True Canon Of Esoteric Dunjia 秘藏通玄变化六阴洞微遁甲真经

Original author unknown.

Compiled around the Northern Song Dynasty, it consists of three volumes, included in the Methods category of The Dongshen Section of The Daozang.

The first volume of the original text includes an appendix: Memorial Presenting the Classic by Zhao Pu, Right Vice-Premier of the Northern Song, and Preface on the Origin of the Divine Dunjia Classic by an anonymous author.

They state that this classic was bestowed upon the Yellow Emperor by the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady. Later, eminent generals and statesmen of the Han and Tang dynasties—such as Chen Ping, Deng Yu, Zhuge Liang, Guo Ziyi, and Li Jing—all obtained this book. Using it in military campaigns, they could summon wind, rain, thunder, and lightning at will; evil spirits and malicious deities would flee underground and dare not obstruct them.

A hermit named Liu Han from Luofu Mountain presented this book to Zhao Pu, admonishing him to practice it with reverence, for “his merit would then not be inferior to that of the Five Masters.” In the fourth year of the Kaibao era (971), the book was ordered to be stored in the Secret Pavilion. From this, it is clear that the work is a pseudograph attributed by Taoist priests of the Northern Song Dynasty.

The first volume contains the main text, focusing on the Yin-Yang Dunjia art for military use. It states that one who wears this classic, observes fasting, burns incense, invokes the Jade Emperor, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady, the Arctic Zhenwu Sage Lord, and other deities, visualizes and invokes the Six Ding Jade Maidens, paces the Big Dipper, and recites incantations, can summon the Six Yin and Six Ding to attend the altar, protect the practitioner, defeat enemies, and safeguard the nation.

The middle and lower volumes expand on the first volume, explaining the names and functions of the Six Ding and Six Jia, as well as the rituals and ceremonies for worshipping them. They contain various divine seals, talismans, altar diagrams, memorials, hand seals, and sacrificial items used in the rites.