GENDER,

POWER, AND TALENT

 Gender, Power, and Talent
THE JOURNEY OF DAOIST PRIESTESSES IN TANG CHINA

Jinhua Jia

Columbia University Press

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E-ISBN 978-0-231-54549-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jia, Jinhua, author.
Title: Gender, power, and talent : the journey of Daoist priestesses in Tang China / Jinhua Jia.
Description: New York : Columbia University Press, 2018. | Includes bibliographical references
and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017029657 | ISBN 9780231184441 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Taoism—History. | Taoist women—History.
Classification: LCC BL1923 .J48 2018 | DDC 299.5/1461082—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017029657

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Cover design: Milenda Nan Ok Lee

Cover images: (background) Princess Jinxian’s epitaph, transcribed by Princess Yuzhen.
Courtesy of Chang Chun 常春, personal rubbing collection; (inset image) Vestment of a “Dadong
nüguan” 大洞女冠, from Dongxuan lingbao sandong fengdao kejie yingshi, by Jinming Qizhen
(Daozang 1125)

To Bing
 Contents

List of Figures and Tables

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

I The Rise of Daoist Priestesses as a Gendered Religio-Social Group

Tang Ruling House’s Promotion of Daoism

Integration of Daoism and the Establishment of Daoist Monasticism
Changing Patterns in Gender Relations
The Emergence of Daoist Priestesses as a Gendered Group

II Destiny and Power of the Ordained Royal Women

Destiny or Choice: Ordained Princesses and Other Royal and Palace

Women
Power and Accomplishments: Princesses Jinxian and Yuzhen
Concluding Remarks
 III Religious Leadership, Practice, and Ritual Function

Overview of the Priestesses’ Religious Experience

Religious Leadership and Monastic Management
Religious Practices and Social Responsibilities
Ritual Functions
Concluding Remarks

IV Liu Moran and the Daoist Theory of Inner Cultivation

Liu Moran’s Life and Religious Experience

Authorship of the Two Zuowang lun
Themes of the Zuowang lun Inscription
Concepts of the Xue Yuanjun Inscription
Concluding Remarks

V Longevity Techniques and Medical Theory: The Legacy of Hu Yin

Hu Yin’s Life and the Composition of the HTNJT

Correlation Between the Five Viscera and the Five-Phase Cosmology
Hu Yin’s Depiction of the Images of the Six Visceral Spirits
Hu Yin’s Scheme for Seasonal Nurturing of the Viscera
Concluding Remarks

VI The Yaochi ji and Three Daoist Priestess-Poets

The Yaochi ji: Compilation, Contents, and Poets

The Life and Poetry of Li Jilan
The Life and Poetry of Yuan Chun
The Life and Poetry of Cui Zhongrong
Concluding Remarks

VII Unsold Peony: The Life and Poetry of the Priestess-Poet Yu Xuanji

Toward a Biography of Yu Xuanji

Love and Passion: A Desiring Subject
Gender Awareness and Self-Recognition
Concluding Remarks
 Conclusion

Appendix: Du Guangting and the Hagiographies of Tang Daoist Women

Compilation of the Jixian lu: Date and Purposes
Extant Hagiographies of Tang Female Daoists from the Jixian lu
Du Guangting’s Re-creation of the Image of Daoist Women
Concluding Remarks

Notes
Bibliography
Index
 Figures and Tables

Figures

Figure 1.1. Vestments of Tang Daoist priestesses

Figure 2.1. Princess Jinxian’s epitaph, transcribed by Princess Yuzhen
Figure 3.1. Fragments of the Benji jing, transcribed by Dunhuang Daoist
priestesses
Figure 5.1. The Visceral Spirits
Figure 5.2. Xiuzhen tu

Tables

Table 2.1. Ordained Princesses in the Tang Dynasty

Table 3.1. General Information on Tang Daoist priestesses
Table 4.1. Correspondence Between the Seven-Chapter Zuowang lun and
Zhao Zhijian’s Daode zhenjing shuyi
Table 4.2. Citations of the Zuowang lun Inscription from the Shenxian kexue
lun
Table 4.3. Formation of the Three-Stage Process of Inner Alchemy
Table 5.1. Hu Yin’s Method of Caring for and Nurturing the Viscera
Table 5.2. Hu Yin’s Method of Six Breaths for Healing the Viscera
Table 5.3. Hu Yin’s Method of Guiding and Pulling Exercises for the Viscera
Table 5.4. Hu Yin’s Method of Monthly Dietary Prohibition and Abstinence
Table 6.1. List of the Twenty-Three Poets Included in the Yaochi ji
Table 7.1. Yu Xuanji’s Biographical Chronicle
Table A.1. Hagiographies of Tang Taoist Women from the Jixian lu
 Acknowledgments

T
his book traces back to my master’s thesis, completed in 1982, in
which I discussed a group of poets active in the lower Yangzi River
region (Jiangnan) of Tang China during the early post–An Lushan
Rebellion (755–763) period. Among these southern poets was an
outstanding Daoist priestess-poet named Li Jilan (d. 784), about whom I
included a brief discussion when I later revised and published part of my
thesis under the title Jiaoran nianpu (Chronology of Jiaoran; Xiamen
University Press, 1992). Li’s relatively free activities and associations with
male poets, as well as her remarkable literary achievements, continued
to impel me to think about gender relations and the social status of Daoist
women in Tang China even as I was working on other research projects.
Finally, opportunity came in the 2005–2006 academic year, when I
received an appointment as research associate and visiting faculty from
the Women’s Studies in Religion Program at Harvard Divinity School, to
start my project on Tang Daoist priestesses. Subsequently, in 2011,
several friends and I held the first International Conference on Women
and Gender in Chinese Religions, in Macau, to promote and deepen
scholarly exploration of the relationship between women, gender, and
Chinese religions, after which I coedited the papers from this conference
into a volume titled Gendering Chinese Religion: Subject, Identity, and
Body (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2014). I then received,
during the 2014–2015 academic year, a Henry Luce fellowship from the
National Humanities Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina,
and a membership from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton to
complete this project.
In addition to the three fellowships/memberships from the HDS, NHC,
and IAS that made it possible for me to finish this undertaking, I have
also been greatly indebted to many mentors, friends, and colleagues in
this on-and-off project over a long period, as well as other projects.
These include Roger T. Ames, Ann D. Braude, Victoria B. Cass, Tim Wai-
keung Chan, Chang Taiping, Chen Jinhua, Chen Wei, Chen Yinchi, Chen
Yunji, Cheng Chun Wai, Cheng Jihong, Cheng Qianfang, Chi Limei,
Jessey J. C. Choo, Chu Hung-lam, Nicola Di Cosmo, Deng Delong,
Nevia Dolcini, Elling Eide, Nancy Ellegate, Benjamin A. Elman, Sarah S.
Elman, Gong Jun, Vincent Goossaert, Beata Grant, Peter Hershock, Hu
Xiaoming, Huang Yong, Maria Jaschok, Kakei Fumio, Kang Xiaofei,
Kinugawa Kenji, Terry Kleeman, David R. Knechtges, Livia Kohn, Kong
Qingmao, Paul W. Kroll, Lai Ganjian, Lai Guolong, Lin Baoqing, Liu Xun,
Luo Zongqiang, Catherine Lynch, Ma Xinmin, Victor H. Mair, David
McMullen, John R. McRae, Murata Mio, Michael Nylan, Stephen Owen,
Gil Raz, Saitō Shigeru, Saito Tomohiro, Edward L. Shaughnessy, Richard
J. Smith, Sun Changwu, Stephen F. Teiser, Teng Wei-jen, Tian Xiaofei,
Elena Valussi, Wang Ping, Wang Xiaolin, Wang Xiaoyang, Wang
Xingguo, Wang Youru, Wang Yunxi, Wei Ronghua, Wai Ching Angela
Wong, Xia Jinhua, Xue Yu, Yan Haiping, Yao Ping, Yao Xinzhong, Yao
Zhihua, Yeung Siu-kwai, Yi Jo-lan, Yu Liping, Yu Xianhao, Zhong
Zhenzhen, Zhou Xunchu, Zhou Zuzhuan, Zhuang Yuan, Harriet T.
Zurndorfer, and others. To these I must add my friends of the 2005–2006
class of the WSRP and the 2014–2015 classes of the NHC and IAS.
My sincere thanks are also due to Christopher Kelen for his invaluable
help with the translation of all the poems; to my students Bai Zhaojie,
Huang Chenxi, Liu Gonghuang, and Yu Chunli, who helped to collect
research sources; to Jan Ryder, Bruce Tindall, Karen Carroll, and Todd
Manza for their helpful suggestions and polishing of versions or parts of
this work; to the three external and internal readers for their insightful
comments that helped to greatly enhance this book; and to editors
Jennifer Crewe, Wendy Lochner, Caroline Wazer, and Kathryn Jorge,
who made possible the publication of this book.
Furthermore, my special gratitude goes to Li Zehou, Liu Zaifu, Chen
Feiya, Qian Nanxiu, Ni Yingda, Huang Shuolin, Shen Zhijia, and Liu
Jianmei, and to my son Zheng Bingyu, for their continuing advice, help,
friendship, and love.
 Abbreviations

CFYG Cefu yuangui, ed. Wang Qinruo et al.

CSJCCB Congshu jicheng chubian, ed. Wang Yunwu et al.
DJJSL Daojia jinshi lüe, ed. Chen Yuan, Chen Zhichao, and Zeng
Qingying
DZ Daozang
HTJ Huangting neijing jing
HTNJT Huangting neijing wuzang liufu buxie tu, by Hu Yin
JTS Jiu Tangshu, by Liu Xu
MZ Tangdai muzhi huibian, ed. Zhou Shaoliang and Zhao Chao
MZXJ Tangdai muzhi huibian xuji, ed. Zhou Shaoliang and Zhao
Chao
P. Numbered Paul Pelliot manuscripts from Dunhuang in the
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris
QTS Quan Tangshi, ed. Peng Dingqiu et al.
QTSBB Quan Tangshi bubian, ed. Chen Shangjun
QTW Quan Tangwen, ed. Dong Gao et al.
QTWBB Quan Tangwen bubian, ed. Chen Shangjun
S. Numbered Aurel Stein manuscripts from Dunhuang in the
British Library, London
SBBY Sibu beiyao, ed. Zhonghua shuju
SBCK Sibu congkan, ed. Zhang Yuanji et al.
SKQS Siku quanshu, ed. Ji Yun et al.
T Taishō shinshū daizōkyō, ed. Takakusu Junjirō and Watanabe
Kaigyoku
THY Tang huiyao, by Wang Pu
TPGJ Taiping guangji, ed. Li Fang et al.
XTS Xin Tangshu, by Ouyang Xiu
Xulu Tang Wudai zhiguai chuanqi xulu, by Li Jianguo
XXSKQS Xuxiu siku quanshu, ed. Xuxiu siku quanshu bianwei hui
Yaochi ji Yaochi xinyong ji, ed. Cai Xingfeng
YJQQ Yinji qiqian, ed. Zhang Junfang
ZZTJ Zizhi tongjian, by Sima Guang

Texts cited from the Daozang are listed with the serial numbers given in
Kristofer Schipper and Franciscus Verellen, eds., The Taoist Canon: A
Historical Companion to the Daozang (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 2004).
 Introduction

A
lthough the history of Daoism in China has enjoyed an extensive
literature in recent decades, limited attention has so far been paid
to the experience of Daoist women. In seeking to fill this gap, I
provide in this book a full-length study of Daoist priestesses who
distinguished themselves as a gendered religio-social group during the
Tang dynasty (618–907). Applying a gender-critical approach combined
with religious and literary studies, I bring to light many previously
overlooked or understudied sources to describe the life journey of the
Daoist priestesses during the heyday of their religious tradition. In
particular, I explore how these priestesses took up the Daoist priesthood
as their career and realized their individual worth with meaningful
presentations. Interacting and negotiating with religious and social forces
and norms as the Daoist tradition developed in parallel with Tang society,
the priestesses were active in both the religious and social spheres,
where they enjoyed many different accomplishments not only in religious
leadership, theory, and practice, but also in politics, literature, and the
arts.
The emergence of Daoist priestesses in the Tang as a distinct religio-
social group was unprecedented in the history of Chinese women. Within
the complicated historical context of the Tang era that helped bring about
this unique phenomenon, the most fundamental factors were changes in
political policies, the religious landscape, and gender relations.
From the beginning, the Tang ruling house had traced its ancestry to
Laozi, the alleged founder of Daoism. Although at first this was used as
political legitimization rather than religious preference, the Tang emperors
gradually developed a genuine interest in Daoism, eventually
transforming the tradition into the state religion. For its part, the Daoist
movement, originating in the late Han dynasty of the second century,
developed various social, scriptural, or ritual lineages in the following
centuries. In the fifth and sixth centuries, around the divisional Northern
and Southern Dynasties period (420–589), Daoism began developing a
sense of identity, and leading Daoists worked to canonize and
systematize their scriptures, rituals, and lineages. By the Tang dynasty,
the ruling house and Daoist leaders were efficiently collaborating to
complete the project of integrating various Daoist lineages and to
institutionalize the religion. The government formulated important
policies, such as allotting farmland, issuing law codes, institutionalizing a
Daoist registration system, and establishing specific offices to sponsor
and regulate Daoist abbeys and individual Daoists. The Daoist tradition
itself also strengthened the integration and unification of its major
components and lineages, packaging an overall Daoist image. The result
of all these efforts was the full-fledged establishment of Daoist
monasticism and a hierarchical ordination system encompassing the
transmission of scriptures, precepts, and registers (daolu 道籙) from all
previous major lineages.1 It was within this dynamic political and religious
context that women were able to forge new identities and new roles for
themselves as Daoist priestesses, living a communal life in the convents
and forming their own communities.
The changing pattern in gender relations was yet another critical factor
in the rise of the Daoist priestesses, in turn altering the gendered power
structure of Tang society. Although the Tang government maintained the
traditional gender system, it also provided enough flexibility to allow
social relations between the two sexes to undergo significant changes.
Meanwhile, other forces and developments in the social, religious, and
cultural dimensions were encouraging further shifts in gender patterns.
The rise of Empress Wu 武后 (r. 684–705) as the only enthroned female
ruler in Chinese history demonstrated the effects of these new gender
patterns, while her forceful rule in turn influenced the reshaping of the
gendered power structure. The emergence of a group of writing women,
from female court officials to the many female poets included in the
Yaochi xinyong ji 瑤池新詠集 (Anthology of New Poetry from the
Turquoise Pond), also marked and promoted a powerful change in
gender patterns.
Another influence on reconstructing gender relations that pervaded
the entire Tang era was a growth in the culture of romance, developing
from a variety of religious, cultural, literary, and social impulses. The
Daoist tradition had developed a religious practice of using sexuality,
whether of a physical or a spiritual nature, to attain longevity and
immortality, and such practices persisted into the Tang. The continuing
popularity of the goddess cult, which was associated with sensual
appeal, erotic desire, and romantic passion, also promoted romantic
sentiments. Romanticized secular love stories described in the literati’s
poetry and narratives were a third element encouraging the growth of
romantic culture. The culture of jinshi 進士 (graduates who took the
imperial examinations) in the capital city Chang’an also accelerated these
sentimental tendencies through their intimate or romantic relationships
with courtesans.2
From the beginning of Daoism, women had been active in the various
Daoist lineages from the late Han to the divisional period, both as
religious practitioners and leaders. It was only during the Tang era,
however, that Daoist priestesses emerged as a religio-social group with
its own gendered identity within the historical context I have described.
According to an official statistic of the Kaiyuan reign period (713–741),
550 of 1,687 Daoist abbeys (32.6 percent) were convents, indicating that
about one-third of the Daoist priesthood was composed of priestesses.
The Daoist ordination system designed specific vestments for them, and
the priestesses were expressly designated as nüguan 女官 (female
official), nüguan 女冠 (female headdress), or nüdaoshi 女道士 (female
Daoist priest). There was even a particular musical tune composed
specifically to eulogize them. Moreover, Tang era documents usually
distinguished Daoist priestesses from three other religious groups—
Daoist priests, Buddhist monks, and Buddhist nuns.
Daoist convents were economically independent, thanks to land
allotments by the Tang government and private donations. Supported by
an independent economy, the priestesses mostly lived a communal life,
formed their own communities, and enjoyed their own autonomous
sphere. They also reached out to the public, giving sermons, performing
rituals, and becoming mentors to people of varied statuses. In addition,
some priestesses took on other social roles, as politicians, poets, and
artists. Ordained royal princesses exerted considerable influence on
contemporary religious and political matters, while talented priestess-
poets represented a new stage in the development of Chinese women’s
poetry and priestess-artists produced excellent calligraphic artworks.
Moreover, the popular cult of erotic goddesses was extended to include
Daoist priestesses, who were regarded as semi-goddesses or female
immortals.3 The priestess-poets in turn analogized themselves as
goddesses and immortals and empowered themselves with similar
attributes. All these religious and social roles thus provided opportunities
for the priestesses to trespass the traditional twin pillars of the so-called
three followings—sancong 三從, a woman following her father at home,
her husband in marriage, and her son(s) in widowhood—and the
separate spheres of the inner (domestic or private) and outer (public;
neiwai zhi bie 內外之別), and thereby become a considerable force in
their own right in the operational system of religion and society.4
In this first book to focus specifically on the priestesses of Tang
Daoism, I have based my research on a gender-critical framework.
Although the institutional structure of traditional society in general
marginalized women, under certain historical conditions the sociocultural
context could facilitate the discursive production of women’s dynamic
functions. This is especially true in the case of religion, as religious faith
and practice often served as a source of encouragement and
empowerment for women in specific historical and cultural contexts.5 The
notion of gender identity as constitutive of culture, society, and discourse
also means there were possibilities for emancipatory remodeling of
identity.6 Furthermore, the “gender-critical turn” has urged historians to
examine the ways in which gendered identities are substantively
constructed and to relate their findings to a range of activities, social
organizations, and cultural representations.7 Gender studies
encompasses both paradigms of descriptive and historically oriented
women’s studies and theoretically grounded and critically oriented
feminist studies.8 The gender-critical framework is therefore a more
inclusive and efficient approach to our study of Daoist women and their
relationships with religious, cultural, and social institutions.
In recent decades, the modern victimization of traditional Chinese
women has been questioned by many feminist historians. Applying
gender as an analytical category, they have compared the traditional
gender norms with contrasting evidence of women’s social practices, and
they have explored the roles taken by women and the contributions to the
functioning of society that these roles enabled. Although family and
kinship have been the central concern of this scholarship, other female
activities and roles, beyond the function of daughter, wife, and mother,
also have been discussed, including roles as economic producers,
courtesans, teachers, writers, healers, religious figures, and even social
reformers.9 These scholars have presented a historical picture of how
traditional women of different social statuses and time periods negotiated
with social and cultural norms and forces and acted meaningfully and
rewardingly in a world that was structured to their disadvantage. These
studies have indeed provided invaluable methodological inspiration for
the writing of this book.
A number of scholars have paid attention to Tang Daoist priestesses.
In their study on Daoist women, Catherine Despeux and Livia Kohn
included a pioneering section describing the overall experience of the
Tang priestesses.10 A number of articles and theses have focused on the
priestess-poets and priestess-princesses, and other priestesses also
have been studied to a certain extent.11 Some scholars have further
explored the religious experience of Tang priestesses based on Du
Guangting’s 杜光庭 (850–933) Records of the Assembled Immortals of
the Walled City (Yongcheng jixian lu 墉城集仙錄; hereafter Jixian lu),
from which about seventeen hagiographies of Tang Daoist women are
extant. A careful examination of all these hagiographies, however,
reveals that Du Guangting greatly modified or rewrote the original
sources to serve his own agenda of presenting ideal images of Daoist
women. For example, according to several historical records, Wang
Fengxian 王奉仙, described in Du’s hagiography as a Daoist female
saint, in fact ordered, in cold blood, the murder of the commissioner Gao
Pian 高駢 (d. 887) and several hundred members of his family. Using
these hagiographies to reconstruct the religious experiences of their
subjects and to praise them as Daoist “saints,” as some studies have
done, thus becomes problematic.12
Another major problem in studying Tang Daoist priestesses concerns
their gendered identity. Throughout the Tang dynasty, the identification of
these women (including those who wrote many love poems) as Daoist
priestesses was never questioned. However, from the Song (960–1279)
to the Qing (1644–1911) eras, a few traditional scholars reidentified Tang
priestesses as “courtesans,” deprecating them as “licentious” for their
public activities and relative freedom in gender relations as well as for
their love poetry,13 even though their actions and poems contained
nothing of a pornographic or licentious nature. Many modern scholars
have also followed this biased criticism,14 the result being the
construction of a conventional narrative that greatly hinders any sort of in-
depth, comprehensive assessment of the priestesses’ achievements.
In this book, I seek to remedy these problems by conducting a
historical, comprehensive study on the Tang Daoist priestesses. Since
the hagiographies of Du Guangting’s Jixian lu are not reliable sources for
studying the actual lives and practices of these priestesses, I have
instead searched for and collected other types of sources, and in doing
so I have recovered many previously overlooked materials, which
constitute mainly three groups of sources. The first group consists of
epitaphic and monastic inscriptions either written for or related to Tang
Daoist priestesses. Russell Kirkland has studied the two inscriptions
regarding the priestess Huang Lingwei 黃靈微 (ca. 642–721) by Yan
Zhenqing 顏真卿 (709–785), while Yao Ping 姚平 has made a brief
survey of thirteen epitaphs written for Daoist priestesses, and Jiao Jie 焦
傑 has added three to Yao’s list.15 I, in turn, have collected additional
epitaphic inscriptions, for a total of forty from both transmitted and
recently unearthed materials. Although epitaphs written for religious
figures may be seen as a kind of hagiography, in general they contain
more biographical description and more detailed and complicated
narrative because they usually follow the narrative formulas of epitaphs
written for secular people.
As the editors of the Sui-Tang volume of The Cambridge History of
China have found, epitaphic materials “provide information that can be
checked against the historical record, providing testimony quite
independent of the historical process. When this has been the case, they
have almost invariably confirmed that the histories are factually
reliable.”16 Zhao Chao 趙超 has further produced a comprehensive
survey of how epitaphs have been effectively used for historical studies
and have tremendously advanced the research of various fields, with a
specific section discussing the historical sources contained in Tang
epitaphs.17 Historians of Chinese women have also found epitaphic
biographies written for women helpful in their studies.18 Of course, there
can be considerable variations in different circumstances, and we should
always scrutinize epitaphs with a cautious lens, in order to discern the
relative prescriptive values, clichés of essential character, and
exaggerated judgments invested by their authors’ possible agendas.
The second group of sources I have used are manuscripts from
Dunhuang, records from official histories, essays and poems by literati,
anecdotal narratives, and local and monastic gazetteers. Whereas some
scholars have cast doubt on the reliability of the essays collected in the
Quan Tangwen 全唐文 (Complete Tang Essays) because this collection
appeared late in the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), many other scholars
have indicated that the compilers of the Quan Tangwen were serious
scholars, and most of the essays they collected can be found in earlier
texts. For example, many of the epitaphic inscriptions included in this
collection were probably original rubbings preserved in the imperial
library and therefore are in better condition than other sources.19
The use of literary works also is not as naive as it may seem to
someone outside Chinese literary studies. It is well acknowledged that
traditional Chinese poetry and essays were often used as a tool or a kind
of diary to record the authors’ life experiences, usually in a factual
manner, with specific times and places. Chen Yinke 陳寅恪 (1890–1969),
for instance, has set up examples of using literary resources for historical
studies.20 Stephen Owen has also indicated how, in China, “poems are
read as describing historical moments and scenes actually present to the
historical poet” and “no one felt uncomfortable about constructing
biographical chronologies from poems or about using poems as direct
sources for cultural history.”21 Although anecdotes were often based on
gossip and hearsay, historians of China have recognized that anecdotal
gossip is not without certain historical significance.22 Local gazetteers,
though usually appearing in later times, since hardly any survive from the
Tang era, are often filled with local materials accumulated from earlier
periods and therefore are useful and creditable to a certain extent.
The third group of sources I have used are the priestesses’ own
poetry, essays, books, and even artistic works, rediscovered from
Dunhuang manuscripts or newly unearthed materials. Reading traditional
Chinese poems on the presumption that they are basically nonfiction is
also significant for interpreting the poets’ works and understanding their
subjective experiences. Because of China’s particular cultural tradition
and political system, traditional poets conceived of poetry as a means to
gain recognition both from their contemporaries and from future
generations. Such poetry has also been useful for both traditional and
modern critics in getting to know a poet.23 For instance, scholars of
Chinese women’s history have successfully used women’s own poetry to
explore their emotional experiences.24 Thus, we can use the works of the
priestesses to gain a better understanding of them, though we should
always do so carefully and critically so as to be more analytical in reading
beneath their own possible conscious or unconscious agendas.
Whereas previous scholarship has overlooked many of these
materials, I use them here to place the study of the priestesses’ life
journeys on a more solid historical footing, to contextualize their living
status, and to gain a more in-depth perspective on their inner feelings
and sentiments. Modeling the work on previous studies of Chinese
women, I apply the gender-critical approach, combining it with religious
and literary studies to tackle the following questions: How was the
priestesses’ gendered identity substantially constructed in relation to
social organizations and cultural representations? How did changes in
the religious landscape and gender patterns influence the ways the
priestesses viewed themselves and were viewed by their
contemporaries? How did they seize the opportunities these changes
brought to interact and negotiate with social and religious institutions,
thereby becoming dynamic actors in the functioning of Tang society?
What is the difference between their actual experience and Du
Guangting’s depiction of them? Why is it biased to disparage them as
“licentious courtesan”? This gender-critical and religious-literary approach
and inquiry will permit a satisfactory comprehensive analysis and
assessment of the priestesses’ religious and social activities, literary and
artistic works, and overall accomplishments.
After describing in greater detail the rise of the Daoist priestesses as a
religio-social group, through historical contextualization in chapter 1, I
turn in the following chapter to ordained royal women in particular,
because about twenty-eight princesses and many other royal and palace
women were ordained as Daoist priestesses. Although this
unprecedented phenomenon can be easily explained by the Tang ruling
house’s adoption of Laozi as its progenitor and Daoism as the family
religion, the actual situation was much more complicated. Drawing upon
ten recently unearthed epitaphs and other sources, I first provide a
general picture of the ordination of these women and discuss their varied
reasons for entering the Daoist order. I then focus on the two most
important princesses, Jinxian 金仙 (689–732) and Yuzhen 玉真 (691–
762), to detail their powerful relations, deeds, and influences in the
religious, political, and cultural spheres.
In chapter 3, I look at ordinary priestesses, using thirty epitaphs in
addition to other sources to examine their religious experience and the
roles they assumed. I describe in rich detail how the priestesses founded,
constructed, and managed their convents and cloisters and how they
used them as a locus—both as a female space for self-determination and
autonomy and as a public platform for interacting with people of different
social strata. I further discuss how they served as qualified mentors and
preachers to emperors, palace ladies, high officials, and common people,
and how they practiced Daoist longevity techniques and self-cultivation
and performed Daoist rituals.
In the two subsequent chapters, I focus on two outstanding priestess-
theorists, Liu Moran 柳默然 (773–840), in chapter 4, and Hu Yin 胡愔 (fl.
848), in chapter 5. Liu Moran transmitted or probably even composed an
inscription titled Zuowang lun 坐忘論 (Treatise on Sitting in Oblivion), a
Daoist text of meditation and inner cultivation traditionally attributed to the
Daoist priest Sima Chengzhen 司馬承禎 (647–735). I discuss the
authorship of this text and of another, also titled Zuowang lun and
attributed to Sima Chengzhen, and I analyze the contents of the text
associated with Liu. I then examine another inscription that we know for
certain was written by her, which eulogized the female Daoist Xue
Yuanjun 薛元君 (Primal Mistress Xue) and presented some ideas similar
to the Zuowang lun inscription.
Hu Yin, meanwhile, was a physician and medical theorist active in the
first half of the ninth century. She is noted for composing an illustrated
text on Daoist longevity techniques and medical theory, elaborating on
the Daoist classic Huangting neijing jing 黃庭內景經 (Scripture of the
Inner Refulgences of the Yellow Court), in which she described the
spirits, physiological functions, pathological mechanisms, and therapeutic
methods of the viscera of the body and offered detailed instructions on
longevity techniques and medical treatments for nurturing these viscera.
This text would later have an important influence on Daoist inner
cultivation and inner alchemy theories and practice as well as on
traditional Chinese medical and life-nurturing (yangsheng 養生) theories.
In the final two chapters, I then turn to the priestess-poets and their
works. Although the anthology Yaochi ji has long been lost, some
fragments were fortunately rediscovered among the Dunhuang
manuscripts included in the Russian collections in Saint Petersburg.
These fragments consist mainly of the poems of three Daoist priestess-
poets, Li Jilan 李季蘭 (d. 784), Yuan Chun 元淳 (d. ca. 779), and Cui
Zhongrong 崔仲容 (ca. second half of the eighth century). In chapter 6, I
first review the compilation, contents, and possibly included poets of this
anthology and then use both transmitted and rediscovered poems to
study these three priestess-poets. Then, in chapter 7, I reconstruct the
biography of Yu Xuanji 魚玄機 (ca. 843–868), the most outstanding
female poet of the Tang era. By closely reading some of her
representative poems, I examine her emotional journey, her feelings of
self-esteem and gender awareness, her transformation of the voice and
image of women, and her poetic styles and achievements.
Finally, in the conclusion I summarize the discoveries in this book and
draw a general picture of the Tang Daoist priestesses’ remarkable
religious career, which convincingly refutes the biased narrative
describing them as “licentious courtesans.” I also compare this picture
with the ideal image created by Du Guangting in his Jixian lu
hagiographies, which are examined in the appendix of this book, showing
how views of gender relations and gendered subjects of Daoist women
changed dramatically during the Tang–Song transition period, thereby
opening another new chapter for them.
 CHAPTER I

The Rise of Daoist Priestesses as a Gendered

Religio-Social Group

D
aoist priestesses emerged as a gendered religio-social group with
a distinct identity from within the historical context of the Tang era.
As I discussed in the introduction of this book, among the
complicated factors leading to this singular phenomenon, the most
essential were changes in the ruling house’s religious policy, the
development of Daoist tradition, and the changes in traditional patterns of
gender relations. Drawing on previous scholarly studies, in this chapter I
seek to contextualize these changes and describe the rise of Daoist
priestesses. I first outline how the ruling house progressively promoted
Daoism during the first half of the Tang era, then describe how the Daoist
tradition completed its project of integrating various lineages and
establishing its monastic tradition through efficiently interacting and
collaborating with the government. Finally, I examine the changing
patterns in gender relations from political, religious, cultural, and social
perspectives. Following this overall contextualization, I further discuss the
rise of Daoist priestesses from within these “fields of force” and how they
formed a gendered group of their own, unprecedented in the history of
Chinese women.

Tang Ruling House’s Promotion of Daoism

The Tang dynasty was a splendid era for the development of Daoism.
Many scholarly works have already studied the relationship between the
Tang ruling house and the Daoist tradition. From the beginning, the royal
house adopted Laozi as its first ancestor, because Laozi’s name had
been recorded as Li Er 李耳, with the same surname (Li) as that of the
ruling house. Although recent studies have indicated that Emperor Gaozu
高祖 (r. 618–627) acted from motives of political strategy rather than
reverence for Daoism, this adoption nonetheless helped legitimize the
founding of the new empire and profoundly influenced the later
development of the close relationship between Daoism and the ruling
house.1
The next emperor, Taizong 太宗 (r. 627–650), was also relatively
indifferent toward Daoism at the beginning, but late in his reign the
Buddhists’ slander of Laozi and the ruling house’s origins prompted him
to extend reverence for Laozi to all of Daoism and to transform the
tradition into a royal religion.2 This policy was continued by Emperor
Gaozong 高宗 (r. 650–684), with great enthusiasm, and even Empress
Wu 武后, who made use of Buddhism during her rule (r. 684–705),
offered remarkable support to Daoism.3 By the reigns of emperors
Ruizong 睿宗 (r. 710–712) and Xuanzong 玄宗 (r. 712–756), members of
the ruling house had developed a pious personal belief in Daoism,
especially Ruizong, his son Xuanzong, and two daughters, Jinxian 金仙
and Yuzhen 玉真.4 Xuanzong himself promoted a series of political and
religious establishments from 741 to 755, during which Daoism achieved
the status of state religion.5 Although the subsequent An Lushan 安祿山
Rebellion weakened both Tang authority and Daoist dominance, in time
Daoism recovered from the damage and continued to flourish with more
or less support from later emperors, even though the integrated tradition
was also starting to break down as new religious tendencies and lineages
emerged.6
As scholars have studied in detail, the Tang rulers offered Daoists
precedence over Buddhists, ordered a Daoist canon to be compiled,
dedicated their ancestral temples to Daoist worship, revised official rituals
along Daoist lines, and employed Daoists to perform imperial ritual
services. They further instituted a Daoist school (Chongxuan xue 崇玄學)
in each prefecture, added examinations of Daoist classics (Daoju 道舉) to
the imperial examination system, and assigned all Daoists to the
supervision of the Court of the Imperial Clan (Zongzheng si 宗正寺) for a
period during which they were officially treated as relatives of the royal
house. The rulers, moreover, invited to court many renowned Daoists,
such as Pan Shizheng 潘師正 (585–682), Li Rong 李榮 (fl. 658–663),
Cheng Xuanying 成玄英 (fl. 632–650), Sima Chengzhen 司馬承禎 (647–
735), Li Hanguang 李含光 (683–769), Wu Yun 吳筠 (d. 778), and Du
Guangting 杜光庭 (850–933),7 and summoned a number of Daoist
priestesses to serve at the palace convent of Yuchen 玉晨觀.8

Integration of Daoism and the Establishment of

Daoist Monasticism

Among the numerous endeavors of both the Tang rulers and Daoist
leaders was the final integration and institutionalization of Daoism,
represented especially by the establishment of Daoist monasticism and a
hierarchical ordination system encompassing the transmission of
scriptures, precepts, and registers (daolu 道籙) from all previous major
lineages. The Daoist movement, which had arisen during the second
century, developed during the following centuries various organized,
social, scriptural, or ritual lineages, such as the Celestial Masters (Tianshi
天師), the Highest Clarity (Shangqing 上清), and the Numinous Treasure
(Lingbao 靈寶). In the fifth and sixth centuries, Daoism began developing
a sense of identity and self-consciousness as Daoist leaders worked to
canonize, codify, and systematize their scriptures, rituals, doctrines,
practices, and lineages.9 All these works presented “a continual effort at
integration, which was not merely rhetoric, but intrinsic to the vision of the
Dao as One.”10
During the first half of the Tang dynasty (618–755), efficient interaction
and collaboration between the ruling house and the Daoist tradition
brought this project to completion. The Tang government supported and
facilitated Daoist integration and institutionalization by formulating
important policies and law codes for sponsoring and regulating both
Daoist abbeys and individual Daoists. Early in the Tang period, the
government began drawing up law codes aimed at Buddhist and Daoist
institutions and monastics, which were later compiled into the Code of
Daoist Priests and Buddhist Monks (Daosengge 道僧格), long lost though
largely restored by modern scholars.11 The government also established
state-sponsored abbeys both inside the palaces and throughout the
empire, required Daoist clerics to be officially ordained and registered,
and instituted offices and officials to administer Daoist abbeys. These
included the Office of Daoist Worship (Chongxuan shu 崇玄署), the
Commissioner of the Palace of Grand Clarity (Taiqing gongshi 太清宮使),
the Commissioner of the Palace of Grand Tenuity (Taiwei gongshi 太微宮
使), the Disciplinarian of Daoism (Daomen weiyishi 道門威儀使), and the
Three Authorities (Sangang 三綱).12
Additionally, during the first half of the dynasty, the government
allotted thirty mu 畝 of farmland to each ordained priest and twenty mu to
each priestess able to recite the Daode jing 道德經 and who was
registered in a Daoist abbey or convent.13 Because the lands were in fact
allotted to the abbeys rather than to individual Daoists, this policy
established landed property as the Daoist abbeys’ basic economic mode,
which in turn built a solid financial foundation for Daoist monasticism.14 In
addition, by allotting land to abbeys where individual Daoists were
registered, the government enhanced the regulation that ordained
Daoists must “leave the household life” (chujia 出家) to live a monastic
life. The emperors also often bestowed additional lands, properties,
farmers, and servants upon major state abbeys or convents or upon
those operated by renowned Daoists, to strengthen their economic
power.15
In the meantime, the Daoist movement itself further strengthened and
completed the integration of its major components, including numerous
scriptures, rituals, precepts, and registers from the various lineages. The
tradition then narrowed and merged the gaps among these lineages,
packaging them into an overall Daoist image, with the final establishment
of a hierarchical ordination system as its hallmark. Early on, the Highest
Clarity lineage developed the concept that different scriptures should be
transmitted in a particular order. The Numinous Treasure and other
lineages further hierarchized the scriptures into the system of the Three
Caverns and Four Supplements (Sandong Sifu 三洞四輔).16 Then, from
the end of the divisional period to the beginning of the Tang (ca. sixth to
seventh centuries), a likely Daoist group calling itself Jinming Qizhen 金
明七真 formulated a system of ordination that loosely accommodated and
ranked all scriptures, rituals, precepts, and registers of previous
lineages.17 During the first half of the Tang era, Daoist experts further
revised and perfected the Jinming Qizhen formulation, eventually
establishing a generally accepted ordination hierarchy encompassing all
previous organized, social, scriptural, and ritual lineages.18
This system comprised several levels of initiation and seven major
levels of ordination with some minor variants recorded in different texts.
The ordination levels, from lowest to highest, were as follows:

1. Zhengyi 正一 (Orthodox Unity; transmission of Orthodox Unity texts);

2. Gaoxuan 高玄 (High Mystery; transmission of the Daode jing and
related texts);
3. Dongshen 洞神 (Cavern Divinity; transmission of the Sanhuang 三皇
or Three Sovereigns texts, merged with the Dongyuan shenzhou 洞淵
神咒 or Cavern Abyss Divine Incantation texts);
4. Shengxuan 昇玄 (Ascension to the Mystery; based on the Shengxuan
texts);
5. Dongxuan 洞玄 (Cavern Mystery; transmission of the Numinous
Treasure texts);
6. Dongzhen 洞真 (Cavern Perfection; transmission of the Highest
Clarity texts);
7. Completion (Bidao 畢道), also called Dadong 大洞 (Great Cavern) or
Sandong (Three Caverns; transmission of more Highest Clarity
texts).19

According to many epitaphic and monastic inscriptions, Daoists who

completed the Dongzhen rank were usually designated Disciple/Daoist
Priest of the Three Caverns (Sandong dizi/daoshi 三洞弟子/道士)
because they had received the investitures of all three caverns. Daoists
who achieved the highest rank were then called either Disciple of the
Great Cavern and Three Radiances (Dadong sanjing dizi 大洞三景弟子)
or Supreme Master of the Three Caverns (Wushang sandong fashi 無上
三洞法師).
In practice, however, completing the seven-rank ordination system
appears to have often been combined or simplified to about three major
investitures. For example, according to the epitaph written for the Daoist
priestess Wang Xuming 王虛明 (792–859), the Zhengyi scriptures and
registers were first transmitted to her by the priest Han Zhencui 韓貞璀 in
Xuanyuan abbey 玄元觀 in Luoyang; the Dongshen and Dongxuan
scriptures and registers were then transmitted to her by the priest Xing
Guiyi 邢歸一 in Taiyi abbey 太一觀 on Mount Song 嵩山. Finally, the
Shangqing scriptures and registers were transmitted to her by Deng
Yankang 鄧延康 on Mount Magu 麻姑山, by which she reached the
highest rank of the Great Cavern and Three Radiances.20 The princesses
Jinxian and Yuzhen also went through three somewhat similar
investitures.21
In short, together the Tang government and leading Daoists
systematically collaborated to more fully integrate and institutionalize
Daoism into a unified tradition. They achieved this by establishing Daoist
monasticism and formulating a hierarchical ordination system
encompassing the transmissions of scriptures, precepts, and registers of
the various lineages.

Changing Patterns in Gender Relations

Although the Tang government continued the traditional gender system

and ritual prescriptions, it also provided flexibility and fluidity that allowed
new changes in the deeply embedded patterns of gender relations. Other
forces and advances in the social, religious, and cultural dimensions
were encouraging further changes in gender patterns.
As scholars have generally noted, the Tang ruling house came from
the northwestern aristocracy, which was formed of a mixture of ethnic
groups, and therefore its lifestyle was influenced by the customs of non-
Han peoples. Women in particular “were far more independent and
powerful than in traditional Chinese society.”22 Later, looking back from
the Song dynasty, which tightened traditional gender relations, Neo-
Confucians could only shake their heads at Tang women: “The Tang
[ruling house] originated from non-Han people, so they did not see
women’s violation against ritual regulations as abnormal” 唐源流出於夷
狄, 故閨門失禮之事不以為異.23
For instance, Tang laws allowed divorce by mutual agreement and set
no limitations on women remarrying. There were many cases of divorce
initiated by wives, and the wife was not the only party considered at fault
in a divorce. It was common for divorced or widowed women to remarry,
and some princesses married three times.24 Various records and
narratives also show that a number of elite or commoner families allowed
their daughters to choose their own husbands,25 and there were many
more “jealous wives” (dufu 妒婦) and “doughty wives” (hanfu 悍婦)
recorded in anecdotal sketches than from other periods.26
Among women, going on outings or sightseeing trips, riding horses,
hunting, and even playing polo were common activities, as was
socializing with men or women in social and extended family
gatherings.27 Women also were free to establish their own societies,
through which they helped one another in various ways. Indeed, among
the Dunhuang texts have been found manuscripts of written records
about fifteen women’s societies dating from the sixth to tenth centuries.28
All of these examples indicate that women enjoyed a relatively
elevated, relaxed status within society, family, and gender relations.
Although the rise of Wu Zetian 武則天 (i.e., Empress Wu) as the only
enthroned female ruler in Chinese history resulted from the interweaving
of many forces, a major factor was the effects of these new gender
patterns.29 Wu’s strength as a powerful female ruler presented a gender
reversal and a significant change in the gendered power structure, which
in turn greatly influenced the reshaping of gender relations. This not only
led to other powerful court women in the late seventh and early eighth
centuries, such as Princess Taiping 太平公主 (ca. 665–713), Empress
Wei 韋后 (666–710), Princess Anle 安樂公主 (684–710), and Shangguan
Wan’er 上官婉兒 (664–710), but also changed some deeply embedded
ethical norms. For example, Wu’s codification of the mourning period for
the mother at three years effectively made the demands of filial piety
equally applicable for both parents and, as a result, elevated the status of
the mother.30 Although criticisms and rhetorical overthrow of these
powerful female rulers started as soon as they fell from power,31 their
influence on the changing conceptions of gender lingered throughout the
dynasty.
The emergence of a group of writing women also marked and
promoted a notable change in gender patterns during the Tang era.
According to historical records and epitaphs, the daughters of elite
families were generally well educated and, when they became mothers,
they in turn educated their children.32 Some daughters of commoner
families, such as Yu Xuanji 魚玄機 (ca. 843–868), also received a good
education.33 During the first half of the Tang era, women writers came
mostly from the imperial palaces or aristocratic clans, and Shangguan
Wan’er is an outstanding example. Serving first as Empress Wu’s
secretary, she helped draft documents and plan policy. Then, during the
reigns of the empress’s sons Zhongzong and Ruizong, she not only
continued as their secretary and political advisor but also became a
leading figure in court literary activities. She designed the topics for
poetic composition and evaluated the works of the most renowned court
official–poets.34 Shangguan’s talent and leadership thus likewise
presented a gender reversal and change in power structure.
Later, from the mid- to late Tang, many writing women arose from
common families. For example, the five Song 宋 sisters, who were
daughters of an ordinary Confucian scholar, became famous for their
profound knowledge of Confucian learning and their literary talents. They
vowed never to marry, in order to realize their individual worth and to
bring honor to their family. In 788, Emperor Dezong 德宗 (r. 779–805)
summoned them to court. Three of the sisters, Song Ruoxin 宋若莘 (d.
ca. 820), Song Ruozhao 宋若昭 (761–828), and Song Ruoxian 宋若憲 (d.
835) successively held the palace positions of matron (shanggong 尚宮)
and inner academician (neixueshi 內學士). They also served as mentors
to princes, princesses, and palace ladies and took part in court literary
activities such as composing poems in gatherings, together with the
emperor and his male court officials.
Song Ruoxin composed the Women’s Analects (Nü lunyu 女論語),
which Song Ruozhao annotated. Although the Women’s Analects we see
today is not the original, according to a Song dynasty bibliography, Song
Ruoxin imitated the format of Confucius’s Analects, putting Madam Song
宋氏 (b. 283, sobriquet Xuanwen jun 宣文君), a female expert of the Rites
of the Zhou (Zhouli 周禮) during the reign of Qianqin 前秦 (350–394), in
the place of Confucius, and Ban Zhao 班昭 (45–116), the first female
Chinese historian, and other women in the place of Confucius’s disciples.
This format elevated intelligent women to the status of the sage and the
virtuous and astonished later Neo-Confucians.35
Similarly, Bao Junhui 鮑君徽 (fl. 798, courtesy name Wenji 文姬), who
was widowed during the Zhenyuan 貞元 reign period (785–805), became
famous for her literary talent. Summoned to court by Emperor Dezong in
798, she also participated in court poetic composition, though after about
a hundred days she asked to return home to care for her aged mother.36
Additionally, the Yaochi xinyong ji 瑤池新詠集 (Anthology of New Poetry
from the Turquoise Pond; hereafter cited as Yaochi ji), the first extant
anthology of Chinese women’s writings, compiled by Cai Xingfeng 蔡省風
(ca. ninth century) in the first half of the ninth century, contains poems by
twenty-three women writers from various social strata, including three
Daoist priestess-poets.37 Moreover, from the mid-Tang period,
anthologies of poetry often included works by both male and female
poets, such as the Zhongxing jianqi ji 中興間氣集 (Anthology of the
Resurgent Grace Style), compiled by Gao Zhongwu 高仲武; the Youxuan
ji 又玄集 (Mystery upon Mystery: An Anthology), by Wei Zhuang 韋莊 (ca.
836–910); and the Caidiao ji 才調集 (Anthology of Talented Tones),
compiled by Wei Hu 韋縠 (fl. 947). The achievements of these women’s
writings and their interaction with and influence on men such as
emperors, officials, and literati in turn enhanced the reshaping of gender
relations.
Another influence reshaping gender relations was the growth and
pervasion of romantic sentiments that formed a culture of romance during
the Tang era. This culture developed from various elements, among them
Daoist sexual practices. The early Daoist tradition had followed a
religious practice of using sexuality, whether of a physical, spiritual,
divine, or symbolic nature, to attain longevity and immortality. Scholars
have long noted the initiation ritual known as the Rite of Passage (Guodu
yi 過度儀) and its sexual practice, called “conjoining qi” (heqi 合氣), in the
early Celestial Masters movement. Daoist texts discussing such rituals
and practices were called “yellow books” (huangshu 黃書), possibly
formulated or reformulated around the fourth century.38
Early Celestial Masters also absorbed the ancient “art of the
bedchamber” (fangzhong shu 房中術), which concerned sexual and
longevity techniques, and transformed it into a religious ritual and
practice. Although scholars have differed on how to interpret the initiation
ritual, in general they have agreed that it was performed by both male
and female initiates under the instruction of a senior master, and that the
whole procedure involved visualization, breathing exercises, prayers,
incantations, an elaborate choreography, massage, and ritualized sexual
intercourse.39 However, beginning in the fourth century, the ritual came
under harsh criticism, not only by Buddhists but also by Daoist
reformers.40 The aim of the latter, however, was to remove only the Rite
of Passage, leaving other time-honored sexual practices in place; for
example, after severely criticizing the ritual, the Daoist reformer Kou
Qianzhi 寇謙之 (365–468) continued to advise his followers to practice
regulated sexual exercises.41
Although under Buddhism’s influence the Highest Clarity tradition
began advocating celibacy, it also carried on the sexual practices of the
early Celestial Masters under new guises. For instance, instead of a
husband–wife relation or man–woman partnership, Highest Clarity
masters created a new motif for divine marriage, which entailed beautiful
goddesses descending from heaven to have encounters with selected
men. The goddesses composed poems to express their affections toward
these men, offered to marry them, revealed to them sacred texts,
instructed them in various Daoist practices, and finally took them by the
hand to ascend to heaven.42 The Highest Clarity practice of visualization
also used goddesses as an object of focus. Visualizing a specific
goddess, the practitioner imagined various kinds of intimate contact with
her. Superficially, both divine marriage and goddess visualization were
described in spiritual and symbolic terms, but in the Highest Clarity texts,
descriptions of the spiritual practice contained strong erotic elements and
hints of intimacy involving all senses.43 In all these divine marriages and
visualizations, the goddesses overpowered male Daoists with their
sexual attraction, religious knowledge, and divine force, thereby also
presenting a conceptual change in gender relations and power structure
in the religious tradition.
All these varied physical, spiritual, divine, and symbolic sexual
practices continued into the Tang dynasty. Daoists at the lowest rank of
novice (i.e., Orthodox Unity) were allowed to marry or remain married;
more remarkably, they were also instructed in sexual relations:

For those who are husbands and wives, order them to select a
season and date, harmonize with yin and yang, and conduct
intercourse. In this way, the boys and girls they give birth to will be
protected from perverting and foul qi.
其有夫婦者, 令選時日, 順陰陽, 行交接. 即所育男女, 免感悖戾淫
 濁之氣.44

According to the Sandong xiudao yi 三洞修道儀, Daoists of the second

rank onward were required to be celibate, and those who had married
should separate.45 This does not, however, appear to have been strictly
observed, nor did this mean that Daoists other than Orthodox Unity could
not follow a sexual practice. For example, Princess Yuzhen received the
highest rank of ordination, but she remained married and had at least two
sons.46 Under the heading of “Replenishment Benefits of the
Bedchamber” (“Fangzhong buyi” 房中補益), the Essential Priceless
Prescriptions for All Urgent Ills (Beiji qianjin yaofang 備急千金要方), by
the Tang Daoist physician Sun Simiao 孫思邈 (d. 682), contains
extensive discussions of sexual practices.47 Even the renowned Daoist
master Du Guangting, who advocated serene meditation and pure
cultivation, did not prohibit such practices; rather, he devalued them as
only a minor concern and indicated that they could be very risky if not
performed correctly.48 Thus, the Tang Daoist tradition continued its sexual
practice as a way to attain longevity and immortality, while also allowing
marriage to be maintained in certain circumstances.
A second factor promoting the culture of romance and new gender
relations in the Tang era was the continuing popularity of the goddess
cult. In ancient Chinese myths and popular legends, many goddesses
were associated with fertility, divine matchmaking, the wu 巫 (often
translated as “spirit medium” or “shaman”) spirit connection, irresistible
sensual appeal, and erotic desire. In their encounters with humans,
whether kings or common men, they always took the sexual initiative,
playing the role of a seductive maiden.49 The most famous erotic legend
was that of the Goddess of Mount Wu 巫山 and the King of Chu 楚王,50
which later became a motif in numerous popular stories and literary
works describing goddess–man encounters.51 As the ancient “art of the
bedchamber” was developed during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE)
and manuals on sexuality flourished, erotic goddesses now became
experts in the sexual arts and the central personae of sex manuals. They
especially served as sexual advisers and teachers to the Yellow Emperor
and other legendary sovereigns, teaching them how to attain longevity
and immortality using sexual techniques.52
 The Daoist tradition, in turn, integrated all the time-honored
goddesses into its pantheon, along with the motif of divine marriage and
the practice of goddess visualization of the Highest Clarity tradition.
Divine marriage incorporated all the characteristics and expertise areas
of the old goddesses, including divine passion, irresistible sensual
appeal, and the roles of matchmaker, seductive maiden, desirable lover,
sexual teacher (in an imaginary or psychic manner), and instructor for
attaining immortality. To these the Daoists added two more kinds of
expertise to the Highest Clarity goddesses: the revelation of secret
scriptures and the composition of poetry.
The Tang literati, fascinated by all these goddesses, dedicated
numerous verses to them, expressing their “wish for transcendence and
desire for perfect love.”53 Among these goddesses were the Queen
Mother of the West (Xiwangmu 西王母); the Goddess of Mount Wu; the
water goddesses of the Xiang River 湘水 and Luo River 洛水; the moon
goddess Chang’e 嫦娥; the two immortal wives in the tale of Liu Chen 劉
晨 and Ruan Zhao 阮肇; the Highest Clarity masters’ divine bride, E
Lühua 愕綠華; and the stellar spirit Weaving Maiden (Zhinü 織女).54 Thus,
the power of the goddess cult also helped the reshaping of gender
relations.
Secular love stories and sentiments presented in the literati’s poems,
tales of the marvelous (chuanqi 傳奇), and anecdotes were a third factor
encouraging the growth of the culture of romance. For instance, in the
mid- to late Tang era, the love story of Emperor Xuanzong and his
Precious Consort Yang (Yang Guifei 楊貴妃, 719–756) inspired romantic
imaginations and sentiments between men and women through the
popular “Song of Everlasting Regrets” (“Changhen ge” 長恨歌) by the
renowned poet Bai Juyi 白居易 (772–846) and other narrative works.55
The culture of jinshi 進士 in the capital city Chang’an also accelerated
these sentimental tendencies. Young literati seeking success in the
imperial examination often engaged in intimate or romantic relationships
with courtesans, while senior officials indulged with their concubines and
maids.56 These kinds of experiences were then written into their own
poetry or elaborated in marvelous tales told by the literati themselves.
The result was to further enhance and spread romantic sentiments and
facilitate changes in gender patterns.
 The Emergence of Daoist Priestesses as a
Gendered Group

Before the Tang dynasty, women had already been active in the Daoist
tradition, both as individual religious practitioners and as functionaries
with ritual and administrative powers.57 It was during the Tang era,
however, within the contexts of the ruling house’s support of Daoism, the
integration of the Daoist tradition and final establishment of its monastic
system, and changes in the embedded patterns of gender relations, as
discussed, that Daoist priestesses emerged as a gendered religio-social
group with its own distinct identity. This gendered group in turn
significantly influenced the reshaping of gender relations, the religious
landscape, and the functioning of society with the priestesses’ interaction
and negotiation with social institutions, their gendered identity and power
in religious practices, and their literary, artistic, and political activities.58
With the keen support of the Tang emperors and the promotion of
Daoism to the status of “royal religion” and “state religion,” about twenty-
eight royal princesses became ordained Daoist priestesses, along with
numerous other royal women and palace ladies—a phenomenon without
parallel in Chinese imperial history.59 To some extent, these royal women
then served as role models for women from other social strata to follow.
As Daoism became institutionalized and its monastic tradition
established, many convents were formed throughout the empire, some of
them created by the priestesses themselves. According to an official
statistic during the Kaiyuan reign period (713–741), about one-third of
Daoist abbeys were convents,60 which suggests that women made up
about one-third of the Daoist priesthood.
Most priestesses lived a communal life in convents, though in some
exceptional cases an ordained priestess might remain at home. The
Daoist ordination system designed specific vestments for them, usually
including a skirt, a gown, a cloak, and a headdress. For example, in the
Fengdao kejie 奉道科戒, we see vestments designed respectively for
“Dadong nüguan” 大洞女冠 (priestess of the Great Cavern) and
“fanchang nüguan” 凡常女冠 (ordinary priestess), which retained much
more feminine features than the clothing of Buddhist nuns (see figure
1.1).61 The priestesses were further designated as nüguan 女官 (female
official), nüguan 女冠 (female headdress), or nüdaoshi 女道士 (female
Daoist priest).62 A musical tune titled “Nüguan zi” 女冠子 (Female
Headdress/Daoist Priestess) was created specifically to eulogize them,
and many poets wrote passionate song lyrics to this tune.63

Figure 1.1 Vestments of Tang Daoist priestesses: (left) Dadong nüguan 大洞女冠; (right)
Fanchang nüguan 凡常女冠. From Dongxuan lingbao sandong fengdao kejie yingshi, by Jinming
Qizhen (Daozang 1125).

In addition, Tang era documents, from emperors’ decrees to law codes

to officials’ memorials, usually distinguished Daoist priestesses, along
with other three religious groups. For example:

If Daoist priests, Buddhist monks, Buddhist nuns, and Daoist

priestesses violate [the law], I hope [that your highness] allows
them to be disciplined according to the Code of Daoist Priests [and
Buddhist Monks].
道士, 僧, 尼, 女冠等有犯, 望準道[僧]格處分.64

The previous decree that ordered Daoist priests, Daoist

priestesses, Buddhist monks, and Buddhist nuns who violated the
law to be punished by secular law should be abolished.
前令道士, 女道士, 僧, 尼有犯依俗法者, 宜停.65
 All Daoist priests are allotted thirty mu of land, and Daoist
priestesses are allotted twenty mu of land. The same are [allotted
for] Buddhist monks and nuns.
凡道士給田三十畝, 女冠二十畝. 僧尼亦如之.66

From these documents, we see that Daoist priests, Daoist priestesses,

Buddhist monks, and Buddhist nuns were regarded as four distinct,
gendered religious groups. Moreover, in three anthologies of poetry
compiled in the ninth and tenth centuries—the Yaochi ji by Cai Xingfeng,
the Youxuan ji by Wei Zhuang, and the Caidiao ji by Wei Hu—the
compilers selected works of Tang female poets and enhanced their
names with such titles as “Lady” (Furen 夫人), “Young Gentlewoman”
(Nülang 女郎), “Courtesan” (Changji 娼妓), and “Daoist Priestess”
(Nüdaoshi 女道士). All three anthologies unanimously gave the title
“Daoist Priestess” to the priestess-poets.67
Daoist convents were economically independent, mainly owing to land
allotments by the government. As we saw earlier, the Tang code allotted
a priest thirty mu of land and a priestess twenty mu, a difference that may
have stemmed from considerations of the different physical abilities and
needs of the two sexes rather than from sexual discrimination. Thus,
compared with secular women, who (except for widows) were allotted no
land,68 Daoist priestesses were treated as a distinct social group.
In consequence of this policy, many convents had already acquired a
great deal of land through government allotments and bestowals, private
offerings, and astute management before the “law of two taxes”
(liangshui fa 兩稅法) of 780 abolished the policy.69 Indeed, some
convents had become very rich. For example, the Xianyi convent 咸宜觀,
where the priestess-poet Yu Xuanji was registered and lived, included a
number of grand buildings donated by the princess-priestess Xianyi 咸宜
when she was ordained, in 762. Female members of official families in
Chang’an usually entered this convent upon ordination.70 Because Yu
Xuanji had been concubine to the official Li Yi 李億 before becoming a
priestess, she was able to enter this aristocratic convent and even have
her own chamber and courtyard within the complex.71
Supported by an independent economy, the priestesses living in
convents formed their own communities and enjoyed their own
autonomous sphere. They managed the convents efficiently and became
accomplished in many ways. Moreover, the priestesses were not
completely cloistered but were also active in public spheres formerly
dominated by men. They gave public sermons, performed rituals,
reached out to local people, and became religious mentors even to
emperors.72 They were allowed to travel through the empire or associate
with men of various statuses. Thus they maintained a line of continuity
between their convents and the public and an interactive and forceful
relation with men.
Tang Daoist priestesses were essentially equal to priests in
procedures of transmission and ordination and acquired the same ritual
status and power, many reaching the highest ranks of the Three Caverns
and Great Cavern. Because all ordination ranks required transmission of
difficult texts, the attainment of various ranks by Daoist priestesses
suggests their considerable levels of education and intelligence. While
most priestesses assumed religious roles as leaders, practitioners, and
theorists, some took on other social roles as politicians, poets, and
artists. With their particular royal background, the princess-priestesses
were able to greatly influence contemporary religious and political affairs.
Among the three most famous Tang female poets, two were Daoist
priestesses who wrote passionate, beautiful love poems. Priestess-artists
also created excellent works of calligraphy, four of which have been
recovered. All these religious and social roles thus provided opportunities
for the priestesses to participate actively in both religious life and social
affairs.73
The priestesses’ public activities and their relationships with male
associates were largely legitimized by the reshaping of gender patterns—
by flexibility in gender relations, the elevation of women’s status, Daoist
sexual practices, the cult of the goddess, the culture of romance, and
changes in the gendered power structure. In addition to public religious
activities, they also took part in secular social occasions, such as
gatherings involving men of varying status, including Daoist priests,
Buddhist monks, poets, officials, and hermits, and often exchanged
poetry with them.74
In fact, stories of love between priestesses and priests or literati-
officials were openly celebrated. The early Tang poet Luo Binwang 駱賓
王 (ca. 627–ca. 684), for example, wrote a long poem celebrating the
love between the priestess Wang Lingfei 王靈妃 (fl. 656–683) and the
famous priest Li Rong 李榮.75 When the late Tang poet Cui Zhiyuan 崔致
遠 (857–ca. 928), who served for several years as a low-ranking official in
south China, received permission from Emperor Xizong (r. 873–888) to
return to his home in Silla, he wrote a poem before leaving, titled “Left to
a Daoist Priestess at Parting” (“Liubie nüdaoshi” 留別女道士):

I always resent my bad fortune in my official career,

But delightfully I have been acquainted with Magu for several years.
Before parting, I confide to you my true heart:
Like the sea, how can it ever run dry?
每恨塵中厄宦塗, 數年深喜識麻姑. 臨行與為真心說, 海水何時得盡
枯?76

“Bad fortune” refers to Cui’s long-term service as a local official in the

south. Magu was a famous goddess, referring here to the priestess. In
his unhappy official career lasting more than ten years, Cui had taken
great comfort in the love between him and the priestess, and he now
swore that, like the sea, his love for her would never run dry.
It is worth noting that, during the Tang era, writing poetry was never a
private matter. Poems were often composed communally at public
occasions such as gatherings at court, provincial offices, and other social
occasions, using the same titles or rhyme groups, and they were always
broadly circulated among all kinds of readers. Indeed, Bai Juyi’s poems
were inscribed and copied everywhere—walls of pavilions, hotels, and
restaurants—and were recited even by children and old women.77 Thus,
the relations between Daoist priestesses and priests or literati-officials
described in these poems would not have been regarded as irregular,
abnormal, or a violation of Daoist precepts or Tang laws. In fact, after
reading the works of the priestess Li Jilan 李季蘭 (d. 784), which
contained many love poems, Emperor Dezong summoned her to court in
783 to serve at the palace convent Yuchen, which was a great honor to
bestow on a priestess.78 Clearly the emperor did not regard either her
poetry or her lifestyle as in any way improper.
Also during the Tang period, the popular cult of erotic goddesses was
extended to include Daoist priestesses, who were regarded as “female
immortals” or “semi-goddesses.” Becoming popular personae in the
poetry and narratives of the literati, they were described in both factual
and imaginary terms. Analogized as immortals and intermediaries
between humans and divinities, their beautiful appearance and costumes
were erotically admired, and they were portrayed as passionate lovers,
often taking the initiative in courtship.79 At the same time, the priestess-
poets analogized themselves as goddesses and empowered themselves
with similar attributes.80 The perception of the priestesses as “semi-
goddesses”—held by both the male official-literati and the priestesses
themselves—also enhanced their vitality in the gendered power structure
and discourse.
Traditional Confucian gender ethics had been founded on the twin
pillars of the so-called three followings and the separate inner and outer
spheres.81 During the Tang period, however, Daoist monasticism and new
gender patterns enabled Daoist priestesses to trespass both pillars more
thoroughly than other women were able to do, and in turn they
contributed to reconstructing new gender relations. We have seen that
Tang people in general acknowledged and celebrated the gendered
identity of ordained Daoist women as priestesses and regarded them as
a distinct religio-social group—a group whose meaningful career and life
journey will gradually and comprehensively unfold in the following
chapters.
 CHAPTER II

Destiny and Power of the Ordained Royal Women

I
n the course of the Tang dynasty, about twenty-eight royal princesses
were ordained as Daoist priestesses, whereas there is no record that
any princess ever became a Buddhist nun. In addition to the
princesses, many other female members of the royal house and
numerous palace women were also ordained. This phenomenon is not
seen in any other Chinese dynasty. An easy explanation would be the
Tang royal house’s adoption of Laozi as its first ancestor and Daoism as
the family religion and even the state religion. The actual situation,
however, was much more complicated and multifaceted. Beneath the
surface of destined paths lay changing politics, gender relations, religious
practices, and individual motives, desires, and ambitions. Some of the
princess-priestesses in fact became quite powerful and successful in the
religious, political, and cultural domains.
These ordained princesses and royal women have attracted
considerable attention from modern scholars. Charles D. Benn’s 1991
work The Cavern-Mystery Transmission: A Taoist Ordination Rite of A.D.
711 remains the most important study of the priestess-princesses Jinxian
金仙 (689–732) and Yuzhen 玉真 (691–762), while Yu Xianhao has
studied Princess Yuzhen’s relation with the great poet Li Bai 李白 (701–
762).1 Li Fengmao has identified sixteen ordained princesses and some
ordained palace women and discussed their motives, convents, and
relationship with Tang poets.2 Ping Yao has studied the controversy over
the building of the convents for Jinxian and Yuzhen.3 Tsukamoto Zenryū
塚本善隆, Kegasawa Yasunori 氣賀澤保規, Jinhua Chen, and others
have investigated Jinxian’s support for the Fangshan 房山 Buddhist stone
canon project.4 Other works have also discussed ordained princesses
and palace women in the Tang era to one degree or another. Overall,
however, a comprehensive and in-depth study on this topic has yet to be
done, and many newly rediscovered materials have not been fully used.
Following previous scholarship and drawing upon all available
sources, including ten recently unearthed epitaphs and several
Dunhuang manuscripts, I seek here to present a comprehensive, in-
depth study of the ordained princesses and other royal and palace
women. After describing a general picture of their ordination and
discussing their varied reasons and motives for entering the Daoist order,
I then focus on Jinxian and Yuzhen, the two most influential priestess-
princesses, studying their life journeys, religious and political activities,
and accomplishments more completely and in greater detail.

Destiny or Choice: Ordained Princesses and Other

Royal and Palace Women

The Ordination of the Princesses

We begin by investigating some general questions concerning the

ordination of the twenty-eight royal princesses: at which life stages were
they ordained, where did they stay after ordination, what were their
marital statuses, and, most important, what reasons did they have for
being ordained? Table 2.1 provides a list of the ordained princesses,
along with some basic information to help in answering these questions.
From this table and other relevant sources, we can draw some
general observations. First, it appears that princesses could be initiated
or ordained at any stage in their life journeys: twelve were
initiated/ordained when they were young, nine in middle- to old age, with
the ages of the other seven unknown. Second, following ordination, the
princesses usually moved out the palace or their marital families to live at
Daoist convents in the capital city Chang’an, except for the six who died
very young.5 In the early cases, the empress or emperor built magnificent
convents, such as those at Taiping, Jinxian, and Yuzhen, for their
daughters, using government funds and manpower. The building of the
latter two convents, however, encountered strong objections from court
officials. Afterward, emperors no longer built convents for their ordained
daughters, and the princesses either resided at established convents or
converted their own residences into convents.6 Those donated and
converted convents included Caiguo’s Jiuhua convent, Yongmu’s
Yongmu convent,7 Tangchang’s Tangchang convent, Xinchang’s
Xinchang convent, and Xianyi’s Xianyi convent. Donating and converting
one’s residence into a religious venue was a practice originally adopted
from Buddhism and was seen as a kind of religious merit (gongde 功德)
that would bring blessing and accumulate good effects. The five
princesses’ donations showed their sincerity and piety in pursuing Daoist
spirituality.

TABLE 2.1
Ordained Princesses in the Tang Dynasty
Convent
Age of Reason for or Other
Princess Father/Mother Initiation/Ordination Ordination Residence

Taiping 太 Gaozong and ca. 8 Making merit for her Taiping

平 (ca. Empress Wu deceased
665–713) (r. 649–704) grandmother/declining
marriage with a
Tibetan prince

Jinxian 金 Ruizong (r. 18 Making merit for her Jinxian

仙 (689– 684–690 and deceased
732) 710–712) grandparents

Yuzhen 玉 Ruizong 16 Making merit for her Yuzhen

真 (691– deceased
762) grandparents

Caiguo 蔡 Ruizong Middle to old age Possibly following her Jiuhua

國 second husband’s
death

Yongmu 永 Xuanzong (r. Middle age (748) Following her Yongmu

穆 712–756) husband’s death in
748

Tangchang Xuanzong 27 Following her Tangchang

唐昌 husband’s death in
737

Wan’an 萬 Xuanzong Young (714) Making merit for her Wan’an

安 deceased grandfather

Shangxian Xuanzong Young Illness Palace

上仙

Huaisi 懷思 Xuanzong Young Illness Palace

Xinchang Xuanzong Middle to old age Following her Xinchang

新昌 husband’s death

Chuguo 楚 Xuanzong Middle to old age Possibly following her

國 (Daoist (784) husband’s death
name:
Shangshan
上善)
Xianyi 咸宜 Xuanzong Middle age (762) Possibly following her Xianyi
(d. 784) husband’s death
Daizong (r. Young Possibly illness
Yuxu 玉虛 762–779)
(Lingxian
靈仙)

Zhending Daizong Young Possibly illness Palace

真定
Huayang Daizong Young Illness Palace
華陽
(Qionghua
zhenren 瓊
華真人; d.
774)
Yuqing 玉 Daizong Young Possibly illness Palace
清
Wen’an 文 Shunzong Young
安 (793–
828)

Xunyang Dezong (r. Middle age (829)

潯陽 779–804)

Ping’en 平 Dezong Middle age (829)

恩

Shaoyang Dezong Middle age (829)

邵陽

Yongjia 永 Xianzong
嘉
Yong’an 永 Xianzong Young (821) Betrothal to the
安 Uighur qaghan Baoyi,
who died before the
wedding
Yichang 義 Muzong (r.
昌 820–824)

Ankang 安 Muzong Possibly following her

康 husband’s death

Yongxing Jingzong (r.

永興 (fl. 824–826)
877)
Tianchang Jingzong
天長 (fl.
877)
Ningguo 寧 Jingzong
國 (d. ca.
880)
Xingtang Wenzong
興唐 (fl. (826–840)
877)

* Ma Kuang 馬貺, “Tang gu Tangchang gongzhu muzhiming bingxu” 唐故唐昌公主墓誌銘並序,

in Zhang Quanmin 張全民, “Tangchang gongzhu muzhiming kaoshi” 唐昌公主墓誌銘考釋, Tang
yanjiu 唐研究 20 (2014): 265–80.
** Huaisi and the three princesses Yuxu, Zhending, and Yuqing all died young, and their names
or titles implied Daoist meanings. Therefore, they all might have been initiated or ordained
because of illness.
*** Xin Tangshu (83.3670) records that, in 877, Emperor Xizong ordered Ankang, Yongxing,
Tianchang, Ningguo, and Xingtang to move back to the palace because they were disturbing
people outside. XTS records only Ankang as an ordained priestess, but because unmarried
princesses lived in the palace and married princesses lived with their families, and only ordained
princesses could live outside the palace with a relatively free lifestyle, the other four princesses
must also have been ordained priestesses.

Third, we know that nine princesses were married, eight were not, and
the marital statuses of eleven were unknown. Since the two official Tang
histories do not record these eleven princesses’ marriages, the Yuan
scholar Ma Duanlin 馬端臨 (1254–1323) assumed that they were all
unmarried.8 However, because the Tang Daoist tradition allowed ordained
Daoists to maintain their marital status in certain cases, these ordained
princesses could choose to have an unofficial marriage while maintaining
their identity as a priestess, so it remains uncertain whether in fact these
princesses never married.9 For example, Yuzhen’s biographies in the two
official Tang histories tell us that she never married, but according to a
recently unearthed epitaph written for her daughter-in-law Pei Shangjian
裴尚簡 (730–805), she did marry after her ordination and had at least two
sons.10
Fourth, from the list we see that the motives for being ordained also
varied. Scholars have generally assumed that the reason so many
princesses underwent Daoist ordination was owing to the royal house’s
promotion of Daoism as their family religion. Certainly this was a major
reason, and the ordained princesses were supposed to continue the royal
house’s religious genealogy and bring bliss to their ancestors and the
empire. For example, in his decree granting ordination for Princesses
Xicheng 西城 (Jinxian’s original title) and Longchang 隆昌 (Yuzhen’s
original title), Emperor Ruizong said: “The Illustrious Thearch of the
Mysterious Prime [i.e., Laozi] was my first ancestor. How far has been the
bliss of his nonintervention” 玄元皇帝, 朕之始祖. 無為所庇, 不亦遠乎.11
The case of Yongmu also provides good evidence. In 740, Yongmu
donated money to make statues of the Amitāba Buddha and a bronze
bell for the welfare of her father, Emperor Xuanzong,12 thus showing her
pious belief in Buddhism. But seven years later, after her husband’s
death, she converted her residence into a Daoist convent and became its
abbess. It appears that Yongmu had beliefs in both Buddhism and
Daoism, as did many Tang women, but when deciding to take religious
vows, it appears that she had to choose Daoism.
In addition to this basic reason of promoting the royal family’s religious
genealogy, other political factors and individual motives were at play in
ordaining princesses. For instance, four princesses, Taiping, Jinxian,
Yuzhen, and Wan’an, were initiated by order of their imperial fathers (or
mother, in the case of Taiping) to make merit for the posthumous welfare
of their deceased ancestors (zhuifu 追福), again a practice originally
adopted from Buddhism.13 The fact that no prince was ever ordained to
procure merit for a deceased ancestor shows the rulers’ gender agenda:
princesses were much less important and could thus be “sacrificed” to
their ancestors, whereas princes could not.
On the other hand, although the forced initiations appear to have been
carried out against the princesses’ will, they were in fact a kind of
temporary expedient, and the princesses could later choose whether or
not to finally enter the Daoist order. For example, in 672, at about age
eight, Taiping was initiated upon the order of Empress Wu to earn merit
for the empress’s deceased mother, but she also remained in the palace
without undertaking any Daoist practice. Then, in 681, when a Tibetan
prince asked to marry the princess, Empress Wu had to actually establish
the Taiping convent and make Taiping its abbess in order to decline the
marriage. Shortly afterward, however, when Taiping expressed a desire
to marry, her father married her to Xue Shao 薛紹 and she left the Daoist
order for good.14 In 706, Emperor Ruizong ordered the initiations of his
daughters Jinxian, age eighteen, and Yuzhen, age sixteen, to earn merit
for their deceased grandparents, but they remained in the palace another
five years, until 711, when they moved into their convents. Princess
Wan’an also had a quite similar experience.
The only princess destined to enter the Daoist order was Yong’an,
who, according to historical records, was betrothed in 820 to the Uighur
qaghan Baoyi 保義 (r. 808–821). However, when the qaghan died in the
third month of the following year, before the wedding could take place,
the succeeding qaghan Chongde 崇德 (r. 821–824) insisted on keeping
the betrothal and marrying Yong’an himself. Rather than grant this
request, however, Emperor Muzong ordered that another sister of his,
Princess Taihe 太和, be married to the new qaghan instead.15 Yong’an
then entered the Daoist order and returned the betrothal gift. The Xin
Tangshu records the gift return as happening during the Dahe 大和 reign
period (827–853),16 but it would be unreasonable for the princess to
return the gift so many years after Baoyi’s death. Therefore, the date for
Yong’an’s ordination and the return of the gifts may instead be 821. It is
possible that Yong’an had petitioned to enter the Daoist order in order to
avoid the marriage to Qaghan Chongde, so Emperor Muzong had to
marry another princess to the qaghan. If this was the case, Yong’an’s
ordination was a reluctant choice.
As we see on our list, six princesses were likely ordained because of
illness, with the hope that ordination would bring them good fortune.
Another seven princesses chose the Daoist path after their husbands
died. Among these seven, Caiguo married three times17 and Xianyi
married twice;18 therefore, their eventual ordination was more likely to
have occurred because of their belief in Daoism rather than out of
faithfulness to a deceased husband. Although Yongmu, Ankang, and
Chuguo each married only once, because their biographies are brief, we
cannot be sure whether or not their ordinations implied a motive of
faithfulness to their deceased husbands. In the cases of Tangchang and
Xinchang, however, we fortunately have two recently unearthed epitaphs
that tell us more details about their life journeys.
Tangchang’s epitaph, unearthed from Xi’an in 2008, as well as other
relevant historical records report her life experience in detail. From a
young age she learned Confucian classics, and then, at sixteen (728),
she married Xue Xiu 薛鏽 (d. 737), who was her cousin and a son of
Princess Xiguo 鄎國.19 Xue Xiu later became involved in a palace
conspiracy against the crown prince Li Ying 李瑛 and was wrongly
framed, leading to his death in the fourth month of 737.20 The next year,
at age twenty-six, Tangchang requested entrance to the Daoist order and
converted her residence into the Tangchang convent. The epitaph
describes the princess’s purpose to be remaining faithful to her husband
and pursuing Daoist immortality sincerely.
Another newly unearthed epitaph, written for Xinchang’s mother-in-
law, He Rui 賀睿 (682–737), records that the princess was an exemplary
woman of Confucian values and always properly observed the rituals
during her marriage to He Rui’s son Xiao Heng 蕭衡. When He Rui fell ill,
the princess attended her without undressing for bed.21 Following her
husband’s death, she immediately became a Daoist priestess and
converted her residence into a convent. Her ordination thus stemmed
from motives of remaining faithful to her deceased husband and of
pursuing Daoist spirituality. Both Tangchang’s and Xinchang’s life
experiences thus present a natural continuity of Confucian family values
and Daoist belief.
There are additional reasons, conditions, and influences of the
priestess-princesses not seen from the list in table 2.1 or told of in the
official biographies. First, with a new identity as a Daoist priestess, a
princess could gain a certain degree of independence and freedom. After
ordination, princesses would move out of the palace or away from family
to live in convents, where they became abbesses and could make
decisions independently. They had sanction to take part in social,
religious, political, and cultural activities; indeed, a few of them, such as
Jinxian and Yuzhen, were very successful in these domains. Some of the
priestess-princesses, however, indulged in their freedom, so that in 877
Emperor Xizong ordered five of them to return to the palace.22
Second, the princesses could continue to enjoy their wealth and their
luxurious lives, as their imperial fathers bestowed the same or somewhat
greater stipends on them. During the Kaiyuan period (713–741),
Xuanzong ruled that adult princesses, whether married or not, would be
given a levy of one thousand households, as well as stipulating the
number of servants, while grand princesses such as Jinxian and Yuzhen
were given a levy of fourteen thousand households.23 From 829, Emperor
Wenzong made ordained princesses a yearly grant of extra goods
equivalent to seven hundred bolts of cloth.24
Third, unlike ordained Buddhist nuns, who had to shave their heads
and wear plain kāṣāya, Daoist priestesses kept their hair and wore well-
designed vestments that maintained their feminine attractiveness.25 This
would also have been a welcome condition for the princesses to enter the
Daoist order.
Fourth, when it came to the princesses’ religious experiences, their
biographies and epitaphs usually said that they believed in the Daoist
pursuit of immortality and understood Daoist doctrines well. It therefore
appears that the princesses were driven basically by their ultimate
concern over death and wished to prolong their lives forever. In some
extraordinary cases, however, such as those of Jinxian and Yuzhen, they
had actual religious achievements, which will be discussed later.
Finally, the convents of the ordained princesses in the capitals were
open to the public and exerted two beneficial influences on contemporary
people, especially on the literati. First, through the support of their
imperial parents and their own wealth, the princesses’ convents usually
included splendid buildings furnished with precious paintings and murals
and outfitted with beautiful gardens. As a result, these convents became
famous places, both for sightseeing and for composing poetry. The
Caiguo convent was famous for its winding pond and therefore as one of
the best places for the fuxi 祓禊 ceremony (cleansing away inauspicious
influences) in springtime,26 while the Xianyi convent possessed many
rare paintings by renowned artists.27 Tangchang meticulously designed
and built her own convent, which later became famous for its beautiful
jade-pistil flowers (yuruihua 玉蕊花).28 Second, these convents also
provided rooms for officials and scholars to rent for longer or shorter
periods. For example, the scholar Chen Kefeng 陳可封 lived at Huayang
convent in 796,29 and the famous poets Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen 元稹
(779–831) resided at the same convent in 804–805.30 This situation also
provided opportunities for the priestesses to associate with scholar-
officials, and some even fell in love or had affairs with their next-door
male friends.31

Ordination of Other Royal and Palace Women

In addition to the twenty-eight ordained princesses, Daoist ordinations of

other royal females and many palace ladies were also a striking
phenomenon in the Tang dynasty. Since neither group of women was
obliged to continue the royal house’s religious genealogy, the reasons for
their ordinations differed considerably from those of the princesses.
Royal women other than princesses usually chose the Daoist path for
individual reasons. Some appear to have been fascinated by the Daoist
belief in immortality. The epitaph written for the fifth granddaughter of
Emperor Xuanzong (name unknown; 734–754) describes her as longing
for immortality from a young age. She recited Daoist scriptures, took
elixirs, and practiced sitting in oblivion (zuowang 坐忘), but nonetheless
died young, at age twenty-one, possibly poisoned by alchemic elixirs.32
Other women appear to have been following the beliefs of their royal
mothers. For example, Pei Shangjian, the daughter of Princess Caiguo
and daughter-in-law of Princess Yuzhen, developed an interest in Daoism
following the death of her husband Zhang Ti 張倜 around 762. Finally
ordained in 783, she became abbess of her late mother’s Jiuhua
convent.33
In other cases the ordination of royal women resulted from the fallout
of vicious court battles. An example is that of Li Yuanzhen 李元真 (b.
776), a descendent of Li Zhen 李貞, the prince of Yue 越王. In 712, Li
Yuanzhen’s great-grandfather Li Zhen 李珍 was condemned and exiled
to the far south, where he and his sons and grandsons died. In 839, Li
Yuanzhen escorted four coffins back to Chang’an and presented a
memorial to Emperor Wenzong, petitioning to bury her ancestors in the
royal house’s graveyard. Following the burial, the emperor allowed her, at
age sixty-three with nobody to depend on, to become a Daoist priestess
at the Xianyi convent.34
 The ordination of numerous palace women was a different story. The
Tang imperial palace was always staffed with thousands of attractive
women. From time to time, an emperor would release some older women
to replace them with young beauties, or for other reasons, such as
offsetting the excessive yin of rain or floods, as seen from the many
decrees of “Fang gongnü zhao” 放宮女詔 or “Chu gongren zhao” 出宮人
詔 (Releasing Palace Women).35 These released palace women were
then often sent to Daoist convents. This phenomenon in turn became a
favorite topic of Tang poets. For instance, the Quan Tangshi preserves
eight poems with the same title, “Song gongren rudao” 送宮人入道
(Sending Off Palace Women to Enter the Daoist Order), composed by
eight poets at different times.36 These poems often describe the palace
women as entering the palace when they are young and beautiful and
leaving it grayed and melancholy. They are also described as washing off
their heavy makeup, wearing Daoist dress, learning rituals, and pursuing
their new dream of immortality.37
In rare cases, some palace women themselves asked to become
Daoist priestesses and the emperors granted their requests. For
example, Priestess Xiao 蕭 was a palace dancer favored by Emperor
Dezong for her extraordinary talent. Later, hearing stories of immortals
and believing immortality could be attained, she petitioned to become a
Daoist priestess, and the emperor authorized her to reside at Dongqing
洞清 convent on Mount Song 嵩山.38 Another example is Lu Meiniang 盧
眉娘 (b. 792), an embroiderer of extraordinary skill who, at age fourteen,
in 805, was presented to the court as tribute from the far south. Although
Emperor Xianzong appreciated her skills, he was aware of her desire to
leave the palace, so some years later he had her ordained a Daoist
priestess, granted her the title Xiaoyao 逍遙, and allowed her to return to
the south.39 Most of the released palace women appear to have lived in
convents in the two capitals, especially those connected to ordained
princesses. For example, in a poem composed during a visit to Princess
Yuzhen’s Anguo convent in Luoyang, Lu Lun 盧綸 (d. ca. 799) wrote:

If you look at the gray-haired

Who are reciting scriptures,
Half of them used to be
 Singers and dancers in the palace.
君看白髮誦經者, 半是宮中歌舞人.40

With a melancholy tone, the poet describes the dull, lonely life of the old
palace women at the late princess’s convent, in strong contrast to their
previous luxurious life of singing and dancing in the palace. Some
ordained palace women were also sent to convents in other places, as
seen in the cases of Priestess Xiao and Lu Meiniang.
A recently unearthed short epitaph reveals to us how these ordained
palace women were treated when they died:

Daoist priestess He Youjing was 108 years old. On the fifth day
of the sixth month in the fifth year of Xiantong [July 12, 864], the
emperor granted that she be built a chamber of concealing the
body [a tomb] with a two-tiered brick altar at Zhao village, west of
Chongdaoxiang in Wannian district, close to the late priestess
Hang Faxin’s tomb, where He was buried. Tomb Keeper Zheng
Wenshan; Inscriber [name missing]; Associate Funeral Supervisor
and Inner Palace Attendant Zhou Congchu; Funeral Supervisor and
Associate Supervisor of Sixteen Houses Bestowed Red-Fish Bag
Wei [first name missing].
女道士賀幽淨, 年一百八歲. 咸通五年六月五日, 准勅造藏身室, 上
二層磚壇. 於萬年縣崇道鄉西趙村, 與故女道士杭法新墓相近埋殯. 看
墓人鄭文善; 鎸字人 [闕姓名]; 監葬副使內養周從初; 監葬使十六宅副
使賜緋魚袋韋 [闕名].41

From the epitaph, we see that the Daoist priestess He Youjing 賀幽靜
(657–864) died at the advanced age of 108 years. She was buried close
to the tomb of another priestess, Hang Faxin 杭法新, in the suburb of the
capital. The funeral was supervised by two court eunuch officials, while
the tomb had a two-level brick altar and was assigned a tomb keeper.
Thus, we can speculate that these two priestesses must have been
retired palace women who, when growing older, were sent to Daoist
convents; when they died, palace officials were responsible for burying
them in considerably decent tombs, possibly in accord with their previous
palace ranks. In addition, Tang law stipulated that when a palace woman
died, the Office of Menials Service (Xiguan ju 奚官局) should “provide
clothes according to her rank and title, and hold a ritual at a nearby
monastery or abbey for merit-making for her posthumous welfare. This is
also valid for those who do not hold any rank” 給其衣服, 各視其品命, 仍於
隨近寺觀為之修福. 雖無品, 亦如之.42 From this stipulation we can deduce
that a ritual should also have been held for each of these two
priestesses, according to their ranks, at their funerals.
Some ordained royal and palace women are recorded as possessing
outstanding artistic talents. For example, Pei Shangjian read broadly and
was especially good at playing the zheng 箏 and knowing all the
melodies.43 Priestess Lian 廉 used to be a palace academician and was
very good in lishu 隸書 (official script) calligraphy.44 Lu Meiniang was
skillful in embroidering tiny, refined patterns.45 Priestess Xiao was once
the finest dancer in the palace.46

Power and Accomplishments: Princesses Jinxian

and Yuzhen

Other than records from official histories, Daoist texts, and works of the
Tang literati about princesses Jinxian and Yuzhen, we previously had
only a poorly preserved inscription of a tomb-pathway stele (shendao
beiming 神道碑銘) written for Jinxian, and a few other relevant
inscriptions.47 Recent discoveries, however, have given us additional
important materials: a well-preserved epitaph written for Jinxian and
transcribed by Yuzhen with excellent calligraphic skill, an epitaph written
for Yuzhen’s daughter-in-law Shangjian, and a few other inscriptions
containing information relevant to Yuzhen. Thus, we are now better
positioned to undertake a new and comprehensive examination of these
two princesses.
Jinxian was the eighth daughter of Emperor Ruizong, and Yuzhen was
the ninth.48 Originally granted the title District Princess of Xicheng 西城縣
主 when her father was still a prince, Jinxian was promoted to Princess
Xicheng, in 710, when her father was enthroned a second time. Her title
then changed to Princess Jinxian, in 711, when she entered the Daoist
order. The title Jinxian, literally “Golden Immortal,” accorded with her
identity as a Daoist priestess, and her Daoist name was Wushangdao 無
上道 (Supreme Dao). She was further promoted to Grand Princess, in
712, when her elder brother Xuanzong came to the throne.49 Likewise,
her sister Yuzhen was originally granted the title District Princess of
Longchang 隆昌縣主,50 and then promoted successively to Princess
Longchang, Princess Yuzhen (Jade Perfection), and Grand Princess. Her
Daoist name was Wushangzhen 無上真 (Supreme Perfection) and her
courtesy name was Yuanyuan 元元 (Primal Prime). When, in 744, she
petitioned to return her princess title and enfeoffment, her brother
Xuanzong granted her request and bestowed on her the Daoist title
Chiying 持盈 (Holding Completion).51 Afterward she was also nicknamed
Princess Jiuxian 九仙 (Immortal the Ninth) by the Tang people.52

Investitures of the Two Princesses

The ordinations of Princesses Jinxian and Yuzhen went through three

different investitures within a complicated political context and involving
unusual personal experiences differing from those of other princess-
priestesses. This complexity and particularity closely connected them to
the sociopolitical changes of their times.
Jinxian and Yuzhen accepted their first investitures in 706, at ages
eighteen and sixteen, respectively.53 Jinxian’s funeral biographies give
the reason for her initial ordination as her sincere aspiration to follow
Daoism. This may have been a solid reason, because five years later she
and her sister officially entered the Daoist order. The historical records,
however, tell us that behind the growth in their Daoist belief and their
investiture lay a complicated political and familial context. The two sisters’
early experiences were touched by the adversities of their parents. In
684, their father, Ruizong, had been enthroned as a puppet emperor after
his elder brother, Emperor Zhongzong, was deposed by the brothers’
mother, Empress Wu. In 690, Ruizong too was deposed and was
demoted to Imperial Successor (Huangshi 皇嗣), and in 698 he was
further demoted to Prince Xiang 相王.
If their father’s experience had not been disastrous enough, their
mother’s story was thoroughly tragic. Jinxian, Yuzhen, and their brother
Li Longji 李隆基 (later Emperor Xuanzong) were born of the same
mother, Consort Dou 竇妃. On the second day of the first month of
Changshou 2 (December 15, 692), Dou and Consort Liu 劉妃 were
framed by a palace slave named Wei Tuan’er 韋團兒, who hated the
prince for declining her seduction, and subsequently were murdered by
Empress Wu’s order.54
After Emperor Zhongzong’s restoration in 705, his brother Ruizong
faced even greater danger because he was also a potential candidate for
the throne. He was fully aware of this danger, and in that same year he
resolutely declined the appointments of prime minister and Imperial
Brother of the Heir Apparent (Huangtaidi 皇太帝). Nonetheless, he was
framed twice in the seventh and eighth months of 707 for plotting
rebellions with his nephew, the Heir Apparent Li Chongjun 李重俊, and
with his sister, Princess Taiping.55 Although both cases were fortunately
dropped because of help from high officials, he was obviously quite
vulnerable to such attack.
It was under this new situation of danger that Ruizong had his two
daughters initiated, in 706. Later, in his decree of 710 granting his two
daughters’ ordination, Ruizong indicated that the ordinations were
intended to procure merit for their grandparents, Emperor Gaozong and
Empress Wu, whereas in another decree, issued in 712, he stated more
specifically that the purpose was to make merit for Empress Wu.56
However, because the empress died in the eleventh month of Shenlong 1
(705) and was buried in the fifth month of Shenlong 2 (706), such a
purpose should have already been pronounced upon the two ladies’ first
investiture, in 706.
Nonetheless, the investiture possibly served as a pronouncement on
several political and religious matters. First, because the two sisters’
mother had been murdered by order of Empress Wu, their act of merit
making for her posthumous welfare demonstrated that the family held no
hatred toward her or other Wu family members, who remained powerful
after her death. Second, in the first month of Shenlong 2 (706), Emperor
Zhongzong granted his sister Princess Taiping and his six daughters
permission to establish their own staffs (fu 府) with increasing political
powers, forming a sharp contrast to the Daoist investiture of his nieces
Jinxian and Yuzhen, who thereby displayed their indifference to the
political domain. Third, in the second month of Shenlong 2, Zhongzong
restored the title of the family’s alleged founder, Laozi, to Xuanyuan
huangdi 玄元皇帝 (Illustrious Thearch of the Mysterious Prime) and
ordered that every prefecture establish a Daoist abbey.57 The two sisters’
initiation thus catered to the emperor’s new religious-political policy.
Finally, Ruizong composed a commentary on the Daode jing and was
also noted for his personality, described as “generous, tolerant,
respectful, cautious, peaceful, indifferent, and yielding” 寬厚恭謹, 安恬好
讓,58 all of which was in accordance with Daoist virtues. Thus, his
daughters might have developed the same religious interests under their
father’s influence, especially because their first investiture must have
included transmission of the Daode jing (which we will discuss). In
addition, their brother Li Longji, later Emperor Xuanzong, was also well
known for his belief in and support of Daoism and also wrote a
commentary on the Daode jing,59 and it was during his reign that Daoism
acquired the status of state religion. Possibly his own belief grew through
family influence during this earlier period as well. Whatever the case,
through the princesses’ investiture, the family together showcased their
common religious inclination toward Daoism, which was also an effective
way to shun the political vortex.
However, the fact that the two ladies remained in the palace and did
not actually move into convents after investiture testifies that they were
acting mainly out of political expedience rather than religious
determination. Although the princesses’ first investiture is not well
documented, according to the Tang Daoist ordination system and their
second investiture with the Cavern-Mystery transmission, this first
investiture might have had at least three levels of initiation and ordination:
an initial ritual for taking vows, the transmission of the Daode jing and
related texts, and the bestowal of scriptures based on the Sanhuang
corpus.60
By the time the two princesses underwent their second investiture, in
711, the entire political climate had changed. Their father was now on the
throne and their full brother had been established as the heir apparent.
Their fear and misery were gone and they had finally become happy,
favored princesses. Nonetheless, at this time they still made their final
decision to leave the imperial palace and enter the Daoist order. Thus,
their final determination can largely be interpreted as the expression of a
sincere belief in Daoism, though without excluding considerations of the
independence and freedom enjoyed by Daoist priestesses in the religious
and social domains.61
 Unlike the first investiture, the ritual process of this second one was
recorded in rich detail in the Chuanshou Sandong jingjie falu lüeshuo 傳
授三洞經戒法籙略說 (Short Exposition on the Transmission of the
Scriptures, Rules, and Registers of the Three Caverns), composed by the
Daoist priest Zhang Wanfu 張萬福 in 713.62 Charles Benn, in his excellent
translation and study of this text in relation to other Daoist texts, such as
the Fengdao kejie, has analogized the investiture with secular theater,
analyzing the ritual as comprising dramatis personae, a stage, drama,
and a denouement. The personae were the two princesses; their
preceptor, Shi Chongxuan 史崇玄 (d. 713), who carried the titles of Grand
Canon Preceptor of the Three Caverns and abbot of the imperial Taiqing
abbey 太清觀; the officiant, Zhang Wanfu, who witnessed and recorded
the ritual; and some other officiants.63 The stage was a three-tiered altar
established at Guizhen abbey 歸真觀, located in the inner palace and
embellished with luxurious objects, described by Zhang Wanfu in great
detail.
The drama was the performance of the Cavern-Mystery transmission,
though, unfortunately, Zhang only roughly described a few procedures:
on the eighteenth day of the first month of Jingyun 2 (February 10, 711),
the two ladies visited Shi Chongxuan at Guizhen abbey to receive the
transmission of scriptures; on the eve of the twenty-seventh day
(February 19, 711), the officiants performed the ritual; and on the next
day the transmission was performed and concluded. The denouement
refers to the liturgy toward the end of the investiture, when the officiant
bestowed titles on the ordinands. Though Zhang Wanfu did not
enumerate the titles bestowed on the two ladies, they should have
received, in accordance with the Cavern-Mystery canon transmitted to
them, the title Wushang Dongxuan fashi 無上洞玄法師 (Canon Preceptor
of the Peerless Cavern-Mystery).
Finally, the third investiture received by Jinxian and Yuzhen took place
on the twenty-eighth day of the tenth month in Xiantian 1 (December 1,
712). As Zhang Wanfu briefly narrates, an altar was again constructed,
embellished with even more luxurious objects, and scriptures based on
the Shangqing canon were transmitted to the two ladies. Although Zhang
again did not mention the title bestowed in this investiture, we know from
Jinxian’s epitaph and Yuzhen’s title recorded in other sources that they
reached the highest ordination rank of Great Cavern and Three
Radiances.64

Objections to the Building of the Two Convents

Though Zhang Wanfu sighed at the great wealth spent on the princesses’
two investitures, these costs were negligible compared with the huge
imperial treasury endowed for building their magnificent convents, which
led both political and religious forces to strongly object to the
construction.65
The political criticism, beginning in 710 and continuing for two years,
involved eight memorials presented by seven court officials. Eventually,
Emperor Ruizong was forced to compromise by issuing a decree halting
the construction, but by then the convents were nearly finished and the
projects in fact continued until completion.
The situation began in the twelfth month of Jingyun 1 (710), when
Ruizong issued a decree granting the ordination of the two princesses
while also announcing his plan to build two convents for them.66
Immediately, Ning Tiyuan 寧悌原 (664–728) counseled against the
construction plan.67 Ning presented three arguments: first, magnificent
buildings were heretical to Daoism and Buddhism; second, using huge
outlays from the treasury and massive manpower to build the convents
would cause the people to complain; and third, there were already
sufficient monasteries to accommodate Daoists and Buddhists. The
emperor praised Ning’s admonition but did not actually accept it.
Subsequently, in the third month of Jingyun 2 (711), Ruizong ordered
the construction of the two convents.68 They were to be located on the
southeast and southwest corners of the Fuxing 輔興 ward, right next to
the imperial palace. The Jinxian convent was a new construction that
must have caused the removal of original residences, whereas the
Yuzhen convent was a rebuilding and possibly expansion of an office that
originally had been the residence of Dou Dan 竇誕, Jinxian’s and
Yuzhen’s grandfather.69 Three more officials, Wei Zhigu 魏知古, Li Yi 李
乂, and Cui Li 崔蒞, counseled against the construction.70 Li’s memorial is
lost, while Wei’s and Cui’s presented two main arguments: first, starting
the construction in the last month of summer violated the heavenly
seasonal commands and therefore would bring disasters; and second,
the construction was forcing many original residents to move, and the
abundant requisition of corvée labor was impairing timely farming. Yet
again, Ruizong ignored these criticisms.
Then, as though in response to these officials’ predictions, from the
summer to autumn of that year came floods followed by droughts. During
the tenth month, Wei Zhigu and Xin Tipi 辛替否 again presented
memorials protesting the two convents as well as two other constructions
—the He’en monastery 荷恩寺 in Chang’an and the Heze monastery 荷
澤寺 in Luoyang.71 Wei wasted no time bringing up the predicted natural
disasters and possible famine the following spring. Xin used the example
of Ruizong’s brother Emperor Zhongzong as a lesson, because the
previous emperor had followed the will of Empress Wei in building many
monasteries and had spoiled Princess Anle by erecting a luxurious
mansion and garden for her, as a result of which he created resentment
among the people and destroyed himself. Ruizong praised their frank
remonstrations and offered both a promotion, but again refused to
change his mind.
The following spring (712) again brought a great drought. During the
third month, Pei Cui 裴凗 warned generally about the construction of all
Daoist abbeys and Buddhist monasteries in the two capitals.72 Finally,
during the fourth month of that year, Ruizong issued a decree in which he
reluctantly ordered that construction on the two convents stop and that
the convents and unused funding and building materials be surrendered
to the managers of the princesses’ fiefs.73 Yet woods continued to be
purchased for the construction while the inner decoration carried on,
under the pretense that the princesses were bearing the cost. At this
point, Wei Chou 韋湊 presented one more memorial criticizing these
continuing expenditures, but the court responded only by cutting down
certain funds.74
In summary, a careful reading of the eight memorials tells us that the
court officials mainly concerned the emperor’s misuse of massive funds
from the national treasury and of corvée labor that might have impaired
agriculture. The fact that several criticized the building not only of the two
convents but also of other Buddhist monasteries concurrently being
carried out in the two capitals testifies to their true purpose.75
On the religious side, the objection from the Buddhist camp came
through a mean conspiracy. Jealous of Ruizong’s more keen support for
Daoism, Buddhist monks crafted a plot to frame Shi Chongxuan, the two
princesses’ preceptor in charge of the construction, by bribing a man with
mental problems to sneak into the palace and proclaim himself emperor.
When caught, he declared that it was Shi who had sent him, but the
conspiracy was easily uncovered and the emperor issued a decree
forbidding contention between Buddhists and Daoists.76 Thus, the
religious camp also failed in its objections.
Ruizong knew the court officials’ admonitions were righteous, and he
even rewarded them with praise or promotion, yet he persisted in building
the two convents. Two factors may explain this contradiction, the first
being the emperor’s sincere interest in Daoism and his belief that building
Daoist abbeys and Buddhist monasteries could accumulate merit. The
second was his particular love for his two daughters, possibly owing to
their mother’s tragic death because of him when they were very young,
and also their sharing of the same religious belief.
The court officials were certainly right to criticize Ruizong’s use of
large amounts of state funds to build the two convents. However, from
the perspective of the Daoist tradition, the two princesses’ grand entry
into the Daoist order was a significant event and even a turning point.
Excluding the expedient scheme involving Taiping, Jianxian and Yuzhen
were the first royal princesses to become Daoist priestesses. Thereafter,
following in their footsteps, about twenty-five more princesses were
ordained. In turn, all these ordained princesses influenced other royal
and common women to walk out of the confinement of family and to take
on Daoist priesthood as their career. Furthermore, Jinxian, Yuzhen, their
father, Ruizong, elder brother Xuanzong, elder sister Caiguo, and their
eight ordained nieces together demonstrated a strong family belief in
Daoism, which in turn influenced Xuanzong’s religious policy during his
reign, through which he eventually promoted Daoism to the status of
state religion.

Jinxian and the Buddhist Stone Canon of Fangshan

Jinxian’s two funeral inscriptions do not provide much information

about her religious activities. Fortunately, however, another extant stele
inscription records her crucial contribution to the monumental project of
the Buddhist stone canon located in Fangshan County, Hebei province.
The Stone Canon of Fangshan (Fangshan shijing 房山石經), one of the
most significant cultural treasures in the world, preserves the largest
Buddhist stone scriptures in China, with more than fourteen thousand
stones having been discovered. Beginning near the end of the Sui
dynasty with individual sutras inscribed by the monk Jingwan 靜琬 (var.
Zhiyuan 智苑; d. 639), the carvings continued under the Tang dynasty,
with significant support from Jinxian.
The stele inscription recording Jinxian’s contribution, written and
transcribed by Wang Shoutai 王守泰, reads as follows:

In the eighteenth year of the Kaiyuan reign period of the great

Tang, Grand Princess Jinxian presented a memorial to the emperor
for bestowing more than four thousand fascicles of new and old
sutras translated in the great Tang to Fanyang district of Youzhou
to be used as the base texts for stone scriptures. She also made a
memorial to bestow those estates forever for the expenses of the
Yunju monastery: a wheat farm and an orchard on the swampy
area of Zhao Xiangzi in Shangfa village located fifty li southeast of
Fanyang district, and the forest encircling the mountains that border
in the east on Fangnan peak, in the south toward other mountains,
in the west at the mouth of Mount Baidai, and in the north in the
watershed of the great mountain. She again presented a memorial
to commission the dhyāna master Xuanfa to recite the Buddhist
canon annually, in order upwardly to extend the precious calendar
of the Tang and bless the compassionate emperor, and downwardly
to guide sentient beings to ascend to the tree of enlightenment
together. On the eighth day of the fourth month in the twenty-eighth
year, which is a genchen year [May 8, 740], I, Wang Shoutai, a
native of Mozhou and a former ordinary appointee of the Ministry of
Personnel recorded this event on the back of the stone pagoda at
the top of the mountain.
大唐開元十八年, 金仙長公主為奏聖上, 賜大唐新舊譯經四千餘卷,
充幽府范陽縣為石經本. 又奏范陽縣東南五十裡上 村趙襄子澱中麥田
莊並果園一所, 及環山林麓, 東接房南嶺, 南逼他山, 西止白帶山口, 北
限大山分水界, 並永充供給山門所用. 又委禪師玄法, 歲歲通轉一切
 經. 上延寶歷, 永福慈王; 下引懷生, 同攀覺樹. 粵開元廿八年庚辰歲朱
明八日, 前莫州吏部常選王守泰記山頂石浮圖後.77

According to this inscription, in 730, Jinxian presented a memorial to

her brother Emperor Xuanzong to request three things: that he deliver
more than four thousand fascicles of Buddhist scriptures to the Yunju
monastery 云居寺 in the Fanyang district 范陽縣; that he bestow a large
estate, including a wheat farm, an orchard, and broad forests, on the
monastery; and that he commission the dhyāna master Xuanfa, possibly
the abbot of the Yunju monastery, to recite the entire canon annually for
the blessings of the empire, the emperor, and the people.78 Xuanzong
granted all three requests. Ten years later, in 740, the canon was sent to
the monastery by two monks from the capital, Zhisheng (fl. 740s) and
Xiuzhang (fl. 710–740).
These three events initiated by Jinxian had a crucial influence on the
great stone project. First, Zhisheng, the leading scripture deliverer, was
the compiler of the Kaiyuan shijiao lu 開元釋教錄 (Buddhist Scriptures
Recorded in the Kaiyuan Reign Period), which was possibly a catalogue
of the Buddhist canon compiled during the Kaiyuan era, known as the
Kaiyuan zang 開元藏 (Kaiyuan canon). Since the Kaiyuan shijiao lu
happens to have been completed and presented to Xuanzong in 730,
scholars generally believe that the collection of Buddhist scriptures sent
to the Yunju monastery was the main body of the Kaiyuan canon.79 This
finely compiled and collated collection provided the best available base
texts for the carving of the stone canon.80 Second, the bestowal of a large
estate established a strong financial foundation for the project, because
the quarrying and carving of stones consumed great wealth and
manpower. Finally, the commission and appointment of Xuanfa
legitimized his and the monastery’s authority over the project. Thus,
Jinxian’s generous support greatly promoted the project and guaranteed
its successful continuation textually, financially, and institutionally. As a
result, by the end of the Tang period, more than four thousand pieces of
stones had been carved.81
Why would a Daoist priestess have any interest in supporting a
Buddhist canon project? Among modern scholars’ discussions,
Tsukamoto Zenryū’s explanation of the general interpenetration of
Buddhist and Daoist practices in the Tang era seems to be reasonable.82
Tang people in general considered both religions to provide compatible
spiritual paths. Although both Jinxian’s father, Ruizong, and brother
Xuanzong were fascinated by Daoism, they also supported Buddhism in
various ways. As noted earlier, Jinxian’s niece Yongmu was an ordained
Daoist priestess, but she also donated money to make Buddha statues.
Jinxian’s sister and co-priestess, Yuzhen, also promoted Buddhist monks
in several ways (see later discussion). A similar case is that of Princess
Huayang, who was reported to be especially devout in her Daoist belief,
yet when the Tantra master Amoghavajra (Bukong 不空; 705–774) built
the Pavilion of Mañjuśrī in 772, Huayang donated significant wealth to
help the project.83 Thus, Jinxian’s help with the Buddhist stone canon was
really nothing out of the ordinary.
In addition to this general trend of thought, I further suggest the
possibility that either Xuanfa had gone to the capital to persuade Jinxian
to support the stone project, or Jinxian had herself visited the Yunju
monastery, where she was impressed by the project. Certainly, it is
impossible that the detailed listing of the estate in Jinxian’s memorial,
including a wheat farm, an orchard, and forests with specific boundaries
in the four directions, would have been of her own design; it must have
been provided by Xuanfa in one way or the other. When Sun Chengze 孫
承澤 (1592–1676) visited Mount Zhuolu 涿鹿山 (also called Mount Shijing
石經山) next to Yunju monastery in the seventeenth century, he saw
several pagodas atop the mountain, two of which were recognized as
having been built by Jinxian:

On the top of the [mountain] are five stone towers, and small
pagodas made of white stone on all the towers. Two of the pagodas
in the south were built by Princess Jinxian of the Tang dynasty, and
there are characters inscribed on them that still look new. No
inscription is seen on any of the other pagodas, so it is impossible
to examine them.
[山]頂有五石臺, 臺之上皆有白石小浮圖. 其南二者乃唐金仙公主
所建, 刻字如新. 餘無題識, 不可考.84

It is not impossible for Jinxian to have taken such a trip; her sister
Yuzhen also visited many Daoist and Buddhist sites all over the empire
(see below). In either case, whether she was persuaded by Xuanfa in the
capital or made an actual visit to the site, Jinxian appears to have been
deeply touched by the great aspirations and dedicated efforts of the
stone project and therefore decided to help. Her efforts, in turn, display
her religious insight and enthusiasm and have turned out to be her
everlasting legacy, in one of the world’s great cultural treasures.

Yuzhen: Patronage of Religion, Literature, and

Politics and Calligraphic Accomplishments

Two years following her help with the Buddhist stone canon project,
Jinxian died at age forty-four in Kaiyuan abbey in Luoyang. Her sister
Yuzhen was more fortunate, living to age seventy-two, as a result of
which many more records of her deeds have been left. Yuzhen was
talented in managing public and religious matters as well as in arts such
as calligraphy. Like Jinxian, as the beloved full sister of Xuanzong (and
the only one still living after Jinxian’s death) and sharing his belief in
Daoism, Yuzhen received his full support for her religious, cultural, and
even political activities, and she therefore accomplished much in various
domains.
According to the recently unearthed epitaph of Pei Shangjian, the wife
of Yuzhen’s second son Zhang Ti, we know that Yuzhen married a man
surnamed Zhang and gave birth to at least two sons.85 There is also a
narrative text telling how, in 733, Xuanzong intended to marry Yuzhen to
the Daoist adept Zhang Guo 張果 but Zhang refused,86 and his
biographies in the two Tang histories copy this story.87 However, this is
possibly mere hearsay, for two reasons. First, Yuzhen was already
married, and, from a poem by Li Bai written around that time, we know
that her husband was alive (as we will discuss). Second, in 733 Yuzhen
was forty-five years old, while, according to his biographies, Zhang
boasted an age of several hundred years, though in fact he looked more
like sixty to seventy years old; this age gap also made such a marriage
proposal unlikely.
In addition to the Yuzhen convent her father had built for her, the
princess presided over at least two more: Anguo convent 安國觀 in
Luoyang and Lingdu convent 靈都觀 on Mount Wangwu 王屋山.
Originally Princess Taiping’s residence, the Anguo convent was
converted to the Zhengping abbey 正平觀 in 710. In 722, Yuzhen, who
was residing at the abbey, changed it into a convent,88 in which she built
a meditation cloister decorated with Laozi’s statue and pictures of famous
Daoists. In the courtyard was a pond in which three rockeries were built
to symbolize the three legendary immortal mountains of Penglai 蓬萊,
Fangzhang 方丈, and Yingzhou 瀛洲.89 Later, in 742, she built the Lingdu
convent on the site of the old Fengxian abbey 奉仙觀 on Mount
Wangwu.90 She owned a mountain villa on Mount Li 驪山, east of
Chang’an,91 and she possibly also had a cloister in or a villa near
Zongsheng abbey 宗聖觀 (better known as Lou abbey 樓觀).92 These
residences became popular spots for contemporary or later poets to visit
and compose poetry.
During the Kaiyuan–Tianbao reign periods (713–756), Yuzhen acted
as a religious “ambassador,” carrying out missions for her brother the
emperor throughout the empire. For example, in about 727, Xuanzong
sent Yuzhen and Wei Tao 韋縚, Chief Minister of the Court of Imperial
Entertainments (Guanglu qing 光祿卿), to hold the fast of the Golden
Register (jinluzhai 金錄齋) at Sima Chengzhen’s Yangtai abbey 陽臺觀
on Mount Wangwu.93 In the third month of Tianbao 2 (743), she was sent
by Xuanzong to make a pilgrimage to the Zhenyuan palace 真源宮 in the
Qiao commandery 譙郡, traditionally recognized as Laozi’s birthplace,
and also to pay homage to other great and sacred mountains. In the
fourth month, she arrived at the palace, where she performed the ritual of
the Golden Register fast, including the ritual of throwing dragon writ
(toulong jian 投龍簡).94 Leaving the palace, she visited the priestess Jiao
Zhenjing 焦真靜, Sima Chengzhen’s female disciple,95 on Mount Song,
then visited Mount Wulao 五老山 (in present-day Yongji in Shanxi), where
she again performed the ritual of throwing dragon writ.96
Finally, she went to Mount Wangwu, where she met Priest Hu 胡.
From the twenty-fifth day of the fourth month (May 23, 743) to the third
day of the fifth month (May 30, 743), Hu conducted an investiture, during
which he transmitted several Shangqing scriptures to Yuzhen and titled
her Perfected Person of Yuzhen Wanhua (Yuzhen Wanhua Zhenren 玉真
萬華真人). Because the region had been afflicted that year with a great
drought from spring to summer, Yuzhen performed a ritual of praying for
rain from the Xianren tower 仙人臺, and it was reported that afterward it
rained, the local people gratefully calling it the “rain of the princess”
(gongzhu yu 公主雨).97
In addition to the religious tasks commissioned by the emperor,
Yuzhen also initiated some projects and recommended many provincial
Daoists and Buddhists to reside at major abbeys and monasteries in the
capital or to be appointed as court officials. For example, in 736, Yuzhen
sent an emissary to invite the priest Liu Ruoshui 劉若水 to Xingtang
abbey 興唐觀 on Mount Song to collate Daoist scriptures and registers.98
In 732, Yuzhen recommended Shuai Yeguang 帥夜光, originally a monk,
to present his work Sanxuan yiyi 三玄異義 (Variant Meanings in the
Three Mysteries) to the emperor, who in turn appointed Shuai as Editor
校書郎 and Auxiliary Erudite of the School of the Four Gates 四門博士直
國子監.99 During the late Tianbao reign period (742–756), Yuzhen visited
Mount Kongdong 崆峒山 in Yuanzhou 原州 (present-day Pingliang in
Gansu), where she met the dhyāna master Changyi 常一. Appreciating
his knowledge of Buddhism, she recommended him to her brother, who
summoned him to the capital. Later, during the An Lushan Rebellion,
Changyi contributed to Emperor Suzong’s battle against the rebels.100
Yuzhen was also related to and influential within the literati circle and
their poetic activities in the capital.101 She often entertained the emperor
in her residence or accompanied him to visit their elder brother Prince
Ning 寧王. As happened at many gatherings during the Tang era, poems
were composed to celebrate these joyful occasions. For example,
according to one poem by Emperor Xuanzong,102 two poems by the court
official–poet Zhang Yue 張說 (667–730),103 and one poem by another
court official–poet, Wang Wei 王維 (701–761),104 we know that Yuzhen
twice accompanied Xuanzong to visit Prince Ning’s mountain pond, and
for each occasion the emperor wrote a poem and had it transcribed on a
rock wall. Then Zhang Yue, possibly along with other official-poets, wrote
poems in response to the emperor’s. We also know that Xuanzong
visited Yuzhen’s mountain villa, where he composed a long poem of
twenty lines. Although Zhang Yue and Wang Wei could have written their
responding poems later, it also is possible that they and other court
official–poets accompanied these excursions and participated in the
poetic activities together with the emperor, the princess, and the prince,
just like the well-documented excursions of emperors Taizong and
Zhongzong.105
Yuzhen’s most important influence on Tang literature, however, was
her friendship with and recommendation of Li Bai, one of the greatest
poets in Chinese literary history. Li Bai, a Daoist follower, received the
Daoist investiture of ordination several times. Upon first arriving in the
capital, in 730, to seek a political career, Li became a friend of Yuzhen
and was accommodated in her villa. At this time he composed two
poems, titled “Yuzhen gongzhu bieguan kuyu zeng Weiwei Zhang qing
ershou” 玉真公主別館苦雨贈衛尉張卿二首 (Depressed by Rains at
Princess Yuzhen’s Villa: Two Poems Presented to Chief Minister of the
Court of the Imperial Regalia Zhang),106 in which he expressed his
anxiety about seeking political success while residing in the princess’s
villa (Zhang is Yuzhen’s husband).107 Li Bai also penned another poem,
dedicated to Yuzhen, titled “Yuzhen xianren ci” 玉真仙人詞 (Song of
Immortal Yuzhen),108 which describes Yuzhen’s Daoist cultivation on
Mount Hua and Mount Song. Finally, in 742, Yuzhen successfully
recommended Li Bai to Xuanzong, who summoned him to serve as
Hanlin Academician (Hanlin xueshi 翰林學士) at court.109
Yuzhen also possibly recommended another contemporary poet, Kang
Qia 康洽, to the emperor, which we know from a poem composed by the
poet Li Qi 李頎 (jinshi 735).110 In the poem, Li says that Kang was going
to the capital to present yuefu 樂府 songs to the emperor, on the
recommendation of a grand princess. It is highly possible that this grand
princess was Yuzhen, because, among the grand princesses, only she
and Jinxian had traveled outside the capital. Also, Kang Qia was
originally from Jiuquan 酒泉 (in present-day Gansu), in the northwestern
region, which Yuzhen had once visited.111
Other contemporary or later Tang poets who wrote poems admiring or
commemorating Yuzhen include Gao Shi 高適 (ca. 700–765), Chu
Guangxi 儲光羲 (ca. 706-ca. 762), Lu Lun 盧綸 (d. ca. 799), Sikong Shu
司空曙 (jinshi ca. 766), Zhang Ji 張籍 (ca. 766-ca. 830), Li Qunyu 李群玉
(d. ca. 862), Wang Jian 王建 (b. ca. 766), and Liu Yuxi 劉禹錫 (772–
842).112 No other Tang princess was so enthusiastically celebrated and
memorialized by the literati, and even after the Tang era, many literati
continued to compose poems venerating her.
Unlike her aunt Taiping or her cousin Anle 安樂, Yuzhen showed no
political ambition, though she did become involved in the political domain
by using her powerful connections to rescue members of the royal house
or the descendants of virtuous officials from various troubles. For
instance, Li Yixun 李義珣, the son of Li Shangjin 李上金, Prince Ze 澤王,
who had been killed by Empress Wu, was falsely accused as an imposter
by Li Huan 李瓘, Prince of Xu 許王, and was banished to the far south,
while his title and fief were stolen by Li Huan’s brother Li Liu 李璆. In 724,
Yuzhen presented a memorial to Xuanzong, clarifying that Li Yixun was
in fact Li Shangjin’s son, upon which the emperor recovered Yixun’s title
and fief and deprived Li Liu’s.113 Then in 727, when the prime minister
Yuwen Rong 宇文融 (d. 730) tried to frame Li Wei 李禕, Prince Xin’an 信
安王, Yuzhen, and the eunuch Gao Lishi 高力士 (690–762) spoke to
Xuanzong, whereupon the emperor demoted Yuwen Rong and saved the
prince.114 When Wei Zhan 魏瞻, a descendant of the virtuous official Wei
Zheng 魏徵 (580–643) under Emperor Taizong, was convicted of a
capital crime, Yuzhen took pity on him and helped him avoid the death
penalty.115 Such events indicate that Yuzhen was a person of integrity and
possessed political insight.
After Xuanzong retired from the throne, however, Yuzhen’s power and
fortunes declined, and she even came under suspicion from her nephew
Emperor Suzong during the An Lushan Rebellion, yet she remained loyal
to her brother and accompanied him in his lonesome and unsettled last
years. The Tang scholar-official Liu Cheng 柳珵 recorded that, in 761, the
eunuch Li Fuguo 李輔國 (704–762) forced Xuanzong to move from the
Xingqing palace 興慶宮 to the Taiji palace 太極宮, while a Lady Jiuxian 九
仙媛 was banished to the far south.116 Lady Jiuxian must refer to Yuzhen,
because she was called Princess Jiuxian in her later days. However, the
two Tang histories and Zizhi tongjian record that she was ordered to
return to the Yuzhen convent, which is probably closer to the truth.117 She
died, lonely, at her convent in the jianchen 建辰 (third) month of Yuannian
元年 (Baoying 1; March 30 to April 28, 762),118 only one month before
Xuanzong’s death.119 Wang Jin 王縉 (700–782), Wang Wei’s brother,
wrote her epitaph, which has been long lost, with just a few fragments
recorded in the Jinshi lu.120
One more remarkable accomplishment of Yuzhen is her excellent
calligraphy. Jinxian’s epitaphic inscription was transcribed by Yuzhen,
and the original stele and its cover were rediscovered in 1974 in Pucheng
County 蒲城縣, Shaanxi province (figure 2.1).121 As full sisters, Jinxian
and Yuzhen had lost their mother at ages four and two, respectively, and
since then they had kept each other company through the ceaseless
palace strife, eventually becoming Daoist priestesses together, with a
shared religious belief. As the elder sister, Jinxian probably guided her
younger sister in many ways. It was with deep grieving for her sister that
Yuzhen transcribed the epitaph.122 She then ordered Wei Linghe 衛靈鶴,
one of the most outstanding inscribers of the Tang era, to inspect, collate,
and inscribe the transcribed epitaph.123
Consequently, the inscription achieves perfection in calligraphic art,
and it may be regarded as the cooperative work of both Yuzhen and Wei
Linghe. The inscription was transcribed with regular scripts (kaishu 楷書).
The entire piece is skillfully structured, and the scripts are balanced and
harmonious, with every hook, stroke, and dot perfectly defined and
executed. Overall, its features are neat, elegant, and vigorous yet
delicate. Its style is considered to follow that of Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢 (557–
641), one of the most renowned calligraphers in the Tang, though with
certain innovative changes.124
Figure 2.1 Princess Jinxian’s epitaph, transcribed by Princess Yuzhen. Courtesy of Chang Chun
常春, personal rubbing collection.

In addition, Yuzhen also contributed to the calligraphic work of the

Lingfei liujia jing 靈飛六甲經 (Scripture of the Six-Jia for Summoning the
Lingfei [Jade Maidens]), which has been generally regarded as the most
outstanding and influential Chinese calligraphic work of small regular
script (xiaokai 小楷). This Daoist scripture was transcribed in Kaiyuan 26
(738). There have been some incomplete copies reproduced in China,
and the extant authentic fragment of forty-three lines of the work was first
included in Weng Wange’s 翁萬戈 family collection and is now preserved
in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. At the end of the work, it
is signed with Yuzhen’s name, indicating she commissioned and
inspected the transcribing of this work under the order of Emperor
Xuanzong.125 The scribe of this work has been postulated as the famous
calligrapher Zhong Shaojing 鍾紹京 (659–746), Yuzhen, or an unknown
scholar of imperial schools,126 but these are all just speculations without
any evidence. Because the work indicates Yuzhen as the commissioner,
and because the calligraphic style of this work is different from that of
Jinxian’s epitaph, we can determine that she did not transcribe this work.
This extant rare treasure, however, does inform us that Yuzhen might
have commissioned many other similar projects, thus helping propagate
Daoist scriptures and produce numerous artistic masterpieces that have
mostly been long lost.

Concluding Remarks

It was unique in Chinese history for so many princesses and other royal
and palace women to be ordained as Daoist priestesses. The Tang ruling
house’s adoption of Daoism as its family religion established a common
religious-political foundation for the princesses and their imperial parents,
as well as other royal and palace women, from which arose varied
purposes and motives for ordination. The ordained princesses were
supposed to continue the royal house’s religious genealogy, help
increase the sacredness of their ruling, and bring bliss to their ancestors
and grand dynasty.
The initiation or ordination could be used as an expedient for political
or religious purposes, so as to shun palace strife, to avoid diplomatic
marriage beyond the border, or to make merit for deceased imperial
ancestors. Some princesses developed their sincere belief in Daoism
along with their fear and weariness of palace coups. Young princesses
with serious illness were ordained in the hope of bringing bliss to them.
Middle- and old-age royal women were ordained for being faithful to their
deceased husbands, for sincere pursuit of Daoist immortality, or for both
reasons. Some princesses enjoyed the freedom, independence, and
even indulgence gained as a priestess. Some royal women became
homeless because of political strife and had to enter the Daoist order as
their final destination. Numerous palace women were forced to retire to
Daoist convents to pass the rest of their lives. All these complicated and
varied reasons and experiences were intermingled with the changing
social, political, religious, and economic currents throughout the Tang
dynasty.
In turn, the ordained royal women forcefully influenced the changes in
gender relations and religious-political power structure. They set up role
models for other women to follow in the religious path. Their convents
accommodated many ordained aristocrat women and became cultural
landmarks in the capitals. Princess Jinxian played a crucial role in the
project of the Buddhist stone canon of Fangshan, which has become one
of humankind’s great cultural heritages. Princess Yuzhen carried out
religious missions entrusted to her by Emperor Xuanzong or initiated by
herself, recommended virtuous and talented literati and religious figures
to the emperor, and rescued people trapped in political plights; her extant
calligraphy also added an invaluable treasure to the storehouse of
Chinese arts. In their own forceful ways, Jinxian, Yuzhen, and other
ordained royal women participated in the operation of religion and society
and helped promote the “Daoist empire,” religious and cultural prosperity,
and political stability in Xuanzong’s reign, the so-called High Tang period
and one of the cultural peaks in Chinese history.
 CHAPTER III

Religious Leadership, Practice, and Ritual Function

I
n addition to the ordained royal women who appear to have
established a role model for other women, numerous women from
both elite and commoner families became ordained as Daoist
priestesses throughout the Tang dynasty, and many convents were built.
According to an official statistic from the Kaiyuan reign period (713–741),
550 of the total of 1,687 Daoist abbeys (32.6 percent) were convents,
meaning that about one-third of the Daoist priesthood were females.
Following in the footsteps of previous female Daoists, they assumed
religious roles as leaders, mentors, preachers, theorists, adepts, and
ritualists and achieved considerable public recognition as Daoist
priestesses.
Instead of the hagiographies from Du Guangting’s Jixian lu, which
present idealized versions of Daoist women’s lives (as demonstrated in
the appendix of this book), I have collected a total of thirty epitaphic and
monastic inscriptions (excluding the ten epitaphs written for princesses,
discussed in the previous chapter) written for or related to ordinary Daoist
priestesses from both transmitted and recently unearthed materials;
another six texts presented or copied by Daoist priestesses from the
Dunhuang manuscripts, which reveal their religious activities and even
artistic achievements; and other relevant sources. Together, these
primary texts enable us to investigate the religious path and role of Tang
Daoist priestesses, describing a comprehensive and solid picture that
differs from that which current scholarship has provided.
In the following four sections, I first provide the general information
about fifty-three Daoist priestesses described in these sources, such as
family background, reasons for ordination, and ordination ranks and
convent positions. I then discuss their active engagement in religious
leadership and monastic management, religious practice and social
activities, and ritual function, in order to shed light on their religious
experience and accomplishment.

Overview of the Priestesses’ Religious Experience

Among the thirty epitaphic and monastic inscriptions, eleven (about 37

percent) were written by people related to the subjects, such as the
priestesses’ husbands, sons, brothers, aunts, nephews, or disciples.
They often write emotionally about their subjects and present factual
details about their lives. Although they inevitably seek to idealize their
subjects, we can often distinguish factual narrations from formulaic
clichés. As for other epitaphs written by unrelated authors, because they
were often based on raw materials such as “records of conduct”
(xingzhuang 行狀) provided by associates of the deceased subjects, they
usually also represent similar details and a comparable level of
credibility.1 Based on these epitaphs and adding information from other
primary sources,2 table 3.1 offers some basic information on the dates,
convents, ordination ranks, convent posts, family backgrounds, ages and
reasons for entering the Daoist order, and marital status of fifty-three
priestesses described in these sources.3
Some general conclusions concerning these priestesses’ religious
journey can be drawn from this table. First, thirteen among the fifty-three
priestesses (about 25 percent) were abbesses of convents. As scholars
have noted, in the early Celestial Master tradition, women could take up
leading positions such as nüshi 女士 (female master), nüguan (female
officiant), and jijiu 祭酒 (libationer), just as men did.4 During the period of
division (Northern and Southern Dynasties, 420–589), when Daoist
monasticism was emerging, some female Daoists built their own Daoist
residences (Daoguan 道館).5 During the Tang era, as Daoist monasticism
became institutionalized, many priestesses were officially appointed as
abbesses of convents, and they fulfilled their responsibilities in
outstanding fashion (see below).
TABLE 3.1
General Information on Tang Daoist Priestesses
Age of
and
Reason
Name and for
Dates Convent/Residence Rank/Position Family Ordination
Meng Zhide guan 至德觀, Abbess Elite 15
Jingsu 孟 Chang’an 長安
靜素 (542–
638)
Lady Li 李 In family Elite Middle to
夫人 (631– old age,
707) fulfilled
domestic
duties
Huang Dongling guan 洞靈 Abbess Commoner Young
Lingwei 黃 觀, Xiantan yuan 仙
靈微 (ca. 壇院, Fuzhou 撫州
642–721) (Jiangxi)
Bian Ziyang guan 紫陽觀, Young
Dongxuan Jizhou 冀州 (Hebei)
邊洞玄 (ca.
656–739)

Zhang Taiqing guan 太清觀, Three Caverns Elite 22

Zhen 張真 Chang’an; Linzhi
(courtesy guan 麟趾觀,
name: Su’e Luoyang 洛陽
素娥; 657–
715)
Song Chongxu guan 沖虛 Abbess
Miaoxian 觀, Dunhuang
宋妙仙 (d. (Gansu)
ca. 678)
Guo Jinji Chongxu guan (?), Three Caverns
郭金基 (fl. Dunhuang
678)

Zhao Chongxu guan (?),

Maioxu 趙 Dunhuang
妙虛

Wang Zixu Taiping guan 太平觀, Elite 68, after

王紫虛 Chang’an fulfilling
(673–754) domestic
duties
Li Xiantan yuan, Abbess Commoner Young
Qiongxian Fuzhou
黎瓊仙 (b.
692)
Tang Chongxu guan, Orthodox Unity 17
Zhenjie 唐 Dunhuang and High
真戒 (b. Mystery
693)
Wang Zixu Taiping guan 太平觀, Elite 68, after
王紫虛 Chang’an fulfilled
(673–754) domestic
duties
Cheng Longheshan guan 龍 Abbess Commoner Young
Wuwei 成 鶴山觀 (Sichuan)
無為 (b. ca.
700)

Yang Changqiu guan 長秋 Commoner

Zhengjian 觀, Qiongzhou 邛州
楊正見 (fl. (Sichuan)
713–741)

Jiao Songshan 嵩山
Jingzhen (Henan)
焦靜真 (fl.
743)
Yuan Chun Zhide guan, Abbess Elite Young
元淳 Chang’an
(courtesy
name:
Chunyi 淳
一; d. ca.
779)
Liang Lushan 廬山
Dongwei (Jiangxi)
梁洞微 (d.
ca. 780–
784)
Li Jiayou guan 嘉猷觀, Abbess Elite Young
Tengkong Chang’an; and
李騰空 (d. Lushan
ca. 787)

Cai Lushan Abbess Elite Young

Xunzhen
蔡尋真 (d.
ca. 787)
Ma Lingxu Kaiyuan guan 開元 Commoner 21, left
馬淩虛 觀, Luoyang courtesan
(734–756) life
Zeng Xiantan yuan, Commoner
Miaoxing Fuzhou
曾妙行 (fl.
771)
Madam Liu Elite After
劉氏 husband
died
Han Lingxu Jing yuan 靖院, Great Cavern
韓淩虛 (fl. Zhongtiaoshan 中條
798) 山 (Shanxi)
Li Yizhen Jing yuan, Great Cavern
李意貞 (fl. Zhongtiaoshan
798)
Yao Jing yuan,
Wuzhen 姚 Zhongtiaoshan
悟真 (fl.
798)
Yao Jing yuan,
Huixing 姚 Zhongtiaoshan
惠性 (fl.
798)
Feng Deyi Wutong guan 五通 Abbess Elite Young
馮得一 觀, Chang’an
(739–809)
Madam In family Elite Old, after
Jiang 蔣氏 fulfilling
(755–827) domestic
duties
Yin Zhiqing Chongxu guan (?), Orthodox Unity 11
陰志清 (b. Dunhuang
764)

Han Ziming Yuchen guan 玉晨 Great Cavern Elite 23

韓自明 觀, Chang’an and Three
(764–831) Radiances
Xie Ziran Guozhou 果州 Three Caverns Commoner Young
謝自然 (d. (Sichuan)
794)
Zhenyuan Daolin guan 道林觀, After
真元 (fl. Lunzhou 潤州 husband’s
785–804) (Jiangsu) death

Neng Yongmu guan 永穆 Abbess Elite After

Quchen 能 觀, Chang’an husband’s
去塵 (768– death
830)
Liu Moran Wangwushan 王屋 Great Cavern Elite ca. 34,
柳默然 山 (Henan) and Three after
(773–840) Radiances fulfilling
domestic
duties
Zhao Wangwushan Elite Young,
Yousu 赵右 followed
素 (d. belief of
before 840) mother, Liu
Moran
Zhao Wangwushan Great Cavern Elite Young,
Jingxuan and Three followed
赵景玄 (fl. Radiances belief of
840) mother, Liu
Moran
Feng In family Elite Converted
Xingzhou from
馮行周 Buddhism
(778–858)
Zhang In family Elite Young
Rongcheng
張容成
(783–801)
Tian Yuchen guan, Great Cavern Elite Young,
Yuansu 田 Chang’an and Three followed
元素 Radiances father’s
(courtesy belief
name: 知
白; 787–
829)
Liu Zhirou Yandong gong 燕洞 Great Cavern Elite Middle age
劉致柔 宮, Maoshan
(789–849) (Jiangsu)
Wang Anguo guan 安國觀, Great Cavern Elite ca. 44,
Xuming 王 Luoyang and Three after sons’
虛明 (792– Radiances death
859)
Liu Anguo guan, Elite Young,
Miaoshou Luoyang followed
柳妙首 (fl. belief of
859) aunt Wang
Xuming
Liu Taixia Anguo guan, Elite Young,
柳太霞 (fl. Luoyang followed
859) belief of
aunt Wang
Xuming
Priestess Daochong guan 道 Elite Followed
Chang 常 沖觀, Henan belief of
煉師 (Henan) daughter
Lü Xuanhe
Lü Xuanhe Daochong guan Three Caverns Elite Young
呂玄和
(793–830)

Hu Yin 胡 Taibaishan 太白山, Young

愔 (fl. 800– Shaanxi
848)

Qian In family Old age,

Youxuan after
錢又玄 fulfilling
(807–880) domestic
duties
Xu Pan 徐 Yaotai guan 瑤台觀, Elite 23
盼 (807– Huazhou 滑州
829) (Henan)
Hou Yuchen guan, Abbess
Qiongzhen Chang’an
侯瓊珍 (fl.
830)

Feng Daoxing guan 道興 Great Cavern; Elite

Xingzhen 觀, Zizhou 梓州 abbess
馮行真 (fl. (Sichuan)
836–855)
He Daoxing guan, Great Cavern
Zhenjing 何 Zizhou
真靖 (fl.
836–855)
Zhi Zhijian In family Elite 34,
支志堅 converted
(812–861) from
Buddhism
Pang Dezu Yuchen guan,
龐德祖 (fl. Chang’an
837)
Miss Chen Elite Young
陳氏

Second, the table shows that thirteen priestesses (25 percent)

attained the rank of master of Three Caverns (sandong 三洞) or of Great
Cavern and Three Radiances (dadong sanjing 大洞三景), the two highest
ranks in the Tang Daoist ordination system (as discussed in chapter 1).
Daoist women were provided relatively equal opportunity for their spiritual
pursuits, meeting the same requirements and going through the same
procedures as priests, and they were able to reach the same high ranks.
Moreover, because different ordination ranks required the learning and
transmitting of large groups of Daoist scriptures from different traditions,
many of which were very difficult texts, the attainment of various
ordination ranks by the priestesses speaks to their considerable levels of
education and knowledge of Daoist doctrines.
Third, we see that six ordained priestesses (11 percent) did not live in
Daoist convents but instead remained at home or took turns staying at
both locations. This was in accordance with the Tang Daoist ordination
system, which allowed ordained Daoists of certain ranks or
circumstances to maintain their marital status or to live at home (as
discussed in chapter 2). Here we observe that although Tang Daoist
tradition established monasticism and required a majority of Daoists to
live in abbeys, it also provided flexibility and fluidity for these
accomplished women to trespass the traditional inner–outer divide.
Fourth, twenty-nine among the fifty-three priestesses (55 percent)
were from elite families and seven were from commoner families; the
backgrounds of nineteen are not indicated. Genealogies of elite families
were especially emphasized during the Tang period, and unknown or
unstated background usually indicates a commoner family. Because
priestesses from elite families were typically more likely to have epitaphs
written for them, the statistics derived from this table may not reflect the
actual ratio of different family backgrounds. They do, however, show that
women from different social strata were attracted to Daoism and could be
ordained as priestesses.
Fifth, we also see from the table the varied reasons that Tang women
entered the Daoist order. Six (11 percent) followed the Daoist leanings of
their parents or other relatives to become priestesses. Twenty-two
priestesses (42 percent) were initiated into the Daoist order at a young
age and never married, and eleven of the epitaphs recount their subjects
as “holding Daoist beliefs from childhood.” Although it was a stereotype in
biographies to describe subjects as gifted prodigies and as religious
devotees from a young age, some of them might indeed have had very
early interest and belief in Daoism, such as the six priestesses who
followed in their relatives’ footsteps, and the Dunhuang priestess Yin
Zhiqing, who received the Zhengyi initiation or ordination at the age of
eleven.6 The epitaphs describe some of the girls as having “vowed rather
to die than to marry” when confronted with the conventional expectation
of marriage, and as having eventually obtained their parents’ acceptance
of their decision. This shows determination in refusing traditionally
prescribed family roles and pursuing their own spiritual goals.
Seven of the priestesses in our table were ordained at middle age or
older, after having fulfilled their domestic duties, and some of them were
praised as observing the Confucian “women’s Way” (fudao 婦道)
properly.7 Five entered the Daoist order after the death of a husband, and
thus followed the traditional gender norm of keeping faithful to a
deceased husband. One was a courtesan before her ordination, and one
was ordained on account of illness, in the hope that the ordination might
bring her blessings. It is especially notable that two priestesses were
transferred from being Buddhist nuns, because of the government
persecution of Buddhism in the Huichang 會昌 era (841–847) , and they
did not transfer back after the persecution, suggesting that they
considered that both religions provided a similar path for religious life.
All of these different reasons for entering the Daoist order indicate that
Daoism offered women of different situations a desirable pathway for
spiritual pursuits during different stages of their life journeys, presented
them an opportunity to negotiate with or escape from the constraints of
traditionally prescribed family roles, and provided them a new identity,
career, and various roles to perform in the broader social sphere. Like the
princess-priestesses, their experience often demonstrates a natural
continuity between Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.
Sixth, the fifty-three priestesses tabulated here are representative of
the Tang dynasty in both temporal and spatial distributions. Temporally,
they range from the transitive period of Sui-Tang in the early sixth century
to the late Tang in the second half of the ninth century. Geographically,
they were spread and active throughout the empire, including the two
capitals and seven present-day provinces in both the north and the south:
Chang’an (ten); Luoyang (six); Jiangxi (six); Sichuan (five); Henan (five);
Gansu (five); Shanxi (four); Jiangsu (two); Shaanxi (one); Hebei (one); in
family (five); and unknown (two).
Having surveyed the general facts about these women’s lives, we can
now consider more specific questions. For instance, what roles did these
and other Tang priestesses assume within or outside the convent? What
talents did they display and what initiatives did they demonstrate in their
religious and social activities? What sorts of rituals did they perform?

Religious Leadership and Monastic Management

Of the thirteen abbesses on our list, seven had other accomplishments in

addition to their leadership talents and will be discussed in next section.
The remaining six—Huang Lingwei, Li Qiongxian, Cheng Wuwei, Feng
Deyi, Feng Xingzhen, and Lü Xuanhe—are said to have displayed piety,
creativity, and persistence in creating, constructing, renovating, and
managing shrines, cloisters, and convents. They also demonstrated a
gender awareness of following in a distinct female genealogy within the
Daoist tradition.
The first of these abbesses, Huang Lingwei, sobriquet name Huagu 華
姑, has been studied in detail and depth by Russell Kirkland. Following
Kirkland’s study and the two inscriptions by Yan Zhenqing,8 Huang’s life
and religious experience can be described as follows. She was likely a
commoner, because the inscriptions make no mention whatever of her
family background. At age twelve, she was ordained into the Tianbao 天
寶 abbey in Fuzhou. In 692, when she was around age fifty, she resolved
to rediscover the early shrines devoted to Lady Wei Huacun 魏華存
(251–334), an important Daoist figure from several centuries before.9 She
found the ruins of a shrine in Wugui yuan, south of the outskirts of the
prefecture, which she then renovated. Sometime between 710 and 712,
Emperor Ruizong (r. 710–712) ordered the Dongling convent to be built
beside the shrine and the ordination of seven priestesses to reside
therein. Huang was likely appointed as its abbess. Afterward she
discovered and renovated another shrine of Lady Wei, at Mount Jing 井
山, and built next to it a cloister named Xiantan 仙壇. As founder of the
cloister, she also probably became its abbess. Dying there in 721, she
was described as having become a perfected person (zhenren 真人). As
Kirkland indicates, Huang Lingwei’s image presents a woman of great
piety and exceptional courage. By restoring the shrines, she also
displayed a gender awareness of a female Daoist tradition and “identified
with Lady Wei because of their common gender.”10
In addition, Yan Zhenqing’s two inscriptions tell us not only the story of
Huang Lingwei but also the experience of her disciple Li Qiongxian 黎瓊
仙. The inscriptions says that, in 768, when Yan arrived in Fuzhou as
prefect, Wei Huacun’s shrines were again deserted. Yan assigned seven
priestesses to reside in the Xiantan cloister. Because Li Qiongxian is
mentioned as the leading figure among the seven priestesses, she was
possibly appointed as abbess. Li led her disciples to renovate the cloister
and stood a statue of Huang Lingwei beside that of Lady Wei. Li
Qiongxian’s renovation activities appear to have followed in her mentor’s
footsteps, with similar piety and conviction. By erecting her mentor’s
statue alongside Lady Wei’s, Li also identified herself with Huang and
Wei because of their common gender.
The next abbess to be considered is Cheng Wuwei 成無為. The
inscription related to Cheng is not an epitaph but was engraved on a
stele in her convent, to commemorate her establishment of the
Longheshan convent and her planting of trees all over the mountain.11
This inscription was written in 750, when Cheng was still alive and just
over fifty years of age. The inscription does not mention her family
background, and thus she was likely from a commoner family. The
inscription begins with the cliché that, at a young age, Cheng practiced
Daoist longevity techniques masterfully and developed a profound
learning of Daoist scriptures. Although this cliché may not be taken fully
at face value, the statement that follows—that Cheng determined not to
get married and instead entered a Daoist convent when very young—
probably describes her actual experience.
The inscription then narrates that Cheng later went to Mount Longhe,
located in her hometown, where she built a convent of her own. She then
planted “more than ten thousand” trees covering the mountain, no doubt
along with her disciples and followers. In addition, Cheng fulfilled the
routine duties of a religious leader both inside and outside the convent,
such as observing required fasts, reciting Daoist scriptures, performing
Daoist rituals, making sacrifices to the spirits of the mountain, and
assisting both the local people and officials when in need. The
afforestation of the mountain also benefited the local residents. Cheng
Wuwei is thus presented as a figure of admirable piety, courage, and
hard work in establishing a new convent on a remote mountain and
afforesting its environment. She is also lauded for not just remaining
cloistered in the convent but also reaching out for public service.12
Unlike the abbesses of obscure family background discussed thus far,
Feng Deyi 馮得一 came from a renowned elite family. Wishing to remain
unmarried and intent on entering the Daoist order, she received her
family’s approval to do so. She was ordained, possibly at a young age,
into the Wutong convent in Chang’an. She is said to have understood the
Daoist classic Daode jing in depth and to have mastered all the recipes of
alchemy. Described as bright, fair, and possessing a talent for
management, she was first elected as weiyishi 威儀師 (master of
discipline), with responsibility for overseeing the convent’s rituals and
disciplines,13 and later became abbess. Her epitaph records her
accomplishments after assuming the post of abbess as follows:

The immortal master therefore established rules and regulations

and renovated the ruined [buildings]. Within several years, there
were new establishments day by day. She created a contemplation
cloister, and then constructed a mill as a common estate [of the
convent]. When she began planning the constructions, everybody
said these would be impossible to accomplish. The immortal
master had made her sincere decisions and would not give them
up. In less than a year, all these were completed. Her meritorious
deeds in such various planning and building are too many to
record, and the monastic assembly put their reliance on her.
仙師於是提振綱領, 纂緝隳 [闕一字], 數年之間, 日新成立. 創置精
思院一所, 再修常住磑一窠. 當欲締構之初, 衆人皆謂不可. 仙師精誠
已至, 確乎不拔, 曾未浹稔, 巋然以就. 諸所營建, 其功難紀, 徒衆賴
焉.14

The most important of her construction projects were the building of a

contemplation cloister and of a mill that served the local people and
supported the convent’s priestesses. It was a common practice during
the Tang period for Daoist and Buddhist monasteries to build mills and,
by serving the local people, to make a profit to help sustain the
monasteries, but building a mill was expensive and difficult.15 Though her
projects were opposed by “everyone,” she persisted successfully. In
addition to her strong initiative, Feng seems to have displayed an
aptitude for financial management in running the convent.
Feng Xingzhen 馮行真, another abbess from a great family, and her
fellow priestess He Zhenjing 何真靖 were celebrated for their efforts in
reconstructing the Daoxing convent 道興觀 in Zizhou. Originally an abbey
built during the Sui dynasty, it was destroyed by fire during the wars at
the dynasty’s end. In 729, it was rebuilt, but by the Yuanhe reign (806–
820) was again deserted. In 835, Feng Su 馮宿 (767–837) became
prefect and military commissioner of the prefecture. Because his
daughter Feng Xingzhen had been ordained as a Daoist priestess, he
began rebuilding the abbey, changing it into a convent, but he died the
following year, before the project was completed. Feng Xingzhen and He
Zhenjing then led the other women of the convent to seek continuing
support from the local people and eventually finished the construction. In
a commemorative inscription, the famous poet Li Shangyin 李商隱 (ca.
813–ca. 858) expressed his admiration for the two priestesses:

They practiced their righteous duties and therefore are

supported by the people; they are able to unite with others, so their
work has succeeded.… They are brilliant and capable in
management and discipline. They succeeded in following previous
examples and renewed the old building.
義行於得眾, 事集於和光 … 英蕤秀萼, 旋綱步紀. 克蹈前武, 能新
舊址.16

Although it is not explicitly indicated by the inscription, the two women

were obviously the leaders of the convent, with Feng Xingzhen most
likely the abbess and He Zhenjing possibly the head priestess.17
The epitaph for Lü Xuanhe 呂玄和, the last abbess in this group of six,
is brief, but it tells a similar story: Lü was also good in managing the
convent and disciplining the residences.18
It seems evident from the sources examined so far that some women
leaders in the Tang Daoist tradition successfully founded, built, and
managed shrines, convents, and cloisters. They are described as
displaying initiative and independence in making their own decisions and
then bringing them to fruition and success. They also were able to
manage their convents appropriately. Because the construction projects
and associated social services unavoidably involved dealing with local
laity, the convents and cloisters served not only as a locus of female
action and autonomy but also as a platform for interacting with people in
the public sphere and contributing to the order of society.

Religious Practices and Social Responsibilities

Tang Daoist priestesses further crossed traditional gender demarcations

in their performance of other religious roles, as preachers, mentors,
adepts, and theorists, as well as in the particular way they fulfilled social
and family responsibilities. They were also active in copying out Daoist
scriptures.
The experience of Tian Yuansu 田元素 is an example a priestess in
the role of preacher and religious mentor. Tian was the daughter of the
famous Daoist master Tian Guidao 田歸道, who wrote a commentary on
the Daode jing. Following in her father’s footsteps, she entered the Daoist
order at a young age. In 814, she received the Highest Clarity scriptures
and attained the highest ordination rank of Disciple of Great Cavern and
Three Radiances. We are told that she was exceptionally eloquent and
versed in the Daoist scriptures, especially the Daode jing, which we might
expect, given her father’s attachment to it. When she preached, she
always attracted a large audience. Her epitaph records:

She applied herself to the study of the canon and read through
the entirety [of the scriptures]. When she expounded the
“mysterious marvels” of the five-thousand-character text [Daode
jing], listeners filled the hall; when she ascended the doctrinal
platform [to preach], spectators [gathered round] like a wall.
內事典墳, 遍皆披覽. 演五千之玄妙, 聽者盈堂; 登法座而敷揚, 觀
者如堵.19

This description is reminiscent of a passage in Han Yu’s 韓愈 (768–

824) roughly contemporary poem “The Maiden from Mount Hua”
(Huashan nü 華山女), which tells of a Daoist priestess who preached to
the public and attracted a large audience:

Human traces are swept away in all Buddhist monasteries,

As fine horses and ladies’ carriages fill the street [to the convent].20
People crowd into the convent, some even sitting outside,
Latecomers find no place to stand and listen.
掃除眾寺人跡絕, 驊騮塞路連輜輧. 觀中人滿坐觀外, 後至無地無由
聽.21

Here, even the followers of Buddhism are won over by the priestess’s
sermon. The Huashan priestess spoke inside the Daoist convent, but her
audience included secular men and women who came by horses and
carriages, so we know the sermon was open to the public.
As a matter of fact, much earlier than Tian and the priestess from
Mount Hua, during the Sui and early Tang periods, the priestess Meng
Jingsu 孟靜素, who was summoned to the capital and appointed abbess
of the Zhide convent 至德觀 by Emperor Wendi of the Sui dynasty (r.
589–604), and then further revered by emperors Gaozu (r. 618–626) and
Taizong (r. 626–649) of the Tang dynasty, was a renowned preacher and
mentor in the capital and is reported to have converted many followers.22
Thus, we can assume that, during the Tang dynasty, it might not have
been uncommon for Daoist priestesses to preach to the public, and that
their religious passion, profound knowledge, and eloquent sermons
attracted, influenced, and converted many people.23
Because of his critical attitude toward Buddhism and Daoism and his
mission of reviving Confucianism, Han Yu’s poem carries a light tone of
irony, but not explicit and serious. In later times, a few traditional
scholars, such as Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200), criticized Tang Daoist
priestesses who preached publicly as “indecent women” (shixing furen 失
行婦人),24 while many modern scholars have further condemned them as
being “licentious” (yindang 淫蕩),25 “corrupting public morals” (shangfeng
baisu 傷風敗俗),26 and so forth.
This kind of criticism appears to have two main sources. The first is
the traditional, embedded gender pattern of “separation of male and
female” (nannü zhibie 男女之別) and “separation of inner and outer”
(neiwai zhibie 內外之別), requiring women to be restrained in their
speech and confined to their inner quarters. The second is ignorant
disregard of historical context. As the examples of Meng Jingsu, Tian
Yuansu, and the priestess from Mount Hua indicate, during the Tang, the
public preaching of Daoist priestesses (as well as of Buddhist nuns) was
often appreciated. Meng Jingsu was admired by emperors of the Sui and
early Tang, and in Han Yu’s poem the maiden from Mount Hua was
summoned to the palace. In 819, Tian Yuansu also was summoned to
the palace, by Emperor Xianzong.
At the palace, the emperor built a special cloister inside the Yuchen
convent for Tian Yuansu’s residence. There, Tian became a mentor to
emperors, empresses, and other palace ladies and maidens. She was
esteemed by four successive emperors, Xianzong, Muzong (r. 820–824),
Jingzong (r. 824–826), and Wenzong. Again, “when she preached [in the
palace], several thousands of people from imperial consorts downward
listened to her speech” 每一講說, 妃嬪已下相率而聽者僅數千人. Upon
her death, in 829, Emperor Wenzong bestowed upon her the
posthumous title of Perfected Person of the Azure Sovereign of the
Eastern Sacred Mountain (Dongyue qingdi zhenren 東嶽青帝真人). In the
end, she received high praise from Song Ruoxian 宋若憲, a female
Confucian scholar who was the author of her epitaph and was her distant
aunt.27 It seems that, as public preachers and mentors to emperors, Tian
Yuansu, Meng Jingsu, and the priestess from Mount Hua present a kind
of gender reverse, which to a certain extent undermines traditional
expectations.
The epitaphs of other of our priestesses describe specialties and
activities as Daoist adepts and practitioners. Thus, Lady Li 李夫人
specialized in the Daoist classics of Daode jing and Zhuangzi and
reached the state of spiritual transcendence. She described death as a
“return to the court of perfection.” In her will, she criticized the ritual of
burying deceased husband and wife in the same tomb as damaging the
ancient Way of purity and perfection, and she ordered her sons not to
bury her in the same tomb with her husband.28 This indicates that her
new identity as an ordained priestess was of more significance to her
than the traditional Confucian role of wife. Here, an independent grave
represents an independent and equal status.
Li Tengkong 李騰空, the daughter of the notorious prime minister Li
Linfu 李林甫 (683–753), moved from the Jiayou convent 嘉猷觀 in the
capital to a cloister on Mount Lu 廬山, perhaps after her father’s fall, in
752, along with Cai Xunzhen 蔡尋真, also the daughter of a high official,
who lived at another cloister on the same mountain. Li and Cai had
reputations for helping people in need and healing them with Daoist
elixirs, medicines, and therapeutic talismans. After their passing, local
people performed cult sacrifices to them.29 Yuan Chun, the daughter of
an official and the abbess of the Zhide convent for thirty-six years, is
described as being an excellent practitioner of outer, or laboratory,
alchemy.30
In addition to the epitaphs, we find many Daoist female adepts
mentioned in poems, essays, and narratives of Tang literati. For example,
the collector of marvelous tales, Dai Fu 戴孚 (jinshi 757) described a
certain Bian Dongxuan 邊洞玄 as engaging in Daoist exercises, such as
abstaining from grains and ingesting elixir drugs, for forty years.31 Jiao
Jingzhen 焦靜真, one of the two most renowned disciples of Sima
Chengzhen 司馬承禎 (647–735), was praised in poems by several literati
for her skills in outer alchemy, breath control exercises, and abstention
from grains.32 Another poet, Zhang Ji 張籍 (ca. 766–ca. 830), wrote
admiringly of a priestess who was expert in visualization practices and
abstention from grains.33 One more poet, Qin Xi 秦系 (ca. 720–ca. 800),
described a priestess who ate no food not all, including herbs, for forty
years.34 There were also two outstanding priestess-theorists, Liu Moran
柳默然 (discussed in chapter 4) and Hu Yin 胡愔 (discussed in chapter
5).
The ordained Daoist priestesses usually did not cut off relationship
with their families but rather continued to fulfill family duties in particular
ways. Han Ziming 韓自明, who received the ordination of the Great
Cavern, hailed from an elite family and married a young scholar at the
age of twenty-two. A year later she gave birth to a child, but her husband
died unexpectedly. Entrusting her child to her parents, she chose to
become a priestess. Around 790 or 791, when her father Han Yi 韓佾
was prefect of Guozhou 果州 in Sichuan, she became a good friend of
the local priestess Xie Ziran 謝自然, and together they received the Three
Caverns ordination from the Daoist master Cheng Taixu 程太虛.35 Han
Ziming later resided on Mount Hua, and then in the Xianyi convent 咸宜
觀 in the capital.36 Her strict self-discipline and profound knowledge of
Daoist teachings are said to have attracted many women from
aristocratic families as eager students.
Although she earlier gave up her own child, Han Ziming was praised,
after the death of her elder brother, for raising his orphaned children,
seeing them married and settled, and even paying off the remaining
debts of this brother through her business acumen:

The master was compassionate to all, and her giving started

with her family. She raised her orphaned nephews and had all of
them married and settled in residences. In addition, she once
purchased an abandoned mountain villa, and collected profits
[gained from it] to pay off the debts owed by her [deceased] brother
 to a eunuch. Personally, although enduring hardships of hunger
and cold, she showed no unhappiness or frustration in her
expression.
師慈湣於一切, 而施由親始. 故撫孤姪弱子, 咸俾有家而居室. 又嘗
貨棄山墅, 聚畜子祿, 代兄償逋責於中貴人. 身雖困忍寒餧, 而色無堙
鬱.37

Han Ziming’s experience shows an unusual role dislocation. In the case

of her own family, she gave up the traditional role of mother to pursue her
religious devotions, whereas in the case of her deceased brother’s family,
she assumed the role of “father” or “husband” as family supporter and
protector. During the Tang, as in other periods of premodern history,
women were traditionally prescribed the three roles of daughter, wife, and
mother; they were normally constrained from shouldering “outer”
responsibilities such as providing for a family, even though some were
described as highly capable in managing household finances and
operations in the inner quarters, and some working women provided
certain support for their families.38 In exceptional cases, some widows
were known to support their families with diligence, frugality, and hard
work, and some women even ran their own businesses.39 Han Ziming’s
success provides an example of a woman stepping into a man’s role,
when need and opportunity required. Her experience also indicates that
Daoist priestesses had certain freedoms to choose their social and family
roles and functions.
It is said that when Emperor Wenzong heard of Han’s virtue in
supporting her deceased brother’s family, he summoned her to become a
palace priestess and mentor:

When news of her virtue had reached high to the emperor, he

wished to receive instruction from her. Early in the Dahe reign
period, he summoned her to the palace to reside in the Yuchen
convent. Whenever the master made her presence before the
throne, His Highness never failed to sit upright and cup his hands
with a serious countenance, listening to her sermon quietly. He
bestowed upon her clothes of high rank and built for her a cloister.
德既升聞, 帝思乞言. [大和]初, 召入宮玉晨觀. 師每進見, 上未嘗不
 居正端拱, 整容寂聽. 備命服之錫, 崇築室之賜.

Here two important points should be noted. First, Han Ziming’s

successful carrying out of the “father’s” role of supporting a family was
regarded as virtue worthy of imperial reward. Second, after entering the
palace, Han seemingly became a Daoist mentor to the emperor and was
respected as such.
Han Ziming’s fostering of her deceased brother’s family was not a
unique phenomenon in the Tang. We find a description of similar deeds in
the epitaph written for Zhi Zhijian 支志堅, another ordained priestess.40
Also from an elite family, Zhi Zhijian became a Buddhist novice at age
nine because of a serious illness, though she did not take up residence in
a Buddhist establishment but was allowed to remain at home. She is said
to have showed extraordinary filial piety and took on the responsibility of
educating her younger brothers. Upon the government suppression of
Buddhism, in 845, she converted to Daoism and was ordained a
priestess.
In 853, when her younger brother Zhi Shuxiang 支叔向 was on his
deathbed, he entrusted his wife and daughter to the care of Zhi Zhijian,41
who willingly took up the obligation to foster her niece and sister-in-law.
Her epitaph was written by another younger brother, Zhi Mo, and his
feelings of gratitude and respect toward his sister are thoroughly effusive.
While fulfilling their roles as priestesses, both Han Ziming and Zhi Zhijian
were capable, at the same time, of playing the role of family provider or
protector.
Rounding out our survey of the activities of Daoist priestesses, we find
that certain Dunhuang manuscripts pleasantly surprise us with
masterpieces of calligraphic art by some priestesses. First, at the end of
a fragmentary copy of the Taixuan zhenyi benji jing 太玄真一本際經
(Book of the Original Term of the True One), there is this note:

Song Miaoxian 宋妙仙, abbess of the Chongxu convent 沖虛觀,

went to the capital to copy out the Daoist canon, but she passed
away there before coming back. Now I copied this scripture for her.
沖虛觀主宋妙仙入京寫一切經, 未還身故. 今為寫此經.42
In 675, the crown prince Li Hong 李弘 died, and Emperor Gaozong and
Empress Wu ordered that thirty-six copies of Daoist canon be transcribed
for the purpose of accumulating merit for the prince’s posthumous
welfare.43 Song Miaoxian might have been summoned to the capital to
join this huge project. This would suggest that she was a fine
calligrapher. The person who copied the Benji jing for Song’s own
posthumous merit was highly likely one of her disciples who resided in
the same Chongxu convent.
In addition, two more fragments of the Benji jing, copied by
priestesses Zhao Miaoxu 趙妙虛 and by Guo Jinji 郭金基, also are extant
among the Dunhuang materials.44 The Benji jing, originally comprising ten
juan, composed by Liu Jinxi 劉進喜 and supplemented by Li Zhongqing
李仲卿 in the early seventh century, exists in the current Daozang only in
a two-juan version. The many fragmentary manuscripts of it that were
preserved at Dunhuang have now completed this important Daoist text
for us (with the exception only of the still missing eighth juan).45
Figure 3.1 Fragments of the Benji jing, transcribed by Dunhuang Daoist priestesses: (a) fragment
transcribed by Priestess Zhao Miaoxu (P. 2170, from Faguo Guojia tushuguan cang Dunhuang
xiyu wenxian); (b) fragment transcribed by Priestess Guo Jinji (S. 3135, from Ying cang Dunhuang
wenxian); (c) fragment transcribed by an anonymous priestess (from Zhensongtang cang xicui
miji congchan).

The three priestesses’ copies, obviously done originally to help

disseminate this text, have contributed to the modern reconstruction of
the Benji jing. Furthermore, all three extant copies present exquisite
examples of calligraphic art in regular style (kaishu; see figure 3.1). At
Dunhuang, located in the remote northwest region of the empire, there
were a total of thirty-seven priestesses in 758.46 This number was
probably more or less average during the first half of Tang. Yet we know
that four of them were excellent calligraphers. It seems likely that many
other priestesses throughout the empire and dynasty were active in the
copying and spreading of Daoist scriptures, in similar fashion.47

Ritual Functions

Ritual functions were part of the routine religious practice of Daoist

priestesses. Because of the importance of rituals, and also thanks to
some newly unearthed documents to place alongside transmitted texts
describing Tang priestesses’ ritual activities, we devote a separate
section to this area.
As is well known, in the Daoist tradition many aspects of both religious
and secular activity were connected to rituals. We have various records
attesting to ritual performances presided over by priestesses. For
example, according to epitaphs, Neng Quchen 能去塵, ordained after her
husband’s death, became abbess of the Yongmu convent 永穆觀 in
Chang’an and was reputed to have a great command of rituals;48 the
abbess Cheng Wuwei, discussed earlier, is also reported as excelling in
the performance of rituals.49 As discussed in the previous chapter,
Princess Yuzhen performed the rituals of Golden Register fast and
throwing dragon writ commissioned by Emperor Xuanzong. Tang poets
writing lyric-songs to the tune titled “Nüguan zi” 女冠子 (Daoist Priestess)
often refer to the priestesses’ performance of rituals. For example:

Tranquil night, winds through pine trees,

She worships on the altar to heaven.
靜夜松風下, 禮天壇.50

“Pacing the void” on the altar,

Among red banners and cloud flags,
She attracts the perfected and immortal.
步虛壇上, 絳節霓旌相向, 引真仙.51

Although poems do not provide exact documentation, there must have

been a real-life basis for such description.
The performance of Daoist rituals by Tang priestesses at the imperial
palace is faithfully and richly recorded in one recently unearthed
inscription, as well as eight transmitted essays written in the subgenre of
tan Dao wen 歎道文 (text for extolling the Dao). The inscription records
that, during the summer of Dahe 4 (830), Emperor Wenzong bestowed
upon the Huiyuan abbey 回元觀 a bell, plus the funding to build a bell
tower. Before its construction, the emperor ordered that the “Daoist
priestesses Hou Qiongzhen and others together establish an altar in the
Yuchen convent of Daming palace to present the registers.”52 According
to the inscription, these priestesses resided in the palace convent,
Yuchen, and Hou Qiongzhen was probably their abbess. It seems that
upon the imperial initiation of certain important religious events, these
women were responsible for holding Daoist rituals in the palace.
The eight extant compositions of “Text for Extolling the Dao” describe
in greater detail the ritual performances and activities of the priestesses
inside the palace. These essays were written at different times by three
scholar-officials, Bai Juyi 白居易 (772–846), Feng Ao 封敖 (d. ca. 862),
and Dugu Lin 獨孤霖 (fl. 860–873). All three had been appointed as
academicians of the Hanlin Academy (Hanlin xueshi 翰林學士)—Bai Juyi
in 807–811, Feng Ao in 842–845, and Dugu Lin in 862–869.53 In the mid-
to late Tang period, Hanlin academicians served mainly as secretaries to
the emperor and took turns being on duty in the palace, day and night.
Because the Yuchen convent was located immediately behind the Zichen
紫宸 hall where the academicians were on duty,54 they had the
opportunity to observe at close hand the Daoist rituals the priestesses
performed, as well as other of their activities in the palace. We may
therefore assume that these writings are highly credible, as it would not
be likely for the academicians to spin unfounded stories about palace
rituals.
The tanwen 歎文 (text of extolment) can be regarded as a literary
subgenre. The large tenth-century literary collection titled Wenyuan
yinghua 文苑英華 (Flowers from the Literary Garden) includes nine
essays under this category.55 One is a “Tan Fo wen” 歎佛文 (Text for
Extolling the Buddha) by Song Zhiwen 宋之問 (ca. 656–712), while the
others are all “Text for Extolling the Dao.” The character tan (extolling)
here also denotes a musical, vocal category in Daoist ritual music and
possibly in Buddhist ritual music as well.56 In this sense, the title “Tan
Dao” may also refer to the singing or chanting of Daoist music by the
priestesses during the performance of the ritual.
 These essays tell us once again that, in the inner palace, Daoist
rituals were performed mainly by the priestesses of the Yuchen convent.
According to these essays, the rituals were held primarily in four
situations. The first concerned seasonal and festival celebrations. For
example, on the day of the Upper Prime (Shangyuan 上元, the fifteenth
day of the first month), “the priestesses respectively and sincerely burn
incense, practice the Dao, and generate merit for the emperor.”57 On the
day of the Beginning of Spring (Lichun 立春), “the priestesses reverently
fast and kowtow for the emperor, solemnly burning incense.”58 In both
rituals, the priestesses prayed for the emperors’ longevity and for the
empire’s peace and prosperity.
The second situation concerned rituals for special days pertaining to
the emperors, such as their birthdays or anniversaries of death. Feng Ao
describes in one essay how the priestesses prayed for deceased
Emperor Xianzong to rest in peace in the Yellow Court (Huangting 黃庭)
and for blessings for his descendants and the empire on the day of his
death anniversary.59 In another essay, Feng Ao describes how the
priestesses celebrated Emperor Wuzong’s birthday on the eleventh day
of the sixth month, which was establish during his reign as the Qingyang
慶陽 festival, and prayed for his longevity.60
The third situation involved rituals to pray for rain. Dugu Lin wrote two
essays, both titled “Yuchen guan qiyu tan Dao wen” 玉晨觀祈雨歎道文
(Text for Extolling the Dao for Rain-Praying in the Yuchen Convent), in
which he described the priestesses performing supplicatory rituals to
heaven during great extended droughts.61
The final situation for these rituals pertained to occasional events
known as beixiu gongde 別修功德 (special service for merit making). Two
such events were recorded by Dugu Lin. In the first, the priestesses
prayed for a peaceful and bountiful autumn on the first day of the ninth
month (the first day of the season), while in the second, they “reverently
elaborated on the essence of Daoist doctrines to the emperor to inspire
his understanding of the truth.”62 This second event deserves special
attention, as it also shows the priestesses acting as imperial mentors.
The ritual performed for the building of a bell tower, mentioned earlier,
can be seen as a kind of special service for merit making as well.
It was customary for Daoist abbeys to hold rituals for the “three prime
days” (the fifteenth day of the first, seventh, and tenth months), for the
birthdays and death anniversaries of emperors and empresses, and in
other situations, such as praying for the empire’s well-being.63 The eight
essays and one inscription just discussed illustrate how these required
rituals were carried out inside the imperial palace by priestesses of the
Yuchen convent.
In addition, they also reveal to us some other important facts. The first
concerns the significant status of the Yuchen convent among the so-
called neidaochang 內道場 (palace chapels). The term “daochang” is a
translation of the Sanskrit term “bodhimaṇḍa,” which originally referred to
the place under the bodhi tree where Śākyamuni achieved
enlightenment. It was first used in Chinese Buddhism and then extended
to Daoism, with various meanings, including religious observances and
places of carrying out such observances. During the Tang dynasty, a
number of Buddhist and Daoist monasteries, abbeys, temples, and altars
were built inside the palace to carry out religious observances, practices,
and rituals sponsored by the emperors and other members of the royal
family.64 The frequency of the priestesses’ ritual practices indicates that
the Yuchen convent was one of the most important of these palace
chapels.65
Second, the priestesses were capable of undertaking high-level rituals
independently of their male counterparts, which verifies the descriptions
of ritual expertise by Daoist priestesses, as expressed in epitaphic
inscriptions and various poems and lyric songs. The details of ritual
processes included establishing an altar, presenting registers to divinities
and spirits, fasting, burning incense, kowtowing, and possibly singing and
chanting prayers.
Third, in addition to performing rituals, the priestesses could
sometimes serve as mentors to the emperors. This suggests the depth of
their knowledge of Daoist scriptures and practices and accords with the
epitaphic biographies of Tian Yuansu and Han Ziming, who were also
said to have instructed emperors and palace ladies.
Finally, some priestesses of the Yuchen convent appear to have been
summoned to the palace from convents elsewhere; one assumes this
would have been owing to their reputations and accomplishments. For
example, Han Ziming was summoned from the Xianyi convent in
Chang’an, and Tian Yuansu was probably called from another convent in
the capital, too. We also have examples of priestesses being summoned
from the far south: Li Jilan 李季蘭, a famous priestess-poet, summoned
from Yangzhou 揚州 (in present day Jiangsu) in about 783,66 and Pang
Dezu 龐德祖, called from Mount Magu 麻姑山 in 837. Such summons
represented recognition of a priestess’s achievements by the highest
authority of society.

Concluding Remarks

Our analysis of the new primary sources used in this chapter, especially
epitaphic inscriptions and Dunhuang manuscripts, presents a rich picture
of the religious experience of Tang Daoist priestesses. For some women,
in varied situations and during various stages of their life journeys,
Daoism opened a desirable path for spiritual pursuit and often provided
them with a new identity, career, and role to play in the broader social
sphere. As we have seen, these women developed themselves in many
ways—in a variety of religious roles, as leader, mentor, preacher, adept,
or ritual performer, as well as in some unusual secular situations—and
they contributed to the functioning of religion and society through their
multifaceted accomplishments. Tang Daoist priestesses represent an
important female religiosity that is remarkable both in the Daoist tradition
and in the history of Chinese women.
 CHAPTER IV

Liu Moran and the Daoist Theory of Inner Cultivation

A
mong the many outstanding priestesses during the Tang dynasty
was Liu Moran 柳默然 (773–840), courtesy name Xiyin 希音, who
received the highest ordination rank of the Great Cavern and
Three Radiances. She transmitted, or possibly even composed, the
treatise titled the Zuowang lun 坐忘論 (Treatise on Sitting in Oblivion), a
Daoist text of meditation and inner cultivation traditionally attributed to the
renowned Daoist master Sima Chengzhen 司馬承禎 (647–735). In
addition, she composed a eulogy praising the female Daoist Xue Yuanjun
薛元君 (Primal Mistress Xue), in which she described cultivation of the
female body while advocating inner cultivation over outer alchemy.
Liu Moran has, however, largely been ignored by both traditional and
modern scholars. I undertake here an examination of her life based on
the epitaph written for her and other relevant sources, as well as an
analysis of her writings to reveal her unique contribution to Daoist
theories. Additionally, I also discuss the complicated issue of authorship
of both the Zuowang lun and a second treatise by the same name that
has also been attributed to Sima Chengzhen.

Liu Moran’s Life and Religious Experience

According to Liu Moran’s epitaph, which provides a detailed account of

her life and religious experience, she came from an elite family and was
well educated.1 She was the granddaughter of the famous Confucian
scholar Xiao Yingshi 蕭穎士 (709–760) and daughter of the poet Liu Dan
柳淡 (also written as Dan 澹; courtesy name Zhongyong 中庸), who was
Xiao’s student and son-in-law.2 Before entering religious orders, she
followed the conventional path defined for an elite daughter. In 786, at
age fourteen, she married Zhao Hang 趙伉, who came from a great clan,
and together they had three sons and two daughters. She was praised as
properly observing the Confucian “women’s Way” (fudao 婦道) and was
capable in managing a large family.
In 806, after twenty years of marriage, her husband died unexpectedly,
whereupon she raised and educated her children by herself, “teaching
them strictly and nurturing them lovingly” (yanjiao ciyu 嚴教慈育). Two of
her sons, Zhao Lin 趙璘 and Zhao Huang 趙璜, passed the civil
examination and entered officialdom, while the youngest, Zhao Gui 趙珪,
died early. Zhao Lin became a famous scholar and authored an
anecdotal text titled Yinhua lu 因話錄 (Records of Intimate
Conversations).3
Although Liu Moran exemplified an ideal Confucian wife and mother
who perfectly fulfilled her family duties, the death of her husband, and of
her brother at about the same time, led her to look for spiritual comforting
beyond Confucian norms. After first studying Buddhist scriptures and
doctrines, she then converted to Daoism. It may have been after her
children were already grown that she first received ordination and
transmission of the Zhengyi and Lingbao texts on Mount Tiantai 天台山,
then further received ordination and transmission of the Shangqing texts
on Mount Heng 衡山. Finally, she went to reside in the old Yangtai abbey
陽臺觀 on Mount Wangwu 王屋山, where the great master Sima
Chengzhen used to stay. There she made more than ten statues of the
Lord of Perfection (Zhenjun 真君) for worship.4
Liu was generally respected for her strict fasting and observation of
precepts. Her two daughters, Zhao Yousu 趙右素 and Zhao Jingxuan 趙
景玄, followed her in becoming Daoist priestesses. Zhao Yousu died
earlier than her mother, while Zhao Jingxuan also reached the highest
ordination rank of Great Cavern and Three Radiances. Liu Moran’s life
journey thus appears to have incorporated Confucian family values and
female virtues with Buddhist philosophy and Daoist practice of self-
cultivation. As her epitaph records:
 The venerable master learned the Dao for a long time. A disciple
once came to ask: “My master, at the beginning you learned the
Buddhist Dharma and understood the theory of no-birth, reaching
its ultimate level. Are you still coming and going through the
Buddhist gate?” The venerable master replied: “No. To illuminate
the Dao by means of Dharma is like a craftsman’s use of good
tools. If the ridge beam has been built, where will axes be used?
Since I have attained the Dao, there is no longer the use of
Dharma.”
尊師學道既久, 門人嘗造而問曰: “師始以法得無生理, 既臻其極, 而
今出入蓋由其戶耶?” 尊師答曰: “否. 夫假法以明道, 其若工之利器爾.
棟梁已就, 斤斧何施. 吾道既達, 法亦何有.”

From this conversation, we see that Liu Moran was well acquainted with
Buddhist doctrines and used them as tools for illuminating and attaining
the Dao. It thus appears that in her life and religious experience,
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism were integrated with a natural
continuity.

Authorship of the Two Zuowang lun

Two extant texts, both titled Zuowang lun, are attributed to Sima
Chengzhen. One is longer, with seven chapters describing the seven
stages of sitting in oblivion, while the other is much shorter and was
originally engraved on a stele commissioned by Liu Moran. In recent
decades, scholars have questioned the authorship of these two texts.
Some have cast doubts on Sima’s authorship but have hesitated in
deciding who wrote these treatises,5 whereas others have speculated
that the longer, seven-chapter text was written by the Daoist Zhao Jian 趙
堅 but still attribute the shorter text to Sima.6 Through carefully examining
and comparing the two texts, I have come to agree that the longer text
was indeed written by Zhao Jian, and I here provide additional evidence
to substantiate this conclusion. At the same time, however, I find that
Sima could not have written the shorter text, either, and although
authorship of this text remains uncertain, it is possible that it was
composed by Liu Moran herself.
 The shorter Zuowang lun is engraved on the back of the “You Tang
Zhenyi xiansheng miaojie” 有唐貞一先生廟碣 (Temple Stele of Master
Zhenyi of the Tang Dynasty). “Master Zhenyi” was Sima Chengzhen’s
posthumous title, bestowed by Emperor Xuanzong. At the end of the
stele’s inscription, Liu Moran states that, in 821, she and her daughter
Zhao Jingxuan received this treatise from a priest surnamed Xu 徐, and
that in 829 she had the treatise engraved on the stele.7 Thus, according
to the inscription, this treatise was transmitted to Liu Moran and she
preserved it. The inscription does not, however, clearly indicate who
transmitted the text to the priest Xu.
Notably, this shorter Zuowang lun sharply criticizes a longer text of the
same title:

Recently there was a Daoist priest, Zhao Jian, who composed a

Zuowang lun with one juan and seven chapters. Covering a broad
subject matter with overloaded words, it discusses simple ideas
with eloquent arguments. It barely enough becomes a distinctive
work of its own, but it does not match the true abstrusity. Thereby
when reading it, one thinks only about its sections and phrases and
remembers its structure and order. It can be called “sitting in
wandering,” not “sitting in oblivion.”
近有道士趙堅, 造坐忘論一卷七篇. 事廣而文繁, 意簡而詞辯. 苟成
一家之著述, 未可以契真玄. 故使人讀之, 但思其篇章句段, 記其門戶
次敘而已. 可謂 “坐馳,” 非 “坐忘” 也.8

This Zuowang lun text by Zhao Jian is thus described as having seven
chapters with overloaded words and a clearly ordered structure, all of
which accords with the extant seven-chapter text attributed to Sima
Chengzhen. The earliest version of this text is seen in the early-Song
Yunji qiqian 雲笈七簽 (Cloudy Bookcase with Seven Labels), compiled by
Zhang Junfang 張君房 (jinshi 1004–1007), with no indication of
authorship.9 Therefore, Zhang evidently did not think that Sima
Chengzhen was the author.
Subsequently, another version of the same Zuowang lun text, this time
attributed to Sima Chengzhen, with an additional preface by Master
Zhenjing (Zhenjing xiansheng 真靜先生), came out around the late
Northern Song period, while the original preface was shortened and a
conclusion titled “Zuowang shuyi” 坐忘樞翼 (Complementary to the Pivot
of the Sitting in Oblivion) was added.10 This concluding section, “Shuyi,”
is actually an adaptation of the Dongxuan lingbao dingguan jing zhu 洞玄
靈寶定觀經注 (Commentary on the Scripture of Intent Contemplation of
the Dongxuan Lingbao Canon), an early Tang text.11 Meanwhile, Zeng
Zao 曾慥 (d. ca. 1155) included an abbreviated version of the same
Zuowang lun text in his Daoshu 道樞, including the “Shuyi,” but without
indicating authorship.12 Almost all Song dynasty bibliographical catalogs,
however, attribute this text to Sima Chengzhen.13
Some scholars have noted the correspondence of the seven chapters
between this extant text and the text attributed to Zhao Jian, which was
criticized by the shorter inscription of the Zuowang lun. They have
suggested that Zhao Jian could be Zhao Zhijian 趙志堅, who lived in the
early Tang and composed a commentary on the Daode jing titled Daode
zhenjing shuyi 道德真經疏義 (Commentary on the Daode jing).14 As
Meng Wentong 蒙文通 has noted, in his commentary Zhao Zhijian
summarizes three methods of contemplation: “The first is substantial
contemplation, the second empty contemplation, and the third perfect
contemplation” 一者有觀, 二者空觀, 三者真觀,15 while in the seven steps
discussed in the Zuowang lun, the fifth is named Perfect Contemplation
真觀,16 the same as Zhao Zhijian’s third method.17
Careful comparison, however, shows even more similarities in ideas
and phrases between Zhao Zhijian’s commentary and the seven-chapter
Zuowang lun. In the commentary, Zhao repeatedly emphasizes the
concept and practice of zuowang (sitting in oblivion):

No-intervention and sitting in oblivion, these are advanced

cultivation of the marvelous Dao.
無爲坐忘, 進修妙道.
Sitting in oblivion is close to the Dao and leads to attaining
spiritual perfection upwardly.
坐忘近道, 上獲神真.
The sin is brought by past bad retribution. Now because of
sitting in oblivion, the sin perishes of itself.
罪是往時惡報, 今因坐忘, 罪自銷滅.
 Now I consider getting rid of flashy things and returning to my
substance. To gain Daoist merits for myself, I let my physical
structure fall away and sit in oblivion. I practice this perseveringly
and gradually feel it quite helpful.
今則思去物華, 念歸我實. 道資身得, 隳體坐忘. 修之有恆, 稍覺良
益.18

Obviously, Zhao Zhijian was very interested in sitting in oblivion and

elevated it as an effective way to cultivate oneself and attain the Dao.
Some passages in the two texts are even almost identical, as seen in
table 4.1.

TABLE 4.1
Correspondence Between the Seven-Chapter Zuowang lun and Zhao
Zhijian’s Daode zhenjing shuyi
Zuowang lun Daode zhenjing shuyi

If one’s mind is calm and void, Directly practicing nonintervention and

the Dao spontaneously comes to
reside [in him]. The scripture
says, “If one can void his mind
and be no-intervening, the Dao
returns to him spontaneously
even though he does not desire
the Dao.”
心安而虛, 道自來居. 經云: “人能
虛心無為, 非欲於道, 道自歸之.”
(a)
sitting in oblivion, the Dao spontaneously
comes to reside [in him]. This is called
attaining [the Dao]. The Scripture of
Western Ascension says: “If one can be
void and no-intervening, the Dao returns to
him spontaneously even though he does
not desire the Dao.”
直以無為坐忘, 道自來止, 故云得也. 西昇經
云: “人能空虛無為, 非欲於道, 道自歸之.” (b)

Sources: (a) Yinji qiqian, by Zhang Junfang, 94.568; (b) Daode zhenjing shuyi, 5.958a.

In considering all these correspondences, we can conclude that

authorship of the seven-chapter Zuowang lun should be attributed to
Zhao Jian instead of Sima Chengzhen. Zhijian must be Zhao Jian’s
courtesy name, as Du Guangting also recorded a commentary of the
Daode jing with six juan by Zhao Jian, which obviously refers to the
extant commentary attributed to Zhao Zhijian.19
 Returning to the short inscription of the Zuowang lun, several
indications also suggest that Sima Chengzhen was not the author, and it
is even possible that Liu Moran herself composed it. First, in the
inscription, Liu Moran states only that the treatise was transmitted by a
priest named Xu, without giving his full name and without indicating
where and from whom he received the text—in other words, a rather
vague description. If the text really had been transmitted from the great
master Sima Chengzhen, whom Liu highly revered, surely she would
have recorded the transmission in detail to validate its authenticity and
authority.
Second, the Zuowang lun inscription cites Wu Yun’s 吳筠 (d. 778)
Shenxian kexue lun 神仙可學論 (Treatise on How Immortality Can Be
Learned) four times, as seen in table 4.2.20
When Sima Chengzhen died, in 735, at the age of eighty-nine, as a
great Daoist master, Wu Yun was still young; therefore, it would have
been impossible for Sima to cite Wu’s work extensively.21 Is it then
possible that Wu Yun was citing Sima Chengzhen’s work instead? The
answer here is also negative. The Zuowang lun inscription uses the
phrase “it is said” to indicate the citations, whereas Wu’s treatise uses the
tone of direct narration; therefore, the former should be citing the latter,
not the latter copying the former.
The bibliographical catalog in the Southern Song Tongzhi 通志
(General Annals) records a Zuowang lun in one juan, which it attributes
to Wu Yun,22 raising the possibility that the text was composed by Wu
and transmitted by the priest Xu. This, however, is quite unlikely, for three
reasons. First, because Wu Yun was a renowned master, the inscription
would have clearly indicated if he were the author. Second, because Wu
Yun’s works were compiled into a collection soon after his death, if he
ever composed such a text, it should have been included in this collection
and noted by others. However, not only is this text not seen in Wu’s
extant collection23 but also nobody ever mentions it until several centuries
later. Finally, although many works by Wu Yun are extant, none ever
mentions zuowang (sitting in oblivion); thus, it seems he took no interest
in this concept and practice and would be unlikely to compose a treatise
on it.
A third indication that Sima did not author the shorter Zuowang lun is
found in the last line of the original inscription engraved on the stele,
written thus: “Sitting in Oblivion. Zhenyi, bestowed by the Emperor.
Transcribed by Priest Zhang Hongming of Yuxi on Mount Wangwu” 坐忘
論. 勅贈貞一. 王屋山玉溪道士張弘明書.24 This line casts some doubt on
both the title and the author. First, if Zuowang lun was indeed the
inscription’s title, it should have been placed at the beginning, not the
end. Second, Zhenyi xiansheng (Master Zhenyi) was Sima Chengzhen’s
posthumous title, bestowed by Emperor Xuanzong, and this has been
regarded as the most important evidence for Sima’s authorship.25
However, numerous unearthed stele inscriptions from the Tang period
show that, when they are signed and listed, authors are always given
their full titles and names, and authorship is clearly indicated by the
character zhuan 撰 (written by). Here, however, “chizeng Zhenyi” 勅贈貞
一 is not the complete title, and Sima Chengzhen’s name and the
character zhuan are both missing. Because the stele was reestablished
and the inscription was reengraved by Cui Ke’an 崔可安, abbot of Yangtai
abbey, in 1094,26 it is possible that the characters chizeng Zhenyi and the
title Zuowang lun were added at that time to indicate Sima Chengzhen’s
authorship, because Song people in general believed him to have written
this inscription.27 If this is the case, then this inscription originally had no
title.

TABLE 4.2
Citations of the Zuowang lun Inscription from the Shenxian kexue lun
Zuowang lun Shenxian kexue lun
1 1
Therefore, one beckons the perfected Therefore, one beckons the perfected
in order to refine the body-form. When in order to refine the body-form. When
the body-form is pure, it merges with the body-form is pure, it merges with
the qi energy. One embraces the Dao the qi energy. One embraces the Dao
to refine the qi energy. When the qi to refine the qi energy. When the qi
energy is pure, it merges with the spirit. energy is pure, it merges with the
The body-structure unifies with the spirit. The body-structure unifies with
Dao; this is called attaining the Dao. the Dao; this is called attaining the
Since the Dao is no doubt boundless, Dao. Since the Dao is no doubt
how could immortality have an end? boundless, how could immortality
have an end?
故招真以煉形, 形清則合於炁; 含道以煉
炁, 炁清則合於神. 體與道冥, 謂之得道. 所以招真以煉形, 形清則合於氣; 含道
道固無極, 仙豈有終? 以煉氣, 氣清則合於神. 體與道冥, 謂之
得道. 道固無極, 仙豈有窮乎?
2 2
Therefore, it is said, “The trigrams of [They] don’t know that the trigrams of
Qian and Kun embody [the pattern of] Qian and Kun embody [the pattern of]
the Changes. If Qian and Kun are the Changes, and therefore if Qian
destroyed, one can no longer see the and Kun are destroyed, one can no
Changes. The body-vessel is the longer see the Changes; that the
storehouse of the inner nature. If it is body-vessel is the storehouse of the
destroyed, the inner nature has no inner nature, and therefore if it is
place to reside. If the inner nature has destroyed, the inner nature has no
no place to reside, where would I be?” place to reside. If the inner nature has
no place to reside, where would I be?
故曰: “乾坤為易之蘊, 乾坤毀則無以見
易; 形器為性之府, 形器敗則性無所存. 殊不知乾坤為易之韫, 乾坤毀則無以見
性無所存, 則於我何有?” 易; 形 [器] (氣) 為性之府, 形 [器] (氣)
敗則性無所存. 性無所存, 於我何有?*
3 3
Therefore, it is said, “The wandering The wandering hun-soul is
hun-soul is transformed.” transformed and attaches to another
body-vessel.
故曰 “遊魂為變” 是也.
遊魂遷革, 別守他器.
4 4
This body-self cannot escape the [They] don’t know that once they enter
molding of yin and yang and loses itself the mighty furnace of destiny they are
in transmigration. molded by yin and yang freely.

此身亦未免為陰陽所陶鑄而輪泯也. 安知入造化之洪爐, 任陰陽之鼓鑄.

* Qi 器 is originally written as qi 氣, here collated with Zuowang lun’s citation.

Finally, together with the Zuowang lun inscription, Liu Moran also
engraved on the back of the same stele another inscription she had
written, titled “Xue Yuanjun shengxian ming” 薛元君昇仙銘 (Inscription on
the Ascension of the Primal Mistress Xue).28 “Yuanjun” (Primal Mistress)
is a title for perfected female Daoists and high-ranking female immortals;
Xue is the family name, while the first name or Daoist name is
unknown.29 This inscription commemorates a female Daoist who
cultivated herself on Mount Heng, the southern sacred mountain, and
eventually ascended as an immortal during the Chen dynasty (557–589).
Comparing this inscription with the Zuowang lun inscription, we find some
similar ideas on the Daoist theory of inner cultivation, which we will
discuss later.
Putting together these four arguments, we can conclude that the
Zuowang lun inscription that Liu Moran claimed was transmitted to her
from the priest Xu should be attributed neither to Sima Chengzhen nor to
Wu Yun. Although it is possible that Xu himself composed this text, Liu
Moran’s omission of his full name makes this implausible. Therefore, the
authorship remains uncertain, leaving open the possibility that Liu herself
composed the text. The fact that the inscription was engraved on the
back of the stele of Sima Chengzhen’s temple on Mount Wangwu might
be why it was mistaken as his work. Indeed, it was Du Guangting who
first mistakenly attributed it to Sima when describing the “sacred signs” of
Sima on Mount Wangwu.30 Later, when this text was included in the Song
dynasty Daoshu, it was then attributed to Sima Chengzhen.31

Themes of the Zuowang lun Inscription

We can now go further to analyze the themes of the Zuowang lun

inscription. As is well known, zuowang, or “sitting in oblivion,” first
appears in the classic of the Zhuangzi, in which it is described as a state
of deep meditation that eliminates the ordinary features of worldly
connections, social rules, and moral virtues.32 Later, it gradually became
the core of Daoist meditation theory, signifying “a state of deep meditative
absorption and mystical oneness, during which all sensory and conscious
faculties are overcome and which is the base point for attaining Dao.”33 In
criticizing Zhao Jian’s seven-step meditation, the Zuowang lun inscription
emphasizes directly entering the mental state of deep absorption. Using
this state as a base, the adept then goes through a three-stage
refinement of body, qi energy, and spirit to eventually become one with
the Dao. In this way, the adept attains perfection in both spirit and body.
These themes subsequently contributed to the development of Daoist
inner cultivation theory as it was gradually evolved into inner alchemy
theory, which eventually matured and was codified in the early Song
dynasty.
Zhao Jian’s Zuowang lun designed and elaborated seven steps for the
practice of sitting in oblivion:

1. “Faith and Reverence” (Xinjing 信敬), to believe in the practice

reverently;
2. “Interception of Karma” (Duanyuan 斷緣), to detach oneself from
society;
3. “Restraining the Mind” (Shouxin 收心), to detach one’s mind from
external affairs;
4. “Simplifying Life” (Jianshi 簡事), to live a simple life;
5. “Observation of Perfection” (Zhenguan 真觀), to meditate insightfully;
6. “Great Absorption” (Taiding 泰定), to reach complete oblivion; and
7. “Attaining Dao” (Dedao 得道), to realize oneness with the Dao.34

As noted earlier, the Zuowang lun inscription criticized Zhao Jian’s

seven steps as “covering a broad subject matter with overloaded words”
and discussing “simple ideas with extensive arguments”; it also mocked it
as “sitting in wandering.” The inscription then singles out just one step—
the “Great Absorption,” which is listed as the sixth step in Zhao’s text—
but offers a different interpretation:

Therefore the step of attaining the Dao first relies on sitting in

oblivion. Sitting in oblivion means detachment from the myriad
things. Therefore, first one understands that all things are illusion,
and next one’s mind is absorbed. Above the absorbed mind
everything is open and coverless; beneath the absorbed mind
everything is empty and bottomless. If one remains in this state
without moving, one will become one with the Dao. This is called
the great absorption.
是以求道之階, 先資坐忘. 坐忘者, 為亡萬境也. 故先了諸妄, 次定
其心. 定心之上, 豁然無覆; 定心之下, 空然無基. 觸然不動, 如此則與
道冥, 謂之太定矣.35

The inscription instead advocates directly entering oblivion or the great

absorption by seeing through the illusory nature of the myriad things.
Once entering such a state, the mind becomes empty of all sensory and
conscious faculties and no thought ever arises again. Remaining in this
state of deep meditation, the adept will eventually realize oneness with
the Dao.
It is noticeable that, in addition to Zhao Jian’s Zuowang lun, other
earlier Daoist meditation texts—such as the Cunshen lianqi ming 存神煉
氣銘 (Inscription on Visualizing the Spirit and Refining the Qi Energy),
attributed to Sun Simiao 孙思邈 (ca. 581–682); the Dingguan jing
(Scripture on Absorption and Observation); the Laozi shuo wuchu jing
zhu 老子說五廚經注 (Commentary to the Scripture of the Five Kitchens
Preached by Laozi), by Yin Yin 尹愔 (d. ca. 741) in 735;36 the Tianyin zi
天隱子 (Master of Heavenly Seclusion), transmitted or composed by
Sima Chengzhen;37 and the Xinmu lun 心目論 (Treatise of Mind and
Eyes), by Wu Yun38—all elaborate a gradual progression in meditation for
becoming one with the Dao, while the Tianyin zi especially warns against
overeager expectations and suddenness.39 The Zuowang lun inscription’s
stress on directly entering the great absorption with an empty mind to
merge with the Dao is thus very different from its Tang Daoist
forerunners. We may account for its simplification and transformation of
earlier meditation theories in two ways. First, the inscription’s central
theme is to refine body, qi energy, and spirit to merge with the Dao based
on the mental state of oblivion or deep absorption, so that the gradual
steps of meditation become insignificant. Second, if the author was
indeed Liu Moran, who had gained profound learning in Buddhist
scriptures and doctrines before converting to Daoism, it would be no
wonder that the inscription’s new theory was obviously influenced by
Buddhist concepts such as the understanding that “all things are illusion,”
the advocacy of entering deep absorption with a mind empty of all
sensory and conscious faculties, and the sudden enlightenment
especially advocated by Tang dynasty Chan Buddhism.
The Zuowang lun inscription further specifies that, after entering the
great absorption, the adept should focus on refining the body, qi energy,
and spirit. In citing Wu Yun’s Shenxian kexue lun, the inscription first
describes two stages in this inner refinement: refining the body form to
merge it with the qi energy, and refining the qi energy to merge it with the
spirit. The inscription then adds a third stage: refining the spirit to become
one with the Dao and ascend to the void: “Therefore, the sage urges
people to refine the spirit to merge it with the Dao, ascending into the
formless and becoming one with the Dao” 故聖人勸煉神合道, 升入無形,
與道冥一也. The “sage” here may refer to the author of the Dingguan jing,
a text describing a seven-stage transformation of the body in which the
three stages discussed in the Zuowang lun inscription are similar to its
fifth, sixth, and seventh stages.40 The seven stages of the Dingguan jing
may in turn be based on the Cunshen lianqi ming attributed to Sun
Simiao, in which the three stages of the Zuowang lun inscription are
listed as the fourth, fifth, and sixth stages, though the sixth stage is “to
refine spirit to become the forms (se 色)” instead of “the Dao.”41
It is worthy of particular attention that the three stages discussed in
the Zuowang lun inscription are quite close to the typical three-stage
process of the inner alchemy (neidan 内丹) tradition that matured in the
early Song era: (1) refining the essence to transmute it into the qi energy
(lianjing huaqi 煉精化氣); (2) refining the qi energy to transmute it into the
spirit (lianqi huashen 煉氣化神); and (3) refining the spirit to return to the
void/the Dao (lianshen huanxu 煉神還虛).42 The only significant
difference is that the “body form” in the first step of the Zuowang lun
inscription was later changed to the “essence” in the first stage of the
inner alchemy theories.
The Zuowang lun inscription appears to have been the first to simplify
these early seven stages into three, and thus played an important role in
the early germination of the inner alchemy formula. Table 4.3 shows the
gradual simplification and formation of this formula from seven to three
stages.
As scholars have indicated, the traditions of inner alchemy gradually
developed over a long period. Before the Tang dynasty, there were
isolated notions related to later inner alchemy traditions. During the Tang
and Five Dynasties, while laboratory alchemy was in its heyday, theories
of inner cultivation, including those found in the four texts listed in table
4.3, gradually developed in the direction of inner alchemy. By the early
Song, the inner alchemy theories had reached maturity with codified
texts, a stabilized terminology, standardized practices, and
retrospectively constructed genealogies, with the completion of the
Wuzhen pian by Zhang Boduan in 1075 as its emblem.43
The mature theories and practices of inner alchemy involved not only
transforming internal energies but also creating a holy embryo (golden
elixir) that would return to the primordial, eternal void or the Dao. The
three-stage process described in the mature theories are much more
complex, sophisticated, and mystical than the earlier narrations, full of
cosmological terms, alchemical symbols, and medical emblems, woven
with the trigrams and yin-yang dialectics of the Book of Changes and its
classical commentaries, and synthesizing Daoist, Confucian, and
Buddhist doctrines and practices.44 However, the earlier, simpler
narrations of the inner cultivation stages in the Tang period remain
important links in the developing chain toward the mature theory. As
Isabelle Robinet has insightfully indicated, “the first clearly dated texts
presenting articulated features of interior alchemy as defined above go
back to the eighth and ninth centuries, illustrated, for example, by certain
passages in the work of Wu Yun.” She specifies these passages as being
from Wu Yun’s Shenxian kexue lun,45 which are precisely what the
Zuowang lun inscription cites and further develops, as seen in tables 4.2
and 4.3.

TABLE 4.3
Formation of the Three-Stage Process of Inner Alchemy
Text Description of the Stages in Inner Cultivation
Cunshen Seven stages: … The fourth stage is refining the body-self to
lianqi become the qi energy.… The fifth stage is refining the qi energy to
ming become the spirit.… The sixth stage is refining the spirit to merge it
with the form.

七候 : … 第四候, 煉身成氣, …; 第五候, 煉氣為神, …; 第六候, 煉神
合色.
Dingguan Those who attain the Dao undergo seven stages.… The fifth is
jing refining the body-form to become the qi energy.… The sixth is
refining the qi energy to become the spirit.… The seventh is refining
the spirit to merge it with the Dao.

夫得道之人, 凡有七候 : … 五者煉形為氣, … 六者煉氣成神, … 七者
煉神合道.
Shenxian Therefore, one beckons the perfected in order to refine the body-
kexue lun form. When the body-form is pure, it merges with the qi energy.
 One embraces the Dao to refine the qi energy. When the qi energy
is pure, it merges with the spirit.
Zuowang Therefore, one beckons the perfected in order to refine the body-
lun form. When the body-form is pure, it merges with the qi energy.
inscription One embraces the Dao to refine the qi energy. When the qi energy
is pure, it merges with the spirit. The body-structure unifies with
Dao; this is called attaining the Dao. Since the Dao is no doubt
boundless, how could immortality have an end? … Therefore, the
sage urges us to refine the spirit to merge it with the Dao,
ascending into the formless and becoming one with the Dao.
Inner To refine the essence to transmute it into the qi energy; to refine the
alchemy qi energy to transmute it into the spirit; and to refine the spirit to
theory, return to the void/the Dao.
Wuzhen
pian, and
other
works

One more major theme in the Zuowang lun inscription is

“completeness of both the body and the spirit” (xing shen juquan 形神俱
全). Again it cites Wu Yun’s Shenxian kexue lun to illustrate this idea:

What longevity is cherished is the completeness of both the

spirit and the body-form. Therefore, it is said, “The trigrams of Qian
and Kun embody the pattern of the Changes. If Qian and Kun are
destroyed, one can no longer see the Changes; the body-vessel is
the storehouse of the inner nature. If it is destroyed, the inner
nature has no place to reside. If the inner nature has no place to
reside, where would I be?” Thus, this is why the completeness of
both the body-form and the spirit is cherished. If one nurtures the
spirit alone without nurturing the body-form, this is like destroying
the house and dwelling outdoors—where will the spirit attach itself
to? Then, the consciousness is transformed along with situations
and entrusts itself to alien people or species. Therefore, it is said,
“The wandering hun-soul is transformed.”
所貴長生者, 神與形俱全也. 故曰: “乾坤為易之蘊, 乾坤毀則無以見
易; 形器為性之府, 形器敗則性無所存. 性無所存, 則於我何有?” 故所
 以貴乎形神俱全也. 若獨養神而不養形, 猶毀宅而露居也, 則神安附
哉. 則識隨境變, 托乎異族矣. 故曰 “遊魂為變” 是也.

The inscription is saying that the human body is the storehouse of one’s
inner nature (xing 性) and spirit. If the body is destroyed, one’s inner
nature and spirit have no place to reside and as a result become a
wandering soul or consciousness, which is transformed with situations
and eventually attaches itself to alien people or other species. Therefore,
to attain immortality one must nurture and keep both the spirit and the
body in their complete and integrated conditions. Notably, the Daoist
theory of Twofold Mystery, which flourished in the early Tang era,
emphasized metaphysical speculations and spiritual transcendence while
ignoring physiological cultivation and longevity techniques.46 Although the
Zuowang lun inscription does not clearly say so, its criticism may have
been targeting this tendency in Tang Daoist theorization.47 The inscription
also criticizes the Buddhist doctrine of consciousness transmigration,
indicating that after one dies, one’s consciousness may transmute into
animal or nonconsciousness, and thus the mind-consciousness is
remolded by the cosmic yin and yang forces and is no longer decided by
oneself.
The Zuowang lun inscription’s theme of “completeness of both the
body and the spirit” also presents several important ideas pointing to the
later mature inner alchemy theories and practices. First, by criticizing
earlier theories, such as the Twofold Mystery, which emphasized spiritual
transcendence but ignored corporeal refinement, the text advocates both
physiological and spiritual transformation carried out through meditation.
The text also indicates that the inner nature’s attachment to the body is
as important as that of the spirit. In the mature inner alchemy theories,
the motto of “completeness of both the body and the spirit” is more often
stated as “twofold cultivation of the inner nature and the endowed life
span” (xingming shuangxiu 性命雙修); the so-called Southern Lineage
(Nanzong 南宗) especially promoted this theory.48 Second, the text
emphasizes the dynamic power of Daoist practitioners in attaining
immortality in both the body and the spirit and controlling their own
destiny by concluding with this proud announcement: “This is called
attaining the Dao, and then yin and yang are controlled by myself” 謂之得
道, 然後陰陽為我所制也. This later became the core belief of the inner
alchemy theories.
Finally, the Zuowang lun inscription was among the first Daoist texts to
use “jindan” 金丹 (golden elixir) to refer to the outcome of the inner
refinement of the body, qi energy, and spirit.

After entering the great absorption, one generates insight

spontaneously. Although insight is generated, it does not disturb
absorption. Wisdom, however, can only observe the illusion of
things and understand the marvel of perfection, while this body-self
is still unable to escape the molding of yin and yang and therefore
loses itself in transmigration. One must rely on the golden elixir to
transform into a feathered immortal. Then, one can ascend to the
formless, go beyond the transformative mechanism, enter the
boundless gate, and become one with the Dao.
既太定矣, 而 [慧] (惠) 自生. [慧] (惠) 雖生, 不傷於定. 但能觀乎諸
妄, 了達真妙, 而此身亦未免為陰陽所陶鑄而輪泯也. 要借金丹以羽
化, 然後升入無形, 出化機之表, 入無窮之門, 與道合同.

Here the inscription borrows the Buddhist meditation concept and

practice of “ding-hui” 定慧 (dhyāna-jñāna, meditation and insight) to
describe the state of sitting in oblivion or the great absorption. When one
enters the great absorption, one immediately generates insight that sees
the illusory nature of the myriad things. However, absorption and insight
together remain in the state of ordinary being. It is only when one gains
the golden elixir that one can merge with the Dao and attain immortality.
Although the text does not directly explain what the golden elixir refers to,
we can infer from its discussions that it means the outcome of the
refinement of the body, energy, and spirit based on absorption and
insight. As scholars have indicated, jindan (golden elixir) was the more
common designation for neidan (inner alchemy) and its outcome of the
“holy embryo” in the later mature theories.49 The Zuowang lun inscription
is one of the few early texts to use this designation to indicate this
outcome of inner refinement of the body, energy, and spirit.

Concepts of the Xue Yuanjun Inscription

The second inscription engraved on the same stele, “Xue Yuanjun
shengxian ming,” which we know for certain was composed by Liu
Moran, presents some concepts similar to the Zuowang lun inscription,
thus suggesting an inner connection between the two and explaining why
Liu had the two texts engraved together. The complete translation of the
inscription is as follows:

The highest male immortal is called perfected man, and the

highest female immortal is called primal mistress. Primal Mistress
Xue of the southern sacred mountain embodies the profound
mystery of integral indeterminacy, and ascends the marvelous state
of successive living. Her spirit realizes perfection, and her body-
structure transmutes into the spirit. She attained the Dao in the
Shenxi cave during the Chen dynasty. Her biography reads as
follows. When she walked in daytime, purple clouds drooped to
cover her, and white apes and yellow sparrows led the way for her.
When she sat at night, azure dragons and variegated tigers
attended to protect her, and divine lads and jade maids served her.
This situation continued for a long time until she left one day. I, the
later learner and female disciple Liu [Moran] (Ningran), came from
Mount Tiantai to visit Zhuling [Mount Heng]. I resonated with and
admired her fragrant virtues and reverently wrote this eulogy. It
reads:

How mysterious!
The supreme person transcends the cosmos;
Embodying the spirit, refining internally,
Her body-form realizes perfection.
When the yin sediment subsides,
Her pure qi energy transmutes into clouds;
Unintentionally her virtues remain,
And creatures come into the present.
When the yang essence is verified,
She separates herself from the mortal world;
Along with thousands of immortals riding on carts and horses,
She presents herself to Divine Lord Yuchen.
Looking down, so many people
 Are working on alchemy in vain.

男之高仙曰真人, 女之高仙曰元君. 南嶽薛元君體混沌之奧, 登生

生之妙, 神合於真, 軀化為神, 以陳代得道於神溪洞. 本記云: 晝行則紫
雲垂覆, 白猿黃雀引路; 夜坐則青龍斑虎侍衛, 神童玉女給使. 爾者久,
一旦而去. 晚學女弟子柳凝然自天臺謁朱陵, 感慕芳德, 敬為銘曰:
玄哉至人兮超彼乾坤, 含神內煉兮形合乎真.
陰滓落兮淳氣為雲, 無心德留兮異物來賓.
陽精證兮塵世分, 千乘萬騎兮朝玉晨,
下視煉丹兮何紛紛.50

This inscription provides us little biographical information about Xue

Yuanjun. Liu Moran states that Xue attained the Dao by inner refinement
and ascended as a perfected person. Liu then cites an earlier biography
that offered a brief description of the appearance of auspicious clouds
and attendance of mystical animals and divine lads and maids during
Xue’s progress of inner refinement, which is a conventional description in
Daoist hagiographies.
The significance of this inscription lies first in Liu Moran’s discussion of
the Daoist theory and practice of neilian 內煉 (inner refinement), which in
turn can be connected to the Zuowang lun inscription. In the Xue Yuanjun
inscription, Liu emphasizes that, through inner refinement, Xue’s body
and qi energy were first transmuted into the spirit and yang essence; then
the spirit and yang essence realized perfection and she attained
immortality, as seen in these lines: “Her spirit realizes perfection, and her
body-structure transmutes into the spirit”; and “Embodying the spirit,
refining internally / Her body-form realizes perfection. / When the yin
sediment subsides, / Her pure qi energy transmutes into clouds … /
When the yang essence is verified / She separates herself from the
mortal world.” In addition, the inscription stresses Xue’s ascension with
both her spirit and body, which also corresponds with the Zuowang lun
inscription’s theme of “completeness of both the body and the spirit.”
Moreover, while emphasizing inner cultivation, the inscription openly
criticizes the futility of outer or laboratory alchemy: “Looking down, so
many people / Are working on alchemy in vain.” Although many Daoists
during the Tang period, such as the authors of the meditation texts
mentioned earlier, advocated inner cultivation and refinement, most
theorists, including Sima Chengzhen and Wu Yun, still grouped it with
outer alchemy and considered both to be effective ways to attain
immortality. Liu Moran appears to have been among the first to openly
advocate inner cultivation and to criticize outer alchemy at the same time,
which again marks her contribution to the gradual movement toward
inner alchemy theories and practices.
The Xue Yuanjun inscription is also important in the sense that it
reveals Liu Moran’s gender awareness of Daoist female religiosity. In the
lines “When the yin sediment subsides / Her pure qi energy transmutes
into clouds” and “When the yang essence is verified / She separates
herself from the mortal world,” Liu is describing the cultivation and
refinement of the female body. Xue Yuanjun refined and transmuted her
yin qi energy, which became sediment and subsided, while the pure yang
qi energy became the essence and ascended to heaven.
In the theory of female alchemy (nüdan 女丹) that emerged during the
Ming–Qing period, female practice was assumed to strive to transform
the pure yin body to produce a pure yang body.51 In this sense, Liu
Moran’s inscription can be seen as a germ of later female alchemy. This
inscription also expresses Liu Moran’s self-consciousness in maintaining
the continuity of Daoist female genealogy. As was discussed in chapter 3,
about a century earlier than Liu, the Daoist priestess Huang Lingwei
restored the shrines of an early female Daoist leader, Lady Wei Huacun,
and in doing so “identified with Lady Wei because of their common
gender.”52 Huang’s disciple Li Qiongxian then renovated the cloister
established by Huang Lingwei, made Huang’s and Lady Wei’s statues,
and had them placed side by side, thus further identifying with Huang and
Wei along the lines of their common gender. Liu Moran’s commemoration
of Xue Yuanjun thus demonstrates the same gender awareness and her
intention to continue Daoist female genealogy through space and time.

Concluding Remarks

Like many other Daoist priestesses, Liu Moran’s life experience

represents an example of the natural continuity between the Confucian,
Buddhist, and Daoist traditions: as a wife and mother, she exemplified the
Confucian “women’s Dao”; after fulfilling her family duties, she first
learned Buddhist doctrines and was then ordained a Daoist priestess and
became a theorist.
A careful examination shows that the authorship of both texts of
Zuowang lun does not belong to Sima Chengzhen, as traditionally
attributed. Instead, the longer, seven-chapter Zuowang lun was written by
Zhao Jian (courtesy name Zhijian), who also composed a commentary on
the Daode jing, with terms and ideas identical to those in the Zuowang
lun. The shorter Zuowang lun, meanwhile, was commissioned by Liu
Moran to be engraved on a stele preserved on Mount Wangwu. The
similar ideas and terms between this text and the “Xue Yuanjun
shengxian ming” composed by Liu Moran and engraved on the same
stele suggests, along with other evidence, that Liu could possibly be its
author.
The Zuowang lun inscription presents some important arguments
concerning the Daoist theory of inner cultivation, developing it and
connecting it to later theories of inner alchemy. The inscription stresses
that one should directly enter oblivion or deep absorption with a mind
empty of all sensory and conscious faculties. It also simplifies the seven
stages of inner cultivation illustrated by earlier Tang Daoist masters,
putting forward instead a theory of refinement in three stages: refining the
body form to merge it with the qi energy, refining the qi energy to merge it
with the spirit, and refining the spirit to become one with the Dao. These
three stages are close to the typical three stages of inner alchemy as it
matured in the early Song dynasty. The inscription further emphasizes
“completeness of both the body and the spirit” and the dynamic power of
Daoist practitioners in their efforts to attain immortality in both corporeal
and spiritual forms, which later became the core notion and belief of
mature inner alchemy. Finally, the inscription was among the first to use
the designation jindan (golden elixir) to refer to the outcome of the inner
refinements, which was later commonly used for neidan (inner alchemy)
and its outcome of “holy embryo.” Together, these points show that the
Zuowang lun inscription was an important link in the development from
the theories and practices of inner cultivation to those of inner alchemy.
In the “Xue Yuanjun shengxian ming” inscription, Liu Moran illuminates
Daoist inner cultivation theory in a similar way. She describes how,
through refinement, Xue Yuanjun’s body and qi energy were transmuted
into the spirit and yang essence, and then the spirit and yang essence
realized perfection and immortality. Liu also stresses Xue’s ascension
with both perfected spirit and body. While emphasizing inner refinement,
Liu also criticized the futility of outer alchemy, being among the first to
openly advocate the former over the latter, thus also marking her
contribution to the gradual movement toward inner alchemy.
Finally, the Xue Yuanjun inscription reveals Liu Moran’s gender
awareness of Daoist female genealogy. Describing the cultivation of the
female body, it expresses the author’s self-consciousness in maintaining
the continuity of Daoist female religiosity and genealogy by
commemorating and eulogizing a perfected Daoist woman.
 CHAPTER V

Longevity Techniques and Medical Theory

The Legacy of Hu Yin

A
nother of the many outstanding Daoist priestesses of the Tang
era was Hu Yin 胡愔 (fl. 848), sobriquet Jiansunü 見素女 (Woman
of Knowing the Plain), a physician and medical theorist active in
the first half of the ninth century. She is noted especially for composing a
work on Daoist longevity techniques and medical theory titled Huangting
neijing wuzang liufu buxietu 黃庭內景五臟六腑補瀉圖 (Chart of the
Tonification and Purgation of the Five Viscera and Six Receptacles
According to the Scripture of the Inner Refulgences of the Yellow Court)
(HTNJT), which is preserved in the Daozang as an individual text.1 In
addition, the Xiuzhen shishu 修真十書 (Ten Books on the Cultivation of
Perfection) series, also included in the Daozang, contains a Huangting
neijing wuzang liufu tu 黃庭內景五臟六腑圖 (Chart of the Five Viscera
and Six Receptacles According to the Scripture of the Inner Refulgences
of the Yellow Court), which is also attributed to Hu Yin.2 The contents of
both texts are about the same, with some minor variants. These two texts
must therefore be different editions of the same text.3
Hu Yin’s text is an illustrated treatise elaborating the Daoist classic
Huangting neijing jing 黃庭內景經 (Scripture of the Inner Refulgences of
the Yellow Court) (HTJ).4 She describes the spirits, physiological
functions, pathological mechanisms, and therapeutic regimens of the five
viscera and one receptacle: the heart, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, and
gallbladder. It further offers detailed instructions on longevity techniques
and medical treatments, such as seasonal and timed breathing
exercises, gymnastics, and dietetics for nurturing the viscera, activating
the body’s qi (breath or energy) flow, and integrating it with the cosmic
rhythm so as to perfect health and attain immortality. These descriptions
and instructions profoundly influenced the later development of Daoist
inner cultivation and inner alchemy theories, as well as traditional
Chinese medicine and life-nurturing (yangsheng 養生) theories.
Yet, despite the significance of her work, Hu Yin has seldom been
noticed by modern scholars. Not until the early 1940s was her work first
noted by a renowned scholar of the HTJ and Daoism, Wang Ming 王明
(1911–1992), who evaluated it highly:

The Tang woman Hu Yin was a great scholar in the learning of

the HTJ.… Her work analyzes the physiological functions and
pathological mechanisms of the five viscera and six receptacles. It
uses medicine to cure symptoms and breathing practices and
gymnastic exercises to strengthen the root. It talks little about the
mysterious aspect of religion and is a practical medical classic of
nurturing life. The HTJ mixes medical theory with religious ideas,
but this work discards the religious hue and returns to medicine.
Greatly developing the implications of the HTJ, the HTNJT thus
represents a momentous change in the learning of this scripture.
唐女子胡愔, 為黃庭學者之巨擘.… 是論析五臟六腑之生理及病態,
以藥物治其標, 行氣導引固其本, 所言絕少神秘之宗教性質, 庶為實際
攝生之醫經. 黃庭經原理醫學與宗教思想糅合而為一, 今乃蠲滌宗教
色彩而復歸於醫術. 對黃庭經義, 發明實多, 是黃庭內景五臟六腑補瀉
圖可謂黃庭學之一大衍變也.5

Wang Ming thus acknowledged Hu Yin’s great achievement in studying

and developing this significant Daoist classic and appreciated her
contributions to traditional Chinese medicine.
Subsequently, Yan Yiping 嚴一萍 (1912–1987) examined Hu Yin’s
identity as a Daoist priestess and the cataloging and preservation of her
work,6 while Joseph Needham, Isabelle Robinet, Wang Jiayou 王家祐
and Hao Qin 郝勤, Gai Jianmin 蓋建民, and Jean Lévi have also offered
brief analyses of the contents of the HTNJT.7 Some recent works on the
history of Daoist or Chinese medicine have further provided some
descriptions of Hu Yin’s work.
Generally, however, studies on Hu Yin and her work have been
insufficient and lacking in depth, and many issues await more
sophisticated investigation. I therefore seek, in this chapter, to provide a
comprehensive, in-depth study of Hu Yin and her work in order to reveal
more completely her contributions to the development of both Daoist and
Chinese medical theories.

Hu Yin’s Life and the Composition of the HTNJT

The Chongwen zongmu 崇文總目 (Catalogue of the Collections in the

Chongwen Academy, 1041) records, under the category of medical
books, a Huangting neijing wuzang liufu tu 黃庭內景五臟六腑圖 (Chart of
the Five Viscera and Six Receptacles According to the Scripture of the
Inner Refulgences of the Yellow Court) in one juan by “the woman Hu
Yin” (nüzi Hu Yin 女子胡愔). It further records, under the category of
Daoist books, a Huangting neijing tu 黃庭內景圖 (Chart of the Scripture of
the Inner Refulgences of the Yellow Court) in one juan and a Huangting
waijing tu 黃庭外景圖 (Chart of Scripture of the Outer Refulgences of the
Yellow Court) in one juan, which were “annotated by the woman Hu Yin”
(nüzi Hu Yinzhuan 女子胡愔傳).8
Additionally, the bibliography of the Xin Tangshu records a Huangting
neijing tu in one juan by “the woman Hu Yin,”9 while the bibliography of
the Tongzhi 通志 (General Annals) records a Huangting wuzang neijing
tu 黃庭五藏內景圖 (Chart of the Five Viscera According to the Scripture
of the Inner Refulgences of the Yellow Court) in one juan by “the Tang
woman Hu Yin,” and a Hu Yin fang 胡愔方 (Prescriptions by Hu Yin) in
two juan.10 The bibliography of the Songshi 宋史 (Song History) further
lists the three titles recorded in the Chongwen zongmu and adds one
more text, the Buxie neijing fang 補㵼內景方 (Prescriptions of the
Tonification and Purgation According to the Scripture of the Inner
Refulgences), attributed to “Hu Yin, the Woman of Knowing the Plain on
Mount Taibai” 太白山見素女子胡愔.11
The Daozang, meanwhile, includes the HTNJT in one juan, with a
preface signed “Hu Yin, the Master of Knowing the Plain on Mount Taibai”
太白山見素子胡愔 and dated the second year of the Dazhong reign
period of Emperor Xuanzong (848).12 However, the other edition of the
HTNJT, titled Huangting neijing wuzang liufu tu and included in the
Xiuzhen shishu series, as mentioned, attributes the authorship to “Hu
Yin, the Women of Knowing the Plain on Mount Taibai” 太白山見素女胡
愔.13 Contrasting these two editions with the records of the Song–Yuan
catalogs, we can assume that Huangting neijing wuzang liufu buxie tu
must be the complete title, and that Huangting neijing wuzang liufu tu and
Huangting neijing tu are likely abridged titles, while Buxie neijing fang and
Hu Yin fang are possibly prescriptions extracted from the complete text
for individual circulation. Because the Huangting waijing tu is not seen in
transmitted texts, it may have been lost or simply have been a wrong title
for the Huangting neijing tu, because “Huangting waijing” should refer to
the Huangting waijing jing 黃庭外景經 (Scripture of the Outer
Refulgences of the Yellow Court), which is quite similar to the inner
scripture of the HTJ. Modern scholars have variously assumed the outer
scripture to be a brief summary of the inner scripture, or else the latter to
be an elaboration of the former.14
Because Hu Yin’s life does not appear in any other record, we must
rely on her own preface to the HTNJT and on the Song–Yuan catalogs
for information about her. As noted above, of the two editions of her work
preserved in the Daozang, the individual edition names her as “Master of
Knowing the Plain,” while the Xiuzhen shishu edition designates her as
“Woman of Knowing the Plain.” All Song catalogs name her “the woman
Hu Yin,” whereas the Yuan dynasty Songshi also calls her “Woman of
Knowing the Plain.” Because no other source mentions her, the fact that
the Song–Yuan people knew she was a woman means that this
information must have come from her own text. Therefore, the Xiuzhen
shishu and Songshi appear to keep the correct record, and Hu Yin’s
Daoist sobriquet should be “Woman of Knowing the Plain.”
The phrase “Knowing the Plain” may have been taken from the
medical classic Suwen 素問 (Plain Questions), included in the Huangdi
neijing 黃帝內經 (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon) and compiled probably
in the first century BCE, with various layers added later.15 About the title
Suwen, Quan Yuanqi 全元起 (fl. Southern Qi-Liang period) explained su
素 as ben 本 (root, origin, or substance), whereas Lin Yi 林億 (fl. 1057–
1077) further clearly defined it as taisu 太素 (primordial plain) and
explained it as “zhi zhi shi ye” 質之始也 (origin of substance).16 Thus,
instead of its standard translation as Basic Questions, the exact
translation for the Suwen should be Plain Questions.
This medical classic greatly influenced both the HTJ and Hu Yin’s
HTNJT, and the HTNJT frequently cites it. In particular, the HTNJT
develops its central themes of tonification and purgation of the viscera
and breathing exercises in harmony with the four seasons, following from
the Suwen, which is based on the concept of qi and emphasizes
“tonification and purgation without failing, becoming oneness with
Heaven and Earth” 補寫勿失, 與天地如一. Wang Bing 王冰, who lived just
before Hu Yin, emphasized in his annotation to the Suwen that
tonification and purgation are “in harmony with the constant Dao of
Heaven and Earth” 應天地之常道. He further indicated that tonification is
used mainly to cure asthenic patients, while purgation is used mainly to
cure strong patients. Both are also applied in breathing therapy, with
inhaling as tonification and exhaling as purgation.17 These concepts were
absorbed into Hu Yin’s work (discussed later), which is why she named it
the “Chart of Tonification and Purgation.”
As for Mount Taibai, where Hu Yin lived, Gai Jianmin believed it was
located in Wuzhou 婺州 (present-day Jinhua, in Zhejiang), according to
Ge Hong’s 葛洪 (283–343) record of ideal places for alchemy in his
Baopu zi 抱樸子 (Book of the Master Who Keeps to Simplicity).18 Ge
Hong, however, first mentioned the Mount Taibai located in Qizhou 岐州
(present-day Meixian, in Shaanxi) as one of the famous national
mountains, and then said that if these were unavailable, one could
replace them with the famous mountains east of the Yangzi River,
including the Mount Taibai in Zhejiang.19 Therefore, when a Daoist text
mentions only Mount Taibai, it usually refers to the famous one, located in
Shaanxi. Moreover, the HTNJT was greatly influenced by the works of
Sun Simiao (see discussions later), who had secluded himself on Mount
Taibai of Shaanxi for many years.20 Thus, it is highly likely that the Mount
Taibai where Hu Yin lived was the one in Shaanxi.
As Hu Yin talks about herself in her preface, “I, Hu Yin, am not quick
by nature, and loved the mysterious gate at a young age. I have
cultivated my mind in nonintervention and settled my heart in simplicity”
愔夙性不敏, 幼慕玄門, 煉志無為, 棲心澹泊.21 From “nonintervention,”
“simplicity,” and “mysterious gate,” we know Hu was referring to Daoism,
and scholars have assumed she probably entered the Daoist order at a
young age and was ordained a priestess.22 In addition, owing to her
profound knowledge in medical theory and practice, scholars have also
assumed she was probably an experienced physician.23 The preface is
signed with Dazhong 2 (848), and before that year Hu had already
“passed many, many years” 屢更歲月 in her life. She must thus have
been in her middle to old age when she finished the book, and therefore
her active period was about the first half of the ninth century.
In her preface, Hu Yin also indicates that her purpose in composing
such an illustrated treatise is to elaborate the theory of the viscera in the
HTJ and to correct errors in previous commentaries. This scripture,
composed in heptasyllabic verses, is representative of early Daoism.
Absorbing traditional Chinese medical knowledge from classics such as
the Suwen, discussions on the five viscera and the five-phase scheme
from the Warring States period to the Han dynasty, and the theory and
visualization of visceral spirits found in the Taiping jing 太平經 (Scripture
of the Great Peace) and the Laozi Heshanggong zhu 老子河上公注
(Heshanggong’s Commentary on the Laozi), the HTJ describes the major
body organs and their spirits and discusses how to attain immortality by
visualizing those spirits and using other longevity techniques, such as
breathing exercises. It especially emphasizes the five viscera (lungs,
heart, liver, spleen, and kidneys) and six receptacles, although the text
lists only the gallbladder as one of the receptacles;24 thus, altogether it
discusses six viscera. Regarding the date of the HTJ, views among
scholars have varied, but in general it has been set during the Jin
dynasty (265–420).
From the Jin to the Tang, Daoist scholars had annotated and
interpreted this scripture,25 but in the view of Hu Yin, many of them
presented either minor or serious mistakes:

I humbly found that the old charts are profound and secret, and
the paths are dark and deep. The words and theories are
mysterious, so that few people could delve into them. They pointed
to the forms and images, or merely summarized the names of the
spirits. Many authors composed works and different arguments
emerged. This situation caused later learners to be unable to find
the gate. When a slight error occurred, the mistake could become
huge.
 伏見舊圖奧密, 津路幽深. 詞理既玄, 賾之者鮮. 指以色象, 或略記
神名, 諸氏纂修, 異端斯起. 遂使後學之輩, 罕得其門. 差之毫釐, 謬逾
千里.26

To provide a good text for beginners, Hu Yin summarized all previous

works and elaborated her own opinions, thereby developing a new
scheme of narration on both the religious and medical dimensions of the
viscera. Using the correlative relation between the five viscera and the
five-phase cosmology to structure her narrative, she discussed the six
viscera, one by one, and included for each a chart of the visceral spirit,
as well as sections titled “Tushuo” 圖說 (Explanation of the Chart),
“Xiuyang fa” 修養法 (Method for Caring and Nurturing), “Xiangbing fa” 相
病法 (Method for Observing Illnesses), “Liuqi fa” 六氣法 (Method of the
Six Breaths), “Yuejin shiji fa” 月禁食忌法 (Method of Monthly Dietary
Prohibitions and Abstinence), and “Daoyin fa” 導引法 (Method for Guiding
and Pulling). All these will be discussed in the following sections.

Correlation Between the Five Viscera and the Five-

Phase Cosmology

One of the most important features of Hu Yin’s HTNJT is that its theory,
structure, and narration are built on a correlative relation between the five
viscera and the five-phase cosmological scheme. The five viscera played
a significant role in constructing the cosmology of the yin-yang and five-
phase scheme, developed from the late Warring States period to the Han
dynasty. In the Guanzi 管子, Lüshi chunqiu 呂氏春秋, Huainan zi 淮南子,
and Taixuan 太玄, the five viscera were already connected to the five-
phase series.27 The Suwen discusses in great detail the relationship of
mutual generation and destruction between the five external series (five
phases, five directions, five seasons, five qi, five colors, five sounds, five
flavors, and so forth) and the five internal series (five viscera, five/six
receptacles, five sensory organs, five senses, five emotions, five body
parts, five bodily fluids, and so forth).28 Thus, the universe and the human
body were envisaged as mutually corresponding and functioning
macrocosm and microcosm.29
 Other Han dynasty works further developed concepts of the five
viscera’s spirits. As the Taiping jing reads, “The essence and spirits of the
four seasons and five phases enter a man to become the spirits of the
five viscera” 此四時五行精神, 入為人五臟神.30 The Laozi Heshanggong
zhu also states:

If one can nurture the spirits he will not die. The spirits refer to
the spirits of the five viscera. The liver contains the hun/yang soul,
the lungs contain the po/yin soul, the heart contains the spirit, the
spleen contains the consciousness, and the kidneys contain the
essence and will. If all the five viscera are injured, then the five
spirits will leave [the body].
人能養神則不死, 神謂五藏神也. 肝藏魂, 肺藏魄. 心藏神, 脾藏意,
腎藏精與志. 五臟盡傷則五神去.31

Thus, in pursuing longevity and immortality, one needs not seek the help
of celestial divinities but rather only nurtures one’s own bodily spirits,
especially those of the major organs.
The HTJ follows these concepts and further forms a theology of the
human body. It deifies and personalizes the five viscera and one
receptacle, describing each visceral organ in terms of name, color, and
clothing and correlating each more closely with the five-phase scheme.
For example, the heart spirit’s name is Danyuan 丹元 (Cinnabar Prime)
and its zi 字 (courtesy name) is Shouling 守靈 (Guarding the Numina),
symbolizing red, fire, and south; the lung spirit’s name is Haohua 皓華
(White Flower) and its zi is Xucheng 虛成 (Void and Completion),
symbolizing white, metal, and west; the liver spirit’s name is Longyan 龍
煙 (Dragon Mist) and its zi is Hanming 含明 (Embodying Light),
symbolizing green, wood, and east; the kidney spirit’s name is Xuanming
玄冥 (Mysterious Gloom) and its zi is Yuying 育嬰 (Nursing Infant),
symbolizing black, water, and north; the spleen spirit’s name is Changzai
常在 (Constant Existence) and its zi is Hunting 魂停 (Soul Residence),
symbolizing yellow, earth, and central; and the gallbladder spirit’s name is
Longyao 龍曜 (Dragon Shine) and its zi is Weiming 威明 (Mighty Light),
symbolizing green, wood, and east.32
As Liangqiuzi said in his commentary:
 Each of the five viscera and six receptacles has its office, and all
have their laws and images, which resemble heaven and earth and
harmonize with yin and yang. This is the Dao of natural resonance
and intake.
五臟六腑各有所司, 皆有法象, 同天地, 順陰陽, 自然感攝之道.33

Through visualizing the visceral spirits, one resonates and correlates with
heaven, earth, yin, and yang to attain longevity and immortality.34 The
Wuzang lun 五臟論 (Treatise on the Five Viscera) composed in the late
Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589) also connects the five
viscera with the five phases, five stars, five sacred peaks, and so forth.35
At the very beginning of her preface, Hu Yin elaborates the correlation
between the five viscera and the five phases:

Heaven presides over yang and nurtures humans with five qi;
earth presides over yin and nurtures humans with five flavors. The
interaction of qi and flavors condenses to the five viscera. By
spreading, the qi of the five viscera forms the four members, the
sixteen sections, and the three hundred and sixty articulations; by
stretching, it makes the tendons, veins, humors, blood, and
marrow; by condensing, it forms the six receptacles, triple heater,
and twelve meridians; by circulating, it makes the nine orifices. This
is why the five viscera are the governors of the body. If one of the
viscera weakens, an illness appears; when the five viscera weaken,
the spirits disappear. This is why the five viscera are the dwelling
places of the luminous spirits, the hun/yang and po/yin souls, the
will, and the essence. Each of the viscera has its responsibility. The
heart is in charge of the spirit, the lungs the po soul, the liver the
hun soul, the spleen the consciousness, and the kidneys the will.
Externally extended, they correspond to the five stars above and to
the five sacred mountains below, all of which are modeled on
heaven and earth and imaged on the sun and moon.
夫天主陽, 食人以五氣; 地主陰, 食人以五味. 氣味相感, 結為五臟.
五臟之氣, 散為四肢十六部, 三百六十關節, 引為筋脈, 津液, 血髓, 蘊
成六腑, 三焦, 十二經, 通為九竅. 故五臟者, 為人形之主. 一臟損則病
生, 五臟損則神滅. 故五臟者, 神明魂魄志精之所居也, 每臟各有所主.
 是以心主神, 肺主魄, 肝主魂, 脾主意, 腎主志. 發於外則上應五星, 下
應五嶽, 皆模範天地, 稟象日月.36

Hence, the five qi energies and five flavors of heaven and earth enter the
human body and form the five viscera, which contain both the physical
and mental energies. The qi of the viscera spreads internally to form all
the organs and externally to correspond to the stars and mountains;
together all of these are modeled on the movement of the universe. Hu
Yin absorbs previous discussions about the five viscera’s important
status in the cosmological scheme of the five phases and further
develops them,37 indicating more clearly the two-directional function of
the viscera between the microcosm of the human body and the
macrocosm of the universe. Internally, they are the spiritual core and
constitutive energies of the body, which integrate all other bodily parts
together as an organic totality and a micro universe. Externally, they are
the symbolic channels through which the cosmic rhythm, energy, and
pattern are absorbed into and modeled by the body.
By elaborating and developing the correlative relations between the
five viscera and the five-phase cosmology, Hu Yin thus provided a
theoretical framework for her depiction of the visceral spirits and her
scheme of seasonal life nurturing. These were her most influential
contributions to Daoist theory and Chinese medicine, as the next two
sections discuss.

Hu Yin’s Depiction of the Images of the Six Visceral

Spirits

In the HTNJT, Hu Yin provided an image for each indwelling spirit of the
five viscera and one receptacle. These images are zoomorphic in
appearance: the lung spirit resembles a white tiger (baihu 白虎), the heart
spirit a vermilion bird/sparrow (zhuque 朱雀), the liver spirit a green
dragon (canglong 蒼龍), the spleen spirit a jade phoenix (yufeng 玉鳳),
the kidney spirit a two-headed deer (shuangtou lu 雙頭鹿), and the
gallbladder spirit a turtle–snake couple (xuanwu 玄武, i.e., guishe 龜蛇;
see figure 5.1).
 Among all transmitted and unearthed texts, it is notable that these
visceral images are first seen in Hu Yin’s work. This accords with her
preface that she “drew different images based on various scriptures” 按據
諸經, 別為圖式.38 The HTJ described all the visceral spirits in the form of
a young boy. In the Huangting zhongjing jing 黃庭中景經 (Scripture of the
Central Refulgences of the Yellow Court), the lung spirit is described as
riding a white tiger, the liver spirit as riding a green dragon, and the
kidney spirit as riding a turtle, but all the spirits are still depicted as a
young boy.39 In his commentary on the Huangting waijing jing, Wuchengzi
mentioned that “the liver is the green dragon and the lung is the white
tiger,” but he did not depict the images for them.40 The green dragon and
white tiger are two of the traditional four star images (sixiang 四象)—the
vermilion sparrow and black turtle-snake being the other two—originated
from ancient times.
By the late Warring States and early Han periods, in texts such as the
Lüshi chunqiu and Huainanzi, these four images were established as the
spirits of the twenty-eight constellations (ershiba xiu 二十八宿) and the
four cardinal directions and were correlated with the five-phase scheme:
the white tiger symbolizes the western palace, encompassing the seven
constellations in the western sky, the west, metal, and so forth; the green
dragon is the eastern palace, encompassing the seven constellations in
the eastern sky, the east, wood, and so forth; the red sparrow is the
southern palace, encompassing the seven constellations in the southern
sky, the south, fire, and so forth; the turtle-snake couple is the northern
palace, encompassing the seven constellations in the northern sky, the
north, water, and so forth.41 In her work, Hu Yin transformed these four
spirits of stars and directions into visceral spirits and depicted their
images, with white tiger symbolizing the lung spirit, vermilion sparrow the
heart spirit, green dragon the liver spirit, and the turtle–snake couple the
gallbladder spirit.
Figure 5.1 The Visceral Spirits: (a) Spirit of the Lungs; (b) Spirit of the Heart; (c) Spirit of the Liver;
(d) Spirit of the Spleen; (e) Spirit of the Kidneys; (f) Spirit of the Gallbladder. From Huangting
neijing wuzang liufu buxie tu, by Hu Yin (Daozang 432).

In addition, Hu Yin added the image of the two-headed deer,

symbolizing the spirit of the kidneys, and the image of the jade phoenix
as the spirit of the spleen. These additions also had their antique origin.
Archaeological discoveries, such as the bronze mirror from a Guo State
虢國 tomb dated around the mid-ninth to mid-seventh centuries BCE and
the famous lacquer box from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng State 曾侯
乙, dated early Warring States, tell us that, before the early Warring
States, the northern palace of stars was symbolized by the deer (or the
qilin 麒麟, which is a legendary animal with features of the deer).42 In
apocryphal texts (chenwei 讖緯) and Daoist ritual texts prior to the Tang,
the phoenix is described as representing earth, the central phase in the
five-phase cosmology, and is also related to the Big Dipper (Beidou 北
斗), which is located in the central palace of heaven and whose function
is the same as the polestar (Beiji xing 北極星).43
Hu Yin’s innovative transformation and depiction of the visceral spirits
presented significant symbolic meanings for the cosmography of the
human body. By identifying the visceral spirits with the constellational and
directional spirits, she made the human microcosm more seamlessly
identical with the macrocosm of the universe. Just as the spirits of the
constellational palaces and four cardinal directions guard the central
kingdoms in both heaven and earth, the visceral spirits guard the major
organs of the human body and operate in the microcosm with their
natural energies, guaranteeing the body’s harmony and health. The
visceral spirits further symbolize the holiness of the human body,
providing a theological rationale for the Daoist goal of longevity and
immortality and the eventual emergence and maturity of Daoist inner
alchemy during the Song dynasty (960–1279).
Nonetheless, the two editions of Hu Yin’s HTNJT differ somewhat in
the images and their explanations. The individual edition preserves the
six images but, except for mentioning “visualization of the spirits and
nurturing [the viscera]” (cunshen xiuyang 存神修養),44 the explanatory
sections never refer to the spirits again. Instead, they focus on describing
the physiological structure and function of each of the viscera and its
relationship with the five-phase scheme. In the Xiuzhen shishu edition,
the six images are missing but the explanatory sections appear more
complete. These sections describe the six spirits’ names, appearances,
incarnations, personalities, attendants, and so forth based on the HTJ
and other Daoist and medical texts.45
For example, the explanation of the liver spirit is as follows:

The liver spirit’s name is Longyan (Dragon Mist) and its zi is

Hanming (Embodying Light). The liver is the qi of zhen (thunder)
and the essence of wood. Its color is green, its shape is like a
hanging gourd, and its spirit looks like a green dragon. The liver is
in charge of the hun/yang soul. It transforms into two jade boys,
one in green cloth and the other in yellow cloth. Each is nine cun
tall and holds jade liquids from the liver. There is another saying
 that the liver is guarded by three boys and six jade maids. Its spirit
loves humaneness, so humaneness and kindness generate from
the liver.
肝神龍煙字含明. 夫肝者, 震之氣, 木之精, 其色青, 其象如懸匏, 其
神形如青龍. 肝主魂, 化為二玉童, 一青衣, 一黃衣, 各長九寸, 持玉漿
出於肝藏. 一云肝有三童子, 六玉女守之. 其神好仁, 仁惠蓋發于肝
藏.46

Because Hu Yin depicted the six images of visceral spirits, she should
have matched the images with the explanations in the “Explanation of the
Chart” sections. Both editions thus appear to have lost something: one
lacks the images, while the other lacks some parts of the explanations.
Reading them together, however, we gain a more complete picture of the
original text.47
The HTJ’s theory emphasizing the visualization of bodily spirits was
further developed by Highest Clarity Daoism and also venerated as the
origin of inner alchemy by Daoist traditions from the Song dynasty
onward. During the late Tang period in which Hu Yin lived, outer alchemy
had already started coming under question, and in her HTNJT, Hu Yin
openly criticized it while developing the inner cultivation theory of the
HTJ:

If I am able to visualize the spirits, nurture [the viscera], restrain

myself, and make vigorous efforts, I will complete the Dao. Then,
the viscera become strong. No poisons can encroach even though
rotten materials enter my body; no qi can be weakened even
though my body catches diseases externally. I become bright and
pure, preventing old age and prolonging life. My determination is
high on immortality, and my appearance shows no fatigue. The
essences and lights of the sun and moon come to attach to my
body-self, and the four seasons and six qi come to integrate with
my body-structure. I enter the Dao of changes, understand the
principle of divinity, take control of yin and yang, and breathe the
subtle spirit. That which generates all things in turn is then
controlled by me. When reaching this stage, I do not need golden
elixirs, jade liquids, or the elixirs of Langya and Dahuan, but
 naturally transform my spirit and rush to the void. My qi integrates
with the Grand Harmony and ascends to the clouds. The qi of the
five viscera twists itself into five clouds to ascend to Heaven.
若能存神修養, 克己勵志, 其道成矣. 然後五臟堅強, 則內受腥腐,
諸毒不能侵; 外遭疾病, 諸氣不能損. 聰明純粹, 卻老延年, 志高神仙,
形無困疲. 日月精光來附我身, 四時六氣來合我體. 入變化之道, 通神
明之理, 把握陰陽, 呼吸精神, 造物者翻為我所制. 至此之時, 不假金丹
玉液, 琅牙大還, 自然神化沖虛, 氣合太和而升雲漢. 五臟之氣, 結五雲
而入天中.48

This passage is important for understanding Hu Yin’s theory of the body

pantheon and inner cultivation. The visualization of spirits consisted of
calling the names of the visceral spirits and visualizing their images,
functions, and powers. One must also carefully nurture one’s viscera,
restrain oneself in daily life, and make vigorous efforts. When cultivation
is complete, the viscera become strong and the bodily energy is
strengthened for resisting disease. With perfected health, the aging
process is reversed and life is prolonged. Thereupon the cosmic essence
and energy of the sun, the moon, the four seasons, and so forth are
spontaneously absorbed and incorporated into the body. With the
cosmosized body, one enters the Dao of eternal changes and becomes
harmonious with the principle of divinity and the operation of yin and
yang. Hu Yin proudly announces that, through all these practices, one is
eventually able to manipulate one’s destiny of life and death and, without
relying on golden elixirs, ascend to become immortal in daytime. Here,
Hu Yin compares inner cultivation with outer alchemy, clearly privileging
the former over the latter. She also displays strong confidence in
believing that Daoist cultivation and human efforts can overcome the
ultimate destiny of death.
Not only did Hu Yin’s work represent an important development of the
inner cultivation theory of the HTJ but also it was one of the pioneering
works in formulating inner alchemy theory and practice during the late
Tang and Five Dynasties (907–960) periods. Although her goal of
immortality appears to have remained that of early Daoism—extending
the life of the physical body—Hu Yin’s conception of the visceral spirits
signaled the early development of the inner alchemy theory of nurturing a
separate immortal spirit–body that returns to the eternal matrix of the
Dao. Indeed, her images of visceral spirits and accompanying
explanations significantly influenced inner alchemy theory.
For instance, the Daozang includes a text titled Shangqing Huangting
wuzang liufu zhenren yuzhou jing 上清黃庭五臟六府真人玉軸經
(Precious Scroll of the Perfected Man on the Five Viscera and Six
Receptacles of the Yellow Court of Highest Clarity) in one juan, with no
author attribution.49 Although the beginning and the end of the text
consist of fictitious conversations between the Celestial Venerable of
Primal Commencement (Yuanshi tianzun 元始天尊) and the Yellow
Emperor, the middle portion is an “Illustrated Essay on the Five Viscera
and Six Receptacles” (Wuzang liufu tuwen 五藏六府圖文). Here, the
images and explanations are roughly the same as Hu Yin’s, except that
each chart provides an additional image of the corresponding organ.
Wang Ming asserted that this text was likely an abridged version of Hu
Yin’s book, with some alterations,50 a quite reasonable claim, because
the anonymous work bears an obvious appearance of alterations and
hodgepodge. In addition, an abridged version of the Yuzhou jing found in
the Huangting dunjia yuanshen jing 黃庭遁甲緣身經 (Book of the Hidden
Period and the Causal Body of the Yellow Court), included in the Yunji
qiqian, contains similar images of the six visceral spirits.51 The Siqi
shesheng tu 四氣攝生圖 (Illustrated [Method] of the Four Seasonal Qi for
Conserving One’s Health), attributed to Liu Ding 劉鼎 (Late Tang), also
includes similar images of the six visceral spirits but places them inside
the corresponding images of the viscera; these images are also followed
by seasonal nurturing methods of the viscera,52 similar to those
discussed in Hu Yin’s work (covered later). Because the Chongwen
zongmu and other Song dynasty catalogs record this text, it likely
appeared between the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods.53
Moreover, the “Baiwen” 百問 (One Hundred Questions) chapter in the
Daoshu 道樞 (Pivot of the Dao) records a fictitious conversation between
the legendary figures Lü Dongbin 呂洞賓 and Zhongli Quan 鍾離權
concerning inner alchemy theory, which cites Hu Yin’s transformation of
the directional and constellational spirits into visceral spirits. It also lists
the liver as green dragon, the lungs as white tiger, the heart as vermilion
bird, and the kidney as turtle, but changes the spleen to qilin 麒麟.54 The
“Zhongmiao” 眾妙 (All Subtleties) chapter in the same book records
another theory of inner alchemy from the Song, which assumes the liver
as green dragon and mercury, and the lungs as white tiger and lead;
when the dragon and tiger interact, the inner elixir is complete.55 The
“Taiqing” 太清 (Grand Clarity) chapter in the same book records yet
another theory of inner alchemy, which assumes the qi of the liver as
green dragon, the qi of the lungs as white tiger, the qi of the heart as
vermilion bird, the qi of the kidneys as turtle, and the qi of the spleen as
snake. These five qi of the viscera fuse in the furnace of the human body
and then condense into the inner elixir.56 All these zoomorphic images of
the visceral spirits are the same as or similar to those of Hu Yin.
In addition are the various versions of the Xiuzhen tu 修真圖 (Chart for
the Cultivation of Perfection), popular since the Qing dynasty (1644–
1911). These charts for cultivating the human body, created by the
Longmen branch of Quanzhen Daoism, summarize the theories and
practices of inner alchemy. They include the Xiuzhen tu preserved in the
Sanyuan abbey 三元宮 of Guangzhou (in present-day Guangdong), the
Lianxing xiuzhen quantu 煉性修真全圖 (Complete Chart for the
Cultivation of Nature and Perfection) preserved on Mount Wudang 武當
山, the Xiuzhen tu preserved in the Baiyun abbey 白雲觀 in Beijing, and
the Xiuchi zhenyuan tulu 修持真元圖籙 (Chart and Register for the
Cultivation of Perfect Primordiality) preserved in Longhu tang 龍虎堂 and
reproduced by Li Zhaosheng 李兆生. All these charts contain images of
the six visceral spirits and accompanying explanations that are
essentially the same as those in Hu Yin’s work (see figure 5.2),57 thus
demonstrating her profound influence on the formation and evolution of
Daoist inner alchemy theory.

Hu Yin’s Scheme for Seasonal Nurturing of the

Viscera

Although Hu Yin’s HTNJT does not discard the mysterious, religious

aspects of the HTJ, as some scholars have asserted, her work goes
beyond the scripture’s central theme of describing bodily spirits and
emphasizing their visualization to also focus on medicine, life nurturing,
and longevity techniques. In the sections titled “Explanation of the Chart,”
Hu Yin not only describes each spirit of the six viscera but also discusses
in detail each organ’s color, weight, shape, position, and function, as well
as its traditional relations to the five-phase scheme, which are treated as
the theoretical foundation of healing disease and nurturing life. In the
sections titled “Method for Observing the Viscera’s Illness,” she lists a
series of symptoms that reveal the weaknesses of each organ, offers
methods to tone or purge the organ, and provides an empirical
prescription of combined herbs to cure its most serious illnesses.

Figure 5.2 Xiuzhen tu. Courtesy of Yin Zhihua 尹志華, Baiyun guan, Beijng.

These sections demonstrate a profound medical knowledge of

anatomy, physiology, pathology, and therapeutics; most of them were
summarized from traditional medical works such as the Suwen; Tao
Hongjing’s 陶弘景 (456–536) Yangxing yanming lu 養性延命錄 (Records
Concerning Cultivating Nature and Prolonging Life);58 the Fuxingjue
zangfu yongyao fayao 輔行訣臟腑用藥法要 (Supplementary Formulas for
Essential Medication of the Viscera), attributed to Tao Hongjing and
possibly compiled by his descendants;59 the Wuzang lun, possibly
compiled during the late divisional period;60 Chao Yuanfang’s 巢元方 (fl.
610) Zhubing yuanhou lun 諸病源候論 (Treatise on the Origins and
Symptoms of All Diseases); Sun Simiao’s Beiji qianjin yaofang 備急千金
要方 (Essential Priceless Prescriptions for All Urgent Ills); and others.
However, some of Hu Yin’s discussions are untraceable to any earlier
source and therefore quite possibly derived from her own medical
experience as a physician.

TABLE 5.1
Hu Yin’s Method of Caring for and Nurturing the Viscera
Liver Heart Spleen Lung Kidney
Phase Wood Fire Earth Metal Water
Season Spring Summer Late Autumn (7th, 8th, and Winter
(1st, (4th and summer 9th months) (10th,
2nd, 5th (6th 11th,
and 3rd months) month) and 12th
months) months)
Method On the In early In early In the early morning of During
for 1st day morning morning the 1st and 15th days the 3
Caring of each of the of the of each month, sit months
and month, 1st, 7th, 1st day smoothly facing the often sit
Nurturing clap the 8th, of the west, clap the teeth 7 smoothly
teeth 3 22nd, month times, swallow saliva 3 facing
times, and and the times, practice the
hold 23rd last 18 meditation/visualization, north,
breath days of days of inhale 7 breaths from clap the
9 times, each each the west, and hold teeth 7
and month, season, breath 70 times. times,
inhale 9 sit sit swallow
breaths straight straight, saliva 3
from facing hold times,
the the breath and
east. south, 5 times, inhale 5
clap the clap the breaths
teeth 9 teeth 12 from the
 times, times, north.
swallow and
saliva 3 inhale
times, 12
inhale 3 breaths
breaths from
from the the
south, earth.
and
hold
breath
30
times.

Note: This and the following three tables are based on the Huangting neijing wuzang liufu
buxie tu edition, by Hu Yin, included in the Daozang as an individual text, and collated and
complemented by Hangting neijing wuzang liufu tu, the edition included in the Xiuzhen shishu
series. In the text, Hu Yin also lists the five viscera’s correlation with the five cardinal directions,
five sacred peaks, five stars, five colors, five flavors, five sounds, five sensory organs, five
emotions, and so forth. Since these are about the same as the traditional five-phase scheme, I
have omitted them from the tables.

The most important contribution of Hu Yin’s work, however, was not in

therapeutic theory but rather in methods for nurturing life and longevity
techniques. The sections on “Method for Caring and Nurturing,” “Method
of the Six Breaths,” “Method of Monthly Dietary Prohibitions and
Abstinence,” and “Method for Guiding and Pulling” discuss various
techniques for nurturing the viscera; these also incorporate the
correlations between the five viscera and the five-phase cosmological
scheme into the practice of seasonal caring and cultivation. Among the
techniques and methods of medical caring and Daoist cultivation placed
by Hu Yin within the traditional five-phase scheme are meditation,
breathing exercises, teeth clapping, saliva swallowing, gymnastic
exercise, massage, and dietetic regimens. All these exercises together
form an innovative scheme for seasonal nurturing of the viscera, which
we will discuss.

Method of Caring for and Nurturing the Viscera

Hu Yin’s “Method for Caring and Nurturing” combines various Daoist

techniques for nurturing and prolonging life, including swallowing saliva;
clapping the teeth; absorbing, holding, and circulating the breath; and
meditating and visualizing (see table 5.1). This regimen was developed
from the HTJ, which, while emphasizing the visualization of bodily spirits,
also advocated the exercises of swallowing saliva and absorbing qi
breath. The inner scripture reads:

Closing my mouth and rolling my tongue to swallow the

embryonic fluid,
It nurtures me and makes me ascend to immortality.
閉口屈舌食胎津, 使我遂煉獲飛仙.61

The outer scripture reads:

The pure water of the jade lake irrigates the spiritual root,
If one knows and cultivates it he will lead a long life.
玉池清水灌靈根, 審能修之可長存.62

Both “embryonic fluid” (taijin 胎津) and “pure water of the jade lake”
(yuchi qingshui 玉池清水) refer to saliva, which is called the water of life
and is supposed to prolong life. It appears that, from the late Warring
States period to the Han dynasty, people were already practicing
swallowing saliva to improve health and prolong life. The Hou Hanshu 後
漢書 (Later Han History) records that Wang Zhen 王真 practiced saliva
swallowing and looked under fifty years of age when he was about a
hundred years old.63 Caring for the teeth by clapping them is already
seen in the early Han or even earlier manuscript of Yinshu 引書 (Book of
Guiding [and Pulling]) unearthed from Zhangjiashan 張家山.64 In his Beiji
qianjin yaofang, Sun Simiao records that Huangfu Long’s 皇甫隆 (fl. 249–
254) petition to Cao Cao 曹操 (155–220) mentioned the methods of
swallowing saliva and clapping the teeth by the Daoist Kuai Jing 蒯京.65
Ge Hong’s 葛洪 Shenxian zhuan 神仙傳 (Biographies of Immortals) has a
similar record.66 Daoists had been practicing swallowing saliva and
clapping the teeth since the Wei–Jin period (220–420), as seen in many
Daoist and medical texts.67
The HTJ also emphasizes breathing exercises: “Accumulate your
essence and collect your qi to become a perfected man” 積精累氣以為真;
“Inhaling and exhaling the primordial qi to attain immortality” 呼吸元氣以
求仙.68 Classical thinkers of the Warring States period already regarded
qi as the root and substance of the human body and life, observing that
“when there is qi one lives; when there is no qi one dies” 有氣則生, 無氣
則死,69 and “Human life is the coalescence of qi. When it coalesces there
is life; when it dissipates there is death” 人之生, 气之聚也. 聚則為生, 散則
為死.70 As a result, “those who absorb qi become spiritual and immortal”
食氣者神明不死.71
Before the HTJ, methods for absorbing the vital qi energy of heaven
and earth to cultivate one’s mind and body were contained in many
transmitted and unearthed texts, such as the Guanzi, Zhuangzi, Xingqi
ming 行氣銘 (Inscription of Breathing Exercise), Mawangdui manuscripts
Quegu shiqi 卻穀食氣 (Abstinence from Grain and Absorbing Qi), and
Shiwen 十問 (Ten Questions); the Shuanggudui 雙谷堆 bamboo
manuscript Xingqi 行氣 (Breathing Exercise); and the Huainanzi, Taiping
jing, and Suwen.72 Since the Wei–Jin period, breathing exercises had
generally been applied as a Daoist longevity technique. For example, Tao
Hongjing’s Yangxing yanming lu cites the Yuanyang jing 元陽經
(Scripture of Primordial Yang) and Fuqi jing 服氣經 (Scripture on
Absorbing Qi);73 the Shenxian shiqi jingui miaolu 神仙食氣金櫃妙錄
(Wondrous Record of the Golden Casket on the Immortals’ Practice of
Absorbing Qi), attributed to Master Jingli 京里先生;74 and the Fuqi jingyi
lun 服氣精義論 (Treatise on the Quintessence of Absorbing Qi), attributed
to Sima Chengzhen,75 all of which discuss methods for absorbing qi,
holding qi, and visualizing the circulation of qi in the human body.76
Hu Yin integrated all these traditional methods and techniques—
inhaling, circulating, and holding qi breaths; meditating and visualizing;77
clapping the teeth; and swallowing saliva—into a program of six sets.
She further designed the specific timing of days and time intervals and
established the frequency of exercises for each set, while also matching
the six sets with the six viscera, four seasons, twelve months, four
directions, and other five-phase series. The harmonious match with time
and space is necessary for the body to become resonant with the
cosmos rhythm. The result was a rhythmic program for absorbing the
cosmic vital energy and motivating its internal circulation within the
human body in order to nurture the viscera and perfect health.

Method of Six Breaths for Healing the Viscera

The breathing exercises just discussed concern ways of inhaling qi

energy and its internal circulation. The “Method of the Six Breaths” is also
a kind of breathing exercise but involves “ways of exhaling air,”78 which
vocalize the exhale of the breaths using six Chinese characters, xu 噓, he
呵, hu 呼, xi 呬, chui 吹, and xi 嘻 (see table 5.2). This method was used
for healing visceral diseases and restoring the functions of the viscera, as
Hu Yin made clear: “People who use these [six breaths] should know that
they are for expelling diseases and not for embryo respiration” 人用宜知
之, 但為除疾, 非胎息也.79
These characters first appeared in the Zhuangzi, which described “to
huff and puff, to exhale and inhale, spitting out the old breaths and
drawing in the new” (chui xu hu xi, tugu naxin 吹呴呼吸, 吐故納新) as an
exercise for longevity;80 three of the six characters—chui, xu 呴
(interchangeable with he), and hu—already appear here. In the early Han
dynasty, the Mawangdui manuscript Quegu shiqi defined chui and xu as
two exhaling exercises.81 The Zhangjiashan manuscript Yinshu,
meanwhile, defined chui, xu, and hu as exhaling methods that formed an
exercise sequence, together with inhaling and holding qi; the text also
connected these exhaling exercises with the four seasons.82
During the Six Dynasties (220–589), the Fuqi jing listed all six exhaling
methods—chui, hu, xi 唏 (interchangeable with xi 嘻), he, xu, and xi 呬—
for healing chills and fever.83 Additionally, the Mingyi lun 明醫論 (Treatise
on Illumining Medicine) appears to be the first to use the six breaths to
heal diseases of the five viscera: hu and chui for healing cold and heat
heart diseases, respectively; xu for lung disease; xi 唏 for spleen disease;
he for liver disease; and xi 呬 for kidney disease.84 The text also explains
how to work on these exercises:

The twelve methods of regulating qi listed above should

normally use the nose to inhale qi and the mouth to exhale qi, and
should exhale qi with the sounds of the pronunciation of cui, hu, xu,
he, xi, and xi, one by one.
 已上十二種調氣法, 依常以鼻引氣, 口中吐氣, 當令氣聲逐字吹, 呼,
噓, 呵, 唏, 呬吐之.85

The six exhaling breaths were accompanied by six inhaling breaths, so

together there were twelve methods of regulating qi. These healing
exercises used the nose for inhaling and the mouth for exhaling. When
exhaling, the patient read the characters and exhaled according to their
pronunciation, which is why the method of six breaths was also named
the “Formula of the Six Characters” (Liuzijue 六字訣) in later times.86

TABLE 5.2
Hu Yin’s Method of Six Breaths for Healing the Viscera
Liver Heart Spleen Lung Kidney Gallbladder
Phase Wood Fire Earth Metal Water Water
Season Spring Summer Late Autumn Winter Winter
summer
Method Inhale Inhale Inhale Inhale Inhale Inhale
of Six faintly and faintly and faintly and faintly and faintly and faintly and
Breaths slowly with slowly with slowly with slowly with slowly with slowly with
for the nose the nose the nose the nose the nose the nose for
Healing for for for for for tonification,
the tonification, tonification, tonification, tonification, tonification, and exhale
Viscera and exhale and exhale and exhale and exhale and exhale with the
with the with the with the with the with the mouth on
mouth on mouth on mouth on mouth on mouth on the sound
the sound the sound the sound the sound the sound 嘻
xu 噓 for he 呵 for hu 呼 for xi 呬 for chui 吹 for purgation.
purgation, purgation, purgation, purgation, purgation,
with strong with strong with strong with strong with strong
xu 30 he 30 hu 30 xi 30 times chui 30
times and times and times and and soft xi times and
soft xu 10 soft he 10 soft hu 10 30 times. soft chui
times. times. times. 10 times.

Thus, the method of six breaths was gradually formed and

transformed from a breathing exercise to a method of healing disease
during the Six Dynasties. From the Sui (581–618) to the early Tang,
several medical, Buddhist, and Daoist texts—such as the Zhubing
yuanhou lun, Mohe zhiguan 摩呵止觀 (Grand Cessation and
Observation), and Beiji qianjin yaofang—followed the Mingyi lun’s
discussion and described the six breaths as methods for healing
diseases of the five viscera; the Beiji qianjin yaofang also defined specific
times, numbers, and strengths of the exhaling breaths.87
Hu Yin followed this tradition but changed the pattern of matching the
six breaths with the five viscera and added the gallbladder. She also
designed new frequencies for the exercises and the intensities of strong
or soft respiration, and changed the vocalizing of the six characters and
breaths into silent pronunciation and breathing (wuling er wen 勿令耳聞).
She further cosmosized and rhythmized this pattern by correlating it with
the five-phase scheme. Moreover, she introduced into the breathing
exercises the principles of tonification and purgation from Chinese
medical theory, defining the six inhaling breaths as tonification and the six
exhaling breaths as purgation. Inhalation brings into the body the fresh,
vital cosmic qi energy, and so its function is to tonify the viscera, while
exhalation discharges the used, “dead” qi breaths from the body, and so
its function is to purge and heal the principle visceral diseases. It is
possible that all these designs were based on her own medical
experience; in any event, her regimen of six breaths soon became a
standard and was cited numerous times by later books of medicine and
nurturing life (to be discussed further).88

Method of Guiding and Pulling Exercises for the

Viscera

Daoyin 導引 (literally guiding and pulling), or gymnastic exercise, is an

integration of body and breath. It was already popular from the Warring
States to the Qin–Han (221 BCE–220 CE) periods. The Zhuangzi records
an exercise of bear hanging and bird stretching (xiongjing niaoshen 熊經
鳥伸),89 while the Han dynasty Mawangdui manuscript Daoyin tu 導引圖
(Chart for Guiding and Pulling) and the Yinshu vividly depict or narrate
many other movements.90 The physician Hua Tuo 華佗 (ca. 145–208) is
said to have invented the Wuqin xi 五禽戲 (Five Animals Pattern) and
many other exercises by the end of the Han.91 Daoist longevity
techniques had always been integrated with gymnastic exercise, as seen
in Tao Hongjing’s “Daoyin anmo” 導引按摩 (Guiding-Pulling and
Massage) chapter in the Yangxing yanming lu,92 Sima Chengzhen’s
“Daoyin lun” 導引論 (Treatise on Guiding and Pulling) section in Fuqi
jingyi lun,93 and other sources.94
Sun Simiao recorded two sets of exercises in his Beiji qianjin yaofang,
one named “Tianzhuguo anmo fa” 天竺國按摩法 (Method of Indian
Guiding-Pulling and Massage), with a note saying “this is the Brāhman
method” (Poluomen fa 婆羅門法), the other named “Laozi anmo fa” 老子
按摩法 (Laozi’s Method of Guiding-Pulling and Massage).95 In the Sui–
Tang period, the term “anmo” meant both daoyin and anmo.96 The
“Brāhman method” likely refers to Hindu yoga techniques that were
transmitted to China. In his work, Sun Simiao listed eighteen movements
of this method, among which, the movements of contracting the body and
bending the spine, standing upright and bending backwards, and using
the hand to hook the extended foot of the same side and place it on the
opposite knee are typical yoga movements still practiced today.97
Hu Yin’s “Method of Guiding and Pulling” was obviously based on the
Indian method recommended by Sun Simiao. The movements she
adopted from Sun’s set included the second movement of interlacing the
fingers, reversing the palms, and placing them over the chest; the sixth
movement of curling the hands into fists and punching both sides; the
seventh movement of lifting up a hand as if lifting a boulder; the eleventh
movement of placing both hands firmly on the ground and contracting the
body, bending the spine, and lifting up the body; the twelfth movement of
reversing the fists and pounding the back on both sides; and the
fourteenth movement of interlacing the fingers tightly and stepping one
foot on the joined palms (see table 5.3).
However, Hu Yin did not simply copy the Indian methods; she also
made considerable amendments. She offered more specific descriptions
for each movement, designed more details, established the number of
times to repeat each motion, and added relaxing formulas such as
holding the breath, swallowing saliva, and clapping the teeth to end the
exercise. She also matched her movement sets with the five phases,
seasons, months, and viscera, and indicated each set’s healing function
for each visceral organ. Hu Yin’s method of guiding and pulling thus
integrated Indian yoga techniques with traditional Chinese gymnastic
exercises, medical theory, and Daoist longevity techniques. She refined
both the imported and the traditional movements to formulate a new
scheme of healing exercises involving all body parts: hands, arms, feet,
knees, head, chest, belly, and back. Through various gymnastic
movements and massages, including turning, bending, stretching, lifting,
punching, shaking, and twisting, the scheme warmed up the body,
released tension, moved the muscles, and activated the circulation of
energy. It was an especially suitable exercise for old people. As a result,
the scheme soon became a standard and was cited and copied
repeatedly in later books of medicine and nurturing life (to be discussed).

TABLE 5.3
Hu Yin’s Method of Guiding and Pulling Exercises for the Viscera
Liver Heart Spleen Lung Kidney
Phase Wood Fire Earth Metal Water
Season Spring Summer Late Autumn Winter
summer
Method Sit straight, Sit straight, Sit straight Sit Sit straight,
of cross and curl the with the legs straight, lift up both
Guiding place the hands into crossed, place hands as if
and hands on fists, punch extend one both lifting a
Pulling the arms, both sides leg and hands rock, and
turn the alternately, bend the firmly stretch the
body slowly and repeat other, on the waist 3 to 5
to both 5 to 6 times, reverse the ground, times; or
sides, and respectively; hands, and contract place the
repeat 3 to or sit punch the hands on
5 times, straight, and backwards body the knees,
respectively; lift up a 3 to 5 times, and pull elbows
or sit hand as if respectively; bend on both
straight, lifting a or kneel and the sides, and
interlace the boulder; or place both spine, turn the
fingers, interlace the hands firmly and lift body 3 to 5
reverse the fingers on the up the times,
palms, tightly, step ground, turn body 3 respectively;
place them one foot on the head to times; or step each
over the the joined look back or foot forward
chest, and palms, and like a tiger reverse and
 repeat 3 to repeat 5 to from both the backwards,
5 times.* 6 times. sides, and fists, and repeat
repeat 3 to pound tens of
5 times, your times.
respectively. back on
both
sides,
and
repeat
3 to 5
times.

* The phrase “3 to 5 times” (sanwudu 三五度) may also be interpreted as “15 times” (3 times
5), as may other similar expressions in this table.

In addition, early gymnastic exercises such as the Mawangdui Daoyin

tu and Hua Tuo’s Five Animals Pattern applied the standing position,
while the descriptions in Tao Hongjing’s Yangxing yanming lu and Sun
Simiao’s Beiji qianjin yaofang applied mixed positions of sitting, kneeling,
standing, and reclining. Hu Yin’s scheme was primarily practiced in the
sitting position, possibly influenced by both Buddhist sitting in meditation
and Daoist sitting in oblivion, which were popular during the Tang
dynasty. Hu Yin’s scheme was furthermore a forerunner of later sitting
exercises such as the Zuoshi baduanjin 坐式八段錦 (Eight Brocades in
Sitting Pattern) and Ershisi zuogong daoyin zhibing tu 二十四坐功導引治
病圖 (Chart of Twenty-Four Seated Exercises for Healing Diseases).98

Method of Monthly Dietary Prohibition and

Abstinence

Despite its title, Hu Yin’s monthly dietary method did more than simply
talk about food prohibition and abstinence; it presented a seasonal
dietary regimen of appropriate and prohibited foodstuffs for nurturing the
viscera (see table 5.4). Since early civilization, Chinese people had been
aware of the effects of food on the body and of the need for a balanced
diet. The relationship between foodstuffs, preventive function, therapeutic
value, and spiritual/religious pursuit had also gradually developed.
As early as the Western Zhou period (ca. 1046–771 BCE), there
appeared to be an official called shiyi 食醫 (dietician), who was
responsible for concocting balanced, seasonal food recipes for the king.99
The catalog of the Hanshu records a text titled Shennong Huangdi shiyao
神農黃帝食藥 (Dietary Medicines of Divine Husbandman and Yellow
Emperor) in seven juan,100 which is long lost. The Han dynasty
Shuanggudui 雙古堆 manuscript Wanwu 萬物 (Myriad Things), the
Mawangdui manuscript Yangsheng fang 養生方 (Recipes of Nurturing
Life), and the recovered text Huainan wanbi shu 淮南萬畢術
(Encyclopedic Techniques of Prince Huainan) described dietary recipes
and medicines of vegetal, herbal, mineral, and animal substances for
nurturing life or attaining extraordinary powers.101 About half of the
immortals recorded in the Liexian zhuan took natural herbs.102 The
Shennong bencao jing 神農本草經 (Divine Husbandman’s Materia
Medica) lists many herbs and other substances for nurturing life.103

TABLE 5.4
Hu Yin’s Method of Monthly Dietary Prohibition and Abstinence
Liver Heart Spleen Lung
Phase Wood Fire Earth Metal
Season Spring Summer Late summer Autumn
Method of Appropriation: Appropriation: Appropriation: Appropriation:
Monthly flaxseed, barley, wheat, rice, date, millet, peach.
Dietary bean, plum. apricot, sunflower Prohibition:
Prohibition Prohibition: leaves of seeds. bitter flavor.
and hot flavor. pulse plants. Prohibition: Abstinence:
Abstinence Abstinence: Prohibition: sour flavor. cornel in the
onion in the salty flavor. Abstinence: 7th month,
first month, Abstinence: cornel in the ginger, animal
knotweed, large garlic in 6th month, liver, heart,
small garlic, the 4th animal and lung in
central part of month, chives spleen, liver, the 8th and
all herbs, and and animal and sheep 9th months.
animal liver heart and blood in all
and lung in kidney in the four seasons.
the 2nd and 5th month.
3rd months.
 Daoist dietary regimens include some metal and mineral substances,
but most ingredients are herbs, such as those recorded in Ge Hong’s
“Xianyao” 仙藥 (Elixirs) chapter of the Baopuzi and in the Taishang
lingbao wufu xu 太上靈寶五符序 (Preface to the Five Most High
Numinous Talismans).104 In his study of the latter text, Shawn Arthur has
argued that the Daoist dietary practice of “bigu” 辟谷 (avoiding grains or
foods) should be explained as “avoiding dietary staples.”105
By the early Tang, however, Sun Simiao advocated a return to dietary
staples. In the “Shizhi” 食治 (Dietary Treatment) chapter of his Beiji
qianjin yaofang, Sun indicated the dangerous effects of some medicinal
drugs and medical treatments and included many everyday foodstuffs on
his list, including fruits, vegetables, cereals, and meats. Describing the
therapeutic effects of these foodstuffs, he also pointed out their
interdictions in certain circumstances.106 Around 701 to 704, his disciple
Meng Shen 孟詵 (621–713) composed the Buyang fang 補養方
(Prescriptions of Tonification and Nurturing Life) in three juan, which was
supplemented, between 721 and 739, by Zhang Ding’s 張鼎 (fl. 713–741)
Shiliao bencao 食療本草 (Materia Dietetica) in three juan, in which most
of the recipes were everyday foods.107
Possibly influenced by Sun Simiao and his followers, Hu Yin also
included everyday foodstuffs in her dietary regimen of appropriation,
prohibition, and abstinence, including flaxseed, beans, plums, barley,
wheat, apricots, leaves of pulse plants, rice, dates, sunflower seeds,
millet, peaches, soybeans, yellow leaves, onions, garlic, chives, cornel,
meat, fish, and so forth. This regimen shows the inclination of Daoist
dietary therapy toward general medicine and daily life. Although Hu Yin’s
description of her regimen is brief, she matched dietetic appropriations
and interdictions with the viscera, the seasons, and the five phases in an
innovative way, thereby again emphasizing a rhythmical, interactive
scheme between the internal and external worlds. Her meticulous
distinction of prohibitions and abstinences in food taboos is not seen in
previous dietetic discussions; this displays her particular attention in food
hygiene.
In summary, influenced by the yin-yang and five-phase cosmology, the
early Han (or even earlier) text Yinshu already discussed proper daily
activities according to the four seasons,108 and the Suwen also offered
methods for nurturing the viscera according to the seasonal changes,109
but these were all brief descriptions. Hu Yin was the first to integrate
medical therapy and Daoist cultivation into the five-phase scheme and to
use the viscera as a framework to accommodate all methods of
meditation and visualization, breathing exercises, teeth clapping, saliva
swallowing, gymnastic exercises, dietary therapy, and food hygiene in
order to establish a unique scheme for the seasonal nurturing of life. This
scheme operated along with the seasonal movements and cycles of the
universe, changing the human body, as a result, from an object limited to
life and death to a subject within the natural processes of ceaseless
generation. Following the rhythm of this natural process, one cultivated
oneself to establish a harmonious relation with the cosmic forces so that,
as Hu Yin said, “the essences and lights of the sun and moon come to
attach to my body-self, and the four seasons and six qi come to integrate
with my body-structure.” One can then perfect health and attain longevity
and immortality. In turn, “that which generates all things is then controlled
by me,” thus eventually enabling mastery of one’s destiny, of life and
death.
More importantly, in its earlier stage, Daoist soteriology had not been
universal but targeted mainly elite Daoists, whereas Hu Yin transformed
Daoist longevity techniques into a simple, therapeutic, and secular
scheme, as a result opening the gate of self-cultivation to ordinary
people. Indeed, she was among the first to advocate the popular trend of
seasonal life nurturing. From the Song dynasty onward, numerous books
on this trend appeared, such as Yao Cheng’s 姚稱 (fl. tenth century)
Shesheng yueling 攝生月令 (Monthly Commands for Conserving Life),
Zhou Shouzhong’s 周守忠 (fl. 1208–1220) Yangsheng yuelan 養生月覽
(Monthly Handbook for Nurturing Life), Jiang Tui’s 姜蛻 (fl. 1276)
Yangsheng yuelu 養生月錄 (Monthly Handbook for Nurturing Life), Wu
Qiu’s 吳球 (fl. fifteenth to sixteenth centuries) Sishi tiaoshe lun 四時調攝
論 (Treatise on Harmonization and Conserving Health in the Four
Seasons), and Gao Lian’s 高濂 (1573–1620) Zunsheng bajiao 尊生八箋
(Eight Folios on Honoring Life).
Moreover, many books on medicine and health care cited and copied
Hu Yin’s work. For example, in the Shouqin yanglao xinshu 壽親養老新書
(New Book on Prolonging Parents’ Life and Caring for the Aged),
composed by Chen Zhi 陳直 (fl. 1078–1085) and supplemented by Zou
Xuan 鄒鉉 (fl. 1307), the section on “Sishi yanglao” 四時養老 (Caring for
the Aged in the Four Seasons) cites Hu Yin’s “Method of Six Breaths”
verbatim.110 The “Dongzhen” 洞真 (Cavern of Perfection) chapter in the
Daoshu also follows Hu Yin’s method of six breaths while changing the xi
嘻 exhale to healing the triple heater instead of the gallbladder.111 The
triple heater is a unique Chinese designation for certain bodily organ(s),
with different records and arguments about what it refers to. According to
the Suwen and Lingshu, the triple heater is one of the six receptacles,
and the gallbladder is included in the triple heater. The change from
gallbladder to triple heater, therefore, appears to have evolved from Hu
Yin’s model.
The Xiuzhen shishu, further, includes a text titled Qubing yanshou
liuzifa 去病延壽六字法 (Method of Six Characters for Dispelling Disease
and Prolonging Life), which is about the same as Hu Yin’s method of six
breaths, though it also replaces the gallbladder with the triple heater.112 In
his Quxian huoren fang 臞仙活人方 (Prescriptions for Saving the Living
by Quxian), Zhu Quan 朱權 (sobriquet Hanxu zi 涵虛子, 1378–1448) cites
both the “Method of Six Breaths” and the “Method for Guiding and
Pulling” from Hu Yin’s book.113 Zhou Lüjing’s 周履靖 (fl. 1597) Chifeng sui
赤鳳髓 (Red Phoenix Marrow) contains the “Taishang yuzhou liuzi qijue”
太上玉軸六字氣訣 (Jade Scroll of Breathing Formula of Six Characters by
the Most High), “Liuqi jue” 六氣訣 (Formula of the Six Breaths), “Liuqi
gejue” 六氣歌訣 (Formulas and Songs of the Six Breaths), and “Qubing
yanlian liuzi fa” 去病延年六字法 (Method of Six Characters for Dispelling
Disease and Prolonging Life), all of which include Hu Yin’s method of six
breaths, some keeping xi for healing the gallbladder and some changing
it to the triple heater.114 This tells us that the method was transformed into
songs and formulas to make it easier to circulate and memorize.
In the famous Zunsheng bajian by Gao Lian are two parts, titled “Sishi
tiaoshe jian” 四時調攝箋 (Folios on Harmonization and Conserving Health
in the Four Seasons) and “Yannian quebing jian” 延年卻病箋 (Folios on
Prolonging Life and Dispelling Disease), in which he copied almost every
part of Hu Yin’s work verbatim, including the images of the six viscera
spirits, explanations for those images, methods for caring and nurturing
the viscera, the six breaths, and gymnastic exercises.115 Shen Jin’ao 沈金
鰲 (1717–1776) also cited Hu Yin’s gymnastic scheme in his Shenshi
zunsheng shu 沈氏尊生書 (Book on Honoring Life by Shen).116 All these
demonstrate Hu Yin’s profound influence on later physicians, experts on
nurturing life, scholar officials, and ordinary people.

Concluding Remarks

The human body and life is the focus of much of Daoist theory and
practice. Because the Daoist life philosophy concerns “valuing humanity
and cherishing life” (guiren zhongsheng 貴人重生), nurturing life and
cultivating the Dao are thus fundamentally the same. As Tao Hongjing
indicated: “Those who are nurturing life must be cautious in not losing
Dao, and those who are practicing Dao must be cautious in not losing
life” 養生者慎勿失道, 為道者慎勿失生.117 As a result, both Chinese
Daoism and medicine came to share a common preoccupation with
perfecting physical health and prolonging the life span, both of which
present many common characteristics in theory and practice, as Kristofer
Schipper has indicated: “The vision of the human body belongs both to
Taoism and to Chinese medicine.”118
Since the emergence of the HTJ, many commentaries and
elaborations on it appeared, and these can be roughly divided into two
trends. The first focused on the Daoist theory of the human body
pantheon and the practice of visualizing the bodily spirits, such as the
commentaries by Wuchengzi and Liangqiuzi. This trend gradually
developed into the religious inner alchemy theory and practice in later
times. The second trend was to integrate Daoist inner cultivation with
traditional Chinese medicine, which gradually developed into the secular,
popular theory and practice of health care and nurturing life.119
Hu Yin’s HTNJT developed and exerted significant influence on both
trends. Her innovative images and descriptions of the visceral spirits
further symbolized the cosmic, sacred dimensions of the human body.
The visceral spirits guarded the major organs of the human body and
guaranteed its harmony and vigor. Because of the identification of
visceral spirits with the constellational and directional spirits, the human
microcosm became more seamlessly identical to the natural macrocosm.
The visceral spirits further symbolized the holiness of the human body,
which provided a rationale for the Daoist goal of longevity and immortality
and the eventual maturity of inner alchemy.
 More importantly, Hu Yin integrated Daoist bodily concepts and
longevity techniques with medical theory and physical exercise. She
applied theories of the five-phase cosmology, tonification and purgation,
diagnosis, treatment, and health care to analyze the physiological
functions, pathological mechanisms, and therapeutic methods of the
viscera; used medical techniques and herbs to cure symptoms; and
summarized and developed traditional breathing exercises, gymnastics,
and dietary regimens to activate and cultivate the human body’s energy.
She thereby established a comprehensive, systematic scheme for the
seasonal nurturing of life that spontaneously resonated with the rhythm
and energy of the cosmos.
By developing and enhancing the two trends of the HTJ, Hu Yin’s work
represents a perfect fusion of the two traditions of Daoism and traditional
Chinese medicine. Exploring the relationship between religious belief, the
body, medicine, and the natural environment, the HTNJT designed
various exercises to improve the physical body and its spiritual aspects
and to integrate the body into the eternal cycle of the cosmic rhythm and
energy so as to attain longevity and immortality. Although she remained
obscure all her life, Hu Yin thus contributed considerably to the Chinese
cultural tradition of religious spirituality and nurturing life.
 CHAPTER VI

The Yaochi ji and Three Daoist Priestess-Poets

I
n about the first half of the ninth century, the Tang scholar Cai
Xingfeng 蔡省風 compiled an anthology of poetry composed
exclusively by female poets, which he titled the Yaochi xinyong ji 瑤池
新詠集 (Anthology of New Poetry from the Turquoise Pond; hereafter
cited as Yaochi ji). Recorded in several Song dynasty (960–1279)
catalogs, this anthology has long been lost; some fragments, however,
have been rediscovered among the Dunhuang manuscripts included in
the Russian collections in Saint Petersburg. These fragments consist of
twenty-three poems (some incomplete) by four poets, which were
originally placed at the beginning of the anthology. These include seven
poems by Li Jilan 李季蘭 (d. 784), seven poems by Yuan Chun 元淳 (d.
ca. 779), eight poems by Lady Zhang (Zhang furen 張夫人), and one
poem by Cui Zhongrong 崔仲容 (ca. eighth century).
Among these four poets, Li Jilan, Yuan Chun, and Cui Zhongrong
were Daoist priestesses. Lady Zhang was the wife of Ji Zhongfu 吉中孚
(d. ca. 788), one of the so-called Ten Talents of the Dali Reign Period
(766–779) (Dali shicaizi 大歷十才子). Ji Zhongfu was initially a Daoist
priest and later resumed secular life to become an official-poet. Lady
Zhang, therefore, was probably connected to or held belief in Daoism as
well, though we cannot determine whether she was ever a Daoist
priestess. In addition to the Yaochi ji, three more Dunhuang manuscripts
contain poems by Li Jilan and Yuan Chun. Since six of the rediscovered
poems were not included in their transmitted works, the poems therefore
add new dimensions to the study of the three priestess-poets.
After first reviewing the Yaochi ji’s compilation, contents, and possibly
included poets, I present in this chapter a comprehensive examination
the lives and poetry of the three priestess-poets, using these
rediscovered poems along with all other transmitted poems and relevant
sources.

The Yaochi ji: Compilation, Contents, and Poets

The Yaochi ji is the only anthology of women’s poetry from the Tang era,
and also the earliest extant anthology comprising only the writings of
Chinese women.1 The rediscovery of this text has therefore been greatly
significant for understanding the development of Chinese women’s
literature and literary activities. Among those scholars who have noted
this text and the Dunhuang fragments, Rong Xinjiang 榮新江 and Xu Jun
徐俊 have made the most important contribution. In addition to deftly
sorting out six fragments from the huge Russian collections and putting
them together to recover the original order, they also have offered a
general description of the anthology.2 In view of questions and debates
over whether there may be forgeries among the Dunhuang manuscripts,
especially those in the Saint Petersburg depositories,3 Rong and Xu have
also carefully examined the original photos of the relevant manuscripts
and undertaken a broad study of related transmitted texts. They conclude
that the distribution of the Yaochi ji fragments in seven different
manuscripts and the coincidence of these fragments with many records
of transmitted texts are suggestive that these materials are indeed
authentic.4
The Song dynasty catalogs record this anthology under three
somewhat different titles, including Yaochi xinyong 瑤池新詠 (New Poetry
from the Turquoise Pond) in two or three juan,5 Yaochi xinji 瑤池新集
(New Anthology from the Turquoise Pond) in one juan,6 and Yaochi ji 瑤
池集 (Anthology from the Turquoise Pond) in one juan.7 In the Dunhuang
manuscripts, the anthology is titled Yaochi xinyong ji at the beginning,
with a separate label reading Yaochi ji, probably an abbreviated title.8
Therefore, Yaochi xinyong ji is most likely the original and complete title,
whereas the three titles recorded in the Song catalogs are probably
varied abbreviations.9
In his Junzhai dushu zhi 郡齋讀書志 (Reading Notes from the
Commandery Studio), Chao Gongwu 晁公武 gave a detailed description
of this anthology, and even cited part of its general preface:

Yaochi xinji in one juan: Cai Xingfeng of the Tang dynasty

collected the poems of female poets in the Tang, from Li Jilan to
Cheng Changwen, altogether twenty-three persons and 115 pieces.
Each poet is given a shorter preface, placed at the beginning of
their poems. There is also a general preface, which roughly says:
“The wife of Cao Shishu wrote histories and composed letters; the
wife of Huangfu Gui was loyal and good in calligraphy of lü scripts.
Su Hui composed the graceful revolving verses; Han Lanying
taught in the palaces. The Jin History records Xie Daoyun’s
eloquence; the Han people praised Cai Wenji’s songs. Let alone
our age of flourishing culture!”
瑤池新集一卷. 右唐蔡省風集唐世能詩婦人李季蘭至程長文二十三
人題詠一百十五首, 各為小序, 以冠其首, 且總為序. 其略云: “世叔之
婦, 修史屬文; 皇甫之妻, 抱忠善隸. 蘇氏雅于回文, 蘭英擅於宮掖; 晉
紀道韞之辨, 漢尚文姬之辭. 況今文明之盛乎!”10

Thus, according to Chao Gongwu’s description, the anthology originally

contained 115 poems by twenty-three female poets, which began with Li
Jilan and ended with Cheng Changwen 程長文. Cai Xingfeng, the
compiler, wrote a general preface for the anthology and also a lesser
preface for each poet, which is typical of the style of Tang poetry
anthologies. Unfortunately, in the Dunhuang manuscripts, all the prefaces
were omitted, probably owing to the nature of the manuscript as an
informal booklet of poetry and the preference of its owner, who appears
to have copied out the poems themselves while ignoring the details about
the female poets.
In the fragment of the general preface preserved by Chao Gongwu,
Cai Xingfeng compared the Tang women poets with the most famous
talented women of previous eras: Ban Zhao 班昭 (wife of Cao Shishu 曹
世叔; ca. 49–ca. 120), who helped her brother 班固 (32–92) complete the
unfinished Hanshu 漢書 and composed many literary works herself,
including the well-known composition “Dongzheng fu” 東征賦 (Rhapsody
on an Eastward Journey) preserved in the sixth-century Wenxuan 文選
(Selections of Refined Literature);11 the wife of Huangfu Gui 皇甫規, who
died for her loyalty to the Han dynasty and had excellent skill in
calligraphy;12 Su Hui 蘇蕙, who composed sophisticated revolving verses
and wove them into a brocade for her husband;13 Han Lanying 韓蘭英,
who was erudite and taught in the palaces of the Southern Song and Qi
dynasties;14 Xie Daoyun 謝道韞, whose several anecdotes of eloquence
are recorded in the Jinshu;15 and Cai Wenji 蔡文姬 (b. 117), to whom
several famous poems and songs are attributed.16 Cai Xingfeng’s preface
thus implies that Tang female poets were equal in talent or even
surpassed these historical women and that they were capable of literary
brilliance and worthy of admiration by their contemporaries. This shows
that women’s literary achievements were indeed recognized by Tang
people.
As noted, the rediscovered parts of the Dunhuang manuscripts include
twenty-three poems of the first four poets in the Yaochi ji.17 This
constitutes about one-fifth of the original twenty-three poets and 115
poems.18 The sequence of these four poets is also in complete accord
with their order in the Youxuan ji 又玄集 compiled by Wei Zhuang 韋莊
and the Yinchuang zalu 吟窗雜錄 (Chanted by the Window: A Poetic
Miscellany) compiled by Chen Yingxing 陳應行 (fl. 1194).19 This
coincidence has led scholars to speculate on the possible relations
between the three anthologies.20
A careful comparison shows that such a relation is indeed possible.
The Youxuan ji includes twenty-two female poets, starting with Li Jilan,
Yuan Chun, Lady Zhang, and Cui Zhongrong, and ending with Cheng
Changwen and Yu Xuanji 魚玄機 (ca. 843–868). The Yinchuang zalu, on
the other hand, includes more Tang female poets, but from Li Jilan to
Cheng Changwen their number is twenty-one, with two names, Liang
Qiong 梁瓊 and Cui Xuan 崔萱, not seen in the Youxuan ji, while
excluding Song Ruozhao 宋若昭 and Song Ruoxun 宋若荀 and putting
the former in a preceding order of palace ladies.21 If we add Liang Qiong
and Cui Xuan to the twenty-one names in the Youxuan ji (omitting Yu
Xuanji, who is listed after Cheng Changwen and therefore was unlikely to
be included in the Yaochi ji), or Song Ruozhao and Song Ruoxun to the
twenty-one names in the Yinchuang zalu, we then have a total of twenty-
three names in both texts, with the order starting with Li Jilan and ending
with Cheng Changwen. This perfectly fits the description of the Yaochi ji
by Chao Gongwu.22 In addition, many of the female poets and their
identities, lives, and works are seen only in the Youxuan ji and Yinchuang
zalu, suggesting that the Yaochi ji and its individual prefaces on the poets
may have been the two later anthologies’ primary or even only source for
these poets.
The Caidiao ji 才調集 compiled by Wei Hu 韋縠 in 947 also devotes its
last juan to Tang women poets, which includes twenty of the names seen
in the Youxuan ji and Yinchuang zalu, but in a completely different
order.23 Wei Hu may thus have relied on the Yaochi ji and Youxuan ji to
compile his anthology but rearranged the sequence. Another feature of
the Caidiao ji is that it contains works attributed to characters in narrative
materials, such as Guan Panpan 關盼盼 and Cui Yingying 崔鶯鶯, while
all the poets included in the Yaochi ji and Youxuan ji appear to be
historical figures.24
Table 6.1 provides a comparative list of the possible twenty-three
poets, with their titles as given by the compilers of the Yaochi ji, Youxuan
ji, Yinchuang zalu, and Caidiao ji, their life spans and experiences as
seen in the four anthologies and other early sources, and their order in
the first three anthologies.25
According to studies of these twenty-three poets’ life experiences, they
were indeed historical persons.26 As scholars have further noted, among
the more than 120 female poets whose works were included in the Quan
Tangshi and Quan Tangshi bubian, at least one-third were characters
from narrative materials. Therefore, our list of twenty-three actual poets is
very useful for understanding the development of Tang women’s poetry.
For example, since Xue Tao, who died in 830, was included in the Yaochi
ji, and Yu Xuanji, who died in 868, was not, we can speculate that the
anthology was compiled sometime during the first half of the ninth
century. In addition, because the first three poets, Li Jilan, Yuan Chun,
and Lady Zhang, were active around the mid-eighth century, we can
further speculate that the poets included in the anthology were active
roughly from the mid-eighth to mid-ninth centuries.
From the extant works of Tang women poets, we see mostly palace
ladies and gentry women before the mid-Tang era, while on our list we
see a wide variety of Daoist priestesses, courtesans, palace ladies,
women of elite families, and daughters of ordinary families. Moreover,
these poets of varying social status are arranged in mixed order, seeming
to emphasize literary talent and achievements over social status. For
example, Li Jilan, Yuan Chun, and Lady Zhang lived at about the same
time, but Zhang, who was the wife of a high official, was placed after Li
and Yuan. These new changes imply an expanding array of Tang writing
women and changing criteria for male compilers and critics during the
mid- to late Tang period.

TABLE 6.1
List of the Twenty-Three Poets Included in the Yaochi ji
Yaochi Youxuan Yinchuang Caidiao
Order Name and Title ji ji zalu ji
1 Daoist Priestess Li Jilan 1 1 1 √
2 Daoist Priestess Yuan 2 2 2 √
Chun
3 Lady Zhang 3 3 3 √
4 Cui Zhongrong 4 4 4 √
5 Bao Junhui 鮑君徽 (fl. 5 5 √
798)
6 Madam Zhao 趙氏 (fl. 6 6 √
789–821)
7 Liang Qiong 梁瓊 7 √
8 Zhang Yaotiao 張窈窕 7 8 √
9 Courtesan Chang Hao 8 9 √
倡伎常浩
10 Gentlewoman Xue Yun 9 10 √
女郎薛蘊
11 Cui Xuan 崔萱 11
12 Gentlewoman Liu Yuan 10 12 √
女郎劉媛
13 Gentlewoman Lian 女郎 11 13 √
廉氏
14 Gentlewoman Zhang 12 14 √
Yan 女郎張琰
15 Gentlewoman Cui 13 15 √
Gongda 女郎崔公達
16 Gentlewoman Song 14 Advanced
Ruozhao 女郎宋若昭 (d. to palace
ca. 825) lady’s order
17 Gentlewoman Song 15
Ruoxun 女郎宋若荀 (fl.
788)
18 Gentlewoman Tian E 女 16 16
郎田娥
19 Xue Tao 薛濤 (ca. 770– 17 17 √
832)
20 Gentlewoman Liu Yun 18 18 √
女郎劉雲
21 Gentlewoman Ge Ya’er 19 20 √
女郎葛鴉兒
22 Gentlewoman Zhang 20 19 √
Wenji 女郎張文姬
23 Gentlewoman Cheng 23 21 21 √
Changwen 女郎程 長文

Yaochi, the “Turquoise Pond,” originates in the legend of the Queen

Mother of the West.27 In both legend and the Daoist pantheon, the queen
mother was in charge of all goddesses and female immortals, whereas
Daoist priestesses were referred to as “female immortals” during the
Tang era.28 This has led some scholars to consider the Yaochi ji an
anthology of poems by Daoist priestesses.29 Though this speculation can
be dismissed, according to our list, three among the first four poets, Li
Jilan, Yuan Chun, and Cui Zhongrong, were indeed Daoist priestesses,
and Lady Zhang also had a certain connection with Daoism. Therefore,
the name given by Cai Xingfeng to this anthology may in fact have had
certain Daoist implications. As for the compiler Cai Xingfeng, Chao
Gongwu indicated that he lived in the Tang era, and the Dunhuang
manuscript gives his official title as zhuzuo lang 著作郎 (editorial
director).30 Judging from the possible time for compilation of the Yaochi ji,
Cai must therefore have been active in the first half of the ninth century.
In addition to the Yaochi ji fragments, three more Dunhuang
manuscripts also copy poems by Li Jilan and Yuan Chun. The first is P.
3216, which contains two poems by Li and three by Yuan.31 The other
two are P. 2492 and Дx. 3865, which contain one poem by Li.32 In what
follows, I use all transmitted and rediscovered poems to study these
three priestess-poets’ lives and poetry.

The Life and Poetry of Li Jilan

As one of the first Chinese female poets with a relatively large number of
extant works, Li Jilan has attracted much attention from both premodern
and modern scholars. Although Li’s contemporaries identified her as a
Daoist priestess and many traditional critics highly appreciated her poetic
achievements, from the Song to the Qing dynasties, some scholars
redefined her and other Tang Daoist priestess-poets as “courtesans.”
Among modern scholars, Chen Wenhua collated and annotated Li Jilan’s
poems in her Tang nüshiren ji sanzhong 唐女詩人集三種,33 which has
since become an indispensable text for later scholars. In addition, two
recent anthologies of Chinese women writers include fine translations
and interpretations of selected poems by Li Jilan.34 A number of scholars
have studied Li’s poetry from various perspectives,35 but some scholars
have also followed the traditional discourse in defining Li as a
“courtesan,” and many studies lack a more deeply contextualized
historiography and analytical sophistication. Here, I seek to present a
comprehensive and in-depth study of Li’s life and poetry, aided by the
three additional poems rediscovered from Dunhuang.
Li Jilan’s name was Ye 冶, and Jilan was her courtesy name.36 In her
poems, she called the official-literatus Li Shu 李紓 (731–792) her “elder
brother,” and so she must have been born after 731. The Zhongxing
jianqi ji 中興間氣集, compiled by the contemporary critic Gao Zhongwu 高
仲武 soon after Li’s death in 784, describes her as chimu 遲暮 (late in her
age) and junyu 俊嫗 (a beautiful old lady).37 She must therefore have
been around at least fifty years of age when she died; thus, tracing back
from 784, we can conclude that she was probably born between 732 and
735.
The Song dynasty catalogs Chongwen zongmu 崇文總目 (General
Catalog of the Chongwen Library), Zhizhai shulu jiet i 直齋書錄解題
(Annotated Catalog of the Zhi Studio), and Tongzhi 通志 (Comprehensive
Records) record her collected poems in one juan.38 The Siku quanshu
includes her collection of poetry with fourteen pieces, and the compilers
asserted that Li’s original collection had been lost and this text was a
later recompilation.39 The Tangyin tongqian 唐音統簽 (Complete Labels of
Tang Poetry) has collected two more poems and three fragmented
couplets from the Yinchuang zalu, while the Quan Tangshi (QTS) adds
one more fragmented couplet from the Tangshi jishi 唐詩紀事 (Records of
Events Related to Tang Poetry) and two more poems from the Fenmen
zuanlei Tang geshi 分門纂類唐歌詩 (Classified Songs and Poems of the
Tang Dynasty).40 These last two poems are, however, very different in
style from Li Jilan’s poetry and are more likely to be works of a certain Jin
dynasty poet named Li Ye 李冶 (1192–1279).41 In addition to the sixteen
transmitted poems, the Dunhuang manuscripts make available three
more, for a total of nineteen extant poems.42 Although this is not a large
number, these rediscovered poems are crucial to our study of Li Jilan’s
life because two of them were written after she was caught by rebels in
the capital city Chang’an, in 784, and so allow us to know more about her
very last days.
Though Tang sources identify Li Jilan as a Daoist priestess, they give
no information about her family background or her reason for entering the
Daoist order. The Yuan dynasty Tang caizi zhuan 唐才子傳, on the other
hand, says she came from the Three Gorges in Sichuan,43 but this
supposition, based on a description of the Three Gorges in one of her
poems and with no other evidence, seems unwarranted.44 The Tangyin
tongqian, meanwhile, records that she was from Wuxing 吳興, Huzhou 湖
州 (present-day Huzhou in Zhejiang), which her biography in the QTS
follows. This is also probably a conjecture from her poems, without the
support of earlier sources, though in fact she spent most of her life in this
area.
A text from the tenth century notes that she composed a couplet on
rose blossoms at about age six, which showed her precocious talent for
writing poetry but also caused her father to anticipate unhappily that she
would become a sensual woman.45 This story is, however, likely a later
creation, because the prodigy genre was a typical cliché of Chinese
biography.46 What we do know from Li Jilan’s poetic exchanges with her
associates and other relevant sources is that during the reigns of
emperors Suzong and Daizong (756–779) she lived in the Wucheng
district 烏程縣 of Huzhou, possibly staying at a Daoist convent, and also
wandered around the Jiangnan 江南 region (the lower Yangzi River
region; present-day Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces).
In his Zhongxing jianqi ji, Gao Zhongwu included six poems by Li
Jilan. In the lesser preface to her works, Gao tells us that Li was very
beautiful and talented. Once, in a gathering with several official-literati at
a Buddhist monastery in Wucheng, she cleverly teased the renowned
poet Liu Zhangqing 劉長卿 (d. ca. 790) with a verse.47 Liu was in the
southern region from about 756 to 764.48
One of Li Jilan’s poems was titled “Ji shiqi xiong jiaoshu” 寄十七兄校書
(Sent to the Editor, My Seventeenth Elder Brother).49 This editor and
“elder brother” was likely Li Shu, ranked seventeenth among the brothers
and cousins of his family, who held the official position of editor in 755,
when the An Lushan Rebellion broke out. The following year he fled to
Suzhou (next to Huzhou), where his father’s office of the commissioner
was located. Li Shu remained in the lower Yangzi River region for several
years, during which he had broad poetic exchanges with the southern
literati, including the monk-poet Jiaoran, who was a native of Huzhou and
lived there most of his life.50 Although Tang poets often called friends of
the same family name “brother” or “uncle,” in many cases they were not
related at all. Since Li Shu carried the official title youbuque 右補闕 (right
rectifier of omissions) in 762,51 this poem must have been written
between 756 and 761.
Generally regarded as one of Li Jilan’s best works, the poem reads:

In Wucheng district, with nothing to do,

More than a year wasted.
I wonder how you, the imperial library official,
 Feel about the loneliness.
Far rivers float your immortal boat;
Cold stars go with the envoy carriage.
When you pass the Dalei shore,
Send just a few lines—please remember.
無事烏程縣, 蹉跎歲月餘. 不知芸閣吏, 寂寞意何如.
遠水浮仙棹, 寒星伴使車. 因過大雷岸, 莫忘幾行書.

This is a five-syllabic regulated verse, opening with the poet’s situation

since parting: she has been idle more than a year in Wucheng. Her
boring life implies her loneliness and longing for company and friendship.
The next couplet smoothly turns to her friend, imagining that he is feeling
lonely as well. Although this couplet is not parallel as a proper regulated
verse should be, the corresponding feelings and fluid narration between
the two couplets make it expressive. In the third couplet, the poet
envisages her friend’s trip as an envoy, the reason that caused their long-
term parting. The couplet uses two allusions: the first is to the legend of
someone living by the sea, who sees a floating raft coming and going
between the sea and Heaven’s River (the Milky Way) every year in
August; the second is to the Han dynasty record that Li He 李郃 observed
two envoy stars in the heaven moving toward Sichuan and predicted that
two envoys of the emperor were coming.52 These are thus quite suitable
allusions for illustrating the envoy of her friend. But even without
knowledge of the allusions, the well-matched antithetical images in the
two lines—rivers and stars, low and high dimensions, boat and carriage
—construct a meaningful, three-dimensional scene describing her
friend’s toilsome voyage and implying her deep concern for him. The
closing couplet again uses a very appropriate allusion for their “brother–
sister” relationship: like the famous Southern dynasty poet Bao Zhao 鮑
照 (ca. 415–470), who wrote his sister a letter when passing by the Dalei
shore on a trip,53 her friend/“elder brother” should not forget to write to her
as well. This poem thus embodies deep feelings in a graceful yet natural
narration and description, and later critics have especially praised her
skillful use of allusions.
At a time when she was sick in Wucheng, Li Jilan again wrote to Li
Shu seeking consolation, as we see in her poem titled “Xizhong wobing ji
[one character missing] jiaoshu xiong” 溪中臥病寄 [闕一字] 校書兄 (Sent
to the Editor, My Elder Brother, When I am Sick by the Streams).54
Though we do not know whether Li Shu offered her the consolation she
needed, she seems to have been comforted by another friend, Lu Yu 陸
羽 (b. 733), as we see in her poem, “Hushang wobing xi Lu Hongjian zhi”
湖上臥病喜陸鴻漸至 (Lying in Sickness by Taihu, I am Glad Lu Hongjian
Arrives).55 Lu Yu, courtesy name Hongjian, was another famous literatus
who moved to Huzhou in 756 and lived there quite a long time. He has
traditionally been credited with the first book in the world about tea, the
Chajing 茶經 (Classic of Tea). He also had a very close friendship with
Jiaoran, the monk-poet,56 whom Li Jilan likely knew, because they lived in
Huzhou at the same period and shared many friends. A poem attributed
to Jiaoran, titled “Zeng Li Jilan” 贈李季蘭 (Present to Li Jilan),57 implies in
a teasing tone that Li flirted with the monk but was politely declined.
Because this poem does not appear in Jiaoran’s collected works,
however, its authenticity remains uncertain.
Li Jilan did, however, have an intimate relationship with Yan Shihe 閻
士和 (fl. 756–779), courtesy name Bojun 伯均 and number twenty-six in
the Yan generational rank. Yan was a student of the famous scholar and
writer Xiao Yingshi 蕭穎士 (Liu Moran’s grandfather) and was also closely
related to several official-literati. Like many literati who fled the north
when the An Lushan Rebellion erupted, Yan Shihe wandered in the lower
Yangzi River region during the reigns of emperors Suzong and Daizong.
He composed linked verses and exchanged poems with Jiaoran, Lu Yu,
and other poets in Huzhou, around 764.58 The love affair between Li Jilan
and Yan Shihe must have occurred around that time.
This is reflected in Li Jilan’s poem “Song Yan ershiliu hu Shanxian” 送
閻二十六赴剡縣 (Seeing Off Yan the Twenty-Sixth as He Sets Out for
Shan District):

Beyond the Chang gate, the river runs;

Another sunset, your lonely boat goes.
Feelings of parting are like fragrant grasses
Growing lushly everywhere.
I dream of you passing by the Wu gardens,
But you’ve already reached the Shan streams.
When you come back, do visit again;
 Don’t get lost like young Ruan.
流水閶門外, 孤舟日復西. 離情遍芳草, 無處不萋萋.
妾夢經吳苑, 君行到剡溪. 歸來重相訪, 莫學阮郎迷.

This poem expresses the poet’s reluctance at parting by envisioning

Yan’s journey ahead. The Shan district was in Yuezhou 越州 (present-
day Shanzhou in Zhejiang), and the Chang gate was in Suzhou. This
five-syllabic regulated poem, the poetic genre Li Jilan used most skillfully,
again deliberately leaves the second couplet not quite parallel, to allow
the strong feelings of parting to run fluidly through the first two couplets.
In the antithetical third couplet, the poet calls herself qie 妾, a humble
name for “wife,” and calls Yan jun 君, a respectful name for “husband.”
These forms of address reveal their intimate relationship, and the image
of pursuing her lover in dreams is sincere and touching. The last couplet
refers to the legend of Ruan Zhao 阮肇 and his immortal wife. Ruan led a
happy life in the immortal realm and did not return to his home until seven
generations had passed.59 Here, the poet again speaks as a “wife,”
exhorting Yan to come home and reunite with her.
In about 766, Yan Shihe was appointed administrative assistant of
Jiangzhou (Jiangzhou panguan 江州判官; present-day Jiujiang in
Jiangxi).60 Li Jilan again sent him off brokenheartedly, as we see in her
poem titled “Song Yan Bojun wang Jiangzhou” 送閻伯均往江州 (Seeing
off Yan Bojun to Jiangzhou).61 Jiangzhou was far from Huzhou, and Yan
was on official duty, which prevented him from leaving of his own accord.
After their parting, Li Jilan suffered a painful period of longing. In her
seven-syllabic quatrain “De Yan Bojun shu” 得閻伯均書 (Receiving a
Letter from Yan Bojun), we read:

Affections stirred, before the mirror,

too listless even to comb my hair.
Desolate evening rain,
trees autumnal in the courtyard.
No need to wonder about my tears
running down in streams.
It’s just that I am overexcited to see
the silver-hook of your brush strokes.
 情來對鏡懶梳頭, 暮雨蕭蕭庭樹秋. 莫怪闌幹垂玉筯, 只緣惆悵對銀鉤.

The poet has been waiting for news from her lover for a long time. Her
affections and sorrows are deepened by the desolate autumn scene.
When the letter from her lover finally comes, she cannot help but cry with
mixed emotions of excitement and melancholy.
Li Jilan also composed a third love poem concerning Yan Shihe,
“Dengshan wang Yan zi buzhi” 登山望閻子不至 (Climbing the Mountain to
Gaze Far After Master Yan, Who Never Comes):

I climb the mountain to gaze far off;

Mountains are high, lakes are wide.
I long for you day and night;
I wait for you year after year.
Mountain forests grow dense;
Wild flowers flourish always.
Of my boundless affections since parting
I will tell when we meet again.
望遠試登山, 山髙湖又闊. 相思無曉夕, 相望經年月.
鬱鬱山木榮, 綿綿野花發. 別後無限情, 相逢一時說.

This is a five-syllabic, old-style verse, which does not require antithesis,

though the third couplet is semantically parallel. With this style, the poet
naturally and fluently expresses her feelings during the long separation.
The first half plays on space and time. It starts with her lament on the
vast distance that separates her from her lover: she climbs a high
mountain to gaze afar for her lover but finds only higher mountains and
wider lakes separating them. The poet then sighs at the long time that
delays their reunion: she longs for him in vain, day after day, year after
year; the longer she waits, the deeper her grief grows.
In the second half of the poem, the beautiful, flourishing spring scenes
imply ample meanings: symbolizing her boundless affection, adding to
her sorrow, and offering her hope for a reunion. Later, the Ming critic
Zhong Xing commented on this poem: “Other people only know she was
dissipated but do not understand her accumulated emotions. If the
accumulated emotions are profound, it is impossible not to be dissipated.
All women who have strong affections and are good at expressing their
feelings tactfully fall into dissipation.”62 To describe female writers with
strong affections as dissipated follows conventional male discourse, but
Zhong Xing still sincerely recognizes and admires Li Jilan’s genuine,
profound emotions and tactful expression.
This poem also has a variant title, “Ji Zhu Fang” 寄朱放 (Sent to Zhu
Fang).63 Zhu Fang (d. ca. 788) was a contemporary poet who was also
active in the southern region during the early postrebellion period. His
poem “Bie Li Jilan” 別李季蘭 (Parting from Li Jilan) expresses his
“brokenheartedness” (changduan 腸斷) on their parting.64 Because Tang
poets always used “brokenhearted” to describe their feelings when
separating from friends, it is uncertain whether Zhu Fang actually had a
love affair with Li Jilan.
We have two reasons, however, to assume that the title “Climbing the
Mountain to Gaze Far After Master Yan, Who Never Comes” is the
correct one. First, the poem actually describes her climbing the mountain
to gaze afar for her lover in vain. Second, since the An Lushan Rebellion,
Zhu Fang had lived in Yuezhou as a recluse, until 782, when he was
recruited for the first time as an official in the Jiangxi commissioner’s
office, while Li Jilan was summoned to court in about 783 (as we will
discuss). Yuezhou was quite close to Huzhou, and Zhu Fang had no
official duties that would prevent him from visiting Li Jilan. In fact,
according to his poems exchanged with the southern literati, he did roam
in the lower Yangzi River region from time to time.65 The vast separation
in distance and time between Li Jilan and her lover described in the
poem thus does not seem to fit Zhu Fang’s situation, but it perfectly
corresponds to that of Yan Shihe.
Finally, another love poem, “Xiangsi yuan” 相思怨 (Grievance of
Lovesickness), by Li Jilan, reads as follows:

People say the ocean is deep,

Not half as deep as my love.
The ocean has a shore;
My love is boundless.
With a zither, I climb to the high loft,
The loft is empty, filled with moonlight.
I play a melody of lovesickness,
 Breaking both strings and heart.
人道海水深, 不抵相思半. 海水尚有涯, 相思渺無畔.
攜琴上高樓, 樓虛月華滿. 彈著相思曲, 弦腸一時斷.

This five-syllabic, old-style poem is Li Jilan’s most passionate and

touching piece. In the first half, the metaphor of ocean water is an old
one, but the claim that the ocean is not as deep and far-reaching as her
love refreshes this familiar image. In the second half, the empty loft
implies her loneliness, and moonlight is a conventional image for longing.
The interweaving of moonlight, musical sounds, the high loft, and
sorrowful feelings creates a meaningful tension, and the pun on broken
strings and heart is clever and touching. The repeated word xiangsi
(love/lovesickness) also effectively conveys her boundless affection.
The extant works of Yan Shihe, Li Jilan’s lover, contain only four linked
poems, composed together with Jiaoran and other southern literati, and
no love poems to Li Jilan.66 Interestingly, however, some poems
composed by Yan’s friends in exchanges with him convey his love for Li
Jilan on his behalf. Bao He 包何 (jinshi 748), a scholar-official and close
friend of Yan Shihe, wrote a poem titled “Tong Yan Bojun su daoshi guan
youshu” 同閻伯均宿道士觀有述 (Companion Piece for Yan Bojun’s
“Feelings on Staying Overnight at a Daoist Abbey”):

The southern beauty leaves,

not to return;
The Luoyang talent needs
a matchmaker.
No mood to play the tune “White Snow”
on your pretty zither;
Cool breezes open your gauze bed tent
as dawn comes.
Tall bamboo leans
by the shutters;
Distant stars shine
over towers.
Even if she has flown to the moon
and becomes immortal,
 She will still be drifting as a cloud
in your dream.
南國佳人去不迴, 洛陽才子更須媒. 綺琴白雪無心弄, 羅幌清風到曉開.
冉冉修篁依戶牖, 迢迢列宿映樓臺. 縱令奔月成仙去, 且作行雲入夢
來.67

From the title, we know that Yan Shihe wrote a poem titled “Feelings of
Staying Overnight at a Daoist Abbey,” and then Bao He wrote this
companion piece to comment on Yan’s feelings. In the poem, the
Luoyang talent refers to Yan. It describes a night at a Daoist abbey and
uses allusions to the goddess of the moon and the goddess of Mount
Wu. In legends, the former flies to the moon and there becomes an
immortal after stealing and consuming her husband’s drug; the latter
enters the dream of the king of Chu, making love with him, and
describing herself as “drifting clouds at dawn and showers of rain at
evening.” Since Tang poets often analogized Daoist priestesses as
immortals or goddesses, the “southern beauty” is possibly a Daoist
priestess, most likely Li Jilan. Although the original poem by Yan Shihe is
unfortunately lost, we can surmise from Bao He’s companion poem that it
expressed Yan’s longing for Li Jilan.
Jiaoran, another close friend of Yan, wrote two interesting poems, “He
Yan Shihe wang chiyue daren” 和閻士和望池月答人 (Following the
Rhymes of Yan Shihe’s Poem: Watching the Moon’s Reflection on the
Pool and Replying to Someone) and “Gu libie” 古離別 (Ancient Parting).
Under the title of the second poem is an original note: “Dairen da Yan
Shihe” 代人答閻士和 (Reply to Yan Shihe: On Behalf of Someone).68 A
couplet of the first poem reads:

A crescent moon appears in the pool,

Two delicate eyebrows: I recall when I painted them.
片月忽臨池, 雙蛾憶畫時.

The second line refers to the famous story of the Han dynasty scholar-
official Zhang Chang 張敞 painting eyebrows for his wife.69 The second
poem has this couplet:
 Gazing after my beloved,
how are you now?
The moonlight ripples,
waves bright and clear.
望所思兮若何, 月蕩漾兮空波.

Obviously, the person who supposedly “replied to Yan,” and to whom Yan
was supposedly replying, was female, and again was most likely Li Jilan.
From these three poems, by a scholar-official and a Buddhist monk, we
see that the love affair between Yan Shihe and Li Jilan was not only not
criticized but also admired by their contemporaries.
It is also notable that there was a portrait of Li Jilan. According to the
Xuanhe huapu 宣和畫譜 (Catalog of Paintings Compiled During the
Xuanhe Reign Period), Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song dynasty
(r. 1100–1125) owned a portrait of Li Jilan by Zhou Wenju 周文矩, a tenth-
century palace painter in the southern kingdom of Nantang 南唐.70 This
portrait was still extant in the sixteenth century but has since been lost.71
Because Zhou Wenju lived about two centuries later than Li Jilan, this
piece was possibly based on an earlier portrait, likely by Zhou Fang 周昉,
a famous painter of the eighth century, who was reputed to have made
outstanding portraits of women. Zhou Fang was a friend of Jiaoran and
also was active in the southern region during the early postrebellion
period.72 Therefore, there is a possibility that Zhou Fang also knew Li
Jilan in person and drew the portrait of her.
Probably in the spring of 783, Li Jilan was summoned to court from
Yangzhou (present-day Yangzhou in Jiangsu), upon which she
composed a poem titled “Youchi zhuiru nei liubie Guangling guren” 有勑
追入內留別廣陵故人 (An Imperial Order Summons Me to the Inner
Convent: Left for Parting My Old Friends in Yangzhou).73 Here nei 內
(inner) should refer to “nei daochang” 內道場, the palace chapels.
Judging from her identity as a Daoist priestess, Li Jilan was likely called
upon to stay in the palace convent Yuchen. It is worth noting that, the
previous year, Li Jilan’s old friend Li Shu was summoned to court to
assume a high position as libu shilang 禮部侍郎 (vice minister of the
Ministry of Rites).74 He may thus have recommended Li Jilan to Emperor
Dezong, who happened to love poetry and appreciated talented
women.75 Because Li Jilan describes “fragrant grasses” in her parting
poem and she died in 784, the poem was likely written in the spring of
783.
In the tenth month of 783, General Zhu Ci 朱泚 (742–784) rebelled
and occupied the capital, forcing Emperor Dezong to flee.76 Li Jilan was
caught by the rebels and forced to compose a congratulatory poem. This
poem, long thought to be lost, has now been rediscovered among the
Dunhuang manuscripts.77 It alludes several times to the supersession of
the old dynasty by the new one, and therefore must have been
composed when Zhu Ci enthroned himself that same month. During the
rebellion, Li composed another poem, “Xianzei ji guren” 陷賊寄故人
(Caught by the Rebels: Sent to My Old Friends), also found in the Yaochi
ji from the Dunhuang manuscripts.78 The second half of the poem reads:

War drums rumble below city walls;

Military flags wave round the throne.
At a haste I did not get to kill myself,
Not because I cherished this humble body.
鞞鼓喧城下, 旌旗拂座隅. 蒼黃未得死, 不是惜微軀.

The rebels took the capital and occupied the throne, and the emperor
abandoned his palace women to be caught by the rebels. In a great
panic, the poet did not die for the emperor and was forced to follow the
rebels’ will. This poem explains why she composed the congratulatory
poem for the rebels, and therefore is important for our understanding of
her situation at the time of her capture.
During the seventh month of the following year, the rebellion was
crushed and the emperor returned to the capital.79 In his Fengtian lu 奉天
錄 (Records of Fengtian), the contemporary scholar Zhao Yuanyi 趙元一
says that Li Jilan presented the congratulatory poem to Zhu Ci, and that
when Emperor Dezong returned he condemned Li for her action and had
her beaten to death.80 Although we know from Li’s poem that she was
forced to write it, the emperor nonetheless cruelly ordered her execution.
Yu Jiaxi 余嘉錫 (1884–1955) commented:

During the rebellion of Zhu Ci, Emperor Dezong could not protect
 his own country and abandoned his officials and women to flee.
Now as a woman, Li Jilan was forced by the fierce rebels to
condemn the Tang dynasty. This must have happened against her
will. Emperor Dezong did not show any understanding and
sympathy but had her beaten to death. This reveals the cruelty of
feudal emperors.81

The rediscovery of her poem “Caught by the Rebels: Sent to My Old

Friends” thus verifies Yu’s assertion that Li Jilan composed the
congratulatory poem against her will.
Among Li Jilan’s extant works, only one poem illustrates her Daoist
faith. This is “Daoyi ji Cui shilang” 道意寄崔侍郎 (A Daoist Message Sent
to Vice-Minister Cui):

Don’t crave vain elusive fame,

Better to lessen your wishing for honors.
One hundred years are just one day;
The myriad things are illusory.
Sorrowful sideburns soon turn white;
Cultivate self and your face will be young.
No need to visit the Indian realms
To entrust yourself to the old Buddha.
莫漫戀浮名, 應須薄宦情. 百年齊旦暮, 萬事盡虛盈.
愁鬢行看白, 童顔學可成. 無過天竺國, 依止古先生.

The poem suggests that Vice Minister Cui is attracted by both an official
career and Buddhism, while the poet tries to convert him to Daoism
through the ideas and faith of nothingness, noncompetence, and
longevity. The word “guo” 過 in the seventh line is often translated as
“surpass,” because of which the poem has been mistakenly interpreted
as advising the vice minister to convert to Buddhism.82 However, reading
this together with the title and other lines of the poem, guo must mean
“visit” or “pass by,” as in Meng Haoran’s 孟浩然 (689–740) famous poem
“Guo guren Zhuang” 過故人莊 (Visiting the Estate of an Old Friend).
We have seen that Li Jilan played multiple roles as poet, lover, and
priestess in her life, and she was active in social occasions, contacting
and exchanging poems with male official-literati, hermits, artists, monks,
and even the emperor. To her contemporaries, such social roles and
activities were not only proper but even admirable. After reading Li’s
poetry, which included many love pieces, Emperor Dezong summoned
her to serve as a palace priestess, a high honor for a priestess. Even
after her execution by the emperor, the compilers of the Yaochi ji and
Caidiao ji in the late Tang and the Five Dynasties still recognized her
identity as a Daoist priestess.83
Gao Zhongwu, the compiler of the contemporary anthology of poetry
Zhongxing jianqi ji, chose to include six of her poems; he further
commented: “Her personality is masculine, and the themes of her poetry
are unrestrained” 形氣既雄, 詩意亦蕩.84 Liu Zhangqing, a contemporary
poet and friend, also regarded Li Jilan as “a heroic masculine poet
among women” 女中詩豪.85 In the gender discourse of the traditional
male lens, the possession of masculine features was the highest
compliment for a woman. However, as mentioned previously, from the
Song dynasty to the present time, some critics have reidentified Li Jilan
and other Tang priestesses as “licentious courtesans.” This identification
is to a large extent based on traditional gender norms that forbade
women to pursue and express their own love and emotions; it is also due
to a misunderstanding of the sociocultural context of the Tang era.86
In several poems, Li Jilan analogizes herself to a goddess or female
immortal. In her poem “Cong Xiao Shuzi ting tanqin fude Sanxia liuquan
ge” 從蕭叔子聽彈琴賦得三峽流泉歌 (Attending Xiao Shuzi to Listen to
Someone Playing the Zither: Assigned the Topic “Song of the Flowing
Streams of the Three Gorges”), the poet begins with these lines:

Once I had a home

in the mists of Mount Wu,
Where I always listened to
flowing streams—
Playing a jade zither
echoing far,
As I have heard
in past dreams.
妾家本住巫山雲, 巫山流泉常自聞. 玉琴彈出轉寥敻, 直是當時夢裏聽.
The “Song of the Flowing Streams of the Three Gorges,” a zither melody,
was attributed to Ruan Xian 阮咸 (ca. third century) of the Jin dynasty.87
Because of the legendary encounter of the goddess of Mount Wu with
the king of Chu, in the Chinese literary tradition the goddess and the
clouds and rain associated with her became symbols of sexual
intercourse. The “mists of Mount Wu” and “past dreams” in Li’s verses
refer to this legend, and the poet obviously analogizes herself with the
goddess.88 In another poem, “Ganxing” 感興 (Stirred by Emotions), Li
again says:

Morning clouds and evening rain,

I will always follow you;
Swans go and people come,
when will you be back?
朝雲暮雨鎮相隨, 去雁來人有返期.

Here “morning clouds” and “evening rain” also refer to the goddess of
Mount Wu and her erotic legend. Li Jilan thus deliberately and repeatedly
performs the role of ancient erotic goddesses in her poems, which
appears to be her way of empowering herself in pursuing love and
freedom, in accordance with the goddess cult during the Tang era.
As scholars have indicated, in male-authored love poems from the Six
Dynasties onward, the female image is often eroticized and objectified as
a desired object that is glamorously helpless and emotionally
dependent.89 Li Jilan’s love poems, however, transform the desired object
into a desiring subject. Although she too mixes sorrow with anxiety and
solitude in these poems, these feelings are no longer helpless and
dependent cries but an active, independent, and self-empowered pursuit
of her own true love and desire.
Li Jilan’s achievements in poetry are remarkable. Of her nineteen
extant poems, most are excellent pieces and have been included in
numerous traditional and modern anthologies. They have also been
translated in many English anthologies of Chinese literature. Li Jilan was
most skillful in writing five-syllabic verse, both regulated and old style,
though she also composed some excellent seven-syllabic quatrains and
songs. She translated erudite allusions into plain words and fresh
images, and her style is graceful yet without any trace of artifice.
Traditional critics, moreover, evaluated her very highly. For example, the
compilers of the Siku quanshu praised her five-syllabic regulated poems,
calling them as outstanding as those of the famous contemporary Ten
Talents of the Dali Reign Period; they also asserted that her style far
surpassed that of the courtesan-poet Xue Tao.90

The Life and Poetry of Yuan Chun

Because the transmitted literature consists of only three extant poems

and three fragmented couplets by Yuan Chun,91 she has been virtually
ignored by researchers.92 Now, however, the Dunhuang manuscripts
have given us three additional poems and two fragmented lines.93 These
three poems complete the three transmitted fragmented couplets, and we
have also discovered an epitaph that was written for her.94 We are
therefore in a much better position now to investigate her life and poetry
in greater detail.
Among the epitaphs unearthed from Luoyang (present-day Luoyang in
Henan) is one titled “Gu shangdu Zhideguan zhu nüdaoshi Yuan zunshi
muzhiwen” 故上都至德觀主女道士元尊師墓誌文 (Epitaph of the
Deceased Abbess, Daoist Priestess, and Reverend Master Yuan of the
Zhide Convent in the Supreme Capital). The Daoist name of this
reverend master Yuan was Chunyi 淳一. She came from a gentry family
in Luoyang,95 where her father was a provincial officer, and she was well
educated from a young age. Entering the Daoist order because of her
strong vocation for pursuing immortality, she was ordained in about 742,
during Emperor Xuanzong’s reign, when Daoism was especially favored.
Soon afterward she became the abbess of the Zhide convent in
Chang’an,96 remaining in this position for thirty-six years and often
practicing laboratory alchemy. She returned to Luoyang, where she died
about 779, at an age of more than sixty years.97
Similarly, we find in the poems of Yuan Chun many elements
corresponding to the epitaph. In her poem “Ji Luoyang zimei” 寄洛陽姊妹
(Sent to My Sisters in Luoyang), Yuan Chun calls Luoyang her hometown
and mentions an estate she left many years ago. She describes the
chaos caused by wars, likely referring to the An Lushan Rebellion, which
damaged both Luoyang and Chang’an. In another poem, “Qinzhong
chunwang” 秦中春望 (Spring View from the Qin Region), she describes
scenes of the imperial palaces and parks and of Mount Zhongnan, south
of Chang’an, and she expresses her joy as a Daoist priestess during “an
age of peace and prosperity,” which must refer to the prosperous
prerebellion period of Emperor Xuanzong’s reign.
Yuan Chun’s family background and life experience, as seen from
these poems—born to a wealthy, estate-owning family in Luoyang, well-
educated, serving as a Daoist priestess in Chang’an before the rebellion,
and experiencing the chaos the rebellion brought to the two capitals—
perfectly fits the information found in the epitaph of Yuan Chunyi.
Moreover, the Yaochi ji lists Yuan Chun after Li Jilan and before Lady
Zhang, indicating that, like the other two, she lived around the time of the
An Lushan Rebellion.
Therefore, we may reasonably assert that both names, Yuan Chun
and Yuan Chunyi, refer to the same person, with Chunyi being Yuan
Chun’s Daoist name or courtesy name. It is also possible, because
Daoists worship the One or Great One and therefore “yi” 一 (literally
“one”) is often added to Daoist names, that the names Chun 淳 and
Chunyi 淳一 may have been regarded as the same. For example, the
name of Yuan’s contemporary and fellow Daoist priest Lu Hong 盧鴻 has
been recorded variously as Hong 鴻 or Hongyi 鴻一 in different Tang–
Song sources.98
Fortunately, this assertion that Yuan Chun and Yuan Chunyi refer to
the same person is convincingly verified by a Dunhuang manuscript other
than those copying the works of the Yaochi ji. In P. 3216 are three poems
(the third being incomplete) attributed to the “Daoist Priestess Yuan [one
character unclear]yi” (Nüdaoshi Yuan [one character unclear]yi 女道士元
[一字不清晰] 懿); also, beside this name is a character, chun 淳, added
on the right side.99 Yan Tingliang 顏廷亮 has read the unclear character
as fa 法, Wang Ka has read it as yan 演, while Xu Jun has read it as chun
淳, possibly because the three poems correspond to Yuan Chun’s works
included in the Yaochi ji, Youxuan ji, Caidiao ji, or Quan Tangshi.100 The
unclear character, however, does not look like fa, yan, or chun, and it is
more likely that the copier wrote a wrong character and so added chun
on the right side to correct it, a kind of correction often seen in Dunhuang
manuscripts. Since yi 懿 and yi 一 are often used interchangeably in
traditional texts, this priestess’s name can also be read as Chunyi 淳一.
Thus, we know for certain that Yuan Chun and Yuan Chunyi refer to the
same priestess-poet.
Yuan Chun’s six poems demonstrate her fine command of various
poetic styles and skillful expression of sentiments. The following is one of
the poems rediscovered from Dunhuang, “Xianju ji Yang nüguan” 閑居寄
楊女冠 (Leisurely Dwelling: Sent to the Priestess Yang):

The immortal home is solitude

no news comes,
Through the screen door
facing white clouds all day.
I meditate and ponder
the perfect doctrine;
Still in the mortal realm, I am glad
away from the noisy life.
Cries of passing cranes are heard
from the blue sky;
Apricot blooms shade the turquoise terrace,
—with whom shall I speak?
I heard mountains and streams
in Wuling are lovely,
East of an azure stream—
Peach Blossom Spring!
仙府寥寥殊未傳, 白雲盡日對紗軒. 只將沉靜思真理, 且喜人間事不喧.
青冥鶴唳時聞過, 杏藹瑤臺誰與言. 聞道武陵山水好, 碧溪東去有桃源.

This seven-syllabic old-style poem describes her monastic life and

feelings. The “immortal” residence refers to her convent. The Peach
Blossom Spring first appeared as a happy utopian community in a
famous narrative by Tao Yuanming 陶淵明 (ca. 365–427), and then
became an immortal paradise in Tang poetry. Here it refers to the
convent of Yuan Chun’s fellow priestess, Yang, in Wuling 武陵. The poem
describes Yuan Chun’s peaceful and leisurely monastic life. She enjoys
practicing meditation and being away from the noise of human life but
also feels lonely and longs for friendship.
 When sending someone a verse letter, Tang poets usually expected to
receive the same in reply, and so the priestess Yang might have been a
poet as well. Yuan Chun has another poem, “Song Huo shimei [two
characters missing] you Tiantai” 送霍師妹 [闕二字]游天臺 (Sending off
Daoist Sister Huo to Visit Mount Tiantai), which is also included in the
Dunhuang Yaochi ji. These poems deserve special attention because
they display early examples of social relations, friendships, and
communications of mutual feelings through poetic exchanges between
Chinese female writers, or at least between female writers and readers.
As the abbess of a Daoist convent, Yuan Chun appears to have been
quite aware of these relatively independent communities of Daoist
sisterhood.
A seven-syllabic quatrain titled “Yuyan” 寓言 (Allegory), possibly
written during Emperor Xuanzong’s Tianbao reign period (742–756), is
quite dynamic and interesting:

Three thousand palace maidens show off

their beautiful eyebrows;
Laughing, they cook gold,
but it’s getting late.
Blocked by clouds, unable to climb
onto phoenixes,
The sun sets on a lonely mountain,
only despondency remains.
三千宮女露娥眉, 笑煮黃金日月遲. 鸞鳳隔雲攀不及, 空山惆悵夕陽時.

“Cooking gold” refers to laboratory alchemy, and “climbing onto

phoenixes” represents attaining immortality. This poem describes a
scene of many palace maidens working on alchemy in the inner palace,
perhaps reflecting Emperor Xuanzong’s obsession with immortality.101 On
the surface the poem lightly mocks the palace maidens’ despondence,
but in depth it criticizes the emperor’s fanatical pursuit. The scene
described in the poem is lively, and the quatrain is as fluent and natural
as many famous High Tang quatrains. As a Daoist priestess who
practiced alchemy herself, however, it may seem strange that Yuan Chun
would have mocked it, though perhaps she considered the emperor’s
quest unserious and excessive.
 In another poem, “Ji Luoyang zimei” 寄洛陽姊妹 (Sent to my Sisters in
Luoyang), Yuan Chun expresses her feelings toward her family during
the chaos of the rebellion:

Leaving our old estate for so long,

I yearn for the city and the river far off.
Writing letters, I rely on the feet of wild geese;
Gazing moon, I think of your beautiful eyebrows.
My hair is whiter when I grieve,
Only dreams know the heart longs home.
Who can endure such disorder?
I cover my face and sob into the southern branches.
舊業經年別, 關河萬里思. 題書慿雁足, 望月想蛾眉.
白髮愁偏覺, 鄉心夢獨知. 誰堪離亂處, 掩淚向南枝.

This five-syllabic regulated verse is sophisticated and passionate. It

opens with the poet’s homesickness, intensified by the long time and
great distance separating her from her family. The second couplet
presents a perfect antithesis. Yanzu 雁足, literally “feet of a wild goose,”
refers to the story in which Emperor Zhaodi 昭帝 of the Han dynasty (r.
87–74 BCE) received from Su Wu 蘇武 (140–60 BCE) a letter tied to a
goose’s foot.102 Emei 蛾眉, literally “long and slender eyebrows like moth
antennae,” refers to both the crescent moon and her beautiful sisters.
“Goose feet” and “moth brows” are clever parallels, with both explicit and
implicit meanings, and the couplet seamlessly merges natural scenes
with inner sentiments. The third couplet expresses her feelings more
strongly and touchingly: her sorrow makes her feel old, and her dreams
are always concerned with her home. The scene of disorder in the last
couplet refers to the An Lushan Rebellion. As both Chang’an and
Luoyang experience great chaos from war, she is deeply worried about
her sisters and cannot help but shed tears in the direction of her
hometown.103 The whole poem is masterfully structured to heat up the
poet’s homesick emotions one couplet after another, reaching its peak
with her bursting into tears in the last couplet. Its theme and artistic style
are similar to that of many poems written by contemporary male poets
who experienced the same chaos and destruction brought on by the
rebellion.
From her poems and the epitaph written for her, we thus observe that
Yuan Chun was a religious leader, a Daoist practitioner, and a talented
poet. She practiced Daoist meditation and alchemy and enjoyed a quiet
monastic life. She held deep feelings toward her fellow priestesses and
family members and was capable of expressing these feelings movingly
and skillfully in her poems. From her poems, we also see the social
relations and communications among literate women and the sisterhood
among Daoist priestesses.

The Life and Poetry of Cui Zhongrong

The Youxuan ji includes two poems by Cui Zhongrong: “Zeng suosi” 贈所

思 (Presented to My Beloved) and “Xi zeng” 戲贈 (Playfully Presented).104
The Caidiao ji also contains two poems by her, one the same as the first
of the Youxuan ji, the other titled “Zeng geji” 贈歌姬 (Presented to a
Singing Girl). The QTS collects all three poems as well as four
fragmented couplets from the Yinchuang zalu.105 Finally, the Yaochi ji
discovered from the Dunhuang manuscripts includes an incomplete
poem that, when compared with the other three texts, can be identified as
Cui Zhongrong’s “Presented to My Beloved.”106
Although we have no other early sources about Cui Zhongrong’s life,
the extant three poems and four couplets do provide clues about her
identity, life experience, and emotional world. The poem “Playfully
Presented” reads:

I’ve just arrived at Mount Kunlun,

no way back;
Young Ruan, why do you teach me
to do what’s not right?
I am wearing the registration
of the Highest Clarity now;
Please don’t let the falling flowers
soil my feather dress.
暫到昆侖未得歸, 阮郎何事教人非. 如今身佩上清籙, 莫遣落花沾羽衣.
According to legend, the Queen Mother of the West dwells on Mount
Kunlun. “Feather dress” refers to the clothing of both immortals and
Daoists in Tang poetry. The poet’s announcement of her arrival at Mount
Kunlun, with both the registration of the Highest Clarity and feathered
dress, clearly indicate that she has been ordained at a high level of the
Daoist priesthood. Young Ruan alludes to the legend of Ruan Zhao’s
encounter with his immortal wife. The “what’s not right” that the young
man teaches may refer to a love affair. The “falling flowers” alludes to the
Buddhist scriptural account of devakanyā, strewing flowers to seduce and
test bodhisattvas,107 so it too implies seduction. Although the poet says
no, superficially, the playful tone and the use of the legend of Ruan Zhao
and his immortal wife hint that she is in fact willing to accept his flirtation.
In another poem, “Presented to My Beloved,” it is Cui Zhongrong’s
turn to play the role of a seductive lover:

It’s good luck that we live near each other,

Meeting each other, but not intimate—
Like the moon hidden in clouds,
Like my reflection in the mirror.
To see you is to sorrow in vain,
Hard to be brokenhearted in spring.
I wish I were a swallow dwelling on your beams,
But have no means to transform my body.
所居幸接鄰, 相見不相親. 一似雲間月, 何殊鏡裡人.
目成空有恨, 腸斷不禁春. 願作梁間燕, 無由變此身.

This is a well-balanced, five-syllabic regulated verse. It begins with the

situation that the poet is in love with the man next door, who does not
seem to return her interest. The second couplet uses two clever
metaphors to describe their relationship: it is as uncertain as the moon
hidden in clouds and as illusory as her reflection in the mirror. The moon,
clouds, reflection, and mirror also construct a scene that mixes internal
sentiments with external objects: she is gazing at the night sky, facing the
mirror, and longing for her beloved. The third couplet further elaborates
the theme of unrequited love. Every time she sees him, she feels more
sorrowful without his love. In the beautiful springtime, without his
company, her broken heart is more unbearable. The last couplet captures
a novel and passionate image: she wishes to become a swallow in order
to dwell in the same house with him. As discussed in chapter 2 of this
book, Daoist convents during the Tang era, especially those in the capital
city Chang’an, provided rooms for officials and scholars to rent for longer
or shorter periods; thus, this next-door man likely lived in a room leased
from Cui’s convent.
Cui Zhongrong’s third poem, “Presented to a Singing Girl,” exquisitely
describes the singing girl’s attractiveness, graceful performance, and her
own inner feelings of longing. The poet expresses her appreciation of the
girl’s beauty, talent, and emotion. Possibly this singing girl was also a
poet and Cui expected to receive a verse reply from her. If so, as in Yuan
Chun’s case, we again encounter early poetic exchanges and social
relations between female writers, or at least between a female writer and
her reader.
Cui Zhong’s extant four fragmented couplets are again almost all love
poems. One couplet, from the poem titled “Ji zeng” 寄贈 (Sent and
Presented to Someone), reads:

My heart with yours enjoined,

As shadow follows shape.
妾心合君心, 一似影隨形.

Another couplet, from the poem titled “Chunyuan” 春怨 (Spring

Resentment), reads:

Swallows on the beam

regretting nothing,
Nestle in pairs this moment,
and mutter to each other.
梁燕無情困, 雙棲語此時.

In the first couplet, like Li Jilan, Cui Zhongrong calls herself qie, the
humble name for “wife,” and calls the man jun, the respectful name for
“husband,” indicating her intimate relationship with him. In the second
couplet, the paired, happy swallows serve as an opposite foil for the
poet’s lonely, sorrowful feelings.
 From this analysis, we can conclude that Cui Zhongrong was a Daoist
priestess, a talented poet, and a lover full of tender emotions. Given her
position after Li Jilan, Yuan Chun, and Lady Zhang in the Yaochi ji, she
was likely their younger contemporary.

Concluding Remarks

The rediscovery of the fragments of the Yaochi ji and other Dunhuang

manuscripts has enabled us to undertake a more comprehensive study of
the three Daoist priestess-poets than was previously possible. Both Li
Jilan and Cui Zhongrong were passionate lovers, and their poems were
concerned mainly with their experience of love. Yuan Chun was a
religious leader and practitioner, yet her works express her deep feelings
toward her fellow priestesses and family members. All three poets
sincerely and directly articulated their sentiments of love, desire, joy, and
sorrow, without imitating the voice of male poets or the conventional
“women’s voice” constructed by male poets, as many other female poets
did. Their poetry started to transform a woman’s image from a desired
object into a desiring subject. They mastered various kinds of poetic
forms, and their styles were usually natural, passionate, and moving.
Against the complicated religious and socio-historical context of the
Tang dynasty, the love poems of these priestesses were accepted and
admired by their contemporaries, including officials, literati, monks, poetry
critics, and even the emperor. Gao Zhongwu’s selection of Li Jilan’s
poems for his Zhongxing jianqi ji boasted of their prestige. Following
Gao’s example, Cai Xingfeng placed the three priestesses at the
beginning of his anthology of Tang women’s poetry and compared these
poets with the most talented women in history.
Whereas Li Jilan exchanged poems mainly with male writers, Yuan
Chun addressed two of her poems to her fellow priestesses and one to
her sisters, and Cui Zhongrong directed one poem to a singing girl. Other
poets included in the Yaochi ji also composed poems exchanged
between female writers or between female writers and readers. Lady
Zhang’s poem “Shide Wei shi huadian yishi jizeng” 拾得韋氏花鈿以詩寄
贈 (I Picked up Madam Wei’s Hair Ornament and Sent It to Her along
with a Poem) demonstrates a relationship between wives from elite
families.108 Xue Yun’s 薛蘊 poem “Zeng Zheng nülang” 贈鄭女郎
(Presented to Gentlewoman Zheng) possibly shows a friendship between
young girls.109 Chang Hao’s 常浩 poem “Zeng Lu furen” 贈盧夫人
(Presented to Lady Lu) strikingly displays a relationship between a
courtesan and a wife from an elite family.110 Following the anthology, we
have actual poetic exchanges between Yu Xuanji and three young sisters
named Guang 光, Wei 威, and Pou 裒, who had their own linked poem,
showing literary activities within their little circle.111 Yu Xuanji also wrote
four more poems for fellow priestesses or for courtesans.112 Except for
one or two poems by female poets of the Southern Liang dynasty,113
these are the earliest poems exchanged between female writers or
between female writers and readers, representing women’s friendship
encompassing a familial scope and expressing their feelings toward one
another.
Dorothy Ko has described the frequent poetic exchanges, the close
relationships between women writers, and various kinds of women’s
communities during the seventeenth century as the emergence of
women’s culture.114 In her discussion of medieval Chinese women’s
literature, Maureen Robertson had already raised the issue of the
possible existence of a women’s literary culture, but the lack of adequate
archival sources for women’s writing then put her in doubt about this.115
The rediscovery of the extant parts of the Yaochi ji, however, has now
substantially increased our archive of medieval women’s writing, and if
we consider the women’s societies active from 538 to 991 in northern
China, fifteen of which are documented,116 it is possible that the
development of Chinese women’s culture might have had a much earlier
beginning and have been much more robust than we have thought.
Because many Tang Daoist priestesses were well-educated and
talented writers, and usually lived a communal life in Daoist convents,
they may to a large degree be credited with this beginning of a women’s
culture. Daoist priestesses were referred to as “immortals” or
“goddesses” by the Tang people, and the anthology devoted to priestess-
poets and other female poets was titled New Poetry from the Turquoise
Pond, the pond of the greatest goddess, Queen Mother of the West, who
was in charge of all the goddesses and female immortals. This title
already implies an acknowledgment of the priestess-poets’ achievements
and social status.
 CHAPTER VII

Unsold Peony
The Life and Poetry of the Priestess-Poet Yu Xuanji

T
he Daoist priestess-poet Yu Xuanji 魚玄機 (ca. 843–868) led a
short but dramatic life. She amazingly assumed many roles: city
girl from a commoner family, concubine of an official-literatus,
traveler, lover, poet, priestess, and “semigoddess/immortal.” She was put
to death after being accused of murder and was posthumously branded a
“courtesan.” Since her demise, her life has been dramatized in narrative
texts and in the performing arts.1 She appears in a modern short story by
Mori Ōgai 森鷗外 (1862–1922), Robert van Gulik (1910–1967) made her
a character in a detective novel, the Shaw Brothers’ Film Studio in Hong
Kong produced a movie about her, and she is also a protagonist in a
television series.2 Recently, more literary works have grown out of her
poetry and story.3
Fifty poems and five fragmented couplets written by Yu Xuanji remain
extant, which makes her one of the first women writers in Chinese literary
history to transmit a relatively large number of works.4 As a result, she
has been the focus of much critical attention and scholastic research,
from the time of her contemporaries to the present day. Although Tang
people identified her as a Daoist priestess, and many later critics greatly
appreciated her poetic achievements, from the time of the early Song
dynasty to the Qing dynasty, some scholars redefined her as a courtesan
and criticized her love poems for licentiousness.5 Among modern
scholars’ studies of Yu, Jan W. Walls’s unpublished dissertation presents
a quite comprehensive study of her life and poetry. Walls collected ample
primary data to create a “composite biography” of Yu and translated,
annotated, and critiqued all of Yu’s poems.6 Walls’s work is preliminary,
and there are many problems with his “composite biography” and
interpretations; still, it contains some insightful points, represented in a
later article he wrote.7 Chen Wenhua carefully collated and annotated all
of Yu Xuanji’s poems, which has since become an indispensable text.8
The solid philological research of Liang Chaoran 梁超然 contributed
much to the reconstruction of Yu’s life experience, which will be
integrated into my reconstruction of her biography.9 In a pioneering study
of Ming–Qing women poets, Maureen Robertson briefly examined Tang
women poets and acknowledges their achievements.10 Two recent
anthologies of Chinese women writers include fine translations of
selected poems by Yu.11 Jowen R. Tung has conducted a feminist
reading of some poems by Yu.12 In her articles on Yu’s poetry, Suzanne
Cahill tries to read her poetry from the perspectives of religious studies
and material culture.13 Scholars have also produced other articles and
degree theses on Yu and her poetry, but many of these works either lack
analytic sophistication or connect Yu’s identity with that of a courtesan.14
With this chapter, I seek to advance recent and ongoing efforts to
clarify and recover information about this important poet and her works.
Taking a multifold approach—biographical, philological, literary, and
gender studies—to investigate Yu’s life and poetry, I present for the first
time a relatively complete biographical chronicle of Yu’s life and then use
this chronicle to conduct both literary and gender readings of her poetry. I
will examine her emotional journey, her feelings of self-esteem and
gender awareness, and her transformation of Chinese women’s voices
and images. All these critical investigations will reveal the true identity
and poetic achievements of this important priestess-poet.

Toward a Biography of Yu Xuanji

Regarding Yu Xuanji’s life, there are two tenth-century narratives from

Sanshui xiaodu 三水小牘 (Lesser Documents from the Three Rivers) by
Huangfu Mei 皇甫枚 (fl. 871–910),15 and Beimeng suoyan 北夢瑣言
(Trifling Talks from the North of the Yunmeng Marsh) by Sun Guangxian
孫光憲.16 Huangfu Mei was Yu’s contemporary and lived in the Lanling
ward 蘭陵坊, which was very close to the Xianyi convent 咸宜觀 where
Yu stayed while in the capital Chang’an around the same time.17
Therefore, his narration of Yu Xuanji’s life should be quite credible.
Unfortunately, he devoted about three-quarters of his space to describing
the story of Yu’s tragic death in exaggerated detail, recording only basic
information about her names, family background, talents, and ordination.
Sun Guangxian died in 968, about one century later, but he was a serious
scholar, and his narrative about Yu may have been based on earlier
records. However, his narrative also provides only a few sentences about
Yu’s names, talents, marriage, ordination, and tragic death.
Both narratives have been translated and used by scholars to study
Yu’s life,18 but because of their limited length and content, these
narratives offer a far from comprehensive biography. In addition to these
two narratives, then, I use Yu Xuanji’s own poems and sources related to
the official-literati who were her male associates, as well as relevant
records of historical events, to reconstruct her biography.

From City Girl to Concubine

Huangfu’s Sanshui xiaodu tells us that Yu Xuanji’s courtesy name was

Yaowei 幼微,19 while Beimeng suoyan records it as Huilan 蕙蘭. No
scholar has tried to dispel the confusion caused by these different
records, but a careful philological analysis solves this problem. Literally,
“Xuanji” means “abstruse and mysterious ingenuity,” “Yaowei” means
“deep and subtle,” and “Huilan” means “orchid.”20 The first two names are
steeped in Daoist meanings and semantically correspond with one
another, in accordance with the principle of Chinese naming, while Huilan
was simply a popular name for girls. As the daughter of a commoner
family, Yu was unlikely to have been given a name with Daoist implication
and a corresponding courtesy name. During the Tang dynasty, when
someone was ordained as a priest or priestess, he or she would be given
a Daoist name and possibly a corresponding courtesy name.21 Therefore,
a reasonable assumption is that Huilan was possibly Yu’s original name,
Xuanji her new name when she was ordained as a Daoist priestess, and
Yaowei her courtesy name in correspondence with Xuanji.
Sanshui xiaodu states that Yu Xuanji was a “lijia nü” 里家女 from
Chang’an. Li refers to city wards (blocks) and streets, and lijia nü literally
means “the daughter of a family from the streets,” that is, the daughter of
a commoner family. The term “lijia nü” appears in Yu’s record in Sanshui
xiaodu as it was incorporated in the tenth century anthology Taiping
guangji, and also appears in several later citations of Sanshui xiaodu.22
However, a version of Sanshui xiaodu reprinted in the nineteenth century
changed the term to “changjia nü” 倡家女,23 meaning “a woman from a
brothel.” This later emendation is not supported by any evidence from
earlier editions and was likely made by someone with a bias against Yu
Xuanji. However, it has led some scholars to mistakenly identify Yu as a
courtesan.24
Moreover, some scholars freely interpret li as “Beili” 北里 (North
Ward), which referred to Pingkang ward 平康里, the pleasure district in
Chang’an, or as pertaining to similar pleasure districts.25 However, li did
not necessarily refer to Beili or other pleasure districts, and Tang people
never used lijia nü to refer to women from these districts. In fact, words
such as qili 戚里 and qili nü 戚里女 referred to the district in which
imperial relatives lived and to women from imperial or aristocrat
families.26 Lijia nü and the similar word lifu 里婦 were used to denote girls
and women of commoner background. For example, the Queshi 闕史
(Missing History), dated 884, records, “[Du Mu] then saw a common
woman bringing along a young girl on the winding river bank” [杜牧] 俄于
曲岸見里婦攜幼女.27 In addition, because courtesans lived in only three
lanes within the Pingkang ward, qu 曲 (lane), instead of li, was commonly
used in reference to them. They were referred to as being “in the lane”
(quzhong 曲中) and as “courtesans of the lane” (quzhong zhuji 曲中諸妓).
When a courtesan entered the pleasure district, she was said to be
“going into the lane” (ruqu 入曲), and when a courtesan was redeemed,
she was “leaving the lane” (chuqu 出曲).28
According to Sanshui xiaodu, Yu Xuanji’s “beautiful appearance could
overthrow a state” 色既傾國; she was also very intelligent, well educated,
and especially talented in poetry. Beimeng suoyan records that Yu Xuanji
was married to Li Yi 李億 as his concubine during the Xiantong reign
(860–873).29 Li Yi passed the imperial examination as principal scholar
(zhuangyuan 狀元) in 858.30 Both his great success in the examination
and his surname Li suggest that he likely came from a great family.31 It
was hence impossible for Li to make Yu, a commoner, his wife, despite
her beauty and talent. As many scholars have indicated, throughout the
Tang dynasty, the expectation of marriages between families of equal
social status, and especially between the great families, was very strong.
From the mid-Tang onward, great families also tended to marry their
daughters to successful examination graduates.32 Considering Li’s
possible family background and success in the examination, many great
clans would have been eager to have their daughters marry him. On the
other hand, as Tang law clearly codified: “One’s concubine must be
married from a good family” 妾者, 娶良人為之.33 Therefore, it would have
been essentially impossible for Li to marry a courtesan as his concubine,
though there appear to have been some rare exceptions during the Tang
era. This also corroborates that Yu was not a courtesan before she
married Li Yi.
The most likely opportunity that Li had to meet Yu came during his
stay in the capital, between 857 and 858, when he was preparing for the
examination (each year the selected scholars were sent to the capital in
autumn and took the examination in the coming spring),34 or perhaps a
few years earlier, if he took the examination more than once. It is possible
that Li Yi happened to live near Yu’s home. Yuan dynasty scholar Xin
Wenfang 辛文房 wrote that Yu became Li’s concubine at the age of
fifteen.35 If Yu was about that age in 857, she would have been born
around 843.

Sojourn in Hubei and Shanxi

Yu Xuanji composed a number of poems describing her sojourns in

Hubei 湖北 and Shanxi 山西, and scholars have agreed that during
certain points of her life, Yu did take these two trips.36 By thoroughly
examining the relevant poems and historical records, I offer here possible
dates for and descriptions of these trips. From about 858 to 862, Yu
Xuanji traveled to and lived in Hubei, where Li Yi took a local position,
possibly in the commissioner’s office, and where Yu and Li lived
separately but met from time to time. Then, from 863 to 866, the couple
lived together in Shanxi and Li took a local post in the office of
Commissioner Liu Tong 劉潼.
 Yu Xuanji wrote more than ten poems related to her first trip. She
described how she took a boat and traveled along the Yangzi River in
springtime, passed by many historical sites in Hubei, such as Shicheng
石城 in Zhongxiang district 鐘祥縣; the tomb of Qu Yuan 屈原, the great
Chu poet of the Warring States period; and Baixue lou 白雪樓 in Anlu
district 安陸縣.37 She further related that, during her stay in Hubei, she
lived separately from Li Yi, first on opposite sides of the Han River 漢水
and then in Jiangling district 江陵縣, but that the couple also met
periodically.38 During this period, Yu wrote several poems to express her
painful feelings of parting and separation after happy meetings with Li
and her strong longings for future reunion. Yu’s stay in Hubei likely
occurred between 858 and 862, since by 863 the couple were already in
Shanxi. Li Yi possibly took up an appointment as a local official in Hubei
after he passed the examination in 858, as it was common for Tang
graduates to serve in provincial government first, especially in the
powerful commissioner’s office. Yu and Li most likely lived apart—an
unusual arrangement—because Li lived with his wife, who could not
accept Yu staying with them.
From 863 to 866, Yu and Li lived together in Taiyuan 太原 (in present-
day Shanxi), where Li served as an official in the office of Liu Tong, the
local military commissioner.39 In a poem sent to Liu Tong, Yu recalls her
participation at his banquets, extols his governance in Shanxi, and
expresses her gratitude for his sponsorship of her husband.40 In a later
poem, Yu says that “the Jin River and Hu Pass are still in my dreams” 晉
水壺關在夢中.41 Both the Jin River and Hu Pass are located in Shanxi. In
another poem, written later,42 Yu Xuanji welcomes an old friend from
Shanxi and again recalls her happy life there: she and her husband,
along with their friends who were possibly colleagues in Liu Tong’s office,
recited poems, rode horses, enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery, and
indulged in joyous gatherings. She even had the opportunity to watch an
exciting polo match played by soldiers.43 Obviously, this time Yu and Li Yi
did not have to live apart, perhaps because Li’s wife did not accompany
her husband on local service and stayed in the capital or Li’s hometown
with his folk, as was often seen in the Tang era.

Life as a Daoist Priestess

Unfortunately, this happy life did not last long. In the third month of the
year 866, Liu Tong was reassigned from Taiyuan to Chengdu 成都 (in
present-day Sichuan).44 At about the same time, Li Yi and Yu Xuanji
returned to the capital, where Li took an important position as rectifier of
omissions at the central court.45 He soon abandoned Yu, and shortly
afterward she was ordained as a Daoist priestess in the Xianyi convent in
the capital.46 According to Beimeng suoyan, the reason Li abandoned Yu
was that Li’s love for her had faded. However, Xin Wenfang speculated
that it was the jealousy of Li’s wife.47 Xin’s speculation is supported by
two pieces of evidence. First, after she was abandoned, Yu still wrote at
least one love verse–letter to Li, titled “Qingshu ji Li Zi’an buque” 情書寄
李子安補闕 (Love Letter Sent to Rectifier of Omissions Li Zi’an). Second,
the Xianyi convent was originally the convent of Princess Xianyi, the
twenty-eighth daughter of Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712–756), who was
ordained in 762.48 When the female members of official families in the
capital were ordained as Daoist priestesses, they usually chose to stay at
this convent.49 Without Li Yi as her sponsor, it is unlikely that Yu would
have entered such an “aristocratic” convent.
We have two reasons for speculating that Yu made her own choice to
enter the Daoist order after being abandoned by Li Yi. First, Daoist
concepts and practices appear to have comforted her broken heart. In
her poem “Chousi” 愁思 (Sorrowful Thoughts),50 possibly written around
866–867, the poet tries to comfort herself with music and Daoist
scriptures, practices, and the goal of immortality. Two poems, titled “Xiari
shanju” 夏日山居 (Dwelling on the Mountains in Summer) and “Ti
Yinwuting” 題隱霧亭 (Inscribed upon the Lost-in-Mist Pavilion), describe
her free, easy, and aesthetic life in the mountains during summer
retreats.51 These poems present a very positive vision of the reclusive
Daoist life, suggesting that it was a time of contentment for her.52
A second possible reason for Yu Xuanji’s choice was that during the
Tang dynasty, a Daoist priestess could assume a public role, and Yu was
aware of the freedom this role would allow. As was discussed in chapter
1 of this book, the particular cultural-religious and socioeconomic
environment of the Tang era, and the Daoist priestesses’ negotiations
with it, facilitated their socially active roles as religious practitioners,
poets, and artists; the Daoist sexual practice, the cult of goddess, and the
romantic atmosphere legitimized the love and sexual experiences of
priestesses and helped to shape new gender relations between them and
the priests or official-literati. Yu Xuanji seems to have been aware of her
freedom as a priestess and “semigoddess” and of the new gender
relations facilitated by these roles, which allowed her to actively pursue
her love and desire. Her love affairs with several literati during her two-
year stay at the Xianyi convent (866–868) should be understood in this
context of new gender relations, role performance, and motivated self-
awareness.
In a poem presented to Vice Director Li Jinren 李近仁 (fl. 860–873),53
Yu Xuanji refers to the popular legend of the Cowherd and the Weaving
Maid, the astral god and goddess who are lovers separated by the Milky
Way and only meet once a year. Such a reference suggests that Li Jinren
was her lover.54 Since Li was director of the Bureau of Sacrifices in about
870, he should have been vice director a few years earlier, corresponding
with Yu’s stay in the Xianyi convent. In another poem, responding to a
literatus who lived next door,55 Yu again uses the Cowherd and Weaving
Maid legend, along with two more love stories: that of a wife on a high
mountain who gazed afar at her husband for a long time, eventually
turning into a stone statue,56 and that of the goddesses of the Xiao and
Xiang rivers, who wept for their husband, the ancient sage-king Shun.57
In her poem, Yu Xuanji not only openly expresses her feelings toward the
neighboring literatus but also performs the role of a seductive “goddess”
in asking for a rendezvous.
The famous poet Li Ying 李郢 (jinshi 856) served as a censor at the
central court around the time Yu stayed at the Xianyi convent.58 In her
two poems exchanged with Li,59 Yu Xuanji applies the legend of Ruan
Zhao’s 阮肇 encounter with his immortal wife60 and thus analogizes
herself as a seductive female immortal, though Li does not seem to have
responded to this invitation. Although Yu Xuanji actively takes the
initiative in pursuing her love and desires in these poems, it should be
noted that they do not include any pornographic or licentious content, as
some biased scholars have implied.
During these two years, Yu Xuanji also exchanged poems with
another famous contemporary poet, Wen Tingyun 温庭筠 (ca. 801–866).
Wen was instructor of the Directorate of Education in 866, which also
corresponds with the time of Yu’s stay at the Xianyi convent.61 He was a
friend of Li Yi,62 and Yu might have known him through her former
spouse. Later legend linked Yu and Wen as a couple,63 and some
modern scholars also surmise the two had a love affair; but her two
poems to Wen reflect only friendship, and there is no early record of an
affair between the two.64 Wen was more than forty years Yu’s senior and
was famous for his extremely ugly appearance.65 According to Yu’s love
poems, she appears to have been attracted to young, handsome, and
talented literary men, so it is more likely that the two were just friends.
Unfortunately, Yu Xuanji only assumed her new role as a Daoist
priestess for about two years, for her young life was already heading
toward its tragic end. According to Sanshui xiaodu and Beimeng suoyan,
in the first month of 868, she suspected her maid Lüqiao 綠翹 of stealing
her lover, who had paid a visit while Yu was out. Yu beat the maid to
death in a fit of wrath. She was sent to prison, and even though many
court officials pleaded for mercy, she was executed in the autumn of that
year by Metropolitan Governor Wen Zhang 溫璋 (d. 870).66 Although
some modern scholars have tried to defend Yu Xuanji by suggesting that
the accusation was false or that the story was apocryphal,67 their
arguments are not supported by any early sources. On the other hand,
since Sanshui xiaodu states that “[Xuan]ji was horrified” ([Xuan]ji kong
[玄]機恐) when she found out the maid was dead, it is likely that she
intended to punish the maid sternly but instead killed her accidentally.
During the Tang era, it was not rare for masters/owners to kill their
maids, and the killers were not always executed. For example, the official
Fang Rufu 房孺復 (756–797) killed his wife’s nanny, and his wife killed
two maids, but Fang was only punished with demotion and his wife with
forced divorce.68 Other officials and their wives who killed their maids and
concubines were punished not by the law but by the ghosts of their
victims, according to hearsay stories.69 These instances show the
tolerance of Tang law for the killing of maids and slaves by members of
the elite class, whereas Yu Xuanji’s immediate execution indicates that
the social status of a Daoist priestess was still very limited and that her
freedom and privilege should not be exaggerated.
In summary, by drawing upon all available sources, I offer here for the
first time reasonable dates for the major events in Yu’s life (see table
7.1). Among these events, Li Yi’s passing of the imperial examination in
858, his service in Liu Tong’s office in 863–866, and Yu’s death in 868 are
supported by historical records. Yu’s experience as a Daoist priestess in
Chang’an (866–868) is then reasonable, because there were only two
years left before her death. This is supported by the evidence of Yu’s own
poems and by the official titles and experiences of the three male
associates mentioned in her poems: Li Jinren, Li Ying, and Wen Tingyun.
The dating of Li and Yu’s sojourn in Hubei (858–862) not only is
supported by Yu’s own poems and the possibility that Tang literati usually
took provincial service after passing the imperial examination but also is
inevitable, because this period is the only interval left in Yu’s little
chronicle.

TABLE 7.1
Yu Xuanji’s Biographical Chronicle
Date Age (sui) Events
ca. 1 Yu Xuanji is born into a commoner family in Chang’an.
843
ca. 15 Li Yi is in Chang’an preparing for the imperial examination;
857 Yu meets Li and is married to him as a concubine.
858– 16–20 Li Yi passes the examination as the principal scholar in
862 858 and then possibly takes a local position in Hubei; Yu
travels to Hubei and lives separately from Li but meets
him from time to time.
863– 21–24 Li Yi serves in Liu Tong’s commissioner’s office in Shanxi,
Third where Yu lives with him.
month
of 866
Fourth 24 Li Yi returns to Chang’an and abandons Yu; Yu is
month ordained as a Daoist priestess and lives in the Xianyi
of 866 convent.
868 26 Yu accidently kills her maid Lüqiao in a rage and is
executed in the autumn.

This biographical chronicle reveals that although Yu Xuanji assumed

various roles during her life, she was never a courtesan; she was first a
concubine and then a Daoist priestess. This chronicle also unfolds her
journey of self-fashioning and therefore is crucial for understanding her
poetry, especially her love poems, and her subjective experience
expressed in these works, which will be discussed in the next sections.

Love and Passion: A Desiring Subject

Yu Xuanji’s love poems were mostly written during her sojourn in Hubei
and addressed to her husband, Li Yi. These poems express her strong,
passionate love toward Li and present an actively desiring subject and
the genuine voice of a woman’s loving experience.

Recoding Zhuangzi’s Butterfly

Yu Xuanji was apt at embodying her feelings and emotions within

images, metaphors, symbols, and allusions, such as the butterfly in the
two poems titled “Jiangxing ershou” 江行二首 (Two Poems of Yangzi
Travels), which she composed on her boat trip to Hubei.

The great river’s bend embraces Wuchang,

Ten thousand households face Parrot Isle.
On the painted boat, a spring sleep past dawn:
In a dream, I’m the butterfly looking for flowers.
大江橫抱武昌斜, 鸚鵡洲前萬戶家. 畫舸春眠朝未足, 夢為蝴蝶也尋花.
2

Misty flowers already stretch into Cormorant Bay,

On the painted boat I yet write on Parrot Isle.
Sleeping when drunk, chanting when sober,
aware of nothing,
But startled to find myself this morning
at the Han River’s mouth.
煙花巳入鸕鷀港, 畫舸猶題鸚鵡洲. 醉臥醒吟都不覺, 今朝驚在漢江頭.

After a grand opening, with the Yangzi River bending and embracing the
prosperous city, the poet turns to a little creature, renewing the famous
butterfly image and metaphor from the philosophical classic Zhuangzi. In
the Zhuangzi, Zhuang Zhou 莊周 dreams of becoming a butterfly, and
when he wakes up he is confused about whether he is a butterfly or a
man.70
Yu Xuanji’s dream of becoming a butterfly seeking flowers offers an
innovative twist on this old image/metaphor. In Chinese literary tradition,
the butterfly is also an image for lovers, while the conventional image of
“seeking flowers” has erotic overtones, usually referring to a male
seeking girls or visiting brothels. By referring to herself, Yu Xuanji
reverses the gender of the “butterfly” and treats her husband as a
“flower.” This gender reversal implies not only her own strong desire to
pursue love but also her feeling of freedom in seeking love like a man,
which, together with her travel experience, liberates her from confinement
in space and promotes her imitation of male literati manners along the
journey—drinking wine, appreciating landscapes and historical sites, and
reciting and composing poems.
The majority of Tang women, married or unmarried, were confined to
their homes and residential places. In her role as a provincial official’s
concubine, however, Yu gains the freedom to travel from the capital to
the south, on equal footing with a man. She is excited when passing by
the famous historical sites she has learned about from her extensive
reading, and she is joyful with the anticipation of soon meeting her
husband.
The authors of the Zhuangzi use the dream to question the nature and
meaning of existence, a question appearing abstruse yet perplexed. Yu
Xuanji’s dream answers this question positively: life is meaningful and the
dream is beautiful, an answer appearing shallow yet vital. The perplexed,
philosophical butterfly from the Zhuangzi transforms into a joyful, free,
and erotic creature, and the dreamy scene of the butterfly seeking
flowers is itself very charming. The critics Lu Shiyong 陸時雍 and Huang
Zhouxing 黃周星 (ca. 1611–1685) could not help but comment on this
renewed image, stating, “She plants love emotions without any
reservation” 種情無復餘地 and “This is extremely erotic” 妖冶之尤.71

The Orchid Yearning for Love

Yu Xuanji was also skillful in applying the conventional poetic technique
of intermingling emotion with natural scenes. As noted, the biographical
study shows that during her sojourn in Hubei, Yu Xuanji and Li Yi were
sometimes together and sometimes separated. At this time she wrote
several love poems and assumed the role of sentimental poet and happy-
yet-sorrowful lover. One of these poems is “Ji Zi’an” 寄子安 (Sent to
Zi’an):

Drunk parting, a thousand cups

won’t wash down grief;
The lonely heart’s hundred knots
won’t be undone.
Orchid blooms wither and fall,
fading back into the spring garden;
Willows snag the travelers’ boats
on east and west banks.
I sigh over our meeting and parting
like drifting clouds;
Your love should mimic
the ever-flowing waters.
In a season of blossoms
I know we can’t meet,
But please, no excuse for drunken languor
up in the jade loft.
醉别千巵不浣愁, 離腸百結解無由. 蕙蘭銷歇歸春圃, 楊柳東西絆客舟.
聚散已悲雲不定, 恩情須學水長流. 有花時節知難遇, 未宜厭厭醉玉
樓.72

This seven-syllabic regulated verse is perfectly structured and

harmoniously toned. It starts with a passionate effusion of painful feelings
of parting and separation after a happy reunion, and the metaphor of
using wine to wash away sorrow conveys Yu’s strong emotions. Next is
the descriptive couplet that presents a spring scene of scents and colors,
implying her lonely feelings of loss and disappointment: like orchids
(huilan, which is also her name), her beauty is fading away, and unlike
the willows, she is unable to retain her lover-husband. The third couplet
skillfully uses two images: drifting clouds suggest the uncertain condition
of their reunion and separation, and the ever-flowing river forms a
contrast with her beloved’s indecisive love. The closing couplet directly
addresses her sentiments and concerns about her lover. She is worried
that the couple will not be able to meet at the prime time of the spring, but
still, she cares for her lover’s well-being. She expresses her lovesick
feelings genuinely and forcefully through the poem, intermingling with
natural scenes and images.

Love and Anxiety: An Emotional Journey

Another love poem to Li Yi, “Chunqing ji Zi’an” 春情寄子安 (Spring

Sentiments: Sent to Zi’an), is an extended (more than four-couplet)
seven-syllabic regulated verse that describes a journey, merging scenes
along the road with her tense emotions.

On rugged mountain roads

and steep rocky steps,
I don’t lament the hardships of travel,
but only my love-longings.
Ice melts in far streams—
I love your pure spirit;
Snow covers distant cold peaks—
I miss your jade features.
Don’t listen to crude songs
or get drunk in the spring.
Don’t invite idle guests
for midnight chess matches.
Like pines, unlike removable stones,73
our oaths endure;
As birds are paired by wing, robes joined,
how can our tryst be stayed!
Though I hate to travel alone
in the last days of winter,
I expect to be with you
when the moon is full.
 And having parted
what should I send?
In bright sunlight tears fall
to a single poem.
山路欹斜石磴危, 不愁行苦苦相思. 冰銷逺磵憐清韻, 雪逺寒峰想玉姿.
莫聽凡歌春病酒, 休招閑客夜貪棊. 如松匪石盟長在, 比翼連襟會肯遲.
雖恨獨行冬盡日, 終期相見月圎時. 別君何物堪持贈, 淚落晴光一首
詩.74

The poem opens with a scene of the poet walking alone on rugged, steep
mountain roads on a cold winter’s day. This scene serves as a foil to the
theme that the poet longs for her lover despite her difficult situation, a
theme that runs throughout the poem. In the next couplet, the journey
continues, and everything she encounters deepens her longing: the
melting ice in the pure streams reminds her of his pure spirit, and the
white snow on the high peaks resembles his jade-like features. In this
antithetical couplet, the multiple juxtapositions between natural images
(ice and snow, streams and peaks), sense perceptions (sounds of the
murmuring streams and lights on the shining peaks), space dimensions
(low streams and high peaks), and qualities of nature and man together
construct a powerful tension and project the illusion, amid the splendid
winter mountain scene, of a beloved “prince” who is desirable both inside
and out. The third couplet naturally turns the focus to the beloved one.
She exhorts her lover on trivial matters: do not listen to crude songs,
drink too much, or play chess too late—matters so insignificant that only
someone deeply in love would pay attention to them. Her feelings are
mixed with both concern and worry: she cares about his health but
worries about his possible indulgences. The contrasting situations
between her and her lover—she is the one traveling on a difficult journey,
while he is living in a comfortable environment—make her concern and
worry especially sincere and touching.
Because of her mixed feelings of love and anxiety, the poet feels the
need to reaffirm their oath. The pledges in the fourth couplet function
more as a request to her lover than as an expression of her own feelings.
She uses age-old images such as evergreen pine trees, removable
stones, and paired-wing birds. Connected to her journey, these sceneries
are “personalized” with her lover’s images and her own emotions and are
therefore refurnished to represent her intense longing and anxiety. The
next couplet compares her present difficult journey with a future happy
reunion, revealing why she is able to endure all these pains and
hardships. The journey concludes with reference to the poem itself, which
she composes during the trip, and which weaves her tears with her
feelings of love, pain, hardship, and hope.
This poem describes not only an actual journey but also an emotional
and symbolic one, taking place between the poet’s unions with her lover.
The arduous experience of winter mountain travel parallels the painful
experience of separation, loneliness, and uncertainty. Her unyieldingness
to the difficulties of the physical journey symbolizes her faithfulness to her
love and hope. The extended structure of six couplets effectively
interweaves the scenes of the physical journey with the changing
sentiments of the emotional journey: loving and longing (first and second
couplets), caring and worrying (third and fourth couplets), and solitude
and hope (fifth and sixth couplets).
Ming dynasty critic Hu Yinglin 胡應麟 (1551–1602) ranked this poem
and another of Yu’s poems as the greatest masterpieces of extended
seven-syllabic regulated verse in Tang–Song poetry:

I have examined the extended seven-syllabic regulated verses

of the Song dynasty but could not find one single fine piece. In the
Tang dynasty, only that woman Yu Xuanji’s two occasional pieces
can be picked out, and others are not as good as hers.
余考宋七言排律, 遂亡一佳. 唐惟女子魚玄機酬唱二篇可選, 諸亦
不及云.75

Although this glowing evaluation may be somewhat exaggerated, the

poem is doubtless a masterful piece. Yu Xuanji is not discomfited by the
four successive couplets of parallelism in the middle but instead plays on
the tension of spontaneity and strict form. The perfect antitheses in these
couplets create multiple parings that encode meaningful and emotional
tensions: natural scenes and human qualities and emotions, hard travel
and comfortable indulgence, and present pain and future happiness. The
poem describes a trip in winter, but its title means “spring feelings.” This
seemingly unreasonable title implies the poet’s strong desire and hope,
as spring comes after winter, and “spring feelings” are conventionally
related to love and erotic desire in the Chinese literary tradition.
Thus, following Li Jilan and Cui Zhongrong, Yu Xuanji’s love poems
further transform the image of female protagonist from desired object into
a desiring subject in a more mature way. Although she, too, mixes
sorrow, anxiety, and solitude in her poems, these feelings are no longer
helpless and dependent cries but represent active, independent pursuit of
her own love and desires.

Gender Awareness and Self-Recognition

According to the biographical study presented here, in 866, after being

abandoned by her husband, Yu Xuanji chose to be ordained as a Daoist
priestess and entered the Xianyi convent in the capital. Her poems
written during her two years as a priestess reveal that her painful
experience of losing Li, and the new identity, heightened her gender
awareness and enhanced her self-esteem. Aware of the freedom and
status she gained as a priestess, she empowered herself with the
attributes of the erotic goddesses. She was proud of her beauty and
literary talent, acknowledged the priceless worth of her own existence,
and articulated her dissatisfaction with the unequal status and lack of
opportunities that the traditional society imposed upon women. These
gendered subjectivities are embodied in her poems with masterful literary
skill.

Peeking at the Handsome Man Across the Wall

In a famous poem titled “Zeng linnü” 贈鄰女 (For the Girl Next Door), Yu
Xuanji emphasizes freedom of choice in pursuing love as a Daoist
priestess and “semigoddess”:

Shying from sunlight, you hide in silk sleeves,

In sorrowful spring, no mood to rise for makeup.
Easy to come by a priceless treasure,
Hard to find a loving man.
Silent tears fall on a pillow;
 Heart is torn among flowers.
Eyes take in Song Yu as you wish,
So why resent Wang Chang?
羞日遮羅袖, 愁春嬾起妝. 易求無價寳, 難得有心郎.
枕上潛垂淚, 花間暗斷腸. 自能窺宋玉, 何必恨王昌.76

The Sanshui xiaodu cites the second couplet and suggests that the poem
was written when Yu was in prison awaiting execution, whereas the
Beimeng suoyan lists the same couplet but claims that it addresses her
resentment toward Li Yi when she was abandoned by him. In the Five
Dynasties anthology Caidiao ji, this poem is titled “Ji Li Yi yuanwai” 寄李
億員外 (Sent to Vice Director Li Yi), and is also given the variant title “Ji
linnü” 寄鄰女 (Sent to the Girl Next Door).77 Judging from the content of
the poem, however, the title “For the Girl Next Door” seems the most
appropriate. The poem describes a neighboring girl’s heartbroken
feelings and comforts her with unconventional advice. Since Yu Xuanji
was living in a chamber within the Xianyi convent, the girl next door was
likely also a priestess in the same convent, so the verse did not need to
be “sent to” her.
In the poem, the first three couplets describe the next-door girl’s
heartbroken feelings after being abandoned. Yu Xuanji uses natural
imagery to serve as a foil to deepen her pain: bright, illuminating sunlight
and shameful appearance and tears; exuberant spring and listless
sentiments; brilliant flowers and a broken heart. The second couplet has
been on the lips of Chinese people for more than a thousand years. It
articulates in plain words a universal phenomenon in traditional societies:
men are privileged to be fickle in love. This couplet not only describes the
feelings of the girl next door but also articulates a painful lesson from the
poet’s own miserable experience with her husband. As Lu Shiyong
commented, the couplet is “vulgar but meaningful” 俚而旨.78
The image of the next-door girl in the first three couplets is still
presented as the traditional, helpless, and dependent object of the male
gaze. In the last couplet, however, the poet turns this image upside down.
She reminds the girl of her freedom of choice as a Daoist priestess and
“semigoddess” and advises her to toss off her sorrows by taking the
initiative in choosing and pursuing the man she desires (“Eyes take in
Song Yu as you wish”), no longer afraid of or resentful for being
abandoned (“Why resent Wang Chang?”).
Song Yu was a fourth-century BCE poet who was said to be very
handsome. A rhapsody attributed to him describes how a girl who was his
neighbor on the east side often climbed the wall to peek at him.79 Wang
Chang was a famous handsome man during the Wei–Jin period and later
became the persona of a desirable husband for young girls in songs of
the Southern dynasties.80 This final couplet most clearly expresses Yu’s
gender awareness. Under the traditional authority of medieval China,
such a brave claim to a woman’s freedom in pursuing her own love and
desire was unprecedented. It gives voice to women’s long-held, deep-
seated wishes and desires, sweeping away their cries of helplessness,
humiliation, and submissiveness.81 Huang Zhouxing commented on this
couplet with half admiration and half criticism: “Teacher Yu can be
described as ‘teaching a monkey to climb trees and seducing people to
violate the law’ ” 魚老師可謂 “教猱升木, 誘人犯法” 矣.82
In several other poems, such as “Following the Rhyme Words of My
New Western Neighbor’s Poem and also Begging for Wine from Him”
and “I Hear Censor Li Has Returned from Angling and Send this Poem to
Him,” Yu Xuanji alludes to the legend of Ruan Zhao’s encounter with his
immortal wife, the goddesses of the Xiao and Xiang rivers, and the
Weaving Maid of the Milky Way. Although the legends and images of
these goddesses had been used by male poets in numerous poems and
had become traditional and hackneyed allusions, they acquired very
different significance when employed by female poets, especially by
Daoist priestess-poets, who were supposed to become immortals and
were called “female immortals” by the Tang people.83 By comparing these
goddesses to herself, Yu Xuanji empowers herself as a passionate,
seductive goddess/immortal and takes the initiative in pursuing love and
desire.

Unsold Peony

On a late spring day in the capital, Yu Xuanji sees some beautiful

peonies remaining unsold. Sighing for herself, she reflects on the worth
of her own existence in her poem “Maican mudan” 賣殘牡丹 (Unsold
Peonies):
 Facing the wind I sigh over
the flutter of falling flowers,
Fragrance silently fading away
along with another spring.
Because of their high prices,
no one asks for the peonies,
And their too-strong scent
keeps butterflies off.
Their red blossoms should only
grow inside the palace;
How could their green leaves
be tainted by street dust?84
When their roots are transplanted
to the imperial garden,
Young lords will regret
lacking the means to buy them.
臨風興歎落花頻, 芳意潛消又一春. 應為價髙人不問, 却縁香甚蝶難親.
紅英只稱生宮裏, 翠葉那堪染路塵. 及至移根上林苑, 王孫方恨買無
因.85

The title of this poem has been generally read as mai 賣 (sell) plus can
mudan 殘牡丹 (wilted peonies) and translated as “Selling Wilted
Peonies.”86 This is a misunderstanding of the title, however, and it
contradicts the themes of the poem: How can wilted peonies be
“transplanted to the imperial garden” and make young lords regret lacking
the means to buy them? How can Yu proudly analogize herself as wilted
peonies? Instead, the title should be read as maican 賣殘 plus mudan 牡
丹, meaning “The Peonies that Remained Unsold” or “Unsold Peonies.”
This kind of syntax was frequently used by Tang–Song poets in their
works, such as in Qiao Zhizhi’s 喬知之 (d. 690) couplet: “In the case, the
sword with which you played remains; / On the bed, your half-read books
are piled” 匣留彈罷劍, 床積讀殘書;87 Cao Ye’s 曹鄴 (fl. 847–865) couplet:
“Yesterday when I was out, a spring wind broke in, / Blowing the books
half-read down the bed” 昨日春風欺不在, 就牀吹落讀殘書;88 and Xu Fei’s
許棐 (d. 1249) couplet: “Servants warm up the leftover wine; / Neighbors
send over unsold vegetables” 僕溫攜剩酒, 隣送賣殘蔬.89
 The “flutter of falling flowers” in the first line of Yu Xuanji’s poem
simply refers to flowers in general that fall in late spring and that are used
to indicate the season; it is not referring to the peonies that are being
sold. In fact, peonies usually blossom in late spring, when other flowers
have already fallen, as described in Li Shanfu’s 李山甫 (fl. 860–888)
“Mudan” 牡丹 (Peonies):

Spring wind presses them,

but they would not blossom early;
After all other flowers fluttered away,
they then show up in towers.
邀勒東風不早開, 眾芳飄後上樓臺.90

Therefore, the falling flowers in the opening line also serve as a contrast
to the full-bloom peonies in the second and third couplets.
The peony has always been ranked as the queen of flowers in China.
During the Tang dynasty, especially in the eighth and ninth centuries,
people of the two capitals, Chang’an and Luoyang, were extraordinarily
fond of peonies. In late spring, peonies blossomed and were sold
everywhere, and poets wrote numerous poems admiring the noble
blossoms.91 In Yu’s poem, the unsold peonies are the best of their kind:
their prices are so high that nobody can afford to buy them,92 and their
fragrance, color, and appearance are the most beautiful, elegant, and
attractive. Even though they remain unsold, these proud blossoms are
still confident of their true value and believe they will be transplanted into
the imperial garden. In the end, they turn themselves from losers to
winners; the blind buyers will regret not buying these noble blossoms
while they are still available.
Flowers are age-old symbols for women, and thus these noble,
beautiful, and unsold peonies can be read as standing for the poet
herself. The buyers may represent her untruthful lover(s), and imperial
palaces are always used interchangeably with heavenly palaces in Tang
poetry. Like the beautiful peonies, Yu is unappreciated and unsold. Yet,
like those proud blossoms, she believes in her own worth: she is
priceless and deserves to stay only in the noblest place—the imperial
palace or the heavenly palace (that is, the Daoist immortal world). This
gendered subjectivity of dignity, self-esteem, and self-recognition stands
out uniquely in the history of women in traditional China.
The Ming critic Zhong Xing 鍾惺 (1574–1625) commented on this
poem:

A discourse like this is not only metaphorical but also inclined to

articulate complaint and anger. As an extraordinarily affectionate
person, she trusted herself to the wrong man and therefore was
unable to retain herself with correct thought. But how could this be
her fault? There were reasons leading her towards it.
如此語, 豈但寄託, 漸說向忿恨上去. 千古有情人, 所托非偶, 便有
不能自持以正意. 此豈其人之罪哉? 亦有以使之者矣.93

Although he criticized Yu’s self-esteem and contempt for unfaithful men

as incorrect thought, Zhong obviously had much sympathy for her and
showed his understanding and appreciation of her feelings and dignity.
This poem is again a seven-syllabic regulated verse, the form which
Yu Xuanji used most often and with ease. The images and descriptions of
the peonies are antithetically matched and juxtaposed to imply ample
meanings. The poem is also a masterpiece of the poetic subgenre known
as “poetry on things” (yongwushi 詠物詩). Traditional Chinese poetics
contends that this subgenre of poetry should ideally strive for two goals:
to describe the object vividly in both its external shape and its internal
quality, and to project the personality or sentiments of the poet or other
people onto the description of the object. This poem achieves both goals
perfectly. It not only describes the extraordinarily beautiful shape, scent,
and color of the unsold peonies but also conveys their noble nature,
quality, and value. More importantly, every word in the poem can be read
as referring to both the flowers and the poet at the same time: the flower
is Yu and she is the flower—they are identical and inseparable.
On another spring day, Yu Xuanji visits the Chongzhen abbey 崇真觀
in the capital.94 When she sees the autographs of the new graduates of
the imperial examination on the wall, a strong feeling against gender
inequality and the confinements imposed on women wells up in her, as
seen in her poem “You Chongzhen guan nanlou du xinjidi timing chu” 遊
崇真觀南樓覩新及第題名處 (Visiting the South Tower of Chongzhen
Abbey and Inspecting the Signatures of Those Who Passed the Imperial
Examination):

My eyes are full of clouds and mountains

when the spring sky clears up,
How sharp the “silver-hook” signatures
produced from their fingers!
I hate the gauze gown
which covers my verses,
Lifting my head, but in vain
I envy the names on the list.
雲峰滿目放春晴, 歴歴銀鉤指下生. 自恨羅衣掩詩句, 舉頭空羡榜中
名.95

Poetry was the most important subject on the imperial examination for
securing an official career in the Tang dynasty. The gauze gown
symbolizes Yu’s female gender.96 She is equal to those complacent
graduates in poetic talent and political ambitions, yet she is excluded
from the examination, and therefore from a political career, because of
her gender. On the surface, Yu blames her gauze gown/female gender
for the conventional role she has had to perform, but in depth she
criticizes the unequal gender system that confines her talents.
Xin Wenfang admired this poem for expressing Yu’s strong will for
political participation and her self-recognition of her literary and political
talents: “I observe that her thoughts are strong and genuine. If she were
a man, she would doubtless have been a useful talent. Many literati pity
and appreciate her” 觀其意激切, 使為一男子, 必有用之才. 作者頗憐賞
之.97 Anne Birrell argues that Yu is voicing “her opposition to gender
inequality.” Wilt Idema and Beata Grant agree that Yu expresses
“dissatisfaction at the limitations imposed upon her by her gender” and
“craves recognition for her literary talent.”98 This kind of bald,
straightforward articulation of dissatisfaction is unprecedented in Chinese
women’s writings. Later, following Yu’s articulation of dissatisfaction, the
lament of “if only women could take the examination” appears from time
to time in the writings of Ming–Qing women.99

Concluding Remarks
In her short life of about twenty-five years, Yu Xuanji assumed many
roles, but her ever-shifting portrayals did not seem to have surprised her
contemporaries. In the Sanshui xiaodu, Huangfu Mei expresses great
admiration for her:

Her beautiful appearance could overthrow a state, and her

thought reached the marvelous realm. She loved reading and was
very good at writing. She was especially focused on poetic
composition.… Her excellent verses admiring the moon and winds
have always spread among the literati.
色既傾國, 思乃入神. 喜讀書屬文, 尤致意於一吟一詠.… 而風月賞
玩之佳句, 往往播于士林.

Huangfu greatly appreciates Yu’s beautiful appearance, elegant interests,

exquisite talent for writing, and outstanding poems. Even when he
records her killing of the maid, he does not directly blame her. In both
Youxuan ji and Caidiao ji, Yu Xuanji is given the title of Daoist
priestess.100 From these contemporary recognitions, we can see that,
despite her ignoble death, Tang people understood and accepted Yu’s
gendered identity as a Daoist priestess. As in the case of other Tang
priestesses, the label of “licentious courtesan” placed on Yu Xuanji in
later times is biased and unsubstantiated.101
In fact, when traditional critics were able to remove their male-
centered lens, many sincerely admired Yu’s enthusiastic pursuit of qing
情 (love, emotion, feeling) and her poetic achievements, as seen in the
comments of Huangfu Mei, Xin Wenfang, Lu Shiyong, Zhong Xing,
Huang Zhouxing, and Hu Yinglin, cited earlier. Zhong Xing even praised
her as “the poetic sage among talented women” 蓋才媛中之詩聖也.102
“Poetic Sage” had been the title reserved for Du Fu 杜甫 (712–770), one
of China’s greatest poets. By granting this title to Yu Xuanji, Zhong Xing
implies that she is one of China’s greatest female poets. This high
evaluation was likely born out of the cult of qing popular in the sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries, and therefore it emphasized Yu’s
achievements in expressing the gendered qing of women.103
Yu Xuanji’s poetry indeed represents the genuine, passionate
expression of women’s qing. Her love poems voice the sincere feelings of
a desiring subject. Her painful life experience and her identity as a Daoist
priestess increased her gender awareness and enhanced her self-
esteem. Her exquisite descriptions and genuine emotions surpass most
male-authored works intended to describe women’s life and feelings,
whether in the guise of “women’s voice” or not. We may also consider
that contemporary male poets such as Li Shangyin 李商隱 (ca. 813–858)
had to conceal their true love and desire behind allusions and symbols, in
hermetic poems that were often “left untitled” (wuti 無題); or the fact that,
even during the peak of Chinese women’s poetry in the High Qing period,
direct expressions of womanly desires were limited, and representatives
of women poets still had to emphasize that “the sentiment and tone of
each [poem] is correct” 性情各正 and that “none would shame the female
historian’s admonitions” 無慚女史之箴.104 Ban Zhao 班昭 (ca. 45–ca. 117)
wrote the Admonitions for Women (Nüjie 女誡); not to shame Ban’s
admonitions meant to retain women’s traditional moral virtues and gender
prescriptions. By comparison, Yu Xuanji’s openly passionate articulation
of her genuine love, desires, and will is truly extraordinary.
Yu Xuanji’s dramatic life is richly reflected in her poetic writings. In
addition to the travel poems, love poems, lyric poems, introspective
poems, leisure and landscape poems, verse-letters, poems on things,
and poems on historical sites discussed or mentioned here, she also
touched upon other kinds of occasional poems, poems to fellow
priestesses and female friends, elegies, and so forth.105 She masterfully
composed in a variety of poetic forms and especially excelled in seven-
syllabic regulated verse, which often presents a well-balanced tension
between spontaneity and strict form. She was adept at using common
metaphors, symbols, allusions, and images in refreshing, innovative ways
that made her poetry graceful yet original and natural. She skillfully
switched from style to style when writing poems with different subject
matters and feelings, though in general her writing is natural, fresh, clear,
fluent, and moving.
As discussed in the previous chapter, prior to the mid-Tang era,
women writers were mostly palace ladies and women of elite families.
Starting with Li Jilan, Yuan Chun, Cui Zhongrong, Xue Tao, and other
female poets of the mid- to late Tang period whose works were included
in Yaochi ji, we see women writers coming from much wider social strata:
palace ladies, wives and daughters of elite families, female members of
common families, Daoist priestesses, courtesans, and so forth. More
importantly, we see that the three priestess-poets Li Jilan, Yuan Chun,
and Cui Zhongrong sincerely and directly articulated their sentiments of
love, desire, joy, and sorrow without imitating the voice of male poets or
the conventional “women’s voice” constructed by male poets, as many
previous and later female poets did. Their poetry started to transform a
woman’s image from that of a desired object into that of a desiring
subject. These developments were further pushed to an even higher level
by Yu Xuanji, with her distinctive voice, powerful self-presentation,
gendered subjectivity, and masterful poetic skills. Together, these
priestess-poets represent a new stage in the development of Chinese
women’s poetry.
 Conclusion

T
he emergence of Daoist priestesses as a religio-social group
during the Tang dynasty was unprecedented and unrepeatable in
the history of both the Daoist tradition and Chinese women. Before
the Tang era, Daoism was still integrating its various social, scriptural,
and ritual lineages and had not yet developed into a full-fledged religious
tradition. After the Tang, the state-supported, integrated, communal, and
hierarchical Daoist system dissolved, giving rise to new cults, rituals,
practices, and sectarian currents rooted in local communities.1 It was only
within the particular historical context of the Tang era, especially the
promotion of Daoism by the ruling house, the unification and monasticism
of the Daoist system, and the changing patterns in gender relations, that
the Daoist priestesses arose as a distinct religio-social force.
Women from all social strata, from royal princesses to commoners,
took on the Daoist priesthood as their career, with the specific title of
nüdaoshi (female Daoist priest) or nüguan (female headdress) to identify
them, specific feminine clothing designed for them, and a musical tune
created to eulogize them. Most of the priestesses walked out of the
traditionally confined family space to live a communal life in convents
(though they did not cut off family relations and responsibilities). They
empowered themselves with an independent economy, Daoist doctrines
and spirituality, considerable education, diverse talents, and the attributes
of goddesses. They negotiated with constructed norms and institutions
and gained more independence, freedom, and respect than their
mainstream sisters in pursuing their calling and talents. They were self-
confident religious agents, proudly announcing that they could control
their own lives and destiny: “That which generates all things in turn is
controlled by me,” said Hu Yin; and “[The generating force of] yin and
yang is controlled by myself,” said Liu Moran. They competently
performed various roles as religious leaders, mentors, preachers, adepts,
and ritualists as well as politicians, poets, and artists, thereby becoming
active participants in the operation of Tang society and contributing in
many ways to Chinese religious and cultural traditions.
In accordance with our discoveries, based on many previously
overlooked sources excavated from both within and outside the Daoist
canon, an overall picture of the Tang Daoist priestesses can be drawn as
follows:

1. They were capable and self-determined religious leaders and

practitioners, with ability and accomplishments equal to that of priests.
2. They were well versed in Daoist scriptures and texts and contributed
to the development of Daoist theories.
3. They were active in both the convent and the public sphere, preaching
to and mentoring the public, including emperors, and serving other
people.
4. They presented a certain continuity in Daoist, Confucian, and
Buddhist values and virtues.
5. They went beyond the religious domain, such as by intervening in
government policies and even executions.
6. They enjoyed high achievements in literature and the arts.

Here it may be worthwhile to compare these with the ideal image of

Daoist women created and modified by Du Guangting in the
hagiographies of the Jixian lu, as examined in the appendix of this book.
According to Du, the priestesses were expected to possess the following
attributes:

1. A beautiful, goddess-like appearance and perpetual youth.

2. Marvelous signs and supernatural powers and attributes.
3. Religious and genealogical connections with the Queen Mother of the
 West.
4. Relations with the Highest Clarity imagination of divine descending.
5. Self-cultivation of and self-perfection in various Daoist techniques,
including fasting, ingesting elixirs, practicing breath control, reciting
scriptures, and practicing rituals, leading to eventual ascension and
immortality.
6. Accumulated hidden virtues and compassionate deeds toward people
and creatures, which blended classical moral ideas on right and wrong
into the mix of Daoist and Buddhist ethics; also an emphasis on
Confucian values such as filial piety and loyalty.

Comparing the two lists, we find that only two features—the practice of
Daoist rituals and self-cultivation and the continuity between Daoist,
Confucian, and Buddhist values—roughly correspond between the two,
though discrepancies remain in these two features, such as the
compassion toward creatures and the Confucian virtue of loyalty, seen
only in Du’s hagiographies. For all the other differing characteristics, our
discoveries present an overall picture of Daoist priestesses as active
participants in religious, cultural, and social relations and activities and as
dynamic contributors to the functioning and development of society and
culture, whereas Du’s narratives provide an image of individual salvation,
liberation, spirituality, and an immortal utopia. Our picture is historical,
realistic, complicated, and diversified, whereas Du’s imagery is ideal,
holy, simplified, and unified.
On the other hand, although the Jixian lu hagiographies do not provide
useful primary sources for studying the historical experiences of Tang
Daoist women, these accounts are still valuable in presenting both Du
Guangting’s reflections on women’s role and place in Daoist tradition and
society and his architecture of the ideal role model for Daoist women,
which synthesized Daoist self-perfection with Confucian values and
Buddhist ethics. The self-disciplined, self-perfected, and goddess-like
images described by the Jixian lu accounts may also imply Du
Guangting’s unspoken disapproval of other roles, especially public ones,
undertaken by Tang Daoist priestesses.
Moreover, Du Guangting’s reflections and his architecture were not his
individual concerns alone but, rather, represented those of the Daoist
tradition itself. Indeed, this tradition underwent tremendous changes from
the late Tang to the early Ming (1368–1644) periods, and Du Guangting
was a key figure at the beginning of this reshaping period. His
reconfiguring of Daoist rituals, practices, cults, and traditions and his
synthesis of the three teachings initiated new dimensions in the
development of Daoism during the following centuries.2 Moreover, the
role model he constructed in the Jixian lu accounts was to a considerable
extent followed by female Daoists from the Song dynasty onward, such
as the self-cultivation and self-realization of Sun Bu’er 孫不二 (1119–
1182) and many other priestesses of the Complete Perfection (Quanzhen
全真) tradition and lineages of women’s inner alchemy. Additionally,
Confucian and Buddhist virtues such as filial piety, loyalty, compassion,
and selflessness were actually written into the manuals of women’s
alchemy during the Ming–Qing era.3
Partly because of the changing religious scenery and images of Daoist
women in later times, not only have the remarkable achievements of the
Tang Daoist priestesses been mostly forgotten but also scholars from the
Song dynasty to the present time have rhetorically reidentified the
priestesses as “courtesans” and disparaged them as “licentious” in their
critical discourses, in a way quite similar to the rhetorical construction of
early-Tang female rulers’ sexual transgression.4 This reidentification was,
however, biased, because the priestesses’ public actions and love poems
presented nothing of a pornographic or licentious nature. Instead, these
scholars may have undertaken this relabeling for one of two reasons:
either they were following the traditionally embedded gender pattern that
forbade women from going beyond the confines of family or other private
spaces, pursuing their calling and talents, and expressing their own love
and desires, or else they lacked sufficient knowledge of the particular
historical contexts of the Tang era. Our study, on the other hand, has
shown that this biased reidentification can be thoroughly refuted from four
angles.
First, the particular religio-social contexts in which the priestesses
lived provided them with the necessary flexibility and relative freedom for
their religious, social, and public activities. Second, the new patterns in
gender relations legitimized their emotional and sexual relations and
experiences. Third, the priestesses empowered themselves with the
attributes of the goddesses as well as through their considerable
education and remarkable talents. Finally, their independent economic
status separated them from courtesans. Although even courtesans
cannot be simply marked as “licentious,” one of the major features of
Tang courtesans was that they provided professional service, that is, their
service was their livelihood, and most of the income went to the madams
of brothels, who owned and controlled them. Therefore, they were
physically and economically dependent.5
Furthermore, because Daoist priestesses were economically
independent, the love affairs between them and their male associates
were more likely the result of pursuing personal desires and emotions, as
expressed in their own poems, not of fulfilling professional services and
providing for financial needs. Tang courtesans were also closely
associated with scholar-officials and sometimes too had love affairs with
them.6 However, courtesans did not have any freedom of choice and had
to wait to be called upon by men. They often found themselves in the
position of a humble servant; maltreatment was quite common, and many
courtesans had tragic encounters.7 The official courtesans (guanji 官妓 or
yingji 營妓) were often summoned to public parties, at which they were
simply entertainers, and their status was unequal to that of other
participants.
For example, the official courtesan and famous poet-calligrapher Xue
Tao 薛濤 (ca. 770–832), who was active on social occasions and
exchanged poems with many male poets and officials, was banished to
Songzhou 松州 (present-day Songpan in Sichuan province) in 789
because she offended Commissioner Wei Gao 韋皋 (745–805). From
there she presented to Wei Gao a ten-piece series titled “Shili shi” 十離詩
(Poems on Ten Separations), asking for forgiveness.8 The series uses
ten metaphors to beg her “master”/patron’s forgiveness for her minor
faults, including that of the dog separated from its master, the pen
separated from its owner’s hand, the horse separated from its stable, the
parrot separated from its cage, the swallow separated from its nest, the
pearl separated from the palm of its owner, the fish separated from its
pool, the hawk separated from its owner’s gauntlet, the bamboo
separated from the pavilion, and the mirror separated from its stand.
These poems typically show the courtesan’s dependence, helplessness,
and submissive social status and feelings.
After Xue Tao passed away, in 832, Commissioner Li Deyu 李德裕
(787–850) wrote a poem titled “Shang kongque ji Xue Tao” 傷孔雀及薛濤
(Lament on [the Death of] a Peacock and Xue Tao), and the poet Liu Yuxi
劉禹錫 (772—542) wrote a poem titled “He Xichuan Li shangshu shang
kongque ji Xue Tao zhishi” 和西川李尚書傷孔雀及薛濤之什 (Lament on
[the Death of] a Peacock and Xue Tao: Response to the Poem by
Minister Li of Xichuan).9 These poems typically reveal Tang scholar-
officials’ general attitude towards courtesans: even though Xue was
talented and famous, they still viewed her as an object owned by them,
like a peacock.10 Generally speaking, the social status of courtesans was
incomparable to that of Daoist priestesses.
Through comprehensively investigating the Daoist priestesses in the
Tang era, I have sought to restore this forgotten and disparaged female
tradition to the historical landscape and to reveal their true, gendered
identities and activities. This study further testifies that, even though
traditional Chinese society was constructed to their disadvantage, women
were not mere victims but also could become dynamic forces in the
construction of gender relations, the interplay of power structures, and
the operation of society under varied historical contexts and social
conditions. Because religious faith and practice often served as a source
of encouragement and empowerment for women in specific historical and
cultural contexts, Tang Daoist priestesses, as religious agents, appear to
have become more-dynamic actors on the social stage and to have
achieved greater accomplishments than did their mainstream sisters.
 APPENDIX

Du Guangting and the Hagiographies of Tang Daoist

Women

I
n the early tenth century, the Daoist master Du Guangting 杜光庭 (850–933) compiled the
Yongcheng jixian lu 墉城集仙錄 (Records of the Assembled Immortals of the Walled City).
Yongcheng, the Walled City, was the legendary kingdom of the Queen Mother of the West, the
most powerful goddess in the Daoist tradition, who was in charge of all goddesses and female
immortals. Originally the text contained ten juan and 109 accounts of goddesses, female
immortals, and female Daoists.1 Although it has not passed down to us in its complete form, using
fragments preserved in the Ming dynasty Daoist Canon and several Song dynasty encyclopedias,
the text can be reconstructed to about eighty-four accounts, about eighteen of which are
hagiographies of Daoist priestesses or of women who engaged in Daoist practices during the
Tang dynasty.2
Scholars have taken different views of these accounts. Some have regarded them as
“hagiography assimilated to the literary short story,” which is fundamentally fictional,3 whereas
others have looked at them as biographical sources for reconstructing the actual life experiences
and religious practices of Tang female Daoists.4 Here, as usual, we are encountering the old
dilemma of hagiography versus biography. In the religious traditions of all times and cultures,
including that of the Chinese, the coexistence of biographical descriptions and hagiographical
prescriptions in accounts of religious figures has been a universal phenomenon. However, the
ratio of the two elements in a hagiography differs from case to case. In some hagiographies, the
prescriptive layers can be winnowed out to reveal their descriptive, factual cores, whereas others
are intended more as accounts of the idealized, exemplified lives of religious figures, if not without
biographical elements.5
In the case of Du Guangting’s hagiographies of Tang female Daoists, careful examination
reveals that factors of prescription are overly abundant and greatly surpass those of description,
making it risky to use such accounts to reconstruct the lives and religious practice of Tang female
Daoists, as some scholars have done. On the other hand, these hagiographies also should not be
regarded as mere fictions, because they still bear the historical value of presenting the image of
what Du Guangting, as well as the Daoist tradition, thought female Daoists should be like during
the transitional period from the late Tang to the Five Dynasties.
Among modern scholars, Russell Kirkland has examined the account of the Tang priestess
Huang Lingwei in the Jixian lu and compared it with epitaphic inscriptions, while Franciscus
Verellen and Suzanne Cahill have analyzed some of Du’s motives in compiling this and other
marvelous texts.6 Although these studies are inspirational, the task of comprehensively examining
the hagiographies to differentiate hagiography from biography of Tang female Daoists in the Jixian
lu remains largely unfinished, as does the exploration of Du Guangting’s ideal model of the Daoist
priestess.
By collecting relevant sources both within and outside the Daoist canon, I investigate in this
appendix both Du Guangting’s purpose in compiling the Jixian lu and the eighteen extant
hagiographical accounts of Tang female Daoists contained in the text. In detecting the substantive
features of these accounts, I reveal how Du re-created or modified earlier sources to construct the
ideal image of female Daoists in light of his political and religious agendas.

Compilation of the Jixian lu: Date and Purposes

One of the most important figures in the Tang Daoist tradition, Du Guangting was also appointed
as a high official at the courts of the Tang and the Former Shu state during the chaotic late Tang
and early Five Dynasties periods. After being long ignored, Du Guangting has become a focus of
academic interest in recent decades, and his life, works, and thought have now been investigated
in depth. As a result, we now have a relatively clear picture of his contributions to the Daoist
tradition and the cultural development of the Tang and the Five Dynasties, among them being his
compilation of the Jixian lu.7
Du started his career as a Confucian scholar and literatus, working hard to master the classics
and develop his literary skills. After failing the imperial examination in the Confucian classics
during the late Xiantong reign period (860–874), Du was ordained and entered Mount Tiantai 天臺
to learn from the Daoist master Ying Yijie 應夷節 (810–894). Soon Du himself became a famous
Daoist priest who, because of his Daoist reputation and literary talent, was favored by rulers and
appointed to high posts, first by Emperor Xizong 僖宗 (r. 874–888) and then by the two rulers of
the Former Shu, Wang Jian 王建 (847–918) and Wang Yan 王衍 (r. 919–925).8 This twofold
identity in turn greatly influenced his reflections on the role of women in the Daoist tradition.
Du signed the end of his preface to the Jixian lu with his honorific title Master of
Comprehensive Completion (Guangcheng xiansheng 廣成先生), a title bestowed on him in 913 by
Wang Jian.9 From this information, some scholars have inferred that the text was compiled shortly
after 913.10 This date can be further revised by looking at another hagiographical text by Du, the
Goushiling huizhen Wangshi shenxian zhuan 緱氏嶺會真王氏神仙傳 (Hagiographies of Immortals
Gathered in the Wang Clan from Mount Goushi), hereafter cited as Wangshi shenxian zhuan.11
Located thirty kilometers west of Mount Song 嵩山, in Goushi district 緱氏縣 (present-day Yanshi
in Henan), Mount Goushi was the site of the legend in which Wangzi Jin 王子晉 or Prince Jin, the
heir apparent to King Ling of the Zhou dynasty 周靈王 (r. 571–545 BC), rode a white crane to the
top of the mountain to ascend to heaven.12
By the Tang period, the legend of Prince Jin had developed into a lesser cult.13 Although Wang
was not the prince’s surname (wangzi should be read together to mean “prince”), Du Guangting
deliberately read wang as the surname and zijin as the prince’s first name in order to transform
him into the first ancestor of the Wang clan—the clan of the Shu rulers.14 When recording the
Wangshi shenxian zhuan during the twelfth century, Chao Gongwu 晁公武 asserted that “(Du)
Guangting collected [accounts] of male and female immortals with a total of fifty-five, in order to
flatter Wang Jian” [杜] 光庭集王氏男真女仙五十五人, 以諂王建.15 This same critical opinion was
also held by scholars such as Chen Zhensun 陳振孫 and Yan Yiping 嚴一萍.16
 These scholars’ criticisms of Du Guangting’s reason for compiling the text are not unwarranted.
Wang Yan, the second ruler of the Former Shu, and his two powerful mothers were extremely
addicted to the Daoist faith in immortality.17 All of the many palaces they built were given names
with Daoist implications. They also often dressed themselves and other palace ladies and maids
like Daoists and immortals, essentially changing their palaces into a Daoist paradise.
In 923, Wang Yan was ordained a Daoist priest by Du Guangting, and in return Du was
conferred the titles of Celestial Master of Transmission of the Perfection (Chuanzhen tianshi 傳真
天師) and Grand Academician of the Institute for the Reverence of the Perfection
(Chongzhenguan daxueshi 崇真館大學士). In the same year, Wang also built a Palace of Highest
Clarity (Shangqing gong 上清宮) and erected a statue of “Wang Zijin,” who was worshipped as the
family’s ancestral king, with statues of Wang Yan and his father Wang Jian attending on either
side.18 From these records, both Verellen and Li Jianguo 李建國 have reasonably inferred that Du
presented his Wangshi shenxian zhuan to Wang Yan in 923.19
Among the thirty-nine accounts of the Wangshi shenxian zhuan as reconstructed by Yan Yiping
and Li Jianguo, five also appear in the Jixian lu, namely those of the Lady Wang of Grand
Perfection (Taizhen Wang furen 太真王夫人, the queen mother’s daughter); the niece of Wang Hui
王徽姪女; Wang Fajin 王法進; Wang Fengxian 王奉仙; and Lady Wang of the South Ultimate
(Nanji Wang furen 南極王夫人, the queen mother’s fourth daughter).20 Because the Wangshi
shenxian zhuan originally had fifty-five accounts, other female immortals and Daoists with the
surname of Wang included in the Jixian lu might also have been included in the Wangshi
shenxian zhuan, such as Lady Cloud-Flower (Yunhua furen 雲華夫人, the queen mother’s twenty-
third daughter), Lady Wang of Purple Tenuity (Ziwei Wang furen 紫微王夫人, the queen mother’s
twentieth daughter), Lady Right-Flower of the Cloud-Grove (Yunlin Youying furen 雲林右英夫人,
the queen mother’s thirteenth daughter), and Madame Wang (Wangshi 王氏).21
More importantly, the genealogical structures presented in both texts appear to have been
internally connected to each other. In the Wangshi shenxian zhuan, “Wang Zijin” is listed as the
ancestor of the Wang clan of immortals, and the structure of the text serves as a paternal
genealogy of the Wang clan. Several clues indicate that the queen mother had a very close “blood
kinship” with this genealogy. First, in the Highest Clarity tradition, the King Father of the East
(Dong wanggong 東王公), who was the queen mother’s consort, was supposed to be surnamed
Wang, as were their many daughters.22
The queen mother was therefore considered the maternal ancestor of the Wang clan. Her
name Wangmu originally denoted both queen mother and “ancestress,” and the Jixian lu in
particular emphasized her attributes as a mother.23 Second, in the Jixian lu, the hagiographies of
both the queen mother and Gou Xiangu 緱仙姑 state that the queen mother was surnamed Gou
緱 and was from the Goushi district in Henan. She also engaged in Daoist cultivation on Mount
Goushi,24 the same mountain from which Prince Jin is said to have ascended to heaven and
which was revered as the sacred place of origin for the Wang clan in the Wangshi shenxian
zhuan. As is well known, however, the queen mother was originally connected with the far west on
Mount Kunlun; no sources prior to the Jixian lu ever mentioned her place of origin as Goushi or
her surname as Gou.25 Du Guangting, therefore, apparently invented these profiles to build a
connection between the goddess and the prince, an effort that might in fact have been inspired
earlier, by Empress Wu and her courtiers.26 Whatever the case, the queen mother became the
maternal ancestor of the Wang clan and of their holy lineage as constructed in the Wangshi
shenxian zhuan.
In the Jixian lu, the queen mother is revered as the ancestress and head of the clan of female
immortals. Although the structure of the text serves explicitly as a lineage of holy women,27 it also
implicitly hints at a maternal genealogy of the sacred Wang clan. The most apparent evidence for
this assumption is that, as we have seen, the daughters of the queen mother were included in
both genealogies. Although the extant accounts from the Wangshi shenxian zhuan are mostly
abridged or synoptic citations preserved in later encyclopedias, comparison with the
corresponding accounts from the Jixian lu shows that they originally must have been the same.
The two texts virtually correspond to each other, forming a holy kinship network interweaving the
Shu male and female rulers with the two holy genealogies. Both texts were thus probably
composed around 923 for the same purpose of catering to the interests of the Shu rulers and
validating their government and royal lineage.
Because this political purpose may seem vulgar at first glance, it has attracted much criticism
from both traditional and modern scholars. Du Guangting’s relationship with the Shu rulers,
however, was rather complicated and should not be taken at face value. Although he received
honorific titles and political positions from the Shu rulers, he did not uncritically follow their will and
desires; rather, he deliberately used their religious commitment to present his support of and
advice to the Shu government, and to promote Daoism and his ambitious work in re-sorting its
texts, practices, cults, and traditions. Franciscus Verellen, in his study of Du Guangting’s Luyi ji 錄
異記 (Record of Marvels), another collection of hagiographies and wondrous stories, compiled
about the same time as the Wangshi shenxian zhuan and Jixian lu,28 has argued that it “not only
bolstered a sense of cultural cohesion for the region of Shu but also pointed to the historical
precedents for its political independence and asserted a cosmological sanction for the succession
of its current rulers to the Tang dynasty.”29 Likewise, Du compiled the Jixian lu with his own
serious goals and themes in mind. Russell Kirkland has indicated that “the most common religious
activities of the women commemorated in Tu’s text were altruistic activities, charitable deeds
performed out of compassionate hearts.”30 Suzanne Cahill, in turn, has summed up Du
Guangting’s intentions as follows: to clarify points of Daoist doctrine, to argue for the superiority of
Daoism over Buddhism, to unify the Daoist church, to exalt his own High Clarity school over
others, to encourage imperial and literati patronage, to promote Daoist religion as a means of
salvation in troubled times, and to ally the Daoist church with the imperial bureaucracy and
Confucian values.31 Inspired by these scholars’ views, I will further explore Du’s motivations in
recreating the image of Daoist priestesses later in this appendix.

Extant Hagiographies of Tang Female Daoists from

the Jixian lu

The Jixian lu is preserved in two incomplete versions in the Daozang (DZ), one in three juan
containing twenty-seven accounts in the Yunji qiqian, the other in six juan containing thirty-seven
accounts (DZ 783). Excluding two overlapping accounts, the number of accounts totals sixty-two,
eleven of which are hagiographies of Tang female Daoists, all contained in the Yunji qiqian
version. Li Jianguo has further gathered an additional twenty-two accounts from Song
encyclopedias, such as the Taiping guangji and Taiping yulan 太平 御覽 (Reader for His Highness
Compiled in the Taiping Xingguo Reign Period), and other texts (some abridged or synoptic
citations), six of which are hagiographies of Tang female Daoists.32 In addition, I have collected
two more accounts, “The Wife of Wei Meng” (Wei Meng qi 韋蒙妻) and “Yang Jingzhen” 楊敬真,
from the Xianzhuan shiyi 仙傳拾遺 (Collection of Omitted Hagiographies of Immortals),33 which is
another collection of hagiographical accounts compiled by Du Guangting, possibly a few years
after the Jixian lu.34
In the Taiping guangji, the account “Yang Jingzhen” is cited from the Xu xuanguai lu 續玄怪錄
(Continuation to the Records of Strange Stories) by Li Fuyan 李復言. According to the record of
the Shaoshi shanfang bicong 少室山房筆叢 by Hu Yinglin 胡應麟, Du Guangting also incorporated
this account into his Xianzhuan shiyi.35 The accounts of female immortals and Daoists included in
the Xianzhuan shiyi usually include the same content as the Jixian lu. For example, the accounts
of “Wang Fajin” 王法進 and “Yangping zhexian” 陽平謫仙 (Banished Immortal of Yangping Parish)
from the Xianzhuan shiyi, incorporated into the Taiping guangji, are nearly the same as those in
the Jixian lu.36 Therefore, we may surmise that the two accounts of “The Wife of Wei Meng” and
“Yang Jingzhen” must also have been included in the Jixian lu.37 This now gives us a total of
eighteen extant hagiographical accounts of Tang female Daoists, as listed in table A.1.38

Du Guangting’s Re-creation of the Image of Daoist

Women

In his preface to the Jixian lu, Du Guangting lists earlier texts that told stories of ancient and
contemporary people who attained immortality, and he says that he “has gathered these
multitudinous discourses to complete one single discourse” 纂彼眾說, 集為一家.39 He did not,
however, simply copy from other texts; rather, he made major modifications and even re-creations
according to his own Daoist idea and ideal image of female Daoists. Luo Zhengming 羅爭鳴 and
Suzanne Cahill have already indicated some ways in which he incorporated and modified the
accounts of pre-Tang figures, while Russell Kirkland has produced an excellent study of the story
of Huang Lingwei. Here, I further comprehensively examine the methods by which Du modified or
re-created the accounts of Tang female Daoists.
Du’s first method was to create a brand-new image. For example, in the Jixian lu, Wang
Fengxian is presented as a Daoist female saint. Born to a peasant family, she was as beautiful as
a goddess and very bright and eloquent. Immortal girls often descended from heaven to play with
her, and soon she was able to walk quickly and fly. During the Xiantong reign period (860–873),
when Du Shenquan 杜審權 was the military commissioner in Lunzhou 潤州 and Linghu Tao 令狐
綯 (jinshi 830) was the military commissioner in Yangzhou 揚州,40 each revered Wang and invited
her to stay in their jurisdiction capitals. Du even planned to recommend her to court, but instead
Wang cut her hair and entered a Buddhist monastery to escape. As a result, she was called
Guanyin (Avalokiteśvara) by people south of the Yangzi River.

TABLE A.1
Hagiographies of Tang Taoist Women from the Jixian lu
Title Story Main Sources

Wang Wang transmits a Lingbao ritual of confession and Yinji qiqian (YJQQ), 115.2547–49;
Fajin 王法 ascends to heaven during the Tianbao reign period Taiping guangji (TPGJ), 53.327
進 (742–756). (quoted from Xianzhuan shiyi)

Madame Wang, wife of the official Xie Liangbi 謝良弼, converts YJQQ, 115.2549–50
Wang 王 to Daoism and achieves liberation through the corpse
氏 during Emperor Daizong’s reign (762–779).

Huagu 花 Huang Lingwei 黃靈微 restores the shrine of Lady Wei YJQQ, 115.2550–52
姑 Huacun and achieves liberation through the corpse
 during the early Tang.
Xu Xiangu Xu lives at least 250 years and travels broadly with her YJQQ, 115.2552–53; TPGJ, 70.435
徐仙姑 Daoist magical techniques. (quoted from Jixian lu)

Gou Gou practices austerities and defeats Buddhist monks YJQQ, 115.2553–55; TPGJ, 70.435–
Xiangu 緱 during the late Tang period. 36 (quoted from Jixian lu)
仙姑
Bian Bian saves people and animals, and ascends to YJQQ, 116.2559–62
Dongxuan heaven during Emperor Xuanzong’s reign (712–756).
邊洞玄
Huang Huang is a banished female immortal who, after YJQQ, 116.2562–63
Guanfu 黃 following Daoist practices, returns to heaven during
觀福 Emperor Gaozong’s reign (649–683).

Yangping A banished female immortal acts as the wife of another YJQQ, 116.2563–64; TPGJ, 37.235
zhi 陽平治 banished immortal and works as a tea-picker in (quoted from Xianzhuan shiyi)
Yangping parish; later both return to the Yangping
grotto.
Shen Gu The palace girl Lu Meiniang 盧眉娘, skilled in YJQQ, 116.2565–66; Duyang zabian,
神姑 embroidery, is ordained Daoist priestess and attains 2.2a–3a (Siku quanshu); TPGJ,
immortality during the reigns of emperors Shunzong 66.413 (quoted from Su E 蘇鶚,
and Xianzong (805–820). Duyang zabian 杜陽雜編)

Wang Wang engages in Daoist practices and helps the YJQQ, 116.2566–69
Fengxian common people; she finally attains immortality during
王奉仙 the late Tang period.

Xue Xue, wife of the official Feng Wei, cultivates the Dao YJQQ, 116.2569–71; TPGJ, 70.437–
Xuantong and attains immortality during the late Tang period. 38 (quoted from Jixian lu)
薛玄同
Yang Yang is compassionate and ascends to heaven during TPGJ, 64.397–98 (quoted from Jixian
Zhengjian the Kaiyuan reign period (713–741). lu)
楊正見

Dong Dong ascends to heaven during the Kaiyuan reign TPGJ, 64.398 (quoted from Jixian lu)
Shangxian period.
董上仙
Xie Ziran Xie engages in Daoist practice and ascends to heaven TPGJ, 66.408–13 (quoted from Jixian
謝自然 during Emperor Dezong’s reign (779–804). lu)

Qi Xuanfu Qi ascends to heaven during Emperor Xuanzong’s TPGJ, 70.434–35 (quoted from Jixian
戚玄符 reign (846–859). lu)

Wangshi Wang Hui’s niece attains immortality during Emperor TPGJ, 70.436–37 (quoted from Jixian
nü 王氏女 Xizong’s reign (873–888). lu)

Wei Meng Madam Xu ascends to heaven with her daughter and TPGJ, 69.431 (quoted from
qi 韋蒙妻 maid during Emperor Muzong’s reign (820–824). Xianzhuan shiyi)

Yang Yang and four other girls ascend to heaven on the TPGJ, 68.421–24 (quoted from Xu
Jingzhen same day, but Yang later returns home to look after Xuanguai lu); Shaoshi shanfang
楊敬真 her grandfather. bicong, 27.16b (quoted from
Xianzhuan shiyi)
 In her debate with the lofty literatus Zhufu Huaigao 主父懷杲, Wang compared Daoism to the
father in a household, Confucianism to the older brother, and Buddhism to the mother. When the
rebel generals Qin Yan 秦彥 (d. 887), Bi Shiduo 畢師鐸 (d. 887), and others occupied Yangzhou,
they all revered her as their teacher, even though at first they tried to force her to follow their will.
From the Xiantong 咸通 to Guangqi 光啟 reign periods (860–888), Wang always preached “the
Way of loyalty, filial piety, uprightness, and rectitude, the admonitions to be clear, clean,
temperate, and simple, and the essentials of the secret practices for refining the body.”41 Finally,
she was ordained a Daoist priestess and lived on Mount Dongting 洞庭山. At the beginning of the
Guangqi reign period (885), she moved to Mount Qianqing 千頃山 in Hangzhou 杭州 and attained
immortality one year later, at the age of forty-eight.42
This saintly portrait depicted by Du, however, is very different from that in historical records. In
the fifth month of 887, the Huainan 淮南 (Yangzhou) military commissioner Gao Pian 高駢 (d. 887)
was imprisoned by his general Bi Shiduo, who then invited the Xuanzhou 宣州 commissioner Qin
Yan to assume the position of Huainan commissioner. During the ninth month, the Tang army
besieged and attacked Yangzhou. The biography of Gao Pian in the Xin Tangshu records:

[Bi] Shiduo was defeated and afraid that Gao Pian might help the Tang army from within
the city. There was a sorceress named Wang Fengxian, who told Shiduo: “The prefecture is
facing disaster. If a great man dies, the disaster can be dispersed.” Qin Yan said, “Doesn’t
this mean Gao Pian?” He ordered his attendant men Chen Shang and others to kill Gao.…
Qin Yan was defeated again and again, and the soldiers were all dispirited. Qin and Bi
Shiduo sat with their arms around their knees and looked at each other, finding no way out.
They consulted Fengxian again, and all rewards and punishments, light or heavy, were
decided by her.
[畢]師鐸既敗, 慮駢內應. 有女巫王奉仙, 謂師鐸曰: “州災, 有大人死, 可以厭.” 彥曰: “非高公
邪.” 命左右陳賞等往殺之.… [秦]彥屢敗, 軍氣摧喪, 與師鐸抱膝相視, 無它略, 更問奉仙, 賞罰
輕重皆自出.43

The Zizhi tongjian gives a similar account:

After being defeated in several battles, Qin Yan and Bi Shiduo suspected that Gao Pian
used sorcery to repress them. As [the Tang army] besieged Yangzhou more tightly, they
were afraid that Gao Pian’s men might cooperate from within the city. There was an evil
Buddhist nun named Wang Fengxian, who told Qin Yan: “A great disaster is shown in
Yangzhou region. One great man must die, and then blessing will come.” On the jiaxu day,
Qin ordered his general Liu Kuangshi to kill Gao Pian and his brothers, sons, and nephews,
no matter how old or young, and bury them all in one pit.… At first, Qin Yan and Bi Shiduo
believed and revered the nun Fengxian. Even though there were battles, all rewards and
punishments, light or heavy, were decided by her. By that time they consulted Fengxian
again: “What should we do to get through this?” Fengxian said, “The best plan is to run.”
Therefore they ran out of the Kaihua Gate to go to Dongtang.
秦彥與畢師鐸出師屢敗, 疑駢為厭勝. 外圍益急, 恐駢黨有為內應者.有妖尼王奉仙, 言于[秦]
彥曰: “揚州分野極災, 必有一大人死, 自此喜矣. 甲戌, 命其將劉匡時殺駢並其子弟甥侄無少長
皆死, 同坎瘞之.… 先是, 彥, 師鐸信重尼奉仙, 雖戰陳日時, 賞罰輕重, 皆取決焉. 至是復諮於奉
仙曰: “何以取濟?” 奉仙曰: “走為上策.” 乃自開化門出奔東塘.44

Similar accounts are also found in the Cefu yuangui, Bai Kong liutie, and Shiguo chunqiu 十國春
秋 (Histories of the Ten States).45 These historical records unanimously tell us that, during the
Yangzhou rebellion, Wang Fengxian was in the city and was revered by the rebel generals Bi
Shiduo and Qin Yan; she instructed the two to kill the former commissioner Gao Pian (“one great
man” clearly referred to Gao, because he was the former commissioner, the highest authority in
the city) and his whole family.
Is it possible that the Wang Fengxian recorded in these texts was just another person with the
same name? The answer is no. Both subjects have too many points of correspondence in time,
location, and experience: both lived during the reigns of emperors Yizong and Xizong and in the
same region of the lower Yangzi River, and both were in Yangzhou in 887 and became associated
with the rebel generals Qin Yan and Bi Shiduo. In the Jixian lu account, Wang Fengxian was a
wandering Daoist practitioner who once stayed at a Buddhist monastery; she was not ordained a
Daoist priestess until her later years, sometime after 887. This explains why the historical records
sometimes refer to her as “an evil Buddhist nun” and sometimes as “a sorceress.”
Through comparison with the historical records, we can see that Du Guangting re-created the
image of Wang Fengxian, who fouled her hands with rebel generals and ordered the murder of
people in cold blood, into that of a saint who represented the ideal personalities of both Daoism
and Confucianism—goddess-like beauty and intelligence while synthesizing the “three teachings”
(Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism) and preaching and practicing Confucian values and
Daoist perfection. The Highest Clarity concept of divine descending is also distinctively featured.
Du’s intention is quite clear here: on the one hand, he expresses his idea of fusing the three
teachings through this new image; on the other, because this hagiography was also included in
the Wangshi shenxian zhuan,46 his re-creation might have been intended to add one more
virtuous priestess-immortal to the Wang family and set a good example for the female rulers of the
Shu state.
The image of Yang Zhengjian 楊正見 was also probably re-created by Du Guangting. In the
Jixian lu account, Yang was bright and compassionate and accepted the Daoist concepts of purity
and nothingness from the time she was a child. At age fifteen she was married into a Wang family.
Once, when she was preparing dinner for guests, she could not bear to kill the fish, and so she
had to leave the family in fear of being condemned by her parents-in-law. Going to a mountain in
Pujiang 蒲江 district to learn from a Daoist priestess, she later found and ingested a human-
shaped mushroom and became extremely beautiful. Immortals often descended to her chamber
to discuss matters of heaven with her. After one year, in Kaiyuan 21 (733), she ascended to
heaven in broad daylight.47
The Song dynasty Linqiong tujing 臨卭圖經 (Illustrated Gazette of Linqiong), however, records
a completely different story:

Yang Zhengjian was the daughter of the peasant Yang Chong, and had not married by
the age of thirty. She went to Mount Changqiu in Pujiang district to engage in Daoist
cultivation during the Kaiyuan reign period. She reclaimed a piece of wasteland that had a
shortage of water. Suddenly a white ox appeared and told her, “I lie underground where the
sacred water runs. If you dig through the land for about one zhang, you will get water.”
Zhengjian did as the ox told her and, sure enough, found a rushing spring. Later, she
attained Dao and ascended to heaven. The Daoist priest Zhao Xianfu presented her story to
the emperor.
楊正見, 鄉民楊寵之女, 年三十無家. 開元時入蒲江長秋山修煉, 墾田艱水, 忽見白牛語曰: 我
伏地下, 有神水, 可穿丈餘得水. 正見如其言, 果有湧泉. 後得道上昇. 羽士趙仙甫以事聞進.48

In this account, Yang Zhengjian never married. Instead, she reclaimed wasteland and dug a well
to irrigate the land with the help of a mysterious ox in order to support her life of Daoist cultivation
on the mountain. This story happened at the same time (Kaiyuan reign period) and in the same
place (the Pujiang district in Sichuan), with the same ending as the other account (ascending to
heaven), so its subject was unlikely to be another person. Although this account is preserved in a
later text, it was probably based on an earlier account, as is often seen in gazettes, and the
simple plot suggests that it may in fact have been the original one. Thus, the familiar, complicated
themes in the Jixian lu account—compassion, early faith, divine descending, and beautiful,
goddess-like appearance—inform us that this story appears, again, to have been re-created by
Du Guangting.
The second method by which Du Guangting modified the image of Daoist women was to
idealize them by adding large portions of stories and attaching new virtues to them. A typical
example is his modification of the story of Bian Dongxuan 邊洞玄. The Taiping guangji, which
quotes an entry titled “Bian Dongxuan” from the Guangyi ji 廣異記 (Extensive Records of Marvels)
compiled by Dai Fu 戴孚 (jinshi 757),49 states that Bian was a Daoist priestess in the Zaoqiang
district 棗強縣 of Jizhou 冀州 (present-day Zaoqiang in Hebei). She had engaged in Daoist
practices, such as fasting and ingesting elixirs, for forty years and was eighty-four by the end of
the Kaiyuan reign period. Then, after taking an elixir given to her by an old man, her body became
light. With final farewells to her disciples, she ascended to heaven in broad daylight, as witnessed
by Yuan Fu 源復, the prefect of Jizhou, and his officials and local people.50
In reality, Yuan Fu was the prefect of Jizhou in Kaiyuan 27 (739),51 and he indeed sent a
presentation to Emperor Xuanzong to report on Bian’s ascension. The emperor then issued an
imperial decree titled “Chi Jizhou cishi Yuan Fu Bianxianguan xiuzhai zhao” 敕冀州刺史原復邊仙
觀修齋詔 (Decree to Yuan Fu, the Prefect of Jizhou, for Performing the Ritual of Fasting in
Immortal Bian Convent). The decree reads:

The Daoist priestess is a perfected person of the elixir tower. She rode on five-colored
clouds and ascended to heaven in broad daylight. Her love of the Dao unexpectedly
resulted in actual efficacy, which brings me great pleasure. You are the son of a former
prime minister, and your family reveres the Mysterious Prime [Laozi or Dao], which is in
accordance with your mind. Your witness [of the ascension] at the spot fulfilled my wish.…
Now taking advantage of your representative’s return, I am sending you a few objects. You
should perform the Daoist ritual of fasting in the convent, in order to express my intention.
彼之女道, 丹台真人, 白日上升, 五雲在禦. 不圖好道, 遂有明征, 深為喜慰. 卿為舊相之子,
家上[玄] (元) 元, 能叶心志. 自茲目視, 果成朕願.… 今因奏使回, 便付少物. 卿可於觀所, 宜修齋
行道, 以達朕意也.52

Emperor Xuanzong thus praised Yuan and ordered him to perform the Daoist ritual of fasting at
the convent where Bian used to stay. Later, this decree was inscribed on a stele erected in the
convent.53
From Xuanzong’s decree, we can infer that Yuan Fu’s presentation may have focused on
Bian’s ascension. In addition, the Song dynasty catalog Mishusheng xu biandao siku que shumu
records a text titled Bian Dongxuan shengtian ji 邊洞玄昇天記 (Record of Bian Dong-xuan’s
Ascension to Heaven),54 which suggests that its main content must have been the story of Bian
Dongxuan’s ascension. Since Dai Fu, the compiler of the Guangyi ji, passed the imperial
examination in 757, he must have been young when the story of Bian Dongxuan’s ascension
spread, in 739. His account of Bian is probably based on texts such as Yuan Fu’s presentation,
Emperor Xuanzong’s inscription, and the “Record of Bian Dongxuan’s Ascension.”55
This simple story of Bian Dongxuan’s ingesting an elixir and ascending to heaven was in turn
greatly elaborated by Du Guangting. In the Jixian lu, Bian became a virtuous person who had
been “pure, clever, perceptive, humane, and compassionate” since childhood. She always saved
endangered small animals and fed hungry birds, fulfilled the Confucian family value of filial piety,
and worked hard as a skilled weaver. After her parents passed away, she finally entered a Daoist
convent. She continued her weaving work and exchanged her handiwork for food, which she used
to feed small animals and people when there was a famine. Her love of elixirs and final ascension
remained in this new account, but Du Guangting again added a twist: before leaving for heaven,
she did not forget to fly to the capital to bid farewell to Emperor Xuanzong, even though the
emperor had not mentioned this miracle in his decree at all.56 Under Du’s brush, Bian Dongxuan
thus became a Daoist saint who cultivated herself with Daoist faith, Confucian values, and
Buddhist compassion, being loyal, filial, compassionate, and spiritual at the same time. As
indicated by Kirkland and Cahill, hidden virtue was one of Du’s favorite themes,57 so Yang
Zhengjian saved fish and Bian Dongxuan saved small animals. Compassion for animals was a
Daoist incorporation of Buddhist ethics.
The hagiography of Xie Ziran 謝自然 is another example of Du’s second method of moderation.
The primary source for this account was probably the scholar-official Li Jian’s 李堅 (741–799)
“Dongji zhenren zhuan” 東極真人傳 (Biography of the Perfected Person of East Ultimate).58 Li
Jian was the prefect of Guozhou 果州 (present-day Nanchong in Sichuan) in 793–795 and
claimed he witnessed the ascension of Xie Ziran in 794. He sent a presentation reporting this
event to Emperor Dezong, and the emperor replied with two letters, one addressing Li and the
other addressing local people in general. These letters were inscribed on steles and are extant
today.59 They mention only Xie’s ascension, with no reference to Daoist cultivation.
Li Jian then composed the hagiography for Xie,60 which is no longer extant, but some poems
about her story by Tang literati appear to have been based on it. For example, Han Yu 韓愈 (768–
825) wrote a famous poem titled “Xie Ziran shi” 謝自然詩 (Poem on Xie Ziran), in which he
describes Xie’s ascension in detail but mentions nothing about her Daoist practice.61 Li Xiang 李
翔, who probably lived in the late Tang period, composed another poem, “Ti Jinquanshan Xie
Ziran zhuan hou” 題金泉山謝自然傳後 (Written Behind the Biography of Xie Ziran of Mount
Jinquan),62 referring probably to the one by Li Jian. The poem again vividly describes Xie’s
ascension, with no mention of her Daoist cultivation. Both poems may thus reveal to us the main
content of Li Jian’s account of Xie’s story.
The hagiography of Xie Ziran in the Jixian lu, on the other hand, is very long, describing in
great detail her Daoist cultivation toward her ascension. Xie came from an elite family. As a child,
her mother twice sent her to learn from Buddhist nuns, but she always requested to come back.
She then asked her mother to move to the top of Mount Dafang, where there was a statue of
Laozi. She always recited the Daode jing and Huangting jing and started to practice food
abstention at age fourteen. That year, she stopped eating grain and instead ingested only cypress
leaves each day. After seven years she stopped ingesting leaves, and in the following two years
she even ceased to drink water. In 787 she was ordained by the Daoist priest Cheng Taixu 程太
虛. Prefect Han Yi 韓佾 and Xie’s father, however, did not believe her abstention was real and
twice locked her up for a long time, but she finally convinced and astonished them with her
healthy and beautiful appearance and manner.
One year before Xie’s ascension, epiphanic signs of animals, gods, immortals, and heavenly
messengers started to appear. By 794, the year of her ascension, the Queen Mother of the West
descended three times to meet her, bestowing upon her elixirs, peaches, and talismans and
setting a schedule for her final ascension. Before she ascended, Xie offered a long sermon to Li
Jian, teaching him the ways of Daoist practices in an exceptionally comprehensive and
“professional” manner, including how to worship statues, recite scriptures, conduct virtuous deeds,
perform Daoist music, transmit Daoist arts, abstain from food, ingest elixirs, and practice breath
control. Finally, when the moment of Xie’s ascension arrived, the account described it in only a
couple of sentences.
After comparing the Jixian lu account with those poems relating Xie Ziran’s story by Tang
poets, Fukazawa Kazuyuki 深澤一幸 has suggested that the part about her ascension may have
been more detailed in Li Jian’s hagiography than the part about her Daoist cultivation, whereas in
Du’s account the reverse is true.63 This observation is insightful. The plot of the queen mother
descending three times and scheduling Xie’s ascension especially conforms to Jixian lu’s central
theme and structure of the queen mother as the ancestress and family head of all female
immortals. The comprehensive, “professional” sermon on Daoist practices was also more likely to
have come from the hand of a Daoist theorist like Du Guangting.
Moreover, in another text by Du Guangting, the Lidai chongdao ji 歷代崇道記 (Record on the
Veneration of Daoism Through the Ages), the queen mother’s meetings with Xie Ziran and Xie’s
eventual ascension were described as being ordered by Lord Lao (Laozi), the alleged ancestor of
the Tang royal house.64 This earlier work was written as a memorial addressed to Emperor
Xizong, in 885, in which Du “announced the divine restoration of the Tang dynastic house under
the auspices of their ancestor Lord Lao.”65 However, because the Jixian lu was compiled to be
presented to the Wang family of Shu after the fall of the Tang, Du removed Lord Lao’s order,
stating instead that “in the supreme realm the queen mother is the most revered” 上界王母最尊.
This time, Du not only avoided the holy ancestor of the former dynasty but also exalted the holy
maternal ancestor of the Wang family. Here, Du’s modification of Xie Ziran’s story according to his
own agenda is especially apparent.
Du Guangting’s third method in altering the hagiographies in the Jixian lu was to include stories
and texts by Tang literati, with some slight yet significant modifications. For example, as
demonstrated by Russell Kirkland, the hagiography of Huang Lingwei under the title “Hua Gu” 華
姑 was based on Yan Zhenqing’s “Nanyue furen Wei furen xiantan beiming” 南嶽夫人魏夫人仙壇
碑銘 (Stele Inscription of the Immortal Altar of Lady Wei, Lady of Southern Sacred Mountain).66
Yan’s inscription, however, was in turn based on the hagiography by the Daoist priest Cai Wei 蔡
瑋 originally included in his Hou xian zhuan 後仙傳 (Supplemental Hagiographies of Immortals),
which was composed under Emperor Xuanzong’s order.67 Therefore, Yan’s inscription is really a
hagiography rather than a biography. Because of the hagiographical orientation of Yan’s
inscription, Du Guangting followed it very closely but still added a few passages, such as the
following:

It is not known what region she hailed from. From the beginning of the Tang, she
wandered around the Yangzi River, the Zhe River, the Dongting Lake, and the Dayi
Mountain. There was not a single famous mountain or numinous grotto to which she did not
go. When she visited a place, if she dwelt in forests or wilds, divinities and spirits would
protect her. If anyone had an evil thought about her, intending to mistreat or insult her, he
would immediately encounter failure. Far and near, people stood in awe and revered her.
They served her as a deity.
不知何許人也. 自唐初往來江浙湖嶺間, 名山靈洞, 無所不造. 經涉之處, 或宿于林野, 即有神
靈衛之. 人或有不正之念, 欲淩侮者, 立致顛沛. 遠近畏而敬之, 奉事之如神明矣.68

As Kirkland indicates, Du “seems to obscure Huang’s geographical background in order to render

her more mysterious and awe-inspiring.”69 This thus had the effect of magnifying Huang’s spiritual
and supernatural aspects. Another new passage, inserted before Huang’s request to her disciples
about her own funeral arrangements, reads: “My journey to immortality is urgent, so I cannot stay
any longer” 吾仙程所促, 不可久住.70 This announcement served to show more clearly her
knowledge of her own time of death, a stereotypical sign of gaining immortality.
Another example is the account of Lu Meiniang 盧眉娘, copied from Su E’s 蘇鶚 Duyang
zabian 杜陽雜編 (Miscellaneous Compilation from Duyang).71 This story was based on the “Lu
Xiaoyao zhuan” 盧逍遙傳 (Hagiography of Lu Xiaoyao) by Li Xiangxian 李象先, a literatus from
Mount Luofu 羅浮山, and thus was also originally a hagiography.72 Here, Du abridged the detailed
description of Meiniang’s marvelous skill of embroidery in the original account but added a few
wondrous events that supposedly occurred after she became a Daoist priestess: “She did not eat
for several years, and there were often immortals descending down to meet with her” 數年不食, 常
有神人降會.73 Here, Du again elaborated on two of his favorite themes: Daoist practice of food
abstention and the Highest Clarity concept of divine descending.
Finally, Du might even have modified these stories by using a fourth method that involved
changing the sex of certain of his subjects to add more female immortals. For instance, in the
Taiping guangji, the account of Wang Fajin 王法進 is included in the section on male immortals.
This account was quoted from the Xianzhuan shiyi, another of Du’s texts, but the entire story is
almost the same as that of the Jixian lu. The Sandong qunxian lu further quotes an abridged
account from the Wangshi shenxian zhuan by Du as well.74 None of these three versions clearly
state Wang’s sex, and the only possible evidence for Wang being female is that, when Wang was
young, Wang’s parents asked a Daoist priestess to protect her. Yet in the story there is also
evidence indicating that Wang might be male. When Wang ascended to heaven for the first time,
the Sovereign on High predicted that Wang would become “an unsurpassable attendant lad
waiting upon the heavenly palace” 當為無上侍童, 入侍天府.75 Although tong 童 can also mean
“child” and “young” and can be used for a girl, when mentioning the Sovereign on High’s
attendants the same account clearly differentiates azure lads (qingtong 青童) from attendant girls
(shinü 侍女). Moreover, in the account of Huang Guanfu 黃觀福 from the Jixian lu, Huang called
herself “Attendant Girl of the Highest Clarity” (Shangqing shinü 上清侍女), and two other female
immortals “Attendant Girl of the Jade Emperor” (Yuhuang shinü 玉皇侍女) and “Attendant Girl of
the Grand Thearch” (Dadi shichennü 大帝侍晨女).76
Therefore, the “attendant lad” in the Wang Fajin account seems to refer to a male immortal.
One possibility is that Du incorporated an earlier account and added a priestess as Wang Fajin’s
master at the beginning of the story, to hint that Wang was female, but then forgot to change
“attendant lad” in the middle portion. In any case, because this account is also included in the
Wangshi shenxian zhuan, Du Guangting might have deliberately changed Wang Fajin’s sex in
order to add one more virtuous priestess-immortal to the Wang family.

Concluding Remarks

Du Guangting compiled the Jixian lu and presented it to the Shu rulers, along with the Wangshi
shenxian zhuan, possibly in about 923. While the structure of the Wangshi shenxian zhuan
presents a paternal genealogy of the sacred Wang clan—the Shu ruling clan—the structure of the
Jixian lu serves as both a lineage of holy women and a maternal genealogy of the Wang clan.
Together, the two texts form a holy kinship network, interweaving Shu male and female rulers with
the two holy genealogies. Although this political purpose appears to have been the initial impetus
for compiling the Jixian lu, Du Guangting completed the work with other, religious motivations in
mind.
Examining the extant eighteen hagiographies of Tang female Daoists contained in the Jixian lu
shows that, while incorporating earlier biographical and hagiographical sources on Tang female
Daoists, Du Guangting variously modified or re-created their image according to his own opinion
of the ideal role and image for Daoist women. The most common themes and elements Du added
to the original sources include:
 a beautiful, goddess-like appearance and perpetual youth;
marvelous signs and supernatural powers and attributes;
religious and genealogical connections with the queen mother;
the Highest Clarity concept of divine descending;
self-cultivation and self-perfection using various Daoist techniques, including abstaining from
food, ingesting elixirs, practicing breath control, reciting scriptures, and performing rituals
leading to eventual ascension and immortality; and
accumulated hidden virtues and compassionate deeds toward people and creatures, which
blended classical moral ideas on right and wrong into the mix of Daoist and Buddhist ethics;
also an emphasis on Confucian values such as filial piety and loyalty.

These themes accord with Du’s grand project of reshaping Daoist rituals, practices, cults, and
traditions and synthesizing the three traditions of Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism.77
Therefore, the Jixian lu hagiographical accounts of Tang female Daoists need to be used with
great caution and should not be directly interpreted as factual, historical accounts of their lives
and religious practices. The true value of the text does not rest in providing primary sources for
studying medieval female Daoists but rather in presenting Du Guangting’s reflection on their roles
and places in Daoist tradition and society, and his architecture of the ideal role model for Daoist
priestesses, which synthesized Daoist self-perfection with Confucian values and Buddhist ethics.
 Notes

Introduction

    1. For a detailed discussion of the Tang ruling house’s promotion of Daoism, integration of the
Daoist system, and establishment of Daoist monastic tradition, see chapter 2 of this book.
    2. For a detailed discussion of the changes in gender relations, see chapter 2 of this book.
    3. First applied in Stephen Wang’s master’s thesis and then adopted by his supervisor Edward
H. Schafer (Schafer, The Vermilion Bird: T’ang Images of the South [Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1967], 7), scholars of Daoism have commonly translated the term xian 仙 or
xianren 仙人 as “transcendent” instead of “immortal.” Indeed, this translation is in accordance
with the connotations of these terms in English. The term “transcendent” connotes both the
religious sense of transcending the universe and material experience and the common sense
of surpassing others of the same kind, whereas for most Westerners an “immortal” calls up
obsolete ideas of godhood, like the immortal gods of Greek mythology; to speak of
“immortals” places such beings outside this world, existing only in theory or imagination. On
the other hand, there are also reasons for the translation of “immortal.” Since the Eastern
Zhou and onward, the concept that human life can be prolonged (changsheng 長生) and
humans can become immortal (chengxian 成仙) has been developed and has pervaded the
Chinese cultural tradition, not just within the Daoist tradition, though Daoism, especially the
tradition before the Song dynasty, focuses particularly on prolonging individual life and
attaining immortality of both body and spirit; legends of common people becoming
“immortals” have appeared throughout history. See Benjamin Penny, “Immortality and
Transcendence,” in Daoism Handbook, ed. Livia Kohn (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 109–33. The term
“immortal” makes smooth sense to the Chinese ear. Furthermore, the traditional Chinese
worldview is basically “one world,” with heaven, earth, gods, humans, the myriad things, and
even the Dao coexisting in one single universe; there is never a transcendental world beyond
this universe, as in the Western tradition. See Roger T. Ames, Sun-tzu: The Art of Warfare
(New York: Ballantine, 1993), 43–67; and Li Zehou 李澤厚, You wu dao li Shi li gui ren 由巫到
禮釋禮歸仁 (Beijing: Sanlian shudian, 2015), 132–37, 170–90. Although the term
“transcendent” is an etymologically correct translation of xian and retains the sense of a being
 who remains in our universe but on a higher level of existence, it does not foreground the
idea of immortality. Here we encounter the common difficulty of finding an English term that
covers completely the meaning inherent in a Chinese term: both “transcendent” and
“immortal” present their advantages and disadvantages as a translation of xian. For the
purpose of consistency, I use “immortal” and “immortality” throughout this book. I thank Paul
W. Kroll for offering knowledgeable information for the preceding discussion.
    4. For a detailed discussion of the formation of Daoist priestesses as a gendered group, see
chapter 2 of this book.
    5. Susan Calef, “Charting New Territory: Religion and ‘the Gender-Critical Turn,’ ” Journal of
Religion & Society 5 (2009): 2. Of course, we should also keep in mind the dark side of
religious traditions concerning women, as Calef also indicates.
    6. See Michel Foucault, “An Aesthetics of Existence,” in Politics, Philosophy, Culture: Interviews
and Other Writings, 1977–1984, ed. Lawrence D. Kritzman (New York: Routledge, 1988), 50;
and Judith Butler, Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative (New York: Routledge,
1997), 16.
    7. See Joan W. Scott, “Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis,” American Historical
Review 91, no. 5 (December 1986): 1053–75, esp. 1068.
    8. Ursula King, “General Introduction: Gender-Critical Turns in the Study of Religion,” Gender,
Religion and Diversity: Cross-Cultural Perspectives, ed. Ursula King and Tina Beattie
(London: Continuum, 2005), 1–12.
    9. See, for example, Catherine Despeux, Immortelles de la Chine ancienne: Taoïsme et
alchimie feminine (Paris: Pardés, 1990); Patricia B. Ebrey, The Inner Quarters: Marriage and
the Lives of Chinese Women in the Sung Period (Berkeley: University of California Press,
1993); Dorothy Ko, Teachers of the Inner Chambers: Women and Culture in Seventeenth-
Century China (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1994); Susan Mann, Precious
Records: Women in China’s Long Eighteenth Century (Stanford, CA: Stanford University
Press, 1997); Charlotte Furth, A Flourishing Yin: Gender in China’s Medical History, 960–
1665 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998); Catherine Despeux and Livia Kohn,
Women in Daoism (Cambridge: Three Pines, 2003); Dorothy Ko, Cinderella’s Sisters: A
Revisionist History of Footbinding (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005); Susan
Mann, The Talented Women of the Zhang Family (Berkeley: University of California Press,
2007); Joan Judge, The Precious Raft of History: The Past, the West, and the Woman
Question in China (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2008); Weijing Lu, True to Her
Word: The Faithful Maiden Cult in Late Imperial China (Stanford, CA: Stanford University
Press, 2008); Beata Grant, Eminent Nuns: Women Chan Masters of Seventeenth-Century
China (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2009); and Nanxiu Qian, Politics, Poetics, and
Gender in Late Qing China: Xue Shaohui and the Era of Reform (Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press, 2015).
  10. Despeux and Kohn, Women in Daoism, 118–27.
  11. See, for example, Chen Wenhua 陳文華, Tang nüshiren ji sanzhong 唐女詩人集三種
(Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1984); Charles Benn, The Cavern-Mystery
Transmission: A Taoist Ordination of A.D. 711 (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1991),
5–20; J. Russell Kirkland, “Huang Ling-wei: A Taoist Priestess in T’ang China,” Journal of
Chinese Religions 19 (1991): 47–73; Kang-i Sun Chang and Haun Saussy, eds., Women
Writers of Traditional China: An Anthology of Poetry and Criticism (Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press, 1999), 56–59, 66–76; Suzanne E. Cahill, “Resenting the Silk Robes that
Hide Their Poems: Female Voices in the Poetry of Tang Dynasty Taoist Nuns,” in Tang Song
funü yu shehui 唐宋女性與社會, ed. Deng Xiaonan 鄧小南 (Shanghai: Shanghai cishu
chubanshe, 2003), 519–66; Suzanne E. Cahill, “Material Culture and the Dao: Textiles, Boats,
 and Zithers in the Poetry of Yu Xuanji (844–868),” in Daoist Identity: History, Lineage, and
Ritual, ed. Livia Kohn and Harold D. Roth (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2002), 102–
26; Liu Ning 劉寧, “Shixi Tangdai changjishi yu nüguanshi de chayi” 試析唐代娼妓詩與女冠詩
的差異, Zhongguo dianji yu wenhua 中國典籍與文化 (2003): 49–57; Wilt Idema and Beata
Grant, The Red Brush: Writing Women in Imperial China (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Asia Center, 2004), 176–82, 189–95; Jinhua Chen, “A Daoist Princess and a Buddhist
Temple: A New Theory on the Causes of the Canon-Delivering Mission Originally Proposed
by Princess Jinxian (689–732) in 730,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
69, no. 2 (2006): 267–92; Ping Yao, “Contested Virtue: The Daoist Investiture of Princesses
Jinxian and Yuzhen and the Journey of Tang Imperial Daughters,” T’ang Studies 22 (2007):
1–41; Jinhua Jia, “Yaochi ji and Three Daoist Priestess-Poets in Tang China,” Nan Nü: Men,
Women and Gender in China 13, no. 2 (2011): 205–43; Stephen R. Bokenkamp,
“Transmissions of a Female Daoist: Xie Ziran (767–795),” in Affiliation and Transmission in
Daoism: A Berlin Symposium, ed. Florian C. Reiter (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2012),
109–22; Stephen R. Bokenkamp, “Sisters of the Blood: The Lives behind the Xie Ziran
Biography,” Daoism: Religion, History and Society 8 (2016): 7–33; and Jinhua Jia, “Unsold
Peony: Life and Poetry of the Daoist Priestess-Poet Yu Xuanji in Tang China (618–907),”
Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 35, no. 1 (2016): 25–57. These and many more works
will be engaged in the following chapters.
  12. For an examination of all the hagiographies of Tang Daoist women originally included in the
Yongcheng jixian lu and Du Guangting’s agenda for compiling the Jixian lu, as well as the
problems in using these hagiographies, see Jinhua Jia, “Du Guangting and the
Hagiographies of Tang Female Daoists,” Taiwan Journal of Religious Studies 1 (2011): 81–
121; and the appendix of this book. Hagiographies of Buddhist nuns composed by Buddhists
also depict idealized images according to their ideological agendas. See Bret Hinsch,
“Confucian Filial Piety and the Construction of Ideal Chinese Buddhist Women,” Journal of
Chinese Religions 30 (2002): 49–75.
  13. See Sun Guangxian 孫光憲 (d. 968), Beimeng suoyan 北夢瑣言 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji
chubanshe, 1981), 9.71–72; Chen Zhensun 陳振孫 (d. ca. 1261), Zhizhai shulu jieti 直齋書錄
解題 (Wuyingdian juzhenban shu 武英殿聚珍版書), 19.29b; Hu Zhenheng 胡震亨 (1569–
1645), Tangyin guiqian 唐音癸簽 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1981), 8.83; and Qian
Qianyi 錢謙益 (1582–1664), Jiangyunlou shumu 絳雲樓書目, in Congshu jicheng chubian 叢
書集成初編 (CSJCCB), 75.
  14. See, for example, Zhang Caitian 張采田 (1862–1945), Yuxi sheng nianpu huijian 玉谿生年譜
會箋 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1983), 1.27, 4.206; Xie Wuliang 謝無量 (1884–
1964), Zhongguo funü wenxueshi 中國婦女文學史 (1926; repr., Shanghai: Shanghai shudian,
1990), 27; and Huang Shizhong 黃世中, “Lun Quan Tangshi zhong suo fanying de nüguan
‘banchang shi’ lianqing” 論全唐詩中所反映的女冠半娼式戀情, Xuchang shizhuan xuebao 許昌
師專學報 15, no. 2 (1996): 39–43.
  15. Kirkland, “Huang Ling-wei,” 47–73; Yao Ping, Tangdai funü de shengming lichen 唐代婦女的
生命歷程 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2004), 246–56; and Jiao Jie, “Tangdai
daojiao nüxintu de zongjiao huodong jiqi shenghuo: yi muzhi cailiao wei zhongxin” 唐代道教
女信徒的宗教活動及其生活: 以墓誌材料為中心, Shaanxi shifan daxue xuebao 陝西師範大學
學報 42, no. 2 (2013): 124–29. However, some of the epitaphic subjects on Yao’s and Jiao’s
lists were not actually ordained as Daoist priestesses.
  16. Denis C. Twitchett, introduction to The Cambridge History of China, vol. 3, Sui and T’ang
China, 589–906, Part 1 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 46.
  17. Zhao Chao, Gudai muzhi tonglun 古代墓誌通論 (Beijing: Zijincheng chubanshe, 2002), 169–
 78, 285–99.
  18. See, for example, Patricia B. Ebrey, “The Women in Liu Kezhuang’s Life,” Modern China 10,
no. 4 (1984): 415–40; Ebrey, Inner Quarters, 14–16; Mann, Precious Records, 1–4; and Lu,
True to Her Word, 16–17.
  19. See, for example, Chen Shangjun 陳尚君, “Qianyan” 前言, Quan Tangwen bubian 全唐文補
編 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2005), 1–4.
  20. Chen Yinke, Hanliutang ji 寒柳堂集 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1980), 94.
  21. Stephen Owen, “Transparencies: Reading the T’ang Lyric,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic
Studies 39 (1979): 233–34.
  22. See, for example, Ebrey’s use of anecdotal records in her Inner Quarters, 12–17.
  23. See Owen, “Transparencies,” 233–34, 248–51.
  24. See, for example, Dorothy Ko, Teachers of the Inner Chambers; Susan Mann, Precious
Records; Weijing Lu, True to Her Word; and Nanxiu Qian, Politics, Poetics, and Gender in
Late Qing China.

1. The Rise of Daoist Priestesses as a Gendered

Religio-Social Group

    1. See mainly Stephen R. Bokenkamp, “Time after Time: Taoist Apocalyptic History and the
Founding of the T’ang Dynasty,” Asia Major (3rd series) 7, no. 1 (1994): 59–88; Timothy
Barrett, Taoism Under the T’ang: Religion & Empire During the Golden Age of Chinese
History (London: Wellsweep, 1996), 20–28; Ding Huang 丁煌, Han Tang Daojiao lunji 漢唐道
教論集 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2009), 54–55, 63–68; and Bai Zhaojie, Zhenghe ji
zhiduhua: Tang qianqi Daojiao yanjiu 整合及制度化: 唐前期道教研究 (PhD diss., University of
Macau, 2016), 32–45.
    2. Sun Kekuan 孫克寬, “Tangdai Daojiao yu zhengzhi” 唐代道教與政治, in Shiji kaozheng, Qin
Han zhonggushi yanjiu lunji 史記考證, 秦漢中古史硏究論集 (Taibei: Dalu zazhishe, 1981),
494; Timothy Barrett, Taoism Under the T’ang, 22–28; and Bai Zhaojie, Zhenghe ji zhiduhua,
45–52.
    3. See mainly Rao Zongyi 饒宗頤, “Cong shike lun Wuhou zhi zongjiao xinyang” 從石刻論武后
之宗教信仰, Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology 45 (1974): 397–412; Sun
Kekuan, “Tangdai Daojiao yu zhengzhi,” 495–97; Barrett, Taoism Under the T’ang, 29–45;
and Qing Xitai 卿希泰, ed., Zhongguo Daojiaoshi 中國道教史 (Chengdu: Sichuan renmin
chubanshe, 1996), vol. 2, 55–65.
    4. For a detailed discussion of the Daoist beliefs of Emperor Ruizong and his children, see
chapter 2 of this book.
    5. See mainly Charles Benn, “Religious Aspects of Emperor Hsüan-tsung’s Taoist Ideology,” in
Buddhist and Taoist Practice in Medieval Chinese Society, ed. David W. Chappell (Honolulu:
University of Hawai’i Press, 1987), 127–46; Barrett, Taoism Under the T’ang, 46–73; Ren Jiyu
任繼愈, ed., Zhongguo Daojiaoshi 中國道教史 (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe,
2001), 288–99; and Bai Zhaojie, Zhenghe ji zhiduhua, 57–66.
    6. See mainly Edward H. Schafer, “Tu Kuang-t’ing,” in The Indiana Companion to Traditional
Chinese Literature, ed. William Nienhauser (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986),
821–24; Franciscus Verellen, Du Guangting (850–933): Taoïste de cour à la fin de la Chine
médiévale (Paris: Collège de France, Institut des hautes études chinoises, 1989); Verellen,
“Evidential Miracles in Support of Taoism: The Inversion of a Buddhist Apologetic Tradition on
 Late Tang China,” T’oung Pao 78 (1992): 217–63; Verellen, “A Forgotten T’ang Restoration:
The Taoist Dispensation After Huang Ch’ao,” Asia Major (3rd series) 7, no. 1 (1994): 107–53;
Barrett, Taoism Under the T’ang, 74–101; and Li Ping 李平, Gongguan zhiwai de changsheng
yu chengxian: Wan Tang Wudai Daojiao xiudao bianqian yanjiu 宮觀之外的長生與成仙: 晚唐
五代道教修道變遷研究 (Beijing: Zhongyang bianyi chubanshe, 2014), 66–295.
    7. See mainly Paul W. Kroll, “Szu-ma Ch’eng-chen in T’ang Verse,” Society for the Study of
Chinese Religions Bulletin 6 (1978): 16–30; Kroll, “Notes on Three Taoist Figures of the T’ang
Dynasty,” Society for the Study of Chinese Religions Bulletin 9 (1981): 19–41; Ding Huang,
“Tangdai Daojiao Taiqinggong zhidukao” 唐代道教太清宮制度考, Lishi xuebao 歷史學報
(Chenggong University) 6 (1979): 275–314; 7 (1980): 177–220; Russell Kirkland, “The Last
Taoist Grand Master at the T’ang Imperial Court: Li Han-kuang and T’ang Hsuan-tsung,”
T’ang Studies 4 (1986): 43–67; Kirkland, “Ssu-ma Ch’eng-chen and the Role of Taoism in the
Medieval Chinese Polity,” Journal of Asian History 31, no. 2 (1997): 105–38; Charles D.
Benn, “Religious Aspects of Emperor Hsüan-tsung’s Taoist Ideology,” in Buddhist and Taoist
Practice in Medieval Chinese Society, ed. David W. Chappell (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i
Press, 1987), 127–46; Li Gang 李剛, “Tang Xuanzong chongdao biannian kao” 唐玄宗崇道編
年考, Daojiaoxue tansuo 道教學探索 6 (1992): 323–24; Victor Xiong, “Ritual Innovations and
Taoism Under T’ang Xuanzong,” T’oung Pao 82 (1996): 258–316; Isabelle Robinet, Taoism:
Growth of a Religion, trans. Phyllis Brooks (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1997),
184–211; and Livia Kohn and Russell Kirkland, “Daoism in the Tang (618–907),” in Daoism
Handbook, ed. Livia Kohn (Leiden: Brill, 2004), 339–83.
    8. See Jinhua Jia, “Religious and Other Experiences of Daoist Priestesses in Tang China,”
T’oung Pao: International Journal of Chinese Studies 102, no. 4–5 (2016): 355–56; and
chapter 3 of this book.
    9. For studies on the early medieval Daoist movement, see mainly Chen Guofu 陳國符,
Daozang yuanliu kao 道藏源流考 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1963), 1–104, 308–69; Yoshioka
Yoshitoyo 吉岡義豐, Dōkyō kyōten shiron 道教經典史論 (Tokyo: Dōkyō kankōkai, 1966), 5–
90; Michel Strickmann, Le Taoïsme du Mao Chan, chronique d’une révélation (Paris: Collège
de France, Institut des hautes études chinoises, 1981); Isabelle Robinet, La révélation du
Shangqing dans l’histoire du daôisme (Paris: École française d’Extrême-Orient, 1984);
Kobayashi Masayoshi 小林正美, Rikuchō Dōkyōshi kenkyū 六朝道教史研究 (Tokyo:
Sōbunsha, 1990); Ōfuchi Ninji 大淵忍爾, Dōkyō to sono kyōten 道教とその經典 (Tokyo:
Sōbunsha, 1997), 3–506; Stephen R. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1997); Bokenkamp, “The Early Lingbao Scriptures and the
Origins of Daoist Monasticism,” in Buddhism, Daoism, and Chinese Religion, ed. Stephen F.
Teiser and Franciscus Verellen (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2003), 95–126; Lü
Pengzhi 呂鵬志, Tang qian Daojiao yishi shigang 唐前道教儀式史綱 (Beijing: Zhonghua
shuju, 2009); Wang Chengwen, “The Revelation and Classification of Daoist Scripture,” in
Early Chinese Religion, part 2: The Period of Division (220–589 A.D.), ed. John Lagerwey
and Lü Pengzhi (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 775–890; Gil Raz, The Emergence of Daoism: Creation
of Tradition (New York: Routledge, 2012); and Terry Kleeman, Celestial Masters: History and
Ritual in Early Daoist Communities (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2016).
  10. Gil Raz, Emergence of Daoism, 6.
  11. See mainly Moroto Tatsuo 諸戶立雄, Chūgoku Bukkyō seidoshi no kenkyū 中國仏教制度史の
硏究 (Tokyo: Hirakawa, 1990), 7–214; Zheng Xianwen 鄭顯文, “Tangdai Daosengge yanjiu”
唐代道僧格研究, Lishi yanjiu 歷史研究 4 (2004): 38–54, 190; and Zhao Jing 趙晶, “Tangdai
Daosengge zaitan: jianlun Tianshengling Yuguanling Sengdaokefa tiao” 唐代道僧格再探: 兼
論天聖令獄官令僧道科法條, Huadong zhengfa daxue xuebao 華東政法大學學報 6 (2013):
 127–49.
  12. See mainly Chen Guofu, Daozang yuanliu kao, 259–66; Ding Huang, “Tangdai Daojiao
Taiqinggong zhidu kao,” 73–156; Sun Changwu 孫昌武, “Tangdai Chang’an daoguan jiqi
shehui wenhua huodong” 唐代長安道觀及其社會文化活動, in Daojiao yu Tangdai wenxue 道
教與唐代文學 (Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 2001), 409–69; Fan Guangchun 樊光春,
Chang’an Daojiao yu daoguan 長安道教與道觀 (Xi’an: Xi’an chubanshe, 2002), 70–89; Livia
Kohn, Monastic Life in Medieval Daoism: A Cross-Cultural Perspective (Honolulu: University
of Hawai’i Press, 2003); and Lin Xilang 林西朗, Tangdai Daojiao guanli zhidu yanjiu 唐代道教
管理制度研究 (Chengdu: Ba Shu shushe, 2006), 67–106, 164–71.
  13. Li Linfu 李林甫 (683–753), ed., Tang liudian 唐六典 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1992), 3.74;
Bai Juyi 白居易 (772–846) and Kong Zhuan 孔傳 (fl. 1131–1162), Bai Kong liutie 白孔六帖,
Siku quanshu 四庫全書 (SKQS), 89.10a; and Tianyige bowuguan 天一閣博物館 and
Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan lishi yanjiusuo Tianshengling zhengli ketizu 中國社會科學院歷
史研究所天聖令整理課題組, eds., Tianyige cang Ming chaoben Tianshengling jiaozheng, fu
Tangling fuyuan yanjiu 天一閣藏明鈔本天聖令校證, 附唐令復原研究 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
2006), 38. During the Zhenguan reign period (627–649), the required scripture for
transmission, initially, was the Sanhuang jing 三皇經, but it was later prohibited and replaced
by the Daode jing, in 648. See Moroto Tatsuo, Chūgoku Bukkyō seidoshi no kenkyū, 368–70;
Niida Noboru 仁井田陞 and Ikeda On 池田溫, Tōrei shūi ho: tsuketari Tō-Nichi ryōrei taishō
ichiran 唐令拾遺補: 附唐日兩令對照一覽 (Tokyo: Tōkyō daigaku shuppankai, 1997), 194–96;
and Dai Jianguo 戴建國, “Tang Kaiyuan ershiwunian ling tianling yanjiu” 唐開元二十五年令田
令研究, Lishi yanjiu 歷史研究 2 (2000): 36–50.
  14. See Shigenoi Shizuka 滋野井恬, “Tōdai no sōdō kyūdasei ni tsuite” 唐代の僧道給田制に就い
て, Ōtani gakuhō 大谷學報 37, no. 4 (1957), 55–64; Bai Wengu 白文固, “Tangdai sengni
daoshi shoutian wenti de bianxi” 唐代僧尼道士受田問題的辨析, Shehui kexue 社會科學 3
(1982): 54–58; Han Guopan 韓國磐, Beichao Sui Tang de juntian zhidu 北朝隋唐的均田制度
(Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1984), 128–247; and Wang Yongping 王永平,
Daojiao yu Tangdai shehui 道教與唐代社會 (Beijing: Shoudu shifan daxue chubanshe, 2002),
203–17. See also Suzuki Shun 鈴木俊 et al., Tangdai juntianzhi yanjiu xuanyi 唐代均田制研究
選譯, trans. Jiang Zhengqing 姜鎮慶 et al. (Lanzhou: Gansu jiaoyu chubanshe, 1992); and
Ikeda On 池田溫, Tōshi ronkō: shizokusei to kindensei 唐史論攷: 氏族制と均田制 (Tokyo:
Kyūko shoin, 2014).
  15. See Wang Yongping, Daojiao yu Tangdai shehui, 211–12; and Lin Xilang, Tangdai Daojiao
guanli zhidu yanjiu, 272–73.
  16. See mainly Chen Guofu, “Sandong Sifu jing zhi yuanyuan ji chuanshou” 三洞四輔經之淵源及
傳授, in Daozang yuanliu kao 道藏源流考 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2012), 1–104; Yoshioka
Yoshitoyo, Dōkyō kyōten shiron, 5–90; Ōfuchi Ninji 大淵忍爾, Dōkyō to sono kyōten, 3–556;
Stephen R. Bokenkamp, “Lu Xiujing, Buddhism, and the First Daoist Canon,” in Culture and
Power in the Reconstruction of the Chinese Realm, 200–600, ed. Scott Pearce, Audrey
Spiro, and Patricia Ebrey (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asian Center, 2001), 191–99;
and Gil Raz, The Emergence of Daoism, 210–56.
  17. Jinming Qizhen 金明七真, Dongxuan lingbao sandong fengdao kejie yingshi 洞玄靈寶三洞奉
道科戒營始, Daozang 道藏 (DZ) (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin: Wenwu chubanshe, Shanghai
shudian, Tianjin guji chubanshe, 1988), 1125; Jinming Qizhen, Sandong fengdao kejie yifan
三洞奉道科誡儀範, in Zhonghua daozang 中華道藏, ed. Zhang Jiyu 張繼禹 (Beijing: Huaxia
chubanshe, 2004), vol. 42. The latter is a collection of four manuscripts rediscovered from
Dunhuang, which are possibly fragments from the former. For discussions of the textual
history, date, author(s), and translation of Jinming Qizhen’s text(s), see Yoshioka Yoshitoyo
 吉岡義豐, Dōkyō to Bukkyō 道教と佛教 (Tokyo: Nihon gakujutsu shinkōkai, 1959), vol. 3, 77–
159; Liu Chunren 柳存仁, “Sandong fengdao kejie yifan juanwu: P2337 zhong Jinming
Qizhen yici zhi tuice” 三洞奉道科戒儀範卷五: P二三三七中金明七真一詞之推測, in Hanxue
yanjiu 漢學研究 4, no. 2 (1986): 509–32; Florian C. Reiter, The Aspirations and Standards of
Taoist Priests in the Early T’ang Period (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1998); Florian C.
Reiter and Ursula-Angelika Cedzich, “Dongxuan lingbao sandong fengdao kejie yingshi,” in
Taoist Canon, 451–53; and Livia Kohn, The Daoist Monastic Manual: A Translation of the
Fengdao Kejie (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).
  18. Major texts include Zhu Faman 朱法滿, Yaoxiu keyi jielü chao 要修科儀戒律鈔, DZ 463;
Daomen jingfa xiangcheng cixu 道門經法相承次序, DZ 1128; Shi Chongxuan 史崇玄 (d. 731)
et al., eds, Yiqie daojing yinyi miaomen youqi 一切道經音義妙門由起, DZ 1123; Zhang Wanfu
張萬福, Chuanshou Sandong jingjie falu lüeshuo 傳授三洞經戒法籙略說 (713), DZ 1241;
Zhang, Sandong zhongjie wen 三洞眾戒文, DZ 178; Zhang, Sandong fafu kejie wen 三洞法服
科戒文, DZ 788; Zhang, Dongxuan lingbao sanshi minghui xingzhuang juguan fangsuo wen
洞玄靈寶三師名諱形狀居觀方所文, DZ 445; Shoulu cidi faxin yi 受籙次第法信儀, DZ 1244;
and Liu Ruozhuo 劉若拙 (fl. 882–972) and Sun Yizhong 孫夷中, Sandong xiudao yi 三洞修道
儀, DZ 1237.
  19. See mainly Kristofer M. Schipper, “Taoist Ordination Ranks in the Tun-huang Manuscripts,” in
Religion und Philosophie in Ostasien: Festschrift für Hans Steininger zum 65. Geburtstag, ed.
Gert Naundorf, Karl-Heinz Pohl, and Hans-Hermann Schmidt (Würzburg: Königshausen and
Neumann, 1985), 127–43; Charles Benn, The Cavern-Mystery Transmission: A Taoist
Ordination of A.D. 711 (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1991), 72–95; Florian C. Reiter,
The Aspirations and Standards of Taoist Priests in the Early T’ang Period, 133–64; Charles
Benn, “Daoist Ordination and Zhai Rituals,” in Daoism Handbook, 311–22; Kobayashi
Masayoshi, Tōdai no Dōkyō to Tenshidō 唐代の道教と天師道 (Tokyo: Chisen shokan, 2003),
13–63; Lin Xilang, Tangdai Daojiao guanli zhidu yanjiu, 213–39; and Bai Zhaojie, Zhenghe ji
zhiduhua, 288–346. Because the records of the ranks in relevant Daoist texts differ in some
details, scholars have drawn up different lists; my list here is therefore somewhat different
from those of others.
  20. Cui Ge 崔格, “Gu dongdu Anguoguan Dadong Wang lianshi muzhiming bingxu” 故東都安國
觀大洞王煉師墓銘並序, in Luoyang xinhuo muzhi xubian 洛陽新獲墓誌續編, ed. Qiao Dong
喬棟, Li Xianqi 李獻奇, and Shi Jiazhen 史家珍 (Beijing: Kexue chubanshe, 2008), 252.
  21. See chapter 2 of this book for a detailed study.
  22. Denis Twitchett, introduction to The Cambridge History of China (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1979), 3.1: 4.
  23. Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200), Zhuzi yulei 朱子語類, ed. Li Jingde 黎靖德 (Beijing: Zhonghua
shuju, 1988), 136.3245.
  24. See mainly Howard S. Levy, “T’ang Courtesans, Ladies and Concubines,” Orient/West 8
(1962): 60; Wang Shounan 王壽南, “Tangdai gongzhu de hunyin” 唐代公主的婚姻, in Lishi yu
Zhongguo shehui bianqian (Zhongguo shehuishi) yantao hui lunwenji 歷史與中國社會變遷
(中國社會史) 研討會論文集 (Taibei: Zhongyang yanjiuyuan, 1982), 151–91; Gao Shiyu 高世
瑜, Tangdai funü 唐代婦女 (Xi’an: Sanqin chubanshe, 1988), 149–56; Xiang Shuyun 向淑雲,
Tangdai hunyinfa yu hunyin shitai 唐代婚姻法與婚姻實態 (Taibei: Taiwan shangwu
yinshuguan, 1991), 190–210; Yang Jiping 楊際平, “Dunhuang chutu de fangqishu suoyi” 敦煌
出土的放妻書瑣議, Xiamen daxue xuebao 廈門大學學報 4 (1999): 34–41; Duan Tali 段塔麗,
Tangdai funü diwei yanjiu 唐代婦女地位研究 (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 2000), 106–16;
Chen Gaohua 陳高華 and Tong Shaosu 童芍素, eds., Zhongguo funü tongshi: Sui Tang
Wudai juan 中國婦女通史: 隋唐五代卷 (Hangzhou: Hangzhou chubanshe, 2010), 169–80;
 and Yue Hong, “Divorce Practice in Late Medieval Dunhuang: Reading ‘Documents on
Setting the Wife Free,’ ” T’ang Studies 34, no. 1 (2016): 12–39.
  25. See Gao Shiyu, Tangdai funü, 143–45; Duan Tali, Tangdai funü diwei, 104–106; Seo
Tatsuhiko 妹尾達彥, “Caizi yu jiaren: jiushiji Zhongguo xinde nannü renshi de xingcheng” 才子
與佳人: 九世紀中國新的男女認識的形成, in Tang Song nüxing yu shehui 唐宋女性與社會, ed.
Deng Xiaonan 鄧小南 (Shanghai: Shanghai cishu chubanshe, 2003), 695–722.
  26. Cen Zhongmian 岑仲勉, Sui Tang Wudai shi 隋唐五代史 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji
chubanshe, 1984), 24.
  27. See Gao Shiyu, Tangdai funü, 128–37; Patricia E. Karetzky, “The Representation of Women
in Medieval China: Recent Archaeological Evidence,” T’ang Studies 17 (1999): 213–71; Duan
Tali, Tangdai funü diwei, 86–93; Stephen Owen, The Late Tang: Chinese Poetry of the Mid-
Ninth Century (827–860) (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2006), 262; and
Chen and Tong, Zhongguo funü tongshi: Sui Tang Wudai juan, 352–59.
  28. See mainly Denis Twitchett, “Chinese Social History from the Seventh to the Tenth Centuries:
The Tunhuang Documents and Their Implications,” in Past & Present 35 (1966): 28–53, esp.
51–52; Kenneth Chen, The Chinese Transformation of Buddhism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 1973), 288–89; and Hao Chunwen 郝春文, “Zailun Beichao zhi Sui, Tang,
Wudai, Songchu de nüren jieshe” 再論北朝至隋唐五代宋初的女人結社, Dunhuang yanjiu 敦
煌研究 6 (2006): 103–8.
  29. See mainly Richard W. L. Guisso, Wu Tse-t’ien and the Politics of Legitimization in Tang
China (Bellingham: Western Washington University, 1978); Denis Twitchett and Howard
Wechsler, “Kao Tsung and the Empress Wu: The Inheritor and the Usurper,” in The
Cambridge History of China, 3.1: 242–89; Richard W. L. Guisso, “The Reigns of the Empress
Wu, Chung-tsung and Jui-tsung (684–712),” The Cambridge History of China, 3.1: 290–321;
Jo-shui Chen, “Empress Wu and Proto-Feminist Sentiments in T’ang China,” in Imperial
Rulership and Cultural Change in Traditional China, ed. Frederick P. Brandauer and Chun-
chieh Huang (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994), 77–116; Kegasawa Yasunori 氣
賀澤保規, Sokuten Bukō 則天武后 (Tokyō: Hakuteisha, 1995); Norman H. Rothschild, Wu
Zhao: China’s Only Woman Emperor (New York: Pearson Longman, 2008); Wang Hongjun
王洪軍, Wu Zetian pingzhuan 武則天評傳 (Jinan: Shandong daxue chubanshe, 2010), and
Rebecca Doran, Transgressive Typologies: Constructions of Gender and Power in Early Tang
China (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017).
  30. See mainly Norman Harry Rothschild, “Beyond Filial Piety: Biographies of Exemplary Women
and Wu Zhao’s New Paradigm of Political Authority,” T’ang Studies 23–24 (2005): 149–68.
  31. See Rebecca Doran, Transgressive Typologies, 1–22.
  32. See Gao Shiyu, Tangdai funü, 140–42; Duan Tali, Tangdai funü diwei, 93–98; Chen and
Tong, Zhongguo funü tongshi: Sui Tang Wudai juan, 280–82; and chapter 4 of this book.
  33. See Duan Tali, Tangdai funü diwei, 98–103; Sun Yurong 孫玉榮, Tangdai shehui biange shiqi
de hunyin 唐代社會變革時期的婚姻 (Hangzhou: Zhejiang daxue chubanshe, 2016), 46–52;
Jinhua Jia, “Unsold Peony: Life and Poetry of the Daoist Priestess-Poet Yu Xuanji in Tang
China (618–907),” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 35, no. 1 (2016): 30, 45–46; and
chapter 7 of this book.
  34. According to the newly unearthed epitaph written for her, Shangguan Wan’er was also
appointed consort to both emperors Gaozong and Zhongzong. See Anonym, “Datang gu
Jieyu Shangguan shi muzhiming bingxu” 大唐故婕妤上官氏墓誌銘並序, in Li Ming 李明 and
Geng Qinggang 耿慶剛, “Datang gu Jieyu Shangguan shi muzhi jianshi” 大唐故婕妤上官氏墓
誌箋釋, Kaogu yu wenwu 考古與文物 6 (2013): 111–44. On the study of Shangguan Wan’er,
see mainly Jia Jinhua 賈晉華, Tangdai jihui zongji yu shirenqun yanjiu 唐代集會總集與詩人群
研究, 2nd ed. (Beijing: Beijing University Press, 2015), 40–72; Ronald Egan, “Preface to
 Shangguan Wan’er, Shangguan Zhaorong wenji,” in Women Writers of Traditional China: An
Anthology of Poetry and Criticism, ed. Kang-i Sun Chang and Haun Saussy (Stanford, CA:
Stanford University Press, 1999), 723–25; Zheng Yaru 鄭雅如, “Chongtan Shangguan Wan’er
de siwang, pingfan yu dangdai pingjia” 重探上官婉兒的死亡, 平反與當代評價, Zaoqi
Zhongguoshi yanjiu 早期中國史研究 4, no. 1 (2012): 111–45; Norman Rothschild, “ ‘Her
Influence Great, Her Merit Beyond Measure’: A Translation and Initial Investigation of the
Epitaph of Shanguan Wan’er,” Studies in Chinese Religions 1, no. 2 (2015): 131–48; and Jie
Wu, “Vitality and Cohesiveness in the Poetry of Shangguan Wan’er (664–710),” T’ang
Studies 34, no. 1 (2016): 40–72.
  35. See Song Shenxi 宋申錫, “Da Tang neixueshi Guangping Song shi muzhiming bingxu” 大唐
內學士廣平宋氏墓誌銘並序, transcribed in Zhao Liguang 趙力光 and Wang Qingwei 王慶衛,
“Xinjian Tangdai neixueshi shanggong Song Ruozhao muzhi kaoshi” 新見唐代內學士尚宮宋
若昭墓誌考釋, Kaogu yu wenwu 考古與文物 5 (2014): 102–108; Gao Shiyu, Tangdai funü,
103–4; and Jia Jinhua, “Song Ruolun” 宋若倫, “Song Ruoxun” 宋若荀, “Song Ruozhao” 宋若
昭, “Song Ruoxian” 宋若憲, and “Song Ruoxin” 宋若莘, in Zhongguo wenxuejia da cidian:
Tang Wudai juan 中國文學家大辭典: 唐五代卷, ed. Zhou Zuzhuan 周祖譔 (Beijing: Zhonghua
shuju, 1992), 398–400.
  36. Four of Bao Junhui’s poems and one essay are extant. See Peng Dingqiu 彭定求 (1645–719)
et al., eds., Quan Tangshi 全唐詩 (QTS) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1960), 7.68–69; Dong Gao
董誥 (1740–818) et al., eds., Quan Tangwen 全唐文 (QTW) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1983),
945.3a–b. For discussions on Bao Junhui, see Jia Jinhua, “Bao Junhui,” in Zhongguo
wenxuejia da cidian, 779; and Jeanne Larsen, “Bao Junhui,” in Sun Chang and Saussy,
Women Writers of Traditional China, 54–56.
  37. For a detailed discussion of the Yaochi ji, see Jinhua Jia, “Yaochi ji and Three Daoist
Priestess-Poets in Tang China,” Nan Nü: Men, Women and Gender in China 13, no. 2 (2011):
205–43; and chapter 6 of this book.
  38. See mainly Michel Strickmann, Le Taoïsme du Mao Chan: Chronique d’une révélation (Paris:
Collège de France, Institut des hautes études chinoises, 1981), 36, 69; Kobayashi Masayoshi
小林正美, Rikuchō Dōkyō shi kenkyū 六朝道敎史硏究 (Tōkyō: Sōbunsha, 1990), 357–66;
Wang Ka 王卡, “Huangshu kaoyuan” 黃書考源, Shijie zongjiao yanjiu 世界宗教研究 2 (1997):
65–73; Zhu Yueli 朱越利, “Huangshu kao” 黃書考, Zhongguo zhexue 中國哲學 19 (1998):
167–88; and Schipper and Verellen, Taoist Canon, 129–30.
  39. For studies on this initiation ritual and sexual practice, see mainly Henri Maspero, Taoism
and Chinese Religion, trans. Frank Kierman (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press,
1981), 445–554; Chen Guofu, Daozang yuanliu kao, 365–69; Yang Liansheng 楊聯陞,
“Laojun yinsong jiejing jiaoshi,” Zhongyang yanjiuyuan lishi yuyan yanjiusuo jikan 中央研究院
歷史語言研究所集刊 72, no. 2 (2001): 233–99; R. H. van Gulik, Sexual Life in Ancient China:
A Preliminary Survey of Chinese Sex and Society from ca. 1500 B.C. till 1644 A.D. (Leiden:
Brill, 2003), 72–90; Rolf A. Stein, “Remarques sur les mouvements du taoïsme politico-
religieux au IIe siècle ap. J.-C,” T’oung-pao 50 (1963): 1–78; Kristofer M. Schipper, Taoist
Body, 150–52; Marc Kalinowski, “La transmission du dispositive des Neuf Palais sous les Six
dynasties,” in Tantric and Taoist Studies, ed. Michel Strickmann (Brussels: Institut Belge des
Hauters Etudes Chinoises, 1985), 3: 773–811; Li Ling 李零, “Donghan Wei Jin Nanbeichao
fangzhong jingdian liupai kao” 東漢魏晉南北朝房中經典流派考, Zhongguo wenhua 中國文化
15–16 (1997): 141–58; Yan Shanzhao 嚴善炤, “Shoki dōkyō to kōaka konki bōchū jutsu” 初期
道教と黃赤混氣房中術, Tōhō shūkyō 東方宗教 97 (2001): 1–10; and Lin Fushi, “Lüelun zaoqi
Daojiao yu fangzhongshu de guanxi,” Zhongyang yanjiuyuan lishi yuyan yanjiusuo jikan 中央
研究院歷史語言研究所集刊 72, no. 2 (2001): 241–48.
  40. Dao’an 道安 (312–385), Erjiao lun 二教論, in Guang hongming ji 廣弘明集, ed. Daoxuan 道宣
(596–667), in Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新修大藏經, ed. Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and
Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭 (Tokyo: Taishō issaikyō kankōkai, 1924–1932; reprint, Taibei:
Xinwenfeng chuban gongsi, 1983–1985), 52: 8.140c; Zhen Luan 甄鸞 (535–566), Xiaodao
lun 笑道論, in Guang hongming ji, T 52: 9.152a; Kou Qianzhi 寇謙之 (365–448), Laojun
yinsong jiejing 老君音誦戒經, DZ 785: 211–16; Tao Hongjing, Zhengao 真誥, DZ 1016: 516–
26, 497; and “Taishang lingbao weiyi dongxuan zhenyi ziran jingjue” 太上靈寶威儀洞玄真一自
然經訣, Dunhuang manuscript P. 2403, in Zhonghua daozang, 4: 98a–b.
  41. Kou Qianzhi, Laojun yinsong jiejing, 17–19.
  42. See mainly Michel Strickmann, “A Taoist Confirmation of Liang Wu-ti’s Suppression of
Taoism,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 98, no. 4 (1978): 471; Isabelle Robinet, La
révélation du Shangqing dans l’histoire du taoïsme; Robinet, “Sexualité et taoïsme,” in
Sexualité et religion, ed. Marcel Bernos (Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1988), 51–71; Li Fengmao
李豐楙, “Wei Jin shennü chuanshuo yu Daojiao shennü jiangzhen chuanshuo” 魏晉神女傳說
與道教神女降真傳說 and “Xiwangmu wunü chuanshuo de xingcheng jiqi yanbian” 西王母五女
傳說的形成其演變, both in Wuru yu zhejiang: Liuchao Sui Tang Daojiao wenxue lunji 誤入與
謫降: 六朝隋唐道教文學論集 (Taibei: Xuesheng shuju, 1996), 143–87, 215–45; Paul Kroll,
“Daoist Verse and the Quest of the Divine,” in Early Chinese Religion, part 2: The Period of
Division (220–589 A.D.), ed. John Lagerwey and Lü Pengzhi (Leiden: Brill, 2010), 953–87;
and Kroll, “A Poetry Debate of the Perfected of Highest Clarity,” Journal of the American
Oriental Society 132 (2012): 577–86.
  43. See Edward Schafer, “The Jade Woman of Greatest Mystery,” History of Religions 17 (1978):
387–97; and Li Fengmao, “Wei Jin shennü chuanshuo yu Daojiao shennü jiangzhen
chuanshuo,” 173–80.
  44. Sandong xiudao yi, 166c–167b, 168c. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations of textual
citations and poems in this book are mine.
  45. Sandong xiudao yi, 167b.
  46. Zhang Jiong 張冏, “Tang gu Jiuhuaguan zhu [two characters missing] shi cangxing ji” 唐故九
華觀主 [闕二字] 師藏形記, in Tangdai muzhi huibian xuji 唐代墓誌彙編續集, ed. Zhou
Shaoliang 周紹良 and Zhao Chao 趙超 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2001), 795.
  47. Sun Simiao, Beiji qianjin yaofang, DZ 1163: 544c–546a. For discussions of Sun Simiao’s
ideas on sexual practice, see van Gulik, Sexual Life in Ancient China, 193–97; Catherine
Despeux, Prescriptions d’acuponcture valant mille onces d’or: Traité d’acuponcture de Sun
Simiao du VIIe siècle (Paris: Trédaniel, 1987); and Paul U. Unschuld, “Der chinesische
‘Arzneikönig’ Sun Simiao: Geschichte–Legende–Ikonographie,” Monumenta Serica 42
(1994): 217–57. Although there is no early record of his ordination, according to his
alchemical experiments and other hints in his works, some scholars assume that Sun Simiao
was an ordained Daoist of the Celestial Masters rank. See Nathan Sivin, Chinese Alchemy:
Preliminary Studies (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1968), 81–144; and Livia
Kohn, The Daoist Monastic Manual: A Translation of the Fengdao kejie (New York: Oxford
University Press, 2004), 16.
  48. Du Guangting, Yongcheng jixian lu, DZ 783: 197c–99a.
  49. See, for example, Wen Yiduo 聞一多, Shenhua yanjiu 神話研究 (Chengdu: Ba Shu shushe,
2002), 1–39; and Alan K. L. Chan, “Goddesses in Chinese Religion,” in Goddesses in
Religions and Modern Debate, ed. Larry W. Hurtado (Atlanta: Scholars, 1990), 9–25.
  50. In the legend, the goddess enters the king’s dream and makes love with him, describing
herself as “drifting clouds at dawn and showers of rain at evening.” See Song Yu 宋玉 (fl.
fourth century BCE), “Gaotang fu” 高唐賦, in Wenxuan 文選, ed. Xiao Tong 蕭統 (501–531)
 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1977), 19.1b–6b.
  51. See, for example, Li Dingguang 李定廣 and Xu Kechao 徐可超, “Lun Zhongguo wenren de
Wushan shennü qingjie” 論中國文人的巫山神女情結, Fudan xuebao 復旦學報 5 (2002): 112–
17.
  52. See mainly van Gulik, Sexual Life in Ancient China, 73–90; Li Ling 李零, Zhongguo fangshu
xukao 中國方術續考 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2006), 267–80; and Paul R. Goldin, “The
Cultural and Religious Background of Sexual Vampirism in Ancient China,” Theology &
Sexuality 12, no. 3 (2006): 285–308. Fragments of these Han dynasty sex manuals, along
with some other texts, are preserved in the Ishinpō 醫心方, compiled by the Japanese
physician Tamba Yasuyori 丹波康賴 (912–995) in 982, collected in Li Ling’s Zhongguo
fangshu zhengkao 中國方術正考 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2006), 396–416; and translated in
Douglas Wile, Art of the Bedchamber: The Chinese Sexual Yoga Classics Including Women’s
Solo Meditation Texts (Albany: State University of New York, 1992), 83–113.
  53. Suzanne Cahill, Transcendence and Divine Passion: The Queen Mother of the West in
Medieval China (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1993), 242.
  54. For discussions of these goddesses, see mainly Edward Schafer, The Divine Women:
Dragon Ladies and Rain Maidens in Tang Literature (Berkeley: University of California Press,
1973); Schafer, “Three Divine Women of South China,” Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles,
Reviews 1 (1979): 31–42; Schafer, “Cantos on ‘One Bit of Cloud at Shamanka Mountain,’ ”
Asiatische Studien 36 (1983): 102–24; Suzanne Cahill, “Sex and the Supernatural in
Medieval China: Cantos on the Transcendent Who Presides Over the River,” Journal of
American Oriental Society 105, no. 2 (1985): 197–220; and Cahill, Transcendence and Divine
Passion, 108–89.
  55. See mainly Paul W. Kroll, “Po Chü-i’s ‘Song of Lasting Regret’: A New Translation,” T’ang
Studies 8–9 (1990–1991): 97–104; Stephen Owen, “What Did Liuzhi Hear? The ‘Yan Terrace
Poems’ and the Culture of Romance,” T’ang Studies 13 (1995): 81–118; and Manling Luo,
Literati Storytelling in Late Medieval China (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2015),
26–34.
  56. See mainly Stephen Owen, The End of the Chinese “Middle Ages”: Essays in Mid-Tang
Literary Culture (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1996), 130–76; Anna M. Shield,
“Defining Experience: The ‘Poems of Seductive Allure’ (Yanshi) of the Mid-Tang Poet Yuan
Zhen (779–831),” Journal of the American Oriental Society 122, no. 1 (2002): 61–78; Yue
Hong, “The Discourse of Romantic Love in Ninth Century Tang China” (PhD diss., Harvard
University, 2010); and Luo, Literati Storytelling in Late Medieval China, 99–135.
  57. Catherine Despeux and Livia Kohn, Women in Daoism, 104–18.
  58. Stephan P. Bumbacher defines female wu 巫 or shamans as priestesses, women related to
the Celestial Master tradition (Tianshidao 天師道) as female Daoists, and women related to
the Highest Clarity tradition (Shangqingdao 上清道) as nuns. See Bumbacher, The
Fragments of the Daoxue zhuan: Critical Edition, Translation, and Analysis of a Medieval
Collection of Daoist Biographies (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2000), 494–524. This differentiation
may be suitable for Daoist women before the seventh century. However, as discussed earlier,
during the Tang era the organization of Daoist monasticism was completed and the various
Daoist lineages were now loosely integrated into an ordination hierarchy; usually, ordained
Daoists both practiced self-cultivation and performed rituals. Therefore, I follow the common
practice of designating ordained male Daoists as priests and ordained female Daoists as
priestesses.
  59. For a detailed discussion of ordained princesses and other royal women, see chapter 2 of
this book.
  60. Li Linfu 李林甫 (683–753), ed., Tang liudian 唐六典 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1992), 4.125.
  61. Jinming Qizhen, Fengdao kejie, DZ 1125: 760–62. For discussions of Daoist vestments in the
medieval period, see Livia Kohn, Monastic Life in Medieval Daoism, 147–59.
  62. Guan 冠 literally means “hat,” “cap,” “crown,” “headdress,” and the like. Edward H. Schafer
chose to use “capeline,” which means “a woman’s hat with a soft brim.” See Schafer, “The
Capeline Cantos: Verses on the Divine Loves of Taoist Priestesses,” Asiatische Studien 32
(1978): 11. However, the designation of the headdresses for Daoist priestesses may have
originated from the sheng 勝 headdress worn by the Queen Mother of the West. See Yuan Ke
袁珂, ed., Shanghai jing jiaoyi 山海經校譯 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1985), 31;
and Suzanne Cahill, Transcendence and Divine Passion, 15–17. The name nüguan 女官
(female official) already appeared in early Daoist communities in parallel with nanguan 男官
(male official), referring to female and male Daoist officiants. The name nüguan 女冠 (female
headdress) first appeared during the Tang era, possibly after the particular headdresses of
Daoist priestesses, and also from the same pronunciation of both “official” and “headdress”
as guan. Schafer speculated that, because Tang female palace employees were also called
nüguan or “female official,” this may have led to the adoption of the alternate form of nüguan
or “female headdress” for Daoist priestesses. See Schafer, “The Capeline Cantos,” 9–11.
  63. The tune “Nüguan zi” 女冠子 is listed in the register of songs taught in the Jiaofang 教坊
(Instruction Quarter of Music) founded in the eighth century by Emperor Xuanzong. For an
excellent study of the extant lyrics for this tune by poets of the Tang and the Five Dynasties,
see Schafer, “The Capeline Cantos,” 5–65.
  64. This is a memorial presented by Qi Huan 齊澣 (d. 750) in 741; see Wang Pu 王溥 (922–982),
Tang huiyao 唐會要 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1955), 50.865.
  65 Emperor Gaozong, “Ting chi seng dao fanzui tong sufa tuikan chi” 停敕僧道犯罪同俗法推勘
敕, in QTW, 14.1b–2a.
  66. Li Linfu, Tang liudian, 3.74.
  67. Fu Xuancong 傅璇琮, Chen Shangjun 陳尚君, and Xu Jun 徐俊, eds., Tangren xuan Tangshi
xinbian (zengdingben) 唐人選唐詩新編 (增訂本) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2014), 883–912,
868–70, 879, 1192–203. See also Jinhua Jia, “Yaochi ji,” 211–14; Jia, “The Identity of Daoist
Priestesses in Tang China,” in Gendering Chinese Religion: Subject, Identity, and Body, ed.
Jinhua Jia, Xiaofei Kang, and Ping Yao (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2014),
121–22; and discussions in chapter 6 of this book.
  68. Li Linfu, Tang liudian, 3.74.
  69. See, for example, Han Guopan, Beichao Sui Tang de Juntian zhidu, 128–247; and Wang
Yongping, Daojiao yu Tangdai shehui, 203–17.
  70. Qian Yi 錢易 (968–1026), Nanbu xinshu 南部新書 (Shanghai: Zhonghua shuju, 1958), 50;
and Xu Song 徐松 (1781–1848), Tang liangjing chengfang kao 唐兩京城坊考 (Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 1985), 3.60.
  71. See Huangfu Mei, Sanshui xiaodu, quoted in Taiping guangji 太平廣記, ed. Li Fang 李昉
(925–996) et al. (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1961), 130.922–23.
  72. These religious activities are discussed in Jinhua Jia, “Religious and Other Experiences of
Daoist Priestesses,” 321–57; and in chapter 3 of this book.
  73. See discussions in chapters 2, 3, 6, and 7.
  74. For example, in Jiaoran’s 皎然 (ca. 720–ca. 793) poem titled “Yu Wang lushi hui Zhang
zhengjun zimei lianshi yuan wanxue jianhuai Qinghui shangren” 與王錄事會張徵君姊妹煉師
院玩雪兼懷清會上人 (QTS, 817.9206), we see that a Buddhist monk (Jiaoran), an official
(Wang lushi), and two Daoist priestesses socialized at the priestesses’ cloister, watching the
snowy scenery and composing poems.
  75. Luo Binwang, “Dai nüdaoshi Wang Lingfei zeng daoshi Li Rong” 代女道士王靈妃贈道士李榮,
 in QTS, 77.838–39. For a detailed analysis of this poem, see Jia Jinhua, “Tangshi zhong
youguan nüdaoshi de lianqingshi kaobian” 唐詩中有關女道士的戀情詩考辨, Daojia wenhua
yanjiu 道家文化研究 24 (2009): 128–32.
  76. Chen Shangjun 陳尚君, ed. Quan Tangshi bubian 全唐詩補編 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
1992), 1:19.313.
  77. Bai Juyi, “Yu Yuan jiu shu” 與元九書, Bai Juyi ji jianjiao 白居易集箋校, ed. Zhu Jincheng 朱金
城 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1988), 45.2789–806; QTW, 675.1a–9a.
  78. For a detailed discussion of Li Jilan, see Jia, “Yaochi ji,” 216–33; and chapter 6 of this book.
  79. See Edward H. Schafer, “The Capeline Cantos: Verses on the Divine Loves of Taoist
Priestesses,” Asiatische Studien 32 (1978): 5–65; and Jia, “Identity of Tang Daoist
Priestesses,” 113–16.
  80. See Jia, “Identity of Tang Daoist Priestesses,” 114–16; and chapter 6 and 7 for detailed
discussions in this regard.
  81. About the twin pillars, see Dorothy Ko, Teachers of the Inner Chambers, 12.

2. Destiny and Power of the Ordained Royal Women

    1. Yu Xianhao, “Li Bai liangru Chang’an ji youguan jiaoyou kaobian” 李白兩入長安及有關交遊考
辨, Nanjing shifan daxue xuebao 南京師範大學學報 4 (1978): 62–71; and Yu, “Li Bai yu
Yuzhen gongzhu guocong xintan” 李白與玉真公主過從新探, Wenxue yichan 文學遺產 1
(1994): 34–40.
    2. Li Fengmao, “Tangdai gongzhu rudao yu ‘Song gongren rudao shi’ ” 唐代公主入道與送宮人入
道詩, in You yu you: Liuchao Sui Tang youxianshi lunji 幽與遊: 六朝隋唐遊仙詩論集 (Taibei:
Xuesheng shuju, 1996), 293–336.
    3. Ping Yao, “Contested Virtue: The Daoist Investiture of Princesses Jinxian and Yuzhen and
the Journey of Tang Imperial Daughters,” T’ang Studies 22 (2007): 1–41.
    4. Tsukamoto Zenryū, “Bōzan Unkyoji no sekkyō daizōkyō” 房山雲居寺の石刻大藏經, in
Tsukamoto Zenryū chosaku shū 塚本善隆著作集 (Tokyo: Daitō shuppansha, 1974–76), 5:
293–610; Kegasawa Yasunori, “Jinxian gongzhu he Fangshan Yunjusi shijing” 金仙公主和房
山雲居寺石經, in Tisanjie Zhongguo Tangdai wenhua xueshu yantaohui lunwenji 第三屆中國
唐代文化學術研討會論文集, ed. Zhongguo Tangdai xuehui bianji weiyuanhui 中國唐代學會編
輯委員會 (Taibei: Yuexue shuju, 1997), 292–310; and Jinhua Chen, “A Daoist Princess and a
Buddhist Temple: A New Theory on the Causes of the Canon-Delivering Mission Originally
Proposed by Princess Jinxian (689–732) in 730,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and
African Studies 69, no. 2 (2006): 267–92.
    5. In rare cases, such as those of Jinxian and Yuzhen, a few princesses had residential
convents in the eastern capital Luoyang and other provincial locations. See later discussion.
    6. The only exception was the Huayang convent, which was established to earn merit for
Huayang’s posthumous welfare in 778. However, this convent was simply converted from the
residence of Guo Yingyi 郭英義 and therefore did not cost much of the governmental reserve.
See Wang Pu 王溥 (922–982), Tang huiyao 唐會要 (THY) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1955),
50.878.
    7. THY records the convent’s name as Huafeng 華封, but according to Jing Luo’s 京洛
research, the name should be Yongmu. See Jing Luo, “Tang Chang’an cheng Taiping
gongzhu zhaidi jiujing you jichu” 唐長安城太平公主宅第究竟有幾處, Zhongguo lishi dili
luncong 中國歷史地理論叢 1 (1999): 181–83.
    8. Ma Duanlin, Wenxian tongkao 文獻通考 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1986), 258.2045–46.
    9. See Liu Ruozhuo and Sun Yizhong, Sandong xiudao yi, Daozang 道藏 (DZ) (Beijing,
Shanghai, Tianjin: Wenwu chubanshe, Shanghai shudian, Tianjin guji chubanshe, 1988),
1237: 167b; Jinming Qizhen 金明七真, Dongxuan lingbao sandong fengdao kejie yingshi 洞玄
靈寶三洞奉道科戒營始, DZ 1237, 166b–69b. This text records that ordained Daoists of lower
ranks, such as novice and Orthodox Unity, were allowed to stay married or to remain at
home. However, according to a number of epitaphs, some Daoists who reached higher levels
of ordination also remained married and at home, including the famous Daoist priest Deng
Yankang 鄧延康, the prime minister Li Deyu 李德裕 (787–850), and his wife, Liu Zhirou 劉致
柔, all of whom were ordained at the highest rank of the Great Cavern and Three Radiances
but maintained their marriages. See Zheng Tian 鄭畋, “Tang gu shangdu Longxingguan
Sandong jinglu cizi fashi Deng xiansheng muzhiming” 唐故上都龍興觀三洞經籙賜紫法師鄧先
生墓誌銘, in Quan Tangwen 全唐文 (QTW) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1983), 767.7981; Li
Deyu, “Tang Maoshan Yandonggong Dadong lianshi Pengcheng Liu shi muzhiming bingxu”
唐茅山燕洞宮大洞鍊師彭城劉氏墓誌銘並序, in Tangdai muzhi huibian 唐代墓誌彙編 (MZ), ed.
Zhou Shaoliang 周紹良 and Zhao Chao 趙超 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1992),
2303–04; and Li Deyu, “Sansheng beiji” 三聖碑記, in Daojia jinshi lüe 道家金石略 (DJJSL),
ed. Chen Yuan 陳垣, Chen Zhichao 陳智超, and Zeng Qingying 曾慶瑛 (Beijing: Wenwu,
1985), 175.
  10. Zhang Jiong 張冏, “Tang gu Jiuhuaguan zhu [two characters missing] shi cangxing ji” 唐故九
華觀主 [闕二字] 師藏形記, in Tangdai muzhi huibian xuji 唐代墓誌彙編續集, ed. Zhou
Shaoliang 周紹良 and Zhao Chao 趙超 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2001), 795.
  11. Wang Qinruo 王欽若 (962–1025) et al., eds., Cefu yuangui 冊府元龜 (CFYG) (Nanjing:
Fenghuang chubanshe, 2009), 54.557.
  12. See Li Yong 李邕 (678–747), “Wutaishan Qingliangsi bei” 五臺山清涼寺碑, QTW, 264.6a–8a.
  13. It was common for medieval Chinese Buddhists to undertake pious acts such as ordination to
gain merit for their ancestors so as to obtain the release of the souls of the deceased from
hell and their entry into the realm of blessedness (Futian 福田 or Fudi 福地). Daoism adopted
this notion and practice.
  14. Peng Dingqiu 彭定求 (1645–1719) et al., eds., Quan Tangshi 全唐詩 (QTS) (Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 1960), 183.4738–40; Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修 (1007–1072), Xin Tangshu 新唐書
(XTS) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1975), 83.3650–52; Sima Guang 司馬光 (1019–1086), Zizhi
tongjian 資治通鑒 (ZZTJ) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1971), 202.6402. See Barrett, Taoism
Under the T’ang, 35. After Xue Shao died, Taiping was married a second time, to Wu Youji 武
悠暨. Charles Benn has argued that, according to Song Minqiu’s 宋敏求 Chang’an zhi 長安志,
the Taiping convent was built when the princess was first ordained, and since the Chang’an
zhi was based on Wei Shu’s 韋述 (d. 757) Liangjing xinji 兩京新記, its record is more reliable,
so the ZZTJ’s record must be incorrect. See Benn, Cavern-Mystery Transmission: A Daoist
Ordination Rite of A.D. 711 (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1991), 85–86. However,
ZZTJ’s record is in accord with XTS’s, whereas the Chang’an zhi mentions only that the
convent was built after the princess’s ordination, without specifying the first or second
investiture. Since Taiping was only about age eight when first initiated, it is unlikely that the
empress built a convent for her to reside in.
  15. QTS, 195.5211; XTS, 83.3668, 217b.6129; THY, 6.77–78, 98.1748–49; and ZZTJ,
241.7789–91. See Denis Sinor, “The Uighur Empire of Mongolia,” in Studies in Medieval
Inner Asia (Brookfield, VT: Ashgate, 1997), 17; Michael R. Drompp, Tang China and the
Collapse of the Uighur Empire: A Documentary History (Leiden: Brill, 2005), 32; Colin
Mackerras, The Uighur Empire According to the T’ang Dynastic Histories: A Study in Sino-
 Uighur Relations 744–840 (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1973), 44–47; and
Mackerras, “Uygur–Tang relations,” Central Asian Survey 19, no. 2 (2000): 223–34. I am
grateful to David Bello and Nicola Di Cosmo for bringing these works to my attention.
  16. XTS, 83.3668.
  17. THY and XTS (which mistakenly gives the name as Xueguo 薛國) record Caiguo’s two
marriages, to Wang Shouyi 王守一 and to Pei Xun 裴巽. According to the epitaph of her
daughter Pei Shangjian (Yuzhen’s daughter-in-law), Caiguo also was married a third time, to
Pei Zhen 裴鎮, who was Shangjian’s father. See Zhang Jiong, “Tang gu Jiuhua guan zhu [two
characters missing] shi cangxing ji,” MZ, 795; and Anonym, “Tang gu Yinqing guanglu dafu
Guozi jijiu Shangzhuguo Weijun kaiguogong Fuma duwei Pei gong muzhiming bingxu” 唐故
銀青光祿大夫國子祭酒上柱國魏郡開國公駙馬都尉裴公墓誌銘並序, in Liu Lianxiang 劉連香,
“Tang Zhongzong Ruizong Fuma Pei Xun muzhi kaolüe” 唐中宗睿宗駙馬裴巽墓誌考略,
Luoyang shifan xueyuan xuebao 洛陽師範學院學報 3 (2004): 9–12.
  18. Xianyi was first married to Yang Hui 楊洄 and then to Xiao Song 崔嵩. See THY, 6.64; XTS,
83.3659.
  19. The “Feng Tangchang gongzhu deng zhi” 封唐昌公主等制 mistakenly records that
Tangchang married Zhang Ji 張垍; in fact, it was her sister, Princess Ningqin 寧親, who
married him. See Tang dazhaoling ji 唐大詔令集 (Beijing: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1959), 194.
  20. Liu Xu 劉昫 (888–947), Jiu Tangshu 舊唐書 (JTS) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1975),
107.3259–60; XTS, 82.3607–8; and ZZTJ, 214.6828–29. Zhang Quanmin 張全民 has studied
this event; see “Tangchang gongzhu muzhiming kaoshi” 唐昌公主墓誌銘考釋, Tang yanjiu 唐
研究 20 (2014): 265–80.
  21. Zhang Ding 張鼎, “Da Tang gu Liangguo furen He shi muzhiming bingxu” 大唐故梁國夫人賀
氏墓誌銘並序, in Da Tang Xishi bowuguan cang muzhi 大唐西市博物館藏墓誌, ed. Hu Ji 胡戟
and Rong Xinjiang 榮新江 (Beijing: Peking University Press, 2012), 487–89.
  22. XTS, 83.3670.
  23. XTS, 83.3658; Xu Qiao 徐嶠, “Da Tang gu Jinxian zhanggongzhu zhishiming bingxu” 大唐故
金仙長公主志石銘並序, MZ, 552–53. “Grand princess” (zhang gongzhu 長公主) refers to a
sister of the current emperor.
  24. XTS, 83.3666, 3668. Ping Yao has contended that becoming Daoist priestesses would bring
“tremendous wealth” to the princesses. See Yao, “Contested Virtues,” 11. This argument
seems exaggerated. Ordained princesses usually received the same stipend as others; only
in particular times and specific cases were somewhat additional allowances given. In
contrast, since unordained princesses were usually married to sons of high officials and great
families, their wealth was greatly increased through marriage and therefore in fact they were
much richer than ordained princesses.
  25. See figure 1.1 in chapter 1 of this book.
  26. See, for example, Wu Yuanheng 武元衡 (d. 813), “Ti gu Caiguo gongzhu Jiuhuaguan
shangchiyuan” 題故蔡國公主九華觀上池院, QTS, 317.3558; and Quan Deyu 權德輿,
“Shangshiri gongyuan kao zawen busui, hu Jiuhuaguan guan fuxi zhihui, yi erjueju shenzeng”
上巳日貢院考雜文不遂, 赴九華觀觀祓禊之會, 以二絕句申贈, QTS, 329.3678.
  27. THY, 50.875; Xu Song 徐松 (1781–1848), Tang liangjing chengfang kao 唐兩京城坊考
(Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1985), 3.60.
  28. See, for example, Yan Xiufu 嚴休復, “Tangchangguan yuruihua zhe, you xianren you,
changran cheng erjue” 唐昌觀玉蕊花折, 有仙人游, 悵然成二絕, QTS, 463.5267–68; and
Wang Jian 王建, “Tangchangguan yuruihua” 唐昌觀玉蕊花, QTS, 301.3437.
  29. Quyang Zhan 歐陽詹, “Wanyue shi” 玩月詩, QTS, 349.3899.
  30. Zhu Jicheng 朱金城, Bai Juyi nianpu 白居易年譜 (Taibei: Wenshizhe chubanshe, 1991), 32–
 36. For a detailed study of the convents’ influences on Tang people, see Li Fengmao,
“Tangdai gongzhu rudao,” 308–24.
  31. See Jia, “Yaochi ji,” 239–40; Jia, “Unsold Peony,” 33; and chapters 6 and 7 of this book.
  32. Zhang Jian 張漸, “Huang diwu sunnü muzhiming bingxu” 皇第五孫女墓誌銘並序, in MZ, 21–
22.
  33. Zhang Jiong, “Tang gu Jiuhuaguan zhu [two characters missing] shi cangxing ji,” MZ, 795.
  34. THY, 5.60; JTS, 193.5151. Li Yuanzhen’s memorial is preserved in QTW, 945.5a–b. See
Edward Schafer, “The Capeline Cantos: Verses on the Divine Loves of Taoist Priestesses,”
Asiatische Studien 32 (1978): 8.
  35. See, for example, QTW, 1.2b, 3.14a–b; 12.1a–2a; 42.19a–b.
  36. QTS, 195.2010, 491.5554, 273.3094, 300.3412, 310.3503, 384.4305, 540.6196, 554.6424,
492.5573. The first two poems are similar, with minor variants.
  37. For a detailed discussion of these poems, see Li Fengmao, “Tangdai gongzhu rudao,” 324–
33. I do not count the ordination of Yang Yuhuan 楊玉環, better known as Precious Consort
Yang, because her investiture was just a device for dissolving her marriage to Prince Shou 壽
王 and then marrying the prince’s father, Xuanzong (JTS, 51.2178; XTS, 76.3493).
  38. Xu Hun 許渾, “Zeng Xiao lianshi bingxu” 贈蕭煉師並序, QTS, 537.6128–29.
  39. Li Fang 李昉 (925–996) et al., eds., Taiping guangji 太平廣記 (TPGJ) (Beijing: Zhonghua
shuju, 1961), 66.413. See Schafer, “Capeline Cantos,” 8. The Song dynasty text Nanyue
zongsheng ji 南嶽總勝集 records that Lu Meiniang was sent to Mount Heng, where she
attained immortality. See Chen Tianfu 陳田夫, Nanyue zongsheng ji, in Taishō shinshū
daizōkyō 大正新修大藏經, 51:1986b.
  40. Lu Lun, “Ti Anguoguan” 題安國觀, QTS, 783.8843, 279.3169. This poem appears twice in the
QTS; in juan 279 it is attributed to Lu Lun and titled “Guo Yuzhen gongzhu yingdian” 過玉真公
主影殿, without the note; in juan 783 it is titled “Ti Anguo guan” with the note, but attributed to
a certain Minister Lu (Lu shangshu 盧尚書).
  41. The name of the author and title of the epitaph are missing, MZ, 14–15.
  42. Li Linfu, Tang liudian, 12.359.
  43. Zhang Jiong, “Tang gu Jiuhua guan zhu [two characters missing] shi cangxing ji,” MZ, 795.
  44. Li Yuan 李遠, “Guan Lian nüzhen zang” 觀廉女真葬, QTS, 519.5930–31.
  45. TPGJ, 66.413. The category of “Female Immortals” in the QTS (863.9756) includes two
poems attributed to Lu Meiniang, possibly a later creation. See Edward H. Schafer, “Three
Divine Women of South China,” Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews 1 (1979): 31–
42. Schafer also briefly discusses Lu Meiniang in his “Capeline Cantos,” 8.
  46. Xu Hun, “Zeng Xiao lianshi,” QTS, 537.6128–29.
  47. Xu Qiao 徐嶠, “Da Tang gu Jinxian zhanggongzhu shendao beiming bingxu” 大唐故金仙長公
主神道碑銘並序, in Wang Chang 王昶 (1725–1807), Jinshi cuibian 金石萃編, in Shike shiliao
xinbian 石刻史料新編, series 1, vol. 2, 1337b–40a; DJJSL, 118–120; and QTW, 267.9b-11a.
QTW’s version is the poorest. Wang Chang and other stele bibliographers mistakenly
recorded the author as Xu Qiaozhi 徐嶠之. In accordance with recently unearthed epitaphs
written for Xu Qiao and his wife, Zhao Zhenhua 趙振華 and Wang Ruifang 王瑞芳 have
verified that the author must be Xu Qiao. See Zhao, “Tang Xu Qiao muzhi yu Xu Qiao qi
Wang Lin muzhi chutan” 唐徐嶠墓誌與徐嶠妻王琳墓誌初探, in Tangshi luncong 唐史論叢 9
(2007): 239–52; and Wang, “Tang Xu Qiao yipian jikao” 唐徐嶠佚篇輯考, in Tushu yu qingbao
圖書與情報 4 (2010): 152–54.
  48. XTS records Jinxian and Yuzhen as the ninth and tenth daughters of Ruizong, but according
to epitaphs written for princesses Daiguo 代國, Liangguo 涼國, and Jinxian, and other texts,
Jinxian should be the eighth and Yuzhen the ninth. See Tao Min 陶敏, “Liu Yuxi shizhong de
 Jiuxian gongzhu kao” 劉禹錫詩中的九仙公主考, Tang wenxue yu wenxian lunji 唐文學與文獻
論集 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2010), 264–73.
  49. See Jinxian’s two funeral biographies. “Xicheng” is mistakenly recorded as “Xining” 西寧 in
some texts.
  50. Longchang is also copied as Changlong 昌隆 because of scribal error, or as Xingchang 興昌,
Chongchang 崇昌, or other variations, to avoid Emperor Xuanzong’s name taboo “Long” 隆
(his name is Li Longji 李隆基).
  51. See Zhao Mingcheng 趙明誠 (1081–1129), Jinshi lu jiaozheng 金石錄校證, ed. Jin Wenming
金文明 (Guilin: Guangxi shifan daxue chubanshe, 2005), 27.469; XTS, 83.3657.
  52. Tao Min, “Liu Yuxi shizhong de Jiuxian gongzhu kao,” 264–73.
  53. Jinxian’s epitaph says she was initiated at age eighteen, while her tomb-pathway stele
inscription specifies the year as 706. In an inscription recording Yuzhen’s religious mission to
Qiaojun 譙郡, Cai Wei 蔡瑋 says she was ordained at age sixteen but mistakenly records the
year as 711. See Cai, “Yuzhen gongzhu chaoye Qiaojun Zhenyuangong shoudao
Wangwushan Xianrentan xiangying ji” 玉真公主朝謁譙郡真源宮受道王屋山仙人壇祥應記,
DJJSL, 139–40. If Yuzhen was sixteen in 711, she would have been born in 695, but this is
impossible because her mother Lady Dou died in 692 (see later discussion). Moreover,
Yuzhen accepted her second investiture (the higher level of the Cavern-Mystery
transmission), not the first, in 711. Her first investiture should have occurred in 706, at the
same time as Jinxian’s. If she was sixteen in 706, she would have been born in 691, in
accordance with her mother’s time.
  54. JTS, 51.2176; ZZTJ, 205.6488. The XTS (4.93) records this event in the twelfth month of
Changshou 2 (693). Dou was promoted to Defei 德妃 (Virtuous Consort) when Ruizong was
enthroned in 684, but in 692 he had already been demoted to prince; therefore, Dou’s title
must also have been demoted to Consort.
  55. Liu Su 劉肅, Da Tang xinyu 大唐新語 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2004), 5.76; ZZTJ,
208.6583–614.
  56. CFYG, 53.557; ZZTJ, 210.6659.
  57. CFYG, 53.557; ZZTJ, 208.6583.
  58. ZZTJ, 208.6614.
  59. Xuanzong, “Kaiyuan Shengwen shenwu huangdi zhu Daodejing chi” 開元聖文神武皇帝注道
德經敕, in DJJSL, 118; CFYG, 53.557.
  60. See Benn, Cavern-Mystery Transmission, 9.
  61. Some scholars have suggested that behind the princesses’ choice was their desire to escape
the constant strife and intrigue associated with court politics. See, for example, Benn,
Cavern-Mystery Transmission, 9. But this is a solid reason only for their first investiture, not
the second and third.
  62. DZ, 1241.
  63. In addition to the Daoist titles, Shi Chongxuan was also conferred four court official titles. For
detailed discussion on Shi, see Benn, Cavern-Mystery Transmission, 16–19; for a discussion
of Zhang Wanfu and his works, see 19–20.
  64. See, for example, Cai Wei 蔡瑋, “Yuzhen gongzhu shoudao lingtan xiangying ji” 玉真公主受
道靈壇祥應記, in DJJSL, 139–40; XTS, 83.3657.
  65. Edward Schafer briefly discusses this event; see Schafer, “The Capeline Cantos,” 7.
  66. CFYG, 53.557; ZZTJ, 210.6659; and THY (50.871) give two different decrees with two
different dates: Xicheng’s (mistakenly written as Xining; i.e., Jinxian) on the seventeenth day,
and Longchang’s (mistakenly written as Changlong; i.e., Yuzhen) on the seventh day. Since
all other sources are consistent in the date and THY is well known for its editorial and scribal
errors, there should not have been two decrees.
  67. THY, 50.871; ZZTJ, 210.6659; QTW, 278.6b–8a. Ning was Grand Master of Remonstration
(Jianyi dafu 諫議大夫) then. Ning Tiyuan is written as Ning Yuanti 寧原悌 in ZZTJ and QTW.
The memorial recorded in ZZTJ is an abridged mixture of two memorials, the first on curbing
the power of the princesses and their husbands in a different case (the third of five memorials
preserved in QTW) and the second on the construction plan.
  68. THY, 50.872–73; CFYG, 53.557; JTS, 7.1517; XTS, 5.118; and ZZTJ, 210.6665. These
records differ regarding days. Here I follow XTS’s dating because the Song dynasty scholar
Lü Xiaqing 呂夏卿 (1015–1068) viewed the Ruizong shilu 睿宗實錄, which recorded the same
day as XTS. See Lü, Tangshu zhibi 唐書直筆, Siku quanshu 四庫全書 (SKQS), 3.12b.
  69. THY, 50.871; Chang’an zhi, 10.1b–2a.
  70. THY, 50.872–73; CFYG, 545.6237; JTS, 101.3158–62; XTS, 126.4413–14; ZZTJ, 210.6665;
and QTW, 237.12b–13b; 278.2b–4a. At that time, Wei was Gentleman Cavalier Attendant on
the Right (You sanji changshi 右散騎常侍), Li was Vice Director of the Chancellery
(Huangmen shilang 黃門侍郎), and Cui was Vice Director of the Bureau of Appointments
(Libu yuanwailang 吏部員外郎).
  71. THY, 50.873–74; CFYG, 545.6237–38, 553.6326; JTS, 101.3158–61; XTS, 118.4279–81;
ZZTJ, 210.6668–69; and QTW, 237.13b–14a, 272.9b–13a. Xin was then Rectifier of
Omissions on the Right (You buque 右補闕).
  72. THY, 50.873; CFYG, 552.6316–17; JTS, 100.3128–29; XTS, 130.4488; WYYH, 621.3218a;
and QTW, 279.15b–16b. Pei was then Secretariat Drafter (Zhongshu sheren 中書舍人).
  73. THY, 50.874; Song Minqiu, Tang dazhaoling ji 唐大詔令集 (SKQS), 108.5b–6a; QTW,
18.16a–b.
  74. THY, 50.874–75; CFYG, 545.6238–39; JTS, 101.3145–46; XTS, 118.4266; and QTW,
200.6b-8b. Wei was then vice minister of the Court of Judicial Review (Taifu shaoqing 太府少
卿).
  75. Ping Yao has contended that opposition to the construction signaled the determination of
court officials to curb the influence of royal women in politics that had characterized the reigns
of Empress Wu and Emperor Zhongzong. See Yao, “Contested Virtue,” 2–3. My interpretation
of the eight memorials disagrees with this opinion.
  76. XTS, 83.3656–57, 36.954. See also Benn, Cavern-Mystery Transmission, 18–19.
  77. Zhongguo fojiao xiehui, Fangshan Yunjusi shijing, 15; and Beijing tushuguan jinshizu 北京圖
書館金石組 and Zhongguo fojiao tushu wenwuguan shijingzu 中國佛教圖書文物館石經組,
Fangshan shijing tiji huibian 房山石經題記彚編 (Beijing: Shumu wenxian chubanshe, 1987),
11–12. Translation adapted from Jinhua Chen, “A Daoist Princess and a Buddhist Temple,”
267–68. At the end of the inscription are signed the names and titles of two scripture
deliverers, Zhisheng 智昇 and Xiuzhang 秀璋, and of the monk of Yunju monastery, Xuanfa
玄法 (fl. 726–755).
  78. According to the “Da Tang Yunjusi Shijingtang bei” 大唐雲居寺石經堂碑 (Fangshan shijing tiji
huibian, 9), Xuanfa was a rector (shangzuo 上座) in Yunju monastery in 726, so by 730 he
was possibly the abbot, especially considering that he was appointed as general inspector
and collator and commissioned with the reciting of the canon. Jinhua Chen has made this
point; see Chen, “A Daoist Princess and a Buddhist Temple,” 269.
  79. See, for example, Chen, “A Daoist Princess and a Buddhist Temple,” 270.
  80. Since the inscription was written in 740, ten years after Jinxian’s petition, scholars have given
different explanations. Some believe the collection was delivered in 730 and the inscription
was a later record; see, for example, Tsukamoto Zenryū, “Bōzan Unkyoji no sekkyō
daizōkyō,” 293–610. Others have speculated that the collection was not delivered until 740
because the Kaiyuan canon was still being compiled or copies were being made during these
 ten years; see, for example, Chen, “A Daoist Princess and a Buddhist Temple,” 270–71.
  81. After the Tang, the Liao and Jin dynasties continued carrying out the project, until the
thirteenth century. For general surveys of the history of the Fangshan stone canon, see
Tsukamoto Zenryū, “Bōzan Unkyoji no sekkyō daizōkyō,” 293–610; Zhongguo fojiao xiehui 中
國佛教協會, ed., Fangshan Yunjusi shijing 房山雲居寺石經 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe,
1978); and Lothar Ledderose, “Carving Sutras into Stone Before the Catastrophe,”
Proceedings of the British Academy 125 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 381–454.
  82. Tsukamoto Zenryū, “Bōzan Unkyoji no sekkyō daizōkyō,” 293–610. Among other
suggestions, Kegasawa Yasunori has speculated that Jinxian may have been connected with
the Yunju monastery through her friendship with Xu Qiao 徐嶠, who was related to Xiao Yu 蕭
瑀 (574–647) and Empress Xiao (d. 630) of the Sui dynasty, two early supporters of the
project. See Kegasawa, “Jinxian gongzhu he Fangshan Yunjusi shijing,” 292–310. Jinhua
Chen, meanwhile, has proposed the source of Jinxian’s interest in the project to be her
connection with Fazang 法藏 (643–712), the great Avataṃsaka master, who likely performed
a major ritual at the Yunju monastery to help suppress the Khitan army in 697. See Chen, “A
Daoist Princess and a Buddhist Temple,” 272–90.
  83. Zhao Qian 趙遷, “Da Tang gu dade zeng Sikong Dabianzheng guangzhi Bukong sanzang
xingzhuang” 大唐故大德贈司空大辨正廣智不空三藏行狀, T 50: 292a–294c.
  84. Sun Chengze, Chunming mengyu lu 春明夢餘錄 (SKQS) (Beijing: Beijing guji chubanshe,
1992) 68.49a.
  85. Zhang Jiong, “Tang gu Jiuhuaguan zhu [two characters missing] shi cangxing ji,” MZ, 795.
  86. Zheng Chuhui 鄭處晦, Minghuang zalu 明皇雜錄, in Ding Ruming 丁汝明, ed., Kaiyuan
Tianbao yishi shizhong 開元天寶遺事十種 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1985), 26–
27.
  87. QTS, 191.5106–5107; and XTS, 204.5810–11.
  88. THY, 50.876; and Xu Song, Tang liangjing chengfang kao, 5.149. The Chang’an zhi
mistakenly records the convent as being in Chang’an (10.16a). See Yang Hongnian 楊鴻年,
Sui Tang liangjing fangli pu 隋唐兩京坊里譜 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1999), 68–
69.
  89. Kang Pian 康駢, Jutan lu 劇談錄 (SKQS ed.), 2.16a–b.
  90. Cai, “Yuzhen gongzhu chaoye Qiaojun Zhenyuangong,” DJJSL, 139–40; and Cai, “Tang
Dongjing daomen weiyishi Shengzhen Xuanyuan liangguan zhu qingxu dongfu lingdu xiantai
Zhenxuan xiansheng Zhang zunshi yilie beiming” 唐東京道門威儀使聖真玄元兩觀主清虛洞府
靈都仙台貞玄先生張尊師遺烈碑銘, in DJJSL, 136–37.
  91. Chen Tiemin 陳鐵民, ed., Wang Wei ji jiaozhu 王維集校注 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1997),
3.241.
  92. Dai Xuan 戴璿 and Liu Tongsheng 劉同昇, “Da Tang shengzu Xuanyuan huangdi lingying
song” 大唐聖祖玄元皇帝靈應頌, engraved on the back of the stele titled “Da Tang
Zongshengguan ji bei” 大唐宗聖觀記碑 in 742. This stele is preserved in the Louguan tai 樓觀
台 in Zhouzhi 周至, Shaanxi. A copy of the text is included in Zhu Xiangshan 朱象山, ed., Gu
Louguan ziyun yanqing ji 古樓觀紫雲衍慶集, DZ 19: 552–53, 565–66.
  93. QTS, 192.5128; XTS, 196.5606.
  94. This ritual implied the symbolism of using dragons as postmen to deliver writs to immortals,
usually including the performance of throwing golden dragons and writs into waters. See, i.e.,
Liu Zhaorui 劉昭瑞, “Cong kaogu cailiao kan Daojiao toulongyi: Jianlun toulongyi de qiyuan”
從考古材料看道教投龍儀: 兼論投龍儀的起源, in Kaogu faxian yu zaoqi Daojiao yanjiu 考古發
現與早期道教研究 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe, 2007), 235–61.
  95. Jiao Zhenjing is also written as Jiao Jingzhen 焦靜真; see Li Bo 李渤, Zhenxi 真系, QTW,
 712.28a–b; Paul W. Kroll, “Notes on Three Taoist Figures of the T’ang Dynasty,” Society for
the Study of Chinese Religions Bulletin 9 (1981): 23–30; and discussions in chapter 3 of this
book.
  96. Han Xiu 韓休, “Tang Yuzhen gongzhu Xianjutai bei” 唐玉真公主仙居台碑. This stele and its
inscription have been lost. The Jigu lumu 集古錄目, however, recorded it, and it is cited by
Chen Si 陳思, Baoke congbian 寶刻叢編 (SKQS), 8.16b–17a.
  97. For Yuzhen’s mission and activities in 743, see Cai, “Yuzhen gongzhu chaoye Qiaojun
Zhenyuangong,” DJJSL, 139–40.
  98. De 德 [family name missing], “Da Tang Wangwushan xianren [seven characters missing]
Yuzhen gongzhu [some characters missing] beiming bingxu” 大唐王屋山仙人[闕七字] 玉真公
主 [闕數字] 碑銘並序, DJJSL, 144–45.
  99. XTS, 204.5811, 59.1518.
100. Yao Ji 姚驥, “Da Tang He’ensi gu dade chi shihao Fajin chanshi muzhiming bingxu” 大唐荷恩
寺故大德敕諡號法津禪師墓誌銘並序, in Xi’an Beilin bowuguan xincang muzhi huibian 西安碑
林博物館新藏墓誌彙編 (Beijing: Xianzhuang shuju, 2007), 524–28; and Ruican 銳燦, “Da
Tang He’ensi gu dade Fajin chanshi ming bingxu” 大唐荷恩寺故大德法津禪師銘並序, in Xi’an
Beilin bowuguan xincang muzhi huibian, 616–18.
101. Some scholars have even suggested that a literary salon was formed, with Yuzhen as its
patron, during Xuanzong’s reign. See, for example, Ding Fang 丁放 and Yuan Xingpei 袁行
霈, “Yuzhen gongzhu kaolun: Yi qi yu shengtang shitan de guanxi wei guijie” 玉真公主考論:
以其與盛唐詩壇的關係為歸結, Beijing daxue xuebao 北京大學學報 41, no. 2 (2004): 41–52.
Judging from available sources, sufficient evidence for such a “salon” seems to be lacking.
102. Emperor Xuanzong, “Tong Yuzhen gongzhu guo dage shanchi” 同玉真公主過大哥山池, QTS,
3.30.
103. Zhang Yue, “Fenghe shengzhi ‘Tong Yuzhen gongzhu you dage shanchi ti shibi’ ” 奉和聖制同
玉真公主游大哥山池題石壁, QTS, 89.982; and Zhang, “Fenghe shengzhi ‘Tong Yuzhen
gongzhu guo dage shanchi ti shibi’ yingzhi” 奉和聖制同玉真公主過大哥山池題石壁應制 QTS,
87.943.
104. Wang Wei, “Fenghe shengzhi ‘Xing Yuzhen gongzhu shanzhuang yin ti shibi shiyun zhizuo’
yingzhi” 奉和聖制幸玉真公主山莊因題石壁十韻之作應制, QTS, 127.1286–87.
105. For detailed discussions of these excursions, see Jia Jinhua, Tangdai jihui zongji yu
shirenqun yanjiu 唐代集會總集與詩人群研究, 2nd ed. (Beijing: Beijing University Press,
2015), 11–72.
106. QTS, 168.1733–34.
107. See Yu Xianhao, “Li Bai liangru Chang’an ji youguan jiaoyou kaobian,” 62–71; and Yu, “Li Bai
yu Yuzhen gongzhu guocong xintan,” 34–40.
108. QTS, 167.1727.
109. See Yu Xianhao, “Wu Yun jian Li Bai shuo bianyi” 吳筠薦李白說辨疑, Nanjing shifan daxue
xuebao 1 (1981): 40–46.
110. Li Qi, “Song Kang Qia rujing jin yuefu ge” 送康洽入京進樂府歌, QTS, 133.1351.
111. Li Duan 李端, “Zeng Kang Qia” 贈康洽, QTS, 284.3238–39; and Dai Shulun 戴叔倫, “Zeng
Kang laoren Qia” 贈康老人洽, QTS, 274.3112. A narrative from the Tang era says that the
poet Wang Wei was recommended by a princess as the top graduate sent from the capital
region for the jinshi examination. See Xue Yongruo 薛用弱, Jiyi ji 集異記, quoted in Li Fang et
al., eds., Taiping guangji (TPGJ), 179.1331–32. Later, in the Yuan dynasty Tang caizi zhuan
唐才子傳, this “princess” was changed to “Jiu gongzhu” 九公主, meaning Yuzhen. See Xin
Wenfang 辛文房, Tang caizi zhuan (SKQS), 2.2a–b. But this later change does not have any
early support.
112. Gao Shi, “Yuzhen gongzhu ge” 玉真公主歌, QTS, 214.2242–43; Chu Guangxi, “Yuzhen
gongzhu shanju” 玉真公主山居, QTS, 139.1418; Lu Lun, “Guo Yuzhen gongzhu yingdian,”
QTS, 379.3169; Sikong Shu, “Ti Yuzhen gongzhu shanchiyuan” 題玉真公主山池院, QTS,
292.3309; Zhang Ji, “Yuzhenguan” 玉真觀, QTS, 386.4361; Li Qunyu, “Yuzhenguan” 玉真觀,
QTS, 569.6596; Wang Jian, “Jiuxian gongzhu jiuzhuang” 九仙公主舊莊, QTS, 300.3403; and
Liu Yuxi, “Jing dongdu Anguoguan Jiuxian gongzhu jiuyuan zuo” 經東都安國觀九仙公主舊院
作, QTS, 357.4016.
113. JTS, 86.2825–26; and XTS, 81.3586–87.
114. XTS, 134.4559.
115. XTS, 192.5532.
116. Liu Cheng, Changshi yanzhi 常侍言旨, incorporated into TPGJ, 188.1408–1409. However,
TPGJ mistakenly attributes the account to Rongmu xiantan 戎幕閒談. See Li Jianguo, 李劍國,
Tang Wudai zhiguai chuanqi xulu 唐五代志怪傳奇敘錄 (Tianjin: Nankai University Press,
1993), 600.
117. QTS, 184.4760; XTS, 208.5880–81; and ZZTJ, 221.7093–96. The three texts, however, add
a Lady Ruxian 如仙媛 to the event as the one banished to the south, undoubtedly because
those later authors did not know that “Jiuxian” was Yuzhen’s nickname and therefore
mistakenly added such a figure.
118. Zhao Mingcheng, Jinshi lu jiaozheng, 27.469.
119. Xuanzong died on the fifth day of the jiansi 建巳 (fourth) month of Yuannian (May 3, 762).
See ZZTJ, 222.7123.
120. Zhao Mingcheng, Jinshi lu jiaozheng, 27.469.
121. This stele and its cover are preserved in the Pucheng Museum. See Wang Renbo 王仁波,
ed., Sui Tang Wudai muzhi huibian, Shaanxi juan 隋唐五代墓誌彙編, 陝西卷 (Tianjin: Tianjin
guji chubanshe, 1991), 162.
122. Jinxian’s tomb-path stele inscription was transcribed by Emperor Xuanzong, the two
princesses’ full brother; this also displays his deep feelings for his sister.
123. The end of the epitaph is signed “Liangzhou dudufu hucao canjun zhi Jixianyuan Wei Linghe
fengjiao jianjiao juanle bing ti zhuan’e” 梁州都督府戶曹參軍直集賢院衛靈鶴奉教檢校鐫勒並題
篆額.
124. For a detailed discussion of Ouyang Xun’s calligraphy, see Stephen J. Goldberg, “Court
Calligraphy of the Early T’ang Dynasty,” Artibus Asiae 49 (1988–89): 189–237. For a detailed
discussion of the inscription’s calligraphic art, see Chang Chun 常春, “Tangdai gongzhu shufa
yishu guankui” 唐代公主書法藝術管窺, Shaanxi shifan daxue xuebao 陜西師範大學學報 42,
no. 3 (2013): 91–96.
125. The Lingfei jing is signed “Dadong sanjing dizi Yuzhen zhanggongzhu fengchi jianjiao xie” 大
洞三景弟子玉真長公主奉勑檢校寫. See “Lingfei jing ce” 靈飛經冊, Weng Wange xiansheng
zhencang shuhua zhuanji 翁萬戈先生珍藏書畫專輯, in Yiyuan duoying 艺苑掇英 34 (1987):
43–46; and Shanghai shuhua chubanshe 上海書畫出版社, ed., Lingfei jing xiaokai moji 靈飛
經小楷墨蹟 (Shanghai: Shanghai shuhua chubanshe, 2000).
126. See Qi Gong 啟功, “Ji Lingfei jing sishisan hang ben” 記靈飛經四十三行本, Yiyuan duoying
藝苑掇英 34 (1987): 47–48; and Ding Fang 丁放, “Yuzhen gongzhu, Li Bai yu shengtang
Daojiao guanxi kaolun” 玉真公主, 李白與盛唐道教關係考論, Fudan Journal 4 (2016): 18–27.

3. Religious Leadership, Practice, and Ritual

Function
 This chapter is derived in part from Jinhua Jia, “Religious and Other Experiences of Daoist
Priestesses in Tang China,” T’oung Pao: International Journal of Chinese Studies 102, no. 4–
5 (2016): 321–57.
    1. See Valerie Hansen, “Inscriptions: Historical Sources for the Song,” Bulletin of Sung-Yuan
Studies 19 (1987): 17–25.
    2. These inscriptions and sources are from Lu Yaoyu 陸耀遹 (1771–1836), ed., Jinshi xubian 金
石續編, in Xuxiu siku quanshu (XXSKQS); Yan Zhenqing 顏真卿 (709–785), Yan Lugong ji 顏
魯公集, in Sibu congkan 四部叢刊 (SBCK); Huang Yongwu 黃永武, ed., Dunhuang baozang
敦煌寶藏 (Taibei: Xinwenfeng chuban gongsi, 1981–86); Wang Ka 王卡, Dunhuang Daojiao
wenxian yanjiu 敦煌道教文獻研究 (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexua chubanshe, 2004); Tian
Yi 田易 et al., Jifu tongzhi 畿輔通志, in Siku quanshu (SKQS); Cao Xuequan 曹學佺 (1574–
1647), Shuzhong guangji 蜀中廣記, SKQS; Chen Lin 陳霖, Nankang fuzhi 南康府志 (Zhengde
正德 [1506–1521], ed.); Song Minqiu, Chang’an zhi; Zhao Lin 趙璘, Yinhua lu 因話錄
(Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1979); Wang Xiangzhi 王象之 (jinshi 1196), Yudi beiji
mu 輿地碑記目 (Congshu jicheng chubian); Long Xianzhao 龍顯昭 and Huang Haide 黃海德,
eds., Ba Shu Daojiao beiwen jicheng 巴蜀道教碑文集成 (Chengdu: Sichuan University Press,
1997); Qi Yuntong 齊運通, ed., Luoyang xinhuo qichao muzhi 洛陽新獲七朝墓誌 (Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 2012); Qiao Dong 喬棟, Li Xianqi 李獻奇, and Shi Jiazhen 史家珍, eds.,
Luoyang xinhuo muzhi xubian 洛陽新獲墓誌續編 (Beijing: Kexue chubanshe, 2008); Hu Ji
and Rong Xinjiang, eds., Da Tang Xishi bowuguan cang muzhi; Linghu Chu 令狐楚 (ca. 766–
837), “Da Tang Huiyuanguan zhonglou ming bingxu” 大唐回元觀鐘樓銘並序, preserved in the
Beilin 碑林 Museum, Xi’an; Daojia jinshi lüe, ed. Chen Yuan, Chen Zhichao, and Zeng
Qingying (DJJSL); Taiping guangji, ed. Li Fang et al. (TPGJ); Cefu yuangui, ed. Wang Qinruo
et al. (CFYG); Quan Tangwen, ed. Dong Gao et al. (QTW); Quan Tangwen bubian, ed. Chen
Shangjun (QTWBB); Tangdai muzhi huibian, ed. Zhou Shaoliang and Zhao Chao (MZ); and
Tangdai muzhi huibian xuji, ed. Zhou Shaoliang and Zhao Chao (MZXJ).
    3. Two priestess-theorists will be discussed in relation to their extant important works on Daoist
and medical theories: Liu Moran (chapter 4) and Hu Yin (chapter 5). In addition, because of
their particular life experiences and literary achievements, the three priestess-poets Li Jilan,
Cui Zhongrong, and Yu Xuanji are discussed in chapters 6 and 7; one more priestess-poet,
Yuan Chun, was an abbess, so her religious experience is discussed in this chapter, while
her poetic achievements are discussed in chapter 6.
    4. A female master was the wife of a master, who was placed in charge of teaching the women.
See Catherine Despeux and Livia Kohn, Women in Daoism (Cambridge, MA: Three Pines,
2003), 104–9.
    5. Stephan P. Bumbacher, The Fragments of the Daoxue zhuan: Critical Edition, Translation,
and Analysis of a Medieval Collection of Daoist Biographies (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2000),
290–306, 501, 522.
    6. Kristofer Schipper, “Taoist Ordination Ranks in the Tun-huang Manuscripts,” in Religion und
Philosophie in Ostasien: Festschrift für Hans Steininger zum 65. Geburtstag (Würzburg:
Königshausen and Neumann, 1985), 127–43; and Dunhuang Daojiao, 294.
    7. See, for example, Li Jingyi 李敬彝, “Datang Wangwushan Shangqing dadong sanjing
nüdaoshi Liu zunshi zhengong zhiming” 大唐王屋山上清大洞三景女道士柳尊師真宮誌銘,
DJJSL, 176–77.
    8. Yan Zhenqing, “Nanyue furen Wei furen xiantan beiming” 南嶽夫人魏夫人仙壇碑銘, in Yan
Lugong ji, 9.1a–7a; and Yan, “Fuzhou Linchuanxian Jingshan Huagu xiantan beiming” 撫州臨
川縣井山華姑仙壇碑銘, Yan Lugong ji, 9.7a–9b.
    9. Lady Wei was reported as serving as a libationer in the Celestial Master tradition, and later
 became a legendary figure in the Highest Clarity revelations. See mainly Chen Guofu 陳國符,
Daozang yuanliu kao 道藏源流考 (1949; reprint, Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1963), 31–32;
Edward Schafer, “The Restoration of the Shrine of Wei Hua-ts’un at Lin-ch’uan in the Eighth
Century,” Journal of Oriental Studies 15 (1977), 124–37; Michel Strickmann, Le Taoïsme du
Mao Chan: chronique d’une revelation (Paris: Collège de France, Institut des hautes études
chinoises, 1981), 142; and James Robson, Power of Place: the Religious Landscape of the
Southern Sacred Peak (Nanyue) in Medieval China (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia
Center, 2009), 187–204.
  10. J. Russell Kirkland, “Huang Ling-wei: A Taoist Priestess in T’ang China,” Journal of Chinese
Religions 19 (1991): 64.
  11. Shixue 師學, “Longheshan Cheng lianshi zhi songbai bei” 龍鶴山成煉師植松柏碑, in QTWBB,
36.442. Lianshi 煉師 (refined master) is the highest among the four titles of Daoist priesthood:
lianshi; fashi 法師 (master of doctrine); weiyishi 威儀師 (master of awful observances); and
lüshi 律師 (master of statues). See Edward H. Schafer, Maoshan in Tang Times (Boulder,
CO: Society for the Study of Chinese Religions, 1989), 79. The stele that is engraved with
this epitaph was discovered by Huang Haide 黃海德 and Yang Chao 楊超 on Mount Longhu
龍鵠 (Mount Longhe’s present name) in 1992. See Long Xianzhao and Huang Haide, eds.,
Ba Shu Daojiao beiwen jicheng, 30–32.
  12. Because the author of the inscription, Shixue, refers to Cheng Wuwei as “my mentor,” she
was possibly Cheng’s disciple and a priestess at the convent. The inscription also gives the
name of the calligrapher who transcribed it as Yang Ling 楊玲, which sounds like a female
name. These points suggest a significant level of literacy and education in and around the
community of the convent.
  13. Weiyishi had two meanings in the Tang. It was the third-highest of the four titles of Daoist
priesthood, and in this sense it has been translated as “master of awful observances” (see
note 11). It also was an official title in monastic management, and priests and priestesses
who carried this official title were mainly in charge of rituals and monastic discipline; see Li
Linfu 李林甫 (683–753), Tang liudian 唐六典 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1992), 4.125. Since
the epitaph titled Feng Deyi with “weiyi jian guanzhu” 威儀兼觀主 (weiyi and concurrently
guanzhu) and guanzhu means “abbess,” here weiyi must also refer to an official, that is
functional, title.
  14. Zhai Yue 翟約, “Datang Wutongguan weiyi jian guanzhu Feng xianshi muzhiming bingxu” 大
唐五通觀威儀兼觀主馮仙師墓誌銘並序, MZXJ, 814. The term “changzhu” 常住 refers to
permanent property shared by all monastics at a Daoist abbey or Buddhist monastery.
  15. See Jacques Gernet, Buddhism in Chinese Society: An Economic History from the Fifth to
the Tenth Centuries, trans. Franciscus Verellen (New York: Columbia University Press, 1995),
94–194.
  16. Li Shangyin, “Zizhou Daoxingguan beiming bingxu” 梓州道興觀碑銘並序, QTW, 779.22b–
27b.
  17. According to Tang law, the management of a Daoist abbey or convent comprised mainly an
abbot or abbess (guanzhu 觀主), a head priest or priestess (shangzuo 上座), and a head
cook (jianzhai 監齋); see Li Linfu, Tang liudian, 4.125.
  18. Liu Congzheng 劉從政, “Da Tang gu Daochongguan zhu Sandong nüzhen Lü xianshi
zhiming bingxu” 大唐故道沖觀主三洞女真呂仙師志銘並序, in Luoyang xinhuo muzhi xubian,
ed. Qiao Dong, Li Xianqi, and Shi Jiazhen, 219.
  19. Song Ruoxian 宋若憲 (d. 835), “Tang Daminggong Yuchenguan gu Shangqing taidong
sanjing dizi Dongyue qingdi zhenren Tian fashi xuanshiming bingxu” 唐大明宮玉晨觀故上清太
洞三景弟子東嶽青帝真人田法師玄室銘並序, MZXJ, 893.
  20. The term “zhiping” 輜輧 refers particularly to carriages for women.
  21. Han Yu, “Huashan nü,” Quan Tangshi, ed. Peng Dingqiu et al. (QTS), 341.3823–24. The
“Huashan maiden” of the poem is based on a real figure of Han Yu’s time. All poetry
translations are mine, unless otherwise indicated.
  22. Cen Wenben 岑文本 (595–645), “Tang jingshi Zhideguan fazhu Meng fashi beiming” 唐京師
至德觀法主孟法師碑銘, in Jinshi xubian, ed. Lu Yaoyu, 4.16a–19b.
  23. Buddhist nuns also preached in the Tang and, even earlier, during the Northern Dynasties.
See Liu Shufen, “Art, Ritual, and Society: Buddhist Practice During the Northern Dynasties,”
Asia Major, 3rd series, 8, no. 1 (1995): 19–49; Wendy Adamek, “A Niche of Their Own: The
Power of Convention in Two Inscriptions for Medieval Buddhist Nuns,” History of Religions
49, no. 1 (2009): 15–18; Jinhua Chen, “Family Ties and Buddhist Nuns in Tang China: Two
Studies,” Asia Major, 3rd series, 15, no. 2 (2002): 51–58; and Jinhua Chen, “The Tang Palace
Buddhist Chapels,” Journal of Chinese Religions 32 (2004): 81–82.
  24. Zhu Xi, Changli xiansheng ji kaoyi 昌黎先生集考異 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe,
1985), 2.15a.
  25. Yan Qi 閻琦, “Huashan nü,” in Tangshi dacidian 唐詩大辭典, ed. Zhou Xunchu 周勛初
(Nanjing: Jiangsu guji chubanshe, 1990), 715.
  26. Wang Wencai 王文才, “Huashan nü,” in Han Yu shiwen mingpian xinshang 韓愈詩文名篇欣
賞, ed. Wang Zhongyong 王仲鏞 (Chengdu: Ba Shu shushe, 1999), 158–59.
  27. Song Ruoxian was one of the five talented Song sisters discussed in chapter 1 of this book.
  28. Zheng Lüqian 鄭履謙, “Tang gu Xuzhou Fugouxian zhubu Xingyang Zheng Dao qi Li furen
muzhiwen” 唐故許州扶溝縣主簿滎陽鄭道妻李夫人墓誌文, MZ, 1078–79.
  29. Yang Jie 楊傑, “Zhaodeguan ji” 昭德觀記, in Nankang fuzhi, 8.42a–43b; Chang’an zhi, 8.4b–
5a. The poet Li Bai wrote two poems on sending off his wife to Mount Lu to look for Li
Tengkong. See Li Bai, “Song nei xun Lushan nüdaoshi Li Tengkong ershou” 送內尋廬山女道
士李騰空二首, in Li Taibai quanji jiaozhu 李太白全集校注, ed. Yu Xianhao 郁賢皓 (Nanjing:
Fenghuang chubanshe, 2015), 23.3364–68; QTS, 184.1884; and Paul W. Kroll, “Li Po’s
Purple Haze,” Taoist Resources 7, no. 2 (1997): 31–33.
  30. “Gu shangdu Zhideguan zhu nüdaoshi Yuan zunshi muzhiwen” 故上都至德觀主女道士元尊師
墓誌文, in MZXJ, 729–30. This epitaph names its subject as Yuan Chunyi. See chapter 6 for
discussion about “Yuan Chunyi” and “Yuan Chun” referring to the same person.
  31. “Bian Dongxuan,” from Dai Fu’s anecdotal collection Guangyi ji 廣異記, quoted in TPGJ,
63.392; Emperor Xuanzong, “Chi Jizhou cishi Yuan Fu Bianxianguan xiuzhai zhao” 敕冀州刺
史原復邊仙觀修齋詔, QTW, 32.363a–b; Sun Chengze 孫承澤 (1592–1676), Chunming
mengyu lu 春明夢餘錄 (Beijing: Beijing guji chubanshe, 1992), 67.1287; and Tian Yi 田易 et
al., Jifu tongzhi 畿輔通志 (SKQS), 85.14b. See also Glen Dudbridge, Religious Experience
and Lay Society in T’ang China: A Reading of Tai Fu’s Kuang-i chi (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1995), 178. In the narrative, Bian is reported as eventually ascending to
heaven in daylight. Later, Du Guangting rewrote Bian’s story in his Jixian lu, with many more
invented plots and details (see appendix of this book).
  32. Li Bai, “Zeng Songshan Jiao lianshi” 贈嵩山焦煉師, Li Taibai quanji jiaozhu, 7.1183–90; QTS,
168.1739–40; Li Qi 李頎, “Ji Jiao lianshi” 寄焦煉師, QTS, 132.1339; Wang Changling 王昌齡,
“Ye Jiao lianshi” 謁焦煉師, QTS, 142.1440; and Li Bo 李渤, “Zhenxi” 真系, QTW, 712.28a–b.
On Jiao Jingzhen, including translations of several poems to her, see Paul W. Kroll, “Notes on
Three Taoist Figures of the T’ang Dynasty,” Society for the Study of Chinese Religions
Bulletin 9 (1981): 23–30. Another of Sima Chengzhen’s most renowned disciples was Li
Hanguang 李含光 (683–769), who became an influential figure at court.
  33. Zhang Ji, “Bushi xiangu shanfang” 不食仙姑山房, and “Bushigu” 不食姑, QTS, 384.4324,
 4306. The second poem has another title, “Zeng shanzhong nüdaoshi” 贈山中女道士.
  34. Qin Xi, “Ti nüdaoshi ju” 題女道士居, QTS, 260.2895.
  35. On the inscription, Cheng Taixu’s name is mistakenly written as Cheng Tailing 程太靈. This is
corrected according to Du Guangting’s Jixian lu hagiography, as quoted in TPGJ, 66.408, and
Cao Xuequan, Shuzhong guangji, 76.11b.
  36. Stephen Bokenkamp speculates that the “maiden from Mount Hua” described in Han Yu’s
poem discussed here was Han Ziming; see Bokenkamp, “Sisters of the Blood: The Lives
Behind the Xie Ziran Biography,” Daoism: Religion, History and Society 8 (2016), 24–28.
However, apart from both priestesses dwelling on Mount Hua, there is no convincing
evidence for this connection, and Han Ziming’s epitaph does not mention that she was
eloquent or ever practiced public preaching, as we see in Tian Yuansu’s epitaph.
  37. Zhao Chengliang 趙承亮, “Tang gu nai Yuchenguan Shangqing dadong sanjing fashi cizi
dade xiangongming bingxu” 唐故內玉晨觀上清大洞三景法師賜紫大德仙宮銘並序, MZXJ, 906.
  38. Yao Ping, Tangdai funü de shengming lichen 唐代婦女的生命歷程 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji,
2004), 257–69; and Chen Gaohua 陳高華 and Tong Shaosu 童芍素, eds., Zhongguo funü
tongshi: Sui Tang Wudai juan 中國婦女通史: 隋唐五代卷 (Hangzhou: Hangzhou chubanshe,
2010), 222–26.
  39. Chen and Tong, Zhongguo funü tongshi, 80–82, 225–27.
  40. Zhi Mo 支謨, “Tang Hongluqing zhishi zeng Gongbu shangshu Langya Zhi gong zhangnü
lianshi muzhiming bingxu” 唐鴻臚卿致仕贈工部尚書琅耶支公長女鍊師墓誌銘並序, MZ, 2393.
  41. Zhi Zhijian’s epitaph gives this brother’s name as Xiang, while his own epitaph indicates the
name as Shuxiang. See Ding Juzhu 丁居主, “Tang gu Ezhou sishi canjun Zhi fujun
muzhiming bingxu” 唐故鄂州司士參軍支府君墓誌銘並序, in Luo Zhenyu 羅振玉, Mang Luo
zhongmu yiwen xubian 芒洛塚墓遺文續編, in Shike shiliao xinbian 石刻史料新編, 19:14085.
  42. Luo Zhenyu 羅振玉 (1866–1940), Zhensongtang cang xicui miji congchan 貞松堂藏西陲秘笈
叢殘 (Lanzhou: Gansu wenhua chubanshe, 1999), 273. See also Chen Zuolong 陳祚龍,
“Dunhuang daojing houji huilu” 敦煌道經後記匯錄, in Zhongguo Dunhuangxue bainian
wenku: Zongjiaojuan 中囯敦煌學百年文庫. 宗敎卷, ed. Yang Zengwen 楊曾文 and Du
Doucheng 杜斗城 (Lanzhou: Gansu wenhua chubanshe, 1999), 2–9; and Dunhuang Daojiao,
203. In the Tang, both Buddhist and Daoist canons were referred to as “yiqiejing” 一切經,
literally meaning “each and every scripture.”
  43. Dunhuang Daojiao, 19.
  44. Shanghai guji chubanshe and Bibliothèque nationale de France, eds., Faguo Guojia
tushuguan cang Dunhuang xiyu wenxian 法國國家圖書館藏敦煌西域文獻 (Shanghai:
Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1994), in numbered Paul Pelliot manuscripts, Bibliothèque
Nationale, Paris (P.), 2170; and Zhongguo shehui kexueyuan Lishi yanjiusuo 中國社會科學院
歷史硏究所 et al., eds., Ying cang Dunhuang wenxian: Hanwen fojing yiwai bufen 英藏敦煌文
獻: 漢文佛經以外部份 (Chengdu: Sichuan renmin chubanshe, 1990), in numbered Aurel Stein
manuscripts, British Library, London, 3135. See Chen Zuolong, “Dunhuang daojing houji
huilu,” 2–9; and Dunhuang Daojiao, 194–203.
  45. See mainly Wu Chi-yu, Pen-tsi king: Livre du terme originel (Paris: Centre National de la
Recherche Scientifique, 1960); Yamada Takashi 山田俊, Tōsho Dōkyō shisōshi kenkyū:
Taigen shinʾichi honsaikyo no seiritsu to shisō 唐初道教思想史硏究: 太玄眞一本際經の成立と
思想 (Kyoto: Heirakuji shoten, 1999); and Wang Ka, comp., Taixuan zhenyi benji jing 太玄眞
一本際經, in Zhonghua Daozang, vol. 5, no. 15.
  46. Faguo Guojia tushuguan cang Dunhuang xiyu wenxian, P. 4072; and Dunhuang Daojiao, 8.
  47. We know for sure that Princess Yuzhen and Lady Lian were excellent calligraphers too; see
chapter 2 of this book.
  48. Yan Ke 嚴軻, “Tang gu nüdaoshi qian Yongmuguan zhu Neng shi mingzhi bingxu” 唐故女道士
前永穆觀主能師銘誌並序, QTWBB, 67.815.
  49. Shixue, “Longheshan Cheng lianshi zhi songbai bei,” in QTWBB, 36.442.
  50. Xue Zhaowei 薛昭緯 (fl. 896), “Nüguan zi,” in QTS, 894.10095.
  51. Lu Qianyi 鹿虔扆 (fl. 901–903), “Nüguan zi,” QTS, 894.10105. “Pacing the Void” was the
name of a particular ritual involving the invoking of star deities. Poems on this topic by
various medieval adepts and poets have been much studied; see, for instance, Edward H.
Schafer, “Wu Yun’s ‘Cantos on Pacing the Void,’ ” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 41
(1981): 377–415.
  52. Linghu Chu, “Da Tang Huiyuan guan zhonglou ming bingxu,” 103–4.
  53. Zhu Jincheng, Bai Juyi nianpu 白居易年譜 (Taibei: Wenshizhe, 1991), 63, 77; Wu Ruyi 吳汝
煜, “Feng Ao,” in Zhongguo wenxuejia dacidain, ed. Zhou Zuzhuan, 551; and Chen
Shangjun, “Dugu Lin,” in Zhongguo wenxuejia dacidain, 593.
  54. See Yuan Zhen 元稹 (779–831), “Ji Zhexi Li dafu sishou” 寄浙西李大夫四首, in Yuan Zhen ji
元稹集 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1982), 22.251; QTS, 417.4602–03.
  55. Li Fang et al., eds., Wenyuan yinghua (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1966), 472.8b–14a.
  56. On tan (extolling) as originally a kind of music tune, see Li Shan’s 李善 (d. 689) commentary
on a line of Pan Yue’s 潘岳 (247–300) “Sheng fu” 笙賦, in Wenxuan 文選 (Beijing: Zhonghua,
1977), 18.261a.
  57. Bai Juyi, “Shangyuanri tan Dao wen” 上元日歎道文, Bai Juyi ji jianjiao, 57.3284–85; QTW,
677.12b.
  58. Feng Ao, “Lichunri Yuchenguan tan Dao wen” 立春日玉晨觀歎道文, QTW, 728.16a–b.
  59. Feng Ao, “Xianzong jiri Yuchenguan tan Dao wen” 憲宗忌日玉晨觀歎道文, QTW, 728.15b–
16a. Emperor Xianzong died on the twenty-seventh day of the first month in Yuanhe 15
(February 14, 820). See Liu Xu, Jiu Tangshu (JTS), 15.472; XTS, 7.219. “Yellow Court” refers
to the immortal realm.
  60. Feng Ao, “Qingyang jie Yuchenguan tan Dao wen” 慶陽節玉晨觀歎道文, QTW, 728.15a–b.
  61. QTW, 802.5a–b, 5b–6a.
  62. Dugu Lin, “Jiuyue yiri Yuchenguan biexiu gongde tan Dao wen” 九月一日玉晨觀別修功德歎道
文, QTW, 802.3b–4a; and “Qiyue shiyiri Yuchenguan biexiu gongde tan Dao wen” 七月十一日
玉晨觀別修功德歎道文, QTW, 802.3b.
  63. Li Linfu, Tang liudian, 4.126–27.
  64. For discussions of the term “neidaochang” and Tang palace chapels, see mainly Takao Giken
高雄義堅, “Shina nai-dōjō kō,” Ryūkōku shitan 龍谷史壇 18 (1935): 32–42; Chou Yi-liang,
“Tantrism in China,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 8 (1944–1945): 241–332, esp. 309–
11; Zhang Gong 張弓, “Tangdai de neidaochang yu neidaochang sengtuan” 唐代的內道場與
內道場僧團, Shijie zongjiao yanjiu 世界宗教研究 3 (1993): 81–89; Sun Changwu, “Tang
Chang’an fosi kao” 唐長安佛寺考, Tang yanjiu 唐研究 2 (1996): 1–49; Wang Yongping 王永
平, “Lun Tangdai Daojiao neidaochang de shezhi” 論唐代道教內道場的設置, Shoudu shifan
daxue xuebao 首都師範大學學報 2 (1999): 13–19; and especially Jinhua Chen, “Tang
Buddhist Palace Chapels,” Journal of Chinese Religions 32 (2004): 101–73.
  65. For more information about this convent, see Fan Bo 樊波, “Tang Daminggong Yuchenguan
kao” 唐大明宮玉晨觀考, in Tangdai guojia yu diyu shehui yanjiu 唐代國家與地域社會研究, ed.
Yan Yaozhong 嚴耀中 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2008), 417–24.
  66. Jinhua Jia, “Yaochi ji and Three Daoist Priestess-Poets in Tang China,” Nan Nü: Men,
Women and Gender in China 13, no. 2 (2011): 228; and chapter 6 of this book.
 4. Liu Moran and the Daoist Theory of Inner
Cultivation

    1. See Li Jingyi 李敬彝, “Datang Wangwushan Shangqing dadong sanjing nüdaoshi Liu zunshi
zhengong zhiming” 大唐王屋山上清大洞三景女道士柳尊師真宮誌銘, in Daojia jinshi lüe
(DJJSL), ed. Chen Yuan, Chen Zhichao, and Zeng Qingying, 176–77; and Zhou Shaoliang
and Zhao Chao, eds., Tangdai muzhi huibian (MZ), 2201–2.
    2. Xiao Yingshi was a pioneer in reviving the ancient-style prose (guwen 古文) and Confucian
classics during the Tang dynasty. See his biographies in Liu Xu, Jiu Tangshu (JTS),
190.5048–49; and Ouyang Xiu, Xin Tangshu (XTS), 202.5767–70. Liu Dan was active in the
poetic gatherings in the post-rebellion southern region and was associated with famous
literati such as Yan Zhenqing and Jiaoran. See Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元 (773–819), “Xianjun
shibiaoyin xianyou ji” 先君石表陰先友記, Liu Zongyuan ji 柳宗元集 (Beijng: Zhonghua shuju,
1979), 12.306; Lin Bao 林寶, Yuanhe xingzuan 元和姓纂 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1994),
7.1099–100; Zhao Lin, Yinhua lu 因話錄 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1979), 3.86–
89; and Jia Jinhua, Jiaonan nianpu 皎然年譜 (Xiamen: Xiamen University Press, 1992), 69–
71.
    3. Zhao Lin, “Tang gu Chuzhou cishi Zhao fujun muzhi” 唐故處州刺史趙府君墓誌, MZ, 2394.
    4. In 731, Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712–756) ordered, upon the request of Sima Chengzhen,
temples of the Perfected Lord of Highest Clarity (Shangqing zhenjun ci 上清真君祠) to be
built on the five sacred mountains (wuyue 五嶽). See JTS, 192.5128; Lei Wen 雷聞, “Wuyue
zhenjunci yu Tangdai guojia jisi” 五嶽真君祠與唐代國家祭祀, in Tangdai zongjiao xinyang yu
shehui 唐代宗教信仰與社會, ed. Rong Xinjiang (Shanghai: Shanghai cishu chubanshe,
2003), 35–83. The statues Liu Moran made were likely of the same Perfected Lord of Highest
Clarity.
    5. See Lu Guolong 盧國龍, Daojiao zhexue 道教哲學 (Beijing: Huaxia chubanshe, 1997), 371–
90; and Isabelle Robinet, “Zuowang lun” and “Daode zhenjing shuyi,” in The Taoist Canon: A
Historical Companion to the Daozang, ed. Kristofer Schipper and Franciscus Verellen
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004), 306–7.
    6. See Wu Shouju 吳受琚, Sima Chengzhen ji jijiao 司馬承禎集輯校 (Master’s thesis, Zhongguo
shehui kexueyuan yanjiushengyuan 中國社會科學院研究生院, 1981), 49; Nakajima Ryūzō 中
嶋隆藏, “Dōsū mukini shoshū ‘Zabōhen jo uchū ge’ shōrō’ ” 道枢巻二所収坐忘篇上中下小考,
Shūkan tōyōgaku 集刊東洋學 100 (2008): 116–33; Nakajima Ryūzō, “Dōsū mukini shoshū
‘Zabōhen ge’ to Ōyasan Tō hiben ‘Zabō ron’ ” 道枢巻二所収坐忘篇下と王屋山唐碑文坐忘論,
Tōyō kotengaku kenkyū 東洋古典學研究 27 (2009): 29–46; and Zhu Yueli 朱越利, “Zuowan
lun zuozhe kao” 坐忘論作者考, in Daojiao kaoxin ji 道教考信集 (Jinan: Qi Lu shushe, 2014),
48–61.
    7. From the back of the stele “You Tang Zhenyi xiansheng miaojie,” originally preserved on
Mount Wangwu and now moved to Jiju miao 濟瀆廟 in Jiyuan, Henan province; Baiyun
xiansheng Zuowang lun 白雲先生坐忘論, in Yifengtang tapian 藝風堂拓片, ed. Miao Quansun
繆荃蓀 (1844–1919) (preserved in Beijing University Library). See also Beijing tushuguan 北
京圖書館, ed., Beijing tushuguan cang Zhongguo lidai shike taben huibian 北京圖書館藏歷代
石刻拓本彙編 (Zhengzhou: Zhongzhou guji chubanshe, 1989), 30: 89; and DJJSL, 176. In
this inscription, the name is written as Liu Ningran 柳凝然, but several coincidences between
this inscription and Liu Moran’s epitaph indicate that “Liu Ningran” and Liu Moran are the
same person: first, “Liu Ningran” also lived on Mount Wangwu during the same period;
 second, “Liu Ningran” also reached the rank of Great Cavern and Three Radiances; and
finally, the inscription states that “Liu Ningran” was together with Zhao Jingxuan, Liu Moran’s
daughter. Since Liu’s courtesy name, Xiyin 希音, meaning “inaudible sound,” matches Moran
默然, meaning “soundless,” Moran seems correct. The character ning 凝 may have been
either a scribal error or a deliberate avoidance of a taboo word. The Zuowang lun inscription
was reengraved during the Song dynasty (DJJSL, 177), and this possibly explains a scribal
error or taboo avoidance.
    8. Translation adapted from Livia Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion: The Heart of Daoist Meditation
(Dunedin, FL: Three Pines Press, 2010), 159–60.
    9. Zhang Junfang, Yunji qiqian (YJQQ) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2003), 94.2043–61. The
same version is also included in the Quan Tangshi and is attributed to Sima Chengzhen. See
Dong Gao et al., eds., Quan Tangwen (QTW), 924.1a–15a.
  10. Zuowang lun, Daozang (DZ) 1036.
  11. DZ 400; YJQQ, 17.409–16. See Robinet, “Zuowang lun”; and Kristofer Schipper, “Dongxuan
lingbao dingguan jing zhu,” in Taoist Canon, ed. Schipper and Verellen, 306–7, 332.
  12. Zeng Zao, Daoshu, “Zuowang pian shang” 坐忘篇上, in DZ 1037: 2.614c–615c.
  13. For a discussion of the bibliographical records, see Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion, 62–63.
  14. Zhao Zhijian, Daode zhenjing shuyi, DZ 719. This text originally had six juan and is now
extant in the fourth to sixth juan with some missing parts. See Meng Wentong 蒙文通 (1894–
1968), “Zuowan lun kao” 坐忘論考, in Guxue zhenwei 古學甄微 (Chengdu: Ba Shu shushe,
1987), 362; Lu Guolong, Daojiao zhexue, 371–90; Isabelle Robinet, “Daode zhenjing shuyi,”
292–93; and Zhu Yueli, “Zuowan lun zuozhe kao,” 48–61.
  15. Daode zhenjing shuyi, 5.951b.
  16. YJQQ, 94.569.
  17. Meng Wentong, “Zuowan lun kao,” 362.
  18. Daode zhenjing shuyi, 5.958a, 6.965c.
  19. Du Guangting, Daode zhenjing guangshengyi 道德真經廣聖義, DZ 725: 309c.
  20. Wu Yun, Shenxian kexue lun, in YJQQ, 93.2030–31. Zhang Junfang, the compiler of the
YJQQ, does not indicate the author of this text, but it is included in Wu Yun’s collected works
and is mentioned by Quan Deyu 權德輿 (759–818) in his preface to this collection. See Quan,
“Tang gu Zhongyue Zongxuan xiansheng Wu zunshi jixu” 唐故中嶽宗玄先生吳尊師集序,
QTW, 489.19a–21a; and Jan De Meyer, Wu Yun’s Way: Life and Works of an Eighth-Century
Daoist Master (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 288. Livia Kohn has noted the first three of these
citations; she also notes a similar phrase, “rely on golden cinnabar to undergo the
metamorphosis of wings,” in both texts. See Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion, 159–62. This phrase,
however, denotes different meanings in the two texts. In the Zuowang lun it refers to the
positive effects of golden cinnabar, whereas in the Shenxian kexue lun it criticizes those who
indulged in golden cinnabar but did not practice cultivating the Dao. Translation adapted from
Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion, 159–62; and Jan De Meyer, Wu Yun’s Way, 287–314.
  21. For Wu Yun’s life, see Quan Deyu, “Tang gu Zhongyue Zongxuan xiansheng Wu zunshi jixu,”
489.19a-21a; and Jan De Meyer, Wu Yun’s Way, 3–102.
  22. Zheng Qiao 鄭樵 (1104–1162), Tongzhi ershi lüe 通志二十略 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
1995), 67.1617. See also Piet van der Loon, Taoist Books in the Libraries of the Sung Period:
A Critical Study and Index (London: Ithaca, 1984), 109.
  23. Quan Deyu, “Tang gu Zhongyue Zongxuan xiansheng Wu zunshi jixu,” QTW, 489.19a-21a;
and Zongxuan xiansheng wenji 宗玄先生文集, DZ 1051.
  24. Zhu Yueli, “Zuowan lun zuozhe kao,” 49.
  25. Nakajima Ryūzō 中嶋隆藏, “Dōsū kanni shoshū suwaru henka to Ōokusan Tō hibun
suwaruron” 道樞卷二所收坐忘篇下と王屋山唐碑文坐忘論, Tōyō gotengaku kenkyū 東洋古典
 學研究 27 (2009): 29–46.
  26. DJJSL, 177.
  27. When Miao Quansun made a rubbing from the stele, he added four characters and titled it
Baiyun xiansheng Zuowang lun 白雲先生坐忘論. This title was followed by Chen Yuan when
compiling the DJJSL.
  28. Liu Moran, “Xue Yuanjun shengxianming,” DJJSL, 176–77. This also mentions Liu Ningran
as the author but states that she left Mount Tiantai to visit Mount Heng, which also accords
with Liu Moran’s experience of receiving her early ordination on Mount Tiantai. Thus, here
again “Liu Ningran” should be “Liu Moran.”
  29. Zhu Yueli says that Xue Yuanjun must be Xue Shi 薛師, recorded in the Nanyue xiaolu 南嶽
小錄; see Zhu, “Zuowang lun zuozhe kao,” 49. But the Nanyue xiaolu clearly indicates that
Xue Shi stayed at Xiling convent 西靈觀 on Mount Heng during the Kaiyuan reign period
(713–741); see Li Chongzhao 李沖昭 (fl. 902), Nanyue xiaolu, in Congshu jicheng chubian 叢
書集成初編 (CSJCCB), 5. Therefore, Xue Shi cannot be Xue Yuanjun, who lived during the
Chen dynasty. The Nanyue zongsheng ji 南嶽總勝集 records a female Daoist Xue Nüzhen 薛
女真 (Perfected Woman Xue), who took up residence on Mount Heng and attained corpse
liberation during the Jin dynasty. See Chen Tianfu 陳田夫 (fl. mid-twelfth century), Nanyue
zongsheng ji, in Taishō shinshū daizōkyō, 51.1066c; and James Robson, Power of Place:
The Religious Landscape of the Southern Sacred Peak (Nanyua 南嶽) in Medieval China
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009), 204–205. Xue Nüzhen lived during the Jin
instead of the Chen dynasty and was reported to have attained corpse liberation instead of
ascension; thus, again, she could not be Xue Yuanjun.
  30. Du Guangting, “Tiantan Wangwushan shengji ji” 天壇王屋山聖跡記, in QTW, 934.3b–9a,
especially 7a. Several Song dynasty records of inscriptions, such as Ouyang Fei’s 歐陽棐
Jigu lumu 集古錄目 (cited by Chen Si in Baokei congbian, which is included in Shike shiliao
xinbian, 5.27a–b) and the anonymous Baoke leibian 寶刻類編 (Shike shiliao xinbian, 8.18a),
record this inscription as written by Sima Chengzhen, but these compilers might have
followed Du’s attribution.
  31. Zeng Zao, Daoshu, “Zuowang pian xia” 坐忘篇下, DZ 1037: 2.616b–17a.
  32. See, for example, Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion, 7–8, 16–32.
  33. Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion, 1.
  34. For a detailed discussion of these seven steps, see Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion, 60–61.
  35. The line “Above the absorbed mind everything is open and coverless; beneath the absorbed
mind everything is empty and bottomless” is quoted from the Dingguan jing. As the
commentary to this text explains, “No thought of the past produces, so we say ‘coverless’; no
thought of the future arises, so we say ‘bottomless’ ” 前念不生, 故云無覆; 後念不起, 故曰無基.
See YJQQ, 17.414–15. Translation adapted from Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion, 161–62.
  36. Laozi shuo wuchu jing zhu, DZ 17: 763; and YJQQ, 61.1356–60. For discussions on this text,
see Christine Mollier, “Les cuisines de Laozi et du Buddha,” Cahiers d’Extrême Asie 11
(2000): 45–90, especially 62; and Franciscus Verellen, “Laozi shuo wuchu jing zhu,” in Taoist
Canon, ed. Schipper and Verellen, 351. Livia Kohn also discusses and translates this text in
Sitting in Oblivion, 70–71, 198–206.
  37. Tianyin zi, DZ 1026. For an extensive discussion and translation, see Livia Kohn, “The
Teaching of T’ien-yin-tzu,” Journal of Chinese Religions 15 (1987): 1–28. It has also been
translated by Louis Komjathy, Handbooks for Daoist Practice, no. 9 (Hong Kong: Yuen Yuen
Institute, 2008), and discussed by Isabelle Robinet, “Tianyinzi,” in Taoist Canon, ed. Schipper
and Verellen, 303.
  38. DZ 1038; Zongxuan xiansheng wenji, DZ 1051: 2.16b–19b. For a detailed discussion and
 translation of the text, see Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion, 71–72, 207–12.
  39. See Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion, 68, 73–104.
  40. Dongxuan lingbao Dingguan jing zhu, 498–99; YJQQ, 17.409–16. As indicated above, the
“Shuyi” in the seven-section Zuowang lun was adapted from the Dingguan jing, so this
citation also appears in the Zuowang lun, DZ 1036: 897–98; and Daoshu, DZ 1037: 2.614–
15. For a discussion and translation of the Dingguan jing, see Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion, 64–
67, 163–73.
  41. Cunshen lianqi ming, DZ 834: 458–59; YJQQ, 33.748–51. Here se (form) refers to the forms
of the myriad things. For a discussion and translation of this text, see Kohn, Sitting in
Oblivion, 67–68, 174–78.
  42. This formula is first seen in the Zhong Lü chuandao ji 鐘呂傳道集 (DZ 263) and Xishan
qunxian huizhen ji 西山群仙會真記, attributed to Shi Jianwu 施肩吾 (DZ 246), and Zhang
Boduan’s 張伯端 (983–1082) “Jindan sibaizi xu” 金丹四百字序 (DZ 1081) and commentaries
on Zhang’s Wuzhen pian 悟真篇 (DZ 145). For detailed discussions, see, for example, Hu
Fuchen 胡孚琛, “Daojiao shi shang de neidan xue” 道教史上的內丹學, Shijie zongjiao yanjiu
世界宗教研究 2 (1989): 1–22; Wang Mu 王沐, Wuzhen pian qianjie 悟真篇淺解 (Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 1990), 261–310 (English version: Foundations of Internal Alchemy: The
Daoist Practice of Neidan, trans. Fabrizio Pregadio [Mountain View, CA: Golden Elixir Press,
2011], 65–118); Isabelle Robinet, Introduction à l’alchimie intérieure taoïste: De l’unité et de la
multipli cité (Paris: Editions Cerf, 1995), 147–64; Fabrizio Pregadio and Lowell Skar, “Inner
Alchemy (neidan),” in Livia Kohn, ed., Daoism Handbook, 464–97; and Yutaka Yokote,
“Daoist Internal Alchemy,” in Modern Chinese Religion, part 1, Song-Liao-Jin-Yuan
(960–1368), ed. John Lagerwey (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 1056–75.
  43. For general surveys of the historical development of inner alchemy theories and traditions,
see, for example, Joseph Needham et al., Science and Civilisation in China: vol. 5, Chemistry
and Chemical Technology, part 5, Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Physiological Alchemy
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983); 129–41; Chen Bing 陳兵, “Jindan pai
Nanzong qiantan” 金丹派南宗淺談, Shijie zongjiao yanjiu 世界宗教研究 4 (1985): 35–49;
Farzeen Baldrian-Hussein, “Inner Alchemy: Notes on the Origin and Use of the Term Neidan,”
Cahiers d’Extréme-Asie 5 (1990): 163–90; Li Dahua 李大華, “Sui Tang shiqi de daojiao
neidan xue” 隋唐時期的道教內丹學, Daojiao xue yanjiu 道教學研究 5 (1994): 404–19;
Isabelle Robinet, Taoism: Growth of a Religion, trans. Phyllis Brooks (Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press 1997), 219–28; Pregadio and Skar, “Inner Alchemy,” 464–81; and Yutaka
Yokote, “Daoist Internal Alchemy,” 1051–110.
  44. See, for example, Needham et al., Science and Civilisation in China, 5.5, 20–129; Henri
Maspero, Taoism and Chinese Religion, trans. Frank A. Kierman Jr. (Amherst: University of
Massachusetts Press, 1981); Hu Fuchen, “Daojiao shi shang de neidan xue,” 1–22; Wang
Mu, Wuzhen pian qianjie, 257–334; Robinet, Taoism: Growth of a Religion, 215–19; Pregadio
and Skar, “Inner Alchemy,” 481–87; Zhang Guangbao 張廣保, Tang Song neidan daojiao 唐
宋內丹道教 (Shanghai: Shanghai wenhua chubanshe, 2001), 308–40; Livia Kohn, “Modes of
Mutation: Restructuring the Energy Body,” in Inner Alchemy: Self, Society, and the Quest for
Immortality, ed. Livia Kohn and Robin Wang (Magdalena, NM.: Three Pines Press, 2009), 1–
26; and Louis Komjathy, The Way of Complete Perfection: A Quanzhen Daoist Anthology
(Albany: State University of New York Press, 2013), 115–18.
  45. Robinet, Taoism: Growth of a Religion, 221. Joseph Needham also indicates this text using
outer alchemy symbolism for inner alchemy discussion. See Needham et al., Science and
Civilisation in China, 5.5, 223.
  46. For discussion of the Twofold Mystery theory, see, for example, Timothy Barrett, “Taoist and
Buddhist Mysteries in the Interpretation of the Tao-te ching,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic
 Society 1 (1982): 35–43; Lu Guolong 盧國龍, Zhongguo chongxuanxue 中國重玄學 (Beijing:
Renmin chubanshe, 1993); Ren Jiyu 任繼愈, ed., Zhongguo Daojiao shi 中國道教史 (Beijing:
Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 2001), 261–77; and Robert H. Sharf, Coming to Terms
with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise (Honolulu: University of
Hawai’i Press, 2002), 61–71.
  47. Zhu Yueli believes that the inscription’s main target was Zhao Jian’s Zuowang lun, for
emphasizing the cultivation of the spirit. See Zhu, “Zuowang lun zuozhe kao,” 57–61. Zhao
Jian’s text does, however, discuss methods of cultivating the body, from time to time.
  48. See particularly Wang Mu, Wuzhen pian qianjie, 308–10.
  49. See, for example, Pregadio and Skar, “Inner Alchemy,” 464.
  50. From the back of the stele “You Tang Zhenyi xiansheng miaojie,” preserved in Jidu miao; and
DJJSL, 176.
  51. See Elena Valussi, “Female Alchemy: Transformations of a Gendered Body,” in Gendering
Chinese Religion: Subject, Identity, and Body, ed. Jinhua Jia, Xiaofei Kang, and Ping Yao
(Albany: State University of New York Press, 2014), 201–24.
  52. Russell Kirkland, “Huang Ling-wei: A Taoist Priestess in T’ang China,” Journal of Chinese
Religions 19 (1991): 47–73.

5. Longevity Techniques and Medical Theory: The

Legacy of Hu Yin

This chapter is derived in part from Jinhua Jia, “Longevity Technique and Medical Theory:
The Legacy of Tang Daoist Priestess-Physician Hu Yin,” Monumenta Serica: Journal of
Oriental Studies 63, no. 1 (2015): 1–31.
    1. Hu Yin, Huangting neijing wuzang liufu buxie tu (HTNJT), Daozang (DZ) 432: 686c–693b.
    2. Hu Yin, Huangting neijing wuzang liufu tu, in Xiuzhen shishu, DZ 263: 54.835c–843b.
    3. For a comparison of the two editions, see Jean Lévi, “Huangting neijing wuzang liufu buxie
tu,” in The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang, ed. Kristofer Schipper and
Franciscus Verellen (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004), 348–49; and discussions
later in this chapter.
    4. The complete title of this text is Taishang huangting neijing yujing 太上黃庭內景玉經, DZ 331.
    5. Wang Ming, “Huangting jing kao” 黃庭經考 (1941), in Daojia he Daojiao sixiang yanjiu 道家和
道教思想研究 (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 1984), 351.
    6. Yan Yiping, “Dongxian zhuan” 洞仙傳, in Daojiao yanjiu ziliao diyiji, 1–2.
    7. Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 5, Chemistry and Chemical
Technology, part 5, Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Physiological Alchemy (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1983), 82; Isabelle Robinet, Taoist Meditation: The Mao-shan
Tradition of Great Purity, trans. Julian F. Pas and Norman J. Girardot (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1993), 67–73, 94–96; Wang Jiayou and Hao Qin, “Huangting
bijian, langhuan qishu: Hu Yin jiqi Huangting neijing wuzang liufu buxie tu” 黃庭碧簡, 琅嬛奇
書: 胡愔及其黃庭內景五臟六腑補瀉圖, Zhongguo Daojiao 中國道教 1 (1993): 28–34; Gai
Jianmin, “Tangdai nüdaoyi Hu Yin jiqi Daojiao yixue sixiang” 唐代女道醫胡愔及其道教醫學思
想, Zhongguo Daojiao 1 (1999): 22–24; see also Gai Jianmin, Daojiao yixue 道教醫學
(Beijing: Zongjiao wenhua chubanshe, 2001), 124–30; and Lévi, “Huangting neijing wuzang
liufu buxie tu,” 348–49.
    8. Wang Yaochen 王堯臣 (1003–1058) et al., Chongwen zongmu (Yueyatang congshu 粵雅堂叢
 書 edition), 3.89a, 4.46b.
    9. Ouyang Xiu, Xin Tangshu (XTS), 59.1522.
  10. Zheng Qiao 鄭樵 (1104–1162), Tongzhi ershi lüe 通志二十略 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
1995), 67.1611, 69.1722.
  11. Tuotuo 脫脫 (1314–1355) et al., Songshi (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1977), 205.5179,
205.5193, 207.5316.
  12. HTNJT, 686c. This preface is also included in Dong Gao et al., eds. Quan Tangwen (QTW),
945.9817a–9818a.
  13. Huangting neijing wuzang liufu tu, 835c.
  14. The complete title of the outer scripture is Taishang huangting waijing yujing 太上黃庭外景玉
經 (DZ 332: 913a–914c). Wang Ming asserted that the inner scripture appeared first, and that
a secret draft version likely existed during the Wei–Jin period, which Wei Huacun
subsequently obtained in the Taikang 太康 reign period of the Western Jin (280–289).
Following her death, the outer scripture came out as a summary of the inner scripture; see
Wang, “Huangting jing kao,” 324–71. Isabelle Robinet (Taoist Meditation, 56), agrees that the
outer scripture came out later, whereas Kristofer Schipper believes the opposite—that the
outer scripture appeared first and the inner scripture was an elaboration of the outer; see
Schipper, preface to Concordance du Houang-t’ing ching (Paris: Ecole Franşaise d’Extrême-
Orient, 1975). Michel Strickmann holds the same opinion in his Le taoïsme du Mao Chan:
Chronique d’une révélation (Paris: Collège de France, 1981), 68. Yu Wanli 虞萬里, Yang
Fucheng 楊富程, and Gong Pengcheng 龔鵬程 have further elaborated this opinion; see Yu
Wanli, “Huangting jing xinzheng” 黃庭經新證, Wenshi 文史 29 (1988): 385–408; Yu,
“Huangting jing yongyun shidai xinkao” 黃庭經用韻時代新考, in Yufang zhai xueshu lunji 榆枋
齋學術論集 (Nanjing: Jiangsu guji chubanshe, 2001), 551–80; Yang Fucheng, “Huangting
neiwai erjing kao” 黃庭內外二景考, Shijie zongjiao yanjiu 世界宗教研究 3 (1995): 68–76; and
Gong Pengcheng, “Huangting jing lunyao (yi)” 黃庭經論要 (一), Zhongguo shumu jikan 中國
書目季刊 31, no. 1 (1997): 66–81.
  15. The transmitted Huangdi neijing includes both the Suwen and the Lingshu 靈樞, while the
Huangdi neijing taisu 黃帝內經太素 is a later recension (c. seventh century). For discussions
and translations of the Suwen, see mainly Maruyama Masao 丸山昌朗, Shinkyūigaku to
koten no kenkyū: Maruyama Masao tōyō igaku ronshū 針炙醫學と古典の研究: 丸山昌朗東洋
醫學論集 (Osaka: Sōgensha, 1977); Ren Yingqiu 任應秋 and Liu Changlin 劉長林, Huangdi
neijing yanjiu luncong 黃帝內經研究論叢 (Wuhan: Hubei renmin chubanshe, 1982); Nathan
Sivin, “Huang ti nei ching,” in Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide, ed. Michael
Loewe (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993), 196–215; Guo Aichun 郭靄春, ed.,
Huangdi neijing suwen jiaozhu yuyi 黃帝內經素問校注語譯 (Beijing: Renmin weisheng
chubanshe, 1999); Paul U. Unschuld, Huang di neijing su wen: Nature, Knowledge, Imagery
in an Ancient Chinese Medical Text (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003); Zhang
Canjia 張燦玾, Huangdi neijing wenxian yanjiu 黃帝內經文獻研究 (Shanghai: Shanghai
zhongyiyao daxue chubanshe, 2005); and Y. C. Kong, Huangdi neijing: A Synopsis with
Commentaries (Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, 2010).
  16. See Wang Bing 王冰 (710–805) and Lin Yi, eds., Huangdi neijing suwen buzhu shiwen 黃帝
內經素問補注釋文, DZ 1018: 1.3b–c.
  17. Wang and Lin, “Maiyao jingweilun pian” 脈要精微論篇, in Huangdi neijing suwen, 13.71c.
  18. Gai Jianmin, “Tangdai nüdaoyi Hu Yin,” 22.
  19. Wang Ming, ed., Baopuzi neipian jiaoshi 抱朴子內篇校釋 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2010),
85.
  20. Sun Simiao’s biography in Liu Xu, Jiu Tangshu (JTS), 191.5094–97; and XTS, 196.5596–
 5598.
  21. HTNJT, 687a.
  22. See Yan Yiping, Daojiao yanjiu ziliao, 1–2.
  23. In the early Tang, the government once forbade the practice of medicine by Buddhist monks
and Daoist priests. For example, the Tang Huiyao records: “An imperial order issued in the
fourth month of the fourth year of the Yonghui reign period: Daoist priests and priestesses
and Buddhist monks and nuns are forbidden to heal illness and make divination for others” 永
徽四年四月敕: 道士女冠僧尼等, 不得為人療疾及卜相 (THY, 50.876). However, according to
many records of Daoist physicians in Tang histories, epitaphic inscriptions, and other texts,
this prohibition appeared to have soon been lifted. See Jiang Sheng 姜生 and Tang Weixia 湯
偉俠, eds., Zhongguo Daojiao kexue jishu shi: Nanbeichao Sui Tang Wudai juan 中國道教科
學技術史: 南北朝隋唐五代卷 (Beijing: Kexue chubanshe, 2010), 443–46.
  24. There have been different sets of the six receptacles; one includes the gallbladder, stomach,
large intestine, small intestine, urinary bladder, and “triple heater” (sanjiao 三焦), while
another replaces the triple heater with the navel (mingmen 命門).
  25. Song dynasty catalogs record many texts related to the Huangting neijing jing (HTJ). Those
extant today include Bai Lüzhong 白履忠 (sobriquet Liangqiuzi 梁丘子, fl. 722–729),
Huangting neijing yujing zhu 黃庭內景玉經注, DZ 402: 516–40; Bai, Huangting waijing yujing
zhu 黃庭外景玉經注, in Xiuzhen shishu, DZ 263: 58–60.869b–878c; Wuchengzi 務成子,
Taishang huangting waijing jing zhu 太上黃庭外景經注, in Zhang Junfang, Yinji qiqian
(YJQQ), 12.282–317; Jiang Shenxiu 蔣慎修, Huangting neiwai yujing jing jie 黃庭內外玉景經
解, DZ 403: 541a–544b; Anonym, Shangqing huangting yangshen jing 上清黃庭養神經, DZ
1400: 281b–284b; Anonym, Shangqing huangting wuzang liufu zhenren yuzhou jing 上清黃庭
五臟六府真人玉軸經, DZ 1402; Li Qiansheng 李千乘, Taishang huangting zhongjing jing 太上
黃庭中景經, DZ 1401; and Anonym, Huangting dunjia yuanshen jing 黃庭遁甲緣身經. See
Schipper and Verellen, eds., Taoist Canon, 347–51, 360–61.
  26. HTNJT, 687a.
  27. See Li Xiangfeng 黎祥鳳 and Liang Yunhua 梁運華, eds., Guanzi jiaozhu 管子校注 (Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 2004), 14.815–16; Xu Weiyu 許維遹 and Liang Yunhua 梁運華, eds. Lüshi
chunqiu jishi 呂氏春秋集釋 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2009), 1.12, 5.275; He Ning 何寧, ed.,
Huainanzi jishi 淮南子集釋 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1998), 4.311–78, 5.379–442; and Sima
Guang 司馬光 (1019–1086), ed., Taixuan jizhu 太玄集注 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1998),
8.195–201. See also Jiang Sheng and Tang Weixia, eds., Zhongguo Daojiao kexue jishu shi:
Han Wei Liangjin juan 中國道教科學技術史: 漢魏兩晉卷 (Beijing: Kexue chubanshe, 2002),
507–8.
  28. Guo Aichun, Huangdi neijing suwen, 8–42, 369–76, 399–416.
  29. See mainly Manfret Porkert, The Theoretical Foundation of Chinese Medicine: Systems of
Correspondence (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1974); Paul U. Unschuld, Medicine in China: A
History of Ideas (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985), 51–91; Nathan Sivin, “State,
Cosmos, and Body in the Last Three Centuries B.C.,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 55,
no. 1 (1995): 5–37; Y. C. Kong, The Cultural Fabric of Chinese Medicine (Hong Kong:
Commercial Press, 2005), 24–32; and Li Jingwei 李經緯 and Zhang Zhibin 張志斌, eds.,
Zhongyixue sixiang shi 中醫學思想史 (Changsha: Hunan jiaoyu chubanshe, 2006), 78–83.
  30. Wang Ming, ed., Taiping jing hejiao 太平經合校 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1960), 72.292. See
also Isabelle Robinet, Taoist Meditation, 61–66.
  31. Wang Ka 王卡, ed., Laozi Daodejing Heshanggong zhangju 老子道德經河上公章句 (Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 1997), chapters 6 and 21. See Isabelle Robinet, Taoist Meditation, 61–75.
  32. HTJ, 909b–10a.
  33. Liangqiuzi, Huangting neijing yujing zhu, 1.521a. As one of the six receptacles, the
gallbladder spirit represents the same symbol as the liver spirit in the five-phase scheme.
  34. About the contents of the HTJ, see, for example, Wang Ming, “Huangting jing kao,” 338–351;
Chen Yingning 陳攖寧 (1880–1969), “Huangting jing jiangyi” 黃庭經講義, Daoxie huikan 道協
會刊 1 (1980): 24–38; Qing Xitai, Zhongguo Daojiao shi, 351–77; Isabelle Robinet, Taoist
Meditation, 55–96; Livia Kohn, The Taoist Experience: An Anthology (Albany: State University
of New York Press, 1993), 181–88; Paul W. Kroll, “Body Gods and Inner Vision: The Scripture
of the Yellow Court,” in Religions of China in Practice, ed. Donald S. Lopez Jr. (Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 1996), 149–55; Gong Pengcheng, “Huangting jing lunyao,” 66–
81; and Xiao Dengfu 蕭登福, “Shilun Daojiao neishen minghui yuanqi, jianlun Dongjin
Shangqing jingpai cunsi xiulian famen” 試論道教內神名諱源起, 兼論東晉上清經派存思修煉法
門, Zongjiaoxue yanjiu 宗教學研究 3 (2004): 1–9, 82.
  35. Song dynasty catalogs record, under Zhang Zhongjing’s 張仲景 (150–219) name, a Wuzang
lun, but it was lost. Four fragmental manuscripts of the same title have been discovered from
Dunhuang (numbered Paul Pelliot manuscripts, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris [P.] 2115v,
2755, 2378v; numbered Aurel Stein manuscripts, British Library, London [S.] 5614), which
cite texts from the Han to the Northern and Southern dynasties. Thus, it possibly came out by
the end of the latter period. See Ma Jixing 馬繼興 et al., eds., Dunhuang yiyao wenxian jijiao
敦煌醫藥文獻輯校 (Nanjing: Jiangsu guji chubanshe, 1998), 54–150.
  36. HTNJT, 686c.
  37. Although the yin-yang concept is closely connected to the five-phase concept in corrective
cosmologies and traditional Chinese medicine, Hu Yin did not discuss it much, possibly
because she was more focused on the correlation between the five viscera and the five-
phase series.
  38. HTNJT, 687a.
  39. Li Qiansheng 李千乘 (fl. the late Tang), Taishang huangting zhongjing jing 太上黃庭中景經,
DZ 1401: 285c–287b.
  40. Wuchengzi, Taishang huangting waijing jing zhu, YJQQ, 12.305, 309.
  41. For discussions on the relations between these zoomorphic images and star images, the
twenty-eight constellations, the five directions, and the five-phase scheme, see, for example,
Hsü Fu-kuan, Yinyang wuxing guannian zhi yanbian ji ruogan youguan wenxian de chengli
shidai yu jieshi de wenti 陰陽五行觀念之演變及若干有關文獻的成立時代與解釋的問題 (Taibei:
Minzhu pinglunshe, 1961); Shima Kunio 島邦男, Gogyō shisō to Raiki Getsurei no kenkyū 五
行思想と禮記月令の研究 (Tokyo: Kyuko shoin, 1971); John Major, “The Five Phases, Magic
Squares, and Schematic Cosmography,” in Explorations in Early Chinese Cosmology, ed.
Henry Rosemont Jr. (Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1984), 133–66; Ai Lan 艾蘭 (Sarah Allan)
and Wang Tao 汪濤, eds., Yinyang wuxing tanyuan 陰陽五行探源 (Nanjing: Jiangsu guji
chubanshe, 1998); Aihe Wang, Cosmology and Political Culture in Early China (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2000); Feng Shi 馮時, Zhongguo tianwen kaoguxue 中國天文考
古學 (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 2007), 347–433; and Michael Nylan, “Yin-
yang, Five Phases, and Qi,” in China’s Early Empires: A Re-appraisal, ed. Michael Nylan and
Michael Loewe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 398–414.
  42. Feng Shi, Zhongguo tianwen kaoguxue, 427–32.
  43. See Li Dou weiyi 禮斗威儀 (Huangshi yishu kao 黃氏遺書考 edition), 1.13a, and quoted by
Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢 (557–641) et al., Yiwen leiju 藝文類聚 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji
chubanshe, 1982), 99.1707; Paul Andersen, “The Practice of Bugang,” Cahiers d’Extrême-
Asie 5 (1989–90): 15–55, especially 43–44; and Catherine Despeux, Taoïsme et corps
humain: Le Xiuzhen tu (Paris: Guy Trédaniel Editeur, 1994), 96–97.
  44. HTNJT, 686c.
  45. Those Daoist and medical texts include the Taishang lingbao wufu xu 太上靈寶五符序 (DZ
388: 315a–343a); Yuanshi wulao chishu yupian zhenwen tianshu jing 元始五老赤書玉篇真文
天書經 (DZ 22: 774b–799b); and Sun Simiao, Beiji qianjin yaofang 備急千金要方, annotated
by Gao Wenzhu 高文柱 and Shen Shunong 沈澍農 (Beijing: Huaxia chubanshe, 2008); and
others.
  46. Hu Yin, Huangting neijing wuzang liufu tu, 838c–839a.
  47. Some scholars, not having collated the two editions, have thereby drawn the incomplete
conclusion that Hu Yin’s work thoroughly discarded the mysterious and religious elements of
the HTJ. See Wang Ming, “Huangting jing kao,” 351; and Wang Jiayou and Hao Qin, “Hu Yin
jiqi Huangting neijing wuzang liufu buxie tu,” 33.
  48. HTNJT, DZ 873: 686c.
  49. Shangqing huangting wuzang liufu zhenren yuzhou jing, DZ 1402: 289–92.
  50. Wang Ming, “Huangting jing kao,” 351, note 1.
  51. YJQQ, 14.363–71. However, these images are not seen in the Daozang edition Huangting
dunjia yuanshen jing (DZ 873: 707–9). See Schipper and Verellen, eds., Taoist Canon, 350–
51, 360–61.
  52. Liu Ding, Siqi shesheng tu, DZ 766: 224c–233c. See Schipper and Verellen, eds., Taoist
Canon, 352–53.
  53. See Piet Van der Loon, Taoist Books in the Libraries of the Sung Period: A Critical Study and
Index (London: Ithaca, 1984), 96.
  54. Zeng Zao, Daoshu, DZ 1017: 5.633c–634a.
  55. Daoshu, DZ 1017: 35.792c; and “Jiuxian pian” 九仙篇 in Daoshu, DZ 1017: 31.767b.
  56. Daoshu, DZ 1017: 10.662b.
  57. For a detailed study of the various versions of the Xiuzhen tu, see Catherine Despeux,
Taoïsme et corps humain: Le Xiuzhen tu.
  58. Tao Hongjing, Yangxing yanming lu, DZ 838: 474c–485b. This book has also been attributed
to Sun Simiao. Tang Yongtong 湯用彤 and Zhu Yueli analyzed the texts cited and terms used
in the book and concluded that authorship should be attributed to Tao Hongjing. See Tang
Yongtong, “Du Daozang zhaji” 讀道藏劄記, in Tang Yongtong xueshu lunwen ji 湯用彤學術論
文集 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1983), 404–6; and Zhu Yueli, “Yangxing yanming lu kao” 養性
延命錄考, Shijie zongjiao yanjiu 1 (1986): 101–15.
  59. This book was not recorded in any catalog or cited in any text. One roughly complete
manuscript has been rediscovered from Dunhuang. Although it is attributed to Tao Hongjing,
many citations are noted with “Tao said” (Tao yun 陶云) or “Hermit Tao said” (Tao yinju yun 陶
隱居云). Therefore, it was more likely compiled by his followers. See Ma Jixing et al.,
Dunhuang yiyao wenxian jijiao, 170–206.
  60. Ma Jixing et al., Dunhuang yiyao wenxian jijiao, 54–150.
  61. HTJ, 911b.
  62. Taishang Huangting waijing yujing, 1.913a.
  63. Fan Ye 范曄 (398–445), Houhan shu (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1973), 82.2750–51. Tao
Hongjing’s Yangxing yanming lu (1.476a–b) cites the Han dynasty apocrypha Luoshu
baoyuming 洛書寶予命 to discuss the technique of swallowing saliva.
  64. Zhangjiashan Hanjian zhenglizu 張家山漢簡整理組, “Zhangjiashan Hanjian Yinshu shiwen”
張家山漢簡引書釋文, Wenwu 10 (1990): 82 (Yinshu). See Peng Hao 彭浩, “Zhangjiashan
Hanjian Yinshu chutan” 張家山漢簡引書初探, Wenwu 10 (1990): 87–91.
  65. Sun Simiao, Beiji qianjin yaofang, 27.480.
  66. Hu Shouwei 胡守為, ed., Shenxian zhuan jiaoshi 神仙傳校釋 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
2011), 7.245.
  67. For example, see Wang, Baopuzi, 111, 274; Shangqing dadong zhenjing 上清大洞真經, DZ
6: 1.515b; Lingbao wuliang duren shangpin miaojing 靈寶無量度人上品妙經, DZ 1: 1.3a; Tao
Hongjing, Yangxing yanming lu, DZ 838: 475a–485b; and Sun Simiao, Beiji qianjin yaofang,
27.480.
  68. HTJ, 911b, 910c.
  69. Li and Liang, Guanzi jiaozhu, 4.241.
  70. Wang Xianqian 王先謙 (1842–1917), ed., Zhuangzi jijie 莊子集解 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
1987), 6.186.
  71. Wang, Baopuzi, “Zaying” 雜應, 15.266. Numerous works have discussed qi and its function.
For a detailed outline of the Chinese energy and body scheme, see Livia Kohn, Health and
Long Life: The Chinese Way (Cambridge, MA: Three Pines Press, 2005).
  72. See Donald Harper, Early Chinese Medical Manuscripts: The Mawangdui Medical
Manuscripts (London: Wellcome Asian Medical Monographs, 1998); Li Ling, Zhongguo
fangshu zhengkao, 269–81.
  73. Tao Hongjing, Yangxing yanming lu, DZ 838:2.481b–482b.
  74. Jingli (also written as Jinghei 京黑) xiansheng, Shenxian shiqi jinkui miaolu, DZ 836: 459c–
465b.
  75. Sima Chengzhen, Fuqi jingyi lun, in YJQQ, 57.1243–78.
  76. For discussions and translations of these texts, see, for example, Ute Engelhardt, Die
klassische Tradition der Qi-Übungen: Eine Darstellung anhand des Tang-zeitlichen Textes
Fuqi jingyi lun von Sima Chengzhen (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, 1987); Engelhardt, “Qi for
Life: Longevity in the Tang,” in Daoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques, ed. Livia Kohn
(Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1989), 263–296; Kohn,
Chinese Healing Exercises: The Tradition of Daoyin (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press,
2008), 84–90, 150–58; and Kohn, A Source Book in Chinese Longevity (Saint Petersburg,
FL: Three Pines Press, 2012), 74–94.
  77. Hu Yin mentioned meditation and visualization but did not discuss these in any detail.
  78. Henri Maspero, Taoism and Chinese Religion, trans. Frank Kierman (Amherst: University of
Massachusetts Press, 1981), 498.
  79. HTNJT, 683b.
  80. Wang Xianqian, Zhuangzi jijie, 4.132.
  81. Wei Qipeng 魏啟鵬 and Hu Xianghua 胡翔驊, Mawangdui hanmu yishu jiaoshi 馬王堆漢墓醫
書校釋 (Chengdu: Chengdu chubanshe, 1992), 2: 1–9.
  82. Yinshu, 84–85. Catherine Despeux has noted these early developments; see Despeux, “The
Six Healing Breaths,” in Daoist Body Cultivation: Traditional Models and Contemporary
Practices, ed. Livia Kohn (Magdalena, NM: Three Pines Press, 2006), 38–42.
  83. Cited by Tao Hongjing, Yangxing yanming lu, DZ 88: 481c–482b.
  84. The cited text does not include this last method, but from the text’s mention of the “five
viscera” and “six breaths,” we can deduce that the xi breath and its function may have been
missing owing to scribal error.
  85. Cited by Tao Hongjing, Yangxing yanming lu, DZ 88: 481c–482b.
  86. Henri Maspero and Catherine Despeux explain the six breaths with their dictionary definitions
of strong, soft, or sharp breath. See Maspero, Taoism and Chinese Religion, 497–98; and
Despeux, “The Six Healing Breaths,” 40. However, this interpretation does not seem to
accord with the exercise of the six breaths.
  87. Ding Guangdi 丁光迪, ed., Zhubing yuanhou lun jiaozhu 諸病源候論校注 (Beijing: Renmin
weisheng chubanshe, 1991), 15.459–497; Zhiyi 智顗 (531–597) and Guanding 灌頂 (561–
632), Mohe zhiguan (Xuxiu siku quanshu ed.), 565–66; and Sun Simiao, Beiji qianjin yaofang,
27.486.
  88. Catherine Despeux distinguishes three traditions of the six-breath exercise: Master Daolin’s,
Master Ning’s, and the HTJ’s; see Despeux, “The Six Healing Breaths,” 44–59. She first says
that, in the Beiji qianjin yaofang, the six breaths are found under the heading of Zhi Daolin’s
支道林 longevity methods. However, in chapter 27 of the Beiji qianjin yaofang, Zhi Daolin’s
methods are listed as number 2, and the breathing methods are listed as number 5; the two
sections are not interconnected. Then, Despeux says that the Taiqing daoyin yangsheng jing
太清導引養生經 cites Master Ning’s (Ning xiansheng 寧先生) model to first introduce the
“triple heater” (sanjiao 三焦) into the six breaths. I have, however, checked the text carefully
and found that this citation describes only the healing of the five viscera with the six breaths,
about the same as discussed in the Mingyi lun, without any mention of the triple heater. See
Taiqing daoyin yangsheng jing, DZ 818: 399c–40a. The replacement of the triple heater with
the gallbladder did not appear until the Song dynasty (discussed later). Additionally,
Despeux’s HTJ tradition in fact refers to the scheme designed by Hu Yin, which had
developed the previous tradition of the exercise. Thus, Despeux’s distinguishing of three
traditions appears problematic and unnecessary.
  89. Wang Xianqian, Zhuangzi jijie, 4.132.
  90. Mawangdiu hanmu boshu Daoyin tu 馬王堆漢墓帛書導引圖 (Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe,
1979); and Yinshu, 82–86.
  91. Fan Ye, Houhan shu, 82.2739; Tao Hongjing, Yangxing yanming lu, 483. See Li Ling,
Zhongguo fangshu zhengkao, 281–299; Gao Dalun 高大倫, Zhangjiashan hanjian Yinshu
yanjiu 張家山漢簡引書研究 (Chengdu: Ba Shu shushe, 1995); Donald Harper, Early Chinese
Medical Manuscripts, 310–27; Ute Engelhardt, “Daoyin tu und Yinshu: Neue Erkenntnisse
über die Übungen zur Lebenspflege in der frühen Han-Zeit,” Monumenta Serica 49 (2001):
213–226; Ikai Yoshio 豬飼祥夫, “Chōkasan kanbo kanken Insho ni miru dō to in ni tsuite” 張家
山漢墓漢簡引書に見る導と引について, Itan 醫譚 79 (2003): 30–32; and Kohn, Chinese
Healing Exercises, 36–61.
  92. Tao Hongjing, Yangxing yanming lu, 482b–483c.
  93. Sima Chengzhen, Fuqi jingyi lun, in YJQQ, 57.1257–59.
  94. Those texts cite the Yangsheng yaoji 養生要集, compiled in the fourth century, which was
possibly lost after the An Lushan 安祿山 Rebellion (703–757). See Timothy H. Barrett, “On
the Transmission of the Shen tzu and of the Yang-sheng yao-chi,” Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society 2 (1980): 168–76, especially 172; Sakade Yoshinobu 阪出祥伸, “Chō Chin no
Yojo yōshū itsubun tosono shisō” 張湛の養生要集佚文とその思想, Tōhō shūkyō 東方宗教 68
(1986): 1–24; Catherine Despeux, “Gymnastics: The Ancient Tradition,” in Taoist Meditation
and Longevity Techniques, ed. Livia Kohn (Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University
of Michigan, 1989), 228–37; Stephan Stein, Zwischen Heil und Heilung: Zur frühen Tradition
des Yangsheng in China (Uelzen: Medizinisch-Literarische Verlagsgesellschaft, 1999). About
the gymnastic exercises recorded in these texts, see Kohn, Chinese Healing Exercises, 62–
161; and Jiang Sheng and Tang Weixia, Zhongguo Daojiao kexue jishu shi, 687–720.
  95. Sun Simiao, Beiji qianjin yaofang, 27.484–85; see also Taiqing daolin shesheng lun 太清道林
攝生論, DZ1427: 471c–472b; and Zhengyi fawen xiuzhen zhiyao 正一法文修真旨要, DZ
1270: 572–79.
  96. For example, the Imperial Medical Office (Taiyi shu 太醫署) in the Tang included Erudites for
Massage (Anmo boshi 按摩博士) and Massage Master (Anmo shi 按摩師), who were
responsible for “teaching the techniques of guiding and pulling for removing disease” 掌教導
引之法以除疾. See XTS, 48.1245.
  97. See Swami Vishnudevananda, Yujia daquan 瑜伽大全, trans. Li Xiaoqing 李小青 (Shanghai:
Shanghai zhongyi xueyuan chubanshe, 1990), 92–93; Kohn, Chinese Healing Exercises,
 136–39; and Ma Boying 馬伯英, Zhongguo yixue wenhua shi 中國醫學文化史 (Shanghai:
Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 2012), 2:183–86.
  98. Wang Jiayou and Hao Qin have noted this point; see “Huyin jiqi Huangting neijing wuzang
liufu buxie tu,” 32. For discussions on the “Eight Brocades” and “Twenty-Four Illustrated
Seated Exercises for Healing Diseases,” see Kohn, Chinese Healing Exercises, 169–83.
  99. Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 (127–200) and Jia Gongyan 賈公彥 (fl. 650–655), eds., Zhouli zhushu 周禮
注疏, Shisanjing zhushu zhengliben 十三經注疏整理本 (Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe,
2001), 5.129a–131a. Although the date of the Zhouli has been questioned, scholars now
generally agree, due to its many consistencies with Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, that
this text is based on Western Zhou materials with considerable later additions.
100. Hanshu, 30.1777. In the transmitted Hanshu, yao 藥 is written as jin 禁 (prohibition), but
according to Jia Gongyan’s citation, jin must be a scribal error. See Zhouli zhushu, 5.129a.
101. Fuyang Hanjian zhenglizu 阜陽漢簡整理組, “Fuyang Hanjian Wanwu” 阜陽漢簡萬物, Wenwu
4 (1988): 36–47, 54, 99; Qiu Xigui 裘錫圭, ed., Changsha Mawangdui Hanmu jiabo jicheng 長
沙馬王堆漢墓簡帛集成 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2014), 6: 35–71; and Huainan wanbi shu
(Congshu jicheng chubian edition). See Li Ling, Zhongguo fangshu zhengkao, 255–60; and
Donald Harper, “Gastronomy in Ancient China,” Parabola 9 (1984): 39–47.
102. Wang Shumin 王叔瑉, ed., Liexian zhuan jiaojian 列仙傳校箋 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
2007).
103. The Shennong bencao jing was probably composed in the late first or second century. After
the Han, various versions of this text appeared, which Tao Hongjing collected and compiled
into the Shennong bencao jing jizhu 神農本草經集注. Subsequently, Tao’s version was lost
again; many premodern and modern scholars have since reconstructed it into different
versions. Two important versions are Ma Jixing 馬繼興, ed., Shennong bencao jing jizhu 神農
本草經輯注 (Beijing: Renmin weisheng chubanshe, 1995); and Shang Zhijun 尚志均, ed.,
Shennong bencao jing jiaozhu 神農本草經校注 (Beijing: Xueyuan chubanshe, 2008). For a
detailed discussion of transmitted and lost dietetic texts, see Joseph Needham, Lu Gwei-
djen, and Nathan Sivin, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 6, Biology and Biological
Technology, part 4, Medicine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), 78–84.
104. Ge Hong, Baopuzi, 11.196–223; Taishang lingbao wufu xu, DZ 388: 2.322c–335b. See Akira
Akahori, “Drug Taking and Immortality,” in Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques, ed.
Kohn, 73–95, especially 75–83; Li Ling, Zhongguo fangshu zhengkao, 238–242; Jiang Sheng
and Tang Weixia, Zhongguo daojiao kexue jishu shi: Han Wei Liangjin juan, 528–33; and
Shawn Arthur, Early Daoist Dietary Practices: Examining Ways to Health and Longevity
(Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2013).
105. Arthur, Early Daoist Dietary Practices, 204.
106. Sun Simiao, Beiji qianjin yaofang, 26.463–76. See Ute Engelhardt, “Dietetics in Tang China
and the First Extant Works of Materia Dietetica,” in Innovation in Chinese Medicine, ed.
Elisabeth Hsu (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), 176–84.
107. The Shiliao bencao is long lost, but its fragments are seen in Tanba Yasuyori’s 丹波康賴
(912–995) Ishinpō 醫心方, commentary by Maki Sachiko 槇佐知子 (Tōkyō: Chikuma Chikuma
Shobō, 1993); Tang Shenwei 唐慎微 (1056–1136), Zhenglei bencao 證類本草 (Shanghai:
Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1991), and others. A fragment of the text was also rediscovered
among the Dunhuang manuscripts (S. 0076). See Nakao Manzō 中尾萬三, “Shokuryō honzō
no kōsatsu” 食療本草の考察, Shanghai ziran kexue yanjiusuo huibao 上海自然科學研究所匯
報 1 (1930): 5–216; Ma Jixing, Dunhuang yiyao wenxian jijiao, 673–686; Xie Haizhou 謝海洲
et al., eds., Shiliao bencao (Beijing: Renmin weisheng chubanshe, 1984); Paul Unschuld,
Medicine in China: A History of Pharmaceutics (Berkeley: University of California Press,
 1986), 208–11; Zheng Jinsheng 鄭金生 et al., eds., Shiliao bencao yizhu 食療本草譯注
(Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1993); and Engelhardt, “Dietetics in Tang China,” 184–
87.
108. Yinshu, 82. See Li Xueqin 李學勤, “Yinshu yu Daoyin tu” 引書與導引圖, Wenwu tiandi 文物天
地 2 (1991): 7–9; and Li Ling, Zhongguo fangshu zhengkao, 283–84.
109. Guo Aichun, Huangdi neijing suwen, “Siqi tiaoshen dalun” 四氣調神大論, 8–13. See also
Zhubing yuanhou lun, “Wuzang liufu bing” 五臟六腑病, 15.459–497; and Sun Simiao, Beiji
qianjin yaofang, “Yangxing” 養性, 27.478–79.
110. Chen Zhi and Zou Xuan 鄒鉉, Shouqin yanglao xinshu, in Siku quanshu 四庫全書 (SKQS),
1.18a, 22a, 27b, 32b.
111. Zeng Zao, Daoshu, DZ 1017: 19.700b.
112. Xiuzhen shishu, DZ 263–65: 19.694c–695a.
113. Zhu Quan (signed with his sobriquet Hanxu zi), Quxian huoren fang (preserved in Beijing
University Library), 1.15a–18a.
114. Zhou Lüjing, Chifeng sui (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1989), 1.23–27, 41–42, 60–
62.
115. Gao Lian, Zunsheng baqian (Beijing: Renmin weisheng chubanshe, 2007), 26–243, 394–98.
For a study and translation of this text, see John H. Dudgeon, “Diet, Dress and Dwellings of
the Chinese in Relation to Health,” in Health Exhibition Literature, vol. 19, Miscellaneous
Including Papers on China (London: William Clowes and Sons, 1884), 253–486.
116. Shen Jin’ao, Shenshi zunsheng shu, in Xiao Tianshi 蕭天石, ed., Daozang jinghua 道藏精華,
6th collection, vol. 6 (Taibei: Ziyou chubanshe, 1980).
117. Tao Hongjing, Yangxing yanming lu, 475.
118. Kristofer Schipper, The Taoist Body, trans. Karen C. Duval (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1993), 100.
119. Wang Ming, “Huangting jing kao,” 351; Isabelle Robinet, Taoist Meditation, 67, 95; and Wang
Jiayou and Hao Qin, “Hu Yin,” 33–34.

6. The Yaochi ji and Three Daoist Priestess-Poets

This chapter is derived in part from Jinhua Jia, “The Yaochi ji and Three Daoist Priestess-
Poets in Tang China,” Nan Nü: Men, Women and Gender in China 13, no. 2 (2011): 205–43.
    1. Hu Wenkai 胡文楷 listed six collections of women’s works prior to the Tang: four recorded in
the bibliography of the Suishu 隋書, including Furen ji 婦人集 in thirty juan, Furen ji 婦人集 in
eleven juan, Furen ji chao 婦人集鈔 in two juan, and Furen ji 婦人集 in twenty juan; one
recorded in the bibliography of Liu Xu, Jiu Tangshu (JTS) and the bibliography of Ouyang Xiu,
Xin Tangshu (XTS), namely, Furen shiji 婦人詩集 in two juan; and one from the “Jingji dian”
經籍典 of the Qing dynasty encyclopedia Gujin tushu jicheng 古今圖書集成, namely, Furen
wenzhang lu 婦人文章錄. See Hu Wenkai, Lidai funü zhuzuo kao 歷代婦女著作考 (Shanghai:
Shanghai guji chubanshe, 2008), 875. The last work recorded in the Qing dynasty Gujin
tushu jicheng is questionable because it usually is unlikely that an early work would appear
suddenly in the Qing. None of these earlier collections are extant.
    2. Rong Xinjiang and Xu Jun, “Xinjian E cang Dunhuang Tangshi xieben sanzhong kaozheng ji
jiaolu” 新見俄藏敦煌唐詩寫本三種考證及校錄, Tang yanjiu 唐研究 5 (1999): 59–80; Xu Jun,
Dunhuang shiji canjuan jikao 敦煌詩集殘卷輯考 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2001), 25–27,
212–15, 672–85; Rong Xinjiang and Xu Jun, “Tang Cai Xingfeng bian Yaochi xinyong
 chongyan” 唐蔡省風編瑤池新詠重研, in Tang yanjiu 7 (2001): 125–44; Wang Ka 王卡,
“Tangdai Daojiao nüguan shige de guibao: Dunhuang ben Yaochi xinyong ji jiaoduji” 唐代道教
女冠詩歌的瑰寶: 敦煌本瑤池新詠集校讀記, Zhongguo Daojiao yanjiu 中國道教研究 4 (2002):
10–13; and Xu Jun, Yaochi xinyong ji 瑤池新詠集, in Fu Xuancong, Chen Shangjun, and Xu
Jun, eds., Tangren xuan Tangshi xinbian, 883–912.
    3. See the articles included in Susan Whitfield, ed., Dunhuang Manuscript Forgeries (London:
British Library, 2002).
    4. See Rong and Xu, “Yaochi xinyong,” 125–44. In an e-mail dated May 12, 2011, Dr. Irina
Popova, director of Oriental manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences, has also indicated
that “these documents [under investigation here] could not be forgeries.”
    5. Chongwen zongmu, 5.13a; XTS, 60.1624; and Tongzhi erzhi lüe, 8.1780.
    6. Chao Gongwu, Junzhai dushuzhi jiaozheng, 20.1069.
    7. You Mao 尤袤 (1127–1194), Suichutang shumu 遂初堂書目 (Haishan xianguan congshu 海山
仙館叢書 edition), 49a.
    8. Eruosi kexueyuan Dongfang yanjiu suo Shengbidebao fensuo 俄羅斯科學院東方硏究所聖彼
得堡分所, Eruosi Kexue chubanshe Dongfang wenxue bu 俄羅斯科學出版社東方文學部, and
Shanghai guji chubanshe, eds., Eruosi kexueyuan Dongfang yanjiu suo Shengbidebao
fensuo suocang Dunhuang wenxian 俄羅斯科學院東方硏究所聖彼得堡分所藏敦煌文獻
(Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1992; hereafter cited as E cang Dunhuang wenxian),
Дx. 6654, 3861, 6722.
    9. Rong and Xu, “Yaochi xinyong,” 125–44.
  10. Chao Gongwu, Junzhai dushu zhi jiaozheng, 20.1069.
  11. Fan Yue 范曄 (398–445), Hou Hanshu 後漢書 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1965), 84.2784–85;
and Xiao Tong, ed., Wenxuan, 9.19a–22a.
  12. Fan Yue, Hou Hanshu, 84.2798.
  13. Fang Xuanling 房玄齡 (579–648) et al., Jinshu 晉書 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1974),
96.2523.
  14. Xiao Zixian 蕭子顯 (489–537), Nanqishu 南齊書 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1972), 20.392.
  15. Fang Xuanling et al., Jinshu, 96.2516.
  16. Fan Yue, Hou Hanshu, 84.2800–2803.
  17. E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 3861, 3872, 3874, 6654, 6722, 11050.
  18. See Rong and Xu, “Yaochi xinyong,” 129–35.
  19. Wei Zhuang, Youxuan ji, in Tangren xuan Tangshi xinbian, 3.868–71; and Chen Yingxing,
Yinchuang zalu (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1997), 60–61.
  20. See Chen Shangjun 陳尚君, “Tangren bianxuan shige zongji xulu” 唐人編選詩歌總集敘錄,
Tangdai wenxue congkao 唐代文學叢考 (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 1997),
195; and Rong and Xu, “Yaochi xinyong,” 139–40.
  21. Song Ruoxun is written as Song Ruoyin 宋若茵 in the Youxuan ji, but according to JTS
(52.2198) and Ji Yougong’s 計有功 Tangshi jishi 唐詩紀事 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji
chubanshe, 1987; 79.1132), yin 茵 must be a scribal error for xun 荀.
  22. Chen Shangjun speculates that the Youxuan ji and Yinchuang zalu directly copied poems
from the Yaochi ji and kept the original order, and that putting all three anthologies together
gives twenty-three poets, but he does not undertake detailed comparison or research. Chen,
“Tang nüshiren zenbian” 唐女詩人甄辨, Wenxian 文獻 2 (2010): 10–25.
  23. Wei Hu, Caidiao ji, in Tangren xuan Tangshi xinbian, 1194–1220.
  24. In his article titled “Yetan Cai Xingfeng Yaochi xinyong” 也談蔡省風瑤池新詠, Beijing daxue
Zhongguo guwenxian yanjiu zhongxin jikan 北京大學中國古文獻研究中心集刊 7 (2008): 408–
30, Wang Sanqing 王三慶 examines the Youxuan ji, Caidiao ji, Yinchuang zalu, and Tangshi
 jishi and speculates on the names of the twenty-three poets included in Cai Xingfeng, ed.,
Yaochi xinyong ji (Yaochi ji). However, because the order of the female poets included in the
Caidiao ji and Tangshi jishi differs completely from the Yaochi ji fragments, Youxuan ji, and
Yinchuang zalu, and also because Wang does not make a detailed comparison among these
anthologies, the twenty-three poets he named are not necessarily all included in the Yaochi ji.
  25. Although the Caidiao ji appeared much earlier than the Yinchuang zalu, it breaks the possibly
original order, so I have placed it in the last category, with a check mark only if the poets are
included in this text.
  26. For the life experiences and extant poems of these poets, see relevant entries in Fu
Xuancong, ed., Tang caizi zhuan jiaojian 唐才子傳校箋 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1987–
1995); and Zhou Zuzhuan, ed., Zhongguo wenxuejia dacidian: Tang Wudai juan. I took part in
writing some of these entries. The term “nülang” refers to those who were not married yet
(young) or never married (possibly old). Since I cannot decide the ages of all nülang, I have
translated the term as “gentlewoman.”
  27. In the legend, the queen mother held a banquet for King Mu of the Zhou dynasty by the
Turquoise Pond. See Mu Tianzi zhuan 穆天子傳, in Siku quanshu 四庫全書 (SKQS), 3.1a.
  28. For an excellent and detailed study of the queen mother, see Suzanne E. Cahill,
Transcendence and Divine Passion: The Queen Mother of the West in Medieval China
(Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1993).
  29. Rong and Xu, “Yaochi xinyong,” 140.
  30. E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 6654, 3861.
  31. Bibliothèque nationale (France), Département des manuscrits, Catalogue des manuscrits
chinois de Touen-Houang, Fonds Pelliot chinois de la Bibliothèque nationale (Paris:
Bibliothéque nationale, 1970); Shanghai guji chubanshe and Bibliothèque nationale de
France, eds., Faguo Guojia tushuguan cang Dunhuang xiyu wenxian 法國國家圖書館藏敦煌
西域文獻 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1994), numbered Paul Pelliot manuscripts,
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris (P.) 3216; Xu Jun, Dunhuang shiji canjuan jikao, 212–15; and
Wang Ka, Dunhuang Daojiao wenxian yanjiu 敦煌道教文獻研究 (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui
kexue chubanshe, 2004), 243.
  32. Catalogue des manuscrits chinois de Touen-Houang and Faguo Guojia tushuguan cang
Dunhuang xiyu wenxian, P. 2492; E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 3865; and Xu Jun,
Dunhuang shiji canjuan jikao, 39.
  33. Chen Wenhua, preface to Tang nüshiren ji sanzhong (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe,
1984), 1–24.
  34. Kang-I Sun Chang and Haun Saussy, eds. Women Writers of Traditional China: An
Anthology of Poetry and Criticism (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1999), 56–59;
and Wilt Idema and Beata Grant, The Red Brush: Writing Women in Imperial China
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2004), 176–82. There have been other
complete or selected translations of Li Jilan’s poetry, but some take much liberty in
translation. See, for example, Bannie Chow and Thomas Cleary, trans., Autumn Willows:
Poetry by Women of China’s Golden Age (Ashland, OR: Story Line, 2003), 77–117.
  35. See, for example, Suzanne E. Cahill, “Resenting the Silk Robes That Hide Their Poems,” in
Tang Song nüxing yu shehui 唐宋女性與社會, ed. Deng Xiaonan 鄧小南 (Shanghai: Shanghai
cishu chubanshe, 2003), 519–66. Other notable studies include Sun Changwu, Daojiao yu
Tangdai wenxue (Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 2001), 381–90; Chen Wenhua,
“Tangdai nüguan shiren Li Ye shenshi ji zuopin kaolun” 唐代女冠詩人李冶身世及作品考論,
Nanjing daxue xuebao 南京大學學報 39, no. 5 (2002): 119–25; and Zhou Lei 周蕾,
“Zhongxing jianqi ji Li Jilan pingyu shuzheng” 中興間氣集李季蘭評語疏證, Zhongguo shige
yanjiu 中國詩歌研究 (2008): 220–32.
  36. Wei Hu, Caidiao ji (Jiguge 汲古閣 edition), in Tangren xuan Tangshi xinbian, ed. Fu
Xuancong, Chen Shangjun, and Xu Jun, 10.1195. Other editions of this text record her name
as Zhi 治 (Tangren xuan Tangshi xinbian, 1197, note 1), which must be a scribal error,
because Emperor Gaozong’s (r. 649–683) name is Li Zhi and nobody later in the Tang would
have dared to have the same name. The Tongzhi and Songshi record her name as Yu 裕,
which is probably a scribal error as well. See Tongzhi ershilüe, 8.1778; Songshi, 208.5388;
and Chen Wenhua, preface to Tang nüshiren ji, 1–2.
  37. Gao Zhongwu, Zhongxing jianqi ji, in Tanren xuan Tangshi xinbian, 3.510.
  38. Chongwen zongmu, 5.36a; Chen Zhensun, Zhizhai shulu jieti, 19.29b; and Zheng Qiao,
Tongzhi ershilüe, 8.1778.
  39. Ji Yun 紀昀 (1724–1805), ed., Siku quanshu zongmu 四庫全書總目 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
1965), 186.1690b.
  40. Hu Zhenheng, Tangyin tongqian, in Xuxiu Siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 (XXSKQS), 922.1a–
4b; and Peng Dingqiu et al., eds., Quan Tangshi (QTS), 805.9057–60, 888.10039.
  41. The Huacao cuibian 花草粹編 by Chen Yaowen 陳耀文 (jinshi 1550) includes a ci lyric in the
tune of “Jianzi mulanhua” 減字木蘭花, attributed to Li Jilan (SKQS, 4.33). This is an incorrect
attribution, as the tune did not appear in the mid-Tang period.
  42. Catalogue des manuscrits chinois de Touen-Houang and Faguo Guojia tushuguan cang
Dunhuang xiyu wenxian, P. 2492; and E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 6654, 3861, 3865,
3872, 3874. See also Rong and Xu, “Yaochi xinyong,” 129–31. Among these three poems,
one does not appear in any transmitted texts, while two of them complete two transmitted and
fragmented couplets. Additionally, one more poem of four couplets completes a transmitted
two-couplet poem.
  43. Fu Xuancong, Tang caizi zhuan jiaojian, 1:2.326.
  44. Chen Wenhua, preface to Tang nüshiren ji sanzhong, 2.
  45. Wang Renyu 王仁裕 (880–956), Yutang xianhua 玉堂閒話, quoted in Li Fang et al., eds.,
Taiping guangji, 273.2150.
  46. Scholars have long noticed this cliché. For an early discussion of prodigy stories in official
histories, see Herbert Franke, “Remarks on the Interpretation of Chinese Dynastic Histories,”
Oriens 3 (1950): 113–22, esp. 121. Authors of unofficial biographical comments about women
poets appear to have followed the techniques of official historiography and biography. There
is a similar story about Xue Tao and her father, which first appeared in the early Song text
Junge yatan 郡閣雅談 by Pan Ruochong 潘若沖 (tenth century) and was then cited by Chen
Yaowen in Tianzhong ji 天中記 (SKQS), 20.6b.
  47. Tangren xuan Tangshi xinbian, 510.
  48. See Jia Jinhua, Jiaoran nianpu, 40–44; and Jia Jinhua, “Liu Zhangqing,” in Zhongguo
wenxuejia dacidian, ed. Zhou Zuzhuan, 189–90.
  49. Chen Yingxing, Yinchuang zalu, 30.842.
  50. See Li Shu’s biographies in JTS, 137.3763–64; XTS, 161.4983; Jia Jinhua, Jiaoran nianpu,
35–36; and Jia Jinhua, “Li Shu,” in Zhongguo wenxuejia dacidian, 286. This poem has variant
titles: “Ji jiaoshu shijiu xiong” 寄校書十九兄, in Zhongxing jianqi ji, 3.511, and Youxuan ji,
3.868; “Ji Han jiaoshu shiqi xiong” 寄韓校書十七兄, in Li Fang, Wenyuan yinghua, 256.1289;
“Ji Han jiaoshu” 寄韓校書, in Tangshi jishi, 78.1123; and “Ji jiaoshu qi xiong” 寄校書七兄, in
QTS, 805.9057. Because Jilan’s family name is Li, it would be unlikely for her to call someone
with the family name of Han her elder brother. Li Shu matches every relevant point: holding
the position of editor, ranking seventeenth in his family generation, and being active in the
same region and the same period. Therefore, he is the best candidate, and the other, variant
rankings of “number nineteen” and “number seven” are likely scribal errors.
  51. See Dugu Ji 獨孤及, “Tang gu Yangzhou Qingyunsi lüshi Yigong taming” 唐故揚州慶雲寺律師
 一公塔銘, in Quan Tangwen (QTW), ed. Dong Gao et al., 390.1b; and Jia, Jiaoran nianpu, 35.
  52. Fan Ning 范寧, Bowu zhi jiaozheng 博物志校證 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1980), 10.111; Fan
Yue, Hou Hanshu, 82.2718; and Chen Wenhua, Tang nüshiren ji, 3.
  53. Chen Wenhua, Tang nüshiren ji, 3.
  54. Cai Xingfeng, Yaochi ji, in E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 3861, 6654. See Rong and Xu,
“Yaochi xinyong,” 130–31.
  55. Chen Wenhua, Tang nüshiren ji, 1; QTS, 805.9057.
  56. See Jia Jinhua, Jiaoran nianpu, 22, 27–28, 31, 40–41; and Jia, “Lu Yu,” in Zhongguo
wenxuejia dacidian, 451.
  57. Li Fang, Wenyuan yinghua, 244.12a.
  58. See Lin Bao 林寶 (fl. 806 – 820), Yuanhe xingzuan 元和姓纂 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
1994), 5.770; XTS, 202.5771; and Jia, Jiaoran nianpu, 40–44.
  59. See Liu Yiqing 劉義慶 (403–444), Youming lu 幽明錄 (Beijing: Wenhua yishu chubanshe,
1988), 1.1–2.
  60. See Jia, Jiaoran nianpu, 43.
  61. This poem appears in the rediscovered Yaochi ji from the Dunhuang manuscripts with the
title “Song Yan Bojun” 送閻伯均 (E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 6654, 3861). See Rong and
Xu, “Yaochi xinyong,” 129. Both the Caidiao ji (10.1195) and the Yinchuang zalu (30.840)
have the title “Song Yan Bojun wang Jiangzhou.” There are other variant titles: “Song Han Kui
zhi Jiangxi” 送韓揆之江西 (Zhongxing jianqi ji, 512) and “Song Han san wang Jiangxi” 送韓三
往江西 (Youxuan ji, 3.869). In accordance with Yan’s experience and the feelings of love
contained in the poem, “Song Yan Bojun wang Jiangzhou” would seem to be the right title.
  62. Zhong Xing, Mingyuan shigui 名媛詩歸 (XXSKQS), 11.1b.
  63. Gao Zhongwu notes: “It is also titled ‘Sent to Zhu Fang.’ ” See Gao, Zhongxing jianqi ji, in
Tangren xuan Tangshi xinbian, 3.508.
  64. QTS, 315.3542.
  65. Jia, Jiaoran nianpu, 112–13.
  66. See QTS, 794.8936–37. Yan’s name is mistakenly written as Yan 嚴 in this text.
  67. QTS, 228.2170–71.
  68. Jiaoran, Zhou shangren ji, 2.13a, 6.36b; QTS, 816.9193, 820.9246–47.
  69. Ban Gu, Hanshu, 76.3216–26.
  70. Xuanhe huapu, in Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編 (CSJCCB), 7.187.
  71. See Rong and Xu, “Yaochi xinyong,” 141; and Carolyn Ford, “Note on a Portrait of Li Jilan,”
T’ang Studies 20–21 (2002–2003): 151–59.
  72. See Zhu Jingxuan 朱景玄 (fl. 806–846), Tangchao minghua lu 唐朝名畫錄 (Chengdu:
Sichuan meishu chubanshe, 1985), 5–7; and Jia, Jiaoran nianpu, 98–99. The Tangchao
minghua lu says that Zhou Fang was summoned by Emperor Dezong to paint Buddha
images for Zhangjing monastery 章敬寺 when it was built. The monastery, however, was built
in 767 by Emperor Daizong; see Wang Pu, Tang Huiyao, 48.847.
  73. Yaochi ji, in E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 6654, 3861. See Rong and Xu, “Yaochi xinyong,”
130. Guren 故人 (old friend) is written as gufu 故夫 (old husband) in the Dunhuang
manuscript, here collated according to other anthologies, in which the poem is titled “Enming
zhuiru liubie Guangling guren” 恩命追入留別廣陵故人 (His Highest Order Summons Me: Left
for Parting My Old Friends in Guangling), Caidiao ji, 10.1196; QTS, 805.9058.
  74. JTS, 137.3763–64; XTS, 161.4983; and Jia Jinhua, “Li Shu,” in Zhongguo wenxuejia
dacidian, 286.
  75. As discussed in chapter 1 of this book, Emperor Dezong summoned the five Song sisters to
court, in 788, and again summoned Bao Junhui, in 798.
  76. Sima Guang, Zizhi Tongjian (ZZTJ), 228.7351–61.
  77. Catalogue des manuscrits chinois de Touen-Houang and Faguo Guojia tushuguan cang
Dunhuang xiyu wenxian, P. 2492; and E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 3865. This poem is not
included in the Yaochi ji. See Xu Jun, Dunhuang shiji canjuan jikao, 39.
  78. E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 3872, 3874. See Rong and Xu, “Yaochi xinyong,” 131. The
guren 故人 in the title is written as gufu 故夫 in the Dunhuang manuscripts; here it is collated
according to the title of the fragmented couplet in the Yinchuang zalu (30.842).
  79. ZZTJ, 231.7440.
  80. Zhao Yuanyi, Fengtian lu (CSJCCB), 1.7.
  81. Yu, Siku tiyao bianzheng 四庫提要辨證 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1980), 24.1557.
  82. See, for example, Chow and Cleary, Autumn Willows, 26.
  83. E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 6654, 3861; Caidiao ji, 10.1195.
  84. Fu, Chen, and Xu, Tangren xuan Tangshi xinbian, 3.510.
  85. Ji Yougong, Tangshi jishi, 78.1124.
  86. For detailed discussions on this issue, see Jinhua Jia, “The Identity of Daoist Priestesses in
Tang China,” in Gendering Chinese Religion: Subject, Identity, and Body, ed. Jinhua Jia,
Xiaofei Kang, and Ping Yao (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2014), 103–32; and
chapter 1 and the conclusion of this book.
  87. See Guo Maoqian 郭茂倩, Yuefu shiji 樂府詩集 (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1979), 60.876.
  88. Stephen Owen has mentioned this point; see Owen, “Li Jilan,” in Chang and Saussy, Women
Writers of Traditional China, 59.
  89. See Maureen Robertson, “Voicing the Feminine: Constructions of the Gendered Subject in
Lyric Poetry of Medieval and Late Imperial China,” Late Imperial China 13, no. 1 (1992): 69;
and Anne Birrell, “Women in Literature,” in Columbia History of Chinese Literature, ed. Victor
H. Mair (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001), 200–201.
  90. Ji Yun, Siku quanshu zongmu, 186.1690.
  91. The QTS includes two of Yuan’s poems and four fragmented couplets (805.9060–61).
Another poem, “Yuyan” 寓言 (Allegory), attributed to her in the Youxuan ji (3.870), is
mistakenly attributed to Li Dong 李洞 (d. ca. 897) in the QTS (723.8300), while a fragmented
couplet of the poem is included in the Yinchuang zalu (30.844) and QTS under her name.
See Chen Shangjun, ed., Quan Tangshi bubian, 2: 302.
  92. Suzanne Cahill offers a brief discussion of her poetry but misspells her name as Yuan Qun;
see Cahill, “Resenting the Silk Robes That Hide Their Poems,” 538–39.
  93. E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 3872, 3974, 11050. See Rong and Xu, “Yaochi xinyong,”
131–33.
  94. Zhou Shaoliang and Zhao Chao, ed., Tangdai muzhi huibian, 729–30.
  95. The epitaph says that she was from the Henan Commandery 河南府, the office of which was
located in Luoyang; see Li Jifu, Yuanhe junxian tuzhi 元和郡縣圖志 (Beijing: Zhonghua,
1983), 5.129–30.
  96. Zhide convent was located in the Xingdao ward 興道坊; see Xu Song, Tang liangjing
chengfang kao, 2.35.
  97. The epitaph says only that she died during the Dali reign period (766–779). However, since
she was ordained in 742 and then became abbess for thirty-six years, we can assume that
she died at the end of the Dali.
  98. JTS records his name as Lu Hongyi and his courtesy name as Haoran 浩然 in his biography
but as Lu Hong in another place in the text (192.5119–21, 8.179). In the XTS (196.5603–
604); Sima Guang, Zizhi tongjian (212.6732); the anonymous Baoke leibian (3.81); Chen Si,
Baoke congbian (20.516); and other texts, his name is recorded as Lu Hong.
  99. Catalogue des manuscrits chinois de Touen-Houang and Faguo Guojia tushuguan cang
Dunhuang xiyu wenxian, P. 3216; and Huang Yongwu, Dunhuang baozang, 126: 620.
100. Yan Tingliang, ed., Dunhuang wenxue gailun 敦煌文學概論 (Lanzhou: Gansu renmin
chubanshe, 1993), 90, 126; Xu Jun, Dunhuang shiji canjuan jikao, 212–15; and Wang Ka,
Dunhuang Daojiao, 243.
101. Emperor Xuanzong actually built a Helian cloister 合煉院 in the Xingqing palace 興慶宮 for
making alchemical elixirs. See Sun Ti 孫逖, “Wei Zaixiang he Helianyuan chan zhicao biao”
為宰相賀合煉院產芝草表, in QTW, 311.8a–b.
102. Ban Gu, Hanshu, 54.2459–2468.
103. Nanzhi 南枝, the southern branches of trees, is a traditional image for one’s hometown,
which is first used in the “Gushi shijiu shou” 古詩十九首.
104. Youxuan ji, 3.871.
105. QTS, 801.9011–12; Chen Yingxing, Yinchuang zalu, 30.846–47.
106. E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 11050. See Rong and Xu, “Yaochi xinyong,” 135.
107. See, for example, Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa-sūtra 維摩詰所說經, in Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 475:
547c.
108. E cang Dunhuang wenxian, Дx. 11050; Youxuan ji, 3.870; and QTS, 799.8986.
109. Youxuan ji, 3.873; QTS, 799.8989.
110. Youxuan ji, 3.873; QTS, 802.9025.
111. Chen Wenhua, Tang nüshiren ji, 134–37; QTS, 804.9055–56, 801.9021. Suzanne Cahill has
translated this poem in “Material Culture and the Dao: Textiles, Boats, and Zithers in the
Poetry of Yu Xuanji (844–868),” in Daoist Identity: History, Lineage, and Ritual, ed. Livia Kohn
and Harold D. Roth (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2002), 119–22.
112. Chen Wenhua, Tang nüshiren ji, 96–98, 121; QTS, 804.9047–48, 9052.
113. In Lu Qinli’s 逯欽立 Xian Qin Han Wei Jin Nanbeichao shi 先秦漢魏晉南北朝詩 (Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 1983; 2131–32), two poems exchanged with courtesans are attributed to
Liu Lingxian 劉令嫻, the wife of the official Xu Fei 徐悱, but one of them is also attributed to
Xu Fei, in one version of the Yutai xinyong 玉台新詠. Mu Kehong 穆克宏 has asserted that
this poem is neither by Liu nor by her husband; see Mu, ed., Yutai xinyong jianzhu 玉台新詠
箋注 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1985), 6.258.
114. Dorothy Ko, Teachers of the Inner Chambers: Women and Culture in Seventeenth-Century
China (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1994), 14.
115. Robertson, Voicing the Feminine, 68–79.
116. See discussion in the introduction of this book.

7. Unsold Peony: The Life and Poetry of the

Priestess-Poet Yu Xuanji

This chapter is derived in part from Jinhua Jia, “Unsold Peony: Life and Poetry of the Daoist
Priestess-Poet Yu Xuanji in Tang China (618–907),” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 35,
no. 1 (2016): 25–57.
    1. Narrative texts will be discussed; for performing arts, see Ye Xianzu’s 葉憲祖 (1566–1641)
chuanqi 傳奇 drama, Ruanpi ji 鸞鎞記 (Jiguge 汲古閣 edition).
    2. See Mori Ōgai, “Go Genki” 魚玄機 (Yu Xuanji), in Shōsets 4 小說 4, Ōgai zenshū 鷗外全集,
vol. 5 (Tokyo: Iwanami shoten, 1937); Robert van Gulik, Poets and Murder (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1968); Shaw Brothers’ Film Studio, An Amorous Woman of the
Tang Dynasty (Tangchao haofangnü 唐朝豪放女; 1984); and Asia Television Limited, Those
Famous Women in Chinese History (Lidai qinüzi 歷代奇女子; 1988), episodes 7–10.
    3. See, for example, Jean Elizabeth Ward’s The Beheaded Poetess: Yu Xuanji (lulu.com, 2009).
    4. The Song dynasty bibliophile Chen Zhensun records Yu’s collection of poetry as one juan in
his Zhizhai shulu jieti (19.29b). This collection has been passed on to us. It is titled Tang
nülang Yu Xuanji ji 唐女郎魚玄機集 and contains forty-nine poems. Several Song dynasty
editions are extant, and the two included in the Sibu beiyao 四部備要 and Xuxiu siku quanshu
續修四庫全書 (XXSKQS) are easy to access. Qian Qianyi and Ji Zhenyi 季振宜 (1630–1674)
collected one more poem (“Zhe yangliu” 折楊柳) from the Song dynasty anthology Wenyuan
yinghua; see Qian and Ji, Quan Tangshi gaoben 全唐詩稿本 (Taibei: Lianjing, 1979), 71: 245.
Hu Zhenheng and the compilers of the Quan Tangshi collected four more fragmented
couplets from the Tangshi jishi; see Hu, Tangyin tongqian 唐音統簽, in XXSKQS, 923.12a–b;
and Peng Dingqiu et al., eds., Quan Tangshi (QTS), 804.905.
    5. Sun Guangxian, Beimeng suoyan, 9.71–72; Chen Zhensun, 19.29b; Hu Zhenheng, Tangyin
guiqian, 8.83; and Qian Qianyi, Jiangyunlou shumu, 75.
    6. Jan W. Walls, “The Poetry of Yü Hsüan-chi: A Translation, Annotation, Commentary and
Critique” (PhD diss., Indiana University, 1972). Genevieve B. Wimsatt’s translations of Yu
Xuanji’s poems were done earlier, but she took much liberty with her work and imbued it with
much imagination; see Wimsatt, Selling Wilted Peonies: Biography and Songs of Yu Hsuan-
Chi (New York: Columbia University Press, 1936). Other early translations and studies
include Karashima Takeshi 辛島驍, Gyo Genki-Setsu Tō 魚玄機, 薛濤 (Tokyo: Shūeisha,
1964); and Yokoyama Eisan 橫山永三, “Gyo Genki ni tsuite” 魚玄機につぃて, Chūgoku
kankei ronsetsu shiryō 中国関係論說資料 10 (1968): 218–25.
    7. Jan W. Walls, “Yü Hsüan-chi,” in The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature,
ed. William H. Nienhauser Jr. (Taibei: SMC, 1986), 944.
    8. Chen Wenhua, Tang nüshiren ji sanzhong, 95–145.
    9. Liang Chaoran, “Yu Xuanji,” in Tang caizizhuan jiaojian, ed. Fu Xuancong, 3: 8.448–53.
Dieter Kuhn also wrote a biography of Yu titled Yu Hsüan-chi: Die Biographie der T’ang
Dichterin, Kurtisane und Taoistischen Nonne (privately printed by Habilitationsvortrag,
Heidelberg, 1985).
  10. Maureen Robertson, “Voicing the Feminine: Constructions of the Gendered Subject in Lyric
Poetry of Medieval and Late Imperial China,” Late Imperial China 13, no. 1 (1992): 63–110.
  11. Kang-i Sun Chang and Haun Saussy, eds., Women Writers of Traditional China: An
Anthology of Poetry and Criticism (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1999), 66–76;
and Wilt Idema and Beata Grant, The Red Brush: Writing Women in Imperial China
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2004), 189–95. There have been other
complete or selected translations of Yu’s poetry recently, but some of them take considerable
liberties with translation; see, for example, David Young and Jiann I. Lin, trans., The Clouds
Float North: The Complete Poems of Yu Xuanji (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press,
1998); and Bannie Chow and Thomas Cleary, trans., Autumn Willows: Poetry by Women of
China’s Golden Age (Ashland, OR: Story Line, 2003), 77–117.
  12. Jowen R. Tung, Fables for the Patriarchs: Gender Politics in Tang Discourse (Lanham, MD:
Rowan & Littlefield, 2000), 182, 205–18.
  13. Suzanne E. Cahill, “Resenting the Silk Robes that Hide Their Poems: Female Voices in the
Poetry of Tang Dynasty Taoist Nuns,” in Tang-Song nüxing yu shehui 唐宋女性與社會, ed.
Deng Xiaonan (Shanghai: Shanghai cishu chubanshe, 2003), 519–66; and Cahill, “Material
Culture and the Dao: Textiles, Boats, and Zithers in the Poetry of Yu Xuanji (844–868),” in
Taoist Identity: History, Lineage, and Ritual, ed. Livia Kohn and Harold D. Roth (Honolulu:
University of Hawai’i Press, 2002), 102–26.
  14. See, for example, Kobayashi Tetsuyuki 小林徹行, “Gyo Genki no shi no tokushitsu” 魚玄機の
詩の特質, Tōyō bunka 東洋文化 303 (1992): 13–26; Huang Shizhong, “Lun Quan Tangshi
 zhong suo fanying de nüguan ‘banchang shi’ lianqing,” 39–43; and Hu Wei, “Daojiao de
qingxiuguan yu wenren de bairimeng,” 112–17.
  15. Incorporated in Li Fang et al., eds., Taiping guangji (TPGJ), 130.922–23. Unless otherwise
indicated, all following citations of the Sanshui xiaodu’s narrative of Yu Xuanji are from this
version.
  16. Sun Guangxian, Beimeng suoyan, 9.71–72. All subsequent citations of the Beimeng
suoyan’s narrative of Yu are from this version.
  17. We know with exactitude that Huangfu Mei lived in Lanling ward in 871, three years after Yu’s
death in 868, but he could have lived there earlier. See Huangfu Mei, Sanshui xiaodu,
85.549–50; and Xu Song, Tang liangjing chengfang kao, 2.39.
  18. For example, see Walls, “The Poetry of Yü Hsüan-chi,” 45–50; Cahill, “Resenting the Silk
Robes,” 563–66; and Idema and Grant, Red Brush, 190–93.
  19. The character 幼 should be read as yao here, as the same reading in the word yaomiao 幼妙
or yaomiao 幼眇, meaning youwei 幽微 (deep and subtle). See Bangu, Hanshu, 53.2423; and
Li Shan’s 李善 (630–689) annotation on Sima Xiangru’s 司馬相如 (ca. 179–ca. 117)
“Changmen fu” 長門賦, in Xiao Tong, Wenxuan, 16.228b.
  20. Hui is melilot, or sweet clover, and lan refers to eupatorium in texts before the Song dynasty;
see Paul W. Kroll, A Student’s Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese (Leiden: Brill,
2015), 176, 252. Together, huilan also denotes species of lan, and conventionally lan has
been translated as “orchid.” Here, I adopt the conventional translation, which sounds more
poetic.
  21. For example, the anonymous author of “Qinghe Zhang shi nüshang muzhiming” 清河張氏女
殤墓誌銘 records, “This girl who died young was the daughter of Lady Wei. She believed in
Dao and received ordination, and therefore was given the name Rongcheng” 女殤, 韋出也. 慕
道受籙, 因名容成. See Chen Yuan, Chen Zhichao, and Zeng Qingying, eds., Daojia jinshi lüe,
169–70.
  22. For example, see Feng Menglong 馮夢龍 (1574–1646), Qingshi 情史, in Feng Menglong
quanji 馮夢龍全集, ed. Wei Tongxian 魏同賢 (Nanjing: Jiangsu guji chubanshe, 1993),
7:18.656–57; Qian Qianyi and Ji Zhenyi, Quan Tangshi gaoben, 71: 220; and Liu Yuyi 劉於義
(d. 1748) and Shen Qingya 沈青崖 (fl. 1735), comp., Shaanxi tongzhi 陝西通志 (Siku
quanshu edition), 100.119a–120b.
  23. Sanshui xiaodu, Miao shi Yunzizai kan edition 繆氏雲自在龕刻本 (1891; XXSKQS), 2.4b.
  24. For example, see Walls, “The Poetry of Yü Hsüan-chi,” 54.
  25. For example, see Kobayashi Tetsuyuki, “Gyo Genki no shi no tokushitsu,” 13, 26.
  26. For example, see Liu Xu, Jiu Tangshu (JTS), 13.367; and Fang Qianli 房千里, Yang chang
zhuan 楊娼傳, incorporated in TPGJ, 491.4032.
  27. Gao Yanxiu 高彦休 (b. 854), Queshi, in Siku quanshu 四庫全書 (SKQS), 1.20b; and Zhou
Xunchu 周勛初, ed., Tang yulin jiaozheng 唐語林校證 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1987), 7.624.
  28. Sun Qi 孫棨 (fl. 884), Beili zhi 北里志 (Congshu jicheng chubian), 4, 9, 10.
  29. In his Sanshui xiaodu, Huangfu Mei does not mention the relationship between Yu Xuanji and
Li Yi at all. One reasonable conjecture is that Huangfu was their contemporary and might
have had to avoid the subject as taboo because Yu was eventually executed for murder and
Li was then a major official at the court.
  30. Liang Kejia 梁克家 (1128–87), Chunxi sanshan zhi 淳熙三山志 (SKQS), 26.4b. See Liang
Chaoran, “Yu Xuanji,” 449.
  31. Among the greatest families of the Tang dynasty were two Li clans, the Zhaojun Li 趙郡李氏
and the Longxi Li 隴西李氏.
  32. See mainly Chen Yinke, “Ji Tangdai zhi Li Wu Wei Yang hunyin jituan” 記唐代之李武韋楊婚姻
 集團, in Jinmingguan conggao chubian 金明館叢稿初編 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe,
1980), 237–63; David Johnson, “The Last Years of a Great Clan: The Li Family of Chao-chun
in the late T’ang and Early Sung,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 37 (1977): 51–59; and
Patricia Ebrey, The Aristocratic Families of Early Imperial Chian: A Case Study of the Po-ling
Tsui Family (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978).
  33. Zhangsun Wuji 長孫無忌 (ca. 597–659) et al., Tanglü shuyi 唐律疏議 (Beijing: Zhonghua
shuju, 1983), 12.
  34. Liang Chaoran has indicated this possibility; see Liang, “Yu Xuanji,” 448.
  35. Xin Wenfang, Tang caizi zhuan 唐才子傳, in Tang caizi zhuan jiaojian, 448.
  36. For example, see Walls, “The Poetry of Yü Hsüan-chi,” 57–66; and Liang Chaoran, “Yu
Xuanji,” 449–50.
  37. Yu Xuanji, “Jiangxing ershou” 江行二首, in Tang nüshiren ji, 113, and QTS, 804.9051; Yu,
“Guo Ehou” 過鄂州, in Tang nüshiren ji, 123, and QTS, 804.9053.
  38. Yu, “Ge Hanjiang ji Zi’an” 隔漢江寄子安, in Tang nüshiren ji, 127–28, and QTS, 804.9054; Yu,
“Jiangling chouwang ji Zi’an” 江陵愁望寄子安, in Tang nüshiren ji, 129, and QTS, 804.9054.
  39. Liu Tong was the commissioner from the first month of 863 to the third month of 866; see Yu
Xianhao, Tang cishi kao quanbian, 1152.
  40. Yu, “Ji Liu shangshu” 寄劉尚書, in Tang nüshiren ji, 99, and QTS, 804.9048.
  41. Yu, “Qingshu ji Li Zi’an buque” 情書寄李子安補闕, in Tang nüshiren ji, 103, and QTS,
804.9048.
  42. Yu, “Zuo Mingchang zi Zezhou zhi jing shiren chuanyu” 左名場自澤州至京使人傳語, in Tang
nüshiren ji, 132, and QTS, 804.9055.
  43. Yu, “Daqiu zuo” 打毬作, in Tang nüshiren ji, 106, and QTS, 804.9049. During the Tang
dynasty, especially during the late Tang period, it was a common practice that literati-officials
brought their concubines to provincial offices while leaving their wives and children in the
capital or their hometowns. They also often brought their concubines to gatherings with
provincial commissioners and colleagues. See Stephen Owen, The Late Tang: Chinese
Poetry of the Mid-Ninth Century (827–860) (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
2006), 262.
  44. Yu Xianhao, Tang cishi kao quanbian, 1152.
  45. As discussed, in her poem titled “Love Letter Sent to Rectifier of Omissions Li Zi’an,” Yu
recalls their life in Shanxi. Therefore, the poem must have been written after their return to
the capital from Taiyuan, and from the title we know Li Yi had already assumed the post of
rectifier of omissions.
  46. The Xianyi convent was located in the Qinren ward 親仁坊 of Chang’an. See Xu Song, Tang
liangjing chengfang kao, 3.60. Liang Chaoran has indicated that Yu’s entering of the Daoist
order should have happened after Li Yi finished his service in Shanxi and returned to the
capital; see Liang, “Yu Xuanji,” 449–50.
  47. Liang Chaoran, “Yu Xuanji,” 448.
  48. Wang Pu, Tang huiyao, 50.875.
  49. See Qian Yi 錢易 (968–1026), Nanbu xinshu 南部新書 (Shanghai: Zhonghua shuju, 1958),
50; and Xu Song, Tang liangjing chengfang kao, 3.60.
  50. Yu, Tang nüshiren ji, 112, and QTS, 804.9050–51. This poem has a variant title, “Qiusi” 秋思
(Autumn Thoughts). Judging from the construction of the autumn atmosphere in line 1 and
the transcendent theme of the poem, this title seems to fit the poem more perfectly.
  51. Yu, Tang nüshiren ji, 124, 117, and QTS, 804.9053, 9051. Yu Xuanji became a Daoist
priestess in about 866, was imprisoned during the spring of 868, and was executed during
the autumn of the same year (see later discussions). Thus, the autumn experience described
in “Chousi” could only have happened in 866 or 867. Likewise, these summer retreats could
 only have happened during these two years.
  52. Suzanne Cahill has used these poems to indicate that Yu found consolation and happiness
through Daoism in these poems. See Cahill, “Material Culture and the Dao,” 109–11.
  53. Yu, “Ying Li Jinren yuanwai” 迎李近仁員外, Tang nüshiren ji, 131, and QTS, 804.9054–55.
  54. See Liang Chaoran, “Yu Xuanji,” 451.
  55. Yu, “Ciyun xilin xinju jian qijiu” 次韻西鄰新居兼乞酒, in Tang nüshiren ji, 109, and QTS,
804.9050.
  56. Liu Yiqing 劉義慶 (403–444), Youming lu 幽明錄 (Beijing: Wenhua yishu chubanshe, 1988),
6.183.
  57. About this legend, see David Hawkes, The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese
Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets (London: Penguin, 1985), 104–109.
  58. See Liang Chaoran, “Yu Xuanji,” 450–51. From Yu Xuanji’s poems to Li Ying, we also see
that Li lived near to Yu’s place. As was discussed in chapter 2 of this book, during the Tang
era, Daoist convents, especially those in the capital city Chang’an, provided rooms for
officials and scholars to rent for longer or shorter periods. Thus, both this next-door literatus
and Li Ying likely lived in rooms leased from the Xianyi convent where Yu stayed.
  59. Yu, “Chou Li Ying xiari diaoyu hui jianshi” 酬李郢夏日釣魚回見示, in Tang nüshiren ji, 108,
and QTS, 804.9050; Yu, “Wen Li duangong chuidiao hui jizeng” 聞李端公垂釣回寄贈, in Tang
nüshiren ji, 115, and QTS, 804.9051.
  60. In the legend, Ruan Zhao and his friend Liu Chen 劉晨 went into Mount Tiantai, where they
met and married two female immortals. After half a year, the two men returned to their home
village and found that seven generations had passed. See Liu Yiqing, Youming lu, 1.1–2.
  61. See Liang Chaoran, “Yu Xuanji,” 450–51.
  62. See, for example, Wen Tingyun, “Song Li Yi donggui” 送李億東歸, in QTS, 578.6716.
  63. For a source of rumors about Wen and Yu’s relationship, see Ye, Ruanpi ji. Jennifer
Carpenter has noted that there is no evidence for such a relationship; see Carpenter,
headnote to “Yu Xuanji,” in Women Writers of Traditional China, 67.
  64. Yu, “Dongye ji Wen Feiqing” 冬夜寄溫飛卿, in Tang nüshiren ji, 107, and QTS, 804.9049; Yu,
“Ji Feiqing” 寄飛卿, in Tang nüshiren ji, 122–23, and QTS, 9053. Feiqing is Wen’s courtesy
name. It may be noted that Wen Tingyun did write two song lyrics for the tune “Nüguan zi” 女
冠子 (Daoist Priestess), in which he describes a fictive priestess’s beauty, spiritual pursuit,
and desire for a holy companion, revealing his appreciation of Daoist priestesses. See QTS,
891.10063; and Edward Schafer, “The Capeline Cantos: Verses on the Divine Loves of Taoist
Priestesses,” Asiatische Studien 32 (1978): 36–39.
  65. Sun Guangxian, Beimeng suoyan, 10.78.
  66. For a detailed discussion of Yu’s execution, see Liang Chaoran, “Yu Xuanji,” 452–53.
  67. For example, see Young and Lin, The Clouds Float North, x.
  68. JTS, 111.3325.
  69. Zhang Zuo 張鷟 (658–730), Chaoye quanzai 朝野僉載, quoted in TPGJ, 129.915–16.
  70. See Guo Qingfan 郭慶藩 (fl. 1894), ed., Zhuangzi jishi 莊子集釋 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
1961), 1.112.
  71. Lu, Tangshi jing 唐詩鏡 (SKQS edition), 48.32a; and Huang, Tangshi kuan 唐詩快 (1687 ed.),
16.39a.
  72. Tang nüshiren ji, 129, and QTS, 804.9054.
  73. The poem “Baizhou” 柏舟 (Cypress Boat) in the Shi jing 詩經 (Classic of Poetry, no. 26)
reads: “My heart is not a stone; it cannot be turned.”
  74. Tang nüshiren ji, 105, and QTS, 804.9049.
  75. Hu Yinglin, Shisou 詩藪 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 1979), 4.301.
  76. Tang nüshiren ji, 96, and QTS, 804.9047.
  77. Caidiao ji, 10.1202.
  78. Lu, Tangshi jing, 48.30a.
  79. Song Yu, “Dengtuzi haose fu” 登徒子好色賦, in Xiao Tong, Wenxuan, 19.9b–11b.
  80. See Anonym, “Geci” 歌辭, in Yutai xinyong jianzhu 玉台新詠箋注, ed. Wu Zhaoyi 吳兆宜 (fl.
1672) and Cheng Yan 程琰 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1985), 9.387; and Emperor Wu of
Liang 梁武帝 (r. 502–549), “Hezhong zhishui ge” 河中之水歌, in Yuefu shiji 樂府詩集, ed. Guo
Maoqing 郭茂倩 (fl. 1084) (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1979), 85.1204.
  81. Jowen R. Tung has insightfully indicated that, in this couplet, “a famous rhetorical trope is
transfigured to serve the purpose of female desires.” See Tung, Fables for the Patriarchs,
206–207.
  82. Huang, Tangshi kuai, 10.28a.
  83. The basic belief and goal of cultivation in Daoism are to attain immortality.
  84. Lu 路 (street) is written as lu 露 (dew) in the collection of Yu’s poetry. Here, I use the variant
from Mingyuan shigui (XXSKQS, 11.10a), Tangyin tongqian (923.8a), and QTS (804.9048).
  85. Tang nüshiren ji, 101, and QTS, 804.9048.
  86. See, for example, Genevieve Wimsatt’s book title, Selling Wilted Peonies.
  87. Qiao Zhizhi, “Ku guren” 哭故人, in QTS, 81.878.
  88. Cao Ye, “Laopu tang” 老圃堂, in QTS, 593.6881. This poem is also attributed to Xue Neng 薛
能 (d. 880), in QTS, 561.6511.
  89. Xu Fei, “Tianjian” 田間, in Meiwu ji 梅屋集 (SKQS), 1.19a.
  90. QTS, 643.7377.
  91. See Li Zhao 李肇 (fl. 785–829), Tang guoshi bu 唐國史補 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji
chubanshe, 1979), 2.45; and Duan Chengshi, Youyang zazu, 19.185–86. For a discussion of
mid- to late Tang poems on peonies, see Owen, Late Tang, 453–58.
  92. See Bai Juyi’s description of the high price of peonies: “A cluster of deep-color flowers costs
the revenue of ten middle-class families” 一叢深色花, 十戶中人賦. Bai, “Maihua” 買花, Bai
Juyi ji jianjiao, 2.96, and QTS, 425.4676.
  93. Mingyuan shigui, 11.10a.
  94. The Chongzhen abbey was established in the early Kaiyuan reign period (713–756) and was
located in the Xinchang ward 新昌里 of Chang’an. See Song Minqiu, Chang’an zhi, 9.66.
  95. Tang nüshiren ji, 111, and QTS, 804.9050.
  96. See Tung, Fables for the Patriarchs, 211; and Cahill, “Material Culture and the Dao,” 104–11.
  97. Tang caizi zhuan jiaojian, 8.452.
  98. See Anne Birrell, “Women in Literature,” in Columbia History of Chinese Literature, ed. Victor
H. Mair (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001), 209; and Idema and Grant, Red Brush,
195.
  99. Dorothy Ko, Teachers of the Inner Chambers: Women and Culture in Seventeenth-Century
China (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1994), 17.
100. Youxuan ji, 3.879; and Caidiao ji, 10.1201.
101. For detailed discussions on this issue, see Jinhua Jia, “The Identity of Daoist Priestesses in
Tang China,” in Gendering Chinese Religion: Subject, Identity, and Body, ed. Jinhua Jia,
Xiaofei Kang, and Ping Yao (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2014), 103–32; and
chapter 1 and the conclusion of this book.
102. Mingyuan shigui, 11.3.
103. About discussions on the cult of qing, see mainly Kang-I Sun Chang, The Late-Ming Poet
Ch’en Tzu-lung: Crises of Love and Loyalism (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1991),
11; and Dorothy Ko, Teachers of the Inner Chambers, 18, 68–112.
104. Wanyan Yunzhu 完顏惲珠 (1771–1833), Guochao guixiu zhengshi ji 國朝閨秀正始集
(Hongxiangguan 紅香館 edition), preface, 2a. Translations adapted from Susan Mann,
 Precious Records: Women in China’s Long Eighteenth Century (Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press, 1997), 15–16, 96.
105. For instance, Yu Xuanji wrote a poem in response to a linked poem composed by three
sisters named Guang 光, Wei 威, and Pou 裒. See Yu, “Guang, Wei, Pou zimei sanren
shaogu er shiyan, naiyou shizuo, jingcui nanchou, shui Xiejia lianxue, heyi jiazhi; you ke zi
jingshi lai zhe shiyu, yin ci qiyun” 光威裒姊妹三人少孤而始妍, 乃有是作, 精粹難儔, 雖謝家聯
雪, 何以加之; 有客自京師來者示予, 因次其韻, in Tang nüshiren ji sanzhong, 134–37, and
QTS, 804.9055–56. She obtained the sisters’ poem from a guest, as is evident from the title,
but she had not yet met them (see line 22: “If I could see their beautiful faces, even dying
would be sweet” 若睹紅顏死亦甘). Drawing from their poem, Yu imagines and describes the
three sisters’ beauty, emotion, and talents. Cahill’s interpretation of this poem as “same-sex
eroticism” is problematic; see Cahill, “Material Culture and the Dao,” 104.

Conclusion

    1. See, for example, Edward Davis, “Arms and the Tao: Hero Cult and Empire in Traditional
China,” in Sōdai no shakai to shūkyō 宋代の社會と宗教, ed. Sōdaishi kenkyūkai 宋代史研究
會 (Tokyo: Kyūko shoin, 1985), 2: 1–56; John Lagerway, Taoist Ritual in Society and History
(New York: Macmillan, 1987); Kenneth Dean, Taoist Ritual and Popular Cults of Southeast
China (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993); Terry Kleeman, A God’s Own Tale:
The “Book of Transformations” of Wenchang, the Divine Lord of Zitong (Albany: State
University of New York Press, 1994); Skar Lowell, “Ritual Movements, Deity Cults and the
Transformation of Daoism in Song and Yuan Times,” in Daoism Handbook, ed. Livia Kohn
(Leiden: Brill, 2000), 412–63; Matsumoto Kōichi, “Daoism and Popular Religion in the Song,”
in Modern Chinese Religion I: Song-Liao-Jin-Yuan (960–1368 AD), ed. John Lagerway and
Pierre Marsone (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 285–327; Xun Liu and Vincent Goossaert, eds.,
Quanzhen Daoists in Chinese Society and Culture, 1500–2010 (Berkeley, CA: Institute of
East Asian Studies, 2013); and Xun Liu, “Daoism from the Late Qing to Early Republican
Periods,” in Modern Chinese Religion II: 1850–2015, ed. Vincent Goossaert, Jan Kiely, and
John Lagerwey (Leiden: Brill, 2016), 806–37.
    2. See mainly Livia Kohn and Russell Kirkland, “Daoism in the Tang,” in Daoism Handbook,
340–50; and Lowell Skar, “Ritual Movements, Deity Cults and the Transformation of Daoism
in Song and Yuan Times,” in Daoism Handbook, 413–29, 452–58.
    3. Concerning discussions on female Daoists after the Tang dynasty, see mainly Judith M.
Boltz, A Survey of Taoist Literature: Tenth to Seventeenth Centuries (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1987), 64–68; Thomas Cleary, Immortal Sisters: Secrets of Taoist Women
(Boston, MA: Shambhala, 1989); Catherine Despeux, Immortelles de la Chine ancienne:
Taoïsme et alchimie feminine (Paris: Pardès, 1990); Zhan Shichuang 詹石窗, Daojiao yu
nüxing 道教與女性 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1990), 85–99; Vincent Goossaert,
“The Invention of an Order: Collective Identity in Thirteenth-Century Quanzhen Taoism,”
Journal of Chinese Religion 29 (2001): 111–38; Catherine Despeux and Livia Kohn, Women
in Daoism (Cambridge, MA: Three Pines, 2003), 129–74; Shin-yi Chao, “Good Career
Moves: Life Stories of Daoist Nuns of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries,” Nan Nü 10, no. 1
(2008): 121–51; Xia Dangying 夏當英, “Nüxing shijue xia de Quanzhendao xiudaoguan” 女性
視覺下的全真道修道觀, Anhui daxue xuebao 安徽大學學報 35 (2011): 22–28; Louis Komjathy,
“Sun Bu’er: Early Quanzhen Matriarch and the Beginnings of Female Alchemy,” Nan Nü 16,
no. 2 (2014): 171–238; and Elena Valussi, “Female Alchemy: Transformation of a Gendered
 Body,” in Gendering Chinese Religion, ed. Jinhua Jia, Xiaofei Kang, and Ping Yao (Albany:
State University of New York Press, 2014), 225–52.
    4. See Rebecca Doran, Transgressive Typologies: Constructions of Gender and Power in Early
Tang China (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017), 186–226.
    5. For detailed discussions, see Robert des Rotours, Courtisanes chinoises à la fin des T’ang,
entre circa 789 et le 8 Janvier 881: Pei-Li Tche (Anecdotes du quartier du nord) (Paris:
Presses Universitaires de France, 1968); and Victor Xiong, “Ji-Entertainers in Tang
Chang’an,” in Presence and Presentation: Women in the Chinese Literati Tradition, ed.
Sherry J. Mou (New York: St. Martin’s, 1999), 149–69. There were different types of official
and private ji 妓 during the Tang; for detailed discussions of the classifications of Tang
courtesans, see Gao Shiyu, Tangdai funü, 56–80; and Zheng Zhimin 鄭志敏, Xishuo Tangji 戲
說唐妓 (Taibei: Wenjin chuban gongsi, 1997), 27–32. Translations of the term ji 妓 vary
among scholars and include “courtesan,” “prostitute,” “whore,” “geisha,” and “entertainer.” For
a summary of different translations, see Ping Yao, “The Status of Pleasure: Courtesan and
Literati Connections in T’ang China (618–907),” Journal of Women’s History 14, no. 2 (2002):
44–45. Because ji is not the main concern of this chapter, I simply use “courtesan” to name
them generally.
    6. See Ping Yao, “The Status of Pleasure,” 37–43.
    7. Sun Qi 孫棨 (fl. 884), Beili zhi 北里志 (Shanghai: Gudian wenxue chubanshe, 1957), 25; and
Victor Xiong, “Ji-Entertainers,” 154, 157–59.
    8. See Chen Wenhua, Tang nüshiren ji sanzhong, 74–76; Wu Qiming 吴企明, “Xue Tao,” in
Tang caizizhuan jiaojian, ed. Fu Xuancong, 3: 6.102–13; and Wilt Idema and Beata Grant,
The Red Brush: Writing Women in Imperial China (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia
Center, 2004), 182–89. There are different sayings about the author and context of the series,
but according to Xue Tao’s poem “Fa fubian youhuai shang Wei linggong ershou” 罰赴邊有懷
上韋令公二首, in Tang nüshiren ji, 30; a record by He Guangyuan 何光遠 (fl. 938–964), in
Jianjie lu 鑒戒錄 (Siku quanshu 四庫全書, 10.12b); and a piece from the series attributed to
Xue Tao in the late-Tang anthology Youxuan ji (in Fu Xuancong 傅璇琮, Chen Shangjun, and
Xu Jun 徐俊, eds. Tangren xuan Tangshi xinbian [zengdingben] 唐人選唐詩新編 (增訂本)
[Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2014], 877), the series should have been written by Xue Tao when
she was banished to Songzhou by Wei Gao. See also Zhang Pengzhou 張蓬舟, Xue Tao
shijian 薛濤詩箋 (Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 1983), 14–18.
    9. Li Deyu’s poem is no longer extant; Liu Yuxi’s poem is included in the Quan Tangshi,
365.4121.
  10. Liu Ning 劉寧 has noted this point; see Liu, “Shixi Tangdai changjishi yu nüguanshi de chayi”
試析唐代娼妓詩與女冠詩的差異,” Zhongguo dianji yu wenhua 中國典籍與文化 4 (2003): 49–
57.

Appendix: Du Guangting and the Hagiographies of

Tang Daoist Women

This appendix is derived in part from Jinhua Jia, “Du Guangting and the Hagiographies of
Tang Female Daoists,” Taiwan Journal of Religious Studies 1 (2011): 81–121.
    1. Du Guangting, preface to the Jixian lu, in Zhang Junfang, Yinji qiqian (YJQQ), 114.2527;
Dong Gao et al., Quan Tangwen (QTW), 932.4a; and Zheng Qiao 鄭樵 (1104–1162), Tongzhi
ershi lüe 通志二十略 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1995), 1613. See Piet van der Loon, Taoist
 Books in the Libraries of the Sung Period: A Critical Study and Index (London: Ithaca, 1984),
144.
    2. See Li Jianguo 李劍國, Tang Wudai zhiguai chuanqi xulu 唐五代志怪傳奇敘錄 (Tianjin:
Nankai University Press, 1993; hereafter cited as Xulu), 1061–74; Catherine Despeux,
“Women in Daoism,” in Daoism Handbook, ed. Livia Kohn (Leiden: Brill, 2000), 394; Luo
Zhengming 羅爭鳴, Du Guangting Daojiao xiaoshuo yanjiu 杜光庭道教小說研究 (Chengdu:
Ba Shu shushe, 2005), 101–65; Suzanne Cahill, Divine Traces of the Daoist Sisterhood:
Records of the Assembled Transcendents of the Fortified Walled City by Du Guangting
(850–933) (Magdalena, NM: Three Pines Press, 2006), 14; and discussions later in this
appendix. Some of the accounts were modified, to greater or lesser extent, by later
compilers.
    3. Edward Schafer, “Tu Kuang-t’ing,” in The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese
Literature, ed. William H. Nienhauser Jr. (Taipei: SMC Publishing, 1986), 822. Luo
Zhengming also treats this text as a “Daoist fiction”; see Luo, Du Guangting Daojiao xiaoshuo
yanjiu, 101–65.
    4. Although she notes that Du Guangting compiled the Jixian lu with his own purposes in mind
and that the text “weaves miracles and wonders,” Suzanne Cahill regards it as “a primary
source unequalled in its richness for investigating the social and religious history of medieval
Chinese women,” and says Du’s accounts “supply us with the most reliable data we are likely
to find on a variety of women’s physical practices.” See Cahill, “Practice Makes Perfect: Paths
to Transcendence for Women in Medieval China,” Taoist Resources 2, no. 2 (1993): 23–42;
Cahill, “Biography of the Daoist Saint Wang Fengxian by Du Guangting (850–933),” in Under
Confucian Eyes: Writings on Gender in Chinese History, ed. Susan Mann and Yu-yin Cheng
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001), 16–28; and Cahill, Divine Traces of the
Daoist Sisterhood, 13–20.
    5. See mainly Hippolyte Delehaye, The Legends of the Saints (New York: Fordham University
Press, 1962); Peter Brown, “The Saint as Exemplar in Late Antiquity,” Representations 1, no.
2 (1983): 1–25; John Kieschnick, The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Medieval Chinese
Hagiography (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1997), 1–2; Robert F. Campany, To Live
as Long as Heaven and Earth: A Translation and Study of Ge Hong’s Traditions of Divine
Transcendents (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), 98–217; and Jinhua Chen,
Philosopher, Practitioner, Politician: The Many Lives of Fazang (643–712) (Leiden: Brill,
2007), 2–5.
    6. J. Russell Kirkland, “Huang Ling-wei: A Taoist Priestess in T’ang China,” Journal of Chinese
Religions 19 (1991): 47–73; Kristofer Schipper and Franciscus Verellen, eds., The Taoist
Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
2004), 421; and Cahill, Divine Traces of the Daoist Sisterhood, 13.
    7. See mainly Ishii Masako 石井昌子, “Shinkō to Yōjō shūsen loku” 真誥と墉城集仙錄, Tōyō
gakujutsu kenkyū 東洋學術研究 15 (1976): 1–3; Yan Yiping 嚴一萍, Daojiao yanjiu ziliao 道教
研究資料, vol. 1 (Taibei: Yiwen yinshuguan, 1976); Edward Schafer, “Three Divine Women of
South China,” Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews 1 (1979): 31–42; Schafer, “Tu
Kuang-t’ing,” 821–24; Sunayama Minoru 砂山稔, “To Kōtei no shisō ni tsuite” 杜光庭の思想に
つぃて, Shūkan Tōyōgaku 集刊東洋學 54 (1985): 297–316; Franciscus Verellen, Du
Guangting (850–933): Taoïste de cour à la fin de la Chine médiévale; Verellen, Social History
in Taoist Perspective: Du Guangting (850~933) on Contemporary Society (Hong Kong:
Xianggang Zhongwen daxue Chongji xueyuan Zongjiao yu Zhongguo shehui yanjiu zhongxin,
2001); Qing Xitai, Zhongguo Daojiao shi, 421–76; Timothy H. Barrett, Taoism Under the
T’ang: Religion and Empire During the Golden Age of Chinese History (London: Wellsweep,
1996), 94–98; Livia Kohn, “Taoist Scholasticism: A Preliminary Inquiry,” Scholasticism: Cross-
 Cultural and Comparative Perspectives, 115–40; Yang Li, “Daojiao nüxian zhuanji Yongcheng
jixian lu yanjiu”; Zhou Xibo 周西波, Du Guangting Daojiao yifan zhi yanjiu 杜光庭道敎儀範之
研究 (Taibei: Xinwenfeng, 2003); Jin Duiyong 金兌勇, Du Guangting Daode zhenjing
guangshengyi de Daojiao zhexue yanjiu 杜光庭道德真經廣聖義的道教哲學研究 (Chengdu:
Ba Shu shushe, 2004); Sun Yiping 孫亦平, Du Guangting pingzhuan 杜光庭評傳 (Nanjing:
Nanjing University Press, 2005); and Cahill, Divine Traces of the Daoist Sisterhood.
    8. For Du’s life, see mainly Yan Yiping, “Xianzhuan shiyi xu” 仙傳拾遺序, in Daojiao yanjiu ziliao;
Verellen, Du Guangting; Jia Jinhua and Fu Xuancong, Tang Wudai wenxue biannian shi:
Wudai juan 唐五代文學編年史: 五代卷 (Shenyang: Liaohai chubanshe, 1999), 50–51, 69,
109, 113, 132, 138, 145–46, 163–64, 171, 201, 216, 258–59; and Sun Yiping, Du Guangting
pingzhuan, 56–111.
    9. Sima Guang, Zizhi tongjian (ZZTJ), 268.8773; and Ouyang Xiu, Xin Wudai shi 新五代史
(Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1974), 63.789. See also Verellen, Du Guangting, 164.
  10. For example, see Cahill, Divine Traces of the Daoist Sisterhood, 12.
  11. This text is recorded in the Mishusheng xu biandao siku que shumu 秘書省續編到闕書目,
2.31b (Yeshi guangutang shumu congke 葉氏觀古堂書目叢刻, 1902); and in Zheng Qiao,
Tongzhi ershi lüe, 1615. See Loon, Taoist Books, 157; and Verellen, Du Guangting, 208.
Although it is no longer extant, Yan Yiping has reconstructed it with thirty-eight accounts, and
Li Jianguo with thirty-nine accounts; see Yan, “Wangshi shenxian zhuan jijiao” 王氏神仙傳輯
校, in Daojiao yanjiu ziliao, vol. 1; and Li Jianguo, Xulu, 1055–61.
  12. Liexian zhuan 列仙傳, attributed to Liu Xiang 劉向 (ca. 77–6 BCE), incorporated in Li Fang et
al., Taiping guangji (TPGJ), 4.24.
  13. For a detailed discussion of the legend and cultic development of Prince Jin, see Marianne
Bujard, “Le culte de Wangzi Qiao ou la longue carrière d’un immortel,” Etudes Chinois 19, no.
1–2 (2000): 115–55.
  14. In the epitaph written for his concubine Wang Renshu 王仁淑, Zhang Linghui 張令暉 traces
Wang’s family origin to Prince Jin: “After the prince became Heaven’s guest, his clan received
the surname Wang of Taiyuan” 王子賓天之後, 得姓於太原; see Zhang, “Shiren Taiyuan
Wangshi muzhiming bingxu” 室人太原王氏墓誌銘並序, in Zhou Shaoliang and Zhao Chao,
eds., Tangdai muzhi huibian xuji, 568. According to this, it seems that Prince Jin had already
been misunderstood as having the surname Wang by the Kaiyuan reign period (713–741),
perhaps by popular legend. However, Du Guangting’s profound knowledge should have been
sufficient for him to know better, so we can still say he deliberately misread Prince Jin’s
surname as Wang.
  15. Chao Gongwu, Junzhai dushuzhi jiaozheng 郡齋讀書志校證, ed. Sun Meng 孫猛 (Shanghai:
Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1990), 9.389.
  16. Chen, Zhizhai shulu jieti, 12.3b; and Yan Yiping, “Wangshi shenxian zhuan jijiao,” in Daojiao
yanjiu ziliao, 2.
  17. Both Wang Yan’s mother, surnamed Xu 徐, and her younger sister, the famous Huarui furen
花蕊夫人 (Lady of Flower Pistil), were Wang Jian’s favorite consorts. Wang Yan was the
youngest among Wang Jian’s eleven sons, and he was established as the heir apparent only
through his mother’s conspiracy. Both sisters, especially the younger, were extremely
beautiful and talented in poetry. See Wu Renchen 吳任臣 (d. 1689), Shiguo chunqiu (Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 1983), 38.559–61; and Pu Jiangqing 浦江清, “Huarui furen gongci
kaozheng” 花蕊夫人宮詞考證, in Pu Jiangqing wenlu 浦江清文錄, ed. Lü Shuxiang 呂叔湘
(Beijing: Renmin wenxue chubanshe, 1958), 47–101.
  18. Ouyang Xiu, Xin Wudai shi, 63.792; Wu Renchen, Shiguo chunqiu, 37.539.
  19. Verellen, Du Guangting, 178–80, 196; Li Jianguo, Xulu, 1061.
  20. Yan Yiping, “Wangshi shenxian zhuan jijiao,” 13–14; Li Jianguo, Xulu, 1056–61, 1063–64.
  21. Li Jianguo, Xulu, 1063–75.
  22. About the formation of the genealogy of the queen mother and her many daughters, see Li
Fengmao, “Xiwangmu wunü chuanshuo de xingcheng jiqi yanbian,” 215–45. As for the
surname of the king father, accounts differ. For example, the late Tang scholar-official Duan
Chengshi 段成式 recorded his surname as Ni 倪; see Duan, Youyang zazu 酉陽雜俎 (Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 1981), 14.128.
  23. See Suzanne E. Cahill, Transcendence and Divine Passion: The Queen Mother of the West
in Medieval China (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1993), 18; Yang Li, Yongcheng
jixian lu yanjiu, 133–34.
  24. The queen mother’s account states that she “was born at the Yi River in the divine land and
her surname is Gou” 金母生於神洲 [州] 伊川, 厥姓緱氏. The account of Gou Xiangu tells a
story as follows: The Lady of the Eastern Sacred Mountain (Dongyue furen 東岳夫人) sent a
blue bird as her messenger to tell Gou Xiangu that “the Queen Mother of the West is
surnamed Gou. She is your sacred ancestor; Mount Goushi in Henan is the place where the
queen mother engaged in Daoist cultivation; it is the mountain of her hometown” 西王母姓緱,
乃姑之聖祖也; 河南緱氏乃王母修道之處, 故鄉之山也. See Jixian lu, in YJQQ, 114.2528,
115.2554.
  25. Duan Chengshi recorded the queen mother’s surname as Yang 楊; see Duan, Youyang zazu,
14.128. Other surnames attributed to the queen mother include Yan 焉, He 何, and Ma 馬;
see Shizu daquan 氏族大全, in Siku quanshu 四庫全書 (SKQS), 7.48a; Dong Sizhang 董斯張
(1586–1628), Guang bowu zhi 廣博物志, in SKQS, 13.2a; and Hu Yinglin 胡應麟 (1551–
1602), Shaoshi shanfang bicong 少室山房筆叢 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1958), 43.587.
  26. Although Empress Wu is renowned for her promotion of Buddhism, she also actively utilized
the Queen Mother of the West for political validation and, symbolically, as her celestial
counterpart. It was under Empress Wu that the queen mother became closely identified with
Mount Song, the Central Sacred Mountain located close to Luoyang, her political center,
while the Prince Jin cult on nearby Mount Goushi was celebrated in passing. The empress
was flattered as the queen mother, and Zhang Changzong 張昌宗, one of her male favorites,
was flattered as the incarnation of Prince Jin. See Norman H. Rothschild, “Empress Wu and
the Queen Mother of the West,” Journal of Daoist Studies 3 (2010): 29–57.
  27. Cahill, Divine Traces of the Daoist Sisterhood, 13.
  28. The Luyi ji originally consisted of ten juan, of which only eight are now extant (Daozang [DZ]
591), including three juan of accounts of immortals, extraordinary persons, and supernatural
beings. Li Jianguo collected an additional twenty-eight accounts from various sources. The
latest of these extant accounts is dated 921, and Du signed his preface with the five titles he
carried around 921, namely Guanglu dafu 光祿大夫 (Grand Master for Splendid Happiness),
Hubu shilang 戶部侍郎 (Vice Minister of Revenue), Guangcheng xiansheng, Shang zhuguo
上柱國 (Supreme Pillar of State), and Caiguo gong 蔡國公 (Duke of Caiguo), but not his titles
of Celestial Master of Transmission of the Perfection and Grand Academician, bestowed in
923. Thus, we can infer that this text was completed between 921 and 923. See Loon, Taoist
Books, 160; Franciscus Verellen, Du Guangting, 206; Verellen, “Shu as a Hallowed Land: Du
Guangting’s Record of Marvels,” Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 10 (1998): 213–54; and Li Jianguo,
Xulu, 1052–54.
  29. Verellen, “Luyi ji,” in Taoist Canon, 421.
  30. Kirkland, “Huang Ling-wei,”67.
  31. Cahill, Divine Traces of the Daoist Sisterhood, 13.
  32. Li Jianguo, Xulu, 1061–74. By comparing the TPGJ with extant original texts, we can
conclude that the compilers of this text were quite serious and careful in incorporating more
 than four hundred earlier texts. Although they made minor modifications, overall they
maintained the original stories, subjects, and structures unchanged. The Taiping yulan, on the
other hand, usually greatly abridged the original stories. See Chen Shangjun 陳尚君, “Sui
Tang Wudai wenxue de jiben dianji” 隋唐五代文學的基本典籍, in Zhongguo dudai wenxue
tonglun 中國古代文學通論, ed. Fu Xuancong and Jiang Yin 蔣寅 (Shenyang: Liaoning renmin
chubanshe, 2005), 3: 515–16.
  33. Incorporated in the TPGJ, 66.431, 68.421–24.
  34. The Xianzhuan shiyi originally had forty juan and 429 accounts, but it is no longer extant. Yan
Yiping has reconstructed it into ninety-nine accounts and five juan, whereas Li Jianguo has
reconstructed it into 128 accounts. See Chongwen zongmu 崇文總目, in SKQS, 9.5b; Wang
Yinglin 王應麟 (1223–1296), Yuhai 玉海 (Nanjing: Jiangsu guji, 1990), 58.8b; Loon, Taoist
Books, 95; Verellen, Du Guangting, 208; Yan, “Xianzhuan shiyi,” in Daojiao yanjiu ziliao, vol.
1; and Li Jianguo, Xulu, 1025–40. From these reconstructed accounts, we can see that the
text shares many stories with Du’s other collections of hagiographies and wondrous matters,
such as the Luyi ji, Wangshi shenxian zhuan, Jixian lu, and Shenxian ganyu zhuan 神仙感遇
傳 (DZ 592). See Stephen Bokenkamp, “Taoist Literature,” in The Indiana Companion to
Traditional Chinese Literature, ed. William H. Nienhauser Jr. (Bloomington: Indiana University
Press, 1998), 146; Li, Xulu, 1013–24; and Schipper and Verellen, Taoist Canon, 430. Judging
from its size—forty juan and 429 accounts—we may infer that the Xianzhuan shiyi was
probably an amalgamation of all Du’s hagiographical and wondrous collections of stories of
immortals and supernatural beings and therefore might have been compiled some years after
923.
  35. The account was titled “Wuzhen ji” 五真記. See Hu Yinglin, Shaoshi shanfang bicong,
43.595.
  36. TPGJ, 53.327, 37.235.
  37. Yang Li has already noted that “The Wife of Wei Meng” account may have been included in
the Jixian lu, but she does not give any detailed verification; see Yang, “Yongcheng jixian lu
banben zhi kaozheng yu jiyi” 墉城集仙錄版本之考證與輯佚, Zhongguo wenhua yanjiusuo
xuebao 中國文化研究所學報 44 (2004): 317.
  38. Yang Li has added two more accounts, those of Pei Xuanjing 裴玄靜 and Qi Xiaoyao 戚逍遙,
from the Xu xian zhuan 續仙傳 compiled by Shen Fen 沈汾; see Yang, “Yongcheng jixian lu
banben zhi kaozheng yu jiyi,” 314. In his preface to the Jixian lu, Du Guangting in fact
mentions a Xu shenxian zhuan 續神仙傳 (Supplementary Lives of Immortals) as one of the
texts he incorporated. Shen Fen, however, was a contemporary of Du active in the lower
Yangzi River region, and the latest accounts in his Xu xian zhuan were dated around 920 (Li
Jianguo, Xulu, 998–99), about the same time the Jixian lu was compiled. Even if 920 was the
date of completion, it is unlikely that the text had been distributed from the lower Yangzi River
region to Sichuan and incorporated into Du’s text so quickly under the chaos and disunity of
the early Five Dynasties. There was, however, another text titled Xu xian zhuan 續仙傳, by
the Daoist priest Gaichang 改常, compiled around the Dali reign period (766–779); see Tao
Zongyi 陶宗儀, ed., Shuofu sanzhong 說郛三種 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe, 1988),
34.20; and Luo Zhengming, Du Guangting Daojiao xiaoshuo yanjiu, 81. What Du used and
incorporated was thus probably from this earlier text.
  39. YJQQ, 114.2524–27.
  40. Du was the commissioner of western Zhejiang and prefect of Lunzhou from 863 to 869, and
Linghu was the commissioner of Huainan and governor of Yangzhou from 862 to 868. See Yu
Xianhao 郁賢皓, Tang cishi kao quanbian 唐刺史考全編 (Hefei: Anhui daxue chubanshe,
2000), 137.1868, 123.1684.
  41. Translation by Cahill, Divine Traces of the Daoist Sisterhood, 184.
  42. YJQQ, 116.2566–69.
  43. Ouyang Xiu, Xin Tangshu (XTS), 224.6402–3.
  44. ZZTJ, 257.8362, 8364.
  45. Wang Qinruo, Cefu yuangui, 942.16b; Bai Juyi 白居易 and Kong Zhuan 孔傳 (fl. 1131–1162),
Bai Kong liutie, in SKQS, 33.16a; Wu Renchen, Shiguo chunqiu, 1.4.
  46. Incorporated in Sandong qunxian lu, DZ 1248: 4.403b–404a.
  47. TPGJ, 64.397–98.
  48. Cited by Cao Xuequan 曹學佺 (1574–1647), Shuzhong guangji 蜀中廣記, in SKQS, 74.21a.
  49. See Glen Dudbridge, Religious Experience and Lay Society in T’ang China: A Reading of Tai
Fu’s Kuang-i chi (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), 178.
  50. TPGJ, 63.392.
  51. Yu Xianhao, Tang cishikao quanbian, 107.1498.
  52. QTW, 32.363a–b. Both the Song dynasty Baoke leibian 寶刻類編, in Congshu jicheng
chubian (CSJCCB), 1.5; and Zhu Changwen 朱長文, Mochi bian 墨池編, in SKQS, 6.66b,
record the inscription of this decree, which could still be seen at the time.
  53. Sun Chengze 孫承澤 (1592–1676) records in his Chunming mengyu lu 春明夢餘錄: “Tang
dynasty ‘Stele Inscription of Ziyang Convent’ written by Emperor Xuanzong, in Zhuozhou,
where the Daoist priest[ess] Bian Dongxuan cultivated Dao and transcended to immortality”
唐紫陽觀碑, 玄宗御制, 在涿州, 道士邊洞玄修真成僊於此 (Beijing: Beijing guji chubanshe,
1992; 67.1287). The Jifu tongzhi 畿輔通志 includes a similar record: “Bian Dongxuan of Tang
dynasty was a native of Zaoqiang district. She left her family and cultivated herself at the
Ziyun convent when she was a child. She finally attained immortality and ascended in broad
daylight. Emperor Xuanzong wrote an imperial decree to praise her. The stele inscription is
still preserved at the convent” 唐邊洞元, 棗強人, 自幼於紫雲觀出家修行, 後得道, 白日上升. 唐
元宗御制詞褒揚之, 碑刻尚存於觀. See Tian Yi 田易 et al., Jifu tongzhi, in SKQS, 85.14b.
  54. Mishusheng xu biandao siku que shumu, 2.31, 34; Loon, Taoist Books, 165.
  55. This text was probably written by Wang Duan 王端. As Du says at the end of the Jixian lu:
“[The Emperor] then ordered Editor Wang Duan [courtesy name] Jingzhi to compose a stele
inscription to record this marvelous event of immortals” 仍敕校書郎王端敬之為碑, 以紀其神仙
之盛事者也; in YJQQ, 116.2562.
  56. YJQQ, 116.2562.
  57. Kirkland, “Huang Ling-wei,” 67; Cahill, Divine Traces of the Daoist Sisterhood, 150–51.
  58. This text is recorded in XTS, 59.1524; and Zheng Qiao, Tongzhi ershi lüe, 1615.
  59. Long Xianzhao and Huang Haide, Ba Shu Daojiao beiwen jicheng, 34–35. Wang Xiangzhi 王
象之 (jinshi 1196) records this stele in his Yudi beiji mu 輿地碑記目, in CSJCCB, 4.98.
  60. The Yudi beiji mu (4.98) records a stele inscription on Mount Heqi 鶴棲山: “It roughly says
that in the tenth year of Zhenyuan in the Tang dynasty, which was the year of Jiaxu, a
Guozhou woman Xie Ziran ascended to immortality in broad daylight. Prefect Li Jian sent a
presentation to the emperor and also wrote a biography for Xie” 其大略云, 唐貞元十年, 歲在
甲戌, 果州女子謝自然白日升仙, 刺史李堅以狀聞, 又為之傳.
  61. Wei Zhongju 魏仲舉, ed., Wubai jia zhu Changli ji 五百家注昌黎文集, in SKQS, 1.40b–41b.
  62. Numbered Paul Pelliot manuscripts, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, 3866; included in Chen
Shangjun, ed., Quan Tangshi bubian, 1: 58–59; noted by Fukazawa Kazuyuki 深澤一幸,
“Sennyo Sha Shizen no tanjō” 仙女謝自然の誕生, in Kōzen Kyōju taikan kinen Chūgoku
bungaku ronshū 興膳教授退官紀念中國文學論集, ed. Kōzen Kyōju Taikan Kinen Chūgoku
Bungaku Ronshū Henshū Iinkai 興膳敎授退官記念中國文學論集編集委員會 (Tokyo: Kyūko
shoin, 2000), 424–25.
  63. Fukazawa Kazuyuki, “Sennyo Sha Shizen no tanjō,” 411–29. The Xu shenxian zhuan by
 Shen Fen has an account of Xie Ziran, which tells a different story, in which Xie became the
Highest Clarity master Sima Chengzhen’s (647–735) disciple (DZ 295: 1.16–19). Since Sima
died long before Xie’s time, this story was another re-creation. See Fukazawa, “Sennyo Sha
Shizen no tenkai” 仙女谢自然の展开, Gengo bunka kenkyū 言語文化研究 27 (2001): 233–54.
  64. Du Guangting, “Lidai chongdao ji,” in QTW, 933.9718b; DZ 593: 20b.
  65. Franciscus Verellen, “A Forgotten T’ang Restoration: The Taoist Dispensation after Huang
Ch’ao,” Asia Major (Third Series) 7, no. 1 (1994): 107–53.
  66. Yan Zhenqing, Yan Lugong ji, 9.1a–7a. Yan had another stele inscription on Huang Lingwei,
titled “Fuzhou Linchuanxian Jingshan Huagu xiantan beiming” 撫州臨川縣井山華姑仙壇碑銘
(Yan Lugong ji, 9.7a–9b), but Du Guangting did not cite this inscription.
  67. QTW, 340.21b. See Kirkland, “Huang Ling-wei,” 60.
  68. YJQQ, 115.2550. Translation adapted from Kirkland, “Huang Ling-wei,” 66; and Cahill, Divine
Traces of the Daoist Sisterhood, 123.
  69. See Kirkland, “Huang Ling-wei,” 66.
  70. YJQQ, 115.2551.
  71. Duyang zabian (CSJCCB), 2.11; also quoted in TPGJ, 66.413.
  72. This is stated at the end of the Duyang zabian story.
  73. YJQQ, 116.2565.
  74. Sandong qunxian lu, 4.403b–404a. See Li Jianguo, Xulu, 1059.
  75. TPGJ, 53.327; YJQQ, 115.2548.
  76. YJQQ, 116.2563.
  77. The compilation of this first hagiography of female Daoists might have been inspired by the
Biqiuni zhuan 比丘尼傳 (Biographies of Chinese Buddhist Nuns), the first hagiography of
female Buddhists by the Liang dynasty monk Baochang 寶唱. See Baochang, Biqiuni zhuan
jiaozhu 比丘尼傳校注, ed. Wang Rutong 王孺童 (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 2006); and
Kathryn Ann Tsai, Lives of the Nuns: Biographies of Chinese Buddhist Nuns from the Fourth
to Sixth Centuries (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1994).
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 Index

Page numbers refer to the print edition but are hyperlinked to the appropriate location in
the e-book.

Pages where tables and figures appear are italicized.

abbeys, numbers of, 12–13. See also convents; specific abbeys

adepts, Daoist priestesses as, 69–70
afforestation, 64
agriculture, 37, 38
alchemy, female (nüdan), 97, 191
alchemy, inner, xxv, 88, 91–93, 101, 111, 114–15, 131, 241n45; formation of three-stage process
of, 92. See also cultivation, inner
alchemy, outer, 29, 65, 69, 112, 154, 157, 239n20, 241n45; criticism of, by Daoist priestesses, 79,
97, 112
An Lushan rebellion, 2, 44, 46, 142, 146, 154–55, 157–58
Anguo convent, 31, 42
Ankang (Tang princess), 27
Anle (Tang princess), 7, 45
ascension to heaven, 9, 87–88, 90, 94–97, 99, 113, 196, 198, 203, 204–6

Bai Juyi, 12, 16, 29, 75

Ban Zhao, 8, 135, 187
Bao He, 147–48
Bao Junhui, 8, 218n36, 255n75
Bao Zhao, 143
Baoyi (Uighur qaghan), 26–27
Benn, Charles D., 18, 35–36, 223n14
Bi Shiduo, 201
Bian Dongxuan, 69, 204–5, 270n53
Birrell, Anne, 185
body, in Daoism, 131, 202, 241n47. See also body, qi energy, and spirit
body, qi energy, and spirit: relation among, 88–95, 97
Bokenkamp, Stephen, 235n36
Book of Changes, 91–93
breathing exercises, 120, 121, 122–23, 129
Buddhism: Chan, 90; continuity with Daoist beliefs, 25–26, 39–42, 44, 62, 67, 80–81, 159 (see
also Three Teachings, synthesis of); criticism of Daoism by Buddhists, 2, 9, 38; criticism of, by
Daoists, 94, 151–52; influences on Daoism, 25, 26, 90, 95, 223n13; nuns, 13, 18, 28, 62, 68,
71, 201, 205, 211n12, 234n23, 272n77; persecution of, 62; Yunju monastery, 40
Bumbacher, Stephen P., 220n58
burial. See death and mourning

Cahill, Suzanne, 165, 196, 198, 199, 205, 261n52, 264n105, 266n4
Cai Wei, 206, 226n53
Cai Wenji, 136
Cai Xingfeng, 8, 14, 133, 135, 139–40, 161–62
Cai Xunzhen, 69
Caiguo (Tang princess), 25, 27, 29
Caiguo convent, 29
calligraphy, 15, 46, 72–74, 135
canon. See Fangshan stone canon; Kaiyuan canon; scriptures, Daoist
Cao Cao, 119
Celestial Masters. See lineages, Daoist
celibacy, 9; among Daoists, 10
Changyi (monk), 44
Chao Gongwu, 136, 139
Chen Kefeng, 29
Chen Shangjun, 252n22
Chen Wenhua, 140, 165
Chen Yingxing, 136
Chen Yinke, xxiii
Chen Zhenshun, 197, 258n4
Chen Zhi, 130
Cheng Changwen, 135, 136
Cheng Taixu, 70
Cheng Wuwei, 64, 74
Cheng Xianying, 3
Chongde (Uighur qaghan), 26–27
Chongxu convent, 72
Chongzhen abbey, 184
Chu Guangxi, 45
Chuguo (Tang princess), 27
cinnabar, 239n20
clothing, xix, 13, 17, 28, 30, 32, 158, 188, 221n62
concubines, 12, 164, 167–68
Confucianism, 8, 27; continuity with Daoist beliefs, 28, 62, 80–81, 198 (see also Three Teachings,
synthesis of); criticism of Daoist priestesses by, 68; and women scholars, 69
convents, xviii, 18, 188; abbesses of, xxv, 51, 63–66; art collections of, 29; before Tang era, 51;
establishment, 12–13, 25, 26, 29, 63–65; conversion of residence into, 25, 222n6; financing,
xix, 14, 25, 27–28, 36–39, 65, 188, 233n14; and literati, xxv, 28–29, 43; numbers of, xix, 12–
13, 50; objection to construction of, 36–39; for “released” palace women, 30–31; renovations
of, 65 (see also shrines); as sightseeing destination, 29; as site for composing poetry, 29, 43,
162–63; and social class, 15. See also specific convents
corveé labor, 37, 38
cosmology, correlative, 106–11, 115, 120, 245n37
court: Daoist priestesses at (see mentors; political activity by Daoist priestesses; rituals); Daoist
priestesses summoned to, 3, 8, 16, 68, 71, 72, 77, 146, 149–50
courtesans, 62, 154, 162, 191–92, 265n5; and exam candidates, xix, 12; misrepresentation of
Daoist priestesses as, xxi–xxii, xxiv, xxvi, 140, 152, 164, 167–68, 186, 191–92
Cui Ke’an, 87
Cui Li, 37
Cui Xuan, 136
Cui Zhiyuan, 16
Cui Zhongrong, xxv, 133, 136, 158–61, 187
cultivation, inner (neilian), xxv, 88, 96–97, 101, 113. See also alchemy, inner
cults of Daoist priestesses, 69

Dafang, Mount, 206

Dai Fu, 69, 204, 205
Daode jing, 5, 34–35, 65, 69, 206, 214n13. See also Laozi
Daoxing convent, 65
death and mourning, 7, 31–32, 69
Deng Yangkang, 5,223n9
Despeux, Catherine, xxi, 248n88
Dezong (Tang emperor), 8, 16, 30, 150–52, 255n72,75
diet. See food
Dingguan jing (Scripture on Absorption and Observation), 90
divine descending, 189, 203, 204, 207
divine marriage, 9, 11
Dongling convent, 63
Dongqing convent, 30
Dou, Consort, 33–34
Du Fu, 186
Du Guangting, xxvi, xxi, xxii, xxiv, 3, 10, 50, 84, 195–208, 266n4, 270n38, 270n40, 271n55
Du Shenquan, 201
Dugu Lin, 75
Dunhuang manuscripts, xxii–xxiii, xxv, 19, 72, 133–36, 140, 154, 155, 156, 158, 161, 245n35,
246n59, 250n107, 251n4

education: Daoist, 2; of women, 7–8, 27, 155

emotion (qing), cult of, 186
endowment. See monasticism
epitaphs, xxii–xxiv, 5, 7, 19, 25, 32, 42, 46–48, 50, 66, 69, 71–72, 77, 79, 223n9, 226n47, 226n48,
226n53, 233n11, 235nn36,41, 267n14
examination system, 2, 80, 167–68, 196; effect on gender relations, 11–12, 184–85
exercise, physical, 117, 123–26, 125, 129

families (natal) of Daoist priestesses, 70–72, 80, 156–57, 188. See also marriage
Fangshan stone canon, 19, 39–42, 228n82
Fazang, monk, 228n82
feeling (qing), cult of, 186
Feng Ao, 75
Feng Deyi, 64–65
Feng Xingzhen, 65–66
Fengxian abbey, 43
filial piety, 7, 205
film and television, 164
five phases, 106–9, 117, 128–29, 245n37. See also cosmology
food and fasting, 69–70, 74, 80, 117, 126–31, 206, 207; Hu Yin’s dietary method, 127
Former Shu ruling house. See Wang family
freedom enjoyed by Daoist priestesses, xxi, 15, 28, 62, 161, 170, 181; limits on, 172. See also
convents: financing
Fukazawa Kazuyuki, 206

Gai Jianmin, 101

Gaichang, 270n38
Gao Lian, 130
Gao Lishi, 46
Gao Pian, xxi, 202
Gao Shi, 45
Gao Zhongwu, 8, 152, 161
Gaozong, Tang emperor, 2, 72, 217n34
Gaozu, Tang emperor, 2, 68
gazetteers, xxiii
Ge Hong, 119
gender awareness among Daoist priestesses, xix, 63–66, 97–98, 156, 162–63, 170, 179–85;
political aspects of, 184–85
gender relations, xviii, 6–12, 188; after Tang era, 152; before Tang era, 51, 234n23; and burial, 69;
chastity, 62; at court, 7–8, 15, 228n75; culture of romance and, xix, 9–12 (see also men:
romantic affairs of Daoist priestesses with); examination system’s effect on, 11–12; goddess
cult and, 11, 170–71; in literary exchanges, 8, 15–16; men valorized over women, 26; non-Han
influence on, 6; and social class, 6, 7–8; women’s activities outside home, 6–7. See also
literati; marriage; men; women
gender reversal: at court, xviii, 7–8, 15, 68–69; Empress Wu as pattern, xviii, 7; in love poetry,
153, 161, 170, 173–79, 181, 186; in priestesses’ natal families, 70–71
goddesses: cult of, and gender relations, 11, 170–71; Daoist priestesses as, 16–17, 152–53, 163,
170, 179, 181, 188, 207; poetry about (see under poetry); and sexuality, 9–10, 16–17, 152–53,
179. See also Guanyin; Queen Mother of the West
golden elixir, 94
Gou Xiangu, 197, 200, 268n24
Goushi, Mount, 196, 198
Grant, Beata, 185
Guanyin, 201
Guizhen abbey, 36
Guo Jinji, 72
Guo Yingyi, 222n6

hagiographies, 50, 195–208, 272n77; as genre and as sources, xxi, xxii, xxvi, 195–96, 208;
ideologies and effects of, 189–91
hair, 28, 201
Han Lanying, 136
Han Yi, 70
Han Yu, 67, 205
Han Zhencui, 5
Han Ziming, 70–71, 77, 235n36
Hang Faxin, 31
Hao Qin, 101
He Rui, 27–28
He Youjing, 31
He Zhenjing, 65
He’en abbey, 37
Heng, Mount, 80, 87, 239n29
Heze abbey, 37
hierarchy, Daoist. See ordination
Highest Clarity lineage. See lineages, Daoist
Hou Qiongzhen, 75
Hu Yin, xxv, 70, 100–32; breathing exercises, 120, 121, 122–23, 129; dietary method, 127;
exercise, physical, 117, 123–26, 125, 129; influences on later medical theory, 101, 114, 115,
129–31; list of writings, 101–2; sobriquet “Jiansunü,” 103; sources used by, 106–7, 109–10,
117, 119–29; theories on spirits of viscera, 109–15; theories on seasonal nurturing, 115–26,
118
Hu Yinglin, 178
Hua, Mount, 70
Huang Haide, 233n11
Huang Lingwei (Huagu), xxii, 63, 97–98, 199, 206
Huang Zhouxing, 175, 181
Huangfu Gui, wife of (poet), 135
Huangfu Long, 119
Huangfu Mei, 165, 185–86
Huangting neijing jing (HTJ; Daoist classic), xxv, 100–101, 103, 107, 109, 112, 114, 115, 119–20,
131–32, 206
Huangting neijing wuzang liufu (buxie)tu (HTNJT; by Hu Yin), 100–32
Huayang convent, 29, 222n6
Huiyuan abbey, 75
hun soul. See souls

Idema, Wilt, 185

immortality and longevity, xix, xxv, 9–11, 28, 29, 30, 93, 97, 100, 111, 117–30, 154, 157, 207,
248n88, 262n83; the terms “immortal/transcendent” (xian), 209n3
India, 124
inner and outer spheres, 17. See also priestesses: public activities; travel; women: activities
outside home
inner cultivation. See cultivation, inner
investiture. See ordination

Ji Zhenyi, 258n4
Ji Zhongfu, 133
Jiao Jie, xxii
Jiao Jingzhen, 54, 69, 229n95, 234–35n32
Jiao Zhenjing, 43, 229n95. See also Jiao Jingzhen
Jiaoran (monk), 142, 143, 147–49, 221n74
Jiayou convent, 69
Jin (prince of Zhou dynasty), 196–97, 267n14
jindan. See golden elixir
Jinhua convent, 25, 29
Jingwan (or Zhiyuan; monk), 39
Jingzong (Tang emperor), 68
Jinhua Chen, 19
Jinming Qizhen. See lineages, Daoist
Jinxian (Tang princess), xxiv, 2, 18, 32–36, 222n5, 226n49; epitaph, 46–48; investiture, 6, 25, 26,
33–36, 226n53; wealth, 28, 224n24. See also Fangshan stone canon
Jixian lu, xxvi, xxii, 49, 50, 195–208, 234n31; list of hagiographies in, 200–201; as source, xxi,
195–96, 266n4

Kaiyuan canon, 40–41

Kang Qia, 45
Kegasawa Yasunori, 18–19, 228n82
Kirkland, Russell, xxii, 63, 196, 198, 199, 205, 207
Ko, Dorothy, 162
Kohn, Livia, xxi, 239n20
Kongdong, Mount, 44
Kou Qianzhi, 9
Kuai Jing, 119
Kunlun, Mount, 159, 198

Laozi, 2, 34, 42, 204, 206

laws: on concubines, 168; marriage, 6; mourning, 7; regulating Buddhism, 3–4; regulating
Daoism, xviii, 3–4; and social class, 171–72; treatment of Daoist priestesses as gendered
group in, xix, 13–14
leadership. See convents: abbesses
Lévi, Jean, 101
Li Bai, 18, 43, 45
Li Deyu, 192, 223n9
Li Fengmao, 18
Li Fuguo, 46
Li Hanguang, 3, 235n32
Li Huan (Prince of Xu), 46
Li Jian, 205, 206
Li Jianguo, 197, 267n11
Li Jilan, xxv, 16, 77, 133, 135, 136, 137, 140–54, 187
Li Jinren, 170–71
Li, Lady, 69
Li Linfu, 69
Li Liu, 46
Li Qi, 45
Li Qiongxian, 63–64, 98
Li Qunyu, 45
Li Rong, 3, 16
Li Shangjin (Prince Ze), 46
Li Shangyin, 66
Li Shu, 140, 142, 150
Li Tengkong, 69
Li Wei (Prince Xin’an), 46
Li Xiang, 205
Li Yi (husband of Yu Xuanji), 167–68, 175
Li Yi (court official), 37
Li Ying, 162
Li Yixun, 46
Li Yuanzhen, 30
Li Zhaosheng, 115
Li Zongqing, 72
Liang Chaoran, 165
Liang Qiong, 136
Liangqiuzi, 107, 131, 244n25
life-nurturing (yangsheng), xxv, 101, 202; seasonal nurturing theories of Hu Yin, 115–30, 118. See
also medicine
Lin Yin, 90
lineages, Daoist: Celestial Masters, 9, 51, 220n58, 232n9; Complete Perfection, 191; Highest
Clarity, 4, 9–10, 11, 67, 112, 159, 197, 202, 207, 220n58, 232n9, 271n63; integration of, xviii,
3–6, 188; Jinming Qizhen, 4; Numinous Treasure, 4
Lingdu convent, 43
Linghu Tao, 201
literati: and convents, 28–29, 160; interactions of Daoist priestesses with, 15–16, 18, 28–29, 44–
45, 142–49, 152, 161, 166, 170–71
Liu Cheng, 46
Liu, Consort, 33–34
Liu Dan, 80
Liu Jinxi, 72
Liu Lingxian, 257n113
Liu Moran, xxv, 70, 79–99; contributions to Daoist theory, 88, 91–93, 96–97
Liu Ningran, 238n7, 239n28. See also Liu Moran
Liu Ruoshui, 44
Liu Yuxi, 45
Liu Zhangqing, 142, 152
Liu Zhirou, 223n9
longevity. See immortality and longevity
Longhe, Mount (now Longhu), 64, 233n11
Longheshan convent, 64
Lou (Zongsheng) abbey, 43
Lü Dongbin, 115
Lu Lun, 45
Lu Meiniang (Xiaoyao), 30, 207
Lu Shiyong, 175
Lü Xuanhe, 66
Lu Yu, 143
Lu, Mount, 69
Luo Binwang, 16
Luo Zhengming, 199, 266n3

Ma Duanlin, 25
Magu (goddess), 16
Magu, Mount, 5, 77
marriage: among Daoists, 10, 25, 61–62, 223n9; divine, 9, 11; divorce, 6; laws, 6; renunciation of,
8, 26–27, 64; royal, 26–27
medicine and medical theory, xxv, 69, 100–32; monks, nuns, priest(esse)s prohibited from
practicing, 243n23. See also life-nurturing
meditation, xxv, 88–90, 117, 119, 126, 156, 247n77. See also sitting in oblivion (zuowang)
men: interactions of Daoist priestesses with, 44–45, 64 (see also under literati); poets (see poets:
Daoist priestesses’ association with); romantic affairs of Daoist priestesses with, 16, 29, 144–
49, 170
Meng Jingsu, 67–68
Meng Wentong, 83
mentors to royalty, Daoist priestesses as, xix, xxv, 8, 15, 68–69, 71, 76
methodology and sources, xvii, xx–xxiv, 50–51. See also under hagiographies
monasticism: Daoist, xviii, 3–6, 188; endowment of, 4. See also abbeys; convents; monasteries
Mori Ōgai, 164
mothers: Daoist priestesses as, 70, 80; laws on mourning for, 7
mourning. See death and mourning
Mu Kehong, 257n113
murder, 171–72, 260n29
music, xix,13, 74, 75, 188, 206, 236n56
Muzong (Tang emperor), 26–27, 68

Needham, Joseph, 101, 241n45

Neng Quchen, 74
Ning (Tang prince), 44
Ning Tiyuan, 37
Numinous Treasure lineage. See lineages, Daoist
ordination, Daoist: age of ordinands, 19, 26, 30, 62, 64, 104, 154, 224n14, 226n53; to avoid
persecution of Buddhism, 62, 71; for benefit of ancestors, 26, 34; to gain freedom, 62, 170; and
illness, 27, 62; and immortality, 29, 154; involuntary, 25–26, 30; motives for, 25–28, 29–31, 61–
62, 154, 169–70, 225n37, 227n61; and politics, 30, 33–36, 227n61; as pretext for divorce,
225n37; ranks (list), 5; ranks achieved by priestesses, 5–6, 15, 51–61, 67, 70, 79, 80, 159;
renunciation of, 26, 133; system of, xviii, 3, 4–6, 15; as theater, 35–36; and widowhood, 27, 30,
62, 80
Ouyang Xun, 47

Pan Shizheng, 3
Pang Dezu, 77
Peach Blossom Spring, 156
Pei Cui, 37
Pei Shangjian, 25, 29, 32, 42
Pei Xuanjing, 269n38
phases, five. See five phases
pilgrimage. See travel
Ping Yao, 18, 224n24, 228n75
poetry: anthologies, 8, 14, 133–40, 161–62, 251n1, 252n22, 252n24, 258n4 (see also Yaochi ji);
about Buddhism, 159; about Daoism, 151, 156–57, 261n5; about Daoist priestesses, 16–17,
30–31, 44–45, 66, 67, 74, 147–49, 159, 205 262n64; by Daoist priestesses, 77, 133–87; about
goddesses, 11, 16–17, 139, 152–53, 158, 163, 170, 179, 181; as historical source, xxiii–xxiv,
42–43, 67, 166; love, 11–12, 16–17, 144–49, 153, 159–61, 168–69, 170–71, 173–79; medical
texts written in, 130; nature in, 175–77; as social practice, 16, 29, 152; on things (yongwushi),
184; on travel, 168–69, 174–75
poets: Daoist priestesses as, 8, 14, 15, 18, 133–63 (see also Cui Zhongrong; Li Jilan; Yuan Chun;
Zhang, Lady); Daoist priestesses’ association with, 7, 16–17, 44–45, 142–49, 152, 156,
263n105; fictitious, 137
political activity by Daoist priestesses, xx, 15, 28, 34, 44–46
Popova, Irina, 251n4
practitioners, Daoist. See adepts
preaching: by Buddhist nuns, 68, 234n23; by Daoist priestesses, xix, xxv, 15, 67–69, 206, 235n36
priestesses, Daoist, in Tang era: Chinese words for, xix,13, 87, 95, 220n58, 221n62; freedom and
independence of, xix, 28, 161, 170, 188–89 (see also convents: financing); as gendered group,
xvii, 12–17 (see also gender awareness); list of, with general information, 52–60; numbers of,
13; public activities of, 15, 64, 66–69, 170 (see also mentors; political activity; preaching;
rituals; secular events; travel); social and imperial approval or disapproval of activities by, 15–
16, 28, 68, 69–70, 149, 161, 186; uniqueness of, in Chinese history, xvii, xxiv, 12, 48–49, 78,
161, 170, 181, 184, 186–87, 188
princesses, Tang, xx, xxiv, 18–28, 32–49; list of ordained princesses, 20–24. See also Ankang;
Anle; Caiguo; Chuguo; Jinxian; Taihe; Taiping; Tangchang; Wan’an; Xinchang; Yong’an;
Yuzhen

qi (energy), 9, 10, 113, 120, 122–23, 129. See also body, qi energy, and spirit
Qi Xiaoyao, 269n38
Qian Qianyi, 258n4
Qin Xi, 69–70
Qin Yan, 201
qing (emotion, feeling), cult of, 186
Queen Mother of the West, 11, 139, 158, 195, 197–98, 206, 268n22, 268n24, 268n25, 268n26

rain, ritual for, 43–44, 76

rank (court), 32. See also social class
remonstrance with emperor, 37–39
residence place of Daoist priestesses, 10, 19, 26, 28, 35, 51, 158, 188, 222n5; geographic
distribution, 62. See also convents; marriage
rituals (and other religious duties): Buddhist, 228n82; Confucian, 27; at court, 74–77; performed
by or for Daoist priestesses, xix, 15, 29, 32, 43–44, 64, 74–77, 228n94, 233n13, 236n51
Robertson, Maureen, 162, 165
Robinet, Isabelle, 91, 101, 243n14
romance, culture of, xix, 9–12. See also men: romantic affairs of Daoist priestesses with
Rong Xinjiang, 134
Ruan Zhao legend, 11, 144, 159, 171, 181, 261n60
Ruizong (Tang emperor), 2, 7, 25, 26, 32, 33–35, 36–37, 63

saliva-swallowing, 117–19, 120, 124, 129

Sanhuang jing (Three Sovereigns text), 5, 35, 214n13
Schafer, Edward H., 209n3, 220n62
Schipper, Kristofer, 131, 243n14
schools, Daoist, 2
scriptures, Buddhist, 235n42. See also Fangshan stone canon
scriptures, Daoist: canon, 4, 72, 114, 235n42; copying, 72–74; Daoist priestesses’ knowledge of,
5–6, 29, 31, 35, 64, 77; transmission of, xviii, 5, 36, 44, 61, 67, 80, 214n13
secular events, Daoist priestesses’ involvement in, 15
sexuality and sexual practices: Daoist, xix, 9, 10, 170; and goddesses, xix, 9–11, 16–17, 170. See
also celibacy
shamans, 11
Shangguan Wan’er, 7, 217n34
Shen Fen, 269n38, 271n63
Shen Jin’ao, 130–31
Shi Chongxuan, 35–36, 38
shrines, reconstruction of, by Daoist priestesses, 63–64, 97–98
Shuai Yeguang, 44
Sikong Shu, 45
Siku quanshu, 141, 154
Sima Chengzhen, xxv, 3, 43, 69, 79, 80, 81–88, 90, 97, 120, 237n4, 240n30, 271n63
sitting in oblivion (zuowang), 29, 88–94, 126. See also meditation; Zuowang lun
social class, 162: and convents, 15; and gender relations, 6, 7–8; of priestesses, 50, 137, 155,
164, 166–67, 188, 205; and princess-priestesses, 28, 63–66, 69, 80; and punishment for crime,
171–72, 260n43. See also rank; social status
social status, of Daoist priestesses, 163, 172
Song, Madam (Xuanwen jun), 8
Song Miaoxian, 72
Song Minqiu, 223n14
Song, Mount, 5, 30, 44, 196
Song Ruoxian, 69, 136
Song Ruoxin, 8
Song Ruoxun, 136
Song sisters (Ruoxin, Ruozhao, Ruoxian, et al.), 7–8, 255n75
soteriology, Daoist, 129
souls: hun, 93, 108; po, 108
spirit. See body, qi energy, and spirit; souls
steles, names of authors on, 85–87
Su E, 207
Su Hui, 135–36
Sun Bu’er, 191
Sun Chengze, 41, 270n53
Sun Guangxian, 165–66
Sun Simiao, 10, 90, 104, 120, 124–26, 128, 246n58
Suwen (Plain Questions; Basic Questions), 103–4, 117, 129
Suzong (Tang emperor), 44, 46

Taibai, Mount, 104

Taihe (Tang princess), 26
Taiping (Tang princess), 7, 26, 44, 223n14
Taiping convent, 26
Taiqing abbey, 36
Taiyi abbey, 5
Taizong (Tang emperor), 2, 68
Tang ruling house: establishment of Daoism as state religion by, xviii, xxiv, 2, 12, 35, 39; Laozi as
ancestor of, xviii, xxiv, 2, 34, 43, 204; members of, as Daoist priestesses, 18–49; non-Han
influences on, 6; promotion of Daoism by, xviii, 2–4, 12, 14, 19–25, 75, 188; support of
Buddhism by, 40–41, 44; valorization of princes over princesses, 26. See also Jinxian,
Princess; Yuzhen, Princess
Tang Yongtong, 246n68
Tangchang (Tang princess), 25, 27–28, 29
Tangchang convent, 25, 27, 29
Tao Hongjing, 246n58, 246n59, 249n103
Tao Yuanming, 156
teeth-clapping, 117–20, 124, 129
theorists, Daoist priestesses as, 79–99
Three Teachings, synthesis of, 91, 98, 201, 203, 205, 208; effects of, on later Daoism, 190. See
also Buddhism: continuity with Daoism; Confucianism: continuity with Daoism
Tian Guidao, 67
Tian Yuansu, 67–69, 77, 235n36
Tianbao convent, 63
Tiantai, Mount, 80, 196
Tibet, 26
transcendent. See under immortality and longevity
transmigration, 94
travel, by Daoist priestesses, 15, 42, 43, 63, 168–69, 174, 207
Tsukamoto Zenryū, 18–19
Tung, Jowen R., 165, 262n81
Twofold Mystery, 93–94

Uighurs, 26

van Gulik, Robert, 164

Verellen, Franciscus, 196, 197, 198
viscera, 100–26

Walls, Jan W., 164

Wan’an (Tang princess), 26
Wang Bing, 104
Wang Chang, 226n47
Wang Duan, 271n55
Wang Fajin, 207–8
Wang family (Former Shu ruling house), 196–98
Wang Fengxian, xxi, 199–204
Wang Jian, 45
Wang Jian (ruler of Former Shu), 196
Wang Jiayou, 101
Wang Jin, 46
Wang Ka, 155
Wang Lingfei, 16
Wang Ming, 101, 114, 243n14
Wang Renshu, 267n14
Wang Sanqing, 252n24
Wang, Stephen, 209n3
Wang Wei, 44–45, 46, 230n111
Wang Xuming, 5
Wang Yan (ruler of Former Shu), 196
Wang Zhen, 119
Wangwu, Mount, 43, 80, 88
Weaving Maiden legend, 11, 170–71, 181
Wen Tingyun, 162
Wei (Tang empress), 7
Wei Chou, 37
Wei Gao, 192
Wei Hu, 8, 137
Wei Huacun, Lady, 63–64, 97–98, 243n14
Wei Linghe, 47
Wei Shu, 223n14
Wei Tao, 43
Wei Tuan’er, 34
Wei Zhan, 46
Wei Zhigu, 37
Wei Zhuang, 8, 136
Wendi (Sui emperor), 68
Wenzong (Tang emperor), 28, 30, 68, 71, 75
widows, 27, 30, 62, 70, 74, 80
Wimsatt, Genevieve B., 258n6
women: as active, desiring subject in love, 153, 161, 170, 173–79, 181, 262n81; activities outside
home, xx, 6–7, 68, 175 (see also priestesses: public activities; travel by priestesses);
education, 7–8, 27, 155; palace women, xxiv, 30–31. See also Buddhism: nuns; gender
relations; marriage; mothers; poets; priestesses; widows; writing women
Women’s Analects (Song Ruoxin), 8
writing women, xviii, 7–9, 81–98, 100–32, 133–63; interactions among, 156, 160, 162; reception
of, 136, 161; social class of, 137, 155; and women’s literary culture in China, 162–63
Wu Youji, 223n14
Wu Yun, 3, 85, 90, 93, 97
Wu Zetian (Tang empress), xviii, 2, 26, 33–34, 46, 72, 198, 228n75
Wuchengzi, 131
Wutong convent, 65

Xiantan convent, 63
Xianyi (Tang princess), 14–15, 27. See also Xianyi convent
Xianyi convent, 14, 29, 30, 70, 77, 169–70, 179
Xianzong (Tang emperor), 68
Xiao Heng, 27–28
Xiao Yingshi, 80, 144, 237n2
Xiao Yu, 228n82
Xiao, Priestess, 30
Xiao (Sui empress), 228n82
Xie Daoyun, 136
Xie Ziran, 70, 205–6, 271n60, 271n63
Xiling convent, 239n29
Xin Tipi, 37
Xin Wenfang, 185
Xinchang (Tang princess), 25, 27–28
Xinchang convent, 25
Xing Guiyi, 5
Xingtang abbey, 44
Xizong (Tang emperor), 16, 28, 196
Xu Fei, 257n113
Xu Jun, 134, 155
Xu Qiao, 226n47, 228n82
Xuanfa (monk), 40–41
Xuanyuan abbey, 5
Xuanzong (Tang emperor), 2, 12, 25, 33–35, 40, 42–45, 48, 74, 85, 154–55, 157, 204, 206,
230n122, 237n4, 270n53
Xue Shao, 26
Xue Shi, 239n29
Xue Tao, 137, 154, 187, 192
Xue Yuanjun, 79, 239n29; inscription about, 95–98
Xue Yun, 162

Yan Shihe (courtesy name: Bojun) 144–49

Yan Tingliang, 155
Yan Yiping, 101, 197, 267n11, 269n34
Yan Zhenqing, xxii, 63, 206
Yang Chao, 233n11
Yang Guifei, 12. See also Yang Yuhuan
Yang Li, 269n37, 269n38
Yang Yuhuan (Precious Consort Yang, Yang Guifei), 12, 225n37
Yang Zhengjian, 203–4
Yangtai abbey, 43, 80, 87
Yaochi ji (Turquoise Pond anthology, Yaochi xinyong ji), xviii, xxv, 8, 14, 133–40, 187; table of
poets included, 138–39
Yi jing. See Book of Changes
yin and yang, 10, 94, 97, 108, 129, 245n37
Yin Zhiqing, 61–62
Ying Yijie, 196
yoga, 124–26
Yong’an (Tang princess), 26–27
Yongmu (Tang princess), 25–26, 27
Yongmu convent, 25, 74
Yu Xianhao, 18
Yu Xuanji, xxvi, 7, 14, 136, 137, 162, 164–87; biographical chronicle, 173; Daoist name(s), 166
Yuan Chun, xxv, 69, 133–34, 136, 137, 140, 154–58, 187
Yuan Fu, 204–5
Yuan Zhen, 29
Yuchen convent, 3, 16, 68, 75, 77, 150
Yuwen Rong, 46
Yuzhen (Tang princess), xxiv, 2, 18, 28, 29, 31, 32–36, 42–48, 222n5, 226n48; as abbess, 43;
arts patronage, 48; calligraphy by, 46–47, 236n47; investiture, 6, 25, 26, 33–36, 43–44;
marriage, 10, 25; political activities, 44–45; and rituals, 74; scholarly activities, 44–45; sent on
missions by emperor, 43–44

Zhang, Lady (poet), 133, 136, 137, 162

Zhang Boduan, 91
Zhang Guo, 42
Zhang Ji, 45, 69
Zhang Linghui, 267n14
Zhang Ti, 19, 42
Zhang Wanfu, 35–36
Zhang Yue, 44–45
Zhang Zhongjing, 245n35
Zhao Chao, xxii
Zhao Hang, 80
Zhao Huang, 80
Zhao Jian, 81. See also Zhao Zhijian
Zhao Jingxuan, 80
Zhao Lin, 80
Zhao Miaoxu, 72
Zhao Yousu, 80
Zhao Yuanyi, 151
Zhao Zhijian, 83. See also Zhao Jian
Zhengping abbey, 43
Zhi Daolin, 248n88
Zhi Mo, 72
Zhi Shuxiang, 72
Zhi Zhijian, 71–72
Zhide convent, 68, 154
Zhisheng (monk), 40
Zhong Shaojing, 48
Zhong Xing, 146, 184, 186
Zhongli Quan, 115
Zhongzong (Tang emperor), 7, 37, 217n34, 228n75
Zhou Fang, 149
Zhou Lüjing, 130
Zhou Wenju, 149
Zhu Ci rebellion, 150–51
Zhu Fang, 146–47
Zhu Quan, 130
Zhu Xi, 68
Zhu Yueli, 239n29, 241n47, 246n58
Zhuangzi, 122, 173–75
Zhufu Huaigao, 201
Zhuolu (or Shijing), Mount, 41–42
Zou Xuan, 130
zuowang. See sitting in oblivion
Zuowang lun (Treatise on Sitting in Oblivion), xxv, 79; authorship, 81–88; citations of Zuownag lun
Inscription from Shenxian kexue lun, 86–87; correspondence between this and Zhao Zhijian’s
Daode zhenjing shuyi, 84; themes, 88–94. See also alchemy, inner