SPECIAL FEATURES AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EARLY RECENSION OF THE BAOJUAN OF XIANGSHAN IN THE HANOI REPRINT EDITION (1772)

Abstract

The Hanoi reprint edition of the Baojuan of Xiangshan (1772) is a rare text of Chinese popular literature preserved out of China; it reproduces the edition from Nanjing. It retells the legend of Princess Miaoshan, considered to be an earthly reincarnation of Bodhisattva Guanyin, which is one of the most popular Buddhist narrative subjects in China. This recension till recently remained almost unknown in the world sinology. Special features of form and contents of this text prove its comparatively early origins (15th — early 16th century). The unusual structure of the Baojuan of Xiangshan, which includes quotations from the chapter “Gates of Universal Salvation” in the famous Lotus Sutra, establishes its connection with this sacred book of Buddhism and the tradition of Buddhist preaching with the use of sutra subjects that developed in China in the earlier period (7th–13th centuries). This feature of text is very important for the study of origins of baojuan genre and its development in the early period (14th–16th centuries). The Baojuan of Xiangshan represents an early version of the Miaoshan legend, in which Buddhist ideas were connected with Chinese concepts and realities. This subject that formed in China ca. beginning of the 12th century represents adaptation of Buddhist teaching, primarily aimed at lay folk believers. It is symptomatic that it enjoyed popularity in the form of baojuan, designed to be recited for the broad audiences.