Chen Tuan: Discussions and Translations
by Livia Kohn.
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Introduction
CHEN TUAN: DISCUSSIONS AND TRANSLATIONS
© Livia Kohn 2001
This collection of three essays and five translations on the Song Daoist saint and immortal Chen Tuan goes back to work done over about a decade, from 1978 to 1990. It began with my dissertation (Leben und Legende des Chen Tuan, 1981), which focused on questions of legend development and the problem of what "immortality" meant as a religious ideal in the Song dynasty.
Later I supplemented this work with materials on Chen Tuan as a physiognomist. I had been aware of this role of his while writing my dissertation but could only access it when I went to Taiwan later. There I picked up the physiognomic handbook Shenxian quanbian, both in a Ming-dynasty manuscript (from the National Library) and in a modern paperback reprint. I then wrote about both this book and the Fengjian, a physiognomic manual closely linked with Chen Tuan, in articles which were published in Asian Folklore Studies (1986, 1988)
Following this, I prepared a volume for Taoist Resources (2.1) on Chen Tuan, scheduled to coincide with the thousandth anniversary of his "immortal transformation in 989. It contains an English summary of the results of my dissertation on legend development and a translation of his official Songshi biography, as well as Li Yuanguo's study of Chen Tuan as an Yijing philosopher, Terry Russell's examination of Chen Tuan in Japan, and Teri Takehiro's translation of a Ming work on inner alchemical soul-travels known as sleep."
Working along, I wrote various presentations and made translations of materials that never were integrated into any published work. These materials I would now like to make accessible in digital form on eDao. They consist of three discussions and five translations.
The three discussions summarize my dissertation in English and present materials discussed in the article on Chen Tuan as physiognomist. They are not mere reprints, although they pick up the same materials, but add additional reflections and integrate more recent studies into the discussion. They are especially useful for students who wish to know about Chen Tuan's legends and his role at the Song court but do not read German.
The five translations have, for the most part, not been published previously. The first is the complete and amply annotated rendition of Chen Tuan's life according to the Lishi zhenxian tidao tongjian, a key source for the dissertation, but not translated there. The second is the literary rendition of Chen Tuan's vita in the Taihua xiyi zhi, which is translated into German as an appendix of the dissertation. The third, the physiognomic treatise Fengjian, appears in Asian Folklore Studies, 1988. The last two, Mayi daozhe zhengyi xinfa and Yin Zhenjun huandan gezhu, are poems closely associated with Chen Tuan and appear here for the first time. They are not annotated and may sound quite obscure, especially since they deal with Song-dynasty Yijing thought and inner alchemy.
All these translations should be of some use to students interested in Chen Tuan or different aspects of Song culture. They are not polished but may help as a starting or reference point for scholars and will certainly do more good on eDao than they will ever in my files at home.
Table of Contents
| Discussion 1: The Immortal and his Legend Saints and Saints-Legends Sage, Immortal, Founder, Patriarch Chen Tuan in Song Sources Biji and Early Biographies Later Legend Lineages Integrating the Strands |
3 |
| Discussion 2: Physiognomy and Legitimation Practical Application Chen Tuan in Physiognomic Texts Traditional Textbooks Chen Tuan's Authorship Physiognomic Theory Bone Structure and Complexion The Voice and the Eyes |
20 |
| Discussion 3: The Official Face of Chen Tuan The Myth of the Imperial Adviser Chen Tuan and the Imperial Court Historical Encounters Later Evaluations and Embellishments "The Record of Master Xiyi of the Great Hua" |
38 |
| Translation 1: Lishi zhenxian tidao tongjian 47.1a-14b "Comprehensive Mirror through the Ages of Perfected Immortals and Those Who Embody the Dao," by Zhao Daoyi (ca. 1300), ed. DZ 296; j. 47, "Chen Tuan." |
59 |
| Translation 2: Taihua xiyi zhi, ch.1 "Record of Master Xiyi of the Great Hua," by Zhang Lu (dat. 1314), ed. DZ 306; j. 1. |
83 |
| Translation 3: Fengjian "Mirror of Auras," by Chen Tuan, ed.Yuguan zhaoshen ju; 1.4b-9b. |
101 |
| Translation 4: Mayi daozhe zhengyi xinfa "The Hempclad Taoist's Method of the Mind Following His Proper Interpretation of the Book of Changes," by Mayi daozhe (10th c.), comm. by Chen Tuan, ed. Jindai bishu. |
113 |
| Translation 5: Yin Zhenjun huandan gezhu (DZ 134, fasc. 59) "Commentary to the Songs on Reverting Cinnabar by the Perfected Yin," attr. to Chen Tuan, ed. DZ 134. |
120 |
| Bibliography | |
| Primary Sources on Chen Tuan | 131 |
| Secondary Studies | 139 |