Eastern Spread Of Buddhist Books:Cultural Communication Between Song Dynasty And Japan

Eastern spread of Buddhist books was an important part of the cultural communication between Song Dynasty and Japan,and promoted the spread and evolution of Buddhism in Japan.It mainly included Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures,writings of Buddhist scriptures and a small number of Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures.Among Chinese translation of Buddhist scriptures esoteric classics were one of the top concerns and greatest needs for monks came to China.This was in line with the prevalence of esoteric Buddhism in Japanese society.The eastern spread of writings of Buddhist scriptures was closely related to the development of Japanese Buddhism,it also reflected Japan's phased demand for Buddhist books.During the Northern Song Dynasty,Tiantai religious codes constituted the majority.In the Southern Song Dynasty period,the number of Zen Buddhist scriptures began to increase greatly.At the same time,there were also the Eastern Passages of the religious scriptures such as Vinaya and Huayan.The Japanese monks who came to China in the Song Dynasty were the main communicator of the exchange of books.The collection of Buddhist scriptures by these monks in the Song Dynasty directly influenced the overall situation of the eastern spread of Buddhist books.In the Song Dynasty,the main way of the Buddhist books passing to the East was based on the personal search of Japanese monks,followed by royal gifts and the transfer of Japanese monks.The personal search of the Japanese monks mainly included donation,purchase,transcription and imprinting.Compared with the Tang Dynasty,engraving Buddha's book was a new way in search of Buddha's books,which was inseparable from the development of engraving technology in the Song Dynasty.Japanese monks' reading and learning of Buddhist scriptures in the Song Dynasty was an important way to learn and search for the Song Dynasty Buddhist scriptures,and it was also a form in which the Japanese monks used themselves as a medium to spread Buddhism.The Japanese monks' needs for the study of Buddhist books and Dharma in the Song Dynasty,also reflecting the needs of the Japanese Buddhist and ruling classes for the Song Dynasty culture.The Chinese monks and Japanese monks of the Song Dynasty to the Japanese used eastern Buddhist books to conduct lectures.The oral communication became another important way f'or the Dharma to spread to the East,and promoted the Social acceptance and dissemination of Buddhism in Japan.The search path and collection place of the Eastern Buddhist Books were the specific spatial information that constituted the eastern spread of books between two countries.The Song Dynasty's Bianjing,Tiantai,Hangzhou,and Mingzhou,as well as Japan's Taizaifu,Kyoto,and Kamakura,were important space nodes for the eastern spread of Buddhist books in these two countries.The changes in the activities of the Japanese monks in the Song Dynasty not only affected the collection and acquisition of the Eastern Buddhism books,but also reflected the spatial changes in the Buddhist cultural exchanges between two countries.The collection place of the Eastern Buddhist Books and formation of the Dharma's^spread space,not only depends on the Japanese court's attention,but also benefit from the geographic advantage and cultural tradition of the spread place.