"Taishang Xuanling Beidou Natal Life Extension Sutra" is one volume. On July 28, the 22nd year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (the empress's birthday), the Empress wrote a picture book in the Inner Mansion (note: Zhonggong - meaning the residence of the queen, that is, another name for the queen). It is 34 centimeters in length and 15 centimeters in width and 6 centimeters in thickness, folded, yellow silk cover, the opening is broad, where sixty-eight open, the text is in italic ink book, each half opens four lines of eight to twelve words, the upper and lower hand-painted double silk columns, with 28 exquisite gorgeous color pictures, painted by the Ming court painters, the paper is a special thickened cotton paper for the court, the only book in the sea.
This scripture is a very important classic of Taoism, and it is a must-recite book for the Taoist Zhaijiao ritual "Shunxing Worship Tai Sui". In the history of Taoism in China, the Ming Dynasty was an important period for the development of Taoist thought, and most of the emperors and queens of the Ming Dynasty believed in Taoism, which led to the belief of scholars and the general public. As the name suggests, if you copy and recite or worship this scripture, you will prolong your life, live a good life, and eliminate all bad luck. The Big Dipper is the cardinal of creation, the master of man and god, who has the power to resurrect and die, and the power to eliminate disasters and disasters. The five bodies of mortal life are all in charge of the natal star officer. Therefore, on the natal birthday and fasting days, people should purify their bodies and minds, burn incense and chant sutras, bow to the star to which their natal belongs, and make offerings, so that they can eliminate sinful karma, live a long life, and stay away from all calamities. In the scriptures: "There is a Beidou Sutra at home, and the true spirit is descended from the natal life." The family has the Beidou Sutra, and the house is peaceful. The family has the Beidou Sutra, and the parents protect their longevity. There is a Beidou Sutra at home, and all disgust turns into dust. There is a Beidou Sutra at home, and all evils return to righteousness. The family has the Beidou Sutra, and the business is satisfactory. The family has the Beidou Sutra, and the door is healthy. The family has the Beidou Sutra, and the children and grandchildren are prosperous. There is a Beidou meridian at home, and the five roads are self-accessible. There is a Beidou Sutra at home, and all evils will be eliminated forever. The family has the Beidou Sutra, the six animals are prospering, the family has the Beidou Sutra, and the disease is cured. The family has the Beidou Sutra, and the property is not wasted. If you have the Beidou Sutra at home, you can never afford it. The family has the Beidou Sutra, and the long guarantee of Henry Zhen. These fifteen mantras in the book are accompanied by a beautiful painting, which vividly illustrates the various blessings brought by copying, reciting or enshrined in this "Taishang Xuanling Beidou Natal Life Extension Sutra".
This "Taishang Xuanling Beidou Benmei Natal Yansheng Sutra" has the Taishang three holes of the magic weapon of the preface of the mantra ceremony, the payment is the 28th day of the Ming Dynasty Jiajing Renyin year Meng Qiuyue, that is, the 28th day of the seventh lunar month of Jiajing 21st year, in the text of the "Taishang Xuanling Beidou Benmei Natal Yansheng Sutra", the large character writing Seiko, during which there are 12 pieces of exquisite and gorgeous color pictures of the double-fold even leaf type, 16 single-fold pictures, the picture is painted by the court painter, the color is calm, the materials are extremely exquisite, regardless of the work, the pearl of the view, the gold and splendor, Colorful auspicious clouds surround the sky on earth, and the painting is extremely stable and heavy. After more than 470 years, the color is still the same and dazzling. The last page is painted with a lotus throne tablet, and the upper part of the lotus seat and the left and right sides are painted with a five-clawed golden dragon, which is extraordinary and lifelike. The book "July 28, 22nd year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, the queen of the middle palace", knows that this scripture has been copied and painted for a whole year, which shows the precision and difficulty of its writing. After the completion of this painting, it has been deeply cultivated in the palace, and the addition of imperial power has made it far beyond the value embodied in the original image material, and formed a unique value representation - power and wealth, making this work a treasure of court art in the Ming Dynasty.
According to the history of the Ming Dynasty: "Empress Xiaolie Fang, the third queen of Sejong, is also a native of Jiangning." In March of the tenth year, he was the ninth concubine with Zheng, Wang, Yan, Wei, Shen, Lu, Shen, and Du. Zhang Hou abolished (the first month of the thirteenth year was abolished in the palace), and then he was established as the queen, and the Shen family was named the concubine Chen, and the Yan family was the concubine. In November 26, it collapsed. "Another Ming Dynasty Emperor Zongsu record volume 165 years: "Jiajing 13th year July 癸巳 (28th), Zhonggong Lingdan (note: the name of the ceremony - the queen's birthday) exempted women from the court." Emperor Zongsu of the Ming Dynasty recorded the volume of 276 years: "In the 22nd year of Jiajing, in July Xinwei (28th), the queen's order (note: the name of the ceremony system - the queen's birthday) exempted women from the palace to congratulate the banquet." According to the above records, we learned that this Taoist scripture was written by the third Empress Fang of Emperor Jiajing, a native of Jiangning (now Nanjing) of Empress Xiaolie, and Empress Fang's birthday was on the 28th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.
The Ming Dynasty Inner Mansion Manuscript Picture Book is scarce, and the major collection institutions are regarded as arches, among which the noble ones are the Yongle Canon of the Jiajing Inner Mansion of the Ming Dynasty, which is the paper used in the Taishang Xuanling Beidou Benmei Yansheng True Scripture and the cinnabar hand-painted column lines are consistent with the Yongle Canon. As far as the author's preliminary understanding is concerned, the current collection of Ming Dynasty Neifu manuscript picture books is briefly listed as follows:
One is the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, the Ming Dynasty handwritten painted illustration book "True Zen Inner Seal Dun Zheng Void Condensation Dharma Realm King Kong Wisdom Sutra", three volumes, folded, the book clothes are covered with yellow silk and weaving flowers and gold brocade, the inscription of the gold book on the ink bottom is pasted, elegant and dignified, Xuande three years March 15 copied and painted, the text is folded six lines per fold, each line is up to eighteen words, the upper and lower hand painted double silk columns, the frontispiece is painted with two thrones, the throne is painted with four dragons and four phoenixes, the middle is respectively "long live the emperor, long live, long live" and "March 15 of the third year of Xuande". The third volume is written by Shen Dujing, the minister of the last paragraph, and the lower left corner of the tail painting, which is painted by the minister Shang Xijing. Shen Du - a famous calligrapher in the early Ming Dynasty, a court painter during the Shangxi-Xuande period. The imprints are: the treasure of the Qianlong Imperial Tour, the Qianlong Appreciation, the Secret Palace Pearl Forest, the New Edition of the Secret Palace, the Pearl Forest Reset, the Treasure of the Jiaqing Imperial Tour, the Treasure of the Xuantong Imperial Tour, the Treasure of the Ganqing Palace, the Sanxitang Jingjian Seal, and the descendants of Yi. The calligraphy is exquisite, the mineral color is calm, the materials are extremely exquisite, and it is still dazzling after more than 600 years. The plate style and color materials used in this work "Taishang Xuanling Beidou Natal Yansheng Sutra" have obvious consistency and continuity with this "True Zen Inner Seal Dun Evidence Void Condensation Dharma Realm Vajra Wisdom Sutra", so "Taishang Xuanling Beidou Natal Yansheng Sutra" was also painted by court painters during the Jiajing period.
The second is the National Library of the Ming Dynasty handwritten painted illustration book "Ming Jiezeng and Thousand Family Poems Notes" two volumes, one volume, only the second volume remains, the National Palace Museum in Taipei has this volume one, and the National Atlas collection should be a scattered. This book is bound in line, the cover of yellow silk, with mineral color fine painting and fine copying, the opening is grand, the two sides around, the double shun fish tail, the fine mouth, the bilateral column boundary line, the version of the fish tail for the cinnabar hand-painted, the style is similar to the national map collection Ming Jiajing copy "Yongle Canon". There is no transcription inscription, and the age is to be examined. Writing and painting is generally weaker than the "Taishang Xuanling Beidou Natal Yansheng Sutra".
The third is the handwritten and illustrated book of Ming Neifu in the library of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, "Supplement to Lei Gong Concocted Handbook", 14 volumes, 1 volume, and 12 volumes. Thread binding, yellow silk cover, open book Honglang, bilateral around, double shun fish tail, rough mouth, bilateral column boundary line, plate mouth fish tail for cinnabar hand-painted, from the Ming court painter fine pen fine painting. The court painters used magical mineral materials, and the images that have been painted for more than 400 years are still as beautiful as new and distinct. There is a plaque in front of the book, the lotus throne, the dragon pattern is painted on three sides, and the book Wanli Xin Mao spring system. The painting level of this lotus throne tablet and the use of colored materials and the momentum of the dragon are far inferior to the lotus throne tablet painted in the "Taishang Xuanling Beidou Natal Yansheng True Scripture", and the decline of national power can be seen. In addition: "Addendum Lei Gong Concocted Handbook" This book CCTV National Treasure Archives has a special film and television introduction - a rare ancient book of national treasures.
The fourth is the handwritten and illustrated book of the Ming Inner House in the collection of the Toyo Bunko in Japan, "The Imperial System of Foreign Relatives", five volumes, two volumes. Thread binding, open broad, eight to ten lines of nineteen or two crosses per half page, bilateral, double pair of fish tails, rough mouth, bilateral column boundary line, plate mouth fish tail for cinnabar hand-painted, preface after the title "Xuande first year of April", calligraphy fine, mineral color calm, extremely exquisite materials, more than 600 years still dazzling.
Five for the National Library of the Ming Dynasty handwritten painted illustration book "Imperial System Quanzhen Group of Immortals" three volumes, five volumes, line binding, the opening is broad, each half page of nine lines of sixteen or twenty-one, twenty-two words, four sides of the bilateral, double pair of fish tails, rough mouth, bilateral column boundary line, plate mouth fish tail for cinnabar hand-painted, preface after the title "Ming Dynasty Chenghua Zhu Mao June auspicious day imperial system", the last page of the painting throne, the throne on three sides of the dragon pattern, the auspicious language in the Chinese book, the level of calligraphy and painting is exquisite, the mineral color after hundreds of years is still the same, gorgeous, amazing.
Here are the above examples, it is not difficult to find that whether it is the format of copying, the raw materials used in copying, and the style of copying, they are all consistent with the work of this field, "Taishang Xuanling Beidou Benmei Yansheng True Scripture", and each of them is the only one in the sea. And there is such a high-standard person who writes the scriptures on July 28, the 22nd year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, and only sees the case of "Taishang Xuanling Beidou Benmei Natal Life Extension Sutra" in the hand-copied painted illustrations of the Ming Neifu found so far, and it is copied on the queen's birthday, and the treasure of those who know it should be treasured.
Among the above-mentioned kinds, the "True Zen Inner Yinton's Evidence of the Void Condensation Dharma Realm Vajra Wisdom Sutra" is a Buddhist scripture written in the Ming Dynasty, and it is also a combination of late Esoteric Buddhism, the idea of the integration of the three religions and the Taoist method, and the righteousness is extremely rich, and the "Imperial Quanzhen Immortal Collection" and "Taishang Xuanling Beidou Natal Yansheng Sutra" are all Taoist works, which also indirectly reflects the atmosphere of most of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty who worship Taoism. Ming generation: Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang has an indissoluble relationship with Taoism throughout his life, so it is natural to worship Taoism emotionally, he continued to use Taoism to serve him after taking power, and the seizure of imperial power by Ming Chengzu Zhu Di is also related to Taoism, so he is both disciplined and worshiped Taoism after he ascended the throne; Later, Renzong, Xuanzong, Yingzong, Xianzong, Xiaozong, etc., had similar attitudes towards Taoism, focusing on respect; And Ming Shizong, also known as Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houxi, was the most prosperous one among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. During his reign, he took Taoism as his top priority, highly integrated political rights with religious beliefs, and took religious beliefs as the center of his governance. The history of the Ming Dynasty contains "At the beginning of Sejong, the supply of the inner government was reduced to the ninth day. After middle age, build a Jiao restaurant, pick wood and incense, pearls and jade gems, and the people are desperate, using yellow and white wax to more than 300,000 catties", it can be seen that Emperor Jiajing of Ming Shizong has worshiped the Tao to an astonishing extent. Therefore, Taoism in the Ming Dynasty has made great progress under the vigorous promotion of the rulers. This "Taishang Xuanling Beidou Natal Life Extension Sutra" was also published at the right time in this environmental background.