Page 481 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

GE C HAO FU 441

of the Lingbao scriptures was: *Ge Xuan - Zheng Siyuan ~~,~,~ (i.e., *Zheng
Yin) - Ge Ti £ 't~ - Ge Hong - Ge Wang j}£ ~ - Ge Chaofu - Ren Yanqing
{f: g ~, XU Lingqi 1~ ii WJ (?-473 or 474), ete. Through Ge Hong, this lineage
is found in the Lingbao scriptures themselves and constructed on the basis of
Hong's account of his receipt of alchemical texts. Ge Hong's own writings,
while they do cite the Lingbao wufu ii llf Ii. ~ (Five Talismans of the Numinous
Treasure; see *Lingbao wufu xu), are entirely devoid of mention of the other
Lingbao texts. Further, the Lingbao texts borrow much from the *Shangqing
scriptures of *Yang Xi and so cannot have been composed earlier than 375. The
impression all this gives that Ge Chaofu may have composed the scriptures
himself is furthered by *Tao Hongjing who, in a note to the *Zhengao, dispar-
agingly remarks that "Ge Chaofu fabricated the Lingbao scriptures (zaogou
Lingbao jing ~ f$J ~ llf ~J1D and the teaching flourished."
Some contemporary scholars believe that only a version of what is n~w
the first scripture in the old Lingbao canon, the *Wupian zhenwen (Perfected
Script in Five Tablets), was composed by Ge Chaofu, while others hold that
his contributions must have been more extensive, perhaps including basic ver-
sions of all the texts in *Lu Xiujing's *Lingbao jingmu (Catalogue of Lingbao
Scriptures). There is no direct evidence for either opinion. Even the colophon
cited in the Tang period Daojiao yishu, as it appears in a *Dunhuang fragment
(P. 2452), ends the line of transmission with Ge Hong and the hope that there
might one day be within the Ge family one "who delights in the Dao and
contemplates transcendence" who might transmit the texts. This vague refer-
ence to an outstanding member of the Ge family who will make the scriptures
known is found in other Lingbao texts as well. Thus, even the Zhenyi ziran jing
might have been composed by Ge Chaofu and the more detailed colophon
that mentions his name constructed later.
Given that we lack further relevant information on those to whom Ge
Chaofu is said to have transmitted his texts, it seems unlikely that we shall
ever be able to accurately assess his hand in their composition. The most that
can be said is that circumstantial evidence, in particular the central role given
in the Lingbao scriptures to Ge Xuan, seem to point to the involvement of
some member of the Ge family in their creation. Taoist tradition tells us that
that person was Ge Chaofu.
Stephen R. BOKENKAMP
m Bokenkamp 1983; Bokenkamp 1986a; Chen Guofu 1963, 67

* Lingbao