Page 635 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

JIUTlAN 593

jiutian

Nine Heavens

In the Lii.shi chunqiu g ~;§q-* (Springs and Autumns of Mr. Lti; 239 BCE;
Knoblock and Riegel2000; 279) and the *Huainan zi (Book of the Master of
Huainan; 139 BCE; Major 1993,69-70), the Nine Heavens, or Nine Fields (jiuye
fL!ff), are nine horizontal sectors of space, corresponding to the center and
eight directions, and complementing the Nine Continents (jiuzhou iLti'i'l) on
earth. The Huainan zi gives their names as Balanced Heaven (juntian ~5j -:R.,
center), Azure Heaven (cangtian if-:R., east), Transforming Heaven (biantian
~ -:R., northeast), Mysterious Heaven (xuantian ~ -:R., north), Obscure Heaven
(youtian ~ -:R., northwest), Luminous Heaven (haotian B -:R., west), Vermilion
Heaven (zhutian *-:R., southwest), Fiery Heaven (yantian Vt-:R., south), and
Yang Heaven (yangtian ~ -:R., southeast).
Some Taoist texts inherit this view of the Nine Heavens, understanding
them as subdivisions of a horizontal plan. More often, though, the Nine
Heavens are represented in Taoism in a vertical (i.e., hierarchical) arrange-
ment, and are said to constitute a stage in the progressive differentiation of
the one Original Pneuma (*yuanqi) as it gives birth to the cosmos. According
to the *Shengshen jing (Scripture of the Life-Giving Spirits; CT 318, Ia-2a),
for instance, the Nine Heavens are generated by the breaths (*qi) of the
deities of the Three Caverns (*SANDONG). First the three deities produce the
Mysterious (xuan ~) , Original (yuan 5I;), and Inaugural (shi ~i'1) pneumas;
then each pneuma divides itself into three, resulting in nine pneumas that
constitute the Nine Heavens. According to this view, therefore, the Nine
Heavens constitute a finer subdivision of the heavens of the Three Clarities
(*sanqing). Relevant descriptions are found in the Shengshen jing and several
*Shangqing works, including the *Taixiao langshu (Precious Writ of the Great
Empyrean; CT 55, 5a- IOa) and the Waiguo fangpin Qingtong neiwen ;7~ ~ tiff. rI1
w 1l1*J X (Inner Script of the Azure Lad on the Distribution of the Outer
Realms; CT 1373, 2.5a-16b). The account found in the latter text is also quoted
in the *Wushang biyao (Supreme Secret Essentials, 16.1a--6a; Lagerwey 1981b,
90-91).
In parallel to this cosmogenesis, the human embryo is sometimes said to
receive the pneumas of the Nine Heavens (jiutian zhi qi fL -:R. Z ~) during the
nine months of gestation, and Shangqing texts describe meditation practices