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Traditional studies on Chinese Buddhism have largely relied on printed canons from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Goryeo dynasties. However, recent discoveries of Dunhuang and Turfan manuscripts, along with growing recognition of Nihon kosha issaikyō (Japanese Ancient Manuscript Canons), have expanded the scope of Buddhist textual research. Despite their significance, Japanese manuscript Buddhist canons remain underexplored, particularly in relation to their textual lineages and connections to Tang-dynasty texts. This study examines Nihon kosha issaikyō through a philological analysis of the Shisong lü (Ten Recitation Vinaya), assessing textual variants, structural patterns, and transmission histories. By situating Nihon kosha issaikyō within the broader East Asian Buddhist tradition, this research clarifies their role in preserving alternative textual lineages beyond standardized printed canons. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of Buddhist textual transmission, canon formation, and the interplay between manuscript and printed traditions in China, Korea, and Japan. This study highlights the historical processes that shaped East Asian Buddhist canons and offers new insights into their adaptation and preservation across different cultural contexts.

There are many foreign astronomical materials that were preserved in the Chinese translation of Buddhist canons. From the content, these astronomical materials include cosmology theories, lunar mansion systems, calendrical data, etc. These astronomical materials are important evidence for the exchange and dissemination of astronomy between ancient civilizations. This paper aims to sort out and analyze the astronomical materials preserved in the Chinese translation of Buddhist canons, classifying and differentiating the content of astronomy, which was foreign to China, tracing the origins of these astronomical knowledge, discussing their impact on local astronomy in China, and evaluating the preservation form, characteristics, reliability, functionality, and limitations of these astronomical materials. Through the above discussion, this paper will demonstrate the core meaning of the historical view of transcultural transmission of sciences and technology, which is ‘knowledge progresses through dissemination and civilization thrives through communication’.

The publication of the Puhui Canon began in 1943, was interrupted in 1955, and was ultimately completed in 1998, spanning three significant historical periods: the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japan, the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949), and the early years of the People’s Republic of China. Its production was shaped by nationalism, Asian Buddhist interactions, warfare, and diplomacy. As the first Chinese Buddhist canon to incorporate Pāli texts, it reflects the legacy of Sino-Sri Lankan Buddhist exchanges since the late Qing dynasty. The Puhui Canon exemplifies a Pan-Asian vision, seeking to bridge Northern (Mahāyāna) and Southern (Theravāda) Buddhist traditions across Asia.

This study investigates instances of conflation and misattribution in the transmission of three Chinese Buddhist catalogues that share the title Zhongjing mulu 眾經目錄 (Catalogue of Various Scriptures), attributed, respectively, to Fajing 法經, Yancong 彥琮, and Jingtai 靜泰 during the Sui and Tang dynasties. Although these catalogues differ in structure, doctrinal classification, and historical context, their identical titles and overlapping content may have led to instances of conflation in the editorial processes of later Buddhist canons. This phenomenon is revealed and analyzed in the present study. Drawing primarily on the phonetic glosses appended to fascicles (suihan yinshi 隨函音釋) in the Pilu Canon 毗盧藏 and examining the bibliographic entries and marginal annotations referencing these catalogues in other editions, the study conducts a philological comparison with sources such as the Qisha 磧砂, Sixi 思溪, and Hongwu Southern Canons 洪武南藏. It identifies specific cases of misattribution, annotation displacement, and the merging of catalogue content without clear attribution. The findings suggest that ambiguity in catalogue entries and textual transmission resulted in instances where the three Zhongjing mulu catalogues were not clearly distinguished in later canons and modern databases. The article contributes to a clearer understanding of the editorial history and philological challenges involved in the formation of the Chinese Buddhist canon.

This article delves into the literature sources and historical origins of the initial section of the Qisha Canon, a renowned block-printed Chinese Buddhist Canon carved in the greater Hangzhou region during the Song and Yuan dynasties. The existing first twelve volumes, preserved in Japan, exhibit distinct features characterized by notable stylistic script, textual content, and layout. These features indicate their direct lineage from handwritten Buddhist canons of the Northern Song Dynasty rather than from previously printed versions. The utilization of handwritten sources as the foundation for engraving, despite the availability of established printed editions, demonstrates an underappreciated complex relationship between manuscripts and printed canons of the period. Throughout the engraving process of the twelve volumes, the majority of contributors were found to be local commoners, with minimal participation from Buddhist followers. The fluidity of the fundraising locations underscores the inherent instability of such projects. Initially commencing in Liaoqin’s hometown in Huzhou, the project was subsequently transferred to the imperial city of Lin’an prefecture (modern Hangzhou), which shared a border with Huzhou. Ultimately, it found its new location in Pingjiang Prefecture (modern Suzhou). Moreover, this research presents a comprehensive analysis of 195 colophons, delving into the prices, locations, and backgrounds of the characters mentioned. This meticulous examination offers a vivid depiction of the religious and social landscape of the period and provides valuable insights into the recording conventions employed in these colophons.

This paper introduces the concept of “Extracanonical Buddhist Literature” and explores its origins and development in the two major Buddhist cultural spheres of India and China. It investigates the roles such texts played in religious practice, doctrinal interpretation, and cross-cultural transmission. In India, extracanonical texts frequently remained outside the official canon due to factors such as sectarian divisions and geographic constraints, reflecting ongoing debates and dialogues with non-Buddhist thought. In China, the formation of these texts was influenced by indigenous cultural integration, political pressures, and translation practices, highlighting a distinct trajectory of Buddhist localization. By analyzing the complementary relationship between these extracanonical works and canonical scriptures, this study demonstrates that these texts not only supplement the canonical system but also offer critical insights into the diversity of Buddhist thought and cultural exchange. Ultimately, they hold significant academic and cultural value, shedding light on how Buddhist ideas were disseminated and adapted across diverse regional contexts.

The Shisong lü 十誦律, translated in the early 5th century, remains the only complete version of this Buddhist Vinaya text preserved to date and represents the first Vinaya text translated into Chinese. This Vinaya text introduced standardized terminology that significantly influenced subsequent translations of Vinaya texts and profoundly impacted Chinese Buddhism during the Six Dynasties period. Due to its complex translation history, the text is bifurcated into two lineages: the Northern lineage, featuring an initial 58-scroll version (without a preface), and the Southern lineage, with an expanded 61-scroll version (including a preface). This study examines the two oldest extant manuscripts of the Lüxu 律序 (Preface to the Shisong lü) from the Southern lineage—one from the Dunhuang collection currently preserved in Japan and the other from the Nara Japan. Through intensive comparisons with woodblock editions, these manuscripts from Dunhuang, and ancient Japanese manuscript Buddhist canons, this study not only traces the textual evolution of the Southern lineage of the Shisong lü from the 6th to the 13th centuries but also offers new insights into both the historical development and the relationship between these two lineages of the text. Methodologically, this paper provides inspiration for textual criticism of the Vinaya in particular and Buddhist studies in general.

This study explores the publication and dissemination of the Pilu Canon 《毗盧藏》, engraved by followers of Bao’en Wanshou Hall in Houshan Village, Fujian, during the Yanyou reign of the Yuan Dynasty. Funded through donations, this canon was part of a broader initiative to republish the four major Buddhist Canons. Its engraving style blends influences from Yan Zhenqing, Ouyang Xun, and Zhao Mengfu, with rounder characters and more spacious layouts compared to earlier Song editions. The project, supported by the White Lotus Society, involved various engravers and resulted in diverse transcription practices. Although no complete set survives, scattered volumes are housed in different institutions. The Pilu Canon provides valuable insights into the evolution of Buddhist scripture layout, the White Lotus Society’s influence, and the interaction between Buddhist texts and secular society in medieval China.

This article provides the first systematic examination of Dazang shengjiao jieti, a catalogue of Buddhist scriptures compiled by the prominent Qing dynasty scholar-official Wang Chang and the earliest Buddhist catalogue by a literatus of the Qing period, to explore how Confucian literati approached Buddhist canonical materials. The extant version is a partial manuscript copy of only six surviving juan, excerpting prefaces to scriptures and biographies of translators, with over one hundred annotations by Wang. Through detailed textual analysis of the book, this study identifies three distinctive methodological features in Wang’s cataloguing work: systematic comparison of case numbers, character codes, and volume sequences across the Ming and Qing canonical editions; integration of official historical sources to trace textual transmission; and incorporation of Buddhist stone inscriptions into canonical lineage studies. Faced with the vast flood of knowledge, Wang Chang developed a mode of textual organization that integrated Confucian and Buddhist perspectives based on the Confucian scholarly tradition, reflecting the reading practices and intellectual preferences of contemporary scholar-officials. By examining these details, this research reveals that Wang’s evidential approach differed fundamentally from monastic cataloguing traditions and, by maintaining a Confucian scholarly foundation, significantly improved the accessibility and practical value of Buddhist canonical materials for literati readers.

From the mid-Ming to early Qing dynasties, Mount Jizu 雞足山 in Yunnan achieved unexpected prominence within China’s Buddhist sacred landscape—an event of regional, national, and transnational significance. Employing an explicit comparative lens that juxtaposes Jizu with China’s core-region sacred sites like Mount Wutai and Emei, this study investigates the timing, regional dynamics, institutional mechanisms, and causal drivers behind the rapid ascent. Rejecting teleological narratives, it traces the mountain’s trajectory through four developmental phases to address critical historiographical questions: how did a peripheral Yunnan site achieve national prominence within a remarkably compressed timeframe? By what mechanisms could its sacred authority be constructed to inspire pilgrimages even across vast distances? Which historical agents and processes orchestrated these transformations, and how did the mountain’s symbolic meaning shift dynamically over time? Departing from earlier scholarship that privileges regional and secular frameworks, this work not only rebalances the emphasis on religious dimensions but also expands the analytical scope beyond regional confines to situate Mount Jizu within national and transnational frameworks. Eventually, by analyzing the structural, institutional, and agential dynamics—spanning local, imperial, and transnational dimensions—this study reveals how the mountain’s sacralization emerged from the convergence of local agency, acculturative pressures, state-building imperatives, late-Ming Buddhist revival, literati networks, and the strategic mobilization of symbolic capital. It also reveals that Mount Jizu was not a static sacred site but a dynamic arena of contestation and negotiation, where competing claims to spiritual authority and cultural identity were perpetually redefined.