佛祖統紀 43.67

43.67

○ At the beginning of the dynasty, a heavenly spirit descended upon the house of Zhang Shouzhen in Zhouzhi (pronounced Zhou-zhi, a county subordinate to Fufeng). It proclaimed of itself: 'I am an assistant to the Jade Emperor, and have received the mandate of the Sovereign on High to guard and protect the Song dynasty.' Everything it said concerning fortune and misfortune was verified, and Shouzhen thereupon became a Daoist priest. By this time, the Emperor summoned Shouzhen for an audience, who set forth the methods for establishing altars and conducting jiao rituals. An imperial decree ordered the performance of the Great Jiao of the Entire Heavens in the Qionglin Garden. Wang Guicong, Gentleman of the Remonstrance Bureau, was dispatched to Mount Zhongnan to build the Upper Clarity Peace Palace to worship the heavenly spirit. When the Emperor personally led the campaign against Taiyuan, the heavenly spirit descended and said that a jiao ritual should be performed in thanks for victory. More than ten days later, the imperial armies reported victory. The Emperor sent an envoy to the palace to perform a jiao in thanksgiving; that night, the spirit descended and said, 'The Sovereign on High and the various devas all rejoice that the longevity of the dynasty's destiny will surpass that of the Tang.' An imperial decree was therefore issued conferring upon the heavenly spirit the title True Lord, Supporter of the Sage and Protector of Virtue, and granting Shouzhen the title Master Chongyuan ('Exalter of the Primordial'). From this time on, whenever princes, ministers, scholars, or commoners went to the palace to pray, the spirit would invariably descend with words of admonition (from the Institutional History of Our Dynasty).