Tōng xuán zhēn jīng zuǎn yì 通玄真經纘義
Continuation of the Meaning of the True Scripture of Communion with the Mystery
by 杜道堅 (Dù Dàojiān, 1237–1318) — the Zhèng yī 正一 Daoist master; preface c. 1310
A major early-Yuán commentary on the Wénzǐ / Tōng xuán zhēn jīng (KR5c0118) by Dù Dàojiān 杜道堅 (1237–1318). Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as part of the DZ 746–747 Tōng xuán zhēn jīng cluster (the editorial detail is complex; see Schipper & Verellen 2004, 2:2900–2950). The same work is preserved independently (in partial form) in the Wén yuān gé Sìkù quánshū as KR5c0119 Wénzǐ zuǎn yì — where the WYG version derives from Yǒng lè dà diǎn 永樂大典 extracts and lacks 5 piān.
About the work
The KR5c0143 Daozang edition is the more complete version of Dù Dàojiān’s Zuǎn yì commentary on the Wénzǐ — containing all 12 piān, where the WYG KR5c0119 is missing 5 piān (Dào yuán, Jiǔ shǒu, Dào dé, Shàng rén, Shàng lǐ).
See KR5c0119 for the comprehensive treatment of the work — its editorial method (collecting pre-Sòng commentators including Xú Língfǔ), its philosophical character (extending Dù Dàojiān’s Dàodé jīng work to the Wénzǐ), its date (c. 1310), and its significance for Wénzǐ scholarship. The two catalog entries refer to the same work in two different transmission witnesses; KR5c0143 is the Daozang version (complete), KR5c0119 the WYG version (partially reconstructed from Yǒng lè dà diǎn).
Complementarity with the Daozang
Per Schipper & Verellen (2004, 2:3091): A Daozang version of Dù Dàojiān’s commentary on the Wénzǐ “includes a brief biography… Quánjiè (dated 1310), Huáng Shíwēng 黃時翁 (1310), and Dù Dàojiān himself” (prefaces). This matches the KR5c0143 edition.
Prefaces
The Daozang edition preserves:
- Wáng Quán jiè 王全節 preface (1310).
- Huáng Shíwēng 黃時翁 preface (1310).
- Dù Dàojiān’s own preface.
These prefaces — not included in the WYG reconstruction — confirm the 1310 composition date and the Daoist-scholarly circle within which Dù Dàojiān’s commentary was produced.
Phonetic explanations
The Daozang edition concludes with phonetic explanations — apparently by Dù Dàojiān himself (Schipper & Verellen 2004, 2:3106: “clearly by Dù Dàojiān himself, as are the phonetic explanations that conclude the…”).
Abstract
KR5c0143 is the primary and most complete edition of Dù Dàojiān’s Wénzǐ zuǎn yì. Together with KR5c0119 (the WYG reconstruction), it constitutes our evidence for one of the most important Yuán commentaries on the Wénzǐ.
Dating. 1310. Per the project’s dating rule, the frontmatter gives 1310 as the composition date. Dynasty: 元.
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 746–747 entries. Primary reference.
- See KR5c0119 for the WYG version and its Qīng Sìkù tiyao.
- See 杜道堅 for the author’s biography.
Links
- Kanseki Repository KR5c0143
- Parallel WYG edition: KR5c0119.
- Parent text: KR5c0118 Wénzǐ.
- Author: 杜道堅.