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Figure 1: Qiu Ying, "Zhao Mengfu Writing the Sutra for Tea Picture", partial, Ming, collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, United States
Source: l Journal of Nanjing University of the Arts (Art and Design Edition), Issue 2, 2024, Author l Yang Linshun sharing l Shuyi Commune (ID: shufaorg)
The Buddhist scriptures were written with the Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures as the starting point, and relied on the eastward transmission of Buddhism to develop and grow. From the perspective of Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures, the investigation of scripture writing activities shows that the early Buddhist scripture writing group was single, the early scripture writing relied on the rulers, the middle period relied on the believers and pen recipients in the translation field, and the emergence of official scripture writing in the later period opened up a new situation in scripture writing. Observing Buddhist scripture writing from the perspective of Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures can more completely look at the rheological process of the development of sutra writing.
The Buddhist scriptures are written in Chinese with the Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures. Chinese Buddhism was introduced from India, and at first Western monks came to the east to preach the Dharma, and the foundation of propagation of the Dharma lay in the interpretation of the scriptures. "The Biography of the High Monks of the Song Dynasty" has a cloud: "Translating scriptures is the foundation of Buddhism, and the foundation is the birth of Taoism." [1] 725 Therefore, the translation of scriptures was the first step in whether Buddhism could take root in the Han land, and the writing of scriptures was accompanied by the translation of scriptures, and the primary purpose was to record the scriptures. Later, with the increase in the number of monks in China and the expansion of the influence of Buddhism, the number of Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptures increased sharply, and the number and group of scripture writers became more and more huge, which derived the calligraphy art style of "scripture writing". From the initial writing of scriptures to the emergence of "scripture writing", many issues such as the identity of the scripture writer, the beliefs, and the environment for translating the scriptures are inevitably involved, and it is particularly necessary to investigate the rheological situation of scripture writing in the process of Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures for the study of the history of calligraphy or the history of Buddhism.
1. The initial scripture writing group and scripture writing style
In the early days of Buddhism, the first group of scripture writers appeared, and this group of people has not been found to have left a name in history, but the identity of the scripture writer and the style of writing the scriptures can be basically determined according to the relevant historical materials of the eastward transmission of Buddhism. "The Biography of Song High Monks" summarizes the Chinese language ability of monks in the three periods before, during and after coming to China: "In the beginning, the Brahman and Chinese monks listened to words and thoughts; The square and the circle are chiseled, and the gold and stone are difficult to reconcile; Match the world, put on the name Samadhi; Thousands of miles away, difficult to get through. The next time, Bi Xiaohan talked, I know that the Brahman said, eight or nine times out of ten, sometimes there is a difference, and if you look at the world with angry eyes, the other side is infinite. Later, it is fierce, showing relatives, Zang, empty two passes, please the ointment of the master, the goose gets the milk in the water, the question of the king of Wen is erected, and the peerless text of Yangxiong is obtained. [1] 725 It can be seen that the Western monks who first came into contact with the scriptures obviously did not have the ability to speak Chinese or write their own Chinese. At the same time, early India Buddhism did not like to write scriptures, and was accustomed to oral transmission between master and apprentice, "Theory of Separate Merit" cloud: "Foreign masters and apprentices pass from one to another, and pay by oral instruction do not listen to the text." [2] Liang Qichao also said in the "Eighteen Articles of Buddhist Studies": "Therefore, because there is no written book, it cannot be asserted, probably (1) because of the inconvenience of ancient bamboo silk, it is difficult to pass on and write, so such as the Han Dynasty in the mainland, the scriptures are all spoken by mouth." (2) Contains the concept of religious mysteries, and recognizes writing as blasphemy. [3] [187] Therefore, in the early writings, the scriptures were not translated into Chinese against the Sanskrit text, but dictated by Western monks, who first wrote the scriptures in Sanskrit and then wrote the scriptures. This required that monks must have translators who are proficient in Sanskrit when teaching the Dharma, and judging from the cultural level of the folk groups at that time, it was difficult for Western monks to find people who were proficient in Sanskrit along the way to China and were willing to become assistant translators. Therefore, it can be determined that the original Chinese translation and writing of Buddhist scriptures by monks must have depended on the social class, i.e., the rulers, who were able to flexibly control the higher Sanskrit literacy. Western monks have long made it clear that the ruler is the key person in the legal spread of religion and the promotion of the development of Buddhism...... Traveling far away in Eastern Xia", [4] "The Biography of the High Monk" Yiyun "If you don't follow the lord of the country, it will be difficult to establish the law". [5] 352 Therefore, the allusions about the early eastward spread of Buddhism are basically related to the ruling class, such as the accession of King Zhao of Zhou to the throne, the stone Buddha of Qin Mugong, and the first emperor of the foreign Shamenhua.
The time span of the eastward transmission of Buddhism is in the two Han Dynasty, from the "Three Kingdoms" "In the first year of the Yuanshou of Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty (2 BC), the doctoral disciple Jing Lu was sent by the king of the Dayue clan to Yi Cunkou to receive the "Futu Sutra",[6] to the "Three Tibetan Records" "Emperor Xiaoming of the Han Dynasty dreamed of the Jin people, and sent the envoy Zhang Qian Yu Lin Zhonglang to bring Qin Jing to the Western Regions." It began with the Yuezhi country and met Shamenzhu Moteng. Translate this scripture back to Luoyang. Hidden in the fourteenth room of the Lantai Stone Chamber. Its story is passed down to the world". [7] 5 During these six decades or so, Buddhist scripture writing began to emerge in earnest, and the first group of scripture writers was largely locked into institutions capable of translating Sanskrit. "Hanshu • Hundred Officials and Ministers" said: "Pawns, Qin officials, are in charge of righteousness and barbarians, and there are Cheng." In the sixth year of Emperor Jing (144 B.C.), the name was changed to Daxingling, and in the first year of Emperor Wu (104 B.C.), it was renamed Dahonglu. The subordinate officials include pedestrians, interpreters, don't fire three orders and county chiefs. In the first year of Emperor Wu's first year, he changed his name to the pedestrian as a big order, and he set a farewell fire at the beginning. Wang Mang changed the big Honglu to the classic music. At the beginning, the county residence belonged to the Shaofu, the lieutenant belonged to the lieutenant, and later belonged to the great Honglu. [8] 273 According to the Book of Han, when Western monks came to China, the first to do the work of receiving and translating should be the institution in charge of foreign affairs, namely Dahonglu, among which were translators, who may have been the first scripture writers in history. Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty once mentioned that "the translation of this scripture is returned to Luoyang", and the historical circles are currently suspicious of the matter of seeking the law, but it is a fact that Shamen Zhu Moteng came to China. Jiang Weiqiao's "History of Chinese Buddhism" said: "As for the theory of Buddhism in the East as contained in the "Inner Biography of the Han Fa Ben", only the two people of Jiaye Moteng and Zhu Falan came to China to find out the facts. [9]3 Wang Zhenfu also said: "The Eastern Han Dynasty had the architectural style of Honglu Temple, which may be the original name of the 'temple' of Chinese Buddhist temples. According to legend, when the Ming Emperor's envoy Cai Yu returned to Han, some India monks such as Kaye Moten (or 'Chemoteng') came to China for the first time. In view of the fact that Honglu Temple has the function of receiving guests, it is credible that Jiaye Moteng and others came to China for the first time to live in Luoyang Honglu Temple. [10] Therefore, it can be preliminarily speculated that the Honglu Monastery received monks, and its subordinate officials had the function of interpreting and naturally knew Sanskrit, and it was reasonable to undertake the tasks of translating and writing scriptures at the same time.
In addition, the translation and writing are separated, and the writer is someone else. "Out of the Three Tibetan Collections" cloud: "In the past, Liu Xiangshu has seen Buddhist scriptures. Therefore, it is known that the code has been in place for a long time before becoming an emperor. Arrest Xiaoming, Zhang Qian, a distant envoy. Xi wrote forty-two chapters of the scriptures in the month branch. Taozang Lantai, sealed by the emperor. [7] 5 The History of Chinese Buddhism also details the Ming Emperor's quest for the Dharma: "The history is called the third year of Yongping (60), the Ming Emperor dreamed of gold at night, with a length of six feet, a white light on the top, and a flying palace; Asked the ministers, Fu Yi began to use the Buddha of Tianzhu. Emperor Zhonglang sent Cai Su, Qin Jing, Dr. Wang Zun and other eighteen people to Tianzhu and wrote the legacy of Futu. It is with Shamenjia Ye Moteng and Zhu Falan, and returns to Luoyang in the east...... After Jiaye Morteng and Zhu Falan came to China, the translated classics contained in the scriptures, in addition to the "Forty-two Chapters Sutra", there are also five volumes of the "Buddha Sutra", four volumes of the "Ten Places of Breaking the Knot Sutra", two volumes of "Two Hundred and Sixty Precepts and Differences", one volume of "Fahai Tibetan Sutra", and one volume of "Buddha Bunsheng Sutra". However, the "Forty-two Chapters Sutra" still exists. [9] 1-2 Doctor Wang Zun et al. wrote the Futu testament, which is direct evidence of the scripture writing, but because the "Forty-two Chapters of the Sutra" is doubtful and the rest of the scriptures are scattered, it is not completely certain that Wang Zun and others wrote the scriptures, but it is certain that the early scripture writers included subordinate officials such as doctors. In the above historical materials of Buddhism to the East, there are two types of official positions repeatedly, "doctor" and "Lantai", such as "doctor's disciple Jinglu" and "doctor Wang Zun", as well as "Liu Xiangxiaoshu" and "Taozang Lantai". The Book of Han records: "Doctor, Qin official, is in charge of the past and the present. [8] 272 The Han Dynasty doctor and Qin official were both people who were well-versed in the ancient and modern times, and the Qin official was the predecessor of the Great Honglu, and it was inevitable that the doctor would participate in the translation of Buddhist scriptures in combination with the doctor Wang Zun and others who wrote Futu. "General Dictionary" cloud: "The Lantai of the Han Dynasty and the Eastern View of the Later Han Dynasty are both rooms for storing books and places for writing. Many literary scholars at that time, so that the school in it, so there is the position of school secretary, and then in Lantai to order the history of eighteen people, and selected it officials into the East, all of them are the secretary of the school, or write a biography. [11] The history of the Lantai Lingshi and the school secretary of the Han Dynasty were mainly responsible for the proofreading of classics and the writing of biographies, and the Lantai Lingshi has the significance of an authoritative version, combined with the Ming Emperor's translation of the scriptures hidden in the fourteenth room of the Lantai Stone Chamber, it can also be inferred that the translation and writing of the scriptures have the participation of the Lantai Lingshi. At the same time, the doctor belongs to Taichang, and Lantai belongs to the imperial history, both of which have the meaning of "history". [12]
Therefore, it can be concluded that the early Buddhist scriptures were written by the rulers, and the scripture writers should be court translators and doctors who have Sanskrit cultivation and are well-versed in ancient and modern times, as well as officials such as Lantai Lingshi and Xiaoshulang who are in charge of the secretary of the school. Liu Chengji also said: "Lantai Lingshi has an exemplary role in calligraphy in the writing of classics...... In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Lantai and Dongguan were not only authoritative academic institutions, but also places where calligraphers representing national standards gathered. [13] These people do not understand Buddhism and do not have a uniform format for writing scriptures, but because they are proficient in Sanskrit, or have been in charge of writing books and classics for many years, they can be competent in translating and writing scriptures in a timely manner. These earliest scriptures have long been dispersed, but based on the identity of these writers, it can be inferred that the style of the early scriptures should be the official script of the time, and the style is similar to the Edict of the Marquis of Haihuang (Fig. 1) unearthed from the tomb of the Marquis of Haihuang and the Wuwei Han Jianli (Fig. 2) unearthed in Gansu. "The Edict of the Marquis of Haiding" records the edict of the Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty (63 B.C.), which is the official ink handwriting closest to the time of the Ming Emperor's quest for the law to write the Yongping ten years (67). The font used in the early writing of the scriptures should be consistent with such official documents, especially in the "Edict of the Marquis of Haidu" M1:1506-3, which appears in the content of "the envoy of the imperial history Fu Shang Fu Xi", and in the fragment of M1:1799-1, there are texts such as "Doctor Chen, Ji Chen, Wangzhi Chen, Changchen", etc., and the imperial history and doctors and other officials were the main bearers of the early Buddhist introduction to translated scriptures, so it is inferred that the early scripture writing style should be close to this kind of ancient li. Of course, there is a gap of more than 100 years between the two, and the evolution of Lishu has also evolved from the pre-Qin ancient Lishu to the Eastern Han Dynasty. The Wuwei Han Jian Etiquette unearthed in Gansu was written in the late Western Han Dynasty, around the time of Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty (51 BC-7 BC), and archaeologist Chen Banghuai believes that the character usage is closer to the Wang Mang period (6-23), and this time is closer to the Yongping decade (67). Although the Wuwei Han Jian Etiquette is not an official text, it is also a transcription of the Confucian classics of the time, and the font used should also be the common orthodox of the time. Therefore, whether it is the official document of the "Edict of the Marquis of Haiding", or the classic transcription text of the "Wuwei Han Jian Etiquette", it is this kind of eight-point official book, but the latter is more neat and serious, and there is some restraint in the apostrophe, painting and closing the pen. The time of the early scripture writing is not far from the two, and the characters who wrote the scriptures can also be compared, so the style of the early scripture writing should be close to the style of the two.
Figure 1: Ten wooden slabs of the Edict of the Marquis of Haidu
Figure 2 Detail of "Wuwei Han Brief Etiquette".
2. A large number of scripture writers in the middle period: believers and folk beliefs in the translation field
The development of scripture writing and the Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures have always kept pace. During the Han Dynasty, Buddhism had just been introduced, and it was not valued and propagated by the rulers, so the early scripture writing activities based on recording the classics were not valued by history, and there was basically no history to examine, until the new scripture translation activities were carried out after Emperor Huan. Xiao Dengfu once said in "Taoist Taoism and the Early Development of Chinese Buddhism": "From Emperor Ming to Emperor Huan, Buddhism was only attached to Taoism, and only circulated among a few people, and there was no obvious translation of the scriptures...... Buddhism spread eastward, and there is a systematic translation of the scriptures, which should probably start with An Shigao during the reign of Emperor Huan of the late Han Dynasty and Zhi Lou Jiayu during the reign of Emperor Ling. ”[14]
(1) The pen has begun to take shape in a unified style
An Shigao and Zhi Lou Jia's translation field, there is a clear record of the pen, "The Biography of the Song Monks" cloud: "The recipient of the pen, must speak Chinese, Sanskrit, learn comprehensive free, ask each other to know, and then write." [1] 724 Liang Qichao's "Eighteen Articles of Buddhism" said: "Shigao's translation industry is in the south, and its pen recipient is Linhuai Yan Buddha; The translation industry is in the north, and its pen recipients are Meng Fu and Zhang Lian, who are from Luoyang. [3] 193 "The Samadhi Sutra of the Boat" Yiyun: "October 8 of the second year of Guanghe. Tianzhu Bodhisattva Zhu Shuo Buddha. Out of Luoyang. Bodhisattva Protector. Messengers. The Bodhisattva of the Moon Branch confers it. Henan Luoyang Mengfu character scholar. Attendant Bodhisattva. Zhang Lian's character is less than an pen. After the order, Pu is there. Thirteen years of Jian'an. In the Buddhist temple, it is sufficient. After there are writers. There is no Buddha in the south. [7] 48 It can be seen from this that the writers of this period were mostly followers of monks, who were proficient in Sanskrit, had good academic cultivation, and were exemplary in both translation and writing. In the "Similarities and Differences in the Transliteration of the Texts of the Hu and Han Translations", it is also said: "If the words are transmitted, the words are written by the pen...... It is up to the translator to gain or lose righteousness. The quality of the word is tied to the writing. [7] 4 It can be seen that the pen is not only to record the content of the monk's lectures, but also to take into account the "text and quality" of the scriptures when the Sanskrit scriptures are converted into Chinese. Righteousness and reasoning are clearly analyzed, the text is fair, the argument is not flashy, the quality is not wild, and all the readers are chaotic but not reluctant"; [5] 323 "It seems to come out of a prophecy, and all these scriptures have been examined to the original purpose, and they are not embellished, and they can be described as people who are good at preaching the Dharma and want to promote the Tao." [5] 324 The brushes of these two people are respectively southerners and northerners, the former is qualitative but not wild, and the latter emphasizes literal translation without ornamentation. After the Buddhist scriptures are collated, they will be circulated, and many folk believers will use the pen as the mother copy of the copy, and the calligraphy style will naturally be affected. Wang Wenyan said in "A Study of the Chinese Translation of Buddhist Classics": "Before the translation of scriptures is completely officialized, even if a sutra is translated from the beginning of the translation to the final version of the proofreading, the translation field can be dissolved (the translation field can be dissolved). The new translations were copied by believers who begged for good fortune themselves, or by deceased people for circulation. [15] 173 Mr. Hua Rende also believes in "On the Style of Writing Sutras in the Six Dynasties" that "when monks and nuns and believers copy scriptures, they must copy them according to the old style and not according to their own will",[16] which is one of the reasons for the exemplary meaning of the early writing of scriptures and the different styles of early Buddhist scripture writing. In particular, the believers in the same translation field all use the scriptures as a model for copying, and over time, they can form a similar style of scripture writing within a fixed range, which can be called the predecessor of the "scripture writing style". The translation field of An Shigao and Zhilou Jiayu is small, the number of believers and Buddhist scriptures is small, and the mode of writing and copying scriptures has not yet taken shape, so there is no large-scale "scripture writing".
(2) Large-scale circulation of pens to receive scriptures
Buddhist scripture writing and Buddhist translation can be said to be two sides of the same coin, and if you want to promote the emergence of a large number of scripture writing styles, it is naturally inseparable from Zhu Fahu, who opened up the situation of Mahayana Buddhism in China. "The Biography of the High Monk" said: "Only Hongtong is the industry." Write and translate all your life, and never give up. The scriptures are widely circulated in China. The power of protection also. [5] In 326, Zhu Fa Hu lived in Dunhuang, traveled back and forth to Chang'an, Dunhuang and other places to translate scriptures, and translated more than 150 scriptures in his lifetime, and he was the first person to write scriptures by monks. "The Biography of the High Monk" cloud: "Return to Zhongxia, from Dunhuang to Chang'an, translated along the road, and written as Jin Chinese." [5] 326 The early Buddhist translators were all Western monks, who only translated and spoke, but did not have the ability to write scriptures, and Zhu Fahu was fluent in 36 languages of various countries in the Western Regions, so when there was no translation field and pen along the way, he wrote his own Jin script. In addition, he still relied on a large number of pen scripts to write and pass on the scriptures, and at the same time, these pen books also laid the foundation for the large-scale emergence of "Dunhuang scriptures".
The "Collection of Buddhas and Sutras" is a fragment of the Chinese scriptures unearthed in Turpan, Xinjiang, which is the earliest found year, and the end of the sutra is written in the following language (Figure 3): On the twenty-second day of the first month of the second year of □ Kang, the Bodhisattva of the Moon Branch holds the □ in his hands. □□ awarded to Nie Chengyuan. and the first stroke of the disciple Sha Men Zhu. □□ order this passage to flow in ten directions, carry the Honghua, and quickly □□. It was written on March 18 of the sixth year of Yuanyasu. Where 32,000 chapters are 19,596 words. In addition to Zhu Fashou, "in the translation of the scriptures, there are many assistants who write and proofread for him. Among them, the famous ones are Nie Chengyuan and his son Daozhen, and the disciples of the Dharma Protector, Zhu Fayan, Zhang Xuanbo, Sun Xiuda, Chen Shilun, Sun Bohu, Yu Shiya, etc." [17] 299 Zhu Fashou wrote this sutra in the sixth year of Yuankang (296), but the beginning of the scriptures appeared in the second year of □Kang, the word "□" is recognized as the word "Yuan", that is, the second year of Yuankang (292) has this scripture, Chen Guocan also confirmed in the article "The Fragment of the "Buddhas to Collect the Sutra" unearthed in Turpan and the translation of the scriptures of the Dunhuang monk Zhu Fahu" also confirmed that "The Buddhas to collect the scriptures" was translated on the twenty-second day of the first month of the second year of Yuankang (292), but the translation place is not recorded, presumably also in Luoyang, Jinjing, the pen recipient is Nie Chengyuan, and the head of the law is only in' [18] This shows that the "Buddhas to Collect the Sutras" found so far is not the original manuscript, but after Nie Chengyuan wrote the scriptures, in order to circulate the scriptures, Zhu Fashou copied them, at this time four years have passed, the scriptures have been written from Luoyang, transmitted to Turpan, and the circulation and scale of the scriptures have begun to appear.
Figure 3 The Buddhas Collect the Sutras
First of all, Zhu Fahu himself attaches great importance to the circulation of scriptures, and the earliest scale of Dunhuang scriptures writing should be triggered by him. Bodhisattva Shaman's Protector. Yu Dunhuang from the turtle deputy envoy Meizi Hou. This Sanskrit book does not retreat the Falun Sutra. Mouthful. Grant the Shamandharma to multiply the flow. [7]50 "After taking the west to Dunhuang, the temple was established to extend learning, forgetting oneself as the Tao, and teaching without relenting",[5]347 Zhu Fa taught his disciples Zhu Fa to spread the scriptures in Dunhuang, and the Dharma was extended in the Dunhuang Temple, and at the same time, the scale and style of scripture writing were gradually established. You must know that the early Buddhist translation of scriptures adopted the form of translation and teaching, because the Dharma had just been introduced, and it was only transmitted by scriptures, and the scope of Dharma propagation was too small, so in the translation field, the translation of scriptures and the explanation of scriptures were carried out at the same time. Therefore, in addition to the master translators and assistants, there are also a large number of believers in the public who listen to the lectures. Wang Wenyan said in "A Study of the Chinese Translation of Buddhist Texts": "When a well-known master translated the scriptures, the disciples who assisted in translating the scriptures and listened to the proclamation of the Dharma in his translation field were thousands of people and hundreds of people. [15] 114 Lü Han's "A Brief Lecture on the Origins of Chinese Buddhism" describes the grand scene of Zhu Fahu: "At the end of Emperor Wu (274), he once lived in seclusion in the mountains, and then practiced in the temple outside the Qingmen Gate of Chang'an, and his reputation spread far and wide, and more than 1,000 monks and laymen from all over the country came to learn from it. He also went to various places to Honghua and translated the scriptures everywhere. For example, in the fifth year of Taikang (284), he translated seven volumes of "The Book of Cultivation and Taoism" in Dunhuang, and three volumes of "A Wei Yue Zhi Sutra". [17] 297 Zhu Fa Protector translated the scriptures in an extremely grand scene, he was called the "Dunhuang Bodhisattva", I believe that his scene in Dunhuang translation of the scriptures is no less than Chang'an. In this kind of translation field, after the pen is written, it will inevitably be copied by the audience, so that with the pen and the writing of the scriptures as the base, a translation field will appear as the scale of the scripture writing style. Akira Fujieda's "Cultural History of Chinese Characters" says: "In Dunhuang, sometimes scripture writing stations were set up for a certain purpose, and a large number of scriptures were copied over a period of time. Although there are individual differences in the calligraphers themselves, on the whole, the style of the books from the same scripture writing house is very similar. [19] In the early days, although there were no official scripture writing centers, there were a large number of translation sites, and the scriptures written in the same translation field also presented similar styles because they were transcribed from the same scripture scripture. Therefore, "the existing fragments of Buddhist scriptures written in Dunhuang and Turpan dating before the fifth century are written in the main script, the line script, the cursive script and the official script",[20] this reason, in addition to the period of the evolution and intermingling of the book style at that time, may be to a large extent caused by the different texts produced by the texts, and at the same time became the prelude to the phenomenon of a large number of people copying the scriptures and the emergence of the "scripture writing style".
(3) People who write scriptures out of faith spontaneously
Another reason for the emergence of a large number of people writing sutras is the promotion and circulation of Mahayana Buddhism, which prompted people to write sutras spontaneously because of their beliefs. As mentioned above, the early transmission of the Dharma in India was mainly oral transmission. "The Three Thousand Majesty of the Great Bhikkhus" cloud: "The business done by the monks." The business, one is zazen, the other is chanting, and the third is persuading all things. If you have the three karma, you should be a monk. If he does not do so, he will live and die in vain, or he may have a cause for suffering. [21] In the early days, there was no copying of scriptures in the monks' business, and Master Faxian of the Eastern Jin Dynasty went to Tianzhu to seek scriptures and Yiyun: "Xianben seeks precepts." And the countries of Northern Tianzhu are all passed down orally. There is no book to write about. [7] 21 Fa Xian arrived in Tianzhu around 400 A.D., when Buddhism had been introduced to China for at least 300 years, and Tianzhu still had no book to write, so it can be seen that the theory of copying scriptures to gain merit should have been added by the introduction of Buddhism to Han China in order to propagate the Dharma. Therefore, starting with Anshigao and Zhilou Jia, many scriptures link the writing of scriptures with merit to persuade believers to copy the scriptures. The cloud of the "Tao Xing Prajna Sutra" translated by Zhilou Jiayu: "Those who want to take the Buddha should see their merits, and those who want to take the Buddha should learn Prajnaparamita, and they should hold and recite, so that they do not learn, do not hold and do not recite good men and women, but write, hold the scriptures, and make offerings to themselves as rituals - Minghua, incense, incense, miscellaneous incense, silk, canopy, flags." [22] Zhu Fa Protector's translation of the "Sutra of Virtuous Tribulation" clouds: "It declares that the four generations of students are wholeheartedly pursued, the blessing is indescribable, and the writing is not lost." So what? Coming to the place where the Buddha was born, declaring that the students are flowing in all directions, and all mercy is to repay the Buddha's kindness. [23] Zhu Fa Protector translated the Lotus Sutra cloud: "If there is writing and holding in hand, then worship the Buddha body and respect the Tao." Respect the book is the scripture, the book is the scripture has been to understand the meaning, in this life for the benefit of the day. In the heavens, 84,000 heavenly and jade girls used to offer drums and pianos to sing praises, and they have been the son of heaven sitting among the jade maidens, and they are entertained. If the surname of the clan is the son, the proviso is the merit, not to mention the recitation and thinking of the righteousness! [24] Zhu Fa Protector translated the verses of "The Buddha Says Maitreya's Sutra of the Next Life": "If there is a written scripture, the class is proclaimed on the plain, and there is an offering scripture, and it comes to our place. [25] Buddhism says that the function of a scripture breaks hell, and emphasizing the importance of scripture writing in the scriptures can arouse the public's attention to the belief in scripture writing. In addition to the merit of copying in the scriptures, the inscription of the manuscript of the scripture written by the translator will also state that "it is sufficient to be determined in the Buddhist temple." After there are writers. All have no Buddha in the south", "December 2, the tenth year of Taikang (289)." Moon branch bodhisattva protector. Holding a Sanskrit book in his hand, he proclaimed the words of Jin. Nie Dao really wrote. It began in the White Horse Temple in the west of Luoyang City. Fold the Yuan to write so that the merit flows. All things are blessed". [7] 50 Writing scriptures can accumulate merit and inspire a large number of people to start writing scriptures spontaneously because of their faith, and at the same time become the most non-direct utilitarian group in scripture writing activities.
During this period, the writers of the translation field were mainly responsible for the writing of the translation field and the believers of the translation field, and most of the recipients of the writing were Shamen attendants who were proficient in Buddhism, and their scriptures were the transcription models for the believers to write the scriptures, and formed a scripture writing group with the translation field as the main scale of dissemination, and each translation field formed an independent scale of scripture writing style. Taking the Collection of Buddhas as an example, it is a typical official book style of the Western Jin Dynasty,[26] which has been one of the main styles used in Buddhist scripture writing since the third century AD. [27] According to the New Index of the Dunhuang Testamentary Notes, the fragments of the manuscript remain: Si 6728, Si 2816, Si 4541 and Dunyan 061, Dunyan 061 (Fig. 4) are the scriptures translated by Zhu Fahu unearthed during that period, the Lotus Sutra, and the CH1788a Lotus Sutra · Medicine King Rulai Pin (Fig. 5) in the Turpan Documents Collection· European and American Collection Volumes), all of which are similar to the style of the Buddhas to the SutrasIt is a typical writing in the process of the change of the official script, and at the same time, it is more neat and tends to be a standardized scripture writing style, which also confirms the formation of the scripture writing style with the translation field as the main scale at that time. Zhu Fa Hu not only interpreted along the way, but also traveled to a number of translation sites, covering Dunhuang, Chang'an, Luoyang, Jiuquan, Tianshui, affecting a wide range, with its translation field as the radiation center, with this "Jin Shu is writing" style of writing scriptures for the formation of the later "scripture writing style" opened up a new situation. Hua Rende also said: "The Sutra of the Buddhas and the Seventeenth Sutra of the Maha Prajnaparamita Sutra in the second year of Yongjia (308) are written in this style. This is a kind of book style that is transformed and stylized on the basis of the main book style used in daily life at that time, and the effect it pursues is to work both quickly and quickly. Because nearly 1,000 scriptures had been translated before the Western Jin Dynasty, and each scripture was widely copied, these large numbers of early scriptures had a profound and lasting impact on the style of writing scriptures in later generations, and were the basis for the formation of the scripture writing style of the Six Dynasties. ”[16]
Figure 4 Dunyan 061 Lotus Sutra
Fig.5 CH1788a "Lotus Sutra · Medicine King Nyolai Pin"
3. The formation of the scripture writing style in the later period: official writing and the entry into Tibet
"Protector of the Dharma and the Tao, Emperor Moxian",[5]371 Although the early scriptures were written by the emperor, the rulers did not become faithful believers and protectors of Buddhism, but only gave the opportunity to propagate the Dharma and preach the Tao, and the supporters became actual participants, which was a great change from Kumarosh. Kumarosh entered Chang'an in the third year of Yao Xinghongzhi (401), before Chang'an had become a resort for spreading the Dharma under the propagation of Master Dao'an of the former Qin Fujian, but Master Dao'an did not understand Sanskrit, focusing on righteousness, so Hui Jiao's "Biography of the High Monk" listed it in the Ministry of Righteousness, not in the Department of Translation, so the real difference from the predecessors in the translation field is Kumarosh, and the difference is the appearance of "official industry". Of course, this is all thanks to the strong support of Yao Xing, the ruler of the dynasty.
(1) Official transcription
"Kumarosh" said: "In September, Longshang surrendered, and then he had to welcome Shi into the customs, and he went to Chang'an on December 20 of the year. Treat the gift of the national teacher, and see the favor. If you talk about each other, you will drown all day, and if you study and make everything, you will forget about it for a long time. Xing Shaoda Chong Three Treasures, Rui Zhi Lecture Collection. Even then, please go to the Ximing Pavilion and Xiaoyao Garden to translate the scriptures. Even the rate of recitation, all of them are investigated, and they can turn to Chinese dialect and transliterate fluently. After reading the old scriptures, the righteousness is many and secluded, all of which are out of order and do not correspond to the Sanskrit text. So more than 800 people, including Shamen monks, monks Qian, Faqin, Daoliu, Daoheng, Daobiao, monks, and monks, consulted and issued the "Great Product". Even hold the Sanskrit text, the old scriptures, to the school, its new text is different from the old, the righteousness is round, the hearts of the people are subdued, all praise. [5] 332 "Out of the Three Tibetan Collections" said: "The King of Qin bowed to the old scriptures. Examine the gains and losses. Consult on the way. Frank and sincere. There are more than 500 people with Zhusu old Yiye Shamen Shi Huigong, Seng Qi, Seng Qian, Baodu, Huijing, Faqin, Daoliu, Seng Rong, Daohui, Dao Yu, Dao Heng, Dao Yi, etc. Explain its meaning. Review the text. And then the book. It was out on the 15th day of the twelfth month of the year. Correction checking. ”[7]53
Through the above records in the Kumarosh and the Exodus of the Three Tibetan Records, we can identify several key factors that promoted the great development of scripture writing. First, Yao Xing admired Buddha very much, treated Kumarosh with the courtesy of a national teacher, and was influenced by the ruler. The one who comes from afar. More than 5,000 people. Floating slaughter in Yongguili. Standing in the palace",[28] from the bottom up, from the lay to the monks, the scope of influence is huge, and it is the support of a huge number of scriptures. Second, Yao Xing advocated the Three Treasures, not on the surface, but personally presided over the translation field, and established the official "Ximing Pavilion and Xiaoyao Garden", which became the ancestral court of the later "Three Treatises". The official translation field shows that scripture writing is no longer just a matter of being copied after the pen is proofread by the written scripture, but must be subject to official supervision, "correction and review", and then circulation. In this period, it was necessary for the official scribe to re-copy and transcribe the scriptures, and the official industry was the biggest difference between the Kumarosh scripture writing era and the previous translation field, and the official standard style of scripture writing began to sprout. Third, Yao Xing was well versed in the Buddhist scriptures, and was able to "learn from each other" with Kumarosh, and personally wrote by hand, and a special group of scripture writers, "imperial scriptures", began to appear. Yao Xing's influence on Chinese Buddhism is huge, it is he who makes Guanzhong from top to bottom Buddhism atmosphere, famous monks at home and abroad gather when they hear about it, and the prosperity of Buddhism means the prosperity of writing scriptures. From scripture writing to the emergence of the "scripture writing style", there must be several key factors: there must be a large enough group of scripture writers, there must be enough scriptures and classics, there must be a wide enough spread of Buddhist beliefs, and there must be a basic stylized style and form of scripture writing, and so on. Before Kumaroshi, the number of Buddhist scriptures, Buddhist beliefs, and the style of translating scriptures had appeared, but the scripture writing group was not complete, and there were not enough monks writing scriptures, servants, official scriptures, and imperial scriptures. Since then, the development of scripture writing has continued to expand on the basis of this period, especially the official scripture writing and scripture writing style have become more and more stylized.
From the beginning of the Kumarosh period, thousands of monks came to gather, Buddhism flourished in Guannai, and the number of monk temples increased day by day, until the fourth year of Xinghe (542), when there were 30,000 temples in Wei and 2 million monks and nuns,[29] the increase in monks and temples, the number and demand for monks to write scriptures also increased, and naturally began to appear in the book of servants, "Book of Wei" volume 55 "Biography of Liu Fang" recorded: "Fang often wrote scriptures for the monks and maids, and the handwriting was good, and the volume was straight to a suspicion." [30] At this time, the master copy of the scriptures should have been either an official manuscript or a monk's manuscript to ensure that the scriptures were copied correctly, and the monks' manuscripts were also of official origin. In his "Overview of the Dunhuang Manuscripts," Fujieda says: "The inscriptions in some manuscripts indicate that one volume of Buddhist scriptures was part of a large collection of Buddhist scriptures or sets of Buddhist scriptures made at the same time. In this case, in order to produce thousands of scrolls, it was necessary to establish a large-scale scripting agency, which was indeed established in both Dunhuang and Jingshi in the Central Plains. [31] Although there is no history to be found, the name of the institution that wrote the scriptures in the Yao and Qin dynasties was specific, but it is a fact that there was an official responsible for "correcting and reviewing", and it is unrealistic to rely on the people and monks for the circulation of all the scriptures. Yao Qin destroyed the country after only 34 years, but he left a reference for the later scripture writing system, including the establishment of the monk official system. If you don't impeach, you should set up a monk to have a clear hope. Because the following book says: Dafa moved eastward, and now it is prosperous, and there are many monks and nuns, so it is necessary to have a program and proclaim long-term rules to help the decadence. In his early years, the monk was excellent in his early years, and he was a monk in China. [5] In the late 363 period, most of the official scriptures written in Dunhuang were mainly under the responsibility of monks and officials, and during the Yao and Qin periods, the main land was Longxi, and Kumarosh also preached the Dharma in Dunhuang. It was not until the Northern Wei Dynasty that the specific and relatively complete official scriptures were confirmed, and the inscriptions of S.1427, S.1547, S.341, S.2067 and other scrolls unearthed in Dunhuang clearly appeared "scripture masters" and "school scripture Taoists (monks)", and they all presented standard formats, including the style of scripture writing, the name of the scripture writer, the identity, the name of the scripture, the time and place of writing, the paper used, the person in charge of the copying institution, the proofreader, etc.
(2) Unified form
From the official business started by Yao Qin to the Dunhuang scripture writing institute of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the development model of official scripture writing became more and more perfect and basically followed to the Sui and Tang dynasties, but it was more standardized than before the Sui Dynasty. Compared with the previous mode of scripture writing in the Tang Dynasty, there are two differences: first, the scripture is basically unified with the official script, and the writing style and shape tend to be unified. Because the Tang Dynasty's translation of scriptures was completely official and the compilation of the Tripitaka required that all scriptures must be read by the emperor, called "written into the inside", and then compiled into the Tripitaka, called "King James into Tibet", before they could be "written for circulation". "Argument on Justice" cloud: "Survey is both Zhou Yi and Yun Bi." The detailed reading of the division is heard. Ten copies were written each. Scattered to the temple, let the total circulation. [32] "Each department writes ten parts, scatters them to the temple, and circulates them in a total manner", indicating that the circulation must be written by the official, and after the official writing is sent to the temple, the temple will then circulate with the people to "tie the fate". At this time, the official scripture writing could no longer meet the large needs of the people and monasteries, so the folk scripture copying workshops flourished. In the history of scripture writing, there began to be a complete profit, no faith, pure commercial scripture writing, the ruler for the reverence of the Buddhist scriptures belief, had to put forward constraints, Yuanzong even promulgated the "Banfang City Buddha Writing Edict": "Open the shop to write the scriptures, openly cast the Buddha." Eating wine and meat, and having bloody hands...... From now on, the city of Banfang and others will have to cast Buddha and write scriptures as a business. Those who must pay homage to the honorable face should be allowed to worship at the temple. Those who must read the classics should read them in Lefang Temple. If there are few scriptures, the monk writes an offering. Zhuzhou temple view and quasi-this. [33] Second, in the Sui and Tang dynasties, the mechanism of simultaneous translation and preaching was abolished, and several experts were used to translate the scriptures, so there was no scene of thousands of believers listening to the lectures before Kumarosh, and the earliest people who wrote the scriptures "disappeared", and at the same time, there were also pen acceptances. In the past, as the first person to write the scriptures in the translation field and the main disseminator of the scriptures, "pen acceptance" was not recorded in the register after the Tang Dynasty, the preface of Jin Weiwen's "Translation Field" said: "Those who do not bother with the translation know that there must be a list at the end of the volume, such as the translation, pen acceptance, polishing, and proofreading, must be detailed, so it is clear that its origin is not false, and it is solemn and respectful." It was later made into the scriptures, but there was only one translator, and the rest were all deleted. Easy to do? Drinking water does not know the source, and it is also a fallacy. [15] 123 This paper examines in detail the rheological situation of the development of the scriptures, and also knows the source by drinking water.
IV. Conclusion
Buddhist scripture writing is a kind of social and cultural activity that is produced by relying on the eastward transmission of Buddhism. When we talk about the identity of the scripture writers, although we usually include groups such as "monks, scripture students, lay people, and the public", the Chinese translation of scriptures and Buddhist scriptures is one and the same, and from the perspective of Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures, we find that the early Buddhist scripture writers were single, and this kind of "whole society" activity was a situation that only appeared hundreds of years after the introduction of Buddhism. As a form of recording the translation of scriptures, the scripture writers may be the translators in charge of translation in the imperial court and the officials with the meaning of "history" with Sanskrit and clerical cultivation. Later, with the increase in the number of Western monks coming to China and the expansion of the Buddhist scripture translation field, there was a scripture with spreading significance, that is, the pen received the scriptures. During this period, a large number of scriptures were written and disseminated, relying on the believers and writers who listened to the scriptures in the translation field, forming a style of scripture writing within the scope of the translation field, and at the same time, there were formal monks writing scriptures, which was already two hundred years after the introduction of Buddhism, and monks in the general sense copied the scriptures even later. The real qualitative change in scripture writing was in the Yao Qin era, when the emergence of official scripture writing opened up a new situation in the later scripture writing, and two new scripture writing groups appeared: official scripture writing and imperial scripture writing, which was the premise for the birth of stylized and standardized scripture writing. The identities and styles of the scripture writers in different periods are different, but the style of writing is mostly similar to the mainstream style of writing at that time, and the scripture writing group gradually plumps up with the development until the Tang Dynasty officially controls the cause of scripture writing and translation, forming two great contrasts: one is that the style of the book has moved from the diversification of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to the simplification; The second is that the Sanskrit and Buddhist cultivation of the scripture writers has gradually declined, and there has been a completely faithless and profit-oriented scripture writing. In short, from the early days of scripture writing to the birth of the "scripture writing style", from the perspective of Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures, we can more completely look at the rheological process of the development of scripture writing, which is the purpose of this paper.
Image Credits:
Fig.1 Zhang Jianwen, Cao Ji. Research on the restoration of the Edict of the Marquis of Haiyang unearthed from the tomb of Liu He, Marquis of Haiding, Nanchang[J].Jianghan Archaeology,2023(5):132-138.)
Figs. 4 and 5 Cui Zhonghui. The cultural exchange reflected in the early Buddhist scriptures: A case study of Zhu Fa Guardian Translation Field[J].Dunhuang Studies,2019(4):12-14.)
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