. translation of tantras 441
130,000 woodblocks by 983. After the work shifted to the new insti-
tute, periodic updates appeared as new translations were produced.
We are fortunate to have actual descriptions of the translation pro-
cess in the Chuanfa yuan:
In the Eastern Hall facing west, powder is used to set out an altar to the
sages with openings [consisting of ] four gates, each with an Indian monk
presiding over it and reciting esoteric spells for seven days and nights.
Then, a wooden altar is set up and surmounted with a circle having
the syllables of the sages and worthies. [This is] called the Mahādharma
mandala (dafa manchaluo. The sages and worthies are
invoked and ablutions are performed using the arghya. [vessel]. Incense,
flowers, lamps, water, and fruits are presented as offerings. Bowing and
circumambulation [take place]. Prayers for protection from evil are
offered in order to extirpate demons and obstructions.^7Like a nineteenth-century museum, the institute was located at the
metropolitan center and served as the official repository for manu-
scripts. It was under the jurisdiction of the Court of State Ceremonial
(Honglu si ), which was charged with the reception of foreign
envoys, among other duties.^8 Moreover, the processing of texts at the
institutes resembled a production line, and the presence of esoteric
ritual was overshadowed by the government status of the Chuanfa
yuan itself. The monastery had been transformed into a factory for the
production of the Dharma, a place dedicated to the collection, selec-
tion, and translation of texts that were then enshrined in the newly
printed canon, disseminated to official government monastic libraries,
and presented to other states.^9
Although the translations that were produced came from all periods
and schools of Indian Buddhism, much of the material was esoteric
(^7) I follow Tansen Sen’s translation of the Fozu tongji, T. 2035.43:398b2–b8, with
minor emendations. 8
Sen 2002, 41.
(^9) As Huang Qijiang notes, Taizong used the establishment of printing at the Insti-
tute to “circulate widely the work it had produced.” Taizong awarded printed canons
to important visitors: a set was given to the Japanese monk Chōnen (938–1016)
and to Korean envoys of the Korea king. See Huang 1994, 152, n. 45. These events are
related in the Fozu tong ji, T. 2035.49.399a16–400c. Sets of the canon were requested
by the Uighurs, the Vietnamese, and the Tangut Xi Xia. The Tanguts requested a sixth
set in 1073, the Vietnamese requested another version in 1098–1099, and so on. See
Tansen Sen 2002, 40–41. Both the Khitans and the Koreans printed their own canons
and were in competition with the Song in these inter-state prestations. On the devel-
opment of the canon see Lancaster 1989, 143–56; Lancaster and Park 1979. This latter
with updates is available online at http://www.acmuller.net/descriptive_catalogue/.