National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

This manuscript comes from the Daoist text Taishang yebao yinyuanjin (Scripture on Retribution, Cause, and Circumstances). The postscript indicates that it was copied in 753 for Emperor Xuanzong at the Daoist temple Baiheguan (literally, View of the White Crane). In general, Daoist scriptures are transcribed in the same format as Buddhist scriptures. The current text also conforms to the Tang-dynasty (618-907) standard for sutras of seventeen characters per line and twenty-eight lines per page. An ink inscription, as if written with a pen, and Tibetan characters can be seen at the end of the scroll.