Buddhist Narrative Literature

 

We are pleased to announce the open access release of Buddhist Narrative Literature, edited by Prof. Ru Zhan and Prof. Jinhua Chen, published by MDPI.

 

Book details:

Ru Zhan, and Jinhua Chen, ed. Buddhist Narrative Literature. MDPI, June 2024. 284 pages. (This book is a reprint of the Special Issue Buddhist Narrative Literature that was published in Religions). ISBN978-3-7258-1337-7 (Hbk); ISBN978-3-7258-1338-4 (PDF). https://doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-7258-1338-4

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About the book:

Any oral and written text can be considered literature in the broadest sense of the word; and Buddhist texts are no exception. The literary quality of Buddhist texts is intimately integrated with Buddhist moral and religious teaching, and it ultimately serves soteriological goals. Buddhist influences in East and South Asian literature are first and foremost observable in the many Buddhist themes, motifs, and personalities that occupy the secular stories, while Buddhist philosophy also became seamlessly integrated with all kinds of literary genres. In terms of narrative style, Buddhism is at its most innovative in its interaction with the general population. Ever since it spread to China, Buddhism had already adopted many popular forms of communications. These popular channels were being adopted by monks who wandered and preached in the countryside, or during feasts and dharma-assemblies, thus greatly facilitating Buddhism’s spread in China. This special issue has as its goal the study of Buddhist narrative literature in the broad context of South and East Asian Buddhist traditions, and seeks to facilitate a thorough discussion on the following non-exhaustive issues: 1. Traditions of Buddhist narrative literature; 2. Narrative Literature and historiography in medieval East Asian society; 3. Comparative study on the narrative literature traditions; 4. Study on specific genres of narrative literature: poetry, (auto-)biography, hagiography, novel, and theatre, etc; 5. Buddhist narrative literature and Buddhist epistemology, historiography, politics, economics, arts, aesthetics, soteriology, or praxis.

 

About the editors:

Ru Zhan

Ru Zhan is a professor in Peking University’s School of Foreign Languages, and the director
of the Research Center for Buddhist Texts and Art at Peking University. Additionally, he is a vice
president of the Buddhist Association of China and associate director of the Peking University
Orientalism Research Institute. His areas of research include: Buddhist and Buddhist literature, the
Indian Ministry of Buddhism, Dunhuang Buddhism, Buddhist system.

 

Jinhua Chen

Jinhua Chen is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and a professor of East Asian intellectual
history (particularly religions) at the University of British Columbia, where he also served as the
Canada Research Chair in East Asian Buddhism (2001–2011). He has extensively published on East
Asian state-church relationships, monastic (hagio-)biographical literature, Buddhist sacred sites, relic
veneration, Buddhism and technological innovation in medieval China, and Buddhist translations

 

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