The Zhen'gao

Abstract

The Zhen'gao 真誥 [Declaration of the Perfected] is an essential work of the Shangqing (上清 Upper Clarity) scriptures that was compiled and collated by an elite Daoist scholar Tao Hongjing 陶弘景 (456–536 CE). The main body of the Zhen'gao is Yang Xi's 楊羲 (330–73 CE) manuscripts of the revelation instructed by a group of Perfected (zhenren 真人), a kind of celestial beings that were conceived as situated in the higher rank than the previous known Transcendent (xianren仙人) in the Shangqing scriptures. Yang Xi was a well-trained spirit medium who worked for his patrons Xu Mi 許謐 (303-ca.373) and Xu's two sons, Xu Lian 許聯 (328-404) and Xu Hui 許翽 (341-ca.370). During 365-369, Yang Xi received a great number of revelations from his Perfected in Mount Mao. The contents of the revelations are diverse that include descriptions of the celestial world and beings, answers to recipients' questions, instructions on Daoist practices, recipes for drugs and medicine, prophecies for the fates of people, records of dreams, and even the family matters and disputation. Yang Xi's revelation also employs various genres of literature, such as poems, biography, conversation, and marvelous stories, to portray figures, narrate tales, and convey Daoist conceptions. Besides revelation, this work also preserves a few letters between Yang Xi and three Xu, as well as writings of other spirit mediums who preceded Yang Xi. However, these manuscripts were scattered or damaged after Xu Mi's death. The first collection of Yang Xi and three Xus' autography manuscripts was compiled by Gu Huan 顧歡 (425– ca.479 CE) who titled this collection the Zhenji 眞迹 [Traces of the Perfected]. The Zhenji has lost. But Tao Hongjing re-compiled, reorganized, and commented on those fragmentary manuscripts based on Gu Huan's version after carefully identifying the authenticity of the calligraphies in the manuscripts. In order to reflect its oral tradition of instruction, Tao Hongjing named this collection the Zhen'gao [Declaration of the Perfected]. The Zhen'gao was divided into seven sections by Tao Hongjing based on the different contents. He also entitled each section with three characters by modeling the format of weft books and the Zhuangzi. The extant version preserved in the Daoist Canon is twenty juan (scroll) along with a preface by Gao Sisun 高似孫 dated 1223. Although Yang Xi claimed through the mouth of his Perfected that the revelation written through his hand in the form of human language was from the celestial realm, these writings quoted a great number of previous Daoist works, classics, contemporary textual sources, and even Buddhist sutra. These quotations provide a rich source for us to explore the intertextuality and the reception of early texts. The Zhen'gao also preserves many historical facts, such as the interpersonal relationship of the Xu family, the connection between the gentry family and the imperial court, and the Daoist genealogy in the Six Dynasties, which offers a special window to investigate the social-historical issues.