Scripture of the Original Deeds of the Jade Emperor (Yuhuang jing)高上玉皇本行集经

Also known as

Jade Emperor Scripture, Scripture of the Original Deeds of the Jade Emperor, Huangjing (short for Yuhuang jing)

Author / transmission

Anonymous

Period

Northern Song · Probably composed during the Northern Song, contemporary with or slightly after the veneration of the Jade Emperor by Emperors Zhenzong and Huizong (an honorific title bestowed in 1012, with a further title added in 1115); it continued to be expanded during the Yuan and Ming.

Canon division

Dongzhen Section, Original Texts (Benwen) category

Collected in

Zhengtong Daozang, Original Texts category of the Dongzhen (Cavern of Perfection) section.

Category

Early Daoist Scriptures

Fascicles

In three scrolls (variant editions in five scrolls and in the ten-scroll Yuhuang jing series also exist).

Synopsis

The Yuhuang jing, in full the Scripture of the Original Deeds of the Jade Emperor (Gaoshang Yuhuang Benxing Ji Jing), is a scripture that appeared after the rise of the cult of the Jade Emperor in the Song, recounting his origins and merits: long ago, King Guangyan Miaole and Queen Baoyueguang prayed for a son and were granted a crown prince, who renounced his kingdom to cultivate the Dao, and after countless kalpas of perfected merit attained the rank of ‘Jade Emperor.’ The text also relates how the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning expounded the scripture in the Qingwei Heaven, proclaiming the Jade Emperor's precious title and praising his merits, and states that reciting and upholding this scripture can dispel calamity and resolve hardship, and bring salvation to the living and the dead alike. Its narrative structure clearly draws on Buddhist jātaka (birth-story) and Pure Land scriptures. After Emperor Zhenzong of Song bestowed an honorific title on the Jade Emperor and Emperor Huizong added the title ‘Haotian Yuhuang Shangdi’ (Sovereign Lord Jade Emperor of Vast Heaven), the Jade Emperor became the supreme deity of popular belief, and this scripture spread widely along with his cult, becoming the recitation text for rituals such as ‘paying homage to the Dipper’ and ‘Assemblies of the Imperial Scripture’; the Yuhuang Baochan (Litany of Repentance to the Jade Emperor) still commonly recited in temples today derives from it.

Key Ideas

• The original deeds of the Jade Emperor: a crown prince of the Kingdom of Pure Bliss cultivates the Dao and becomes emperor
• The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning expounds the scripture, proclaiming the Jade Emperor's precious title
• Reciting the scripture dispels calamity and delivers the souls of the dead
• The theological status of the Jade Emperor as supreme over the Three Realms

Structure

Three scrolls in five chapters: the Chapter on Spiritual Powers in the Palace of the Qingwei Heaven, the Chapter on the Great Spirit-Incantation of Supreme and Perfect Radiance, the Chapter on the Merit of Recitation, the Chapter on the Protection of the Celestial Perfected, and the Chapter on Efficacious Retribution.

Editions

• Zhengtong Daozang edition
• Daozang Jiyao edition
• Various temple recitation editions

Commentaries

• Zhou Xuanzhen, Collected Commentaries on the Imperial Scripture (Ming)

Full Text & Online Resources

• Wikipedia: Yuhuang jing
• CTEXT search

Related scriptures

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