Gazetteer of Patriarch Lü吕祖志
- Also known as
- Gazetteer of Patriarch Chunyang Lü
- Author / transmission
- Author unknown (Ming)
- Period
- Ming · Compiled in the Ming, included in the Supplementary Daoist Canon of the Wanli Era in the thirty-fifth year of Wanli (1607); six scrolls.
- Canon division
- Supplementary Daoist Canon
- Collected in
- Supplementary Daoist Canon of the Wanli Era
- Category
- Immortal Biographies
- Fascicles
- Six fascicles
Synopsis
The Gazetteer of Patriarch Lü, in six scrolls, is included in the Supplementary Daoist Canon of the Wanli Era and is a compendious document of the cult of Lü Dongbin. The work falls into two main parts: the first collects Patriarch Lü's biography and accounts of his manifestations in saving others (such as the Dream of Yellow Millet, Thrice Teasing the White Peony, the salvation of He Xiangu, and the poem inscribed at Yueyang Tower); the second collects poems, verses, and elixir instructions traditionally attributed to Patriarch Lü, along with tracts exhorting the world. From the Song and Yuan onward, Lü Dongbin was gradually elevated from a legendary Tang-dynasty figure to one of the Five Northern Patriarchs of Quanzhen and one of the most widespread immortals in popular belief, with temples to Patriarch Lü and Chunyang temples built everywhere; this gazetteer is the product of the fixing of this cult in the Ming dynasty. Most of the manifestation stories in the work derive from Song–Yuan vernacular tales, theater, and local legend, and the poems and verses are a mixture of genuine and spurious material requiring cautious use; but as a foundational text for the history of the cult of Patriarch Lü and for spirit-writing literature, its influence extends to the Qing-dynasty Complete Works of Patriarch Lü and the revealed writings of Lü Dongbin altars across the country in more recent times.
Key Ideas
- A compendious document of the cult of Lü Dongbin
- Two parts: biography, and poetry with elixir instructions
- The fixing of manifestation stories such as the Dream of Yellow Millet
- The religious absorption of Song–Yuan vernacular tales and theater
- Influenced the Qing-dynasty Complete Works of Patriarch Lü and the spirit-writing tradition
Structure
Six scrolls, biography first, followed by poetry and prose.
Editions
- Supplementary Daoist Canon of the Wanli Era edition
- Zhonghua Daozang edition
Full Text & Online Resources
Related scriptures
Complete Works of Patriarch Lü, Lü Dongbin's Hundred-Character Stele, Anthology of Zhongli Quan's Transmission of the Dao to Lü DongbinRelated figures
Lü Dongbin, Zhongli Quan- 任继愈主编《道藏提要》
- Schipper & Verellen, The Taoist Canon, 2004
- Paul Katz, Images of the Immortal: The Cult of Lü Dongbin (1999)
- 维基百科「吕洞宾」条