Zhēn wǔ líng yìng zhēn jūn zēng shàng yòu shèng zūn hào cè wén 真武靈應真君增上佑聖尊號冊文
Imperial Investiture Proclamation Enhancing the Honorific Title of Zhēn wǔ, the Numinous-Responsive Perfected Lord, Protector of the Sage
by 徽宗 (Sòng Huīzōng, r. 1100–1125); dated 1108
An imperial investiture proclamation (cè wén 冊文) issued by Sòng Huīzōng in 1108, formally enhancing the honorific title of the Zhēn wǔ 真武 deity to Yòu shèng zhēn jūn 佑聖真君 (“Perfected Lord Protector of the Sage”). Preserved in the Zhèngtǒng Dàozàng as DZ 776 / CT 776 (Dòngshén bù, Pǔ lù lèi 洞神部譜錄類).
About the work
Context
The 1108 investiture is one of several major Sòng Huīzōng imperial actions promoting the Zhēn wǔ cult. Huīzōng’s Daoist programme — culminating in the 1118–19 Zhèng hé Dàozàng and his self-styled title Jiào zhǔ Dào jūn Huáng dì 教主道君皇帝 — included the systematic elevation of key Daoist deities via imperial proclamation.
Content
The proclamation:
- Recognises the divine-imperial lineage of Zhēn wǔ.
- Adds the honorific element Yòu shèng 佑聖 (“Protector of the Sage”) to his existing title Líng yìng zhēn jūn 靈應真君.
- Declares imperial patronage of the Zhēn wǔ cult.
Abstract
A minor but historically-precise document: a concrete imperial edict in the canonical Daoist-imperial formal register.
Dating. 1108. Dynasty: 宋.
Links
- Kanseki Repository KR5c0172
- Related Zhēn wǔ works: KR5c0150, KR5c0171.
- ctext.org: 真武靈應真君增上佑聖尊號冊文