Monk, official and Gentry: multiple writings of Jingshan annals and the regional sight of the late ming Buddhist revival

Abstract: When discussing the revival of Buddhism in the late Ming Dynasty, scholars lack the study of rich local records, specific regions and typical cases. Jingshan temple in Hangzhou provides such a sample. An outstanding manifestation of Jingshan Temple in the late Ming Dynasty is the emergency of a whole bunch of annals. Different groups such as monks, magistrates, and gentry all participated in the writing of the history of Jingshan diachronically in the same space. Different versions of Jingshan Annals reveal the interweaving of historical events, trends of the times, and the wishes of various groups in distinct regions, shedding light on the development that Buddhist historical records began to involve other classics outside Buddhism instead of only focusing on Buddhist sutras. This process manifests that the revival of Buddhism in the late Ming Dynasty is also a diachronic active state achieved by the people’s activities with different purposes in a specific area.

摘要：学界在探讨晚明佛教复兴议题时，仍缺乏针对丰富地方史料、特定区域与典型案例的系统性研究。杭州径山寺即为该研究方向的典型样本。晚明时期径山寺的突出表现之一，便是大量寺志的涌现。僧团、地方官吏与乡绅等不同群体，均在同一空间场域内，历时性地参与了径山历史的撰述工作。不同版本的《径山志》（Jingshan Annals）展现了历史事件、时代思潮与不同区域群体诉求的交织融合，揭示了佛教史籍的发展脉络：其研究范畴已不再局限于佛教经典，而是开始涉猎佛教之外的其他文献典籍。这一过程亦表明，晚明佛教复兴乃是特定区域内不同群体出于各异目的开展实践活动所共同促成的历时性动态进程。