「龍子」與「舍利」──萬曆二十年紫柏真可的努力和局限

From Longzi to Relic: Master Zibo Zhenke's Endeavors and their Limits in the 20th year of the Wanli Period

In the 20th year of the Wanli period (A. D. 1592), the eminent monk Zibo Zhenke bade farewell to his old friend Lu Guangzu, and proceeded from Wutai Mountain to Beijing, where he visited Buddhist sites including Tanzhe Temple and Shijing shan in Fangshan. He gave Tanzhe temple the gift of a longzi 龍子, and offered blessing tiles, relics, and other treasures to the queen in the court. His friend, the eminent monk Hanshan Deqing, was also visiting the capital at this time. The two met at Shijing shan and had a long conversation. These events, which have been ignored by scholars, are very important. That year, both Zibo and Hanshan wrote numerous texts of a documentary nature that confirm these events. These texts, which contain the key terms “longzi” and “relics,” describe Zibo's motives for going to the capital that year. Through an investigation of ancient and modern allusions in these texts, the author has found that the master Zibo indirectly presents information about the progress of his Jiaxing canon as well as his determination to continue working on it. Despite the limited amount of materials, scholars agree that Wanli 20 was the most difficult year for the publication of the Jiaxing canon: its carving and printing center in Wutaishan was forced to shut down, and publishing operations moved southward. By examining Zibo's many writings from that year, light can be shed on his project to reprint the canon. This article examines the important figures, their backgrounds, and the indirectly expressed motivations found in Zibo's writings. It restores the events of Wanli 20, identifying the problems encountered in the publication of Jiaxing canon, and discussing the reasons underlying the abandoning of the Wutaishan publishing center.