Lingfei Liujia Fu: Sixty Jade Maidens for Immortal Ascension

The Shangqing Jade Palace Spirit-Flying Six Jia Left, Right, and Upper Talismans

The Shangqing Jade Palace Spirit-Flying Six Jia Left, Right, and Upper Talismans (Shangqing Qionggong Lingfei Liu Jia Zuoyou Shang Fu) is one of the early classics of the Shangqing School, presumably dating back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317–420 CE).

Volume 5 of Zhengao (The True Declarations) states: "In the Dao of immortality, there are plain memorials and cinnabar talismans for summoning the Six Jia"; Catalogue of the Shangqing Great Grottoes True Scripture (Shangqing Dadong Zhenjing Mu) records the entry "One Scroll of the Shangqing Plain Memorial Cinnabar Talismans: Spirit-Flying Six Jia"—both references refer to this text.

The surviving version today is included in the "Divine Talismans" category of the Dongzhen (True Grotto) Section of the Daozang (Taoist Canon).

Wushang Miyao (The Supreme Secret Essentials) also extensively quotes from this scripture. The text discusses the method of "contemplating the spirits of the Six Jia and swallowing the divine talismans of the Six Jia."

The "Six Jia" (Liu Jia) refer to the six stems—Jiazi, Jiaxu, Jiashen, Jiawu, Jiachen, and Jiayin—from the Chinese sexagenary cycle (a system combining ten Heavenly Stems and twelve Earthly Branches to mark time); Taoism reveres them as deities. This text proclaims that the spirits of the sixty sexagenary cycle stems are the "Spirit-Flying Six Jia Jade Maidens of the Shangqing Jade Palace," totaling sixty in number. They are divided into six left and right departments, namely:

Left Spirit-Flying Jade Maidens Department of the Jiazi Taixuan Palace,
Left Spirit-Flying Jade Maidens Department of the Jiaxu Huangsu Palace,
Left Spirit-Flying Jade Maidens Department of the Jiashen Taisu Palace,
Right Spirit-Flying Jade Maidens Department of the Jiawu Jiang Palace,
Right Spirit-Flying Jade Maidens Department of the Jiachen Baijing Palace,
Right Spirit-Flying Jade Maidens Department of the Jiayin Qingyao Palace.

Each department has ten Jade Maidens, each with a specific title, a divine image, and one divine talisman. In addition, there are two "Supreme Taiji Jade Essence True Formula Upper Talismans," which serve as the "talisman origin" (fu zong) for the divine talismans of the left and right Six Jia Jade Maidens.

The scripture claims: By following the method—closing one’s eyes to contemplate the Six Jia Jade Maidens, and swallowing the "Supreme Taiji Jade Essence True Formula Upper Talismans" and the divine talismans of the Six Jia Jade Maidens—one can summon spirits, command deities, dispel disasters, and resolve hardships. Eventually, the Jade Maidens will come to welcome one with a hand towel, and one will ascend to become an immortal.