Page 406 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

DONGMING JI

conversations with Wudi on mythical geography. Several other writings, in
prose as well as in poetry, are ascribed to him, including the Feiyou xiansheng
lun ~~ :ff:%1:. ~ (An Essay by Elder Nobody), the Da kenan ,*~lii (Replies
to a Guest's Objections), the Shenyi jing ;f$ JU~ (Scripture on Divine Marvels;
see Campany 1996, 43- 45), and the Qijian -t ~ (Seven Admonishments). He is
also said to have assisted Sima Qian Pl f.!§~ (I45?-86? BCE) in writing his Shiji
(Records of the Historian).

Gregoire ESPESSET

m Campany I996, I44-46, 3I8-2I; Giles L. I948, 47-51; Kaltenmark I953, I37- 38;
Kohn I993b, 335; Schipper 1965, 60--6I; Vervoorn I990, 203- I5

~ Xiwangmu; Shizhouji; HAGIOGRAPHY

Dongmingji

Records of Penetration into the Mysteries

The full title of the Dongmingji, as found in the bibliographic treatise of the Xin
Tangshu (New History of the Tang) and elsewhere, is Han Wudi bieguo dongming
ji ~J: it * Jl~ ~'ifoJ~~c (Records of the Han Emperor Wu's Penetration into
the Mysteries of Separate Realms). Its authorship is traditionally ascribed to
Guo Xian $~ :fI , a *fangshi in the time of Han Guangwu (r. 25-57). However,
it contains imagery derived from *Shangqing sources like the *Zhengao and is
first cited in early-seventh-century writings, so a sixth century origin is likely.
The text is not found in the present Taoist Canon, but was collected into at
least one of the Song dynasty Canons (*Daozang quejing mulu; I.4a). It is par-
tially preserved in the Song anthology Xu tanzhu ~~~ .fI}J (Sequel to an Aid
to Conversation; twelfth century) and in several collectanea of the late Ming
and Qing periods. It is now usually classified as zhiguai ii!;; H~ fiction ("records
of the strange"; LiJianguo I984, I59-67).
The Dongmingji describes Han Wudi (r. I4I-87 BCE) constantly engaging
in ritual activities that are answered by the appearance of envoys and spirits
bringing rare objects from distant lands. These objects are then either used for
more ritual activity or casually discarded. Wudi's ritual activity subtly parallels
events occurring far away, thus showing how he has "penetrated the mysteries
of separate realms." He also frequently asks his advisor *Dongfang Shuo to
describe distant lands. These descriptions, which roughly take up one-third
of the surviving text, contain parallels with the imperial palace through the