Sun-Worship in China

Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie
Sun-worship in China - The Roots of Shangqing Taoist Practices of

Light
Monica Esposito
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Esposito Monica. Sun-worship in China - The Roots of Shangqing Taoist Practices of Light. In: Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie, vol. 14,
2004. In Memoriam <name ref = "persee-web:/authority/164296">Isabelle Robinet</name> (1932-2000). Pensée taoïste,
Alchimie et cosmologie. pp. 345-402;
doi : https://doi.org/10.3406/asie.2004.1212
https://www.persee.fr/doc/asie_0766-1177_2004_num_14_1_1212
Fichier pdf généré le 06/02/2019

Résumé
Depuis l'article remarquable d'Henri Maspero sur les légendes mythologiques dans le Shujing, aucun
sinologue ou historien des religions n'a, en Occident, consacré d'études monographiques sur la
mythologie solaire en Chine. Récemment toutefois, les travaux de Sarah Allan (basés sur les
anciennes théories de Hu Houxuan, Akatsuka Kiyoshi et Chang Tsung-tung, notamment), ainsi que la
relecture des matériaux scapulomantiques par le Professeur David Keightley ont à nouveau mis en
relief le rôle du culte du soleil sous les Shang. Les spécialistes chinois et japonais, quant à eux, ont
étendu leurs recherches à la lumière des dernières découvertes archéologiques. Si la dévotion de
l'empereur envers le soleil est attestée dans maints passages littéraires des Royaumes Combattants et
des Han, la nature de ce culte soulève encore de nombreuses questions. Des traces d'anciens cultes
solaires peuvent cependant être trouvées dans la littérature taoïste. Une pratique en particulier,
connue sous le nom de Yuyi Jielin, offre d'intéressants parallèles avec les rites idéaux des Shang et
des Zhou au soleil levant et couchant. Celle-ci constituera le point de départ de la présente étude.
Héritage des fangshi, les spécialistes des cultes d'immortalité, cette pratique connaît un grand succès
dans le taoïsme Shangqing des Six Dynasties en tant qu'élément des méthodes transmises par ses
importants « patriarches fondateurs » comme Zhou Yishan, le Seigneur Pei et Xu Hui. Le présent
article se concentre dans un premier temps sur Yuyi et Jielin, les protagonistes, laissant pour une
étude ultérieure la nature de la pratique elle-même et son contenu.
Objets de diverses interprétations, Yuyi et Jielin sont souvent considérés non seulement comme des
appellations ésotériques du soleil et de la lune mais aussi comme les noms des esprits ou des
immortels présidant à la course de ces deux corps célestes. Mais qui sont exactement Yuyi et Jielin et
quelle est leur véritable identité ? Un examen philologique complété par une analyse des sources du
Canon taoïste et de passages conservés principalement dans le Siku quanshu a permis de cerner de
façon plus précise l'identité de ces deux figures. Représentations taoïstes d'anciens esprits tutélaires
de l'Est et de l'Ouest, Yuyi et Jielin apparaissent associés aux figures de deux hauts ancêtres Shang
(ou divinités de la nature), Dongmu et Ximu, la mère de l'Est et de l'Ouest, ainsi qu'à Xihe et Changxi,
la mère des dix soleils et la mère des douze lunes. Ils finiront par être associés aussi à l'Archer et à sa
femme Chang 'e en tant que Roi et Reine du soleil et de la lune.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA
THE ROOTS OF SHANGQING TAOIST PRACTICES OF LIGHT
Part 1. Yuyi and Jielin:
The Taoist God of the Sun and Goddess of the Moon
Esposito*
Monica
Depuis l'article remarquable d'Henri Maspero sur les légendes mythologiques

dans le Shujing, aucun sinologue ou historien des religions n 'a, en Occident,
consacré d'études monographiques sur la mythologie solaire en Chine.
Récemment toutefois, les travaux de Sarah Allan (basés sur les anciennes
théories de Hu Houxuan, Akatsuka Kiyoshi et Chang Tsung-tung, notamment),
ainsi que la relecture des matériaux scapulomantiques par le Professeur David
Keightley ont à nouveau mis en relief le rôle du culte du soleil sous les Shang.
Les spécialistes chinois et japonais, quant à eux, ont étendu leurs recherches à la
lumière des dernières découvertes archéologiques. Si la dévotion de l 'empereur
envers le soleil est attestée dans maints passages littéraires des Royaumes
Combattants et des Han, la nature de ce culte soulève encore de nombreuses
questions. Des traces d'anciens cultes solaires peuvent cependant être trouvées
dans la littérature taoïste. Une pratique en particulier, connue sous le nom de
Yuyi Jielin iifïlIcîSI, offre d'intéressants parallèles avec les rites idéaux des
Shang et des Zhou au soleil levant et couchant. Celle-ci constituera le point de
départ de la présente étude. Héritage des fangshi, les spécialistes des cultes
d'immortalité, cette pratique connaît un grand succès dans le taoïsme Shangqing
des Six Dynasties en tant qu 'élément des méthodes transmises par ses importants
« patriarches fondateurs » comme Zhou Yishan JH— ill, le Seigneur Pei iSfî et
Xu Hui ff$M. Le présent article se concentre dans un premier temps sur Yuyi et
Jielin, les protagonistes, laissant pour une étude ultérieure la nature de la
pratique elle-même et son contenu.
Objets de diverses interprétations, Yuyi et Jielin sont souvent considérés
non seulement comme des appellations èsotériques du soleil et de la lune mais
aussi comme les noms des esprits ou des immortels présidant à la course de ces
deux corps célestes. Mais qui sont exactement Yuyi et Jielin et quelle est leur
véritable identité ? Un examen philologique complété par une analyse des
sources du Canon taoïste et de passages conservés principalement dans le Siku
quanshu EJJïiî^kll a permis de cerner de façon plus précise l 'identité de ces
deux figures. Représentations taoïstes d'anciens esprits tutélaires de l'Est et de
l'Ouest, Yuyi et Jielin apparaissent associés aux figures de deux hauts ancêtres
Shang (ou divinités de la nature), Dongmu MM et Ximu MM, la mère de l'Est
et de l 'Ouest, ainsi qu 'à Xihe Hfrl et Changxi 'ffiTli, la mère des dix soleils et la
mère des douze lunes. Ils finiront par être associés aussi à l'Archer Yi i^ et à sa
femme Chang 'e £^£$ en tant que Roi et Reine du soleil et de la lune.
* My thanks to Urs App for his help, to Professor David Keightley for having read
the Introduction, and to Phyllis Brooks, Fabrizio Pregadio, John Lagerwey and Steve
Bokenkamp for improving my English.
Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie 14 (2004) : 345-402.

346 MONICA ESPOSITO
Chinese scholars have often stressed the importance of the sun and its cult in
early stages of Chinese civilization, tracing the ancestral roots of Chinese people
back to solar or astral gods. Western pioneers have generally agreed with such
views, but recently some scholars have tried to put them more into perspective.1
For instance, the interest in Chinese solar mythology has been criticized as a late
fruit of nineteenth-century nature mythology and its fixation on primeval solar
myths and nature worship. The study of Henri Maspero (1883-1945) on Chinese
solar mythology ("Légendes mythologiques dans le Chou king" Journal Asiatique
24, 1924, pp. 1-100) thus came to be regarded as an outcome of this trend.2 The
studies by Marcel Granet (1858-1940), with their marked insistence on the solar
character of the ancient kings, were furthermore re-examined3 when Léon
Vandermeersch claimed on the basis of Shima Kunio's H^PIS results that there
is no evidence in Shang oracle bones of a sun cult.4 In this way, the interest in
solar mythology progressively diminished to such an extent that Anne Birrell, in
her study on Chinese Mythology, remarked that "since Maspero's monograph,
no sinologist or specialist in myth has dealt fully with Chinese solar myths using
recent findings in sinology and comparative mythology."5 Some interest has
been rekindled in Western circles thanks to Sarah Allan's recuperation and re-
1 See for example the Introduction by Constance A. Cook and Barry B. Blakeley in
Defining Chu, eds. Constance A. Cook and John S. Major (Honolulu: University of
Hawai'i Press, 1999), p. 3. See also below note 3.
2 Anne Birrell, Chinese Mythology (Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins
University Press, 1993), p. 35.
3 Marcel Granet repeatedly emphasizes that ancient kings imitated the solar course
in their journeys around the kingdom before the establishment of the Mingtang as
Imperial House of the Calendar (La civilisation chinoise, Paris: Albin Michel, 1968, p. 91;
1st éd., Paris: La Renaissance du Livre, 1934). With regard to the insistence of Granet on
the solar character of kings, see the remark by Isabelle Robinet (Méditation taoïste, Paris:
Albin Michel, 1995, p. 292; Ist éd., Paris: Dervy-Livres, 1979 [translated into English by
Julian Pas and Norman Girardot as Taoist Meditation: The Mao-shan Tradition of Great
Purity, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993]). For the affirmation of the
solar character of ancient kings see also Max Kaltenmark, Le Lie-sien tchouan (Paris:
College de France, 1987; reprint of 1953), p. 18, n. 1. For the critique addressed to
Marcel Granet on his personal conception of the Ancient China and his idealization of
the primitive society and religion, see Yves Goudineau, "Un ethnographe de la Chine
ancienne - archéobibliographie de Marcel Granet, et entretien avec Jacques Gernet
"Marcel Granet devant la Chine et la sinologie," Préfaces 7 (avril-mai, 1988), pp. 119-130
esp. 123 ff.; and Julia Margaret Hardy, "Archaic Utopias in the Modern Imagination
(Taoism, Granet Marcel, Levi Strauss Claude, Needham Joseph, Utopian Images),"
Ph.D. diss., Duke University, 1990.
4 See Wangdao ou la voie royale, 2 vols. (Paris: École française d'Extrême-Orient,
1980, vol. 2, p. 356) where Léon Vandermeersch claims that there is no trace in the
oracular documentation of sun, moon or star cults nor of a cult of heaven; "if scholars
like Chen Mengjia or Hu Houxuan believed they had found them, they were finally
corrected by Shima Kunio's work."
5 Anne Birrell, Chinese Mythology, pp. 35-37.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA 347
elaboration of the old Chinese thesis of a totemic relationship of the Shang with
the solar bird and with the solar Fusang mythology of the ten suns.6 However,
Chinese and Japanese scholars have been less influenced by the fashion trends of
Western sinology and continue to discuss the role of solar gods and solar myths
in Chinese religion.7
Recently, David Keightley remarked that the Shang paid more cultic attention
to the sun than has normally been thought. On the basis of a re-reading of the
6 Sarah Allan, "Sons of Suns: Myths and Totemism in Early China," Bulletin of the
School of Oriental and African Studies 44 (1981), pp. 290-326; also taken up in her later
publication The Shape of the Turtle (New York: State University of New York, 1991), pp. 19-
62. For earlier Chinese studies see Hu Houxuan #3)? H, "Jiaguwen Shangzu niao tuteng de
yiji" ^-tÔTlBBTO», Shixue luncong 5fc*in*, 1964.1, pp. 131-159, "Jiaguwen
suojian Shangzu niao tuteng de xin zhengju" ^^^CP^^M^MME^fiMW., Wenwu 3C$),
1977.2, pp. 84-87; and Guan Donggui Hr^jt, "Zhongguo gudai shiri shenhua zhi yanjiu"
/^W^L, Zhongyang yanjiuyuan lishi yuyan yanjiusuo jikan ^^W^L^fflÎnit
33 (1962), pp. 287-329. On the relationship between the Shang and the ten-sun
myth see also Akatsuka Kiyoshi îfcW-&, Chûgoku kodai no shûkyô to bunka: In ôchô no saishi ^
mîX(D^m.tXit: WŒMO&ïfc (Tokyo: Kadokawa, 1977), pp. 260, 443 ff.; and Chang
Tsung-tung, Di Kult der Shang-Dynastie im Spiegel der Orakelinschrifien: eine palaographische
Studie zur Religion im archaischen China (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1970), pp. 131-132,
and 202-203 (quoted by S. Allan in "Sons of Suns," p. 293, n. 8). For a critique of Sarah
Allan's arguments, see A. Birrell, Chinese Mythology, pp. 255-256.
7 On the neolithic origins of sun-worship, see the recent book by Hayashi Minao fâ
E^^, Chûgoku kodai no kamigami c£HH"E''R;CQff^ (Tokyo: Yoshikawa kôbunkan, 2002)
which contains a chapter on the "Sun God" (pp. 1-23); and the studies by Mou Yongkang
^■^ktri, "Dongfang shiqian shiqi taiyang chongbai de kaoguxue guancha" ~%Sj5$LWfâWX.
RI£t^W#"È^M^£, Gugong xueshu jikan ^K^flSW 12.4 (1995), pp. 1-31; Wang
Yongbo 3i7k?l£, "Chengshan yuqi yu rizhu ji - jianlun taiyang shen chongbai de youguan
wenti" ÏÏlh^mU^—mmXmngkn&J^mmm, Wenwu, 1993.1, pp. 62-68; and Du
Jinpeng ttsfeHI, "Guanyu Dawenkou wenhua yu Liangzhu wenhua" Ifi^^^tP^tftPIS^
~SCit, Kaogu #TÈT, 1993.10, pp. 915-923. For more general studies on solar gods, sun-
worship and solar mythology, see Xu Wenwu WSi.^, Chuguo zongjiao gailun ^H^^fôfm
(Wuhan: Wuhan, 2001), esp. pp. 123-130; Xing Li MM, Tianshen zhi mi HW2.U
(Beijing: Xueyuan, 1994), esp. chap. 3, pp. 68-107; and He Cheng fsjllif , Shang wenhua
kuiguan M^CitMiE; (Chengdu: Sichuan daxue, 1994), esp. pp. 1-110. Other works on this
topic will be quoted as I go along in this study. Finally, it is worth mentioning the
controversial work by He Xin fnïifr, Zhushen de qiyuan: Zhongguo yuangu shenhua yu lishi ff
#WS}Jg : ^Hjsïf^fg-^-ISi (Beijing: Xinhua, 1986) in which the author has tried to
show the importance of the cult of the sun god in the religion of ancient China by
presenting archaeological artifacts and iconographical motifs, identifying as sun gods the
majority of the legendary figures of high antiquity. Anne Birrell {Chinese Mythology, p. 37)
has criticized this study for being based on "the outdated theory of Max Muller" and for
having employed "unscientific phonology to argue for the primacy of a sun god and the
worship of solar deities in archaic China." Although this work is overly speculative, it
offers, as Jean-Pierre Diény has remarked ("Le Fenghuang et le Phénix," Cahiers
d'Extrême-Asie 5, 1989-90, pp. 1-13, esp. 12), stimulating theories on sun-worship and
related topics.
348 MONICA ESPOSITO
Shang graph P (normally read ding T as a graphic variant of ri 0 ), he showed

that a ritual to the Sun was performed to pray for a good harvest.8 Furthermore,
he stressed that in the context of Shang offerings to the rising and/or setting Sun
"the Sun was occasionally worshiped independently of the ancestors, as an object
of cult in its own right."9
While the specialists attempt to make sense of various new archaeological
discoveries related to sun-worship in Ancient China,10 I will here focus on the
role of sun and its worship in Taoism on the basis of literary sources mainly
from the Taoist Canon and the Siku quanshu H)S^# (The Complete Writings
in the Four Treasuries).11 The passages were selected with the aim of shedding
more light on the Taoist views on the sun and on how Taoists as well as men of
letters inspired by them elaborated and re-interpreted previous solar and lunar
mythologies. The Taoist ritual known under the name Yuyijielin Ultiênïll will
serve to elucidate this. The present study is divided in two parts: 1. Yuyi and
Jielin: The Taoist God of the Sun and Goddess of the Moon; and 2 . Greeting
the Sun: The Yuyi Rite and the Attainment of Immortality. The second part
will be published elsewhere.
8 This would mean that an inscription like Heji 10116 can be understood as:
"Crack-making on jiazi (day 1), Zheng divined 'In praying for harvest to the Sun(s), we
will cleave ten dappled bovines and pledge one hundred dappled bovines.'" This means
that a ritual was offered to the Sun "at the start of the sixty-day cycle, with one bovine
cleaved for each day of the ten-day week, and ten more pledged for each day." See David
Keightley, "Graphs, Words and Meanings: Three Reference Works for Shang Oracle-
Bone Studies, with an Excursus on the Religious Role of the Day or Sun," Journal of the
American Oriental Society 117.3 (1997), pp. 507-524, esp. 518 and 517-524, and The
Ancestral Landscape Time, Space, and Community in Late Shang China (ca. 1200-1045 B.C.),
Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, 2000, pp. 25-29, esp. p. 26, n. 28. My thanks to
Professor Keightley for these references and for his advice.
9 D. Keighdey, The Ancestral Landscape, p. 26.
10 A single artifact discovered at Dawenkou jï% P can serve as an example of the
wide spectrum of scholarly opinions. See, for example, Song Zhaolin 5f^[}#, Wu yu
minjian xinyang M^-SThIMW (Beijing: Zhongguo huaqiao, 1990), pp. 18-20; He Xin,
Zhushen de qiyuan, pp. 110-113; Du Jinpeng, "Guanyu Dawenkou wenhua," pp. 920-21;
Mou Yongkang, "Dongfang shiqian," p. 10; and Hayashi Minao, Chûgoku kodai, pp. 17-
18. Different opinions on the role of sun-worship in Ancient China are mentioned below.
11 Wenyuan ge Siku quanshu £MOT^# (1773-1782), 1500 vols, by Yong Rong ^
ï§ et al. (éd. Zhu Jianmin ^£ÈJ3;, Taipei: Taiwan Shangwu yinshuguan, 1986; from now
on SKQS). Completed under orders from the Qing emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1795),
the SKQS is a milestone of information gathering every important text together. My
thanks to Professors Kunio Mugitani and Christian Wittern of Kyoto University, Jinbun
Kagaku Kenkyûjo for letting me use the electronic sources of the SKQS and the Sibu
congkan HtfôgifiJ. Professor Mugitani has also put at the disposal of the scientific
community texts from the Taoist Canon on his website <http://www.zinbun.kyoto-
u.ac.jp/~dokisha/sakuin.html>. In addition, I consulted electronic materials from the
website of the Academia Sinica <http://www.sinica.edu.tw/ftms-bin/ftmsw3>.
The Taoist Greeting of the Sun Rooted in a Royal Cult?

After the crack of dawn, just before the sun rose, he always stood facing due
East. Rinsing his mouth and swallowing the saliva, he ingested the vapors more
than a hundred times. Facing the sun he greeted it with a double prostration.
Every day at dawn it was like this and he did this for years. When his father asked
him with surprise what kind of rite he was performing, the lord knelt (with feet
tucked under the buttocks and with his body erect) and answered: "I, Yishan,
cherish from the bottom of my heart the radiance of the lengthy sunbeams and
that is why I worship it."12
smhi£ - ft 0 nn ° a b.
As dawn represents a key moment in many Taoist methods of absorption of

solar vapors, in visualization of deities, and in alchemical ingestion of elixirs,13 the
solemn prostration of the Shangqing immortal Zhou Yishan JlUttLLl before the
rising sun reminds us of the act of devotion by the emperor to the supreme star
(see Fig. 1). hi the Hanshu (31.1266a/6) the emperor is described as facing the sun
while making a double prostration at dawn towards the east, and facing the new
moon to greet it at dusk in the west ^ H. > 3C8&H^ 0 ° %$ ' WMUW& ÏÏ . The
expression xiangri zaibai fn] 0 ^W, which is found in Zhou Yishan's biography, is
also recorded in the Standard History of the Liao in a description of the royal rite of
worshiping the sun (bairi yi PP0#i).14 The following passage from the Chapter
12 Ziyang zhenren neizhuan ^féMAïHW (CT 303), la-b; cf. also Yunji qiqian ît|£~fciÈ
(CT 1032), 106.8b; from now on YJQQ. Works in the Zhengtong Daozang IE$EiiiË are
numbered according to the Concordance du Tao-tsang, ed. K. M. Schipper (Paris: École
française d'Extrême-Orient, 1995). See also the translation by Manfred Porkert,
Biographie d'un taoïste légendaire (Paris: Collège de France, Institut des Hautes Études
chinoises, 1979), pp. 25-26; and the book-review by Isabelle Robinet on Porkert's
translation in T'oung Pao LXVII, 1-2 (1982), pp. 123-136. Known as Ziyang zhenren M
HiHÀ, Zhou Yishan MUlLi (style name: Jitong ^jill), was one of the immortals who
appeared to Yang Xi (330-386), the protagonist of Shangqing revelations. Zhou allegedly
lived in the 1st century BCE and he is said to be the disciple of Su Lin Mfà (see the
analysis of his biography in I. Robinet, La révélation du Shangqing dans Vhistoire du
taoïsme, 2 vols., Paris: École française d'Extrême-Orient, 1984, vol. 2, pp. 385-388). See
also below notes 37, 38, and 46.
13 As Fabrizio Pregadio points out (Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Medieval
China, Stanford: Stanford University Press, Forthcoming, chap. 4), "dan 'elixir' is a
homophone of dan 'dawn,' a detail that may be relevant not only for the phonetic
identity of the two words, but also because the elixirs were ingested at dawn, facing the
rising sun." A close look at YJQQ gives an idea of how the moment of dawn was
important for performing different Taoist practices of breathing, visualization of deities,
absorption of the solar vapors, etc. I will focus on this topic in relation with the Yuyi
Jielin practice in the second part of this study.
14 Liaoshi jg£ (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1974), 49-836a/13:
350 MONICA ESPOSITO
Fig. 1: Homage to the Sun

Fig. la: S— ^ H n Fig. lb: 7CR I from
H(CT435, 4b-5a). , 5a-b).
"Jiao tesheng" >$#tt of the L//V Tfê§2 also shows the royal nature of the sun cult in
ancient China in connection with the suburban sacrifice (jiao %):X5
It was at the suburban sacrifice that [the Son of Heaven], welcoming the
arrival of the longest day, gave great thanks to Heaven, and acknowledged the
sun as Lord.16
15 See Yang Ximei Wa^fo, "Lun Shang Zhou shehui de Shangdi taiyang shen" m
tt#W±^*Blft, Zhongguoshi yanjiu tfHSËflfêL, 1992.3, pp. 36-40, esp. 36, and Xing Li,
Tianshen
16 Lijijishuo
zhi mi, pp.
frff2;Hf#,
69-70.commented on by Chen Hao WM (1261-1341), in Sishu wujing
HllElS, 3 vols. (Beijing: Zhonghua shudian, 1986), vol 2, pp. 145-146. The majority of
Chinese commentators regard the first sentence "The Son of Heaven set out to the four
directions and put forth the firewood" ^TjÉH^ ' 5fc^ as unrelated to the performance
of the sacrifice. See also the translations by James Legge, The Li ki (in The Sacred Books of
the East, ed. Max Miiller, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1966), vol. XXVII, pp. 426-427;
Séraphin Couvreur, Mémoires sur les bienséances et les cérémonies, 2 vols. (Paris: Cathasia,
1950; Ist éd., 1912); and Henri Maspero, La Chine antique (Paris: Imprimerie nationale,
1955), pp. 187-192. The last sentence has been differently interpreted. Bruno Schindler
("On the Travel, Wayside and Wind Offerings in Ancient China," Asia Major 1, 1924,
pp. 624-656, esp. 632, n. 5) translates "the Sun was made as chief personality" and
criticizes Legge's interpretation of this passage {The Li ki, p. 427, n. 1); see Marianne
Bujard {Le sacrifice au Ciel dans la Chine ancienne: théorie et pratique sous les Han occidentaux,
Paris: École française d'Extrême-Orient, 2000, pp. 107-110) who studied the meaning of
jiao %. Xing Li {Tianshen zhi mi, pp. 69-70) follows Zheng Xuan (127-200) and Kong
Yida's (574-648) comments and presents the sun as "the most venerable god among the
celestial ones." Cf. Bernard Karlgren, "Glosses on the Li Ki," Bulletin of the Museum of
Far Eastern Antiquities XLWX (1971), pp. 1-65.
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA 35 1
Can this royal ceremony be seen as the remnant of an ancient sun cult? Can
it be linked to Shang cultic attention to the rising and setting sun?
Many scholars have emphasized that the Shang observed a cult of the sun and
regarded offerings to the rising and/or setting sun as an Yin sacrifice for the sun
god. They have also speculated on the possibility of such a cult's transformation
into the Zhou custom of "respectfully receiving the rising sun as a guest" jiiïïEfj 0
and "respectfully seeing off the setting sun" JÈ[|É$ft B , as recorded in the Yaodian
^M.17 But the nature of this cult is still the object of discussion, and among other
things, it is not yet clear whether "the Yin could perform the sacrifice to the sun
god whenever necessary or should perform it at a fixed time."18 If Tunnan \QM
2232 clearly indicates that the sacrifice was performed by the king after he
observed the sun rising (zEKtlS di ' ^HcTSfn]? "His Majesty will observe the
rising of the sun, will offer a X sacrifice to the sun, Y"), many other oracle bone
records are not so indicative and are still interpreted in different ways.19 Agreement
has not yet been reached on the religious nature of the sun and on the content of
sacrifice to it. Some scholars, stressing the religious aspect, have identified
Shangdi as the sun god,20 but many Chinese scholars regard the Shang cult to the
rising and setting sun as having an inherent calendrical and cosmological
meaning. Through this rite the Shang observed the position of the sun rising and
setting at the equinoxes and acquired the standard meteorological notion of the
four seasons and the knowledge of the four cardinal directions. In this view the
rite would have been performed with a "scientific purpose" of distinguishing the
four seasons, establishing the four directions, and measuring the sun shadow
rather than with an exclusively religious aim of venerating the Sun.21 Although
one cannot deny that many passages from the Warring States and Han literature
quoted by supporters of this view exhibit calendrical attention and the veneration
which the emperor had for the sun and its movements, it is hard, as David
See the article by Song Zhenhao $ZMM ("Jiaguwen 'churi,' 'ruri' kao" Ep#^t ûH B j)
#, in Chutu wenxian yanjiu Hji^tÉ^W^S, éd. Wenhuabu wenwuju guwenxian
yanjiushi ^{t^X^^^SiMM^M, Beijing: Wenwu, 1985, pp. 33^-0) who briefly presents
the view of previous Chinese scholars on this topic, and the more recent work by Feng Shi
Mfâ (Chutu gudai tianwenxue trj±"S"f^^^t'P, Taipei: Taiwan guji, 2001, pp. 111-117) who
devotes a section to "The Sacrifices to Sun and Moon" H ^ aill&JjiE in chapter three.
18 Feng Shi, Chutu gudai, p. 112.
19 Two characters of this bone record are missing; see Feng Shi, Chutu gudai, p. 112
and Song Zhenhao, "Jiaguwen 'churi'," p. 35.
20 While He Cheng (Shang wenhua, pp. 1-110) claims that solar cult and imagery
suffused many aspects of Shang iconography and sacrifice, Yang Ximei identifies
Shangdi as the sun god of the Shang and Zhou.
21 See Song Zhenhao, "Jiaguwen 'churi'," pp- 35-40; Chang Zhengguang #iE)fe,
"Yinren ji 'churu ri' wenhua dui houshi de yingxiang" I£ÀH'tiJÀB'£{bfif)nTO^ÏP,
Zhongyuan wenwu ^W.~SC$}, 1990.3, pp. 66-71; and Feng Shi, Chutu gudai, pp. 114-116.
This "scientific view" continues to be based on the "astronomical interpretation" of the
Chinese commentators of the Yaodian; see H. Maspero, "Légendes mythologiques,"
pp. 42-47, and Sarah Allan, "Sons of the Sun."
352 MONICA ESPOSITO
Keightley emphasizes, to demonstrate on the basis of oracle bone records that the
Shang used the sun in that way.22
Early Chinese sources express the king's devotion to the sun, often along with
that for the moon and stars, by means of terms like jiri ^ 0 ,jitian ^^, zhao bairi
HPË 0 , xi baiyue $>%R , bin bing churi "MMIR 0 and bin rao/song nari liifÉ/iÈlIft 0 ,
zaibai zhaori ^PP^JJ 0 and zaïbai xiyue fëWâ7 B , or simply zhaori |JJ 0 and xiyue %
£j.23 With regard to the expression zhaori and xiyue, Hu Houxuan, in 1944,
claimed that zhao IfJ and xi % were the names for the Shang sacrifices to the rising
sun at dawn and to the setting sun at dusk.24 Chen Mengjia, in 1936, regarded the
character xi as the name for a sacrifice to the moon and put it in relation with the
character su M, found in the oracle bone inscriptions, representing a man
kneeling while worshiping the moon. According to him, this was an expression of
the Yin cult for this heavenly body.25 Though the cult to the moon is rarely seen
in the oracle bones, many scholars, looking at moon sacrifice found in later
sources, have ended up regarding it as an evolution of the Shang cult of the
setting sun.26 The terms zhao/xi, which have been interpreted in later sources as
synonyms of equinoctial sacrifices, have often been regarded as proof of the
Shang heritage being continued in the Zhou rites for the sun at the spring
equinox and the moon at the autumn equinox.
In addition, the two key moments of dawn and dusk have also been linked to
the worship of two remote ancestors of the Shang (or nature deities), Dongmu
MM: and Ximu H@, who were charged of controlling the rising and setting of
the sun in east and west respectively.27 Dongmu and Ximu are interpreted in
different ways; their identity runs from sun and moon gods or sun mother (rimu
0 M) and moon essence (yuejing ft M) to ancestral spirits in charge of controlling
life (sili shengming de shenzhi WJS^£^W#ffi).28 Regarded as embryonic forms of
22 See D. Keightley, Ancestral Landscape, p. 27, n. 35. For the passages referring to
the Shiji, Guoyu, Xiaojing, and Yaodian, see Song Zhenhao, "Jiaguwen 'churi'," pp. 35-40,
and Feng Shi, Chutu gudai, p. 114.
23 For a list of terms expressing devotion to the sun and their reference in Chinese
sources from the High Antiquity to the Three Kingdoms, see Jean-Pierre Diény, "Pour
un lexique de l'imagination littéraire en Chine-Le symbolisme du soleil," Bulletin de
rÉcole française d'Extrême-Orient (A la mémoire de Paul Démieville, 1894-1979), LXIX
(1981), pp. 1 19-151, esp. 140-141.
24 Hu Houxuan fiHJSS, "Yindai zhi Tianshen chongbai" jf£ft£^f$#PP, in Hu
Houxuan, Jiaguxue Shangshi luncong chuji ^'W^-M$.mW.WM 2 (Chengdu: Jilu daxue
guoxue yanjiusuo, 1944; reprint Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1989), pp. la-29b, esp. 12a
(quoted in Song Zhenhao, "Jiaguwen 'churi'," p. 33).
23 Chen Mengjia WMW-, "Gu wenzi zhong zhi Shang-Zhou jisi" T&^^î.i^M^ffi,
Yanjing xuebao ^M^fg 19 (1936), pp. 93-155, esp. 102-103, and 122 (quoted by Feng
Shi, Chutu gudai, p. 116).
26 Feng Shi, Chutu gudai, p. 116.
27 Akatsuka Kiyoshi, Chûgoku, pp. 443-453, esp. 453 (quoted by Sarah Allan, The
Shape of the Turtle, pp. 52 and 189, n. 122), and Feng Shi, Chutu gudai, p. 117.
28 For the first identification with sun and moon gods, see Chen Mengjia, "Gu wenzi
later conceptions of the two palaces of the east and the west (dongxi ergong ^H^l
K), they have also been interpreted as the antecedents of Xihe Hfr] and Changxi
#H, the mothers of the ten suns and the twelve moons, and finally of Dongwang
gong J#liE£ï and Xiwang mu j5EE@, the Royal Lord of the East and the Queen
Mother of the West.29
In the literary sources that I am going to present one will find the same terms
zhao ^ and xi â7 , which may express a Zhou idealization of the Shang rites of the
rising and setting sun, applied in a Taoist context to the rites devoted to Yuyi and
Jielin. Interestingly, Yuyi and Jielin will also end up being identified with Xihe and
Changxi. One may thus wonder if the Yuyi and Jielin rites represent an
inheritance, in a Taoist key, of an archetypal Shang royal worship of the rising and
setting sun. Could it represent a Taoist interpretation of Shang worship allegedly
perpetuated in the Zhou cult of "receiving the rising sun as a guest" and "seeing off
the setting sun"? What is the background of this Taoist rite? Does it have the
Zhou cosmological connotation of equinoctial (or solsticial) sacrifices to the sun
and moon intended to order space and time and provide a sacred calendar?
It does seem that we have here an intermingling of all these ancient beliefs
transmitted in later sources. However, as is to be expected in a Taoist ritual, its
calendrical and cosmological significance cannot be dissociated from the main
goal: the attainment of the immortality. Elaborated in the milieu of thefangshi ~jj
± or "masters of methods," this rite appears to have maintained traces of its
ancestry, an inheritance that will be explored in the second part of this study.
One trace can be already detected in the key term hut or yun W- which expresses
the devotion of the Shangqing immortal Zhou Yishan to the sun: "I, Yishan,
cherish from the bottom of my heart the radiance/halo of the lengthy sunbeams,
and that is why I worship it" (riguang chang/ing zhi hui/yun shiyi baizhi er
-, see Fig. 1).
zhong," pp. 131-132 and Yinocu puci zongshu %%M. bWtWvOi (Beijing: Kexue, 1956), p. 574. For
the association with sun mother and moon essence, see Ding Shan TlU, Zhongguo gudai
zongjiao yu shenhua kao 4lHllS'f^7nf^l^:ffIS# (Shanghai: Wenyi, 1988), pp. 71-73 (1st éd.,
Shanghai: Longmen lianhe shuju, 1961). For their link with "life controllers," see Song
Zhenhao ^MM, Xia Shang shehui shenghuo shi JESS-EtH^^Sfe (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui
kexue, 1994), p. 476; quoted in Feng Shi, Chutu gudai, p. 117.
29 On the associations with the east and west palaces (i.e., sun and moon disks), see
Shen Jianhua î£Hljl, "Jiaguwen zhong suojian ershiba suxing ming chutan" Bp#^C|:fq0fM
— +Afëll£i:frJ$c, Zhongguo wenhua tyMJCit, 1994.10, p. 78 (quoted in Feng Shi, Chutu
gudai, p. 117). Following the opinion of Chen Mengjia and Chang Tsung-tung, Sarah
Allan (The Shape of the Turtle, pp. 53 and 189, n. 124) suggests that Dongmu and Ximu
are the antecedents of Xihe and Changxi "although there can be no conclusive proof."
Finally, Shirakawa Shizuka Èj[|# (Chûgoku no shiniva cfB^fflS, Tokyo: Chùô kôron
shinsha, 2003, p. 39; 1st ed. 1975) sees them as the antecedents of Dongwang gong and
Xiwang mu.
354 MONICA ESPOSITO
The Highest Taoist Yuyi and Jielin Methods for Soaring up to the Sun and Moon
As Isabelle Robinet has already shown in her monumental work on Shangqing
as well as in a series of articles devoted to ecstatic flights by its practitioners,30 sun
practices were highly elaborated and developed in Shangqing Taoism. Generally
considered along with those of the moon and stars (sanguang ELJfc),31 these
practices often encompass three aspects: "the adept accompanies the stars in their
sidereal procession, takes nourishment from the exhalations of the stars, and frolics
in
there."32
paradise realms sheltered by the stars where he also meets with the deities living
Among the different methods devoted to the sun and moon that have the
most ancient origin are (1) the Yuyi jielin WlWtiaM; (2) the Yupeijindang 3ifM#ït;
and (3) the Mingtang xuanzhen ^M^.^M. Other methods are contained in the
Lingshu ziiven MWÎC (CT 639, 4a-8b), the Basujing AMB (CT 1323, 3b-8b),
the Qingyao zishu pfH^fr (CT 1315, 1.4a-9b), the Huangqi yangjingjing 1£MM$n
IS (CT 33, lb-23a) as well as in the Zhengao Hie (CT 1016) where various minor
exercises are mentioned.33 Due to the ancient origin attributed to the first method,
the so-called Yuyi Jielin, and because of its importance and celebrity in Taoism,34 I
will focus on it. The other two methods are classified as "preparatory" to it, and I
can do no better than to refer the reader to Robinet's works.35
30 The main sources in chronological sequence are Isabelle Robinet, "Les randonnées
extatiques des Taoïstes dans les astres," Monumenta Serica 32 (1976), pp. 159-273;
Méditation taoïste, esp. chap. 8 [tri. esp. pp. 187-200]; "Introduction au Kieou-tchen
tchong-king,"
Society for the Study of Chinese Religions Bulletin 7 (1979), pp. 24-45, esp. 30-
33; La révélation du Shangqing; "Visualization and Ecstatic Flight in Shangqing Taoism," in
Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques, eds. Livia Kohn and Yoshinobu Sakade (Ann
Arbor: The University of Michigan, 1986), pp. 159-191, esp. 168-172.
31 For the three luminaries in the imagery of Tang poets and related astronomical
theories, see Edward Schafer, Pacing the Void, Tang Approaches to the Stars (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1977).
32 I. Robinet, Méditation taoïste, p. 283 [tri. p. 188].
33 I. Robinet, La révélation du Shangqing, vol. 1, p. 142. For an annotated translation
in Japanese of the Zhen'gao, see Yoshikawa Tadao pjJlL*^ and Mugitani Kunio ^L&Pk
^, eds., Shinkô kenkyû mîaffljl, Kyoto: Jinbun kenkyûjo, 2000. See also the article by
Katô Chie tUM^M, "Shinkô ni okeru nichigetsu ron to sono shûhen" flt Intent -5 BR
iiffl©Jo|;J2, in Rikuchô dôkyô no kenkyû r\WM.$L(DW$i, ed. Yoshikawa Tadao (Kyoto:
Shunjusha, 1998), pp. 125-145.
34 Isabelle Robinet ("Introduction au Kieou-tchen tchong-king," p. 30) refers to it as
"one of the most famous exercises of Taoism." The Basu jing (CT 426, 4a/4) lists the
Yuyi Jielin (under the name Taishang Yuyi benri wen followed by the Taishang Jielin benyue
zhang) in the highest rank; cf. Robinet, La révélation du Shangqing, vol. 2, pp. 69-70 and
here Appendix 1(A), no. 3.
35 See I. Robinet, "Les randonnées extatiques," pp. 170-173 and 210-214; and La
révélation du Shangqing, vol. 2, pp. 215-218 and 396-397. For the last method Mingtang
xuanzhen see also the translation of its oral formula by Edward H. Schafer, "The Jade
Woman of Greatest Mystery," History of Religions 17 (1978), pp. 387-398 and some
remarks by I. Robinet, La révélation du Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 397, n. 1.
Also called "the path of soaring up to the two luminaries" (ben erjing zhi dao ^
— jR^jI), the Yuyijielin method constitutes the final step in the practice of solar
and lunar absorptions as performed, for example, by the Shangqing patriarch Xu
Hui ffM in 368. 36 The Yuyijielin method was closely associated with the name of
Lord Pei HH, an important Shangqing immortal who stands with Zhou Yishan at
the source of Shangqing revelations. Pei and Zhou share a similar veneration for
the sun. As we have seen above, Zhou Yishan is portrayed as practicing every day
at dawn the greeting of the sun.37 From the short mention translated above it is
difficult to gather which kind of ritual or practice Zhou Yishan was performing,
but from some passages in his biography, one may deduce that he was practicing
the Yuyi method.38 Fortunately, a clear reference to the constituent practices of
Yuyi and Jieliri9 is found in the biography of Lord Pei where they are explicitly
recorded as having been transmitted to him by Taisu zhenren ^MMK^M.^— W-.
They are described as follows:
At dawn, observe (shi ^H) the moment when the sun begins rising. Keep the eyes
half closed (linmu $& @ ) and hold the breath for the time of ten breath cycles. Then,
while swallowing the sunlight ten times, you should make present (cunling ^ t?) the
sunlight's auroral glow (riguang xia 0 3^11) entering in your mouth before ingesting
it. Once you have completed this, situate (cun ^) the Green Lord Emperor (Qing
Dijun) coming from within the sun to your left. Then, situate the Red Lord
Emperor (Chi Dijun) coming from within the sun to your right. Then situate the
White Lord Emperor (Bai Dijun) coming from within the sun to your back. Then
situate the Black Lord Emperor (Hei Dijun) coming from within the sun above your
left hand. Then situate the Yellow Lord Emperor (Huang Dijun) coming from
within the sun above your right hand. When all the Five emperors have come,
situate further the Yangsui chariot of purple clouds (yangsui jiangyun zhi che !§$tl$
) harnessed to nine dragons coming from within the sun in front of you.40
36 Xu Hui (341-370) and his father Xu Mi (303-373) received the transmissions from
Yang Xi (330-386), the originator of Shangqing revelation (I. Robinet, La révélation du
Shangqing, vol. 1, p. 5). For Xu Hui's practice of the Yuyijielin method, see the Zhen'gao
(CT 1016), 18.1 lb-12a, and Kamitsuka Yoshiko ffiM'Mlr, Rikuchô dôkyô shisô no kenkyû A
WlWÛL%M<r>W$l (Tokyo: Sobunsha, 1999), p. 53.
37 Lord Pei and Zhou Yishan were in fact the immortals who appeared to Hua Qiao
^ËHj, the first receiver of Shangqing revelations, before appearing again to Yang Xi (330-
386). On Lord Pei and his important place in the Shangqing corpus, see I. Robinet, La
révélation du Shangqing, vol. 1, pp. 55-57, and the presentation she gave on his Biography
included in the YJQQ 105 (La révélation du Shangqing, vol. 2, pp. 375-383). On Zhou
Yishan, see above note 12.
38 See here notes 12 and 46, as well as the mention of Yuyi and Jielin in the Biography
of Zhou Yishan (Ziyang zhenren neizhuan, CT 303, 18a/2-3) also taken up by the
Wushang biyao (CT 1138, from now on WSBY) 10.7a/6 in the following passage: ... JEM
39 See YJQQ 105.15a/5. At the end of the presentation of the two methods it is also
said that "these formulas were transmitted to Taisu zhenren from Taidi jun" JK^sMA^st
m (YJQQ 105.19b/9).
40 Yangsui H|$| is the name of the solar mirror which was also used in the Summer
356 MONICA ESPOSITO
Carried along with the Five emperors, you will soar up to the sun.41
±
H All ' «É 0 t^&M^hu ' {JiHEgîÈïïD^ S til °
The same method is presented for the moon; it takes place at dusk and involves
observation of the moon. In that case, one holds the breath for the span of nine
breath cycles and swallows the moonlight nine times. The Five lunar ladies are
then situated around the adept in the same order and disposition as their husbands
and finally, riding with them in a Liuling chariot of flying clouds {liulingfeiyun zhi
che m$vMM£-^-) harnessed to ten dragons,42 the adept soars up to the moon.43
Lord Pei is said to have practiced both methods at Kongshan Sill, at dawn for
the sun and at dusk for the moon. According to testimony, after the first year of
such practice he could see the emperors and their consorts vaguely. After the second
year he could see them riding on the sun and moon and gathering around him. The
third year he could enjoy their presence and talk and smile to them, and the fifth
year, riding in the chariot in their company, he could finally soar up to the sun and
moon.44 Also like Xu Hui (341-370) who at the end of the eleventh year of such
practice at Maoshan and after having received the Scripture on the "Path of soaring
up to the two luminaries" became a Perfected (shoujing erben zhidao, shiyinian
chengzhen 5I&M— ^^M. ' ~h^^$cH),45 Lord Pei reached Perfection in the eleventh
year and received the title of Qingling zhenren ¥%WLMK from Taisu zhenren.46
solstice festival of "the renewal of fire"; see Derk Bodde, Festivals in Classical China (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1975), pp. 299-302. See also Appendix 3 (A), no. 24.
41 YJQQ 105.1 5a/b. My translation of the term cun W will be explained in part 2.
42 Liuling or huoling jX$v are both variants of liuhuo zhiling îMX£.$ï (the folly-bell of
streaming fire); see Edward H. Schafer, "Wu Yun's 'Cantos on Pacing the Void,'"
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 41 (1981), p. 409, n. 129. This also stands for liujin zhi
ling rjrEseîm or liujin huoling ÏÏHk'Xîv (cf. Zhen'gao, CT 1016, 5.4a/10, and Yuanshi
wuliang duren shangpin miaojing sizhu TvtéMMJS.A-h.nai'P^lSfî., CT 87, 2.68a/7). It
indicates an instrument for chasing away demons which is said to have been bestowed on
Huangdi in order to vanquish the demonic Chiyou. It was then regarded as a very
powerful talisman, "host to cosmic fire spirits"; see J. Boltz, A Survey of Taoist Literature
(Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 1987), p. 30.
43 YJQQ 105.16a/6-10 and 16b/4.
44 YJQQ 105.15b and 16b. See also the Shangqing dongzhen tianbao dadong sanjing baolu
±JÊMM^.H±M=M.1l%. (CT 1385, 1.29b/7-8 and 33a/l-2) which records similar results
for the practice in a summarized way and adds the fourth year which is missing here.
45 Zhen'gao (CT 1016), 18.3b/9.
46 YJQQ 105.9b/4-10-10a/l-4 and 19a/9-10. It is interesting to note that Zhou Yishan
(YJQQ 106.15a/6 and Ziyang zhenren neizhuan, CT 303, 12a/2) is also said, at the end of his
eleventh year of practice, to have ascended to Heaven in broad daylight by riding in a cloud
chariot harnessed to dragons. He is said to visit the Taiwei Palace, the residence of the Five
emperors related to the Yuyi method (fjg+— *É ' M^MMbÏ > S 0 3r^ ' ±§H^K '...). This
is another indication that Zhou Yishan was also practicing the path of soaring up to the sun
Like Xu Hui, Lord Pei is said to have received directions for these methods of
"soaring up to the sun and moon" in two book sections — U, the Taishang Yuyi wen
v^-hUKit^t and the Taishang Jielin zhang j^±.fâMM*7 These two sections also
figure as a "Yuyi Jielin Scripture" if fttf pBilS associated with the Dadong zhenjing jz
PHIS and its initiation rite.48 Further mentions of a "Yuyi and Jielin Scripture"
figure in the 6th century Taoist encyclopedia Wushang biyao ^Ji/jijftic under the titles
Dongzhen Taishang yuchen Yuyi benri jing MMJ\}iJL§tWWÛWL and Dongzhen
Jielin benyuejing MMfâM^RM?9 Although the "Yuyi and Jielin Scripture" is thus
mentioned in Taoist texts, Robinet claims that the Yuyi Jielin method originally did
not form an independent scripture. In fact, the names Yuyi and Jielin do not occur
in any title in the Shangqing corpus,50 and even Tao Hongjing pfef'jA 11(456-53 6),
when he mentions the Yi Lin method M5M£-fè, adds that "he already had its
transcription but has not yet seen the great jing" (...StEW^V ' 7fëM;*:IM).51 The
scripture which is now found in the Taoist Canon under the name of Taishang
yuchen Yuyi Jielin ben riyue tu ^JiïJtfiHiilnBlÊI £1 HI (CT 435) is a Song
elaboration of more ancient parts which make up the Yuyi Jielin method.52
According to Robinet, the original text is included in the Shangqing taishang
dijun jiuzhen zhongjing JifWîiîf AHÎS (CT 1376, 2.1a-b) and in the
Shangqing taishangjiuzhen zhongjing jiangsheng shendan jue ±f
(and moon), i.e., the Yuyi Jielin method. The Shangqing dongzhen tianbao dadong sanjing baolu
±.\MMMJHK.±m^-WM'& (CT 1385, 1.29b/8-10 and 1.33a/2) also mentions the eleventh
year as final result for becoming a Shangqing perfected, thanks to the practice of " soaring up
to the sun" # B ?£ and "soaring up to the moon"^ ^ ?È; see the Appendix 1 (B), nos. 10-13.
47 YJQQ 105.20a/6-7. For further references to these two texts in this biography and
in other Taoist Canon sources, see Appendix 1(A) and in particular no. 16.
48 XfQQ 105.20a/7-10. The relationship of the Yuyi Jielin with the Daodong zhenjing
initiation rite is confirmed by an account of the ceremony that Zhu Ziying £fc S ^
(author of the preface to the Shangqing dadong zhenjing _h?f ;*CpjtC$2, CT 6) administered
at Maoshan in 1024 on behalf of the Empress Dowager Liu (r. 998-1022) and related by
Zhu in his Zhangxian mingsu huanghou shou Shangqing bifa luji îftf^lïlJËJfïSè-htf IMèlï
IE (CT 777). This text is also found in the Maoshan zhi ^dil& (CT 304, 25.2a-5a); see
Judith Boltz, A Survey of Taoist Literature, p. 327 n. 566. As part of the ordination
ceremony, the Empress is said to "bow to [Yu]yi and Qie]lin (...)." This text was read
during the seminar of Professor Mugitani at the Jinbun Kagaku Kenkyùjo and translated
by Kogachi Ryuichi ïÉTJSIPii— ; see Appendix 1(C), no. 9.
49 The WSBY (CT 1 138, 3.2b and 5b-6a) quotes these titles along with the style (zi)
and taboo (hui) names of the Five emperors and lunar ladies. See also note 54 and
Appendix 1(A).
50 Isabelle Robinet ("Introduction au Kieou-tchen tchong-king," p. 3 1 and La
révélation du Shangqing, vol. 2) remarks that it is, however, mentioned by the Basujing
(CT 426, 4a/4; see above, note 34), and the Housheng lieji (CT 442, 5a) in a passage
listing texts and practices that belong to the Shangqing canon. For this passage, see the
translation by S. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, pp. 348-349.
51 Zhen'gao (CT 1016), 18.12a/5-6.
52 On this text and its constitutive parts see I. Robinet "Les randonnées extatiques,"
pp. 206-207 and La révélation du Shangqing, p. 413.
358 MONICA ESPOSITO
(CT 1377, 15b-21b) as part of sections entitled Taishang yuchen Yuyi benri
chijing yuwen ;&Jt3EMlllliÊI?fcJft3E3t and Taishang yuchen Jielin benyue huangjing
yuzhang ic±3ïilêp£§^£Jïlc||3i|f:.53 This may be the most ancient version
developed from the exercise described in the Biography of Lord Pei. Instead of
simply mentioning the actualization of the Five solar emperors and lunar ladies,
as we have just seen above, this text features more explanations of how to perform
the exercise. It gives a list of the names (zi ^r and hut ft) and a description of the
colored dresses worn by each of the Five emperors and ladies.54 Invoking the
names of the Five emperors and their consorts and evoking their clothing, whose
colors are in harmony with the direction presided over by each of them, is said to
be necessary for the performance of Yuyi and Jielin rites.55 Lengthy invocations
addressed to the solar emperors and lunar consorts accompany the ritualization of
this method. They are reminiscent of the journey to the sun and moon that the
immortal Lord Pei accomplished while riding in the dragon chariot in the
company of the solar emperors and their consorts.56 Furthermore, an essential
part of this ritual consists of revealing the names of the lunar and solar cloudsouls
{hun î$I) along with those of the Five solar emperors and Five lunar ladies. Once
their names are known and invoked in the right order, they have the power to
wipe away every obstacle and disease and finally confer divine immortality
{shenxian ^flij).'7 From the revelation of these names 16- and 24-character
invocations have been formed. Their origin is attributed to the Lingshu ziwen
shangjing S(r$&_h$S (CT 63 9).58 Also known as rijun zhou B§" and yuejun
53 The two texts contain the same passages except for an interruption in CT 1376,
2.2a-3a; see I. Robinet, "Introduction au Kieou-tchen," pp. 30-33.
54 See the sections "Taishang Yuyi rizhong wudi huizi fuse"
& and "Taishang Jielin yuezhong wudi furen huizi fuse"
Shangqing Taishang dijun jiuzhen zhongjing _h?f yfc-tiSflïAjiî4l£f (CT 1376), 2.4a-5b and
in the Shangqing taishang jiuzhen zhongjing jiangsheng shendan jue Jt¥nJ^_t.tlMtfiW&-'^.ffi
ftm (CT 1377), 17b/6-7-18b/4-5.
55 Shangqing Taishang dijun jiuzhen zhongjing (CT 1376, 2.4a/2-3 and 2. 5b/9-6a/l)
and in the Shangqing taishang jiuzhen zhongjingjiangsheng shendan jue (CT 1377, 17a- 18b).
56 Some parts of the Biography of Lord Pei describing his journey to the sun and moon
(YJQQ 105.15b/8-10-16a/l and 16b/9-10-17a/l-2) are found, with some modifications, in
the invocations that the adept addresses to the lunar cloudsouls and its germinal spirits B M
IIW for securing his own journey to the sun, and to the solar cloudsouls and its germinal
spirits 0 ^|f# for his journey to the moon {Shangqing Taishang dijun jiuzhen zhongjing, CT
1376, 2.7a/2-5 and 2. 8a/7-10, and in the Shangqing taishang jiuzhen zhongjing jiangsheng
shendan jue, CT 1377, 10a/3-5 and 2 la/8-10-2 lb/1). Isabelle Robinet, who has pointed out
this loan ("Introduction au Kieou-tche," p. 3 1 and Tableau IV, p. 45), has stressed that in
the Shangqing exercises the adept addresses his invocations to the moon after having
summoned the solar emperors, and vice -versa. One thus finds a perfect resonance between
the two principles of Yang and Yin represented by sun and moon.
57 Shangqing Taishang dijun jiuzhen zhongjing (CT 1376), 2.4b/3-7 and 2. 5b/2-6 and
in the Shangqing taishang jiuzhen zhongjing jiangsheng shendan jue (CT 1377), 17b/7-10,
18a/l and 18b/6-9.
5X In the Zhen'gao (CT 1016), 9.24b, Tao Hongjing presents the 16-character formula
zhou R H/l, these invocations are found in many texts of the Taoist Canon and
have been used in liturgies dating from later centuries.59 The 16-character
invocation, which can be seen as an esoteric formula summarizing the Yuyi sun
practice, will be translated conjointly with some key passages extracted from the
Shangqing taishang dijun jiuzhen zhongjing and other related texts in the second
part of this study. Here, I will focus on the main figures who gave the name to
these practices: Yuyi and Jielin. Who are they?
In Search of Yuyi and Jielin's Identities: An Attempt to Translate their Names

According to Isabelle Robinet, Yuyi Hfif and Jielin InïH are the divine, esoteric or
sacred names for the sun and moon; they represent the essence of the Great Yang
(sun) and Great Yin (moon).60 Kristofer Schipper, in his Concordance du Houang-fing
king (Paris: École Française d'Extrême-Orient, 1975, p. 3), when referring to the
Yuyi and Jielin practice mentioned in the Huangting neijing, rendered the name Yuyi
as "Régulateur Effervescent" (Effervescent Regulator) and Jielin as "Gemme
Conglomérée" (Conglomerated Gem). According to Edward Schafer, Yuyi or
"Steaming Regalia" is "the name of the spirit who courses with the sun" while his
mate "Knotted Spangles" (Jielin) "runs with the moon."61 For Stephen Bokenkamp,
"Shadowed Regalia" (Yuyi) and "Knotted Spangles" (Jielin) are "the secret names for
the transcendents who pilot the sun and the moon in their courses."62 As we shall see,
Yuyi and Jielin can have various meanings and are subject to many interpretations.
Instead of simply translating their names, I will first analyze the basic meaning of
these compounds, which are not attested except in these names.
1. The Character Yu it in Yuyi

Yu W (also ffi and W) is primarily connected with the density of vegetation
and qualifies its luxuriant aspect; it also applies to the accumulation or
condensation of clouds and mists.63 According to the Erya if?t the character^
as coming from die "The Method for Collecting and Absorbing the Flying Root of the
Holy Lord of the Golden Porte which was formerly transmitted by Taiwei Tiandi jun. It
is also named Chidan jinjing shijing shuimu yubao jing" /L+7v? > l&II^PlBftlillxftllll^
31' #g£ifr;M&î?g • — £*fl-&*t5^zK#ÏH&2;ijg. This is the title of a section
included in the Lingshu ziwen (see the translation by S. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures,
pp. 314-318). The Huangtingjing attributes this formula to the Lingshu ziwen as well. See
I. Robinet, "Les randonnées extatiques," pp. 204-208, and La révélation du Shangqing,
vol. 2, pp. 104-105.
59 See I. Robinet, "Introduction au Kieou-tchen," p. 32, and La révélation du Shangqing,
vol. 1, p. 236.
60 I. Robinet, La révélation du Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 73.
61 Edward H. Schafer, "Wu Yun," p. 399, n. 87.
62 S. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, pp. 348 and 370, n. 35.
63 The following explanations of the character yu are mainly based on the Hanyu
dacidian /Hftl^fffjjft, 12 vols. (Shanghai: Hanyu dacidian, 1989), 3-1137. Yu refers to dense
accumulation of grass, trees (cong/i maomi MMWS), etc. It is used as an adjective qualifying
360 MONICA ESPOSITO
refers to qi M or vapors.64 It is in this sense that it is often used in passages of

the Taoist Canon. It evokes the movement of steaming vapors, the sparkling or
twinkling of lights and, in a wider sense, the effervescence of life in its nascent
state. Yu also stands for the name of flowers like the tulip (yujinxiang Ht^H)65
(//'
or the plum tree and its fruit ^, yuli H$), as well as their fragrance.66 As
surname, yu is attached to the name of gods, immortals or fangshi.61 A well-
known example is the ancient door god(s) Yu and Lu itfiî/li. Merged as Yulii,
he is together with Shenshu #^ in charge of controlling and driving away
the luxuriant and prosperous aspect of things (longsheng P^^), and includes the meaning of
"abundant, varied, numerous" (fanduo %§?). In this sense it expresses the exuberant or
energetic accumulation and condensation of clouds and mists (yucong WM., congji M1K)- As
symbol of "containing the germinal essence" iyuncang MM), it has also the meaning of
"latent, hidden, undeveloped" (yunxu H#). From this latter sense comes the idea of
something which stagnates, blocks (tingzhi fê:ffî) with the emotional connotation of
resentment, discontent (yuanben ^SIS), oppression (yujie Uln), sadness (youchou ft HO,
melancholy (youyu §11$, youyutao MW$M, yuyi W&), etc. Furthermore it refers to the
sinuosity of forms (yuqu M ft), and to the dark-looming and hazy aspect (youyin $&Rb,
youming M%) of high mountains appearing at a distance. See also the explanation of this
character from the oracle bones by Wu Zhenwu ^#!5£, "Shuo bao, yu," M Flu $WtI,
Zhongyuan wenwu ÎK^t^J 53.3 (1990), pp. 32-36, esp. 33-36. See also below note 65.
64 In the section "Sheyan" ff H of the Erya Wffî (Hao Yixing SMfx et al. eds., Erya,
Guangya, Fangyan, Sheming iïït • iff?! • Jï'Ê ' M%i, Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 1989,
p. 123) the term jm is related to the energetic movement of vapors (H ' Util). Guo Pu ffi
ïfi (276-324) comments by saying that "steaming vapors appear" H^jREfj.
65 The fragrance refers to aromatic grass or plants in general (yujinxiang cao HiEil^,
fangcao % 1$.) of which the officer Yuren HA of the Ministry of Spring (chunguan #W) was
in charge. This officer Yuren is mentioned in the Zhouli ("Chunguan, Zongpo," I^HîÈ,
section 3; tri. Edouard Biot, Le Tcheou-li ou Rites des Tcheou, 3 vols., Paris: Imprimerie
Nationale, 1851, reprint Taipei: Ch'eng Wen Publishing Co, 1969, vol.1, book XIX,
p. 398 and book XX, pp. 465-467). In the Shuijing zhu tR$.£E (chapter "Wenshui" ÏM/K
j. 36, Taipei: Shijie shuju, 1991, vol. 2, p. 447) by Li Daoyuan BMtv (466-527) it is said
that "yu indicates the aromatic plants (i.e., curcuma longd). The flowers of hundreds
aromatic plants are boiled together and unified with fermented black millet (heishu HH,
ï.e.,ju W) in order to make the spirits descend. Some say that it stands now for tulip" H - 5?
^til ° ^m^mMM-u BBM ' J^lt##til » ïÉIîf #^M. On the explanation of yu and its
association with the preparation of this alcohol used for liturgical libations see Wu
Zhenwu, "Shuo bao, yu," 34. On the link between these alcoholic libations and the origin
of the Chinese term for rites see L. Vandermeersch, La voie royale, vol. 2, p. 276.
66 The connection with the plum evokes Laozi who is also named Yuhua zi; see below.
67 I refer, for example, to Yulin H^ who is mentioned in the "Gaotang fu" iîîS by
Song Yu 5f?3? (fl. 3rd century BCE). According to the commentary by Li Shan, Yulin
refers to an immortal or fangshi but has also been interpreted as a qualifying adjective
("thick as groves"); see David Knechtges, Wen xuan, 3 vols. (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1996), vol. 3, p. 336, L. 188. Yu also appears in the name of the White
Solar Emperor, Haoyujiang jeSUHF (and his consort Yulianhua WMW); in the name of
Yulingbiao HM1H, the name for Baiyuan ÉI7U, god of the lungs; in the name of the Black
Emperor of the North (4t^Mfê^HP*ËHSS^), one of the Wulao S^; etc.
ghosts. Associated with the theme of regeneration and "the moment of passing
through the new year," the god Yulii shares attributes with Yuyi.68 As Rémi
Mathieu has remarked, Yulii is associated with a myth that shows a fascinating
parallel with that of the solar tree Fusang.69 In a passage from the Kuo dim fêjft
H quoted by Zong Lin ^fit of the Liang ^ (4th century CE), Yu it shows up as
the mate of Lii H:
On Mount Taodu (Peach Capital) there is a huge peach tree lying coiled over
3,000 //. On top there is a golden cock that cries as soon as the sun shines. Below
there are two gods: one named Yu and the other Lii. Holding reed ropes they are
on the lookout for inauspicious ghosts to capture and kill them.70
n• s m
Yu and Lii thus are the exorcist guardians of a solar tree carrying on its crest a
golden cock.71 They preside over the celestial gates, the doors of communication
between men and gods. They are intimately related to the moment of sunrise
68 In the well-known legend quoted in the Lunheng (chap. "Dinggui" sTfil) and
attributed to the Shanhaijing [_Ll#SfS, one finds an interesting account of Yulii:
In the midst of the deep blue-green sea (Canghai i.e., east) stands the Dushuo
(Crossing the New Year) Mountain, on which grows a huge peach tree twisting and
coiling over 3,000 //. Among its branches on the north-east there is the 'Ghosts
Gate' through which the myriad ghosts enter and exit. On top there are two divine
beings (shenren). One is called Shenshu and the other Yulii. They are in charge of
inspecting and governing the myriad ghosts. Whenever a ghost wants to do evil,
they bind him with reed ropes and feed him to tigers. Then the Yellow Emperor
made a ritual for their seasonal expulsion (shiqu): large peachwood figures were set
up, [images of] Shenshu, Yulii and a tiger were painted on gates and doors, and
reed ropes were hung from them in order to ward off the evil demons-mei.
smmz - £« a • npmwm * m&mm

Cf. the translation by Derk Bodde, Festivals in Classical China, p. 128 and by A. Birrell,
Chinese Mythology, pp. 233-234. Derk Bodde {Festivals, p. 129) points out that the term
dushuo H:$3 "consists of the two words tu [du] fS. 'to cross,' and so [shuo] $!, 'first day of the
lunar month' (and so, par excellence, of the lunar year). Hence the name may mean
'Mountain of Crossing Over to the New Year.'"
69 Rémi Mathieu, Anthologie des mythes et légendes de la Chine ancienne (Paris: Gallimard,
1989), p. 53, n. 3.
70 Jingchu suishi ji $J7EHB#fB, 3a (Hanwei congshu MMMWï 12, éd. Wang Mo 3ïfJI,
1915).
71 The golden cock appears with the jade cock chanting on the Fusang solar tree as
soon as the sun rises; see the Shenyijing #HtË, 2b (quoted by R. Mathieu, Anthologie des
mythes, p. 53, n. 3). As a passage in the YJQQ (56.7b/3) emphasizes on the basis of the
quotation from the Lingxian MS by Zhang Heng 5MS, the golden cock stands for the
three-legged raven of fire, representing the Yang (... #ItA',S;lilo-|a HH/ê > ^W}£-M°).
See also H. Maspero, "Légendes mythologiques," pp. 13-14, n. 4. For the ornithological
association of the sun see E. Schafer, Pacing the Void, pp. 163-167.
362 MONICA ESPOSITO
signaled by the call of the golden cock. Under its presence, Yu and his companion
Lii watch the exact moment when the inauspicious {buxiang ^fiffi) ghosts appear.
Observing is an important attribute of these guardians who are capable, thanks to
their piercing gaze, of seizing any lingering ghosts with their ropes. The exorcistic
function of these custodians also has a connection with Huangdi and the Great
exorcism danuo.72 Furthermore, they are connected with the imperial tour of
Taishan, the Peak of the East and, consequently, with thefeng and shan MM rites. It
is only after the establishment of the peachwood figurine of these two guardians and
the performance of related exorcistic rites that the emperor could safely go on his
tour. This happened after having observed the auspicious signs from heaven.73
All these activities have an unexpected connection with Yuyi and Jielin.
Related, among other things, to the festivals of welcoming and seeing off the year,
they point to important characteristics of Yuyi and Jielin and their eponymous
Taoist rites. It is not by chance that Yuyi is linked with the Fusang tree and its
mythology as well as with the golden cock of Yu and Lii. This cock, under the
name of Golden Raven of Fusang (fusang jinwu ^HizJ^), is said to have been
imprisoned on Mount Taodu before returning to the Fusang, the sanctuary of the
original solar Palace of Yuyi.74 But before discussing such legendary attributions,
let us take a look at the second character that forms the name Yuyi.
72 In the Lushi &5Ë (chapter "Houji wu" ftlEE, 14.17a, SKQS 383-122), Luo Mi m
\'ft of the Song reports that "(Huangdi) selected children and youths, set up Yu and Lii,
explained the Qingniao and recorded the Boze in order to wipe away the injuries from the
people; and the people were freed from them." fiJSig > WtMW- ' M^M ' îiBW&sfàR^ ' M
KJt/è.. This passage serves as an explanation of the "seasonal expulsion" {shiqu P#il)
ritual, which was said to have been established by Huangdi and is mentioned in the
quotation from the Lunheng; see above note 68. On the relationship of these two
guardians with the Great exorcism danuo see D. Bodde, Festivals in Classical China, pp.
81-85, 127-138. On the Bozetu (Chart [Revealed by the] Boze), a record of revelation to
Huangdi by an auspicious animal called Boze, see Robert Ford Campany, Strange
Writing (New York: State University of New York Press, 1996), pp. 42 and 123.
73 All these activities are reported in the "Dongjing fu" MR (Rhapsody of the
Eastern Capital; trl. Knechtges, Wen xuan, vol. 1, pp. 296-297 and LL. 575-77, 583, 585,
586, 589, and 597): "On Mt. Dushuo they make wooden images:/The guard is Yu
Lii;/Shen Shu assists him ... They are charged with seizing any lingering spirits./The
houses of the capital are quiet and pure;/No more unpropitious influences remain./And
then:/ Yin and Yang are in reciprocal harmony,/And all creatures grow in proper
season./They divine about a progress, study auspicious signs;/ "In all respects it is truly
good. "/The emperor embarks on a tour of Dai Peak,/... Since his spring excursion
generated life,/... ." As Derk Bodde (Festivals in Classical China, pp. 83-85, and 130)
remarks, these activities are related to New Year customs and the concept of rebirth.
New Year activities include the fabrication of peachwood figures (geng S) of these two
guardians. The term geng ffi refers to taogeng $fcfH (peach figure) and, at the same time,
means "to renew" (geng M). According to Ying Shao (Fengsu tongyi 8/62 quoted, and
translated by D. Bodde, ibid, p. 131): "Geng (figure or figurine) means geng (to renew).
The year having reached its close, renews itself (geng) ushering in great happiness."
74 This story is narrated in "Heng'e qieyao ru changong, Chijiang chenggong ju
2. The Character Yi 18
The term yi refers to solemn bearing or demeanor in ceremony, so-called
"etiquette." From the meaning of "rules of behavior" and the harmony coming
from those "measured manners," the significance of rite (li ijH, liyi ifiHii) and its
function of "establishing the right rules" within a ceremony is set forth (yishi fit
&, ritual ceremony; keyi f4#t, liturgical rules).75 Thus, yi stands for yibiao M^k
(indicator of measurement) or yizhu l*t £È (pole of indication, i.e., the gnomon)
referring to the vertical pole erected for measuring the sun shadow and
observing different atmospheric phenomena (yixiang iWM).16 As Xunzi says: "If
the measuring-pole (yi) is upright, the [calculation of the sun] shadow will be
correct" (yi zheng ze jing zheng JiilEIlJISïE).77 From the meaning of yi as an
rifu" mffîmmAiË'g ' *Jl$fifc#jJgBJfr (Lidai shenxian tongjian MttWiilMM by Xu Dao

il; see the corrected and annotated edition by Kan Min MR and Liu Zhen
Zhongguo shenxian da y anyi ÎUWflil^cMii, 2 vols., Beijing: Zhongguo wenlian, 1998,
vol. 1, p. 151). I discovered this story in chapter 8 on the Astral deities, by Henri Doré,
Recherches sur les superstitions en Chine (Shanghai: Imprimerie de la Mission Catholique,
1918), vol. XII, 2nd part, pp. 1181-1 189. See also below, pp. 383-384.
75 On the meaning of yi as measurement (du Ht?, from the Shuoiven jiezi; lit. "to take
as a standard"), see the Yunfu qunyu mfîfffiï (2.10a-b, SKQS 951-31) by Yin Shifu |£B#
Jz of the Yuan. On the meaning of// and yi, see L. Vandermeersch, La voie royale, vol. 2,
pp. 267-272. On the terms yishi and keyi and their role in Taoism, see "Keyi fangshu" 14
fil^W in Zhongguo daojiao ^ffliilSf, ed. Qing Xitai fJP#^t, 4 vols. (Shanghai: Zhishi,
1994), vol. 3, pp. 161-176; and Chen Yaoting WMfé, "Daojiao de keyi neirong he qi lishi
fazhan" ilTOMft^PKMiff Jg part 1 and 2, in Daojiao y Hi ilMfl, ed. Chen
Yaoting (Hong Kong: Qingsong guan Xianggang daojiao xueyuan, 2000), pp. 195-229.
On the relationship between the terms keyi and liyi, see Chen Yaoting, "Daojiao keyi he
zhongguo gudai liyi" jt|£f4{i$n^|lj~S"fîjiKtl, in Daojiao yili, pp. 230-243.
76 The term yixiang %M. includes three meanings: 1. moshi Wk^: pattern, model, or
schema; 2. xingxiang ¥&1$.: image, form or figure; and 3. instruments of measurement for
observing astronomical phenomena (Hanyu dacidian 1-1704). With regard to the latter
sense, the "Astronomical Chapter" ~^JCMJn of the Jinshu HIS records:
The Chunqiu wen yaogou says: "When the emperor Yao of Tang came to the
throne, XiThus
sphere)." and this
He corresponds
set up a spherical
to the instrument
establishment
of measurement
of astronomical
(i.e.,
instruments
armillary
of measurement (yixiang) which dates back to ancient time.
Cf. tri. Ho Peng Yoke, The Astronomical Chapter of the Chin Shu (Paris: Mouton, 1962),
p. 59. This passage is clearly connected with the act of measuring performed by Xi and
He or Xihe, the officers charged by emperor Yao. As we will see, the term ftt^ is used
for explaining the term Yuyi as the Palace of the Sun; see below, p. 384.
7/ "The Path of the Prince" (Jundao) in Xunzi (quoted in Hanyu dacidian 1-1699/8).
See also the "Luli zhi xia" WMM^- of the Hou Hanshu (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1965,
vol. 12, 3.3057) where we read:
When the computation of the calendar was born, the gnomon was erected to
measure the sun shadow. When the shadow is long, the sun is far. It was the
364 MONICA ESPOSITO
instrument for measuring the sun shadow and hence the celestial sphere, the
significance of the compound eryi ^{H or liangyi ffifH can be easily deduced.
Eryi or liangyi are the two cosmic rulers or regulators par excellence: the sun
and moon, emblems of Heaven and Earth and indicators of the celestial
computation of time. As is well-known, the term liangyi refers to the basic
strokes composing the 64 hexagrams of the Yijing, i.e., the full line Yang and
the broken line Yin.78 As personification of that cosmic measuring, yi M also
looms for e $$, both compounds forming the name of Changyi ^flt, Shangyi fé]
{It (i.e., Changxi 'srtt), the mother of the twelve moons, and Chang'e %W</
Heng'e Mffî, the goddess of the moon.79
As we have seen, the terms yu and yi are both connected with activities of
measuring, prognostication, exorcistic rituals, and New Year customs. While yu
symbolizes the spring season, the beginning of life, and rebirth, yi alludes to the
beginning of the calculation in degrees of the celestial sphere.
On the use of the gnomon and the measurement of the celestial sphere, see Ho Peng Yoke,
The Astronomical Chapter of the Chin Shu, pp. 49-66; Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation
in China, vol. 3: Mathematics and the Science of the Heaven and the Earth (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1959), pp. 224, 284 ff.; Christopher Cullen, "A Chinese
Eratosthenes of the Flat Earth: A Study of a Fragment of Cosmology in Huainanzi," in John
Major, Heaven and Earth in Early Han Thought (New York: State University of New York
Press, 1993), pp. 269-290; and Marc Kalinowski, "Le calcul du rayon céleste dans la
cosmographie chinoise," Revue d'histoire des sciences XLIII (1990), pp. 5-34.
78 The combinations of the broken line Yin and the full line Yang form the Four
Symbols, i.e., Taiyang, Taiyin, Shaoyang, and Shaoyin; see the "Xici" of Yijing (Zhouyi
yizhu M la if iï, eds. Huang Shouqi HiPij^ and Zhang Shanwen 3Mf#X, Shanghai:
Shanghai guji, 1989), p. 556.
79 Hanyu dacidian 1-1700/17 and 1703. Yihuang HM or Ehuang WLÊk refers to the
name of the wife of the Emperor Shun also identified with the emperor Jun, the father of
the ten suns and the twelve moons; see S. Allan, The Shape of the Turtle, pp. 33-34. On
the variants Changyi S#|, Shangyi jnjfiÉ, Changxi ^H for the name of the mother of the
twelve moons and related interpretations, see Henri Maspero, "Légendes mythologiques,"
pp. 15-16; and Bernhard Karlgren, "Legends and Cults in Ancient China," Bulletin of
The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 18 (1946), pp. 199-364, esp. 266-67', n. 4.
Furthermore, the name of the mother of the twelve moons shows striking parallels with
Chang'e or Heng'e, the goddess of the moon; see R. Mathieu, Anthologie des mythes,
pp. 44-45, 55-56, and 89-90, and S. Allan, The Shape of the Turtle, p. 33. The same
goddess of the moon Chang'e/Heng'e was later mixed with the figure of Jielin. In later
legends, her husband — the Archer Yi — figures as the Ruler of the Sun; see below,
pp. 383-384. It is worthwhile to mention that one also finds Jieyi Ipftl instead of Jielin
(just after the immortal Yuyi). See the Yunfu qunyu iitëfpïE (2.10a, SKQS 951-31); die
section "Tang Yuyi Jielin lou" in the Yuhai SM (164.14a, SKQS 947-289) by Wang
Yinglin zEiSli (1223-1296), mentioning two Tang storied-building pavilions of Jieyi %o
{HH and Yuyi WiÊ^Ê, respectively west and east of the Taoist Linde Hall MW-$k; and the
Shuolue mm (1.6b, SKQS 964-347) where the Ming compiler Gu Qiyuan MBit (1565-
1628) explains the interchangeable use of e M, ffi and yi fH for Chang'e
Changyi fêH. See Appendix 3(B), no. 8.
act of the establishment of the calendar by measuring, thanks to instruments such

as the gnomon, the sun shadow, and the celestial sphere. This act was performed
at the beginning of the year and joined with other methods of divination and
observation of astronomical and meteorological phenomena.80 Its profound
meaning lies, however, in the reproduction of the mythical act of the emperor
Yao who allegedly charged his officers Xi and He with "receiving the rising sun as
a guest," and "seeing off the setting sun." Besides regarding that act as an
inheritance of Shang worship for the rising and setting sun, I would like to
emphasize, above all, its link with China's solar cult and its mythology.81 As we
are going to see, the memory of that ancient act lived on in Yuyi (and Jielin) lore
and in the name of Yuyi itself. But how should we translate the term Yuyi?
Edward Schafer proposed "Steaming Regalia." This translation is particularly
appropriate for rendering the idea of qi M which is inherent in the term yu.
"Steaming" describes not only the lively movement of clouds, mist and vapors as
images of the effervescence of life but also refers to the boiling and hot vapors
characterizing fire, the emblem of the sun itself. The character yi is more complex.
It refers not only to the ruler or regulator (and its consort), but also to the act itself
of regulating or measuring (i.e., the rite and the resulting establishment of rules).
Furthermore, its final reproduction in the emblems, images or insignia are also
implied. We will come back to the question of translation at the end of this study
when we will see how the term Yuyi is interpreted by Xu Dao %M, the Ming
compiler of the Lidai shenxian tong/ian
3. The Characterize |p in Jielin

Like yi, the term jie is also connected with the idea of measurement: it indicates
the knots made in a rope to count the passing of the time.83 The Yijing records the
ancient custom of knotting cords to preserve the memory of things before the use
of written characters.84 But the meaning oijie certainly is not limited to this. As the
magic of knots has been discussed in many studies, I will point here only to two of
80 Derk Bodde, "The Chinese magic known as watching for the ethers," in Studia
Serica Bernhard Karlgren dedicata; Sinological studies dedicated to Bernhard Karlgren on his
seventieth birthday October Fifth, ed. Egerod, Seren (Copenhagen: Ejnar Munksgaard,
1959), pp. 14-35.
81 See the interpretation by H. Maspero, "Légendes mythologiques."
82 This is narrated in the story "Heng'e qieyao ru changong ..." in Lidai shenxian tong/ian
(Zhongguo shenxian dayanyi, vol. 1, p. 152). See the translation below, p. 383-384.
83 "The custom of counting both days and objects by tying knots is found all over
the world. The Tibetan prayer-strings and the rosary are both forms of number-strings
on which the prescribed numbers of pious exercises is recorded in knots. King Darius of
Persia gave his subjects a cord with 60 knots tied into it when he set off on his attempt to
conquer ancient Greece; each day they were to untie one more knot, and if he had not
returned by the time the last knot was untied, they were no longer to wait for him." See
Karl Menninger, Number Words and Number Symbols — A Cultural History of Numbers
(New York: Dover Publications, 1969), p. 252.
84 "Xici" xia (Zhouyi yizhu, p. 573).
366 MONICA ESPOSITO
its characteristics which are also inherent in the lunar figure of Jielin: the exorcistic
and regenerative power ofjie.85 Both are implied in the concept of the regular cycle
of death and life in nature and are well illustrated by the waxing and waning cycle of
the moon itself. Jie may recall the exorcistic power of the ropes of Yu and Lii
capable of seizing inauspicious ghosts and releasing, at the same time, the promise
of rebirth of a fortunate New Year.86 The magic of binding and unbinding is also
incorporated in the image of the "knots" of the embryo. These "knots" are the roots
of the mortal condition but, if untied (kaijie), usher in rebirth within an immortal
embryo.87
Sharing the meanings of "condensing or coagulating" {ningjie H$n), the
term includes other powers: it makes the celestial forces manifest on earth. Celestial
forces or gods descend to earth in the shape of the "knotting" of the primordial qi.S8
In a comparable meaning, jie is also applied to the crystallization of halos or
rainbows by referring to the process of transformation of matter into light. In this
last association with light, the character//? merges with lin.
4. The Character Lin M and its Variants

The character lin has many variants which have been discussed by the literati
over centuries. With the fish radical, the variant i$ (fish-scales, scale-like) is
related to the aquatic world and consequently with the lunar world of Taiyin, the
domain of mythical fish and, generally, of all scaled creatures and things.89 As the
8> See, for instance, Mircea Eliade, Images et symboles (Paris: Gallimard, 1979), pp. 120
ff. Mircea Eliade (Le chamanisme et les techniques archaïques de V extase, Paris: Payot, 1951;
reprint 1983, p. 328) remarks that certain aspects of the magic of knots are associated with
shamanism and that the 'laces' and 'knots' figure among the more specific attributes of the
gods of death in India, Iran, China, Oceania, etc.
86 On the exorcistic nature of binding in Zhou and Qin-Han beliefs see Donald
Harper, "A Chinese Demonography of the third century B.C.," Harvard Journal of
Asiatic Studies 45 (1985), pp. 459-498, esp. 475. On the role of the ropes in the New Year
festivals see D. Bodde, Festivals in Classical China, p. 130 and notes above 68, 72 and 73.
On the pervasive significance of binding/unbinding in Japanese religion see Gunter
Nitschke, "Shime Binding/Unbinding, An Investigation into the Origin of, and the
Relationships between, Human Building, Sign-Systems and Religious Beliefs in East
Asia, on the occasion of the 60th Renewal of the Sun and Food Gods at Ise in 1973,"
Architectural Design XLIV.12 (1974), pp. 748-791.
87 On the meaning of the knots of the embryo see I. Robinet, Méditation taoïste,
chap. 5.
88 See Isabelle Robinet, "The Taoist Immortal: Jesters of Light and Shadow,
Heaven and Earth," Journal of Chinese Religions 13-14 (1986), pp. 87-105, esp. 98.
89 The term appears, for instance, in the description of the palace of Hebo MfS, the
god of the Yellow river in the "Nine Songs" of the Chuci ("Chant of the River Earl," trl.
David Hawkes, The Songs of the South, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1985, p. 114):
"Of fish-scales his palace is, with a dragon scale hall; purple cowrie gate-towers; rooms
of pearl. And what does the god do, down there in the water?" ... l&lÎM^fi^ ' GIMP'S'
^fcK ' 8M^>/'§'7K4] On the theme of the aquatic world, the symbol of the fish and its
significance, see the article by Kim Daeyeol in this issue of the Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie. In
the SKQS there are 13 occurrences of this variant for Jielin.
apocrypha (chenivei) emphasize, it recalls the power of scales to transform into

magical characters or scriptures.90 Other variants are flU (unicorn), which is
probably derived from a mix-up with the name of a Taoist temple, and M/VM
(neighboring, adjacent). The latter occurs most frequently in literary sources and
includes a quantity of meanings unrelated to our Jielin.91 Another common
variant which is often used in the Taoist Canon is M (luster or brilliance of jade),
a term closely related to the Taoist lunar figure of Jielin.92
Edward Schafer translated Jielin as Knotted Spangles, a translation which
literally renders the meaning oijie and its value of magic knots without ignoring
the luminous character and the possible association of Jielin with a scaled
creature. It is important to note that the variant lin M (luster of jade) is
primarily used for expressing the quality of moonlight. The congealed light of
the opalescent gem illuminating, like a pale lantern, the nights of poets
dreaming of visiting its palace is a theme endlessly evoked in Chinese literature.
The beauty of the icy "Moon Fairy" (Yue'e H M) ruling over a Palace of
Widespread Cold (guanghan gong MMlS) accompanies hymns and accounts of
imaginary journeys to her frosted court.93 In connection with this, there is a
curious account from a Peking opera inspired by a Tang story and narrating the
origin of the name Jielin.94 In the following passage, Jielin enjoys the company
of other inhabitants of the moon:
90 In the Apocrypha the transmission of secret devices to the emperor includes the
Hetu being carried on the armor of the scaly creature: the dragon. This alludes to the
well-known story of the Diagram of the Yellow Dragon handed over to Huangdi: "A
yellow dragon carrying on its back the Diagram and whose scaly armor formed characters
emerged from the river and gave it to Huangdi" ftfËitB ' fi^Jj^ • tféM^tfj ■ #Hï^. See
Longyu hetu fi^&MH (Yasui Kôzan ^Jgrilllj and Nakamura Shôhachi cffcWA, eds., Isho
shûsei ItirilfiK, 6 vols., Tokyo: Meitoku, 1971, vol. 6, p. 90/4).
91 In the SKQS there are 18 occurrences (in 14 texts) of the variant lin (unicorn)
related to Jielin. This variant appears in the section "Chang' an zhi" ÎkixM. by Min Qiu W<
;J< of the Song (included in the Shuofu WM, 61 shang.Sa, SKQS 879-286, a compilation by
Tao Zongyi pÈIît [1316-1369]). It likely is a mistake due to a mix-up with the Taoist
Linde dian H$M>Wi, including the eastern and western storied-building (lou ft) of Yuyi and
Jielin; see the entry "Jielin Yuyi lou" $£&£& in the Yonglu MB (4. 11 a/3 -4, SKQS 587-
304), by Cheng Dachang n±^ (1 123-1 195); the "Tang Yuyi Jielin lou" mBWtâM in the
Yubai (164.14a-b, SKQS 947-289) and the Tongya MB (11.16b-17a, SKQS 857-275) by
Fang Yizhi ~fî\^M (1611-1671); see Appendix 3(A). However, it may also allude to the
dangerous qilin who was supposed to eat the sun and the moon; see H. Maspero,
"Légendes mythologiques," p. 20. The variant $P/P has 344 occurrences (in 303 texts).
92 In the SKQS there are 134 occurrences (in 64 texts). For the Taoist Canon see
Appendix 1.
93 On the imagery of the moon in Tang literature, astronomy and poetry see
E. Schafer, Pacing the Void, pp. 171-210 and "Ways of Looking at the Moon Palace,"
Asia Major 1.1 (1988), pp. 1-13. For the images of the moon in the Shangqing legacy, see
I. Robinet, "Les randonnées extatiques."
94 I discovered this story in M. Soymié, "La lune dans les religions chinoises,"
Sources orientales V (Paris: Seuil, 1962), p. 307. See also below note 97.
368 MONICA ESPOSITO
After the emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji Î^S) visited the Palace of the
Moon with Yang Taizhen IH^H and eavesdropped on the air "Rainbow skirts
and feathered clothes," the moon progressively lost its brightness.95 For that
reason, Chang'e ordered Wu Gang ^Wl, the moon-restoring carpenter, to fix it.
But Wu declined saying that he was unable to. Then Chang'e demanded the
same of the toad and the jade rabbit. Finally, Wu Gang suggested to invite the
immortals of the moon, Song Wuji ^^S>^ and Xiang Manshi TMM.M., the Old
Man of the Moon ^ ^, and the Celestial Flowers Scattering Maidens WCfiL^tt
to repair the moon through their magic powers.96 Song performed a sword dance
for harmonizing the vapors, Xiang danced with the sword adorned with bells to
level the hollows and the bumps, and the Old Man of the Moon made the dance
of ropes for establishing the rules while the Celestial Maidens scattered flowers
to aid the light. The toad emitted an unceasing light and the rabbit pounded the
elixir of immortality, and finally the moonlight regained its full radiance. Thus,
the Jade Emperor conferred upon Chang'e the title Jielin zhenfei #pBljlt#S or
Perfected Princess of Bundled Luster.97
According to this story the term Jielin (Bundled Luster) is the title conferred by
the Jade Emperor upon Chang'e, the goddess of the moon. It alludes to the
renewal of the moonlight and the re-establishment of its radiant corona.
After this brief summary, the question still remains: who are Yuyi and Jielin?
Are they simply esoteric names for the sun and moon? Do they refer to the names
of ancient gods or immortals, or do they harbor further secret meanings?
Yuyi and Jielin: Who are they?

In the Taoist Canon there are no more than a few passages dealing with the
identity of Yuyi and Jielin. The locus classicus is the commentary by Liangqiu zi ^
1. 710-711) to the Huangting neijing H)£lF*3$2 (section 26 "Gaoben" MW) in
95 This alludes to the Minghuang you yuegong BfliljSf^l HT (The Journey of Emperor
Ming to the Moon Palace), a theme of fiction inspiring the "Wanderings to the moon";
see M. Soymié, "La lune," pp. 308-314; E. Schafer, "Ways of Looking at the Moon
Palace," pp. 4-13, and Alfredo Cadonna, "'Astronauti' taoisti da Chang'an alia luna:
Note sul manoscritto di Dunhuang S 6836 alla luce di alcuni lavori di Edward Schafer,"
Orientalia Venetiana 1 (Volume in onore di Lionello Lanciotti, Firenze: Leo S. Olschki
1984), pp. 69-132. On the references given for the present story, see note 97.
96 On these inhabitants of the moon see R. Mathieu, Anthologie des mythes, pp. 54-59;
M. Soymié, "La lune," pp. 302-307; and A. Birrell, Chinese Mythology, pp. 144-145.
97 "You yang xiuyue" HfHfi^ in Jingju jumu chutan Mll!lJi!l @ #J££, éd. Tao Junqi PSH
|H (Shanghai: Shanghai wenhua, 1957), p. 127. This story is said to come from the Yiwen
lu H|!fl# by an anonymous Tang author, and from the poetic drama You yang xiuyue MU
mn by Shu Wei g?fô of the Qing.
which Yuyi and Jielin appear as Immortals who flew to the sun and moon. This
explanation comes just after the following stanza:
Soaring up high to the sun and moon is our supreme path,
Yuyi and Jielin kindly provide mutual protection.98
an
Liangqiu zi comments by saying:
Yuyi is the immortal who soared up to the sun; Jielin is the immortal who soared
up to the moon."
Other passages mention Yuyi and Jielin among appellations for the sun and moon:
Donghua zhenren calls the sun: Purple Dazzling Light (ziyaoming ^)8E!£|).
Another name is Round Pearl (yuanzhu HI 3^). It is also referred to as Initial Glow
(shihui %hW) or Great Brigthness {taiming X^M). Others also say that the name of
the sun is Yuyi and the name of the moon Jielin.100
But they are also regarded as the germinal spirits (jingshen If ffi) of these two
heavenly bodies:
Yuyi is the germinal spirit of the Great Yang (i.e., the sun) and Jielin the
germinal spirit of the Great Yin (i.e., the moon).101
In the majority of Taoist occurrences listed in Appendix I,102 the identity of Yuyi
98 YJQQ 12.7a-8a, and Taishang Huangting neijing yujing îijiclllftlftïfe (CT 331)
9a/7-8.
99 YJQQ 12.8a/4. The commentary by Liangqiu zi is also found in the Huangting
neijing yujing zhu UdEF^JSiSfltE (CT 401), 3.5a-b, in the Xiuzhen shishu {^M^fW (CT
273), 57.1a-b, and in the Daosbu (CT 1017), 8.10a/7-10-10b/5. For the latter, see the
article by Farzeen Baldrian-Hussein in this issue of the Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie.
îoo YJQQ 21.13b/2-4. This list includes the appellations for the sun in different
heavens and according to various Perfected. This passage is attributed to the commentary
of the Dadong zhengjing 3tM~SLWM.; see WSBY 3.2a-3b (John Lagerwey, Wu-shang pi-
yao, Somme taoïste du Vie siècle, Paris: École française d'Extrême-Orient, 1981, p. 72); cf.
Shangqing dadong zhenjing AifêjïMMW. (CT 6), 2.7b/4-5 and 5.24a/8 and Zhen'gao (CT
1016), 9.24b-25a. Poets have also sung of the beauty of sun and moonlight in the name
of Yuyi and Jielin. The famous Tang poet Wu Yun %,% (?-778) sings: "The Three
Palaces emit luminous phosphors; So brilliant that they are equal to Yuyi" HUtft^JS ' W\
Ml^lifii; "Chant Three" in Quantang shi translated by Edward H. Schafer, "Wu Yun,"
p. 399. The same poem is also included in the Zongxuan xiansheng wenji ^Ml£9è^.^tM
(CT 1051), 2.31a/8. See Appendix 1(C), no. 11.
101 From the gloss in the Shangxuan gaozhen yanshou chishu Ai^îMMw^fW (CT 877,
forth"
la/1) which
(Yu Linis qianben
insertedIIBIfiJ^).
in the title of the first chapter "Yu(yi) and (Jie)lin soaring up
102 In order to understand what Yuyi (and Jielin) refer to in the Taoist Canon, I have
370 MONICA ESPOSITO
and Jielin merges with the eponymous texts and the secret methods to which their
names refer: the flight to the sun and the moon, the absorption of solar and lunar
vapors, and the invocation of solar and lunar cloudsouls.103 In essence, Yuyi and
Jielin are seen as embodiments of the luminous power of the sun and moon disks
H B If whose auspicious haloes contain and emit prodigious vapors.104
In the illustrations to the Wushang santian Yutang zhengzong gaoben neijing
yushu jte-tH^MïE^ri^ftSï» (CT 22 1),105 Yuyi and Jielin are depicted as
sun and moon disks with which the Taoist adept unifies (see Fig. 2).106 Before
his body can emit the same light as these two heavenly bodies, the adept has to
perform specific visualizations and invocations. Following ritualized sequences,
Yuyi and Jielin appear to the adept in the garb of the Rulers of the sun and
moon to whom he pays his morning and evening respects {chaobai Yuyi W\WW-\%
chaobai Jielin ^RWiïêM; see Fig. 3 and 4); they also take the form of luminous
gods within the disks with a mandorla-halo for the sun, and a radiant beam-halo
for the moon (see Fig. 5).107
In the form of sun and moon disks or symbols of rulers and luminous gods
with which the adept identifies himself, Yuyi and Jielin embody the energy of
these two heavenly bodies. As talismans, Yuyi and Jielin function as magic
collected various passages where these terms occur. I arranged them in the following
categories: (a) Title of texts; (b) the Method of Yuyi and Jielin and its resulting benefits;
(c) Yuyi and Jielin as Emblems (hypostatization of sun and moon, immortals or spirits of
these two heavenly bodies). My thanks to Professor Kunio Mugitani for his advice.
103 In the commentary by Liangqiu zi to the Huangtingjing, the method "for soaring
up high to the sun and moon" is said to refer to the method of "swallowing the solar and
lunar vapors" (tun riyue qifa #0 f] $U£); see YJQQ 12.7b and YJQQ 11.51a. This
method is well illustrated by the 16- and 24-character formulae.
104 As we will see in the second part of this study, these vapors have a very special
meaning. See also Appendix 1(C).
105 This text is a late amplification of the Jade Hall ritual legacy (Yutang dafa EEî^È) of
Lu Shizhong fêflt^ (fl. 1100-1158). It was allegedly revealed in 1120 and contains a re-
elaboration of the original Shangqing version of the Yuyi and Jielin rites (l.la-20b); see Judith
M. Boltz, "Notes on the Daozang tiyao," China Review International 1.2 (1994), pp. 1-33. On
the Yutang dafa legacy see Judith Boltz, Survey, pp. 36-37 and Lowell Skar, "Ritual
Movements, Deity Cults and the Transformation of Daoism in Song and Yuan Times," in
Daoism Handbook, ed. Livia Kohn (Leiden: Brill, 2000), pp. 413^463, esp. 440-442.
106 Wushang santian Yutang zhengzong gaoben neijingyushu (CT 221), 1.18a-b, and also
note 108.
107 Wushang santian Yutang zhengzong gaoben neijingyushu (CT 221), 1.7a-9b and 1.16a-
18a. The image of a flaming almond-shaped aureole is well attested in Buddhist art during
the Six Dynasties, and is connected with the representation of sunlight in lotus form; see
Ernesta Marchans, "The development of the aureole in China in the Six Dynasties
Period," Oriental Art, XX.l (1974), pp. 66-74, esp. 66. It is interesting to compare the flow
of radiant beam-halo encircling the goddess of the moon in Fig. 5b with the portrayal of
the Queen Mother of the West in the Shangqing lingbao dafa, and the related meaning of its
Metallic energy giving birth to Water; see John Lagerwey, Taoist Ritual in Chinese Society
and History (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987), pp. 40-42.
Fig. 2: The Solar and Lunar Disks

Fig. 2a: Ai IfiftM from M±.=. Fig. 2b from H±.-;
(CT 22 1,1.9b). (CT221, 1.18a).
Fig. 3: Paying Homage to Yuyi

Fig. 3a: from &U = Fig. 3b: WlÎ* from M± =
, 1.6a). (CT221, 1.7a).
372 MONICA ESPOSITO
as*
Fig. 4: Paying Homage to Jielin

Fig. 4a: from Ml Fig. 4b: £ 7 îftS from *£±— ;
(CT221, 1.15a). 221,1.16b).
Fig. 5: The Luminous Sun and Moon Gods

Fig. 5a: from M-h— ?c3ï Fig. 5b: SftS from Mi
, 1.8b-9a). SŒ (CT 221, 1.17a).
"magnets" capable of attracting and, at the same time, of mastering the solar
and lunar beams.108 Yuyi is thus said to "attract the essence of the sun" (yin
rijing 31 SM) while Jielin "summons the moon god" (zhi yueshen ifc^ff).109 The
Housheng daojun lieji 'féMMiëWfà (CT 442, 5a/2-3) adds:
All those who revere Yuyi for the purpose of summoning the sun and make
offerings to Jielin to subdue the moon (...) will be ranked Immortal Dukes of the
Left and Right and Grand Officers of the Left and Right.110
The adept who obtains the Yuyi and Jielin scriptures, that is their methods,
comes to embody their power: he can summon the sun and the moon, he can fly
to them and transform himself into light. Finally, he becomes an Immortal and
attains the rank of Perfected of the Shangqing.111
By such excerpts from texts in the Taoist Canon one can see that Yuyi and
Jielin not only function as magical appellations for the sun and moon but also
represent their animating force: they personify the vital principle of the solar and
lunar bodies, that is to say, their cloudsouls. This explains why Yuyi and Jielin
often exhibit their eponymous method of activating luminous and talismanic
energy. As divine representations of the latter, they symbolize the apotheosis of all
immortals who flew to the sun and moon and transformed into gods or luminous
spirits of these two heavenly bodies. As images of the sun and moon inside the
body, they also mirror the eyes and their power.112 Indeed, in a curious Ming story,
Yuyi and Jielin figure as two goblins (ergui ^-%L) appointed by the Celestial
Emperor to protect the eyes of Pangu M"É". Yuyi is portrayed on his daily sidereal
journey as grasping the three-legged raven with his hands, and activating the fire
disk with his foot. Conversely, Jielin is depicted jumping on the back of the toad
and riding on the floating clouds along the luminous Milky way.113
108 In the Wushang santian Yutang zhengzong gaoben neijing yushu (CT 221, 1.2b- 18a),
the images are flanked by corresponding talismans.
109 YJQQ 23.5b/3 and 105.2 lb/4; CT 1377, 16b/6; CT 1404, 10b/3; and CT435, 2a/7.
110 Cf. the translation by S. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, pp. 348-349. In this
passage Yuyi and Jielin embody the power of talismans (cf. Zhen'gao CT 1016, 5.4a/10).
Concerning the ranks of the Immortals and their division in the government office of the
Left and Right, the Zhen'gao (5.5a) says: "The Immortal Dukes or Perfected are those
who, after having obtained the Hidden Mushroom of the Taiji, ingest it" ^#^SSSfllx
£. ' &.^)&î\li{àl^.MA^:. Conversely, "those who ingest the Golden Elixir become
Grand Officers" M&ft&JzJi.
111 On the fusion of the adept with the sun and moon see I. Robinet, Méditation
taoïste, pp. 296-298 [tri. pp. 198-200]. For the benefits resulting from the practice of Yuyi
and Jielin, see Appendix 1(B).
112 For an explanation of Yuyi and Jielin as apotheosis of all immortals flying to the
sun and moon; see the Wushang santian Yutang zhengzong gaoben neijing yushu (CT 221),
1.1 a-b. On the role played by the sun and moon in the body as manifestation of Yang
and Yin, see I. Robinet, Méditation taoïste, p. 282 [tri. pp. 187-188]. See also Katô Chie,
"Shinkô ni okeru nichigetsu ron to sono shûhen."
113 This story entitled Ergui H$| is included in the Chengyi Bo wenji M
374 MONICA ESPOSITO
The Flying Immortals and their Prodigious Metamorphosis

As the works by Edward Schafer have amply demonstrated, "Chinese
literature can be fully appreciated only by those who share the Chinese poets'
intimacy with the Taoist religion and their delight in Taoist imagery."114 It is
thanks to the literati's appreciation for Taoism that the imagery of Yuyi and Jielin
takes on color. Poets and writers provide, on the basis of Taoist references, rich
information about the personalities of Yuyi and Jielin. One of their favorite
themes is Yuyi and Jielin as "immortals flying to the sun and moon." As proof of
their immortality, men of letters from the Song to the Qing dynasty quote the
commentary to the Huangting/ing together with the following fragment from the
Qishengji ±MU/U: ns
The Red Script of Yuhua dwells in the sun. The Yellow Script of Jielin dwells
in the moon.116
hi this fragment, Yuhua — the "essence of the sun" — figures as a variant of Yuyi,
while Jielin represents "the essence of the moon" (Yuhua rijing, Jielin yuejing fHI 0
(10.8b-12b, SKQS 1225-253/255) compiled by Liu Ji $1» of the Ming, and in the
Mingshizong W&U (3.27b-31a, SKQS 1459-214/216) by Zhu Yizun ^## (1629-1709).
114 From "In Memoriam Edward Schafer" by Anna Seidel in Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie 5
(1989-90), p. 458.
115 The final character 7/ for the Qishengji is quoted in the SKQS as IB or ftS. In the
Taoist Canon there are two texts similarly entitled: Shangqing qisheng xuanji jing _h?S±;Ig
(CT 1361), and Shangqing yudi qisheng xuanji huitian jiuxiao jing _hff3i'ri?"t:^SI2
(CT 1368). Unfortunately, the passage quoted here does not appear in any of
them. On these two texts see I. Robinet, La révélation du Shangqing, pp. 225-228. A
similar passage is found in YJQQ 7. 12 a/3 -4; see Appendix 1(B), no. 17. For a list of
occurrences of Taoist Canon excerpts in the SKQS, see Appendix 2 (A).
116 For this fragment, see the Taiping yulan ^^FWfï, 3.4b (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju,
1963, p. 15), and the Hailu suishi ?Sil5$¥ (section "Tianbu shang" ^t$-t, in the entry
"Yuhua Jielin" WmfàM 1.6a, SKQS 921-7) by Ye Tinggui M&M (fl. 1149). Some authors
from the Song to the Qing quote the same fragment but as coming from Ûiejizhiji ItKH,
a Song compilation by Wang Zishao ïE^PhS (mentioned in the Shuofu M'?1 32 xia.8a-9a,
SKQS 877-717); see also Appendix 2(A). The expressions chiwen ^F^t and huangwen Jk~$C
both refer to the image of "celestial patterns or celestial signs" of the sun and moon, and to
their subsequent transformation into Scriptures. In the Yuanshi wuliang durenjing sizhu (CT
87, 2.6a-b) the term chiwen is explained as chishu ^H or Red Script. It is allegedly
associated with red vapors coming from the sublimation of jade characters in the
Dongyang palace PPJIK (Palace of the Sun Grotto, i.e., the sun disk). It is there that the
true red scriptures (chishu zhenwen 7ÎFÏÈMJQ were formed ffi^t ' JfWt ° J^MZ-MM^MMM ' tfw
ikmm ° Tttùmm - tkmmz.'E > 'xmw ° »» • t&$m-x ° ... ####*«£& •>)• it is also
important to note that red and yellow are the two colors associated with sunlight and
moonlight. On this subject see the Mingtang xuanzhen method of visualization of the sun
and moon in the Zhengao 9.18a (quoted by Kamitsuka Yoshiko, Rikuchô dôkyô, p. 57), and
I. Robinet, "Les randonnées extatiques," pp. 166-167.
fê ' Ipli^ll).117 Yuhua/Yuyi and Jielin are also spelled out as "the names of the
gods of the sun and moon" (jie riyue zhi shen ming -if B^l.è.W^j).118 As is well
known, Yuhua zi Utiji^ is one of the appellations of Laozi at the time of Fuxi,119
and Yuyi/Yuhua may allude to an ancient representation of Laozi as a solar god.120
In spite of that, this affiliation does not emerge fully in the sources here analyzed
but can be discerned in some excerpts from the Taoist Canon. Yuhua shows up as
charioteer of the flying dragons carrying Zhongyang Huanglaojun in his ride on
the clouds of the Three Immaculates ^^HÎÎ ' Hflt^ffëfï ' SIH^^ft.121 One
117 Taiping yulan, 3.4b.

118 Haifa suishi, 1. 6a.
119 See the Hunyuan shengji MïtMfà (CT 570, 1.7a/4) quoted by Anna Seidel, La
divinisation de Lao Tseu dans le taoïsme des Han (Paris: École française d'Extrême-Orient,
1992; Ist éd., 1969), p. 65, n. 3. The figure of Laozi-Yuhua associated with Fuxi, the
Emperor of the East, alludes to the image of the rising sun; see Marc Kalinowski,
Cosmologie et divination dans la Chine ancienne (Paris: École française d'Extrême-Orient,
1991), p. 391. Yuhua is also an abbreviation for Yulianhua HiHljl, the style name of the
lunar consort of the Solar White Emperor invoked in the 24-character formula for the
moon; see the Lingshu ziwen (CT 631, 6b-7a, tri. S. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures,
p. 3 19). One may speculate that the Shangqing texts opted for Yuyi instead of Yuhua so as
not to confuse Yuyi-Yuhua with the lunar consort of the Emperor of the West. On the
other hand, it may refer to a previous identity of Yuhua as a woman (see below note 121).
Henri Maspero ("Légendes mythologiques," pp. 21-23) already speculated on the early
female identity of the sun god, while Stephen Bokenkamp, in this issue of the Cahiers
d'Extrême-Asie, has dealt with the prior career of Laozi as a woman. Furthermore, the term
yuhua appears coupled with langgan Sllf as prodigious elixirs made from the efflorescence
of sun and moon, see Shangqing jiutian shangdi zhu baishen neimingjing _h?W tlJiJcffi^Mffl
1*3 €i M. (CT 1360, 6a/9). Finally, the term is also included in the tide of two collections of
poems: Yuhua ge yishi W^-WÊM, and Yuhua ge ci W^$MM; see Qingshi gao Î#5ÈH (Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 1977), vol. 15, 148-4398/12 and 148-4421/3.
120 This may be seen in the relationship between Huangdi and Laozi. On these two
figures, see A. Seidel, La divinisation de Lao Tseu, pp. 50-58. On the figure of Huangdi as
sun god, see He Xin, Zhushen, esp. chap. 1, 2 and 4.
mJiuzhen zhongjing (CT 1376), 1.2a/l and WSBY (CT 1138), 19.1b/7. The role of
Yuhua as charioteer reminds us of a similar passage (JelhllfaScJE/N^lliiWi^) from the
second or third century BCE attributed to a commentary on the Huainanzi and included in
the Taiping yulan 3.5a (cf. H. Maspero, "Légendes mythologiques," pp. 11-12, n 4, and
Michael Loewe, Ways to Paradise, p. 52). This alludes to the dragon chariot of the sun god
Dongjun MWi featured in the Jiuge ("Dongjun," tri. D. Hawkes, The Songs of the South,
pp. 112-113) and related, in the commentary on the Huainanzi, to Xihe; see Guan Donggui
"Zhongguo gudai shiri," pp. 292-293. Maspero identified Dongjun as the sun goddess; see
the translation and interpretation by H. Maspero on "Dongjun" ("Légendes mythologiques,"
pp. 21-23). According to He Xin {Zhushen, chap. 4, pp. 66-67), who refers to the Han tomb
mural reproduction entitled "Huangdi xuntian tu" H^M^H, the image depicts the sun as
Huangdi riding in a cloud carriage harnessed to six dragons under the control of Xihe. As we
will see below, Xihe, die mother of the ten suns and its charioteer as well, is the alter ego of
Yuhua/Yuyi. Beside the reference to Yuhua/Yuhua zi as one of the appellations of Laozi, the
literati refer to Lord or Immortal Yuhua (Ht^ft/flilÀ) as the coachman of the sun chariot
376 MONICA ESPOSITO
may speculate that this connection belongs to a stratum of older legends associated
with Yuyi (and Jielin). This would be supported by the fact that the above
fragment attributed to the Qishengji is no longer present in the actual texts of the
Taoist Canon. We will deal with this subject in the second part of this study. Here,
the aim is to show what Yuyi and Jielin represented in the minds of the literati.
As in the myth of Chang'e who flew to the moon and was transformed into a
toad, the literati, by means of these two passages from the Qishengji and the
Huangtingjing, emphasize a comparable metamorphosis.122 Like the goddess of the
moon Chang'e, Yuyi and Jielin are the immortals who soared up to the sun and
moon and were transformed there so as to become the "essences" or the rulers of
these two heavenly bodies. They are luminous vapors of souls, spirits or gods of
the sun and moon. Yuyi is associated with the solar cloudsoul {rihun 0 ^) and is
named "Germinal Spirit of Cloudsouls" (hunpo jingshen ^M.^W),m while Jielin is
harnessed to six dragons, alluding to the passages of the Chuci and Huainanzi; see "Huzhou
wukang xian Yuanying miao ji" ïi$JJiiS£iS§l$îiiïiJl3f2 in the Dongtangji M^M (9.15a-b, SKQS
1123-808) by Mao Pang ^g£ (1O55P-112O?), and the "Jishi" IP* 7 in the Bianshan xiaoyin
yinlu #lii/hHJn$& (2.26a, SKQS 1205-40) by Huang Jie Hïfr of the Yuan. But there is also a
passage mentioning the Immortal Yuhua on the sun chariot driven by Xihe; see "Zashi" Hit
9, in the Henglu jingshe zanggao Mfl#fll*il (3.3b, SKQS 1287-244) by the Ming compiler
Hu Zhi #JïÏL. On the famous journey of the sun on its six dragons see also the "Far-off
journey" (tri. D. Hawkes, The Songs of the South, pp. 167-168).
122 See the section "Benyue" ^M in the Weilue ^fflg (6.3b, SKQS 852-315) by Gao
Sisun itjfJ^ of the Song; the section "Tang Yuyi Jielin lou" Jifit{ltln$tftï in the Yuhai JiM
(164.14a-b, SKQS 947-289) by Wang Yinglin ÏBM (1223-1296); and the section
"Chang'an zhi" fi£& in the Shuofu m$ (61 shang.5â, SKQS 879-286). On the story of the
flight of Chang' e/Heng'e to the moon see also A. Birrell (Chinese Mythology, pp. 144-145)
who emphasizes that the motif of the toad denotes "immortality because of the toad's
sloughing off of its skin and its apparent rebirth." In the section "Tianwen" ^^C of the
Tongya M (11.16a-b, SKQS 857-275), Fang Yizhi ^WM (1611-1671) remarks that
"soaring up to the moon (benyué) means reducing the body to ashes (benrou)," the meaning
of the story of the theft of the drug of immortality by Chang'e/Heng'e and her escape to the
moon refers to the process of rebirth or regeneration through the melting of her body's
ashes with the drug of immortality, but "posterity wrongly held that Heng'e herself rushed
to the moon" (#£#&£!$<• ... mmMVMn ' #fmf*h5E&2l$ ' Wm*2- ' ^KHft£°îâi&
HfË^^À^^0)- In the section "Jielin Chang'e" of the Yuzhi tang tanhui EEÎiSMV
(18.27a-29b, esp. 29a, SKQS 883-426/427), Xu Yingqiu WM%k of the Ming, by quoting the
Lingxian WlW., also deals with the metamorphosis of Chang'e into a toad and tries to
understand why the latter was regarded as an Immortal in the moon (... $kM'%fkWiM.
m Jingshen Ih# stands for jingshen ISIf; see Tongya (section "Tianwen," 1 1.3 la-b/6,
SKQS 857-273). In the section "Shenti," Hit, the term hunpo jingshen i^fÉîirW is said to
stand for Yuyi (18.3a/l, SKQS 857-391), while the term hunpo "or yingpo represents the
transformation of the vapors of the germinal spirits" $!$&^$Htl5l > É#Mfbiâ ° (18.2b/5;
cf. Huainanzi 7.99 quoted by Fabrizio Pregadio in this issue of the Cahiers, p. 104). As
symbols of the cosmic transformation of Yin and Yang, "the po are the spirits of essences,
while the hun are the spirits of vapors" W^ttSflt ' %ZfflUM° (18.3a/7). Furthermore,
the text points to the provenience of the graph and pronunciation of the term hun M from
called "Lunar Enchantress" (yuemei ^!H).124 The "magnetic" beauty of the lunar
goddess has not only reduced poets to languishing and longing for her,125 but has
also been the source of doubts on her real identity:
After Chang'e soared up to the moon, the archer Yi was so sad that he fell ill.
The night of the 14th of the 1st lunar month, a lad suddenly came to meet him at
his palace and said: "Tomorrow is the night of the full moon: take rice flour and
make a ball like the moon, and place it in the north-west before calling the name
of your wife.126 During the third night she will descend."
As is to be expected, Chang'e descended to visit Archer Yi. Because she appeared

in her usual enchanting aspect, the text concludes by saying:
Today it is said that in the moon there is Chang'e but this is a great mistake.
There is indeed a ruler in the moon, but it is Jielin and not Chang'e.127
Jielin as Chang'e and the Seasonal Meetings with Yuyi

Such doubts aside, the personalities of Chang'e and Jielin ended up being
confused. Like Chang'e who descended on the third night of the full moon at the
call of her husband, Jielin, on specific days of the month, appears at the call of
yun 33C (clouds; 18.2b-3a/l). This is why I prefer to use the term cloudsoul for hun and
vapors for the term qi M- Indeed, in the context of the Yuyi and Jielin rites, they both
allude to solar and lunar luminous vapor-clouds that are ingested by the Shangqing adept.
For a development of this theme see the second part of this study.
124 Section "Yuyi Jielin rihun yuemei" HflElnflP El ^H M (also y uewang BM) in
Sbeng'anji ftMM (74.7b-8b, SKQS 1270-732/734) by Yang Shen fëfë (1488-1559) by
alluding to the poem "Meishi" fgft by Wang Banshan EE¥lil (i.e., Wang Anshi zE^tS,
1021-1086). Here it is quoting the commentary by Liangqiu zi to the Huangtingjing on
the method of ingesting solar and lunar vapors; see Appendix 2 (A), no. 7.
125 The extraordinary beauty of Chang'e was abundandy evoked in the "Wanderings
to the moon"; see M. Soymié, "La Lune," pp. 308-314 and Edward Schafer, "Ways of
Looking at the Moon Palace."
126 The date of the 1 5th day of the first lunar month matches that of the Lantern
Festival. For that occasion since it comes, like so many Chinese festivals, at the time of
the full moon, it is celebrated, among other things, with the preparation of the so-called
yuanxiao jt'^ (cake especially eaten at that time). See Derk Bodde, trl. Annual Customs
and Festivals in Peking as recorded in the Yen-ching, Sui-shih-chi ?SjMÉ!cR#pE (Hong Kong:
Hong Kong University Press, 1965), pp. 6-24, esp. p. 8. The preparation of a moon
round cake (yuebing ^#f) also called tuanyuan bing HIHt# (full moon cake) marks the
Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival (15th day of the eight lunar month) as well; see
D. Bodde, Annual Customs, pp. 64-68 and Xing Li, Tianshen zhi mi, pp. 91-92.
127 "Jielin Chang'e" (Yuzhi tantang hui, 18.28a-b, SKQS 883-427). See also the
"Sanyu tie" Ht£tt (Shuofu 32 xia.25a-b, SKQS 877-725) and the Guangbo wuzhi BtiftëJiî
(1.37a-b, SKQS 980-20).
378 MONICA ESPOSITO
Fig. 6: The Constellations of the Oxherd and Weaver flanked by the Sun and Moon Disks
From a stone relief in Mt. Xiaotang's shrine #^lilfjinIS, Shandong.
those who know her esoteric name.128 The lunar myths associated with Chang'e
converge on Jielin, and by extension on his mate Yuyi. The toad and the jade hare
pounding the drug of immortality become the companions of Yuyi as well.129
Like the Oxherd and the Weaving Maiden, or the Queen Mother of the West
and the Royal Lord of the East, Yuyi encounters her beloved on the seventh night
of the seventh lunar month {qixi Jc^\ see Fig. 6).130 As in the myth of the seasonal
meetings of the two Yang and Yin astral forces of east and west, Yuyi, the spirit of
Taiyang (sun), encounters Jielin, the spirit of Taiyin (moon).131 The astral palaces
of the east and west (dongxi ergong ^H— H)132 have their correspondence on
earth: Yuyi and Jielin match the Taoist Palaces of the east and west built in
memory of auspicious omens:
The ancient palaces and halls took their names from auspicious astronomical
omens. This is also the meaning of [the Palaces of] Sun and Moon Coronas.
128 See the invocation of the lunar souls and lunar ladies in Lingshu ziwen shangjing
(CT 639, 6b-8b, tri. S. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, pp. 319-322).
129 See, for instance, the poems entitled "Yueyan" Bfë and "Guizhishu xingwei
Ligong yushou mu fu" lÉ^fêfff ^^SfiïfSfK in Taiquan ji ^^.M (3 .9b- 10a and 5.22b
SKQS 1273-317/318 and 343) by Huang Zuo Jtfe (1490-1566).
130 "Qixi wei liqiu dier ri" ^ %,\lM.W>^-U (in the Shiwujia ci +5^p 23.4a, SKQS
1494-3 16) by the Qing compiler Sun Mo ffîM. It sings of the meeting between Yuyi and the
wife of the Archer Yi, emblem of the sun and moon, to the tunes of the well-known legend of
the encounter of the two constellations of the Oxherd and the Weaver. However here it takes
place on the second day after the liqiu \Wi. The same motif of this seasonal meeting is found
in the rendez-vous of the Queen Mother of the West with the emperor Wu of the Han, and
that of Xiwang mu with Dongfang gong. See M. Loewe, Ways to Paradise, pp. 86-126 and the
inspiring work on this topic by Kominami Ichirô /J^^ÊR, Seiôbô to tanabata denshô ~\S3LM<t:
-fctyfèM (Tokyo: Heibon sha, 1991). My thanks to Professor Kominami for giving a copy of
this Fig. 6 traced by himself based from the ink rubbing of the the stone relief from Mt.
Xiaotang and also included in his book, p. 23. See also below notes 131 and 134.
131 This encounter is also narrated in the story "Heng'e qieyao ru changong..." in
Lidai shenxian tongjian (Zhongguo shenxian da y any i, vol. 1, pp. 151-152) in which the
protagonists are the Archer Yi, god of the sun, and his beloved Chang'e, goddess of the
moon. More on this story below, pp. 383-384.
132 Also emblems of Dongmu and Ximu; see above notes 27, 28 and 29. For Yuyi
and Jielin as names of Taoist palaces, halls or pavilions see "Tang Yuyi Jielin lou" H #i
fêBIÊ {Yuhai SM, 164.14a-b, SKQS 947-289); "Liudian darning gong tu" TslWjmil
(Yonglu MB 3.21, SKQS 587-289) mentioning $& * fêHK ' m%^fe X^Wt. See also
Appendix 3 (A), nos. 11-15.
Thus, these two Palaces [of Yuyi and Jielin] consequently took [their name] from
all immortals who soared up to the sun and moon.133
am
The appearance of auspicious haloes of the sun and moon is a heavenly sign
announcing, among other things, the birth of future immortals and the eternal
renewal of cosmic energy.134 The regular astral meetings of Yin and Yang that
preserve the rhythm of the cosmos and re-establish its order are sung in "the
marriage of Yuyi and Jielin while stabilizing the pillars of the giant turtle at
Kunlun" M^WÊM ' WlÊiCÏÏaM.135 As emblem of the constant rebirth in the
world of nature and the attainment of the immortality, the spring renewer Yuyi
is invoked at the New Year rites of Welcoming the year (yingnian M^) and at
the Great exorcism (danuo j^W) to see it off.136
Finally, the two key moments of dawn and dusk loom from the distant
133 "Jielin Yuyi lou" (Yonglu MB 4.1 la/6-8, SKQS 587-304).

134 The conjunction of the sun and moon announces the beginning of spring and
everything connected with that. This is well illustrated by the Yuyi rite; see the second
part of this study. It is not by chance that the conjunction of the sun and moon disks
(riyue hebi Ej B "uM) appears in the representation of the meeting of the Oxherd and
Weaver. See the stone relief from Mt. Xiaotang's shrine (^f'Ê.iUM's!., Shandong; here fig.
6), and that of Nanyang jailli, both dating back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25-220), in
Kominami, Seiôbôto tanabata denshô, pp. 23-24.
135 See the liturgical song entitled "Tianshi liugong fanzhen kongdong buxu ci shizhang
yi daoyou" ^^^{uMM^Wl^MM^wÛWM included in the Qingrong jushi ji ff §]g±il
(4.9b-llb, SKQS 1203-49/50) by Yuan Jiao Mm (1266-1327). This verse alludes to the
myth of Niigua repairing the damaged cosmos by severing the feet of a giant sea turtle in
order to set the four poles of the earth. On this legend see A. Birrell, Chinese Mythology, pp.
69-72. Such images evoked by the Taoist master for guiding his astral journey are still
connected with the myth of seasonal meetings and allude to the maintenance of the cosmic
order, the process of rebirth and attainment of immortality on the cosmic Kunlun tree of
the Queen Mother of the West; see Kominami, Seiôbô to tanabata, pp. 144-186.
136 For the association with the yingnian iffi^ (which seems to refer to the better known
yingshi ÏQP# "welcoming the seasons" or ying shiqi jffiB#M "welcoming the vapors of die
seasons") see the annotations by Shi Rong ^M to the poem "Yujing xuan" 3£Mff in the
collection Shangu waiji shizhu UiCttYMWli. (9.1b, SKQS 1 1 14-361) by Huang Tingjian H
MM (1045-1 105). For the association of Yuyi with the Great exorcism danuo (M^M& ' W
mm a mtu • ^mm&mtt® • ...), see "Qunuo xing" mmn m the Yuzhi shiji mmmm chuji
(11.26a, SKQS 1302-235), compiled under orders of the emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-
1795). On these two important New Year festivals see D. Bodde, Festivals in Classical China,
pp. 75-138 and 192-200. It is interesting to note that the references to these two festivals
match the idea of "welcoming the rising sun" as the image of the beginning of spring or
beginning of the New Year, and "seeing off the setting sun" as the image of the end of the
year and festivals related to it (i.e., equinoctial sacrifices). One can also see an allusion to
the two nature festivals of mid-winter and mid-summer associated with "the concept of the
annual cycle of birth, decay and rebirth"; see M. Loewe, Ways to Paradise, p. 88.
380 MONICA ESPOSITO
Shang past of Dongmu and Ximu into the Taoist present of Yuyi and Jielin. As
the time of dawn and dusk when "Yuyi is absorbed and Jielin is gathered " ^JJ $&
Hftt ' ^ÎpÏH,137 they represent the right moment to fly to the two luminaries
and pay homage to the rising sun and setting moon:
In the Golden Heaven, I visit the Mother of the West (Ximu) and in the Purple
Abode, I have audience with the Jade Perfected (Yuzhen). At dawn, I saunter up to
the Glistening Net (yaoluo, i.e., the sun),138 at dusk I refresh myself by the Bundled
Luster (Jielin, i.e., the moon).139
The multiple allusions to the role of Yuyi and Jielin as equinoctial symbols that are
ultimately embodied in the Taoist rite of ingestion at dawn and dusk (WWtfêM
0#B±#)140 show that, in the mind of the literati, Yuyi and Jielin are Taoist
reformulations of East and West spirits. From the Taoist perspective, the
participation of Yuyi and Jielin in the Five-Agent scheme — displayed in the
eponymous rite and personified by the Five solar emperors and Five lunar ladies—
confirms their association with the tutelary gods of East and West.141 Furthermore,
as the antecedents of Xihe and Changxi, the mothers of the ten suns and the twelve
moons, Yuyi and Jielin impersonate all their controversial characters.
Jielin-Chang'e and Yuyi-Xihe, the Alter-Ego of the Divine Archer Yi

Solar and lunar myths both merge into Yuyi and Jielin. The various identities
to which the phonetic variants of Chang'e/Heng'e/Changxi/ Changyi/Shangyi
refer are taken over by Jielin, and by extension by Yuyi.142 Jielin-Changxi, the
137 See the Shengzu Ren huangdi yuzhi wenji MÏ&i^ÊLtfï'MMSCM 4 ji (25.14a, SKQS
1299-562) by the emperor Kangxi (r. 1662-1722), and taken up again in the official
gazetteers compiled by the Qianlong court's scholars, He Kun frl±$ and Liang Guozhi ^
Mie, in 1781 under the title of Rehe zhi JfftM (1.15a, SKQS. 495-26).
138 Yaoluo is an abbreviation for zhuoyaoluo PiSIi (Bright Glistening Net) that is, like
Yuyi, one of the various appellations for the sun; see YfQQ 21.13a/9, Zhen'gao (CT
1016, 9. 24b-25a), and above note 100.
139 Poem "Youxian qu wei Zhang zhenren yuhua er zuo" ilflijffiÎKÀ^HtÏÏnfË 3, in
the Xuzhouji f^MM (1.17a, SKQS 1237-14) by Wang Cheng ïffi of the Ming.
ho «-pi huiqing Jianfu gong changge" !É#lt5Êfê§1i'ill& in the Cangzhou chenfou bian
fèWmtixM (6.14a, SKQS 1176-953) by Cheng Gongxu g&ff of the Song. For other
passages related to zhao and xi, east and west, etc.; see Appendix 3 (A).
141 The role of Yuyi and Jielin can be compared to that of Goumang and Rushou. It
is not by accident that Yuyi also appears in the festival of welcoming the seasons; see
Jeffrey K. Riegel, "Kou-mang andju-shou," Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie 5 (1989-90), pp. 55-83.
The appearance of the Five solar emperors and lunar consorts marks the performance of
the Yuyi Jielin rite and the application of the Five-Agent scheme to them; see above,
pp. 355-356.
142 On these variants see above note 79. It is not my purpose to present the solar and
lunar mythology of ancient China that has already been subject of studies. Beside Chinese
and Japanese works already quoted in my previous notes, I can do no better than to refer
mother of the twelve moons, is the mate of Yuyi under the cloak of Xihe, the
mother of the ten suns. Conversely, since Xihe is also the charioteer of the sun,
Yuyi appears with Wangshu Her and Xian'e WM, the charioteers of the moon
and the alter-ego of Jielin.143
With regard to the identity of Yuyi, the latter dwells in Fusang as does Xihe,
the mother of the ten suns. Just as Fusang refers both to the solar tree and to the
Eastern land of sunrise, Xihe has a double meaning: it signifies both the mother
of the ten suns and the land of sunrise. Moreover, in this latter sense, since the
word Xihe also designates the Eastern motherland of two guardians charged with
the daily course of the sun, the name splits into Xi and He.144 As in the story of Yu
and Lii, the guardians of the Heaven-doors at Taodu mountain, one may also
speculate that Yuyi as custodian of Fusang, by mirroring Yu and Lii and Xi and
the reader to the works by H. Maspero ("Légendes mythologiques"), S. Allan ("Sons of

the Suns"), and M. Soymié ("La lune"), as well as to general studies on Chinese
mythology by R. Mathieu (Anthologie des mythes) and A. Birrell (Chinese Mythology).
143 The name of Wangshu appears in the Lisao (tri. D. Hawkes, The Songs of the South,
pp. 73 and 89) and Xian'e ffîffl mjiutan (tri. D. Hawkes, The Songs of the South, pp. 299
and 306), as well as in other encyclopedias; see Maspero, "Légendes mythologiques,"
p. 14, n. 3 and 4. On the mention of Yuyi with Wangshu, see the "Qianqing gong fu" f£
mÛ in the Taiquan ji m%M (1.3b/8, SKQS 1273-301) by Huang Zuo ftfè (1490-
1566). On the inspiration of the Lisao, Jielin is also represented as the lunar coachman
with Wangshu while driving the chariot of Feilian MM, the wind god; see "Yuefu" H M
by Feng Shike tëf R# nj of the Ming in the Yuding lidai fuhui 'MféMfôM$k (4.9a, SKQS
1421-165), a compilation of rhapsodies of the past dynasties ordered by emperor Kangxi
(r. 1662-1722). See Appendix 3(C).
144 In the "Dahuang nanjing" ^Tn^lS of the Shanhaijing lI|#S$g it is said: "Beyond
the southeast sea, in the Sweet Waters there is the country of Xihe. There is a woman
named Xihe who gives the sun a bath in the Sweet Abyss. Xihe is the wife of the
Emperor Jun. She gave birth to the ten suns" M^MZ-t^ ' t^K^P*»] > ^^MiMîC^-^
Hmn'Ûm^-ttm-mfum'^mZM'tii-tB (Shanghaijingjianshu \liMM%M, ed. Hao
Yixing jfôfêrr [1775-1825], Chengdu: Bashu shushe, 1985, 15.6a; cf. tri. Rémi Mathieu,
Étude sur la mythologie et Vethnologie de la Chine ancienne, traduction annotée du Shanhai
jing, 2 vols., Paris: Collège de France, Institut des Hautes Études chinoises, 1983, vol. 1,
p. 565). Xie Weixin HtHiff, the Song compiler of the Gujin hebi shilei beiyao qianji ^^"Êr
H^HHUgfil^ (l-4a, SKQS 939-9) records that the Shanhaijing says: "Xihe is the name
of the Eastern countries through which the sun passes. Every sun that rises is driven by
two inhabitants who push and elevate it in the Great Space. This is why Tang and Yu
(i.e., Yao and Shun) took Xi and He as names for their officials" rfgftij j^C^filiî > 0 0f Ê
iitil° U 0 tfJ ' — SA&ffl > }f Jbfcjfè-' i&JtJ*fô&£J&'t!l. See also the Jinxiu wanhua gu,
qianji MMMW&tnM (1.6b, SKQS 924-6); the Shantang sikao 0jM# by Peng Dayi &±
M of the Ming (2.17a SKQS 974-28); the Gezhi jingyuan ft%fâM (2.4a, SKQS 1031-16)
by Chen Yuanlong WtvM (1652-1736); the Xiangzu biji #|fi*|B (2.4b, SKQS 870-397)
by Wang Shizhen zE±M (1634-1711). This may allude to Yuan M and Shiyi 5iS, the
two guardians mentioned in the Shanhaijing (chap. 14 and 16) who, placed at the
northeast and north-west corner of the earth, supervise the eight winds and the course of the
sun; see Maspero, "Légendes mythologiques," p. 23.
382 MONICA ESPOSITO
He, split into Yu and Yi.145 Among all these guardian pairs, only Xi and He were
destined to be highly honored. Shrouded in euhemerizing terms, Xi and He, the
ancient guardians of the daily course of the sun, become the well-known officers
charged by Yao with "receiving the rising sun as a guest" and "seeing off the
setting sun."146 Again unified, Xihe is the officer of both Yao and Huangdi in
charge of divining the sun {zhanri dî 0)- As expected Xihe meets again his mate
Shangyi/Changyi who is charged with divining the moon {zhanyue d5^).147 The
role of these diviners and their art is naturally conferred upon Yuyi and Jielin. As
the antecedents of celestial deities of east and west worshiped in seasonal rites,
Yuyi and Jielin symbolize the divinatory practices preceding those rites. The
latter take place only in response to a due prognostication. As we will see in the
second part of this essay, the examination of auspicious signs forms an essential
part of Yuyi and Jielin rites. It was only after an auspicious oracle that Chang'e
flew to the moon and became the Queen of that Palace.148 In turn her husband,
145 As we have seen, the Yu of Yuyi may be connected with the ancient custodians Yu/
Lii W/W- (II). Like Yu and Lu, the name Yuyi may be split into Yu and Yi by taking the
latter as Yihuang, Ehuang or (Jie)yi; see the problem of the variants of Changyi, Shangyi,
etc. mentioned in note 79 above. It is worth of mention that, according to the Lushi JêâSÊ
("Shentu Yulei" #S3£H, 40.8b-9b, SKQS 383-579/580), the term lu m (a variant for M)
in Yulii has also the meaning ofjie le: "Yu-lii has the meaning oiyuan-jie" MW-% ' êIp^bW
-&. One may wonder if Lii, the companion of Yu might be related to Jie(lin), the mate of
Yu(yi), thanks to its associated sense. I am glad to leave such complicated issues of phonetic
loans and variants to specialists in Chinese mythological reconstruction. As many of them
have already shown, loans and variants often originate from a confusion between the names
of different local figures. The terms can even refer to variants of a single name or figure
but expressed in two or more different mythological layers.
146 See above note 144. For the different interpretations of Xihe in the Yaodian; see S.
Allan, "Sons of Suns," p. 324, and The Shape of the Turtle, pp. 58-60 and 86-87. On the
basis of previous studies, Allan emphasizes the links between the language of this section
of the Shujing, the oracle bone records, and the Fusang traditions. She concludes by
saying that Xihe, the mother of the ten suns, is also the spirit of the four directions
whose worship originated with the Shang.
147 According to the Lushi chunqiu tëJ3c#$( chap. 17.9a {Sibu beiyao HnfSf/ilc éd.,
Taipei: Zhonghua shuju, 1979), Changyi- Shangyi was charged with divining the moon.
In the Shiji 26-1 256a/12 ("The Calendar," tri. Edouard Chavannes, Les mémoires
historiques de Se-ma Ts'ien, 6 vols., Paris: Maisonneuve, 1967-69, vol. 3, p. 323, n. 1; Ist éd.
Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1895-1905) it is said that "Huangdi charged Xihe with divining the
sun, Changyi with divining the moon, Yuqiu with divining the stars and their vapors ..."
148 The story of the divination performed by Youhuang #jlt before the flight of
Chang'e to the moon is attributed to the Lingxian 8H which is quoted in the commentary
of the "Astronomical chapter" of the Hou Hanshu, part A, 10-3216/14 (...
); see the translation by M. Soymié, "La lune," p. 308. This story is taken up in the
Soushen ji £!#iE (quoted by R. Mathieu, Anthologie des mythes, p. 55), and in the story
"Heng'e qieyao ru changong..." in Lidai shenxian tongjian (Zhongguo shenxian da yanyi
vol. 1, p. 150). Many passages in the SKQS make allusions to it as well.
the Archer Yi, was crowned as King of the Yuyi Palace iMfUS of the Sun.
According to the Lidai shenxian tongjian Sft#fliJ®^ by Xu Dao, the Archer Yi,
also known as Chijiang ziyu ffcy&^f-M, was instructed directly by the Royal Lord
of the East before flying to the sun.149 From one of the King's lads he received a
red cake of Poris cocos {chiling gao ^^rl^)150 in order to enter without fear in the
fire disk of his future Palace. He was also given the mysterious talisman of Taiyin
j^Wkl&ffî for visiting his wife in the moon palace and the golden raven of Fusang
ik^k&Hk for mastering the laws of sunrise and sunset.151 1 will end this first part of
my study on Yuyi and Jielin with the translation of a passage of this story:
Then the Divine Archer takes his leave, and mounting his three-legged raven
he flies to the Nine Empyreans. At twelve on the dot, he reaches the sun and
enters its disk. Surrounded by a vast and boundless space large as the earth, he
does not perceive its movement and is completely free and at ease. As Chang'e
comes to his mind, he takes advantage of the night when they face each other,
takes off on a golden ray reaching from earth to heaven and flies right into the
moon. Under the dancing shadow of the cinnamon tree, passing through a cold
and lonely passage he searches for her even in the most remote places and finds
149 Chijiang ziyu (or Chisong ziyu ^fôTH, a doublet of Chisong zi g^fô^1) appears in
the Liexianzhuan ^Hlll-fli (trl. M. Kaltenmark, Le Lie-sien tchouan, pp. 48-50) and in the Lishi
zhenxian tidao tongjian MWMiÛiWMMS. (CT 296, 3.2a) as an immortal of the time of
Huangdi who does not eat any of the five cereals and can ascend and descend following the
wind and rain. Like Goumang, he is also the Head of the Bureau of Wood (muzheng /fclE)
at the time of Yao (cf. Kaltenmark, Le Lie-sien tchouan, pp. 49-50, n. 4 and Riegel, "Kou-
mang..," pp. 74-75). This confirms die association of Yuyi, as alter ego of the Archer Yi-
Chijiang ziyu-Chisong zi, with the East spirit in die Taoist tradition. Its identification with
die god of the sun is probably due to the fact that Chijiang ziyu is the doublet of Chisong zi,
the immortal under the sign of red and fire (see Kaltenmark, ibid, p. 40, n. 7), and because
he stands at the source of the transmission of solar and lunar methods. In fact, in the Yupei
jindangjing EEIt^zïtlM (CT 56; scripture including the preparatory method for the Yuyi
Jielin practice), Chijiang ziyu figures as die original founder of that Shangqing transmission
handed down to Lord Pei; see I. Robinet, La révélation du Shangqing, vol. 1, pp. 44 and 49.
On the association between Lord Pei and Chijiang ziyu see YJQQ 105. 2a-6b (I. Robinet,
La révélation du Shangqing, pp. 377-379). This further emphasizes the intimate link between
the practice of Yuyi (Jielin) and the Taoist solar (and lunar) mythology. See also note 150.
150 Ling refers to filling t£^r or Pachyma cocos, the name of the recipe that Lord Pei
received from Chijiang ziyu; see YJQQ 105.24b-26b (I. Robinet, La révélation du
Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 381). This points to another association between the figure of
Chijiang ziyu (under the cloak of the Archer Yi) and Lord Pei, the Shangqing immortal
related to the transmission of the Yuyi Jielin method.
151 The Lidai shenxian tongjian explains that it is the ancestor of the Yang who, by
continuing to swallow the solar halo (rihua B ii§), became the three-legged raven
standing on the crest of the Fusang tree in the middle of the eastern ocean. Since it
cried so stridently every time it saw the sun taking its bath, the Royal Lord of the East
ordered Lingzhen zi MM^ to put it into a cage on Mt. Taodu; see "Heng'e qieyao ru
changong ...," in Lidai shenxian tongjian (Zhongguo shenxian dayan yi, vol. 1, p. 151); and
H. Doré, Recherches sur les superstitions, vol. XII, 2nd part, p. 1188.
384 MONICA ESPOSITO
Chang'e sitting alone. At the view of Yi she wants to escape, but Yi hastens forth
and takes her hand, comforting her by saying "Now that I also have my abode in
the sun, the past need not trouble you anymore."
Then, as he cuts down the cinnamon tree, he gathers the pieces of flawless
jade and constructs a palace for her residence. On its gate, he engraves a tablet
reading "Palace of Widespread Cold" (guanghan gong HtS^'jET). Every time they
meet on the 15th night of the lunar cycle, the Yang merges with her fullness (the
full moon), and the moonlight appears particularly bright and luminous.
On his return to the solar disk, Archer Yi also builds a great palace. Due to its
exuberant aspect he names it "Palace of Vigorous Emblems" (yuyi dian HHtUst).152
From this point on, the sun and the moon both have their own rulers. This
happened in zjiazi year, the 49th of the reign of Yao.153
mnm
152 "Heng'e
153 On these qieyao
terms see
ru above
changong
notes ...,"
63, 64,
in Lidai
and 76.
shenxian tongjian (Zhongguo shenxian
dayanyi, vol. 1, pp. 151-152).
SUN-WORSHIP IN CHINA-APPENDIX 1 385
APPENDIX 1
YUYI AND JIELIN IN THE TAOIST CANON
(A) YUYI AND JIELIN IN TITLES OF TEXTS, SECTIONS OR CHAPTERS
(CT 1376,
2. la/2-3);
fl- (CT 1377, 15b/5-6).
1376,
(CT 1377, 16a/2); JLtf XM

(CT 1404, 8b/2-3); MIS.
-tM (CT 1032, 23.4b/8-9); A±ï»
^fifêBI* 9 ^ H (CT 435, lb/4-5).
Hfe (CT 426, 8b/9-10).
, 9a/l-2).
Â AW{lIJ» (CT 1404, 9a/6).

•
(CT 1404,
10a/3-4); S^-fc^ (105.2 lb/9-10).
HHIf (CT 1366, 31b/7-8).
0 IS» , 3.2b/9).
10. (CT 1138, 3.6a/l).
1 Although one finds various texts having similar titles in the Taoist Canon, the
Yuqing yinshu JL^nWM seems to refer here to the Shangqing gaoshang miemo yudi shenhui
yuqingyinshu ±f#ffi±MSt3iiii?Wil:E?itR§# (CT 1356) which is said to be linked with the
Jinhufu &J%n (CT 1336, CT 1337; see also CT 1333); see below Appendix 1(B),
no. 17, and I. Robinet, La révélation du Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 247.
2 On this text see I. Robinet (La révélation du Shangqing, vol. 2, pp. 101-110), as well
as the study and the translation by S. Bokenkamp, Early Daoist Scriptures, pp. 275-372.
386 MONICA ESPOSITO
11. (CT 1138, 31.13a/l-2).
:
12. «Si:* (6.6b/10-7a/l).
13.
14. -fcS (23.4b/l-2).
15. (68.8b/3-4).
16. (10S.20a/6-7).
17. %%-tf& (105.20a/8-9).
18. .20b/2).
19. î£-tK(105.23h/9-10).
20. i-t|g(10S.24a/l-2).
21. (ct
435, 6a/4).
22. (CT
435, 12b/5).
(B) YUYI AND JIELIN AS PRACTICES AND THEIR RESULTING BENEFITS3
A^4]*S (CT 1376,

2. la/2-9); ±?f*±^L*^»K*W
ft (CT 1377, lSb/4-10 and 16a/l); M
"8AM, (23.4b/l-8). Cf. *±if*S (CT
1376, 32.16W7-8 and 31.12b/7-8,
13a/l-2), here note 4.
(CT 1376,
2.3b/3-5); ±ffl*±^LH*«B*#
ft (CT 1377 16b/6); ±fl|*ffiHA#
fllj» (CT 1404, 1 0b/2 -4); m%±M
(23.5b/2-4); m%±.B (105.2 lb/3-5);
±±£mB{mm& a n m <ct 435,
2a/7-8).
(CT 1376,
ft (CT 1377, 17a/3-4); M^

(23.5b/10-6a/l-2); A±ï*^fi
W B fl H (CT 435, 2b/5-6). Cf.
-tig (105.19a/l-3), below no. 4.
3 This list includes the texts of Yuyi and Jielin which are seen as applications of their
eponymous practices.
4 Only the CT 1376 (2. la/8-9) has r+HAj instead of TH+AJ. In the YJQQ
(105.19a/3) one finds r^M^gj instead of r^j^Tcgj. The CT 1138 (32.16b/7-8)
records: ^ 0 £ ±M > ±jf *ffi AME9K A^lRff*S • ^)t7cS^3E» • HW¥ • %&- A - #ît
-tH¥'^^#fi?-A»*m <(PKi!eBS#^S»eJ, while in the CT 1138 (31.12b/7-8) one
finds the following passage: r
5 In the CT 1404 (10b/2-4) one finds UïMJZ^MA} instead of

while in the YJQQ (23.5b/2-4; 105.21b/3-5) and in CT 435 (2 a/7-8) one finds
6 This refers to the Huanglao biyan M.^èwk'm, another title for the Jiuzhen zhongjing
^M; see I. Robinet, La révélation du Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 69. See also here no. 4.
7 In the YJQQ (23.6a/l) and CT 435 (2b/5-6), one finds \&M\ instead of r±itj .
388 MONICA ESPOSITO
if mmm b z.m ' a. ku b mmzm (CT 1376,

2.6a/3, 2.7a/8-9);±?iA±Ajt4'SP?
£fffl" (CT 1377, 19a/7, 20a/9-10).
cf. ±±.^mwmmmûnm (ct
435, 6b/9-7a/l, 9a/8-9), here note 8.
6. (CT 1376,
2.7a/10, 7b/l and 2.8b/4-5); Hn ±±.
AX*SP$4*W (CT 1377, 20b/l-
2 and 21b/5-6). Cf.±±ïS^filëiS
â^H (CT 435, 12b/8 and 15b/8-
9), here note 9.
E AM^» (CT 1376,

2.8b/6-9); ±?f*±A*^»l^4ff
fl- (CT 1377, 21b/7-10). Cf. SSt:S
(105.15b/5-7 and 16b/6-8) here nos.
8-9; ±t*}H^3c|lf^:PHJft*S (CT
1385, 1.29b/7-10 and 33a/l-3), here
nos. 10-11.
(105.15b/4-8 and 16a/l-2);

* (CT 394, 5a/l-
); AK4](CT 1376,
b 2.8b/6-9); _h?**±A**ISK4#fl"
(CT 1377, 21b/7-10), here no. 9.
9. (105.16b/5-9 and 17a/2-3);

M AXPr1 (CT 1376,
(CT 1377, 21b/7-10), and here no. 8.
10. (CT
1385, 1.29b/7-10).
A'#
irtA A > ï^n
8 CT 43 5 (6b/9-7a/l , 9a/8-9): filftfsIS 0^Bt

+-...J.
9 CT435 (12b/8 and 15b/8-9):
...J.
10 In this text there are some slight variants, such as instead of
11 Cf. CT 394, 5b.
12 For the eleven years of practice see also no. 11; CT 1016 (18.3b/9) here no. 12;
YJQQ (105.9b/4-10-10a/l-4 and 19a/10-19b/l-3) here no. 12, and note 14. In the CT
303 (llb/10 and 12a/l-4), one also finds a passage showing the link between Zhou
11. =¥ ' PIT (CT

1385, 1.33a/l-3).
A ' f#3£ïm^+/N A - ï^r
12. IS-fciE (105.9b/2-10 and 10a/l-3).
HA - ÏÏH+-
13. ... (ff tfS (CT1016, 18.3b/9 and 18.12a/5-6).
14. ± (CT 1404, 9a/9-

10). Cf.SS-t*(23.8b^-10); SSE-t
ft (105.22b/l-3); A±Sft^filSig^
H ^ H (CT 435, 3a/5-7); see note 16.
15. A*g(CT426, 6b3-4).
Yishan and the Yuyi and Jielin practice that goes as follows:
a • .. . j . œ yjqq
(106.15a/3-7) in which the beginning of the above passage is
13 The Taishang yinshu A-hPSH is another name for the Basujing /\M$£ (CT 1323);
see I. Robinet, La révélation du Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 51.
14 YJQQ (105.19a/10-19b/l-3) : f... 1»+— ¥°A^
ÏI£+rA • ^jShBASK&A^K - të&fë»K A • j .

15 The Shangqing taiyi jinque yuxi jinzhen ji _h?f A^ÎW3iS#^l2 CT 394; see
nos. 8-10 and note 11. In the YJQQ (105.24a/3) one finds the following passage:
16 YJQQ (105.24a/7): ïmMh \. Cf. CT 1016

(5.4a).
17 The title of the two texts/sections refer to the eponymous methods and their
resulting benefits. Cf. YJQQ (23.8b/8-10):
mm» ^»'..J; YJQQ (105.22b/l-3) and CT 435 (3a/5-7): r «±±Bmm%XM)) ' ...J.
18 I.e., Basujing A.MW CT 426 and CT 1323; see I. Robinet, La revelation du
Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 52.
390 MONICA ESPOSITO
16. (CT 1138, 99.12a/2); ±

M (CT 184, 3.4a/2).
17. SS±î«(7.12a/3-4).
18. S&-fcSÉ (12.7a/8-9, 8a/l-2). Cf. ^

E+» (CT 263, 57. la/5-6, lb/7-8)
here note 20.
19. SSirS (23.4a/5-8); (105.

16a/3-6);
(CT 435, la/2-5).
20. IStl (23.4a/8-10); SSti

7b (105.16a/3-6); *±ï*P«fêîi^
I!H(CT435, la/6-8).
21, S^-fc» (23.8a/9-10);

(105.19b/4-5);
B^H(CT435,2b/7-8
22. (23.8b/2-3; 105.19b/6-7); *

fl b (ct 435,
2b/9-10).
23. S3SE-t»(23.9a/3-5);
fâïs* g ^ h (ct 435, 3b/2-3); m%.
J tM (105.2 la/7-9).24
24. IStï (68.8b/7-9). See also

Appendix (C), no. 20.
19 It refers to the title of the section included in the Jiuzhen zhongjing XM^Pi^ (CT
1376 and CT 137), also named Jiuzhen badao AIÏAjI; see I. Robinet, La révélation du
Shangqing, vol. 2, p. 69. See also Appendix 1(A), no. 1.
20 See above note 1
21 CT263(57.1a/5-6-lb/7-8): rglj^ A 0 H Will ° J .
22 I.e., Basujing; see above note 18.
23 Shangqing qionggong lingfei liujia zuoyou shangfu -htSSKMffê/Nîî^ïi:^ CT 84,
and Shangqing qionggong lingfei liujia lu _hfW^KfifHA¥^ CT 1391; see I. Robinet, La
révélation du Shangqing, vol. 2, pp. 207-21 1. See also below note 24.
24 In the YJQQ (105.2 la/7) one finds only some slight modifications such as ^Wfr
ISBÊJ instead of IWMgBÇj; while in the XJQQ (105.21a/8) and CT 435 (3b/3) one
finds ^MiBm instead of
25. &M A (105.20a/4-5).
26. (105.20b/7-9).
27. (CT 435,

5b/2-6a/l-3); *
& It A (CT220,4.4a/2-5).
28. (CT 435,

9b/8-10).
29. îf ^ a J^ H (CT 435,
(CT 220, 4.5b/2-5).
30.
16a/6-7).
31. (CT 435,

17a/10-17b/l-4).
32. (CT 220,

ft 4.6b/3-4).
33. (CT
221, 1.10a/6-10b/l-3).
34. E« (CT
221, 1.18b/7-8).
35. (CT
221, 1.2Oa/l-3).
36.
(CT1313,8a/3-4).
25 CT 220 (4.4a/2-5):
26 CT 220 (4.5b/2-5): r?
392 MONICA ESPOSITO
(C) YUYI AND JIELIN AS EMBLEMS (HYPOSTATIZATION OF SUN & MOON,

IMMORTALS/SPIRITS/GODS OF THESE TWO HEAVENLY BODIES )
(ct 1376,
2.4a/l);
(CT 1377, 17a/5); (23.6a/3).
.
2. (CT 1376,
(CT 1377, 18a/2); SS±:» (23.7a/l).
i(CT1016,4.14a/2-3).
iia?ijia (ct 442, 5a/3-4

and 8-9); MjïMB (CT 770, 5a/2-3
and line 8).
(CT 877, la/2)
(CT 1138, 2O.7a/6);

Artfil (CT 303, 1.18a/2).
^ a n -g mmm • r (CT 1138, 29.3b/3-4).
(CT 1138, 29.3b/3-4 and

29.12a/l-2).
9. /&S±îf #SSfB* (CT

777, lb/4-6); ^0j^ (CT 304,
25.2b/l).
10. (CT 1051, 2.6a/10).
(CT 1051, 2.3 la/8).
SlfiKft (CT 616, 10.10b/2-3);±lti#

(939, 9770-1).27
13. .15b/2-3 and 101.4a/7-8).
27 Also found in the Quan Tangshi ikMf& (939, 9770-1) under the title of "Mo Tingyi
jiuyao jiaoci" MfêèX. ÂBiSli^. My thanks to Kogachi Ryùchi ïËTJfêf>§^ for this reference.
14. m%-tm (12.8a/3-5); mM+9 (CT

263, 57.1b/9-10and2a/l).
15. » a : r^ a n m±m. ^Ïâ^ffi (CT 220,

4.1b/l-2). See also Appendix 2(A).
16. mmmu E» (CT

221, lb/2-3).
17. (21.1 3b/3-4). See also

Appendix 2(C).
18. «S-fc» (21.13b/6);

*)È» (CT 1439, 4a/4-5).
19. %%-t.W. (25.6W1-2).
20. n%±,m. (68.1b/3 and 8b/7-9).
21. !^g (CT 1017, 8.10W3-4).

til'
22. (CT43S,
4a/4); «±S^H^Ï^^?i (CT 220,
4.2b/4); *±H^ÏÎE
#(CT221, 1.3a/3).
23. B fi H (CT 435,

5a/3); iE ^Ï^^rÈ (CT
220, 4.3b/2); «i
, 1.6b/2).
24. (CT
221, 1.9b/6; 1.18a/2).
25. mrnnm J-B-U* (CT

221, 1.14a/3).
26. (CT
221, 1.16b/2).
394 MONICA ESPOSITO
APPENDIX 2
EXCERPTS FROM THE TAOIST CANON IN THE SIKU QUANSHU
(A) YUYI AND JIELIN AS IMMORTALS, ESSENCES, GODS OR SOULS OF SUN AND MOON
5.3a, SKQS 852-315). Cf. ^M

b ■. immmmu m (1.10a-b, SKQS 892-809); Sjg
(164.14b, SKQS 947-289);3 M% (61
: mmmsc - n a mm ; ±.5a, SKQS 879-286); ï^ëf^ff
(18.27a-b, SKQS 883-426); WÈ.MX.
Miff (ll-3.41b and ll-6.45b. SKQS
1013-90 and 190).
(18.27a, SKQS 883-426);

lfS (ll-6.45b, SKQS
1013-190). Cf. %,%£ (4.24a, SKQS
952-677); [hQft-Mgfft (9.1b,
SKQS 1114-361).
(1.6a, SKQS 921-7).

:
«-blue» s : rwmmx. -mamm-,
b a, SKQS 892-809).
lB (2.21b, SKQS 870-405).
1 See the commentary to the Huangtingjing by Liangqiu zi (YJQQ 12.7a/8 and

8a/3-4). See also below note 7.
2 In the Taoist Canon there are two texts similarly entitled: Shangqing qisheng xuanji
jing _h?R±; H;£;fB!i (CT 1361), and Shangqing y udi qisheng xuanji huitian jiuxiao jing
lM (CT 1368). Unfortunately, the above passage does not appear in
any of them. It is worth comparing it with a passage in the YJQQ (7. 12 a/3 -4), here
Appendix 1(B), no. 17.
3 The Yuhai 5fë (164.14b, SKQS 947-289) also adds: r^H«MllI£» > « %M^W> • J .
4 Cf. YJQQ 1 1.16a/3 and 12.7a/9, 7b/5 and 8a/3-4; Xiuzhen shishu CT (57. la/6). See
also below note 7. The Mingyi %M (4.24a, SKQS 952-677) adds: l"Hfcf§^ JlftK* ° J . On
this text see below note 6.
5 Cf. YJQQ 12.8a/l-4.
(2.6b, SKQS 974-23). Cf. £È

(1.7a and 1.9a, SKQS
924-7/8); ^"e-!i*S!igMft
(1.4b, SKQS 939-9); fJB§ (1.5a, 964-
347); MSfi (2.10a and 4.11a,
SKQS 951-31 and 118);7 £H (4.24a,
SKQS 952-677); fêgî^M (2.7b and
2.17a, SKQS 1031-17/22).
(74.7b-8b, SKQS 1270-

732/734)."
6 The Jizhi ji 1115^1 is a Song compilation by Wang Zishao îEï^fB which is

mentioned in the Steo/à fft7? (32*w.8a-9a, SKQS 877-717).
7 The Fwra/à qunyu H^Sï (4. 1 1 a, SKQS 951-118) says simply for Jielin: ïfèfflft n
8 This refers to the commentary on the Huangtingjing by Liangqiu zi (YJQQ 12.7a-

8a). This commentary is also found in the Huangting neijing yujing zhu IDêF^miEISfî (CT
401, 3.5a-b); in the Xiuzhen shishu ^K+# (CT 273, 57.1a-b), and in the Daoshu 3ttg (CT
1017, 8.10a/7-10 and 10b/5). The explanations of the method of solar and lunar
absorptions are attributed to the Shangqing ziiven _htf^^t (see trl. by S. Bokenkamp, Early
Daoist Scriptures, pp. 314-322). The poem by Su Dongpo M-W& (1037-1101) entitled
"Guangzhou He daoshi zhongmiao tang" JS'J'NfnJ31±^^^ (Sushi shiji MffiMM, Beijing:
Zhonghua shuju, 1982, vol. 7, p. 2398) also evokes these methods of solar and lunar
absorptions in the passage that goes as follows: Fjl AM® Hl^ff ' $kËk^¥&jfc^ïWL "... $*I3
Sfefi B i§S ' ^ S S ^ If #î# ° J .The annotations to this poem follow the exegesis of Liangqiu
zi (YJQQ 12.8a/l-2; CT 263, 57. la/5-6) by adding that if one can practice them, one will
soar up to the sun and moon as divine immortal f bfîlt îlfl1]^ B ^ Will til; see Jizhu fenlei
Dongpo xiansheng shi %Wt/jfWkMM.9c^M in the Sibu congkan. In the Ganzhuji ffi^S (7.21a,
SKQS 872-424), Yuyi and Jielin are presented as immortals who soared up to the sun and
moon and are associated with the Methods of ingesting the sun and moon (vapors) # B ^
fë. These methods are summed up in the formula of sixteen +/\^ and twenty four-
characters -+H^. For these formulas see also the WSBY (CT 1138, 93.12a/9, 94.1a/10);
the YJQQ (11.5W6, 53.14b/9) and the Zhen'gao (CT 1016, 9/24b/2).
9 In this edition one finds yuewang H M. instead oiyuemei
396 MONICA ESPOSITO
(B) YUYI AND JIELIN AS SECRET SCRIPTURES AND PRACTICES
(18.27b, SKQS 883-426).
m (6.3a, SKQS 852-315);

(18.27b, SKQS 883-426).
:
.3a, SKQS 852-315); Ï2SM
(18. 27b-28a, SKQS 883-426/427).
yf mmM.it mi
S^SsB (95.16a, SKQS 591-545).

Cf. ïîS» (18.27b, SKQS 883-
426).
fêB^ (6.3a, SKQS 852-315).
ï£î£# (18.27b, SKQS 883-426);

ffi^KIS (9.4a, SKQS 1483-67); m&
(4.1 la/3-4, SKQS 587-304).
b, 964-678);
(158.24a, SKQS 1281-537).
Jf l#ti;£ (28.42.b-43a, SKQS 981-63).
10 See Appendix 1 (A).

11 Cf.YJQQ23.5a/7; 105.20a/10.
12 Cf. Jiuzhen zhongjing (CT 2. la/4-7, 9), here Appendix 1(B), no. 1. In the Weiliie
(6.3a, SKQS 852-315), apart from some missing characters, one finds T;fc?f j instead of
r_kffj , and THWIKAj instead of \mMX\. See also the Yuzhi tang tanhui (18.27b-28a,
SKQS 883-426/427).
13 Cf. YJQQ 23.5b/2-6 and 105.2 lb/3-6. See also Appendix 1(B), no. 2.
14 It might refer to the Dongzhen Gaoshang Yudi dadong ciyiyujian wulao baojing MM~M
±5Â?Nlli^S^S^>|f (CT 1313), although the sentence in question does not
appear in this actual version. However, it is worthy of note that in this text one still finds
a reference to the practice of Yuyi and Jielin; see Appendix 1(B), no. 36.
15 This sentence is no more found in the Dengzhen yinjue. See the Basu jing (CT
1323, 4b/4-5) and the YJQQ (6.6b/3 and 10), and Appendix 1(A), nos. 3 and 12.
16 Cf.YJQQ105.20a/2.
17 YJQQ 105.23b/10 and 24a/l-2, here Appendix 1(A), nos. 19-20.
(C) YUYI AND JIELIN AS APPELLATIONS/EMBLEMS OF SUN AND MOON
fB^* (3.22a-b, SKQS

867-623). Cf. ®1f tl;É (1.3Ob-31a,
SKQS 980-17).
2. # (18.27a, SKQS 883-426);

(2.7b, SKQS 1031-17); £
.23a, SKQS 980-13).
* (1.6b-7a, SKQS
924-6 and 7); ■&^--nS*S«S
(1.4b-5a, SKQS 939-9/10); f^Bg
(1.5a, SKQS 964-347).21
4. (18.27b, SKQS 883-426).
18 Cf. YJQQ 21.13a/9 and Sbangqing dadong zhenjing ^M^MMU (CT 6, 5.24a/8).
This passage is attributed to the commentary of the Dadong zhengjing AÎEIMIÏ; see
WSBY (CT 1138, 3.2a-3b). See also above in this study.
19 CT 1016 ( 9. 24b-25a). See also this study p. 375, note 100.
20 See also above Appendix 2 (A), no. 6.
21 The Gujin hebi shiki beiyao ^ûM^fitg (1.4b-5a, SKQS 939-9/10) and the
Shuoliie !&H§ (l-5a, SKQS 964-347) add the following quotations from the Guangya: T0
£fciK'-£«)S'-£jft©'-£*lK'-£liJl&''JL «MB)) °J.
22 Dongxuan Lingbao Yujing shan buxu jing P£îî>ÏMliJi£É!$g (CT 1439, 4a/4-5);
see also YJQQ (21.13b/ 6; 25.6b/l-2), CT 1051 (2.6a/10), Appendix 1(C), nos. 10, 18
and 19.
398 MONICA ESPOSITO
APPENDIX 3
PASSAGES ON YUYI AND JIELIN FROM THE SIKU QUANSHU

ARRANGED BY THEME
(A) YUYI AND JIELIN AS EMBLEMS OF EAST AND WEST
mmmi
(25.14a, SKQS 1299-562); m
M* (1.15a, SKQS 495-26).
DAWN
& (22.2b, SKQS
DUSK 1228-432).
(1.17a, SKQS 1237-

14).
SUNRISE
&
SUNSET 4. ÎÉMMftiM (6.14a-b,
SKQS 1176-953).
PRACTICE
OF *7Ul##(58.5b, SKQS 1464-
INGESTION 64); Kftffili (18.29a-b,
SKQS 1111-373).
SKQS 1422-237); m
3CM (CT 1051, 2.6a/10). See
also Appendix 1(C), no. 10.
(1.3b, SKQS 1273-

301).
lij^ffl,* (36-l±.241a,
SKQS 541-233).
EAST
&
WEST (1.2b, SKQS 948-
745).
10. (1.48a, SKQS,

1225-27).
1 Also entitled «ft|

11. «A *#S (3.21, SKQS 587-289).

Cf. WSMXIBflï (11-
3.41b, SKQS 1013-190).
EAST 12. Ïï6 (164.14a-b, SKQS

947-289); HMfiffi (2.10a,
& SKQS 951-31). Cf. W5ë«
XSBflï (H-3.41b, SKQS
WEST 1013-190).
TAOIST 13. m*fê ï S S lîfé ¥ (18.27b,

SKQS 883-426).
PALACES 14. mm)) (9.4a, SKQS

1483-67).
15. (4.11a-b, SKQS 587-

304).
16. * M ^ I# # (14.18b,
SKQS 1477-332).
SPRING/ 17. ^^■S±M (4.9b-llb,

AUTUMN SKQS 1203-50).
18. (22.2b, SKQS

1228-432).
REBIRTH 19. (38.7a, SKQS

LONG LIFE 1270-263).
IMMORTALITY
Here one finds Jieyi #j!îflÉ instead of Jielin

400 MONICA ESPOSITO
20. (23.4a, SKQS

SEASONAL 1494-316).
MEETINGS
i!l ' JË^FIH" * SI
21. ft^M (40.7b, SKQS

1270-273).
22. mmm
SKQS 1302-235).
23.
SKQS 1114-361).
SEASONAL tU H - J
24. » (1.2b,
FESTIVALS SKQS 1422-392).
3 Cf. SMe/> mmm (1.9a, SKQS 892-809) by Wu Shu UM (947-1002) where one
finds the annotations on the following two sentences: tWîikWtilÊ. • ik'ikWMWiM] ■ On
yangsui and its role in the summer festival of "the renewal of fire" see Bodde, Festivals in
China, pp. 299-302.
4 On this sentence from the commentary of the Huainanzi, see the explanations given
here in the note 121 at p. 375-376.
(B) ASSOCIATION OF YUYI WITH XIHE HiftJ, AND OF JIELIN WITH CHANCE fâffî
ïS^l&tf (18.28a, SKQS 883-427).

Cf. Uf&î (812-870), m9kWiï in fP
/tffiftK* (99.34a, SKQS 1421-
192/93). See also here no. 6.
Xmiè (9.4a, SKQS 1483-67).
life (4.11a, SKQS 587-304).
(22.2b, SKQS 1228-432).
(1.1 lb, SKQS 924-9).
... umm #Igff|î^ (8.6a-b, SKQS 859-

165); ^P^Sf^K* (99.34a, SKQS
1421-192/93).
flJfî (ll-6.46b, SKQS 1013-

190). Cf. SOjgtfl (3a, SKQS 1220-
129).
SSI (11.16b-17a, SKQS 857-275).
See also Appendix 2(B), no. 6.

402 MONICA ESPOSITO
(C) ASSOCIATION OF YUYI AND JIELIN WITH THE CHARIOTEERS OF SUN &
MOON, AND WITH MOON CHARACTERS & FIGURES
(74.8b, SKQS 1270-733).
... mm- Butte Bf 31 (5.1b, SKQS 222-534).
(1.3b, SKQS 1273-301).
(3.9b, SKQS 1273-317).
(5.22b, SKQS 1273-317).
fêPKf# — * (31.15a, SKQS 1303-

599).
(4.9a, SKQS 1419-

165).
(24.46b, SKQS 1419-

568).
^^ (21.26b, SKQS 1475-493).
10. trXftS (1.10b, SKQS 1228-185).
fÊMS. (2.36b, SKQS 495-49).

Sun-Worship in China

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Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie

Sun-worship in China - The Roots of Shangqing Taoist Practices of

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Fichier pdf généré le 06/02/2019

Depuis l'article remarquable d'Henri Maspero sur les légendes mythologiques

Cahiers d'Extrême-Asie 14 (2004) : 345-402.

Shang graph P (normally read ding T as a graphic variant of ri 0 ), he showed

The Taoist Greeting of the Sun Rooted in a Royal Cult?

As dawn represents a key moment in many Taoist methods of absorption of

Fig. 1: Homage to the Sun

In Search of Yuyi and Jielin's Identities: An Attempt to Translate their Names

1. The Character Yu it in Yuyi

refers to qi M or vapors.64 It is in this sense that it is often used in passages of

smmz - £« a • npmwm * m&mm

rifu" mffîmmAiË'g ' *Jl$fifc#jJgBJfr (Lidai shenxian tongjian MttWiilMM by Xu Dao

beginning of the calculation in degrees of the celestial sphere.

act of the establishment of the calendar by measuring, thanks to instruments such

3. The Characterize |p in Jielin

4. The Character Lin M and its Variants

apocrypha (chenivei) emphasize, it recalls the power of scales to transform into

Yuyi and Jielin: Who are they?

Fig. 2: The Solar and Lunar Disks

Fig. 3: Paying Homage to Yuyi

Fig. 4: Paying Homage to Jielin

Fig. 5: The Luminous Sun and Moon Gods

The Flying Immortals and their Prodigious Metamorphosis

117 Taiping yulan, 3.4b.

As is to be expected, Chang'e descended to visit Archer Yi. Because she appeared

Jielin as Chang'e and the Seasonal Meetings with Yuyi

133 "Jielin Yuyi lou" (Yonglu MB 4.1 la/6-8, SKQS 587-304).

Jielin-Chang'e and Yuyi-Xihe, the Alter-Ego of the Divine Archer Yi

the reader to the works by H. Maspero ("Légendes mythologiques"), S. Allan ("Sons of

YUYI AND JIELIN IN THE TAOIST CANON

(A) YUYI AND JIELIN IN TITLES OF TEXTS, SECTIONS OR CHAPTERS

(CT 1377, 16a/2); JLtf XM

Hfe (CT 426, 8b/9-10).

^A AW{lIJ» (CT 1404, 9a/6).

HHIf (CT 1366, 31b/7-8).

10. (CT 1138, 3.6a/l).

11. (CT 1138, 31.13a/l-2).

14. -fcS (23.4b/l-2).

17. %%-tf& (105.20a/8-9).

(B) YUYI AND JIELIN AS PRACTICES AND THEIR RESULTING BENEFITS3

A^4]*S (CT 1376,

ft (CT 1377, 17a/3-4); M^

5 In the CT 1404 (10b/2-4) one finds UïMJZ^MA} instead of

if mmm b z.m ' a. ku b mmzm (CT 1376,

E AM^» (CT 1376,

(105.15b/4-8 and 16a/l-2);

9. (105.16b/5-9 and 17a/2-3);

(CT 1377, 21b/7-10), and here no. 8.

8 CT 43 5 (6b/9-7a/l , 9a/8-9): filftfsIS 0^Bt

11. =¥ ' PIT (CT

12. IS-fciE (105.9b/2-10 and 10a/l-3).

13. ... (ff tfS (CT1016, 18.3b/9 and 18.12a/5-6).

14. ± (CT 1404, 9a/9-

15. A*g(CT426, 6b3-4).

ÏI£+rA • ^jShBASK&A^K - të&fë»K A • j .

16 YJQQ (105.24a/7): ïmMh \. Cf. CT 1016

16. (CT 1138, 99.12a/2); ±

18. S&-fcSÉ (12.7a/8-9, 8a/l-2). Cf. ^

19. SSirS (23.4a/5-8); (105.

20. IStl (23.4a/8-10); SSti