The Divine Glyphic Scripture 太上清静元洞真文玉字妙经

The author is unknown.

Judging from its content and linguistic style, the text is believed to have been compiled by Taoist priestsduring theNorthern and Southern Dynastiesor the Sui-Tang period.

It consists of one fascicle and is included in theSupreme Mystery Divisionof theDaoist Canon (Daozang).

Composed of nine sections of jade instructions and one rhymed text, the scripture is dedicated to explaining the "True Scripts and Jade Characters"—i.e., Taoist talismans. Only the annotations are preserved in the extant text, with no surviving talismans themselves; the wording of the annotations is also rather obscure. Its core purpose is to teach methods for interpreting and writing talismanic characters. It also instructs readers to recite the names of immortals and demons to ward off inauspicious disasters.