Lin-s^ui Fu-ren (Lin-shui lady) is 21^st mistress in the ritual transmission-lineage of the Jin-min Lu: S^an San-nai Pai (‘Pure-Perspicacious Lu: Mountain 3-Ladies Tradition’).

"According to the Fengjing zalu, there was a daughter of the Chen family who lived in the subprefecture of Gutian, in the country of Min ... . ... she could predict the future and all her predictions were correct. To play, she liked to cut out butterflies and sparrow-hawks ... . She blew charmed water on them, and they could then fly and dance. She fashioned with her teeth a baton ... with which she could make cows low and horses whinny; she could also make them run or stand still as she pleased. When she felt like eating, she emptied bushels and casks ... . ... when she died ... she took possession of a medium (tongzi) for the purpose of communication. ... Today, her cult is very widespread in the country of the Bamin [the "eight Min," that is, the whole of Fujian]."

p. 4

"The goddess is named Chen. For generations, her ancestors were

p. 5

shamans (wu). ... At Linshui, there was the grotto of the White Snake, whose breath was lethal ... . One day, a person dressed in red and holding a sword captured the snake and cut it into pieces. ... She said : "I am ... of Xiadu (Lower Ford) of Jiangnan." ... Subsequently, a temple was constructed on the grotto of the White Snake with a pavilion for her to dress up in."

p. 6

"Thirty li from the town [Gu-tian] ther is a place called Linchuan; a temple there bears the name Shunyi, and the divinity is the Lady Chen. ...

p. 7

In front of the temple they built a rock wall in order to protect the head of the dragon, and behind the temple they dug a pond to combat the geomantic influence of the springs."

p. 8

"a female snake ... devoured people. It had chosen for its home a grotto located in the village of Linshui, which was located in the ... Gutian district. The people of the village gave it ... on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month ... two children, a boy and a girl ... . ... Guanyin ... on her way home from a banquet in the South Sea ... saw that a poisonous vapor filled the Fuzhou sky. She then cut off one of her fingernails, which turned into a ray of lgiht that penetrated Old Chen’s wiife, Madame Ge, who became pregnant. When she gave birth ... at the yin hour [3-5 AM], ... bright light was seen,

p. 9

perfume permeated the air ..., and the sound of a golden drum was heard near the door, as if a multitude had come to attend her and present her. That is why she was called Jingu ... . ... Her older brother, Erxiang, had orally received ... methods ... to communicate with the three worlds. In the higher world, he was able to command the celestial generals, and in the lower world the shadow soldiers (yinbing). When he came to Linshui village in Gutian, ... there was the divine power of the master Yu : rising up into the sky, he caused a golden bell to fall from the sky in order to protect him. Thanks to the divine wind that spread out around the bell, the demon could not approach, but Erxiang could not get out, either. Jingu ... rescued her brother and cut the snake into three pieces. The snake ... incorporated the vitalizing essence of the Snake constellation. ... Today, ... the House of the Snake ... sends out numerous aquatic demons ... . ...

p. 10

Her younger sister, who destroyed the demon temple at the mouth of the river, received the title of Third Lady Li (Li San Furen). Her festival takes place on the fifteenth of the eighth month." ["Today in Taiwan the festival of Lin Jiuniang takes place on the fifteenth of the eighth month, and that of Li San Furen (Li Sanninang) on the ninth of the ninth month. The dates are thus reversed." (p. 266, n. 0:16)]

p. 10

"the Lady’s elder brother practiced the "Dao of the Left." ["Dao of the Left (zuodao) refers to the ritual arts of Mao Shan." (p. 266, n. 0:18) {from Zuo-dao is derived the Vama-acara Tantra of India}] He had withdrawn into the mountains were the Lady often

p. 11

Xie Jinluan, in his monograph (zhi) of the district of Taiwan, ... says that the Lady was named Jingu. She was a native of Fuzhou. ... Later on, she was further granted the title of Original Lady of the Jasper and Cinnabar Clouds, Sage Mother Celestial Immortal, Azure Spirit of Universal Transformation (Tianxian shengmu qingling puhua Bixia Yuanjun)." {would this title properly belong to her sister?}

p. 12

... there was a great drought, the rain failing to arrive. ... Chen Shouyuan, the Daoist priest (daoshi) of the Lingbao Temple ..., ... went to beseech Chen Jinggu for help. ...

p. 13

She therefore went to Bailong jiang [White Dragon River ...]. She placed a mat on the water, unbound her hair, and put on her magician’s headdress and skirt ... . In her left hand she held a horn with divine power, and in her right hand her ritual sword. Then she traced out mantic steps on the mat placed directly on the water, while dancing with her sword and blowing on the horn; she danced on the constellation of the Northern Dipper in order to perform the true magic of Mount Lu:. She pronounced secret formulas, performed the

p. 14

ritual, and wrote Thunder talismans in order to transform the sky. Then she ordered Great Guardian Wang to go to the Dragon King of the Four Seas in order that he might cause rain to fall. ... Immediately, ... storm clouds swiftly arrived, and ... rain fell. ... The master of rituals [Fazhu ...], quickly flew to the top of the mountain and ... took three stones and threw them into the air. They turned into three female ducks able to dive into the water. They seized the three corners of the mat and ... they turned it into an island, which was called Duck Island. ["Yamu zhou. This island is in the Min River". (p. 267, n. 0:25)] On the fifteenth day of the eighth month of that year, ... in Fujian, at Gutian, Chen Jinggu attained the Dao."

p.

mountain

15

Yi-wu Lu: S^an "Mount Lu: of the Shaman Healers" : "Mount Lu:, the Portal Mountain that is also called Mount Guangning, is in the Liaoning province in Dongbei (Manchuria), in the City of the North, Beizhen, to the northeast of Jinzhou and to the south of Fuxin, Its highest point is Pine Peak. ... It was only under the Sui (581 [589]-618) that this region took the name Beizhen, the "City of the North.""

16

"Longtan huo, Tianning temple, Diaolong tai .. are ... located not far from Black Stone Mountain (Wushi Shan), also called Min Shan, high place of Min ... . The present-day inhabitants of Fuzhou can still point out this Mount Lu: ... at the place called Goulong tai, near the old bridge that links Nantai Island, where Xiadu is found, to the town. ... The Mount Lu: of the myths of Chen Jinggu ... is said to have been transported by its ritual masters to the bottom of the Min River, at the place called Longtan jiao, at the Upper Ford of Fuzhou".

17

"The guardian of Mount Lu, Envoy of the Inquisition of the Nine Heavens (Jiutian caifang shizhe) ... is also sometimes associated with Chen Jinggu, and in some temples in Taiwan, the two of them are represented sitting side by side, like a sort of exorcistic couple. ... Chen Jinggu is said to have been taught there, this time by the Queen Mother (Wangmu)." ["Li Shan Laomu, the Old Mother of Mount Li, ... is said to have come to Flag Mountain (Qi Shan) in Fujian to teach Lady Jiang." (p. 268, n. 0:33)]

p.

sect

17

"the Pure and Perspicacious Three Ladies of Mount Lu: sect (Jing Ming Lu: Shan Sannai pai), considered to be ... a branch of the Jingming sect (Jingming pai), the tradition of filial piety (Xiao dao), of which Xu Sun was considered to be master." ["The Jingming zhongxiao dao began with a certain Liu Yuzhen (12 c.) who had a vision of Xu Sun". (p. 268, n. 0:35)]

18

"Xu Sun was also a celebrated exorcist of dragons and snakes. To capture them, he used techniques linked to qigong practices ... . ... Xu Sun is also credited as the founder and source of the Thunder ritual arts (leifa) ... . ... According to Saso (1978a:61), the masters of the Sannai Lu: Shan pai were, moreover, initiated {consecrated} in accordance with the protocol of the Shenxiao ... .

19

"At the origin of the tradition of the Qingwei we also find a woman called Zu Yuanjun, Zu Shu (fl. 889-904), ...

20

astride a dragon. She is likewise said to have been taught by female divinities, such as Lady Wen, and later by Lingguan Mu." ["Zu Shu ... native of Guangxi, she received the revelations in Hunan. ... Despeux, 1990 : 99 "An important work of this syncretist movement ... is T1220 (fasc. 884 941) Daofa huiyuan, in 268 juan, including the list of the names of the female divinities and female adepts of this movement (15.6b)."" (p. 269, n. 0:41)]

p. 25

The king of Min (who took the title of "emperor") "constructed the Palace of the Jade Emperor (Baohuang gong)." ["This temple was built on Jade Hill (Yu Shan) in Fuzhou". (p. 270, n. 0:52)]

p. 26

That king "bestowed on Tan Zixiao the title Of Zhengyi Xiansheng (Master of the Orthodox One)".

n. 0:55

"Tan Zixiao (?-973) was, according to the Lishi zhenxian tidao tongdian (Comprehensive Mirror of Immortals Who Embodied the Dao through the Ages), by Zhao Daoyi (1294), Daozang, no. 296 (ch. 43:8a), ... a famous magician who ... obtained from Chen Shouyuan texts that the latter is said to have found buried in the ground and on which were written mysterious signs ... .

p. 271, n. 0:55

Tan Zixiao knew how to decipher them and identified them as talismans of the first Celestial Master. he founded the ritual tradition of the Tianxin zhengfa, the orthodox method of the Heart of Heaven."

p. 26

That king of Min’s son and successor built "a three-story pavilion for the Three Purities ... the Jade Emperor, Yuanshi Tianzun, and Taishang Laojun. In front of these ..., incense perfumed with orchids and amber was burned every day, and concerts were played day and night without interruption. ... (Schafer, 1954)"

The empress ... in person founded the Fuzhou temple (xinggong) at Xiadu, the birthplace of Chen Jinggu, who took the divine post (shenwei) of Chen Da’nai, Great Mothering Lady Chen."

p. 27

There is also the a novel (xiaoshuo), the Chen shisi qizhuan, published in Zhejiang, that seems to be a ... version of the legends of Chen Jinggu".

p. 28

C^en Jin-gu "calls back the wandering souls of the living and the dead, and she makes use of her talents in ... treating fevers and paralysis, healing burns, mending fractures, dislodging bones stuck in the throat".

p. 29

divinity of the Northern Dipper (Beidou), taken as a metaphor for the womb (Lin Jiuniang)".

p. 30

"A journey through the sacred places of the country of Min, the Linshui pingyao is ultimately the story of the establishment of the cult of the goddess of Flowers. ... Chen Jinggu confronts Yuan Guangzhi, a ... disciple of "Daoism of the Left" (Mao Shan), and becomes sworn sisters with Jiang Hupo, the disciple of the Old Mother of Mount Li, and with Lin Liuniang master {mistress} of the arts of the Book of Changes (Yi jing). ... These ..., characteristic .. of the Thunder rites, ... themselves swear their sincerity "on the Five Thunders." ... Chen Jinggu ... is armed with a sword of the Northern Dipper and a "demon-biding rope," which she uses during her battles of magic. ... Chen Jinggu heals and exorcises by means of talismans, herbal potions, and magic formulas, just like the adepts of the Tianxin zhengfa. We see her perform again and again a liandu rite : for her child, for a lady Yao, dead in childbirth, and for a Lady Shen, a suicide, whose soul she recovers

p. 31

(huanhun). But she also sacrifices some demons, such as the Ravine Demon (Zhangkeng Gui). This sacrifice, which establishes her cult at the Bridge of a Hundred Flowers, recalls the rite of "commanding the demon" (mingmo), the sacrifice of the demon in the course of establishing any sacred area in order to perform a Daoist ritual." {cf. also parallels of consecration of a churchyard (for use as cemetery) with the sacrifice of Christ in the Eucharist, etc.}

p. 32

In this temple officiate ... Red Head (Hongtou) ... ritualists (fashi) of the mount Lu: sect ... . They were given this name in Taiwan because of the headdress of red cloth that they wind around their heads to officiate. This headdress is often topped by a general’s hat, showing their mastery over the soldiers of the Yin (yingbing) of the Five

p. 33

One can also observe there a ritual for transforming one’s fate (gaiyun), a rite of the Northern Dipper (Beidou), dramatizing the ... diagram of the eight trigrams, at the center of which it is necessary to pass through the Door of Life".

p. 34

the Temple of the Celestial Daughter Seventh Star (Tiannu: Qixing miao) next door to the Linshui Temple".

p. 36

"The original temple of the cult, built ... during the Tang dynasty, is located in the town of Daqiao, in Gutian. ...

p. 38

Occupying the place of honor are the Three Ladies (Sannai) : Chen Jinggu herself, Lin Jiuniang, and Li Sanniang ... . At their side are the Tigress Woman, Jiang Hupo, disciple of the Old Mother of Mount Li, and the Rock-Press Women (Shijia Furen) ... .

p. 39

The galleries are occupied by the Ladies of the thirty-six palaces, ... who had been reduced to the state of white bones by the White Snake. ... Their names are displayed with their place of origin ... . ... Chen Jinggu’s mother, Lady Ge, is also present ... on the second floor, as is her son, Liu Cong, who was aborted, eaten by the White Snake, and ... became a psychopomp child-divinity {cf. Hermes, the psychopomp child-divinity holding a snake-caduceus} and is represented mounted on a qilin (... "chimera" or "unicorn") under the official title of San Sheren or Qilin San Sheren, the Third Messenger Who Rides the Qilin. ... Cinnabar Cloud Great Sage (Danxia Dasheng) is likewise present, and the generals Wang and Yang, leading the celestial soldiers (yinbing) of the Five Camps ... are there, too ... . At the entrance to the temple, two guardians (taibao) are found again, local divinities (bendi shen) ... .

p. 40

... on the second floor, in the dressing room ..., the walls are covered with pictures illustrating her myths according to the Furen zhuan ... . ... In former times, the altar to the god of the soil was at the side of the temple".

p. 41

"In Fuzhou ... were the temple of the Great Ritual Academy of Mount Lu: (Da fayuan) ... on the border of Min, Nantai, and Mount Zhang’an."

p. 42

"Near Luoyang, where Chen Jinggu lived with her husband Liu Qi, ... is found the Temple of Lin Jiuniang, in Feizhu. This region is the domain of the She people". ["the She people, a local Fujian ethnic group related to the Yao" (p. 150).]