Fǎhuá jīng shòushǒu (juànshǒu) 法華經授手〔卷首〕
Hand-Bestowal Commentary on the Lotus Sūtra: Front Matter by 智祥 (Zhìxiáng / Pínjí Zhìxiáng / Tīngyún, 識 — labeller / identifier)
About the work
The opening front-matter (juànshǒu 卷首) volume of 智祥 Zhìxiáng’s three-part Fǎhuá jīng shòushǒu 法華經授手 commentarial complex: this work (KR6d0087, the front matter), the Shòushǒu kē (KR6d0088, the sectional analysis), and the Shòushǒu proper (KR6d0089, the ten-juan main commentary). Compiled by Pínjí Zhìxiáng 頻吉智祥 (1637–1709), the early-Qīng Línjì Chán master.
Prefaces
The text in the X32n0621 recension consists primarily of front-matter material — prefaces, structural overviews, and editorial framing — rather than substantive commentary. The body attribution names Zhìxiáng as 識 (shí, “labeller / identifier”), indicating his editorial responsibility for the front-matter material specifically rather than for the substantive commentary itself.
Abstract
The Shòushǒu 授手 (literally “hand-bestowal” or “passing-by-hand”) title is drawn from the classical Chinese tutorial metaphor of the master directly transmitting knowledge from hand to hand to the student, and indicates a commentary intended for direct face-to-face pedagogical use. The three-part Shòushǒu complex — front matter, sectional analysis, and main commentary — is parallel to the Dàchéng complex (KR6d0084, KR6d0085, KR6d0086) in providing complete navigational and substantive apparatus for systematic Lotus Sūtra study.
The composition is bracketed within Zhìxiáng’s productive period c. 1670–1709, with the Shòushǒu complex most plausibly placed in his mature productive years.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.