Baochang: sixth-century biographer of Buddhist monks ... and nuns?

• Author: De Rauw, Tom
• Position: Biography

Not much attention has been given to the Liang dynasty (502-557) monk Baochang [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], other than a few stray lines about his authorship of the Mingseng zhuan [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (Biographies of Famous Monks) (1) and the Biqiuni zhuan [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (Biographies of Nuns, T.2063). He is credited with being the first to systematically create an organized body of biographies of Buddhist monks, but beyond that, little is said about him. However, a reading of Bao-chang's biography contained in the Xu Gaoseng zhuan [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (Further Biographies of Eminent Monks) (2) reveals that there is more to Baochang than meets the eye. He appears to have been an important figure in the monastic community of Jiankang [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII], the capital city of the Liang, and a man very much favored by Emperor Wu [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (r. 502-549). He participated in several translation and cataloguing projects under imperial patronage, and for a while he served as abbot of the Xin'an [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] monastery and head of the imperial Buddhist library. Yet, Baochang was plagued by controversy, in life as well as in death. As a member of the clerical elite of the capital, he became the object of verbal attacks by Huijiao [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (497-554), who in the preface to his Gaoseng zhuan [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (Biographies of Eminent Monks, T.2059) (3) criticized the worldly and sycophantic metropolitan clergy who surrounded the pious emperor Wu in general, and the emphasis Baochang placed on "fame (ming [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII])" over "eminence (gao [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII])" in his selection of biographies in particular. (4) Even among the people in the capital there were rumors that Baochang's true intentions did not lay in the practice of Buddhism, but in the pursuit of worldly goals. (5)

Here we shall first examine Baochang's career, taking as a starting point his biography, contained in the Further Biographies of Eminent Monks. An attempt will be made to reconstruct the chronology of events in Baochang's life, focusing on his relationship with Emperor Wu. In the second part of this article I will address two issues concerning the Mingseng zhuan and Biqiuni zhuan. First, even though important clues about the Mingseng zhuan's date of completion are embedded in the biography, there seems to be no consensus in the existing literature on when this collection of monks' biographies was completed. Many different dates are given, but very rarely is the preference for any date substantiated. Second, authorship of the Biographies of Nuns is traditionally ascribed to Baochang, yet this important collection is not mentioned anywhere in his biography. Even worse: there is no mention of it in the catalogues (Buddhist or non-Buddhist) at all until the early eighth century.

LIFE AND TIMES OF BAOCHANG

According to his biography, Baochang (ca. 466-?) (6) came from a poor family and worked hard in the fields to provide for himself and his parents. Because the plot of land they owned was too small to provide a sufficient living, he looked around for additional jobs. Thus he found work as a copyist and was able to earn extra money. (7) Although this passage identifies Baochang as a peasant, was this really the case? As Zurcher has pointed out, many of those whose biographies are included in the Biographies of Eminent Monks are said to have lived in poor and difficult circumstances before entering the monastic order. Poverty is one of the virtues of the Buddhist monk, and from that perspective, the Buddhist biographical collections show a tendency to standardize the lives of their heroes according to a set of fixed patterns. (8) A clue to Baochang's origins can perhaps be found in the wording of his biographer. Daoxuan writes:

Looking for something extra, he took up a job as a copyist to obtain a little financial help. [While] checking for inaccuracies [in the texts], he could thus strengthen (qiang [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] his knowledge [at the same time]. (9) Baochang must have been able to read and write. The use of the word "strengthen" presupposes a prior education. This suggests that Baochang was not the son of peasants, but more likely a descendant of a relatively cultured family that had lately fallen on hard times. As a member of such a family, he would have enjoyed a more or less standard classical literary education, comprising the study of the Confucian classics, with the intention of preparing him for a possible career as a government official. However, at this time the higher ranks of magistracy were monopolized by the so-called "Great Families" (menfa [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]). These families, which formed the highest nobility, maintained a strict exclusivity, which meant that members of less influential families could not reach the higher rungs of the bureaucratic ladder. Many of these individuals, thus excluded from the higher circles of political, economic, and intellectual life, chose instead to adopt the life of a Buddhist monk as a means to gain access to these higher social strata. (10) When in 483 the famous vinaya master Sengyou [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] (445-518) (11) was ordered to go to Wu, the region where Baochang was born and raised, the latter immediately left the family life to become his disciple. At the time Baochang was already eighteen years old, rather late in comparison to the age of other novice monks mentioned in the biographical literature. (12)

Daoxuan now tells us that after studying under Sengyou for an undetermined number of years (13)

Baochang became aware of the importance of non-Buddhist scholarship, and made it his priority to become knowledgeable about it. To that end, he began studying non-Buddhist writings under the guidance of several "retired gentlemen" (chushi [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]). (14) To a Buddhist monk moving in the circles of the literate upper class, being knowledgeable about non-Buddhist scholarship (most notably xuanxue [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]) was not merely a tool for propagating Buddhism in terms that the target audience could understand. Knowledge of Chinese history, poetry, and philosophical writings was admired in and of itself, and could help propel a monk to great fame. (15) Many Buddhist scholar-monks studied the Chinese classics, so in this respect Baochang's interest in them is nothing out of the ordinary. It is striking, however, that the biography describes how, as a consequence of his frequent interactions with these "retired gentlemen," people began to suspect that Baochang had worldly ambitions. When he went to visit his family, people even suspected he would probably not return to the monastery to live as a Buddhist monk, but rather choose to pursue a civil career. (16)

Although one can certainly not exclude a certain level of Buddhist piety from the part of Baochang, it is likely that his motives for becoming a Buddhist monk were not all of a spiritual nature. If indeed it was his intention to use Buddhism as a means to enhance his position in society, then his plans were far from fruitless. After fleeing east from the chaos that accompanied the fall of the Southern Qi dynasty (479-502), he was summoned to the capital by Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty to take up the position as abbot of the Xin'an monastery in A.D. 505. (17) This monastery is occasionally mentioned in the Buddhist chronicles, but appears to have been of rather modest importance during the Liang. However, to become an abbot by imperial appointment was no small feat.

After this, Baochang was ordered to oversee the compilation of a whole series of books that were to contain a listing of all the buddhas, bodhisattvas, and important deities mentioned in the Buddhist scriptures, and the proper rituals associated with these deities to implore their protection and benefaction. The command issued by Emperor Wu, ordering the compilation of these books, is partly preserved in the biography of Baochang:

The seasonal storms have abated far and near, and the weather [is now so favorable that] it causes the harvest of the hundred grains to increase. How could it be that [for this] we do not firstly rely on the [protection of the] Three Jewels, (18) secondly rely on the Four Devas, (19) and thirdly rely on the spirits of the water! When the supernatural beings provide us with assistance, only then can prosperity cover the people and can they rejoice in their generosity. However, since the writings [about these issues] are scattered over a host of books, it is difficult to research it to the fullest extent. (20) From this it is clear that Emperor Wu considered these texts as manuals for wielding the enormous powers of Buddhism, which he might use in the ruling of his empire. Emperor Wu was convinced that, without the protection of Buddhism, the rule of his house would come to an untimely end. (21) The fact that Baochang was entrusted with the task of compiling these books is a clear sign of his close relationship with the emperor, for the latter would not have given this vital task to someone he could not trust.

The compilation project did not come off without a hitch, however. In 510, Baochang became ill. He vowed that, should he recover, he would search everywhere for Buddhist scriptures to make sure that nothing should be lost, and that he would also search out records of past monks to honor and perpetuate their memories. The chronology of subsequent events is not all clear, but it was probably around this time that Baochang abandoned his post as abbot of the Xin'an monastery, with the intention of going east to recuperate and begin to fulfill his vows. The emperor, displeased, sent someone after Baochang. As punishment for his offense, Baochang was banished to Yuezhou in the far south (in...