Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

The Chongjisa edition of the Baoqieyin Dhāraṇī Sūtra 寶篋印陀羅尼經 (Kr. Bohyeobin gyeong), published in 1007, has received considerable scholarly attention as the oldest extant woodblock printed scripture with a frontispiece. The textual and material features of the Chongjisa edition of the dhāraṇī sūtra have been the subject of many previous studies. Scholars have also pointed out that the Chongjisa edition of the dhāraṇī sūtra bears close affinities with the three Wuyue editions of the same text, each published in the year 956, 965, and 975 under the patronage of Qian Hongchu. Qian Hongchu 錢弘俶 (r. 947-978) was the last king of Wuyue 吳越 (907-978), a kingdom that prospered in the southeast coastal region of China during the political chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. However, little scholarly attention has been paid to the fact that the frontispiece of the Chongjisa edition of the dhāraṇī sūtra is closest to the first Wuyue edition of the dhāraṇī sūtra in terms of visual composition and iconographical motifs. What do these visual affinities between the Chongjisa and the first Wuyue edition indicate in light of the circulation and reception of the Baoqieyin Dhāraṇī Sūtra in East Asia? The primary objectives of this paper are twofold. First of all, I examine the publication and circulation of the three Wuyue editions of the dhāraṇī sūtra against the political and historical landscape of 10th century China and beyond. Secondly, I delve into the issue of Goryeo court’s reception of Wuyue court’s diplomatic gifts, namely the first Wuyue edition of the dhāraṇī sūtra (d. 956) and the bronze miniature stūpa, by taking the political realities of the two countries' courts into consideration. To this end, I first closely compare the frontispieces of the three Wuyue and Chongjisa edition of the dhāraṇī sūtra, and then proceed to analyze relevant textual and archaeological evidence in their historical context. Through this analysis, I showcase that only the first Wuyue edition of the dhāraṇī sūtra was transmitted to Goryeo, and was served as a model for the patron and carver of the Chongjisa edition. The Chongjisa edition of the dhāraṇī sūtra is, I argue, a historical product of an East Asia of the 10th-11th centuries characterized foremost by multi-state proliferation.