String of Pearls from the Garden of Immortals 仙苑编珠
Paul PengString of Pearls from the Garden of Immortals
Compiled by Wang Songnian, a Taoist priest of Mount Tiantai.
Wang Songnian was a figure of the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties.
It is recorded as one volume in Bibliography of General Records, Secret Bibliography, and Bibliography of the History of the Song Dynasty.
String of Pearls from the Garden of Immortals
The existing edition in The Daozang is divided into three volumes, included in the Biographical Category of The Dongxuan Section.
Modeled on the style of Mengqiu by Li Han, the book uses four-character rhyming verses as the main text, with supplementary annotations that quote ancient texts and immortal biographies, together with the author’s own observations, to briefly narrate the stories of the immortals and perfected beings listed in the main text.
The main text consists of 155 entries (two lines per entry), recording more than 300 immortals, including revered Taoist deities such as the Heavenly Venerable and the Jade Emperor, legendary figures such as Fuxi and Pangu, later sage kings and enlightened rulers, and practitioners who cultivated the Dao and attained truth.
Some of the Taoist texts and immortal biographies quoted are now lost or incomplete. Therefore, this book is of great reference value for the study of Taoist immortal beliefs before the Five Dynasties, and can also supplement the gaps in existing Taoist texts and immortal biographies.
