The Rootless Tree (Wugen shu)无根树

Also known as

The Rootless Tree — Lyrics, Twenty-Four Alchemical Songs of The Rootless Tree, Zhang Sanfeng's The Rootless Tree

Author / transmission

Zhang Sanfeng

Period

Ming (Qing-dynasty printing) · Attributed to Zhang Sanfeng, first appearing in early-Qing printed editions and included in the Complete Works of Zhang Sanfeng; both Liu Yiming and Li Xiyue wrote commentaries on it.

Canon division

Outside the Canon

Collected in

Outside the Canon (included in the Complete Works of Zhang Sanfeng and the Twelve Daoist Books)

Category

Alchemical Texts

Fascicles

Twenty-four songs (ci)

Synopsis

The Rootless Tree consists of twenty-four alchemical lyrics attributed to Zhang Sanfeng, using the “rootless tree” as a metaphor for the human body and the alchemical Way: “The rootless tree, its blossoms so secluded — who, once besotted with glory, is willing to let go?” Each lyric opens with the formula “The rootless tree, its blossoms such-and-such,” proceeding in turn to discuss the impermanence of life and the urgency of cultivating the Dao in time, as well as the Dual Cultivation of Nature and Life, the union of lead and mercury, and the gathering of Fire Phasing. The verses are plain, fluent, and vividly figurative, carrying also a note of moral exhortation, and the work is among the most widely circulated alchemical song-texts from the Ming and Qing onward, sung widely among the common people. Because some of its lines touch on the veiled language of “dual cultivation of yin and yang,” the pure-cultivation and dual-cultivation branches have each interpreted it differently: Liu Yiming's Wugen Shu Jie (无根树解, Explanation of the Rootless Tree) reads it as pure cultivation, while Li Xiyue's Wugen Shu Zhujie (无根树注解, Commentary on the Rootless Tree) draws on dual cultivation as well.

Key Ideas

• The rootless tree as a metaphor for the body and cultivation of the Dao
• Moral exhortation to cultivate perfection while there is time
• The veiled imagery of the Dual Cultivation of Nature and Life, and of lead, mercury, and Fire Phasing
• Divergent commentarial readings by the pure-cultivation and dual-cultivation branches

Structure

Twenty-four lyric poems.

Editions

• Edition in the Complete Works of Zhang Sanfeng
• “Explanation of the Rootless Tree” in the Twelve Daoist Books
• Li Xiyue's annotated edition

Commentaries

• Liu Yiming, Wugen Shu Jie (Explanation of the Rootless Tree)
• Li Xiyue, Wugen Shu Zhujie (Commentary on the Rootless Tree)

Translations

• English translation by Thomas Cleary

Full Text & Online Resources

• Wikipedia: Zhang Sanfeng
• CTEXT search

Related scriptures

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