Genealogy of the Han Heavenly Masters 汉天师世家

Compiled by Zhang Zhengchang, the 42nd Celestial Master, during the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, edited and finalized by Zhang Yuchu, the 43rd Celestial Master, during the Yongle reign, and supplemented by Zhang Guoxiang, the 50th Celestial Master, in the 35th year of the Wanli reign (1607). The book consists of four volumes and is included in the Daozang Supplement.

This work is the genealogy of the Zhang Celestial Masters. It collects materials from official histories, Taoist texts, external works, and legends to compile a chronological family history of the Zhengyi Section Celestial Masters through successive dynasties.

Genealogy of the Han Heavenly Masters

It begins with Zhang Liang, Marquis of Liu of the Western Han Dynasty, the primogenitor of the Zhang clan, and Zhang Ling, the Ancestral Celestial Master of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and extends down to Zhang Yongxu, the 49th Celestial Master of the Ming Dynasty. For each figure, it records in detail their life experiences, Taoist activities, and relevant writings. It also includes the titles conferred by imperial courts of successive dynasties, as well as the imperial edicts, commendations, and eulogies related to their investiture.

Among these accounts, the biographies of Celestial Masters before the Sui and Tang dynasties are not entirely reliable, while the historical facts become clearer after the late Tang and Northern Song dynasties.

Prefaces by renowned scholars and officials such as Song Lian, Su Boheng, Zhou Tianqiu, and Yu Wenwei appear at the beginning and end of the book. Song Lian also supplemented the Zhang clan’s genealogy before Zhang Liang, much of which consists of unfounded legends.