9

Jiang Zhiqi and the Miaoshan Legend:

A Case Study of the Roles Played by Laymen in
Constructing Buddhist Sacred Sites in Medieval China
Jinhua Chen

Introduction
Of the multitude of stories and legends about Avalokitevara (generally
known as Guanshiyin , or simply Guanyin ) and his (or her)
various incarnations in medieval China, perhaps none is more dramatic, occasionally even macabre, than the Miaoshan legend. This legend has
Avalokitevara incarnated as the youngest daughter of a cruel, unfaithful
sovereign called Miao Zhuangyan . She grows up to be pretty, gentle
and gracious, but Miaoshan shows no interest in pursuing fame, riches and
power in the secular world. When pressed to take a husband, she declares to
her father the king that she will agree to do so only if she can be convinced
that marriage is the antidote to the sufferings caused by three fundamental
problems: old age, illness, and death. Having failed to convince his usually obedient daughter, the proud king loses his temper and orders her to
be imprisoned. But no loss of freedom, food or drink can change the young
princesss mind. The king switches to a new strategy and places her in the
custody of a nunnery. He orders the princess to be given the heaviest possible chores, in the hope that she will succumb to the burden of labour and the
tough living conditions. This plan fails too. With the assistance of supernatural agents, the princess finishes her tasks easily, and even more amazingly,
her presence is accompanied by miracleslike vegetables that flourish in
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the depths of winter or a spring that wells up right beside the kitchen where
she executes her daily chores. The report of her feats embarrasses and enrages the king so much that he orders the nunnery to be burned down and all
of its inhabitants, including his own daughter, to be executed. But it is only
a manifestation of the princess who suffers this fate; the real Miaoshan escapes the indiscriminate slaughter by flying to a temple called Xiangshansi
in Ruzhou (in present-day Pingdingshan , Henan).
Unaware of all this, the king starts to enjoy a life without the shadow of a defiant daughter, until one day he finds to his dread that he has contracted jaundice.
A monk-physician appears from nowhere with the prescription that this acute
disease can only be cured by a mixture of human eyes and arms offered by someone of their own free will. Deeming it impossible to find such a self-sacrificing
volunteer, the king despairs. Advised that a bodhisattva living at Xiangshansi
might agree to offer the necessary parts, the king hurries to dispatch an envoy
to fetch the unique medicine. Sure enough, a woman at that temple begrudges
nothing in sacrificing her own eyes and arms. After he recovers, the king learns
that the woman who has rescued him with such selflessness is none other than
his own daughter whom he intended to torture, or even to kill. Devastated, deeply ashamed and penitent, the king is converted to Buddhism. Eyes and arms
are subsequently miraculously restored to the disfigured Miaoshan, and to the
astonishment of the king and all of his entourage, the princess is further revealed
to be Avalokitevara with one thousand eyes and arms.1
Since Glen Dudbridge published his monograph thirty years ago, the
Miaoshan legend has attracted sustained attention from scholars worldwide.
Y Chn-fangs recent study, included in her book on the Guanyin cult, has
elevated our understanding of this intriguing tale to a new level. However, to
the best of my knowledge, no serious attention has yet been paid to the life of
Jiang Zhiqi (10311104), whose memorial inscription of 1099 constitutes the earliest source for the Miaoshan legend and who therefore must
be taken as a chief architect for the formation of the Guanyin-Miaoshan cult
during the Song dynasty (9601279).
This small essay is intended to fill this lacuna. It begins with a reconstruction of Jiang Zhiqis life on the basis of his major biographical sources; then, it
proceeds to examine some traces of evidence that reveal Jiangs interaction with
the contemporary sagha. The essay ends with a brief look at how this historical and biographical study might shed new light on some aspects of the social
and religious dynamism underlying Jiang Zhiqis involvement in the creation
and promotion of the Miaoshan legend. Jiang Zhiqis work, as we shall see, was
ultimately to exert an extraordinary influence on the religious life of Song and
post-Song people, particularly as part of the complex program of locating and
localizing an Indian bodhisattva in the land of the Central Kingdom.
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Biography2
Jiang Zhiqi, style name Yingshu , was a native of Yixing in
Changzhou . He was recruited into the civil service thanks to the protection privilege (yin ) deriving from his paternal uncle Jiang Tang
(9801054), a famed poet and calligrapher who had once served in the
Bureau of Military Affairs (Shumiyuan ), in the capacity of an auxiliary academician (zhixueshi ).3 Promoted to be metropolitan graduate
with honours (zhuo jinshi di ), he passed the exams in the specialty
of the three commentaries on Chunqiu ; that is, those commentaries
attributed to Zuo Qiuming (556 BC451 BC), Gongyang Gao
, and Guliang Chi . He then became an erudite of the Court of
Imperial Sacrifices (taichang boshi ). He was also recommended
( ju ) as a candidate for the Worthy and Excellent, Straightforward and
Upright (xianliang fangzheng ), someone who was appointed or
promoted on the basis of guaranteed recommendation from eminent officials
and success in subsequent special examination (zhike ) presided over
by the Emperor.4 He passed the exams on the six treatises (liulun ).
In the oral test on current topics in civil examinations (duice ), he was
given some questions related to the lost classics (). After being
submitted, his examination answers were highly appreciated by Emperor
Yingzong (r. 106367), who promoted him to be an investigating censor ( jiancha yushi ).
After Shenzong (r. 106785) came to throne, Jiang was reappointed
as a palace censor (dianzhong shiyushi ). He then submitted a
memorial on the necessity of the emperor exercising particular prudence
in the following five areas: first, the promotion of the loyal and worthy (
); second, the dismissal of the vicious and immoral (); third,
heeding the remonstrances [of loyal officials] (); fourth, keeping
the emperors favourites at a distance (); and finally, preventing
interference from imperial consorts (). After reading the memorial, Shenzong said, Cases of irregular appointments (xiefeng ) or
ink-edicts (mochi )5 will never happen under my reign. As for your
admonishment regarding favourites, it is as Mencius said, one should judge
those who have come to court from abroad by the hosts they choose.6 Jiang
Zhiqi replied, If your Majesty is able to see [lit. to say] this, there is no point
in my worrying that the world will not be ruled in proper order.
Previously, Jiang Zhiqi was highly regarded by Ouyang Xiu
(10071072). After he failed the Special Examination (zhike )that
is, the civil service recruitment examinations irregularly given by decree,7 designed to seek out extraordinarily talented men within or without
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the ranks of the servicehe went to visit Ouyang and strongly praised the
merit of his position on the bitter controversy that was then under way on
an apparently absurd question; that is, how Yingzong should address his
own deceased father, as father or uncle. As a son of Prince Pu Zhao
Yunrang (9951059), Yingzong inherited the throne as the adopted
son of his uncle Renzong (r. 102263) who was a younger brother of Zhao
Yunrang. Thus, a group of court officials headed by Sima Guang
(101986) insisted that Yingzong should consider Renzong alone to be his
father and, accordingly, that his birth father Prince Pu should be treated as
Emperor Yingzongs uncle. The other group, represented by Ouyang Xiu,
contended that it was natural that Yingzong should call his own birth father
father. As the core of this controversy was Prince Pu, it is known to history as puyi . After he was appointed censor at the recommendation
of Ouyang Xiu, Jiang began to worry that he was not welcome among the
bureaucrat-scholars, most of whom were irritated by Ouyangs position on
the issue of Prince Pu.
In 1067, Xue Liangru (101863), a younger cousin of Ouyang
Xius wife, who harbored animosity against him because of the aloofness that
he had shown to Xue during his moment of political crisis, accused Ouyang
of having an illicit relationship with his own daughter-in-law. Seizing upon
this opportunity, Jiang Zhiqi impeached Ouyang Xiu. Shenzong ordered the
Secretariat (Zhongshu ) to undertake further investigation. The investigation revealed the groundless nature of this accusation. As a result, Jiang
was demoted to supervise alcohol taxation in Daozhou (present-day
Daoxian , Hubei Province), although the government agreed that he
could keep his official title. After reaching Daozhou, he sent a memorial,
mournfully begging the imperial pardon. Taking pity on Jiang because of
his aged mother, Shenzong relocated him to Xuanzhou , present-day
Xuancheng in Anhui, where he still supervised the collection of alcohol taxes.
When Wang Anshis (102186) New Policies (xinfa )
were enforced, Jiang acted as an administrative assistant (panguan )
in the Tax Transport Bureau (Zhuanyun ), one of the three principal
agencies in the State Finance Commission (sansi ), in the Fujian
Circuit. At the time, the policy of excusing people from conscription (mianyi
fa []) was not properly implemented in various circuits. Jiang Zhiqi
proposed to simplify the fees for renting transportation vehicles by charging
the people on the basis of the transportation fees. His method was praised for
its simplicity and feasibility. He was then promoted to be the vice-director
( fushi ) of the Tax Transport Bureau. It was a year of famine, forcing
many people to become refugees. Jiang hired the refugees to repair the water
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conservation system so that they found a means of livelihood. This resulted

in quite a few massive irrigation projects, the largest of which was the thirtysix reservoirs in Tianchang of Yangzhou , and the three horizontal
or slanting drainage ditches in Linhuan of Suzhou , present-day
Suzhou in Anhui. More than one million people were employed, and
over nine thousand acres of agricultural land were irrigated; the people who
survived thanks to these projects numbered eighty-four thousand.
Jiang successively acted as the vice-director (of the Tax Transport
Bureau) in Jiangxi , Hebei , and Shaanxi . During his term
in Shaanxi, the revenues he was able to collect were so abundant that by the
time he left his office, there was a surplus of over eighty thousand strings of
cash. The supply of rice he collected for the border army was sufficient for
two years. He was then relocated to Huainan , and promoted to be the
vice supply commissioner of Jiangxi, Huainan, Jingzhou, and Zhejiang, in
charge of the forwarding to the dynastic capital of taxes and revenues from
state monopolies, the operation of local storage granaries and relief granaries, and agricultural development activities.
In 1083, when the transport grains were sent to the capital, the government found that it exceeded the usual quota by six million, two hundred
thousand dan. As a part of the reward for his brilliant performance, Jiang
was bestowed the robe of a third-rank official. At his proposal, a new canal
was dug, which, by connecting the eastern side of Mount Gui and
Hongze , was said to have spared the boatmen working for the national
system of waterways transport the danger of crossing the River Huai. He was
promoted by two ranks because of this achievement. He was appointed as
an auxiliary academician of the Dragon Diagram Hall (Longtuge ),
which was established between 1008 and 1016 to house official documents
from the second reign of the Song (i.e., under Taizong [r. 97697]);
and was promoted to be the Transport Commissioner. In the course of his
six-year service in these various functions, he was acclaimed for having established examples for later people to emulate.
At the beginning of the Yuanyou era (108694), he was promoted
to be an edict attendant (daizhi ) in the Hall of Heavenly Manifestations
(Tianzhang ge ), built in 1020 as one of the palace buildings to which
Hanlin Academicians were assigned, and in this capacity he was appointed the prefect of Tanzhou (in present-day Changsha , Hunan).
However, the censors Han Chuan and Sun Sheng (103899),8 and
remonstrance official ( jianguan ) Zhu Guangting (103794),9
all condemned Jiang as a despicable person (xiaoren ), by no means
worthy of the honour. His position was then changed to that of a senor compiler (xiuzhuan ) in the Academy of Scholarly Worthies (Jixian dian
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), in the capacity of which he became the prefect of Guangzhou . A

sorcerer called Cen Tan (?1081), through his power of conjuring, succeeded in gathering a mob of over two thousand people. The rebels planned
to take over Xinxing , attack Fanyu , and establish a separatist
regime based in Lingbiao . Many roughnecks took this opportunity to
commit various heinous crimes, allegedly behaving with unbearable insolence. Jiang dispatched the commandant (cengxia ) Yang Chongxian
to attack the rebels and he captured Cen Tan alive. For this feat
Jiang was awarded with the honorary title of edict attendant in the Hall for
Treasuring Culture (Baowenge ), which, since 1067, had been a palace building served by members of the Institute of Academicians.
The Nanhai area was rich in treasure and money, to the effect that
most of the officials there were notoriously corrupt. Selecting those prefects
of the past who had behaved with integrity, including the Jin dynasty Wu
Yinzhi (?413), the Tang dynasty Song Jing (663738), Lu
Huan (fl. 74952), Li Mian (71788) and others, Jiang Zhiqi had
their portraits painted and enshrined in a hall, in the hope of strengthening
the local officials sense of incorruptibility.
He was subsequently reappointed as the transport commissioner-in-chief
(du zhuanyunshi ) of the Hebei Circuit, acting as the prefect of Yingzhou , present-day Hejian , Hebei. When the Liao
envoy Yel Di (d. 1092) died on the road, all the prefects of the
prefectures through which his corpse passed bowed twice to him before
offering sacrifices. Jiang showed his antipathy to his colleagues attitude,
asking with dignity, Why should we, the officials of the Son of Heaven,
kneel before [the barbarians]?! He performed the libation without bowing.
He was then summoned to court, where he served as the vice-director of the
Ministry of Revenue (hubu shilang ). Soon afterwards, he once
again left court to take up the governorship of Xizhou (Linzhao ,
Gansu). The Tanguts came to negotiate with the Song for a truce, expressing
their wish to solve the border issues. Knowing that they had no intention
of keeping a truce, Jiang was diligent in preparing for war, and extra cautious in posting sentinels, as though the enemy were about to attack at any
moment. When Jiang Zhiqi left his post, the Tanguts had never found any
opportunity to invade.
During the Shaosheng era (109498), the court summoned Jiang
to serve as the secretariat drafter before reappointing him the prefect of
the Superior Prefecture of Kaifeng . He was then appointed an auxiliary academician in the Hall of the Dragon Diagram, and then a Hanlin
Academician, jointly ( jian ) a reader-in-waiting [in the Establishment
of the Heir Apparent] (shidu ). In 1099, Zhou Hao (10601111)
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offended Zhezong (r. 10851100) by his outspoken opposition to appointing Madam Liu as the empress.10 Jiang came to his defense, and
as a result was expelled from the capital by the court. This time, he was sent
away to be the prefect of Ruzhou. One month later, he was transferred to
Qingzhou (present-day Qingyang , Gansu).
After Huizong (r. 11001125) came to the throne in 1100, Jiang became
a Hanlin Academician again, and was appointed an associate administrator
(tongzhi ) of the Bureau of Military Affairs (Shumi yuan ), which
was reconstituted after the fall of Tang as the paramount central government
agency in control of the states military forces, headed by one or more military affairs commissioners (shumi shi ). The following year, he was
put in charge of Bureau of Military Affairs (zhi yuanshi ). When
the borders of Yuanzhou (present-day Zhijiang , Hunan) were
harassed by the barbarians, Jiang proposed that a general lead a punitive
expedition against them, and divide the prefecture into two, Hui[zhou]
and Jing[zhou] . In the first year of the Chongning era (11021106),
because of his proposal to abandon the Hehuang area, which went
against the governments plan of taking back that region as was fervently
instigated by the powerful Cai Jing (1047-1126), he was deprived of
his position in the Bureau of Military Affairs. Demoted to be an academician in the Hall of Contemplating Culture (Guanwen dian ), he was
ordered to take up the governorship of Hangzhou .11 One year later, as
the military adventure against Tibet went well, the government, manipulated
by Cai Jing, took more severe measures in persecuting the opponents of this
military plan. As a result, Jiang was further demoted from the position of
grand master for proper consultation (zhengyi daifu ) to that of
grand master of the palace (zhong daifu ). He pleaded for retirement
on the ground of illness. His application was granted and he was awarded an
honorary positionthe head of Lingxian Abbey .12 He died in 1104
at the age of seventy-four sui. Later, after his memorials to the court were
collected, Huizong realized Jiangs loyalty and the emperor ordered the restoration of all of his previous titles as his posthumous honours.
Jiang acted as the commissioner for different bureaus for twelve terms,
and directed key ministries six times. He was renowned for his capability. He was particularly keen in selecting and helping the talented. During
his tenure in Fujian, he recommended Chen Lie (101287; an expert
on ritual), and in his tenure in Huainan, he recommended the filial son Xu
Ji (10281103). He was criticized, however, for his role in accusing
Ouyang Xiu.
The works he left included Shangshu jijie (of fourteen juan),
Laozi jie (of two juan), Mengzi jie (of six juan), Yishi
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(of twenty juan), Jingxi qianhou ji (of eighty-nine juan),

Chuyan (of fifty juan), Beifei ji (of nine juan), and Guangzhou
shixian zan (of one juan).
Jiang Zhiqis biographical sources present to us a complex scholar-bureaucrat who had already become highly controversial even in his own day.
What might have particularly struck the modern reader are his talents as a
financial expert, his strong will in defending the Songs sovereignty in the
face of the Tanguts increasingly blatant encroachment, and related to this,
his military capacity, the last of which seems rare for a scholar of his caliber
and achievement. We will see that these aspects of Jiang Zhiqis life had
some bearing on his religious experiences, particularly his passion for the
cult of Guanyin (as manifested in the semi-legendary figure, Sengqie
[Sagha?, 628710]).
Buddhist Ties
Jiang Zhiqis official biography makes no mention whatsoever of his ties
with the contemporary Buddhist world, which can only be discovered from
monastic sources.
Some time after the death in 1088 of the Huayan master Jingyuan
(101188) of Huiyinsi in Hangzhou , who was best known
as the mentor to the Korean prince-monk ichn (10551101; also
befriended by Jiang),13 Jiang Zhiqi wrote a memorial inscription for the
Avatasaka-pavilion that Jingyuans disciples and followers had erected
(probably within Huiyinsi) for his memory.14
Jiangs involvement in the activities in honor of Jingyuan might not
have been merely due to his status as the prefect of Hangzhou at the
time, but could more directly have stemmed from his enthusiasm for the
Huayan teachings, which led, ironically, to his connection with a prestigious Chan master of his day. This Chan master was none other than
Yuantong Faxiu (102790), in whose dharma lineage Jiang is
included by some Buddhist sources.15 Jiang once spent three days composing thirty treatises on the Huayan jing. Proud of this feat, Jiang, who
was then serving in Huainan , went to visit Faxiu, who was then
residing at Changlu , which probably refers to Changlusi ,
located in Zhenzhou (present-day Liuhe District of Nanjing).
To Jiangs surprise, Faxiu criticized him for the emphasis he laid on
Huayan jing, which he believed did not represent the highest level of
the dharma; on the contrary, Faxiu assured Jiang that the essence of
Buddhism should be sought from the Chan tradition. After Faxiu died,
Jiang wrote a eulogy for him, which reads:
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Friends beyond the confine of the secular world,

Only me and you, my master.
Remembering that in the past,
A single word exchanged made us realize that we
matched in nature.
O Teacher, you came to Changlu,
W hile I acted as commissioner in [Rivers] Huai
and Yi.
Although we only met by chance,
Laughter and conversations amused us.
I wrote treatises on the Huayan teachings,
O Teacher, you commented on them.
With the capacity and opportunity to trap tigers,
You transcended the ordinary world.
Why did you abandon me,
by moving ahead [alone]?
Making sacrifice with vegetarian offerings, I
show my sincerity,
In the hope that you will enjoy it.16
Another monk Jiang befriended is Foyin Liaoyuan (103298),
who, as a close friend of Su Shi (10371101), might have come to know
Jiang through the famous poet.17 After Zhang Fangping (10071091),
a distinguished statesman and one of the most devout laymen of the time,
succeeded (with the assistance of Su Shi) in carving the woodblocks for
Lengqie jing and having it printed in 1085,18 Foyin sent a copy to
Jiang, who then wrote a preface for it.19 In this preface, Jiang raises the
noteworthy theory that Lengqie jing had been the basic scriptural support
for the Chan tradition until its position was replaced by the Diamond sutra
(Jingang jing ) at the insistence of the fifth patriarch Hongren
(600674). Such an understanding might have been derived from the wellknown story in Tanjing (Platform Sutra) that Huineng (638713)
achieved enlightenment on hearing a line from the Diamond Sutra. Jiang
Zhiqis intensive discussion of the history and practice of Chan demonstrates
his extraordinary familiarity with and concern for that particular tradition.
Jiang was also highly regarded by the vinaya master Yuanzhao
(10481116), who once held a dharma-assembly for Jiang and some of his
family members, including his son. In the course of this assembly, Yuanzhao
delivered to Jiang and other members of the audience a long sermon, which
outlined some essential teachings of the Buddha. This sermon is still preserved in a special collection of Yuanzhaos works, Zhiyuan yibian
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.20 After the dharma assembly, Jiang expressed his gratitude to Yuanzhao
by sending to him a verse, which is appended to the sermon as it is included
in Zhiyuan yibian:
T
 he land of Buddha becomes pure as ones
mind turns pure,
The realm is so empty that not a single hair
remains.
The sounds of the trees in the wind vibrate in
the wild jungle,
The [heavenly] flowers and rains keep falling
and fill the courtyard.
You are surrounded by dragons and elephants
while preaching,
A nimals and birds escape thanks to your effort
to relieve them.
We know that you, master, excel in [upholding]
commandments and precepts,
Your merit and conduct will never be in vain.21
Additionally, according to a collection compiled by the Song monk
Zongxiao (11511214) about the miracle stories related to the Lotus
Sutra, Jiang Zhiqi was also associated with a Tiantai monk called Yunji
(a.k.a. Nanping Qingbian , d. u.).22
Jiang Zhiqi was interested in promoting Buddhisms ability to subdue
and convert local deities. In the memorial inscription he wrote for Linghuasi
in Fuxu of present-day Guangzhou, Jiang narrates such a story
of a Chan masters converting the dragon-king of the Southern Sea (Nanhai
wang ). According to this story, the dragon often lost his temper
and caused disaster to boatmen; but after receiving the three refuges
(Ch. sangui ; Skt. triaraa) and five precepts (Ch. wujie ; Skt.
pacala) from the Chan Master Xiujiu (?735+) in 735, the dragon
became a compassionate Buddhist believer who was always ready to assist
and rescue the boatmen in trouble.23
It was for another cult (the subject being a Buddhist figure this time
Sengqie) that Jiang demonstrated his most enthusiastic support, as is shown
by a new biography that he wrote for Sengqie.24 Although by and large
an abbreviated version of an earlier biography included in Zannings Song
gaoseng zhuan , Jiang Zhiqis account shows several noteworthy
innovations.25 Under the Song dynasty, Sengqie had been elevated to the
status of national guardian, so much so that whenever Jurchen troops seized
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any territory from the Song, burning down the local Sengqie shrines was
always at the top of their agenda.26 Given this special nature of the Senqie
cult and the strong nationalistic and patriotic sentiments demonstrated by
Jiang Zhiqi, we have reason to read his enthusiasm for Sengqie in political
and diplomatic terms, a point which will be made clearer when we turn to his
involvement in the legend of Miaoshan, who, like Sengqie, was also believed
to be a manifestation of Avalokitevara.
R evisiting Jiang Zhiqis Role in the Creation
and Promotion of the M iaoshan Legend
The secular and monastic sources on Jiang Zhiqi show him to be an
active politician with extensive ties to contemporary political forces, and
an enthusiastic and knowledgeable supporter of Buddhism. His role in the
promotion of the Miaoshan legend did not come about by chance. It was a
natural expression of his longstanding interest in Buddhism in general, and
in particular, his passion for the Sengqie cult, the latter of which seems to
have been rooted in the contemporary political and diplomatic situations.
It is quite noticeable that in revising his inscription for Miaoshan, Jiang
Zhiqi specified April 20, 699 (under the reign of Empress Wu) as the date
for the recording of the revelation that the deity was supposed to have made
to Daoxuan concerning the origin of Miaoshan. As Dudbridge rightly points
out, This was nearly thirty-three years after the death of Daoxuan and more
than a hundred after his birth, a circumstance which only strengthens our
doubts concerning the historicity of this account.27 However, Dudbridge
does not account for the correlation of the Guanyin/Miaoshan legend with
Empress Wu. This probably should be understood to refer to the efforts that
the empress made in promoting the Guanyin cult.
Since I have discussed this issue elsewhere, let a brief review suffice
here.28 In late 690 or 691, shortly after the empress declared herself as the
founding emperor of the Great Zhou dynasty, an Indian monk closely associated with Empress Wu, Huizhi (fl. 676703), composed in Sanskrit a
set of odes in praise of the bodhisattva and then translated it into Chinese.
At the end of the translation, Huizhi makes it clear that these odes were
dedicated to Empress Wu, implying that he regarded her as an incarnation
of the bodhisattva.
Another outstanding instance of Empress Wus being related to the
power of Avalokitevara is perhaps most vividly featured by a story related to the Avatasaka master Fazang (643712). In 696, the Khitan
regime refused to pledge loyalty to Empress Wu, who then dispatched an
army to suppress the rebellion. At the same time, she sought advice from
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Fazang, consulting him about how Buddhism could be put into the service
of this campaign. Fazang constructed a bodhimaa of the Eleven-faced
Avalokitevara, in which he placed images of that bodhisattva. The effect of
his esoteric procedure was believed to be astonishing. Within several days,
the Khitan soldiers saw that they were faced not only with countless warriors of the Great Zhou army, but also a bevy of deities. Some of the enemy
saw images of Avalokitevara floating in the sky and then slowly descending
to the battlefield. Some weeks later, the empress received news of victory.
It is important to note that it was the Eleven-faced Avalokitevara who
was believed to have come into the empresss service. A telling example
of the popularity of this particular form of Avalokitevara is that some
time between April 5 and May 3, 661, five years after the appearance of
Xuanzangs version, a Daoist priest of the Xihua Abbey , Guo
Xingzhen (?663), who was a neophyte of Buddhism, made two
sandalwood statues of the Eleven-faced Avalokitevara in addition to five
gold or copper statues of the Buddha. Significantly, Guo Xingzhen was a
confidant of Empress Wu. He started to associate with her probably in or
shortly after 655, when she became Gaozongs (r. 649-83) new empress and when, out of her sense of insecurity, she regularly invited Guo
to the inner palace to perform black magic aimed at dispelling malicious
spirits and bringing disaster to her enemies. The degree of trust that Guo
was able to command from Gaozong and Empress Wu is shown by the
fact that only a few weeks before dedicating himself to casting statues
of the Buddha and Avolokitevara, Guo Xingzhen performed a series of
observances and rituals on Mount Tai for the benefit of the emperor
and empress. The unusual closeness of Guos relationship with Empress
Wu means that both his decision to switch his religious faith and his efforts to cast the statue of Eleven-faced Avalokitevara must have been
tacitly approved if not instigated by her.
It was also the same form of Avalokitevara, rather than that of the
thousand-armed and-eyed Avalokitevara, that materialized in a statue
within the so-called Qibaotai (Tower of Seven Jewels). The tower
was completed around 703 under the supervision of another major
Buddhist ideologue of Empress Wu, at a monastery in Changan of essential importance to Empress Wu.
The cult of the Eleven-faced Avalokitevara eventually infiltrated so
deeply into society that it became embodied in Sengqie, a Central Asian
Buddhist thaumaturge, who arrived in China in the early Longshuo era
(66163). This embodiment, in turn, catalyzed the cult of Sengqie and its integration with the cult of the Eleven-faced Avalokitevara. That Sengqie was
an avatar of Avalokitevara was verified by Wanhui (632711), another
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Buddhist thaumaturge. When Enpress Wus son and successor Zhongzong

(r. 684, 705710), who was amazed by a series of miracles that arose
following Sengqies death, asked him to reveal the real identity of Sengqie,
Wanhui confirmed this to the emperor.
Sengqie was active as a Buddhist thaumaturge mainly during a period
when Empress Wu exercised her supreme power, either as co-ruler (with
her husband Gaozong), or as the regent to her emperor-sons Zhongzong and
Ruizong (r. 684-690, 710-12), and eventually as an emperor in her own
right. Sengqie seems to have promoted admiration for the empress judging
by the fact that his temple in Sizhou, Puzhaowang si , bore her
personal name. These two facts, in combination with Empress Wus all too
well-known ties with Buddhism, make it natural for the inventor/promoter
of Miaoshan legend, which represented such an eloquent expression of the
Avalokitevara cult, to have so deliberately drawn the empress into the picture. This is particularly noteworthy given that by this time, Empress Wu
had already been acrimoniously condemned by orthodox historiographers
as a usurper, with Ouyang Xiu, Jiang Zhiqis life-long foe, as one of the
strongest voices. This also encourages us to seek the origin of the JiangOuyang rivalry beyond the personal domains; for examples, from their
conflicting attitude towards Buddhism and their varying views of history.
Concluding R emarks
It would be hard to exaggerate the importance of the Miaoshan legend in
both feminizing and Sinicizing Avalokitevara. No iconographic or literary
image of Avalokitevara was so explicitly female as it was portrayed in
this legend. Although s/he didnt find his permanent home until s/he was
located on the island Putuo , it was through the reincarnation of the
princess-martyr that Avalokitevara first found her temporary residence on
Baoshan in Ruzhou and then at the Upper Shangzhu Temple
in Hangzhou, from where she was eventually transferred to the island.
The Miaoshan legend provides an excellent case for studying the dynamic
and complicated interplay between the various factors contributing to the
formation and transformation of a sacred site and related to this, a specific
cult, in medieval China. These factors include legends and local histories,
which represent the perceived sacrality of a sacred site, and political forces
of different levels and their interaction.
Buddhist sacred sites were, to a great extent, informed by religious legends centering on their creation and development. In addition to the ways
that those legends could entice people to the site, religious legends not only
attempted to create a sacred site, but also to eternalize it, thus repeated207

Images, Relics, and Legends: in Honour of Prof. Koichi Shinohara

ly and maximally projecting its charms from the center outwards towards
the periphery and down to posterity. The roles played by religious insiders (particularly priests with charisma, creative visions, and literary talents)
easily attract scholarly attention, thus eclipsing the significant part played
by laymen. Jiang Zhiqis case shows, however, that laymen, particularly
those close to the top of the hierarchy in the secular world, usually played
a prominent part in the compilation, modification, and spread of a string of
religious legends so essential for the formation or recasting of a sacred site
and the relevant cult. The ways in which these laymen were involved in the
complex legend-weaving process might be understood in religious terms,
but they were not always so. Our investigation of different aspects of Jiang
Zhiqis career shows that his participation in the glorification and reinvention of a cult centered around a major bodhisattva in medieval China might
have also carried profound political and diplomatic agenda. In the same vein,
his wedding himself with this Buddhist cult also significantly affected the
composition of his circle of association and at some points radically changed
the direction of his career. It is thus important to discern and appropriately
appraise these non-religious factors embedded in the politico-economics
of a group of religious legends which, in turn, decided to a great extent the
development or decline of a specific Buddhist sacred site. In sum, it is hard
to imagine how the cult of Avalokitevara would have been localized had the
Miaoshan legend not received attention from contemporary political luminaries like Jiang Zhiqi and Cai Jing.

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Endnotes
1 Jiang Zhiqi, Xiangshan Dabei pusa zhuan bei (calligraphy executed by Cai Jing [10471126]). Glen Dudbridge includes a
critical edition and annotated English translation of this text in his monograph on
Miaoshan. See Dudbridge, The Legend of Miaoshan (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1978; revised edition published by the same press in 2004).
2 The following biographical construction is primarily based on Jiang Zhiqis biography in Songshi (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1977), 343.1091517, and
some relevant information in Xu Zizhi tongjian (Beijing: Zhonghua
shuju, 1979), juan 6465.
3 Jiang Tangs biography is located at Song shi 298.991214.
4 Charles Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China (Stanford,
California: Stanford University Press, 1985), p. 242, no. 2516.
5 These refer to the irregular practices under the reigns of Zhongzong and
Ruizong, when Zhongzongs Empress Wei (?710) and Ruizongs sister
Princess Taiping (?713) used their special relationships with the emperors
to intervene in the court affairs, especially the appointments of court officials.
To be specific, mochi refers to an edict written by an emperor and sent
directly to its recipient without passing (as it should) through the hands of the
Grand Secretariat. It is a way in which a ruler may operate almost as a dictator,
circumventing the Civil Service. I thank James Benn (private correspondence,
January 16, 2009) for this note.
6 Mengzi , Chapter Wanzhang (A): ,
(I have heard that one judges courtiers who are natives of the state
by the people to whom they act as host, and those who have come to court from
abroad by the hosts they choose. See Yang Bojun (annot. & trans.),
Mengzi yizhu (Beijing: Zhonghua, 1960), p. 172; D. C. Lau (trans.),
Mencius (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1970), p. 147.
7 Zhike was in contrast with keju , the regular, scheduled
Examination Recruitment.
8 Their biographies are found at Songshi 347: 1101112, and 347: 11010 respectively.
9 Zhu was a disciple of Cheng Yi (10331107), who, in addition to his wellknown status as a leading lixue scholar, was also a chief leader of the Luo
faction (), which was a political rival to the Shu faction () led by Su Shi
(10371101), Jiang Zhiqis close friend.
10 See Songshi 18.353; cf. Songshi 345.1095657. Zhou was officially demoted on
October 11, 1099 (Yuanfu 2.9.24 [ jiazi]).
11 According to Huizongs annals, the edict of deposing Jiang Zhiqi was issued on
November 23, 1102 (Chongning 1.10.12 [kuihai]; see Songshi 19.362, Xu Zizhi
tongjian 88.2245). Jiang Zhiqis biography gives one the impression that Jiang
was removed from his post in Hangzhou because of his reservations regarding

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Images, Relics, and Legends: in Honour of Prof. Koichi Shinohara

the governments plan to take back the Hehuang area from the hands of the
Tibetans. However, Xu Zizhi tongjian makes it clear that it was from the Bureau
of Military Affairs that he was ousted and was ordered to take up the position in
Hangzhou because of his opinions on military action against the Tibetans.
12 Formerly the Baihegong (the Abbey of White Crane) built under the reign
of Liang Wudi, Lingxianguan (the Abbey of Luminous Immortals) was
built in 982 after an official in Shuzhou prefecture submitted to the court a piece of
black stone bearing an inscription prophesying the heavenly mandate bestowed to
the imperial Zhao family. See Qianshan Xian Difangzhi Bianji Weiyuanhui
(compiled), Qianshan xianzhi (Beijing: Shehui kexue
wenxian chubanshe , 1993), p. 901. .
13 In the course of a reception held by Cibian of Tianzhu (i.e., Congjian
), one of ichns mentors in China, Jiang cited a verse to ichn expressing his admiration for the Korean prince-monk. See Shimen zhengtong
(comp. in 1237 by Zongjian [?-1237+]), as printed in Wanzi xuzang jing
(Taibei: Xin wenfeng chuban gongsi , 19681970;
hereafter X), 75: 8.353c1824.
14 Shishi jigu le (by Juean [12861355] and published in 1355),
4, T. no. 2037, vol. 49, 877a2326.
15 Fozu tongji (comp. between 1258 and 1269 by Zhipan [?-1269+]),
15, T. no. 2035, vol. 49, 225b1516, 24.255a20d7; Xu Chuandeng lu
(comp. during the Hongwu era [136898] by Juding [?1404]) 11, T. no.
2077, vol. 51, 535a17b19; Wudeng quanshu mulu (comp. in
Qing dynasty by Chaoyong ), X 81: 6.366c13367a18; Xu Chuandeng lu
mulu (comp. during the Hongwu era [136898] by Juding
[?1404]), X 83: 1.10c2311b6; Chandeng shipu (comp. in 1631 by
Daomin [15961674]), X 86: 8.438b13441a9.
16 Luohu yelu (comp. 1155 by Xiaoying [?1155+], a disciple of
Dahui Zonggao [10891163]), X 83, no. 1577, 394a20-394b10. This
episode is quoted in Shishi jigu le 4 (T. vol. 49, 875c21876a10) and Fozu gangmu (comp. 1610 by Zhu Shien ; X 85: 36.724a18b5), both
of which date the association between Jiang and Faxiu to the Yuanfeng
era (107885). Jiangs association with Faxiu is also mentioned in several other
sources; see, for examples, Shimen zhengtong, X 75: 6.335c1516 (in which are
also quoted two lines from a verse that Jiang wrote to Faxiu in praise of his accomplishment in the Shoulengyan teachings) (for a briefer version, see
Fozu tongji, T. vol. 49, 14.223b1820).
17 The closeness of Jiangs relationship with Liaoyuan is shown by the fact that he
was the author of Liaoyuans memorial epitaph. See Jianzhongjingguo xu denglu
[comp. 1101 by Foguo Weibai , a disciple of Faxiu],
X 78: 6.676a45. A useful discussion of Foyins friendship with Su Shi is Yang
Zengwens article, Songdai Yunmen zong Foyin Liaoyuan jiqi yu shidaifu de jiaoyou , http://ccbs.ntu.

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Jiang Zhiqi and the Miaoshan Legend

edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/102707.htm. See also Huang Qijiang , Bei
Song jushi Yang Jie yu fojiao Jianbu Songshi Yang Jie benzhuan zhi que
, Hanxue yanjiu
21.1 (2003), 25657 (the article itself in pp. 25377).
18 This is based on the date of Su Shis preface/postscript for this printed edition of
Lengqie jing (see the next note).
19 This preface is now preserved in the Taish edition of Lengqie jing (see
Lengqieabaduoluobao jing , T. no. 670, vol. 16, 479a3c3)
and the Zokuzky edition of Baiting Shanyues (11491241)
commentary to Lengqie jing (Lengqie jing tongyi , X 17: 135a2
c4). Also preserved is Su Shis memorial composition, which is either used as
another preface or a postscript to the Lengqie jing. See Lengqieabaduoluobao
jing, T. vol. 16, 479c6480a10 (used as a preface); and Lengqie jing tongyi, X
17: 135c7136a10 (used as a postscript). Su Shis preface/postscript is dated
September 30, 1085 (Yuanfeng 8.9.9). See Lengqieabaduoluobao jing, T. vol. 16,
480a10; or Lengqie jing tongyi, X 17: 136a910.

In this preface Jiang identifies himself as Grand Master for court discussion,
auxiliary () in the Pavilion of Dragon Diagrams, provisional supervisor of
the Salt and Alum Monopoly in the circuits of Jiang[xi], Huainan, Jingzhou,
Zhejiang and others, jointly the Vice Supply Commissioner, Senior Military
Protector, a bearer of the imperially bestowed Purple bag for the golden fish (
, , , , ,
). See Lengqieabaduoluobao jing, T. vol. 16: 479a57; or Lengqie jingtongyi, X 17: 135a57.

20 Zhiyuan yibian, X 59: 3.642a6-643b21. The collection was compiled by a

Daoxun , who identified himself as Yuanzhaos sixth-generation dharma
grandson ( fasun ).
21 Zhiyuan yibian, X 59: 3.643b2224. This lecture is brief ly discussed in
Huang Qijiang, Pure Land Hermeneutics in the Song Dynasty: The Case of
Zhanran Yuanzhao (10481116), Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal
13 (2000), p. 393 (the article itself in pp. 385429). Huang also notes
(p. 393, note 13) that Jiang Zhiqi also befriended Gushan Zhiyuan
(9671022). Unfortunately, Huang does not specify the source showing
this relationship.
22 Fahua jing xianying lu (comp. 1198), X 78: 2.49b56, in which
two lines from a verse that Jiang dedicated to Yunji are quoted:
, . Zongxiao was a disciple of Siming Zhili
(9601028), for whose life and works he compiled Siming zunzhe jiaoxing lu
.
23 See Jiang, Linghuasi ji , preserved in juan 25 of Guangzhou
zhi (comp. 1473 by Wu Zhong ). See Wang Yuanlin
, Song Nanhaishen dong, xi miao yu Guangzhougang, haishang
silu
de
guanxi

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(http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/crn-webapp/cbspub/secDetail.jsp?bookid=31964
&secid=32027; accessed on January 16, 2009).
24 This biography is called Sizhou dasheng zhuan , quoted and
discussed in Huang Qijiang, Sizhou dasheng Sengqie chuanqi xinlunSongdai
fojiao jushi yu Sengqie chongbai
, Foxue yanjiu zhongxin xuebao 9 (2004):
190ff.
25 Huang, Sizhou dasheng Sengqie chuanqi xinlun, 19091.
26 Xu Pingfang , Sengqie zaoxiang de faxian he Sengqie chongbai
, Wenwu 1996 (5): 5058; Huang, Sizhou
dasheng Sengqie chuanqi xinlun.
27 Dudbridge, The Legend of Miaoshan (revised edition of 2004), p. 34, n. 21.
28 The following survey of the Avalokitevara cult under the reign of Empress Wu
is adapted from a section in Chapter 12 of my book, Philosopher, Practitioner,
Politician: The Many Lives of Fazang (643-712) (Series Sinica Leidensia 75,
Leiden: Brill, 2007), pp. 31925.

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