Signs from the Unseen Realm: Buddhist Miracle Tales from Early Medieval China

Contents

ix Contents Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Conventions xvii Part I. Signs from the Unseen Realm and Buddhist Miracle Tales in Early Medieval China 1 introduction 1 Wang yan and the Making of Mingxiang ji 7 Miracle Tales and the communities That Exchanged Them 17 The idiom of Buddhism Represented in the Tales 30 Miracle Tales and the sinicization of Buddhism 37 The narrative shape of the Miraculous 43 Religious Themes in the Text 49 Part II. Translation: Signs from the Unseen Realm 63 Appendix 1. Fragments and Questionable Items 261 Appendix 2. List of Major Motifs 263 Bibliography 265 Index 293 ...