THE WRIT OF THE THREE SOVEREIGNS

In the span of a few generations, the "Writ of the Three Sovereigns" would become the cornerstone of one of the three basic corpora of the Daoist Canon, a pillar of Daoism - and a perceived threat to the state. This study traces the text's transition from local tradition to empire-wide institutional religion.

In 648 CE, autoritatile imperiale Tang au adunat fiecare copie a Scrisului celor trei suverani (Sanhuang wen) din cele patru colturi ale imperiului si le-au ars. Se spune ca formidabilele talismane din centrul sau nu numai ca extind durata de viata a proprietarilor si protejeaza impotriva nenorocirii, ci si le propulseaza la inaltimi stratosferice ale puterii, ridicandu-le la rangul de inalt ministru sau chiar imparat.