In648CE,TangimperialauthoritiescollectedeverycopyoftheWritoftheThreeSovereigns(Sanhuangwen)fromthefourcornersoftheempireandburnedthem.Theformidabletalismansatitscoreweresaidnotonlytoextendtheirowners’lifespanandprotectagainstmisfortune,butalsopropelthemtostratosphericheightsofpower,elevatingthemtotherankofhighministerorevenemperor.Onlytwoorthreecenturiesearlier,thiscontroversialtextwasunknowninmostofChinawiththeexceptionofJiangnaninthesouth,whereitwasregardedasessentiallocallore.Inthespanofafewgenerations,theWritoftheThreeSovereignswouldbecomethecornerstoneofoneofthethreebasiccorporaoftheDaoistCanon,apillarofDaoism—andaperceivedthreattothestate.
Thisstudy,theonlybook-lengthtreatmentoftheWritoftheThreeSovereignsinanylanguage,tracesthetext’stransitionfromlocaltraditiontoempire-wideinstitutionalreligion.ThevolumebeginsbypaintingthesocialandhistoricalbackdropagainstwhichthescriptureemergedinearlyfourthcenturyJiangnanbeforeturningtoitstextualhistory.Itreflectsonthework’scenterpieceartifacts,thepotenttalismansincelestialscript,aswellasotherelementsofitsheritage,namelyalchemicalelixirsand“trueform”diagrams.Duringthefifthandsixthcenturies,withDaoismcoalescingintoaformalorganizedreligion,theWritoftheThreeSovereignstookonasymbolicroleasaliturgicaltokenofinitiationwhileretainingitsstraightforwardlanguageofsovereigntyandstrongpoliticalovertones,whicheventuallyledtoitsprohibition.Thewritendured,however,andlaterexperiencedarevivalasitsinfluencespreadasfarasJapan.DespiteitscentralroleinthedevelopmentofinstitutionalDaoism,theWritoftheThreeSovereignshasremainedanunderstudiedtopicinChinesehistory.Itsfragmentarytextualrecordcombinedwiththeesotericnatureofitscontenthaveshroudeditinspeculation.Thisvolumeprovidesalucidreconstructionofthetext’shiddenhistoryandenigmaticpracticeswhilesheddinglightonitscontributionstothereligiouslandscapeofmedievalChina.
SOVEREIGNS THREE DIAGRAMS LOCAL
