Kaiyuan Buddhist Canon Catalog (開元釋教錄)

About 開元釋教錄

Tang · by 智昇撰

326,815 · about 1089 min

The *Kaiyuan Era Catalog of Buddhist Scriptures* was compiled and completed by the eminent Tang dynasty monk Zhisheng in the eighteenth year of the Kaiyuan era. This work systematically summarizes Buddhist scriptural translations and writings from the Eastern Han dynasty through the Tang dynasty. It provides detailed records of sutra catalogs, translator information, and assessments of authenticity. It also pioneered the classification system of the Mahayana Canon and the Hinayana Canon. As a definitive masterpiece of Chinese Buddhist bibliography, it not only laid an authoritative foundation for the compilation of the Buddhist canon but also exerted a profound influence on the later organization of scripture catalogs and the study of Buddhist texts. It is regarded as one of the most comprehensive and important classics among the catalogs of Chinese Buddhist scriptures.