The True Grotto Supreme Great Heaven Jade Book 洞真太上太霄琅书

The True Grotto Supreme Great Heaven Jade Book (Dongzhen Taishang Taixiao Langshu) is an early classic of the Shangqing School, presumably compiled during the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589 CE).

Volume 47 of Wushang Miyao (The Supreme Secret Essentials) records the entry "The Great Heaven Jade Book: Jade Emperor’s Literary Scripture – Three Essentials in Ten Scrolls"—this refers to the present text. The original work consisted of ten scrolls; the surviving version in the Daozang (Taoist Canon) has nine scrolls (with the second scroll missing) and is included in the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Section.

The first scroll of this text is the original content of The Supreme Great Heaven Jade Book: Jade Emperor’s Literary Scripture (a key early classic of the Shangqing School; see the entry for that text for detailed content).

Scrolls 3 to 10 respectively describe the precepts for receiving and upholding the scripture, fasting rituals, cultivation methods, Taoist attainments, and other ritual procedures, divided into a total of 38 chapters (the original had 39 chapters, with one chapter from the second scroll missing).

This section is believed to have been compiled by Taoist priests of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, who collected materials from other Taoist texts. Its purpose was to elaborate on the original scripture and explain the essential instructions and ritual methods for practicing the Dao.