本文通過詳細探究釋聖嚴在1987年所出版的《明末佛教研究》,來看學術界對十六、十七世紀時期中國佛教史的學術史發展脈絡。釋聖嚴此書在討論晚明時期禪、淨土、唯識僧人群體及其佛學研究與在家居士團體方面功績很大,尚未被後代學者超越。本文首先評論其它跟這一時代有關的佛教傳記合集,然後詳細評價聖嚴此書,同時提出未來可以思考和研究的新課題。本文也會在一個更大的學術史背景下再檢討上世紀八零年代以來至今英文學界所發表的有關晚明佛教史的論著。本文認為,對於想要研究晚明佛教僧人禪、淨土、唯識、天台思想以及在家居士的佛教網絡,聖嚴此書應該被積極重視。
This article contributes to the historiography of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Chinese Buddhist traditions through a detailed examination of Shi Shengyan's 1987 publication, Research on Late Ming Buddhism 明末佛教研究. Given its breadth and depth, this reference work is unsurpassed in its introduction to late Ming (1600-1644) Chan, Pure Land, and Yogācāra monks and their exegesis, as well as lay Buddhist networks. This article first reviews other biographical collections relevant to late Ming Buddhism and then proceeds to evaluate Shengyan's work, while offering many suggestions for future research. Research on late Ming Buddhism is also discussed in relation to primarily English-language scholarship on late Ming Buddhist topics from the 1980s to the present. Shengyan's Research on Late Ming Buddhism is still a must-read for anyone pursuing scholarly work on late Ming Buddhist monks, Chan, Pure Land, Yogācāra, and Tiantai exegesis; and lay Buddhist networks.