Abstract
As a contribution to the history of reading, this article analyzes a selection of the 427 suibi-style essays by the late-Ming monk-educator Lianchi Zhuhong 蓮池袾宏 (1535–1615). They were published between 1600–1615 under the title Jottings by a Bamboo Window (Zhuchuang suibi 竹窗隨筆). Zhuhong sought to improve religious literacy by establishing a baseline for interpreting Buddhist texts, and especially to point literati toward reading the tradition both literally and figuratively; thus a number of the essays concerned the act of reading. The essays analyzed in this article not only map out the differences in reading methods needed for the mastery of Pure Land scripture, Buddhist exegesis, and Chan discourse records, they also make copious references to contemporary literati reading culture. A consummate arbiter of all things Buddhist, Zhuhong sought to draw the broader reading elite toward an acceptance of his view of what constitutes a normative Buddhist tradition. Furthermore, the analyses here allow us to envision the actual and implied reader whom he was addressing.
Keywords
reading methods, Lianchi Zhuhong, Chan, Pure Land, Buddhist exegesis, Ming-dynasty Buddhism, Hong Mai, zuihitsu, xiaopin, suibi, literati culture, Republican-era Buddhist periodicals
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