The ''Qingjing Jing'' () is an anonymous
Tang Dynasty Taoist classic that combines philosophical themes from the ''
Tao Te Ching'' with the logical presentation of
Buddhist texts and a literary form reminiscent of the ''
Heart Sutra''. It instructs students of the
Tao to practice the elimination of desire in order to cultivate spiritual purity and stillness.
Title
The ''Qingjing jing'' title combines ''qing'' "pure; clean; clear; fresh; cool; distinct; clarified; quiet; peaceful", ''jing'' "still; motionless; static; silent; quiet; peaceful; calm; tranquil", and ''jing'' "(fabric) warp; scripture; canon; classic".
The first
Chinese character ''qing'' has the "water"
radical
Radical may refer to:
Politics and ideology Politics
*Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change
*Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...
and a ''qing'' "green"
phonetic element. The second character ''jing'' has the "green" radical and a ''zheng'' "struggle" phonetic, and was anciently a
variant Chinese character for ''jing'' "clean; pure; complete; only", which has the "water" radical and this ''zheng'' phonetic. ''Qingjing'' could interchangeably be written or , for instance, the Daoist concept ''qingjing
wuwei'' or "quiet and non-action; discard all desires and worries from one's mind".
Chinese Buddhism used ''qingjing'' to translate Sanskrit ''parishuddhi'' or Pali ''vishuddhi'' "complete purification; free from defilement" (cf.
''vishudda''). Kunio Miura explains:
In
Standard Chinese
Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern Standar ...
usage, ''qingjing'' means "quiet; tranquil; serene (surroundings, etc.)" and ''qingjing'' means "tranquil; clean and pure; (Buddhism) purified of defiling illusion, not bothered by material concerns".
English translations of the ''Qingjing jing'' title include:
*"Classic of Purity",
*"Scripture of Purity and Tranquility", tr.
*"Scripture on Clarity and Tranquility", tr.
*"Scripture on Clarity and Stillness", tr.
*"Scripture of Purity and Stillness", tr.
*"Scripture of Clarity and Quiescence", tr.
Overview and origin
The ''Qingjing Jing'' is a short, mostly-versified text comprising some 390
Chinese characters in 90 verses. It is widely read, has numerous commentaries, and is considered one of the most important texts in the Taoist religion.
Two passages of the ''Qingjing Jing'' are attributed to
Laozi
Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state
...
, with the
honorific "Lord Lao" (, see
Three Pure Ones). This has led many traditional sources to attribute authorship of the entire text to Laozi, so the text exists under a variety of honorific titles that link it to him. Scholars believe the received text dates from around the middle Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE).
The oldest extant commentary is by
Du Guangting (, 850-933 CE), a prolific editor of Daoist texts during the late Tang and
Five Dynasties period. Du says prior to being written down by
Ge Xuan (164-244 CE), the ''Qingjing Jing'' was orally transmitted for generations, supposedly going back to the mythical
Queen Mother of the West.
Versions and commentaries
The ''
Daozang'' "Taoist Canon" includes eight ''Qingjing jing'' editions with variant titles. The basic text (CT 620) is the ''Qingjing miaojing'' ( "Wondrous Scripture of Clarity and Stillness") or ''Taishang Laojun shuo chang qingjing miaojing'' ( "Wondrous Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness, as Spoken by the Most High Lord Lao"). Commentaries include those entitled ''Qingjing jingzhu'' (, CT 755–760) and ''Qingjing jing songzhu'' (, CT 974).
A slightly longer (and "possibly earlier") version of approximately 600 characters is the ''Qingjing xinjing'' ( "Heart Scripture of Clarity and Stillness") or ''Taishang Laojun qingjing xinjing'' ( "Heart Scripture of Clarity and Stillness, as Spoken by the Most High Lord Lao", CT 1169).
During the
Song Dynasty (960-1260 CE), the ''Qingjing Jing'' became popular within the Southern Lineage "Complete Perfection" or
Quanzhen School and was interpreted in context with ''
neidan'' Chinese
internal alchemy. For instance, the seventh Quanzhen master
Sun Bu'er
Sun Bu'er (Sun Pu-erh, ), one of the Taoist Seven Masters of Quanzhen, lived c. 1119–1182 C.E. in the Shandong province of China. She was a beautiful, intelligent, wealthy woman, married with three children. Her family name was Sun and her f ...
took Qingjing sanren "Vagabond of Clarity and Quiescence" as her
sobriquet and established the Qingjing Sect. Modern Quanzhen Taoists consider the ''Qingjing jing'' a central scripture and regularly chant it in ''songjing'' (, "reciting scriptural passages; ritual recitation"). Kohn explains:
Contents
Although brief, the ''Qingjing Jing'' is philosophically complex. It synthesizes Taoist and Buddhist theories of
psychology,
cosmology,
ontology, and
teleology.
The ''Qingjing Jing'' is described by Komjathy:
These Taoist keywords are ''guan'' "scrutiny; careful observation; insight meditation; contemplation", ''qing'' "clarity; purity; cleanliness", and ''jing'' "stillness; quiet; calm; tranquility". The ''Tao Te Ching'' (45, tr. ) is the for ''qingjing'': "Bustling about vanquishes cold, Standing still vanquishes heat. Pure and still, one can put things right everywhere under heaven."
Kohn summarizes the ''Qingjing jing'':
Translations
The ''Qingjing jing'' has been translated into English by , , and . translated the Shuijingzi () commentary.
The following versions of the opening section (verses 1-8 and 9–13, reformatted for consistency) illustrate the translational range:
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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External links
''Qingjing Jing'' - Original Chinese text
* English translation.
- An English Translation of
Reconstruction of the musical setting of Qingjing Jing published in 1592
Free translation made by Five Immortals Temple in China
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