Veiled Radiance Collection 葆光集

Composed by Yin Zhiping, a Taoist priest during the late Jin and early Yuan dynasties. Consisting of three scrolls, it is included in the Taiping Section of the The Daozang.

As a collection of poems, prose, and sayings by Quanzhen Dao master Yin Zhiping, it contains over 400 poems and ci-poems, as well as two pieces of recorded sayings. Most of the poems are reflections on current events, depicting the leisurely and comfortable life sentiment of the author himself and other Quanzhen Taoist priests, which contrasts with the hardships of the turbulent times. It also exhorts people to abide by their duties through the concept of karma, urging them not to harbor greed or deceitful intentions.

Veiled Radiance Collection

Regarding Taoist cultivation, it focuses on illuminating the mind and perceiving nature— a core concept of Internal Alchemy (Neidan)— similar to Chan Buddhism. It holds that there is no need to study lead and mercury (alchemical metaphors); recognizing one’s original true nature makes one an immortal. The key to illuminating the mind and perceiving nature lies in purity and tranquility, rooted in the balance of Yin and Yang. The essence of purity and tranquility lies in contemplating emptiness: understanding all phenomena yet not clinging to them is the "empty nature of all dharmas."

It also relays the essentials of life and nature in Quanzhen Taoism passed down by his master (Qiu Chuji): "Wisdom and life support each other; with one’s true nature firmly settled, enter the dharma gate of great freedom, merge into the true One, transcend birth and death forever, attain spiritual penetration and ease, and experience tangible results in the present—this is the wonderful Dao." The work reflects the integration of Quanzhen teachings with traditional Taoist thought during the Yuan Dynasty.