Buddhist Historiography in China -

About the Book

John Kieschnick provides an innovative, expansive account of how Chinese Buddhists have sought to understand their history through a Buddhist lens. Exploring a series of themes in mainstream Buddhist historiographical works from the fifth to the twentieth century, he looks for what they tell us about their compilers' understanding of history.

Book Synopsis

Winner, 2023 Toshihide Numata Book Award, Numata Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of California, Berkeley

Since the early days of Buddhism in China, monastics and laity alike have expressed a profound concern with the past. In voluminous historical works, they attempted to determine as precisely as possible the dates of events in the Buddha's life, seeking to iron out discrepancies in varying accounts and pinpoint when he delivered which sermons. Buddhist writers chronicled the history of the Dharma in China as well, compiling biographies of eminent monks and nuns and detailing the rise and decline in the religion's fortunes under various rulers. They searched for evidence of karma in the historical record and drew on prophecy to explain the past.

John Kieschnick provides an innovative, expansive account of how Chinese Buddhists have sought to understand their history through a Buddhist lens. Exploring a series of themes in mainstream Buddhist historiographical works from the fifth to the twentieth century, he looks not so much for what they reveal about the people and events they describe as for what they tell us about their compilers' understanding of history. Kieschnick examines how Buddhist doctrines influenced the search for the underlying principles driving history, the significance of genealogy in Buddhist writing, and the transformation of Buddhist historiography in the twentieth century. This book casts new light on the intellectual history of Chinese Buddhism and on Buddhists' understanding of the past.

Review Quotes

Through its skillful analysis of key themes, genres and periods, Buddhist Historiography in China makes a solid contribution.-- "Studies in Chinese Religions"

All in all, Buddhist Historiography in China is an excellent contribution to the fields of Buddhist studies and Sinology, and it will be an inevitable landmark for future studies on the topic-- "H-Buddhism"

Demonstrates why careful consideration of historiography is necessary and important, and he does
so in a lively and thought-provoking way.

-- "History of Religions"

For the general history-interested reader, the volume can serve as a splendid introduction to Chinese Buddhism.-- "Religious Studies Review"

Kieschnick presents us with new perspectives to consider in the study of Chinese history and religion.-- "International Journal of Asian Studies"

Somewhat surprisingly, Buddhist historiography has not received much sustained attention before, at least in the West, despite voluminous studies of Chinese historical writing. Kieschnick introduces this subject, delineates its major contours, and argues for its significance. This book will change the way that future studies of Chinese historiography will be written.--Grant Hardy, author of Worlds of Bronze and Bamboo: Sima Qian's Conquest of History

This book tells us a great deal about a genre of Buddhist writing that we have not understood well so far because of its massive and chronological nature. The patterns of Chinese Buddhist histories are hard to see unless one has read all of them. Buddhist Historiography in China is an excellent critical orientation to this material, written in a lively and engaging way that makes it really enjoyable and informative to read.--James A. Benn, author of Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History

About the Author

John Kieschnick is The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Professor of Buddhist Studies at Stanford University. He is the author of The Eminent Monk: Buddhist Ideals in Medieval Chinese Hagiography (1997) and The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture (2003), and coeditor of India in the Chinese Imagination (2014).