The general Buddhist chronicles; Historical construction; Editing features; Source of historical materials; Writing mode
摘要
The general Buddhist chronicles in ancient China were unique literatures of Buddhism Historical Records. With the chronological genre, they recorded the rise and fall of Buddhism in China. They had extensive content and provided an overview of the historical aspects of the mutual influence between Buddhism and secular society. Its distinctive compilation style, rich and abundant sources of historical materials and the techniques of cutting and reforming the literature, and the writing mode of emperor and scholar bureaucrats were reflected in the construction of Buddhist history by the Buddhist historians.
They focused on the the history of Buddhism and secular historical events. The Buddha's birth was the starting point of Buddhist history, but with the later period, the later general Buddhist chronicles gradually traced the narrative time to the agnostic long distance to show the inexhaustible and endless of the Buddhism. They used chronicle to through the rise and fall of Buddhism under the centralized politics.
The source of historical materials for the general Buddhist chronicles were very extensive. In addition to Buddhist literature, they also referenced Confucian and Taoist literature. Through cutting and transforming a large number of documents, Buddhist historians demonstrated their skills.
In the general Buddhist chronicles, Cui Hao and Han Yu adopted different historical writing modes, and all of them constructed a historical narrative conducive to Buddhism. The emperor's worship and destruction of Buddhism were linked with the prosperity and the decay of the country, and in order to exhort the rulers to worship Buddhism and seek the way for the survival and development of Buddhism under the centralized politics.
