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鐔津集

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Text ID
KR4d0031
Date
1072–1499
Dynasty
宋

Xínjīn jí 鐔津集

The Xín-jīn Collection (of Master Qì-sōng) by 釋契嵩 (撰)

About the work

Xínjīn jí 鐔津集 is the 22-juǎn literary collection of the Chán monk Qìsōng 契嵩 (1007–1072, zì Zhònglíng 仲靈, self-styled Qiánzǐ 潛子, original surname Lǐ 李, of Téngzhōu Xínjīn 藤州鐔津, modern Guǎngxī — whence the title), the principal Sòng Yúnmén Chán polemicist for the harmonization of Confucianism and Buddhism. The collection’s centerpiece is the Fǔjiào biān 輔教編 — Qìsōng’s defense of Buddhism presented to Sòng Rénzōng in 1061, on which the emperor inscribed praise and bestowed on him the title Míngjiào dàshī 明教大師.

Tiyao

[Translation summary] The Sìkù tíyào: the Xínjīn jí in 22 juǎn was composed by Qìsōng of the Sòng. Qìsōng’s surname was Lǐ, zì Zhònglíng, self-styled Qiánzǐ, of Téngzhōu Xínjīn. Took ordination at age 7; mastered scripture and zhāngjù; in Qìnglì came to Hángzhōu, loved its scenery, settled at Língyǐn sì; in Huángyòu went to the capital, presented a 10,000-word memorial; Rénzōng granted him the title Míngjiào dàshī; soon returned to the mountain and died. Qìsōng was deeply versed in Buddhist nèidiǎn and forcefully took wénzhāng as his vocation. Composed Yuán jiào 原教, Xiào lùn 孝論 — over ten piān — to demonstrate the unity of Confucianism and Buddhism, set against the contemporary anti-Buddhist polemicists. Also composed Fēi Hán 非韓 in 30 piān to attack Hán Yù 韓愈; Lùn yuán 論原 in 40 piān to advance covertly the program of leading-Confucianism-into-mò (yuánRúrùMò 援儒入墨). His arguments are mostly partial and unreliable, but his pen is mighty, his disputations swarm — he constituted his own school of speech; among Buddhists he is one of the strong men of literature. The present recension is the Hóngzhì jǐwèi / 1499 Jiāxīng monk Rú Jǐn 如巹 cut: 19 juǎn prose, 2 juǎn poetry, plus 1 juǎn of others’ prefaces, zàn, shītí, and shū. The xíngyè jì by Chén Shùnyú 陳舜兪 at the front says Qìsōng’s writings — beginning with the Zǔ tú and his Jiāyòu jí, Zhìpíng jí — total over 100 juǎn; that includes his school yǔlù. The present collection is only shīwén, hence this size. Wáng Shìzhēn’s Jūyì lù praises his poetry’s many fine couplets but says the collection has only 13 juǎn — clearly fewer than this complete recension. Qiánlóng 43 (1778) 6th month, respectfully collated.

Abstract

Qìsōng is the central Northern-Sòng Chán literary figure to take up the gǔwén anti-Buddhist polemic of Hán Yù head-on. His Fǔjiào biān 輔教編 — submitted to Rénzōng in 1061 with personal patronage from Hán Qí, Ōuyáng Xiū, and Sīmǎ Guāng — is the principal Sòng monastic statement of Sān jiào hé yī 三教合一 (“Three Teachings as One”) and the Xiào lùn in particular argued that Buddhist filial-piety practice was deeper than the Confucian ritual model. The Fēi Hán 非韓 polemic — 30 systematic refutations of Hán Yù’s Yuán dào and Lùn fógǔbiǎo — was an unusual full-length monastic counter-attack on the principal Tang anti-Buddhist tract. Qìsōng was also a substantial Chán historian: his Chuánfǎ zhèng zōng jì 傳法正宗記 (1061, also presented to Rénzōng) and Chuánfǎ zhèng zōng dìngzǔ tú are the principal Northern-Sòng Chán lineage works asserting the orthodox patriarchal succession.

The collection is housed under KR4d (literary biéjí) rather than KR6 (Buddhist canon) because it is the literary-prose corpus separate from the Chán yǔlù writings. Chén Shùnyú’s 陳舜兪 xíngyè jì preserved at the front of the WYG file is one of the principal contemporary biographical documents.

The dating bracket marks Qìsōng’s death (1072) to the Hóngzhì 1499 Rú Jǐn cut.

Translations and research

  • Halperin, Mark. 2006. Out of the Cloister. Harvard. Treats Qì-sōng’s role in the lay-literati / Buddhist negotiation.
  • Schlütter, Morten. 2008. How Zen Became Zen. Hawai’i. Discusses Qì-sōng in the Yún-mén Chán lineage.
  • Welter, Albert. 2006. Monks, Rulers, and Literati: The Political Ascendancy of Chan Buddhism. Oxford. Treats the Fǔ-jiào biān presentation to Rén-zōng.
  • Sharf, Robert H. 2002. Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism. Hawai’i. Discusses Qì-sōng’s polemic.
  • Mōri Hideki 毛利英記. 1989. “Qì-sōng’s Anti-Han Yu polemic.” Chūgoku tetsugaku ronshū.

Other points of interest

The Fēi Hán 非韓 — 30 piān of systematic refutation of Hán Yù — is one of the few sustained Buddhist counter-attacks on the principal Tang anti-Buddhist text and provides a striking window into how the Northern-Sòng monastic establishment positioned itself against the gǔwén movement’s anti-Buddhist program. Qìsōng’s role in shaping the Chuánfǎ zhèng zōng jì lineage account is constitutive for the orthodox account of Chán transmission.

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