Ming-Qing transitional Buddhist works play an invaluable role in historical studies. Firstly, they include works by many Ming loyalists who were forced to take refuge among the ranks of the Buddhist clergy. Their writings which would otherwise have been proscribed by the Qing court were preserved withun Buddhist collections. Fo this reason Buddhist works are an important source for studying the activities and philosophies of Ming loyalists. Secondly, in the Shunzhi and Kangxi reigns of the early Qing, many monks served at the court and were party to important court actions. Any scholar of this period cannot overlook the writings of the group of official, many of which are included in the compilation The Jiaxing Canon and its sequels.
