The True Classic of Spiritual Profundity 洞灵真经

Originally titled Kangcangzi, alternatively written as Gengsangzi.

According to Wei Tao’s Preface to the Collection of Meng Haoran and Xin Tangshu·Yiwenzhi (New Book of Tang·Treatise on Literature and Arts), it was composed by Wang Tuyuan, a scholar living in seclusion, during the Tianbao reign period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. The original text consisted of two volumes; the version preserved in the Daozang (Daoist Canon) is combined into one volume, included in the Benwen (Original Text) category of the Dongshen Section of the Daozang. The book comprises nine chapters in total: except for the opening chapter Quandao (Perfecting the Dao), which plagiarizes Zhuangzi·Gengsang Chu, the remaining chapters—Yongdao (Applying the Dao), Zhengdao (Governing with the Dao), Jundao (The Dao of Monarchs), Chendao (The Dao of Ministers), Xiandao (The Dao of Worthies), Shundao (Following the Dao), Nongdao (The Dao of Agriculture) and Bingdao (The Dao of Warfare)—are compiled from ancient texts such as the Liezi, Wenzi, Shangjunshu (Book of Lord Shang), Lüshi Chunqiu (Master Lü’s Spring and Autumn Annals), Xinxu (New Prefaces), Shuoyuan (Garden of Persuasions) and Liji (Book of Rites).

The True Classic of Spiritual Profundity

Although it is a compilation of excerpts from various sources, its content is relatively coherent, with the core purport expounding on the Dao of governing a state and preserving one’s own well-being.