What Counts as Buddhist Historiography and Why Does It Matter?

This review article argues that John Kieschnick’s Buddhist Historiography in China (2022) constitutes a landmark in the field. The book covers a large swath of original sources, analyzes authorial strategies, and assesses the place of writing about the Buddhist past within the Sinocentric tradition...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Teiser, Stephen F. 1947- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: 2024
In: JAOS
Year: 2024, Volume: 144, Issue: 2, Pages: 427–439
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:This review article argues that John Kieschnick’s Buddhist Historiography in China (2022) constitutes a landmark in the field. The book covers a large swath of original sources, analyzes authorial strategies, and assesses the place of writing about the Buddhist past within the Sinocentric tradition of court-focused historiography. I point up the strengths of the book, identify its most significant chapters, and probe its interpretation of Buddhist historiography. I also suggest that, by including a broader range of genres within the ambit of Buddhist historiography, future scholarship might add perspectives that diverge from those of the centralized state and the Saṃgha.
ISSN:2169-2289
Contains:Enthalten in: American Oriental Society, JAOS
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.7817/jaos.144.2.2024.ra001