Tài shàng dòng shén sān huáng yí 太上洞神三皇儀
Liturgy of the Most High Cavern-Spirit Three Sovereigns
Anonymous; early Táng
A ritual-liturgy of the Dòng shén 洞神 (“Cavern of the Spirits”) tradition — the third and lowest of the Daoist canonical three revelations, based on the Sān huáng wén 三皇文 (“Writings of the Three Sovereigns”) of the Bào Jìng 鮑靚 / Gé Hóng 葛洪 era. Preserved as DZ 803 / CT 803 (Dòngshén bù, Jiè lǜ lèi 洞神部戒律類).
About the work
The Dòng shén / Sān huáng tradition
The Dòng shén 洞神 revelation — the Three Sovereigns corpus — was one of the three foundational revelations of classical Daoism, alongside Dòng zhēn 洞真 (Shàng qīng) and Dòng xuán 洞玄 (Líng bǎo). Originally a set of talismanic writings given to the three mythical Sovereigns (Sān huáng 三皇 — Fú xī, Shén nóng, Huáng dì), the corpus was transmitted through the Gé-clan tradition and became a major Táng ritual-liturgical foundation.
Contents
The text provides liturgical procedures for rituals invoking the Three Sovereigns in the Dòng shén ritual system.
Dating. Early Táng. 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 803 entry.