《华严金狮子章》撰著时间考

On Writing Time for The Gold Lion Chapter on Avatamsaka Sutra

关于《华严金狮子章》的撰著时间有四种说法:天册万岁元年(695)的说法因其地点及讲新译《华严经》等与史实不合,存在明显错误;长安四年(705)之说,仅见于清续法之《法界宗五祖略记》,为晚出之说,亦不可信;圣历二年(699)之说,未发现与史实有明显冲突之处,似合乎常理;长安元年(701)之说,其出处《隆兴编年通论》成书最早,沿用其说的史籍也最多。综合诸说,《华严金狮子章》或撰于圣历二年(699),或撰于长安元年(701)。

There are four types of records about the writing time of The Gold Lion Chapter on Avatamsaka Sutra. The first saying is about that it was written in the first year of Tianee Wansui （695） which was obviously wrong for its presenting a wrong place and a wrong Sutra as the newly translated Avatamsaka Sutra. The second saying is about that this Chapter was written in the fourth year of Changan（705 ） which appeared only in A Rough Record of the Five Patriarchs by Xu＇ fa of Qing dynasty and cannot be trusted because of its time of appearance. The third saying is about that it was written in the second year of Shengli （699） which contained no contradiction with histor- ical records or with common sense. The forth saying is about that it was written in the first year of Changan which appeared in Longxing Chronicle Records of Buddhism which was written earlier than other related books. As a conclusion, The Gold Lion Chapter on Avatamsaka Sutra was either written in the second year of Shengli（699） or in the first year of Chang＇ an.