Lǎo jūn yīn sòng jiè jīng 老君音誦戒經
Recited Precepts Scripture of the Lord Lǎo
attributed to 寇謙之 (Kòu Qiānzhī, 365–448) — foundational reformer of the Northern Celestial Master tradition
An important Northern Wèi 北魏 precepts-scripture traditionally attributed to Kòu Qiānzhī 寇謙之 (365–448) — the foundational reformer of the Xīn Tiān shī dào 新天師道 (“New Celestial Master Way”), whose reforms under Northern Wèi imperial patronage transformed the Tiān shī tradition in the 5th century. Preserved as DZ 785 / CT 785 (Dòngshén bù, Jiè lǜ lèi 洞神部戒律類).
About the work
Kòu Qiānzhī’s reforms
Kòu Qiānzhī (365–448) was — by the consensus of modern scholarship — the central figure in the 5th-century reformation of the Celestial Master tradition in the Northern Wèi. Under imperial patronage from Wèi Tài wǔ dì 北魏太武帝 (r. 424–452), Kòu established the “New Celestial Master” institution with a reformed code of discipline, liturgical system, and scripture corpus. The Lǎo jūn yīn sòng jiè jīng is one of the foundational reformation documents.
The yīn sòng 音誦 register
The title’s yīn sòng 音誦 (“recited”) signals the ritual-chanted nature of the precepts-scripture. The text is designed for liturgical recitation by the faithful, not purely for silent reading or memorization.
Dating
Within Kòu Qiānzhī’s Northern-Wèi reformation period (c. 425–448). Dynasty: 北魏.
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 785 entry.
- Mather, Richard B. “K’ou Ch’ien-chih and the Taoist Theocracy at the Northern Wei Court.” In Facets of Taoism, ed. Holmes Welch and Anna Seidel, 103–22. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979. Classic study.
- Kobayashi Masayoshi 小林正美. Chūgoku no dōkyō 中国の道教. Tokyo: Sōbunsha, 1998.
Links
- Kanseki Repository KR5c0182
- Author: 寇謙之.
- ctext.org: 老君音誦戒經