Wang Qinruo王钦若（附）

Style & Daoist names

Dingguo

Period

Northern Song

Dates

962 — 1025

Role

ChancellorDirector of the compilation of the Daozang

Birthplace

Xinyu, Linjiang Military Prefecture (present-day Xinyu, Jiangxi)

Life

Wang Qinruo, style name Dingguo, was a Northern Song court official who twice served as chief councillor, and was counted among the "Five Ghosts" (wugui). He was the principal architect of the "Heavenly Writs" and Feng-Shan sacrificial campaign at the court of Emperor Zhenzong, proposing to the emperor a strategy of "establishing the teaching through the divine way" (shendao shejiao) to overawe the Khitan, which led to the various episodes of the Dazhong Xiangfu era — the Heavenly Writs, the Feng and Shan sacrifices, the sacrifice at Fenyin, and the descent of the Sagely Ancestor. He was ordered to head the compilation of the Daoist Canon, successively employing Qi Lun, Chen Yaozuo, Zhang Junfang, and others in the work of collation and compilation, and completed the Baowen tonglu and the Da Song Tiangong baozang in 4,565 scrolls (around the ninth year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era, 1016). He also wrote the Yisheng Baode zhuan (Biography of the Assisting Sage, Protector of Virtue), recording the manifestations of the "Perfected Lord Yisheng" venerated by Zhenzong, as well as Daoist writings such as the Luotian dajiao yi (Liturgy of the Great Offering to All Heavens) and the Liexiu wanling chaozhen tu (Chart of the Myriad Numina of the Constellations in Audience before the Perfected). Though a scholar-official, he was deeply involved in Daoist affairs, and was a key figure in the officialization of Daoism in the Northern Song. This entry is an appendix figure.

Contributions & Influence

• Planned Emperor Zhenzong's Heavenly Writs and Feng-Shan campaign, promoting the veneration of Daoism in the Northern Song
• Headed the compilation of the Da Song Tiangong baozang

Works

• Yisheng Baode Zhuan (Biography of the Assistant Sage who Preserves Virtue)
• Luotian Dajiao Yi (Rites of the Great Offering to All Heavens)
• Baowen Tonglu (catalogue, lost)