Page 526 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

T H E ENCYC LO P E DI A OF TAO ISM A- L

rfl\';tJ;;@"), are the brothers XU Zhizheng 1*9ilHli and XU Zhi'e 1*9iI]~ (both
fl. 937- 46). In the human world they held official posts in several regions and
prefectures. According to the Lingji gong bei ii mf -g ~ (Stone Tablet of the
Palace of uminous Deliverance), written by the Yongle Emperor in 1417,
during their lifetimes "they displayed clemency and consideration for all
things, loyalty to their superiors, and filiality toward their elders; they held
the Three Treasures (sanbao - ~) in high esteem, unanimously loved the
good, attained the Dao through skillful diligence, cultivated abstinence, and
offered ceremonies on behalf of souls in purgatory." For their services to
the province of Wu ~ (Jiangsu and part of Zhejiang) they were ennobled:
Xu Zhizheng was given the title King of the Yangzi River (Jiangwang rII),
and XU Zhi'e received the title Bountiful King (Raowang ~ I ). Because of
their meritoriousness, people called them the Father and Mother of Rebirth
(Fusheng fumu 1~ 1::)( fJj:).
The two brothers feature in many popular stories. For instance, after their
death rumors spread that during a battle, when the water in the capital had been
depleted, they ascended to the Celestial Palace and came back down to earth
to secretly protect the people, and saved them ftom floods and droughts, fires
and locust plagues, illnesses and wars. According to the Hong' en lingji zhenjun
shishi Y:tt~ti@rfl\'~;@"$~ (The True Story of the Real Lords of Overflow-
ing Mercy and Numinous Deliverance; CT 476), in the Yongle reign period
(1403-24) of the Ming dynasty, when the emperor had been unable to govern
for a long time due to illness, in a dream he received the protection of the two
divinities, who bestowed upon him the elixir of immortality and miraculous
remedies. After the emperor had recovered from his illness, he granted the
Real Lords of Overflowing Mercy additional honorific titles and erected the
Lingji gong ii~-g (Palace of Numinous Deliverance) in the capital where
ceremonies were offered to them.
Among other works related to the two brothers is the Hong'en lingji zhen-
jun zhaiyi m ,f~ti[~~;@".~ (Liturgies for the Retreat of the Real Lords
of Overflowing Mercy and Nurninous Deliverance), included in the Taoist
Canon as eight separate texts (CT 468 to CT 475). The purpose of each of
the ceremonies described in these texts was to request protection and support
from the Real Lords of Overflowing Mercy-to pray that the domain of the
ruling house be permanently fixed, that the emperor have a long life, and that
wealth be bestowed upon the ruling family, the nobles, the various regions
and all people throughout the empire.
In 1420, the emperor wrote a preface to the Hong'en lingji zhenjun miaojing
~}~tik:~a;@":l!'j>~~ (Wondrous Scripture on the Real Lords of Overflowing
Mercy and Numinous Deliverance; CT 317). For this reason, the Real Lords
of Overflowing Mercy must be considered Taoist divinities that enjoyed the