The Scripture of Great Peace

罗炽Mar 2022

4.2

Word count: 170 words
Chapters: 37

Summary

The Scripture of Great Peace (Taiping Jing), also known as the Book of Great Peace and Purity, is one of the important early scriptures of Chinese Daoism. Its content is vast, covering heaven and earth, yin and yang, the five phases, the ten stems, calamities and anomalies, and immortals. It holds an important place in Daoism and has had a profound influence on the development of Daoist thought; it was the main scripture of the Way of Great Peace in the late Han, regarded as a prophetic book conveying the mandate of heaven, and constitutes the Great Peace division among the "Three Caverns and Four Supplements" of Daoist scriptures, having been included in successive Daoist canons.

The original purpose of the Taiping Jing was to express the basic demands of all social strata, especially the common people; to present to the ruling class a method of governing the state; and to attempt, through heavenly warnings and divine prophecies, to force the rulers to change course, uphold the way of heaven, restrain powerful families and consort clans, encourage filial piety and exhort to goodness, value life and delight in living, thereby eliminating conflict, achieving great peace under heaven, and restoring the royal house.

Editor's review

The Taiping Jing is the most complex and most easily misunderstood of the early Daoist classics. It is not a systematic work written by a single author but accumulated over layers; its contents span heaven and earth, yin and yang, the five phases and anomalies, immortal cultivation, and social order, combining the character of a religious prophetic book with that of a memorial of advice. The value of this reader is to sort these seemingly miscellaneous threads into graspable layers: on the one hand it explains its place in the Great Peace division of the "Three Caverns and Four Supplements," on the other it highlights its practical concern with expressing the demands of the common people and attempting to restrain rulers through heavenly warnings and divine prophecies. Readers who take it only as a book of immortal arts will miss its discussion of social conflict and its exhortation to goodness and valuing life; those who take it only as a political text will overlook its religious underpinnings. Patience is required, since the original employs the language of the relation between heaven and humanity, far removed from modern scholarly idiom; enter gradually with the aid of the explanations rather than seeking to read quickly. For readers interested in Daoist history or Han intellectual history, this book offers a vantage point different from elite philosophy.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginning readers interested in early Daoist scriptures and Daoist history
Students of literature and history researching Han-dynasty social thought and popular belief
Readers wanting to understand how ancient religious texts expressed the demands of the common people
University teachers needing teaching materials on the general features of Daoist classics

Not a good fit for

Professional scholars seeking systematic theology or a complete critical edition of the Daoist canon
Light readers expecting popular stories or a quick overview of Daoism
Readers impatient with classical Chinese and religious vocabulary who tend to give up midway

Reading tips

Read the explanatory section first to clarify the text's layers of composition and the place of the Great Peace division, then enter the selected original passages.
Separate passages on social order and exhortation to goodness from those on immortal cultivation and understand them separately.
Do not rush to judge the language of heavenly warnings and anomalies; first record its function in the text.
Read alongside works on Han intellectual history to see the difference between religious texts and elite discourse.

导读
一、《太平经》之版本源流、成书过程考述
二、《太平经》之主要思想
三、《太平经》之社会历史意义和当代价值
四、太平经之学术史价值
五、本书所据版本及选目
太平经
钞癸部（补甲部）
引言
神人真人圣人贤人自占可行是与非法
却不祥法
盛身却灾法
分别形容邪自消清身行法
修古文法
还神邪自消法
令人寿治平法
是神去留效道法
乙部
合阴阳顺道法
录身正神令人自知法
修一却邪法
行道有优劣法
名为神诀书
和三气兴帝王法
安乐王者法
丙部
分别贫富法
守三实法
事死不得过生法
五事解承负法
师策文
解师策书诀
努力为善法
分解本末法
乐生得天心法
件古文名书诀
四行本末诀

FAQ

Was the Taiping Jing written by one person? What should I know before reading?

It is not a single-author work written at one time but a text formed over a long period of accumulation, with complex sources and processes of composition. Before reading, grasp one basic point: the book has a religious prophetic character, an intent to present methods of governance to the upper strata, and also contains the basic demands of the common people. With this framework, miscellaneous content is less likely to confuse you.

Can I understand this book without knowing Daoist terminology?

Yes, with the aid of the book's explanations, but slow down. The text uses much vocabulary of heaven and earth, yin and yang, the five phases, anomalies, and immortals; without background it is easy to remain at the literal level. Read the explanations first to build a conceptual framework, note recurring terms as you go, and review afterwards; understanding will gradually cohere—there is no need to grasp it all in one pass.

What is the relation between this book and the Daodejing?

Both belong to the Daoist tradition, but they differ greatly in nature. The Daodejing is a pre-Qin philosophical work, while the Taiping Jing is an early Daoist scripture with prophetic, moral-exhortatory, and social-critical features, classified in the Great Peace division of Daoist scriptures. Do not expect it to offer rigorous philosophical argument in the manner of the Daodejing; attend instead to how religious expression and practical concern intertwine.

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About the author

罗炽 Author

Luo Chi is an author about whom little is recorded in Chinese-language sources, and the available public information is limited. Only one work by this author is currently held in the collection, the Taiping Jing. Judging from this surviving work and its usual classification, Luo Chi's writing falls within the field of Eastern philosophy and concerns the intellectual content associated with the Taiping Jing. The Taiping Jing is an important early Daoist scripture whose contents touch on cosmology, social ethics, self-cultivation and health preservation; its language is archaic and its doctrines complex, and it has long required careful editorial and interpretive work. That Luo Chi has written a book on this subject suggests a scholarly focus on Daoist classics and classical thought. Since details of biography, nationality and dates are unavailable, this introduction makes no conjectures about the author's life and confines itself to the work: the book is intended for readers interested in Daoist thought and Eastern philosophy and may serve as a reference for understanding content related to the Taiping Jing. Owing to limited sources, its style and influence await further verification.