Fozu tongji 佛祖統紀

Fozu tongji 佛祖統紀 "Comprehensive chronicle of the Buddhas and Patriarchs" is a work of Buddhist historiography. It was compiled during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Zhipan 志磐 (fl. 1269), who wrote it from the doctrinal standpoint of the Tiantai Tradition (Tiantai Zong 天台宗), modelling its structure on the style of official dynastic histories.

The work consists of 54 juan. It is divided into five major sections and nineteen categories: Annals-biographies (benji 本紀), hereditary houses (shijia 世家), ordinary biographies (liezhuan 列傳), tables (biao 表), and treatises (zhi 志). While most sections imitate the format of the official histories, the "Treatise on the rise and decline of the Dharma" (Fayun tongse zhi 法運通塞志) takes the chronicle Zizhi tongjian 資治通鑒 as its model. Placing the nine treatises at the end of the book and not between the annals-biographies and the tables follows the precedent set by the official history Weishu 魏書.

Zongjian's 宗鑒 Shimen zhengtong 釋門正統 (X1513) and Jingqian's 景遷 (Tiantai) Zongyuanlu (天台)宗源錄 can be seen as precursors to Zhipan's historical account. However, Zhipan criticised the former, asserting that although it broadly established a historical framework, "its meanings were inconsistent and its writing coarse", and the latter that it merely compiled narrative accounts, but "its language was crude and its records sparse". Consequently, he combined the structure and spirit of both works to create his own book.

The Fozu tongji cites sources from several categories, including Buddhist scriptures from the Tripiṭaka, doctrinal writings of the Tiantai School, other Buddhist texts, Confucian works, and Daoist writings, drawing on a total of 170 different texts. Zhipan completed his book in 1269.

The biographies detail the story of the Buddha (1-4 Shijiamouni Fo benji 釋迦牟尼佛本紀), the Twenty-Four Patriarchs of the Western Lands (i.e., India and Central Asia, 5 Xitu ershisi zu ji 西土二十四祖紀), the Nine Patriarchs of the Eastern Lands (i.e., China, 6-7 Dongtu jiu zu ji 東土九祖記), the patriarchs (8 Xingdao xia bazu ji 興道下八祖記) and teachers of various lineages in China (9-10 Zhuzu pangchu shijia 諸祖旁出世家), various masters (11-20 Zhushi liezhuan 諸師列傳; juan 19-20 are not transmitted), and persons whose lineage of succession was unclear (22 Weixiang chengxi zhuan 未詳承嗣傳). The lineages are once again emphasised in the tables.

The treatises detail the canonical Works of the Tiantai School (25 Shanjia jiaodian zhi 山家教典志), akin to the bibliographical chapters (Yiwen zhi 藝文志) in official dynastic histories; the history of the Pure Land School (26-28 Jingtu lijiao zhi 淨土立教志), other Chinese schools (29 Zhuzong lijiao zhi 諸宗立教志), appearances of Buddhas in the Three Ages (30 Sanshi chuxing zhi 三世出興志), the names and structure of the world (31-32 Shijie mingti zhi 世界名體志), the manifestations of the Dharma Gates (33 Famen guangxian zhi 法門光顯志), the prosperity and decline of the Dharma (i.e., the history of Buddhism from the Buddha to the Song period, 34-48 Fayun tongsai zhi 法運通塞志), renowned writings that illuminate the Teaching, especially regarding the Tiantai School (49-50 Mingweng guangjiao zhi 名文光教志), and Essential Records through the Dynasties (51-54 Lidai huiyao zhi 歷代會要志).

In the Japanese edition of the Supplement to the Buddhist Canon (Wan xinzuan xu zangjing 卍新纂續藏經, X1514), scholars added supplementary material to the part Fayun tongsai zhi. That edition also includes a separate work titled Xu fozu tongji 續佛祖統紀 (X1515) in two juan, written by an unknown author, which contains biographies of thirty more figures.