The Collected Works from the Mountain Spring 岘泉集
Paul PengThe Collected Works from the Mountain Spring
Compiled by Zhang Yuchu, the 43rd Heavenly Master of Celestial Master Daoism in the early Ming Dynasty, this work was completed in the fifth year of the Yongle reign period (1407).
In twelve volumes, it is included in the Zhengyi Section of The Daozang.
The Collected Works from the Mountain Spring
As a collection of Zhang Yuchu’s poems and prose, it contains more than 100 prose works of various genres and over 200 poems, odes, and songs. The essence of the entire book is embodied in the 14 prose pieces recorded in the first volume, such as Chong Dao (On the Profound Dao), Shen Ben (On Upholding the Root), Taiji Shi (Explanation of Taiji), Xiantian Tu Lun (Treatise on the Innate Diagram), Hetu Yuan (Origin of the River Diagram), and Guang Yuan Xing (Expanding on the Original Nature), which focus on expounding the author’s philosophical thoughts.
Drawing primarily on the nihilistic ideas of Laozi and Zhuangzi, it integrates the Neo-Confucian theory of nature and principle from the Song Dynasty, and also incorporates Buddhist teachings. It elaborates on the creation of heaven and earth, the origin of all things, the cultivation of mind and nature, as well as mountains and rivers, figures, rituals, music, and institutions.
The prose works such as biographies, prefaces, and discourses collected in Volumes 2 to 7 involve much Taoist historical facts, which are valuable for reference. The poems, odes, and songs in the last four volumes are also graceful, fresh, and endowed with the wonderful charm of natural innocence.
