Encyclopedia of Buddhism

bianxianghave been preserved, and they afford valu-
able insights into the motivation and organization of
Buddhist devotees in medieval China.

See also:Hells, Images of; Pure Land Art; Su
tra Illus-
trations

Bibliography

Mair, Victor H. “Records of Transformation Tableaux (pien-
hsiang).” T’oung Pao72, no. 3 (1986): 3–43.

Wu Hung. “What Is Bianxiang?—On the Relationship between
Dunhuang Art and Dunhuang Literature.” Harvard Journal
of Asiatic Studies52, no. 1 (1992): 111–192.

VICTORH. MAIR

BIOGRAPHIES OF EMINENT MONKS
(GAOSENG ZHUAN)

“Biographies of Eminent Monks” is a genre of Chinese
Buddhist writing consisting primarily of four biograph-
ical collections, all compiled by monks: (1) Biographies
of Eminent Monks(Gaoseng zhuan), completed around
530 by Huijiao (497–554); (2) Further Biographies of Em-
inent Monks(Xu gaoseng zhuan), first draft completed
in approximately 650 by DAOXUAN(596–667) with later
additions in the 660s; (3) Biographies of Eminent Monks
[Compiled] during the Song Dynasty (Song gaoseng
zhuan), completed in 982 by ZANNING(919–1001); and
(4) Biographies of Eminent Monks [Compiled] during the
Ming Dynasty(Ming gaoseng zhuan), completed in 1617
by Ruxing (d.u.). Although there is some overlap in
time between collections, in general each picks up
where the last left off. Daoxuan, for example, wrote
mostly on monks who lived after Huijiao’s collection
was completed.

Of the four books, Huijiao’s has been the most in-
fluential and the most admired for its style. It has been
one of the most widely read historical works by any
Chinese monk.

Huijiao’s Biographies of Eminent Monksestablished
the format for the later versions. He divided the 275
biographies contained in his collection into ten cate-
gories: (1) “Translators”; (2) “Exegetes”; (3) “Divine
Wonders,” devoted to wonder-workers; (4) “Practi-
tioners of Meditation”; (5) “Elucidators of the Regu-
lations,” devoted to scholars of the VINAYA or
monastic rules; (6) “Those who Sacrificed Them-
selves,” for monks who sacrificed their bodies in acts

of charity or devotion; (7) “Chanters of Scriptures”;

(8) “Benefactors,” for monks who solicited funds for

Buddhist construction and other enterprises; (9)

“Hymnodists,” devoted to monks skilled in intoning

liturgy; and (10) “Proselytizers.” At the end of each

section, Huijiao appended a treatise in which he dis-

cusses the theme of the section. In his treatise on

translators, Huijiao gives a brief history of the trans-

mission of Buddhist scriptures and discusses the dif-

ficulties of translating Indian texts into Chinese. An

introduction to the book lists previous collections of

monastic biographies, and explains how Huijiao dis-

tinguished his work from them.

Subsequent works followed Huijiao’s format with

some changes. Most notably, Daoxuan combined the

sections for hymnodists and proselytizers, and then

added a section for “Protectors of the Dharma,” de-

voted to monks who defended Buddhism from its en-

emies at court and elsewhere.

The compilers of the collections followed Chinese

historiographical custom in the composition of their

biographies. In general, they relied on previous

sources, directly quoting them without attribution.

Major sources included the texts of stele inscriptions,

usually composed soon after a monk’s death by a lo-

cal literatus at the request of the monk’s followers.

The compilers also drew on other literary accounts,

including prefaces to works written by the monk in

question, and collections of miracle stories; they oc-

casionally based biographies on oral traditions con-

cerning particular monks. In most cases, the original

sources for the biographies are lost, but occasionally

it is possible to reconstruct the sources for biogra-

phies in the later collections. As the title suggests,

criterion for inclusion was based on a monk’s “emi-

nence,” or rank. With a few exceptions, only monks

regarded by the compilers as admirable are accorded

biographies.

See also:Biography; History

Bibliography

Kieschnick, John. The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Me-

dieval Chinese Hagiography.Honolulu: University of Hawaii

Press, 1997.

Wright, Arthur F. “Biography and Hagiography: Hui-chiao’s

Lives of Eminent Monks.” In Studies in Chinese Buddhism,ed.

Robert M. Somers. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,

1990.

JOHNKIESCHNICK

BIOGRAPHIES OFEMINENTMONKS(GAOSENGZHUAN)