Recently a lot of tomb-guarding stone-inscribed writs have been unearthed from tombs of the Song period in the Chengdu area. Their contents are concerned with the Great Taishang Zhenyuan Branch of Taoism (太上真元大道) This Taoist branch shares a series of common features with the Ingenious Shangfang Zhenyuan Branch of Taoism (上方真元妙道) emerging in North China in the Jin-Yuan period. Both integrated the Lingbao and Shangqing sects into an entity and must have belonged to the same sect, i.e. the Zhenyuan Taoism. However, there existed rather distinct differences in their date, name and content. The Great Taishang Zhenyuan Branch had been formed at latest by the Northern Song emperor Renzong's reign and prevailed in the Chengdu area, while the Ingenious Shangfang Zhenyuan Branch must have evolved from the former after its northward spread.
