The Administration of Buddhism in China: A Study and Translation ...

Chapter 1

The Life and Times of Zanning

Reflections on the Dual Allegiances of a Faithful Buddhist from Wuyue at the Imperial Court of Song Emperor Taizong

1. Historiography in China: General Considerations

Zanning was both historiographer and the subject of historiography. In compiling his works, Zanning participated in the well worn paths of the historiographical genres employed by Chinese literati, and as a subject of biographical inquiry, Zannning’s life was treated by standards familiar to Chinese biographical writing. Yet, considerable fluctuations are possible even within the constraints that historiographical standards impose. On the subject of traditional historiography in China, Charles S. Gardner several decades ago wrote: “It is surely an axiom of all writing that the motives which impel authorship largely condition the product. Inasmuch as human nature is essentially the same the world over, the historians of China and of the West have been actuated by stimuli which are in the main identical.”¹ As true as this statement may be, historiographical conventions also determine how motive is translated into written form, and these written conventions are culturally determined. These conventions, in other words, are not identical but vary