眾仙讚頌靈章 — from the Zhengtong Daoist Canon
The 眾仙讚頌靈章 (Zhòngxiān Zànsòng Língzhāng — Numinous Chapters of Praise and Song from the Myriad Immortals) is a liturgical and poetic anthology preserved in the Zhengtong Daoist Canon (正統道藏, DZ0613), classified in the Dongxuan division among texts of praise and hymn. The collection has no single author. It is a living repository, drawn from the Shangqing tradition and its affiliated lineages, gathering material that spans the great flowering of medieval Daoist literature from the fourth to the tenth century.
The Shangqing (Supreme Clarity) tradition was founded on a set of revelations received by the medium Yang Xi (楊羲, 330–386 CE), in which celestial ladies descended to transmit scripture and verse. Lady Taizhen (太真夫人, the Lady of Supreme Truth), Lady Youying (右英夫人, the Right Perfected Woman), and the Lady of the Southern Peak (南嶽夫人) are among the divine instructresses who appear here. Their poems to Yang Xi and to the archivist Xu Hui (許穆, known as Manager Xu) carry the intimate warmth of letters, urging the living to abandon the dusty world and ascend.
The bu xu ci (步虛辭 — Songs for Walking in the Void) are among the oldest preserved examples of this central Daoist ritual genre. Sung during ritual circumambulation of the altar, the songs enact a heavenly journey: the priest becomes the immortal, riding cloud chariots and feathered canopies through celestial palaces, finally returning to bestow mercy on the world below. The genre later passed into Japanese gagaku court music, where it survives as bugaku.
No English translation of this anthology has previously existed.
One — Praises of the Heaven-Worthy Who Saves from Suffering
Three liturgical praises (讚 zan) for the Qinghua Heaven-Worthy Who Saves from Suffering (青華救苦天尊), sung at morning, noon, and evening.
Morning Praise
The Heaven-Worthy puts forth his vow with a heart of great compassion,
saving from suffering in every direction, transforming [all] through good causes.
The Five Peaks and Four Officers all receive his commands;
in the Northern Office of Fengdu, all punishments are stayed.
When the true talismans are proclaimed below, all receive amnesty;
the divine youth proclaims his message and saves the guilty.
The Primordial Beginning manifests in his body, truly wondrous in form —
saving people without limit: this is how the Way is fulfilled.
Noon Praise
The Heaven-Worthy vows to ferry all living beings across,
preaching in solemn array, seated in the jeweled grove.
Nine-headed lions display their auspicious forms;
one beam of wisdom-light opens the obscure darkness wide.
Mountains of knives and forests of swords are shattered;
veils of fire, wind, and thunder all come to rest.
Boundless great compassion comes to rescue and save —
all in the hells of Fengdu behold and hear.
Evening Praise
The Heaven-Worthy's wisdom-power rescues all spirit-bearers,
seeking out the sounds of suffering, shattering the iron city.
Boundlessly ferrying across, saving each according to their wish;
light shining everywhere, reaching the darkest gates.
Where the wind of wisdom fans, the fiery smoke is quenched;
when the dharma-rain touches them, even the withered flourish.
Boundless compassion and mercy saves all without exception —
the departed souls all behold the face of the Merciful Venerable.
Two — Lady Taizhen's Poem to Ma Mingsheng
A poem sent by Lady Taizhen (太真夫人, the Lady of Supreme Truth) to the Daoist practitioner Ma Mingsheng.
Briefly leaving the inner walled city of heaven,
I command my carriage to the slopes of Mount Tai.
Looking up at the towers of Supreme Clarity —
cloud-halls rise dense and towering.
In the void dwell True Persons
whose comings and goings are such radiant profusion!
Refining the form, preserving the natural,
in my rising and lowering I draw from the Great Harmony.
Morning after morning I attend the Nine-Heavens King;
at evening I lodge in the Western Florid Palace.
The flowing essence can soar and ascend;
through exhaling and inhaling I nourish the green shoots.
The supreme medicine is not metal or stone —
wind arises naturally as song.
Above and below I traverse the luminous empyrean;
how my feathered robe sways and rustles!
The Five Peaks are not my dwelling-place —
the Mysterious Capital is my home.
Looking down at those who vie for glory —
they are quite like frogs and toads.
Glancing back at the turbid dusty world —
anxieties and troubles ensnare one another.
If one has not yet awakened to the wondrous purpose,
why toil at grinding and polishing?
Calamities converge when the Way is carelessly disclosed;
keep careful secrecy and blessings come in abundance.
Once I lived in the Palace of Kun-ling;
together we discoursed on extending the heavenly lifespan.
The gold liquid can extend one far,
yet it is not equal to the immortals of the Great Harmony.
Looking up, I ascended to the platform of hidden immortals,
and in empty imagination I chanted of spirit-beings.
Suddenly I met the King of Fusang
and the True Ones of the nine elder immortals' capital.
Riding in carriages drawn by purple dragon-steeds —
how vivid their numinous faces!
They opened to me the path of the Long Way,
invited me to the ford of the Natural.
They instructed me in the technique of the wild goose's flight,
and transmitted the chapters of the Jade Embryo.
The jade cream condenses the mysterious qi;
the Plain Woman laid it out for me.
Bending down, I drew from the richness of the lin-phoenix;
gazing upward, I drifted through the Three Heavens.
The cloud-net stands — I stride through it;
the Five Peaks I may briefly circuit.
The Mysterious Capital is not far at all —
Penglai lies beneath my feet.
Transmission and reception done in mutual affection,
we formed friendships as beings of heaven.
Taking turns, we roamed facing the cosmic reckoning —
calamities need not afflict the foolish or the wise.
Keep secrecy and one enjoys without toppling;
disclose, and body and life will overturn.
Three — Lady Youying's Songs for Yang Zhenren and Manager Xu
A sequence of bu xu ci (步虛辭 — Songs for Walking in the Void) composed by Lady Youying (右英夫人, the Right Perfected Woman of Cloud Forest), sent to Yang Xi (楊真人, Yang the True Person) and Xu Hui (許長史, Manager Xu), the two central figures of the Shangqing revelation.
My carriage swiftly roams the eight voids;
returning to feast in the Eastern Florid Chamber.
Ah — shall I delay to gaze from my pavilion?
Cry out brightly, tread the numinous wind.
I came because I had something to await —
so I crossed over the Blue Waves.
Leaping, the cloud-shining carriage-shaft rises;
floating, I view the crimson clouds above the void.
The sky-carriage dances back and forth;
the purple canopy entrusts itself to the numinous direction.
Crimson mist coils around banners and pennants;
feathered capes fan the fragrant wind.
Thunder cries out, fierce beasts roar;
lightning chants, the dark dragon stirs.
The jade flute sounds in the Kun courtyard;
golden zithers sing with spirit bells.
Gathering spirit-mushrooms on the banks of the Blue Waves;
plucking flowers on the eight serene peaks.
The crimson complexion grows ever more new each day;
as aeons pass, one becomes a newborn child again.
Nurturing form in stillness on the eastern hill,
the seven spirits naturally communicate.
In the dusty world there is grief and sorrow —
it makes you, white-haired one, age and fall.
In deep darkness I send you a distant sigh —
lamenting that you did not escape early enough.
Stopping the carriage, I watch the moon shift course;
the turning wheel returns to the Blue Waves.
In the end I do not see such a person roaming with me;
idly I wonder how you could achieve well-being.
For good reason I await your spring —
to unfold what is forgotten in the depths of the heart.
Reining the luminance, floating on purple mist;
the eight brilliances view the Fen River's flow.
Feathered boys present jade wine;
jade-flower clouds stream from the flying canopy.
The Western Consort deploys brocade banners —
suddenly overturning this edge of the dusty world.
Swiftly, in the beautiful one's courtyard —
the old response brings the True Ones to descend.
What was summoned is already in the hidden realm;
riding the wind, I perform music in the morning sky.
Together we drink deeply from jars in the cinnabar forest;
lords and princes are such small distant things —
how could they know the numinous power of the True Persons?
In clear morning I draw from crimson clouds;
gathering qi, I journey above the sky.
My carriage turns, treading the curved waves,
and then I see the cares of worldly people.
The purpose of these words rises luxuriantly —
in the nook of the three-fruited plants it does not disperse.
How would it be to tour the mysterious homeland,
playing the jade harp for your delight?
The boundaries of your heart — how could they be limited?
My wish is for fullness within emptiness.
Reining the luminance, I ascend to the morning sky;
roaming and feasting in the Blue-Wave Palace.
Colored clouds surround the cinnabar rosy-clouds;
numinous mist disperses through the eight voids.
The Supreme Perfected chant in the jade chamber;
the high immortals sing in the gem-studded hall.
Nine phoenixes call with crimson reeds;
void-rhythmed beats alternate with feathered bells.
Together we dwell within the golden courtyard,
binding me to companions in the hidden realm.
Together we draw from the jade-wine ford;
suddenly one is already a newborn child again.
Why crouch on the roadway? [Why remain in worldly life?]
Faults and afflictions mount with each passing day.
In morning I roam the Palace of Supreme Simplicity;
reining the carriage, I view the jade river.
At evening I feast in the secluded palace beyond the world;
at dawn I gather the glorious blossoms of the rounded radiance.
Playing the jade harp on the Cold Northern Platform;
the seven spirits shine with purple clouds.
Gathered in multitudes, the high immortals arise;
in confusion, worldly people are snared.
Lingering in the midst of clamor and bustle —
faults and burdens should not be so many.
Riding qi, urging on the cloud carriage;
in morning ascending the great placid mound.
Crimson fords shake the connected peaks;
clear waves beat the deep current.
Walking in the void, I view the nine latitudes;
the eight longitudes I have all roamed.
Briefly feasting among the three golden beauties —
come to view those who are companions in establishing the will.
Diligence and sloth cannot cover each other —
this is why a hundred anxieties accumulate.
Skimming the waves, crossing the Blue Waves;
suddenly reaching the golden mountain.
Looking in all directions, roaming the whole day —
how rarely do I encounter a person of the clouds.
Purple towers rise constructed into the void above;
the mysterious hall rises to meet the faraway wind.
Jade-gems spread through the numinous park;
blossoms arise and bind jade and carnelian.
Urging on the carriage at the Blue Waves ford;
the eight winds stir the cloud-music.
Spreading feathered fans to shade the north;
grasping the rhythm-staff, jade flutes ring.
Phoenix reeds harmonize with a thousand bells;
the Western Boys sing the morning office.
The heart opens to what lies beyond the void;
how clear and spacious the spirit's breast!
Swirling and dancing on the ridges of the great void;
the six breaths carry through the deep hidden realm.
Could the road I travel ever be sought?
I ensure that you will never wither.
Dark waves shake the blue billows;
the vast ford beats ten thousand currents.
Riding the luminance, I gaze through the six voids;
I yearn to roam with the beautiful one.
The wondrous singing does not respond to me —
to whom can the clear sound be sent?
In the clouds I urge on the jade wheel;
why hurry about in the dust?
Pines and cypresses grow on the dark ridge,
dense as a cold forbidding forest.
Lush blossoms, thick glacial ice —
not willing to fear the white snow.
In troubled times the deep layered peaks remain.
Following the path of life, the Way is always pure.
Flying here with swift unharnessed wheels,
following in the tracks of those distant ones.
Lords and princes may come and go —
why not cut free of them?
In purity I long for the Eastern Mountain,
where shade shelters the numinous cave.
Peaceful and quiet — the courtyard still and empty;
dense green forest concealing all around.
The round radiance illuminates the southern pavilion;
a red wind fans the secluded chamber.
Hands folded within the quiet room —
there we await the opening of wondrous techniques.
Clear and bright, contemplating the far dark mystery;
desolate and still, the spirit's heart at ease.
Releasing the heart at the void-hollow ford;
urging the reins and prodding the crimson carriage.
The beautiful one — why so slow in coming?
The leading virtue — when will it be completed?
Allegory must be put to use;
not to use it is to be without feeling.
How can one obtain the flashing track of the carriage,
seeking this numinous one in the void?
The subtle sound truly has its purpose —
use it with care and reverence.
When affairs accord with the divine opportunity,
I assure you of seeing great peace.
Reining the luminance, settling on the Blue Waves;
leaping at the Azure Sea ford.
Crimson mist turbulates the great sun;
feathered canopies tilt toward the nine heavens.
The cloud-chariot floats equally in the void;
suddenly at leisure on the Blue Waves.
Coming to seek friends in the midst of truth,
arm in arm, attending the morning of the Thearch.
The jade son accords with luminous virtue;
heads together, inviting the jade worthies.
Looking down at the palace of the eight rivers;
above, resting at the peak of the rare forest.
Rinsing with the richness of purple jade —
only then knowing the bitterness of the impure road.
Where then will the beautiful one be?
Through diligence one draws close.
Crimson towers stand arrayed in the broad sky;
opening the cinnabar, ascending the luminous chamber.
Purple banners shake through cloud and rosy cloud;
feathered dawn dancers in the eight winds.
Stopping the canopy, washing in the jade-green stream;
gathering beauty on the moon-branch peak.
Chewing and tasting the three numinous blossoms;
exhaling and inhaling the nine spirit-lights.
The lifespan of the ch'un-tree goes beyond reckoning;
harmonizing the days, accumulating childhood immortality.
Sleeve in sleeve at the Luminous Truth Hall;
looking upward, expecting the Supreme Sovereign.
The north zither sings of the feathered ones;
jade and mystery shine brilliantly among the assembly of worthies.
How is it you are still in the turbulent world?
Gain and loss ring out for me like bells.
Stretching the neck in the midst of a clamorous courtyard —
opening the heart to match the impure surge.
Accustomed to the realm of honor and shame —
how rarely do you tread the palace of the rare forest!
In one stillness, how sufficient the peace — why the suffering?
Try going — look at the Blue Waves.
The world's fragrances and perfumes mix;
the progenitors of the Way meet in the dark sky.
Shaking the robe, seeking the fields of truth;
turning the carriage at the edge of wind and dust.
Good virtue reflects the dark radiance;
shining eminence blazes luxuriantly.
Secret words bring much deserved blessing;
embrace stillness and purity, value the true and precious.
Always let the two images be in accord;
hand in hand, sharing the same breast-band.
Why be in the midst of human affairs
where day by day troubles and harms arise?
Willingly I promise to the ax-man:
"I will come to gather the five mushrooms."
The spirit-mushrooms need not be sought —
and you also cannot come.
If you come, then they can be found:
the spirit-mushrooms will be given you to eat.
Four — Praise of the Wisdom Scripture of the True Persons of the Grand Ultimate
To study immortality, cut off ornate thoughts —
thought after thought, causally linked.
Accumulations of past and future confuse the spirit;
a restless spirit runs through everything.
Extinguish thoughts, abide in empty leisure;
in desolate silence, enter into stillness.
Study the scripture as if hungry and thirsty;
keep the will firm as metal and stone.
Preserve yourself on the flying dark road;
the five spirits cross through the talisman registers.
Crossing through, I walk the six perfections,
therefore able to untangle the three nets.
Pure fast, paying reverence to Supreme Simplicity;
exhaling and inhaling, nourishing the cloud-sprouts.
At ease within the golden towers —
the Jade Capital is my home.
Naturally the seven treasures arise;
each and every person sits on the lotus flower.
Looking up to taste the jade-plums of the Mysterious Capital;
bowing to hold in the mouth the void-hollow melon.
Complexion and face shine like ten suns —
how can one count the many years and aeons?
The dharma-drum calls together the celestial immortals;
the ringing bell summons the great demons to be converted.
The numinous wind fans fragrant flowers;
brilliant and resplendent, opening the rich breast.
Lady Taizhen plays the cloud jade-harp;
the myriad immortals pluck their spirit zithers.
Refined song in the three heavens above;
wisdom dispersed through the jade-flower grove.
Seven ancestors ascend the hall of blessings;
by this we walk in the dark music.
If virtue from past lives was insufficient,
this scripture is distant and hard to seek.
Trust the Way; emotion unexhausted —
plan to fly and instead sink down.
The Way of the Supreme Non-Action —
to propagate it rests in the hearts of [all people, like] seeds.
To study the Way, proceed from red-cinnabar faith;
serve the master as if the closest kin.
Bowing to the luminance, pairing with pure emptiness;
diligently renewing oneself each day.
If the many have not yet been ferried across,
I will ultimately not ferry my own self.
The great vow receives a heavy requital;
dark virtue is fulfilled, truly so.
Secret evil — the crime descends very deep;
when its opposite comes, it is like a turning wheel.
To study the Way is indeed also bitter;
morning and evening, build the field of blessings.
Planting virtue is like planting trees —
the roots deep, the fruits also abundant.
A student devoted to the mysterious and exalted
lightly and freely ascends the clear heaven.
Cultivate this Way of Non-Action;
always form bonds with the good.
The Supreme propagates the Ultimate Way
in scripture and books of wisdom.
Liberation from suffering comes through great talent;
transcending the ordinary, one attains the true.
Numinous form — rare in the world,
radiant as a lotus in the deep pool.
Each person's conduct has its own root,
all arising from the merit of past lives.
In establishing virtue, strive for timeliness;
when vows are put forth, let nothing fail to accord.
Good and evil both await their counterpart;
the alternating pattern of fortune and misfortune is hard to exhaust.
Worthy scholars uphold the words of the Dharma;
the Dao and Virtue lie in forgetting both [self and other].
To understand this is great wisdom —
the highest is to be the Sovereign of the Grand Ultimate.
Jeweled canopies connected to jade carriages;
commanding the carriage drawn by nine dragons.
Golden flowers upholding the Cavern Scriptures;
all the immortal boys carry incense.
Whistled songs pierce through the Mysterious Capital;
jade sounds ring, jade bells are struck.
Five — Praise of Wu Zilai Portraying the True Ones
Three poems in praise of the hermit and portrait-painter Wu Zilai.
Untalented Wu Zilai, knowing fate and entrusting himself to truth;
aspiring to the dark and simple, heart delighting in pure poverty.
Traversing many mountains, his single form unencumbered;
learning not yet enlightened in the Way, the form only preserving the spirit.
Mountains and rivers as home, shadow and form as neighbors;
hemp cloak, grass belt, deer-skin hat, gauze kerchief.
Eating pine-nuts, drinking from springs, traveling through Shu and Qin;
the great Way is dark and unfathomable — who is his teacher?
Gazing down at the lower world, longing for those celestial guests;
vast and unbounded, non-self, keeping close only to the formless.
All day the thatched hall is quiet;
the clear wind comes and goes as always.
The ear has no worldly affairs to disturb it;
the heart has the leisure of watching clouds.
Over wine, thinking only of the moon;
eating pine-needles, never tiring of the mountains.
Now and then chanting the inner landscape —
naturally suited to keeping a childlike face.
This life, these things — let them be my livelihood;
white rocks and green pines are just the home.
Facing the moon, lying in clouds like a wild deer;
now and then buying wine to be drunk on mist and rose-clouds.
Solitary in stillness, roaming alone, standing free and unencumbered —
drinking the fallen dew of magnolia,
clothed in the shed feathers and fur of birds and beasts.
Not seeking profit in the human world;
utterly done with selling fame in the realm below.
This is what it is to be a mountain-dwelling Daoist.
Having finished writing, he shook out his robe, adjusted his staff, and left —
and none knew where he went.
Six — A Poem from an Immortal to Bai Yongnian
In clear autumn, nothing to do;
riding mist, going out to the distant sky.
Relying on the woodcutter's words,
I await you, Bai Yongnian.
Seven — Li Gongzuo's Poem on the Immortal Servant
I have a pearl within my robe;
I do not mind the dust on the robe.
I have the principle of long life;
I do not tire of having a living body.
In the cave of immortals south of the river —
I shall mingle with their truth.
I do not mind the clamor of the marketplace;
I come to save the people of the world.
The traces of Master Su are already passed;
the affairs of simple folk can be drawn close.
Do not say the Eastern Sea has changed —
heaven and earth have an eternal spring.
Eight — Poems by Chu Haoran on Floating in a Void Boat; Farewell to Luan Hun
On the road, clouds are my companions;
sitting, wine is my companion.
The belly is filled with the transformation of nothing;
the robe is repaired with clouds and mist.
Tyrant Zhou's cruelty and Sage Yao's benevolence —
what a pity, both have rotted away.
Oars and rudders need nothing borrowed;
freely I trust to the floating duckweed raft.
In the morning floating in the brilliance of the rising sun;
at evening sheltered by the pure moonlight.
People striving busy with achievements —
their rotten bones become mud and sand.
To drink Chu Haoran's wine,
and again to board Chu Haoran's boat —
then one's spirit and body become clear;
transcendent and vast, with no anxieties.
Nine — Hymn of the Numinous Sound
This sound is not the sound of a valley echo;
the heart knows it is the numinous immortals.
It has never departed from within the ear —
high and low, like autumn cicadas.
At night the sound grows intense;
in the day the sound is subtle.
The divine numinous drive away all evils;
for me they serve as the power of the wind.
The wondrous sound has no dwelling-time — it is always moving;
day and night it constantly circles.
It is not an accidental thing —
an emissary from the higher realm has come.
How to distinguish the numinous response?
One must obtain the ladder-medium, the method of ascent.
Since the numinous sound descended,
it is as if a True Person had come.
Keep the thought always present in the heart;
turning and turning, the sound never stops.
How lovely the clear refreshing night —
quietly listening to the autumn cicadas' song.
Ten — Walking-in-Void Songs of the Myriad Immortals
The bu xu ci (步虛辭) — songs for ritual circumambulation, enacting the heavenly journey.
Drifting upward on the cloud road;
darkly entering the long sky.
The star palace grows more distant each day;
the aeons of light and darkness are far.
Looking up in virtue, the golden face is hidden;
leaning in thought, I await the divine whirlwind.
I wish to reflect in the rosy-cloud carriage —
burning incense, bow the head in morning worship.
The dark wind turns the flying canopy;
purple qi drifts around the immortal chariot.
Floating in the void without waiting for a carriage;
suddenly rising into the void of nothing.
Lingering with compassion for the lower realm,
looking back with pity for all the multitudes —
when the transformation of the Three Primaries is complete,
freely one enters the Great Void.
Ten-thousand breaths float upward in the void;
a thousand lights join the Grand Subtlety.
In the sky, gazing at the flowery canopy;
through the layered void, looking at the rosy-cloud robes.
True forms enter the cloud road;
the round radiance flies following the wind.
I wish to obtain the gathering of the Three Primaries —
the golden form returning home, riding the movement of Heaven.
Auspicious light soars with purple qi;
on the sky road, free in the cinnabar heaven.
Banners wave, fragrant wind turns;
canopies stir, rising above floating mist.
Within the Way, returning again to the Way;
within the mystery, the mystery further deepened.
True light knows no boundary;
the great Way in the end has no form.
The dharma-wheel always turns on its own;
the subtle sound cannot be heard [by ordinary ears].
In empty leisure, awaiting the Three Treasures;
in the void, hearing the Cavern Scriptures.
Through seven transformations the wandering soul returns;
ten thousand breaths arrest the declining years.
Fragrant wind floats the feathered canopy;
roving qi turns the whirlwind chariot.
Cool and clear, ascending the cloud road;
dark and deep, entering the long void.
Looking with compassion on the children of dust —
in accordance with the movement of Heaven, expounding the numinous text.
Wondrous fruits harmonize with this day;
the hidden compact naturally accords [with Heaven].
Eleven — Regular Chant of the Green Youth Lord
Wishing to plant the root of extinction-and-crossing-over,
one must uproot the seedling of birth and death.
Sunk in sighing, fallen into the nine springs [of the underworld];
only sitting, cherishing the bodily frame.
Twelve — Works by the Lady of the Southern Peak to Manager Xu
Poems sent by the Lady of the Southern Peak (南嶽夫人) to Xu Hui (許長史, Manager Xu), archivist of the Shangqing revelations.
Numinous valleys, beautiful ripples encircling;
hiding the self, dwelling at the rocky pinnacle.
The brown cloth robe matches the dragon-embroidered imperial garment;
the plain belt matches the ringing jade.
The form winds through the distant hidden realm;
the spirit is cast into the Supreme Florid Courtyard.
In the sky above there are worthy ones on the steps;
in the void there are true voices.
Looking up, I fly in the curved morning sky —
following this green carriage-pavilion.
Looking down into the realm of the eight measures;
bowing in lament, entangled in wind and dust.
Liberated, leaving behind the waves and billows;
ascending in this small and distant form.
Worries exhaust the three fords;
rushing about cuts short your lifespan.
Thirteen — Another Work by the Lady of the Southern Peak
Dark resonance beyond the wondrous forms;
harmonious sounds call to one another.
Cloud-writing dense in the purple morning;
orchid wind fans the green carriage.
The Supreme Perfected feast at the jade platform;
far off, the mark of the earthly immortal.
What is hoped for values distant transcendence;
therefore one can be outstanding.
Enjoying those eight-simplicity writings;
the Way accomplished, the beginning six distances unfurl.
Human affairs — how can one be prepared for them?
They make your form and qi waste away.
Colophon
Praises and Songs of the Immortals (眾仙讚頌靈章) is preserved in the Zhengtong Daoist Canon (正統道藏, 1445), DZ0613, classified in the Dongxuan division (洞玄部), category of praises and songs (讚頌類). The text is also catalogued as KR5b0318 in the Kanripo digital library. The Sanjiaben edition (三家本, 1988, vol. 11, pp. 164) served as the basis for the Kanripo transcription from which this translation was made.
The anthology draws primarily from the Shangqing (Supreme Clarity) tradition, the most elite current of medieval Chinese Daoism. The poems attributed to Lady Taizhen, Lady Youying of Cloud Forest, and the Lady of the Southern Peak are related to the revelatory corpus transmitted through the medium Yang Xi (楊羲, 330–386 CE) to the Xu family of Jurong — material that also underlies the Zhen'gao (真誥, Declarations of the Perfected) compiled by Tao Hongjing (陶弘景, 456–536 CE). The celestial recipients Yang Zhenren (True Person Yang) and Manager Xu (許長史, Xu Hui) appear repeatedly as the human recipients of divine instruction.
The bu xu ci (步虛辭 — Walking-in-Void Songs) genre had its roots in the Lingbao liturgical tradition and passed into Shangqing practice. These are the hymns sung by priests during ritual circumambulation of the altar (步虛 literally means "walking through the void," enacting heavenly ascent). The genre subsequently passed into Tang court music and was transmitted to Japan as bugaku.
The 青華救苦天尊 (Heaven-Worthy Qinghua Who Saves from Suffering) addressed in Section One is a deity of the Lingbao tradition, presiding over salvation from the hells. The three-part morning/noon/evening structure reflects Daoist daily liturgical practice. The underworld city of 酆都 (Fengdu) and its Northern Office (北府) are standard features of medieval Daoist cosmology.
Section Five's praise of Wu Zilai draws on the tradition of the hermit-painter, perhaps a real historical figure or a literary construct for the ideal of the untaught, mountain-dwelling Daoist. Li Gongzuo (李公佐, fl. early 9th century CE), author of Section Seven, was a Tang writer known for tales of the supernatural (his "Story of the Governor of the Southern Branch" is among the most famous Tang chuanqi). His presence here suggests the text was compiled no earlier than the early ninth century.
This translation was independently derived from the Classical Chinese source text in the Kanripo transcription. No existing English translation of this anthology exists; it has not been translated before. The gospel register is used throughout, with incantatory repetition preserved in the liturgical sections. Character compounds are handled consistently throughout: 天尊 as "Heaven-Worthy," 真人 as "True Person" or "Perfected One," 步虛 as "Walking in the Void," 仙 as "immortal."
Translated from Classical Chinese by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, April 2026, with AI assistance (Claude, Anthropic). Compiled and formatted for the Good Works Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church.
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Source Text: 眾仙讚頌靈章
Classical Chinese source text from the Kanripo digital library (kanripo.org / ctext.org), transcription of the Zhengtong Daoist Canon (正統道藏), Dongxuan section, praises-and-songs category. DZ0613 / KR5b0318. Three-house edition (三家本, Wenwu Chubanshe, 1988). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
Pagination markers (〈pb:...〉) follow the original folio-face divisions of the Daozang printing. The ¶ marks are line-end indicators from the Kanripo transcription; they have been retained to indicate the original typographic line breaks of the woodblock-printed edition.
衆仙讃頌靈章
青華救苦讃
早朝
天尊發願大悲心救苦方方化善因五嶽四
司皆禀命酆都北府盡停刑真符告下咸蒙
赦童子傳宣救罪人元始化身真妙相度人
无量道方成
午朝
天尊誓願度衆生說法裝嚴坐寳林獅子九
頭分瑞相慧光一照廓幽隂刀山劒樹皆摧
折火翳風雷悉罷停无量大悲來救度酆都
地獄悉瞻聞
晚朝
天尊慧力拯含靈救苦㝷聲破鐵城弘濟无
邊隨願度光明普照達幽扄慧風扇處炎煙
滅法雨沾時發朽榮无量慈悲咸救度亡魂
俱得面慈尊
太真夫人贈馬明生辭
暫捨墉城内命駕岱山阿仰瞻太清闕雲樓
鬱嵯峨虚中有真人來徃何紛葩錬形保自
然俯仰挹太和朝朝九天王夕館還西華流
精可飛騰吐納養青牙至藥非金石風生自
然歌上下淩景霄羽衣何婆娑五嶽非妾室
玄都是我家下看榮競子篤似蛙與蟆眄顧
塵濁中憂患自相羅苟未悟妙㫖安事於𤥨
磨禍湊由道泄宻慎福臻多
昔生崑陵宫共講天年延金液雖可遐未若
太和仙仰登冥仙臺虚想詠靈人忽遇扶桑
王九老仙都真駕驂紫虬輦靈顔一何鮮啓
我㝷長涂邀我自然津告以鴻飛術授以玉
胎篇瓊膏凝玄氣素女爲我陳俯挹琳鳳腴
仰上飄三天雲綱立爾歩五嶽可暫旋玄都
安足逺蓬萊在脚間傳受相親愛結友爲天
人替即游刑對禍必無愚賢祕則享無傾泄
則軀命顛
雲林右英夫人㖟楊真人許長史辭
駕欻遨八虚迴宴東華房阿毋延軒觀朗嘯
躡靈風我爲有待來故乃越滄浪
騰躍雲景轅浮觀霞上空霄軿縱横舞紫盖
託靈方朱烟纒旍旄羽帔扇香風雷號猛獸
玃電吟奮玄龍鈞籟昆庭響金筑唱神鍾採
芝滄浪阿掇華八渟峯朱顔日以新劫徃方
嬰童養形靜東岑七神自相通風塵有憂哀
隕我白鬢公長冥遺遐歎恨不早逸蹤
停駕望舒移迴輪返滄浪末覩若人遊偶想
安得康良因候青春以敘中懷忘
控景浮紫煙八景觀汾流羽童捧瓊漿玉華
餞琳腴相期白水涯揚我萎蕤珠
滄房煥東霞紫造浮絳晨𩀱德秉道宗作鎮
真伯藩八臺可盼目北看乃飛元清淨雲中
視眇眇躡景遷吐納洞嶺秀藏暉隱東山久
安人事上日也無虚閑豈若易翁質反此孩
中顔
晨闕太霞構玉室起霄清領略三竒觀浮景
翔絶冥丹華空中有金映育挺精八風鼓錦
披碧樹曜四靈華盖廕蘭暉紫轡策緑軿結
信通神交觸類率天誠何事外象感須覩瑤
玉瓊
三景秀鬱玄霄映朗八方丹雲浮髙宸逍遥
任靈風鼓翼乗素飊竦眄瓊臺中緑盖入恊
晨青軿擲空同右揖東林帝上朝太虚皇玉
賔剖鳳腦嗷酣飛蘂漿雲鈞回曲寢千音何
琅琅錦旍召猛獸華旛正低昻香母折腰唱
紫煙排棟梁總轡髙清闕解駕佳人房昔運
挺未兆靈化順氣翔心眇玄涯感年隨積椿
崇形垢甘臭味動靜失滄浪我友實不爾榮
辱昨己忘
絳景浮玄晨紫軒乗煙征仰超緑闕内俯眄
朱火城東霞啓廣暉神光煥七靈翳映汎三
燭流任自齊冥風纏空洞宇香音觸節生手
携織女儛併衿匏𤓰庭左徊青羽旗華盖隨
雲傾宴寢九度表是非不我營抱真棲太寂
金姿日愈嬰豈似愆穢中慘慘無聊生
四旌曜明空朱軒飛靈丘玉盖廕七景鼓翼
霄上浮九音朗紫空玉璈洞太無宴詠三晨
宫唱嘯呼我疇不覺椿巳來豈知二景流佳
人雖兼忘而未放百憂長林真可靜巖中自
多娛
北登玄真闕携手結髙羅香烟散八景玄風
鼓絳波仰超琅園津俯眄霄陵阿玉簫雲上
奏鳳鳴動九遐乗氣浮太空曷爲躡山阿金
莭命羽靈徵兵折萬魔齊挹二晨暉千春方
嬰牙喪真投競室不解可奈何
仰眄太霞宫金閣曜紫清華房映太素四軒
皆朱瓊擲輪空洞津總轡儛緑軿玉華飛雲
盖西妃運錦旍飜然塵濁涯儵欻佳人庭宿
感應真降所招巳在㝠乗風奏霄晨共酣丹
林甖公侯徒眇眇安知真人靈
清晨挹絳霞總氣霄上遊徊軿躡曲波遂覩
世人憂辭㫖蔚然起不散三秀嵎何若巡玄
鄕撫璈爲爾娛君心安有際我願有中無
轡景登霄晨遊宴滄浪官綵雲繞丹霞靈藹
散八空上真吟瓊室髙仙歌琳房九鳳唱朱
籟虚莭錯羽鍾交棲金庭内結我冥中朋俱
挹玉醴津倐忽已嬰童云何當路蹲愆痾隨
日崇
晨遊太素宫控軿觀玉河夕宴鬱絶字朝採
圓景華彈璈北寒臺七靈暉紫霞濟濟髙仙
舉紛紛塵中羅盤桓囂藹内愆累不當多
駕氣騁雲軿晨登大渟丘絳津連岑振清波
鼓浚流歩空觀九緯八綱皆巳遊暫宴三金
秀來觀建志儔勤懈不相掩是以積百憂
凌波越滄浪忽然造金山四顧終日遊罕我
雲中人
紫闕構虚上玄館衝絶飊琳琅敷靈囿華生
結瓊瑤騁軿滄浪津八風激雲韶披羽扇北
翳握莭鳴金簫鳳籟和千鍾西童歌晨朝心
豁虚無外神襟何朗寥廻舞太空嶺六氣運
重幽我途豈能㝷使爾終不彫
玄波振滄濤洪津鼓萬流駕景眄六虚思與
佳人遊妙唱不我對清音誰可投雲中騁瓊
輪何爲塵中趨
松栢生玄嶺鬱爲寒林桀繁葩盛嚴冰未肯
懼白雪亂世幽重岫巡生道常潔飛此逸轡
輪投彼遐人轍公侯可去來何爲不能絶
清淨願東山廕景棲靈穴愔愔閑庭虚蘙薈
青林宻圓曜映南軒朱風扇幽室拱被閑房
内相期啓妙術寥朗逺想玄蕭條神心逸
縱心空洞津竦轡䇿朱軿佳人來何遲首徳
何時成
寓言必可用不用是無情焉得駕欻跡㝷此
空中靈微音良有㫖當用慎勿輕事應神機
㑹保爾見太平
轡景落滄浪騰躍青海津絳煙亂太陽羽盖
傾九天雲輿浮空同倐忽滄浪閒來㝷真中
友相携侍帝晨玉子恊明德齊首招玉賢下
眄八河宫上寢希林巔漱此紫瓊腴方知穢
途辛佳人將安在勤之乃得親
絳闕排廣霄披丹登景房紫旗振雲霞羽晨
儛八風停盖濯碧谿採秀月支峯咀嚼三靈
華吐吸九神芒椿數無絶紀恊日積童䝉携
袂明真館仰期無上皇北鈞唱羽人玉玄粲
賢衆云何波浪宇得失爲我鍾引領囂庭
内開心擬穢衝習適榮辱域罕躡希林宫一
靜安足苦試去視滄浪
世珍芬馥交道宗玄霄㑹振衣㝷真疇迴軒
風塵際良德映玄暉頴抜粲華蔚宻言多償
福沖靜尚真貴𢘆當二象順携手同襟帶何
爲人事間日焉生患害
有心許斧子言當采五芝芝草不必得汝亦
不能來汝來當可得芝草與汝食
太極真人智慧經讃
學仙絶華念念念相因積去來亂我神神躁
靡不歷滅念停虚閑蕭蕭入空寂請經若飢
渴持志如金石保子飛玄路五靈度符籍
濟我六度行故能解三羅清齋禮太素吐納
養雲牙逍遙金闕内玉京爲余家自然生七
寳人人坐蓮華仰嚼玄都㮏俯含空洞苽容
顔曜十日奚計年劫多法鼓㑹天仙鳴鍾徵
大魔
靈風扇香花璨爛開繁襟太真撫雲璈衆仙
彈靈琴雅歌三天上散慧玉華林七祖昇福
堂由此歩玄音前世徳未足斯經邈難㝷信
道情不盡圖飛乃反沉太上無爲道弘之在
兆心
學道由丹信奉師如至親揖景偶清虚孜孜
隨日新衆人未得度終不度我身大願有重
報玄德畢信然隂惡罪至深對來若轉輪
學道甚亦苦晨夕建福田種徳由植樹根深
果亦繁子能躭玄尚飄爾昇清天修是無爲
道當與善結縁太上弘至道經書智慧篇抜
苦由大才超俗以得真靈姿世所竒燁若淵
中蓮
人行各有本皆由宿世功立德務及時發願
莫不從善惡俱待對倚伏理難窮賢士奉法
言道徳在兼忘解是大智慧上爲太極公寳
盖連玉輿命駕御九龍金華擎洞經捧香悉
仙童嘯歌徹玄都鳴玉叩瓊鍾
呉子來冩真讃
不才呉子知命任真志尚玄素心樂清貧渉
歷群山翛然一身學未明道形惟保神山水
爲家形影爲隣布裘草帶鹿冠紗巾餌松飲
泉經蜀過秦大道杳冥吾師何人矚念下土
思彼上賔曠然無巳罔象惟親
終日草堂閑清風常徃還耳無塵事擾心有
翫雲閑對酒惟思月餐松不厭山時時吟内
景自合駐童顔
此生此物當生涯白石青松便是家對月臥
雲如野鹿時時買酒醉煙霞
寂爾孤遊翛然獨立飲木蘭之墜露衣鳥獸
之落毛不求利於人間絶賣名於天下此山
居之道士也題罷振衣理策而去莫知所在
焉
仙人貽白永年辭
清秋無所事乗霧出遙天憑仗樵人語相期
白永年
李公佐仙僕詩
我有衣中珠不嫌衣上塵我有長生理不厭
有生身江南神仙窟吾當混其真不嫌市井
諠來救世間人蘇子跡巳徃顓蒙事可親莫
言東海變天地有長春
攄浩然泛虚舟辭遺欒渾之辭
行時雲作伴坐即酒爲侣腹以无化充衣將
雲霞𥙷紂虐與堯仁可惜皆朽腐
檝棹無所假超然信萍查朝浮旭日輝夕䕃
清月華營營功業人朽骨成泥沙
得飲攄公酒復登攄公舟便得神體清超遥
曠無憂
靈響辭
比響非谷響心知是靈仙不曽離耳裏髙下
如秋蟬
入夜聲則勵在晝聲則微神靈斥衆惡與我
作風威
妙響無住時晝夜常輪迴那是偶然事上界
特使來
何以辨靈應事須得梯媒自從靈響降如有
真人來
存念長在心展轉無停音可憐清爽夜靜聽
秋蟬吟
衆仙歩虚辭
飄飄上雲路黯黯入長霄星宫日去逺光隂
劫數遥仰德金顔隱傾想佇神飊願得映霞
軫焚香稽首朝
玄風轉飛盖紫氣汎仙車浮空不待駕合忽
昇虚无徘徊哀下界顧眄愍群諸三元真化
畢翛然入太虚
萬氣浮空上千光合太微霄間望華盖虚重
眄霞衣真儀入雲路圓曜逐風飛願得三元
㑹金容乗運歸
吉光騰紫氣霄路逸丹天旛颺香風轉蓋動
超浮煙道中還復道玄中巳復玄真光不識
際大道竟無形法輪常自轉希音不可聽空
閑待三寳虚中聞洞經七變遊魂反萬氣駐
頽齡
香風飄羽蓋遊氣轉飊車泠泠上雲路窈窈
入長虚顧愍埃塵子應運演靈書妙果諧今
日冥契自然符
青童大君常吟
欲植滅度根當抜生死栽沉吟墮九泉但坐
惜形骸
南嶽夫人作與許長史
靈谷秀瀾縈藏身棲巖京披褐均衮龍帶素
齊玉鳴形盤幽遼裏擲神太霞庭霄上有陛
賢空中有真聲仰我曲晨飛案此緑軒軿下
觀八度内俛歎風塵縈解脱遺波浪登此眇
眇身憂竟三津竭奔馳割爾齡
南嶽夫人作
玄感妙象外和聲自相招雲書鬱紫晨蘭風
扇緑軺上真宴瓊臺邈爲地仙標所期貴逺
邁故能秀頴翹翫彼八素翰道成初六遼人
事胡可豫使爾形氣消
Source Colophon
Classical Chinese source text from the Kanripo digital library (kanripo.org), transcription of the Zhengtong Daoist Canon (正統道藏, 1445), Dongxuan section (洞玄部), praises-and-songs category (讚頌類). DZ0613 (Daozang catalogue number 613), also catalogued as KR5b0318. Textual basis: the Sanjiaben (三家本, Three-House Edition) 1988 reprint of the Daozang, vol. 11, pp. 164. Pagination markers (〈pb〉) from the Kanripo transcription indicate original folio faces.
The electronic Kanripo / Kanseki Repository makes classical Daoist texts freely available for scholarly use. Accessed April 2026.
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