Abstract
Zhencheng (1547-1617), with the courtesy name “Kongyin” and “Yuechuan” as his pseudonym, was a prestigious monk of Mount Wutai for his abundant literature in the late Ming Dynasty. Qian Qianyi (1582-1664), a lay Buddhist, gave him a high appraisal and once worshiped him as “one of the Five Master in Wanli calendar years; the most prominent among all Buddhism lecturers in the North.” Concerning Zhencheng’s legacy, contemporary academics mostly concentrate on two of his works: Qingliang shan zhi 清涼山志 and Wu bu qian zhengliang lun 物不遷正量論, edited and wrote by him respectively. The latter caused a stir among academics in the late Ming Dynasty. Notwithstanding these two works, this Author plowed through various sources, archives and eventually has found Zhencheng’s ten other pieces which remained and existed. On the basis of these current finding, this Study aimed to further the academic research about Zhencheng and his great mind. Except for “Introduction” and “Conclusion”, the main body of this Study consisted of six chapters. Chapter 2 was to verify Zhencheng’s background, friendship, and apprenticeship. Previous studies about Zhencheng only briefly summarized these aspects of him based on one or two biographies but never examine, question the accuracy of those biographies, needless to say, there have been no studies with critical analysis. This Study, relying upon numerous historical evidence and literature, is the first research to comprehensively, carefully plow through the verify Zhencheng’s background, friendship, and apprenticeship, and it further contextualized his relationship chart to delineate his status in the academic development of Buddhism. Chapter 3 was based on a traditional methodology of academic review to research Zhencheng’s pieces which remain and exist. Most of which have been archived at different libraries cross China and elsewhere. It explained why it was imperative to conduct a basic but crucial study of academic review. Following the previous chapter to re-orient Zhencheng’s position in the Buddhism history, this chapter was to outline a new picture from a holistic, overall observation regarding Zhencheng’s academic position in the late Ming Dynasty by primarily studying the topics and natures of Zhencheng’s works. Then, Chapter 4 dealt with the issue of the acknowledgment of Zhencheng’s image in general in the history from two categories: first, the disparity between Hanshan Deqing’s and Long Ying’s depiction about his image. By continuing the discussion in Chapter 2, this part further compared these two narratives and explained possible causes for such situation. Second, the controversy over Zhencheng’s school of Buddhism. This section reviewed the recent findings by scholars on Zhencheng, i.e., they regarded Zhencheng as a Huayan Zong monk in Mount Wutai in the late Ming Dynasty who blazed a trail for Huayan school to bloom as well as to be passed on in the North during Qing Dynasty. This Author has amended this statement in Chapter 4. Next, Chapter 5 was to use another basic methodology to center on the well-known, classic Wu bu qian zhengliang lun 物不遷正量論to amplify Zhencheng’s methods of thinking. Last two chapters were based on two rare known books, Lengyan jing zhengguan shu 楞嚴經正觀疏 and She dacheng lun xiushi 攝大乘論修釋, respectively, to review Zhencheng’s criticism on other arguments or other Buddhism schools. Chapter 6 was to deliberate Zhencheng’s comments on Tiantai School’s theory of Shifting Stages “the name borrowed for Perfect Teaching,” theory of Defiled Nature, and theory of “Insentient things can become Buddhas”. And, Chapter 7 was to recap Zhencheng’s reflection over Dharma school or its ideas such as “Same Location but Individual Transforming,” “Simultaneous Cause and Effect,” and “Four Categories about Transforming.” Last but not least, this Study was to examine Zhencheng’s importance in the Buddhism history in the late Ming Dynasty, especially his status and legacy in the philosophical development of Buddhism and hopes to advance the understanding and critical things among academics.