太上玄靈北斗本命延生真經註解

Tài shàng xuán líng Běi dǒu běn mìng yán shēng zhēn jīng zhù jiě 太上玄靈北斗本命延生真經註解

Commentary and Explanations on the True Scripture of the Most High Mysterious Numen of the Northern Dipper for Prolonging Natal Life

attributed to 玄元真人 (Xuán yuán zhēn rén, “Perfected of Mysterious Origin” from Kōng tóng shān 崆峒山)

A YuánMíng Quán zhēn 全真 Daoist commentary on the Dipper longevity-scripture (DZ 622 Tài shàng xuán líng Běi dǒu běn mìng yán shēng jīng), attributed to an unknown author under the Daoist hào Xuán yuán zhēn rén 玄元真人 from Kōng tóng shān 崆峒山. Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 751 / CT 751 (Dòngshén bù, Yù jué lèi 洞神部玉訣類) in 3 juàn, and in the Qīng Dàozàng jíyào as JY108.

About the work

Ursula-Angelika Cedzich’s notice in Schipper & Verellen eds., The Taoist Canon (2004, 2:5570–88, DZ 751) gives the authoritative modern framing.

Structure

Three-fold division of each passage:

1. A tersely phrased explanation close to the main text.
2. A comprehensive, easily understandable interpretation (dà zhòng 大眾 = “for the many”).
3. A hymn of eight seven-character verses resuming the theme metaphorically.

This structure — explanation, expansion, and poetic summary — reflects the mature Quán zhēn pedagogical tradition.

Prefaces and postfaces

• A preface attributed to Lǐ Bó 李白 (701–762) — certainly spurious; indicates the text’s connection with a spirit-writing cult.
• A postface signed “Sū Shì” 蘇軾 (1036–1101) — likewise spurious. Both attributions point to the late-Yuán / Míng Quán zhēn practice of attributing sacred texts to revered historical-literary figures.

Philosophical character

The commentary integrates:

1. Daoist base-texts: DZ 620 Tài shàng lǎo jūn shuō cháng qīng jìng miào jīng 太上老君說常清淨妙經; DZ 31 Huáng dì yīn fú jīng 黃帝陰符經.
2. Three Teachings concept (sān jiào 三教; 1.10a–b).
3. Three Vehicles graded teaching (sān chéng 三乘; 2.23b) — a Buddhist-derived scheme.
4. Chán-Buddhist language: sudden enlightenment (dùn wù 頓悟), restraining the “Monkey of the Mind” (xīn yuán 心猿) and the “Horse of the Will” (yì mǎ 意馬).
5. Nèi dān 內丹 allusions — mostly metaphorical.

Rhetorical style

“Rhetorical, reminiscent of the genre of recorded conversations (yǔ lù 語錄), and the phrasing is poetic and metaphorical” (Cedzich). The prevalence of Chán ideas suggests that the commentary was produced among the later Quán zhēn Taoists, who understood their tradition as a synthesis of the Northern and Southern schools.

Abstract

The commentary is a characteristic late-Yuán / Míng Quán zhēn document that integrates the classical Běi dǒu 北斗 devotional framework with mature Quán zhēn Chán-inflected pedagogy. Its spurious attributions (to Lǐ Bó and Sū Shì) reflect the Quán zhēn practice of investing foundational cultural figures with revelatory authority via spirit-writing.

Dating. Cedzich places the work in the later Quán zhēn period — i.e., late Yuán to early Míng (c. 1300–1400). Per the project’s dating rule, the frontmatter gives 1300–1400 as the composition window. Dynasty: 元-明.

Author. Xuán yuán zhēn rén 玄元真人 is a Daoist pseudonym (“Perfected of Mysterious Origin”) — the personal identity behind it is not recoverable. The “Kōng tóng shān” 崆峒山 affiliation places the author (actually or notionally) at a sacred Daoist mountain in Gānsù 甘肅, associated with the primordial Huángdì 黃帝 tradition.

Translations and research

• Schipper, Kristofer, and Franciscus Verellen, eds. The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004, 2:5570–88 (DZ 751, U.-A. Cedzich).
• See KR5c0146 for the cognate DZ 750 commentary by Xú Dàolíng.

Links

• Kanseki Repository KR5c0147
• Schipper & Verellen, The Taoist Canon (2004), 2:5570–88.
• Parent scripture: DZ 622 Tài shàng xuán líng Běi dǒu běn mìng yán shēng jīng.
• Related commentary: KR5c0146.
• ctext.org: 太上玄靈北斗本命延生真經註解