Yunji Qiqian

The ''Yunji qiqian'' is a (c. 1029) anthology of the (1016) Taoist Canon, which the Taoist scholar-official Zhang Junfang compiled for Emperor Zhenzong of Song. The ''Yunji qiqian'' records many early Taoist texts that have been lost since the 11th century, and is an important resource for understanding medieval Taoism.

History

The ''Yunji qiqian'' compendium was a "byproduct" of editing the 1016 edition ''Daozang'' "Taoist Canon" – the ''Da Song tiangong baozang'' "Great Song Celestial Palace Precious Canon". In 1012, the Northern Song Emperor Zhenzong (r. 997–1022) ordered the compilation of a revised and enlarged Canon. He put Chancellor Wang Qinruo in charge of the project, selected ten Taoist masters, and ordered Perfect Qi Guan to oversee the compilation of the ''Daozang''. In 1016, the scholar-official Zhang Junfang (961?–1042?), who had replaced Qi Guan, completed the revised ''Da Song tiangong baozang'' edition, which comprised 4,565 ''juan'' "scrolls; volumes". In 1019, Zhang presented emperor Zhenzong with seven manuscript sets of the new Taoist Canon.

Zhang Junfang subsequently selected Canonical texts for the ''Yunji qiqian'' anthology, which he dedicated to Zhenzong, and presented to Emperor Renzong of Song (r. 1022–1063). Zhang's preface, dated circa 1028–1029, explains "[After having completed the Canon, I hence] selected the essentials of the seven sections of Taoist literature, in order to provide an imperfect treasury of the profound writings of various Taoist masters." Zhang submits the book to Zhenzong as a "bedside companion" (literally ''yiye zhi lan'' , "[for] perusal during the second watch [around 10 PM]").

Title

The title uses the common Chinese words ''yun'' "cloud" and ''qi'' "seven" with the Classical Chinese terms ''ji'' "bamboo box used for travelling (esp. to carry books); book box; satchel" and ''qian'' "bamboo slip; book marker; lot (used for divination); oracle" (both made from bamboo and written with the " bamboo radical" ).

Zhang's preface explains that he chose among ''yunji qibu zhi ying'' "outstanding [books] from the seven components in the cloudy bookbag". Boltz explains that ''yunji'' is a "well-established poetic trope for a bagful of Taoist writings" and ''qibu'' refers to the ''sandong'' "Three Caverns" and ''sibu'' "Four Supplements" into which the Canon was organized.

Translating the opaque ''Yunji qiqian'' title into English is difficult.
*"The Seven Bamboo Tablets of the Cloudy Satchel"
*"The Bookcase of the Clouds with the Seven Labels"
*"The Essentials or Outlines of the Seven Sections of the Taoist Canon"
*"Seven Lots from the Bookbag of the Clouds"
*"The Seven Tablets in a Cloudy Satchel"

An alternative name for the ''Yunji qiqian'' is ''xiao Daozang'' "little Daoist Canon".

Contents

The received ''Yunji qiqian'' has 37 ''bu'' sections, 122 ''juan'' chapters (several of which are divided into two parts), and quotes more than 700 early Taoist texts. Zhang's preface mentions 120 ''juan''; one explanation for the discrepancy is if the 122-chapter Ming edition came from compiling various 120-chapter Song editions.

In Chinese bibliographic terminology, the ''Yunji qiqian'' is classified as a ''leishu'' (reference work arranged by category; encyclopedia). English descriptions of the text include anthology, encyclopedia, handbook, and encyclopedic anthology.

Source materials come almost exclusively from Six Dynasties (220–589) and Tang dynasty (618–907) Taoist works. Many texts are quoted extensively, some are abridged, and others are made into new compositions. Lin suggests the text represents the "crystallization" of religious Taoism from the late Han to early Song periods.

Schipper describes the ''Yunji qiqian'' as a handbook to the mystical and '' yangsheng'' "nourishing life" Taoism of the Tang, and the religion of the poets Li Bai, Li Shangyin, and Han Yu, which "provides a key to the understanding of the arts and the literature of this period."

Editions

The (1445) Ming dynasty edition ''Zhengtong daozang'' "Zhengtong Emperor's Taoist Canon" contains the earliest known complete copy of the ''Yunji qiqian'', which subsequent Canon editions reproduced. This Ming edition inconsistently uses alternate Chinese characters to avoid Song dynasty (960–1279) naming taboos, which "suggests that the editors of the Canon drew from a combination of editions in print or manuscript form". Such taboos were not observed in fragments of pages from the Yuan Canon of 1244.

Zhang Xuan published a copy of the ''Yunji qiqian'' in 1609, and it was reproduced by the (1773–1782) '' Siku quanshu'' and (1919–1922) ''Sibu Congkan'' collections. The (1929) edition ''Sibu Congkan'' reproduced the superior copy in the Ming Canon, which was not marred by lacuna.

In the modern era, Kristofer Schipper compiled an index to the ''Yunji qiqian'', and linguistic scholars at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences produced a definitive edition.

Problems

Schipper claimed the ''Yunji qiqian'' text had four problems, all of which Lin dismisses.

First, Schipper says Zhang's preface "surprisingly mentions Manichean works among those that entered into the compilation of the ''Canon''," which has drawn the attentions of historians studying Manichaeism, but the present text "contains no identifiable Manichean material." Lin notes the preface "only mentioned that [Zhang] had "received" some Manichean scriptures when he was editing the Canon. He did not tell us whether those Manichean scriptures had been compiled into the Canon or not."

Second, Schipper notes that despite the title and preface, the ''Yunji qiqian'' "is not divided into seven parts; it does not even contain the slightest trace of such an arrangement." Lin cites Chen Guofu that the titular ''qiqian'' means "seven sections" of the Taoist Canon and not sections of the ''Yunji qiqian''.

Third, Schipper says the most remarkable problem "is the total absence of the liturgical forms of Taoism", which are abundant in the 1016 Taoist Canon edited by Zhang. Since the ''Yunji qiqian'' does not contain any Daoist rituals for retreats, petitions, or memorials, and "it contains only the merest handful of talismans, charts, and diagrams", the present text "cannot be considered as an anthology of the Sung ''Canon''." Comparing contents of the text's 37 ''bu'' "sections" with the 12 ''bu'' of the Taoist Canon, Lin concludes that except for ''weiyi'' "public rituals" and ''zhangbiao'' " petitions and memorials", the topics of the ''Yunji qiqian'' represent all the major features of Taoist literature.

Fourth, Schipper concludes that the received text, despite having underdone changes such as 120 to 122 ''juan'', is probably descended from the original ''Yuynji qiqian''. "It appears therefore impossible, at the present stage, to explain the discrepancies between the preface and the actual encyclopedia. But there are strong indications that the latter corresponds, by and large, to Chang's work."

References

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Footnotes

External links

Digitized (1782) '' Siku Quanshu'' edition ''Yunji qiqian'', Internet Archive {{in lang, zh
The Seven Slips of a Cloudy Satchel
Daoist Culture Centre

Taoist texts
Chinese philosophy
Philosophy books
Medieval philosophical literature
Leishu