Another member of the Ge family was responsible for the second great Taoist scriptural tradition. Ge Chaofu began composing the Lingbaojing (âClassic of the Sacred Jewelâ) c. 397 ce. He claimed that they had been first revealed to his own ancestor, the famous Ge Xuan, early in the 3rd century. In these works the Tao is personified in a series of âcelestial worthiesâ (tianzun), its primordial and uncreated manifestations. These in turn were worshipped by means of a group of liturgies, which, during the 5th century, became supreme in Taoist practice, completely absorbing the older, simpler rites of the Way of the Celestial Masters. As each celestial worthy represented a different aspect of the Tao, so each ceremony of worship had a particular purpose, which it attempted to realize by distinct means. The rites as a whole were called jai (âretreatâ), from the preliminary abstinence obligatory on all participants. They lasted a day and a night or for a fixed period of three, five, or seven days; the number of persons taking part was also specified, centering on a sacerdotal unit of six officiants. Oneâs own salvation was inseparable from that of his ancestors; the Huanglujai (âRetreat of the Yellow Registerâ) was directed toward the salvation of the dead. Jinlujai (âRetreat of the Golden Registerâ), on the other hand, was intended to promote auspicious influences on the living. The Tutanjai (âMud and Soot Retreat, or Retreat of Miseryâ) was a ceremony of collective contrition, with the purpose of fending off disease, the punishment of sin, by prior confession; in Chinese civil law, confession resulted in an automatic reduction or suspension of sentence. These and other rituals were accomplished for the most part in the open, within a specially delimited sacred area, or altar (tan), the outdoor complement of the oratory. The chanted liturgy, innumerable lamps, and clouds of billowing incense combined to produce in the participants a cathartic experience that assured these ceremonies a central place in all subsequent Taoist practices.