oliver-mann-photography_east-asia-buddhism-2-of-5

Cluster Leader: George Keyworth, University of Saskatchewan

The field visits of Cluster 2.2 were designed to focus on investigating the “primary” roles that “secondary” producers—Khitans, Jurchens, Koreans and Japanese—played in transmitting, editing, venerating and preserving Buddhist literature in Chinese during the medieval period in East Asia (ca. 10th – 15th centuries). Participants in each cluster workshop at sites in Japan (2017), South Korea (2018) and China (2019) addressed two research questions: (1) what roles did editors, scribes, translators, and readers play in canon-making of Buddhist literature in Chinese, and (2) how did non-religious factors shape this process? We inspected how the Buddhist canon cataloged in 730 and 800 in China with 1046 (alt. 1048) – 1258 titles in 5048 – 5390 rolls was conscientiously conserved and transmitted in medieval Japan in manuscript form, augmented in Korea with the first (1011-1087) and second (1237-1249) Goryeo xylographic printed canons, and preserved in rock by the Khitan Liao (907/916-1125) and Jurchen Jin (1115-1234) states in what is today northern China.

Our research in 2017 in Kyoto and Osaka, Japan focused on the manuscript Buddhist canon copied for Hata clan shrine priests in the 12th century and kept at Matsuono’o Shrine 松尾大社 until 1857, when it was acquired by Daihonzan Hokkeshū Myōrenji 大本山法華宗妙蓮寺 (temple), and the canon from Amanosan Kongōji 天野山金剛寺 (in Osaka). Participants explored the rich and detailed colophons on several exemplary texts (e.g., Flower Garland 華嚴經 [60 roll ed.] and Great Perfection of Wisdom 大般若經 Sūtras) and objects of material culture (‘Chinese’ chests called karabitsu 唐櫃), and addressed how individuals from lesser-known Shingon- and Tendai-affiliated (especially Miidera 三井寺 or Onjōji 園城寺) temples and shrine libraries played a considerable role in transmitting and preserving such a large body of religious literature. In 2018, participants visited the National Museum of Korea to examine folios from the First Korean Canon with a talk by Dr. Sem Vermeersch (Seoul National University), Dongguk University to examine rare printed materials including commentaries to the Flower Garland Sūtra printed on indigo paper and gold ink, and listened to a lecture by Dr. Choe Yeonsik (Dongguk). We also visited the libraries of Haeinsa 海印寺 and Songgwangsa 松廣寺 to examine other rare printed Buddhist texts and consider how Koreans played an central—rather than peripheral—role in transmitting long, key commentaries with images and interred some of these texts within images (see cluster 3.3). The topic of manuscript, xylographic printed, and stone-cut or epigraphical editions of Buddhist texts across East Asia during the medieval period was addressed in a lecture by Dr. Song Il-gie (Chung-Ang University). Participants in the 2019 workshop first visited several well-known sites in Hangzhou, China to be exposed to the tradition of inscribing dhāraṇīs (spells) on pillars. Next, we traveled to Yunju temple  雲居寺 near Beijing to join an international symposium co-sponsored with Dr. Sheng Kai (cluster 3.2) on “Stone Carved Scriptures, Belief, and Religious Life: The Ideology and Medium of the Chinese Buddhist Social Life.” The group then examined the many dhāraṇī pillars now kept at Yunjusi and the Fangshan 房山 Stone Canon, paying special attention to the contributions to the canon during the 11th century when the area was under Khitan control. Finally, we traveled to the city of Chaoyang in Liaoning province, where we examined the three pagodas constructed there by the Khitans during the mid-11th century. Only North Pagoda 北塔 has been excavated, but we found a dhāraṇī pillar from East Pagoda 東塔 preserved on the site of the local Guandi temple- 關帝廟 museum. Inside North Pagoda is a marvelous four-tier, eight-sided dhāraṇī pillar with 9 dhāraṇīs, including several which were translated during the Liao dynasty by an Indian monk named *Maitrībhadra (Cixian 慈賢).

Field visits to these sites gave participants unique perspective to investigate how much of the Buddhist literature in classical Chinese (but certainly pronounced in local, vernacular languages when read aloud or discussed among small groups) which scholars often simplistically refer to as “Chinese” was produced, reproduced, edited, copied and preserved in manuscripts, printed texts and inscribed on stones by individuals and communities who almost certainly did not speak any Chinese language on a daily basis. By investigating the material culture from these sites in Japan, Korea and China, researchers not only were exposed to understudied or virtually unknown data that must be considered alongside specific sites and within local contexts, but they also learned how to conduct fieldwork at specific sites and in archives and temple libraries, well beyond the comfort of academic research libraries or on the internet using only handy databases with mostly late, printed editions of Buddhist texts (e.g., http://cbetaonline.dila.edu.tw and http://21dzk.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp).

 

Field Visit Report

Read 2018 field visit report

 

Data Collection

View 2017 digital data collection

View 2018 digital data collection

View 2019 digital data collection

 

Cluster Publications

Read BEAR Research Briefs—“Where do Buddhist scriptures come from?”

 

Photo of 2018 group

 

Cluster Participants

Affiliated Researchers Associated Researchers
Andrews, Susan (Mount Allison University) – 2018 Baba, Hisayuki (Bukkyō University (Kyoto)) – 2017
Baycroft, Anne (University of Saskatchewan) – 2017, 2019 Borgen, Robert (University of California Davis) – 2018
Bingenheimer, Marcus  (Temple University) – 2017 Chan, David (University of Michigan) – 2019
Chon, Barom (Temple University) – 2018 Daisuke, Teshima (Nagoya University) – 2017
Doell, Steffen (University of Hamburg ) – 2017, 2018 Guilbault, Audrey (University of Buffalo) – 2017
Duoer, Daigengna (University of Toronto) – 2017 Jamentz, Michael (Ritsumeikan University (Kyoto)) – 2017
Galambos, Imre (Cambridge University) – 2017, 2019 Kenryō, Shibata (Nagoya University) – 2017
Gong, Yi (University of Arizona) – 2018 Lin, Pei-ying (Fu Jen Catholic University (Taiwan)) – 2017, 2018
Grossman, Eike (Hamburg University) – 2018 Pedersen, Hillary (Doshisha University) – 2017
Hou, Xiaoming (École pratique des hautes études) – 2017 Shibata, Kenryō (Nagoya University) – 2017
Keller, Matthew (University of Southern California) – 2017 Teshima, Daisuke (Nagoya University) – 2017
Keyworth, George (University of Saskatchewan) – 2017, 2018, 2019 Tsui, Chunghui (University of Hong Kong) – 2017
Kim, Youn-mi (Ewha Womans University) – 2018, 2019 Tu, Xiaofei (Appalachian State University) – 2017
Kochinski, Lisa (University of Southern California) – 2017
Luo, Yuqing (Columbia University) – 2019
McBride, Richard (Brigham Young University-Hawaii) – 2018, 2019
Messerschmid, Léo (University of Hamburg) – 2017
Tian, Menglu (University of British Columbia) – 2018, 2019
Roh, Yohong (Temple University) – 2018
Wu, Chih-ying (University of California Berkeley) – 2018
Wu, Jiang (University of Arizona) –  2019
Wu, Jinhui (University of Arizona) – 2019
Van Cutsem, Laurent (Ghent University) – 2019
Zhai, Minhao (Princeton University) – 2018

 

Field Visit Sites

Cluster 2.2

loading map - please wait...

Myōrenji Temple: 35.017532, 135.763359
Matsuo Taisha 松尾大社 : 35.000560, 135.688060
Miidera (Ōtsu-shi): 35.013400, 135.852900
Ishiyamadera: 34.960900, 135.907400
Haeinsa 海印寺: 35.801100, 128.098000
Tongdosa 通度寺: 35.487945, 129.065106
Pulguksa 佛國寺: 35.789871, 129.331942
Yunju Temple 雲居寺: 39.609317, 115.774244
Hoshimine Inari Shrine 星峰稲荷社: 35.070000, 135.840000
Mirŭksaji: 36.012400, 127.031000
Hwaŏmsa 華嚴寺: 35.257300, 127.497500
Horim Pangmulgwan: 35.850720, 129.277337
Songgwangsa Museum 松廣寺聖寶博物館: 35.572256, 126.984490
Wanju Hwaamsa 完州花巖寺: 36.066900, 127.285400
Guandi Temple 關帝廟: 41.577421, 120.463854
Youshun Monastery 佑順寺: 41.342800, 120.272000
Chaoyang North Pagoda 朝陽北塔: 41.579100, 120.457000
White Pagoda 白塔: 30.199775, 120.143502
Huiyin Monastery 慧因高麗寺: 30.229471, 120.130674
Jingshan Temple 徑山寺: 30.379425, 119.764734
Lingyin Temple 靈隱寺: 30.240833, 120.101483
marker icon
Myōrenji Temple
2017 Cluster 2.2 - description
Myōrenji Temple, Kyoto, Japan
marker icon
Matsuo Taisha 松尾大社
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2017 - Matsuo Taisha 松尾大社 data collection

Matsuo Taisha 松尾大社, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
marker icon
Miidera (Ōtsu-shi)
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2017 - Miidera (Ōtsu-shi) data collection

Miidera, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
marker icon
Ishiyamadera
Cluster 2.2 description
Ishiyamadera, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
marker icon
Haeinsa 海印寺
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2018 - Haeinsa data collection

Haeinsa 경상남도, South Korea
marker icon
Tongdosa 通度寺
Cluster 2.2 description
Tongdosa 通度寺, Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea
marker icon
Pulguksa 佛國寺
Cluster 2.2 description
Pulguksa 佛國寺, Jinhyeon-dong, Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea
marker icon
Yunju Temple 雲居寺
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2019 - Yunju Temple 雲居寺 data collection

Yunju Temple 雲居寺, Beijing, China
marker icon
Hoshimine Inari Shrine 星峰稲荷社
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2017 - Hoshimine Inari Shrine 星峰稲荷社 data collection

Hoshimine Inari Shrine 星峰稲荷社, Ōtsu 滋賀県, Japan
marker icon
Mirŭksaji
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2018 - Mirŭksaji data collection

Mireuksaji Stone Pagoda 전라북도, South Korea
marker icon
Hwaŏmsa 華嚴寺
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2018 - Hwaŏmsa 華嚴寺 data collection

Hwaŏmsa 華嚴寺, Kurye, Jeollanam-do, South Korea
marker icon
Horim Pangmulgwan
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2018 - Horim Pangmulgwan data collection

Horim Pangmulgwan, Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea
marker icon
Songgwangsa Museum 松廣寺聖寶博物館
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2018 - Songgwangsa Museum 松廣寺聖寶博物館 data collection

Songgwangsa Museum 松廣寺聖寶博物館, Sŭngju-gun, South Korea
marker icon
Wanju Hwaamsa 完州花巖寺
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2018 - Wanju Hwaamsa 完州花巖寺 data collection

Wanju Hwaamsa 完州花巖寺, Wanju-gun, South Korea
marker icon
Guandi Temple 關帝廟
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2019 - Guandi Temple 關帝廟 data collection

Guandi Temple 關帝廟, Chaoyang, Liaoning Sheng, China
marker icon
Youshun Monastery 佑順寺
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2019 - Youshun Monastery 佑順寺 data collection

Youshun Monastery 佑順寺, Chaoyang, Liaoning Sheng, China
marker icon
Chaoyang North Pagoda 朝陽北塔
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2019 - Chaoyang North Pagoda 朝陽北塔 data collection

Chaoyang North Pagoda 朝陽北塔, Chaoyang, China
marker icon
White Pagoda 白塔
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2019 - White Pagoda 白塔 data collection

White Pagoda 白塔, Hangzhou Shi, Zhejiang Sheng, China
marker icon
Huiyin Monastery 慧因高麗寺
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2019 - Huiyin Monastery 慧因高麗寺 data collection

Huiyin Monastery 慧因高麗寺, Hangzhou Shi, Zhejiang Sheng, China
marker icon
Jingshan Temple 徑山寺
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2019 - Jingshan Temple 徑山寺 data collection

Jingshan Temple 徑山寺, Hangzhou Shi, Zhejiang Sheng, China
marker icon
Lingyin Temple 靈隱寺
Cluster 2.2 description

Cluster 2.2 2019 - Lingyin Temple 靈隱寺 data collection

Lingyin Temple 靈隱寺. Hangzhou Shi, Zhejiang Sheng, China