Fǎhuá jīng kēshí 法華經科拾
Sectional-Gleanings on the Lotus Sūtra sectional structure by 佛閑 Fóxián (立科); supplementary editing by 智一 Zhìyī (拾遺)
About the work
A seven-juan early-Kāngxī Lotus Sūtra commentary by 佛閑 Fóxián 佛閑 of Pǔdésì 普德寺 in Nánjīng, with editorial supplementation by his disciple 智一 Zhìyī 智一. The principal substantive volume of the three-text Kēshí complex (KR6d0092 front matter; KR6d0093 sectional analysis; KR6d0094 main commentary).
The genre title — kēshí 科拾 (“sectional-gleanings”) — indicates a commentary that provides systematic sectional analysis combined with selective topical discussion (“gleanings”) of the most important interpretive issues, rather than continuous phrase-by-phrase exposition. The genre is parallel to the jiéyào abridgements but more analytically structured.
Prefaces
The text in the X33n0628 recension carries the standard front matter (referenced in KR6d0092 dated 1705) and proceeds with chapter-by-chapter exposition. The body attribution names Fóxián as 立科 (lìkē, “section-establisher”) and Zhìyī as 拾遺 (shíyí, “gatherer-of-remnants” / supplementary editor).
Abstract
Fóxián’s Kēshí belongs to the early-Kāngxī Buddhist commentarial tradition centred on Nánjīng’s Pǔdésì, which was a major early-Qīng productive centre alongside Beijing and Hángzhōu. The work draws on the Tiāntái commentarial tradition and the late-Míng Lotus Sūtra apparatus, integrating these into a Kāngxī-period synthetic exposition suitable for monastic and lay readership.
The composition is bracketed within Fóxián’s productive period in the early-to-mid Kāngxī era, with the editorial finalisation by Zhìyī completed by 1705. The three-text complex demonstrates the systematic editorial production typical of the late-imperial Buddhist publishing tradition.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.
Other points of interest
The Pǔdésì in Nánjīng was one of the principal early-Qīng Línjì Chán institutions in the Jiāngnán region, alongside the Tiānníngsì 天寧寺 and the Bàoēnsì 報恩寺. Fóxián’s productive activity at this institution and the editorial role of his disciple Zhìyī (who succeeded him as a major figure at Pǔdésì) demonstrate the institutional continuity of major early-Qīng monastic productive centres through the Kāngxī era.