Page 432 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

DUNHUANG MANUSCRIPTS 393

discovery of several unique manuscripts from Dunhuang. One of them is
the *LaoziXiang'er zhu ~ 7-~mtt , the sole extant copy of the *Tianshi dao
commentary to the Daode jing (S. 6825; ed. Rao Zongyi 1956; trans. Bokenkamp
1997, 29-148). The manuscript itself dates from the late fifth or the early sixth
century, and although it is fragmentary-containing only the text and com-
mentary for chapters 3 to 37- it has considerable value for the study of the
history of Taoism. The commentary, written between the end of the second
and beginning of the third centuries, is the earliest Taoist interpretation of
the Daode jing, as well as one of the earliest sources on the *Tianshi dao move-
ment, providing unique information about its beliefs and practices.
Another unique Dunhuang manuscript that offers exceptional insights
into the formation of Taoist religion is S. 2295, containing the *Laozi bianhua
jing (Scripture of the Transformations of Laozi). This work is of pritpary
importance for the light it sheds on the history of Laozi's divinization (Seidel
1969).
The study of another prestigious early Taoist scripture, the *Taipingjing
(Scripture of Great Peace), also gained new impetus with the discovery of the
manuscript S. 4226, which contains the complete table of contents of its 170
chapters (Yoshioka Yoshitoyo 1970b).
Taoist studies have also progressed thanks to the preservation of the famous
manuscripts P. 2256 and P. 2861, two Taoist bibliographies compiled in the
Tang dynasty on the basis of the *Lingbao jingmu, an inventory of twenty-
seven *Lingbao scriptures made by *Lu Xiujing (406-77). The identification
and reconstruction of the ancient Lingbao corpus made by 6fuchi (1974) in his
investiga tion of these manuscripts was a turning point in the history of Taoist
research. Lingbao was one of the three main schools of medieval southern
Taoism, the one that was most influenced by Buddhism, and the first to at-
tempt the unification and codification of Taoist liturgy.
The history of the formation of Taoist liturgy is another area indebted to
Dunhuang studies. Based on a series of eighth-century manuscripts, Kristofer
Schipper (1985C) has defined the overall liturgical system of Taoist ordination
ranks in Tang times, advancing our knowledge of the composition of the
Taoist Canon and its various sections (see *DAOZANG AND SUBSIDIARY COM-
PILATIONS).
Dunhuang studies have also contributed much to research on medieval
Buddho-Taoism. The manuscript S. 2081 of the *Huahu jing (Scripture of the
Conversion of Barbarians), studied by Anna Seidel (1984), is an eminent ex-
tracanonical example of early religious syncretism, as well as an exceptional
document of medieval apocalyptic eschatology.
An additional major Taoist find from Dunhuang was the discovery of about
eighty partial manuscripts of the * Benji jing (Scripture of the Original Bound).