| Chapter 1: | The Life and Times of Zanning |
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and literary sources, and so on, highly valuable for determining Zanning’s overall approach.
The early Song offered numerous opportunities for someone with talents as prodigious as Zanning’s, as is exhibited in Zanning’s accomplishments as a scholar and as an official. A number of Zanning’s works as a scholar were commissioned by imperial authority. In 982, he was commissioned to compile the Song Biographies of Eminent Monks, the only work in the gaoseng zhuan series compiled under imperial authority.83 Manager of Affairs Su Yijian 蘇易簡 (958-996) commissioned Zanning to contribute a section on Buddhism to the Legacy of the Sages and Worthies of the Three Teachings (Sanjiao shengxian shiji 三教聖賢事跡). He also wrote the Records of the Sages and Worthies of Vulture Peak, and compiled the Legacy of Sages and Worthies.84 In total, Zanning’s works on Buddhism (neidian ji 內典集) are said to encompass 152 zhuan; his non-Buddhist writings (waixue ji 外學集) covered 49 juan.85
As an official, in addition to being honored with a robe and title, emblems of membership in the official class, Zanning was appointed chief lecturer on the Buddhist sūtras. In the first year of the zhidao era (995), he was placed in charge of religious affairs in Loyang, the “western capital” during the Northern Song. The pinnacle of Zanning’s career as an official came in his final years, in appointments received after Emperor Zhenzong assumed the throne in 997. In the following year (998), Zanning was appointed Buddhist Registrar (senglu 僧錄) of the right precincts of the capital. His eventual appointment to the more prestigious position of Buddhist Registrar of the left precincts of the capital is acknowledged in Wang Yucheng’s preface title.86
The Xiaochu ji preface concludes with a recapitulation of Zanning’s accomplishments, drawn around two themes: Zanning’s loyal service to successive rulers,87 and his extensive writings on a wide range of topics. In Wang’s assessment, Zanning was “able to enjoy the blessings of successful service to the ‘grand plan’ [of Song imperial rule], and occupy a position greatly admired among Buddhists. Who could doubt that it was