Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
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BULLETIN
OF THE
SCHOOLOF ORIENTALSTUDIES
PAPERS CONTRIBUTED
SOON after the rise of the T'ang dynasty, the Parinirvana Siutra
seems to have lost its popularity, and in the second half of the
seventh century its place is definitely taken by the Lotus Sftra. Out
of a total of fifty-six dated texts, no fewer than twenty-nine are
sections of this work. The appearance of Taoism in the shape of three
hitherto unknown " sitras " (to borrow a convenient Buddhist term)
is interesting but not surprising under a dynasty which extended
special favour to that ancient and much-corrupted cult. It is hardly
possible to dignify with the name of religion such a strange medley
of magic, legend, and gross superstition; and one cannot believe that
its scriptures were regarded very seriously by any large section of
the community.
Altogether, the old atmosphere of simple faith and piety which
was so noticeable in the earlier centuries is now becoming more
attenuated. The introduction of the tabulated colophon (see year
671 and following) is symptomatic of this decline in true religious
spirit. Here, in place of the prayer on behalf of a deceased relative
or a living sufferer, or an unselfish offering made in the interests of
sentient existence as a whole, we find only a formal enumeration of the
persons, lay or clerical, responsible for the production of the manu-
script roll. The religious element seems to have been squeezed out.
VOL. VIII. PART 1. 1
2 LIONEL GILES-
The life of Seng-kai will be found in Hsii kao seng chuan, ch. 26;
K. xxx. 2, f. 177 r?. The Ta-hsing-shan Monastery is mentioned in
the colophons of several other Stein MSS. a is used here for a or
-
Ff f Xt ~M
?2~1~45~ is~ 1~ i a X A
A-Pi a AA* X E
on having
clothes
Fei-jn, and with goods, has cut
pious
otherintent off a portion
reverently causedofaher expenditure
section of the
fi tg an
4Tasng a ing c b
to opied,
that
pying as a consequence
604 (SuI).
S. 4162. { 1 11 ; Yu p'o sai chieh ching (N. 1088), ch. 2,
p'in 10-12. There is no general title at the beginning.
Colophon: : - Al t
-
f M - -4 i ppE$ -A -tfe 5r <> - g
. t1 LJt / PSFI[for I] l: f f a, 3 - BF i mt
"On the 8th day of the 4th moon of the 4th year of Jen-shou
[llth May, 604] Ying (?) Wei-chen, on behalf of his deceased father,
caused sections to be copied of the Yu p'o sai ching, the Kuan ting,
the Shan o yin kuo, the T'ai tzu ch'eng tao, and the Wu po wen shih ;
he has also had made an image of Avalokitesvara, and a 49 ft. banner,
to the end that all living beings of the universe may eventually achieve
Buddhahood."
; is not a recognized surname, and it is almost certainly a mistake
for g : see the next entry. Kuan ting is doubtless N. 167. Shan o yin
kuo ching is an apocryphal sftra of which a dozen copies are preserved
in the Stein Collection: see Kyoto Supplement, A. i. 4 (e). T'ai tzu
ch'eng tao (" The Crown Prince attaining enlightenment") is a life
of Sakyamuni Buddha. Wu po wen shih means "Five hundred
subjects of inquiry" and is evidently a doctrinal work.
Another very good MS. on golden-yellow paper. The roll is
19 feet long, 26 cm. wide.
604 (Sui).
S. 4570. (a ] | 7 *Yu p'o sai chieh, ch. 6. This isp'in 24 (1)
of N. 1088. It has a colophon very similar to the preceding, and of
exactly the same date: f/ , IN - V j AK Hi g ~
A t
X <9 m MJ -
-a* fiSBp % s; ff W
-- % m;
t tffie
-l -1 Ig E AX a[ - n St A -
"On the 8th day of the 4th moon of the 4th year of Jen-shou
Yang Wei-chen, on behalf of his deceased father, caused a section of
the Kuan ting to be copied, a section of the Wu po wen shih, and the
Fifteen hundred names of Buddha; he has also had made an image
of Avalokitesvara, and a 49 ft. banner, to the end that all living
beings of the universe may eventually achieve Buddhahood."
Comparing this with S. 4162, we observe that the list of works
copied is shorter, but includes one new text; and that the surname
of the donor is given as ~ Yang. It is difficult to account for these
discrepancies, seeing that the two rolls were actually copied on the
same day. The handwriting of the colophons is the same, and probably
DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION
A A t f1 R B&V R -A t eA t^A -e E SB f#
Af Ia; E -EL [J
p ,) " In the ping-yin year, the 2nd of Ta-yeh
in the Great Sui dynasty [A.D. 606], the bhikshu Shih Shan-tsang, on
behalf of his deceased mother the Lady Chang, has reverently caused
a copy of this sutra to be made for circulation, as an act of worship.
Overcome with feelings of desolation and bitter grief that cannot
be assuaged, full of painful yearnings that can never cease, he ventures
to seek help from the great compassion of Buddha, that the latter may
put forth his limitless power. He prays that the virtue of these few
written characters may bring expectation of happiness to his mother
among the shades, and that the merit acquired by half a gatha may
help her along the road of spirituality. May the sound of the Law
never fade away, may the Yii-ling (?) be constantly handed down.
Though the fire in the kalpa [of destruction] be fierce, may the Dragon
Palace still abide. May the beings produced through the four kinds
of birth in the six paths of existence all alike exhibit surpassing
karma."
We have already met with Shan-tsang in the colophon to S. 2048
(A.D. 601); he was then a novice, now he is a full-fledged bhikshu.
- _ and
+ % are instances of meiosis; he is evidently referring
to the section of the sfutrathat has just been copied, though it happens,
curiously enough, that there is no gatha at all in ch. 16. ,i i " Fish
Ridge " contains some allusion that I have not succeeded in tracking
down. i XJ "the kalpa of destruction " is the third of the four
periods of universal evolution and decay. The three major calamities
which then appear are fire, flood, and wind. The Dragon Palace is
the abode of the Dragon King at the bottom of the great ocean; it
was once visited by Buddha, who preached the Law there. 1S 4 is
a pleasing variation of the usual ~- _t ; the four kinds of birth are
from womb, egg, damp, and metamorphosis.
6 LIONEL GILES-
628 (T'ANG).
S. 1218. *Ta pan nieh p'an ching, ch. 12 (N. 113, K. viii. 5, but
ending somewhat sooner than the modern text).
There is a note at the end in cursive script: ~$
- "Note made by So Ho-fa on the
n- H ~ N f ?
22nd day of the 2nd moon of the 2nd year of Cheng-kuan" [1st April,
628]. This, like the preceding colophon, must have been written
many years after the sftra had been copied, for the latter is in
markedly archaic handwriting which can only be assigned to the
first half of the sixth century. It is a fine bold MS. on thin dark yellow
paper, making a roll over 11- feet long.
637 (T'ANG).
S. 2838. | g j Wei mo ch'i ching, ch. 3, p'in 10-14.
(N. 146.) This is our earliest dated specimen of the Vimalakirtti-
nirdesa-sfitra, which is one of the half-dozen most popular sfitras
found in Tunhuang. It is a very fine MS. on thin light brown paper,
smooth and compact, but rather brittle. The first sheet, made of
coarse yellow paper, contains the beginning of the chiian in an inferior
hand of much later date. The roll is nearly 32 feet long, discoloured
in parts, and patched here and there at the back.
It appears from the colophon, which is composed in a more
elaborate style than usual, that this copy was made to the order of a
daughter of a secondary concubine of " Ch'ii Wen-t'ai,
e who
was at that time King of Kao-ch'ang. The country was conquered
by the Chinese three years later, when the dynasty came to an end.
See j H Kao ch'ang, by jW 3 l Huang Wen-pi, ff. 16, 17.
Colophon: { I ~ ?i o0 W i R ; f x o
X 2 99 1M
a 3m t -I V m % %M
M
S s ctX 2 m -W E 9 aMS w g ;s S
mg m
t ~; R :ffi N B] N- - "Copied
c by the scribe Ling-hu
Shan-ku. Revised by the Master of the Law Ts'ao Fa-hui.
10 LIONEL GILES-
a gatha containing the Holy Law. If you truly love the Law ILwill
give it to you." He replied: "I truly love the Law." The Brahman
said: "If you truly love the Law, you must use a piece of your skin
as paper, and write the gatha with your blood instead of ink. Then
I will give it to you." gakyamuni immediately did what he was
told--breaking a bone, flaying his skin, and writing with his blood.
See k c tI T-, Ta chih tu lun, ch. 16, p'in 27.
639 (T'ANG).
S. 3888. Recto: ; tjXy It * *Ta fang teng ju lai
tsang ching (N. 384).
Colophon: E t4, -- +* -t J+ El o _
I +.-
o I t.I + - ] 0 I e o "Dated the 10th
day of the 7th moon of the 16th year of Yen-shou [14th August,
639]. Copyist, Kung Ta-tzi. 12 sheets of paper used. [Only three
remain.] Revised by T'an-hsien, Master of the Law."
This is another Kao-ch'ang roll, on similar paper. It is only 3 feet
long. Verso: Extracts from Wei mo ch'i ching (N. 146), p'in 7, in an
indifferent, sprawling hand.
641 (T'ANG).
S. 4284. 7t ( ,.v ( *Ta fantg pien fo pao en ching
(N. 431), ch. 7.
Colophon:- fi B+ -- ~i I$r-; -A A H ;
-r- t r t ^ -? A X m fl S PR *q5 e
-a en
T;?A e S X W -*Saim
*
%+
X W:9 9 2 12;mfi [for M] ^ $ S 2 t n t X
g1 ~ ! ,^f, m E
JJ "Now, on the 8th day of the 7th
moon of the 15th year of Cheng-kuan [19th August, 641], the disciple
of Bodhisattva-pratimoksa Hsin Wen-hsiang, who lost his home and
became a waif, separated from his parents, and neither party knowing
whether the other were alive or dead, has reverently caused a section
of the Pao en ching to be copied on behalf of his gracious father and
his deceased mother, following it with a prayer that wheresoever his
parents may be reborn they may meet Buddha and hear the preach-
ing of his Law, and that they may always be born in an honourable
station of life, without passing through the three unhappy states of
existence or the eight calamities. He also prays that his own future
parents and kinsfolk in this world may never be parted from him,
that virtuous prayers may be granted, and that all may come to a
condition of perfect enlightenment."
12 LIONEL GILES-
- tfi are the rules found in the suitraof that name (N. 1096),
taken from the i a , Fan wang ching. For the eight calamities,
see Bull. SOS. VII, p. 831.
This is a good bold MS. on crisp golden-yellow paper, somewhat
different in texture from that of the Sui. The roll is over 151 feet long.
652 (T'ANG).
S. 3394. *Wei mo ch'i ching, ch. 2, p'in 7-9. There is no colophon
beyond the following note: 7;X % +t
- $i -3A f
it -IS
P 7C ~, " Acquired by the Buddhist disciple Teng Yuan
on the 15th day of the 5th moon of the 3rd year of Yung-hui " [26th
June, 652].
This is a very good, well-spaced MS. on rather soft yellow paper
of excellent quality. The roll is about 191 feet long.
659 (T'ANG).
S. 5181. I{j ~J f i E *Fo hsing hai tsang ching, ch. 1. This
is an apocryphal sfitra on "the accumulation of knowledge and
wisdom", the full title {t; 6 ,1 M H WJ Iffi i A,B
being given in S. 2169, where the whole of chiian 1 is preserved.
There are also two copies of chiian 2, contained in S. 4000, S. 4103.
Note at the end: P Q I A j) -f- i[ H f Jit;
? t X; "The 25th day of the 8th moon of the 4th year of
Hsien-ch'ing [16th September, 659]. The Buddhist disciple of pure
faith [upasaka] So Huai-tao." This person may be the owner or copyist
or both.
The roll is over 23 feet long, and made of paper of very good quality,
stained a rich yellow. The handwriting is less elegant than in the
preceding roll, but large and clear.
663 (T'ANG).
S. 4656. 4, *I chiao ching. This is N. 122, a sitra spoken
by Buddha just before entering Parinirvana, with abbreviated title.
The colophon is written in the same hand as the text of the
sutra: M--
_ AS 0H A
X
DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 13
j,, " On the 23rd day of the 11th moon of the 1st year of Tsung-
chang [31st December, 668] the Buddhist disciple Yin Chih-chu, on
behalf of his parents now living and his parents of previous incarnations,
reverently caused a section of the Fa hua ching to be copied for circula-
tion, as an act of worship."
A good MS. on a rich golden-yellow paper of the best quality.
Length of roll, 301 feet; width, 25-5 cm.
670 (T'ANG).
S. 3655. *Miao fa lien hua ching, ch. 7. This is only a fragment,
26 by 24 cm., from the end of p'in 24.
Colophon: ; m SL (<) < > J C
Kt:
t t ;_. " Reverently made to the order of Ts'ui An-chii on behalf
of his deceased elder sister, Madame Chung, in the intercalary 9th
[moon] of the 1st year of Hsien-heng [20th Oct.-17th Nov., 670]."
671 (T'ANC).
S. 2215. *Miaofa lien hua ching, ch. 2, p'in 3, 4.
Colophon: ,i if
x + X -T- 'EfI
t H X t~ i IilJ AX A " Copy reverently made to the order
of the disciple Fan Huai-hsin on behalf of his deceased wife Chao and
his deceased nephew [brother's son] A-nu, in the 12th moon of the
1st year of Hsien-heng [17th Jan.-14th Feb., 671]."
At the end of this colophon a note has been scrawled in very faint
ink: " Received by
gj, JL Tung Hung-chi." This is a neat,
well-spaced MS. on yellow paper.
14 LIONEL GILES-
671 (T'ANG).
S. 5319, 84, 3079. *Miao fa lien hua ching, ch. 3, p'in 5-7; ch. 5,
p'in 15-17; ch. 4, p'in 8-13. These three rolls form part of a series
in which the colophon is cast into tabular form. That of S. 5319 runs
as follows:-
A _v - i X =- H i # T T" a
CA
Al 'K 4a
XXL R
J1 , I, T4
4
Xi X W
i t ,J 43 m A A A e1J
I !P
"Copied by the scribe Ch'6ng Tu on the 22nd of the 5th moon of the
looks like a wove paper, as there is no sign of laid lines when looking
through the sheet. The laid lines can be seen indistinctly by reflected
light. Very smooth surface, without hairs. A short-fibredhard paper,
the fibres being shorter than in any other paper examined up to this
date, and the look-through of the paper is also very much closer.
Very evenly felted, and might easily pass for a close-wove paper.
Composition: Paper mulberry."
674 (T'ANG).
S. 456, 3348. *Miaofa lien hua ching, ch. 3, p'in 7; ch. 6, p'in 22,
23. Two companion rolls, both somewhat mutilated, dated the 2nd of
the 8th moon of the 5th year of Hsien-heng [7th Sept.] and the 25th
ofthe 9th moon of the 1st year of Shang-yiian [29th Oct.], respectively.
The seeming discrepancy is explained by the fact that the nien-hao
was changed to Shang-yiian in the 8th moon. In S. 3348, half the
colophon is missing. a a Hsiao Ching is the copyist, t y Chih-
yen of the ~i 4; Fu-lin Monastery the first reviser, 4f f
Hsing-kuei and j fit Huai-tsan, of the Hsi-ming Monastery, the
second and third. The p'an kuan i m N Li Shan-te is evidently
the same person as Li Te in the preceding rolls. Compare the case of
Hsieh Chi, above, who also figures as Hsieh Shan-chi.
675 (T'ANG).
S. 1515. % _ ,H *Wu liang shou kuan ching. This
is the Fo shuo wu liang shoufo ching of N. 198, K. x. 4. i. The roll in
its present state begins at the end of the 7th of the 16 f meditations.
- - /A Ef f^
Colophon:]* )J ?- Ji;i 3a -T
t fW A
Pr*I WC ff jLI CARI A)
Es X , X fi _ nAF a K
XE mL IAn X ff aI s 9 / m
At m i fi m
P9I Em m J ? " On the 28th day of the 4th moon of the
19
2nd year of Shang-yiian in the Great T'ang dynasty [28th May, 675]
the Buddhist disciple and upasika the Lady Chang, with pious intent,
has reverently caused copies to be made of the Wu liang shou kuan
ching and the Kuan yin ching, praying that this act of merit may,
firstly, benefit our Divine Emperor and Empress, to the indefinite
prolongation of their sovereign influence, and secondly, affect her
parents of seven previous incarnations and all the living creatures of
the universe, so that they may escape from the gates of affliction
and one and all ascend to the wondrous realms of purity."
The roll is 141 feet long. Apart from other considerations, the
heavily oiled yellow paper and fine handwriting would make it fairly
DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 17
certain that the Shang-yiian period here mentioned is not the later
one of 760-1. The Kuan yin ching is ch. 25 of the Lotus Sfitra, often
regarded as a separate work. The emperor in question is Kao Tsung,
and the empress is the notorious j Il]J _J Wu Tse-t'ien, who subse-
quently usurped the throne for over 20 years.
676 (T'ANG).
S. 114. *Miaofa lien huc ching, ch. 7, p'in 24-28.
Colophon: J_L ? ; : P, , ?? 4R A t i it
: "Reverently copied to the order of the upasaka Chang Chin-
ch'e on behalf of his deceased younger sister in the 3rd year of Shang-
yiian."
8 may simply be a title of respect, as in the case of Ch'eng Tu:
see S. 5319 (A.D. 671). The name of the upasaka would then be Chang
Ch'e. For all we know, the "deceased younger sister " may be no
other than " the Lady Chang" who was herself causing suitras to be
copied in the previous year.
This is a fine MS., rather exuberant in style, on yellow paper of
excellent quality.
676 (T'ANG).
S. 2181, 1456, 3361, 2637, 4168, 1048. *Miao fa lien hua ching,
ch. 2, p'in 3, 4; ch. 5, p'in 14-17; ch. 1, p'in 1, 2; ch. 3, p'in 7;
ch. 3, p'in 5-7; ch. 5, p'in 14-17.
I have arranged this series of rolls according to date. All are
imperfect or badly mutilated at the beginning. The scribes are laymen
and all different, but the paper-dyer is the same in each case, namely
Hsieh [Shan-] chi: see years 671 (S. 84) and 673. Li Te is still the
p'an-kuan, but the general superintendent is now X j i Yen
Hsiian-tao. S. 2181 is a fine MS. dated the 1st June, but the greater
portion of p'in 3 has been added in a different hand. S. 1456 is dated
the 29th June; the monk who is responsible for the three revisions
of the text bears the curious name of a a Fa-chieh (Dharmadatu,
the universe, things in general, or their underlying cause) and hails
from the 4{t t Hua-tu Monastery: this was a temple of the Three
Stages sect founded by , ff Hsin-hsing. S. 3361 is dated the
11th September, and S. 2637 the 13th September. The copyist of
the latter text, ef X Jen Tao, might be taken for a monk, but that
he was a member of the <? 3 f Hung-wen Kuan, an official
College of Literature. f, however, is a fairly common surname. The
first reviser, ff ; Wu-chi, belonged to the ,g p f Tz'u-men
Ssui,which was also a temple of the Three Stages sect. S. 4168 is dated
VOL. VIII. 1.2
PART 1. 2
18 LIONEL GILES-
the 20th October. For S. 1048, dated the 15th December, 21 sheets
of " little hemp " were used. It is a thin, crisp, brownish-yellow paper
of even better quality than usual at this period.
676 (T'ANG).
S. 513. *Chin kang pan jo po lo mi ching. This, though four years
later in date (29th April, 676), may be regarded as a companion roll
to S. 36. The copyist is g : I Ou-yang Hsiian-che.
677 (T'ANG).
S. 4353, 2956, 3094. *Miao fa lien hua chin, ch. 1, p'in 1, 2;
ch. 7, p'in 27, 28; ch. 2, p'in 3, 4.
These are three fine MSS. on the familiar brownish-yellow paper.
S. 4353 was copied on the 2nd January, and S. 2956 on the 29th of
the same month, both by fE A Wang Chih-wan of the Hung-
wen Kuan. The revisers and readers, too, were the same in each case.
S. 3094 was copied on the 26th June by ll , gji Liu I-shih, and
revised three times by l]Jfi Liu Yen.
678 (T'ANG).
S. 3135. it ~ f - * ~ *T'ai hsiian chen i pen chi
ching, ch. 2. There are four other rolls in the Stein Collection contain-
ing parts of this Taoist sitra, which does not appear to be included in
the present Canon. Taoism was in the ascendant during the T'ang
dynasty, the rulers of which claimed to be descended from Lao Tzu,
though it suffered a little set-back under the more Buddhistically
inclined Empress Wu. The colophon is an amusing example of the
slavishness with which the devotees of this bogus religion aped the
ideas and phraseology of their rivals, the Buddhists: ' I J4-
-A -eI:: H =1
--j ifc
tI.I in *AAat
~~t
_im a~il
v : -^/\
:mm a A.' :;
-t: o11
"On the 22nd of the 3rd moon of the 3rd year of I-feng [18th April, 678]
the female official of the Three Profundities, Kuo Chin-chi, reverently
caused a section of the Pen chi ching to be copied on behalf of her
deceased Preceptor, in order that he might be helped and benefited
by the resultant stock of surpassing happiness, praying that his path
might coincide with that of the Nine Hsien ('Immortals '), and that
his spirit might travel to the Eight Blessed Regions."
The works constituting the Taoist Canon fall into three main
divisions which are called Ja " Grottoes " or " Profundities ", corre-
sponding to the three Pitaka of the Buddhists. They are: (1) J(
j5 the section of Profound Purity; (2) InJ& $1]the section of
Profound Mystery; (3) fi j4 IS the section of Profound Spirituality.
DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 19
1
A , ; [ 4 { R A N i " Copied and recorded by the
disciple So Jen-chieh on the 5th of the 6th moon of the 1st year of
Wen-ming [22nd July, 684]. He prays that his parents of seven
previous incarnations, as well as the father and mother who begot
him [in the present life] may be reborn in the realm of Amitabha
Buddha in the Western Regions, and that [the merit acquired] may
also be shared by his brothers and sisters. Such is the virtuous prayer
he would constantly utter."
rj] lasted from the 2nd to the 9th moon of this year. It was the
first nien-hao taken by the usurping empress, and as such is ignored
by official historians, who continue to use Chung Tsung's year-title
20 LIONEL GILES-
-IJ ' 1= f -a fft " In the 11th moon of the 4th year of Ch'ui-
kung [29th Nov.-27th Dec., 688] the wife of Wang Lin, a Buddhist
disciple of pure faith, being afflicted with a chronic disease, has
reverently caused a section of the Fa hua ching to be copied, in order
that this act of merit may benefit all beings endowed with consciousness,
and that all may attain the fruits of Buddhahood."
A good MS. on rather soft yellow paper, about 281 feet long.
689 (T'ANG: usurpation of the Empress Wu).
S. 592. *Miaofa lien hua ching, ch. 2, p'in 3 (slightly imperfect), 4.
- - 3E
Colophon: s t 9 -+ <
(<>)
i .
... . . . .
li~i:lli~iz . ; ~
J-"i!
?'"
"z'~'~ i~~iii,
iii!iii
~i!ii!iii!iiiiii
~~~~~~~~~7)SL.~~~~~~~~~~~
i-. - -~~~~~~~~~
- i-_-
i i~ii
!~ii!111.,~i~?,
ii,~ !ii!iiiii? ~i
iiiii11
-:I
^-,~ ! :.:..:^ i:i:i:i:iiiii~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~i::
! -ii~~~~~~~''"""'~~' :i: : ...^
:^:S^:U-:.?
:^^^ :i::;^m^ ii l
iiii!iiiiiiii~!i~i~i~t -i:iii
~~ ~ ~~ ~~ ?~iiii:i:
!!iiiiiiiii~i?iii~
ii~111JiiiiiiillI,:~ ~~ ~ r,iii:iii~:ii
-
-~---iii-iI~-::::i:i:i::iii
,pi,ii_i-
-:-i-i
%?11i!iiiil iiiiiil:: ::::,
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Four
COLOPHONS
SHOWING CHARACTERS
WU
"EMPRESS ", DATED A.D.691 (S.
700 87). From
700 (S. 87., Fro r:igh to left.
right -~~i;--i::
to ef
(.::
ft
X J ~; ~j a "Collated and copied by the monk Tao-li,
DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION 25
cognizant of merit, on the 8th day, i-yu, of the 4th moon, the 1st
day of which was mou-yin, of the 1st year, kuei-wei, of Cheng-sheng
[26th May, 695]. Examined and revised by his friend the monk Fa-lin."
Cheng-sheng fell in Z A i-wei, not kuei-wei, and did not last the
full year. It is strange to find such a mistake in this elaborate colophon.
The Empress Wu characters are Xp, H., *, q, and E . At the
very end of the roll, which is about 22 feet long, are the characters
-+ -- "16 ", probably referring to the number of sheets, of which
only fourteen, however, remain. Paper and handwriting are both
very good.
695 (CHOU: usurpation of the Empress Wu).
* Yao shih
S. 5005. ~ of I ching. This is N. 171, K. ix. 9. f,
with an abbreviated title.
Colophon: :* J? e _A x1 * p n, + A/- H f [f f
- P[ ff Pr~ ;$j "Reverently copied by the Buddhist
of
disciple pure faith Lang Hsing-hsin on the 18th day of the 4th moon
of the 1st year of Cheng-sheng in the Great Chou dynasty [5th June,
695].5"
The Empress Wu characters are the same as in the preceding roll.
A good MS. on good yellow paper. Roll 15 feet long.
696 (CHOU: usurpation of the Empress Wu).
S. 217. a ej & 4 *Kuan shih yin ching. This is another
name for Miaofa lien hua ching, p'in 25.
Colophon (see Plate I): W e e a _ $ E Xf + ?:
EL fi A 9 -IR Na 1:4;f:3& a
"On the 15th day of the 1st moon of the 2nd year of T'ien-ts'e-wan-
sui [23rd February, 696], the Buddhist disciple of pure faith Yin
Ssiu copied out the Kuan shih yin ching in one roll on behalf of his
parents now living and his parents of seven previous incarnations,
as well as on his own behalf and that of the multitude of living beings
in the universe." The Empress Wu characters are E, , E,I,
and E.
A good MS. on dull buff paper partly dyed yellow. Roll about
41 feet long.
700 (CHOU: usurpation of the Empress Wu).
S. 87. *Chin kang pan jo polo mi ching (N. 10).
The colophon (see Plate I) has a more worldly flavour about
it than usual: B- NA - l * If 11
* i-1 #? RI m 0 1 N &a ^ A -I ^
M ^^
26 DATED CHINESE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE STEIN COLLECTION
no d*
ae2d 5f he mo ion
teaofS "
" On the 23rd day of the 5th moon of the 3rd year of Sheng-li
[14th June, 700] Yin Jen-hsieh, Assistant Commissioner at Ta-sheng-
pa-ku, shang-chu-kuo,and k'ai-kuo-kung of Nan-yang Hsien, caused
this sfitra to be copied on behalf of the Holy and Divine Sovereign
Lord of the Golden Wheel, his parents of seven previous incarnations,
and all the members of his family, great and small. He made a vow
that if he was promoted to the sixth official grade he would have one
roll copied every month, and that if he was promoted to the fifth grade
he would have two rolls of a siutra copied every month. But for a
long time, owing to warlike operations, paper and ink have not been
procurable, so that he did not fulfil his vow. Now at last, materials
having been procured, he has been able to have this copy made, to
be unrolled and read on behalf of all without exception."
Nan-yang Hsien is in Honan, but the name Ta-sheng-pa-ku suggests
a place outside the borders of China proper. The cakra, wheel or
disc, is an emblem of sovereignty, and the , % 3E or Golden Wheel
King is the highest of the cakravartin, a conqueror of the universe.
The Empress Wu, on whose behalf the siutrawas copied, had assumed
the even higher title in the text. Her special characters in this colophon
are _S, If, )I, H, and g. Note the different form of fJ, which
also occurs in other MSS.
This is a very good MS. on bright yellow paper, but the first sheet
has been added in a different hand. The roll is about 15 feet long.
(To be continued.)