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通玄真經 (徐靈府註)

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Text ID
KR5c0140
Date
809–815
Dynasty
唐

Tōng xuán zhēn jīng 通玄真經 (Xú Líng fǔ 徐靈府 commentary)

True Scripture of Communion with the Mystery — the Wénzǐ with Xú Língfǔ’s commentary

辛鈃 (Xīn Jiān, attributed); commentary by 徐靈府 (Xú Línfǔ, zì Mò xī zǐ 默希子); composed c. 809–815

The canonical Daozang edition of the [[KR5c0118|Wénzǐ]] 文子 (also known as Tōng xuán zhēn jīng 通玄真經, canonical title granted by Táng Xuánzōng in 742) with the foundational Táng commentary of Xú Língfǔ 徐靈府 (zì Mò xī zǐ 默希子). Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 746 / CT 746 (Dòngshén bù, Yù jué lèi 洞神部玉訣類) in 12 juàn; also in the Qīng Dàozàng jíyào as JY136; and in Sìbù cóngkān 四部叢刊 as SB33n438.

About the work

The Wénzǐ base text

The Wénzǐ is one of the four Táng-canonised Daoist classics (alongside Dàodé jīng, Zhuāngzǐ, Lièzǐ), under its canonical title Tōng xuán zhēn jīng. See KR5c0118 for the comprehensive treatment of the Wénzǐ itself — its complex textual history, the Dìng xiàn 定縣 archaeological fragments, and the layered composition of the received text.

Xú Língfǔ’s commentary

Xú Língfǔ 徐靈府 (zì Mò xī zǐ 默希子) is a Táng Daoist master active in the early 9th century (Yuán hé 元和 era, 806–820). His commentary is the foundational Táng commentary on the Wénzǐ and the principal ancient scholarly apparatus for the text.

Xú Língfǔ’s commentary:

  1. Proceeds chapter by chapter through the 12 piān of the Wénzǐ.
  2. Integrates Chóngxuán 重玄 and Xuánxué 玄學 vocabulary in its interpretive apparatus.
  3. Cross-references the Wénzǐ with the Dàodé jīng and Zhuāngzǐ — treating the three as a unified Daoist scriptural corpus.
  4. Provides philological glosses on difficult characters and passages.

Preservation

Xú Língfǔ’s commentary is the only surviving Táng commentary on the Wénzǐ in substantial form. Earlier Northern-Wèi Lǐ Xiān’s 李暹 commentary and Táng Zhū Yuán’s 朱元 commentary are both now lost (per the Sìkù editors’ notice at KR5c0119). Xú Língfǔ’s commentary is therefore the primary ancient interpretive apparatus for the Wénzǐ.

Prefaces

The commentary carries Xú Língfǔ’s own preface, which articulates:

  1. The Wénzǐ’s status as one of the four Táng-canonised Daoist scriptures.
  2. The relationship of the Wénzǐ to the Dàodé jīng and the HuángLǎo 黃老 tradition.
  3. His own Chóngxuán-inflected interpretive framework.

Abstract

The commentary is indispensable for reading the Wénzǐ — the principal ancient scholarly apparatus and the primary witness to the Táng interpretive tradition on the text. Together with Dù Dàojiān’s [[KR5c0119|Wénzǐ zuǎn yì]] (c. 1290), it constitutes the core classical commentary tradition on the Wénzǐ.

Dating. Xú Língfǔ’s active period is attested as c. 809–815 (the Yuán hé era). Per the project’s dating rule, the frontmatter gives 809–815 as the composition window. Dynasty: 唐.

Translations and research

  • Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, DZ 746 entry.
  • Le Blanc, Charles. Le Wen Zi à la lumière de l’histoire et de l’archéologie. Montréal: Presses de l’Université de Montréal, 2000.
  • Van Els, Paul. The Wenzi: Creativity and Intertextuality in Early Chinese Philosophy. Leiden: Brill, 2018.
  • Barrett, T. H. Taoism Under the T’ang. London: Wellsweep, 1996. For Xú Língfǔ’s early-9th-century context.

Other points of interest

Xú Língfǔ 徐靈府 (hào Mò xī zǐ 默希子, “Master of Silent Hopes”) is a significant Táng Daoist figure, master of Sīmǎ Chéng zhēn’s 司馬承禎 lineage branch. He was a major figure at Tiān tái shān 天台山 (Zhè jiāng) — the foundational Shàng qīng 上清 mountain. His commentary represents the mature Táng Daoist engagement with the Wénzǐ tradition.

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