Canon of Celestial Official Appointments 太上净明院补奏职局太玄都省须知

Originally attributed to "Xu Jingyang, the Perfect Lord of Supreme Eminence, Divine Merit and Wonderful Salvation, in interpretation", it is actually a work falsely ascribed to him by Taoist priests of the Pure Brightness Sect during the Southern Song Dynasty.

Comprising one scroll, it is included in the Methods category of the Dongxuan Section of the Daozang.

Canon of Celestial Official Appointments

The text is divided into three parts: Essentials of the Supreme Mysterious Metropolitan Ministry, Essentials of the Official Rank System of the Celestial Pivot Court Metropolitan Ministry, and Rules and Regulations for the Official Governance of the Profound Deity Hall. These three parts respectively elaborate on the official systems and functions of three levels of celestial government offices (namely the Supreme Mysterious Metropolitan Ministry, the Celestial Pivot Court, and the Profound Deity Hall), as well as the methods for supplementary appointment and promotion based on specific rules and merits. According to the teachings of Pure Brightness Sect texts, those who have achieved merits through Taoist cultivation may be appointed to official positions in the celestial government offices in accordance with this official system, and promoted based on their merits following the promotion rules.

The Daozang also contains three other texts—Standards of Essentials for the Administrative Department of the Celestial Pivot Court, Decrees of Essentials for the Administrative Department of the Celestial Pivot Court, and Documentary Procedures of Essentials for the Administrative Department of the Celestial Pivot Court—all of whose contents are included in this book. Additionally, the "Chapter on Official Ranks" in Volume One of The Lingbao Pure Brightness Method of the Flying Immortals for Delivering All Beings outlines an official system and rules that are identical to those described in this text.