Re-examining The "Zhengming Jing": The Social and Political Life of an Apocryphal Maitreya Scripture
This article investigates the Zhengming jing 證明經 (T. no. 2879) and its diverse functions, using the text as a case study for placing apocryphal scriptures in their social and political contexts. Examining the material properties of the manuscripts, as well as the various interests that the text serv...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Johns Hopkins University Press
[2017]
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| In: |
Journal of Chinese religions
Year: 2017, Volume: 45, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-18 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
China
/ Buddhist literature
/ Maitreja
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| Further subjects: | B
Maitreya
B Wu Zetian B indigenous scriptures B Apocrypha B Dunhuang |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | This article investigates the Zhengming jing 證明經 (T. no. 2879) and its diverse functions, using the text as a case study for placing apocryphal scriptures in their social and political contexts. Examining the material properties of the manuscripts, as well as the various interests that the text served, the article argues that at least some practitioners understood the Zhengming jing as a typical Buddhist scripture. Moreover, comparison of the text with the canonical Maitreya scriptures shows that the author(s) of the Zhengming jing consciously blurred the lines between kingship and Buddhahood. This modification was particularly significant because it provided the basis for an apocryphal interpolation that helped validate the reign of Emperor Wu Zetian 武則天. By placing the Zhengming jing in these various contexts, the article demonstrates that apocryphal texts could serve as important sources of social and political authority in medieval Chinese Buddhism. |
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| ISSN: | 2050-8999 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Chinese religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/0737769X.2017.1287649 |