Research On Wuxuezuyuan, A Monk Of The Song Dynasty Going To Japan

The eastern transmission of Zen played an essential role in the political and cultural history of Japan, e.g. it strengthened the ruling of shogunate, coordinated the relationship between the court and shogunate, exerted great influence on the rising of Japanese Gozan literature, formation and development of sado, ikebana, kendo and bushido and the spread of Zhu Xi's philosophy. During this process, those who counted a lot were Chinese Zen monks, among whom Wuxuezuyuan was a representative. Firstly, as a senior monk going to Japan in the year when the Southern Song came to an end, his activity marked a historical transition. Secondly, he contributed a lot for the Zen to take root in Japan by popularizing the Zen atmosphere of the Song Dynasty and cultivating Japanese students. Lastly, he was actively involved in the literary guidance and creation and left behind a large number of excellent works, which laid a solid foundation for the prosperity of Gozan literature.Based on a careful research and sorting out of relevant materials of Zuyuan, the dissertation explores and analyzes Zuyuan's life stories, thoughts as well as his contributions to and influence on the history of Japanese literature. The whole dissertation consists of 11 chapters in three parts.The first part is a detailed explanation of Sino-Japanese political ties and cultural exchanges before and after Zuyuan going to Japan, including Kublai Khan's envoy dispatching and eastward fights, Sino-Japanese trade contacts and communication between monks in the Song and Yuan Dynasties in order to display a large historic and cultural background for Zuyuan.The second part is a study on the biographies and life stories of Zuyuan. The first chapter explores the origin, features of Zuyuan's biographies and their relationships. The second chapter studies Zuyuan's life stories, in particular, after his moving to Japan. Apart from the commonly-known stories of his being abbot of Kencho-ji and Engaku-ji, it makes a comprehensive and detailed analysis of his cultivating monks and laymen and praying. In addition, the chapter gives an introduction to the legend of Zuyuan going to Japan and expounds on the causes to the legend for the first time. The third chapter probes into the forms and contents of Zuyuan's activities in Japan and his contributions to the spread of Zen in Japan by studying the communication between him and Japanese monks and laymen during his stay in Japan.The third part, the key part of the dissertation, aims to investigate and analyze the works, thoughts and influences of Zuyuan. The first chapter is a study on the compiler, contents, edition of Quotations of Bukoukokushi and its transmission. The second chapter researches the handwritings and cultural relics of Zuyuan collected at present. Based on the correct interpretation of the handwritings, the dissertation rectifies some wrong ideas about his handwritings. The third chapter studies Zuyuan's Zen ideology, Maitreya beliefs, Confucianist ideology and Shinto beliefs. In the first place, it makes a comprehensive and deep discussion of Zuyuan's Zen ideology, explores the influence of Maitreya beliefs on his Zen thoughts once neglected by the world of learning, analyzes the origins and manifestations of his Zen thoughts and expounds on the relations between Zuyuan and traditional Japanese Shinto beliefs. The fourth chapter discusses his influence in the history of Japanese Zen by centering on the clues and inheritance of Zuyuan. The fifth chapter conducts a thorough description of his role and influence in the history of Gozan literature by studying his literary theories and practices, analyzing and researching of his works and making a statistical analysis of the proportion of Bukouha students in the numbers of monks and works of Gozan literature.