A Study On The Dunhuang Chinese Documents Of Diamond Sutra

This dissertation is a study on the Dunhuang chinese documents of Diamond Sutra,including two parts.The first part starts with the introduction,followed with five chapters in succession to discuss in details,ends with the conclusion.The introduction introduces the research object,the research status,the research content,the research methods,and the research significance of this dissertation.By investigating all the images,catalogues,indexes related research achievements,it is counted there are 3718 Chinese documents of the Diamond Sutra among Dunhuang documents.Classified according to the collectors,there are 1460 documents collected in the National Library of China,1085 documents collected in England(686 identified and 399 unidentified),101 documents collected in France,828 documents collected in Russia(362 identified and 474 unidentified),236 documents collected around the world(211 identified and 25 unidentified).Classified according to the versions,there are 3713 manuscripts,including 3301 manuscripts of the unsegmented Kumarajiva translation,149 manuscripts of the 32-section Kumarajiva translation,9 manuscripts of 12-section Kumarajiva translation,146 manuscripts of unsegmented Bodhiruci translation,11 manuscripts of the 12-section Bodhiruci translation,6 manuscripts of Paramartha translation,7 manuscripts of Xuanzang translation,41 manuscripts the contents of which can be found in differenrt versions and 43 manuscripts the versions of which are unidentified,besides,there is a rubbing of the unsegmented Kumarajiva translation,a printed documents of the the unsegmented Kumarajlva translation,and 3 printed documents of the the 32-section KumarajTva translation.In the first section,887 fragments of the unsegmented Kumarajiva translation are pieced together into 369 groups.In the second section,69 fragments of the 32-section Kumarajiva translation are pieced together into 16 groups,2 fragments of the 12-section Kumarajiva translation are pieced together into 1 group.In the third section,42 fragments of the unsegmented Bodhiruci translation are pieced together into 15 groups;2 fragments of the 12-section Bodhiruci translation are pieced together into 1 group.In three sections.Chapter 1 discusses the versions of the Diamond Sutra.The version system of the Diamond Sutra is cleared by investigating Dunhuang documents and handed-down documents.There are six Chinese translations of Diamond Sutra,which were translated by Kumarajiva,Bodhiruci.Paramartha.Dharmagupta.Xuanzang and Yijing in turn.Influenced by the Kefen 科分 in commentaries,the Diamond Sutra generated segmented versions during the transmission:the Kumarajiva translation has a segmented version with 32 sections,and the printed 32-section Diamornd Sutra reserved in Dunhuan proves that the 32-section version had been finalized and widely used before the late Tang Dynasty;the Bodhiruci translation has a version with 12 sections,which was segmented according to Jingagxianji 金刚仙记 by Bodhiruci,and inspired the 12-section version of Kumarajiva translation.In addition,there are added versions with inserted or appended words:one is the Kumarajiva translation inserted with Mingsiji 冥司偈 from the Bodhiruci translation;the other is the Kumarajiva translation appended with mantra derived from the esoteric Buddhism.Chapter 2 titles the unidentified fragments of the Diamond Sutra.First,it introduces the standards and methods of titling the unidentified fragments,including identifying the title according to the original title and reserved text;identifying the translation according to the original title,key words,format and patching-up;identifying the segmented version according to the section title and patching-up.Then it corrects 13 inappropriate titles given earlier.At last.898 unidentified fragments are titled,including 474 fragments collected in Russia.399 fragments collected in England and 25 fragments collected around the world.These unidentified fragments are introduced of the serial numbers,the original titles,the image origins,the locations of the text in Taisho-pitaka,the binding formats and the segmented versions in the form of tables.Chapter 3 pieces the fragments of the Diamond Sutra together.First,it introduces the achievements of the previous research and the new research,the previous research pieced 302 fragments into 119 groups,this dissertation supplements 29 groups and adds 284 groups,1002 fragments are pieced together into 402 groups in total.Then,it introduces 9 key factors that can help patching-up the fragments with examples of Buddhist scriptures,including successive contents,matched edges,similar stains or damages,same version,and same binding format,same format,same writing style,same correction or annotations marks,same collector.At last,it discusses the significances with examples,which include restoring the original appearance of the manuscripts,clarifying the information of the manuscripts,correcting the mistakes in previous catalogues,and recognizing the nature of Dunhuang documents.Chapter 4 researches inscriptions on the Diamond Sutra documents.This chapter collects 113 inscriptions on the Diamond Sutra documents,2 inscriptions related and 4 inscriptions forged.Divide them into 9 categories according to the attributes of the inscriptions,the identities of the transcribers,etc.Comments on the inscriptions with previous achievements and my opinion are also appended here.Chapter 5 dates some Diamond Sutra documents.This chapter summaries the previous dating achievements,arranges 73 dated documents,dates 25 fragments by piecing them together into 6 groups,and dates 58 fragments transcribed by an eighty-year-old man by piecing them together and comparing the handwriting.Points out different datings of fragments which can be patched-up together in previous catalogues.The first part ends with the conclusion,which summarizes the achievements and shortcomings,and proposes the direction of further researches.The second part includes three sections,each section introduces our latest achievements on patching-up the Diamond Sutra fragments group by group.In the first section.683 fragments of the unsegmented Kumarajiva translation are pieced together into 283 groups.In the second section.69 fragments of the 32-section Kumarajiva translation are pieced together into 16 groups.2 fragments of the 12-section Kumarajiva translation are pieced together into 1 group.In the third section.2 fragments of the 12-section Bodhiruci translation are pieced together into 1 group,33 fragments of the unsegmented Bodhiruci translation are pieced together into 15 groups.In three sections,789 fragments are pieced together into 312 groups in total.The patching-up achievements are proved with catalogues,images,and comments.First it gives a brief introduction of the fragments,including the serial number,the image origin,the binding format,the damage,the format,the reserved text,the original title,the script,the boundary lines.the paper size,the dating,the previous patching-up opinion,etc.Then the patching-up results are imaged with photoshop.At last,comments on the patching-up reasons,the order of fragments,the the location of the patched-up text in Taisho-pitaka,the mistakes in previous catalogues are appended.Five appendixes are attached to the paper.Appendix 1:The Catalogue of the Diamond Sutra among Dunhuang Documents Arranged by Content Integrity;Appendix 2:The Catalogue of the Diamond Sutra among Dunhuang Documents Arranged by Serial Number;Appendix 3:The Catalogue of patching-up achievements of the Diamond Sutra fragments;Appendix 4:Corrections on the Images of the Diamond Sutra among Dunhuang Documents;Appendix 5:A Reproduction and Study on Fragments of The Contract about Yang Wencheng leasing his land on January 7th,Dashun 2ed year,Tang Dyn sty(《唐大顺二年正月七日杨文盛租地契》).