Xù gǔjīn yìjīng tú jì 續古今譯經圖紀
A Continuation of the Pictorial Record of Sūtra-Translators Past and Present by 智昇 (撰)
About the work
A single-juan continuation supplement to Jìngmài’s 靖邁 Gǔjīn yìjīng tú jì (KR6s0090, T2151), composed by Zhìshēng 智昇 in Kāiyuán 開元 18 = 730 CE. The supplement extends Jìngmài’s coverage forward to include the late-7th and early-8th-century Tang translators — particularly the Yìjìng 義淨, Bodhiruci 菩提流志 (Pútíliúzhì), and other post-Xuán-zàng translation-bureau figures. Preserved at T55 no. 2152.
Prefaces
The text opens with Zhìshēng’s auto-preface:
Xù gǔjīn yìjīng tú jì, yī juàn: Kāiyuán gēngwǔ year, Xī Chóngfúsì shāmén Zhìshēng zhuàn 續古今譯經圖紀一卷 開元庚午歲西崇福寺沙門智昇撰.
The Yì-jīng tú jì (translation-portrait-record) originally arose from the Dà-cí’ēn-sì translation hall. This hall has [the] portraits of past-and-present transmission-translators, black and white (= clergy and lay) — at the head from Kāśyapa Mātaṅga, ending at the Great Tang Tripiṭaka [= Xuán-zàng]. Master Mài [Jìng-mài] therefore composed-and-titled it on the wall.
From this onwards, transmission-translation has continued-and-followed. Various have ornamentally-painted, yet without this kind of recording. Although Shēng [I] am not bright, I dare not approve of [this absence]. Although the wax-and-flax is different, [I] hope they will continue-and-not-be-cut. Fortunately…
[The brief preface continues, then the body of the text gives biographical entries for the Tang-period translators added since Jìngmài’s cutoff.]
Abstract
Authorship and date: composed by Zhìshēng 智昇 (DILA A001261; zì not preserved; lifedates: active early 8th c., conventionally placed ca. 669–786 with substantial uncertainty) at Xī Chóngfúsì 西崇福寺 in Chángān, in Kāiyuán 18 = 730 CE. notBefore = 730, notAfter = 730 (firmly dated by the preface). Catalog dynasty 唐.
The work is part of Zhìshēng’s broader bibliographic project of 730 CE, which also produced his magnum opus the Kāiyuán shìjiào lù 開元釋教錄 (T2154, 20 juan) — the most consequential pre-modern Chinese Buddhist canonical bibliography and the work that established the Kāi-yuán-lù-canon roster that became the basis of all subsequent East Asian Buddhist canonical printing (the Kāibǎo canon of Sòng, the Goryeo canon, the Yǒnglè canons, the Qiánlóng canon, etc.). Zhìshēng’s Xù gǔjīn yìjīng tú jì is the biographical-translator-portrait companion to the Kāiyuán shìjiào lù’s comprehensive bibliographic register.
The substantive content adds biographical entries for translators including:
- Yìjìng 義淨 (635–713) — the great post-Xuán-zàng pilgrim-translator (cf. KR6s0021).
- Bodhiruci (Pútíliúzhì) 菩提流志 (d. 727) — the Indian Esoteric translator under Wǔ Zétiān and Xuánzōng.
- Śubhakarasiṃha 善無畏 (637–735), the founding Esoteric tripiṭaka.
- Vajrabodhi 金剛智 (671–741), the second Esoteric tripiṭaka.
- And other early-8th-century imperial translation-bureau figures.
The work is therefore a primary biographical source for the post-Xuán-zàng Tang Buddhist translation tradition through the early Esoteric establishment.
Translations and research
See KR6s0090 for general references. Specific to Zhì-shēng:
- Tāng Yòng-tóng 湯用彤, Suí Táng fó-jiào shǐ-gǎo.
- Hé Méi 何梅, Lì-dài hàn-wén dà-zàng-jīng mù-lù xīn-kǎo (2014) — extensive treatment of Zhì-shēng’s broader bibliographic project.
- Antonello Palumbo, Stefano Zacchetti, and successor scholars on Tang catalog-bibliographic tradition.
Other points of interest
The 730 dating coincides exactly with Zhìshēng’s much more famous Kāiyuán shìjiào lù — making 730 CE a foundational year in Chinese Buddhist canonical-bibliographic history. The two works together constitute the Zhìshēng project that established the canonical-bibliographic standard for the next millennium of East Asian Buddhist canon-printing.
Links
- DILA authority: A001261 (智昇)
- CBETA: T55n2152
- Author: Zhì-shēng 智昇 (Tang, fl. 730), Xī Chóng-fú-sì śramaṇa
- Predecessor: KR6s0090 Gǔjīn yìjīng tú jì of Jìngmài (645–664)
- Author’s main work (companion): Kāiyuán shìjiào lù 開元釋教錄 (T2154, 20 juan, 730)