The “Peer-Review” of Chinese Buddhist Exegete-Preachers in Early Medieval China

In early medieval China, the composition of Buddhist exegetical works was intricately connected to scholastic preaching performed by the Chinese Buddhist monastics. The content of these exegetical works, although expressing their religious views shaped by general soteriological and philosophical concerns, inevitably engages audiences at social occasions and is thus subjected to public assessment. This paper thus proposes to divert attention away from the philosophical intricacies of exegesis. Instead, it explores the following question: what were the criteria of social evaluation for “good” exegesis in early medieval China? Through the analysis of praise and critiques recorded in three consecutive hagiographical collections, the study identifies a major continuity and a major transformation in the evaluation of Buddhist scholastic preaching. It analyzes several pairs of dichotomies at stake in the analysis of Buddhist preaching and assesses their relevance in response to this question.