Gāolìguó xīndiāo dàzàng jiàozhèng biélù 高麗國新雕大藏校正別錄
The Goryeo Country’s Newly-Cut Great Canon Critical-Collation Supplement Catalog by 守其 (等校勘), = Sugi 守其
About the work
A monumental thirty-juan Korean Buddhist textual-critical apparatus, compiled by Sugi 守其 (Korean Sugi, dates not preserved, fl. 1236–1251) and a Goryeo court editorial team during the production of the Second Goryeo Tripiṭaka (the Jae-jo Goryeo Daejanggyeong 再雕高麗大藏經 / “Second-Cutting Goryeo Great Canon”, produced 1236–1251 at the imperial Hǎi-yìn-sì 海印寺 wood-block carving project). The work documents the textual-critical collation work undertaken during the Second Goryeo canon project, comparing canonical witnesses across multiple traditions (Northern Sòng Kāi-bǎo canon, Liáo canon, the destroyed First Goryeo canon, and others) and noting textual variants, errors, and emendations.
The Second Goryeo Tripiṭaka — comprising 81,258 wood-blocks still preserved at Hǎi-yìn-sì — is one of the single most important monuments of pre-modern East Asian Buddhist canonical printing and the most carefully collated of the medieval Chinese-Buddhist canon-printings. Sugi’s Bié-lù is the principal documentary witness to the textual-critical scholarship that produced this canonical achievement. Preserved at K38 no. 1402 and L143 no. 1610. notBefore = 1236, notAfter = 1248 (a defensible bracket; the Bié-lù was produced during the active collation phase). Catalog dynasty 高麗.
Abstract
The work is the principal pre-modern East Asian Buddhist textual-critical scholarship — providing a juan-by-juan account of:
- Variant readings between the canonical witnesses.
- Identified textual errors and proposed emendations.
- Notes on dubious or interpolated material.
- Decisions on inclusion / exclusion of contested works.
The Sugi-team’s editorial work produced the most accurate of the major medieval East Asian Buddhist canon-printings, and the Korean canon (Goryeo Daejanggyeong / Goryeo Tripiṭaka) that resulted has been the standard scholarly base-text for Chinese-Buddhist canonical study from its production in the 13th c. through the modern Taishō canon (which uses the Korean canon as its primary base-text for most of its content).
Translations and research
- Robert E. Buswell, Jr., Sugi’s Collation Notes to the Koryŏ Buddhist Canon and Their Significance for Buddhist Textual Criticism (UCLA, 2012) — the principal English-language treatment of Sugi’s textual-critical work.
- Sem Vermeersch, The Power of the Buddhas (Harvard, 2008) — context for Goryeo Buddhism and the Second Goryeo Tripiṭaka project.
- Lewis Lancaster and Sung-bae Park (eds.), The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue (UC Press, 1979) — comprehensive treatment of the Korean canon’s contents.
- Patrick R. Uhlmann and the modern Korean Buddhist textual-critical tradition.
Other points of interest
The Second Goryeo Tripiṭaka’s wood-blocks — 81,258 in number — are still preserved at Hǎi-yìn-sì 海印寺 (Korean Hae-in-sa) on Mount Gaya in South Korea, where they have been continuously housed for nearly 800 years (since 1398, when they were transferred to Hae-in-sa from their original Mount Gang-hwa-do storage). They are a UNESCO World Heritage site and the oldest extant complete pre-modern East Asian Buddhist canonical wood-block set — making Sugi’s Bié-lù the documentary companion to one of the most consequential surviving artifacts of pre-modern East Asian religious history.
Links
- DILA authority: (Sugi has a separate Korean Buddhist authority entry; not in the Chinese DILA)
- CBETA: K38n1402
- Author: Sugi 守其 (Goryeo, fl. 1236–1251)
- Project: Second Goryeo Tripiṭaka 再雕高麗大藏經 (1236–1251)
- Project location: Hǎiyìnsì 海印寺 (UNESCO World Heritage site, South Korea)
- Wood-blocks preserved: 81,258 (still extant, in continuous custody since 1398)
- Modern canonical base: Taishō canon (1924–1934) uses the Korean canon as its primary base-text