 Lingbao scriptures arose as a direct result of the success of earlier Shangqing texts . Lingbao scriptures are all based on a text known as the Text of the Five Talismans ( Wufujing ) , which was compiled by Ge Chaofu between 397 and 402 and borrowed from the work of Ge Hong , his great uncle . Being the most ancient Lingbao text , the Five Talismans provided the framework of the remainder of the Lingbao canon , which was based on the five directions . Because all Lingbao texts descended from the Five Talismans , it was believed that they had been revealed to Ge Xuan , presumably the original owner of the Five Talismans . Ge Xuan is purported to have transmitted the Lingbao texts first to his disciple Zheng <unk> , who then transmitted it to Ge 's grandnephew Ge Hong ( 284 @-@ 364 ) , who is well known for his alchemical innovations . The claim that the Lingbao texts derive from Ge Xuan , however , was likely a way of legitimizing them through the exaggeration of their antiquity . In reality , they were likely assembled by Ge Chaofu himself . Within a few years of the texts ' dissemination , they had become extremely popular . 
