“Cefu yuangui 册府元龜 (Magical mirror in the palace library, or, alternatively, Outstanding models from the storehouse of literature). Compiled 1013. The original title provides a good indication both of the intention and the contents: Lidai junchen shiji 歷代君臣事跡 (Records of the lives and deeds of outstanding officials of successive dynasties). The Cefu yuangui was compiled by a committee headed by Wang Qinruo 王欽若 (962-1025) and others……arranged into 31 branches (bu 部), subdivided into a total of 1,102 categories (men 門). The coverage is from the earliest times to the end of the Five Dynasties (960). Sources are mainly the 17 standard histories or from works since lost, such as Shiliu guo chunqiu 十六國春秋 (from which there are 480 excerpts). Sources are not always indicated. Particularly important for Nanbeichao, Tang, and Five Dynasties history. The second category under the section on dynastic histories (Guoshi 國史, juan 554) contains instances of historians refusing to bend under political pressure. There is an index to the names, titles, and technical terms in the sections on foreign countries and diplomatic affairs…..” -- Cf. Wilkinson, E., Chinese history, a new manual (2012), p. 957.
{Some data varies slightly from Wilkinson’s 2000 edition}

1. Son of Heaven: shamanic kingship -- 2. Son of Heaven: kingship as cosmic paradigm -- 3. The moral teacher as sage: philosophy appropriates the paradigm -- 4. The metaphysician as sage: philosophy again appropriates the paradigm -- 5. The paradigm enshrined: the authority of classics -- 6. The mystic as sage: religion appropriates the paradigm -- 7. The sage-king as messiah: religion again appropriates the paradigm -- 8. All under Heaven: political power and the periphery -- A glossary of Sino-Japanese names and terms.

"In this book, Julia Ching offers a magisterial survey of over four thousand years of Chinese civilisation through an examination of the relationship between kingship and mysticism. She investigates the sage-king myth and ideal, and analyses the various skills that have been required as qualifications of leadership. She argues that institutions of kingship were bound up with cultivation of trance states and communication with spirits. Over time, these associations were retained, though sidelined, as the sage-king myth became a model for the actual ruler, with a messianic appeal for the ruled. As a paradigm, it also became appropriated by private individuals who strove for wisdom without becoming kings. As the Confucian tradition interacted with the Taoist and the Buddhist, the religious character of spiritual and mystical cultivation became more pronounced. But the sage-king idea continued, promoting expectation of benevolent despotism rather than democratisation in Chinese civilisation."--Jacket.

Dig.pdf. local access [Ching-Mysticism and Kingship.pdf]
Physical copy Gleeson Library.