Island of Guanyin : Mount Putuo and Its Gazetteers

Among Chinese religious sites, Mount Putuo, the "Island of Guanyin," stands out as a fascinating embodiment of China's vibrant Buddhist tradition. A small island in the East China Sea, it has been the single most important pilgrimage site for the worship of Guanyin, the beloved Bodhisattva of Compassion, who is venerated from Sri Lanka to Japan. Attracting thousands of visitors every year, the site has accumulated a multi-layered historical record, as it appears in different lights in poems, biographies, maps, and legends across the centuries. From its foundation in Mahayana Buddhist scriptures to its descriptions in local histories known as "gazetteers," Mount Putuo's distinctive profile makes it an abiding landmark throughout the checkered history of Chinese Buddhism. This book, the first monograph on Mount Putuo in any language, follows the structure of a gazetteer as it presents important texts about this sacred site, which are here translated for the first time, groups them according to the individual genres found in the gazetteers, and analyzes their function. This brings out the full meaning of the texts against their historical, geographical, and religious contexts, producing a panoramic view of Mount Putuo through the lens of its textual heritage. Revealing the dense fabric of one deep-rooted devotional tradition, the book will be of interest to all students of Asian Buddhism. 'island Of Guanyin' Explores How Mount Putuo, One Of The Most Popular Buddhist Sites In China, Has Been Depicted In A Particular Genre - The Temple Or Mountain Gazetteer. Machine Generated Contents Note: Site And Its Gazetteers -- Historical Overview -- Ch. 1 We Confucians -- Prefaces And Postscripts -- Exhibit 1 We Confucians -- Exhibit 2 Buddhist Rhetoric Toward Confucianism -- Exhibit 3 Late Ming Revival Of Mount Putuo As Hidden In Prefaces And Postscripts -- Exhibit 4 Yang Yongjian On Confucianism, Buddhism, And Death (c. 1698) -- Conclusion -- Ch. 2 Landscape And Map -- Visual Representations Of Mount Putuo -- Exhibit 1 Earliest Map Of Mount Putuo (c. 1350) -- Exhibit 2 Maps In The Hou-tu Gazetteer (1590) -- Exhibit 3 Twelve Views Of Putuo In The Qiu-zhu Gazetteer (c. 1705) -- Conclusion -- Ch. 3 Foundation Legends And Miracle Tales -- Exhibit 1 Origins -- Exhibit 2 Apparitions Of Guanyin At The Tidal Sound Cave -- Exhibit 3 Miraculous Recovery Of Mr. Wang -- Exhibit 4 Zhu Jin On Apparitions (c. 1700) -- Conclusion -- Ch. 4 Elements Of Landscape: Stay, Copy, Move, And Vanish -- Exhibit 1 Stay -- The Tidal Sound Cave -- Exhibit 2 Copy -- Fayu Temple And Brahma Voice Cave -- Exhibit 3 Move And Vanish -- The Sudhana Cave -- Conclusion -- Ch. 5 People, Biographies -- Exhibit 1 Zhenxie Qingliao (1088 -- 1151) As First Abbot Of Mount Putuo -- Exhibit 2 Huang Dalai (d. 1690) And Lan Li (1649 -- 1720) As Patrons Of The Early Qing Revival -- Exhibit 3 Yitang Xinming (1655 -- 1745) And Bie'an Xingtong (1661 -- 1717) As Favored By The Kangxi Emperor -- Conclusion -- Ch. 6 Inscriptions -- Exhibit 1 Shi Hao's Verse Inscription On A Vision Of Guanyin(1148 Ce) -- Exhibit 2 Zhou Yingbin's Inscription For The Three Masters Of The Inner Palace (c. 1607) -- Exhibit 3 Kangxi's Inscription For The Fayu Temple On Mount Putuo In The Southern Sea (1704) -- Exhibit 4 Sun Yat-sen: An Unexpected Event On Mount Putuo (1916) -- Conclusion -- Ch. 7 Poetic Landscape Of Mount Putuo -- Exhibit 1 Three Poems By Wu Lai (c. 1324) -- Exhibit 2 Tu Long's Twelve Famous Views Of Mount Putuo (c. 1589) -- Exhibit 3 Zhou Yingbin's Poem For Abbot Rujiong (1607) -- Exhibit 4 Twelve Views In Zhu Defeng's The Famous Sights Of Putuo (1830) -- Conclusion -- Ch. 8 Travelers And Pilgrims -- Exhibit 1 Xu Jing's Route Book Of The Embassy Sent To Koryo In The Xuanhe Era (1123) -- Exhibit 2 Hou Jigao's An Account Of A Journey To Mount Putuo (1588) -- Exhibit 3 Xiancheng's Knowing The Paths Of Pilgrimage (1826) -- Conclusion -- Conclusion -- Things Learned -- Things Obscured. Marcus Bingenheimer. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents List of Figures Acknowledgments Introduction The Site and Its Gazetteers Historical Overview Chapter 1 “We Confucians”—Prefaces and Postscripts Exhibit 1: We Confucians Exhibit 2: Buddhist Rhetoric Toward Confucianism Exhibit 3: The Late Ming Revival of Mount Putuo as Hidden in Prefaces and Postscripts Exhibit 4: Yang Yongjian on Confucianism, Buddhism, and Death (c. 1698) Conclusion Chapter 2 Landscape and Map—Visual Representations of Mount Putuo Exhibit 1: The Earliest Map of Mount Putuo (c. 1350) Exhibit 2: The Maps in the Hou-Tu Gazetteer (1590) Exhibit 3: The “Twelve Views of Putuo” in the Qiu-Zhu Gazetteer (c. 1705) Conclusion Chapter 3 Foundation Legends and Miracle Tales Exhibit 1: Origins Exhibit 2: Apparitions of Guanyin at the Tidal Sound Cave Exhibit 3: The Miraculous Recovery of Mr. Wang Exhibit 4: Zhu Jin “On Apparitions” (c. 1700) Conclusion Chapter 4 Elements of Landscape: Stay, Copy, Move, and Vanish Exhibit 1: Stay—The Tidal Sound Cave Exhibit 2: Copy—Fayu Temple and Brahma Voice Cave Exhibit 3: Move and Vanish—The Sudhana Cave Conclusion Chapter 5 People, Biographies Exhibit 1: Zhenxie Qingliao (1088–1151) as First Abbot of Mount Putuo Exhibit 2: Huang Dalai (d. 1690) and Lan Li (1649–1720) as Patrons of the Early Qing Revival Exhibit 3: Yitang Xinming (1655–1745) and Bie’an Xingtong (1661–1717) as Favored by the Kangxi Emperor Conclusion Chapter 6 Inscriptions Exhibit 1: Shi Hao’s Verse Inscription on a Vision of Guanyin (1148 CE) Exhibit 2: Zhou Yingbin’s Inscription for the “Three Masters of the Inner Palace” (c. 1607) Exhibit 3: Kangxi’s Inscription “For the Fayu Temple on Mount Putuo in the Southern Sea” (1704) Exhibit 4: Sun Yat-sen: “An Unexpected Event on Mount Putuo” (1916) Conclusion Chapter 7 The Poetic Landscape of Mount Putuo Exhibit 1: Three Poems by Wu Lai (c. 1324) Exhibit 2: Tu Long’s “Twelve Famous Views of Mount Putuo” (c. 1589) Exhibit 3: Zhou Yingbin’s Poem for Abbot Rujiong (1607) Exhibit 4: The Twelve Views in Zhu Defeng’s “The Famous Sights of Putuo” (1830) Conclusion Chapter 8 Travelers and Pilgrims Exhibit 1: Xu Jing’s “Route Book of the Embassy sent to Koryō in the Xuanhe Era” (1123) Exhibit 2: Hou Jigao’s “An Account of a Journey to Mount Putuo” (1588) Exhibit 3: Xiancheng’s “Knowing the Paths of Pilgrimage” (1826) Conclusion Conclusion Things Learned Things Obscured Conventions and Abbreviations Notes Bibliography Index Island of Guanyin is the first book in English about Mount Putuo, one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in China. Over the centuries, poems, biographies, maps, and legends about Mount Putuo, as well as descriptions of its landscape and temples, have been collected in a series of local histories known as "gazetteers."