In Memory of Professor Stefano Zacchetti 1968-2020

We were saddened to learn about the passing away of our colleague Stefano Zacchetti. Although I was not his close friend, I do have some fond memory of him to share: he was indeed a solid and sincere scholar who cared about the Buddhist canon. Back in 2011, we invited him to attend our first international conference on the Chinese Buddhist canon at the kind recommendation of Jan Nattier who was unable to join us because of John McRae's illness. At that time, he was teaching for Dipartimento di Studi sull'Asia Orientale at Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, Italy. He immediately accepted our invitation during his vacation in the mountain. However, he had to cancel it at the last minute because his father just passed away and he had to take care of things. (He said he was surprised by this sudden news because his father was always in good health.) Although he didn't attend, he contributed a wonderful paper to our edited volume on the Chinese canon, entitled "Notions and Visions of the Canon in Early Chinese Buddhism." As one of the editors, I can testify that he was such a meticulous scholar that he checked things again and again. I have to confess that as a scholar educated in the American system I tend to focus more on readability and sometimes did some "editing" work on Stefano's "dry" but substantial paper. Stefano protested against it and we have to restore his original writing. He must have thought highly of this paper. Recently we published our volume in paperback and he gave us a list for corrections, which I attached below according to our last email conversation in June:

I met him later once, and only once at a conference on "TRANSLATING Buddhist Texts:

The Making of An English Buddhist Canon" organized by Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai (BDK) on May 3, 2018 at the Berkeley Jodo Shinshu Center. We had a good conversation and agreed to arrange a talk for him at the University of Arizona when he came to the states next time. He had a lot of reasons to visit us. Our colleague Fabio Lanza was his classmate many years ago in Italy when they were young. Unfortunately, he will never be able to visit us. His career summary can be seen from these sites:

https://www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/news/2020/april/professor-stefano-zacchetti-1968-2020?fbclid=IwAR1pXAmF5RIzGA5yIsynIZdNnLt5QSnXZl_Y9sz5HiYwG4mUYqugZVnxP1k

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefano_Zacchetti

Here is a full list of his publications which I copied from a Chinese website:

However, among his many publications, I have to add that he had an impact in the area of digital humanities which is often easily overlooked. He was one of the Buddhist scholars who used the CBETA Buddhist Tripitaka Database intensively to do research on early Chinese Buddhist translations. He was interviewed at Oxford by Christine Borgman who wrote about Stefano's research in her Big Data, Little Data, No Data in which she made a long study of CBETA from a data scientist's perspective and considered the digitalized Buddhist canon as the data type represented by the humanities (pages 186-202). Borgman used Stefano's 2005 book In Praise of the Light extensively as an example of utilizing digital humanities data for research. I only knew this when a student from our School of Information showed me this book and pointed to Stefano's research. 

It is no doubt that we lost a dear colleague and a superior scholar of Buddhist Studies. May his soul rest in peace.

William W. Rockhill 柔克义(1854－1914) on Buddhism

William W. Rockhill 柔克义(1854－1914) is one of the earliest scholars of Buddhism. He has published the following interesting works about Buddhist canon, the life of Buddha, Tibet and China.

Udânavarga: A Collection of Verses from the Buddhist Canon (1883)
Prâtimoksha sutra; ou, Le traité d'émancipation selon la version tibétaine: avec notes et extraits du Dulva (Vinaya)'' (1884)
with Ernst Leumann and Nanjo Bunyu, The Life of the Buddha: And the Early History of His Order'' (1884)
The Land of the Lamas: Notes of a Journey Through China, Mongolia and Tibet (1891) [1] [2]
Explorations in Mongolia and Tibet (1893)
Diary of a Journey Through Mongolia and Thibet in 1891 and 1892 (1894) [3] [4] [5]
Journey through Mongolia and Tibet, 1891 and 1892 (1894)
Notes on the Ethnology of Tibet: Based on the Collections in the U.S. National Museum (1895)
The Journey of William of Rubruck to the Eastern Parts of the World (1900) [6] [7]
with Sarat Chandra Das, Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet (1902)
China's Intercourse with Korea from the XVth Century To 1895 (1905)
Diplomatic Audiences at the Court of China (1905)

The Dalai Lamas of Lhasa and Their Relations with the Manchu Emperors of China. 1644-1908 (1910)
 His biography can be accessed here through Wikipedia and Sogou baike.

Photos from the First International Conference on the Chinese Buddhist Canon, Tucson, 2011

It is great that selected photos from our first international conference on the Chinese Buddhist canon are still online from the College of Humanities page. We did a lot for event planning. But unfortunately the university never kept the original conference website. The opening ceremony and Dr. Lancaster's keynote speech was posted on Youtube and some papers, significantly revised, were published as Spreading Buddha's Word in East Asia.

Kongoji in Koyasan 天野山金剛寺

Photo by Jiang Wu

Photo by Jiang Wu

During our study tour in June 2017, we visited the Shingon temple Amanosan Kongoji 天野山金剛寺 to survey the location where a manuscript canon used to be stored. The temple has a long history and was founded by Emperor Shomu 聖武. It was said Kukai 空海 was trained here as well. The courtyard has a beautiful garden. About four thousand scrolls of manuscript texts are preserved and among them are rare copies. For a short review by OCHIAI Toshinori 落合俊典, see 日本の古寫經と中國佛教文獻 ― 天野山金剛寺藏平安後期寫 『優婆塞五戒經 の成立と流傳を巡って.

天野山金剛寺善本叢刊
Amanosan kongoji zenpon sokan
Author: 後藤昭雄監修. 後藤, 昭雄, 後藤, 昭雄, 仁木, 夏実 中川, 真弓 ; ; Akio Goto; Natsumi Niki; Mayumi Nakagawa
Publisher: 勉誠出版, Benseishuppan.

Photo by Jiang Wu

Photo by Jiang Wu

Conference Report on the Third International Conference on the Chinese Buddhist Canon (English version)

Magnificent Y Mountain at BYU

 The following conference report is going to appear in the May issue of Association of Asian Studies Newsletter.

Conference Report: “The Buddhist Canon in Modern East Asia: the Third International Conference on the Chinese Buddhist Canon”

Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, April 9^th-10^th 2015

            Unexpectedly placed in Provo, Utah, the Third Buddhist Canon Conference was finalization of Prof. Jiang Wu’s claim of having three Buddhist Canon conferences during the first conference back in 2011.  With the splendid mountain scenery in the background, Brent L. Top, Dean of Religious Education at BYU, initiated the proceedings with a welcome address to all the scholars present who came from across the globe to speak about the Buddhist canon.  Being the final conference, the theme of the conference was appropriately the effect of the Buddhist canon on Modern East Asia, showing the timeless presence of the Buddhist canon and the effect of the Buddhist canon across all facets of human society.

            From a socio-political view, participants presented papers on how the Buddhist canon in modern times has acted as a means for social progress, legitimization of a new dynastic government, and value as an economic commodity. In the realm of foreign policy, the Buddhist canon was used as a diplomatic tool to solve disputes and foster cooperative international relations.  Through these diplomatic channels, we see the appearance of the first Chinese canon to reach Europe thanks to diplomatic efforts between Japan and Britain during the latter part of the 19^th century.  These explorations of the Buddhist canon commenced discussions on the Buddhist canon that goes beyond words that are simply written down and printed. 

            The scope of the canon is broadened even further as participants discussed how the canon inspired the creation of new modern forms of Buddhist texts and canons to suit the needs of growing Buddhist communities.  Starting off with discussions on new Buddhist canons, participants examined the formulation of early Zen and Pure Land Buddhist canons.  Moreover, the proliferation of new “Buddhist Bibles” and Korean woodblock rituals evidenced the canon’s reinvention to suit the needs of a modern world while maintaining a connection to pre-modern texts.  From this, the Buddhist canon no longer became a set of antiquated texts, but a living textual tradition that needs to be investigated to discover the canon’s connection to human society as well as a source of comparison with other canonical traditions.

            The conference could not have been so well conducted without the tedious efforts of the conference organizers Greg Wilkinson (Brigham Young University) and Jiang Wu (University of Arizona).  Furthermore, the conference is indebted to Robert M. Gimello (Notre Dame University), who acted as the discussant for the conference, and Lewis Lancaster (University of California at Berkeley), who provided his insight in response to Dr. Jiang Wu’s keynote speech.  Finally the conference would not have been possible without the written contributions of those who presented their academic insight: Gregory Adam Scott (University of Edinburgh), Jessica Xiaomin Zu (Princeton University), Darui Long (University of the West), Richard McBride (BYU Hawaii), Eun-Su Cho (Seoul National University), Charles B. Jones (Catholic University of America), Albert Welter (University of Arizona), Nicholas Frederick (BYU), Jerry Hirano (Buddhist Churches of America), and Tanya Storch (University of the Pacific).

            Lastly, conference organizers would like to thank the generous support from various sponsoring organizations: BYU Religious Education/Religious Studies Center/Office of Religious Outreach, University of Arizona Department of East Asian Studies, BYU Kennedy Center’s Asian Studies Program, BYU College of Humanities, BYU College of Family, Home, and Social Studies, BYU Richard L. Evans Chair of Religious Understanding, BYU Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages, and Su Wukang East Asian Research Fund (University of Arizona).

            Following the soon to be released volume of papers from previous conferences, Spreading Buddha’s Word in East Asia: The Formation and Transformation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon (Columbia University Press, 2016), a second volume is being planned to exhibit the proceedings of this most recent conference.  For further information, please visit http://rsc.byu.edu/bcc or contact buddhistcanonconference@gmail.com.

(Dustin Natte, Department of East Asian Studies, The University of Arizona)

Buddhist canon conference report (Chinese version)

One of the benefits of having graduate students in the conference is to ask them to write conference report as homework. We will have English, Chinese, and Japanese versions. Here is the Chinese version by Ph.D student (Pekin University) Sun Guozhu. This one is published at 佛教在线

"现代东亚视野下的佛教大藏经：第三届汉文大藏经国际会议"召开

2015年04月17日 11:24:00 佛教在线

佛教在线海外讯 阳春有脚，万象更新，美国当地时间 2015年4月9日至10日，一场主题为“现代东亚视野下的佛教大藏经“（the  Buddhist Canon  in Modern East Asia）的学术研讨会，在犹他州普洛佛市杨伯翰大学（Brigham Young University, 以下简称BYU）顺利举行并圆满结束。此次研讨会由Greg Wilkinson 和吴疆教授共同组织策划，BYU宗教教育系主办，亚利桑那大学(以下简称UA)东亚系协办，由BYU宗教研究中心暨宗教推广办公室、BYU东亚研究肯尼迪中心项目、Richard L.Evans宗教理解讲座教席、BYU人文学院、BYU家庭与社会科学学院、 BYU亚洲与近东语言系、UA  苏武康 东亚研究基金共同赞助。

此次会议，收到了十一篇论文，爱丁堡大学（University of Edinburgh）的史瑞戈（Gregory Adam Scott）、普林斯顿大学的祖晓敏 (Jessica  Xiaomin Zu)、西来大学（University of West）的龙达瑞（Darui Long）、BYU夏威夷分校的Richard McBride、首尔国立大学（Seoul National University）的赵恩秀（Eun-Su Cho）、美国天主教大学（the Catholic University of American）的周文广（Charles B.Jones）、亚利桑那大学的魏雅博（Albert Welter）、杨伯翰大学的Greg Wilkinson和Nick Frederick、霍尼韦尔佛寺 (Honeyville Buddhist Temple) 的 Jerry Hirano、太平洋大学（University of the Pacific）的Tanya Storch， 亚利桑那大学的吴疆等专家学者分别做了精彩发言，每一场次由来自圣母大学（University of Notre Dame）的詹密罗（Robert  Gimello）教授点评。这些与会专家学者中有龙达瑞（Darui Long）、Tanya Storch等长期研究大藏经的专家，也有Jessica  Xiaomin Zu有志于研究大藏经的后起之秀，还有来自亚利桑那大学东亚系的五位研究生，预示着欧美学界大藏经研究方兴未艾、健康发展之势。各位专家学者论文或演讲的讨论内容，空间范围涵盖了中国、日本、韩国、美国、欧洲等国家和地区，充分展示了大藏经这一文本载体的复杂社会意涵和深厚文化底蕴；而丰富多彩的讨论题材，深刻体现了西方学界方法多元的学术特点。

除此之外，值得一提的是，此次大藏经会议在各位学者发表论文的间隙，于2015年4月9日上午11点至11点50还特意组织了三场小型讨论，第一组由周文广Charles B. Jones主持，以“美国基督教多元主义”为题；第二组圆桌讨论由Tanya Storch, 赵恩秀Eun-Su Cho以及祖晓敏（Jessica Xiaomin Zu）共同负责，以“妇女在亚洲暨宗教研究”为题；第三组由Carmela  Javellana Hirano主持，以佛教的心理辅导与教育为题。这些充满现实关怀的小组讨论主题吸引了众多听众的踊跃参与。 另外， 4月10日上午11点至12点，吴疆教授在Jesse Knight Building 2107报告厅做了“汉文佛教大藏经研究中若干关键问题 ”的主旨演讲，可以说是此次大藏经会议的点睛之笔。来自加州大学伯克利分校的前西来大学校长兰卡斯特（Lewis Lancaster）教授给予评议，充分肯定了吴疆教授的工作为学界前沿研究，具有重要的学术意义。

据悉，此次会议的组织者吴疆教授业已举办了两次大藏经会议，第一次在亚利桑那州图森 （2011），第二次在洛杉矶西来大学 （2013）。非常难得是，第一次会议论文最终由吴疆教授和加州大学河滨分校贾晋珠(Lucille Chia) 教授 共同编辑，以Spreading Buddha’s Word in East Asia: The Formation and Transformation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon（暂译为：《法宝东渐：汉文佛教大藏经的形成和演变》）为书名，将在2015年底由哥伦比亚大学出版社（Columbia University Press）出版，以飨广大业界同行，网上预售已经开始。其中的意义，诚如斯坦福大学（Stanford University ）柯嘉豪（John kieschnick）教授所言，大藏经作为世界历史上影响深远的文本工程之一，该论文集的研究对于理解其文本和社会两者之间互动的历史做出了巨大贡献。

第三届大藏经国际会议能够在摩门教大本营杨伯翰大学召开，其意义更为深远。在中国，大藏经研究也是专门之学，相关领域的专家屈指可数。吴疆教授以会议为平台，为一批西方学界有志于研究大藏经的专家学者提供了宝贵的交流空间，这不仅有利于确立大藏经研究的独立学术意义，也有助于大藏经研究的专业化发展。

除此之外，大众也可以看到此次大藏经会议在美国多元文化社会中的价值和意义。在中国历史上，“西方”一直是个有趣的文化概念。 张骞凿空西域，玄奘西行取经。明末清初的方以智明确表示要“借远西为郯子”，近现代洋务运动代表人物张之洞更是主张“中体西用”。在全球化的今天，各大文明之间的互动交流显得尤其重要，对话与共生业已成为时代的主题。佛从西方来，然而终在中华大地生根发芽开花结果，佛教在中国的历史，就是冲突、融合、共生的过程。而汉文大藏经就是梵华交流的结晶，充分体现了中华文明共生复合的精神特征；大藏经，作为人类历史上重要的文本工程之一，在现代化信息条件下，获得了大放异彩的又一契机。而概览佛教在西方传播的历史，最初，佛教在欧美是异教徒的形象，而汉传佛教更是堕落退化了的印度佛教。随着全球一体化步伐的加快，佛教逐渐引起西方社会的普遍关注，开始获得对话的资格。现在，美国佛教的发展，在彼此对话的基础上又呈现出相互学习的特点，此次在杨伯翰大学所召开的大藏经会议就是极佳的证明。管中窥豹，可见一斑。此次大藏经会议，作为一面小小的镜子，不仅预示着佛教在西方世界能够健康成长，更能够为其他文明或宗教带来启示和借鉴意义，为世界文化的未来发展开启更多可能。（文：孙国柱）

Pre-order is ready for the Buddhist canon volume: Spreading Buddha's Word in East Asia

“Bringing together leading specialists in the Chinese Buddhist canon, Spreading Buddha’s Word in East Asia makes a major contribution to our understanding of both the textual and the social history of one of the most impressive textual projects in the history of the world.”
—John Kieschnick, Stanford University

FORTHCOMING
Spreading Buddha’s Word in East Asia: The Formation and Transformation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon
Edited by Jiang Wu and Lucille Chia

A monumental work in the history of religion, the history of the book, the study of politics, and bibliographical research, this volume follows the making of the Chinese Buddhist canon from the fourth century to the digital era. Approaching the subject from a historical perspective, the book ties the religious, social, and textual practices of canon formation to the development of East Asian Buddhist culture and opens up the study of Chinese Buddhist texts to readers interested in the evolution of Chinese writing in general and the Confucian and Daoist traditions in particular.
The collection undertakes extensive readings of major scriptural catalogs from the early manuscript era as well as major printed editions, including the Kaibao Canon, Qisha Canon, Goryeo Canon, and Taisho Canon. Contributors add fascinating depth to such understudied issues as the historical process of compilation, textual manipulation, physical production and management, sponsorship, the dissemination of various editions, cultic activities surrounding the canon, and the canon’s reception in different East Asian societies. The Chinese Buddhist canon is one of the most enduring textual traditions in East Asian religion and culture, and through this exhaustive, multifaceted effort, an essential body of work becomes part of a new, versatile narrative of East Asian Buddhism that has farreaching implications for world history.

COLUM B I A UNIVERSITY PR E S S
$75.00/£52.00 cloth · 978-0-231-17160-1
DECEMBER 2015 432 pages · 30 b&w photographs
The Sheng Yen Series in Chinese Buddhist Studies

Spreading Buddha’s Word in East Asia
The Formation and Transformation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon
Edited by Jiang Wu and Lucille Chia

JIANG WU is an associate professor in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona. His research interests include Chinese Buddhism, especially Chan/Zen Buddhism and the Chinese Buddhist canon, Sino-Japanese Buddhist exchanges, and the application of GIS tools in the
study of Chinese culture and religion.

LUCILLE CHIA is professor of history at the University of California at Riverside. Her research interests include Chinese book culture, most recently the history of Buddhist publishing
in imperial China. She is the author of Printing for Profit: The Commercial Publishers of Jianyang, Song-Ming (960-1644) and coeditor of Knowledge and Text Production in an Age of Print: China, 900–1400.

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