Yunji Qianqian: The Essential Daoist Compendium

Yunji Qiqian (Seven Slips from the Cloud Satchel) is a large-scale Taoist encyclopedia that compiles key contents selected from Dasong Tiangong Baozang (Treasury of the Heavenly Palace of the Great Song). In the third year of the Tianxi era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1019), Zhang Junfang, who was then a compiler at the Imperial Academy, completed Dasong Tiangong Baozang. Later, he selected over ten thousand essential entries from it and compiled this book between the third and seventh years of the Tiansheng era (1025–1029) to present to Emperor Renzong.

Taoism refers to the containers for storing scriptures as "yunji" (cloud satchels) and classifies Taoist texts into seven divisions known as "Three Grottoes and Four Supplements." Thus, in the preface to this book, Zhang Junfang wrote, "I have culled the essence from the seven divisions of the cloud satchel and summarized the profound meanings of the precious collections and various texts," hence the name Yunji Qiqian. He also stated that the purpose of compiling this book was "first, to repay Emperor Zhenzong's kindness of trust and favor; second, to provide for His Majesty the Emperor's reading during the night hours; third, to assist the scholars at the Imperial Library in their proofreading duties; and beyond that, to slightly propagate the mysterious teachings."

According to Zhang Junfang's own preface, the book originally consisted of 120 volumes. It is recorded in Zhongxing Shumu (cited in Yuhai), the Qu version of Junzhai Dushu Zhi, the Yuan version of Junzhai Dushu Houzhi, Songshi·Yiwenzhi, and Wenxian Tongkao. Suichutang Shumu does not specify the number of volumes of Yunji Qiqian. There are also editions of Yunji Qiqian with 124 volumes and 122 volumes. The currently circulating version is the 122-volume Yunji Qiqian.

Yunji Qiqian takes the Shangqing School as orthodox, so it contains a particularly large number of Taoist texts from this school, detailing the transmission system of Shangqing scriptures and the practices of Shangqing cultivation, reflecting the era when the Shangqing School held a prominent position in academic circles. In addition, it includes more works from the Tang Dynasty than other newly published Taoist texts from the Five Dynasties and the early Song Dynasty. However, apart from continuing to acknowledge Laozi's status as the religious leader, this book particularly emphasizes the worship of the "Holy Ancestor" (Zhao Xuanlang) that emerged during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song. For example, it places Emperor Zhenzong's Xiantian Ji Xu and Xuanyuan Benji at the beginning of the chronicles, above Yuanshi Tianwang Ji, Taishang Daojun Ji, and Hunyuan Huangdi Shengji. In the biographies section, it first includes Yisheng Baode Zhenjun Zhuan, which has a preface written by Emperor Zhenzong and mainly propagates the divine right of the Song Dynasty's imperial power, followed by biographies of various immortals of the Shangqing School.

In terms of structure, the book clearly inherits the format of Wushang Miyao, which takes "Dao" as the origin, "verification" as the conclusion, and "methods" as the main body, but with a more compact structure and more reasonable classification. Siku Quanshu Zongmu Tiyao states that this book "has clear categories, covers the main ideas, includes all the essential frameworks and standards, and roughly contains the essence of the Taoist canon." Although this book is a compilation, it essentially has a comprehensive nature, discussing various aspects of Taoism. Its value is particularly reflected in volumes 3 to 9, which systematically and clearly expound on the origins and development of the Taoist canon, preserving precious materials such as Lingbao Lüeji, Shangqing Yuantong Jingmu Zhu Xu, and Lu Xiujing's Lingbao Jingmu Xu. The book also adds two major contents: "discourses" and "inner alchemy," which are of great significance for studying the history of Taoism in the Tang and Song dynasties and comprehensively understanding Taoist theories. Therefore, it is known as the "Small Taoist Canon" and is an essential reference for understanding and researching Taoism.