The Tongxuan Zhenjing 通玄真经 Wenzi

The Tongxuan Zhenjing 通玄真经 Wenzi

Paul Peng
Tongxuan Zhenjing is also known as Wenzi. In the first year of Tianbao during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (742), Emperor Xuanzong issued an imperial edict to confer the title of "Tongxuan Zhenren" (Perfected One of Penetrating the Mysterious) on Wenzi, and honored the book Wenzi as Tongxuan Zhenjing, which is regarded by Taoism as one of the "Four Masters" true scriptures.


Liu Xiang's Seven Summaries recorded that Wenzi consisted of nine chapters, and the Book of Han·Yiwenzhi (Treatise on Arts and Literature) listed it as nine volumes. Ruan Xiaoxu's Seven Records of the Liang Dynasty recorded it as ten volumes, while both the Sui Shu·Jingji zhi (Treatise on Classics and Records) and the New Book of Tang·Yiwen zhi recorded it as twelve volumes. It was once considered a forged book in the past.


In 1973, fragments of Wenzi were unearthed from the No. 40 Han tomb in Dingxian County, Hebei Province. Among them, six chapters are identical to those in the existing version of Wenzi. Based on this, some scholars believe that it is not a forged book but a pre-Qin ancient book that was later revised by subsequent generations.

Wenzi interprets Laozi's thoughts, inherits and develops the theory of "Dao" (the Way), and also incorporates thoughts from the Schools of Names, Legalism, Confucianism, and Mohism. Song Lian of the Ming Dynasty, in his Discriminations of the Masters, called it a commentary on Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching).


The existing annotations include Xu Lingfu's Annotations on Tongxuan Zhenjing in twelve volumes from the Tang Dynasty, Zhu Bian's Annotations on Tongxuan Zhenjing in seven volumes from the Song Dynasty, and Du Daojian's Zuan Yi on Tongxuan Zhenjing (Compilation and Meaning of Tongxuan True Scripture) in twelve volumes from the Yuan Dynasty, all of which are included in the Yujue (Jade Interpretations) category of the Dongshen Bu (Section of Cave Spirits) in the Zhengtong Daozang (Orthodox Taoist Canon).
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Paul Peng — Zhengyi Taoist Priest, Longhu Mountain

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Paul Peng

Paul Peng is a Zhengyi Taoist priest from Longhu Mountain, Jiangxi — the ancestral home of the Celestial Masters' tradition. Ordained at 25 after a dream from the Celestial Master, he has practiced for 25 years under Master Zeng Guangliang. He is the curator of this store, which is officially authorized by Tianshi Fu. All items are consecrated at the temple by the resident priest team.

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