Page 718 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A- L

Fig. 53. Talismans of the Five Emperors: (a) South; (b) West; (c) Center; (d) East; (e) North.
*Lingbao wufu Xl! (Prolegomena to the Five Talismans of the Numinous Treasure; CT 388),
3·9a- n b.
his family and associates, there is clear indication of different lineages involved
in the redaction process.
The first chapter consists of a long narrative describing the appearance
of the text in the human realm. After a cosmogonic description, a narrative
based on the opening chapters of the Shiji (Records of the Historian) details
the receipt of the text by Di Ku *~ and later by Yu ~ , who is said to have
composed the actual scripture to be transmitted in the world. This is followed
by the discovery of the scripture in the caves below Lake Dongting 1f<il 111 and
its presentation to the hapless King of Wu, Helu (r. 514-496 BeE). The prefatory