Page 404 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

DONG SIJIN G

Dong Dening's texts and exegetical works were written in the Jiyang Iou ~
Mij f:W" (Pavilion for Gathering Yang) on the Four Peaks Mountain (Sifeng shan
[9 i1L~ ill , Zhejiang) and were published there between 1788 and 1804. They ap-
peared as part of a collection entitled Daoguan zhenyuan J!1 W;g?mi (Pervading
the True Sources of the Way), which also includes a selection of works by
other authors that shows he was a late adept of the Southern Lineage (*Nan-
zong) of neidan. Dong's own main exegetical works are the Zhouyi cantong qi
zhengyi fflJ $) ~ [P] ~ lE R (The Correct Meaning of the Zhouyi can tong qi) and
the Wuzhen pian zhengyi ,t! ~~ lE ~ (The Correct Meaning of the Wuzhen
pian), both completed in 1788.
Farzeen BALDR1AN-HUSSEIN

* neidan

Dong Sijing

fl. 1246--60

Dong Sijing, who came from Quanzhou iJU'H (Fujian), was a Taoist master at
the Tianqing guan *-JiiQWJ, (Abbey of Celestial Blessings) in Qingyuan ~'~V!
(Fujian). He is the author of two important exegetical works. The first is the
Daode zhenjingjijie jj!1,~JI{~~~fH¥ (Collected Explications of the Authentic
Scripture of the Dao and Its Virtue; CT 705) in four juan. In this work, Dong
quotes and discusses several commentaries to the Daode jing, including a
few of which only fragments survived, and refers to practical applications
of the text. Despite the title, however, this is not a mere compilation of pas-
sages from earlier commentaries but an interpretive study of the Daode jingo
Throughout his work, Dong expounds his own view of the central teaching
of the Daode jing: non-action (*wuwei), spontaneity (*ziran), and emptiness of
mind (xuxin m {J\). His thought combines the notions of Dao, *qi (pneuma),
Yin and Yang, and li I.! (principle), revealing Neo-Confucian influences. In a
foreword written in 1246, Dong draws up a list of earlier commentaries and
provides valuable bibliographic information. The text ends with a colophon
written between 1253 and 1259 by Xie Zhi ilM:l][ and a postface dated 1257 by
Huang Bichang • £, {§ .
Dong's second exegetical work is the Ziran jiutian shengshen zhangjingjieyi
§ rt fL *- ~:MI ~ ~~ fH¥ ~ (Explication of the Meaning of the Scripture in Stan-
zas on the Self-Generated Life-Giving pirits of the Nine Heavens; CT 396),