Purple Book of Thunder Rites 高上神霄玉清真王紫书大法

Author unknown.

Judging from its content and language, it was presumably compiled by Taoist priests of the Shenxiao Sect during the Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty. Consisting of eleven scrolls, it is included in the Zhengyi Section of What is The Daozang.

Purple Book of Thunder Rites

The book opens with Preface to the Supreme Divine Firmament Purple Scripture Great Method, which states: the Primordial Heavenly King and the Jade Pure Divine Mother had eight sons, the eldest of whom is the Southern Pole Longevity Great Emperor, also titled the Supreme Divine Firmament Jade Pure True King. Moved by the sufferings of all living beings, the Jade Pure True King went to the Golden Palace of the Primordial Supreme Lord, and reverently requested the three-scroll Secret Method of the Divine Firmament True King. This method "hides the prohibitions of the ten thousand heavens above, the eternal methods of immortals in the middle, and the ways of governing people, subduing ghosts, protecting the state and calming the family below".

From this it can be known that the original book only had three scrolls, namely the first three scrolls of the current Daozang version, which was probably compiled in the late Northern Song Dynasty. Its main content expounds the origin of the Divine Firmament Great Method, introduces the genealogy, official positions and abodes of the various deities in the Heavenly Divine Firmament Palace, and outlines the essential tenets of the Divine Firmament Dao methods. It mentions that "the Jade Pure True King of the Divine Firmament is now decreed by the Jade Emperor to be the sovereign of the mortal world", and the so-called "sovereign" here presumably refers to Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty.

The subsequent eight scrolls (Note: The original text mentions "nine scrolls", corresponding to the eleven-scroll complete book minus the original three scrolls) of the Daozang version were presumably augmented by Taoist priests in the Southern Song or Yuan Dynasty, compiling the Dao methods and Taoist Talismans of the Shenxiao Sect. It includes chapters such as the Thunder Ministry Text, the Chapter of Refining the True and Verifying Immortality, the Great General Ministry, the Spirit Official Ministry for Subduing Evil, the Great Protection Method for Battling Ghosts and Subduing Demons, the True Talismans of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Prisons, the Thunderbolt Ministry for Smashing Demons, and the Secret Method of Praying for Rain in the Divine Palace.

The Dao methods in each chapter focus on the Thunder Arts, which are used to summon thunder and pray for rain, subdue demons and smash evil spirits, protect the body and preserve life, and stabilize the state and calm the family. The content of this book is generally consistent with the record in Biography of Lin Lingsu in History of the Song Dynasty, which states that Lin Lingsu claimed Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty was the reincarnation of the Jade Pure True King of the Divine Firmament.