Abstract：The Sixi Canon (思溪藏) is a Buddhist canon engraved during the Southern Song Dynasty in Huzhou. There are currently several relatively complete editions of this canon found worldwide. Studying this canon is of significant importance for understanding the dissemination of the religious texts in the southern region and the production process of large ancient book series. However, due to past material limitations, our understanding of its engraving history has been unclear. Through comprehensive research on collections from around the world, we have gained new insights by examining various aspects such as the characteristics of the script, content of colophons, presence or absence of phonetic annotations, nature of the publication records, and the table of contents.Currently, we can divide the engraving history of the Sixi Canon into three stages. The first stage occurred around the first year of Jingkang (1126) when the newly constructed Yuanjue Temple received donated scriptures from various sources. Some of these scriptures were used as source texts during the engraving, resulting in residual inscriptions by scribes and peculiar notation formats in the printed edition. In the second stage, the Wang family provided funding, and the canon engraving project was unified and planned, specifically using the Fuzhou Canon (福州藏) as the source text. A small number of experimental classics were printed within the temple. After the successful experiment, the complete canon was officially announced to be engraved in the second year of Shaoxing (1132), and engraving records were left behind. In the third stage, during the Jiaxi and Chunyou reigns (1239-1250), the canon suffered damage, leading to the re-engraving of offprint editions that were circulating among the public. Some damaged blocks were repaired through donations from local residents. These new discoveries provide a fresh perspective on the transition from manuscript to engraved canon and the formation of engraved canon collections.Based on the research in this article, we can summarize new approaches to the study of Chinese Buddhist canons. Firstly, we should break through the limitations imposed by categorizing the three major canon systems based on location and instead focus on the connections between different canons. The study of individual canons should be integrated into the overall understanding of the evolution of Buddhist literature. Secondly, due to the lengthy engraving process of canons, it is necessary to separate and examine the early and later stages. By comparing scriptures from different stages, we can identify textual differences and demonstrate their connections to other canon systems. It is particularly important to note that private engraving of canons, due to limitations in funding and manpower, might have an initial stage with more diverse sources, resulting in a final engraving that differs from the main form of the complete canon. Thirdly, through meticulous comparison of fonts, such as stroke thickness, direction, spacing between characters, different shapes of the same character, and the completion level of difficult strokes, we can identify differences between different engraved canons. Finally, although publication records are crucial primary materials for research, it is unnecessary to be excessively fixated on them. This is because these records may represent separate engraving processes that do not necessarily reflect the engraving time of the main text or the actual start and end time of the complete canon. Furthermore, the examples discussed in this article provide new insights into the transmission of Buddhist literature. It is generally believed that the canons inherited in the Jiangnan region originated from the Fuzhou Canon. However, with the increasing availability of materials, we have discovered that the later canons incorporated materials from various sources, including Buddhist scriptures from the Five Dynasties, ancient scriptural writings from the Northern Song Dynasty, and offprint editions from the Southern Song Dynasty. These later canons preserved valuable materials from the early stages. Importantly, the early scattered engraving stage of canons is likely closely related to manuscript literature, and the example of the Sixi Canon discussed in this article reflects an important stage in the transition from manuscript literature to engraved literature in the southern region.
李周渊. 南宋湖州《思溪藏》的刊刻历程[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 2024, 54(5): 131-146.
Li Zhouyuan. An Analysis of the Engraving Process of Sixi Canon in Huzhou during the Southern Song Dynasty. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 2024, 54(5): 131-146.
2024, Vol. 54 
