University of Virginia Library

Literary Prototypes

The Lives, unique in content, is part of a long tradition of biographical
writing in China composed not merely for the sake of history itself
but for edification, example, and instruction. Within the biographical
form it is possible to evaluate individuals and their actions, whether
for good or ill, as statements of admonition and encouragement.[26]

The most obvious of the prototypes for the women in the Lives is
the Lieh nü chuan (Lives of women) (hereafter LNC)[27] compiled some
time between 77 b.c. and 6 b.c. by Liu Hsiang, a scholar of the Former
Han dynasty (206 b.c.-a.d. 8).[28] The LNC is intended to be a
vehicle for moral instruction and memorials for women by relating the
lives of those who are worthy of emulation and serve as models of
righteouness and upright conduct. The moral qualities of these
women, paragons of traditional society, are the apex of what is
expected and admired in women within the traditions of that society.

The Lives contains this type of biographical documentation. The
two collections, however, have a different structure, the LNC being
arranged categorically, including types such as the virtuous and wise,
the chaste and obedient, or those able in reasoning. The eighth category,
possibly not by Liu Hsiang, contains warnings about the pernicious
and depraved.[29] The type of women in this last category does
not appear in the Lives and would be contrary to Pao-ch'ang's purpose.
All the other Buddhist biographies, as well as the LNC, divide
their material by categories, and Pao-ch'ang did likewise in his MSC.

The Lives is divided chronologically. Pao-ch'ang in his preface,
however, singles out four types of women whom he especially
admires: the ascetics (Shan-miao, no. 26, and Ching-kuei, no. 47); the
contemplatives (Fa-pien, no. 31, and Seng-kuo, no. 27); the faithful
and steadfast (Seng-tuan, no. 24, and Seng-chi, no. 8); and the teachers
of great influence (Miao-hsiang, no. 4, and Fa-ch'üan, no. 44).
Reading these biographies, we see that Pao-ch'ang has chosen extreme
examples, the most spectacular being the ascetics who commit suicide
by fire in honor of the Buddha; the steadfast are those who refuse marriage
by using daring means to escape. The contemplatives go into
trances so deep that they are like wood and stone. The teachers have
hundreds of disciples and followers.

The Lives also serves as a model or exemplar for Buddhist women,
but in this case the values are Buddhist. Nevertheless, in the Lives,
when the biographer records secular values such as filiality, obedience,
and upholding tradition, we see attempts on the part of the compiler
to show clearly that Buddhist values and way of life did not fundamentally
go against the traditions of society, or against Confucian ethics
and morals. One difference is that the women of the LNC are praised
or blamed because of their effect on father, husband, or son, the three
men to whom a woman is to be obedient throughout her life. The

nuns, on the contrary, are in most cases praised and honored for their
own worth, for their own self-development, often in the face of opposition.

The vocabulary of praise and blame are different—with some overlapping—between
the LNC and the Lives. The emphasis changed
from Confucian-inspired ideals, such as i (righteousness) or jen
(human heartedness), to Buddhist ideals such as keeping the precepts
or teaching the Buddhist law. Women in the LNC commit suicide for
more passive reasons, as, for example, to preserve their reputation or
that of their families—a Confucian ideal woman. In the Lives women
who commit suicide do it for religious reasons, a very positive attitude
of doing something in honor of the Buddha, his law, and his monastic
assemblies.

The terminology of praise in the Lives often conforms to Buddhist
texts as models. For example, the text known as the Mahāprajāpatī
Scripture provides a compact example for the women to follow.[30]
Much of the content of the nuns' experiences has direct prototypes in
the Buddhist scriptures. The biographies demonstrate and give proof
of the efficacy of the Buddhist Way. The two clearest examples are the
sacrifice of one's life by fire as advocated in the Flower of the Law
Scripture and the protection given by the bodhisattva Kuan-yin as
promised in the Kuan-yin Scripture. Many rituals and practices derive
directly from the scriptures.

Despite the Buddhist inspiration of most of the biographies, there
are several that seem to have a secular background. The biography of
Miao-yin (no. 12), for example, illustrates a nun highly involved in
the secular world, carrying on actions specifically prohibited to
nuns.[31] Miao-yin is an adviser to the emperor, and she hobnobs with
all the famous people of her day. Everyone flocks to her because of her
influence. She is literate and clever; she is a famous person, the type of
cleric whom Pao-ch'ang admired.