(Daily 1 "Chinese Cultural Historical Sites", No. 1090) The Great Tibetan Sutra is one of the important contents of Buddhist historical sites. In the 1920s, scholars went to Shandong Lingyan Temple to investigate cultural relics, but they were confused by a stele and plaque: the inscription showed that the Dazang Sutra was invited to "Puning Temple Dazang Sutra (i.e., Puning Tibetan)", but why is the plaque and the inscription on the head of the stele "Longzang"?
(The red box text is "Dayuan" and "Longzang", part of the Chronicle of the Dragon Collection of the Lingyan Zen Temple of Taishan, Dayuan, which was extended to the Lingyan Temple in Shandong in the 1920s)
Let's first look at the contents of the inscription. According to the 1941 "Chinese Cultural Historical Sites" (Honsho's "Atlas of China's Scenic Spots and Monuments in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China"), the inscription is "The Chronicle of the Dragon Collection of the Lingyan Zen Temple of Dayuan Taishan", and the stone stele was erected by Dehui in the first year of the Zhengzheng Dynasty (1341), written by Zhang Qiyan, the serving of the Doctor, and the book of Zhang Mi of the Zhongfeng Dafu.
So, why is it determined in the inscription that the Great Tibetan Scripture invited at that time was the Puning Collection of the Yuan Dynasty? According to the 1941 "Historical Sites of Chinese Culture" (Honshe's "Atlas of China's Scenic Spots and Monuments in the Late Qing Dynasty"), by the 24th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1287), the 30th abbot Baofeng Shun Zen Master believed that Lingyan Temple, as a famous mountain, should receive Tibetan scriptures that were useful for teaching and chanting, and Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian had such sutra plates. Zen master Baofeng shun therefore sent Ti Dian Guang to Hangzhou. At this time, the Great Tibetan Scripture of Puning Temple had been completed, so Ti Dianguang bought it and returned to Lingyan Temple in the 26th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1289) and placed it in the Hall of Five Flowers.
Since it is "Puning Zang", how did the "Long Zang" plaque in the inscription come from? According to the 1941 "Historical Sites of Chinese Culture" (Honsha's "Atlas of China's Scenic Spots and Monuments in the Late Qing Dynasty"), forty-five years later, in the first year of the Yuan Dynasty (1335), the thirty-ninth abbot of the Temple of Theo Zen Master wanted to build the outer three gates, so he gathered materials and gathered manpower. However, due to his quick visit to the Shaolin Temple, the successor abbot, Master Yan Hui, suspended the plan to build the Three Gates, but instead used the materials collected and the large amount of alms received to build a magnificent Tibetan Scripture Hall from the second year of the Yuan Dynasty to the sixth year of the Yuan Dynasty, with a plaque entitled "Dragon Collection", and asked Zhang Qiyan to record this process. According to the records of the eighteenth volume of the "Taishan Chronicle", "Lingyan Temple Tidian Guanggong Shou Monument", it can be known that by the twenty-sixth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1360), Puning Temple completed the Great Tibetan Scripture, and Ti dian Guang bought it in the same year. It is also mentioned that Shi'an Isan was a teacher of the Japanese Shao Yuan, and the Stele written by Shao Yuan is now preserved in the Shaolin Temple. According to the "Records of Taishan Daoli", the west side of the Panzhou Hall is the Pagoda of The Branch, and further west is the Hall of The Tibetan Scriptures.
It can be seen that the Great Tibetan Scripture invited at that time was indeed the Puning Collection from the Yuan to the First Yuan, and the "Dragon Collection" inscribed on the plaque at that time should be accidental. It has nothing to do with the Great Tibetan Classics (also known as "Dragon Collection") during the Qianlong period. After the Yuan Dynasty did not have the foresight, there would be a dynasty called the Qing Dynasty, and there would be an emperor named Qianlong.
So, is the current Tibetan scripture still in Lingyan Temple? It was gone in the 1920s. According to the 1941 "Historical Sites of Chinese Culture" (Honsha's "Atlas of China's Scenic Spots and Monuments in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China"), the Tibetan Scripture Hall is no longer there. Among the weeds and rocks, only this stele is still erected there, and the Tibetan Scripture Hall was destroyed by fire in the fourteenth year of Qianlong (1749).
Perhaps it is also a coincidence that the "Puning Zang" Scripture Building, which was written in the Yuan Dynasty, was finally destroyed by fire during the Qianlong period of the Imperial Qing Dynasty.
Thank you for your impetuous headlines, pay attention to our unpopular cultural relics academic articles (in order to adapt to the internet reading volume, I had to slightly bow to the title party, too serious may read the amount of reading is in the single digits. We've done over 1000 issues). May you reap the rewards, Daan.