Regional Prosperity, Elite Patronage, and Religious Transmission: The Publication and Dissemination of Baojuan Literature in Ming China
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The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) was a transformative era for Baojuan (寶卷, “precious scrolls”), a traditional genre of Chinese folk religious literature, which evolved from its Yuan origins to achieve widespread prominence. Luo Qing’s Wubu liuce (五部六冊, “Five Books in Six Volumes”) during the Zhengde reign (1506–1521) marked a pivotal moment, enabling the systematic dissemination of his teachings among diverse social strata and profoundly shaping popular religious beliefs. The Ming Baojuan texts, bridging the developments between the Yuan and Qing periods, offer rich and dispersed data suitable for digital visualization. Employing digital humanities tools such as 3D radar charts and GIS visualization, this study maps the spatial distribution and influence of Baojuan in Ming China. The findings reveal that transportation networks and regional economic prosperity played a crucial role in driving its dissemination, with southern regions–particularly the Wu-Yue region (referring to the historical cultural area encompassing southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang, core parts of Ming Jiangnan)–showing high density, reflecting the economic and cultural vitality of Ming Jiangnan. The research further demonstrates that the flourishing of Baojuan publication and dissemination during the Ming period was sustained not only by economic and cultural forces but also by the ruling elite’s patronage, a form of discursive strategies that functioned as a mechanism of sectarian legitimation, thereby underscoring the interdependence of regional prosperity, elite patronage, and religious transmission.
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Peer reviewed: True
Acknowledgements: We would like to express heartfelt gratitude to the editors of Religions and the three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and critical observations, which have significantly improved this paper. The author is also grateful to Noga Ganany of the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge for her insightful guidance and for fostering a supportive research environment. Special thanks are also due to Alexia Sutton of the Open Research Team, Cambridge University Libraries and Archives, and to Yuan Li of Churchill College, University of Cambridge, for their assistance in facilitating the publication of this study. The author would also like to acknowledge Peter K. Bol of Harvard University, a pioneering scholar in digital humanities and Chinese historical studies, whose mentorship during the author’s visiting research at Harvard (2019–2020) laid the intellectual foundation for this work. Bol’s visionary approach to integrating data-driven methods with humanistic inquiry continues to inspire this line of research. The author is deeply grateful to the doctoral advisor, Lou Hansong of Zhejiang University, for his unwavering support, scholarly guidance, and profound insights throughout the development of this research. Special thanks are also due to Xu Yongming of Zhejiang University, whose generous instruction in digital humanities methodologies has been instrumental in shaping the analytical framework of this study. The author also wishes to thank Zhang Hong (Puhui) of Zhejiang Normal University and Ye Ye of Peking University for their thoughtful comments and valuable suggestions on an earlier version of this work.
Publication status: Published
Funder: Glorisun Charitable Foundation for the Glorisun Global Network for Buddhist Studies at the University of Cambridge
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2077-1444
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2023 Chongqing Municipal Social Science Funding Project titled “Research on the Interaction, Influence, and Evolution of Ancient Baojuan Texts, Novels, and Operas” (2023BS099)