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Vol. 14
Responsab1es de redaction / Guest editors
Monica Esposito & Hubert Durt
In Memoriam Isabelle Robinet (1932-2000)
SOMMAIRE / CONTENTS
2004
Monica ESPOSITO A nos lecteurs / To Our Readers
& Hubert DURT
Monica ESPOSITO A Thematic and Annotated Bibliography of Isabelle Robinet
(revised and enlarged edition) ........................................................ ..
Philosophie et pensee taolste
Leon VANDERMEERSCH De l'ideographie divinatoire it Confucius et Zhuang zi .......................... 43
Ivan KAMENOROVIC
Gregoire ESPESSET
Fabrizio PREGADIO
Jean-Claude PASTOR
Meditation et alchimie
John LAGERWEY
Timothy H. BARRETT
Farzeen BALDRIAN-
HUSSEIN
A propos de 1 'Un et du Multiple dans les textes de Xunzi
et d'Heraclite d'Ephese ................................................................... 55
A vau-l'eau, it rebours ou l'ambivalence de la logiques triadique
dans l'ideologie du Taipingjing ..................................................... 61
The Notion of "Form" and the Ways of Liberation in Daoism ............... 95
De l'esprit determine (chengxin) it l'infinitude (wuxian) :
l'intuition taolste est-elle intellectuelle ? ...................................... 131
Deux ecrits taolstes anciens ................................................................... 139
The Madness of Emperor Wuzong ........................................................ 173
The Book of the Yellow Court: A Lost Song Commentary
of the 12th Century ......................................................................... 187
Rituel et cosmologie
Donald HARPER Contracts with the Spirit W orId in Han Common Religion:
The Xuning Prayer and Sacrifice Documents of A.D. 79 ............. 227
Stephane Daeyeol KIM Poisson et dragon: symboles du vehicule
entre l'ici-bas et l'au-del?t ............................................................ 269
Franciscus VERELLEN The Heavenly Master Liturgical Agenda
According to Chisong zi's Petition Almanac ................................ 291
Monica ESPOSITO Sun-worship in China - The Roots of
Shangqing Taoist Practices of Light ............................................. 345
Stephen R. BOKENKAMP The Prehistory of Laozi: His prior career as a woman
in the Lingbao Scriptures .............................................................. 403
Comptes renduslBook Reviews
Robert DUQUENNE
Bernard FAURE
M. Strickmann (ed. B. Faure), Chinese Magical Medicine,
Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2002 ............................................ 423
Marc Kalinowski, ed., Divination et societe dans la Chine medievale :
Etude des manuscrits de Dunhuang de la Bibliotheque nationale de
France et de la British Librmy, Paris: Bibliotheque nationale de
France, 2003 .......................................................................................... 441
Auteurs du present volume/Contributors to this volume ................................................................. 451
A NOS LECTEURS
La parution de ce volume exauce enfin un souhait exprime il y a plusieurs
annees. II avait en effet ete prevu d'offrir a Isabelle Robinet un livre ou une
collection d'articles lorsqu'elle etait encore parmi nous. A la fin de l'ete 1999,
lors de notre derniere rencontre chez elle a Valpuiseaux, Fabrizio Pregadio avait
pense a un livre pour son soixante-dixieme anniversaire. Elle nous a helas !
quittes, peu avant, sans avoir pu recevoir cette reconnaissance de la part du
monde de la recherche.
Fondes par Anna Seidel, taolste de renom qui appreciait les travaux
d'Isabelle Robinet, les Cahiers d'Extreme-Asie etaient naturellement prets a
accueillir ce numero special a sa memoire. Reunis cette fois a Kyoto nous avons
prepare une liste d'auteurs incluant, en premier lieu, les personnes les plus
proches d'Isabelle : son professeur Leon Vandermeersch ; ses anciens eleves et les
plus jeunes: Ivan Kamenorovic, Jean-Claude Pastor, Monica Esposito, Gregoire
Espesset, Daeyeol Kim et Patrick Sigwalt ; ses amis et collegues taolsants :
Franciscus Verellen, John Lagerwey, Farzeen Baldrian Hussein, Fabrizio
Pregadio, Stephen Bokenkamp, Timothy Barrett et Donald Harper. Un comite
de redaction a ete forme, reunissant Stephen Bokenkamp, Phyllis Brooks, Anne
Cheng, Marc Kalinowski, John Lagerwey et Fabrizio Pregadio que nous tenons
tous a remercier ici. U ne mention particuliere va a John Lagerwey pour son aide a
l'egard du travail des jeunes eleves d'Isabelle, ainsi qu'a Phyllis Brooks qui est
venue de Berkeley a Kyoto pour s'acquitter de la tache ingrate de relire
entierement les epreuves et offrir ses avis et ses conseils precieux. N ous associons
aces remerciements tous ceux et celles qui, chacun a leur maniere, ont participe a
la realisation de ce numero special: Jean-Claude Pastor pour avoir fait un premier
choix des poesies qu'Isabelle avait composees et offertes a ses amis dans un recueil
en deux volumes a tirage limite; Evelyne Mesnil pour ses conseils ; et enfin
T. Kobayashi pour la patience et l'expertise dont il fait preuve depuis de
nombreuses annees dans la mise en page des Cahiers.
Ce volume a ainsi pu voir Ie jour grace a la participation de tous ceux qui
ont voulu offrir leur hommage a Isabelle Robinet pour ce qu'elle a ete et restera
a jamais dans les etudes taolstes.
Monica Esposito & Hubert Durt
TO OUR READERS
This volume fulfills a longstanding wish to publish a collection of articles
in honor of Isabelle Robinet. At the end of the summer of 1999, when we met
for the last time at her home in Valpuiseaux Fabrizio Pregadio suggested to
prepare such a festschrift for her seventieth birthday. Sadly enough she passed
away before being able to see and enjoy this modest testimony to her ever-
growing recognition from the academic world.
Founded by Anna Seidel a renowned Taoist scholar who appreciated the
work of Isabelle Robinet, the Cahiers d'Extreme-Asie were naturally ready to
devote this special issue to her memory. After an initial meeting in Kyoto, we
prepared a list including her closest friends and fellow scholars: her teacher Leon
Vandermeersch; several of her students, such as Ivan Kamet'torovic, Jean-Claude
Pastor, Monica Esposito, Gregoire Espesset, Daeyeol Kim and Patrick Sigwalt;
and friends and colleagues, including Franciscus Verellen, John Lagerwey,
Farzeen Baldrian Hussein, Fabrizio Pregadio, Stephen Bokenkamp, Timothy
Barrett and Donald Harper. We would like to express our thanks to all of them
for their contributions, as well as to the members of the editorial board: Stephen
Bokenkamp, Phyllis Brooks, Anne Cheng, Marc Kalinowski, John Lagerwey and
Fabrizio Pregadio. A special mention goes to John Lagerwey for having assisted
several of Isabelle's students in the continuation of their work, and to Phyllis
Brooks who came from Berkeley to Kyoto to take part in the final proof-reading
of the articles and to give us her precious advice. We extend our thanks to all
people who have contributed, in one way or another, to the completion of this
volume: Jean-Claude Pastor for making a selection of poems by Isabelle, which
had been printed privately in a two-volume collection for her friends; Evelyne
Mesnil for her advice; and finally T. Kobayashi for his expertise and patient work
on the layout of the Cahiers.
May this volume serve as a belated tribute to Isabelle Robinet and her
lasting contribution to Taoist studies.
Monica Esposito & Hubert Durt
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA
_ THE ROOTS OF SHANGQING TAOIST PRACTICES OF LIGHT-
Part 1. Yuyi andJielin:
The Taoist God of the Sun and Goddess of the Moon
Monica ESPOSITO *
Depuis l'article remarquable d'Henri Maspero sur les legendes mythologiques
dans Ie Shujing, aucun sinologue ou historien des religions n' a, en Occident,
consacre d'etudes monographiques sur la mythologie solaire en Chine.
Recemment to u tefo is, les travaux de Sarah Allan (bases sur les anciennes
theories de Hu Houxuan, Akatsuka Kiyoshi et Chang Tsung-tung, notamment),
ainsi que la relecture des materiaux scapulomantiques par Ie Professeur David
Keightley ont a nouveau mis en relief Ie role du culte du soleil sous les Shang.
Les specialistes chinois et japonais, quant a eux, ont etendu leurs recherches a la
lumiere des dernieres decouvertes archeologiques. Si la devotion de l'empereur
envers Ie soleil est attestee dans maints passages litteraires des Royaumes
Combattants et des Han, la nature de ce culte souleve encore de nombreuses
questions. Des traces d' anciens cultes solaires peuvent cependant etre trouvees
dans la litterature taoiste. Une pratique en particulier, connue sous Ie nom de
Yuyi Jielin offre d'interessants paralleles avec les rites ideaux des
Shang et des Zhou au solei! levant et couchant. Celle-ci constituera Ie point de
depart de la presente etude. Heritage des fangshi, les specialistes des cultes
d'immortalite, cette pratique connaft un grand succes dans Ie taoisme Shangqing
des Six Dynasties en tant qu 'element des methodes transmises par ses importants
patriarches fondateurs comme Zhou Yishan )1!iJ-w, Ie Seigneur Pei g;g et
Xu Hui Le present article se concentre dans un premier temps sur Yuyi et
Jielin, les protagonistes, laissant pour une etude ulterieure la nature de la
pratique elle-meme et son contenu.
Objets de diverses interpretations, Yuyi et Jielin sont souvent consideres
non seulement comme des appellations esoteriques du solei! et de la lune mais
aussi comme les noms des esprits ou des immortels presidant a la course de ces
deux corps celestes. Mais qui sont exactement Yuyi et Jielin et quelle est leur
veritable identite ? Un examen philologique complete par une analyse des
sources du Canon taoiste et de passages conserves principalement dans Ie Siku
quanshu a permis de cerner de faron plus precise l'identite de ces
deux figures. Representations taoistes d' anciens esprits tutelaires de I 'Est et de
I 'Ouest, Yuyi et Jielin apparaissent associes aux figures de deu,,\: hauts ancetres
Shang (ou divinites de la nature), Dongmu JIt-eJ: et Ximu 1l!f-eJ:, la mere de l'Est
et de I 'Ouest, ainsi qu'a Xihe tlfll et Changxi 115tl, la mere des dix soleils et la
mere des douze lunes. Ils finiront par etre associes aussi a I 'Archer Yi et a sa
femme Chang'e pmm en tant que Roi et Reine du soleil et de la lune.
* My thanks to Urs App for his help, to Professor David Keightley for having read
the Introduction, and to Phyllis Brooks, Fabrizio Pregadio, John Lagerwey and Steve
Bokenkamp for improving my English.
Cahiers d'Extreme-Asie 14 (2004) : 345-402.
346
Chinese scholars have often stressed the importance of the sun and its cult
early stages of Chinese civilization, tracing the ancestral roots of Chinese people
back to solar or astral gods. Western pioneers have generally agreed with
views, but recently some scholars have tried to put them more into perspective.
1
For instance, the interest in Chinese solar mythology has been criticized as a late
fruit of nineteenth-century nature mythology and its fixation on primeval solar
myths and nature worship. The study of Henri Maspero (1883-1945) on Chinese
solar mythology ("Legendes mythologiques dans Ie Chou king," Journal Asiatique
24, 1924, pp. 1-100) thus came to be regarded as an outcome of this trend.
2
The
studies by Marcel Granet (1858-1940), with their marked insistence on the solar
character of the ancient Icings, were furthermore re-examined
3
when Leon
Vandermeersch claimed on the basis of Shima Kunio's n:!!Jj results that there
is no evidence in Shang oracle bones of a sun cult.
4
In this way, the interest in
solar mythology progressively diminished to such an extent that Anne Birrell, in
her study on Chinese Mythology, remarked that "since Maspero's monograph,
no sinologist or specialist in myth has dealt fully with Chinese solar myths using
recent findings in sinology and comparative mythology."5 Some interest has
been rekindled in Western circles thanks to Sarah Allan's recuperation and re-
1 See for example the Introduction by Constance A. Cook and Barry B. Blakeley in
Defining Chu, eds. Constance A. Cook and John S. Major (Honolulu: University of
Hawai'i Press, 1999), p. 3. See also below note 3.
2 Anne Birrell, Chinese Mythology (Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins
University Press, 1993), p. 35.
3 Marcel Granet repeatedly emphasizes that ancient Icings imitated the solar course
in their journeys around the kingdom before the establishment of the Mingtang as
Imperial House of the Calendar (La civilisation chinoise, Paris: Albin Michel, 1968, p. 91;
1 st ed., Paris: La Renaissance du Livre, 1934). With regard to the insistence of Granet on
the solar character of kings, see the remark by Isabelle Robinet (Meditation taoiste, Paris:
Albin Michel, 1995, p. 292; l't ed., Paris: Dervy-Livres, 1979 [translated into English by
Julian Pas and Norman Girardot as Taoist Meditation: The Mao-shan Tradition of Oreat
Pzn-ity, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993]). For the affirmation of the
solar character of ancient Icings see also Max Kaltenmark, Le Lie-sien tchouan (Paris:
College de France, 1987; reprint of 1953), p. 18, n. 1. For the critique addressed to
Marcel Granet on his personal conception of the Ancient China and his idealization of
the primitive society and religion, see Yves Goudineau, "Un ethnographe de la Chine
ancienne - archeobibliographie de Marcel Granet, et entretien avec Jacques Gernet
"Marcel Granet devant la Chine et la sinologie," Pnifaces 7 (avril-mai, 1988), pp. 119-130
esp. 123 ff.; and Julia Margaret Hardy, "Archaic Utopias in the Modern Imagination
(Taoism, Granet Marcel, Levi Strauss Claude, Needham Joseph, Utopian Images),"
Ph.D. diss., Duke University, 1990.
4 See Wangdao ou la voie royale, 2 vols. (Paris: Ecole franc;:aise d'Extreme-Orient,
1980, vol. 2, p. 356) where Leon Vandermeersch claims that there is no trace in the
oracular documentation of sun, moon or star cults nor of a cult of heaven; "if scholars
like Chen Mengjia or Hu Houxuan believed they had found them, they were finally
corrected by Shima Kunio's work."
5 Anne Birrell, Chinese Mythology, pp. 35-37.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA 347
elaboration of the old Chinese thesis of a totemic relationship of the Shang with
the solar bird and with the solar Fusang mythology of the ten suns.
6
However,
Chinese and Japanese scholars have been less influenced by the fashion trends of
Western sinology and continue to discuss the role of solar gods and solar myths
in Chinese religion.
7
Recently, David Keightley remarked that the Shang paid more cultic attention
to the sun than has normally been thought. On the basis of a re-reading of the
6 Sarah Allan, "Sons of Suns: Myths and Totemism in Early China," Bulletin of the
School of Oriental and African Studies 44 (1981), pp. 290-326; also taken up in her later
publication The Shape of the Turtle (New York: State University of New York, 1991), pp. 19-
62. For earlier Chinese studies see Hu Houxuan "Jiaguwen Shangzu niao tuteng de
yiji" Shixue luncong 5/:Jj!imllil, 1964.1, pp. 131-159, "Jiaguwen
suojian Shangzu niao tuteng de xin zhengju" Wenwu )(/fm,
1977.2, pp. 84-87; and Guan Donggui "Zhongguo gudai shiri shenhua zhi yanjiu"
q:t1?]lJ5{-I;;+ B :f$ffi!izWfJi:, Zhongyang yanjiuyuan lishi yuyan yanjiusuo jikan
WfJi:?JTmflJ 33 (1962), pp. 287-329. On the relationship between the Shang and the ten-sun
myth see also Almtsuka Kiyoshi Chilgoku kodai no shukyo to bunka: In i5cho no saishi q:t
(Tokyo: Kadokawa, 1977), pp. 260, 443 ff.; and Chang
Tsung-tung, Di Kult der Shang-Dynastie im Spiegel der Omkelinschl'iften: eine paliiogmphische
Studie zur Religion im archaischen China (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1970), pp. 131-132,
and 202-203 (quoted by S. Allan in "Sons of Suns," p. 293, n. 8). For a critique of Sarah
Allan's arguments, see A. Birrell, Chinese Mythology, pp. 255-256.
7 On the neolithic origins of sun-worship, see the recent book by Hayashi Minao
Chilgoku kodai no kamigami (Tokyo: Yoshikawa k6bunkan, 2002)
which contains a chapter on the "Sun God" (pp. 1-23); and the studies by Mou Yongkang
.$7km, "Dongfang shiqian shiqi taiyang chongbai de kaoguxue guancha" JR1J5I:WJIF.'fWtt:
Gugong xueshu jikan 12.4 (1995), pp. 1-.31; Wang
Yongho ::71<1&, "Chengshan yuqi yu rizhu ji - jianlun taiyang shen chongbai de youguan
wenti" Wenwu, 1993.1, pp. 62-68; and Du
Jinpeng "Guanyu Dawenkou wenhua yu Liangzhu wenhua"
KDogu 1993.10, pp. 915-923. For more general studies on solar gods, sun-
worship and solar mythology, see Xu Wenwu Chuguo zongjiao gailztn
(Wuhan: Wuhan, 2001), esp. pp. 123-130; Xing Li Tianshen zhi mi
(Beijing: Xueyuan, 1994), esp. chap. 3, pp. 68-107; and He Cheng Shang wenhzta
kztiguan (Chengdu: Sichuan daxue, 1994), esp. pp. 1-110. Other works on this
topic will be quoted as I go along in this study. Finally, it is worth mentioning the
controversial work by He Xin1nJjfJT, Zhushen de qiyuan: Zhongguo yuangu shenhzta yzt lishi
t$1'I9@VJj{ : (Beijing: Xinhua, 1986) in which the author has tried to
show the importance of the cult of the sun god in the religion of ancient China by
presenting archaeological artifacts and iconographical motifs, identifying as sun gods the
majority of the legendary figures of high antiquity. Anne Birrell (Chinese Mythology, p. 37)
has criticized this study for being based on "the outdated theory of Max Muller" and for
having employed "unscientific phonology to argue for the primacy of a sun god and m,e
worship of solar deities in archaic China." Although this work is overly speculative, it
offers, as Jean-Pierre Dieny has remarked ("Le Fenghuang et Ie Phenix," Cahiers
d'Extreme-Asie 5, 1989-90, pp. 1-13, esp. 12), stimulating theories on sun-worship and
related topics.
348
Shang 0 (normally read ding T as a graphic variant of ri B), he
that a ntual to 0-e Sun was performed to pray for a good harvest.
8
Fllrt-ha, .._.- .
he stressed that In the context of Shang offerings to the rising and! or settin
"the Sun was occasionally worshiped independently of the ancestors as an g
of cult in its own right.,,9 '
While the specialists attempt to make sense of various new
discoveries to sun-worship in Ancient China,lO I will here focus on
role of sun ar:d Its worship in Taoism on the basis of literary sources
the TaOIst Canon and the Siku quanshu 1I9)$3:::iI (The Complete
In the Treasuries)Y The passages were selected with the aim of sn(:!dclim
more lIght on the Taoist views on the sun and on how Taoists as well as m
letters inspired by them elaborated and re-interpreted previous solar and en
mythologIes .. The ritual known under the name Yuyi Jielin IMI*,fim
serve to elucIdate thIS. The present study is divided in two parts' 1 Yu' d
Jielin: The Taoist God of the Sun and Goddess of the Moon' and' 2' Gr
YI

th S h " ' . ee g
e un: T e YUYI Rite and the Attainment of Immortality. The second part
will be published elsewhere.
" 8 This .would that an inscription like Heji 10116 can be understood as:
<?rack-makmg onJlazz (day 1), Zheng divined 'In praying for harvest to the Sun(s), we
wIll ten dappled bovines and pledge one hundred dappled bovines. '" This means
that a ntual was offered to the Sun "at the start of the sixty-day cycle, with one bovine
for ,;ach day of the ten-day week, and ten more pledged for each day." See David
Keightley,. Gra?hs, Words and Meanings: Three Reference Works for Shang Oracle-
Bone ,StudIes: With an on the Religious Role of the Day or Sun," Journal of the
Amerzcan Orzental 117.3 (1997), pp. 507-524, esp. 518 and 517-524, and The
Ancestral Land!cape Tzme, Space, and Community in Late Shang China (ca. 1200-1045 B.G.),
Berkeley: Ins?tute of East Asian Studies, 2000, pp. 25-29, esp. p. 26, n. 28. My thanks to
Keightley for these references and for his advice.
D. Keightley, The Ancestral Landscape, p. 26.
10 A single artifact discovered at Dawenkou xx tl can serve as an example of the
wI.d:. spec.trum of schola0' See, for example, Song Zhaolin Wu yu
mmJlan (BeIJIng: Zhongguo huaqiao, 1990), pp. 18-20; He Xin,
Zhushen de qzyuan, pp. 110-113; DuJinpeng, "Guanyu Dawenkou wenhua" pp 920-21'
Mou :ongkang,. "?ongfang shiqian," p. 10; and Hayashi Minao, Chugoku 'kodai, pp.
18. opmIOns on the role of sun-worship in Ancient China are mentioned below.
< Wenyuan ge (1773-1782), 1500 vols. by Yong Rong 7k
et al. (ed. ZhuJIanmm *9la':, TaIpeI: TaIwan Shangwu yinshuguan, 1986; from now
on SKQS) .. under orders from the Qing emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1795),
the SKQS IS a of every important text together. My
thanks to Mugitaru and ChrISTIan Wittern of Kyoto University, Jinbun
Kagaku KenlCYUJo for letTIng me use the electronic sources of the SKQS and the Sibu
congkan Professor Mugitani has also put at the disposal of the scientific
the Taoist Canon on his website <http://www.zinbun.kyoto-
In addition, I consulted electronic materials from the
webSIte of the Academia Sinica <http://www.sinica.edu.tw/ftms-binlftmsw3>.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA
349
The Taoist Greeting of the Sun Rooted in a Royal Cult?
After the crack of dawn, just before the sun rose, he always stood facing due
East. Rinsing his mouth and swallowing the saliva, he ingested the vapors more
than a hundred times. Facing the sun he greeted it with a double prostration.
Every day at dawn it was like this and he did this for years. When his father asked
him with surprise what kind of rite he was performing, the lord lmelt (with feet
tucked under the buttocks and with his body erect) and answered: "I, Yishan,
cherish from the bottom of my heart the radiance of the lengthy sunbeams and
that is why I worship it."l2

: J !=j:lJL\WlIt
B ' a J
As dawn represents a key moment in many Taoist methods of absorption of
solar vapors, in visualization of deities, and in alchemical ingestion of elixirs,13 the
solemn prostration of the Shangqing immortal Zhou Yishan before the
rising sun reminds us of the act of devotion by the emperor to the supreme star
(see Fig. 1). In the Hanshu (31.1266a16) the emperor is described as facing the sun
while making a double prostration at dawn towards the east, and facing the new
moon to greet it at dusk in the west , B a , The
expression xiangri zaibai B which is found in Zhou Yishan's biography, is
also recorded in the Standard History of the Liao in a description of the royal rite of
worshiping the sun (bairi yi B 11).14 The following passage from the Chapter
12 Ziyang zhenren neizhuan (CT 303), la-b; cf. also Yztnji qiqian
(CT 1032), 106.8b; from now on YJQQ. Works in the Zhengtong Daozang are
numbered according to the Concordance dzt Tao-tsang, ed. K. M. Schipper (Paris: Ecole
franc;aise d'Extreme-Orient, 1995). See also the translation py Manfred PO,rkert,
Biographie d'un taoiste Ugendaire (Paris: College de France, Institut des Hautes Etudes
chinoises, 1979), pp. 25-26; and the book-review by Isabelle Robinet on Porkert's
translation in T'oung Pao LXVII, 1-2 (1982), pp. 123-136. Known as Ziyang zhenren
Zhou Yishan (style name: Jitong was one of the immortals who
appeared to Yang Xi (330-386), the protagonist of Shangqing revelations. Zhou allegedly
lived in the 1st century BCE and he is said to be the disciple of Su Lin (see the
analysis of his biography in I. Robinet, La dvelation dzt Shangqing dans l'histoin du
taoi'sme, 2 vols., Paris: Ecole franc;aise d'Extreme-Orient, 1984, vol. 2, pp. 385-388). See
also below notes 37, 38, and 46. (
13 As Fabrizio Pregadio points out (Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Medieval
China, Stanford: Stanford University Press, Forthcoming, chap. 4), "dan 'elixir' is a
homophone of dan 'dawn,' a detail that may be relevant not only for the phonetic
identity of the two words, but also because the elixirs were ingested at dawn, facing the
rising sun." A close look at YJQQ gives an idea of how the moment of dawn was
important for performing different Taoist practices of breathing, visualization of deities,
absorption of the solar vapors, etc. I will focus on this topic in relation with the Yuyi
Jielin practice in the second part of this study.
14 Liaoshi Jf5t: (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1974), 49-83 6a/13: rf-f 13 {i :
' rtD 13 fIlf-f ' 1: 0 J
350
MONICA ESPOSITO
Fig.!: Homage to the Sun
Fig. la: B'8 from B Jj
ill (CT 435, 4b-5a),
"}' h
la? tes of the Liji also shows the royal nature of the sun cult in
anCIent China ill connection with the suburban sacrifice (jiao
!t was at the suburban sacrifice that [the Son of Heaven], welcomin the
arnvalLof thd longest day, gave great thanks to Heaven, and the
sun as or.

15 See Yang Ximei :t$j:ffi"t)( "L Sh . , .
;(I:iWS"J * s ang Zhou shehm de Shangdi talyang shen" rnnrmJaJ
, 1: Zhongglloshl yanpu 1992.3, pp. 36-40 esp. 36 d Xi L'
Tlanshen Zhl ml, pp. 69-70. ' , an ng 1,
16 0jijishuo commented on by Chen Hao (1261-1341) . S' h ..
3 I (B'" Z 1:1, m IS u wUJzng
1=1 vo s. eIJmg: honghua shudian 1986) vol 2 pp 145 146 Th '. f
Chin ' , ,. - . e maJonty 0
d' commentators regard the first sentence "The Son of Heaven set out to the four
rrecnons and put forth the firewood" H::Jffl I d th
f th 'fi )J!!! /J 71:;51'<: as unre ate to e performance
the by James. Legge, The Li ki (in The Sacred Books of
S
' " . ax u er, DelhI: Monlal Banarsldass, 1966) vol. XXVII pp 426-427'
eraphin Couvreur Mem . . l b' , ,', ,. ,
, olres SZt'l es lenseances et les ceremonzes 2 vols (ParI's' C th .
1950. pt ed 1912). d H . . '" a aSIa,
1955) l'i37 ' an enn Maspero, La Chme antique (Paris: Imprimerie nationale
"On' pp. -192. last has b.een differently interpreted. Bruno Schindle;
( the Travel, WaYSIde and Wmd Offermgs in Ancient China," Asia Major 1, 1924,
6.z4-656, .. 632, n. "the Sun was made as chief personality" and
Cn?CIZeS Legge s mterpretanon of this passage (The Li ki P 427 n 1) M'
Bu) rd (L ifi C' I " ,., . ,see ananne
P E e
l
Ice Ie dans la Chme anczenne: thiorie et pratique sous les Han occidentaux
.. e d'Extreme-Orient, 2000, pp. 107-110) who studied the meanin of
(Tlanshe. zhi mi, pp. 69-70) follows Zheng Xuan (127-200) and
. "comments and presents the sun as "the most venerable god amon the
p,
celeEsnal one AS. .Cf: Karlgren, "Glosses on the Li Ki," Bulletin of the Mztse!m 0+
ar astern ntlqultles XLIII (1971), pp. 1-65. 'J
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA
351
Can this royal ceremony be seen as the remnant of an ancient sun cult? Can
it be linked to Shang cultic attention to the rising and setting sun?
Many scholars have emphasized that the Shang observed a cult of the sun and
regarded offerings to the rising and! or setting sun as an Yin sacrifice for the sun
god. They have also speculated on the possibility of such a cult's transformation
into the Zhou custom of "respectfully receiving the rising sun as a guest" ttl 8
and "respectfully seeing off the setting sun" 8, as recorded in the Yaodian
But the nature of this cult is still the object of discussion, and among other
things, it is not yet clear whether "the Yin could perform the sacrifice to the sun
god whenever necessary or should perform it at a fixed time.,,18 If Yunnan 11!.li
2232 clearly indicates that the sacrifice was performed by the king after he
observed the sun rising 8 ttl ' 8 Jj? "His Majesty will observe the
rising of the sun, will offer a X sacrifice to the sun, Y"), many other oracle bone
records are not so indicative and are still interpreted in different ways. 19 Agreement
has not yet been reached on the religious nature of the sun and on the content of
sacrifice to it. Some scholars, stressing the religious aspect, have identified
Shangdi as the sun god,20 but many Chinese scholars regard the Shang cult to the
rising and setting sun as having an inherent calendrical and cosmological
meaning. Through this rite the Shang observed the position of the sun rising and
setting at the equinoxes and acquired the standard meteorological notion of the
four seasons and the lmowledge of the four cardinal directions. In this view the
rite would have been performed with a "scientific purpose" of distinguishing the
four seasons, establishing the four directions, and measuring the sun shadow
rather than with an exclusively religious aim of venerating the Sun.
21
Although
one cannot deny that many passages from the Warring States and Han literature
quoted by supporters of this view exhibit calendrical attention and the veneration
which the emperor had for the sun and its movements, it is hard, as David
17 See the article by Song Zhenhao ("Jiagliwen 'churi,' 'ruri' bo" ii31t::X: W I:H B
WA B in Chutu wenxian yanjiu ed. Wenhuabu wenwuju guwenxian
yanjiushi Beijing: Wenwu, 1985, pp. 33--40) who briefly presents
the view of previous Chinese scholars on this topic, and the more recent work by F eng Shi
fllr.'f (Chuta gudai tianwenxue Taipei: Taiwan guji, 2001, pp. 111-117) who
devotes a section to "The Sacrifices to Sun and Moon" B Fl in chapter three.
18 Feng Shi, Chutzt glldai, p. 112.
19 Two characters of this bone record are missing; see Feng Shi, ChUtZl gudai, p. 112
and Song Zhenhao, "Jiaguwen 'churi'," p. 35.
20 While He Cheng (Shang wenhua, pp. 1-110) claims that solar cult and imagery
suffused many aspects of Shang iconography and sacrifice, Yang Ximei identifies
Shangdi as the sun god of the Shang and Zhou.
21 See Song Zhenhao, "Jiaguwen 'churi'," pp. 35-40; Chang Zhengguang 1lf;IEJiC,
"Yinren ji 'churu ri' wenhua dui houshi de yingxiang" B
Zhongyuan wenwZl 1990.3, pp. 66-71; and Feng Shi, ChutZl gudai, pp. 114-116.
This "scientific view" continues to be based on the "astronomical interpretation" of the
Chinese commentators of the Yaodian; see H. Maspero, "Legendes mythologiques,"
pp. 42-47, and Sarah Allan, "Sons of the Sun."
352 MONICA ESPOSITO
Keightley emphasizes, to demonstrate on the basis of oracle bone records that the
Shang used the sun in that way. 22
Early Chinese sources express the king's devotion to the sun, often along with
that for the moon and stars, by means of terms like jiri B ,jitian zhao bairi
!jiJjfif B, xi baiyue Y'fifJ], bin bing churi B and bin rao/song nari j[m/z/W3 B,
zaibai zhaori Mfif!jiJj B and zaibai xiyue MfifY' J] , or simply zhaori .!jiJj Band xiyue 5'
J] .23 With regard to the expression zhaori and xiyue, Hu Houxuan, in 1944
claimed that zhao !jiJj and xi Y' were the names for the Shang sacrifices to the
sun at dawn and to the setting sun at dusk. 24 Chen Mengjia, in 1936, regarded the
character xi as the name for a sacrifice to the moon and put it in relation with the
character su Wt, found in the oracle bone inscriptions, representing a man
lmeeling while worshiping the moon. According to him, this was an expression of
the Yin cult for this heavenly body.25 Though the cult to the moon is rarely seen
in the oracle bones, many scholars, looking at moon sacrifice found in later
sources, have ended up regarding it as an evolution of the Shang cult of the
setting sun.
26
The terms zhao/""Ci, which have been interpreted in later sources as
synonyms of equinoctial sacrifices, have often been regarded as proof of the
Shang heritage being continued in the Zhou rites for the sun at the spring
equinox and the moon at the autumn equinox.
In addition, the two key moments of dawn and dusk have also been linked to
the worship of two remote ancestors of the Shang (or nature deities), Dongmu
*1: and Ximu fl1:, who were charged of controlling the rising and setting of
the sun in east and west respectively.27 Dongmu and Ximu are interpreted in
different ways; their identity runs from sun and moon gods or sun mother (rimu
B 1:) and moon essence (yuejing J];filf) to ancestral spirits in charge of controlling
life (sili shengming de shenzhi Regarded as embryonic forms of
22 See D. Keightley, Ancestral Landscape, p. 27, n. 35. For the passages referring to
the Shiji, Guoyu, Xiaojing, and Yaodian, see Song Zhenhao, "Jiaguwen 'churi'," pp. 35-40,
and Feng Shi, Chutu gudai, p. 114.
23 For a list of terms expressing devotion to the sun and their reference in Chinese
sources from the High Antiquity to the Three Kingdoms, see Jean-Pierre Dieny, "Pour
un lexique de l'imagination litteraire en Chine-Le symbolisme du soleil " Bulletin de
rEcole franfaise d'Extreme-Orient (A la memoire de Paul Demieville, 1894-'1979), LXIX
(1981), pp. 119-151, esp. 140-141.
24 Hu Houxuan "Yindai zhi Tianshen chongbai" B5t{-I;;Z3(t$*#, in Hu
Houxuan, Jiaguxue Shangshi luncong chuji 2 (Chengdu: Jilu daxue
guoxue yanjiusuo, 1944; reprint Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1989), pp. la-29b, esp. 12a
(quoted in Song Zhenhao, "Jiaguwen 'churi'," p. 33). ,
25 Chen Mengjia "Gu wenzi zhong zhi Shang-Zhou jisi"
Yanjing xuebao 19 (1936), pp. 93-155, esp. 102-103, and 122 (quoted by Feng
Shi, Chutu gudai, p. 116).
26 Feng Shi, Chutu gudai, p. 116.
27 Akatsuka Kiyoshi, Chiigoku, pp. 443-453, esp. 453 (quoted by Sarah Allan, The
Shape of the Tzn1le, pp. 52 and 189, n. 122), and Feng Shi, Chutu gudai, p. 117.
28 For the first identification with sun and moon gods, see Chen Mengjia, "Gu wenzi
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA
353
later conceptions of the two palaces of the east and the west (dongxi ergong *Iffi"=
'B), they have also been interpreted as the antecedents ofXihe tlfl1 andChangxi
the mothers of the ten suns and the twelve moons, and finally of Dongwang
gong *3::0 and Xiwang mu fl3::1:, the Royal Lord of the East and the Queen
Mother of the West.
29
In the literary sources that I am going to present one will find the same terms
zhao !jiJj and xi Y', which may express a Zhou idealization of the Shang rites of the
rising and setting sun, applied in a Taoist context to the rites devoted to Yuyi and
Jielin. Interestingly, Yuyi and Jielin will also end up being identified with Xihe and
Changxi. One may thus wonder if the Yuyi and Jielin rites represent an
inheritance, in a Taoist key, of an archetypal Shang royal worship of the rising and
setting sun. Could it represent a Taoist interpretation of Shang worship allegedly
perpetuated in the Zhou cult of "receiving the rising sun as a guest" and "seeing off
the setting sun"? What is the background of this Taoist rite? Does it have the
Zhou cosmological connotation of equinoctial (or solsticial) sacrifices to the sun
and moon intended to order space and time and provide a sacred calendar?
It does seem that we have here an intermingling of all these ancient beliefs
transmitted in later sources. However, as is to be expected in a Taoist ritual, its
calendrical and cosmological significance cannot be dissociated from the main
goal: the attainment of the immortality. Elaborated in the milieu of the fangshi Jj
or "masters of methods," this rite appears to have maintained traces of its
ancestry, an inheritance that will be explored in the second part of this study.
One trace can be already detected in the key term hui or yun Ilif! which expresses
the devotion of the Shangqing immortal Zhou Yishan to the sun: "I, Yishan,
cherish from the bottom of my heart the radiance/halo of the lengthy sunbeams,
and that is why I worship it" (riguang changjing zhi hui/yun shiyi baizhi er B
zllif!, see Fig. 1).
zhong," pp. 131-132 and YinJ."Zt puci zongshu Bt:t.i 1'000R*iffi (Beijing: Kexue, 1956), p. 574. For
the association with sun mother arid moon essence, see Ding Shan Tw, Zhonggllo gudai
zongjiao yu shenhua kao (Shanghai: Wenyi, 1988), pp. 71-73 (lst ed.,
Shanghai: Longmen lianhe shuju, 1961). For their link with "life controllers," see Song
Zhenhao Xia Shang shehui shenghuo shi (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui
kexue, 1994), p. 476; quoted in F eng Shi, Churn gudai, p. 117.
29 On the associations with the east and west palaces (i.e., sun and moon disks), see
Shen Jianhua "Jiaguwen zhong suojian ershiba suxing ming chutan"
Zhongguo wenhua 1994.10, p. 78 (quoted in Feng Shi, Chutu
gudai, p. 117). Following the opinion of Chen Mengjia and Chang Tsung-tung, Sarah
Allan (The Shape of the Turtle, pp. 53 and 189, n. 124) suggests that Dongmu and Ximu
are the antecedents of Xihe and Changxi "although there can be no conclusive proof."
Finally, Shirakawa Shizuka (Chztgoku no shinwa q:tOOO)t$lRi, Tokyo: Chiio koron
shinsha, 2003, p. 39; pt ed. 1975) sees them as the antecedents of Dongwang gong and
Xiwangmu.
354 MONICA ESPOSITO
The Highest Taoist Yuyi and Jielin Methods for Soaring up to the Sun and Moon
As Ro.binet already shown in her monumental work on Shangqing
as we.ll as In a of arllcles devoted to ecstatic flights by its practitioners,30 sun
were highly. elaborated and developed in Shangqing Taoism. Generally
along WIth those of the moon and stars (sanguang these
often three aspects: "the adept accompapies the stars in their
SIdereal processlOn, takes nourishment from the exhalations of the stars and frolics
in paradise realms sheltered by the stars where he also meets with the deities living
there.,,32 Among the different methods devoted to the sun and moon that have the
most ancient are (1) the Yuyi jielin (2) the Yupei jindang
and (3) the Mzngtang xuanzhen EYUit:"2: . Other methods are contained in the
Lingsh.u ziwen. (CT 639, 4a-8b), the Basu jing (CT 1323, 3b-8b),
Qzngyao zlshu (CT 1315, 1.4a-9b), the Huangqi yangjingjing
if (CT 33, 1b-23a) as well as in the Zhen'gao (CT 1016) where various minor
exercises are mentioned.
33
Due to the ancient origin attributed to the first method
so-called Jielin, and because of its importance and celebrity in Taoism,34 i
Wlll focus on It. The other two methods are classified as "preparatory" to it, and I
can do no better than to refer the reader to Robinet's works.
35
30. The main sources in chronological sequence are Isabelle Robinet, "Les randonnees
des .. Taolstes dans les astres," Monumenta Serica 32 (1976), pp. 159-273;
Medttatton taotste, esp. chap. 8 [trl. esp. pp. 187-200]; "Introduction au Kieou-tchen
tchong-king,': Society for the Study of Chinese Religions Bulletin 7 (1979), pp. 24-45, esp. 30-
33; du Shangqing; "Visualization and Ecstatic Flight in Shangqing Taoism," in
Taotst MedItatIOn and Longevity Techniques, eds. Livia Kohn and Y oshinobu Sakade (Ann
Arbor: The University of Michigan, 1986), pp. 159-191, esp. 168-172.
31. For the three luminaries in the imagery of Tang poets and related astronomical
the ones, see Edward Schafer, Pacing the Void, Tang Approaches to the Stars (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1977).
32 I. Robinet, Meditation taoi'ste, p. 283 [trl. p. 188].
33 I. Robinet, La revelation du Shangqing, vol. 1, p. 142. For an annotated translation
III Japanese of the Zhen'gao, see Yoshikawa Tadao and Mugitani Kunio
:K, eds., kenkyil Kyoto: Jinbun kenkyujo, 2000. See also the article by
Kat6 Chie vo Jii=f:W: , "Shink6 ni okeru nichigetsu ron to sono shuhen" SJ'1
in Rikucho dokyo no kenkyti ed. Yoshikawa Tadao (Kyoto:
Shunjusha, 1998), pp. 125-145.
34 Isabelle Robinet ("Introduction au Kieou-tchen tchong-king," p. 30) refers to it as
most famous exercises of Taoism." The Basu jing (CT 426, 4a/4) lists the
Yityz Jte!m the name Taishang Yuyi benri wen followed by the Taishang Jielin benyue
zhang) III the highest rank; cf. Robinet, La 1'evelation du Shangqing, vol. 2, pp. 69-70 and
here Appendix l(A), no. 3.
35 See I. Robinet, "Les randonnees extatiques," pp. 170-173 and 210-214' and La
revelation du Shangqing, vol. 2, pp. 215-218 and 396-397. For the last method Mingtang
xuanzhen see also the translation of its oral formula by Edward H. Schafer, "The Jade
Woman of Greatest Mystery," History of Religions 17 (1978), pp. 387-398 and some
remarks by I. Robinet, La revelation du Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 397, n. 1.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA 355
Also called "the path of soaring up to the two luminaries" (ben erying zhi dao
=::itzJEt), the Yuyi Jielin method constitutes the final step in the practice of solar
and lunar absorptions as performed, for example, by the Shangqing patriarch Xu
Hui in 368.
36
The Yuyi Jielin method was closely associated with the name of
Lord Pei an important Shangqing immortal who stands with Zhou Yishan at
the source of Shangqing revelations. Pei and Zhou share a similar veneration for
the sun. As we have seen above, Zhou Yishan is portrayed as practicing every day
at dawn the greeting of the sun.
37
From the short mention translated above it is
difficult to gather which kind of ritual or practice Zhou Yishan was performing,
but from some passages in his biography, one may deduce that he was practicing
the Yuyi method.
38
Fortunately, a clear reference to the constituent practices of
Yuyi and Jielin
39
is found in the biography of Lord Pei where they are explicitly
recorded as having been transmitted to him by Taisu zhenren
They are described as follows:
At dawn, observe (shi m) the moment when the sun begins rising. Keep the eyes
half closed (linmu 13) and hold the breath for the time of ten breath cycles. Then,
while swallowing the sunlight ten times, you should make present (cunling f4':i) the
sunlight's auroral glow (rigllang xia 87'C.) entering in your mouth before ingesting
it. Once you have completed this, situate (can f) the Green Lord Emperor (Qing
Dijun) coming from within the sun to your left. Then, situate the Red Lord
Emperor (Chi Dijun) coming from within the sun to your right. Then situate the
White Lord Emperor (Bai Dijun) coming from within the sun to your back. Then
situate the Black Lord Emperor (Hei Dijun) coming from within the sun above your
left hand. Then situate the Yellow Lord Emperor (Huang Dijun) coming from
within the sun above your right hand. When all the Five emperors have come,
situate further the Yangsui chariot of purple clouds (yang sui jiangyun zhi che
harnessed to nine dragons coming from within the sun in front of you.
40
36 Xu Hui (341-370) and his father Xu Mi (303-373) received the transmissions from
Yang Xi (330-386), the originator of Shangqing revelation (I. Robinet, La revelation du
Shangqing, vol. 1, p. 5). For Xu Hui's practice of the Yuyi Jielin method, see the Zhen'gao
(CT 1016), 18.11b-12a, and Kamitsuka yoshiko Rikucho dokyo shiso no kenkyu A
(Tokyo: S6bunsha, 1999), p. 53.
37 Lord Pei and Zhou Yishan were in fact the immortals who appeared to Hua Qiao
the first receiver of Shangqing revelations, before appearing again to Yang Xi (330-
386). On Lord Pei and his important place in the Shangqing corpus, see I. Robinet, La
dvelation du Shangqing, vol. 1, pp. 55-57, and the presentation she gave on his Biography
included in the YJQQ 105 (La revelation du Shangqing, vol. 2, pp. 375-383). On Zhou
Yishan, see above note 12.
38 See here notes 12 and 46, as well as the mention ofYuyi and Jielin in the Biography
of Zhou Yishan (Ziyang zhenren neizhuan, CT 303, 18al2-3) also taken up by the
Witshang biyao (CT 1138, from now on WSBy) 10.7a/6 in the following passage: .. ,
, ' , ...
39 See YJQQ 105.15a/5. At the end of the presentation of the two methods it is also
said that "these formulas were transmitted to Taisu zhenren from Taidi jun"
(YJQQ 105.19b/9).
40 Y angsui is the name of the solar mirror which was also used in the Summer
356 MONICA ESPOSITO
Carried along with the Five emperors, you will soar up to the sun.
41





The same method is presented for the moon; it takes place at dusk and involves
observation of the moon. In that case, one holds the breath for the span of nine
breath cycles and swallows the moonlight nine times. The Five lunar ladies are
then situated around the adept in the same order and disposition as their husbands
and, finally, riding with them in a Liuling chariot of flying clouds (liuling feiyun zhi
che harnessed to ten dragons,42 the adept soars up to the moonY
Lord Pei is said to have practiced both methods at Kongshan at dawn for
the sun at dusk for the moon. According to testimony, after the first year of
such practice he could see the emperors and their consorts vaguely. After the second
year he could see them riding on the sun and moon and gathering around him. The
third year he could enjoy their presence and talk and smile to them, and the fifth
year, riding in the chariot in their company, he could finally soar up to the sun and
Also like Xu Hui (341-370) who at the end of the eleventh year of such
practice at Maoshan and after having received the Scripture on the "Path of soaring
up to the two luminaries" became a Perfected (shoujing erben zhidao, shiyinian
chengzhen Lord Pei reached Perfection in the eleventh
year and received the title of Qingling zhenren from Taisu zhenren.
46
solstice festival of "the renewal of fire"; see Derk Bodde, Festivals in Classical China (princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1975), pp. 299-302. See also Appendix 3(A), no. 24.
41 YJQQ 105.15a/b. My translation of the term cun ff will be explained in part 2.
42 or huoling are both variants of liuhuo zhiling (the folly-bell of
streammg fIre); see Edward H. Schafer, "Wu Yun's 'Cantos on Pacing the Void,'"
Harva1'dJournal of Asiatic Studies 41 (1981), p. 409, n. 129. This also stands for liujin zhi
ling or liujin huoling (cf. Zhen'gao, CT 1016, 5.4aIl0, and Yuanshi
wuliang duren shang pin miaojing sizhu CT 87, 2.68al7). It
indicates an instrument for chasing away demons which is said to have been bestowed on
Huangdi in order to vanquish the demonic Chiyou. It was then regarded as a very
powerful talisman, "host to cosmic fire spirits"; see J. Boltz, A Survey of Taoist Literature
(Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 1987), p. 3 O.
43 YJQQ 105.16a/6-1O and 16b/4.
.;rQQ and 16b. See also the Shangqing dongzhen tianbao dadong sanjing baolu
(CT 1385, 1.29bl7-8 and 33a/1-2) which records similar results
for the practice in a summarized way and adds the fourth year which is missing here.
45 Zhen'gao (CT 1016), 18.3b/9.
46 YJQQ 105.9b/4-1O-1Oa/1-4 and 19a/9-1O. It is interesting to note that Zhou Yishan
(YJQQ 106.15a/6 and Ziyang zhenren neizhuan, CT 303, 12a/2) is also said, at the end of his
elev:nth year of practice, to have ascended to Heaven in broad daylight by riding in a cloud
charIot harnessed to dragons. He is said to visit the Taiwei Palace, the residence of the Five
emperors related to the Yuyi method , , S B *::;R' , ... ). This
is another indication that Zhou Yishan was also practicing the path of soaring up to the sun
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA 357
Like Xu Hui, Lord Pei is said to have received directions for these methods of
"soaring up to the sun and moon" in two book sections =iI, the Taishang Yuyi wen
and the Taishang Jielin zhang . 47 These two sections also
figure as a "YuyiJielin Scripture" associated with the Dadong zhenjing"*
and its initiation rite.
48
Further mentions of a "Yuyi and Jielin Scripture"
figure in the 6
th
century Taoist encyclopedia Wushang biyao under the titles
Dongzhen Taishang yuchen Yuyi benri jing B and Dongzhen
Jielin benyue jing Although the "Yuyi and Jielin Scripture" is thus
mentioned in Taoist texts, Robinet claims that the Yuyi Jielin method originally did
not form an independent scripture. In fact, the names Yuyi and Jielin do not occur
in any title in the Shangqing corpus,s 'and even Tao Hongjing [)1ii]5A:it(456-536),
when he mentions the Yi Lin method adds that "he already had its
transcription but has not yet seen the great jing" ( ... The
scripture which is now found in the Taoist Canon under the name of Taishang
yuchen Yuyi Jielin ben riyue tu B Ji iii (CT 435) is a Song
elaboration of more ancient parts which make up the Yuyi Jielin method.
52
According to Robinet, the original text is included in the Shangqing taishang
dijunjiuzhen zhongjing (CT 1376, 2.1a-b) and in the
Shangqing taishangjiuzhen zhongjingjiangsheng shendan jue
(and moon), i.e., the Yuyi Jielin method. The Shangqing dongzhen tianbao dadong sal1jing baolu
(CT 1385, 1.29b/8-10 and 1.33al2) also mentions the eleventh
year as final result for becoming a Shangqing perfected, thanks to the practice of" soaring up
to the sun" B * and "soaring up to the J3 *; see the Appendix 1 (B), nos. 10-13.
47 YJQQ 105.20a/6-7. For further references to these two texts in this biography and
in other Taoist Canon sources, see Appendix l(A) and in particular no. 16.
48 YJQQ 105.20al7-10. The relationship of the YuyiJielin with the Daodong zhenjing
initiation rite is confirmed by an account of the ceremony that Zhu Ziying * EI
(author of the preface to the Shangqing dadong zhenjing CT 6) administered
at Maoshan in 1024 on behalf of the Empress Dowager Liu (r. 998-1022) and related by
Zhu in his Zhangxian mingslt huanghou shou Shangqing bifa luji
(CT 777). This text is also found in the Maoshan zhi *LlJ* (CT 304, 25.2a-5a); see
Judith Boltz, A Survey of Taoist Lite'rfjtztre, p. 327 n. 566. As part of the ordination
ceremony, the Empress is said to "bow to [Yu]yi and ITie]lin ( ... )." This text was read
during the seminar of Professor Mugitani at the Jinbun Kagaku Kenkyiijo and translated
by Kogachi Ryliichi see Appendix l(C), no. 9.
49 The WSBY (CT 1138, 3.2b and 5b-6a) quotes these titles along with the style (zz)
and taboo (hui) names of the Five emperors and lunar ladies. See also note 54 and
Appendix l(A).
50 Isabelle Robinet ("Introduction au Kieou-tchen tchong-king," p. 31 and La
revelation du Shangqing, vol. 2) remarks that it is, however, mentioned by the Basll jing
(CT 426, 4a/4; see above, note 34), and the Housheng lieji (CT 442, Sa) in a passage
listing texts and practices that belong to the Shangqing canon. For this passage, see the
translation by S. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, pp. 348-349.
51 Zhen'gao (CT 1016), 18.12a/5-6.
52 On this text and its constitutive parts see r. Robinet "Les randonnees extatiques,"
pp. 206-207 and La revelation du Shangqing, p. 413.
1
I
'I
i
358
MONICA ESPOSITO
(CT 1377, ISb-21b) as part of sections entitled Taishang yuchen Yuyi benri
chijing yuwen B $jj(.:EX and Taishang yuchen Jielin benyue huangjing
yuzhang This may be the most ancient version
developed from the exercise described in the Biography of Lord Pei. Instead of
simply mentioning the actualization of the Five solar emperors and lunar ladies,
as we have just seen above, this text features more explanations of how to perform
the exercise. It gives a list of the names (zi f and hui and a description of the
colored dresses worn by each of the Five emperors and ladies. 54 Invoking the
names of the Five emperors and their consorts and evoking their clothing, whose
colors are in harmony with the direction presided over by each of them, is said to
be necessary for the performance of Yuyi and Jielin rites.
55
Lengthy invocations
addressed to the solar emperors and lunar consorts accompany the ritualization of
this method. They are reminiscent of the journey to the sun and moon that the
immortal Lord Pei accomplished while riding in the dragon chariot in the
company of the solar emperors and their consorts.
56
Furthermore, an essential
part of this ritual consists of revealing the names of the lunar and solar cloudsouls
(hun along with those of the Five solar emperors and Five lunar ladies. Once
their names are known and invoked in the right order, they have the power to
wipe away every obstacle and disease and finally confer divine immortality
(shenxian f${W).57 From the revelation of these names 16- and 24-character
invocations have been formed. Their origin is attributed to the Lingshu ziwen
shangjing (CT 639).58 Also known as rijun zhou B!tn and yuqun
53 The two texts contain the same passages except for an interruption in CT 1376,
2.2a-3a; see 1. Robinet, "Introduction au Kieou-tchen," pp. 30-33.
54 See the sections "Taishang Yuyi rizhong wudi huizi fuse" :)(J::IMiB
-E3 and "Taishang Jielin yuezhong wudi furen huizi fuse" in
Shangqing Taishang dijun jiuzhen zhongjing (CT 1376), 2.4a-5b and
in the Shangqing taishangjiuzhen zhongjingjiangsheng shendan jue
(CT 1377), 17b/6-7-18b/4-5.
55 Shangqing Taishang dijun jiuzhen zhongjing (CT 1376, 2.4a/2-3 and 2. 5b/9-6a/l)
and in the Shangqing taishangjiuzhen zhongjingjiangsheng shendan jue (CT 1377, 17 a-18b).
56 Some parts of the Biography of Lord Pei describing his journey to the sun and moon
(YJQQ 105.15b/8-10-16a/l and 16b/9-1O-17a/1-2) are found, with some modifications, in
the invocations that the adept addresses to the lunar cloudsouls and its germinal spirits foj
for securing his own journey to the sun, and to the solar cloudsouls and its germinal
spirits B for his journey to the moon (Shangqing Taishang dijun jiuzhen zhongjing, CT
1376, 2.7a/2-5 and 2. 8a/7-10, and in the Shangqing taishangjiuzhen zhongjingjiangsheng
shendan jue, CT 1377, 10a/3-5 and 21a/8-1O-21b/l). Isabelle Robinet, who has pointed out
this loan ("Introduction au Kieou-tche," p. 31 and Tableau N, p. 45), has stressed that in
the Shangqing exercises the adept addresses his invocations to the moon after having
summoned the solar emperors, and vice-versa. One thus finds a perfect resonance between
the two principles of Yang and Yin represented by sun and moon.
57 Shangqing Taishang dijun jiuzhen zhongjing (CT 1376), 2.4b/3-7 and 2. 5b/2-6 and
in the Shangqing taishang jiuzhen zhongjing jiangsheng shendan jue (CT 1377), 17b17 -10,
18a/l and 18b/6-9.
58 In the Zhen'gao (CT 1016), 9.24b, Tao Hongjing presents the 16-character formula
.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA 359
zhou Ji !tn, these invocations are found in many texts of the Taoist Canon and
have been used in liturgies dating from later centuries.
59
The 16-character
invocation, which can be seen as an esoteric formula summarizing the Yuyi sun
practice, will be translated conjointly with some key passages from the
Shangqing taishang dijun jiuzhen zhongjing and other related texts m the second
part of this study. Here, I will focus on the main figures who gave the name to
these practices: Yuyi and Jielin. Who are they?
In Search ofYuyi andJielin's Identities: An Attempt to Translate their Names
According to Isabelle Robinet, Yuyi andJielin are the divine, esoteric or
sacred names for the sun and moon; they represent the essence of the Great Yang
(sun) and Great Yin (moon).60 Kristofer Schipper, in his Concordance du
king (paris: Ecole Fran9aise d'Extreme-Orient, 1975, p. 3), when referrmg to
Yuyi and Jielin practice mentioned in the Huangting neijing, rendered the name Yuyt
as "Regulateur Effervescent" (Effervescent Regulator) and Jielin as
Conglomeree" (Conglomerated Gem). to Schafe;"
"Steaming Regalia" is "the name of the spmt who courses WIth the sun while his
mate "Knotted Spangles" Oielin) "runs with the moon.,,61 For Stephen Bokenkamp,
"Shadowed Regalia" (Yuyi) and "Knotted Spangles" (fielin) are "the secret names for
the transcendents who pilot the sun and the moon in their courses.,,62 As we shall see,
Yuyi and Jielin can have various meanings and are subject to many
Instead of simply translating their names, I will first analyze the baSIC meanmg of
these compounds, which are not attested except in these names.
1. The Character Yu in Yuyi
Yu (also 1m and '5.) is primarily connected with the density of vegetation
and qualifies its luxuriant aspect; it also applies to the accumulation or
condensation of clouds and mists.
63
According to the Erya the character yu
as coming from the "The Method for Collecting and Abso:-bing the the
Holy Lord of the Golden Porte which was formerly transmItted by TalWel Jun. It
is also named Chidan jinjing shijing shuimu yztbao jing" fL ,
J!!' This is the title of a sectIOn
included in the Lingshu ziwen (see the translation by S. Bokenkamp, Eady Daoist Scriptzt'res,
pp. 314-318). The Huangtingjing attributes this formula to the Lingshu as well.
I. Robinet, "Les randonnees extatiques," pp. 204-208, and La dvelatlOn du Shangqmg,
vol. 2, pp. 104-105. . .
59 See I. Robinet, "Introduction au Kieou-tchen," p. 32, and La dvelatlOn du Shangqmg,
vol. 1, p. 236.
60 I. Robinet, La dvelation du Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 73.
61 Edward H. Schafer, "Wu Yun," p. 399, n. 87.
62 S. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, pp. 348 and 370, n. 35.
63 The following explanations of the character yu are mainly based on the Hanyu
dacidian 12 vols. (Shanghai: Hanyu dacidian, 1989),3-1137. Yu refers to
accumulation of grass, trees (congji maomi etc. It is used as an adjective qualifying
360
MONICA ESPOSITO
refers to qi *t or vapors.
64
It is in this sense that it is often used in passages of
the Taoist Canon. It evokes the movement of steaming vapors, the sparkling or
twinkling of lights and, in a wider sense, the effervescence of life in its nascent
state. Yu also stands for the name of flowers like the tulip (yujinxiang
or the plum tree and its fruit (Ii '$, yuli as well as their fragrance.
66
As
surname, yu is attached to the name of gods, immortals or fangshi.
67
A well-
known example is the ancient door god(s) Yu and Lii Merged as Yulii,
he is together with Shenshu in charge of controlling and driving away
the luxuriant and prosperous aspect of things (longsheng and includes the meaning of
"abundant, varied, numerous" ifanduo In this sense it expresses the exuberant or
energetic accumulation and condensation of clouds and mists (yucong congji As
symbol of "containing the germinal essence" (yuncang lIil), it has also the meaning of
"latent, hidden, undeveloped" (yunxu lIii). From this latter sense comes the idea of
something which stagnates, blocks (tingzhi 1mt) with the emotional connotation of
resentment, discontent (yuanhen oppression (yujie sadness (youchou
melancholy (youyu youyutao yuyi etc. Furthermore it refers to the
sinuosity of forms (yuqu MaE), and to the dark-looming and hazy aspect (youyin
youming of high mountains appearing at a distance. See also the explanation of this
character from the oracle bones by Wu Zhenwu "Shuo bao, yu,"
Zhongyuan wenwu J:j:IJJjt)(tto/J 53.3 (1990), pp. 32-36, esp. 33-36. See also below note 65.
64 In the section "Sheyan" of the Elya m';fl (Hao Yixing $BftHi et al. eds., Erya,
Guangya, Fangyan, Sheming . ;fl . . Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 1989,
p. 123) the term yu is related to the energetic movement of vapors , *t t!!). Guo Pu n
(276-324) comments by saying that "steaming vapors appear"
65 The fragrance refers to aromatic grass or plants in general (yujinxiang cao
fangcao 7j'lji) of which the officer Yuren of the Ministry of Spring (chunguan was
in charge. This officer Yuren is mentioned in the Zhouli ("Chunguan Zongpo"
section 3; trl. Edouard Biot, Le Tcheou-li ou Rites des Tcheou, 3 vol;., Paris: Imprimeri;
Nationale, 1851, reprint Taipei: Ch'eng Wen Publishing Co, 1969, vol.1, book XIX,
p. 398 and book XX, pp. 465-467). In the Shuijing zhu (chapter "Wenshui" r1ffi.7J(
j. 36, Taipei: Shijie shuju, 1991, vol. 2, p. 447) by Li Daoyuan 1)m:5I; (466-527) it is said
that "yu indicates the aromatic plants (i.e., curcuma longa). The flowers of hundreds
aromatic plants are boiled together and unified with fermented black millet (heishu
i.e.,ju fE) in order to make the spirits descend. Some say that it stands now for tulip" , 7j'
lji t!! 0 , 0 On the explanation of yu and its
association with the preparation of this alcohol used for liturgical libations see Wu
Zhenwu, "Shuo bao, yu," 34. On the link between these alcoholic libations and the origin
of the Chinese term for rites see L. Vandermeersch, La voie royale, vol. 2, p. 276.
66 The connection with the plum evokes Laozi who is also named Yuhua zi; see below.
67 I refer, for example, to who is mentioned in the "Gaotang fu" (jMfJ!W: by
Song Yu *.:E (fl. 3
rd
century BCE). According to the commentary by Li Shan, Yulin
refers to an immortal or fangshi but has also been interpreted as a qualifying adjective
("thiclc as groves"); see David Knechtges, Wen xuan, 3 vols. (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1996), vol. 3, p. 336, L. 188. Yu also appears in the name of the White
Solar Emperor, Haoyujiang (and his consort Yulianhua in the name of
Yulingbiao the name for Baiyuan S5I;, god of the lungs; in the name of the Black
Emperor of the North one of the Wulao .li:13; etc.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA
361
ghosts. Associated with the theme of regeneration .and "the.
through the new year," the god Yulii shares attrIbutes WIth YUyl.
Mathieu has remarked, Yulii is associated with a myth that shows a fascInaong
parallel with that of the solar tree Fusang.
69
In a passage from the Kuo ditu tl5!-iH
III quoted by Zong Lin zfHl of the Liang m (4
th
century CE), Yu shows up as
the mate of Lii
On Mount Taodu (Peach Capital) there is a huge peach tree lying coiled over
3,000 Ii. On top there is a golden cock that cries as soon the sun shines. Below
there are two gods: one named Yu and the other Lii. Holdmg reed ropes they are
on the lookout for inauspicious ghosts to capture and kill them. 70

0 0
Yu and Lii thus are the exorcist guardians of a solar tree carrying on its a
golden cock,71 They preside over the celestial gates, the doors of commurucao?n
between men and gods. They are intimately related to the moment of sunnse
68 In the well-Imown legend quoted in the Lunheng (chap. "Dinggui" aBt!.) and
attributed to the Shanhaijing one finds an interesting account ofYulii:
In the midst of the deep blue-green sea (Canghai i.e., east) stands J?ushuo
(Crossing the New Year) Mountain, on which grows a huge peach and
coiling over 3,000 Ii. Among its branches on the n.orth-east there IS the
Gate' through which the myriad ghosts enter and eXIt. On top there two dIvme
beings (shenren). One is called Shenshu and the other Yulii. They are m charge ?f
inspecting and governing the myriad ghosts. Whenever a ghost wants to do eVIl,
they bind him with reed ropes and feed him to tigers. Then the Yellow Emperor
made a ritual for their seasonal expulsion (shiqu): large peachwood figures were set
up, [images of! Shenshu, Yulii and a tiger were painted gates and and
reed ropes were hung from them in order to ward off the eVIl demons-mez-.:.
, ' t!! 0

.
Cf. the translation by Derk Bodde, Festivals in Classical China, p. 128 and by A. BIrrell,
Chinese Mythology, pp. 233-234. Derk Bodde (Festivals, p. 129) points out that the term
dushuo "consists of the two words ttt [du] 'to cross,' and so [shuo] 99], 'first day of the
lunar month' so, paT excellence, of the lunar year). Hence the name may mean
'Mountain of Crossing Over to the New Year.'" ....
69 Remi Mathieu, Anthologie des mythes et tegendes de la Chme anczenne (Pans: Gallimard,
1989),p.53,n.3. . ,'*' ;l;!!;
70 Jingchu suishi ji 3a (Hanwez congshu 12, ed. Wang Mo
1915).
71 The golden cock appears with the jade cock chanting on the solar as
soon as the sun rises; see the Shenyi jing 2b (quoted by R. .Mathieu, des
mythes, p. 53, n. 3). As a passage in the YJQQ (56.7b/3) emphaSIzes on the baSIS of the
quotation from the Lingxian m. by Zhang Heng the golden stands
13
the
three-legged raven of fire, representing the Yang ( ... 0 .wB.::::.JE' 0).
See also H. Maspero, "Legendes mythologiques," pp. 13-14, n. 4. For the orruthologIcal
association of the sun see E. Schafer, Pacing the Void, pp. 163-167.
362 MONICA ESPOSITO
signaled by the call of the golden cock. Under its presence, Yu and his companion
Lii watch the exact moment when the inauspicious (buxiang /Ft) ghosts appear.
Observing is an important attribute of these guardians who are capable, thanks to
their piercing gaze, of seizing any lingering ghosts with their ropes. The exorcistic
function of these custodians also has a connection with Huangdi and the Great
exorcism danuo.72 Furthermore, they are connected with the imperial tour of
Taishan, the Peak of the East and, consequently, with the feng and shan !tffi'- rites. It
is only after the establishment of the peachwood figurine of these two guardians and
the performance of related exorcistic rites that the emperor could safely go on his
tour. This happened after having observed the auspicious signs from heaven.
73
All these activities have an unexpected connection with Yuyi and Jielin.
Related, among other things, to the festivals of welcoming and seeing off the year,
they point to important characteristics of Yuyi and Jielin and their eponymous
Taoist rites. It is not by chance that Yuyi is linked with the Fusang tree and its
mythology as well as with the golden cock of Yu and Lii. This cock, under the
name of Golden Raven of Fusang (fusangjinwu is said to have been
imprisoned on Mount Taodu before returning to the Fusang, the sanctuary of the
original solar Palace of Yuyi.74 But before discussing such legendary attributions,
let us take a look at the second character that forms the name Yuyi.
72 In the Lushi (chapter "Houji wu" f&*21i, 14.17a, SKQS 383-122), Luo Mi m
of the Song reports that "(Huangdi) selected children and youths, set up Yu and Lu,
explained the Qingniao and recorded the Boze in order m wipe away the injuries from the
people; and the people were freed from them." 'U!i!{J.IR' ITff
R:1l:Z. This passage serves as an explanation of the "seasonal expulsion" (shiqu
ritual, which was said to have been established by Huangdi and is mentioned in the
quotation from the Lunheng; see above note 68. On the relationship of these two
guardians with the Great exorcism danuo see D. Bodde, Festivals in Classical China, pp.
81-85, 127-138. On the Bozetu (Chart [Revealed by the] Boze), a record of revelation to
Huangdi by an auspicious animal called Boze, see Robert Ford Campany, Strange
Wi-iting (New York: State University of New York Press, 1996), pp. 42 and 123.
73 All these activities are reported in the "Dongjing full *Ji'(j\ (Rhapsody of the
Eastern Capital; trl. Knechtges, Wen xuan, vol. 1, pp. 296-297 and LL. 575-77, 583, 585,
586, 589, and 597): "On Mt. Dushuo they make wooden images:/The guard is Yu
Lu;/Shen Shu assists him ... They are charged with seizing any lingering spirits.!The
houses of the capital are quiet and pure;1N 0 more unpropitious influences remain.! And
then:/ Yin and Yang are in reciprocal harmony,! And all creatures grow in proper
season.!They divine about a progress, study auspicious signs;! "In all respects it is truly
good."/The emperor embarks on a tour of Dai Peak,! ... Since his spring excursion
generated life,! .... " As Derk Bodde (Festivals in Classical China, pp. 83-85, and 130)
remarks, these activities are related to New Year customs and the concept of rebirth.
New Year activities include the fabrication of peach-wood figures (geng f) of these two
guardians. The term geng f refers to taogeng (peach figure) and, at the same time,
means "to renew" (geng J!). According to Ying Shao (Fengsu tongyi 8/62 quoted, and
translated by D. Bodde, ibid, p. 131): "Geng (figure or figurine) means geng (to renew).
The year having reached its close, renews itself (geng) ushering in great happiness."
74 This story is narrated in "Heng'e qieyao ru changong, Chijiang chenggong ju
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA 363
2. The Character Yi {I
The term yi refers to solemn bearing or demeanor in ceremony, so-called
"etiquette." From the meaning of "rules of behavior" and the harmony coming
from those "measured manners," the significance of rite (Ii fl, liyi fl{l) and its
function of "establishing the right rules" within a ceremony is set forth (yishi {I
ritual ceremony; keyi fi\-{I, liturgical rules).75 Thus, yi stands for yibiao {I*
(indicator of measurement) or yizhu *tt (pole of indication, i.e., the gnomon)
referring to the vertical pole erected for measuring the sun shadow and
observing different atmospheric phenomena (yixiang As Xunzi says: "If
the measuring-pole (yi) is upright, the [calculation of the sun] shadow will be
correct" (yi zheng ze jing zheng {IJEJlIJ:itJE).77 From the meaning of yi as an
rifu" B J& (Lidai shenxian tongjian by Xu Dao
JE!; see the corrected and annotated edition by Kan Min !ijj and Liu Zhen
Zhongguo shenxian da yanyi I=j:l 2 vols., Beijing: Zhongguo wenlian, 1998,
vol. 1, p. 151). I discovered this story in chapter 8 on the Astral deities, by Henri Dore,
Recherches sur les superstitions en Chine (Shanghai: Imprimerie de la Mission Catholique,
1918), vol. XII, 2
nd
part, pp. 1181-1189. See also below, pp. 383-384.
75 On the meaning of yi as measurement (du from the Shuowen jiezi; lit. "to take
as a standard"), see the Yunfu qunyu (2.lOa-b, SKQS 951-31) by Yin Shifu
of the Yuan. On the meaning of Ii and yi, see L. Vandermeersch, La voie royale, vol. 2,
pp. 267-272. On the termsyishi and keyi and their role in Taoism, see "Keyi fangshu" 1'4
{i1Jf,jlj in Zhongguo daojiao I=j:l ed. Qing Xitai 4 vols. (Shanghai: Zhishi,
1994), vol. 3, pp. 161-176; and Chen Yaoting iltilioo;, "Daojiao de keyi neirong he qi lishi
fazhan" part 1 and 2, in Daojiao yili ed. Chen
Yaoting (Hong Kong: Qingsong guan Xianggang daojiao xueyuan, 2000), pp. 195-229.
On the relationship between the terms keyi and liyi, see Chen Yaoting, "Daojiao keyi he
zhongguo gudai liyi" in Daojiao yili, pp. 230-243.
76 The term yixiang includes three meanings: 1. moshi pattern, model, or
schema; 2. xingxiang image, form or figure; and 3. instruments of measurement for
observing astronomical phenomena (Hanyu dacidian 1-1704). With regard to the latter
sense, the "Astronomical Chapter" :;R:)(*J:: of the Jinshu records:
The Chunqiu wen yaogou says: "When the emperor Yao of Tang came to the
throne, Xi and He set up a spherical instrument of measurement (i.e., armillary
sphere)." Thus this corresponds to the establishment of astronomical instruments
of measurement (yixiang) which dates back to ancient time.
.fll:s'Oijt{i 0 J 0
Cf. trl. Ho Peng Yoke, The Astronomical Chapter of the Chin Shu (Paris: Mouton, 1962),
p. 59. This passage is clearly connected with the act of measuring performed by Xi and
He or Xihe, the officers charged by emperor Yao. As we will see, the term is used
for explaining the term Yuyi as the Palace of the Sun; see below, p. 384.
77 "The Path of the Prince" (]undao) in Xzmzi (quoted in Hanyu dacidian 1-1699/8).
See also the "Luli zhi xia" 1fM*T of the Hou Hanshu (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1965,
vol. 12, 3.3057) where we read:
When the computation of the calendar was born, the gnomon was erected to
measure the sun shadow. When the shadow is long, the sun is far. It was the
364 MONICA ESPOSITO
instrument for measuring the sun shadow and hence the celestial sphere, the
significance of the compound eryi or liangyi can be easily deduced.
Eryi or liangyi are the two cosmic rulers or regulators par excellence: the sun
and moon, emblems of Heaven and Earth and indicators of the celestial
computation of time. As is well-Imown, the term liangyi refers to the basic
strokes composing the 64 hexagrams of the Yijing, i.e., the full line Yang and
the broken line Yin.
78
As personification of that cosmic measuring, yi also
looms for e 9ft, both compounds forming the name of Changyi Shangyi Mj
(i.e., Changxi the mother of the twelve moons, and Chang'e
Heng' e tdl9ft the goddess of the moon.
79
As we have seen, the terms yu and yi are both connected with activities of
measuring, prognostication, exorcistic rituals, and New Year customs. While yu
symbolizes the spring season, the beginning of life, and rebirth, yi alludes to the
beginning of the calculation in degrees of the celestial sphere.

On the use of the gnomon and the measurement of the celestial sphere, see Ho Peng Yoke,
The Astronomical Chapter of the Chin Shu, pp. 49-66; Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation
in China, vol. 3: Mathematics and the Science of the Heaven and the Earth (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1959), pp. 224, 284 ff.; Christopher Cullen, "A Chinese
Eratosthenes of the Flat Earth: A Study of a Fragment of Cosmology in Huainanzi," inJohn
Major, Heaven and Earth in Early Han Thought (New York: State University of New York
Press, 1993), pp. 269-290; and Marc Kalinowski, "Le calcul du rayon celeste dans la
cosmographie chinoise," Revue d'histoire des sciences XLll (1990), pp. 5-34.
78 The combinations of the broken line Yin and the full line Yang form the Four
Symbols, i.e., Taiyang, Taiyin, Shaoyang, and Shaoyin; see the "Xici" of Yijing (Zhouyi
yizhu eds. Huang Shouqi and Zhang Shanwen Shanghai:
Shanghai guji, 1989), p. 556.
79 Hanyu dacidian 1-1700/17 and 1703. Yihuang or Ehuang refers to the
name of the wife of the Emperor Shun also identified with the emperor Jun, the father of
the ten suns and the twelve moons; see S. Allan, The Shape of the Turtle, pp. 33-34. On
the variants Changyi Shangyi Changxi for the name of the mother of the
twelve moons and related interpretations, see Henri Maspero, "Legendes mythologiques,"
pp. 15-16; and Bernhard Karlgren, "Legends and Cults in Ancient China," Bulletin of
The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 18 (1946), pp. 199-364, esp.266-67, n. 4.
Furthermore, the name of the mother of the twelve moons shows striking parallels with
Chang' e or Heng' e, the goddess of the moon; see R. Mathieu, Anthologie des mythes,
pp. 44-45, 55-56, and 89-90, and S. Allan, The Shape of the Turtle, p. 33. The same
goddess of the moon Chang'elHeng'e was later mixed with the figure of Jielin. In later
legends, her husband-the Archer Yi-figures as the Ruler of the Sun; see below,
pp. 383-384. It is worthwhile to mention that one also finds Jieyi instead of Jielin
(just after the immortal Yuyi). See the Yunfu qunyu (2.lOa, SKQS 951-31); the
section "Tang Yuyi Jielin lou" in the Yuhai 3iw (164.14a, SKQS 947-289) by Wang
Yinglin (1223-1296), mentioning two Tang storied-building pavilions of Jieyi *S
and Yuyi respectively west and east of the Taoist Linde Hall and the
Shuoliie mm& (1.6b, SKQS 964-347) where the Ming compiler Gu Qiyuan (1565-
1628) explains the interchangeable use of e -AA and yi for Chang'e
Changyi . See Appendix 3 (B), no. 8.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA 365
act of the establishment of the calendar by measuring, thanks to instruments such
as the gnomon, the sun shadow, and the celestial sphere. This act was performed
at the beginning of the year and joined with other methods of divination and
observation of astronomical and meteorological phenomena.
8o
Its profound
meaning lies, however, in the reproduction of the mythical act of the emperor
Yao who allegedly charged his officers Xi and He with "receiving the rising sun as
a guest," and "seeing off the setting sun." Besides regarding that act as an
inheritance of Shang worship for the rising and setting sun, I would like to
emphasize, above all, its lime with China's solar cult and its mythology.81 As we
are going to see, the memory of that ancient act lived on in Yuyi (and Jielin) lore
and in the name ofYuyi itself. But how should we translate the term Yuyi?
Edward Schafer proposed "Steaming Regalia." This translation is particularly
appropriate for rendering the idea of qi *" which is inherent in the term yu.
"Steaming" describes not only the lively movement of clouds, mist and vapors as
images of the effervescence of life but also refers to the boiling and hot vapors
characterizing fire, the emblem of the sun itself. The character yi is more complex.
It refers not only to the ruler or regulator (and its consort), but also to the act itself
of regulating or measuring (i.e., the rite and the resulting establishment of rules).
Furthermore, its final reproduction in the emblems, images or insignia are also
implied. We will come back to the question of translation at the end of this study
when we will see how the term Yuyi is interpreted by Xu Dao the Ming
compiler of the Lidai shen.,r:ian tongjian
3. The Character Jie *6 in Jielin
Like yi, the term jie is also connected with the idea of measurement: it indicates
the lmots made in a rope to count the passing of the time.
83
The Yijing records the
ancient custom of knotting cords to preserve the memory of things before the use
of written characters.
84
But the meaning of jie certainly is not limited to this. As the
magic of knots has been discussed in many studies, I will point here omy to two of
80 Derk Bodde, "The Chinese magic known as watching for the ethers," in Studia
Serica Bernhm-d Kadgren dedicata; Sinological studies dedicated to Bernhard Karlgren on his
seventieth birthday October Fifth, ed. Egerod, S0ren (Copenhagen: Ejnar Munksgaard,
1959), pp. 14-35.
81 See the interpretation by H. Maspero, "Legendes mythologiques."
82 This is narrated in the story "Heng'e qieyao ru changong ... " in Lidai shenxian tongjian
(Zhongguo shenxian da yanyi, vol. 1, p. 152). See the translation below, p. 383-384.
83 "The custom of counting both days and objects by tying lmots is found all over
the world. The Tibetan prayer-strings and the rosary are both forms of number-strings
on which the prescribed numbers of pious exercises is recorded in lmots. King Darius of
Persia gave his subjects a cord with 60 lmots tied into it when he set off on his attempt to
conquer ancient Greece; each day they were to untie one more lmot, and if he had not
returned by the time the last lmot was untied, they were no longer to wait for him." See
Karl Menninger, Number Words and Number Symbols - A Cultural History of Numbers
(New York: Dover Publications, 1969), p. 252.
84 "Xici" xia (Zhouyi yizhu, p. 573).
366 MONICA ESPOSITO
its characteristics which are also inherent in the lunar figure of Jielin: the exorcistic
and ofjie.
85
Both are implied in the concept of the regular cycle
of death an? life m nature and are well illustrated by the waxing and waning cycle of
the moon Itself. Jie may recall the exorcistic power of the ropes of Yu and Lii
of seizing inauspicious ghosts and releasing, at the same time, the promise
of rebirth of a fortunate New Year. 86 The magic of binding and unbinding is also
incorporated in the image of the "knots" of the embryo. These "knots" are the roots
of the mortal condition but, if untied (kaijie), usher in rebirth within an immortal
Sharing the meanings of "condensing or coagulating" (ningjie -*110, the
term mcludes other powers: it malces the celestial forces manifest on earth. Celestial
forces or gods descend to earth in the shape of the "knotting" of the primordial qi.88
In a comparable meaning, jie is also applied to the crystallization of halos or
rainbows by referring to the process of transformation of matter into light. In this
last association with light, the character jie merges with lin.
4. The Character Lin and its Variants
The character lin has many variants which have been discussed by the literati
over centuries. With the fish radical, the variant (fish-scales, scale-like) is
relate? to the world and consequently with the lunar world of Taiyin, the
domam of mythical fish and, generally, of all scaled creatures and thingS.89 As the
85. See, fO.r instance, Mircea Eliade, Images et symboles (Paris: Gallimard, 1979), pp. 120
ff. Ehade (Le chamanisme et les techniques a'J'Chai'ques de l'extase, Paris: Payot, 1951;
reprmt 1983, p. 328) remarks that certain aspects of the magic oflmots are associated with
shamanism and that the 'laces' and 'lmots' figure among the more specific attributes of the
gods of death in India, Iran, China, Oceania, etc.
86 On the exorcistic nature of binding in Zhou and Qin-Han beliefs see Donald
Chinese Demonography of the third century B.C.," Ha'rvard Journal of
Studtes 45 (1985), pp. 459-498, esp. 475. On the role of the ropes in the New Year
festivals see D. Bodde, Festivals in Classical China, p. 130 and notes above 68, 72 and 73.
On the pervasive significance of binding/unbinding in Japanese religion see Gunter
:'Shime Binding/Unbinding, An Investigation into the Origin of, and the
Relationships between, Human Building, Sign-Systems and Religious Beliefs in East
Asia, on the occasion of the 60
th
Renewal of the Sun and Food Gods at Ise in 1973 "
A'J'Chitectural Design XLrv.12 (1974), pp. 748-791. '
87 On the meaning of the lmots of the embryo see 1. Robinet, Meditation tao iste ,
chap. 5.
88 See Isabelle Robinet, "The Taoist Immortal: Jesters of Light and Shadow,
Heaven and Earth," Journal of Chinese Religions 13-14 (1986), pp. 87-105, esp. 98.
89 The term appears, for instance, in the description of the palace of Hebo Mis, the
god .of the Yellow river in the "Nine Songs" of the Chuci ("Chant of the River Earl," ttl.
DaVId Hawkes, The Songs of the South, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1985, p. 114):
"Of fish-scales his palace is, with a dragon scale hall; purple cowrie gate-towers; rooms
of pearl. And what does the god do, down there in the water?" ...
*'8' ..... On the theme of the aquatic world, the symbol of the fish and its
significance, see the article by Kim Daeyeol in this issue of the Cahiers d'Extreme-Asie. In
the SKQS there are 13 occurrences of this variant for Jielin.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA 367
apocrypha (chenwei) emphasize, it recalls the power of scales to transform into
magical characters or scriptures.
9o
Other variants are M (unicorn), which is
probably derived from a mix-up with the name of a Taoist temple, and
(neighboring, adjacent). The latter occurs most frequently in literary sources and
includes a quantity of meanings unrelated to our Jielin.
91
Another common
variant which is often used in the Taoist Canon is (luster or brilliance of jade),
a term closely related to the Taoist lunar figure ofJielin.
92
Edward Schafer translated Jielin as Knotted Spangles, a translation which
literally renders the meaning of jie and its value of magic lmots without ignoring
the luminous character and the possible association of Jielin with a scaled
creature. It is important to note that the variant lin (luster of jade) is
primarily used for expressing the quality of moonlight. The congealed light of
the opalescent gem illuminating, like a pale lantern, the nights of poets
dreaming of visiting its palace is a theme endlessly evoked in Chinese literature.
The beauty of the icy "Moon Fairy" (Yue'e )=J 9ft) ruling over a Palace of
Widespread Cold (guanghan gong accompanies hymns and accounts of
imaginary journeys to her frosted court.
93
In connection with this, there is a
curious account from a Peking opera inspired by a Tang story and narrating the
origin of the name Jielin.
94
In the following passage, Jielin enjoys the company
of other inhabitants of the moon:
90 In the Apocrypha the ttansInission of secret devices to the emperor includes the
Hetu being carried on the armor of the scaly creature: the dragon. This alludes to the
well-Imown story of the Diagram of the Yellow Dragon handed over to Huangdi: "A
yellow dragon carrying on its back the Diagram and whose scaly armor formed characters
emerged from the river and gave it to Huangdi" iii ' , tI:\ ' See
Longyu hetu (Yasui Kazan and Nakamura Shahachi !=f:!t1lf/\, eds., Isho
shzlsei 6 vols., Tokyo: Meitoku, 1971, vol. 6, p. 90/4).
91 In the SKQS there are 18 occurrences (in 14 texts) of the variant lin (unicorn)
related to Jielin. This variant appears in the section "Chang'an zhi" by Min Qiu fY!{
:1< of the Song (included in the Shuofu 61 shang.5a, SKQS 879-286, a compilation by
Tao Zongyi [1316-1369]). It likely is a mistake due to a mix-up with the Taoist
Linde dian M:tmimt, including the eastern and western storied-building (lou tI) ofYuyi and
Jielin; see the entry "Jielin Yuyi lou" in the Yonglu (4.11a/3-4, SKQS 587-
304), by Cheng Dachang (1123-1195); the "Tang YuyiJielin lou" in the
Yuhai (164.14a-b, SKQS 947-289) and the Tongya Jlli$t (11.16b-17a, SKQS 857-275) by
Fang Yizhi (1611-1671); see Appendix 3 (A). However, it may also allude to the
dangerous qilin who was supposed to eat the sun and the moon; see H. Maspero,
"Legendes mythologiques," p. 20. The variant has 344 occurrences (in 303 texts).
92 In the SKQS there are 134 occurrences (in 64 texts). For the Taoist Canon see
Appendix 1.
93 On the imagery of the moon in Tang literature, astronomy and poetry see
E. Schafer, Pacing the Void, pp. 171-210 and "Ways of Looking at the Moon Palace,"
Asia Major 1.1 (1988), pp. 1-13. For the images of the moon in the Shangqing legacy, see
1. Robinet, "Les randonnees extatiques."
94 I discovered this story in M. Soymie, "La lune dans les religions chinoises,"
Sozwces orientales V (Paris: Seuil, 1962), p. 307. See also below note 97.
368 MONICA ESPOSITO
After the emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji visited the Palace of the
Moon with Yang Taizhen and eavesdropped on the air "Rainbow skirts
and feathered clothes," the moon progressively lost its brightness.
95
For that
reason, Chang'e ordered Wu Gang the moon-restoring carpenter, to fix it.
But Wu declined saying that he was unable to. Then Chang'e demanded the
same of the toad and the jade rabbit. Finally, Wu Gang suggested to invite the
immortals of the moon, Song Wuji and Xiang Manshi JJ{!l1iJi, the Old
Man of the Moon FI and the Celestial Flowers Scattering Maidens lft::ftJ(:!;(
to repair the moon through their magic powers.
96
Song performed a sword dance
for harmonizing the vapors, Xiang danced with the sword adorned with bells to
level the hollows and the bumps, and the Old Man of the Moon made the dance
of ropes for establishing the rules while the Celestial Maidens scattered flowers
to aid the light. The toad emitted an unceasing light and the rabbit pounded the
elixir of immortality, and finally the moonlight regained its full radiance. Thus,
the Jade Emperor conferred upon Chang'e the title Jielin zhenfei or
Perfected Princess of Bundled Luster.
97
Fl1fJfJl5m '
; FI
JJ{!l1iJi' FI 0 FI;f3

0
According to this story the term Jielin (Bundled Luster) is the title conferred by
the Jade Emperor upon Chang' e, the goddess of the moon. It alludes to the
renewal of the moonlight and the re-establishment of its radiant corona.
After this brief summary, the question still remains: who are Yuyi and Jielin?
Are they simply esoteric names for the sun and moon? Do they refer to the names
of ancient gods or immortals, or do they harbor further secret meanings?
Yuyi andJielin: Who are they?
In the Taoist Canon there are no more than a few passages dealing with the
identity ofYuyi and Jielin. The locus classicus is the commentary by Liangqiu zi
li-=f(fl. 710-711) to the Huangting neijing (section 26 "Gaoben" in
95 This alludes to the Minghuang you yuegong ' (The Journey of Emperor
Ming to the Moon Palace), a theme of fiction inspiring the "Wanderings to the moon";
see M. Soymie, "La lune," pp. 308-314; E. Schafer, "Ways of Looking at the Moon
Palace," pp. 4-13, and Alfredo Cadonna, "'Astronauti' taoisti da Chang'an alIa luna:
Note suI manoscritto di Dunhuang S 6836 alla luce di alcuni lavori di Edward Schafer,"
01'ientalia Venetiana 1 (Volume in onore di Lionello Lanciotti, Firenze: Leo S. Olschld
1984), pp. 69-132. On the references given for the present story, see note 97.
96 On these inhabitants of the moon see R. Mathieu, Anthologie des mythes, pp. 54-59;
M. Soymie, "La lune," pp. 302-307; and A. Birrell, Chinese Mythology, pp. 144-145.
97 "You yangxiuyue" inJingjujumu chutan ed. Tao Junqi
ifll (Shanghai: Shanghai wenhua, 1957), p. 127. This story is said to come from the Yiwen
lu by an anonymous Tang author, and from the poetic drama You yang xiuyue
by Shu Wei \%f{ft of the Qing.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA 369
which Yuyi and Jielin appear as Immortals who flew to the sun and moon. This
explanation comes just after the following stanza:
Soaring up high to the sun and moon is our supreme path,
Yuyi and Jielin kindly provide mutual protection.
98
8 FI :g , 0
Liangqiu zi comments by saying:
Yuyi is the immortal who soared up to the sun; Jielin is the immortal who soared
up to the moon.
99
8 ;L {W ' FI ;L {W 0
Other passages mention Yuyi and Jielin among appellations for the sun and moon:
Donghua zhenren calls the sun: Purple Dazzling Light (ziyaoming
Another name is Round Pearl (yuanzhu It is also referred to as Initial Glow
(shihui or Great Brigthness (taiming -*131'1). Others also say that the name of
the sun is Yuyi and the name of the moon Jielin.
10o


But they are also regarded as the germinal spirits (jingshen of these two
heavenly bodies:
Yuyi is the germinal spirit of the Great Yang (i.e., the sun) and Jielin the
germinal spirit of the Great Yin (i.e., the moon).101

In the majority of Taoist occurrences listed in Appendix 1,102 the identity ofYuyi
98 YJQQ 12.7a-8a, and Taishang Huangting neijing yujing (CT 331)
9al7-8.
99 YJQQ 12.8a/4. The commentary by Liangqiu zi is also found in the Huangting
neijing yujing zhu (CT 401), 3.5a-b, in the Xiuzhen shishu (CT
273), 57.1a-b, and in the Daoshu(CT 1017), 8.lOal7-1O-lOb/5. For the latter, see the
article by Farzeen Baldrian-Hussein in this issue of the Cahiers d'Extreme-Asie.
100YJQQ 21.13bl2-4. This list includes the appellations for the sun in different
heavens and according to various Perfected. This passage is attributed to the commentary
of the Dadong zhengjing see WSBY 3.2a-3b Gohn Lagerwey, Wu-shang pi-
yao, Somme taoi'ste du VIe siecle, Paris: Ecole fran<;aise d'Extreme-Orient, 1981, p. 72); cf.
Shangqing dadong zhenjing (CT 6), 2.7b/4-5 and 5.24a/8 and Zhen'gao (CT
1016), 9.24b-25a. Poets have also sung of the beauty of sun and moonlight in the name
of Yuyi and Jielin. The famous Tang poet Wu Yun (?-778) sings: "The Three
Palaces emit luminous phosphors; So brilliant that they are equal to Yuyi" M
!fflIRJIMi; "Chant Three" in Quantang shi translated by Edward H. Schafer, "Wu Yun,"
p. 399. The same poem is also included in the Zongxuan xiansheng wenji
(CT 1051), 2.31a/8. See Appendix l(C), no. 11.
101 From the gloss in the Shangxuan gaozhen yanshou chishu (CT 877,
la/I) which is inserted in the title of the first chapter "Yu(yi) and Gie)lin soaring up
forth" (Yu Lin qianben
102 In order to understand what Yuyi (and Jielin) refer to in the Taoist Canon, I have
370 MONICA ESPOSITO
and Jielin merges with the eponymous texts and the secret methods to which their
names refer: the flight to the sun and the moon, the absorption of solar and lunar
vapors, and the invocation of solar and lunar cloudsouls.103 In essence, Yuyi and
Jielin are seen as embodiments of the luminous power of the sun and moon disks
13 J3 g whose auspicious haloes contain and emit prodigious vapors. 104
In the illustrations to the Witshang santian Yutang zhengzong gaoben neijing
yushu (CT 221),105 Yuyi and Jielin are depicted as
sun and moon disks with which the Taoist adept unifies (see Fig. 2).106 Before
his body can emit the same light as these two heavenly bodies, the adept has to
perform specific visualizations and invocations. Following ritualized sequences,
Yuyi and Jielin appear to the adept in the garb of the Rulers of the sun and
moon to whom he pays his morning and evening respects (chaobai Yuyi
chaobai Jielin see Fig. 3 and 4); they also take the form of luminous
gods within the disks with a mandorla-halo for the sun, and a radiant beam-halo
for the moon (see Fig. 5).107
In the form of sun and moon disks or symbols of rulers and luminous gods
with which the adept identifies himself, Yuyi and Jielin embody the energy of
these two heavenly bodies. As talismans, Yuyi and Jielin function as magic
collected various passages where these terms occur. I arranged them in the following
categories: (a) Title of texts; (b) the Method of Yuyi and Jielin and its resulting benefits;
(c) Yuyi and Jielin as Emblems (hypostatization of sun and moon, immortals or spirits of
these two heavenly bodies). My thanks to Professor Kunio Mugitani for his advice.
103 In the commentary by Liangqiu zi to the Huangtingjing, the method "for soaring
up high to the sun and moon" is said to refer to the method of "swallowing the solar and
lunar vapors" (tun riyue qifa :tf B Ji *t$); see YJQQ 12.7b and YJQQ 11.51a. This
method is well illustrated by the 16- and 24-character formulae.
104 As we will see in the second part of this study, these vapors have a very special
meaning. See also Appendix l(C).
105 This text is a late amplification of the Jade Hall ritual legacy (Yutang dafa of
Lu Shizhong (fl. 1100-1158). It was allegedly revealed in 1120 and contains a re-
elaboration of the original Shangqing version of the Yuyi and Jielin rites (1.1 a-2 Ob); see Judith
M. Boltz, "Notes on the Daozang tiyao," China Review International 1.2 (1994), pp. 1-33. On
the Yutang dafa legacy see Judith Boltz, Survey, pp. 36-37 and Lowell Skar, "Ritual
Movements, Deity Cults and the Transformation of Daoism in Song and Yuan Times," in
DaoislJZ Handbook, ed. Livia Kohn (Leiden: Brill, 2000), pp. 413-463, esp. 440-442.
106 Wushang santian Yutang zhengzong gaoben neijing yushu (CT 221), 1.18a-b, and also
note 108.
107 Wushang santian Yutang zhengzong gaoben neijingyushu (CT 221), 1.7a-9b and 1.16a-
18a. The image of a flaming almond-shaped aureole is well attested in Buddhist art during
the Six Dynasties, and is connected with the representation of sunlight in lotus form; see
Ernesta Marchans, "The development of the aureole in China in the Six Dynasties
Period," Oriental Art, XX. 1 (1974), pp. 66-74, esp. 66. It is interesting to compare the flow
of radiant beam-halo encircling the goddess of the moon in Fig. 5b with the portrayal of
the Queen Mother of the West in the Shangqing lingbao dafa, and the related meaning of its
Metallic energy giving birth to Water; see John Lagerwey, Taoist Ritual in Chinese Society
and Hist01Y (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987), pp. 40-42.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA 371
Fig. 2: The Solar and Lunar Disks
Fig. 2a: from Fig. 2b: from
(CT221, 1.9b). (CT221, U8a).
Fig. 3: Paying Homage to Yuyi
Fig. 3a: from Fig. 3b: from
(CT 221, 1.6a). (CT 221, 1.7a).
372
MONICA ESPOSITO
Fig. 4: Paying Homage to JieUn
Fig. 4a: from
(CT 221, USa).
Fig. 4b: from ;!!\U:':::'3I:
(CT 221, U6b).
Fig. 5: The Luminous Sun and Moon Gods
Fig. Sa: from 1!ltl:::':::'31:
(CT 221, 1.8b-9a).
Fig. Sb: t$:7'{;1!ltl:::J.illti1l:i*J:ft from 1lIJ::':::'3I:
(CT 221, U7a).
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA
373
"magnets" capable of attracting and, at the same time, of mastering the solar
and lunar beams.
lOs
Yuyi is thus said to "attract the essence of the sun" (yin
rijing 51 while Jielin "summons the moon god" (zhi yzteshen t$).109 The
Hoztsheng daojztn lieji (CT 442, Sa/2-3) adds:
All those who revere Yuyi for the purpose of summoning the sun and make
offerings to Jielin to subdue the moon ( ... ) will be ranked Immortal Dukes of the
Left and Right and Grand Officers of the Left and Right.
110
B ' ... 0
The adept who obtains the Yuyi and Jielin scriptures, that is their methods,
comes to embody their power: he can summon the sun and the moon, he can fly
to them and transform himself into light. Finally, he becomes an Immortal and
attains the rank of Perfected of the Shangqing.
111
By such excerpts from texts in the Taoist Canon one can see that Yuyi and
Jielin not only function as magical appellations for the sun and moon but also
represent their animating force: they personify the vital principle of the solar and
lunar bodies, that is to say, their cloudsouls. This explains why Yuyi and Jielin
often exhibit their eponymous method of activating luminous and talismanic
energy. As divine representations of the latter, they symbolize the apotheosis of all
immortals who flew to the sun and moon and transformed into gods or luminous
spirits of these two heavenly bodies. As images of the sun and moon inside the
body, they also mirror the eyes and their power.
1l2
Indeed, in a curious Ming story,
Yuyi and Jielin figure as two goblins (ergzti =:*) appointed by the Celestial
Emperor to protect the eyes of Pangu Yuyi is portrayed on his daily sidereal
journey as grasping the three-legged raven with his hands, and activating the fire
disk with his foot. Conversely, Jielin is depicted jumping on the back of the toad
and riding on the floating clouds along the luminous Milky way. 113
108 In the Wushang santian Ylltang zhengzong gaoben neijing yushu (CT 221, 1.2b-18a),
the images are flanked by corresponding talismans.
109 YJQQ 23.5b/3 and 105.21b/4; CT 1377, 16b/6; CT 1404, lOb/3; and CT 435, 2a/7.
110 Cf. the translation by S. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, pp. 348-349. In this
passage Yuyi and Jielin embody the power of talismans (cf. Zhen'gao CT 1016, 5.4a/10).
Concerning the ranks of the Immortals and their division in the government office of the
Left and Right, the Zhen'gao (5.5a) says: "The Immortal Dukes or Perfected are those
who, after having obtained the Hidden Mushroom of the Taiji, ingest it"
z' Conversely, "those who ingest the Golden Elixir become
Grand Officers"
111 On the fusion of the adept with the sun and moon see 1. Robinet, Meditation
taoiSte, pp. 296-298 [trl. pp. 198-200]. For the benefits resulting from the practice ofYuyi
and Jielin, see Appendix l(B).
112 For an explanation of Yuyi and Jielin as apotheosis of all immortals flying to the
sun and moon; see the Wushang santian Yutang zhengzong gao ben neijing yushu (CT 221),
1. la-b. On the role played by the sun and moon in the body as manifestation of Yang
and Yin, see 1. Robinet, Meditation taoiSte, p. 282 [trl. pp. 187-188]. See also Kata Chie,
"Shinka ni okeru nichigetsu ron to sono shilhen."
113 This story entitled Ergui =* is included in the Chengyi Eo wenji
374
MONICA ESPOSITO
The Flying Immortals and their Prodigious Metamorphosis
. As the works by Edward Schafer have amply demonstrated, "Chinese
be fully only by those who share the Chinese poets'
IntImacy WIth. the and their delight in Taoist imagery.,,114 It is
thanks to the lIteratI s appreCIatIon for Taoism that the imagery ofYuyi and Jielin
on Poets and writers provide, on the basis of Taoist references, rich
InformatIOn about the personalities of Yuyi and Jielin. One of their favorite
is Yuyi.andJielin as "immortals flying to the sun and moon." As proof of
theIr ImmortalIty, men of letters from the Song to the Qing dynasty quote the
the Huangtingjing together with the following fragment from the
QtshengJ1 115
The Red Script ofYuhua dwells in the sun. The Yellow Script ofJielin dwells
in the moon.
116
fi.t. B /PJJ5' fi.t.FJ /PJJ5 0
In Y uhua-the "essence of the sun" -figures as a variant of Yuyi,
while JIelin represents "the essence of the moon" (Yuhua rijing, Jielin yuejing B
1225-2531255) compiled by Liu Ji of the Ming, and in the
Mmgsht zong (3.27b-31a, SKQS 1459-214/216) by Zhu Yizun (1629-1709).
114 From "In Memoriam Edward Schafer" by Anna Seidel in Cahiers d'Extreme-Asie 5
(1989-90), p. 458.
1.15 The final character ji for the Qisheng ji is quoted in the SKQS as or *2.. In the
Canon there are two texts similarly entitled: Shangqing qisheng xuanji jing
(C! 1361), and Shangqingyudi qisheng xuanji huitian jiuxiao jing
(CT 1368). Unfortunately, the passage quoted here does not appear in any of
On these. two see I. Robinet, La revelation du Shangqing, pp. 225-228. A
sImIlar passage IS found m YJQQ 7.12a/3-4; see Appendix l(B), no. 17. For a list of
Canon excerpts in the SKQS, see Appendix 2(A).
For this fragment, see the Taiping yulan *.ljZ1mJJJI, 3.4b (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
1963, p. 15), and the Hailu suishi (section "Tianbu shang" 3($1: in the entry
"Yuhua Jielin" 1.6a, SKQS 921-7) by Ye Tinggui (fl. 1149). Some authors
from the the Qing quote. the same fragment but as coming from the Jizhi ji
a Song compIlatIOn by Wang ZIshao (mentioned in the Shuofu 32 xia.8a-9a,
SKQS 877-717); see also Appendix 2(A). The expressions chiwen iffix.. and huangwen Jiltx..
both refer to the image of "celestial patterns or celestial signs" of the sun and moon and to
their subsequent into In the Yitanshi wuliang durenjing sizhu (CT
87, 2 .. 6a-b) term chtwen IS as chishu or Red Script. It is allegedly
assocIated wIth red vapors commg from the sublimation of jade characters in the
Dongyang palace (Palace of the Sun Grotto, i.e., the sun disk). It is there that the
true red (chishu zhenwen were formed (iffix.., 0 fmi
... 0). It is also
Impor:ant to that. red and yellow are the two colors associated with sunlight and
moonlIght. On this subject see the Mingtang xuanzhen method of visualization of the sun
and moon in the Zhen'gao 9.18a (quoted by Kamitsuka Yoshiko Rikucho dokvo p. 57) and
I R b
"L d ' 'J , ,
. 0 met, es ran onnees extatiques," pp. 166-167.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA 375
m' m).117 YuhuaIYuyi and Jielin are also spelled out as "the names of the
gods of the sun and moon" (jie riyue zhi shen ming B fLLt$1j)Ys As is well
lmown, Yuhua zi is one of the appellations of Laozi at the time of Fuxi,119
and YuyilYuhua may allude to an ancient representation of Laozi as a solar god.
120
In spite of that, this affiliation does not emerge fully in the sources here analyzed
but can be discerned in some excerpts from the Taoist Canon. Y uhua shows up as
charioteer of the flying dragons carrying Zhongyang Huanglaojun in his ride on
the clouds of the Three Immaculates One
117 Taipingyulan, 3.4b.
118 Hailu suishi, 1.6a.
119 See the Hunyuan shengji (CT 570, 1.7a/4) quoted by Anna Seidel, La
divinisation de Lao Tseu dans Ie taoi'sme des Han (Paris: Ecole frans;aise d'Extreme-Orient,
1992; pt ed., 1969), p. 65, n. 3. The figure of Laozi-Yuhua associated with Fuxi, the
Emperor of the East, alludes to the image of the rising sun; see Marc Kalinowski,
Cosmologie et divination dans la Chine ancienne (Paris: Ecole frans;aise d'Extreme-Orient,
1991), p. 391. Yuhua is also an abbreviation for Yulianhua the style name of the
lunar consort of the Solar White Emperor invoked in the 24-character formula for the
moon; see the Lingshu ziwen (CT 631, 6b-7a, trl. S. Bokenlcamp, Early Daoist Scriptures,
p. 319). One may speculate that the Shangqing texts opted for Yuyi instead ofYuhua so as
not to confuse Yuyi-Yuhua with the lunar consort of the Emperor of the West. On the
other hand, it may refer to a previous identity of Yuhua as a woman (see below note 121).
Henri Maspero ("Legendes mythologiques," pp. 21-23) already speculated on the early
female identity of the sun god, while Stephen Bokenkamp, in this issue of the Cahiers
d'Extreme-Asie, has dealt with the prior career of Laozi as a woman. Furthermore, the term
yuhua appears coupled with langgan as prodigious elixirs made from the efflorescence
of sun and moon, see Shangqingjiutian shangdi zhu baishen neimingjing 1:m1L3(1:1iffJLsf$
(CT 1360, 6a19). Finally, the term is also included in the title of two collections of
poems: Yuhua ge yishi and Yithua ge ci see Qingshi gao yflf9:m (Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 1977), vol. 15, 148-4398/12 and 148-442113.
120 This may be seen in the relationship between Huangdi and Laozi. On these two
figures, see A. Seidel, La divinisation de Lao Tseu, pp. 50-58. On the figure of Huangdi as
sun god, see He Xin, Zhushen, esp. chap. 1,2 and 4.
121 Jiuzhen zhongjing (CT 1376), 1.2a11 and WSBY (CT 1138), 19.1bl7. The role of
Yuhua as charioteer reminds us of a similar passage from the
second or third century BCE attributed to a commentary on the Huainanzi and included in
the Taiping yulan 3.5a (cf. H. Maspero, "Legendes mythologiques," pp. 11-12, n 4, and
Michael Loewe, Ways to Pm"{fdise, p. 52). This alludes to the dragon chariot of the sun god
Dongjun *tl featured in the Jiuge ("Dongjun," trl. D. Hawkes, The Songs of the South,
pp. 112-113) and related, in the commentary on the Huainanzi, to Xihe; see Guan Donggui
"Zhongguo gudai shiri," pp. 292-293. Maspero identified Dongjun as the sun goddess; see
the translation and interpretation by H. Maspero on "Dongjun" ("Legendes mythologiques,"
pp. 21-23). According to He Xin (Zhushen, chap. 4, pp. 66-67), who refers to the Han tomb
mural reproduction entitled "Huangdi xuntian tu" the image depicts the sun as
Huangdi riding in a cloud carriage harnessed to six dragons under the control of Xihe. As we
will see below, Xihe, the mother of the ten suns and its charioteer as well, is the alter ego of
YuhuaIYuyi. Beside the reference to YuhuaIYuhua zi as one of the appellations ofLaozi, the
literati refer to Lord or Immortal Yuhua as the coachman of the sun chariot
376
MONICA ESPOSITO
may speculate that this connection belongs to a stratum of older legends associated
with Yuyi (and Jielin). This would be supported by the fact that the above
fragment attributed to the Qishengji is no longer present in the actual texts of the
Taoist Canon. We will deal with this subject in the second part of this study. Here,
the aim is to show what Yuyi and Jielin represented in the minds of the literati.
As in the myth of Chang' e who flew to the moon and was transformed into a
toad, the literati, by means of these two passages from the Qisheng ji and the
Huangtingjing, emphasize a comparable metamorphosis.
122
Like the goddess of the
moon Chang'e, Yuyi and Jielin are the immortals who soared up to the sun and
moon and were transformed there so as to become the "essences" or the rulers of
these two heavenly bodies. They are luminous vapors of souls, spirits or gods of
the sun and moon. Yuyi is associated with the solar cloudsoul (rihun and is
named "Germinal Spirit of Cloudsouls" (hunpo jingshen 123 while Jielin is
harnessed to six dragons, alluding to the passages of the Chuci and Huainanzi; see "Huzhou
wukang xian Yuanying miao ji" in the Dongtangji (9. 15a-b, SKQS
1123-808) by Mao Pang =fsm (1055?-1120?), and the ''Jishi'' NP$ 7 in the Bianshan xiaoyin
yinlu (2.26a, SKQS 1205-40) by Huang Jie of the Yuan. But there is also a
passage mentioning the Immortal Yuhua on the sun chariot driven by Xihe; see "Zashi"
9, in the Henglujingshe zanggao (3.3b, SKQS 1287-244) by the Ming compiler
Hu Zhi ii,ijI. On the famous journey of the sun on its six dragons see also the ''Far-off
journey" (trl. D. Hawkes, The Songs o/the South, pp. 167-168).
122 See the section "Benyue" in the Weiltie (6.3b, SKQS 852-315) by Gao
Sisun i'l?ifWf* of the Song; the section "Tang Yuyi Jielin lou" in the Yuhai J5.W
(164.14a-b, SKQS 947-289) by Wang Yinglin :EJJ!M (1223-1296); and the section
"Chang'an zhi" in the Shuofu (61 shang.5a, SKQS 879-286). On the story of the
flight of Chang'elHeng'e to the moon see also A Birrell (Chinese Mythology, pp. 144-145)
who emphasizes that the motif of the toad denotes "immortality because of the toad's
sloughing off of its skin and its apparent rebirth." In the section "Tianwen" xX of the
Tongya 5mH (11.16a-b, SKQS 857-275), Fang Yizhi (1611-1671) remarks that
"soaring up to the moon (benyue) means reducing the body to ashes (benrou)," the meaning
of the story of the theft of the drug of immortality by Chang' elHeng' e and her escape to the
moon refers to the process of rebirth or regeneration through the melting of her body's
ashes with the drug of immortality, but "posterity wrongly held that Heng'e herself rushed
to the moon" 0 ... PJ%1l1: of&i:!t
1+ 0). In the section "Jielin Chang'e" of the Yuzhi tang tanhui
(18.27a-29b, esp. 29a, SKQS 883-426/427), Xu Yingqiu of the Ming, by quoting the
Lingxian mill, also deals with the metamorphosis of Chang'e into a toad and tries to
understand why the latter was regarded as an Immortal in the moon ( ...
0 jj 0 A , 0 jj J:f:1{w- 0 ... ).
123 Jingshen HM$ stands for jingshen see Tongya (section "Tianwen," 11.31a-b/6,
SKQS 857-273). In the section "Shenti," gra, the term hunpo jingshen is said to
stand for Yuyi (18.3a/l, SKQS 857-391), while the term hzmpo "or yingpo represents the
transformation of the vapors of the germinal spirits" 0 (18.2b/5;
cf. Huainanzi 7.99 quoted by Fabrizio Pregadio in this issue of the Cahiers, p. 104). As
symbols of the cosmic transformation of Yin and Yang, "the po are the spirits of essences,
while the hun are the spirits of vapors" 0 (18.3al7). Furthermore,
the text points to the provenience of the graph and pronunciation of the term hun from
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA
377
called "Lunar Enchantress" (yuemei fJ ms).124 The "magnetic" beauty of the lunar
goddess has not only reduced poets to and longing for her,125 but has
also been the source of doubts on her realldennty:
After Chang' e soared up to the moon, the archer Yi was so sad that he fell ill.
The night of the 14th of the 1
st
lunar month, a lad suddenly came to .meet him at
his palace and said: "Tomorrow is the night of the full moon: take flour and
make a ball like the moon, and place it in the north-west before calhng the name
of your wife. 126 During the third night she will descend."
2.1&' 0 lEfJ B J1J fJ [JiI
0 0 0 J
As is to be expected, Chang'e descended to visit Archer Because she appeared
in her usual enchanting aspect, the text concludes by saymg:
Today it is said that in the moon there is Chang'e but this is a great mistake.
There is indeed a ruler in the moon, but it is Jielin and not Chang' e.127
fJ 0 q:t 0
Jielin as Chang'e and the Seasonal Meetings with Yuyi
Such doubts aside, the personalities of Chang' e and Jielin ended up being
confused. Like Chang' e who descended on the third night of the full moon at the
call of her husband, Jielin, on specific days of the month, appears at the call of
yun (clouds; 18.2b-3all). This is why I prefer to use the for hun and
vapors for the term qi *to Indeed, in the context of the. YuyI and Jlelm rItes, both
allude to solar and lunar luminous vapor-clouds that are mgested by the Shangqmg adept.
For a development of this theme see the second part of this study. .
124 Section "Yuyi Jielin rihunyuemei" B (also yuewang jj Ill) In
Sheng'an ji (74.7b-8b, SKQS 1270-7321734) by Yang by
alluding to the poem "Meishi" #ii* by Wang Wang
1021-1086). Here it is quoting the commentary by LlangqlU Zl to the Huangttngjmg on
the method of ingesting solar and lunar vapors; see Appendix 2 (A), no. 7.
125 The extraordinary beauty of Chang' e was abundantly evoked in the "Wanderings
to the moon"; see M. Soymie, "La Lune," pp. 308-314 and Edward Schafer, "Ways of
Looking at the Moon Palace."
126 The date of the 15
th
day of the first lunar month matches of the
Festival. For that occasion since it comes, like so many Chinese festivals, at the time of
the full moon, it is celebrated, among other things, with the preparation of the so-called
yuanxiao 5i;F'f (cake especially eaten at that See. trl.",Annual
and Festivals in Peking as recorded in the Yen-chtng, SZll-shth-cht (Hong Kong.
Hong Kong University Press, 1965), pp. 6-24, esp. p. 8. The preparation of a moon
round cake (yuebing jj jif) also called tuanyuan bing (full moon cake) marks the
Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival (15
th
day of the eight lunar month) as well; see
D. Bodde, Annual Customs, pp. 64-68 and Xing Li, Tianshen zhi mi, pp. 91-92.
127 "Jielin Chang'e" (Yuzhi tantang hui, 18.28a-b, SKQS 883-427). See also the
"Sanyu tie" (Shuofu 32 xia.25a-b, SKQS 877-725) and the Guangbo wuzhi
(1.37a-b, SKQS 980-20).
378
MONICA ESPOSITO
Fig. 6: The Constellations of the Oxherd and Weaver flaniced by the Sun and Moon Disks
From a stone relief in Mt. Xiaotang's shrine Shandong.
those who her esoteric name.
128
The lunar myths associated with Chang' e
onJIelm, an? by on his mate Yuyi. The toad and the jade hare
poun?mg the drug of Immortality become the companions ofYuyi as well.
129
LIke the Oxherd and the Weaving Maiden, or the Queen Mother of the West
and the Royal Lord of the Eas.t, .Yuyi her beloved on the seventh night
of seventh lunar month (qlXl t37; see FIg. 6).130 As in the myth of the seasonal
of the two Yang and Yin astral forces of east and west, Yuyi, the spirit of
Talyang (sun), encounters the spirit of Taiyin (moon).l31 The astral palaces
of the east. and (dongxl ergong *iZS = ,)132 have their correspondence on
earth: YUyI and JIehn match the Taoist Palaces of the east and west built in
memory of auspicious omens:
The palaces and halls took their names from auspicious astronomical
omens. ThIS IS also the meaning of [the Palaces of] Sun and Moon Coronas.
128 S th . f th
ee e mvocatIon 0 e lunar souls and lunar ladies in Lingshu ziwen shangjing
6b-8b: trl. S. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, pp. 319-322).
. See, for mstance, the poems entitled "Yueyan" J=l E and "Guizhishu xingwei
Llgong yushou mu full in Taiquanji (3.9b-l0a and 5.22b
SKQS 1273-317/318 and 343) by Huang Zuo (1490-1566).
130 "Qixi wei dier ri:' (in the Shiwujia ci +E*aff] 23.4a, SKQS
1494-316) by the Qmg compiler Sun Mo It sings of the meeting between Yuyi and the
wife of the Archer Yi, emblem of the sun and moon, to the tunes of the well-Imown legend of
the encounter of the two constellations of the Oxherd and the Weaver. However here it takes
place on the second day after the liqizt lrf;k. The same motif of this seasonal meeting is found
m the the Queen Mother of the West with the emperor Wu of the Han, and
mu D?ngfang gong. See M. Loewe, Ways to Paradise, pp. 86-126 and the
work on tOpIC by Kominami Ichir6 Seiobo to tanabata densho J!9.:E-aJ:c
(Tokyo: Helb?n sha, 1991). My thanks to Professor Kominami for giving a copy of
tb!s FIg. 6 traced .by himself based from the ink rubbing of the the stone relief from Mt.
Xiaotang and also mcluded in his book, p. 23. See also below notes 131 and 134
131 Th' . .
.. IS. encoun:.er IS also narrated in the story "Heng'e qieyao ru changong ... " in
L,da, tongJlan (Zhongguo shenxian da yanyi, vol. 1, pp. 151-152) in which the
protagomsts are the Archer Yi, god of the sun, and his beloved Chang' e goddess of the
moon. More on this story below pp. 383-384. '
132 '
. A!so emblems of and Ximu; see above notes 27, 28 and 29. For Yuyi
and Jlelm as of TaOIst palaces, halls or pavilions see "Tang Yuyi Jielin lou"
(Yuhal 3iw, 164.14a-b, SKQS 947-289); "Liudian daming gong tu" t\JI4::kBJJ??;1I
(Yonglu. 3.21, SKQS 587-289) mentioning See also
AppendIX 3 (A), nos. 11-15.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA
379
Thus, these two Palaces [ofYuyi and Jielin] consequently took [their name] from
all immortals who soared up to the sun and moon.133

a
The appearance of auspicious haloes of the sun and moon is a heavenly sign
announcing, among other things, the birth of future immortals and the eternal
renewal of cosmic energy.134 The regular astral meetings of Yin and Yang that
preserve the rhythm of the cosmos and re-establish its order are sung in "the
marriage of Yuyi and Jielin while stabilizing the pillars of the giant turtle at
Kunlun" As emblem of the constant rebirth in the
world of nature and the attainment of the immortality, the spring renewer Yuyi
is invoked at the New Year rites of Welcoming the year (yingnian Jill&f.) and at
the Great exorcism (danZto ::kit) to see it Off.136
Finally, the two key moments of dawn and dusk loom from the distant
133 "Jielin Yuyi lou" (Yonglu 4.11a/6-8, SKQS 587-304).
134 The conjunction of the sun and moon announces the beginning of spring and
everything connected with that. This is well illustrated by the Yuyi rite; see the second
part of this study. It is not by chance that the conjunction of the sun and moon disks
(Tiyue bebi B J=l appears in the representation of the meeting of the Oxherd and
Weaver. See the stone relief from Mt. Xiaotang's shrine Shandong; here fig.
6), and that of Nanyang both dating back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220), in
Kominami, Seiobo to tanabata densbo, pp. 23-24.
135 See the liturgical song entitled "Tianshi liugong fanzhen kongdong buxu ci shizhang
yi daoyou" included in the QingJ"ong jusbi ji
(4.9b-llb, SKQS 1203-49/50) by Yuan Jiao (1266-1327). This verse alludes to the
myth of Niigua repairing the damaged cosmos by severing the feet of a giant sea turtle in
order to set the four poles of the earth. On this legend see A. Birrell, Chinese Mythology, pp.
69-72. Such images evoked by the Taoist master for guiding his astral journey are still
connected with the myth of seasonal meetings and allude to the maintenance of the cosmic
order, the process of rebirth and attainment of immortality on the cosmic Kunlun tree of
the Queen Mother of the West; see Kominami, SeiobO to tanabata, pp. 144-186.
136 For the association with the yingnian illl1f (which seems to refer to the better lmown
yingshi "welcoming the seasons" or ying sbiqi "welcoming the vapors of the
seasons") see the annotations by Shi Rong to the poem "Yujing xuan" 3i*ij!f in the
collection Shanglt waiji shizhu (9.1b, SKQS 1114-361) by Huang Tingjian
(1045-1105). For the association ofYuyi with the Great exorcism danuo (fJ.i$Tfie'
B a , ... ), see "Qunuo xing" in the Yuzhi shiji chuji
(11.26a, SKQS 1302-23 5), compiled under orders of the emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-
1795). On these two important New Year festivals see D. Bodde, Festivals in Classical China,
pp. 75-138 and 192-200. It is interesting to note that the references to these two festivals
match the idea of "welcoming the rising sun" as the image of the beginning of spring or
beginning of the New Year, and "seeing off the setting sun" as the image of the end of the
year and festivals related to it (i.e., equinoctial sacrifices). One can also see an allusion to
the two nature festivals of mid-winter and mid-summer associated with "the concept of the
annual cycle of birth, decay and rebirth"; see M. Loewe, Ways to Paradise, p. 88.
380
MONICA ESPOSITO
Shang past of Dongmu and Ximu into the Taoist present ofYuyi and Jielin. As
the time of dawn and dusk when "Yuyi is absorbed and Jielin is gathered" Iji,g!)&
if!ij;/3't. 137 th th . h fl th l'
' /' /1'-11'1:1 H'f, ey represent e ng t moment to y to e two ummaries
and pay homage to the rising sun and setting moon:
In the Golden Heaven, I visit the Mother of the West (Ximu) and in the Purple
Abode, I have audience with the Jade Perfected (Yuzhen). At dawn, I saunter up to
the Glistening Net (yaoluo, i.e., the sun),138 at dusk I refresh myself by the Bundled
Luster Gielin, i.e., the moon).139
0 !lfJ3mHNPi&, 0
The multiple allusions to the role ofYuyi and Jielin as equinoctial symbols that are
ultimately embodied in the Taoist rite of ingestion at dawn and dusk
show that, in the mind of the literati, Yuyi and Jie1in are Taoist
reformulations of East and West spirits. From the Taoist perspective, the
participation of Yuyi and Jielin in the Five-Agent scheme-displayed in the
eponymous rite and personified by the Five solar emperors and Five lunar 1adies-
confirms their association with the tutelary gods of East and West. 141 Furthermore,
as the antecedents ofXihe and Changxi, the mothers of the ten suns and the twelve
moons, Yuyi and Jielin impersonate all their controversial characters.
Jielin-Chang'e and Yuyi-Xihe, the Alter-Ego of the Divine Archer Yi
Solar and lunar myths both merge into Yuyi and Jielin. The various identities
to which the phonetic variants of Chang' elHeng' e/Changxi/ ChangyilShangyi
refer are taken over by Jielin, and by extension by YUyi.142 Jielin-Changxi, the
137 See the Shengzu Ren huangdi yuzhi wenji 4 ji (25.14a, SKQS
1299-562) by the emperor Kangxi (r. 1662-1722), and taken up again in the official
gazetteers compiled by the Qianlong court's scholars, He Kun fO:f:$ and Liang Guozhi
in 1781 under the title of Rehe zhi (l.15a, SKQS. 495-26).
138 Yaoluo is an abbreviation for zhuoyaoluo iiaiUi (Bright Glistening Net) that is, like
Yuyi, one of the various appellations for the sun; see YJQQ 2l.13a/9, Zhen'gao (CT
1016, 9. 24b-25a), and above note 100.
139 P "Y' . 2h h
oem oUXlan qu weI ang z enren yuhua er zuo" 3, in
theXuzhouji (l.17a, SKQS 1237-14) by Wang Cheng -=E{l- of the Ming.
140 "Ti huiqing Jianfu gong changge" in the Cangzhou chenfou bian
rir:Jtllmifr*1 (6.14a, SKQS 1176-953) by Cheng Gongxu of the Song. For other
passages related to zhao and xi, east and west, etc.; see Appendix 3 (A).
141 The role of Yuyi and Jielin can be compared to that of Goumang and Rushou. It
is not by accident that Yuyi also appears in the festival of welcoming the seasons; see
Jeffrey K. Riegel, "Kou-mang and Ju-shou," Cahie1-S d'Extreme-Asie 5 (1989-90), pp. 55-83.
The appearance of the Five solar emperors and lunar consorts marks the performance of
the Yuyi Jielin rite and the application of the Five-Agent scheme to them; see above,
pp.355-356.
142 a th . b 7'
n ese vanants see a ove note 9. It IS not my purpose to present the solar and
lunar mythology of ancient China that has already been subject of studies. Beside Chinese
and Japanese works already quoted in my previous notes, I can do no better than to refer
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA
381
mother of the twelve moons, is the mate of Yuyi under the cloak of Xihe, the
mother of the ten suns. Conversely, since Xihe is also the charioteer of the Sull,
Yuyi appears with Wangshu and Xian'e the charioteers of the moon
1 fJ
' l' 143
and the a ter-ego 0 Ie In. .'
With regard to the identity of Yuyi, the latter dwells m Fusang as does Xihe,
the mother of the ten suns. Just as Fusang refers both to the solar tree and to the
Eastern land of sunrise, Xihe has a double meaning: it signifies both the. mother
of the ten suns and the land of sunrise. Moreover, in this latter sense, smce the
word Xihe also designates the Eastern motherland of two guardians charged with
the daily course of the sun, the name splits into Xi and He.
l44
As the story ofYu
and Lii, the guardians of the Heaven-doors at mountam, may' also
speculate that Yuyi as custodian of Fusang, by ffilrrormg Yu and Lu and Xi and
the reader to the works by H. Maspero ("Legendes mythologiques"), S'.Allan ("So.ns of
the Suns"), and M. Soymie ("La lune"), as well as :0 studIes on Chmese
mythology by R. Mathieu (Anthologie des mythes) and A. BIrrell (Chmese Mythology).
143 The name of Wang shu appears in the Lisao (ttl. D. Hawkes, The Songs of the South,
pp. 73 and 89) and Xian'e in Jiutan (ttl. D. Hawkes, The Songs of the South, 299
and 306) as well as in other encyclopedias; see Maspero, "Legendes mythologlques,"
p. 14, n. 3 and 4. On the mention ofYuyi with Wangshu, see the "Qianqing gong fu" ljit;
mB'JIji\ in the Taiquan ji (l.3b/8, SKQS 1273-301) by Huang 2uo (1490-
1566). On the inspiration of the Lisao, Jielin .also as the lun:r
with Wangshu while driving the chariot of the Yuefu ]=I JIji\
by Feng Shike of the Ming in the Yudmg ltdat (4.9a,
1421-165), a compilation of rhapsodies of the past dynasues ordered by emperor Kangxt
(r. 1662-1722). See Appendix 3(C). ... '1,-" "
144 In the "Dahuang nanjing" of the Shanhatpng It IS Sal?: Beyond
the southeast sea, in the Sweet Waters there is the country of !here IS. a woman
named Xihe who gives the sun a bath in the Sweet Abyss. Xlhe IS the WIfe of the
Emperor Jun. She gave birth to the ten suns" 0
' 15 B iFfi:trWrl 0 ' , 1:+ B (Shanghat}mg panshu ed. J:Iao
Yixing [1775-1825], Chengdu: Bashu 1985, 15.6a.; cf. ttl. R,eml MathIeu,.
Etude SU1- la mythologie et l'ethnologie de la Chme anczenne, tt:aducuon .aru:
otee
du Shanhat
jing, 2 vols., Paris: College de France, Institut des Hautes .. 1 :83.:
p. 565). Xie Weixin the Song compiler of the GU:J1n shtlet 15, p
(l.4a, SKQS 939-9) records that the Shanhat}zng says: name
of the Eastern countties through which the sun passes. Every sun that rIses IS dnven by
two inhabitants who push and elevate it in the Great Space. This is why Tang and Yu
(i.e., Yao and Shun) took Xi and He as names for their officials" BmE13
J@.lli 0 fir: B I:B ' ' 0 See also the JznxlU wanhu.a gu,
qim1}i (l.6b, SKQS 924-6); the sikao by Peng Dap iJ*
i( of the Ming (2.17a SKQS 974-28); the (2.4a, SKQS 1031-16)
by Chen Yuanlong (1652-1736); the Xtangzu bt}t Wt!IJfii32 870-397)
b Wang Shizhen -=EfJi: (1634-1711). This may allude to Yuan and ShIp the
r:o guardians mentioned in the Shanhaijing (chap. 14 and 16) who, placed at the north-
east and north-west corner of the earth, supervise the eight winds and the course of the
sun; see Maspero, "Legendes mythologiques," p. 23.
382
MONICA ESPOSITO
H li Y d Y' l4S
e, sp t Into u an 1. Among all these guardian pairs, only Xi and He were
destined to be highly honored. Shrouded in euhemerizing terms, Xi and He the
ancient guardians of the daily course of the sun, become the well-lmown officers
charged by Yao with "receiving the rising sun as a guest" and "seeing off the
setting sun .." 1.46 . Again unified, Xihe is the officer of both Yao and Huangdi in
charge of dIvmmg the sun (zhanri d 8). As expected Xihe meets again his mate
ShangyilChangyi who is charged with divining the moon (zhanyue d Ji ).147 The
role of these diviners and their art is naturally conferred upon Yuyi and Jielin. As
the antecedents of celestial deities of east and west worshiped in seasonal rites
Yuyi and Jielin symbolize the divinatory practices preceding those rites.
latter take place only in response to a due prognostication. As we will see in the
second part of this essay, the examination of auspicious signs forms an essential
part of Yuyi and Jielin rites. It was only after an auspicious oracle that Chang'e
flew to the moon and became the Queen of that Palace.
148
In turn her husband
,
145 As we have seen, the Yu ofYuyi may be connected with the ancient custodians YU/
Lii li/f! Like Yu and Lii, the name Yuyi may be split into Yu and Yi by taking the
latter as Ehuang or Gie)yi; see the problem of the variants of Changyi, Shangyi,
etc. mentIOned ill note 79 above. It is worth of mention that, according to the Lushi
Yulei" 40.8b-9b, SKQS 383-579/580), the term Iii f! (a variant for
ill YuIii has also the meaning of jie *15: "Yu-lii has the meaning of yuan-jie" , m*szm
-tl!. may wonder if Lii, the companion of Yu might be related to Jie(lin), the mate of
Yu(yi), thanks to its associated sense. I am glad to leave such complicated issues of phonetic
loans and variants to specialists in Chinese mythological reconstruction. As many of them
have already shown, loans and variants often originate from a confusion between the names
of different figures. The can even refer to variants of a single name or figure
but expressed ill two or more dIfferent mythological layers.
146 See above note 144. For the different interpretations ofXihe in the Yaodian; see S.
Allan, "Sons of Suns," p. 324, and The Shape of the Turtle, pp. 58-60 and 86-87. On the
basis of previous studies, Allan emphasizes the links between the language of this section
of the oracle bone records, and the Fusang traditions. She concludes by
saYIng that Xihe, the mother of the ten suns, is also the spirit of the four directions
whose worship originated with the Shang.
147 According to the Lushi chunqiu ./f;ln* chap. 17.9a (Sibu beiyao ed.,
Taipei: Zhonghua shuju, 1979), Changyi-Shangyi was charged with divining the moon.
In the Shiji 26-1256a112 ("The Calendar," trl. Edouard Chavannes, Les memoi'res
de Se-ma Ts'ien, 6 vols., Paris: Maisonneuve, 1967-69, vol. 3, p. 323, n. 1; 1
st
ed.
Pans: Ernest. 8? 5 -190 5) it is said that "Huangdi charged Xihe with divining the
sun, ChangyI WIth dlVlllillg the moon, Yuqiu with divining the stars and their vapors ... "
b B ' b R ' )l(1JI b ' ...
148 The story of the divination performed by Y ouhuang before the flight of
Chang'e to the moon is attributed to the Lingxian which is quoted in the commentary
of the "Astronomical chapter" of the Hou Hanshu, part A, 10-3216/14 ( ...
liE 0 liMnm&Wft*, J!J(U/lj=r:, 0 R ';lj!
0); the _translation by M. Soymie, "La lune," p. 308. This story is taken up in the
Soushen JZ tlf$152 (quoted by R. Mathieu, Anthologie des mythes, p. 55), and in the story
"Heng'e qieyao ru changong ... " in Lidai shenxian tongjian (Zhongguo shenxian da yanyi
vol. 1, p. 150). Many passages in the SKQS make allusions to it as well.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA
383
the Archer Yi, was crowned as King of the Yuyi Palace of the Sun.
According to the Lidai shenxian tongjian by Xu Dao, the Archer Yi,
also lmown as Chijiang ziyu was instructed directly by the Royal Lord
of the East before flying to the sun.
149
From one of the King's lads he received a
red cake of Paris cocos (chiting gao in order to enter without fear in the
fire disk of his future Palace. He was also given the mysterious talisman ofTaiyin
for visiting his wife in the moon palace and the golden raven of Fusang
for mastering the laws of sunrise and sunset. lSI I will end this first part of
my study on Yuyi and Jielin with the translation of a passage of this story:
Then the Divine Archer takes his leave, and mounting his three-legged raven
he flies to the Nine Empyreans. At twelve on the dot, he reaches the sun and
enters its disk. Surrounded by a vast and boundless space large as the earth, he
does not perceive its movement and is completely free and at ease. As Chang' e
comes to his mind, he takes advantage of the night when they face each other,
takes off on a golden ray reaching from earth to heaven and flies right into the
moon. Under the dancing shadow of the cinnamon tree, passing through a cold
and lonely passage he searches for her even in the most remote places and finds
149 Chijiang ziyu (or Chisong ziyu $:f'ir.flli!, a doublet of Chisong zi $:f'ir). appears.
the Liexianzhuan :J1j{wff (trl. M. Kaltenmark, Le Lie-sim tchoZlan, pp. 48-50) and ill the L1Shz
zhenxian tidao tongjian (CT 296, 3.2a) as an immortal of the of
Huangdi who does not eat any of the five cereals and can ascend and descend followmg the
wind and rain. Like Goumang, he is also the Head of the Bureau of Wood (muzheng /'f(iE)
at the time of Yao (cf. Kaltenmark, Le Lie-sim tchouan, pp. 49-50, n. 4 and Riegel, "Kou-
mang .. ," pp. 74-75). This confirms the association of Yuyi, as alter ego .of
Chijiang ziyu-Chisong zi, with the East spirit in the Taoist tradition. Its
the god of the sun is probably due to the fact that Chijiang ziyu is the doublet of Chisong Zl,
the immortal under the sign of red and fire (see Kaltenmark, ibid, p. 40, n. 7), and because
he stands at the source of the transmission of solar and lunar methods. In fact, in the Yupei
jindang jing (CT 56; scripture including the preparatory for the.
Jielin practice), Chijiang ziyu figures as the original founder of that Shangqrng transffilSSlon
handed down to Lord Pei; see I. Robinet, La revelation du Shangqing, vol. 1, pp. 44 and 49.
On the association between Lord Pei and Chijiang ziyu see YJQQ 105. 2a-6b cr Robinet,
La revelation du Shangqing, pp. 377-379). This further emphasizes the intimate linlc between
the practice of Yuyi (Jielin) and the Taoist solar (and lunar) mythology. also note 150. .
150 Ling refers to fuling 1*4'i or Pachyma cocos, the name of reCIpe Pel
received from Chijiang ziyu; see YJQQ 105.24b-26b (1. Robmet, La ]'evelatton du
Shangqing, vol. p. 381). Thispoints to another associati?n between :he of
Chijiang ziyu (under the cloak of the Archer Yi) and Lord Pel, the Shangqillg Immortal
related to the transmission of the Yuyi Jielin method.
151 The Lidai shenxian tongjian explains that it is the ancestor of the Yang who, by
continuing to swallow the solar halo ('rihua 8 became the three-legged
standing on the crest of the Fusang tree in the middle of the eastern ocean. Sillce It
cried so stridently every time it saw the sun taking its bath, the Royal Lord of the East
ordered Lingzhen zi to put it into a cage on Mt. Taodu; see "Heng'e qieyao ru
changong ... ," in Lidai shenxian tongjian (Zhongguo shenxian dayan yi, vol. 1, p. 151); and
H. Dore, Reche'rches szw les superstitions, vol. XII, 2
nd
part, p. 1188.
384
MONICA ESPOSITO
Chang' e sitting alone. At view of Yi she wants to escape, but Yi hastens forth
and takes her hand, comfortmg her by saying "Now that I also have my abode in
the sun, the past need not trouble you anymore."
. Then, as he cuts down the cinnamon tree, he gathers the pieces of flawless
Jade .and"constructs a palace for her residence. On its gate, he engraves a tablet
readmg Palace
th
of WIdespread Cold" (guanghan gong Every time the
meet on the 15 night of lunar cycle, the Yang merges with her fullness
full and the moonlIght appears particularly bright and luminous.
On hIS return to the solar disk, Archer Yi also builds a great palace. Due to it
he names it "Palace of Vigorous Emblems" (y'llyi dian
From thIS. the sun and the moon both have their own rulers. This
happened m apazt year, the 49
th
of the reign ofYao.
153
0 B 0
{P):
!

* g 0 , ' J3 0 B Jlifin ' ,
0 0
152
0 th n ese terms see above notes 63 64 and 76
153 "Heng' e qie ao ru ch ,;. ' . .'. ..
d
. I Y angong ... , m Ltdat shenxtan tongJlan (Zhongg'llo shenxian
ayanyt, vo. 1, pp. 151-152).
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA-APPENDIX 1
385
APPENDIX 1
YUY1 AND JIELIN IN THE TAOIST CANON
(A) YUYI AND JIELIN IN TITLES OF TEXTS, SECTIONS OR CHAPTERS
1. 13 '
J:m::kJ:*:t:tL.g:tW& (CT 1376,
0
2.lal2-3);
fj- (CT 1377, l5b/5-6).
2.
, ,
J:m::kJ:*:t:tL.g:tW&(CT 1376,
-tho
2.la/10-lb/l);
j::Mlfj- (CT 1377, l6al2); J:m::kll
(CT 1404, 8bl2-3);
(CT 1032, 23.4b/8-9);
B fj il (CT 435, lb/4-5).
3. m-E1 : 13 xJ) ; m=E1 :
(CT 426, 4a/4-5).
)=j J1\f)) ...
4. 1 * 0
(CT 426, 8b/9-l0).
5.
ff ((*J:: 13 )()) , J1\f)) , ...
(CT 426, 9a/1-2).
6.
, ((*a3l)(J1\f)) , 0
J:m::kll.AMlfww& (CT 1404, 9a16).
7.
, ((*a3l)(J1\f)) , :t#ffffitZt[' :=E
(CT 1404,
:tz:i3-+ A 0
lOal3-4); (105.21b/9-l0).
8.
' 13 )=j , ftiJijlHl1lJatzxg 0 ,
(CT 1366, 3lbl7-8).
fL_/\xg' mw ...
9. :;(51\ 13 0
(CT 1138, 3.2b/9).
10. t)) 0
(CT 1138, 3.6a/l).
1 Although one finds various texts having similar titles in the Taoist Canon, the
Y'llqing yinsh'll :=Erllflliif seems to refer here to the Shangqing gaoshang miemo yudi shenhui
Y'llqingyinsh'll (CT 1356) which is said to be linked with the
Jinhu f'll (CT 1336, CT 1337; see also CT 1333); see below Appendix l(B),
no. 17, and 1. Robinet, La revelation d'll Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 247.
2 On this text see 1. Robinet (J.a revelation du Shangqing, vol. 2, pp. 101-110), as well
as the study and the translation by S. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, pp. 275-372.
386
MONICA ESPOSITO
II.
ti l! B ,
P ff
(CT 1138, 31.13a/1-2).
12.
j(J:: B Jt ' . ' ... (6.6b/lO-7a/1).
-
13. B liI
-
(23.4a14).
-
14.
... (23.4bll-2).
15.
'
-
(68.8b/3-4).
-
16.
(105.20a/6-7).
17.
lJz ' ... (105.20a/8-9).
18.
z. m ' 0
-
(105.20bl2).
19.

-
(105.23b/9-1O).
20.
0
-
(105.24a/1-2).
2I. B
B iii (CT
435,6a/4).
22.
.n.
B iii (CT
435, l2b/5).
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA-APPENDIX 1
(B) YUYI AND JIELIN AS PRACTICES AND THEIR RESULTING BENEFITS
3
I.
B '
J::rfl*J::ir:Et:fL.q:t (CT 13 76,
0 ti3 B 1IIJ]i ,
2.lal2-9);

ft (CT 1377, l5b/4-l0 and l6a/l);
i!f' ... J::3B
(23.4b/1-8). Cf. (CT
.n5;( , ;fr li -t A 0
1376, 32.l6bl7-8 and 31.l2bl7-8,
13a/1-2), here note 4 .
2. , 8 :
B;ffl'
(CT 1376,
fiji, 0 J 5
2.3b/3-5);
ft (CT 1377 l6b/6);
(CT 1404, 10bl2-4);
(23.5bl2-4); (105.21b/3-5);
iii (CT 435,
2al7-8).
3. EI :
, , lJi1X;J::mz
(CT 1376,
A 0 , 0 J 7
2.3b/9-10);
ft (CT 1377, 17a/3-4)j
(23.5b/l0-6a/1-2);
B J-l iii (CT 435, 2b/5-6). Cf.
(105.19a/1-3), below no. 4.
4. EI :
, , lJi1X;J::r#z
(105.l9a/l-3).
A 0 J::r#o
J
3 This list includes the texts ofYuyi and Jielin which are seen as applications of their
eponymous practices.
4 Only the CT 1376 (2.1a/8-9) has f -tliAJ instead of fli-t AJ. In the YJQQ
(105.19a/3) one finds J instead of J. The CT 1138 (32.16bl7 -8)
records: f3 B zJ]i' 0 A'
while in the CT 1138 (31.12bl7-8) one
finds the following passage: ' 0 ... til!
8 , 0 J.
5 In the CT 1404 (10b/2-4) one finds r{ftm**:AAJ instead of
while in the YJQQ (23.5b/2-4; 105.21b/3-5) and in CT 435 (2al7-8) one finds r{ftm*
*:AJ.
6 This refers to the Huanglao biyan another title for the Jiuzhen zhongjing
see 1. Robinet, La revelation du Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 69. See also here no. 4.
7 In the YJQQ (23 .6a/1) and CT 435 (2b/5-6), one finds fJJtJ]iJ instead of f J::J]iJ.
388 MONICA ESPOSITO
5. (CT 1376,
B ' 2.6a13, 2.
1:::fII!f} (CT 1377, 19a17, 20a/9-10).
Cf. El flifil (CT
435, 6b/9-7a11, 9a/8-9), here note 8.
6. (CT 1376,
, tt ' , 2.7a/1O, 7b/1 and 2.8b/4-5); J::m*J::
(CT 1377, 20b/1-
2 and 2lb/5-6).
El flifil (CT 435, 12b/8 and 15b/8-
9), here note 9.
7. , =Fff L ' -=:F ' W Jj!, n (CT 1376,
F1TL ' B t!1 :lFEP.lWlJA ' ... 2.8b/6-9);
f} (CT 1377, 2lbl7-10). Cf.
(105.15b/5-7 and 16b/6-8) here nos.
8-9; (CT
1385, 1.29bl7-10 and 33al1-3), here
nos. 10-11.
8. (105.15b/4-8 and 16al1-2);
(CT 394, 5a11-
8)/0 1376,
B ' ... B a B 2.8b/6-9);
B WJi ' B t!1 (CT 1377, 21bl7-lO), here no. 9.
9. , 0 = (105.16b/5-9 and 17a/2-3);
J:: m * J:: 'it 13:fL (CT 13 76,
2.8b/6-9);
$' ... (CT 1377, 21bl7-1O), and here no. 8.

10. $) fLhL-F' =F' Jj!,Wo -=:F' J::mifiiJ J1f (CT
1mF' ffi1f.:E7(; nF' +-F
12
, 1385, 1.29bl7-1O).

Mi.:Eli=+AA' .:E:tz:=+ImA t!1
8 CT435 (6b/9-7a/l, 9a/8-9):
... J.
.. 435 (12b/8 and 15b/8-9):
In this text there are some slight variants, such as r instead of r **J .
Cf. CT 394, 5b.
12 For the eleven years of practice see also no. 11; CT 1016 (18.3b/9) here no. 12;
YJQQ (105.9b/4-10-lOa/1-4 and 19a/1O-19b/1-3) here no. 12, and note 14. In the CT
303 (llb/lO and 12a/1-4), one also finds a passage showing the link between Zhou
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA-APPENDIX 1 389
11. $)1TL-F' o=F' Jj!,Wo -=:F' 1mF' J::rf!iifiiJ (CT
1385,1.33a/1-3).

12. ... IZ9 B L$ (105.9b/2-10 and 10a/1-3).
J:1lI.)) 13 J (g:Et)
B $' fl+-F
14
,
El: J
... -=:n:EttA .:E:tz:=+
ImA' .:Eli-=:+=AJj!,{{f:
' '
...
13. ... OW 18.3b/9and 18.12a15-6).
Ii!ItBfr
ty$ , 0
14. 17, B zMt$' J: (CT 1404, 9a19-
B Jmx7(;' 10).
(105.22b/1-3);
El flifil (CT 435, 3a15-7); see note 16.
15.
J.lZIlI.)) 18 ,
Yishan and the Yuyi and Jielin practice that goes as follows: rfl1L 'n
(x) ' 1f.:Eli=+-A' .:E:tz:=+-A'
... J. Cf. YJQQ
(106. 15al3-7) in which the beginning of the above passage is r1lfl1L Sna'
... J.
13 The Taishang yinshu *J:KI. is another name for the Basu jing (CT 1323);
see I. Robinet, La revelation du Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 51.
14 YJQQ (105.19a/10-19b/1-3): w ... fl+-F J
tAig$' LJiM' '*fi.:E
:tz:=+ImA' .:Eli-=:+=A'
15 The Shangqing taiyi jinque yuxi jinzhen ji CT 394; see
nos. 8-10 and note 11. In the YJQQ (105.24al3) one fmds the following passage: r J:rw
0 1**'8 0 J .
16 YJQQ (105.24al7): 0 J. Cf. CT 1016
(5.4a).
17 The title of the two texts/sections refer to the eponymous methods and their
resulting benefits. Cf. YJQQ (23.8b/8-10): ,
LjjI' ... J; YJQQ (105.22b/1-3) and CT 435 (3a/5-7): r , ... J.
18 I.e., Bam jing CT 426 and CT 1323; see I. Robinet, La revelation du
Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 52.
390
MONICA ESPOSITO
16. B Y3 Zm
19
, (CT 1138, 99.12al2); *_
Et (CT 184, 3.4al2).
17. ' : r ' iB B [PJ (7.12a/3-4).
; ((*amJit:fir)) , W-Y3 0 J
18. B Y3 :ef J::m, :ef' mEtt!! 0 ... 0 B Y3 (12.7a/8-9, 8a/1-2). Cf.

_+iI (CT 263, 57.1a/5-6, 1bl7-8)
here note 20.
19. .)) 22 EI :
r , 'Mf B Et 0 (23.4a/5-8); (105.
Ji.' ... 0 15J:: 16a/3-6); B iii
mit ' , 0 J
(CT 435, 1al2-5).
20. q:t .)) JZ EI : 'MfY3:;}(A 0 (23.4a/8-10);
... J::$JI7(li! 0 Jj
(105.16a/3-6); B
A((*am:fir)) 0 J
iii (CT 435, 1a/6-8).
21. B , (23.8a/9-10);
B q:tEt' ... J
(105.19b/4-5);
B iii (CT 435, 2bl7-8).
22. Y3 ' tJ?i'((::tJ::*am:fir)) , (23.8bl2-3; 105.19b/6-7); *
q:t:;}(A' ... J
B iii (CT 435,
2b/9-10).
23. ((**ftH))23 EI :
r ! !
J!, W,(?;&) B Y3 B iii (CT 435, 3bl2-3);
... J (105.21al7-9).24
24. , Ilt B Ilij[zfi B'i t (68.8bl7-9). See also
t!! 0 , IltY3 Appendix (C), no. 20.
fit!! 0
19 It refers to the title of the section included in the Jiuzhen zhongjing (CT
1376 and CT 137), also named Jiuzhen badao see I. Robinet, La nfvelation du
Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 69. See also Appendix l(A), no. 1.
20 See above note 1
21 CT 263 (S7.1a/5-6-1bl7-8): B J=J t${W 0 J.
22 I.e., BaS'll jing; see above note 18.
23 Shangqing qionggong lingfei liujia zuoyou shangfu J::m:l:1Em:m:t\Fj3tr:t! CT 84,
and Shangqing qionggong lingfei liujia lu CT 1391; see I. Robinet, La
revelation du Shangqing, vol. 2, pp. 207-211. See also below note 24.
24 In the YJQQ (105.21al7) one finds only some slight modifications such as
instead of while in the YJQQ (10S.21a/8) and CT 435 (3bl3) one
finds B J=J J instead of r W, B Y3 J .
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA-APPENDIX 1
25. *amzm) 0 ...
26.

27.

rbt
25
, ' 0
28.
' , ' w,a;k:7(r ' ...
29. (*amzm) 1TZ , , ** @ 0 =
, , 0 , 0 , , E:;}(
A ' 0
30.
' , ...
31.
B 7t7(' 0 ... i!1fWi?il 0
%J! 0 B Y3 t!!, @ 0
32. *amzm) B Y31IHw' 8[PJ7(:I:-t!!, m
1T@tE ' iEIj{WmWM 0
33 . 0 0

bt, S B 0 fflZz 0
34. *amzm) -fz ' 0
35. *amZm) , '

36. _i1:*am, ...
25 CT 220 (4.4a/2-S): rEW-bt 0 J.
26 CT 220 (4.5b/2-S): J.
391
(105.20a/4-5).
(105.20bl7-9).
iii (CT 435,
5bl2-6a/1-3);
(CT 220, 4.4al2-5).
B iii (CT 435,
9b/8-10).
B iii (CT 435,
12b/1-4);
(CT 220, 4.5bl2-5).
B iii (CT 435,
16a/6-7).
B iii (CT 435,
17a/10-17b/1-4).
(CT 220,
4.6b/3-4).

221, 1.10a/6-10b/1-3).
(CT
221,1.18bl7-8).
(CT
221, 1.20al1-3).

(CT 1313, 8a/3-4).
392
MONICA ESPOSITO SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA-APPENDIX 1
(C) YUYI AND ]IELIN AS EMBLEMS (HYPOSTATIZATION OF SUN & MOON
IMMORTALS/SPIRITS/GODS OF THESE TWO HEAVENLY BODIES ) ,
14. 0 E3 zAw' z{U1'
m&ti}; (12.8a/3-5); (CT
0
263, 57.1b/9-10 and 2a11).
I. B 0 (CT 1376,
2.4a/1);
15. EI : B Ji :a J:m: ' 0 J
(CT 220,
Ittzmfu 0
4.1b/1-2). See also Appendix 2(A).
(CT 1377, 17a/5); m&ti}; (23.6a/3).
16. EI : B Ji :a J:m: ' 0 J
(CT
2. 0 (CT 1376,
X:8;: rB J
221, 1bl2-3).
2.4b/8);
(CT 1377, 18al2); m&ti}; (23.7a/1).
17. ... J
m&ti}; (21.13b/3-4). See also
Appendix 2(C).
3. ' , , ' ... (CT 1016, 4. 14al2-3).
18. , 0
m&ti}; (21.l3b/6); 1JjlJy,;."!i(W
4.
B ' ' ... (CT 442, 5a/3-4
(CT 1439, 4a/4-5).
... and 8-9); (CT 770, 5al2-3
and line 8).
19.
m&ti}; (25.6b/1-2).
' 0
5. 0 *[gjz;Mf$fu ;
*l!iz
(CT 877, 1al2)
;Mf$fu 0 20. Ji B 0 ... ,
m&ti}; (68.1b/3 and 8bl7-9).
Itt B Ili!!zWfu 0 ,
6. , , ... (CT 1138, 20.7a/6);
IttJi 0
AI*J{t (CT 303, 1.18a12).
2L B ' IPJ5iti3JJ!' IPJ*tt>i<1!f
j![im (CT 1017, 8.10b/3-4).
7.
(CT 1138, 29.3b/3-4).
fuo
' 0
8.
B Ji , , ' 0 (CT 1138, 29.3b/3-4 and
29. 12al1-2).
22.
E3 J1 (CT 435,
4al4); (CT 220,
4.2b/4);
:]I (CT 221, 1.3a/3).
9. JSk t J:: rJlf"'$ Ji[ (CT
777, 1 b/4-6); W (CT 304,
25.2b/1).
23. 0
J11i1 (CT 435,
5a/3); (CT
220, 4.3b/2);
10. (CT 1051, 2.6a11O).
(CT 221, 1.6b/2).
, 0
24. 0 ... 0
(CT
II. (CT 1051, 2.31a/8).
221, 1.9b/6; 1.18a/2).
12.
(CT 616,
' EJjft r 0 B Ji z11 ' m{tJffHJz 0 (939,9770-1),21
25. , ' ' 0
(CT
221, 1.14a/3).
13. ' ' ... m&ti}; (8.15bl2-3 and 101.4a17-8).
26. m , ' 0

221, 1.l6b/2).
.. 27 in th= Q:.an Tangshi (939, 9770-1) under the title of "Mo Tingyi
JlUyao Jlaocl My thanks to Kogachi Rylichi J5H9JIii- for this reference.
394
MONICA ESPOSITO
APPENDIX 2
EXCERPTS FROM THE TAOIST CANON IN THE SIKU QUANSHU
(A) YUYI AND JIELIN AS IMMORTALS, ESSENCES, GODS OR SOULS OF SUN AND MOON
1.
(6.3a, SKQS 852-315). Cf. i
E1: B J3 -ef J:jg, 0 J
1
Jlft\: (UOa-b, SKQS 892-809); :nrfj

(164.14b, SKQS 947-289);3 m:m (61
l:.5a, SKQS 879-286);
[PJ Ji5 0 J B , J3 0 2
(18.27a-b, SKQS 883-426); tffPJEfl:z
J'W!!ff (11-3.41b and 11-6.45b. SKQS
1013-90 and 190).
2. ... :
B z fw '
zfW
o
J4
(18.27a, SKQS 883-426);
tffPJEM)(J'W!!ff (11-6.45b, SKQS
1013-190). Cf. (4.24a, SKQS
952-677); W i (9.1b,
SKQS 1114-361).
3.
E1: WB [PJJi5 ; WJ3
(1.6a, SKQS 921-7).
[PJJi5 0 J -W B J3 z t$4j 0
4.
E1: r B J3 -ef J:jg , 0 J
B J3 Zt$i:i1 0 J 5
(UOa, SKQS 892-809).
5.
*c)) 0
1HJHfH2 (2.21b, SKQS 870-405).
1 See the commentary to the H '" b L' . .
8 /3 4) S I b I
uangtmgJlng y Iangqm ZI (YJQQ 12.7a/8 and
a - . ee a so e ow note 7.
.. 2J: Canon there are two texts similarly entitled: Shangqing qisheng xuanji
and Shangqing yudi qisheng xuanji huitian jiuxiao jing J:m
f th /I ." 1368). Unfortunately, the above passage does not appear in
any 0 . em. It IS worth comparing it with a passage in the YJQQ (7 12 13-4) h
AppendIX 1 (B), no. 17. . a ,ere
3 The Yi h . JirfiJ (1
4 Cf u at, 64.14b, SKQS 947-289) also adds: 0 J.
I b I . YJQQ 11.16a/3 and 12.7a/9, 7b/5 and 8a/3-4; Xiuzhen shishu CT (57 1a/6) See
thi
a
e ow nbote
l
7. The Mingyi (4.24a, SKQS 952-677) adds: J . On
s text see e ow note 6. ' .
5 Cf. YJQQ 12.8a/l-4.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA-APPENDIX 2
395
6.
B z{w 0 J 8Z
E1: W B [PJJi5 ; WJ3 [PJJi5 0 J
E1: 0 J 6
(2.6b, SKQS 974-23). Cf.
(1.7a and 1.9a, SKQS
924-7/8);
(l.4b, SKQS 939-9); mmg (1.5 a, 964-
347); J'W!Jffllf.:E (2.10a and 4.11a,
SKQS 951-31 and 118);7 (4.24a,
SKQS 952-677); (2.7b and
2.17a, SKQS 1031-17122).
(74.7b-8b, SKQS 1270-
B J3 -ef J:jg' 0 J 7321734).9
l 51 J: B z fw ; J3 z {w 0 J
.... 8
6 The Jizhi ji is a Song compilation by Wang Zishao which is
mentioned in the Shuofu (32xia.8a-9a, SKQS 877-717).
7 The Yunfu qunyzdfJllf-HlfJi (4.11a, SKQS 951-118) says simply for Jielin:
z{w' WJ3 [PJJi5o J.
8 This refers to the commentary on the Huangtingjing by Liangqiu zi (YJQQ 12.7a-
8a). This commentary is also found in the Huangting neijing yujing zhu (CT
401, 3.5a-b); in theXiuzhen shishu (CT 273, 57.1a-b), and in the Daoshu jgtm; (CT
1017, 8.10al7-10 and 10b/5). The explanations of the method of solar and lunar
absorptions are attributed to the Shangqing ziwen (see ttl. by S. Bokenkamp, Early
Daoist Scriptzwes, pp. 314-322). The poem by Su Dongpo (1037-1101) entitled
"Guangzhou He daoshi zhongmiao tang" gONfUIjg.M*,y'!lt (Sushi shiji Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 1982, vol. 7, p. 2398) also evokes these methods of solar and lunar
absorptions in the passage that goes as follows: rjgAB@Im!iRl\!f' 0 Wz!&J=l
B , B J=l 0 J .The annotations to this poem follow the exegesis of Liangqiu
zi (YJQQ 12.8a/l-2; CT 263, 57.la/5-6) by adding that if one can practice them, one will
soar up to the sun and moon as divine immortal B J=l t${wi:i1; see Jizhu fenlei
Dongpo xiansheng shi in the Sibu congkan. In the Ganzhuji (7.21a,
SKQS 872-424), Yuyi and Jielin are presented as immortals who soared up to the sun and
moon and are associated with the Methods of ingesting the sun and moon (vapors) tF B J=l
$. These methods are summed up in the formula of sixteen and twenty four-
characters For these formulas see also the WSBY (CT 1138, 93.12a19, 94.1a110);
the YJQQ (11.51a/6, 53.14b/9) and the Zhen'gao (CT 1016, 9/24b/2).
9 In this edition one finds yuewang J3 -;i instead of yuemei J3 m.
396
MONICA ESPOSITO
(B) YUYI AND JIELIN AS SECRET SCRIPTURES AND PRACTICES
l. {LlJjf1f :;tJ:: , 0 10 (18.27b, SKQS 883-426).
2. EI : 0 (6.3a, SKQS 852-315);
4:D.=E!1J,i, 0 J 11 if (18.27b, SKQS 883-426).
3. EI : r9B Jj z]11, (6.3a, SKQS 852-315);
if (18. 27b-28a, SKQS 883-426/427).
, B Jj * 0 J 12
4. (95.16a, SKQS 591-545).
: : Cf. (18.27b, SKQS 883-
B ffi, f$, 0 J 426).


1!tJ/t)( 0 13
5. 9Jj ))
(6.3a, SKQS 852-315).
*iIJilJltI-.)) : r B .=E1it ' B
Jj =jjt 0 J 14
6. : r B )()) (18.27b, SKQS 883-426);
0 J 15
(9.4a, SKQS 1483-67);
(4.11a/3-4, SKQS 587-304).
7. : 0 J 16 mm&(18.10b, 964-678); #1-NlI9tf1lt\l
(158.24a, SKQS 1281-537).
8. (28.42.b-43a, SKQS 981-63) .
0 17
10 See Appendix leA).
11 Cf. YJQQ 23.sal7; 10s.20a/1O.
12 Cf. Jiuzhen zhongjing (CT 2.la/4-7, 9), here Appendix l(B), no. 1. In the Weilue
(6.3a, SKQS 852-315), apart from some missing characters, one finds r:;tfflJ instead of
r J::rWJ ,and instead of See also the Yuzhi tang tanhui (18.27b-28a,
SKQS 883-426/427).
13 Cf. YJQQ 23.sbl2-6 and 10s.21b/3-6. See also Appendix l(B), no. 2.
14 It might refer to the Dongzhen Gaoshang Yudi dadong ciyi yujian wulao baojing
(CT 1313), although the sentence in question does not
appear in this actual version. However, it is worthy of note that in this text one still finds
a reference to the practice ofYuyi and Jielin; see Appendix l(B), no. 36.
15 This sentence is no more found in the Dengzhen yinjue. See the Bam jing (CT
1323, 4b/4-s) and the YJQQ (6.6b/3 andlO), and Appendix leA), nos. 3 and 12.
16 Cf. YJQQ lOs.20al2.
17 YJQQ lOs.23b/lO and 24a/1-2, here Appendix leA), nos. 19-20.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA-APPENDIX 2 397
(C) YUYI AND JIELIN AS APPELLATIONSIEMBLEMS OF SUN AND MOON
1. : (3.22a-b, SKQS
..... (J)\mtla 867-623). Cf. (1.30b-31a,
' 0 (J)\m B ' Jj 0 J 18 SKQS 980-17).
2. :
r B 0 Jj 0 J (18.27a, SKQS 883-426);
(2.7b, SKQS 1031-17); !l
(1.23a, SKQS 980-13).
3. (1.6b-7a, SKQS
I1 924-6 and 7);
0 J 19 (l.4b-5a, SKQS 939-9/10); mm&
(1.5a, SKQS 964-347).21

B lPJ.@o J 0 20
4. : r ' 0 J 22 (18.27b, SKQS 883-426).
18 Cf. YJQQ 21.13a/9 and Shangqing dadong zhenjing (CT 6, s}4a/8).
This passage is attributed to the commentary of the Dadong zhengjing see
WSBY (CT 1138, 3.2a-3b). See also above in this study.
19 CT 1016 (9. 24b-2sa). See also this study p. 375, note 100.
20 See also above Appendix 2 (A), no. 6.
21 The Gujin hebi shilei beiyao (l.4b-sa, SKQS 939-9/10) and the
Shuoliie (l.sa, SKQS 964-347) add the following quotations from the Guangya: r B
, 0 J! 0 J.
22 Dongxuan Lingbao Yujing shan buxu jing (CT 1439, 4a/4-s);
see also YJQQ (2l.13b/ 6; 2s.6b/1-2), CT 1051 (2.6a/1O), Appendix l(C), nos. 10, 18
and 19.
398
MONICA ESPOSITO
APPENDIX 3
PASSAGES ON YUYI AND JIELIN FROM THE SIKU QUANSHU
ARRANGED BY THEME
(A) YUYI AND JIELIN AS EMBLEMS OF EAST AND WEST
1. ljiA ' yr 0 I*JJtU:fLJ:I fMH1: ' 5'1-JtU-T
ljiAlyr
0 , 0 (25.14a, SKQS 1299-562);
(USa, SKQS 495-26).
DAWN
& 2. ... ' ... (n.2b, SKQS
DUSK
1228-432).
3. (1.17a, SKQS 1237-
0 0 14).
SUNRISE
Pi*l ' yr 0
&
SUNSET 4. ... o::f ti VH 1!! il:dlili (6.14a-b,
SKQS 1176-953) .
0
PRACTICE
OF 5. 1 ' 0 5K7CB*(58.5b, SKQS 1464-
INGESTION
64); lfBtmli (18.29a-b,
SKQS 1111-373).
6. ... ft!fl5::KIMi ' 0 (13.2a-3a,
ft/tl SKQS 1422-237);
(CT 1051, 2.6a/lO). See
also Appendix 1(C), no. 10.
*/ffi
7. (($l:fflE;j\ ... 'B R
(Ub, SKQS 1273-
, , , 11WWIi ' ... 301).
8. ((*mff t! (36-Ll::.241a,
0 ... SKQS 541-233).
EAST

&
WEST
9. R (1.2b, SKQS 948-
745).
10. 0 .... (1.48a, SKQS,
' 0 1225-27).
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA-APPENDIX 3 399
11. Xff ... ' **'
(3.21, SKQS 587-289).
*it/ffiit

Cf. jiIlJ 7E 1Ji}t:)( $llff (11-
*E;/ffiE;
3.41b, SKQS 1013-190).
EAST 12.
3irilt (164.14a-b, SKQS
: J 0
947-289); $llffft3i (2.10a,
& 0
SKQS 951-31). Cf. jiIlJ7E1Ji}t

:)($llff (11-3.41b, SKQS
WEST OOiz5'1- 0 ((t\:!!4
0 1013-190).
TAOIST 13. 0
(18.27b,
R=f1:
o SKQS 883-426).
PALACES 14. ((w:7t ...
(9.4a, SKQS
ito
1483-67).
15. 0 ffiOOi
(4.11a-b, SKQS 587-
0 0 *_ '
304).
' 0 ... ttE;

0 JtlJIltz=itilf' B
Z1W-tl! 0
16.
5K-S*Bff (14.18b,
0 ttrt ...
SKQS 1477-332).

SPRINGI 17. ...
(4.9b-lIb,
AUTUMN ' 0 ,
SKQS 1203-50).

18.
(n.2b, SKQS
...
1228-432) .
1:J[ , ' ' ...
REBIRTH 19. ((*-x.lE-B3:Jfl;::t:::KA8:fL
(38.7a, SKQS
LONG LIFE ... 0
1270-263) .
IMMORTALITY
0

2 Here one finds Jieyi instead ofJielin
400
SEASONAL
MEETINGS
SEASONAL
FESTNALS
20. tJ7l.0llfJ<m=S))

, ... 1ff*JttJ7 ' , "
, ::Rf*iFiF"

ih ' }!::fWf ' "
21.


22. 1W;OOt1-r))
_* ' .fiU S "
:JSt*1Jf'... --
23. 3i/'J\iI!f))
:
W1f1f": $Bim
J.! +=tl1iJmo J
.fiM.1It **" rIMik:amg;;ff* 0 J
r;\:itlR
tlBoJ
24. . S 1J:7+Jt))
...
m" 3
...
MONICA ESPOSITO
(23.4a, SKQS
1494-316).
(40.7b, SKQS
1270-273).
-
(11.26a,
SKQS 1302-235).
(9.1b,
SKQS 1114-361).
(1.2b,
SKQS 1422-392).
3 Cf. Shilei fu."'!JiJ.'&. (1.9a, SKQS 892-809) by Wu Shu (947-1002) where one
finds an.notatlOns on the following two sentences: rf$5!JEl.0.fi, On
yan!5sul and Its role in the summer festival of "the renewal of fire" see Bodde Festivals in
Chzna, pp. 299-302. '
4 On this sentence from the commentary of the Huainanzi, see the explanations given
here III the note 121 at p. 375-376.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA-APPENDIX 3
401
(B) ASSOCIATION OF YUYI WITH XIHE tUIJ, AND OF JIELIN WITH CHANG'E mm
1. Mmmm)) ... UftmYllPJt : rll ZJIUE ' (18.28a, SKQS 883-427).
mZ*Eim" J "
Cf. (812-870), ((IIl1/i1Jm1: in {iflJ
(99.34a, SKQS 1421-
192/93). See also here no. 6.
2. ... :
r5 S ,1Itfi (9.4a, SKQS 1483-67).
r5 J3 ' J
: r l:.ZJ1[ t ' .
fi3 S yJ) , J3 x.)) l.0'/J(" J 5 '
"
3. *Ei fi;ft))
(4.11a, SKQS 587-304).
4. ... ' ...
(22.2b, SKQS 1228-432).
5. J3)) ' : B ' ftftaW f]
(1.11b, SKQS 924-9).
itt"
6. ... : r ... ZJfiJE '
(8.6a-b, SKQS 859-
Z*Eim" ... J :
rMm, mmJjIJ1j" J 165); (99.34a, SKQS
1421-192/93).
7. : ' ... J
(11-6.46b, SKQS 1013-
190). Cf . (3a, SKQS 1220-
129).
8. 511'F r*Ei.J ':A:lft!,)){'p r*Ei
)j!ft (11.16b-17a, SKQS 857-275).
f ' 1Itfi r5 J3l.0

m' 1Itfi' .Ml.0-" :
rfrl[mazl.0mm" J
gIH'F1Itfi' fi' mtrIPJ{f"
5 See also Appendix 2(B), no. 6.
402
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
MONICA ESPOSITO
(C) ASSOCIATION OF YUYI AND JIELIN WITH THE CHARIOTEERS OF SUN &
MOON, AND WITH MOON CHARACTERS & FIGURES
.... B 1mII 0
(74.8b, SKQS 1270-733).
... IMi' B 0 , Jj 0 B ' Jj 1mII Mlll (5.1b, SKQS 222-534).

--
((l/it:rllf'JI:))
(1.3b, SKQS 1273-301) .
... B Jj , , , I!Wmfg , m:rJitj
M'
((Jj !6))
(3.9b, SKQS 1273-317).
J!IltmiMi 0 !I!lJ!:%t.Jtis B 0

(5.22b, SKQS 1273-317).
' 0 * B , iMlFJ 0
...
Jj 0 (31.15a, SKQS 1303-
599).
(B)j. JI:))
(4.9a, SKQS 1419-
... ... .... 0 165).
(B)j . JI:))
(24.46b, SKQS 1419-
o 568).
))
(21.26b, SKQS 1475-493).



(1.10b, SKQS 1228-185).
... 0
((JlAtJj ))
lliMiiJJil;; (2.36b, SKQS 495-49).
' 0 , 1ft
0
THE PREHISTORY OF LAOZI:
HIS PRIOR CAREER AS A WOMAN IN THE LINGBAO SCRIPTURES*
Stephen R. BOKENKAMP
Kobayashi Masayoshi a propose une theorie tres suivie concernant Ie
developpement de la religion taoiste basee, au moins en partie, sur la datation
qu 'if propose des deux parties des ecrits Lingbao identifiees par Lu
Xiujing. Sa datation se fonde sur la constatation que la seconde partie met
I 'accent sur Laozi et son livre (et pour cela if doit etre l'ceuvre d'un groupe de
Maftres Celestes ), tandis que la premiere ne mentionne pas cette divinite.
Cet article explore principalement la premiere partie de ces ecrits Lingbao,
ceux qui concernent la manifestation du Tao dans les cycles de kalpa
precedents pour determiner ce qu'ils ont a dire sur Laozi. II en resulte que
Laozi dans les systemes des mondes anterieurs n' etait guere appe!e Laozi
mais, qu' au lieu de cela, if etait passe a travers maintes renaissances en tant
que femme avant de devenir la divinite Huanglao jun, I 'un des Cinq Anciens
Seigneurs associes a l'ouest dans l'histoire imaginative des textes Lingbao.
C'est sur cette base et pour d'autres raisons aussi que I 'on peut constater que
les deux parties des ecrits Lingbao essayent de reformuler les croyances des
Maftres Celestes de la meme maniere qu'ils Ie font avec les croyances et les
doctrines bouddhiques. Pourjinir, dans I 'analyse des textes Lingbao, "on doit
tenir compte de leur structure narrative explicite.
The early Lingbao scriptures, appearing on the scene in southern China at the
beginning of the fifth century CE, offer testimony to important developments in
the Daoist religion.
1
Most importantly, they are the first Daoist scriptures to
incorporate Buddhist elements extensively into their system. In addition to the
important concept of rebirth, which figures everywhere in the early Lingbao
texts, elements of Buddhist inspiration find transfiguration in Lingbao cosmology,
soteriology, attitudes toward scripture, ecclesiastical organization, and ritual
practice. In addition, as widely noted, the Lingbao scriptures had a profound and
* An earlier, and preliminary, version of this article has been published as "The
Salvation of Laozi: Images of the Sage in the Lingbao Scriptures, the Ge Xuan Preface,
and the Yao Boduo Stele of 496 C.E.," Daoyuan binfen lu A Daoist
eds. Lee Cheuk Yin and Chan Man Sing (Hong Kong: Shangwu, 2002),
pp.287-314.
1 An introduction to the Lingbao scriptures may be found in my "Sources of the Ling-
pao Scriptures," Tant1'ic and Taoist Studies in HonoztT of R. A. Stein, Vol. 2, ed. Michel
Striclanann (Brussels: Institut belge des Hautes Etudes chinoises, 1983), pp. 461-478 and
Eady Daoist Scriptuns (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997), pp. 8-10 and 373-404.
Cahiers d'Extreme-Asie 14 (2004) : 403-421.