| This dissertation examines closely three texts of Chinese popular religion called baojuan, or precious scrolls. Each of these baojuan belonged to a different style and period, drew on different religious teachings, and were put to different uses by their respective audiences. The Gufo Tianzhen kaozhena Longhua baojing (The Precious Scripture on the Dragon Flower as verified by the Old Buddha of Heavenly Purity; short title: Longhua jing), published in 1654, was a Taoist inner alchemy text and sacred scripture for the "Religion on Complete and Instantaneous Enlightenment" based in Hebei Province. The Guanshiyin Pusa benxing jing (Scripture on the Deeds of the Bodhisattva Regarder of the Cries of the World; short title: Xiangshan baojuan), a late eighteenth or early nineteenth century version of a text widely assumed to originate before 1500, educated its audience in traditional lay Buddhism. It was read and recited by lay devotees across China, but particularly in southern China. The Lihua baojuan (Precious scroll on Lihua), a handcopied text probably produced between 1870 and 1930, transmitted basic Confucian values, into which were integrated Buddhist and Taoist teachings. The Lihua baojuan was written as a drama and performed in public arenas in the Jiangnan area.;I argue that, despite their differences, baojuan constituted a unified genre of religious literature. The central function of this genre was to draw stories, teachings, and ritual actions into a new public and legitimate discourse. Over the course of time, baojuan developed and refined a repertoire of religious actions and beliefs which became the foundation of their theology and which profoundly shaped the religious culture of Ming and Qing China. I have characterized this religious culture as portable, conservative, practical, and diffuse. Some prominent features of this religious culture were: a shared concept of the structure of the universe; a belief in the transcendent law of retribution; an emphasis on the text as the locus of ritual efficacy; and construction of a saving being which functioned as moral model rather than as divine agent. |
