Arcane Pearl Commentary
Originally attributed to "Wang Sunzhi, the Dweller in Truth, who composed the commentary and annotations", this text consists of one volume and is included in the Arts Category of the The Dongxuan Section in The Daozang.
The preface is written by Zhangsun Zi in the year of Dingyou of the Yuanhe era of the Tang Dynasty (817 AD), stating that Cui Shaoxuan, the youngest daughter of Cui Gong, the governor of Fenzhou, was originally a scribe serving the Jade Emperor in the Golden Tower. She was banished to the mortal world and married Lu Chui. Later, the Supreme Lord summoned her back to the celestial realm. Before her departure, she left the Poem on Upholding the One as a gift for Lu Chui.
Arcane Pearl Commentary
Wang Sunzhi, the Dweller in Truth, obtained this poem from Lu Chui and expanded it into a commentary with annotations, "naming it The Mysterious Pearl Heart Mirror".
This story is also recorded in Extensive Records of the Taiping Era, Volume 67, Biography of Cui Shaoxuan, which mentions that Wang Fanggu, a Taoist priest from Jiuyi Mountain, wrote a commentary of several thousand words on Shaoxuan’s remaining poem, ordering Lu Chui to transcribe it in writing, "naming it Shaoxuan’s The Mysterious Pearl Heart Mirror". Wang Fanggu is suspected to be the same person as Wang Sunzhi, the Dweller in Truth.
The Bibliography of the Chongwen Imperial Library of the Song Dynasty and Comprehensive Records of Literature·Bibliographic Survey both record " The Mysterious Pearl Heart Mirror Poem, one volume, written by the Tang Dynasty woman Cui Shaoxuan", which refers to this text.
The book contains two scriptures: Poem on Upholding the One and Precious Chapter on Upholding the One in the Great Dao. The former is a seven-character quatrain and the latter is a verse, both based on Laozi’s doctrines of embracing the One, keeping the feminine, and being empty and natural, expounding the essence of upholding the One to achieve emptiness. It presumably belongs to the school of natural and pure cultivation in Taoism.
Wang Sunzhi’s annotations cite texts such as the Tao Te Ching, Scripture of the Western Ascension, and Huangting Scripture to explain the way of upholding the One, and also incorporate internal cultivation methods such as embryonic breathing and spirit visualization, which are related to Qi circulation practices.
Featured Products
Handpicked recommendations just for you
