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猶龍傳

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Text ID
KR5c0170
Date
1086–1100
Dynasty
宋

Yóu lóng zhuàn 猶龍傳

Biography of the “As If a Dragon”

by 賈善翔 (Jiǎ Shànxiáng, zì Hóng jǔ 鴻舉; Northern Sòng); composed between 1086 and 1100

A major Northern-Sòng hagiography of Lǎojūn in six juàn by Jiǎ Shànxiáng 賈善翔. The title Yóu lóng 猶龍 (“As if a dragon”) derives from Confucius’s famous description of Lǎozǐ in Shǐjì 63: lǎo zǐ qí yóu lóng xié 老子其猶龍邪 (“Lǎozǐ — is he not like a dragon?”). Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 774 / CT 774 (Dòngshén bù, Pǔ lù lèi 洞神部譜錄類), and in the Qīng Dàozàng jíyào as JY083.

About the work

Content

The Yóu lóng zhuàn provides one of the most elaborate medieval Chinese biographical-hagiographic treatments of Lǎozǐ. The text narrates:

  1. Lǎozǐ’s cosmic origin — his pre-cosmic existence and descent.
  2. His birth and early life — the elaborate narrative of his mother’s 81-year gestation, his birth at Bó zhōu 亳州, his physiognomic marks, his career at the Zhōu archives.
  3. His teaching activity — especially his transmission of the Dàodé jīng to Yǐn Xǐ 尹喜 at the Hángǔ pass.
  4. His successive manifestations across the ages — incarnations and revelations from the Three Sovereigns through the Táng imperial cult.
  5. His divinisation as Tài shàng Lǎo jūn in the religious Daoist tradition.

Significance

The Yóu lóng zhuàn is one of the principal Northern-Sòng sources for Xiè Shǒuhào’s subsequent hagiographic trilogy (KR5c0166, KR5c0167, KR5c0169) and for the general late-imperial Chinese hagiographic tradition of Lǎozǐ. Its 6-juàn scope is unusually extensive for a pre-Sòng Lǎozǐ biography.

Dating

Composed during Jiǎ Shànxiáng’s active period, c. 1086–1100. Dynasty: 宋.

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 774 entry.
  • Kohn, Livia. God of the Dao: Lord Lao in History and Myth. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies, 1998. Extensive treatment.
  • Seidel, Anna. La divinisation de Lao tseu dans le Taoïsme des Han. Paris: EFEO, 1969. Foundational study of the Daoist Lǎozǐ cult.

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