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

China that is a primary source of our knowledge of Chinese Buddhist institutional history. It details practices and policies regarding the administration of Buddhism that are otherwise difficult to access, and is the major work of its kind in the Chinese context. It establishes principles for the administration of Buddhism in the Chinese context, many of which have customarily been followed. The author of the Compendium, Zanning (919-1001), served as the major representative of Buddhism during the first decades of the Song court. His work was compiled at the request of Emperor Taizong (r. 976-997) for the purpose of educating the emperor and scholar-bureaucrats on matters pertaining to Buddhism, and thus serves the primary purpose of a guide book or primer on all things Buddhist that Song administrators may need to know. In spite (or perhaps because) of this, it is an odd collection. Its survey of topics runs an unusual gamut, from when to celebrate the Buddha’s birth, to protocols for receiving food offerings and repentance rituals, proper etiquette for paying respect, stipends for Buddhist officials, proper conduct when offereing incense, the interface and boundaries between secular and Buddhist law in dealing with members of the clergy, the relative ranking of Buddhists and Daoists in court processions, Buddhist chapel services in the imperial palace, provision for the establishment of a class of Buddhist junzi, the sale of ordination certificates for financial gain, and many, many more. The unusual character of the Compendium only enhances its value––nowhere else can we so easily and concisely glimpse into the dynamics of Buddhist institutions and their practices. The Compendium is first and foremost, a product of its times, from which its uniqueness derives.

The early Song was a time of immense intellectual fervor, as China, after over a century of internecine warfare, embarked on a new course that promoted wen (literary or cultural arts) over wu (martial prowess).³ With the new literary based agenda came a discussion of how to constitute Song’s wen agenda, what defines Song wen, what should be included and what excluded, and so on. Zanning’s Compendium represents a major contribution to this debate, the understanding of which would be