Qīng-dynasty lay Buddhist scholar Zhōu Mèngyán 周夢顏 (1656–1739, Qiánlóng 4 1st month, aged 84), zì Sīrén 思仁 (the form preserved in the catalog meta of KR6k0262 and KR6k0263 cross-references), hào Huáixī jūshì 懷西居士 / Ānshì 安士. Native of Kūnshān 崑山 (modern Jiāngsū). The single most prolific lay Buddhist propagandist of the early-to-mid Qīng period, principal author of the multi-part Ānshì quánshū 安士全書 (Mr Ānshì’s Complete Works) — the late-imperial period’s most widely-circulated lay Buddhist yīnguǒ 因果 (cause-and-effect) literature, encompassing:
- Yīnzhì wén guǎngyì jiélù 陰騭文廣義節錄 (extended commentary on the Daoist morality-text Wénchāng dìjūn yīnzhì wén with Buddhist yīnguǒ applications);
- Wàn shàn xiānzī 萬善先資 (anti-killing tract collection);
- Yùhǎi huíkuáng 欲海回狂 (anti-licentiousness tract collection);
- Xīguī zhízhǐ 西歸直指 (Pure Land devotional tract).
The Jièshā sìshíbā wèn 戒殺四十八問 (KR6k0262, X1138) is a freestanding section of the Wànshàn xiānzī anti-killing materials, in question-and-answer form, addressing forty-eight common objections to the Buddhist precept against killing.
Per DILA A000562: born 1656; died Qiánlóng 4 (1739) 1st month, aged 84; lay Buddhist; principal works in the Ānshì quánshū tradition. Modern annotated edition: Ānshì quánshū jīnyì 安士全書今譯 (Beijing: Zōngjiào wénhuà chūbǎnshè, 2011).