Zhisheng 智昇 is well-known for his seminal contribution to Buddhist catalogues. His scholarly output includes not only the famous Kaiyuan shijiao lu 開元釈教録 but also the Xu datang neidian lu 続大唐内典録, the Xu gujin yijing tuji 続古今訳経図紀, the Xu ji gujin fodao lunheng 続集古今仏道論衡, and the Ji zhujing lichan yi 集諸経礼懺儀. These five catalogues amount to a total of 25 scrolls (巻). The Kaiyuan shijiao lu, compiled in year 18 of the Kaiyuan 開元 era, i.e., 730 CE, is widely regarded as a representative opus of the genre. It has had a far-reaching influence on the history of Buddhist bibliography all across East Asia.
Zhisheng’s work has not been immune, however, to criticism. His reliability has been questioned, for instance, on account of inconsistencies such as the contradictory notations concerning the Shoulengyan jing 首楞厳経. To be more precise, the testimony of the Kaiyuan shijiao lu on the text is different from that of the Xu gujin yijing tuji. Recent research suggests, however, that such inconsistencies cannot be attributed to Zhisheng himself. The old Japanese manuscript versions of these two catalogues, which are among their earliest textual witnesses, do not contain any of the inconsistencies on the Shoulengyan jing which appear in the later recensions. We can hence safely assume that the so-called “inconsistencies” are later scribal corruptions which resulted in the process of textual transmission.
My investigation yields, therefore, the following conclusions:
1. The so-called inconsistencies between the Kaiyuan shijiao lu and the Xu gujin yijing tuji derive from their textual transmission.
2. By the same token, the different accounts concerning the Shoulengyan jing which appear in various catalogues do not constitute proof that the text is apocryphal.
3. The criticism of Zhisheng is unjustified. We can confidently re-assess Zhisheng’s reliability as a serious and cautious compiler of Buddhist catalogues.
