Fǎyuàn Zhūlín Xiàozhù (Complete 6 Volumes)

Author: Tang Dynasty Monk Daoshi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: March 1, 2006
Features: The Gems of the Dharma Grove, compiled by Monk Daoshi of the Tang Dynasty. The highly esteemed Song Dynasty monk Fashuo Daoshi praised this book, describing it as "gathering the essence of the literary garden and inhaling the fragrance of Da Xie's peony, categorizing and compiling it into one hundred chapters. Scholars can easily grasp the key points. It took ten years to complete and was circulated throughout the world. This book was completed in the first year of the Zongzhang era of the Tang Dynasty (668), first recorded in Volume 5 of Da Xuan's Great Tang Buddhist Canon Catalogue, and later included in the Song Dynasty canon. The Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing canons were all in one hundred volumes, except for the Jiaozhou canon, which was revised to one hundred and twenty volumes. The Four Treasuries Catalogue and the Collected Editions of the Four Treasuries were both based on the Jiaozhou edition. However, due to discrepancies with the ancient manuscript volumes and incorrect ordering, disconnected leaves, and fragmented chapters, it was difficult to search. In the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty, the Jiang family of Changshu's Yan Garden published a revised version, restoring it to one hundred volumes. Jiang Mingbei, known as Yan Garden Master, was originally the magistrate of Qian County in Shandong. In the first year of the Xisi era (1821), he was dismissed for an incident, and his concubine Dong Shu resolved to publish this book. They corrected errors and restored the original one hundred volumes. The details are recorded in the preface to the reprinted Gems of the Dharma Grove and the postscript. The current annotations are based on this edition. This book is in the form of a classified compendium. Citations are annotated with sources, identifying them as originating from specific scriptures, decrees, or works. For anecdotes heard or seen without recorded sources, it is clearly stated that they are based on the accounts of certain individuals. The sources are well-documented, not fictional, and strictly adhere to historical methods. As a result, since its inclusion in the Four Treasuries Catalogue, Qing Dynasty scholars have particularly valued this book, and many entries in various collections of books have recorded it.