Spreading Buddha's Word in East Asia

Spreading Buddha's Word in East Asia

The Formation and Transformation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon

In: The Sheng Yen Series in Chinese Buddhist Studies

Edited by: Jiang Wu and Lucille Chia

Columbia University Press | 2015

https://doi.org/10.7312/wu--17160

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About this book

A monumental work in the history of religion, the history of the book, the study of politics, and bibliographical research, this volume follows the making of the Chinese Buddhist canon from the fourth century to the digital era. It ties the religious, social, and textual practices of canon formation to the development of East Asian Buddhist culture and opens up the study of Chinese Buddhist texts to readers interested in the evolution of Chinese writing in general and the Confucian and Daoist traditions in particular.

A monumental work in the history of religion, the history of the book, the study of politics, and bibliographical research, this volume follows the making of the Chinese Buddhist canon from the fourth century to the digital era. Approaching the subject from a historical perspective, it ties the religious, social, and textual practices of canon formation to the development of East Asian Buddhist culture and enlivens Chinese Buddhist texts for readers interested in the evolution of Chinese writing and the Confucian and Daoist traditions.

The collection undertakes extensive readings of major scriptural catalogs from the early manuscript era as well as major printed editions, including the Kaibao Canon, Qisha Canon, Goryeo Canon, and Taisho Canon. Contributors add fascinating depth to such understudied issues as the historical process of compilation, textual manipulation, physical production and management, sponsorship, the dissemination of various editions, cultic activities surrounding the canon, and the canon's reception in different East Asian societies. The Chinese Buddhist canon is one of the most enduring textual traditions in East Asian religion and culture, and through this exhaustive, multifaceted effort, an essential body of work becomes part of a new, versatile narrative of East Asian Buddhism that has far-reaching implications for world history.

Author information

Jiang Wu is professor of Chinese religion and thought in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona. His research interests include Chinese Buddhism, especially Chan/Zen Buddhism and the Chinese Buddhist canon; Sino-Japanese Buddhist exchanges; and the application of GIS tools in the study of Chinese culture and religion. He is the author of Enlightenment in Dispute: The Reinvention of Chan Buddhism in Seventeenth-Century China and Leaving for the Rising Sun: Chinese Zen Master Yinyuan and the Authenticity Crisis in Early Modern East Asia.

Lucille Chia is professor of history at the University of California at Riverside. Her research interests include Chinese book culture, most recently the history of Buddhist publishing in imperial China. She is the author of Printing for Profit: The Commercial Publishers of Jianyang, Song-Ming (960–1644) and coeditor of Knowledge and Text Production in an Age of Print: China, 900–1400.

Reviews

A significant contribution.... The volume importantly encourages scholars to continue fusing together multiple disciplines.

The editors should be commended for bringing together these essays and shedding light on this important and neglected topic of Buddhist study.

Intellectually sound, informative and well written... [Spreading Buddha's Word in East Asia] introduce[s] readers to the political, economic, social, and religious complexities involved in the creation and dissemination of one of the world's largest repositories of sacred literature.... Highly recommended.

Robert M. Gimello, University of Notre Dame:
One measure of the maturity of a discipline is its critical awareness of its sources. This collection of nine expert and groundbreaking essays on the Chinese Buddhist canon, augmented by a magisterial preface by a doyen of the field and two eminently useful bibliographical appendices, marks a genuine advance in the study of Chinese Buddhism. Now, with the appearance of this quite essential book, students of Buddhism in China have a reliable map and a guide to what is arguably the largest single collection of authoritative texts of any of the world's great religions. All who study Chinese Buddhism must keep this book handy as they pursue their research into scholarly territory now more clearly mapped.

Robert E. Buswell Jr., University of California, Los Angeles:
The Sinitic Buddhist canons rank among the largest bodies of sacred literature ever produced by any religious tradition. The compilation, editing, and publication of these massive collections required a commitment of money and manpower that was the medieval equivalent of the moon landings of the 1960s. This groundbreaking volume gives these canons the sustained attention they have long deserved from the scholarly community and will help to demonstrate that they are among the preeminent cultural achievements of the wider Sinitic world.

John Kieschnick, Stanford University:
Bringing together leading specialists in the Chinese Buddhist canon, Spreading Buddha's Word in East Asia makes a major contribution to our understanding of both the textual and the social history of one of the most impressive textual projects in the history of the world.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	xvii
Conventions Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	xix
Introduction Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
1. The Chinese Buddhist Canon Through the Ages Jiang Wu Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	15
2. From the “Cult of the Book” to the “Cult of the Canon” Jiang Wu Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	46
3. Notions and Visions of the Canon in Early Chinese Buddhism Stefano Zacchetti Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	81
4. Fei Changfang’s Records of the Three Treasures Throughout the Successive Dynasties (Lidai sanbao ji) and Its Role in the Formation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon Tanya Storch Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	109
5. The Birth of the First Printed Canon Jiang Wu, Lucille Chia and Chen Zhichao Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	145
6. The Life and Afterlife of Qisha Canon (Qishazang) Lucille Chia Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	181
7. Managing the Dharma Treasure Darui Long Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	219
8. Better Than the Original Jiang Wu and Ron Dziwenka Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	249
9. Taishō Canon Greg Wilkinson Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	284
Appendix 1. A Brief Survey of the Printed Editions of the Chinese Buddhist Canon Li Fuhua and He Mei Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	311
Appendix 2. The Creation of the CBETA Chinese Electronic Tripitaka Collection in Taiwan Aming Tu Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	321
Bibliography Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	337
List of Contributors Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	375
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	379
Preface Lewis Lancaster Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	xi

Spreading Buddha's Word in East Asia

The Formation and Transformation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon

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