ABSTRACT: The idea of "Pacing the Void" ( buxu 步虛) has a rich textual legacy in early Daoist sources and a lengthy "Pacing the Void" hymn holds a prominent place in the Numinous Treasure (Lingbao 靈 寶) ritual program. Yu Xin 庾信 (513–581), famed poet and statesman of the Liang 梁 (502–557) and the Northern Zhou 北周 (557–581), was the first author to adapt this hymn and craft his own version that drew on its structure, sensibilities, and rhythms. While scholars have long noted Yu's poems in the development of the "Roaming in Transcendence" ( youxian 遊仙) literary mode and the Chinese literary tradition, few, if any, have attended to them with any scrutiny. A series of ten poems that contains a labyrinth of allusions to a variety of texts, stories, images, and ideas, Yu Xin's "Buxu ci" 步虛詞 was part of ongoing discussions regarding the role of religion and state-sponsorship at the Northern Zhou court, where Lingbao Daoism held a prominent place. In composing the poems, Yu Xin, as I argue, turned to Lingbao Daoist scriptures and ideology to portray Emperor Wu as a messianic figure poised to unify the north and south. This paper addresses the Lingbao Daoist threads running throughout the poems and offers a reading of the significance of the poems during a time of fierce religious debate.
Tyler Feezell (Wed,) studied this question.