文始經言外旨

Wén shǐ jīng yán wài zhǐ 文始經言外旨

Meaning of the Wénshǐ jīng beyond Its Words

by 陳顯微 (Chén Xiǎnwēi, zì Zōng dào 宗道, hào Bào yī zǐ 抱一子); dated 1254

A Southern-Sòng interpretative commentary on the Wén shǐ zhēn jīng 文始真經 (the Guān Yǐn zǐ 關尹子), distinct from DZ 727 Niú Dàochún’s commentary. Originally in three juàn; reformatted to nine juàn in the Daozang. Composed in 1254 by Chén Xiǎnwēi 陳顯微 of Yángzhōu 揚州. Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 728 / CT 728 (Dòngshén bù, Yù jué lèi 洞神部玉訣類), and independently in the Qīng Dàozàng jíyào as JY134.

About the work

Hans-Hermann Schmidt’s notice in Schipper & Verellen eds., The Taoist Canon (2004, 2:3029–60, DZ 728) gives the authoritative modern framing.

Chén Xiǎnwēi’s 1254 preface

In the preface to this interpretative commentary (dated 1254), Chén Xiǎnwēi 陳顯微 of Yángzhōu 揚州 defends the Wénshǐ zhēn jīng against the suspicion that it was forged by a scholar in Hàn times. He gives a numerological explanation of the titles of its nine piān 篇 — characteristic of the Sòng Daoist scholarly approach to canonical texts.

A note records that Chén’s original commentary in three juàn was divided into nine juàn for the present Daozang edition. The division was presumably made to align the commentary with the nine-piān structure of the base text.

Wáng Yì’s disciple-preface

Wáng Yì 王逸 — a disciple of Chén Xiǎnwēi — states in his own preface that he received this work from Chén and had it printed. The publication-chain is thus: Chén Xiǎnwēi → Wáng Yì → printed edition.

The Liú Xiàng memorial

A preface is followed by a memorial attributed to Liú Xiàng 劉向 (dated 15 BCE) giving an account of his collation of the Guān Yǐn zǐ text and its previous transmission. This memorial is not mentioned elsewhere before the Sòng dynasty and was most likely forged together with, or slightly after, today’s Guān Yǐn zǐ — i.e., it is part of the Sòng recension of the scripture rather than an authentic Western-Hàn document.

Editions

The text has a complex transmission history:

1. The Daozang edition (DZ 728) — the nine-juàn version.
2. A 1293 Hangzhou printing — described in the Bì sòng lóu cáng shū zhì 皕宋樓藏書志 66.5b–12a: “In 1293, Jì Zhìróu 紀致柔 had a Bì chuán Guān Yǐn zǐ yán wài jīng zhǐ 祕傳關尹子言外經旨 in three juàn newly printed in Hangzhou.” This appears to preserve the original three-juàn structure.
3. The Shòu shān gé cóng shū edition — contains an additional preface, the 1281 preface by Zhū Xiàng xiān 朱象先 (“Chronicle of the Emergence of the Guān Yǐn zǐ”), which is not in either the 1293 or the Daozang editions. It also contains a strongly modified version of Wáng Yì’s preface.
4. The Dào shū quán jí 道書全集 edition (traceable to at least 1591) — a two-juàn version; reprinted in the Qīng Dàozàng jíyào (JY134). Each piān concludes with a summary by Zhū Xiàng xiān (probably from his 1281 edition).

Textual variants

The Dào shū quán jí edition frequently points out textual variants from Guō’s edition (Guō běn 郭本) — which corresponds with the text of DZ 667 Wú shàng miào dào wén shǐ zhēn jīng (see also the variant notes in DZ 727). Two other annotations (1.22b; 2.17b) cite otherwise-unidentified editions.

Prefaces

The DZ 728 text carries:

1. Chén Xiǎnwēi’s own preface (1254).
2. The commentator’s preface (probably Chén’s).
3. Wáng Yì’s preface (disciple-preface, mentioning publication).
4. The pseudo-Liú Xiàng memorial (15 BCE, most likely Sòng forgery).

Abstract

The commentary is a significant document of mid-Southern-Sòng Daoist scholarship on the Wén shǐ zhēn jīng. Chén Xiǎnwēi’s authorial defence of the text’s antiquity — against Hàn-era forgery suspicions — is a valuable witness to the text-critical debates surrounding the scripture in the Sòng, and his numerological-philosophical reading of the 9-piān structure establishes a framework that influenced subsequent commentary.

Dating. Preface 1254. Per the project’s dating rule, the frontmatter gives 1254 as the composition date. Dynasty: 宋.

Author. Chén Xiǎnwēi 陳顯微 (zì Zōng dào 宗道, hào Bào yī zǐ 抱一子 “Master Who Embraces the One”), a Southern-Sòng nèi dān 內丹 master from Yángzhōu 揚州. In 1223 he met a “superior person” who taught him the true Way; thereafter he became a prominent Daoist figure in the Southern-Sòng Zhè jiāng region. He was visited at the Yòu shèng guān 佑聖觀 in Hángzhōu 杭州 in 1244 by Wáng Yì 王逸 (his eventual disciple-preface-writer). He is also the author of important Cān tóng qì 參同契 works (see Schipper & Verellen 2004, 2:3898–3950, DZ 999).

Translations and research

• Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, 2:3029–60 (DZ 728, H.-H. Schmidt). Primary reference.
• See also KR5c0116 (Niú Dàochún’s DZ 727) and DZ 667 Wú shàng miào dào wén shǐ zhēn jīng for the parent text.

Other points of interest

The forgery-defence in Chén Xiǎnwēi’s preface is an important window on Sòng-era text-critical debate. Some mid-Sòng scholars (notably Sòng Lián 宋濂 in the early Míng) had begun to suspect the Guān Yǐn zǐ of Hàn-era fabrication — a suspicion that modern scholarship (YuánBùrrhǎn 袁家驊, Kusuyama Haruki 楠山春樹) has partially vindicated. Chén Xiǎnwēi defends the text against these suspicions; his arguments were not ultimately persuasive to all subsequent readers but are preserved through DZ 728.

The pseudo-Liú Xiàng memorial — a 15-BCE document that did not exist before the Sòng — is a characteristic instance of the Sòng practice of creating ancient credentials for newly compiled scriptures. The forgery probably dates to the 11th or 12th century and was incorporated into the Guān Yǐn zǐ recension that Chén Xiǎnwēi received; he treats it as authentic.

Links

• Kanseki Repository KR5c0117
• Schipper & Verellen, The Taoist Canon (2004), 2:3029–60 — DZ 728 entry (H.-H. Schmidt).
• ctext.org: 文始經言外旨