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Corpus of Daoist Ritual (Daofa huiyuan)道法会元

Author / transmission
Anonymous (compiled in the late Yuan–early Ming)
Period
Late Yuan to early Ming · A compendium of ritual methods from various masters of the Southern Song to the Yuan, compiled around the late 14th to early 15th century, and included in the Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era.
Canon division
Zhengyi Section
Collected in
Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era, Zhengyi Section
Category
Talismans and Registers
Fascicles
268 scrolls

Synopsis

The Corpus of Daoist Ritual is the largest compendium of talismanic and ritual methods in the Daoist Canon, in 268 juan, gathering the Thunder Rites and ritual methods of the Shenxiao, Qingwei, Tianxin, Fengdu, Beidi, Zhengyi, and other traditions from the Song and Yuan onward. The opening juan contain general treatises such as the Pivotal Essentials of Qingwei Ritual Method and the Nine Essentials of Ritual Method, after which the work is organized by school: Qingwei Thunder Rites (juan 1–55), Shenxiao Thunder Rites (the lineage of Wang Wenqing, Sa Shoujian, and Bai Yuchan), the Correct Method of the Celestial Heart, Summoning and Interrogation at Fengdu, the Fire Bureau of Taiyi, and the various rites of Zhengyi, among others; each method records in detail the genealogy of spirit generals, talisman diagrams, incantations, visualizations, ritual procedures, and the transmission from the "founding patriarchs," together with the recorded sayings and treatises of Thunder Rite patriarchs such as Wang Wenqing, Bai Yuchan, Sa Shoujian, and Mo Yueding (such as Bai Yuchan's Nine Essentials of Ritual Method, Wang Wenqing's Discourse on Thunder, and various commentaries on the Song of the Mysterious Pearl). This work is the most central archive for the study of Song–Yuan Daoist Thunder Rites, talismanic schools, the union of Internal Alchemy and ritual method ("refining the elixir within, applying the method without"), and the pantheon of ritual deities.

Key Ideas

  • A comprehensive compendium of Song–Yuan Thunder Rites and talismanic ritual methods
  • The ritual methods of the Qingwei, Shenxiao, Tianxin, and Fengdu traditions
  • Refining the elixir within, applying the method without
  • Genealogies of spirit generals, talismans and incantations, and records of transmission
  • A compilation of the discourses of Thunder Rite patriarchs

Structure

268 juan, classified by school and ritual method; the opening juan contain general treatises.

Editions

  • Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era edition
  • Zhonghua Daozang, vols. 36–37

Translations

  • Partial study and annotated translation by Florian Reiter (Basic Conditions of Taoist Thunder Magic, 2007)

Full Text & Online Resources

Related scriptures

Pearls Left Behind from the Sea of Rituals, Retreat Rites of the Qingwei Tradition, Genealogy of the Immortals of the Qingwei Tradition, Correct Rites of the Celestial Heart of Shangqing, Collected Works of Bai Yuchan

Related figures

Wang Wenqing, Sa Shoujian, Bai Yuchan
References
  1. 任继愈主编《道藏提要》
  2. 李远国《神霄雷法》
  3. Judith Boltz, A Survey of Taoist Literature, 1987
  4. 维基百科「道法会元」条