Declarations of the Perfected
真诰
Accounts of Shangqing revelation, records of people, letters and editorial observations meet in this compilation. It leads back to Yang Xi, the Xu family and Tao Hongjing—and to the question of how their writings survived.
Guide · two extracts from juan 1How to approach this work
The received Daozang version has twenty juan in seven divisions. Two short extracts introduce distinct voices: revealer, writer, copyist and editor. Accounts of divine revelation are religious narratives; editorial comments form another textual layer.
Chinese primary texts and reading guides are presented separately.
Recognizing the writer
卷一选段：辨认书写者
The note identifies “disciple” as Yang’s self-designation. It helps separate a voice in the record from the editor’s explanation, and leads back to Yang Xi’s profile.
南嶽夫人與弟子言，書識如左。〈弟子即楊君自稱也。此眾真似是集洞宮時，所以司命最在端，當為主人故也。夫人向楊說次第位號如此，非降楊時也〉
A record of transmission
卷一选段：传授与书写
Speech, transmission and an alternative scripture title belong to the record’s oral setting. The short extract needs its surrounding dates and context; it cannot establish an entire lineage on its own.
裴真人又言：「此書與《隱書》同輩事，要而即可得用也，一名《七玄隱書》。」〈右二十三日授訖此〉
Edition & sources
A guide with two extracts from juan 1, not the complete twenty-juan work. Notes in angle brackets follow the transcription. Continue through the linked contents for the full work.
Guides are written for this site. Read divine beings, bodily imagery and longevity in their religious setting.