The Meaning of Golden Scriptures : From Six Dynasties Period in China to Heian Period in Japan

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  • 金字經の思想的系譜 : 中國六朝期から日本平安期まで
  • キンジケイ ノ シソウテキ ケイフ : チュウゴク リクチョウキ カラ ニホン ヘイアンキ マデ
  • 金字経の思想的系譜 : 中国六朝期から日本平安期まで

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Abstract

Golden scriptures made of gold pigment and dark colored paper were originally made in China, and introduced into Korea and Japan later. According to some old history books, the earliest golden scriptures in China were made by members of the royal family of the northern Wei 北魏 in the early 6th century. Their golden scriptures expressed the nobility of scriptures and their owners. In the 530's-540's, Xiao Yan 蕭衍, emperor of the southern Liang dynasty, made golden manuscripts of the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom 摩訶般若波羅蜜經, which he used to give four lectures. His lectures with golden scriptures were imported into a series of ceremonies like Shidian 釋奠. Furthermore, the purpose of his lectures was to reproduce the story of Sadāprarudita 薩陀波崙 and Dharmodgata 曇無竭. In the 550's, worrying about the Latter Day of the Law 末法, Nanyue Huisi 南嶽彗思 made golden manuscripts of the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom and the Lotus sutra 妙法蓮華經. His golden scriptures were based on the idea that gold is a symbol of eternity. Golden scriptures actually are rather fragile, but were considered to be everlasting just as were stone scriptures. Golden scriptures and the way to make them were imported to Japan as early as the 8th century. In the 11th century, the idea of the Latter Day of the Law increased in Japan. Fujiwara Michinaga 藤原道長, who like Huisi used gold to symbolize eternity, made golden manuscripts of some sutras and buried them in the ground at Kimpusen 金峯山. As described above, in those days, golden scriptures were not only decoration, but also the reproduction of the story of the bodhisattvas and were symbols of eternity.

Journal

  • 東方學報

    東方學報 88 151-187, 2013-12-20

    Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University

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