Page 303 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

THE ENCYCLO PEDIA OF TAOISM A-L

Cheng Xuanying

£1. 631- 50; zi: Zishi :rff; haG: Xihua fashi ®¥*~jji
(Master of the Law of the Western Florescence)

Cheng Xuanying came from Shanzhou ~ j'I'1 (Henan). He spent part of his life
in retirement, but in 631 was summoned to the capital and took up residence at
the Xihua guan ® ~Wl (Abbey of Western Florescence). In 647 the emperor
requested that he translate the Daode jing into Sanskrit with Xuanzang ~ ~
(ca. 602- 64) and Cai Huang ~:¥6 (£1. 638- 47; on this translation, see Pelliot
1912). Shortly thereafter, during the Yonghui reign period (650- 55), he was
exiled to Yuzhou ~~j+1 (Jiangsu).
Cheng wrote a lost commentary to the *Yijing and three extant commentar-
ies to Taoist texts. One of them, consisting of an exegesis of the *Duren jing
(Scripture on Salvation), is in the Duren shangpin miaojing sizhu Jj[ A J: rfb :t&~~
[9 tt (Four Commentaries to the Wondrous Scripture of the Upper Chapters
on Salvation; CT 87) and follows the established interpretation of this text. In
the two other works, however, Cheng proves to be a leading exponent of the
*Chongxuan (Twofold Mystery) school of thought. The first commentary is
the Daode jing kaiti xujue yishu i!! if, ~~ ~ m! ff ifJc ~ i91t (Topical Introduction,
Prefatory Instructions, and Sub commentary to the Scripture of the Dao and Its
Virtue; P. 2517, P. 2353, and S. 5887), which is also found in the Daode zhenjing
xuande zuanshu i!!i,~;R~~~1,;g~i91t (Compilation of Commentaries on the
Mysterious Virtue of the Authentic Scripture of the Dao and Its Virtue; CT 711). The
second is a sub commentary to *Guo Xiang's exegesis to the *Zhuangzi, found in
the Nanhua zhenjing zhushu l¥J ¥ ~ ~~ tt i91t (Commentary and Subcommentary
to the Nanhua zhenjing; CT 745). Read together, Cheng's commentaries to the
Daode jing, the Zhuangzi, and the Duren jing show him to be a representative
of the unity of the philosophical and religious aspects of Taoism.
Besides his explication of the Daode jing and the Zhuangzi according to
Chongxuan principles, Cheng also interpreted the transformations of Laozi
from the viewpoint of the Buddhist theory of the Body of the Law, the Body
of Response, and the Body of Manifestation ifashen ~~, yingshen ~:51-,
and huashen 1t~, corresponding to Sanskrit dharmakiiya, sambhogakaya, and
nirma1;lakaya). This theory, until then generally applied only to Yuanshi tianzun
7=rJfI J!~ (Celestial Worthy of Original Commencement; see *sanqing) or to
the Dao itself, explains that the body as well as the teaching of Laozi change
to adapt themselves to different times and levels of understanding. The theory