Marcus Bingenheimer, Associate Professor, Department of Religion, Temple University. 馬德偉，美國天普大學宗教系副教授。
關鍵詞
Buddhist biography=佛教傳記; stupa epitaph=塔銘; stupa inscription=塔銘; Ming-Qing Buddhism=明清佛教; Shi Zhenqing =釋真清
摘要
This article aims to delineate the relationship between the various versions of Xiàngxiān Zhēnqīng’s 象先真清 (1537–1593) biography as a case study for the production and reuse of Buddhist biographies in late imperial China. In total, we know of some ten “biographies” of Zhenqing. The introduction below compares and traces the relationship between these different accounts, with special emphasis on the relationship between the two earliest accounts: his stūpa epitaph contained in the Tiantai gazetteer of 1601 and his zhuan-biography in the Ming gaoseng zhuan collection (1617). Zhenqing’s stūpa epitaph is longer than his zhuan-biography. This is shown to be generally true for other cases where stūpa epitaphs of Buddhists have been preserved. However, although the epitaph is longer and more detailed, it was the zhuan that was widely copied and reused in later depictions of Zhenqing’s life. The second part of the paper presents a detailed comparison between the zhuan-biography and the stūpa epitaph as a case study of the differences and similarities between the two genres. Questions of genre aside, Zhenqing’s biography is in itself a valuable source for the activities of a late 16th century Buddhist master in China, whose interests straddled Pure Land, Tiantai, and Chan. We learn about his religious training, his personal practice, his teachings, and his relationships with monastic and literati friends. The zhuan also contains a detailed account of his death and cremation. Comparing Zhenqing’s zhuan with his stūpa epitaph shows again that it is best practice to consult the epigraphic evidence together with biographical literature.
