The Genealogy of the Nianfo jing

Abstract

There exist several versions among the xylographs of the Nianfo jing 念仏鏡 written by Daojing 道鏡 (dates unknown) and Shandao 善道 (dates unknown) in the mid-Tang dynasty.

The stemmatics of the different versions of the Nianfo jing is still unclear. Therefore, we have to investigate the historical background of the production of each xylograph.

It is essential not only to deal with the postscripts of the different versions, but also to survey the transmission of the Nianfo jing. We have to pay attention especially to the transmission in the Liao dynasty.

More specifically, we estimate that there is a possibility that some of the different versions of the Nianfo jing might go back to the printed Qidan 契丹 version that was in circulation within the sphere of influence of the Liao dynasty.

In this paper, we provide the bibliographic information that is important for textual criticism.