Selections from the NDL Collection

Tendaisan ki

Title:Tendaisan ki (in Japanese), Tian Tai Shan ji (in Chinese)
Author:Xu Lingfu (Tang Dynasty China)
Date:11-12 c.

description: 22 leaves, Outside size (binding): 25.5 * 15.5cm., Inside size (text): 20.7
* 14cm., 7 lines per page.

Contents:
A geographical description of the Chinese holy mountain, Tendaisan (Tian Tai Shan in Chinese). Xu Lingfu, the author of the book was a Taoist who lived in seclusion to discipline his mind and body. He lived on Tian Tai mountain in Zheijiang Province from 815 to 825 and wrote this book.
The displayed manuscript is a hand-written copy of the original. Some Japanese monk studying in China may have copied "Tian Tai Shan ji" in China or he may have brought the original back to Japan. The original is not extant in either China or Japan. This is the only copy of this book and the only remaining geographical description written during the Tang dynasty.
The writer of the manuscript is unidentified. At the upper right of the title someone has added "Written by Annen". Annen (841? - 915?) is a great scholar of the Nihon Tendai sect of Buddhism. However, there is no evidence to prove that he made this copy.
After the text of "Tendaisan ki", "Busso touki taikan den" (Fozu tongji diguan zhuan) by Zhipan is added by another hand. (20a,b) The copy is designated as an important cultural asset. 

Click on the little images below to go to the standard size images
or on the page numbers to go to the large images.

	The title is written in different handwriting from the text "written by Annen" (right of the title) Owner's name (lower left)
Title cover (original)		1a	2a,1b
3a, 2b	4a, 3b	5a, 4b	6a, 5b
7a, 6b	8a, 7b	9a, 8b	10a, 9b
11a, 10b	12a, 11b	13a, 12b	14a, 13b
15a, 14b	16a, 15b	17a, 16b	18a, 17b
19a, 18b	20a, 19b	20b	Package paper