諸真歌頌
From the Zhengtong Daozang (正統道藏, "Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era"), DZ 0980. Classified under the Dongshen (洞神, "Cavern of Spirit") section, Praise and Hymn (讚頌) category. One fascicle.
This anthology gathers approximately seventy hymns, praises, and songs attributed to the celestial lords and perfected beings of the Shangqing (上清, Supreme Clarity) tradition — the highest of the Three Caverns of Daoist scripture. Many of these poems originate from the Maoshan revelations: between 364 and 370 CE, the medium Yang Xi (楊羲) received visitations from perfected beings — celestial lords, divine consorts, and ancient immortals — who descended to reveal scriptures, sing hymns, and compose poetry. Yang Xi transcribed their words; Tao Hongjing (陶弘景, 456–536 CE) later compiled and annotated them in the Zhengao (真誥, "Declarations of the Perfected"). This collection preserves the songs and praises that accompanied those revelations — liturgical verse praising specific Shangqing scriptures, ecstatic songs from celestial banquets, and exhortations from immortals to mortal seekers.
The poems are primarily in five-character verse (五言詩), the classical Chinese poetic form. Their imagery draws on the celestial geography of the Shangqing cosmology: the Nine Heavens, the Jade Forest, the Purple Terrace, the Court of Grand Subtlety, the palaces of the Queen Mother of the West, and the cosmic winds that carry the perfected between worlds. The register ranges from the hieratic (scripture praises composed by celestial lords) to the intimate (personal poems from immortals to mortal friends). Throughout, a single theme recurs: the body is a trap, the world is a dust-cloud, the scriptures are the map home, and the perfected ones are waiting.
No complete English translation of this text has previously existed.
Scripture Praises by the Celestial Lords
Praise of the Scripture of Great Existence and Wondrous Brilliance, by the Celestial Lord of Grand Subtlety
Cinnabar radiance shines on the Cloud Court;
purple mists illuminate the Jade Forest.
Brilliant and resplendent, the Seven-Treasure Flowers;
gleaming and sparkling, the Jade Spirit's tones.
Palace and Merchant notes harmonize of themselves;
the Wondrous Spirit opens the human heart.
The Dark Chanting sows the field of blessing,
broadly crossing over the boundless mind.
Praise of the Scripture of Great Existence and Wondrous Brilliance, by the Celestial Lord
The Dark Transformation originally leaves no trace;
from traces, the Ancestor of the Way is born.
Wandering freely at the edge of the Nine Heavens,
resting one's chariot at the Six-Ridged Palace.
The Way flows freely within the void and silence;
spiritual songs issue forth from the Great Void.
Form responds in the Court of Ultimate Stillness;
thought and song penetrate the rare and subtle.
Praise of the Scripture of Great Existence and Wondrous Brilliance, by the Grand Lord
Dim and dark at the beginning of Primal Transformation,
faint and far, the morning glow disperses.
Upon the Great Stillness, the Void and the Dark,
clear and luminous, the Two Powers divide.
Condensed essence embraces the empty womb;
crystallized transformation conceives the Numinous Vista.
Containing the True, nourishing the spirit within,
in a sudden flash the Dark Dawn opens —
one first perceives the grief of a hurried span,
the cycle turns and returns to the Heavenly River.
Hymn of the Scripture of Lord Lao's Original Life
The original ground of all beings
is still — primordially beyond arising and ceasing.
The weak and lost stray from their root,
severing themselves from the True Source.
Recklessly creating bonds of good and evil,
the retribution of fortune and calamity never ends.
If you would tip the sea of suffering,
you must dry the river of desire.
Guard the One, hold fast to the supple;
maintain this without flaw or deficiency.
Right wisdom penetrates all that exists;
wondrous insight shatters every bond.
The ten thousand practices converge in one return;
the Three Vehicles erase their separate tracks.
True stillness parts from dust and stain —
cool and clear, without affliction or heat.
Hymn of the Scripture of Supreme Wisdom Returning to the Dark
Numinous immortals ride the auspicious skies,
driving dragons, treading the Dark Waves.
Harmonizing with the True, they manifest auspicious signs,
washing their feet in the Eight-Heavens River.
Blessed response does not depend on our timing;
therefore they can release the snares of heaven.
The Way and its Virtue crown the Three Realms;
the earth's net, too, is passed through.
Responsive encounter with the assembly of Numinous Perfected —
pure wisdom passes through the lotus flower.
Praise of the Scripture of Supreme Wisdom
To study immortality, sever ornate thoughts —
thought upon thought, causes accumulate.
Past and future disturb my spirit;
when spirit is restless, nothing escapes its turmoil.
Extinguish thought and rest in the empty quiet;
serene and still, enter the void's repose.
Request the scripture as if starving and thirsting;
hold your aspiration like stone and gold.
It will protect the child on the Dark Road —
the Five Spirits will convey your register.
Hymn of the Scripture of Original Vows and Great Precepts
To study immortality, conduct is the urgency;
upholding the precepts controls the desiring mind.
Empty and level, the upright qi dwells;
the immortals and sages seek one another.
If you do not trust the words of the Dharma,
why then do you dwell in mountain forests?
Song for the Jade Emperor Bestowing the Thirty-Nine Chapters of the Great Cavern and Ascending the Dragon Terrace
First Verse
Swirling, the Three-Dawn Ridges;
wheeling and firm, the Seven-Primal Canopy.
The Eight Luminaries enter the Grand Primordial;
scattering flight beyond the Nine Heavens.
Jade doors birth radiant clouds;
numinous mists end the dark and dim.
In the Western Palace, chanting the Cavern Mystery;
the pure song at the edge of Fusang.
Guarding the feminine among forest peaks,
dark recitation at the Five Elders' assembly.
Born suddenly — you who have heart!
With you we bind the Central Girdle.
Second Verse
The Gourd River shakes the vast dark;
the Heavenly Ford drums ten thousand streams.
Eight winds drive the spirit skies;
far and faint, a journey through the void.
Chanting the Cavern, the Spirit clarifies its song —
its sound is your Dark Offering.
Born suddenly — you must walk the path;
elbows tucked, you hasten through the dust.
How the heart labors, alas!
You shall be told what you seek.
Hymn of the Scripture of Purple Passage, Blazing Light, and Divine Transformation, Bestowed by the Queen Mother of the West
First Verse
Whistling songs on the Nine-Darkness Terrace;
cliff and ridge congealed in cold solemnity.
The heart governs, the Six Perceptions flow free;
the eyes abandon the dust and murky haze.
Flowing dawn illuminates the Golden Chamber;
the empty hall disperses the manifold dark.
Accumulated response summons the numinous descent;
alone in form, the Way is also shared.
Cultivating the sudden — gazing across ten thousand kalpas,
who perceives the turning of a hundred million springs?
Second Verse
The exquisite garden, lush spirit steps;
vermilion doors, the Jade Forest court.
Flowing wind drums the empty cavern;
jade pipes ring, riding the void.
Purple mists curl around shadowed doorways;
cinnabar radiance illuminates the green carriage.
Flying banners, dense dark canopy;
feathered tallies gleam in the Purple Purity.
Ascending luminous heights at the edge of Nine Heavens,
roaming and playing in the Phoenix City.
Turn back and love the child of the Hidden Realm —
one joy, together born at dawn.
Third Verse
Taking up the reins, controlling the bright radiance;
in the dark luminous realm, piercing the outer wilds.
Drifting and wandering, seeking the Numinous Person,
we merge form at the border of the auspicious skies.
Hands part the doors of the Vermilion Peak —
bright as a spirit, flushed with the Grand Peace.
The Golden Gate, grand and towering;
clear and radiant, without dust or stain.
Loosening our robes on the Dark Elysian Terrace,
fulfilling our deepest wish at this gathering —
shedding our sandals from the Three Paths of Suffering,
preserving and refining, steadfast through the advancing years.
Hymns of the Perfected and the Way
Hymn of the Perfected One of Numinous Treasure, True Unity, Spontaneous, Supreme, and Mysterious Unity
All wonders emerge from the Cavern of the True;
brilliant and resplendent, shining in the Supreme Purity.
Those who uphold it are called Immortals;
they embody the Void and live eternally.
Wandering freely, playing in the Dark Void;
palaces spread out, formless and shapeless.
Gorgeous and luminous, the Seven-Treasure Forest;
bright and clear, the essence of sun and moon.
Dragons and unicorns run in crossways;
phoenixes soar, singing mournful songs.
The Supreme One governs the Purple Terrace;
the host of Perfected recite the Cavern Scripture.
Pinching incense, bowing low in reverence,
they circle the palace walls three times,
return to the High Seat — the King of the Way
responds with his voice: the Lord of Mankind propagates the highest Way,
and all under heaven attains universal peace and repose.
Hymn of the Supreme Propagation of the Way
The Supreme One — the Dark Void's ancestor,
propagating the Way, revering its scripture.
Bowing and rising, one has already attained immortality —
through kalpas beyond counting, a span beyond number.
Majestic, the virtue of Grand Perfection;
still and silent, the cause of Non-Birth.
Luminous sky-scenes crystallize on the void's branches;
riding the void, a spontaneous journey.
Sun and moon blaze bright;
peace, harmony, and joy without end.
Songs from the Palaces
Song-Melody of the Numinous Consort of the East Chamber, Fangzhu Palace
Purple cassia planted in the Jade Garden;
vermilion blossoms sound, mournful and low.
The Moon Palace births the Pistil Abyss;
within the sun, a Jade Pool.
Left hand draws the Orb of Numinous Radiance;
right hand pulls the Cinnabar Dawn's glow.
Flowing gold shines on the Crimson Court;
the Eight Luminaries halt — the mists return.
Green canopies float, bright and clear;
commanding the rhythm, summoning Grand Subtlety.
Phoenix Essence, the youth with the flower-face —
jade fat fills the eternal hunger.
Commanding the dawn, drawing in the Grand Simplicity;
riding suddenly, soaring on the Jade Steps.
Inhaling and exhaling the Six Void breaths;
the Jade Consort lifts her towel and follows.
Striking the zither's zheng note, Southern Cloud fans —
fragrant wind drums the brocade drape.
Tapping the shang note, the hundred beasts dance;
the Six Heavens gather the spirit's authority.
In a sudden flash, a hundred million springs —
an age's record, lofty and grand.
A small fish not yet cooked in the cauldron —
I speak of our grief beneath the cliff.
Songs of the Ancient Perfected
Frequent Recitation of the Azure Youth Grand Lord
If you would plant the root of cessation and deliverance,
you must pull up the stake of birth and death.
Sinking and murmuring, falling into the Nine Springs —
merely from cherishing this body of form.
Frequent Recitation of the Grand Void Perfected One
Observe: the spirit carries the body for a time,
as a chariot follows its horse.
The chariot wrecks — the horse bolts away;
the entanglement is momentary and borrowed.
Alas for the world that only knows this,
that only cherishes the wind and fire!
Planting sin on the net of heaven,
receiving poison in the hells below.
Frequent Recitation of the Perfected One Wang, Lord of the Western City
The body is a ferry for the spirit;
reaching the shore, one must part from it.
The body is not the spirit's constant dwelling;
the spirit is not the body's constant cargo.
Hovering between the wheel of life and death —
the suffering is only the mind's hesitation.
Frequent Recitation of the Perfected One Wang, Lord of the Lesser Realm
Losing the Way, one follows the ford of death;
the three soul-clouds lose the road of life.
Life upon life — the sun grows distant;
death upon death — the sun grows near.
How sorrowful, the pilgrim of bitter pain!
Root and flower are already inverted.
Rising only to join the falling dust —
how would you know to return to the withered and old?
These four poems above were recited on the day of the Autumn Equinox at the great assembly on the Jade Terrace. The four lords chanted these lines to harmonize with the strings of the Dark Resonance and Vast Beauty. The Lady of the Right Blossom spoke thus.
Guo Si-zhao, Who Often Rode a Small Boat, Playing on the Pond, Tapping the Gunwale and Singing
First Verse
The clear pool girds the numinous peak;
tall forests, lush and green.
Dark birds soar in the hidden wilds;
I comprehend — the words emerge with ease.
Drumming the oar, riding the spirit waves,
I bow my head, hoping for the morning wind.
Not yet having gained the time of liberation,
I wander freely among the hills and groves.
Second Verse
I roam my spirit beyond the nine terraces,
studying the Way to complete the True.
I fold these numinous phoenix feathers;
I hide my jeweled dragon scales.
Lifting high the substance of my heart —
the ten thousand gusts are all but dust.
Turn back and pity the dawn-born cicada:
who could exhaust your wheel's turning?
Third Verse
Roaming the void, falling — not whirlwind;
numinous steps, the formless direction.
Round luminaries blaze in the bright dawn;
nine phoenixes sing at the morning sun.
Spreading wings, fanning the Heavenly Ford —
in dimming brilliance, the auspicious clouds soar.
So I arrive at the Grand Subtlety's chambers
and draw from this golden pear's elixir.
Wandering freely beyond the Dark Terraces —
not existing, and also not perishing.
Fourth Verse
Driving suddenly, dancing in the spirit skies,
draped in dawn, belted with nine suns.
The High Sovereign aligns the Dragon Wheel;
I reach the Northern Flower's chamber.
Spirit tigers pierce the Jade Forest;
wind and cloud merge into one.
Opening and closing the dark gate,
numinous transformation — the dark trace extinguished.
The Protective Immortal Lord Tells Xu Hunya and Du Guangping — A Song He Often Loved to Sing
Pure luminosity obscured by the vast forest;
the veiled sun, the eastern dawn rises.
Morning winds dance in the six mists;
surging and swelling, the eight roads ascend.
The Five Peaks — why must they be splendid?
The famous mountains are also worth climbing.
Reaching out a hand, I grasp the Cavern Heights;
settling my heart, I dwell in the hidden renaissance.
Inhaling and exhaling the fetal essence qi —
the Dark White — who could surpass it?
At the Queen Mother of the West's Banquet for Emperor Wu of Han — the Lady of the Upper Prime Strums the Cloud-Forest Lute and Sings the Melody of Pacing the Void
Long ago I trod the Way of Dark Perfection,
soaring my steps to ascend the Great Dawn.
Shouldering my satchel, I arrived at Heaven's Gate;
I asked the way to the Supreme One's home.
Suddenly I passed the Purple Tenuity Rampart —
the Perfected were arrayed thick as hemp.
Green luminance, a cool breeze rising;
cloud canopies reflected the vermilion blossoms.
The Orchid Palace opened its pearl fans;
the azure void unveiled its jade sands.
The Cinnabar Terrace crystallized on the void's branches;
dazzling, it gave birth to splendor.
Flying phoenixes trod the ridgepole;
coiled dragons reclined in their winding paths.
The Jade Embryo arrived with the Crimson Fungi;
nine colors tangled in a profusion of grasping.
Drawing in the luminance, refining immortal bone —
ten thousand kalpas before the first milk-tooth.
Who possesses a lifespan with a foreknown end?
The Fusang Tree does not become flotsam.
The Queen Mother Commands Her Attendant, the Lady Tian Si-fei, to Sing in Reply
At dawn, ascending the Grand Numinous Palace,
I draw from the Eight Royal Orchids.
At dusk, entering the Dark Primordial Gate,
I gather buds and pluck the jade bamboo.
Washing my feet in the Gourd-Melon River;
the Weaving Maid stands at the ford's rim.
Inhaling and exhaling, drawing in the luminous clouds,
I taste them — equal to a single meal.
How splendid, the Purple Tenuity!
The jade wheels serve the Cinnabar Elixir.
At dawn I depart the Measureless Mansion;
at dusk I lodge within the Gouchen Rampart.
Our goings differ in their ways,
yet each of us embodies where we rest.
The Two Powers persist as before —
what doubt about a hundred million springs?
Do not tell the people of the world:
the walking corpse would find these words too hard.
Song Bestowed by the Queen Mother upon Lady Wei
Driving my Eight-Luminary carriage,
I enter suddenly into the Jade Purity.
The dragon skirt sweeps the Milky Way;
the tiger banner commands the vermilion host.
Wandering freely at the edge of the Dark Ford —
the ten thousand streams flow without pause.
I grieve this gathering of coming and leaving:
when the kalpa is spent, heaven and earth collapse.
One should exhaust the luminance within the Void —
no death, and also no birth.
Embody that Way of Spontaneity;
in still contemplation, merge with the Grand Dark.
The Southern Peak lifts its True Script;
jade reflections blaze with bright essence.
For those with office, no end of tasks —
the empty mind receives the spirit of its own.
At the blessed gathering within the Crimson River,
together we rejoice without end.
Shuang Li-zhu Strums the Cloud Lute and Sings in Reply
The Jade Purity emerges beyond the Nine Heavens;
the Spirit Hall soars past the dawn.
The Sky Terrace blazes, grand and towering;
numinous summer, splendid and luxuriant.
Five clouds raise the Jade Flower;
eight winds fan the green qi.
Gazing upward, I chant the hymn that disperses demons;
bowing, I study wisdom and insight.
The ten thousand Perfected open the morning luminance,
singing their appointment at the Crimson Chamber's gathering.
Noble and fair, O child of virtuous sound —
spirit-reflection, then shaking off the overflow.
The Heavenly Peak commands the void's branches;
the Cavern Terrace, deep and hidden.
Roaming the sea, one sees the well's narrowness;
treading the True, one realizes the world's impurity.
Dancing wheels, feasting in the layered void —
the fish trap — naturally abandoned.
Returning to my Great Spring's net,
I bid long farewell to the world of the morning-born.
Song of the High Immortal Gazing on the Wandering of the Cavern Spirit
The Jade Chamber blazes with eastern dawn;
the purple carriage floats in the crimson morning.
The Flower Terrace — how dazzling to behold!
The northern banquet — the sky's primordial flight.
Clean and pure in the Grand Void —
faint and distant, treading the luminous migration.
Chanting and reciting the chapters of the Great Cavern,
singing these thirty-nine stanzas.
Reclining within the Great Desert,
the Spirit King in the domain of the heart.
The still chamber contemplates the numinous radiance:
why labor so in mountain forests?
In an instant, the withered elder transforms —
turning back into the face of a child.
Song of the Four Perfected Ones Descending to Lady Wei
Cinnabar brilliance blazes in the Supreme Purity;
eight winds drum the Great Dawn.
I turn my Spirit-Sky carriage
and reach the Jade Ridge's bend.
Alas, beyond heaven and earth —
the Nine Enclosures are all my home!
Above, I gather the sun's essence;
below, I drink the Yellow Moon's nectar.
The Numinous Vista — the Void within the Void;
the great roc's road has no crooked byway.
I turn and see Wei Xian'an —
turbid qi injures your harmony.
Diligently study the thought within the Dark —
when the Way is complete, we shall visit one another again.
Song of the Azure Youth of Fangzhu
The Great Dawn fans the morning glow;
the Nine Breaths have no constant form.
The Dark Reins fly beyond the skies;
the Eight Luminaries ride the High Purity.
My hand holds the Jade Emperor's robe;
I carry the child born within the morning.
Gazing on the Chamber of the Seven Luminaries —
bright, and also dark.
How excellent, this child of the Wei clan,
who has heart and also feeling!
The Dark and Fair form their own blessed gathering;
the Golden Book names you in the Eastern Flower.
Xian'an's hidden study —
we shall meet you at the shore of Yang Valley.
Song of the Fusang Spirit King
At dawn I open the Grand Lord's chamber;
I leap beyond the Gourd-Melon Waters.
The azure sea sends forth jade waves;
the linked peaks — the Red Peaks stand.
Floating wheels at the cloud-wave's edge;
nine dragons rise on the same rein.
Tiger banners, lush on the dawn ford;
the numinous wind turns and sets things right.
The Flower Dweller — long joy in the Way —
thus attains the High Spirit's standard.
Uprooting and moving beyond the Three Conditions,
the responsive gathering has only just begun.
We shall meet at the Yang-Luo Palace —
when the Way is complete, I carry the Wei child along.
Song of the Pure Void Perfected One
First Verse
Driving suddenly, I control the pure void;
hovering by the Western Flower Pavilion.
The jade forest, truly divine in its heights;
the tiger banners chase the mist's dispersal.
Wisdom's wind shakes the cinnabar pennant;
bright lamps illuminate the Eight Radiances.
I loosen my robe in the Elysian Chamber;
spirit bells ring, gorgeous and bright.
Perching in luminance like forest branches —
a nine-stringed zither played within the dark.
Leaving behind my accumulated worldly grief,
releasing this thousand-year sigh.
With joyful gaze, the Boundless is complete —
all night I wait again for dawn.
Second Verse
Purple dawn dances in the dark void;
the spirit wind — no cable, no guide.
Suddenly it fills the Eight Regions.
I bless you: may you open into empty stillness.
Eight windows — no constant brightness;
there is dark, and there is light.
The Cavern Vista and the Three Cinnabar Fields —
still and silent, they give birth to form and luminance.
Condensing spirit, nobly we encounter each other;
cloud-faces, resplendent and refined.
I am ashamed to lack the Ying mason's craft,
but possess instead the spontaneous bloom.
Diligently and secretly cultivate the Way of nurturing life —
negligence binds you to calamity and affliction.
The numinous appointment has its own time;
hand in hand, we shall ascend together.
Song of the Lamentable Human World
Between heaven and the human realm, meetings are sparse and rare.
The sun sets on the western mountains — the dusk crows return.
A hundred years, a single moment — aspiration and wish misalign.
The Heavenly Palace is but a handspan away — I grieve that we cannot follow.
Song of the Ba-yu
The immortal who attains — Mao of the first accomplishment —
drives dragons upward, ascending into the Supreme Purity.
From time to time, descending to the Dark Isle to play at the Red Citadel.
Inheriting the lineage, they come and go — it rests on my fullness.
The Lord studied this — the Wax offering of the Excellent Peace.
Then it is said: a boy's song from early Han times — "Wearing a blue skirt, enter Heaven's gate; salute the Golden Mother, bow to the Wooden Lord." The people of the age all did not understand this. Only Zhang Zifang understood it and went to pay his respects, saying: "This is the Jade Attendant of the Eastern King Lord." To say that immortals who attain the Way and ascend to heaven must salute the Golden Mother and bow to the Wooden Lord — unless one is a child of vacant purity who has ascended to the True, none may know the ford.
Poems of the Immortals at Penglai
Shi Anqing Composed First
The Spirit Mountains arise at the Great Dawn;
upright cliffs, soaring sky-peaks.
Purple mist scatters across the Spirit Land;
riding the gale, driving the white dragon.
Hand in hand with the four guests,
east-bound, we pay court to the Lord of Mulberry Grove.
Guangxiu, though his years are senior —
his vigorous qi, how vast and hazy!
Truly he has not yet stepped down to yield;
we defer by years, honoring each other.
Zhang Youshi Composed Next
Wandering north beyond the Great Desert,
I come to ascend the gate of Penglai.
Purple clouds build the Spirit Palace;
fragrant mists — how lush and dense!
How fine! Lo Guangxiu
has long held a position discussing the Way.
Arrayed side by side at the Perfected One's seat,
together we watch the white dragon advance.
The four of us, freed from the pattern —
when shall we together loosen our belts?
With feeling, I open my collar and set forth —
joyful, joyful — the High Morning gathering!
Xu Yufu Composed Next
Wandering and gazing at the wondrous mountain ridges,
rinsing in the clear blue currents.
Afar I see the spaces between Penglai —
towering, piercing the sky's dark.
Five fungi cover the crimson cliffs;
four terraces, planted with jade and gems.
Scattering, the numinous flowers fall;
bright and dazzling — the Spirit Court ablaze.
At ease, beyond the Seven Perceptions,
I let myself grasp the Heavenly Life.
Self-sufficient within the heart's domain —
what need of the white dragon's glory?
Ding Weining Composed Next
The Dark Mountain frames the blue-green waves;
golden chambers reflect the numinous gallery.
Lord Lo stands noble and singular,
at ease between being and nonbeing.
Form sinks in the northern cold realm;
three spirits connect to the Nine Heavens.
Colleagues lead each other onward,
deferring to me the high, triumphant years.
With the cap of youth — Shi Qingan —
not yet willing to exalt the worthy.
He mocked the Lord of Penglai,
calling out before Guangxiu:
"My lord, with what will you
counter this young man's flight?"
Writing of King Fucha of Wu
The Dark Ford flows with crimson waves;
Kunlun jade reflects on the jade mountains.
The morning sun controls the dawn's glow;
lush and splendid — how graceful and charming!
Wandering clouds fall past the great sun;
gale-luminance soars through the Three Heavens.
The Numinous Treasure shines through the Nine Voids;
dark and light between the Zhong Mountains.
Yu the Great ascends the Eight Windows;
dispersing qi resounds like gold and orchid.
By the branch, shaking jade twigs;
following the waves, seeking the flood's source.
Supporting substance, establishing the numinous trunk;
hanging leaves to bind in profusion.
Distant and remote, the dragon and phoenix tracks;
brilliant and resplendent — the script of the Nine Heavens.
Gazing up, drawing in the essence of the Three Stars;
preserving the body in eternal peace.
Bowing, rinsing with the Five-Flower elixir;
returning again to the face of youth.
Ascending the spirit to the Warm-Cool Palace —
how would one know heat from cold?
A thousand autumns like a clear dawn;
ten thousand years as half a day.
Spreading wings above Kongtong,
inviting me to the Numinous Treasure Hall.
Burning banners — the Five Emperors' chariot;
together standing at the luminous desert's edge.
Asking each other of hunger and thirst —
the Dark Spring, rich with flowing cinnabar.
Eternally immortal within the heart;
the Eight Distances — neither easy nor hard.
Turning, I smell the stench of vermilion gates;
on the road ahead, there is danger.
Inscribed steles labor in the cliff's shade;
the deep caverns can be investigated at leisure.
Poems of Xin Xuanzi
First Poem
In past days I entered the Dark Land,
guiding my chariot, answering the spirit's call.
The spirit follows the void, scattering into nothing;
qi dissolves with the auspicious clouds.
If form is not of bright jade substance,
how could the Dark Artisan carve it?
Stamping my feet, chanting the hidden song;
raising my hand, playing with the singing branch.
The forest chamber holds fugitive joys;
cut off from the intercourse beyond the window.
The lingering luminance clings to the round radiance;
the blessed tones — how distant and sparse!
Second Poem
Still and pervading, lodging in responsive feeling;
the dark qi gathers the moving sound.
Though the high wheel is uneven,
from ten thousand fathoms it still comes seeking.
Serene, the scholar who studies the Way —
merging spirit, joining the numinous heart.
Entrusting to the current, riding the world's transformation;
heart aimed at the deep and lovely forest.
Together we meet for the journey beyond principle;
together we still the Eastern Peak.
Third Poem
Ordering the chariot at the Vast Feng Bend;
fugitive traces in the dark, deep land.
Within the void, there are naturally things;
within being, there is also no permanence.
Comprehending words at the boundary of being and nonbeing,
together we meet at Hao's bridge.
When the eye strikes, the Dark Understanding dawns;
ghosts and spirits — the principle forgets itself.
Song of the Left Lady of Grand Subtlety and Dark Purity
Lush and dim, the not-True marketplace;
the Grand Primordial is my lodge.
The Dark Lord — how could there be ruin?
Entangled and clouded — what loneliness finds hard.
Falling phoenixes control the purple dawn;
delicate reins ascending the morning ridge.
Still, still — no bank, no boundary;
glowing, glowing — the view from within the void.
Hidden fungi grace the Phoenix Hill;
I linger at the rim of the Jade Forest.
The Dragon Embryo enfolds your form;
eight gems return the plain dawn.
Jade flowers cluster at the Jade Palace;
blooming buds soar above the dazzling cliffs.
The great roc's fan crosses a billion ridges;
beating wings, supporting the sky's vast sweep.
In the Western Court, commanding a long song;
the cloud lute strums the void.
Eight winds curl around the green chambers;
the dense mist suddenly clears.
The spirit youth casts flowing gold;
the tiny flame opens the departure's script.
The Three Primes bend and dance;
the Purple Sovereign waves his sleeves in praise.
Bright, bright — fanning the luminous radiance;
blazing — Venus shines in splendor.
Soaring chariots tower like bright blades;
looking down, it makes me grieve.
I turn and pity the Earth Immortals:
why do you dwell in forests and ravines?
Song of the Spirit Phoenix
Far, far — the Spirit Phoenix;
endlessly, the long return.
Distant, distant, my longing —
forever at odds with my wish.
Ten thousand kalpas, no appointed time:
when will it come to fly?
Thereupon, the phoenix which the king had killed came surging back to life, clasped the maiden, and together they flew — straight into the clouds and away.
Stone Drum Song of the Female Immortal Zhang Liying
Stone drum, stone drum —
sorrowful, the world below!
Since I came to observe: the people's lot is truly bitter.
Lamentable, the world's affairs!
Distant, distant, my intention.
My intention cannot be humiliated;
the king's authority cannot steal my resolve.
I have luan birds, I have phoenixes —
singing and dancing of themselves,
soaring through clouds, traversing the Milky Way,
far removed from the dust-world's net.
Children of the world — what are they to me?
We came briefly for an appointed meeting;
when fate departs, we part at once.
Father, mother — do not wound my heart.
Poems of Gift and Encounter
Poems of E Lühua, Bestowed upon Yang Quan
First Poem
The Spirit Peak pierces the skies;
flying summits, lush beyond a thousand fathoms.
The empty valley of the numinous ravine, vast;
the jade forest, serene and dense.
Yang-born one, you display fair beauty;
with the cap of youth, your clear sound flows.
You perch your feelings at the ford of Zhuang and Hui;
you transcend form beyond the forest of Wei.
Spreading color within vermilion gates —
your inner and outer natures surpass the common mind.
Second Poem
You and I, our clan's ancestral spring,
share the same deep pool.
The great lineage branches in its high calling —
till now, each twig diverges.
Orchid gold — by affinity's virtue, it holds;
the Three Benefits are just beginning to be savored.
Third Poem
In still searching, I delight in this gathering;
the elegant weave fills the span of years.
Who says the hidden mirror is hard?
One finds it within the heart's domain.
Raise your gaze beyond the cage of wicker —
together we shall be the scholars of cliff and stone.
Do not let the soaring feathered ones
follow the startling wind and rise midway.
Transformation — though it depends on the person —
the hobbled sheep is not easily guided.
What I hope for is no morning blossom;
at year's end — I am with you, my child.
Poems of the Nine-Flower Serene Consort, Bestowed upon Yang Simming
Cloud ramparts erect in the void;
jade terraces tower, lush and arrayed.
Purple palace riding the green luminance;
the numinous vista, grand and towering.
The jade corridor and vermilion chamber within —
supreme virtue blazes in the crimson dawn.
Bowing, I drink from the Numinous Vase's ford;
looking up, I pluck the jade-green lotus.
Washing feet in the Jade-Heavens Pool;
drumming the oar on the Cowherd's River.
Then I take the luminous-cloud chariot;
the falling dragon's rein at the Dark Bend.
Shaking out my robe at the edge of dust and dregs,
I lift my skirt, stepping through the turbid waves.
I wish we were tied as Mountain-Marsh companions,
firm as sandalwood, yielding as harmony.
Hand in hand within the Double Purity,
the Supreme True Way has no crookedness.
The Purple Tenuity composes its blessed plan;
singing and accepting, we enjoy blessings abundantly.
Second Poem
Driving suddenly from the Western Flower,
without-waiting in the between of with-waiting.
Sometimes gazing upon the Five-Peak summits,
sometimes bathing in the Heavenly River's ford.
Releasing the wheel, seeking the void's boat —
wherever we are, all is entwined.
The mustard seed suddenly holds ten thousand leagues,
and within it stands Mount Kunlun.
Great and small are truly no different;
far and near share a single thread.
That one comes from the with-waiting;
I come from the without-waiting's intimacy.
Poems of the Lady of the Central Court, the Wang Furen
First Poem
Dragon banners dance in the Grand Void;
flying wheels at the Five Peaks' bend.
Wherever I am, all is wandering freely —
with feeling, I raise the song of the dark.
Without-waiting illustrates with-waiting;
the encounter is therefore harmonious.
The ocean vast — why should it suffice?
The Dark Well is not too much.
In the lush silences, between the pacing steps,
together we gather — the Four Seas in a net.
Is this not like cutting free beyond the light? —
three kalpas are but a single passing.
Second Poem
The Eight Roads converge at the Ancestorless;
riding the turning, I view the clamoring net.
Transformation floats at the edge of the dust-world;
I loosen my robe — the Way has a home.
Gazing at the mist — suddenly it has not toppled;
carrying the True, I arrive at the Numinous Bend.
The void-luminance and the Jade Chariot;
the Dark Resonance makes the phoenix song.
The path of fitness has no rut or halt;
the spirit's sound dances on the cloud-waves.
Equal in virtue, the splendid Jade Luminance —
what use is the world's abundance?
Third Poem
Simply observe the Perfected of the Level Heavens:
leave behind what burdens, give free rein to all feeling.
Embody stillness — abandon the chariot of schemes;
to exalt existence is to take hold of life.
Where shall one find the one who levels all things?
Entrust your fate and go where the journey leads.
Fourth Poem
Ascending my chariot, departing from the Eastern Flower;
fanning the wind, dancing in the Grand Dark.
Flying reins soar ninety thousand;
the eight falls are already leveled.
A brief glance at the realm of mountains and waters;
distant and deep, the numinous peaks between.
With the same wind, the qi aligns itself;
the Way converges, and principle follows.
Dragon fungi — an eternal, far-reaching span;
inward gazing, I gather the Heavenly True.
The Eastern Peak may be forever still —
why be entangled by things?
Poems of the Lady Li, the Zhaoling of Fangzhang Terrace
First Poem
Cloud walls belt the heavenly branches;
seven breaths blaze in the spirit's presence.
The jade door opens at the morning's cry;
nine tones in the crimson pivot.
Purple dawn and vermilion gate;
fragrant mist born at green windows.
Four chariots dance the tiger banner;
the blue carriage flings into the dark void.
Flower canopies follow the clouds in rows;
falling phoenixes control the six dragons.
Riding luminance at the Five Peaks' bend;
the Three Simples gaze upon your chamber.
When I happen to smell the rank and foul air,
the ten thousand impurities pollute my breast.
The stinking things fumigate the essence and spirit;
the worldly dust assaults and clashes.
The bright jade — all dazzling —
why do you alone so greatly exalt yourself?
Your high salutation came bitterly late;
sitting on the ground, you breed your own worms.
Second Poem
Pouring wine, I contemplate the assembled wisdoms;
in a flash, the four quarters traverse.
Without realizing why it is so —
truly, this is no with-waiting journey.
Those we meet all become joyful;
those we miss bring no sorrow.
Releasing my shadow in the dark void —
two meetings, a spontaneous pairing.
Third Poem
The flying wheel on the High Morning Terrace;
controlling the reins at the Dark Mound's corner.
My hands carry the Purple Emperor's robe;
in a sudden gust, the eight winds drive.
Jade flowers wing the green curtains;
blue sashes fan the jade skirts.
The crested chariot blazes, lofty and grand;
jade pendants, belted with moon-pearls.
Dipping thin into the wind and dust —
block the nose and flee — it must be shed!
The rank stench withers my qi;
the hundred curves make the heart depart.
Why not soar away?
Serene and still, I pace the Grand Void.
Poems Bestowed upon Yang Xi by the Lady Wang, the Southern Pole
First Poem
Controlling the wind, I fan the Grand Void;
the Eight Luminaries fly in the High Purity.
Floating upward, beyond the Purple Morning;
bowing, I survey the severed depths.
The Dark Heart in the space of the Void —
above and below, no halting of the flow.
Without-waiting in the between of the two;
with-waiting has no enterprise.
Embody the Void — then one can die;
embody Being — then one takes hold of life.
The Eastern Guest raises the High Song:
the Two Waitings — what is there to contend?
Second Poem
Commanding the chariot of the Jade Brocade Wheel,
dancing the reins, I gaze upward, hovering.
At dawn I wander the Vermilion Fire Palace;
at dusk I feast by the Night-Radiance Pool.
Floating luminance at the clear dawn's height;
eight dragons — properly staggered.
I make the without-waiting journey;
the with-waiting promptly follows.
At the high gathering, the lovely ones rest;
the Two Waitings face each other, right and wrong.
Being and nonbeing are not fixed in being;
each waiting returns to itself.
Third Poem
The forest trembles — the tendrils respond to resonance;
the clouds are lush — awaiting the dragon's song.
The Dark Numbers seek one another;
at each turning, all has sound.
Flying carriages emerge from the Western Flower;
gathering the reins, they come suddenly seeking.
The Eight Distances are not without delight;
in shared song, the principle earns its own reverence.
I grieve for those within the Four Dimensions —
the hundred griefs, always in the heart.
Together we wander the Northern Cold Terrace;
the spirit wind opens your heart's folds.
Poems of the Lady Wang of the Purple Tenuity
Riding the wind, I trace back through the Nine Heavens;
resting my chariot on the Three-Splendor Ridge.
With-waiting hovers and gazes;
without-waiting is inherently still.
The ocean vast — why should it suffice?
Better to leap beyond the Dark Well.
Another Recitation
The Tortoise Gate, lush and grand;
the Rampart Terrace where the moonlit pearl falls.
Sitting in rows in the Nine Spirit Chambers,
tapping the lute, chanting in the Grand Void.
Jade flutes harmonize my spirit;
golden elixir releases my grief.
Another Recitation
Feasting merrily within the Eastern Flower;
arraying the resonance — a thousand, a hundred sounds.
The Azure Lord calls me to rise;
I bend my waist at the Prayer-Forest Court.
Feathered robes fan the jade radiance;
jade pendants — how they ring and chime!
Together they point to the High Morning Palace,
meeting one another within the Image's Dark.
Narrative of the Journey to the Dark Mound — Another Recitation
Soaring my steps in the crimson skies;
the flying wind at the Northern Mound's court.
Spirit flowers reflect the Immortal Terrace;
round luminaries follow the wind's tilt.
Opening radiance, I draw in the Cinnabar Prime;
the door-luminance — I feast on the moon's essence.
Entwined in robes within the Cloud-Forest Chambers;
vast and deep — returning to the child.
Serene and still, I lodge in the houseless;
right and wrong — how could they be managed?
The world's net tangles itself in competition —
how can one speak of nurturing life?
On the Sixth Day of the Ninth Month, at Dusk, Cloud-Forest Descended Again and Commanded Yang to Take Up the Brush — Another Recitation
I release the wheel above the Great Dawn;
I rein in, arriving at the Purple Hill.
My hand holds the Eight-Heaven's breath;
I cast my body, floating in the void.
One glance at the web of creation;
a second look — searching the High Companions.
The essentials of the Way are already just so;
with them, one can untie a thousand griefs.
Seeking the True, one gains a worthy friend —
not to depart: what more could one seek?
This Was Recited and Commanded Shown to Xu, the Elder Secretary, and to Mu and to Chi Fanghui — Another Recitation
The purple void gleams with dark luminance;
the Dark Palace belts the Crimson River.
Splendid, the chambers of the Supreme Purity!
The numinous terrace blazes, grand and towering.
The Eight Carriages arrive at the Vermilion Pool;
the feathered canopy tilts from the sky's branch.
The shaking wind turns the three mornings;
golden bells scatter the jade flowers.
Seven reins descend the Nine Terraces;
the feast's gaze — no home required.
I ask the seeker of the Way:
what business keeps you sitting in the dust-waves?
Could you not perch on the Eastern Splendor,
nurturing the True, gathering the Grand Harmony?
Also Commanded Shown to Xu and Chi — On the Eighteenth Day of the Tenth Month, Descended Again with the Assembly and Commanded Yang to Write
Left hand holds the Jade-Flower Canopy;
the flying luminance treads the Seven Primes.
Three mornings blaze in purple radiance;
I look up and gaze, caressing the Bright True.
Transformation and leaping — a matter of moments;
on every side, all is already spirit.
The numinous impulse has no boundary or edge —
diligently contemplate the texts of Supreme Purity.
What business keeps you sitting on the crossroad,
making your focus scattered and undedicated?
Hidden illness loses the dark mechanism;
without noticing, the years and seasons divide.
Then she said to Yang: "Now — to be diligent means to be diligent in one's practice, to be absorbed in its dark subtlety. To be cautious — that also is a response drawn from analogy. The difficulty of studying the Way cannot be written. Those who have a mind of shame and contempt are also far from the Way. Only after the watering-pot has poured can one consider it precious. The worthy one's gaze begins anew. For now, you must inwardly forget." And then she chanted:
The Dark Purity — faint, faint vista;
the falling luminance emerges from the Eastern Calm.
I wish to find a friend free of dust —
serene and still, rare in the world's concerns.
She chanted this two or three times, then said:
The Numinous Person hides on the dark peak;
the True Person conceals amid the clouds' arrival.
The Dark Song is not without its appointment;
the wondrous response has its own waiting.
How could one expect the void and stillness?
The ultimate music is inherently abiding.
Hand in hand, we ascend the Feathered Palace,
together feasting within the Vast Cold.
I ask: who is your friend?
What remains is only the Jade Maiden.
After chanting, she said: "The peerless steed of cloud and void spreads its wings over the heights of Kongtong — is such a person not one who forever draws from the Southern Face and bids farewell to the gift of a thousand chariots?" On the thirtieth day of the second month, she chanted one stanza:
Lifting my skirt, I ford the green river;
I reach and see the Lord of Fusang.
At the high gathering on the Grand Forest Waste,
the pleasure-feast in the Dark Flower Palace.
If you trust the Way and your sincerity is genuine,
why not perch on the Eastern Peak?
Seven Stanzas Composed on the Fourteenth Day of the Fourth Month
First Stanza
Controlling the luminance, I first wave at the ford;
flying winds, I ascend the Supreme Purity.
Cloud terraces, grand and towering;
the Bright Gate, splendid as a jade citadel.
Morning winds drum the cinnabar dawn;
vermilion mists scatter on the golden court.
Green leaves, gorgeous on the dark peak;
purple fungi beneath the cliffs, alive.
Auspicious clouds curl around the cinnabar furnace;
refining jade — flying the Eight Gems.
Feasting and gazing at the Vast Cold Palace;
ten thousand springs — ever more the child.
Dragon banners open the numinous lightning;
tiger flags summon the vermilion host.
The High Perfected turn the Nine Luminaries;
the Cavern Vista equalizes the hidden brilliance.
Who can tread the hidden road,
seeking me — my boundless span?
Second Stanza
Dim and lush, the Purple Tenuity Pavilion;
the Lush Terrace disperses the luminous wind.
Luan birds sing between the Flower Canopies;
the phoenix resonance guides the Dragon Chariot.
Eight wolves carry the crimson banner;
the white tiger blows the horned flute.
Cloud-swells spill across the Numinous Palace —
arriving, I reach the clamor of the dust-world.
I release the rein at the lovely one's place;
shared breath summons itself.
Seeking the Ancestor is a moment's affair;
ten thousand ages are but one morning.
The spring appointment will surely reach its decline;
the passing kalpas — how could they be too remote?
The truly True gaze upon each other:
do not let the heart depart and stray.
The void blade swings at the ultimate void;
contemptuous clinging — the Five Spirits grieve.
Third Stanza
At dawn I open the Eastern Morning Glow;
flying carriages cross the blue deep.
The mountain waves shake the azure cliffs;
eight winds fan the dark mists.
Turning my gaze on the Chamber of Easy Migration —
there is feeling, the True responds to people.
The Three Golds may be toured and savored;
the Eastern Peak — worthy of eternal choosing.
The tumult of those in the world's thoroughfare:
who among them can tread the ford of life?
Fourth Stanza
Drifting among the Eight-Dawn Ridges,
hovering by the flying morning's canopy.
The purple carriage soars in the Grand Void;
drying my gaze beyond the Nine Voids.
Jade flutes stir the luminous clouds;
numinous mists end the dark and dim.
The High Immortals feast the Grand True;
the pure song — no boundary, no edge.
Coming and going at the court of mountain peaks:
what business is there with the with-waiting's advance?
Fifth Stanza
The Spirit Jade blazes at the Numinous Ford;
the Seven Primes shine at the Spirit Gate.
The void migrates within the heart's domain;
one leap ascends the Grand Subtlety.
The wondrous sound rides the harmonious song;
the high gathering, too, has its mechanism.
Aligning this — the gaze of heaven and man —
bringing together that dawn-luminance flight.
Gathering the reins beyond the Six Directions:
how could there be toppling or danger?
Sixth Stanza
A brief feast on the Dust-Wind Ridge;
the cycle turns — the thread returns.
How would one know the numinous kalpa's appointment?
Turning to gaze makes one grieve.
Seventh Stanza
Cloud grasses shade the Dark Direction;
looking up, I respond to the spinning luminaries' essence.
Flourishing, the lush and thriving sprouts —
abundant virtue will surely prevail.
Colophon
Good Works Translation by Suzu (鈴, Translator Instance 08) and the New Tianmu Anglican Church, April 2026. Translated directly and independently from Classical Chinese using the Mandoku digital edition of the Zhengtong Daozang (DZ 0980, KR5c0380).
No existing English translation of this text was consulted — none exists. This is the first English translation.
The 諸真歌頌 (Zhuzhen Gesong, "Songs and Praises of the Perfected") is an anthology of approximately seventy hymns, praises, and songs collected from the Shangqing (Supreme Clarity) tradition of Daoism. The text draws primarily from the Maoshan revelations (364–370 CE), in which the medium Yang Xi (楊羲) transcribed poetry and song received from celestial visitors — including the Lady Wang of the Purple Tenuity, the Queen Mother of the West, the Azure Youth Grand Lord, the Four Perfected Ones, and numerous other celestial lords and divine consorts. Many of these poems also appear in Tao Hongjing's (陶弘景) Zhengao (真誥, "Declarations of the Perfected"), compiled circa 499 CE.
The poems are predominantly in five-character verse (五言詩), with occasional longer forms. Their central preoccupation is the tension between the perfected realm of the spirit and the dust-world of embodied existence — expressed through the recurring imagery of celestial geography (the Nine Heavens, the Jade Forest, the Purple Tenuity, the Dark Void) and the philosophical motif of you-dai (有待, "with-waiting" — conditioned being) versus wu-dai (無待, "without-waiting" — unconditioned freedom), drawn from Zhuangzi.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: 諸真歌頌
Classical Chinese source text from the Mandoku digital edition of the Zhengtong Daozang (正統道藏). DZ 0980 (KR5c0380). Dongshen section (洞神部), Praise and Hymn category (讚頌類). One fascicle. Based on the HFL (Hanfen Lou 涵芬樓) edition. Originally published in the Sanjia Ben (三家本) reprint, 1988, vol. 19, p. 851. Presented for reference and verification.
太微天帝君讃大有妙經頌
丹暉映雲庭、紫煙光玉林、煥爛七寳花、璀璨瑤靈音、宫商自相和、妙靈開人衿、玄唱種福田、廣度无界心。
天帝君讃大有妙經頌
玄化本无跡、有跡生道宗、遨遊九天際、息駕六領宫、道暢虚漠内、靈歌發太空、形感至寂庭、思詠希微通。
太帝君讃大有妙經頌
翳翳元化初、眇眇晨霞散、太寂空玄上、寥朗二儀判、凝精抱空胎、結化孕靈觀、含眞頥神内、倐歘啓冥旦、始悟憂促齡、運交反天漢。
老君本生經頌
衆生之本際、寂然元起滅、弱喪迷其根、自與眞源别、妄作善惡縁、禍福報无絶、欲得苦海傾、當使愛河竭、守一固專柔、持此无疪缺、正智通群有、妙慧摧諸結、萬行混同歸、三乗泯殊轍、眞靜離塵垢、清涼无惱熱。
太上智慧徊玄經頌
靈仙乗慶霄、駕龍躡玄波、洽眞表嘉祥、濯足八天河、福應不我期、故能釋天羅、道德冠三界、地網亦以過、感遇靈眞會、淨慧經蓮華。
太上智慧經讃
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、請經若饑渴、持志如金石、保子飛玄路、五靈度符籍。
本願大戒經頌
學仙行爲急、奉戒制情心、虚夷正氣居、仙聖自相㝷、若不信法言、胡爲棲山林。
玉皇授歘生大洞三十九章與登龍臺歌
飊飊三霞領、徊剛七元蓋、八景入太元、飛灑九天外、瓊扉生景雲、靈煙絶幽藹、西宫詠洞玄、清唱扶桑際、守雌森峯閒、玄吟五老會、歘生有心哉、與爾結中帶。
其二
匏河振滄芒、天津鼓萬流、八風駕神霄、緬緬虚中遊、詠洞神明唱、音爲汝玄投、歘生必至行、肘伏塵中趨、可爲苦心哉、當告爾所求。
西王母授紫度炎光神變經頌
嘯歌九玄臺、崖嶺凝凄端、心理六覺暢、目棄塵滓氛、流霞耀金室、虚堂散重玄、積感𦤺靈降、形單道亦分、修歘盻萬劫、豈覺周億椿。
其二
秀圃蔚神階、朱扉瓊林庭、流風鼓空洞、玉籟乗虚鳴、紫煙纏曲户、丹暉映緑輧、飛旗鬱玄蓋、羽節耀紫清、登景九霄際、遨遊戯鳯城、顧愛幽境子、一樂同朝生。
其三
騰轡控朗暉、冥景洞野外、流浪㝷靈人、合形慶霄際、手披朱峊户、朗若神沖泰、金闕鬱嵳峩、清景无塵穢、解衿玄閬臺、適我良願會、脫屣三塗難、保錬固年邁。
靈寳眞一自然太上玄一眞人頌
衆妙出洞眞、煥爛曜太清、奉者號仙人、體无永長生、逍遥戯玄虚、宫殿羅无形、蒨粲七寳林、晃朗日月精、龍驎交横馳、鳯凰翔悲鳴、太上治紫臺、衆眞誦洞經、捻香稽首禮、旋行遶宫城、三周歸髙座、道王爲應聲、人主弘至道、天下普安寧。
太上弘道頌
太上玄虚宗、弘道尊其經、俯仰已得仙、歷劫无數齡、巍巍太眞德、寂寂因无生、霄景結空棣、乗虚自然征、日月光炳灼、安和樂未央。
方諸宫東華房靈妃歌曲
紫桂植瑤園、朱華聲悽悽、月宫生蘂淵、日中有瓊池、左拔員靈曜、右掣丹霞暉、流金煥絳庭、八景絶煙廻、緑蓋浮明朗、控節命太微、鳯精童華顔、琳腴充長饑、控晨挹太素、乗歘翔玉墀、吐納六虚氣、玉嬪挹巾隨、彈徴南雲扇、香風鼓錦披、叩商百獸舞、六天攝神威、儵歘億萬椿、齡紀鬱巍巍、小鮮未烹鼎、言我巖下悲。
青童大君常吟詠
欲植滅度根、當拔生死㘽、沉吟墮九泉、但坐惜形骸。
太虚眞人常吟詠
觀神載形時、亦如車從馬、車敗馬奔亡、牽連一時假、哀世但識此、但是惜風火、種罪天綱上、受毒地獄下。
西城眞人王君常吟詠
形爲渡神舟、泊岸當别去、形非神常宅、神非形常載、徘徊生死輪、但苦心猶豫。
小有眞人王君常吟詠
失道從死津、三魂迷生道、生生日已逺、死死日已早、悲哉苦痛客、根華巳顚倒、起就零落塵、焉知反枯老。
巳上四首詩去月秋分日瑶臺大㑹四君吟此言以和玄鈞廣韶之絃聲右英夫人說此。
郭四朝常乗小船游戯塘中叩舩而歌
清池帶靈岫、長林鬱青葱、玄鳥翔幽野、悟言出從容、鼓檝乗神波、稽首希晨風、未獲解脫期、逍遥丘林中。
其二
浪神九陔外、研道遂全眞、戢此靈鳯羽、藏我華龍鱗、髙舉方寸物、萬吹皆垢塵、顧哀朝生蟪、孰盡汝車輪。
其三
遊空落非飊、靈歩无形方、圓景煥明霞、九鳯唱朝陽、揮翮扇天津、晻藹慶雲翔、遂造太微宇、挹此金梨漿、逍遥玄陔表、不存亦不亡。
其四
駕歘舞神霄、披霞帶九日、髙皇齊龍輪、遂造北華室、神虎洞瓊林、風雲合成一、開闔幽冥户、靈變玄跡滅。
保命仙君告許虎牙杜廣平常喜歌
淳景翳廣林、曖日東霞升、晨風儛六煙、勃鬱八道騰、五嶽何必秀、名山亦足陵、矯手攝洞阜、棲心潜中興、吐納胎精氣、玄白誰能勝。
西王毋宴漢武帝上元夫人彈雲林之璈歌歩虚之曲
昔渉玄眞道、騰歩登太霞、負笈造天關、借問太上家、忽過紫微垣、眞人列如麻、渌景清飊起、雲蓋映朱葩、蘭宫敞珠扇、碧空啓瓊沙、丹臺結空棣、暐曄生光華、飛鳯踶甍峙、燭龍倚逶蛇、玉胎來絳芝、九色紛相拏、挹景練仙骸、萬劫方童牙、誰有壽前終、扶桑不爲查。
西王母又命侍女田四妃答歌
晨登太靈宫、挹此八王蘭、夕入玄元闕、採蘂撥琅玕、濯足匏𤓰河、織女立津盤、吐納挹景雲、味之當一餐、紫微何濟濟、瓊輪服朱丹、旦發汗漫府、暮宿句陳垣、去之道不同、且各體所安、二儀復猶存、奚疑億萬椿、莫與世人說、行尸言此難。
王母贈魏夫人歌
駕我八景輿、歘然入玉清、龍裙拂霄漢、虎旂攝朱兵、逍遥玄津際、萬流无暫停、哀此去留㑹、劫盡天地傾、當盡无中景、不死亦无生、體彼自然道、寂觀合太冥、南嶽挺眞翰、玉映曜頴精、有任靡期事、虚心自受靈、嘉㑹絳河内、相與樂未央。
𩀱禮珠彈雲璈而答歌
玉清出九天、神館飛霞外、霄臺煥嵳峩、靈夏秀蔚翳、五雲興翠華、八風扇緑氣、仰吟消魔詠、俯研智與慧、萬眞啓晨景、唱期絳房㑹、挺頴德音子、神映乃拂沛、天嶽凌空棣、洞臺深幽邃、遊海悟井隘、履眞覺世穢、儛輪宴重空、筌魚自然廢、廻我大椿羅、長謝朝生世。
髙仙盼遊洞靈之曲
玉室煥東霞、紫輦浮絳晨、華臺何盼目、北宴飛天元、清淨太无中、眇眇躡景遷、吟詠大洞章、唱此三九篇、曲寢大漠内、神王方寸間、寂室思靈暉、何事苦林山、須㬰變衰翁、廻爲孩中顔。
四眞人降魏夫人歌
丹明煥上清、八風鼓太霞、廻我神霄輦、遂造玉嶺阿、咄嗟天地外、九圍皆吾家、上採日中精、下飲黄月華、靈觀空无中、鵬路无間邪、顧見魏賢安、濁氣傷爾和、勤研玄中思、道成更相過。
方諸青童歌
太霞扇晨暉、九炁无常形、玄轡飛霄外、八景乗髙清、手把玉皇被、携我晨中生、盼觀七曜房、朗朗亦冥冥、超哉魏氏子、有心復有情、玄挺自嘉㑹、金書東華名、賢安宻所研、相期暘谷汧。
次扶桑神王歌
晨啓太帝室、超越匏𤓰水、碧海飛翠波、連岑赤嶽峙、浮輪雲濤際、九龍同轡起、虎旂鬱霞津、靈風翻然理、華存久樂道、遂致髙神擬、拔徙三縁外、感㑹乃方始、相期陽洛宫、道成携魏子。
次清虚眞人歌
駕歘控清虚、徘徊西華館、瓊林旣神杪、虎旂逐煙散、慧風振丹旍、明燭朗八煥、解襟庸房裏、神鈴鳴蒨粲、棲景若林柯、九絃玄中彈、遺我積世憂、釋此千年歎、怡盼无極巳、終夜復待旦。
其二
紫霞儛玄空、神風無綱領、歘然滿八區、祝爾豁虚靜、八窻無常朗、有冥亦有炅、洞觀三丹田、寂寂生形景、凝神挺相遇、雲姿卓鑠整、愧无郢石運、蓋彼自然頴、勤宻攝生道、泄替結災眚、靈期自有時、携袂乃俱上。
人間可哀之曲
天上人間㑹合踈稀、日落西山兮夕烏歸飛、百年一餉兮志與願違、天宫咫尺兮恨不相隨。
巴謡歌
神仙得者茅初成、駕龍上昇入太清、時下玄洲戯赤城、繼世而往在我盈、帝君學之臘嘉平。
石安慶先作詩
靈山造太霞、豎巖絶霄峯、紫煙散神州、乗飊駕白龍、相携四賔人、東朝桑林公、廣休年雖前、壯氣何蒙蒙、實未下路讓、推年以相崇。
次張誘世作詩
北遊太漠外、來登蓬萊闕、紫雲構靈宫、香煙何鬱鬱、美哉洛廣休、久在論道位、羅駢眞人座、齊觀白龍邁、離式四人用、何時共解帶、有懷披襟犮、欣欣髙晨㑹。
次許玉斧作詩
遊觀竒山巘、漱濯滄流清、遥覩蓬萊間、屹屹衝霄冥、五芝被絳嵒、四階槇琳瓊、紛紛靈華散、晃晃煥神庭、從容七覺外、任我攝天生、自足方寸裏、何用白龍榮。
次丁瑋寧作詩
玄山構滄浪、金房映靈軒、洛公挺竒尚、從容有无間、形沉北寒宇、三神接九天、同寮相率往、推我髙勝年、弱冠石慶安、未肯崇尊賢、嘲笑蓬萊公、呼此廣休前、明公將何以、却此少年翰。
吳王夫差書
玄津流絳波、崑碧映琅山、朝日控晨輝、薈豓何婉娫、遊雲落太陽、飊景凌三天、靈寳曜九虚、幽明鍾山間、夏禹登八窻、散氣響金蘭、因枝振玉條、縁波討洪源、扶質立靈榦、垂葉以結繁、渺邈龍鳯跡、煥爛九天翰、仰挹三辰精、保身永長安、俯漱五華液、還復反童顔、騰神温涼宫、豈知熱與寒、千秋似清旦、萬歳猶日半、鼓翼空同上、要我靈寳官、焚棼五帝駕、俱墇景漠端、相問饑與渴、玄泉饒流丹、永仙方寸内、八遐无易難、顧聞朱門臭、當塗中有難、銘碣勞巖隂、宂岫可稽盤。
辛玄子詩
疇昔入冥鄕、順駕應靈招、神隨空无散、氣與慶雲消、形非明玉質、玄匠安能彫、蹀足吟幽唱、仰手翫鳴條、林室有逸歡、絶此軒外交、遺景附圓曜、嘉音何寥寥。
其二
寂通寄興感、玄氣攝動音、髙輪雖參差、萬仞故來㝷、蕭蕭研道子、合神契靈襟、委順浪世化、心摽窈窕林、同期理外遊、相與靜東岑。
其三
命駕廣酆阿、逸跡幽𡨋鄕、空中自有物、有中亦无常、悟言有无際、相與㑹濠梁、目擊玄解了、鬼神理自忘。
太微玄清左夫人歌
鬱藹非眞墟、太元爲我館、玄公豈有壞、縈蒙孤所難、落鳯控紫霞、嬌轡登晨巘、寂寂无濠涯、暉暉空中觀、隱芝秀鳯丘、逡廵瑶林畔、龍胎嬰爾形、八瓊廻素旦、琅華繁玉宫、結葩凌巖粲、鵬扇絶億嶺、拊翮扶霄翰、西庭命長歌、雲璈棄虚彈、八風纏緑宇、叢煙豁然散、靈童擲流金、火微啓辭案、三元折腰舞、紫皇揮袂讃、朗朗扇景輝、曄曄長庚煥、超軿聳明刃、下眄使我惋、顧哀地仙輩、何爲棲林澗。
靈鳯歌
杳杳靈鳯綿綿長歸、悠悠我思永與願違、萬劫无期何時來飛。
於是王所殺之鳯鬱然而生抱女俱飛俓入雲中去。
女仙張麗英石鼓歌
石鼓石鼓悲哉下土、自我來觀民生實苦、哀哉世事悠悠我意、我意不可辱兮王威不可奪余志、有鸞有鳯自歌自舞凌雲歷漢逺絶塵羅、世人之子其如我何暫來期㑹運往即乖、父兮毋兮無傷我懷。
漢初童謡歌
著青裙入天門、揖金毋拜木公。
時人皆莫知之唯張子房知之乃往拜焉曰此乃東王公之玉童也。言仙人得道昇天當揖金毋而拜木公也。自非沖虚登眞之子莫知其津矣。
蕚緑華贈羊權詩
神嶽排霄起、飛峯鬱千㝷、寥籠靈谷虚、瓊林蔚蕭森、羊生標美秀、弱冠流清音、棲情莊惠津、超形象魏林、揚彩朱門中、内外邁俗心。
其二
我與夫子族、源冑同淵池、宏宗分上業、於今各異枝、蘭金因好著、三益方覺彌。
其三
靜㝷欣斯㑹、雅綜彌齡祀、誰云幽鑒難、得之方寸裏、翹想樊籠外、俱爲山巖士、无令騰虚翰、中隨驚風起、遷化雖由人、藩羊未昜擬、所期豈朝華、歳暮於吾子。
九華安妃贈楊司命詩
雲闕竪空上、瓊臺竦鬱羅、紫宫乗緑景、靈觀藹嵳峩、琅軒朱房内、上德煥絳霞、俯漱靈瓶津、仰掇碧㮏花、濯足玊天池、鼓枻牽牛河、遂䇿景雲駕、落龍轡玄阿、振衣塵滓際、褰裳歩濁波、願爲山澤結、剛桑順以和、相携𩀱清内、上眞道不邪、紫微㑹良謀、唱納享福多。
其二
駕歘發西華、无待有待間、或眄五嶽夆、或濯天河津、釋輪㝷虚舟、所在皆纏綿、芥子忽萬頃、中有崑崙山、小大固无殊、逺近同一縁、彼作有待來、我作无待親。
中候王夫人詩
龍旂儛太虚、飛輪五嶽阿、所在皆逍遥、有感興冥歌、无待喻有待、相遇故得和、滄浪奚足遼、玄井不爲多、鬱絶㝷歩間、俱㑹四海羅、豈若絶明外、三劫方一過。
其二
八塗㑹无宗、乗運觀囂羅、化浮塵中際、解衿有道家、眄煙忽未傾、携眞造靈阿、虚景磐瓊軒、玄鈞作鳯歌、適路无軌滯、神音儛雲波、齊德秀玉景、何用世間多。
其三
但觀夷天眞、去累縱衆情、體寂廢機駟、崇有則攝生、焉得齊物子、委運任所經。
其四
登軿發東華、扇飊儛太玄、飛轡騰九萬、八落亦巳均、暫眄山水際、窈窕靈嶽間、同風自齊氣、道合理亦然、龍芝永遐齡、内觀攝天眞、東岑可長靜、何爲物所纏。
方丈臺昭靈李夫人詩
雲墉帶天棣、七氣煥神憑、瓊扉啓晨鳴、九音絳樞中、紫霞與朱門、香煙生緑窻、四駕舞虎旗、青軿擲玄空、華蓋隨雲列、落鳯控六龍、䇿景五嶽阿、三素眄君房、適聞臊穢氣、萬濁汚我胷、臭物薰精神、囂塵互相衝、明玉皆璀爛、何獨盛得躬、髙揖苦不早、坐地自生蟲。
其二
縱酒觀群慧、倐歘四落周、不覺所以然、實非有待遊、相遇皆歡樂、不遇亦不憂、縱影玄空中、兩㑹自然疇。
其三
飛輪髙晨臺、控轡玄壟隅、手携紫皇被、倐忽八風驅、玉華翼緑幃、青𢂽扇翠裙、冠軒煥崔嵬、珮玲帶月珠、薄入風塵中、塞鼻逃當除、臭腥凋我氣、百阿令心徂、何不飊然起、蕭蕭歩太虚。
南極王夫人授楊羲詩
控飊扇太虚、八景飛髙清、仰浮紫晨外、俯看絶落溟、玄心空同間、上下弗流停、无待兩際中、有待无所營、體无則能死、體有則攝生、東賔㑹髙唱、二待何足爭。
其二
命駕玉錦輪、儛轡仰徘徊、朝遊朱火宫、夕宴夜光池、浮景清霞杪、八龍正參差、我作无待遊、有待輙見隨、髙㑹佳人寢、二待互是非、有无非有定、待待各自歸。
其三
林振須𩔖感、雲鬱待龍吟、玄數自相求、觸節皆有音、飛軿出西華、總轡忽來㝷、八遐非无娱、同詠理自欽、悼此四維内、百憂常在心、俱遊北寒臺、神風開爾襟。
紫微王夫人詩
乗飊遡九天、息駕三秀嶺、有待徘徊盼、无待固當靜、滄浪奚足勞、孰若越玄井。
又吟曰
龜闕鬱巍巍、墉臺落月珠、列坐九靈房、叩璈吟太无、玉簫和我神、金醴釋我憂。
又吟曰
宴酣東華内、陳鈞千百聲、青君呼我起、折腰希林庭、羽帔扇翠暉、玉佩何鏗零、俱指髙晨殿、相期象中冥。
又叙玄隴之遊吟曰
超舉歩絳霄、飛飊北壟庭、神華映仙臺、圓曜隨風傾、啓暉挹丹元、扉景餐月精、交被雲林宇、浩軫還童嬰、蕭蕭寄无宅、是非豈能營、世綱自擾競、安可語養生。
九月六日夕雲林又降命楊君染筆喻作吟曰
解輪太霞上、歛轡造紫丘、手把八天氣、縱身空中浮、一眄造化綱、再視索髙疇、道要旣巳是、可以解千憂、求眞得良友、不去復何求。
吟此令示許長史穆及郗方回又吟
紫空朗玄景、玄宫帶絳河、濟濟上清房、靈臺煥嵳峩、八輿造朱池、羽蓋傾霄柯、震風廻三晨、金鈴散玉華、七轡降九陔、宴眄不必家、借問求道子、何事坐塵波、豈能棲東秀、養眞收太和。
亦令示許與郗十月十八日又與衆降命陽君書曰
左把玉華蓋、飛景躡七元、三晨煥紫輝、竦眄撫明眞、變踊期須㬰、四面皆巳神、靈發无涯際、勤思上清文、何事坐横途、令爾感不專、隂痾失玄機、不覺年歳分。
徐謂楊君曰夫令勤者勤其事躭其玄微耳愼者亦觸𩔖而作也學道之難不可書矣有恥鄙之心者於道亦遼乎灌秉然後可貴耳賢者之舉目更始爾今且當内忘也因吟曰
玄清眇眇觀、落景出東渟、願得絶塵友、蕭蕭罕世營。
吟此再三又曰
靈人隱玄峯、眞人韜雲來、玄唱非无期、妙應自有待、豈期虚空寂、至韻固常在、携襟登羽宫、同宴廣寒裏、借問朋人誰、所存惟玊女。
吟竟曰卓雲虚之駿抗翮於崆峒之上斯人也豈不長挹南靣求謝千乗乎。二月三十日吟一章曰
褰裳濟渌河、遂見扶桑公、髙㑹太林墟、賞宴玄華宫、信道苟淳篤、何不棲東峯。
四月十四日又作七章詞曰
控景始揮津、飛飊登上清、雲臺鬱峩峩、閶闔秀玉城、晨風鼓丹霞、朱煙灑金庭、緑葉粲玄峯、紫芝巖下生、慶雲纏丹鑪、錬玉飛八瓊、宴眄廣寒宫、萬椿愈童嬰、龍旂啓靈電、虎旗徴朱兵、髙眞廻九曜、洞觀均潜明、誰能歩幽道、㝷我无窮齡。
其二
翳藹紫微館、鬱臺散景飊、鸞唱華蓋間、鳯鈞導龍軺、八狼携絳旌、素虎吹角簫、雲勃寫靈宫、來適塵中囂、解轡佳人所、同氣自相招、㝷宗須㬰頃、萬齡乃一朝、椿期㑹足衰、劫往豈足遼、眞眞乃相目、莫令心徂抄、虚刀揮至空、鄙滯五神愁。
其三
朝啓東晨暉、飛軿越滄溟、山波振青涯、八風扇玄煙、廻眄易遷房、有懷眞感人、三金可遊盤、東岑宜永甄、紛紛當途中、孰能歩生津。
其四
飄颻八霞嶺、徘徊飛晨蓋、紫軿騰太虚、曬眄九虚外、玉簫激景雲、靈煙絶幽藹、髙仙宴太眞、清唱無涯際、去來山嶽庭、何事有待邁。
其五
神玉曜靈津、七元煥神扉、虚遷方寸裏、一躍登太微、妙音乗和唱、髙㑹亦有機、齊此天人眄、協彼晨景飛、總轡六合外、寧有傾與危。
其六
薄宴塵飊嶺、代謝緣還歸、奚識靈劫期、顧眄令人悲。
其七
雲草廕玄方、仰感旋曜精、詵詵繁茂萌、重德必克昌。
Source Colophon
Source text from the Mandoku digital repository (Kanripo / KR5c0380), based on the Hanfen Lou (涵芬樓) edition of the Zhengtong Daozang (正統道藏, "Daoist Canon of the Zhengtong Era"), reprinted in the Sanjia Ben (三家本) edition, 1988, vol. 19, p. 851. DZ number: 0980. Classification: Dongshen section (洞神部), Praise and Hymn category (讚頌類). One fascicle. The Mandoku markup (page breaks, paragraph marks) has been silently removed; punctuation added editorially based on verse structure. The text is in the public domain.
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