Clerics › Religious Figure
Cao Xisheng
Jiaqing-era Daoist priest of the Xuanmiao Temple in Suzhou whose revised score Juntian Miaoyue is still the standard for the temple's ritual music.
Mural of the cultural record “Daoist Ritual Music”, which this person is tied to.
Cao Xisheng was a Daoist priest of the Xuanmiao Temple in Suzhou in the Jiaqing reign; his dates are unknown. The temple's music belongs to the Zhengyi tradition, with flute pieces, drum sections and suites joining them, and sung scripture chant. Cao revised the score Juntian Miaoyue, which, with collections such as Zhaitian compiled by Shi Liangsheng in the late Ming and early Qing, still sets the standard for the temple's music. Another source says that in 1799 he compiled three scores: Juntian Miaoyue, Guyun Chenggui and Nichang Yayun. Suzhou Xuanmiao Temple Daoist music entered the first national intangible heritage list in 2006.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active in the Jiaqing reign (1796–1820)