Gazetteer of the Western Mountains西山志

Also known as

Gazetteer of Mount Xiaoyao (related)

Author / transmission

Compiled and revised across successive dynasties; most authors unknown

Period

Ming–Qing · A collective name for the gazetteers compiled over successive generations for Xishan (Mount Xiaoyao) in Nanchang, Jiangxi; compilations exist from the Ming and Qing. The most complete surviving version is the Gazetteer of the Wanshou Palace on Mount Xiaoyao by Jin Guixin and Qi Fengxiang of the Guangxu era of the Qing; most other compilations survive only in fragments, and their dates of compilation and editors remain to be determined.

Canon division

Outside the Canon

Collected in

Outside the Canon

Category

Mountain Gazetteers

Fascicles

Juan count varies by edition

Synopsis

Xishan refers to Mount Xiaoyao in Xinjian, Nanchang, Jiangxi, the site where Xu Xun (Perfected Lord Xu) is said to have cultivated the Dao and ascended to Heaven, and the birthplace of Jingming Loyalty and Filial Piety Daoism; the Yulong Wanshou Palace on the mountain is the ancestral court of the Jingming tradition. The various 'Gazetteers of the Western Mountains' compiled over the centuries record the topography of the mountains and rivers, the construction history of the Yulong Wanshou Palace and its various hermitages and temples, the deeds of Xu Xun and the Twelve Perfected Lords (accounts vary as to their identities, including figures such as Wu Meng, Shi He, Gan Zhan, Zhou Guang, Chen Xun, Zeng Heng, Xu Lie, Shi Cen, Peng Kang, Huang Renlan, Zhongli Jia and Guo Pu), and imperial titles and steles and literary works from successive dynasties. Because much of the literature of Jingming Daoism has been lost, works of this 'Gazetteer of the Western Mountains' type are for the most part incomplete, and scholars generally take the twenty-two-juan Gazetteer of the Wanshou Palace on Mount Xiaoyao, compiled in the Guangxu era of the Qing, as the most complete surviving substitute text, supplemented by Daoist Canon materials such as the Record of the Eighty-five Transformations of Perfected Lord Xu of Xishan and the Complete Book of Jingming Loyalty and Filial Piety. Gazetteers of this type are basic material for studying local Daoism in Jiangxi, the cult of Xu Xun, and networks of migrant temples, and users should bear in mind the uncertainty surrounding editions and dates of compilation.

Key Ideas

• The site of Xu Xun's ascension and the birthplace of Jingming Daoism
• The construction history of the Yulong Wanshou Palace and its associated temples
• The legend of the Twelve Perfected Lords (accounts vary)
• Much of the literature is lost, and editions remain uncertain
• The Gazetteer of the Wanshou Palace on Mount Xiaoyao as the most complete substitute text

Structure

Divided into sections on topography, temples, biographies, imperial edicts, and literary works (varying by edition).

Editions

• Various Ming and Qing compilations (mostly fragmentary)
• The Qing-dynasty Gazetteer of the Wanshou Palace on Mount Xiaoyao is the most complete related text

Full Text & Online Resources

• CTEXT search
• Wikipedia: Jingming Daoism

Related scriptures

Related figures