Wang Chang 王昶 and Buddhist Canons: A Confucian Scholar’s Evidential Methods in Dazang Shengjiao Jieti 大藏聖教解題

This article provides the first systematic examination of Dazang shengjiao jieti, a catalogue of Buddhist scriptures compiled by the prominent Qing dynasty scholar-official Wang Chang and the earliest Buddhist catalogue by a literatus of the Qing period, to explore how Confucian literati approached Buddhist canonical materials. The extant version is a partial manuscript copy of only six surviving juan, excerpting prefaces to scriptures and biographies of translators, with over one hundred annotations by Wang. Through detailed textual analysis of the book, this study identifies three distinctive methodological features in Wang’s cataloguing work: systematic comparison of case numbers, character codes, and volume sequences across the Ming and Qing canonical editions; integration of official historical sources to trace textual transmission; and incorporation of Buddhist stone inscriptions into canonical lineage studies. Faced with the vast flood of knowledge, Wang Chang developed a mode of textual organization that integrated Confucian and Buddhist perspectives based on the Confucian scholarly tradition, reflecting the reading practices and intellectual preferences of contemporary scholar-officials. By examining these details, this research reveals that Wang’s evidential approach differed fundamentally from monastic cataloguing traditions and, by maintaining a Confucian scholarly foundation, significantly improved the accessibility and practical value of Buddhist canonical materials for literati readers.