The Ji gujin fodao lunheng 集古今仏道論衡 compiled by Daoxuan 道宣 in the Tang dynasty is a collection of discussions related to the controversy between Buddhism and Taoism. The compiler quoted numerous ancient books and records, particularly from the Xu Gaoseng zhuan 続高僧伝, and Bianzheng lun 弁正論. In his own Guang Hongmingji 広弘明集 chapters about “Rectification” and “Differentiate,” we find a number of passages cited from the Ji gujin fodao lunheng. These materials have been studied in the context of the acceptance of Buddhism in China and debates between Buddhists and Taoists by scholars such as Yoshitaka Tsukamoto, Yoshitoyo Yoshioka, and Tadashi Kubotoku.
In recent years, Liu Linkui published articles on the establishment and philological value of the Ji gujin fodao lunheng. But there still remain many questions to be discussed. While all old Buddhist manuscripts in Japan of the text are three volumes long, all the print edition of the canons printed after the tenth century, including the Taishi, have the text as four volumes. We learn by comparing records in the sūtra catalogues and the content of the text that the Japanese old manuscripts represent the first draft of this text, and therefore offer important material for the study of the text.
This article presents an overview of the printed text material of Daoxuan’s Ji gujin fodao lunheng. The ancient Japanese manuscripts are introduced, and the process of text change for both printed and written materials is presented in a comparative manner.
