The Kaibao Canon (開寶藏), also known as the Shu edition (蜀版), since it was printed in Sichuan, and sometimes known as the Northern Song canon (北宋刊経) was a woodblock printed collection of Buddhist texts produced in the Northern Song dynasty.[1]

The Kaibao Canon was lost but formed the basis for other canons, notably the Tripitaka Koreana. We also know its contents, since it was based on the Kaiyuan Shijiao Lu (開元釋教錄), which is included in the Taishō Tripiṭaka.[2]

It was the first printed edition of a Chinese Buddhist canon, and effectively closed the canon.[3]

It was begun in 971[3] and completed in 983.[3][4]

References edit

  1. ^ Wu, Jiang; Chia, Lucille; Chen, Zhichao (2016). "The Birth of the First Printed Canon: the Kaibao Edition and its Impact". In Wu, Jiang; Chia, Lucille (eds.). Spreading Buddha's Word in East Asia: the Formation and Transformation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 145–180.
  2. ^ Zhisheng (1988). "Kaiyuan Shijiao Lu 開元釋教錄 T 2154". In Junjiro, Takakusu (ed.). Taishō shinshū Daizōkyō (in Chinese). Tokyo: Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō Kankōkai. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Karen C. Lang (2010; first edition 2007). "Non-canonical and apocryphal literature" in Damien Keown and Charles S. Prebish (eds.) Encyclopedia of Buddhism. New York: Routledge.
  4. ^ Hubbard, Jamie (1991). "A Report on Newly Discovered Buddhist Texts at Nanatsu-dera". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 18 (4). Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture (Nanzan University): 402. Retrieved February 15, 2016.