Jade Register Liturgy for Salvation: Evening Audience Rite

AnonymousJul 2024

Rating 1.8

Word count: 2K words
Chapters: 3

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought has a long history and is highly original, inventive, and literary. Early intellectual forms are distinctive: religious theology, classical Chinese medical texts, ancient military strategy, Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist, and Hundred Schools thought, feng shui and metaphysical learning, the Twenty-Four Histories, and local customs and geography are all profound and extensive. This "Essence of Classical Chinese Culture: Original Texts" series preserves the appearance of the original books and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers cultivate character and subtly come to appreciate the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

This book is an edited edition of the original text of the "Yulu Zidu" evening audience ritual norms; together with the noon audience ritual it belongs to the same set of liturgical texts, focusing on preserving and transmitting traditional ritual literature in its original form. Its interest lies in the changes in ritual sections brought about by the shift in time of day: the evening audience has its own procedures in sequence, recitation, and document arrangements, allowing readers to observe how the same zidu system unfolds its rituals according to the rhythm of day and night and to understand how ancients organized time, the sacred, and the order of salvation of the dead. The text is specialized in terminology and strict in format; its literary quality lies not in diction but in the solemnity of its procedures, making it suitable as reference material for studying Daoist ritual and ancient religious life. It should be read alongside the noon audience ritual, with comparisons of procedures and notes on differences; for those seeking only general entertainment, the threshold will seem high. It is more a ritual archive to consult and collate than a book to read in one sitting.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars engaged in research on Daoist ritual and fast and offering texts
Readers in literature and history interested in ancient religious life and life-and-death rituals
Editors who need original Yulu liturgical texts for comparison and verification
Traditional culture enthusiasts with classical Chinese skills willing to read texts slowly

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for popular national studies readings for easy introduction
Primary and secondary school students without classical Chinese reading ability
General readers expecting storytelling or entertaining content

Reading tips

Read the publisher's note first to clarify the book's format, which mainly preserves the original appearance with limited annotation.
Read alongside the noon audience ritual, comparing ritual sections in chronological order and noting additions and omissions between the two audiences.
When encountering ritual section names, consult terminology reference works first, then return to the original text, to avoid interpreting literally.
Read only one ritual section unit at a time and write a procedural summary immediately after reading to prevent confusion of terms.

版权信息
玉籙資度早午晚朝儀
正文

FAQ

Is the content of the evening audience ritual repetitive with the noon audience ritual?

Both belong to the Yulu Zidu liturgical system, but they correspond to audience norms for different times of day, and the sequence of ritual sections, recitation arrangements, and document sections will differ. It is advisable to read them in comparison, focusing on the procedural changes brought about by the shift in time rather than treating this as simply repetitive text.

Can I understand this book without annotations?

The book focuses on preserving the original appearance of the text and has limited annotation, with specialized terminology and format. Readers with classical Chinese and basic knowledge of Daoist ritual can study it with reference works; readers with a weaker foundation should first acquire introductory knowledge of fast and offering liturgy, then use this book for textual reference.

Can this book be used to understand traditional culture?

Yes, but from a specialized angle. It presents ritual literature in its native form and reflects ancients' religious beliefs and ritual order rather than offering a popular overview of culture. Readers should read with an awareness of the text as document and use background materials to place it within the context of traditional culture.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.