Chánzhēn Yìshǐ 禪真逸史
Unofficial History of the True Chan by 清溪道人
About the work
A forty-chapter Ming vernacular fiction novel (tōngsuú xiǎoshuō 通俗小說) by 清溪道人 Qīngxī Dàorén (pen name; identity unknown), set in the late Northern Wei 北魏 and divided into two volumes (shàng 上, xià 下). The protagonist Lín Shízōng 林時忠, a military general who abandons his career to become the Chan Buddhist monk Chéngkōng 澄空, subsequently proves himself a “hero-monk” (yīng-hào héshang 英豪和尚) who uses his martial arts and moral authority to combat corrupt officials, tyrannical local powers, and lecherous clergy. The preface (preserved in KR4k0042) attributes the novel to a Wànlì-era context and invokes a syncretic Chan–Daoist–Confucian ethical vision.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
清溪道人 Qīngxī Dàorén is a pen name whose real identity has not been established with certainty. The novel was published in the Chóngzhēn 崇禎 period (1628–1644) with illustrated woodblock prints (quánxiàng 全象). The preface in the companion novel KR4k0042 Chánzhēn Hòushǐ 禪真後史 identifies “清溪道人” as the author of both works and frames the project in terms of distinguishing “true” (zhēn 真) Buddhism and Daoism from their degenerate forms.
The forty chapters are organized into a heroic-monk narrative: Lín Shízōng is compelled by circumstances to flee his military career, takes Buddhist orders, and gradually assembles a band of morally-upright companions — including both martial heroes (yīngxióng 英雄) and literate officials — to resist villains at local and imperial levels. The narrative combines elements of the shuǐhǔ 水滸 (bandit-brotherhood) model, the “knight-errant monk” tradition of Chan hagiography, and the ruán qíng 軟情 (romantic episode) genre common to Ming fiction. It is set in the Northern Wei period (386–534 CE), providing historical distance for contemporary social satire.
The 明 dynasty text is preserved in the KRP corpus via the krp-titles source. The sequel Chánzhēn Hòushǐ 禪真後史 KR4k0042 is attributed to the same author.
Translations and research
- Idema, Wilt L. 2013. Heroic monks and heroic martial artists: A look at two late-Ming novels. In Religion and literature in China. On the “hero monk” sub-genre in Ming fiction.
- No substantial English-language monograph study located.
Links
- Wikidata: no dedicated entry located