Sima Chengzheng

Sima Chengzheng (647 - 735) was "one of the most eminent religious figures of the Tang dynasty and an important member of the literary world during Emperor Xuanzong's reign (712 - 756)."⁴ Originally from what is today Henan province, he was associated with several famous mountains, studying with 潘師正 Pan Shizheng at 嵩山 Songshan, traveling extensively until he settled in 天台山 the Tiantai Mountains, also serving as patriarch at 茅山 Maoshan. He was often summoned to the court, had very close relations with Xuanzong, and was one of the Transcendent Group of Ten Friends.

The biography is quite long. Near the beginning the author writes that he has seen Sima Chengzhen's essay Su Qin Zhuan (Record of a Plain Qin⁵). He then apparently quotes some excerpts.

Qinshu Daquan has several references:

Folio 17, #41 (further biographical information)
Folio 12, #47 (concerns the melody Zuo Wang)

The original Qin Shi essay is very lengthy. It begins as follows.

Sima Chengzheng, style name Ziwei, as a youth served Pan Shizheng, who transmitted 辟穀法 the method of attaining immortality by abstaining from cereals, 導引術 the art of Daoist breathing exercises. There was nothing (Sima Chengzhen) could not accomplish, and Shizheng considered him quite extraordinary, saying....

Further details in preparation.

Footnotes (Shorthand references are explained on a separate page)

1 司馬承正 Sima Chengzheng; elsewhere it is written 司馬承禎 or 承貞 Chengzhen; style name 子微 Ziwei; nickname 正一先生 Mr. Zhengyi. Giles says Empress Wu summoned him to court but he refused. Emperor Ruizhong succeeding in bringing him there, and they held long conferences in which Sima Chengzheng said one should rule a country as one rules one's own body -- keeping dispassionate and being in harmony with nature. Emperor Minghuang (Xuanzong) also summoned him and benefitted from Chengzhen's calligraphy skills. He died age 89. Giles has 承貞 and 貞一. 3306.191 has 承禎 and 貞一, adding the nickname 白雲 Baiyun. (Return)

2 73 lines: mostly a quote from Record of a Plain Qin. (Return)

3 This image is from an illustrated Ming dynasty Liexian Quanzhuan, which developed out of the Han dynasty Liexian Zhuan. (Return)

4 ICTCL, pp. 719 - 720; by Douglas Nielson. (Return)

5 素琴傳 Su Qin Zhuan (Record of a Plain Qin)
This essay (27924.231xxx) is listed in Qinshu Cunmu, Folio II, #10, but the comment only repeats what is in Qin Shi, that Zhu Changwen saw the essay but only copied part of it, for fear of errors (? the text says, "余嘗得素琴傳云子魏所作然辭或舛誤頗為刊定."). (Return)

Return to QSCB, or to the Guqin ToC.