Tài shàng Lǎo jūn shuō cháng qīng jìng jīng zhù 太上老君說常清靜經註 (Anonymous)
Commentary on the Scripture Spoken by the Most High Lord Lǎo on Constant Clarity and Stillness — Anonymous Commentary
Wúmíng shì 無名氏 (“Anonymous”)
A second Daozang commentary on the Cháng qīng jìng jīng 常清靜經 (DZ 620), anonymous. Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 756 / CT 756 (Dòngshén bù, Yù jué lèi 洞神部玉訣類) in 1 juàn. Catalog disambiguator “(二)” distinguishes this from KR5c0151 (Lǐ Dàochún’s commentary).
About the work
The commentary is anonymous — labelled explicitly as Wú míng shì zhù 無名氏註 (“Commentary by a Nameless One”) in the text. This anonymity is unusual and may reflect deliberate self-effacement by a Quán zhēn 全真 commentator (consistent with the Quán zhēn ideal of disregarding worldly fame).
Characteristic opening
The commentary opens by articulating a three-fold “Three No-Virtues” (sān wú zhī dé 三無之德) of the great Way, paralleling the scripture’s own opening:
“The Lǎojūn discusses the Great Way’s three no-virtues: first, the Great Way is no. 1 without form-substance yet gives birth to and nurtures Heaven and Earth; second, the Great Way is no. 2 without feeling-nature yet runs the sun and moon; third, the Great Way is no. 3 without name-appearance yet long nurtures the ten-thousand things. How is it that ‘without form-substance’ it can give birth to and nurture Heaven and Earth? This means that the Great Way is clear to the utmost numinous, still to the utmost empty — its líng 靈 (numinosity) and xū 虛 (emptiness) are deep and boundless, spontaneous qì 氣 — therefore without form-substance; yet [even] without form-substance it can give birth to and nurture Heaven and Earth.”
This opening demonstrates the Quán zhēn mature scholarly style — structured numerical-systematic exposition combined with Xuánxué-derived cosmological vocabulary.
Dating
The commentary is undated. Its Quán zhēn 全真 scholarly style and its terminological proximity to KR5c0086 Lǐ Dàochún’s Dào dé huì yuán suggest composition in the late Southern Sòng or Yuán period. Per the project’s dating rule, the frontmatter gives 1200–1400 as a conservative window. Dynasty: 宋-元.
Abstract
The commentary is a minor anonymous Quán zhēn reading of the Lǎojūn meditation-scripture. Its deliberate anonymity and its methodical philosophical exposition make it a characteristic product of the mature Quán zhēn scholarly 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, DZ 756 entry.
Links
- Kanseki Repository KR5c0152
- Parent scripture: DZ 620 Cháng qīng jìng jīng.
- Parallel commentary: KR5c0151 Lǐ Dàochún’s version.
- ctext.org: 太上老君說常清靜經註