道德真經註 (林志堅)

Dàodé zhēn jīng zhù 道德真經註 (Lín Zhìjiān)

Commentary on the True Scripture of the Way and Its Virtue

by 林志堅 (Lín Zhìjiān, zì Rén zhāi 仁齋, hào Xuán mén kāi zhēn hóng jiào dà zhēn rén 玄門開真弘教大真人); preface 1354

A brief late-Yuán commentary on the Dàodé jīng ([[KR5c0045|Dàodé zhēn jīng]]) in two juàn by Lín Zhìjiān 林志堅, printed during the Yuán dynasty with preface dated 1354. Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 720 / CT 720 (Dòngshén bù, Yù jué lèi 洞神部玉訣類). The catalog disambiguator “(五)” distinguishes this work from other texts titled Dàodé zhēn jīng zhù (by Héshàng gōng “(一)” = KR5c0065, Wáng Bì “(二)” = KR5c0073, Sū Zhé “(三)” = KR5c0074, Wú Chéng “(四)” = KR5c0091, Lín Zhìjiān “(五)”, Lǐ Róng “(六)”).

About the work

Isabelle Robinet’s notice in Schipper & Verellen eds., The Taoist Canon (2004, 2:1944, DZ 720) gives the authoritative modern framing. Key features:

Editorial method

The commentary is terse. It “consists of short sentences taken from the Dàodé jīng itself” — using the scriptural text’s own phrases to gloss its other passages. This is a distinctive form of self-referential commentary in which the Dàodé jīng interprets itself through its own internal cross-references. Similar editorial strategies appear in KR5c0069 (Lǚ Huìqīng) and elsewhere in the SòngYuán tradition.

Length

At 2 juàn — compared with 4 to 10 juàn for most substantial commentaries — the DZ 720 commentary is relatively short. This, combined with its terse editorial style, suggests it is an abbreviation rather than a comprehensive scholarly commentary.

Prefaces

The commentary carries a preface dated 1354 — the Yuán zhì zhèng shí sì nián 元至正十四年 (Zhì zhèng 14th year, under Shùn dì 順帝).

Abstract

The commentary is a late-Yuán minor work that represents the continuing Daoist engagement with the Dàodé jīng at the end of the Mongol-Yuán period, on the eve of the Mongol collapse (the Red Turban rebellions had begun in 1351; Zhū Yuánzhāng would drive out the Yuán in 1368). The 1354 composition-date places Lín Zhìjiān’s work in the twilight of the Yuán religious-intellectual establishment.

Dating. Preface 1354. Per the project’s dating rule, the frontmatter gives 1354 as the composition date. Dynasty: 元.

Author. Lín Zhìjiān, from Guǎng líng 廣陵 (modern Yáng zhōu 揚州, Jiāng sū) — “an important Taoist master at the end of the Yuán dynasty” per Robinet — is not otherwise known. His hào Xuán mén kāi zhēn hóng jiào dà zhēn rén 玄門開真弘教大真人 (“Great Perfected of the Mysterious Gate, Opener of Truth, Spreader of the Teaching”) is a grand Daoist title, suggesting official recognition by the late-Yuán religious establishment.

Translations and research

• Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, 2:1944 (DZ 720, I. Robinet). Primary reference.
• Boltz, Judith Magee. A Survey of Taoist Literature, Tenth to Seventeenth Centuries. Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, 1987. For the late-Yuán Daoist context.

Links

• Kanseki Repository KR5c0109
• Schipper & Verellen, The Taoist Canon (2004), 2:1944 — DZ 720 entry (I. Robinet).
• ctext.org: 道德真經註 (林志堅)