Page 405 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

366 T HE ENCYC LOP E DI A OF TAO ISM A- L

dating from ca. 1252 and consisting of a commentary to the *Shengshen jing in
four juan. Dong collected and collated several earlier editions of the scripture,
including one from Shu ~ (Sichuan) and another from Zhedong #Jf * (eastern
Zhejiang), and added quotations from *Shangqing sources about the central
topic of the Shengshen jing, namely the generation and identification of the
divinities dwelling within the human body. In a foreword, Dong emphasizes
the attainment of personal union with the Dao through the teachings of the
Shengshen jingo The colophon defines the ultimate purpose of the scripture as
the cultivation of an Embryo of Sainthood (*shengtai) to successfully achieve
"release from the corpse" (*shijie).
Gregoire ESPESSET
ID BoltzJ. M. 1987a, 2II- 12

Dongfang Shuo

ca. 16o-ca. 93 BCE; zi: Manqian ~ 11f

In 138 BCE, Han Wudi (r. 141- 87) called upon scholars throughout the empire
to assist him in governing the state. Dongfang Shuo, a native of Pingyuan :if
)ffi (Shandong), was recruited and soon became one of Wudi's favorites. An
extravagant fellow; he chose to behave foolishly in the very heart of society (he
was nicknamed Guji m li or "Buffoon"), becoming the first self-proclaimed
"recluse at court" (chaoyin ljifj ~I) . He served as a Virtuous (liang I§!.) and a
Superior Grand Master of the Palace (taizhong daft ~ t=p )ex), but eventu-
ally fell into disgrace. His tomb and a shrine dedicated to him are still extant
in Yanci ~.fjc (Shandong).
Accounts making Dongfang an "immortal banished [from Heaven r (zhexian
tIli {LlJ ) arose already during his lifetime, and in the Six Dynasties period he
became the hero of many stories as Wudi's whimsical companion. The best
known of these narratives is the *Han Wudi neizhuan (Inner Biography of
Emperor Wu of the Han), which tells how Dongfang stole the Peaches of
Immortality from the Queen Mother of the West (*Xiwang mu) and traveled
eastward to *Penglai and the other isles of the blessed. Seen as the embodiment
of the planet Sui 1!i, (Jupiter) or Taibai ~ El (Venus), he was credited with a
miraculous birth, supernatural powers, and a number of different successive
identities including Laozi himself.
The *Shizhouji (Record of the Ten Continents) reports Dongfang Shuo's