"Nine Lotus Sutra" Research

The Nine-lotus Scripture was written in Ming Dynasty.As an early scripture of Chinese folk religion,it is an important material for the study of the innovation and evolution of some folk religions in Ming and Qing Dynasties.From Ming Dynasty.The Nine-lotus Scripture was copied and published until the Republic of China,and its dissemination has never been interrupted.In history,this scripture has had a certain influence on various folk religious sects,and has been absorbed by other sects as their own classics,thus showing a changing trend.For years,some researchers have been paying attention to The Nine-lotus Scripture and published a number of papers on it.In some research monographs on Chinese folk religions,this scripture is also often mentioned and discussed.These researchers’ discussions of The Nine-lotus Scripture were based on one or two versions of its original materials.However,there is no integrated research based on multiple versions of The Nine-lotus Scripture.This article,which consists of seven chapters,is a comprehensive study combining The Praise of Nine Lotuses and The Nine-lotus Scripture.In addition to the first chapter of the introduction and the conclusion of the seventh chapter,the second chapter introduces the collection of various versions of The Nine-lotus Scripture and The Praise of Nine Lotuses,and divides the The Nine-lotus Scripture into two versions as Zhengxin and Zhengxin.The third chapter selects the classic text of The Nine-lotus Scripture to show the basic structure and the expression of The Nine-lotus Scripture.The fourth chapter focuses on the time and author of The Praise of Nine Lotuses,pointing out that The Nine-lotus Scripture was written by Li Bin,the creator of Huang Tian Teaching in Jiajing years of Ming Dynasty,and the author of The Praise of Nine Lotuses is its ninth hierarch Pujing.On the basis of textualizing,sorting and comparison,the fifth chapter compares the items and contents of the two versions of Zhengxin and Zhengxing.The sixth chapter combs the differences among Zhengxin versions then analyzes their spread and evolution,and finds out some other editions of The Nine-lotus Scripture like Huang TianTeaching,Jin Dan Teaching and Gui Gen Teaching,which makes the connotation of The Nine-lotus Scripture further enriched.