Regional interactions in the Chan Buddhist literature between Sichuan and Zhejiang in the Northern and Southern Song periods—Centering on the phenomena of “Sichuan Monks as Laju” and “Zhejiang Monks as Xiaosa”

Abstract

Abstract In the history of Chan Buddhism, a special phenomenon emerged during the Song dynasty, wherein many Chan monks from Sichuan traveled downstream to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangzi River. Particularly during the Southern Song, Sichuan monks who went to Zhejiang enjoyed preeminent social status and brought political influence, giving rise to a situation in which Sichuan monks and Zhejiang monks were labeled as laju (“indecorous”) and xiaosa (‘unconstrained’), respectively, in Chan literature. From the perspective of regional literary interactions, the “indecorous” Sichuan monks were chiefly presented as having a fondness for beauty, curiosity, comedy, and humor, with a deep understanding of the nature of knowledge and language, all of which had an important influence on Zhejiang monks. The “unconstrained” Zhejiang monks, on the other hand, were described as having a fondness for using the word qing (“clear, pure”) or a “clear” style in the Buddhist landscape theme poetry, which likewise had a profound influence on Sichuan monks after their arrival in Zhejiang. Therefore, it was in the Southern Song capital Hangzhou in Zhejiang, where a new stage was set for literary interactions between Sichuan and Zhejiang monks in the Northern and Southern Song periods.