Qín Jì 秦記
Record of Qin by 裴景仁
About the work
Qín Jì 秦記 (also titled Péi Jǐngrén Qín Jì 裴景仁秦記) is a jíyìběn reconstruction of a history of the Hòu Qín 後秦 state (384–417 CE) by Péi Jǐngrén 裴景仁. Hòu Qín was founded by the Qiāng 羌 chieftain Yáo Cháng 姚萇, who captured and killed Fú Jiān 苻堅 after the Féi River debacle. The regime was notable for its patronage of Buddhism under Yáo Xīng 姚興 (r. 394–416), who invited Kumārajīva 鳩摩羅什 to Cháng’ān 長安.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This is a jíyìběn reconstruction.
Abstract
Péi Jǐngrén was a Liú-Sòng official who compiled the Qín Jì based on materials from the Hòu Qín period. The Suí Shū 隋書 bibliography records the work in 11 juǎn. Unlike Chē Pín’s Qín Shū (which covered Qián Qín from within), Péi Jǐngrén wrote about Hòu Qín retrospectively, after its conquest by the Eastern Jin in 417 CE.
The surviving fragments cover the Yáo clan’s rule, including Yáo Cháng’s establishment of the state, Yáo Xīng’s reign as a Buddhist patron and administrator, and the final collapse under Yáo Hóng 姚泓. The most historically significant material concerns Kumārajīva’s translation project — one of the most important events in the transmission of Buddhism to East Asia. The text was lost after the Táng.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.