Song gaoseng zhuan
Song gaoseng zhuan (J. Sō kōsōden; K. Song kosŭng chŏn 宋高僧傳). In Chinese, “Biographies of Eminent Monks [compiled during the] Song dynasty”.[1] A hagiographical collection compiled by the Buddhist historian and Vinaya master Zanning (919–1001).[1]
The compilation of the text began in 980 by Song-dynasty imperial edict and was entered into the official Chinese Buddhist Canon in 988.[1]
The text records the lives of monks who were active during the period between the early Tang dynasty and the early Song, or some 340 years after the period covered by the Xu gaoseng zhuan (“Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks”), which was compiled by Daoxuan (596–667).[1]
The Song gaoseng zhuan contains 531 major and 124 appended biographies, for a total of 655 biographies. The text offers valuable material on the Buddhist history of the Tang dynasty.[1]
Notes
Sources
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University
