HuángMíng míngsēng jí lüè 皇明名僧輯略
Brief Compilation of Famous Monks of the Imperial Míng
compiled by 袾宏 Zhūhóng (輯, sobriquet Yúnqī 雲棲, 1535–1615), late Míng
About the work
A one-juan late-Míng compendium of brief biographies of eminent Míng-dynasty monks, compiled by Yúnqī Zhūhóng — one of the Four Great Masters of the Late Míng (wǎn Míng sì dàshī 晚明四大師, alongside 德清 Hānshān Déqīng, 真可 Zǐbǎi Zhēnkě, and 智旭 Ǒuyì Zhìxù). Title — “Brief Compilation of Famous Monks of the Imperial Míng” — frames it as an internal Míng-Buddhist memorial work.
Abstract
Zhūhóng selects and briefly summarises the biographies of approximately two dozen eminent Míng monks across multiple traditions (Chán, Pure Land, Vinaya, doctrinal). The compilation reflects Zhūhóng’s broadly inclusive late-Míng Buddhist programme, in which Chán practice, Pure Land devotion, and scholastic learning were treated as complementary rather than alternative options. The brevity and selectivity make this a teaching work rather than a comprehensive biographical record.
Translations and research
No complete English translation. Substantial Western scholarship on Zhūhóng: Chün-fang Yü, The Renewal of Buddhism in China: Chu-hung and the Late Ming Synthesis (Columbia UP, 1981) — the standard English study of Zhūhóng and his Buddhist programme; this work is treated within Yü’s broader study.
Other points of interest
The compilation testifies to the late-Míng Buddhist self-consciousness of being a coherent — if doctrinally various — tradition, and to Zhūhóng’s role in articulating that consciousness for monastic and lay readers alike.