Master Shanghong (738?-815 CE) and the Formation of Regional Vinaya Traditions in Tang Buddhism

Abstract

After the An Lushan Rebellion in 755, southern China witnessed the rise of the Vinaya movement. Essential sources on the local southern Vinaya communities include writings by scholar–officials who held posts in the southern prefectures. This paper focuses on two stele inscriptions for the Vinaya Master Shanghong 上宏 (738?-815) composed by the literatus Bai Juyi 白居易 (772-846) and Liu Ke 劉軻 (?-?) during their journeys to Jiangxi. These inscriptions enable us to identify Shanghong as one of the foremost Vinaya authorities in Jiangxi, to trace the dynamics and course of the development of ordination centers there, and to witness the shaping of a local Vinaya community there as part of a larger development of the Vinaya tradition in southern China during the mid-Tang period.