Cíjué dàshī zàiTáng sòngjìn lù 慈覺大師在唐送進錄
The Catalog Sent and Presented by the Great Master Jikaku [Ennin] While Still in Tang by 圓仁 (撰)
About the work
A single-juan importation catalog by Ennin 圓仁 (794–864), the second of his four catalogs (cf. KR6s0111, KR6s0113, KR6s0114). This catalog was produced while Ennin was still in Tang — sent back to Japan via the periodic Japanese embassy-and-trade ships during his 838–847 stay — documenting materials acquired during his ongoing Tang travels. notBefore = 840, notAfter = 845. Catalog dynasty 日本. Preserved at T55 no. 2166.
Abstract
The “zàiTáng sòngjìn” 在唐送進 (“sent-and-presented while in Tang”) format is unusual and reflects Ennin’s exceptionally long Tang stay: rather than waiting for his eventual return, he periodically dispatched materials and catalogs back to Japan via available shipping. This unique format makes the catalog a documentary witness to the continuous Heian-Tang shipping connection that supported Ennin’s extended Tang study.
The substantive content documents materials acquired during his middle Tang years (post-839 initial cataloging, pre-845 Huìchāng persecution).
See KR6s0111 for the principal substantive treatment of Ennin and his importation catalogs.
Translations and research
See KR6s0111 and Reischauer 1955.