Page 69 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

OVE RVIEW 29

Later collections of texts derived from the Zhengtong daozang obviously
narrow its boundaries. Those that stand in supplement to it alternatively offer
an expansion of canonic limits. All such anthologies, as well as bibliographic
guides to the Canon itself, serve to make the vast textual heritage of Taoist
teachings more accessible.

Catalogues and Canons through the Ming. There is as yet no definitive study
tracing the history of the Daozang. Canonic compilations prior to the Tang
are particularly difficult to document, owing to disparate accounts found in
a variety of texts ranging from Buddhist polemical writings to historical and
topographical works. One of the more frequently cited resources is a stele
inscription dating to I275, but certain portions of this text remain to be veri-
fied. A copy of the inscription is appended to the *Daozang quejing mulu (Index
of Scriptures Missing from the Taoist Canon), presumably compiled by the
editors of the Ming Canon. The anonymous text is entitled Daozang zunjing
lidaigangmu i~JilX.~~HHt~ R (Historical Survey of the Revered Scriptures
of the Taoist Canon). It will serve here as an anchor for the summary of the
early history of the Canon that follows.
The origins of the Ming Canon are commonly traced to the editorial en-
deavors of *Lu Xiujing (406--77), codifier of the *Lingbao corpus. His preface
to the *Lingbao jingmu (Catalogue of Lingbao Scriptures) dates to 437. The
catalogue he reportedly submitted to Song Mingdi (r. 465-72) in 47I is as-
sumed to be what is known as the *Sandongjingshu mulu (Index of Scriptures
and Writings of the Three Caverns). A collection of texts collated under the
supervision of the Director of the Bhreau of Evaluation in 47I is said to have
been apprOximately a third of the size of that catalogued by Lu.
The titles of two catalogues are dated to the time of Zhou Wudi (r. 560-78).
Buddhist accounts speak of a Xuandu [guan]jingmu[lu] "K1W[W]~~ § [~] (Index
of the Scriptures of the [Abbey of the] MysteriOUS Metropolis), produced in
569 at the *Xuandu guan (Abbey of the Mysterious Metropolis) in the capital
of Chang'an (Shaanxi). Taoist writings speak of a [Sandong] zhunang Uingmu]
[ = ~]~~ [~~ § ] ([Catalogue of the Scriptures in] the Pearl Satchel [of the
Three Caverns]), produced in 574 at the *Tongdao guan (Abbey of the Pervasive
Way) in Chang'an.
By the next century, during the early Tang period, additional catalogues of
Taoist texts appear to have been compiled in succession. *Yin Wencao (622- 88)
is credited with a Yuweijingmu .:li*.¥~~ § (Catalogue of the Scriptures of the
Jade Weft Texts). Although there is no apparent trace of this text, the compi-
lation of an Yiqie daojing mu - i:)J ill~~ § (Catalogue of the Complete Taoist
Scriptures) is confirmed by the extant prefaces of the compiler Shi Chongxuan
~*"K (or Shi Chong ~*, ?- 7I3) and Tang Xuanzong (r. 7I2-56). Another
catalogue, also lost, accompanied what came to be known as the Kaiyuan