Wuzhen pian 悟真篇 also known as “Essay on the [Immediate] Awakening to Truth”, “Chapters on Awakening to Perfection”
Creators: name: Li, Wanmeng
Publisher: name: Database of Religious History (DRH)
Year: 2022

description: Wuzhen pian (DZ 263.26, j. 26-30 and DZ 1017, j. 18, “Essay on the [Immediate] Awakening to Truth.” Also translated as “Chapters on Awakening to Perfection.” Its preface is dated to 1075, and its postface is dated to 1078) is a seminal Daoist inner alchemical work that underpins inner alchemy as the essential method for immortal cultivation. Inner alchemy (neidan, which literally means internal cinnabar, 內丹) refers to a range of esoteric teachings and practices derived from diverse theories including but not limited to correlative cosmology, laboratory alchemy (also known as outer alchemy, waidan, 外丹) and the teachings of Yijing 易經 (Book of Changes). Unlike the laboratory alchemy practitioners, who aim to achieve immortality by consuming magical potions made of minerals and herbs, those who practice inner alchemy focus on meditation. In meditative practices, they visualize the human body as a cauldron that refines the internal vital forces including essence (jing 精), pneuma (qi 氣), and spirit (shen 神) to produce an internal elixir, which will help them transcend. Wuzhen pian’s attributed author, Zhang Boduan 張伯端 (987?—1082), was worshipped as the founder of the Southern Lineage (Nanzong 南宗) of inner alchemy. The work was read as a commentary on the Zhouyi cantong qi 周易參同契 (Token for the Kinship of the Three According to the Zhouyi, DZ 999 and DZ 1004)—the earliest Chinese treatise on laboratory alchemy and granted equal importance in the teaching of inner alchemy. Most sections in Cantong qi were written as tetrasyllabic or pentasyllabic rhymed verses. A few other sections adopt the Sao style or prose style. Influenced by Cantong qi, Wuzhen pian also adopts the form of poetry. However, most sections in Wuzhen pian were septasyllabic quatrains or regulated verses, which are poetic forms that became dominant in the Tang dynasty (618—907). It also includes a section of song lyrics (ci 詞), a genre that became mainstream in the Song dynasty (906—1279). The Wuzhen pian’s adoption of the new poetic forms not only reveals the author’s mastery of poetry but also exemplifies the Daoist treatises’ achievement in introducing new contents to the literary tradition. The Wuzhen pian originally comprised eighty-one verses, which are divided into three sections: the first section consists of sixteen septasyllabic regulated verses that focus on the idea of “two times eight” mechanism, which embodies the dichotomy of yin and yang that functions with hexagrams; the second section includes sixty-four septasyllabic quatrains that incorporate the concept of the hexagram in the Book of Changes and the last pentasyllabic poem eulogizes the ideal of the Great Unity (taiyi 太一). Later, two additional sections were added: one section comprises twelve pieces of song lyrics following the tunes of Western River Moon (xijiangyue 西江月); the other contains thirty-two poems that elaborate on cultivation through Buddhist subjects. According to Zhang Boduan’s summary in the postface, the contents range from the teachings about “the ranking of vessels, the weight of medical ingredients, and the control of fire-phasing” to the method for distinguishing “the superiority and inferiority, existence and nonexistence, and auspicious and ominous.” The text’s highly esoteric and symbolic language indicates that oral instruction by a master was required during the learning process. Inevitably, its obscurity also led to various interpretations, stirring much debate among later commentators. While Wuzhen pian includes certain guidance for sexual techniques, commentators tended to disapprove of such contents. Instead, they emphasized the teaching of inner alchemy and the text’s relation to the Book of Changes. Two sets of Wuzhen pian’s inner alchemical concept were considered essential in later receptions. First, it inherited the theory of dual cultivation of nature and life (xingming shuangxiu 性命雙修) from the Zhong-Lü tradition, a Daoist meditative tradition that was active during the late Tang and regarded refining one’s nature (xing 性) and prolonging life (ming 命) as equally important. Second, it absorbs the theory refining essence, pneuma, and spirit, which was promoted by the Daoist master Chen Tuan’s 陳摶 (871—989), making these elements the key components for producing the internal cinnabar. Although the alleged author Zhang Boduan was active during the eleventh century, Wuzhen pian did not gain much attention until the mid-twelfth century. During the 1160s, many commentaries begin to appear, and the text itself becomes available in many editions. The edition that collects the earliest commentaries is a five juan version titled Wuzhen pian jizhu 悟真篇集註, which is mentioned in Zhizhai shulu jieti 直齋書錄解題, one of the most influential private book collection catalog composed by the Southern Song literatus Chen Zhensun 陳振孫 (1179－1262). Some major commentators and compilers include Weng Baoguang’s 翁葆光 (c. 12th century), Xia Yuanding 夏元鼎 (c. early 13th century), and Chen Zhixu 陳致虛 (b. 1290). The Taoist Canon: A Historical Companion to the Daozang edited by Kristofer Schipper and Franciscus Verellen provides a comprehensive list of Wuzhen pian editions and inspired works. About the later transmission of the treatise, the Wuzhen pian probably influenced the Northen Lineage of inner alchemy, which was represented by the Quanzhenjiao 全真教 (Teaching of Complete Perfection). Louis Komjathy argues that the Quanzhen tradition merged with the Southern Lineage on the eve of the fall of the Song dynasty. It is very likely that the Quanzhen tradition also engaged the inner alchemical theories established by Wuzhen pian.