英文摘要 |
As the first religious biography won the National Literature Reward in 1968, The Biography of Venerable Hong-yi promised a brighten career for Buddhist writer, Hui-chian Chen (1925-2001), as well as the succeeding interest in publishing Buddhist biographies in the Buddhist circles. Chen was self-educated during World War II and devoted himself to editing Buddhist magazines after discharged from army. In the 1960s, the income of a Buddhist writer and editor was definitely insufficient to support a family. Chen had continuously written and edited Buddhist biographies to get extra income; even though he finally got teaching jobs in high school and trade school, he never stopped writing, or quitting editing Buddhist magazines all his life. However, Chen was forgotten by the salutatory development of Buddhist publishing industry in the 1990. This paper aims to investigate the career of Hui-chian Chen as a Buddhist writer and editor, in order to reconstruct the history of Buddhist publishers in post-war Taiwan. Especially, I will discuss how the Buddhist writer and editor changed from amateur to profession job. The result will not only re-estimate the historical reputation of Chen as the first Buddhist biographical writer, it will also indicate the development of Buddhist publisher industry, as well as the representation styles and function of Buddhist biographies. This article is divided into four sects, analyzing the Chen's career as a writer, his relation with the Buddhist magazines and publishers, the characteristics of his work, as well as his historical reputation in the Buddhist circle. By examining his life, moreover, it will hopefully illuminate the situation of the Buddhist publishing industry from the 1950s to contemporary Taiwan. |