The Miraculous Narratives in The Biographies of Eminent Nuns and The Further Biographies of Eminent Nuns

Abstract

This paper introduces miraculous narratives in The Biographies of Eminent Nuns (BQNZ) and The Further Biographies of Eminent Nuns (XBQNZ) and provides a comparative examination based on the relevant narratives in the above-mentioned collections and The Biographies of Eminent Monks (GSZ). First, this paper suggests that eminent nuns’ miracles in the BQNZ seem to be more limited than those of their male contemporaries in the GSZ, which might reflect their comparatively limited agency in social engagements. Furthermore, the BQNZ’s silence on the eminence of foreign nuns, in sharp contrast to the special attention afforded to foreign monks in the GSZ, might suggest androcentrism in both the Saṅgha and Chinese society. Second, the entries containing “intentionally performed miracles” in the BQNZ outnumber those in the XBQNZ in terms of the percentage of all entries and diversity. Moreover, in later records of the XBQNZ, most miracles are only related to death. This might point to the lower esteem that eminent nuns enjoyed during and after late imperial China, partly because of Buddhism’s development and social status. Alternatively, this might have resulted from special social circumstances. Finally, this paper suggests that the androcentric inclination of the male compilers of the BQNZ and XBQNZ, or the sources on which the two collections are based, might have undermined eminent nuns’ prominence in upholding and spreading Buddhism. Such an androcentric bias is reflected in their selective use and adaptation of the materials.