Lǎozǐ shuō wǔ chú jīng zhù 老子說五厨經註
Commentary on the Lǎozǐ’s Scripture of the Five Kitchens
by 尹愔 (Yǐn Yīn; Táng, fl. 736) — Jiàn yì dà fū 諫議大夫 and abbot (guàn zhǔ) of the Sū míng guàn 肅明觀; dated 736
A Táng-era commentary on the Wǔ chú jīng 五廚經 (“Scripture of the Five Kitchens”), a short Daoist scripture of the yǎng shēng 養生 (life-nourishing) tradition. Commentary by Yǐn Yīn 尹愔, active c. 736. Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 763 / CT 763 (Dòngshén bù, Yù jué lèi 洞神部玉訣類), and in the Qīng Dàozàng jíyào as JY062.
About the work
Scripture
The Wǔ chú jīng 五廚經 is a short Daoist scripture dealing with the Five Kitchens (wǔ chú 五廚) — the Daoist “kitchens” of the internal body, associated with the five viscera (wǔ zàng 五藏). The scripture teaches a method of inner-alchemical meditation and dietary regulation for extending life.
Author
Yǐn Yīn 尹愔 — listed in the Wài zhuàn to KR5c0062 DZ 679 as Jiàn yì dà fū, Sū míng guàn zhǔ, Yǐn Yīn, zuò xīn yì shí wǔ juàn 諫議大夫肅明觀主尹愔作新義十五卷 (“Yǐn Yīn, Admonition Counsellor and Abbot of the Sū míng guàn, composed New Meanings in fifteen juàn”). Yǐn Yīn was a major Táng Daoist court figure and author of a 15-juàn Lǎozǐ commentary (now lost apart from fragments).
Commentary
Yǐn Yīn’s Wǔ chú jīng commentary is a shorter, specialised work. Its 736 composition-date places it exactly at the peak of the Táng Daoist imperial project under Xuánzōng (contemporary with Xuánzōng’s Dàodé jīng commentary KR5c0059, composed 732–735).
Abstract
A significant Táng-era commentary on a specialised Daoist life-nourishing scripture.
Dating. 736. 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 763 entry.