The Unseen Merit Edict Pictorial Compendium 阴骘文图证

A popular annotated version of The Treatise on the Hidden Virtues of Emperor Wenchang during the Qing Dynasty.

According to the postscript written by Qian Zhenlun in the 4th year of the Guangxu reign period (1878), this book “was widely circulated and republished in numerous editions”. Qu Yingshan of Qiantang in Zhejiang Province once published an edition, with illustrations drawn by Fei Xiaolou, a painter renowned for his portraits of beautiful women. Each line of the text was paired with a corresponding illustration, and the full-page layout was condensed into a half-page format. Xiang Xiaoqing, admiring its exquisite craftsmanship, republished this edition; later, Xiang’s descendants reprinted it based on the original impression.

In this edition, the original lines of the Treatise on the Hidden Virtues were engraved outside the page borders. Inside the borders, illustrations occupied half of each page, followed by textual explanations. Below the explanations, the section titled “Supplementary Evidences” was printed in smaller characters, containing additional stories and legends beyond the original illustrated annotations.

This work is included in the Precepts and Morality Books Section of the Non-canonical Taoist Texts.