Page 369 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

330 TH E EN C YC LOPEDIA OF TAO ISM A- L

from over two hundred sources dating from the Han to the Song periods. His
main works on Taoism are the Daoshu and the Ji xianzhuan ~ {W {J#. (Collected
Biographies of Immortals), both completed late in life. TheJi xianzhuan was
soon lost and survives only in quotations in the Shuofo. ~~ (Outskirts of
Literature), with a preface by Zeng dated II5!. The Daoshu is undated, but
internal evidence suggests that it was completed around the same time.
The version of the Daoshu in the Taoist Canon (CT I017) contains 108 texts
and essays, arranged into forty-two juan and II8 pian or sections. According
to a mid-thirteenth-century library catalogue (van der Loon 1984, 154), the
work originally had 122 pian; four pian, therefore, appear to be missing from
the received version. The *Daozangjiyao edition of the Daoshu (vols. 18-19)
contains the same number of pian as the one in the Daozang, without the
division into juan. Another work, the anonymous Zhiyou zi ~?JIi. T (Book of
the Master of Ultimate Wandering) that bears a preface dated 1566, includes
the first twenty-five sections of the Daoshu.
The arrangement of the Daoshu follows an orderly pattern. The work opens
with philosophical discussions on the Dao and ends with the main neidan
texts of the *Zhong-Lii corpus. Its range of subjects also covers meditation,
breathing, *daoyin, sexual practices (*Jangzhong shu), and *waidan. The first
pian is a discussion of the Dao and other doctrinal principles by legendary or
sernilegendary figures. The second through the tenth pian contain excerpts
from texts such as the *Huashu, the *Zuowang lun (Miyazawa Masayori I988b),
the *Xishengjing, and *Wu Yun's Zongxuanxianshengxuanganglun *""£"%'1:
""£" t.f.fiJ ~tfU (Essay on the Outlines of Mystery, by the Elder Who Takes Mystery
as His Ancestor; CT I052); the seventh pian, however, consists of a criticism
of sexual practices authored by Zeng Zao himself ("Rong Cheng pian" ~
mm, 3-4b- 7b). Other texts are selected and reproduced next to each other
because of a common word in the title: for instance, "Huangdi wen pian" ~
* M m (Folios of the Questions of the Yellow Emperor; 5.3b- 5a; Miyazawa
Masayori 1990) and "Baiwen pian" 13 r,,~ m (Folios of the Hundred Questions;
5·7a-22a); "Jindan pian" ~f3-m (Folios on the Golden Elixir; IO.IIb- I3b) and
"Huanjin pian" ii~m (Folios on Reverting to Gold; I2.Ia- b); "Xiuzhen pian"
{~~m (Folios on Cultivating Perfection; I8.7b-9b) and "Wuzhen pian" '~.g. ~
m (Folios on Awakening to Perfection; 9b- I3b; Miyazawa Masayori I988a).
While the sections in the first part of the anthology are quite short, the later
excerpts are longer. Zeng concludes his anthology with the three main texts
of the Zhong-Lii tradition: the *Xishan qunxian hUizhenji (j. 38), the *Zhong-Lii.
chuandao ji (j. 39- 41), and the *Lingbao bifa (j. 42).
The Daoshu mirrors the interest of the lettered classes in self-cultivation
and is at the same time an invaluable collection comprising unique mate-
rials. Among the works included, those on neidan are preponderant and bear