Chen Shiqiang, a 76-year-old senior editor at Fudan University Press in Shanghai, could hardly hold back his tears when he touched his newly published books, a massive Chinese Buddhist philology masterpiece that he has been working on singlehandedly for 43 years.
Three books of the General Catalogue and Synopses of the Chinese Buddhist Canon were recently published by Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, bringing the collection's current total to 13 volumes.
Comprising a total of 1,473 Buddhist works in 8,246 volumes, the collection, with about 6.7 million characters, provides a detailed guide through Chinese Buddhist scriptures of successive dynasties. It is also believed to be the most authoritative and comprehensive reference work in the field of Chinese Buddhist scriptural studies to date.
The work currently comprises two volumes on classic Chinese Buddhist works first published in 1992 (revised and reprinted in 2008), three volumes on Hinayana Buddhist sutras published in 2007, two volumes on Vinaya texts published in 2015, three volumes on Abhidharma published in 2019, and the latest three volumes on Mahayana Buddhist sutras released in March.
Among them, the sutra is the source of basic Buddhist teachings, which is believed to be the actual words of the Buddha. Vinaya usually refers to the collection of canonical texts outlining the rules of conduct and discipline for Buddhist monks and nuns. Meanwhile, Abhidharma, or commentaries, refers to works on various Buddhist scriptures that are attributed to masters and offer commentary on the words of the Buddha.
"Originating in ancient India, Buddhist scriptures were translated and expounded in classical Chinese after their introduction to China. However, the vast majority of these texts lack punctuation and annotations. They are profound yet obscure, abstruse, diverse and complex, making them very difficult to read and understand," Chen explains.
All these factors present significant challenges to the reading and study of Buddhist scriptures, which motivated Chen to create a specialized reference book on Buddhist studies to provide basic guidance and assistance for today's researchers.
Thus, in June 1983, he embarked on this journey with no end in sight. Rather than brief annotations or dictionary-style entries on Chinese Buddhist scriptures, he expects to complete a collection that provides comprehensive information and detailed summaries of the core content of each scripture — in a modern way and using layman's terms.
Almost devoting his entire life since then to sorting out Buddhist scriptures, Chen says he simply does not wish to see these millennia-old classics become incomprehensible texts to modern readers.
Chen notes that the collection provides a detailed analysis of each scripture, covering its title, number of volumes, origins of translation and composition, version history, chapter structure and core philosophical principles, while also addressing the tracing of origins, the collation of variant texts, and the correction of historical inaccuracies.
"I am not merely compiling an index for a single edition of the Tripitaka, but rather synthesizing all editions from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) through to modern times, to create a truly comprehensive reference work on Buddhist studies," says Chen.
