Zhīyuán jí 芝園集
Collected Writings from the Zhīyuán Garden by 元照 (Yuánzhào, 作)
About the work
A two-fascicle Northern-Sòng biéjí 別集 (literary collection) of Yuánzhào (元照, 1048–1116, the Língzhī Dàzhì lǜshī of Língzhīsì 靈芝寺 in Hángzhōu). Where the companion Zhīyuán yíbiān 芝園遺編 (KR6k0216) gathers his Vinayatreatise fragments and lecture pieces, the Zhīyuán jí preserves his biographical, epitaphic and occasional prose: stupa-inscriptions and life-records of contemporary monks, lay-funerary writings, and short essays. The set is the principal source for late-Northern-Sòng Hángzhōu Buddhist prosopography.
Structural Division
Upper fascicle (14 pieces):
- Hángzhōu Nánpíngshān Shénwù fǎshī tǎmíng 杭州南屏山神悟法師塔銘 — stupainscription for Shénwù fǎshī of Nánpíngshān;
- Hángzhōu Xiángfúsì Tōngyì dàshī tǎmíng — for Tōngyì dàshī of Xiángfúsì;
- Xiùzhōu Huátíng Chāoguǒsì Zhào fǎshī tǎmíng — for Zhào fǎshī of Chāoguǒsì;
- Táng Qízhōu Qīngzhe fǎshī xíngyè jì — record of the Táng-period Qīngzhe fǎshī of Qízhōu;
- Húzhōu Dōnglín Chánhuì dàshī xíngyè lù — for Chánhuì dàshī of Dōnglínsì;
- Hángzhōu Xiángfúsì Jiǔ shélí zhuàn — biography of Jiǔ shélí;
- Xiùzhōu Chāoguǒsì Wéizhàn fǎshī xíngyè jì;
- Hángzhōu Léifēng Guǎngcí fǎshī xíngyè jì — for Guǎngcí fǎshī of Léifēngtǎ;
- Hángzhōu Xiángfúsì Yīng fǎshī tǎmíng;
- Yuèzhōu Yúyáo Yì shélí tǎmíng;
- Yuèzhōu Yúpǔ Jìnghuì dàshī tǎmíng;
- Wēnzhōu Bāo fǎshī xíngyè lù xù;
- Húzhōu Bāshèngsì Jiàn sìzhǔ zhuàn;
- Wēnzhōu Dū sēngzhèng Chízhèng dàshī xíngyè jì.
Lower fascicle (18 pieces): including Xiùzhōu Lǚshì línggǔ zàn 秀州呂氏靈骨讚, Kǎobǐ mùzhì míng 考妣墓誌銘 (epitaph for the author’s own parents), several lay-funerary inscriptions, Lùn zēngjiè shū 論增戒書, Lùn Címǐn sānzàng jí shū 論慈愍三藏集書 (a discourse-letter on the works of the Táng pilgrim-monk Címǐn Huìrì 慈愍慧日), Sòng yībō shū 送衣鉢書, Chán yì 讒議, Bóyì jiě 博奕解, Sìzǐ yàoyán xù 四子要言序, Gāolì Lǐ xiānggōng Lèdàojí xù 高麗李相公樂道集序 (preface for the Lèdào jí of Chancellor Lǐ of Goryeo).
Abstract
The Zhīyuán jí is the principal collection of Yuánzhào’s literary prose, parallel to the Zhīyuán yíbiān but covering biography and epitaph rather than treatise. It is one of the most important sources for the social history of Northern-Sòng Hángzhōu Buddhism: through Yuánzhào’s stupa-inscriptions and xíngyè jì one can reconstruct the network of Sòng jiào 教 (Tiāntái-Huáyán scholastic) abbots, their patrons, and their lineage relationships. The lower fascicle also preserves Yuánzhào’s Gāolì Lǐ xiānggōng Lèdàojí xù — his preface for the Lèdào jí of a Goryeo Chancellor Lǐ, an important document of Sòng-Goryeo literary contact (paired with his Wèi Gāolì sēngtǒng Yìtiān kāijiǎng yàoyì preserved in KR6k0216). Composition is bracketed by Yuánzhào’s mature career and his death; notBefore–notAfter are accordingly set 1080–1116.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located on the collection as such. Individual epitaphs are routinely cited in Sòng-Buddhist prosopographic studies.
Other points of interest
- For the related Sòng-Goryeo material see KR6k0216’s Wèi Gāolì sēngtǒng Yìtiān kāijiǎng yàoyì.
- The Wēnzhōu Bāo fǎshī xíngyè lù xù and several other prefaces preserved here are the only surviving witnesses to lost works.
Links
- CBETA online: https://cbetaonline.dila.edu.tw/X1105
- 元照 DILA
- Kanseki DB