Introduction -- The Writ in early medieval southern China -- The religious life of objects: the talismans of the Writ and their surviving fragments -- Beyond talismans: alchemy, charts, and meditation in relation to the Writ -- From local lore to universal Dao: the cavern of divinity and the early Daoist canon -- The Writ and its corpus: the rise and fall of the cavern of divinity in institutional Daoism -- Conclusion -- Appendix 1: List of variant titles for the Writ of the three sovereigns (Sanhuang wen) in early medieval sources -- Appendix 2: Synopsis of the principal Six dynasties sources containing fragments of the Writ of the three sovereigns (Sanhuang wen) and its oral instructions -- Appendix 3: Comparative list of talismans from the "essential instructions from the western citadel on the great characters in celestial script of the Three sovereigns" (Xicheng yaojue sanhuang tianwen dazi) and the "essential functions of the Three sovereigns" (Sanhuang yaoyong pin) -- Appendix 4: Comparative inventory of transmission gages associated with the Writ of the three sovereigns (Sanhuang wen)