Knowledge Disjunction and Temporal Stratification: A Critical Examination of Buddhist Entries in the Compiled Edition of the Yuan History Bibliography

Abstract

The Compiled Edition of the 元史藝文志輯本 (Bibliography of Chronicles of Yuan Dynasty edition), compiled by Luo Zhuyun 雒竹筠 and Li Xinqian 李新乾, represents the definitive modern reconstruction of the Yuan dynasty’s scattered literary corpus, synthesizing and correcting earlier Qing supplements. Moving beyond a simple catalog of errors, this study employs a critical historical epistemology to analyze the persistent inaccuracies within its Buddhist categories. It argues that these mistakes—including paleographic corruptions, misreadings of monastic institutions and anachronistic inclusions of Ming works—are not random oversights. Rather, they are systematic artifacts that reveal the inherent limitations of reconstructing a lost bibliographic tradition. These limitations manifest as a knowledge disjunction between later compilers and Yuan-specific socio-religious structures, and as temporal stratification, where later historical layers and scholarly contexts inadvertently permeate the reconstructed past. By examining these entries as a palimpsest—a composite text bearing traces of its own production—this paper demonstrates that the Compiled Edition is both an indispensable scholarly achievement and a historically mediated construct. The conclusion emphasizes the necessity of using this foundational reference work with source-critical awareness, understanding it as much for the insights it offers into Yuan textual history as for what it reveals about the perennial challenges of historical reconstruction itself.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Religions, 2026 · DOI ↗