The original title of this work bears the annotation "Compiled by Wang Xuanhe, a Land and Sea Feathered Guest of the Great Tang Dynasty".
The Secret Catalogue (of the Southern Song Dynasty), Tongzhi·Yiwen Lue (Comprehensive Records of Arts and Literature), and History of the Song Dynasty·Yiwen Zhi (Treatise on Arts and Literature) all record it as a thirty-chapter text.
Today, only ten chapters of the version included in the Daozang (Daoist Canon) remain, and it is incorporated into the Taiping Bu (Tai Ping Section) of the canon.
As a significant encyclopedic compilation of Daoist texts from the Tang Dynasty, this work extracts content from various Daoist scriptures and organizes them thematically into distinct categories.
The existing version consists of thirty categories in total, among which:
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Categories such as "Jiudao Pin" (Salvation and Guidance), "Pinjian Pin" (Frugality and Thrift), "Taoguang Pin" (Concealing Brilliance), and "Chizhao Daoshi Pin" (Imperial Edicts Summoning Daoist Priests) narrate the life stories of immortal Daoists throughout history.
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Categories including "Toushanshui Longjian Pin" (Castigating Dragon Tablets in Mountains and Waters), "Fushi Pin" (Diet and Nourishment), "Jueli Pin" (Abstaining from Grains), "Shenxian Danyao Mingpin" (Famous Immortal Elixirs and Medicines), "Danzao Xianglu Pin" (Elixir Furnaces and Incense Burners), "Zuowang Jingsi Pin" (Sitting in Oblivion and Concentrated Contemplation), "Shijie Pin" (Seasons and Festivals), and "Kouchiyanye Pin" (Knocking Teeth and Swallowing Saliva) elaborate on Daoist practices such as alchemy, ingestion of nourishing substances, and methods for achieving immortality through cultivation.
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Categories like "Changzhai Pin" (Prolonged Fasting), "Zhaihui Pin" (Fasting Gatherings), "Sheshi Jie Pin" (Precepts on Renouncing Attachments), "Qingjie Pin" (Pure Precepts), "Ligong Jinji Pin" (Taboos on Performing Meritorious Deeds), and "Shouchi Bajie Zhai Pin" (Observing the Eight-Precept Fasting) expound on the methods of fasting and abstinence.
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Categories such as "Ershisi Zhi Pin" (Twenty-Four Taoist Jurisdictions), "Ershisi Qi Pin" (Twenty-Four Solar Terms), "Ershisi Diyu Pin" (Twenty-Four Hells), "Ershisi Zhi Pin" (Twenty-Four Official Positions), "Ershisi Ying Pin" (Twenty-Four Responses), and "Ershisi Zhentu Pin" (Twenty-Four True Diagrams) discuss the establishment of jurisdictions and official positions in Tianshi Dao (Celestial Master Daoism) as well as the worship of heaven, earth, ghosts, and spirits in the tradition.
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The "Famen Mingshu Pin" (Categories of Daoist Doctrines and Terminologies) and "Xianghao Pin" (Appearance and Excellence) address the ranks, positions, and physical appearances of immortal beings and true spirits.
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Categories including "Zhutian Nianhao Riyue Pin" (Year Titles, Sun, and Moon of the Heavenly Realms), "Fenhua Guoshang Pin" (Differentiation and Transformation of Superior States), and "Jieshu Pin" (Aeons and Kalpas) expound on the operation of heaven and earth and the cycles of aeons.
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The "Laozi Wei Dishi Pin" (Laozi as the Imperial Tutor) and "Laozi Hua Xihu Pin" (Laozi's Transformation to Convert the Western Barbarians) recount the legends of Laozi descending to the mortal world to serve as a tutor to emperors and his transformation to convert the barbarians of the West to Buddhism.
The entire work cites more than 200 kinds of Daoist texts, among which many are lost ancient books, such as Daoxue Zhuan (Biographies of Daoist Scholars), Tongmen Lun (Treatise on the Unified Gateway), and Laozi Huahu Jing (Scripture of Laozi's Transformation to Convert the Barbarians).
It stands as an important historical source for the study of Daoism during the Six Dynasties and the Sui-Tang periods.
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