International Conference on the Production, Preservation and Perusal of Buddhist Epigraphy in Central and East Asia – Abstracts

Return to the 2019 Conference on Production, Preservation and Perusal of Buddhist Epigraphy page.

 

  1. Stephanie BALKWILL 白思芳 (The University of Winnipeg 加拿大溫尼伯大學): The Earliest Known Biography of a Chinese Buddhist Nun

    In this presentation we will study the earliest dated biography of a Chinese Buddhist nun that is currently known to us, the entombed biography (muzhiming 墓誌銘) of a Buddhist nun whose name was Shi Sengzhi 釋僧芝 (d. 516 CE). Sengzhi was appointed to the court of the Northern Wei 北魏 (386–535 CE) in 477 and died in 516, still serving that same court. In her role at court she intimately served three emperors and two empress dowagers, that latter of which, Empress Dowager Ling 靈太后 (d. 528), was her own niece. The high status that she enjoyed in her life she also enjoyed in her death; given an imperial funeral, her body was interred at the Northern Wei’s imperial mausoleum at Mt. Mang 邙山 and her burial included the commissioning of an entombed biography. That biography is the only source that we have attesting to Sengzhi’s life and it tells the rare story of a woman who modelled a new form womanhood on the rise in the 5th century: an elite Buddhist womanhood which may have been renunciatory but certainly not eremitic. By reading Sengzhi’s entombed biography, we will see how the text positions the nun’s Buddhist practice as an integral component of her success as a politician while it also suggests that her Buddhist practice facilitated trans-regional interaction with the courts of the Chinese south.

  2. T. H. BARRETT 巴瑞特 (SOAS, University of London 英國倫敦大學亞非學院): “Against Epigraphy: Once More a Visit to Zen and History”

    The steady recovery of more and more early epigraphy from China has proved an immense boon to historians and particularly to historians of religion, who have often had to depend in the past on transmitted sources that frequently describe events and personalities of one period through the lens of the preoccupations of one or more later periods in their transmission.  The Chinese Chan tradition affords several examples of this.  Scholars have therefore gladly looked beyond materials produced within the tradition itself to epigraphic records, even though in many cases such records do not survive to this day on stone and have themselves been transmitted through different stages of copying and recopying.  If scrupulously handled, this evidence can of course be of great value. But it is still worth thinking about the circumstances that created such evidence before assessing what it might mean. The specific example examined to illustrate this point is an inscription composed by Tang Shen 唐伸in the ninth century.

  3. CHEN Jinhua 陳金華 (The University of British Columbia 加拿大英屬哥倫比亞大學): Identity and Network: Yan Zhenqing and the Construction of Vinaya Lineage  身份認同與群體建構:顏真卿與律學譜系的建構

    顏真卿在書法史上的鼎鼎大名幾乎掩蓋了他在其他領域的成就。實際上,除了在書法史上的成就,顏真卿還是一位卓越的政治家與軍事家。他更是壯懷激烈的忠臣。身陷李希烈叛軍手中數月,威武不能屈,富貴不能淫,最後慷慨赴死,留取丹心,光燦汗青。關於顏真卿的精神生活,學者們大都認為主導他思想世界的主要是儒家思想。但佛教與道家在他豐富的心靈世界同樣也留下了深刻的烙印。這種精神世界的複雜性與他源遠流長的家世是分不開的:值得一提的是,他是南北朝著名的文學家、教育家顏之推(531-591)的後裔,而顏之推以其學問與胸懷的博洽與圓融而聞名,頗能折衷諸家,取精用宏。

    通過考察顏真卿在律宗系譜建構中的作用,本文力圖揭示唐代的士大夫在宗教網絡的構建與在建構過程中如何掙扎於自身多重的身份認同。考察的中心乃是顏真卿於771年春為撫州寶應寺的律藏院之戒壇所撰寫的紀念性文字(記)(撫州寶應寺律藏院戒壇記)。

    身份和網絡本為二物,但在一個共同作用的關係之中,則相互關聯,又相互強化。一方面,身份認同感相同的一群人會自然地建構成某一特定的網絡/群體;另一方面,參與自我構建網絡之後,其歸屬感又會強化身份認同。如需論及佛教在一個社會中對於經濟、政治、軍事的作用,一定離不開它在建構群體網絡中的作用。

    顏真卿對律學系譜的建構,進一步證實了宗教群體既有時間的意義,也有空間上的意涵。從時間的角度來看,宗教群體既是歷時的(diachronic), 又是共時的(synchronic);從空間來看,宗教群體既是在地的(local),同時也會有普世的(universal)的追求。顏真卿對這一宗教場域的介入,既有個人情感的因素,同時也應該有深刻的政治原因。

  4. CHEN Zhiyuan 陳志遠 (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences 中國社會科學院): 釋“七世父母”——石刻造像記定型句研究之一七世父

    母是佛教造像、寫經題記中頻繁出現的祈願對象,從宗密《盂蘭盆經疏》可以得知,這一定型表達存在兩種理解,一種是指現世家族的七代祖先,一種是基於輪迴觀念的七次前生中的親生父母。追溯二者在佛教經典中的思想源流,可以確定二者都是印度佛教固有的觀念,前者在原先語境中強調家族種姓的純粹性,後者則注重對眾生的慈悲。而經過對數千方造像銘記的統計分析,可知在中古中國兩種理解處於並存狀態。這促使我們對所謂“佛教中國化”的敘事框架做出反思。

  5. Jessey J.C. CHOO 朱雋琪 (Rutgers University 美國羅格斯大學): Exemplary Deaths of Buddhist Lay Practitioners in Medieval Chinese Entombed Epitaph Inscriptions (Muzhiming)

    In the Chinese Buddhist tradition, a calm and conscious death, in which the dying person maintains mental clarity and bodily dignity, signifies extraordinary religious attainment. Many monks and nuns in medieval hagiographies are said to have been aware of their imminent death, some to the extent of foretelling the exact day, and passing away while sitting in meditation or reclining on their right side. Such depictions of exemplary deaths were not, however, limited to monks and nuns, for they appear in the entombed epigraph inscriptions, or muzhiming, of medieval Buddhist lay practitioners as well. Contrary to common assumptions, muzhiming served multiple functions and circulated among a broader audience than the dead, for they also had an audience among the living. Within the context of the production and consumption of muzhiming, what then was the significance of “reporting” an exemplary death in the muzhiming of a layperson? What purpose did it serve beyond propagating Buddhist teaching? How might these accounts have influenced public perceptions of both the subject and the producers of the muzhiming? This paper attempts to address these questions through a close reading of two muzhiming belonging respectively to a layman and a laywoman.

  6. Alexei DITTER 迪磊 (Reed College 美國里德學院): Memory-making in Tang dynasty Buddhist muzhiming: A Preliminary Exploration

    This paper will examine how memories of Buddhist subjects were constructed within one form of posthumous inscription, the entombed epitaph (muzhiming). Through comparison of similarities and differences in the textual components—genealogy, biography, account of death and burial, and elegy—of secular and Buddhist entombed epitaphs, I outline ways in which the authors writing about Buddhist subjects in the mid-Tang adapted available and appropriate cultural tools for remembrance to serve the communicative and commemorative needs of Buddhist communities.

  7. FENG Guodong 馮國棟 (The University of Zhejiang 浙江大學): 宋「大安塔碑銘」疏證——兼論宋初皇族婦女與佛教

    夏竦所撰「大安塔碑銘」,記述了宋代初年尼妙善、道堅師徒二人建立大安塔、護國禪院的經過。在建大安塔過程中,妙善、道堅動用了大量皇室與政府高層的力量,宋太宗、宋真宗、明德太后、章獻明肅太后皆參與其中,反映了宋代初年皇室與佛教之間的互動,通過這一個案可以透視宋代皇族,特別是皇族婦女與佛教之間的關係。皇族婦女為何、如何參與佛教事務,是本文想要回答的問題。

  8. JIAO Jianhui 焦建輝 (Academy of Longmen Grottoes 龍門石窟研究院): 龍門石窟的「業道」像

    唐武則天至玄宗時期,龍門石窟集中出現一批題銘「業道像」甚至「業道佛」的特殊造像,為其它各石窟所未見。此類造像在視覺上與佛像無異,但佛教典籍中卻無與之對應的文字依據,造像記中的尊名排序及龕內造像位置關係等方面也較為無序,表現出強烈的地域性和世俗化傾向,似乎是在皇室佛教信仰的影響下,由略通教義的社會下層雜糅諸佛經內容而創制的崇拜對象,顯示了武則天至唐玄宗時期東亞佛教的一個特殊側面。

  9. JI Yun 紀贇 (Buddhist College of Singapore 新加坡佛學院): 宗族、士紳網絡構建與國族文化認同:新加坡蓮山雙林寺碑銘考訂

    1949年之後,因迭遭運動故,中國大陸的宗教生態圈與此前晚期中華帝制與國民政府時期的狀態發生了巨大的變化。雖經二十世紀八十年代之後的宗教復興,但仍與過去的舊有傳統有所區隔。與此相對,新加坡本地的宗教生態則具有延續性,因此即可為我們藉此來勾勒帝制晚期乃至國民政府時期的佛教信仰情況提供寶貴的參考。

    建於1898年的新加坡蓮山雙林寺是新加坡第一座成規模的佛教叢林,其興建緣由與後期運作,體現了華南地方宗教信仰的普遍存在;宗親、宗鄉與行業公會等幫群組織利用宗教的神權來對於基層力量加以建構與管理的嘗試。本文將以現存蓮山雙林寺的數方碑刻銘文為材料基礎,并輔之以報刊等其他史料,以此來重構新加坡漢傳佛教的若干性格特徵。

  10. KEGASAWA Yasunori 氣賀澤保規 (Meiji University 日本明治大學): 房山石經唐代《大般若波羅蜜多經》的刻經與“巡禮”

    房山雲居寺(北京市房山區)現存數量龐大的石經,其鐫刻始於隋代末期,經唐代直至遼金時代,時值600餘年。石經中包括隋唐時代的作品約4000多件,遼金時期的作品約1万多件,其中最為著名的當屬《大般若波羅蜜多經(大般若經)》600卷石經。這一刻經事業始於唐玄宗治世時期的開元、天寶之交,約在740年,其後持續不斷,直至唐代末期,共計刻經510卷。而後其餘的90卷仍然作為遼代的國家事業繼續進行,至1041年(遼重熙十年)刻經工程告罄。由此可見,《大般若經》的完成經過了3個世紀的時間。

    雲居寺在唐代,於刻經事業中獲得了以幽州為中心的當地民眾的積極支持,石經當中作為紀錄(題記)刻入了有關的民眾活動。這些題記時至今日不僅明確顯示出《大般若經》的刻經過程,同時也反映出當時的社會形態,可謂十分難得的研究資料。其中尤為值得注目的是初期的幽州城市居民(商工民眾)所做的貢獻,以及安史之亂後幽州盧龍軍節度使相關人員的參與,尚有進入9世紀以後出現的“巡禮pilgrimage”活動,這些均為刻經事業的持續進行起到了不可估量的作用。本次報告即在闡明《大般若經》刻經事業的全貌之後,聚焦9世纪以後新出現的“巡禮”活動,探討其具體情況以及發展狀況,同時考察其出現的時代背景和歷史意義。

  11. George KEYWORTH 紀強 (University of Saskatchewan 加拿大薩斯喀徹溫大學): On the Influence of the Longkan Shoujian 龍龕手鑒 as a Glossary on Dhāraī Carved in Stone in the North Pagoda at Chaoyang and in Manuscripts from 12th Century Japan

    Vinaya Master Zhishou(567–635) was the master of Daoxuan, and also the National Master of the Tang Dynasty(618–907). In 634, Tang Taizong appointed Zhishou to be the leading monk, Sthavira, of Hongfusi Temple, built for his deceased mother. Zhishou passed away the following year. However, it was not until 656 that his disciples made a stele for him in Hongfu Temple. The state titles of monks such as Zhaoxuan Datong (昭玄大統) and Zhaoxuan Duweinuo (昭玄都維那) were abolished in the previous dynasty, Sui (581–619). As a result, the Sangang (Sthavira, Abbot, and Karmadana), especially of those temples that were built for the royal members, such as Hongfusi Temple, Da Cien Temple, and Ximing Temple, were considered state leaders of the monastics. After Xuanzang(602–664) came back from India in 645, his translation project took place in Hongfu Temple. Tang Gaozong built Da Cien Temple to commemorate his late mother in 648 and Xuanzang was conferred as the Sthavira. Tang Gaozong and Empress Wu built Ximing Temple for their crown prince, Li Hong, and chose Zhishou’s principle disciple, Daoxuan, as the Sthavira in 658. Three major aspects were involved in the erection of Zhishou Stele: the change of Xuanzang’s status, the monks’ (including Lingrun) activities in Hongfu Temple, and Daoxuan as the Sthavira of Ximing Temple. This research will examine the evolution of power structure in early Tang imperial sponsored temples from the aspect of the erection of the Zhishou stele.

  12. KURAMOTO Shotoku 倉本尚德 (Academia Sinica 臺北中央研究院): 初唐皇家供奉寺院的變遷──從智首碑談起

    准提法在中國佛教界,特別是居士信仰群體中是僅次於淨土信仰的重要修行法門。遼代道㲀《顯密圓通成佛心要》奠定了中國准提法門的基礎。本文利用《燕京永安寺釋迦舍利塔碑記》等遼代石刻、經幢等資料以及黑水城文獻,大體將《顯密圓通成佛心要》的成書年代確定在十一世紀八十年代;並通過遼代契丹藏增補情況的考察,以及比對黑水城發現的道㲀《鏡心錄》西夏文譯本等資料,提出道㲀早年比較關心禪宗,尤其重視荷澤宗,宗密關於華嚴與禪宗匯通的禪教一致思想,而後,由於遼代契丹藏增補等契機,道㲀對晚清以來新譯密教典籍發生興趣,學術研究重點轉向密教,撰寫《顯密圓通成佛心要》,弘揚准提法門。《顯密圓通成佛心要》對待禪、密的不同態度及其前後發展變化,也可以管窺宋、遼佛教逐漸呈現出來的巨大差異性

  13. Channa LI 李嬋娜 (Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia 奧地利科學院亞洲文化與思想史研究所): Offering to the Buddha or the Saṅgha? One Perspective of Problematizing the Buddha-Saṅgha Hierarchy through Narratives and Epigraphs

    In Buddhist literature, the most well-known donation narrative is Mahāprajāpatī’s offering of a golden robe to the Buddha in which the Buddha orders her to give it to the saṅgha. In the Buddha’s explanation, he refuses it because a donation to the saṅgha would honor both the Buddha and the saṅgha. However, as demonstrated by Silk (2002), this explanation from the Buddha’s lips was insufficiently clear and gave rise to various sectarian interpretations, resulting in controversy over the status and significance of the Buddha in the Buddha–saṅgha relationship. Based on how donation stories such as this one were retold in the various sectarian schools, we can identify the different sectarian proposals for the Buddha–saṅgha hierarchy, and outline the different relative positions of the Buddha and the saṅgha (i.e., whether the Buddha is placed within or outside the saṅgha). According to textual sources, the Mahīśāsaka monks placed the Buddha within the saṅgha and therefore believed that a separate donation to the Buddha was not necessary. The Dharmaguptaka monks argued that the Buddha was outside and above the saṅgha and that donations to the Buddha could not be enjoyed by the saṅgha members. The Theravaṃsa school presented a more complex image, insisting that the Buddha was superior to the saṅgha while also encouraging donations to the saṅgha. Sarvāstivāda scholastic traditions developed a twofold way of defining saṅgha (四方僧 *cāturdiśasaṅgha, or 聲聞僧 *śrāvakasaṅgha) to reconcile multiple views on the Buddha–saṅgha relationship.

    However, an investigation of the recipient of donations in epigraphs problematizes but at the same time simplifies the complicated picture above: rough statistics reveal that most donations made by Buddhists of diverse sectarian schools, including the Dharmaguptaka, contain two parts: donated to the saṅgha but for all buddhas. That is to say, in the practice of making donations throughout the ancient Indian Buddhist world, the saṅgha never lost its status of the privileged recipient of donations. As Gregory Schopen’s insightful treatment of epigraphic evidence reveals, many deep-seated convictions about Buddhist monastic lives are no more than simplistic or idealized views produced by “overconfident” textual scholarship. The central issue of who should receive donations in this paper offers another example of such gap between what is claimed in theory (i.e., in the texts) and what in practice (i.e., witnessed by epigraphs).

    Last but not the least, underlying both the diverse versions of donation narratives and the epigraphic records is the strong economic concern to sustain the monastic community: confronted with the strong personal cult of the Buddha (or more precisely, the cult of the Buddha’s image and stūpa), the saṅgha can at least share a portion of the offering.

  14. LIU Yongsi 劉泳斯 (Minzu University of China 中央民族大學): 道㲀《顯密圓通成佛心要》新考 (A New Study on The Essentials of Attaining the Buddhahood according to Perfect and Penetrative Teaching of Esoteric and Exoteric School by Liao Buddhist Master Daochen)

    准提法在中國佛教界,特別是居士信仰群體中是僅次於淨土信仰的重要修行法門。遼代道㲀《顯密圓通成佛心要》奠定了中國准提法門的基礎。本文利用《燕京永安寺釋迦舍利塔碑記》等遼代石刻、經幢等資料以及黑水城文獻,大體將《顯密圓通成佛心要》的成書年代確定在十一世紀八十年代;並通過遼代契丹藏增補情況的考察,以及比對黑水城發現的道㲀《鏡心錄》西夏文譯本等資料,提出道㲀早年比較關心禪宗,尤其重視荷澤宗,宗密關於華嚴與禪宗匯通的禪教一致思想。而後,由於遼代契丹藏增補等契機,道㲀對晚唐以來新譯密教典籍發生興趣,學術研究重點轉向密教,撰寫《顯密圓通成佛心要》,弘揚准提法門。《顯密圓通成佛心要》對待禪、密的不同態度及其前後發展變化,也可以管窺宋、遼佛教逐漸呈現出來的巨大差異性。

  15. Mingli SUN  (The University of British Columbia 加拿大英屬哥倫比亞大學): 大足寶頂山石刻南宋第十八龕觀無量壽經變研究

    大足寶頂山大佛灣南宋第18龕觀無量壽經變為大足乃至四川地區已知唯一的宋代觀經變,規模之巨前所未有, 圖像表現亦與當地唐代同類實例差異甚大。在圖像內容方面, 與唐代觀無量壽經變突出西方淨土圖像的表現不同,該南宋觀無量壽經變強調九品往生內容且每一品均表現完整的往生場面,又將供養人代表融入十六觀中,同時弱化西方淨土世界景象並省略未生怨圖像。在表現方式方面,與唐代同類實例僅用圖像表現的形式不同,該南宋觀無量壽經變注重圖文結合的方式,即圖像與碑刻一一對應的方式刻畫。大足寶頂山大佛灣南宋第18龕觀無量壽經變的功能在於教化眾生發願往生極樂世界,凸顯了宋代佛教的教化功能。

  16. SUN Yinggang 孫英剛 (Zhejiang University 浙江大學): 北朝時期的燃燈佛造像與王朝政治

    近年來,有關王朝正統地位或合法性問題的討論,已成中古史界的重要話題。這一討論,是政治史研究回歸其應有位置的一種嘗試,既有對權力來源和委任統治權的思考,也提供了深入討論不同政治文化傳統、不同知識與宗教信仰體系與中古政治關係的機會。歷史圖景往往不是單線的、單一畫面的、非黑即白、整齊劃一的,採用不同類型的史料、從不同的視角出發,我們會看到歷史真相的不同層面。不同歷史事實疊加呈現的歷史畫面,可能更加複雜,卻更加接近真實,也更加符合中古時期信仰繁榮、知識創新、包容開放的時代特徵。

    王朝體制和君主理念這一核心的政治議題,近年來獲得中古史學界越來越多的重視,不論是方法論更新,還是具體史實的挖掘,都取得了顯著的成績,也彰顯出將不同史料引入中古政治史研究這一研究思路的潛力。就與本文討論相關的北朝政治史而言,有的研究從中國傳統的五德終始、陰陽術數的政治文化入手,從中土固有的天命、歷運思想出發,討論北朝的君主與政治;有的研究則基於南北朝時期民族衝突融合的時代特徵,從內亞的視角出發,將有關北亞草原政治文化傳統的歷史信息納入北朝政治史的討論,有效地豐富了歷史圖景;除了上述視角,中古時期的另一個重要時代特徵,是佛教的傳入。這是一個佛教和其他宗教繁榮的時代,宗教對當時人們的思想世界和信仰世界都有深刻的影響。佛教的興起與傳播,不僅僅是宗教信仰的輸入輸出,也帶來了新的政治理論和君主觀念。那麼,將豐富的宗教文獻納入研究視野,或是拓展中古政治史研究視野的有效方法。北齊文宣帝高洋(550—559年在位)視高僧法上(495—580年)為佛,模擬燃燈佛(Dīpaṃkara)授記的場面,佈髮於地,讓法上踐之。通過這樣的儀式,塑造自己佛教轉輪王的身份,從信仰和政治雙重的緯度加強自己統治的神聖性。燃燈佛授記在佛教信仰體系中居於極為特殊的地位,帶有明確的宗教和政治意涵。而其發源於犍陀羅(Gandhāra) 地區,在印度本土罕見,但是卻在中國中古時期的政治和信仰世界里成為一個重要的信仰主題和政治理念。這一方面說明中古時期政治文化的複雜性,另一方面也反映了中國文明具有世界主義的開放性和包容性——這也是中國文明能夠長盛不衰的重要原因。

  17. TONG Ling 童嶺 (University of Nanjing 南京大學): Diplomatic Relations of the Buddhist Kingdom Beiliang 北涼——A Research on the time of Juqu Mengxun’s 沮渠蒙遜 building Stone Buddha for his mother on Mount Tianti 天梯山

    神清《北山錄》云:「西秦、北涼,俱微國也。」是唐代佛教文獻中將北涼視為一個地方小政權的講法。這一種「邊緣」與「狹小」的錯覺,毋庸說,是後知後覺的歷史維度。即便是視河西走廊為中西「交通」要道,也要跳出「人」與「物」單純空間移動的transportation意味,而要加上文化傳播的communication含義。在玄始十年之後,北涼一度掌控了地域面積超過11萬平方公里的河西走廊,除此之外,高昌地區也進入了北涼沮渠氏的勢力範圍之內。北涼國主沮渠蒙遜在面對晉帝(以及此後的宋武帝劉裕)、北魏國主外交問題之前,最大的一個名義上的「宗主國」是後秦。此後「先魏後晉」這一表徵,蘊含著是地緣政治的影響力。北涼第一次出使北魏,恰逢北魏明元帝拓跋嗣在位期間,拓跋嗣時期的對外策略,相對於之前的道武帝(拓跋珪)以及之後的太武帝(拓跋燾),無疑是相對收縮與保守的,但即便如此,蒸蒸日上的北魏國力也使得沮渠蒙遜選擇將北魏外交置於首要位置。

    以譯經與佛教塑像著稱的北涼,無疑是中古史少有的「佛國」(南方的佛國則為梁)。2018年10月9日,《光明日報》「文化新聞版」刊載了《武威天梯山新發現佛造像與北涼王「為母造丈六石像」契合》一文,筆者隨後有幸到天梯山實地考察。沮渠蒙遜的母親車氏,可能是西域胡人;沮渠蒙遜的妻子彭氏,則可能是羌族人。無論是西域胡還是羌人,中古時代多為信奉佛法的民族。天梯山石窟,又稱「涼州石窟」,被宿白先生稱為「涼州模式」的典型石窟遺址。六世紀的《高僧傳》與七世紀的《法苑珠林》,一則提及「為母造丈六石像於山寺」,另一則提及「蒙遜先為母造丈六石像」。是否「為母造丈六石像」就一定是塑造了「王太后」(實沮渠蒙遜未稱過帝)的女性佛像呢?我覺得這是一種過度解讀,同時也因為對「為……造……」這樣的典型北朝造像記句式的誤解。

  18. WANG Jun 王珺 (Peking University 北京大學): 古漁陽地區佛教寺院碑刻流布與民間信仰調查——以香水寺為中心

    本文以田野調查與文獻對比為主要研究方法,通過對未經學界發掘的香水寺進行田野調查,對比當地同時期留存的獨樂寺、白塔寺碑刻經幢,對天津市薊州區——古稱漁陽,唐朝設薊州——古代佛教流布、信仰情況做一考察,以期瞭解唐宋中國北方邊境佛教信仰情況,並促進政府、學界對薊州區寺院碑刻經幢的發掘保護。

  19. Claudia WENZEL 温狄婭 (Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities 德國海德堡科學與人文科學研究院): Imprinting the living rock with Buddhist texts: On the creation of a regional sacred geography in Shandong in the second half of the sixth century

    During their earliest phase of production, Buddhist texts in China were not carved in their entirety, but in selected passages. While this phenomenon has been explained primarily as a forerunner of later carvings of longer and more complete texts, this paper explores another aspect of the carving of particular passages: The repeated carving of the same short text does not only emphasize the importance of its doctrinal meaning; it actually helps to set up a regional network of sacred sites, where the words of the Buddha have been imprinted on the living rock. This particular function of the carved texts is corroborated by material aspects, namely their careful layout, which stresses at the same time their coherence as members of the same group and their particularity as representatives of each single inscription site. I will show that this early network of short Buddhist texts was not restricted to Shandong Province, but also reached out to the cave temples of Northern and Southern Xiangtangshan in the border region of Hebei and Henan. Moreover, the career of this and other carved passages culled from the Sutra on the Great Perfection of Wisdom Spoken by Mañjuś(T#232) can arguably be connected to the later emergence of Mañjuśrī veneration at Mount Wutai in Shanxi.

  20. ZHANG Chengyu 張成渝 (Peking University 北京大學) & ZHANG Naizhu 張乃翥 (Academy of Longmen Grottoes 龍門石窟研究院): 王維書幢的發現及其與龍門地區佛教文化的因緣 (The discovery of a Buddhist pillar inscribed by Wang Wei and its connections with Buddhism in the Longmen area)

    洛陽龍門東山南麓近年出土了一件開元十年(722年)由王維(699–759)書丹的陀羅尼經幢。經幢序文記事顯示,進士擢第翌年的王維,即已顯示出濃郁的佛教信仰的意識。與此同時,這一佛教遺物的出土,不但為研究龍門地區唐代寺院提供了珍貴的文物依據,更為後人觀摩唐代這一著名歷史人物的書法行跡展示出一份千載難遇的文化瑰寶,因而在中國文化史上具有重要的審美價值。

    A dhāraṇī pillar inscribed by the Tang poet and painter Wang Wei (699–759) in 722 has been recently unearthed at the southern foothills of the eastern Longmen mountain. We know that Wang Wei passed the imperial examination as jinshiin 723, hence the preface of this inscription is the proof that the previous year, when he was only 23 years old, the poet had already manifested a strong involvement in the Buddhist faith. At the same time, not only does the unearthing of this Buddhist inscription provide us with precious evidence for the study of Tang Buddhist monasteries in the Longmen area, but, perhaps more importantly, it also enables us to appraise the handwriting of such an important historical figure as Wang Wei, thus its significant aesthetic value.

  21.  ZHANG Xuesong 張雪松 (Renmin University of China 中國人民大學): 房山石經《一乘法界圖合詩一印》發微

    《韓國佛教全書》收入的義湘《華嚴一乘法界圖》是以大谷大學藏正德二年寫本等傳世文獻互校而成。而約十二世紀的房山石經收錄金代《一乘法界圖合詩一印》,除了文字校勘的意義之外,最為引人注意的是署名為“儼法師造”。《一乘法界圖》與智儼本就具有密切的關係,從思想原創性上來說《一乘法界圖》的正文很難說對智儼既有著作有多少超越,義湘最大的創新之處就在於用方印的形式對210字的30句七言詩進行排列組合。在房山石經中《一乘法界圖合詩一印》是單本刻經,並不屬於大藏經系統,出資刊刻的信徒,很可能更重視的是文字排列成“印”的神秘宗教效果,而非哲學思辨討論,類似於對待總持陀羅尼的心態。房山石經《一乘法界圖合詩一印》除了探討唐代智儼、高麗義湘等華嚴學者的哲學思想、文獻版本有重要意義,也對理解遼金佛教徒的信仰實踐,對漢語系佛教文獻神秘形態符號表徵的意義,具有重要的價值。