| Uniform title | Xuedou bai ze song gu. English |
| Contents |
Part I. Background: 1. Historical and Rhetorical Foundations of Xuedou's 100 Odes -- 2. On Reading the Text -- Part II. The Text: 3. A Translation of Xuedou's 100 Odes with Interpretative Comments -- Selected Bibliography -- Index. |
| Abstract |
"This book is a complete translation with my interpretative comments of the eloquent yet enigmatic verses commenting on one hundred cases composed in 1038 by the master Xuedou Chongxian (980-1052). A representative of the Yunmen branch of Chan that he helped revive and bring to prominence during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127), before its impact declined with the fall of the capital in Kaifeng, Xuedou demonstrates a unique literary flair for explicating gong'an that is evident in numerous writings included in his recorded sayings. In particular, Xuedou's 100 Odes to Old Cases (,C. Xuedou baize songgu, J. SetchÅ hyakusoku juko) is recognized as the seminal discourse that has greatly influenced the way stories of former teachers (guze) have been appreciated and appropriated for the past thousand years. This text, which became the basis for the Blue Cliff Record that is also cited in my translations, continues to exert a profound impact on the overall legacy of East Asian Buddhist intellectual history and religious literature. Xuedou's verses reflect the author's unique capacity for taming through elegance the undisciplined and deluded minds of followers struggling with self-imposed obstacles to discern reality and thereby discover inner peace. He cites extensively multiple Chan sources, uses extensively irregular meter to disrupt the reader's expectations, and evokes unusual allusions to Chinese lore while often interjecting personal comments or lyrical imagery that goes beyond a reliance on doctrine"-- Provided by publisher. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages [265]-270) and index. |
| Access restriction | Available only to authorized users. |
| Technical details | Mode of access: World Wide Web |
| Genre/form | Electronic books. |
| LCCN | 2023040363 |
| ISBN | 9780197676998 (paperback) |
| ISBN | 9780197676561 (hardback) |
| ISBN | (epub) |
