Page 694 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A-L

Lidai chongdao ji

Records of the Veneration of the Dao
over Successive Generations

The Lidai chongdao ji (CT 593), originally entitled Lidai diwang chongdao ji 1ft
1-t 1i'f .:f. *' j]! ~c (Records of the Veneration of the Dao by Sovereigns over
Successive Generations), is a short text compiled by *Du Guangting (850-933).
Du submitted it to the throne on January 4 of 885 just before the Tang court
returned to Chang' an after a three-year exile in Chengdu. The text commences
with the reign of King Mu of the Zhou (Muwang, r. 956-918 BC E) and con-
cludes in 884 CE. However, eighty-five percent of the work covers the Tang
dynasty (618-907) and about one fourth of it only four years, 881-84, in the
reign of Tang Xizong (r. 873-88). The portion devoted to the pre-Tang period
is largely a fabrication supplying imaginary figures for the number of temples
established and priests ordained by various emperors.
This collection of notes is one of the more important sources for the history
of Taoism during the Tang dynasty, which favored the religion for ideological
reasons. When he wrote the Lidai chongdao ji, Du Guangting was a member
of Xizong's court, specifically a drafter of decrees, who clearly had access to
official documents that are no longer extant. The message of this text is simple:
rulers who patronized Taoism by building temples and ordaining priests would
be rewarded with signs such as miracles and epiphanies. It also offered some
hope to the Tang, severely weakened by rebellions between 875 and 884, that
it would survive with the assistance of the gods.
The Lidai chongdao ji is most reliable for the reign of Xizong (pp. 15a-20a),
but less so for earlier epochs of the Tang. For the latter one should consult
the Cefu yuangui fflT M 5l:~ (Outstanding Models from the Storehouse of Lit-
erature; TOI3; j. 53-54) where the remnants of the Tang's "veritable records"
survive, the Tang huiyao )jtf Wr ~ (Assembled Essentials of the Tang; 96I; j. 50),
and the dynastic histories as well as the *Hunyuan shengji (Saintly Chronicle
of Chaotic Origin) and the *Youlong zhuan (Like unto a Dragon).
Charles D. BENN

m Barrett I996, 94-95; Boltz]. M. 1987a, 129-3I; Verellen 1989, 97-TOO
* Du Guangting