WuZhai XianSheng WenJi Taoist Scriptures 勿斋先生文集

Written by Yang Zhizhi of the Southern Song Dynasty.

It consists of two volumes and is included in the Taiping (Great Peace) section of the Daozang (Daoist Canon).

This book collects sixty-eight letters and documents of thanks, all written in parallel prose with quite elegant and beautiful diction.

The author Yang Zhizhi was a Taoist priest of the Gezao Mountain in the Southern Song Dynasty, bestowed the title of "Eminent Scholar" by Emperor Lizong of Song, and was in charge of Taoist affairs.

Therefore, his correspondents were all court officials, nobles, literati and scholars, ranging from prime ministers to the emperor.

The contents of the letters either congratulate officials on their promotions, congratulate hermits on their summon to officialdom, or express gratitude to court officials for their recommendations. From these letters, we can see the interactions between Taoist priests and the officialdom. Some documents also reflect the social conditions of that time. For example, in the article Letter of Thanks to Prefect Wang Jianbo, it states: "Monks and Taoist priests, carrying their headscarves and alms bowls, are as numerous as clouds, stretching out their jaws waiting for food; Farmers, holding their plows and hoes, have finally got the rainfall, yet they have to beg for grain seeds to support farming. The grain in the granaries has not even been half delivered, but the county taxes have long been collected in advance." From this, we can see the heavy exploitation imposed on the peasants by the officialdom in the Southern Song Dynasty.