Daoist hagiographic enthusiasm. Schipper & Verellen (Taoist Canon 2: 445, Franciscus Verellen) date the work to 885, when Dù was attending Tang Xīzōng 唐僖宗 in Chéngdū after the Huáng Cháo 黃巢 rebellion.
Translations and research
- Verellen, Franciscus. Du Guangting (850–933): Taoïste de cour à la fin de la Chine médiévale. Paris: Collège de France, 1989 — treats the Lì-dài chóng-dào jì in chapter 2.
- Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004. Vol. 2: 445 (DZ 593, Franciscus Verellen).
- Barrett, T.H. Taoism Under the T’ang. London: Wellsweep, 1996 — for the institutional history of Daoism under the Táng on which Lì-dài chóng-dào jì is a primary source.