In this post I will post three translations of a fairly well-known chinese morality book, called:
文昌帝君陰騭文
Eichel: Treatise of the Secret Law by the Lord and God of Composition
Carus/ The Tract of the Quiet Way
Chung / Lord Superior Wen Chang's Tract On The First Step Towards Non Abidance
E.W. Wenchang's Treatise on Secret Merits
It is much of the nature of the The Sage Therach Guan's true Scripture to Awaken the world. that I featured earlier in this blog: a revelation from an important God, encouraging people to do good, and abstain from evil. In this case, the God that delivered this text is Wenchang, the God of literature. The text was fairly popular in the 19thc, with even illustrated versions existing, and is still occasionally printed today. Three English translations exist, but alas, all three of them are flawed one way or another. For that reason, more than any text, it is necessary to set them side-by-side.
