A Critical Edition And Analysis Of The Yuanshi Wulao Chishu Yupian Zhenwen Tianshu Jing

The Yuanshi wulao chishu yupian zhenwen tianshu jing(元始五老赤书玉篇真文天书经Scripture on the True Writs of the Five Ancients of the Primordial Beginning,Red Writings in Celestial Script on Jade Tablets,hereafter:Tianshu jing),composed around 400AD,is the first scripture in the ancient Lingbao corpus.While previous studies primarily focus on certain parts of the text,this thesis attempts to provide a critical edition and analysis of the scripture as a whole by comprehensively using the methods of Chinese classical philology,text linguistics and historical studies.Firstly,I will employ the four methods of textual criticism proposed by Chen Yuan to examine the full text of the Tianshu jing.Based on the collated text,a comprehensive critical analysis is provided.Its main content includes:1.An examination of how the scripture’s title,contents,and volumes varied over time.I argue that its title changed from the Taishang dongxuan lingbao wupian zhenwen chishu太上洞玄灵宝五篇真文赤书to the Yuanshi wulao chishu yupian zhenwen tianshu jing元始五老赤书玉篇真文天书经,and its number of volumes went from one to three.2.The scripture’s different versions,quotations in other books,and parallel references.Because the only complete version of the Tianshu jing is that in the Daoist canon,this thesis focuses on quotations of the text in both Daoist and non-Daoist texts,particularly on those in the Wushang miyao(无上秘要The Essence of the Supreme Secrets)and a couple of Daoist scriptures to which the Tianshu jing is closely related.3.A synopsis of the scripture and explanation.This part summarizes the contents of the Tianshu jing and explains a key concept——supreme Non-being(taiwu太无)and a complicated sentence——darkness,silence,profundity and penetration,these four are the origins of great wisdom(ming ji xuan tong,dazhihui yuan冥寂玄通,大智慧源)in the scripture.