Rectifying the Deep Structures of the Earth: Sima Chengzhen and the Standardization of Daoist Sacred Geography in the Tang

The 8th century saw Shangqing Daoism reach unprecedented heights in terms of imperially sanctioned ritual authority in Tang China. This paper discusses the role of space, particularly sacred mountains and caves, in the attainment of that authority. I look closely at the relationship between the Shangqing patriarch Sima Chengzhen and Emperor Xuanzong. Sima’s work to transform the imperial rituals of the Five Marchmounts served to align imperial cult cosmology with that of Shangqing. I further examine Sima’s emplacement by the emperor at the mountain monastery of Wangwu. I argue that the centrality of Wangwu shan within the Shangqing sacred geography made it an ideal setting not only for Sima to express his authority over the sacred spaces of the imperium, but also to establish a systematic sacred geography for Shangqing Daoism.