The Song 宋, Yuan 元, and Ming 明 dynasties (960–1644) witnessed the flourishing development of the Chinese Buddhist Canon (CBC), with about fifteen editions of the CBC constructed in this period. This was also an important period for the merging of different schools of Buddhism in Yunnan with mainstream Chinese Buddhism in the border regions of Southwest China. Over the past millennium, more than twenty sets of the CBC have circulated in Yunnan Province, which can be classified into seven editions and have exerted a profound influence on Chinese Buddhist literature in Yunnan. Unfortunately, most of these Buddhist Canon sets were lost, with only a few of them surviving. While most of them are kept in the Yunnan Provincial Library 雲南省圖書館 and the Library of Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences 雲南社會科學院, three kinds of CBC sets remain in private hands; however, these sets have long been neglected. In particular, these three editions of the CBC are the Qisha Canon 磧砂藏 carved during the Southern Song and Yuan dynasties (1127–1368), the Puning Canon 普寧藏 engraved during the Yuan dynasty (1206–1368), and the Jiaxing Canon 嘉興藏 constructed during the Ming and Qing dynasties from the 16th to 18th centuries. This paper presents a preliminary bibliographic survey of fragmentary fascicles of these three editions of the CBC kept in Yunnan. We aim to explore the transmission timeline, version details, collection templates, and dissemination process of these three editions of the CBC in Yunan. We argue that these three Chinese Canons are not entirely identical to those housed in the Yunnan Provincial Library and possess irreplaceable documentary value. The Qisha Canon, engraved during the Southern Song dynasty 南宋 (1127–1279) and the Yuan dynasty 元朝 (1206–1368), was shipped to Yunnan in the twenty-second year of Hongwu 洪武二十二年 (1389). The Tusi 土司 (native chieftains) and Fobian 釋佛辨 (?–?), a monk of Taihuashan Temple 太華山寺 in Kunming, were involved in requesting this set of Buddhist Canons. A set of the Puning Canon constructed during the Yuan dynasty was bestowed by Emperor Kublai Khan 忽必烈 (r. 1260–1294). The emperor donated this Buddhist Canon to Xingzu Temple in Yuanzhao Mountain 圓照山興祖寺 in Kunming. As for the Jiaxing Canon, monks in Baohua Temple in Shuimu Mountain in Dali 大理水目山寶華寺 made a request to the imperial court for a set of Buddhist Canons. Another Canon was obtained upon request by the believers of Songshan Temple in Kunming 昆明嵩山寺. The import of the Jiaxing Canon into Yunnan is closely related to Yunnan Chan Buddhism, which is also worthy of special attention. Previous studies on the CBC in Yunnan have neglected these sources. People have now realized that the private collections of fragmentary fascicles of the CBC are of great value. The study of these extant volumes of the CBC may enrich people’s knowledge of the CBC in Yunnan Province.
Haoran Yin (Thu,) studied this question.