Two Precious Scroll Narratives of Guanyin and Her ... - Khamkoo
Two Precious Scroll Narratives of Guanyin and Her ... - Khamkoo
Two Precious Scroll Narratives of Guanyin and Her ... - Khamkoo
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2 Introduction<br />
twelfth century. As the legend was taken up in various genres <strong>of</strong> literature,<br />
from formal biographies to plays <strong>and</strong> novels, it adapted itself<br />
to the changing dem<strong>and</strong>s <strong>of</strong> place <strong>and</strong> time. 3 The most popular<br />
version <strong>of</strong> the legend <strong>of</strong> the miraculous life <strong>of</strong> the saintly Princess<br />
Miaoshan, however, was a version titled The <strong>Precious</strong> <strong>Scroll</strong> <strong>of</strong> Incense<br />
Mountain (Xiangshan baojuan). Intended for performance,<br />
the story in this version is told in an alternation <strong>of</strong> prose <strong>and</strong> verse.<br />
While the earliest external reference to this text dates only from the<br />
early sixteenth century, <strong>and</strong> its earliest preserved printing only<br />
to 1773, its history may perhaps be traced back as far as the twelfth<br />
century. 4 The text circulated both in a more elaborate version <strong>and</strong><br />
in a later, shorter version. This monograph <strong>of</strong>fers an annotated<br />
translation <strong>of</strong> The <strong>Precious</strong> <strong>Scroll</strong> <strong>of</strong> Incense Mountain based on<br />
this later, shorter version <strong>of</strong> the text, which circulated widely<br />
among <strong>Guanyin</strong>’s devotees in the second part <strong>of</strong> the nineteenth <strong>and</strong><br />
the first half <strong>of</strong> the twentieth century <strong>and</strong> is known through many<br />
printings. The <strong>Precious</strong> <strong>Scroll</strong> <strong>of</strong> Incense Mountain is both an important<br />
document in the history <strong>of</strong> Chinese popular Buddhism that<br />
provides important insights into images <strong>of</strong> the religious experience<br />
<strong>of</strong> women <strong>and</strong> also a powerful <strong>and</strong> moving work <strong>of</strong> literature that<br />
merits wider exposure.<br />
On the frontispiece <strong>of</strong> the 1773 edition <strong>of</strong> The <strong>Precious</strong> <strong>Scroll</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
Incense Mountain, however, <strong>Guanyin</strong> is not portrayed as Princess<br />
Miaoshan. While her legend was the most popular tale explaining<br />
<strong>Guanyin</strong>’s female nature, Miaoshan as such did not become an important<br />
subject in Buddhist religious art. 5 The female <strong>Guanyin</strong> was<br />
more widely venerated in the forms <strong>of</strong> the White-robed <strong>Guanyin</strong> or<br />
the <strong>Guanyin</strong> <strong>of</strong> the Southern Sea, <strong>and</strong> in later popular iconography<br />
these images became fused. Accordingly, the frontispiece depicts a<br />
White-robed <strong>Guanyin</strong>, seated on Potalaka Rock. She is placed in<br />
front <strong>of</strong> a bamboo grove, which is depicted in the upper right-h<strong>and</strong><br />
corner. Above her, to the left, flies her white parrot, while Good-in-<br />
Talent (Shancai, Sudhana) <strong>and</strong> Dragon Girl (Longnü, Nāgakanyā)<br />
are shown in the lower left <strong>and</strong> right corners respectively. 6 The<br />
story <strong>of</strong> how the bodhisattva <strong>Guanyin</strong> acquired these three disciples<br />
is narrated in the second text translated here, The <strong>Precious</strong> <strong>Scroll</strong> <strong>of</strong><br />
Good-in-Talent <strong>and</strong> Dragon Girl (Shancai longnü baojuan), a relatively<br />
short prosimetric text that may date from the eighteenth or<br />
nineteenth century.<br />
The <strong>Precious</strong> <strong>Scroll</strong> <strong>of</strong> Incense Mountain is very much con-